Enlightened Kingdom
From the Shadow into light
The Enlightened Kingdom is a nation in the Eastern Continent. It makes up much of the southern border of the Eastern Continent. It directly borders no other nations, but geographically is not far from Harad or Mujmal. It is bordered by the Shifting Wastes to the north, and the Amaranthine Sea on all other sides.
A magi beckons a cat in Koumbi, in the Enlightened Kingdom
The Enlightened Kingdom, geographically, is the cape territory that lies south beyond the Shifting Wastes, and is situated on the horn of the Eastern Continent at its southern-most point. It is fair to describe it as consisting of two major geographical regions - the green and wet coastal regions and the generally dry interior. The former is where most of life in the Enlightened Kingdom lives, upon large coastal towns and cities that thrive in the warm region. The environs here are rich in wildlife, both flora and fauna, and is ideal for the cultivation and growth of the crops of the Kingdom. This coastal region makes up the larger part of the Enlightened Kingdom. The latter, the interior, is quite different by comparison. It is a smaller part of the nation in comparison to the warm and wet regions of the coast. Indeed, it is in this region that borders with the great sand sea, the Shifting Wastes. It is fair to describe the interior as the end of the Wastes, as vegetation can grow here, albeit weak and sparse. The region is not as tumultuous as the Wastes, and experiences sandstorms in significantly less frequency than the desert it borders. Life and agriculture are possible in the region, but only the hardiest of crops and animals can live in the region, and is therefore lightly populated. The interior, however, is famed for the Xori Mountains, a numerically small but tall set of mountains from which the great Xori Cascades fall from, and is considered sacred by worshipers of the Primordial Water.
The history of the Enlightened Kingdom begins following the Last of the Primordial Wars, making it one of the younger nations of Arda. Before this time, there were no known or recorded peoples living in the area past the perilous Shifting Wastes. During the Last of the Primordial Wars, the Shadow took on the form of a large and powerful golden dragon that hid its vile but true nature. The splendor of the Shadow, known to its followers as the Gilded Dragon, attracted to it numerous followers from nearly every ancestry and walk of life in Arda. The Dragon preached the destruction of Arda was the only way to save it from its sinful and wretched history, and through destruction they would reach mutual oblivion, which would live on in the Dragon. In a desperate time such as the Second and the Last of the Primordial Wars, even such a seemingly self-defeating message took hold in the hearts of many who joined the Dragon in flocks.
Thus did the Shadow, then allied with the Primordial Lords, do battle with the mightiest remaining stronghold of the Children of the Heavens, Khazad-Vala. The Shadow's followers were numerous and powerful among the Primordial forces, and caused great havoc and destruction, even among their allies. When the deities of the Heavens came down to do battle, the Shadow knew this would be where the tide of the war would turn, and quickly recalled its followers away as the battle raged in divine fury. The Last of the Primordial Wars would soon reach a peaceful resolution with the noble sacrifice of Mendos and the creation of men.
It is likely unsurprising, that the Shadow and its followers who sought mutual self-destruction, objected to the peace forged by the Primordials and the Heavens. The Shadow took its forces south to the land of early Harad, and converted or took to the sword the population of the new orcish and duergar homeland they had built there. Entrenching themselves in this land, the Shadow worshipers soon took to imposing their rule and law over the remainder of the people. From their strongholds, the Shadow worshipers would attempt to convert the weak and vulnerable to their cause, including some of the early men of Arda. For those who would not follow, they would cause destruction and violence throughout the Eastern Continent. As the centuries passed, the numerous and diverse Shadow worshipers intermixed, creating a new people in Arda, which are believed to be the predecessor to the Shadow's favored servants, fetchlings.
Over time, the Shadow worshipers were slowly driven from their strongholds by the coalition forces of the Children of the Primordials and the Children of the Heavens under the banner of Romanorum. The alliance followed the shattered remnants of the Shadow's forces south until they reached the Shifting Wastes on the southern border of early Harad. Many knew the legends of the inhospitable lands of the grand desert, and knew the Shadow worshipers would not last long there. Similarly, they knew following the worshipers here would spell death for an army, and thus encircled the northern edge of the Wastes, hoping to corner any survivors as they would attempt to flee the Shifting Wastes. None came, and the Romanoran soldiers left, glad to know the desert did their work for them. The Shadow or its main body of worshipers would not be seen again by them for several more centuries, until they reemerged as the fetchlings.
