Ethor Countries

Brief Summaries of various countries on the continent of Ethor [NPC Area] and basic knowledge.

Gortarth

Before Gortarth existed it was controlled by six houses, all lusting for power and influence over the land. The houses Orien, Hulin, Faleria, Menia, Alcazar, and Lenfestay were in constant war over control of the land, constantly trying to expand their reign. That was until the four warlords decided to attack. The four warlords were ruthless dragons that appeared as if out of nowhere. Zeddum, the Green Blight conquered the forests to the East, Avrum, the Red Scourge took the mountains in the South, Tarden, the Blue Tide scoured the deserts to the southwest, and Inag, the Black Cloud took to the northwestern swamplands.

It was Isadora Orien I, who rose to power from House Orien and united the houses to fight off the warlords. She successfully vanquished three of the four, with Inag fleeing the country never to be seen again. Gortarth flourished during the time of Queen Isadora Orien I. The young country struggled with relations between themselves and Kelmador, ultimately leading to a Century War. As war crept closer, the queen handed her throne to her eldest son Raul Orien I and thus began a dark time for Gortarth.

The country went through much turmoil for the next century, fending off Kelmador and having risky relations with Saurase in the trade of plane-shifted civilians. All the while the royal houses became more and more corrupt, attempting assassinations on the royal family. For the people, they suffered from famine, plague, and natural disasters due to the incompetence of the leadership in Gortarth. It wasn't until the rise of Siria Orien, a cousin to the original royal bloodline, who stepped forward and led Gortarth to victory, finally ending the Century War. Because of her bravery and commitment to the throne, Queen Reyna Orien handed the crown to Siria's bloodline and the country flourished for the first time in a century.

It was at this time Gortarth began extending their borders and started colonizing other parts of the world, starting with Aldsea and Ruval. The Ruval colony only survived for a decade before disappearing and due to the hardship the country had trying to claim this land, called it a loss and forgot about the snowy lands. On the other hand Aldsea had their own issues. The Church of the Flame had an iron grip on the citizens and eventually caused the destruction of the city. An ancient primordial known as Garranith appeared and began to wreak havoc on the land. As far as the country is aware most of the civilians perished, while the royal family escaped. ​

Sinvar

The ‘country of the half-elf warriors’. It’s most known for being multiple jarl-doms run on the basis of displays of power. These being elaborate hunts to find and kill or tame powerful beasts. That being the case, the history of Sinvar is heavily laced into the intricate tattoos and oral traditions rather than any sort of formal and shared writings. Most that is known on the front is that leaders change quickly and frequently due to the heavily reliant nature of strength of leadership for the lowest populated country.

This system of self-sufficiency has created an environment for powerful guerilla tactics and a bartering system within the country itself. Outside trade is for necessities on rare occasions and there aren’t any exports to note. The biggest attribute is the harsh dense forests and rocky mountains and cliffs. Outsiders often fall victim to multiple traps and snares set for both beasts and troublesome invading forces.

Kelmodar

Kelmodar was founded by the Featherlight Church, a group of avians that dedicated themselves to what they presume is ‘enlightenment through charity’. The wings of the goddess were given only to the ones who are worthy, leading to many towns being heavily catered towards those with the ability of flight. Tall spires of curling woods and supporting metals make for strange mixes of bronze, browns, and coppers. The ruling family of Aarakocra, the Aquila family, has ruled for as long as the country’s creation. Arudent Aquila is the current ruler of the simple monarchy system. Outside of the noble houses, there’s quite a population of other avian races, including owlin and kenku as well as a surprising amount of goliaths, gith, and even fairies.

