NationStates Jolt Archive

Imperium of Teritha

Head of State: Emperor Arathos Stromheart
Races: Human/Half-Elves; 90%, High Elves; 5%, Trolls; 3%, Other; 2%
Capital: New Eldstad
Major Cities: New Eldstad, Holmestad, Stromberg, Qeulthonas
Population: 5.7 Million
Language: Terithan
State Religion: Covenant of Eiserthon
Nationality: noun: Terithan(s), adjective: Terith

Government:

The government is administrated by hybrid system of traditional Terithan feudal heredity, religious doctrine, and limited democratic law.

The Emperor remains the absolute power and a representation of both the state and the gods. He is the head of state, law, military, and the head of the state’s religion. Possessing the twelve runes of Oldain, taught by Teritha’s greatest mages and druids, and with the resources of the entire Imperium at his disposal - he is undeniably the most powerful being in the Imperium and arguably one of the most powerful mortals living on Eldire.

The Council of Iliustar is the democratic body elected by the common people of the Empire’s original fifteen counties. The Council has no gender specifications or income requirements, but nominees must be of age no lesser than thirty and a born citizen of the traditional fifteen counties. The Council reports to the Circle of the House (often called the Imperial Circle) with the concerns of the people. The Circle is selected by the Emperor himself to present laws that he may sign or veto at his own discretion. Only a representative of rank no lower than magister can be chosen from the noble houses to be seated within the Circle, and only one representative per Great House may be present at a time.

The Oracles of the Covenant are the heads of the theological body of the government. Their main practice is to insure that the ideals of the faith are preserved by the Empire and to act as the Emperor’s spiritual advisers. Their order is split into two chapters; the female druids who travel among the Emperor and defend him and the male priests who counsel him. Their most important function, however; is their sole ability to appoint an heir in the Emperor’s place in the event of his death or absence. Not even the Emperor himself can appoint his own heir. This is a fail safe made to insure that the Imperium is preserved by competent leaders, and to insure that the Imperium not fall into civil war if the Emperor bares no sons. The Oracles role in educating all future rulers of the Empire is paramount to the preservation of their ideals.

Society:

Citizens of Teritha owe their allegiance above all to the gods and to the state (the domain of the gods.) They believe that Teritha was loaned to them by the gods as a gift for their continued commitment, and that they must perpetually defend the land and see to its growth. Because the Emperor is a representative of the chief god, Oldain, who sacrificed himself for their society. Thus the Emperor is paramount in Terithan society. One would be hard pressed to find a man or woman who deviates from loyalty to the Emperor, even if that individual may not be fond of the Emperor‘s practices. This loyalty has been indoctrinated into the culture for almost two centuries.

Tertihans are militaristic traders. Peasants and common people are expected to arm themselves and to defend from internal threats just as much as they are expected to work the land and trade their resources. Combat is a means of life, and the religion teaches that to die in valor is an act above any other mortal achievement. All capable men and women are expected to fulfill two years of combat service in the Imperium military or regional militias before (or while) committing themselves to other trades. The nation can never be wealthy enough. There are always more riches to be had to further the grandeur of the Imperium, and traders will travel all across Eldire to expose themselves to new resources and to expose others to their ways. Many Terithans go on to become mercenaries in the Free Cities, particularly in Nordland. The wealth they accumulate is distributed back to the mainland. Everyone in their social groups is expected to work together to bring about the greater prosperity of the whole. Hierarchies are understood and accepted. The higher classes understand that in order to maintain their monopoly of power and the stability of the Imperium that they must appease the men and women who work their land, and there is little room for conflict between social class.

Foreign religions and cultural practices are not welcome in Teritha. Religious missionaries often find themselves hanging from a tree or thrown from one of the several cliffs that pockmark the hinterlands. Outsiders are welcome only as traders and temporary laborers. Foreign people who migrate to Tertiha are often seen as a threat to the Terithan hereditary line. Refugees from war torn regions are commonly turned away at the boarders and chased out. The hardliner militias often exterminate entire refugee camps without opposition from the state. In 132 BPD, slavery was outlawed in Teritha. The basis of this legislation was not one of humility, but because the Imperium realized that many slave owners would be tempted to force female subjects to bed with them and potentially taint the ethnic line. Exceptions to this rule exist only in Qeulthonas. Interestingly, the Imperium has no qualms with selling prisoners off to foreign slave markets. All Terithans are encouraged to be fertile and to have multiple children to a family. It is frowned upon to have only one child, and it is practically taboo to not foster a child at all.

The Imperium has spent the last five centuries perfecting their armada and are among the best ship builders and sailors in all of Eldire. Oceanic traders are expected to have served in the Imperium Navy, and merchants on deck are as heavily armed as their ships. Pirates expecting soft targets and a quick booty may find that when raiding a Terithan merchant ship, they’ll have come upon more trouble than they may be worth. Island outposts have been fortified all along the Gulf of Ancients and the Middle Sea and the Terithans are now beginning to send expeditionary fleets to the west.