The truth of what happened to the Shadow's followers here is more complex. Driven into the Shifting Wastes, many of the followers died of exposure, exhaustion, and thirst, draining the morale and spirit as they trudged further south. For the peoples raised among the Shadow since birth, and having been largely brainwashed by the Shadow's followers, even they felt their belief in the Gilded Dragon was shaken. By this point, even the immortal Shadow, must've known it would have no followers left if it continued this grueling death march. Therefore, the Shadow put its plans for the conquest of Arda on hold to save its few remaining followers that were the source of its power and burgeoning godhood.
It was in the Shifting Wastes where it was said the Gilded Dragon ripped open a great hole in the Prime Material Plane, creating the great valley known as the Dragon's Scar. There, it beckoned its followers into the Shadow's plane, which would come to be known as the fetchling's home plane of Amumbra. It was after the opening of the planar portal that one such follower, a man whose name has been lost to time. He felt such incredible regret and despair for his past and actions that brought him to this moment, having to consider to leave his home and even plane behind to serve the Gilded Dragon who seemed to care about them little more than as tools for the Shadow's goals.
In his weakest moment of faith did this man receive a divine vision from the Heavens, showing him of a green and fertile land that lie beyond the Shifting Wastes. In compassion for his fellow followers, the man begged the Gilded Dragon to take the followers to this green land of his visions. This enraged the Shadow, this seemingly insignificant man who dared question its judgment. In its rage, the Shadow stole from the man his true name, and thus he was known in Enlightened history as "The Dissenter". The Shadow bid that the man die in the desert, to search for his seemingly mythical kingdom. Yet, for numerous of these tired, weary, and repentant followers, the Dissenter's words rang true. Thus did some of the Shadow worshipers reject the extraplanar exile of their people, and chose to remain behind with the Dissenter.
Now left alone in the desert, the weak and weary people rejected the Shadow, and left in search for the new homeland promised by the Dissenter's vision. Wandering for many more perilous days, they miraculously survived the crossing of the treacherous Shifting Wastes. They crossed from the Wastes to the green coasts of the lands that would become the Enlightened Kingdom. No longer Shadow worshipers and having no other lands to call their own, they named themselves the "enlightened" men after receiving the vision from the Heavens, and making the bold but vindicated decision to reject the Shadow and his exile. For this, they named their new land the Enlightened Kingdom, and installed the Dissenter as their king.
Even despite their rejection of the Shadow, they feared they would caught and killed by the Romanorans for their sordid past. The wizards among the Enlightened enacted a great and mighty barrier of fog around the lands of the Kingdom, enshrouding and isolating it from the outside world. Since then, the Enlightened men strove to create a peaceful and harmonious nation that could one day reemerge to a better world. However, the scholar-wizards of the Enlightened, known as the Magi, detected that the Shadow was on the move, trying to reclaim its inheritance - Arda. Knowing this was a battle they could not sit out, the Enlightened ended their isolation, and now see it as their personal responsibility to do their part in defeating the Shadow once and for all.
It is worth noting that the men of the Enlightened Kingdom are physiologically similar, but have a different genetic background, to that of the other men of Arda. It is not unfair to describe the Enlightened men as a large and more complex offshoot of the ancestry of the men of Arda. This is because of the Shadow's influence over its followers. Unlike in other nations, the Shadow worshipers wed and mated with by direction from the Shadow or one of it's clerics. As a result, intermixing of peoples were very common among the Shadow's ranks. It is unclear exactly why, but it would be likely the Shadow wished to remove any vestiges of individuality or identity from their followers. Over time, the followers of the Shadow became increasingly homogenous, with most looking like the men of Arda, thus taking on the name "men". In truth, they are truly a complex blend of nearly every ancestry on Arda.