This strange mixed population is all expected to follow whatever edicts and rules put forth by the Featherlight Church and the Aquila family. Lawbreakers are sent to prisons deep within the ground with little moving air and no view of the sky. It is considered one of the harshest prisons, and even the rumors of it are used to defend the country. The conscripted military is not as impressive a force as they seem to wish to be, often electing to use ranged weapons and magic from high above, ensuring that the enemy often doesn’t even see them beyond the clouds and glare of the sun. The strange and tall forests fill the entire country and yet lumber is not one of the primary exports. It is the manufactured things. Weapons, jewelry, and even clothes and tools are what the country of Kelmodar tends to put out. The quality of the items is middling at best, but they are often one of the cheapest and easiest to get a hold of, making them a frequent trade partner to the newly formed Coorvers.

Kharoria

Kharoria, one of the largest countries on the continent. Brought about by their first recorded King, they prospered for centuries and into the present day. The current reigning monarch in this kingdom, King Arkahn Hroral, ascended to throne after the previous king and his mother, Kalla Hroral, passed on. A few years into his reign, his cousin Cor Evaln began a swift and harsh two year uprising, splitting off a new country and calling it Coorvers. This political upheaval marks the biggest in any of the Kharorian Kings' reigns in the entire history of the country.

There's whispers about The Pestilent One being a source of the aggressive shift, but many are too afraid to confirm or deny this fact. Kharoria remains relatively unaffected by the shift on the surface, instead heavily focusing on the multi-year drought that has struck the countryside, making it harder to grow foods. Despite its current upheaval and drought status, it is still one of the largest producers of produce, meats, spices, and even lumber due to the irrigated arid plains and swaths of forests. Trade is still a prime focus for them to make up for the loss of Coorvers and its prevalence in metal forging and stonework. The population is quite small despite the large space, making for a lot of wilderness and long distances between settlements.

Coorvers

Coorvers had a violent start. Being a new ‘country’, it was created when Cor Evaln led a rebellion against King Arkahn and destroyed the primary library in Kharoria. Many of the rebels began following teachings of a madman, and thus the Pestilence took root in the ranks. Most of the population is the military force patrolling the borders, carving out their victory. The problem comes from dissent in the ranks due to no true political system or government. In-fighting, self-sabotage, and constant power struggles for the ‘secondary’ leadership position.

There’s also whispers of Cor Evaln being unstable and unpredictable, leading many to wonder if following him was truly the best route to take against the drought and its challenges. The windswept plateaus and deep mines do ensure one thing; that their opponent has no longer secured the stonework, forging, and mining operations that used to make it a strong contender despite the low populations. However it’s in a rough spot due to the lack of arable farmland and very small forest. Rebels in this country operate closer to bandits as they raid trade wagons and poke nearby countries for food and resources to try to maintain independence.

Saurase

Not much is known about Saurase due to the highly subterranean nature of the country. Much of the political structure is kept secret and accessible only to the wealthiest among the country. The population above ground is sparse, with only small settlements and patches of people who long for the sun and whatever bounties they can take from it. In the cities below, however, it is a completely different story. The fine dwarven craftsmanship and sprawling cities of marble, granite, and even studier stones with intricate inlays of lapis, golds, and coppers. Aqueducts and a clean atmosphere despite the underground ensures that even the poorest have access to a quality of life that is described as ‘the envy of the continent’.

Of the known wealthy, the long standing Dwarven clan of Golden Trove is about the only family that is known to hold wealth enough for power. If you ask them, though, they would say there’s at least five others with more pull than them in the capitalistic government. While the wealthy families are highly hidden despite the riches, that doesn’t hide the fact that trade and commerce are heavy within the country. Coal, jewels, gold, iron, and copper are easy to trade with multiple countries in exchange for lumber and foods.

Rhosia

Rhosia is one of the older countries of Ethor, and Aldspace as a whole. Dating all the way back to the Set 6, PCA, or Pre-Civilization Age. After an entire village fell out of a rift near what is now known as Orkport. The only race of people that fell through the rift were initially, Elves. Living near a river proved fruitful, catching a lot of fish and moving things up and down stream. Over time, a small village was built by the bay, and near the River. Years past, and it is now Set 7 already, soon to be the end of the Pre-Civilization Age. Rhosians decided to set up a Monarchy, after a couple of generations have passed. At the same time, explorers went to explore the lands, and draw borders with neighbors, if they had any.

