Gaulthoth CH 1071
Gaulthoth is a powerful trading and military feudalistic nation east of the Dragonlands, that has long been ruled by the family of Griffin. In the past 50 years, the country has recovered from it's biggest conflict with the help of the 7 Heroes. The prosperity of the realm is underpinned by the corrupt Banking Clan, the way in which Queen Fraa has taken power, and an evil on the rise.
Gaulthoth's climate is maritime, moist and temperate, with a moderate annual temperature range.
Mountains
Society
As a feudalistic society, Gaulthoth consists of layers of lords and vassals. Gaulthoth is ruled over by the Queen who controls all the military forces in the land. Queen Fraa is advised by her fellow heroes the goliath Jim, Sorcerer and leader of the Golden Eye school, and the elf Galfinshift, leader of the Banking clan. Unfortunately, the man with the real control is Galfinshift holding and managing dominance of all merchant activities within the region (he basically owns the economy). The hold he has over the Queen's decisions is not displayed publicly but his power in widely known. For this reason, Jim and Fraa are no longer friends with the elf and live in a state of conflict and fear of his control. The next layer are the nobles that rule over specific lands given to them by the Queen providing loyalty and military aid from their settlements. Most of these leaders have been appointed by the Banking Clan and vary in their love of power, and enforcement of power. They also give food, protection, and shelter to knights and peasants. The Guardians of Gaulthoth are the military power of the region. Serving under the nobles, these knights give food, protection, and shelter to the peasants. Members of this order are paladins, clerics, fighters, and rangers. The final class layer in this society are the peasants who work the land for resources and pay rent to nobles. The treatment of peasants again varies from noble to noble, but most towns and villages run smoothy under this system.Culture
Ancient Gaulthonians settled these lands after the Great Split and built atop a once great star elf civilization. The rocky and rolling hills of these coastal grasslands were home to mainly griffins and a powerful amount of elemental earth magic. Early humans learned to tame and mount these griffins and others were called to train in powerful earth magic. The taming of griffins tradition has carried on while the use of elemental magic is seen as a old and mostly forgotten tradition. The final aspect of Gaulthoth society is an innate wish to defend and never leave these lands. This could be because of their ties to powerful magic of the land. With seemingly no reason to leave the striving country, it is typically frowned upon for Gaulthonian humans to leave the shores or pass over the mountains.Relations
Being an epicenter of trade in the north, many races flock to the City of 7 Heroes, or rent farmland throughout the region. All are welcomed. Particular nations that influence what takes place in Gaulthoth are the dwarf clan that resides in the mountains and The Kian Empire. The dwarves mostly trade magic items and ore from their stronghold. Those goods flow down the river to the City of 7 Heroes. The Kian Empire controls the North Sea. Any trade that the Banking Clan wants to participate in on the seas most go through the Kian Empire.Religion
There is no established church that holds a particular influence over the country. Most Gaulthonian humans praise Cedva, but other gods are worshiped.Government
The government is centered around the leading authority of the monarch in charge at any given time. That monarch has come from the family of Griffin for the past thousand years. Should that specific line end, the Head Duke of the City of 7 Heroes and his family shall take the office if another relative can not be found. The monarch is the head of the military and the chief law maker. The City of 7 Heroes has six distracts and each is supposed to have it's own duke. These are respectfully, the royal distract, the business distract, the academy distract, the river port distract, the north distract and the south distract. The ruler of the academy distract is the goliath, Jim the Sorcerer. The ruler of the royal distract is Guy Goltorah. Finally, the ruler of the business, river port, north, and south distracts is the elf Galfinshift. Other lords rule over the peasants of certain lands and settlements outside the capital.Economy
The nation is predominately known for wool farming. "The sovereign merchandise and jewel of Gaulthoth." The lush green fields are home to hoards of sheep and shepherds. Sheep are raised principally for their meat (lamb and mutton), milk (sheep's milk), and fiber (wool). They also yield sheepskin and parchment.Trade
Gaulthoth exports a variety of goods to other nations as they regularly had an excess of grain and sheep products. The Kian Empire, Dragonlands, and Logoz are dependent on Gaulthonian exports to cloth their people. The Kian Empire also depends on Gaulthoth for food.The Banking Clan and Guilds
