Kingdom of Telan

Our Kingdom was once the light of the east. A great Empire within an Empire where warriors were welcomed by Morr herself as her chosen. Now it's just embers.
- A morose Telanian traveller

The Grand Kingdom of Telan is a major Electoral Imperial province within the United Nerall Empire that once controlled the mouth of the River Dorie and most of the trade that traveled its length along with its bigger neighbour Ospria. Now however their power is receding. The kingdom has been loosing territory to Pordenz, Segorrol, and Hardwater throughout much of its recent history.
They have lost their capital and king to the Duchess of Hardwater, forcing the kings son, Tolis Um' Agnatos, to recover what he can of the clans band and take up the reigns of power. The kingdom is famous for it close affiliation with death stemming from the current capital, Viadeza, where the ancient Obsidian Temple to Morr resides, a building that has stood since before the founding of the First Empire far in the north giving the Cult of Morr plenty of time to impact the local cultures.

History

The Kingdoms history could really be started thousands of years ago with the setting of the first black stones that would later become the Obsidian Temple in Viadeza. The exact date is unknown as there are no written records, but the mass of flint tools found beside the original foundation stones lead diggers to believe it was at least before the arrival of the False Gods and some pushing it to be even older, though digging around the Temple itself was long ago forbidden by the Cult meaning its true date of construction may never be known.
The written history of the area begins with the Kanniban civilization which flourished to the west between modern day Vasse and Hardwater, before moving and absorbing territory further east along the Glittergloom Sea coast. By their own records, they already knew about the Obsidian Temple and had been sending their deceased rulers to be buried in the catacombs for many years before conquering the area in 1270 BCE.
After the Han-azzi invade around 1000 BCE to sack the coast, Kanniba broke up into city-states though the east remains relatively intact, with Viadeza and Telan being part of the Dorinian Confederacy. The confederacy dissolves however in 804 BC, and the cities become independent.

Geography

The Kingdom of Telan is much reduced from its high water mark. It no longer completely controls passage and trade through the River Dorie but instead only a small stretch, and successor states have been breaking away for generations while the expansionist Duchy of Hardwater has been eating away at the kingdom for some time.

The Kingdoms territory is bounded almost entirely by rivers, with the Caglia, Tanna, and Anci Rivers forming the borders against the Duchy of Hardwater in the South, while the Rivers Norn, Sira, and Marb mark the frontiers with states to the north. The 5km wide River Dorie runs through the middle of the Kingdom, internally cutting the state into provinces known as Major and Minor Telan. The river is not as silt heavy as some of the other large rivers in the Empire such as the River Nari and the Muddwater, though it brings enough fertility to its banks to serve extensive rice paddies none the less, as well as the unique and highly sought after marbled jade found only along the southern stretch of the River Dorie.
Dorie has no bridges, and people rely on ferries to get them across its width when travelling, though this width comes with depth, allowing ocean going vessals to travel as far as Viadeza, where a large port and markets awaits their cargo before it is sent inland.
The land itself is fairly rugged, with a mix of terrain. Hills fill in the borders where rivers do not reach, such as the The Black Hills to the south where the kingdoms black marble is mined around the town of Grole, and the most westerly reaches of the Farlic Hills out of Ospria. Somewhere among those domed rises and river threaded valleys past the village of Anada, is the border between the two states, and the area is studded with forts both crumbling and new. The land is home mostly to small villages and herders that travel to Vilid and Angre to trade at their markets.

There is more than just forts hidden among the Farlics however, as they also contain the tombs of the ancient chiefs of the Hekancci tribes. Dug into the hillsides or built as turf-covered barrows, these date from pre-Igranian, or even pre-Kanninban times. Their entrances were well hidden by their builders, though sometimes an entrance will become exposed by rains or flooding. Locals consider these tombs cursed, and it seems every village has a tale of someone who has gone missing whilst investigating the final resting places of “the old kings.”

Forests still cover a large portion of the territory, through along the banks of the River Dorie and the Coast these have been cut back for widespread rice and grain farms on the flatter ground away from the hills. Telan Major is dominated by the Sombrawood, the westerly reaches of the Splintwood. It consists mainly of bamboo trees and evergreen laurel leaf trees with a humid, misty atmosphere. It is under the Sombrawoods thick canopy that The Last Road winds its way toward Viadeza.

Inhabitants

"I've never met a more depressing bunch of people in my life"
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The native inhabitants of the kingdom, much like their Osprian neighbors are generally shorter and darer skinned than the traditional Kesumii stock, and so dark of hair to the point that there are no Telanians with anything other than black hair. This is largely due to the eastern stretch of coast being home to the largest population of Amanokami in the Empire, having been the landing ground for the first migrations from the southern jungles many thousands of years ago, and remaining a welcoming area to them ever since. Men and women dress in clothes just as bright as other Elanians, though usually with some form of black or dark colouring to "complement" the outfit, be it a sash, obsidian jewelry, or ribbons. Women wear their hair longer than usual, though usually shaven on one side.

At their best, Telanians are vibrant souls, with a love of life, drinking and dancing. Their women in particular are known for their quick tempers and passionate nature. More than one dandy has been dumped in the forests semi-naked by a maid of Telan after trying to seduce her. They are fond of long tales, and the local tavern is the heart of any Telanian community with larger clans even having their own private drinking houses within their hold. Here people gather to drink, sing, hear their favourite stories, the local gossip, and occasionally news from the outside world.
Few outside the kingdom think of them this way however. Famed for their long drinking binges, elaborate funerals even by Empire standards, and combinations of the two, many people fear to ask a Telanian how their day has been, for fear of a depressing monologue. At their worst Telanians show an almost theatrical obsession with death and its trappings due to the extensive worship of Morr, as the current capital Viadeza is considered the birth place of the cult. This has been made worse in recent generations by the slow shrinking of their territory, leading to a fatalistic outlook on life.

Outsiders may find a Telanian clanhold especially difficult to gain entry to, though once a friendship is struck, one better be ready for long nights of visiting every tavern and drinking house in the settlement, caped off with excessive amounts of dancing as the sun rises. To them, from a state founded on the doorstep of death and seemingly on its way over the threshold itself, a tradition of flamboyant despair is natural, though this is all the more reason to cherish the moments with friends and family whenever possible.

Kingdom of Telan

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Official Name

Grand Kingdom of Telan

Ruler

Elector King Tolis Um' Agnatos
Queen Ismin Um' Agnantos

Government

Monarchy with an consultative council of nobles

Capital

Viadeza

Major Exports

Black marble, timber, woodcrafts, black and white marbled jade, wine