Azendale
A nation of Embers
Azendale is currently defined by its manufacturing, which has given it the moniker "Nation of Embers"-- a reference to the ash that seems to coat everything in the areas surrounding its massive smithies. Much of the culture of Azendale is preoccupied with fire, which many of its denizens view as the lifeblood of the country, and without which the Principality might have fallen into irrelevance after its emancipation from Herske. Azendale has also been influential in the setup of the international naturalist community, helping fund naturalistic expeditions and investigations to further their interests.
Geography and Ecology
Azendale varies significantly geographically across its lands, but is comprised of four primary regions: its north is generally quite mountainous, especially as one reaches its border with Herske, the west is largely comprised of marshes and wetlands, the centre is mostly grasslands with some forests and large hills or small mountains interspersed and the south is largely dense woodland.
By Amt
Caledun
The capital amt is primarily a grassland at the foot of the hills leading to the Wandebirge mountain. Its northern side is at significantly higher elevation than its south, with the capital city Calindine acting as the furthest south geographically significant elevation change marker, having been built on something of a cliff on the southern edge of the hill range of norther Caledun.
The climate is generally cooler in Caledun, and the land is arable though it has relatively poor returns on crops compared to especially the Eastern and Southern parts of Azendale. This part of Azendale is also home to one of the more diverse flora and fauna populations of the grasslands on Vequist, though deer and wild turkeys compose the majority of the fauna.
Grenzberg
Grenzberg contains the second highest point in Azendale as well as boasting the highest average altitude, as the part of the Wandebirge that comprises Ikthun contains a lake in its centre. Grenzberg is one of the coldest amter in the Principality, with nearly yearround snowfall and summertime highs of 50oF due to its northern latitude and elevation.
The mountains contain a significant valley between them (still quite highly elevated) which runs northward and somewhat south of the city of Bergsfare, so placed to facilitate trade through the mountains. The lower portion of Grenzberg is at a relatively normal elevation for Azendale, with slightly cooler temperatures, though the settlements there are sparse given the lack of import to trade and significant agricultural difficulties due to rocky ground.
The majority of the animals that do live in Grenzberg amt have significant developments both for the chill and for the altitude, most have significantly larger lungs and thicker fur than any counterparts they have in Azendale, or eastern or southwestern Herske. The plant life here is comprised primarily of pines and other evergreen trees with adaptations for the thin air and greater variance in sunlight.
Meerhaven
Meerhaven is situated around a marsh created by a confluence of rainfall coming off the Wandebirge mountains, the moisture from the [name] Ocean, and the rivers and estuaries that flow throughout the amt, along with the relative lack of grasses in this area. There are only a few routes through Meerhaven despite the profitability of the port Meerhelm, its capital, as a result of the difficulties in building and maintaining thoroughfares in the marshes that comprise the majority of the land, which significantly impedes trade and communication at times.
The climate in Meerhaven is relatively warm for its latitude due to warm air currents that roll off the [name] Ocean which tend to overpower any cool air running off the mountains, which also act as a barrier against the northern winds from Herske. Further, the fish in the rivers and streams in Meerhaven reflect more closely the ecosystem of the Ocean next to it than at any other point on Vequist, with saltwater present up to several miles inland. The typical willow and reed flora are the majority of the provinces supply of plant life, with the animal life comprised of mostly insects, with reptiles comprising the majority of the remainder of the fauna.
Demography
Azendale is comprised of a majority-human population, heavily interspersed with dwarves (especially to the North and in the mountains) and gnomes, with occasional halfling populations in the southern parts of the country. The swamplands near Meerhaven and near the Coilleskog tend to also have relatively significant lizardfolk populations, though issues with Azendelian settlement have caused these pockets of lizardfolk to remain more culturally similar to Aitilafa.
The majority of the citizens of Azendale are still farmers, with the plurality still living under regular manoral conditions, with significant but not overwhelming pockets of population in the largest cities such as Caledun and Meerhaven.
History
Conquest and Settlement by Herske
The Herskan Kingdom expanded beyond its mountainous border to the South in the year 6 AC when, hemmed off from the West by the Inveri Empire, and in debt over the defence of that same border, the kingdom began to expand Southward with promises to its lords of significant portions of land and labourers as well as shouldering the primary part of their military needs for the period of the settlement.
