Rethreim
At the northeastern tip of the continent, the kingdom of Vezhkin has outlasted plague and collapse by walling itself in. It is a hostile and cruel place, home to the vampiric Dread Elves, a people known as the Vezhkin. They are ruled by the The Sanguine Coven from their seat of power in the capital of
It is cold and bleak, mostly made up of dark forests and misty moors. Those who manage to find a way into the guarded kingdom rarely make it out again.
Structure
The kingdom is an aristocracy governed by royalty. Ruling what remains of Rethreim is the The Sanguine Coven, made up entirely of members of the royal family. This council is headed by their matriarch, the Arch Countessa Renthalia Maladav. While officially in charge of the entire kingdom, their reach now only extends to the borders of the capital city Nathrezzar.
Culture
See Vezhkin.
History
Once the northern-most peninsula of the immense empire of Aethelas, the province of Rethreim had always maintained a somewhat prickly relationship with its neighbours. When the empire began to suffer under the Withering Plague in a kingdom-wide collapse known as The Scouring of Aethelas, Rethreim saw what was to come and began construction on a wall that separated its borders from the rest of the plague-ridden kingdom.
Ports were also walled-off or made so that it would be impossible to land a ship at any point along the coast. All external trade ceased and none were allowed to pass the new boundaries under threat of death. It was only by maintaining such harsh and cruel order that Rethreim survived the plague. Any symptoms or perceived symptoms were met with bloody brutality. "Plague-hunts" were all too common, as were the full cleansings of towns and villages by burning them to the ground.
Unfortunately, while the surrounding provinces were banging at the gates, the plague eventually broke through. Soon, it became extremely difficult to hold the borders while also fighting a ravaging plague that threatened to consume them all. This war was fought long after the infrastructure of Aethelas fell, until something completely unexpected happened and sealed the fate of all those trapped within the kingdom's borders.
As the plague swept through what was left of Rethreim, it mutated. It is not known what caused the mutation, only that it became impossible to fend off regardless of the strength of one's immune system, and that it removed the withering effect of the plague. While it spread more quickly and easily, it no longer rotted an individual from the inside out, eventually killing them. If one was infected by this new strain of the Withering Plague, they became immune to the older one.
And so, Rethreim survived the plague, hiding behind its walls until the mournful cries of Aethelas were long-silenced. Too fearful to venture out at the risk of a new mutation of plague making its way into the surviving kingdom, they turn inwards and bolstered their defences. Its people came together and formed a strong sense of community and resilience that keeps them alive even today.
This survival was not without cost, however. The mutated strain of the unnatural plague that scoured Aethelas had a profound effect on the people of Rethreim over the thousand or so years that followed. Their bodies changed in strange ways and their senses and tastes developed. Ordinary food and drink, what little there was to be found, did not sate and soon they developed a thirst for something new - fresh blood. Over centuries, they had become transformed into instruments of hunger and survival.
These biological transmutations shaped their entire society, which changed as they did.
Demography and Population
Over many centuries, survivors in Rethreim have gravitated towards the capital of Nathrezzar, an enormous city-state that houses most of the population. Towns and villages in Rethreim have mainly died out, with a few exceptions that cling to their ways and refuse to be absorbed by the rulers of the kingdom.
These outlying settlements are predominantly held by religious cloisters of zealots or cult-like communities that govern themselves, making their own laws and punishments. However, a pressing lack of resources and structure has usually resulted in these groups either collapsing or yielding to the colossus that is the capital.
Military
The organised military has long since been dissolved in Rethreim. Once, they held the borders and walls all around the kingdom, maintaining the strict quarantine and brutal penalties. As the plague swept across the land, militia in local townships folded one by one. Gradually, as soldiers either abandoned their posts or fell, most of the military withdrew to the capital city, leaving the outskirts as a lawless wasteland.
Now, centuries later, the same military organisation now acts as a security force within Nethrezzar, keeping order and dealing out punishment. They hold little power outside the city walls, but inside they operate with near impunity, carrying out the will of the ruling government and royal family.
Technological Level
Although Rethreim started with humble beginnings in the empire of Aethelas, they have had centuries in isolation to study and research and improve their technological prowess. But progress has been slow: living on the edge of extinction means that there are precious few resources, and much less can be donated to scientific and engineering pursuits than successful, thriving nations.
Nowadays, they rely on their use of clockwork mechanisms in applications such as clocktowers, locks, factories, weaponry, and so on. Thin, spring-loaded blades that transform or disappear are particularly popular.
Religion
While once the reach of the The Holy Order of Dawn extended even to the furthest corners of Rethreim during the reign of Aethelas, its brilliant light has faded almost entirely over the years. It is still likely observed in some small pockets of the fallen kingdom, but for the most part, a sect has evolved from the old faith by the name of The Order of Dusk and taken root in Rethreim.
In contrast to the Order of Dawn, the Order of Dusk respects and even admires the inevitable entropy of life. It is viewed as a nihilistic and sinister organisation by many, but a necessary evil of society, one that provides structure and meaning to the populace of Rethreim.
Agriculture & Industry
Unfortunately, the Withering Plague also spread to livestock, rapidly decaying fields full of animals. Nearly wiped out completely, some livestock managed to survive, preserved and protected. The soil had also become poisoned by plague, ruining the potential for agriculture. Farming crops had essentially ceased, save for what little wild vegetation can be scavenged from untainted patches of wilderness.
After many years, agriculture has somewhat stabilised in Rethreim, mainly consisting of a small population of livestock along with wild animals and vegetables from the forests and moors. To supplement their diet, hemophagy has been picked up by the changed citizens of the kingdom. The dread elves feed on blood, both from each other and from animals wild and farmed. This has created an entirely new industry: the farming and production of fresh blood.
Most kinds of blood, if kept in a cool environment, will keep for at least a month, meaning that there is more than enough time to be packaged in glass ampules and vials then sold to the public. Citrate, an anticoagulant that prevents blood from clotting, is added to blood vials, allowing the donor and recipient to be separated in time and space.
Unfortunately, the constant demand for fresher blood has led to practices in the industry many would deem unethical.
Trade & Transport
Within the capital of Nathrezzar, trade functions almost as normal, with the addition of the blood trade being the biggest commodity. Trade and transport to any of the surrounding towns and villages is extremely limited, but inside and outside the city-state, people most commonly travel by horse and carriage.
Aside from blood, the main commodities of the kingdom are meat, wine, ale, oil and chemical compounds used for alchemy, many of which come from beyond the walls of Nathrezzar. Only through sustained trade with the city do most of the outlying settlements survive.
Education
The only remaining school or place of higher learning is Dragash Academy, which serves as a place for younger generations to learn and as a university for those continuing their studies.
Infrastructure
The settlements outside the capital have been without the infrastructure provided by the ruling government for a long time. Roads fall into disrepair and walls crumble all the time, left to slowly decay over centuries. And yet they survive, barely clinging to life without the aid of the Nethrezzar.
Even the borders, once impenetrable, have begun to rot, falling away piece by piece. No guards are left to stop intruders to the realm, yet there are few left who even can. Any structure that remains in Rethreim is found in the capital city-state.
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Predecessor Organization
Ruling Organization
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Palace economy
Currency
Silver Galding, or sometimes just "pieces", are silver coins used as currency in Rethreim, leftover from the remnants of Aethelas. It fell out of circulation by the time the empire collapsed, but came back with the stabilisation of Rethreim, as a symbol of the preservation of tradition.
Official State Religion
Official Languages
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Related Species
Related Ethnicities
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