Terithan concerns with the world outside the Imperium are minimal at best. They live by a foreign policy of "Leave us alone, and we'll leave you alone." to a fault. They hold particular interest only in the well being of the Iron Kingdom to the west, the High Elves of the Great Green, and the stability of the Free Cities of the Dardet Plains. Tertihans consider the people of the Iron Kingdom to be their lesser cousins. Their spiritual cultures are very much alike, and even if Terithans will point out that the Iron Kingdom’s portrayal of their gods is inaccurate, they consider it close enough to maintain their respect. Terithans revere the High Elves as the first children of the gods. Most Terithans can trace their ancestry to the High Elves and for a thousand years they have lived among one another mutually. Between 900 BPD and 600 BPD, it was customary for a High Elven woman to mate with a human male in most of the southern kingdoms. Because of this relationship, the Terithans consider it their duty to protect the homelands of their forbearers at all costs. Economically, the Terithans consider the Free Cities to be the most significant arena in the realm of Eldire. They will defend the sovereignty of the Free Cities if they feel that their proverbial meal ticket in the east is threatened. Similarly, Teritha holds this philosophy for every other nation. They can care less for the rest of the world, so long as their trade networks aren‘t affected. Entangling military alliances are an unheard of practice. Teritha will only ally with a foreign power if it is A) a temporary convenience to them, and B) As a means of returning a favor.

Terithans, despite their seemingly cold demeanor and obsession with wealth, are an honor bound people. They are loyal to no end to those who they consider their friends and allies and will relentlessly pursue their common objective. It is unheard for Terithans to ‘backstab’ for selfish gain, and just as unlikely for a Terithan to not commit himself to keeping their promises. They frown upon genocidal practices and the dark arts, and will in every instance ban perpetrators of unworthy actions from entering their ports.

History:

PBD = Before present day.

Terithan society began twelve hundred years ago when humans settled with the High Elves of Qeulthonas on the isle of the same name in the Gulf of Ancients. Settlers fleeing from troll raids on the mainland of Eldricsbrad traveled by boat to the isle. Though at first the elves were hostile toward the settlers, a high elven priestess of high rank by the name of Feyjalin granted the human settlers her land and in return they would commit themselves to her teachings.

Meanwhile at approximately the same period many humans were rallying their tribes together to bring the fight to the hill trolls. On the conquered lands, the humans would construct forts atop the hills for protection from the trolls. Several travelers and migrants from the west and the north would come upon these forts and settle within adding to their population.


The largest of these forts was called Eldstad. Over fifteen thousand men and women rallied at Eldstad by 1100 BPD, making it the most formidable human presence in Eldicsbrad at that time. Several settlers and soldiers had created villages around Eldstad and traveled to other forts and unified them under their banner creating the first human kingdom of Eldicsbrad, the Kingdom of Eldstad.

By 1100 BPD twelve major city states had emerged along the Gulf of Ancients , and over a hundred more villages had developed along the hinterlands. Several of these city states had combined and evolved into kingdoms as Eldstad did, and many of them were in direct competition with one another for resources and land while at the same time fending off the trolls of the area.

837 BPD remains one of the most important years for the Terithans. The kingdoms of Eldstad and Stromcrest had united under one banner and bullied several smaller kingdoms to rally behind them or face defeat. The Kingdom of Qeulthonas opposed this and withdrew their support from Eldstad by denying anyone from their alliance access to High Elven magic and study. Several smaller nations who feared the Eldstrom Alliance joined Qeulthonas, feeling protected by their superior mages and archers. Meanwhile in the north west several troll armies were banding together under the rule of the Troll King. Eldstrom required the support of Quelthonas and her new allies to prepare themselves for what would surely be a massive invasion by the trolls. Quelthonas, being protected by its magical barriers and separation from the mainland, was apathetic to their dilemma and demanded Eldstrom cease its hostilities in the mainland. Eldstrom not only refused, but they declared war on Quelthonas. This war was known as the Great Sundering of Eldricsbrad and it lasted almost a century.

748 BPD marked the end of the civil war between the nations. The casualties of war were many. Several old kingdoms had ceased to exist, including the realm of Stromcrest which was torn apart both from within by its own people, and by the war with the Enlightened Alliance and the Troll Horde that bordered them to the north. Eldstad and its allies held on and fought the Enlightened to a stand still. The Battle of Terith Rock was the sight of the end of the war between the two sides. Amidst the great battle between the Enlightened and the Banner of Eldstad, forty three thousand loyal to the Troll King descended upon the human/elven armies and slaughtered every soldier from both factions. Among the dead were Princess Iliaerth of the elves and King Aedgar of Eldstad. Three weeks later the two factions signed a treaty of peace and a declaration of war against the Troll Horde. In honor of those who died at Terith Rock they became known as the Terithan League. On 739 BPD, the Terithan League conquered the Troll Horde at the Elesire Foothills. The Troll King was slain and the survivors of his army chased into Darkmoor. Twenty thousand legionnaires were positioned on a hilltop overlooking the valley of their boarder to keep watch over the Troll Horde. This camp would develop into the militaristic city state of Stromberg in less than a hundred years.