The land grants were made by the crown to an initial 5 of their lesser lords, those to whom they were in the greatest debt, all from the newly-christened Slagmark duchy. These lords included Bjorn Lysborer, Stefon Ardaen, and Norft Tujakban, whose houses would go on to be integral in the escape from Herskan rule.
Over the following 280 years, the land south of the Wandebirge mountains was colonized significantly by the Herskan lords, with an eventual 2 new duchies being named, split by the presence of the mountain range, the Sorderon duchy and the Ingar duchy, the former being the mountainous duchy and the latter the area near modern-day Brendorf, the more fertile area to the south and east of the mountains.
Difficulties of settlement
The woods of what are now Sablinvald, Brunsfell, and Bosvald were quite dense and full of a mix of monsters and simple wild beasts as a result of its contact with the Coilleskog. This made clearing areas further south nearly impossible for most of the time that the territory was Herskan. This presented issues for the duchies in that the most fertile ground in the new area which they were given was functionally impassable except at a cost too large both for the duchies and the Crown to justify. Resultantly, the duchies, while largely able to sustain themselves relied heavily on the rest of the kingdom for their ability to equip themselves enough to enable the existence of skilled labourers. That reliance would become a problem during the Nød and the early days of the separation efforts.
Declining Relationship
The relationship between the two Bortenfjell duchies and the rest of the kingdom began to strain beginning in 230 AC after repeated requests for aid in settlement of the forested land to their south was denied for cost. The Hertoggan at the time, Vette Ardaen and Muldar Tujakban felt that the lack of aid with expansion into the most fertile areas of their land was a deliberate effort to keep them dependent on the crown for their food and equipment, and began to consult with the relatively new groups of naturalists on ways to improve their prospects.
At the same time, the cultures of the southern duchies began to diverge from that of their northern compatriots. A greater presence of forests and subterranian resources decreased the emphasis placed on the sun or magic, especially as, on the advice of the naturalists, the lower Duchies began to place more resources into mining and manufacturing as a way of gaining leverage to seek resource allocation from the Herskong. Increasingly, commoners in the lower duchies relied more on naturalists for daily activities and began to worship the gods most associated with the main visible product of the naturalists: the gods of fire and forge.
Separation and Settlement of the Suddertract
The Principality of Azendale is largely a former holding of the Herskan Kingdom which split in 293 AC, after the Nød, which began in 288 AC. The famine strained the supply lines and already-strained relationship between the kingdom's two halves.
The lower fertile basin (Suddertract) was not, at that time, a part of Herske and was, in fact, yet unsettled due to its dense woods. During the Nød, villagers and serfs began to leave their homes and risk life and limb in the forests of the Suddertract in order to supplement what little food they were alotted by their lords. In the first two years of the attempts to overcome the forests, some eighty thousand people died to monsters, another twelve thousand from bad encounters with animals, twenty thousand from poison and five thousand from presumed exposure. A further fifteen thousand people simply went missing. These numbers do not count those who died as a direct result of the Nød, which are estimated to number some further hundred thousand in the first two years. By the third year, the edges of the woods. Some people began to set up shacks to go hunting or began small berry farms at the edges of the wood and would sell what excess they managed, starting a gold rush of sorts to settle the Suddertract and gain access to the breadbasket that Azendale needed in the depths of a depression which began its life as a sovereign country.
Politics
Structure
Azendale is a Principality created by a relatively nonviolent detachment from the kingdom Herske to its north, along the mountain range which largely separated the two sides of the previous country.
The main governing body is a Council of Lords commonly known as The Council of Ash. The Council comprises representative lords (Azenlorten) chosen by peers from the various amter of the Principality. The decision is made by ceremony during a meeting of Ardents, the Azender which occurs on a 3-monar basis.
There are smaller units over each amt, or county, which are delegated leaders from within on a 3-year basis by The Council of Ash. These units are named Amtknoden, and their primary governor, the Knodenlort.
There are 16 amter in Azendale with a total of 36 Azenlorten, as the amter with major cities in them get 1 extra representative-- one for the city and the other for the rural areas.
Azendra
The Azender of an amt (pl. Azendra) occurs on a 3-year basis, rotating as hosts the lords in each respective amt that none may gain too much sway over another. At these councils, an amt-wide budget is created, permanent knights are delegated based on the projected and past needs of each Ardent and the Knodenlort hears complaints and settles disputes between Ardents.