The Banking Clan basically controls all the goods and services in the nation. Rather then export and import taxes going to the government, they go to the Clan because the government relies on Bankers for funding anything. The Banking Clan is composed of guilds that are in debt to them in one way or another. These guilds are made up of craftsmen in a specific skill. The only guild not control by the Banking Clan is the Wool Guild, but they still have to pay many fees.Military
If you totaled the entire forces at Gaulthoth's disposal, the number would be in the forty thousands. While not having a navy, they do hold a great land force. There are about twenty-five thousand trained soldiers in both the infantry and the cavalry, and the other twenty thousand comes from drafting in times of war. The infantry is made up of armored human knights, the occasional minotaur, and war machines. The cavalry is composed of horse, griffin, and hippogriff riders. Soldiers wear well kept silvery armor with black and gold cloth. Armor or cloth usually bares the symbol of the griffin. Griffins denote strength and military courage and leadership.History
Originally, after the great split the land was settled by tribes of wandering nomads, farmers, and shamans, who used the lands resources and elemental magic to survive. The country of Gaulthoth was not formed until sometime around 500 CH when the griffin tamers under family calling itself the same name as the beasts they tamed. Early on in establishing their society, elemental earth magic was used to terraform the land and defend the people. Over the next hundred years, this art was sadly forgot for reasons unknown as the civilization shift more towards a military state.Torog Wars CH 1023 - 1027
No major conflicts, besides trade disputes with the Kian Empire, took place against the nation for most of their existence. Then in 1021 CH, a group of adventurers, now known as the 7 Heroes, after defeating a white dragon discovered an entrance to the Underdark. Adventuring down underground for a year, they discover a whole civilization ruled by the god Torog, has been sealed away for thousands of years. When the adventurers came back to the surface, they left the magical door keeping the Underdark armies at bay unlocked. This caused the Children of Torog to raid the surface for about a year slowly making their way to the capitol with a massive army. Jim the Sorcerer dueled with a chain hulk in order to gain three months of preparation. When the three months was over, Torog's forces unleashed a purple worm, who the heroes named Larry, to attack the city. During the battle, the then paladin and princess Fraa's horse Jerry kicked the purple worm Larry causing him to fall over. Therefore the the battle, which took place in 1024 CH, was called the Battle of Jerry kick Larry. The battle ended when Jim called down meteor swarm and destroyed a large amount of Torog's army. However the war was not yet over, and Torog's forces continued to assault the country for three more years. One day, an entity known as the Laughing Hand came after the heroes with steel predators. He successfully took out the goliath fighter Skywatcher before retreating back to the Underdark. Because his duty was not yet fulfilled, the fighter returned as a ghost until Torog was defeated. Without knowing where to go, the heroes decided to venture into the Underdark in hopes of killing Torog. They killed the Laughing Hand freeing him from the curse he was under, which revived him into the legend era star elf paladin Greyon. He told them where they needed to go, and found the Prison of Torog. Within the depths of the Underdark in the god's cursed prison, the heroes fought to the death until their foe was defeated. His duty being done, Skywatcher passed on, Lodal the kobold paladin and Eris the elf assassin died in battle. This ended the Torog Wars in 1027, and the capital was renamed to the City of 7 Heroes.CH 1071
In 1071, the princess Fraa has become the queen after the mysterious disappearance of her half-brother King Godric. The country is relatively peaceful except for the Banking Clans continued rise in power. Recently, someone has discovered a secret way into The Obsidian Tower that formed over the ruins of a town destroyed during the Torog wars in 1027.Geography
- The Dragon Peaks: A range of mountains separating Gaulthoth from the Dragonlands to the west.
- Trobron Lake
- North Sea
- Wrinkled Rill: Large river that runs through the country
- Draymore Creek: Connects Applefrost to the Wrinkled Rill
- Trobron Creek: Connects Trobron Lake to the Wrinkled Rill
- Fireball Canal: A man made canal in order for ships to go around the Obsidian Tower on their way to the North Sea
Organizations
- The Guardians of Gaulthoth: Military Force of Paladins, clerics, and fighters that defends the country.
- The Golden Eye: School of Magic created by Jim to train sorcerers and wizards.
- Banking Clan
- The Order of Silent Justice: A group of militant rogues, fighters, and monks whose goal is unknown.
- Cult of the Elder Evil: an illegal group that worships the Great Old Ones of the Far Realm.
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