The Ivory Jaguar
14-10-2007, 23:52
Name: Keld
Population: 400,000 Kelons, 3,000,000 slaves.
Government: The Kelon government is made up of a number of city states, in the urban areas, and tribal councils in the more rural areas. Each of these sends a representative to the Great Council, which is presided over by a High King, chosen by the city state or tribe with the most influence at the time of the death of the last.
Notable Figures:
Malus the Indomitable- High King of Keld, of the Nashon Tribe
Brandis Threeblade- Elector of the City-State of Thrais, currently holds enough influence to choose the next High King.
General Coran- Head of the Kelon army.
Geography- Keld is heavily mountainous, with only a few exceptions. The southern island is covered with rolling plains, and the center, breadbasket of the region is almost completely flat. It is in this breadbasket that the capital, Freehold, and most of the other city states are located.
Culture/History: The Kelons were warriors long before they were a nation. Even when they were little more than villages of goat herders, raids and counter raids between villages were common. As organization grew, so did the scope of these raids.
It was not until the Kelon Slave Wars though, when Kelon raiders, sailing as far as the Summerset Isles brought millions of slaves back, that the true military power of Keld began to develop. At the end of the Slave Wars, it was discovered that slaves outnumbered true Kelons by millions. As a result, the Kelons knew there was only one way short of emancipation to prevent an overthrow, and the awful vengeance of freed slaves. They became the world’s finest warriors, giving almost all other jobs to the slaves so they could devote themselves entirely to things martial.
Martial training begins in school, and both Kelon men and women are barred from intercourse until they have killed a man in battle. As can imagine, this is enough for all men and women to train eagerly for their first fight. To date there have been thirteen attempted large scale slave revolts, all of which were brutally put down.
Not surprisingly, perhaps, Keld’s neighbors soon decided that any potential gain by invading Keld would be more than offset by the difficulty in conquering such a people, and opted instead merely to fortify their borders. Without an outlet for their aggression, Keld faced the specter of civil war. Fortunately, a solution was found. Keld became a largely mercenary nation, fighting in wars across the world.
Recently, however, Malus the Indomitable has been speaking much of the moral superiority of Kelons to all other peoples, which worries many.
Armed Forces: Technically, every man and woman of Kelon birth is part of the armed forces. However, this includes those to young or old to fight, those crippled in previous wars, and those few with jobs in metal working or administration- the only jobs not given to slaves.
In full, there are currently fifty thousand Kelon soldiers, serving either in in-country garrisons or as mercenaries abroad. Kelon soldiery consists largely of foot soldiers, either pikemen, using pikes from four to nine meters long, giving them a greater reach than most pikemen, bowmen, using huge longbows to similar effect, and the elite Hounds, who use huge claymores and axes to devastating effect in close combat.
Population: 400,000 Kelons, 3,000,000 slaves.
Government: The Kelon government is made up of a number of city states, in the urban areas, and tribal councils in the more rural areas. Each of these sends a representative to the Great Council, which is presided over by a High King, chosen by the city state or tribe with the most influence at the time of the death of the last.
Notable Figures:
Malus the Indomitable- High King of Keld, of the Nashon Tribe
Brandis Threeblade- Elector of the City-State of Thrais, currently holds enough influence to choose the next High King.
General Coran- Head of the Kelon army.
Geography- Keld is heavily mountainous, with only a few exceptions. The southern island is covered with rolling plains, and the center, breadbasket of the region is almost completely flat. It is in this breadbasket that the capital, Freehold, and most of the other city states are located.
Culture/History: The Kelons were warriors long before they were a nation. Even when they were little more than villages of goat herders, raids and counter raids between villages were common. As organization grew, so did the scope of these raids.
It was not until the Kelon Slave Wars though, when Kelon raiders, sailing as far as the Summerset Isles brought millions of slaves back, that the true military power of Keld began to develop. At the end of the Slave Wars, it was discovered that slaves outnumbered true Kelons by millions. As a result, the Kelons knew there was only one way short of emancipation to prevent an overthrow, and the awful vengeance of freed slaves. They became the world’s finest warriors, giving almost all other jobs to the slaves so they could devote themselves entirely to things martial.
Martial training begins in school, and both Kelon men and women are barred from intercourse until they have killed a man in battle. As can imagine, this is enough for all men and women to train eagerly for their first fight. To date there have been thirteen attempted large scale slave revolts, all of which were brutally put down.
Not surprisingly, perhaps, Keld’s neighbors soon decided that any potential gain by invading Keld would be more than offset by the difficulty in conquering such a people, and opted instead merely to fortify their borders. Without an outlet for their aggression, Keld faced the specter of civil war. Fortunately, a solution was found. Keld became a largely mercenary nation, fighting in wars across the world.
Recently, however, Malus the Indomitable has been speaking much of the moral superiority of Kelons to all other peoples, which worries many.
Armed Forces: Technically, every man and woman of Kelon birth is part of the armed forces. However, this includes those to young or old to fight, those crippled in previous wars, and those few with jobs in metal working or administration- the only jobs not given to slaves.
In full, there are currently fifty thousand Kelon soldiers, serving either in in-country garrisons or as mercenaries abroad. Kelon soldiery consists largely of foot soldiers, either pikemen, using pikes from four to nine meters long, giving them a greater reach than most pikemen, bowmen, using huge longbows to similar effect, and the elite Hounds, who use huge claymores and axes to devastating effect in close combat.