Nemelia

Settled in the southern arm of the Iron Wood, just south of the Dragon Mountains is the Kingdom of Nemelia. A kingdom comprised almost entirely of elves, the country has experienced some rather dark times lately with a coup that that ousted the old royalty and put in place a more cruel and sinister usurper.

Structure

While a kingdom in name, the King in fact only rules over the capital city of Tuluk. Ther various other settlements in the great forest are in reality city states who govern themselves and look to Tuluk for guidance and support and trade. The King is respected by all, and his/her approval is sought on almost every major decision, but the day to day ruling of each settlement is left to the leaders of that settlement.

Assets

The great forest of Nemelia is rich with life and natural resources. Not the least among them is gold and platinum, and precious stones which seem to grow naturally from the magical aura of the forest itself.

History

The Great Forest of Nemelia, being nearly impossible to travel through without a native guide, has long kept the Elves of the kingdom out of sight and mind of the affairs of the greater world. In fact, they have only recently been recognized as a geopolitical institution within the last century as their most recent king (Saphryn's father) sought to bring the kingdom of Nemelia out of the shadows of the woods and into the light of the world. Tradition holds sway in Nemelia however, and many people opposed the King's push to take them out of their reclusive lifestyle. Most of the population of the Nemelia was content letting the world around them do its thing while they decidedly stayed out of its way. Since the coup that saw the King replaced however, the people of Nemelia have returned to their reclusive nature, only really appearing publicly to stop the march of the Kahir at their borders.

The War With the Kahir

When The Kahir rose to power in the last few decades, the southern principalities of Ihaton and [instert names of other two countries I cannot remember here] were caught completely off guard as this dark army surged out from the Underdark and took them by surprise. Indeed it seemed that the Kahir would march northward unmolested and unopposed until they reached the borders of Nemelia. With the Great Forest acting as a choke point on the trek northward, the Kahir slowed to a complete halt as they sent scouting party after scouting party into the forest to find a clear path, only to have none of them return.

For nearly a year the Kahir camped along the edges of the forest, disrupting trade and commerce in the region until a little over ten years ago the previous King of Nemelia ordered an attack. In a shocking display of brutality and speed the Elves of Nemelia spilled from the shade of the forest into the open and overtook the camps of the Kahir. Within a few days tens of thousands lay dead comprised of victims from both sides and the Kahir was in a full retreat south. Much to the chagrin of the rest of the world, the Elves did not press their advantage, instead they returned to the trees.

The King of Amaranthine, inspired by the Elven victory sent supplies and soldiers southward to continue the pursuit of the Kahir. A decision that would turn disastrous for the Kingdom of Amaranthine as several bad harvest and poor winters made it impossible for Amaranthine to keep up a foreign war and their soldiers were eventually cut off. As the Kahir regrouped and reformed, in the following years the Amaranthian army would eventually be turned back and driven home defeated.

Thats when things start to get interesting. Following the coup that replaced the previous Nemelian king, the hostilities between the Elves and the Kahir seems to have suspiciously vanished. Northern spies from Gresha indicate that scouting parties from the Kahir have been seen entering and returning from the depths of the great forest and rumors of an advance invasion force reaching as far north as the Dragon Mountains and the Aldiran village of Northcrest has made the people of North Equikora wonder if some kind of alliance has been brokered between the Elves of Nemelia and the forces of the Kahir.

Military

Nemelia, being a lose group of city states, does not have an organized army. You see, while all of the Elven City State of Nemelia claim fealty to the Nemelian Kingdom, they are actually far less unified with at least a dozen different cities of small farming communities connected by a large ceremonial plaza. For eons these Nemelia cities have fought over control for one another, warfare being a ritualistic activity between the cities. During the centuries the ruling cities have changed, but in the last millennia the city of Tuluk has taken dominance. The smaller cities pledge their fealty to Tuluk and its Ahwa by paying tribute to avoid bloodshed, although each city has their own Ahwa and Nacom respectively.

Technological Level

While they appear more tribal and savage than the rest of the world, one would be mistaken to assume that the Nemelian elves are technologically inferior. In fact almost all of the cities are on the same technological level as the rest of the world, they simply disguise those technological advancements behind layers of traditional architecture and design.