At these Azendra, the Ardents also select a peer to represent them at The Council of Ash, though this is rare as an appointment to the Council of Ash is traditionally a lifetime appointment, and the Azenlort's residence is permanently removed from the host list for the Azender in their amt. The Azendra also double as a calendar time, with the standard unit of measurement of longer times being Azenfrist, or 3 monar, which aligns with the Solar cycle of Mitvord.
The Council of Ash
The Council of Ash is the governing body of the Principality of Azendale as well as the direct governing body of the capital city of Azendale, Calindine. The Council of Ash oversees matters of inter- and intra-national trade, nationwide finance, and inter-amt disputes or Principality-level complaints, and manages the distribution of Principality-wide military resources both for the maintenance of civil order and for the conduct of defence.
The Council assigns roles to its members along the same Azenfrist cycle through election within the body of the Council, with each of the 36 members being designated a role within one of a number of subcommittees that control different aspects of governance.
Amter
There are 16 counties or amter (sing. amt) in the Principality of Azendale: Windfell, Ardeberg, Eisdel, Falksbrunen, Zemerell, Feredorf, Meerhaven, Caledun, Grenzberg, Brandfell, Brendorf, Saumenstutz, Fuerstein, Sablinvald, Kohlbrunnen, and Bosvald.
Windfell, Eisdel, Grenzburg, Meerhaven, and Caledun are the most productive and populous of the amter with Caledun, the most central amt, acting as the home of the capital, Calindine.
Windfell and Calendun are deeply interconnected by their major cities, which lie quite close to their counties' respective borders connected nearly directly by a series of bridges that span the ravine that lies between the two, semi-affectionately known as The Kleft.
Caledun
Caledun is the most central amt of the Principality of Azendale and comprises the most populous zone, both overall and per square mile. Caledun Amt is home to the national capital Calindine, and is home to all the Council of Ash, with designated housing for each member just outside of Calindine, as well as within the Castle Harthkop for the duration of the Council's monarly meeting times.
Caledun is ringed by 16 forts, each under the direct management of one of the Azenlorten, who are responsible for the supply of food, water, men and weapons to the forts. The strange arrangement is a remnant of the protective efforts that the insurgents who led the separation against the anticipated Herskan invasion. These were the forts, or at least the locations of the forts, that prevented the success of the early Herskan envoys. It is now mostly a tradition as Azendale is broadly considered safe from invasion from any nation, and is seen as a gesture of good faith and judgement on the part of the Azenlorten to equip these forts properly.
Foreign Relations
Herske
The relationship with Herske was originally strained as the rush for indepdence was seen as a slap in the face of sorts by the royal family, the Koene, at the time. The rift has been somewhat repaired over the course of about a century due to efforts by several groups on both sides of the Wandebirge mountains. These efforts were aided by the significant cultural, economic and family ties that remained due primarily to the habitual maintenance of the trade and travel pathways between the two countries.
In the modern day, Herske and Azendale have one of the strongest alliances and certainly the deepest bond between any two sovereign entities. Their trade is on the order of a few hundred thousand gold pieces yearly not including the mutual defence agreement tendered in 368 AC. There are 3 primary trading routes and most connections between the nations tend to stay close to those: the port at Meerhaven1, the crossing at Grenzburg, and the direct land border at Eisdel. Of the three Meerhaven handles by far the majority of the trade, with Grenzburg handling more than Eisdel on account of being closer to Calendun, and, with the setup of the crossing over the past few centuries having improved drastically, much quicker than going through Eisdel.
Inverus
Inverus has little in the way of contact with Azendale as their borders do not touch, blocked from one side by the Coilleskog and from the other by Herske. The relationship between the Inverani and the Azendelians is strained due to the strained relationship between Inverus and Herske and the mutual defence agreement between the latter and Azendale.
Aitilafa
Aitilafa and Azendale have surprisingly little emotion between them despite sharing a border. The Aitileen have, on average little desire to leave their nation, or much drive for cultural exchange. There is significant trade between the two nations as Aitilafa tends to get much of its agricultural needs from Azendale, lacking a breadbasket of its own, and Aitilafa has several mines for metals including gold and silver. There is also a significant trade of horses, as Aitileen horses tend to be fleeter of foot and more adaptive to environments with soft ground and the Azendale breeds tend to be stockier and better at certain kinds of beast labour.
