Hestian Freehold
The Nation of the Nine Houses
A nation located in the southern part of Eastern Teleuce. It was one of the tributaries of the Archaian Empire, and is now a vassal of the Kingdom of Ciceronia.
Structure
The Hestian Freehold is organized underneath a single monarch and eight subordinates. The subordinates are part of different royal families who have expressed their loyalty to the king. They are only slightly below the rank of king, and, should the reigning dynasty go extinct, they will collectively decide who the new one will become. However, if one of the families rise to the title of monarchical family, the others will decide a new family to join. Families will not be dismissed from their rank by the monarch, and it is considered a grave dishonor for a king to disrespect their aristocrats.
Assets
The Hestian Freehold has access to much open farmland in southeastern Teleuce. They also have access to many ports along both The Abyss and the Endless Sea. They also own a few ports in the northern part of The Pebbles. They are most famous, however, for the silver they possess, which is often minted into coins and other trinkets for trading.
History
The Hestian Freehold originated in 821 BC, before most other cities in Eastern Teleuce. However, it was nowhere near as glamorous as either Hephaest or Protagor would be. It was mostly constructed of reed huts, partially underground. The people that inhabited the land were hunter-gatherers until they developed agriculture. They mostly harvested rice, creating rice terraces, which they would eat. They even invented the Plough decades before the Archaians even came up with the idea. These were pulled by water buffalo, which were quickly domesticated. They even developed their own language, though it was remarkably simple when compared to Archaian.
When the Archaians arrived, they shared their ideas and language. The Archaians began harvesting rice, which would become their dominant crop, and the Hestians began speaking Archaian, which allowed them to express more ideas easily. In 581 BC, shortly after the Grand Duchy of Dionys became a tributary of the Archaian Empire, the Archaians made a similar agreement with the Hestians: their protection in exchange for an annual tribute that was sent straight to the Archaian capital. The tribute was usually raw goods, which would then be processed at Hephaest, like wood, but the Hestians provided their own bags of rice and cloth. They proved faithful tributaries, until The Cataclysm.
After the Cataclysm, when the Archaian Empire fell, the new Second Agorean Empire rose. For fear that the Archaian Empire would not be able to reorganize themselves in time to protect them, the Grand Duchy of Dionys and the Hestian Freehold severed the ties with the nation they had been allies with for so long. After many years of stagnation, dueling with the Eternal Remnant, Grand Duchy of Dionys, the Second Agorean Empire, and what remained of the Achaian Empire, they were approached by the Kingdom of Ciceronia, who, after a short period of time, offered them their protection in exchange for their allegiance in any wars Ciceronia would fight in. This was after the War of the White Raven, in 1420, when the Ciceronians had started focusing their gaze on Eastern Teleuce.
Demography and Population
The population of the Hestian Freehold is mostly Hestians, which are High Elves. However, because of their alliance with the Kingdom of Ciceronia, many humans have immigrated into the lands owned by them, most notably at Diogen.
Territories
The Hestian Freehold has access to the vast rice terraces of southeastern Teleuce. They also own much coastline on both the Abyss and the Endless Sea. They tend to trade with the people of the Splinterlands, now that they own most of the southeastern part of the continent.
Technological Level
The Hestians never developed sailing equipment beyond the trireme, but only because they did not need to. The furthest they had to travel was across the Pebbles to The Splinterlands, and that ride could be done quickly by trireme standards. Many even decided to just go through the Pebbles, though this was a risky process, considering most areas of the Pebbles are cramped with boulders.
Religion
The religion of the Hestian Freehold is primarily Ignisian. They even have their own branch of the Ignicy, which split from the original Ignicy of the Archaian Empire. Priests living in Hestia during the Cataclysm sought to keep the flame of their religion burning, and so, established 10 monasteries all throughout the land, where they would teach the ways of the religion, as well as how to read and write in Archaian, to younglings. They also kept the practice of wearing togas alive in Hestia, when most of the public transitioned to more modern garments as fashion changed. Today, in Hestia, it is considered formal to wear togas, and perhaps even a sign that you are devoted to your religion.
Foreign Relations
The Hestian Freehold are a vassal of the Kingdom of Ciceronia, which is their only true ally. They saw neither side of the Archaian Empire as legitimate after the collapse of it in 1 AC, and were fearful of the wrath of the Second Agorean Empire. They did not have poor diplomatic relations with the other countries, such as the Grand Duchy of Dionys, Kingdom of Teleucia, and Tharrian Polemarchy, but they were not hateful. Most of these countries never even shared a border with them.
Training Level
Semi-professional
Veterancy Level
Experienced
Demonym
Hestian
Government System
Oligarchy
Power Structure
Feudal state
Currency
Myrmids
Legislative Body
The Eight Houses
Location
Official Languages
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
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