Over time, as more people kept falling out of rifts, the population for Rhosia boomed, still remaining mostly elves. After Orkport has earned a rough population of one thousand people, a giant ravine was discovered, right in the core of the land. Randir Sindarin is credited with finding this discovery, as well as what is in it. Dragons, and lot's of them. So much so, hunting them became sport. The current rulers of Rhosia, Haemir and Alagossa Rhosia, decided that their meat, bones, and scales are all worth high money, inflating the prices, and encouraging poaching. While that was happening, 3 more cities spread open due to the far out land, and the surrounded the Ravine on the other three sides.

These new cities being: Uxiem, a nature based city with a large magical tree in the middle. Begow, the northern fishing and porting city. Finally, Eflamchester, a more rural city, deep into the woods. A few decades later, humans fell through the rift in mass. The Royal Family of Rhosia did not like this, and banished them to fend for themselves, as well as any elf tainted with their blood, up to the northernmost point of the continental Ethor, which is now known as Sinvar. Well, those banished people decided to band together, to fight back against the Royal Family.

A cival war broke out between the Sinvarian people, and the Kingdom of Rhosia. The war lasted around a decade, after finally ending in Rhosia's loss. Sinvar broke away from Rhosia, and became it's one country. After an embarrassing loss from the war against the humans and alike, the Rhosia Royal Family decided now would be a good time to have kids, and pass on what they have failed to do. The eldest, Nambra Rhosia, is a woman who keeps her head held high in tough situations, and was practically born to be a ruler. The middle, Theodmer Rhosia, likes to get into fights; Specifically with guards. He is the black sheep of the family, and enjoys getting into trouble.

The youngest, Thalia, is kept locked away in her room for unknown reasons. Most people suspect though that the Mother had an affair with a Human, however there is no way to confirm it. It was around the time of the last child's existence, that it is believed to be the last Dragon ever to be slain from their home. As well as that, it is believed Rhosia is the reason we now refer to everything as the Civilization Age, marking the new era. Despite the country's aweful history towards others, itself has thrived, and is globally recognized as an established kingdom. Creating all sorts of jewelry, woodworking, arts, and more; as well as the world's largest Library, it has done well in the exports it has created. In the roughly one thousand and five hundred years it has been around, it is doing quite well economically.

Archolm

One of the marvels to the continent, this country has only one city built inside a towering mountain and any other area surrounding this tower are farmlands, the country is a testament to the power of persisting success. The matriarchy under Pala Lyrule’s leadership ensures that the trials and associated structure is followed. Many of the surrounding territories, however, believe that Archolm is heartless due to the harsh nature and stringent policies surrounding the trials, failure, and magical strength putting worth in those who can pass their trials and casting out any who fail to the outskirts of their nation.

Outsiders know nothing of what allegiances or enemies the country has, leading to many being leery of the intimidating walls. However, the healthy population is testament to the success it draws from within itself. For all its intimidation, the fact remains that it is the largest producer of magical items, scrolls, spell stones, and assorted knowledge in the continent. Each of the smaller districts, simply named for the industries within them, also play a part in exporting as well as bringing goods to the innermost city.

Freelands

The name of the freelands is pretty self-explanatory. The country was founded by numbers of different people, working together to create a directly democratic country. Due to the diverse variety and large population, it has led to the country being very knowledge based. Multiple colleges and academies dot the cities. Hygiene and cleanliness are celebrated. Medical centers share treatment for anyone with illness, even with those stuck living on the streets. The current leader, a tiefling known as Judge, recently set up the first guard and military system due to the conflict between a number of other countries.

The population, having previously been self-guarding and defending on its own, has shown minor unrest at this recent change and the subsequent uptick in importing weapons and armor. Most of the trade that comes from the relatively boring country pertains to what they can teach. Their schools are open to any willing to pay, with sprawling towns of housing for those who are there to learn. The meager plains and thin forests don’t offer much in ways of material exports, and only just manage to sustain the smallest of towns.