Religion

Religion in Nemelia sticks much to the Old Way, in that they worship the Whills of Huracan, the Great Sky God. This being said, they worship the Forces of Creation much in the same way as the rest of the world, they just have different names by which they refer to the Forces, or Whills.

Mortal Sacrifices

While the basic levels of Nemeilian worship are very similar, even identical to the Church of Creation's theology, Nemelian worship does differ in one largely drastic way: living sacrifices to the Whills. Either it is unknown, or the elves of nemelia have kept it secret, but no one truly knows why they perform sacrifices. However, practices during the Festival of the Sun has lead many scholars to believe it has its roots in a belief that if the Gods are not satiated with blood sacrifices then the world with be destroyed and consumed in darkness. This could, in turn, have it roots in the historical accounts of the Age of Storms from the The Tome of Solun where the world (especially North Equikora) was hit by a generation long storm. Many believe that the sacrifices are to avoid that occurence from ever happening again.

Nature of the Sacrifice

To the outside world the blood sacrifices performed by the elves of Nemelia are looked at as an unccultured tradition of savages who revel in bloodshed and murder. However, when studied closely and from the perspective of the elves this could not be further from the truth. First and foremost the idea that the Nemelian elves perform the sacrifices constantly is gross conjecture and decidedly not true. In point of fact they only perform sacrifices on the most important of religious ceremonies. The sacrifices are handled with extreme care and reverence, they are in no way hedonistic celebrations of murder and death, but instead reverent sacrifices of life for a greater purpose. To be a sacrifice is a great honor, and a way to be completely absolved of ones sins (which is an important opportunity for a people as religious as the elves). For this reason the right to be sacrificed is often offered to prisoners first as a way of showing repentance for one's crimes and to enter the afterlife forgiven and clean.

Agriculture & Industry

The Nemelian Elves are a very agricultural people, growing a variety of products such as grain, tabacco, maize, etc.

Trade & Transport

While the elves have taken extreme lengths the leave as much of the Great Forest untouched and in its natural state, the various cities are connected by a road system the elves refer to as Scabe, which is ancient Q'che for White Road. This is probably because the roads are made up of wooden planks, stone slabs or in some cases large collections of cobblestone or limestone cores that are covered in a smoothed stucco facade, much like the groundwork of the Elven plaza's (see below.) Trade is common and consistent between the various Nemelian cities, even during times of war, although trade outside of the Great Forest is somewhat rare. They don't really produce anything of value to the outside world and are already a pretty secluded and secretive people.

Infrastructure

When it comes to Nemelian infrastructure a lot can be said. The Aqueducts alone that provide clean and fresh water for the people of the larger cities is almost revolutionary in and of itself. But the assets of most value to the elves of Nemelia would be their temples: large pyramidal structures constructed on hilltops or mounds topped with a large ceremonial plaza. These pyramids are usually topped with a sacred room that only the highest and most worthy of their priests are allowed to enter. The general populace is house in small communities connected to this plaza, which can have multiple temples present.

Type

Geopolitical, Kingdom

Capital

Tuluk

Demonym

Nemelians

Leader

The Red Prince

Head of Government

The Red Prince

Government System

Monarchy, Theocratic

Power Structure

Client state / puppet state

Economic System

Barter system

Currency

The Elves of Nemelia follow much of the traditions of what they refer to as The Old Way. In this case, the Nemelians do not use any form of currency, but instead thrive on a barter system where goods such as grain, clothing or tools were traded for services or other goods.

Legislative Body

As a Theocratic Monarchy the Nemelian elves believe that their Ahwa, or King/Queen, has been chosen to rule by the Gods and acts as their intermediary between the mortal and celestial planes. As such, the Ahwa of Nemelia has executive legislative power of the laws of the kingdom. The Elves of Nemelia also believe that the other elves of the world have become lost from the true path, and believe that the Ahwa speaks for them as well.

Judicial Body

While the Ahwa makes the laws, the Nacom are the ones who carry them out. The Nacom are specialized priest of Nemelian culture, comparable to the Paladins of Edane they are a kind of militarized priestly sect. They are responsible for carrying out the laws of the Ahwa as well as carrying out mortal sacrifices during religious ceremonies.

Location

North Equikora

Related Ranks & Titles

• The Elven Ahwa

Controlled Territories

• Tuluk

Neighboring Nations

• Aldir
• Gresha

Notable Members

• Lady Fallingstar