The Terithan League lived in relative peace for several decades. With their region under control and their population expanding, the Terithan League built several ports along the coast and took to the sea. Though they had mastered their own domain, they had become frequent victims of the dark elf corsairs that plundered the region. This began their militaristic pursuit to guard their homeland by sea.

The darkest hour of the League was yet to come. 645 BPD marked the day of the Blackening. An army of demonic beings came from the _____ River and set ashore in the Kingdom of Eldstad. The capital was attacked without warning and plunged into a long bloody war. In order to counter this threat, a priestess named Araia Svijalr created potions of vitality heal legionaries from the most deadly wounds. The king ordered the potions be given to the every soldier defending within the city gates. The potions had a horrific result on the soldiers, twisting them into perverted mindless forms of their former selves who hungered for human blood. Though the combined might of the Terithan League and Eldstad’s defenders outside the gates had warded off the demonic army, the city of Eldstad was tragically lost and its once dominant kingdom gone forever. Outlying regions belonging to the king splintered into smaller self governed city states, but many had been so dependent on the capital for generations that they were now on the brink of collapse.

The Blackening continued for another decade until a warrior by the name of Oldain led an expedition into the Ice Wastes where it was said the demons had hailed from. Though his entire expeditionary force succumbed to the beasts and the weather, Oldain survived and came upon a mystical lake where it is said a once great Elder Goddess had fallen. Her spirit haunted Oldain’s camp for days, driving him seemingly insane. Oldain plunged himself into the lake and forced himself to drown. He died there, but came back to life as a god. A recovery force sent to find the lost initial expedition came upon Oldain and he granted to them the power and the knowledge to defeat evil with twelve mystical runes. These runes were forged into weapons and cast upon enchantments to eradicate the evil that plagued their land. From that point on Oldain became the chief god of Teritha. The tribal religious structure had unified under one single covenant at the Temple of Eiserthon. Spirituality against evil became a prime aspect of their culture. Oldain remained in the Ice Wastes where he is said to roam still to this day. Once in a while he will accept the company of brave heroes to fight beside him. Today, for an Emperor to be accepted by the Covenant they must make a pilgrimage to this very same lake and drink from it the essence of Oldain.

The Terithan League lasted until 158 BPD, though many would argue that unofficially it had shifted into the Imperium decades before that. The process was slow and gradual and blamed mostly on the choking bureaucracy and impartial bias that damaged the economic potential of smaller kingdoms. 158 BPD is marked as the official change due to the Declaration of Consolidation spoken by General Tomah Arathos, who marched his army into New Eldstad and dissolved the Consulate with relatively small resistance. From that point forward the Terithan League had become known as the Imperium of Teritha.

Geography:

Military:

Population: 5.7 million

Genealogy:

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[Imperium Mariner]

The Tertihan ethnic line traces itself back along two thousand years of mutual living with the High Elves of Quelthonas and the Wood Elves who traveled south from Darkmoor. Today, almost every Terithan ’human’ shares their lineage with the elves and thus can be considered half elves, though Terithans themselves tend to regard themselves only as humans, or in some discussions ‘perfected men.’

It is rare to find a Terithan who shares the half-elven characteristics of the extended ears, and many Terithans in the hinterlands and to the north do not match the slender figure of the typical half elf-half human breed. Most Terithans however are quite adapt at site and sound, and many are born with latent attunement to magic though very few are gifted enough to ever be accepted into Quelthonas’s university of magical study. Instead those who follow the schools of magic usually become priests in the Covenant or circus performers capable of slight tricks and novice level spells. Specially potent females are trained specifically in the fields of druidism, which is considered the highest honor for a woman in Teritha. The Terithan ability to adapt so easily to magic would not be possible without their shared culture with the elves.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v342/themaskednudist/jaheira.jpg
[Imperium Vaulenkri (druid)]

Terithan women are generally taller than most; on average between 5’7 and 5’11 ft, while the males tend to stand somewhere between 6’0 and 6’5 ft. Those who hail from the north tend to be taller than their coastal peers. The Terithan gene line is firmly static and without much variety. Hair colours tend to be dirty and sandy blonde to the south with hazel or blue eyes, and auburn or Venetian blonde in the north with almost exclusively green eyes. Family associated with royalty usually dye their hair a more platinum pigment, though in Stromberg it is custom for warriors to dye their hair black to disassociate themselves with commoners.

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[Stromberg Crusader]