The Marn
The Marn is a nation named after one the world's great forests, which dominates their landscape. Not all of the Marn forest is in the nation of Marn, because large parts are within westingham and Enyanin. The part of the forest that makes up this country, explains why they are independent, and why they have they shape that they do.
Geography
The Marn is a highland plateau, not a particularly high one, but getting onto it is very difficult. On their western side, there are steep cliffs plummeting into the sea, and all that can traverse those cliff are seagulls, this part of the continental coast is jagged and unsuitable for habitation.
On the eastern side, the highlands descend by means of rocky ridges, each lowering a bit further and further. It is also here that all rivers leave the plateau. Most of those rivers are not navigable and descend to the lowlands by means of many waterfalls and narrow river passages.
The Marns signature tree coverage still covers this rocky terrain, making it even more difficult to traverse. The Marnmen have mastered these rocks, and those who try to invade them will quickly find such an endeavor to be completely hopeless, as there are only a few viable passages through the rocks, up the mountains, and only the Marnen know of them.
The plateau itself is hilly, but largely flat, and very fertile, blessing the people here with plenty of formable land, and frequent rains to keep them so.
The forest here is also home to many native animals, the most notable is the northern hog, the Marnen version of a pig, that they just call pigs, although they were domesticated separately from the rest of the world's pigs, who all originate from an Enyanian domesticated pig.
This all combines to give these people a comfortable well-fed life, on an easily defensible pile of rocks and trees.
Government
They are governed by an Archduke, who rules the proud Marnen aristocracy, the nation is an absolute monarchy, and the only one of the Yavinian nations to have male preference primogeniture rather than male-only primogeniture.
there are also the high lords, who are the archduke's bannermen, there are five high lords, who together make up the archduke's council.
These high lords act as the Arch-dukes regional managers. The lord's council is important in the governing of the nation, as the lords are responsible for helping keep the law, and raising armies in case of war.
Only towns with townhalls are taxed tho, because there are many people who still live in the woods with their family, and having to track all of those down would be a huge bother.
Demographics
The Marnen are related to the Yavinian cultures, but they have since developed their own distinct subculture. to this day the remnants of the ancient elves that lived in these woods before them can be detected in these people, as they are taller and than other humans, and live on average five years longer than their lowlander kin. There are even many marnen words, that can be traced back to the old elven language. However, over time, their isolated population has grown homogenous, and there are no significant ethnic differences between them, even the tribal boundaries were diluted many centuries ago, and everyone here has a cousin from any other town or region.
Read more about general Yavinian Culture here: Yavinian
History
The modern nation of Marn can trace its roots back to the Eshen Dray, who first brought centralized rule to the region, back then they controlled all of the northern marn forest, and the population was much more mixed between elves and humans than it is now.
After the fall of the Eshen Dray, a local leader took over management of the region, which over time lost its more lowland regions to the Yavinian nations, and they were forced to retreat fully to their plateau, the elves were assimilated or chased away, and that leaves them what they are now. In the beginning, they were very much still tribal, but over time, as the tribes mixed and interbred, those differences ceased to be relevant, and they adopted a more individualistic model, where society focused on the extended direct family, rather than tribal ties.
There have been many different political dynasties since that first Marnen state, But the title of Arch-Duke was a Dreyech one, which they have always kept.
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