There is also a flow of a subset of people between these nations: the Sabrin. The Sabrin whose gifts are inherent and those who channel the magic through their own physicality journey from around the continent, and the northernmost denizens pass through Azendale on their way, stopping at inns and purchasing magical components along the way.
Culture
The culture of Azendale is centred heavily around its manufacturing and industrial mining capabilities, with the majority of the magic users in the Principality preferring Artificing to other, more direct forms of magical intervention. The architecture in the Principality is inspired by the mehcanisms that the factories here produce, and many have decor of gears or fire motifs in their homes, both as a good luck charm and a reminder.
There is also a strong drive within Azendale to expand the reach of naturalism and the explanatory power it has over the world. It was Azendelians behind broadening its scope from its original use on the Coilleskog alone and attempting to bring it into daily life for the millions of those on Vequist who do not use magic. In rural areas, there is equal distrust of both naturalism and magic as means of explaining the world, and both are seen as lordly in a negative sense where citizens have a poor relationship with their lords.
The divide between city and rural lives are also evident in the primary gods, as many in the rural areas prioritize worship of Elsha and Agriodon as a means of ensuring their harvest and respecting the history of Azendale. Rural folks are also known by city dwellers to speak with a strange accent and often spell words differently, which can, at times cement some notion of two entirely seperate groups and sow discord between the two. In recent times, though, the rural lords and their subjects have had to increasingly rely upon aid from the cities to clear the increasing number of monsters that have been appearing in nearby caves or wandering out of the forests.
Time
Age in Azendale is still deterimined on the same timeframe as the rest of the nations, measured not by the solar years which mark the Azendra, but by Lunar years, called Monåra (sing. Monår) in Azendale and Herske. Events, though, when spoken about in a national sense, are measured in Azenfrist, the three-Monår cycles on which the Azender are held and solar years pass on Mitvort. International dates are measured in the same Monåra as the rest of the continent.
Holidays
Branfeiring
Branfeiring, the celebration of fire and the gods Ild, @Dendera and Vulkan as well as the manufacturing and mining industries that make up a significant portion of the economy in Windfell, Caledun and Grenzberg.
The festivies last the third week of the month of Cuiggan of the second Monår of an Azenfrist-- the week of the longest day (Hohsonn) of the year and are comprised of open-air markets with several special spicy dishes, a number of hunts and metallurgical competitions, with fireworks at nightfall each day. At the end of the week a massive bonfire is set at the edge of town as a spectacle for gods and denizens alike, with hopes of securing good fortune for the coming Azenfrist.
Nachtwehr
The Nachtwehr is a set of festivities centred around moonlight, occuring at the shortest moon of each Monår, to encourage Elsha to return and bring bounty to the forests once more. The Nachtwehr began at the start of the Nød, with the poorest facing the consequences of the famine first and resorting to the woods to feed them, at the start of each lunar year, they began performing rituals to gain the favour of Elsha, the godess of the forest.
The rituals began with the first participants sacrificing part of the fruits of a gathering season, laying them in a ring around the largest tree they had found on their journeys. After a full night of prayer by conjured moonlight, the performers would engage in a dirge in the dark, with the others performing a ritual dance to the melody.
Religion
Ild, Dendera and Vulkan are the offical primary deities of the Azendelian government, and take up most of the religious space in the cities, which are centred around artificing and smithing, especially at an industrial level.
The denizens of the rural areas tend to worship Elsha-- a product of the founding of Azendale and the settlement of the Suddertract. Many superstitious people on the coast worship Veren, equating the flow of nature and magic to the flow of the currents, praying for smooth seas or favourable fishing.
Traditions
Candlelight
Despite the relative technological development of Azendale, most Azendelians still use candles to light their way, even in conditions that would be somewhat inhibitive. There have been several innovations centred around this, with candle lenses and rainflame candles working to increase the utility of the candles despite their limitations. Those seen with lanterns or torches late at night in bad parts of town are often viewed as targets for criminals and at times in smaller villages, inns will turn away those who appear too late by light not of a candle.
Volmane (V̊)
Halvmane (Ħ)
Sormane (s̊)
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