While there are many remarkable and notable things about the peoples of the Kingdom, by far the most striking of these is their features. Indeed, such men look on many levels similar to the ashmen, the fetchlings. As beings shaped by the Shadow's influence and image, dark skin shades were seen as signs of closeness and divine bond to the Dragon, which the Enlightened retain to this day. Their skin tones range from a light brown to ebony black, which is generally uncommon among the other peoples of Arda. The fetchlings, by comparison, can reach those hues, but are more commonly skewed towards "grayscale" - stretching from a pumice gray to ash black. Despite its former connotations, the Enlightened do not detest their appearance or heritage, but see it as a mark of honor for overcoming their people's past.
Due to their long isolation, the men of the Enlightened Kingdom have largely remained monolithic, but as new peoples have come to see the Kingdom, some have decided to build new lives there among the Enlightened men. As a result, new censuses have shown a small but increasing numbers of other peoples who have come to live in the Kingdom, largely men or elf from nearby nations, mainly Mujmal or Magnos.
The people of the Kingdom have a strong belief in knowing and understanding their past, and thus education is a large factor of upbringing in the Kingdom. Schools are widely available for children, and elementary education is compulsory for every child of the Kingdom, a factor not shared by any other nation of Arda. Continuing education is common for families, and it is considered to honorable to continue one's studies until they begin more specific training for their chosen line of work.
They also place great personal pride on personal integrity and trust. Those who have proven to be honorable are favored, and often become powerful or indispensable. With the high standards and expectations placed on them, they are encouraged to retain their virtuous standing to remain in their elevated positions. Such people found to be morally wanting are often disgraced; for some this dishonor or tarnish of their reputation could be worse than death. Regardless, many hold and retain themselves as moral and upstanding people wherever they travel.
Religion has had a strange place in the Kingdom. Defecting from the Shadow, the abandoned and adrift followers were said to have been guided to their new and peaceful land by a divine vision from the Heavens. Even in the face of divine aid, the former followers were unsure what to make of this and themselves, as they worked to overcome their collective trauma from their abuse at the hands of the Shadow. Most would eventually come to accept the Heavens as their protectors, but others followed the religions of their ancestors, the Primordial Lords. As many were descendants of orcs, most would come to worship the Firelord, but the more magically inclined would come to worship the Primordial Water as well.
The first challenge of the new faithful was to recreate their services and rituals from their pasts. Many of the Shadow's followers were steeped in Shadow worship even from birth, so they looked to their eldest to try and recreate the rites of the olden religions of Arda. What they could not replace, they remade, and as a result, Heavens and Primordial worship look a good deal different in the Enlightened Kingdom even if the basic principles of their faiths remain the same.
Shadow worshiper, even despite the events of their past, still continue to plague the Kingdom today. While the overwhelming majority of the Enlightened ended their devotion to the Shadow, others persist they were still loyal to it, but simply did not want to leave Arda. These zealots have kept the faith secretly alive even in their centuries of isolation, hiding from the eyes of the Watchers. They hope to return the Shadow to Arda, and to hand over the kingdom of "traitors" to it.
As stated in the name of the nation, the Enlightened Kingdom is a monarchy. The name of the first king of the Enlightened Kingdom is unknown, and lost to time and magic. The first king, having a moment of epiphany and retrospect, argued against the people of Arda fleeing into extraplanar exile. In anger, the Shadow stole and erased his "true name" from his followers, and ceased to have a name of his own. Yet, his actions were supported by many who felt the same as he did. Thus, he was known as "The Dissenter" by the Shadow and even the Dissenter's followers, a name that had stuck even after the Shadow had left Arda.
From the Dissenter, they have had an unbroken line of kings and queens who have wisely ruled the Kingdom, long maintaining their secrecy so not to invite the ire of the other nations who had long suffered as a result of the Shadow's machinations. However, aware of the new and emboldened attempts of the Shadow to reenter Arda, the royalty of the Kingdom decided now was the time to intervene. The royalty of the Kingdom are not supported by any nobles, but are supported by a number of powerful merchants, generals, and the scholar-wizards known as Magi. Together, the create and enact laws which protect the peace and harmony of the Enlightened Kingdom.
The Enlightened Kingdom has a relatively small standing army in comparison to the other nations of Arda. This is due to a myriad of reasons - first, their lack of nearby enemies. In the early days of the Kingdom, they did fear rebuke from the Romanorans, who would likely not have made (or cared) the distinction that they no longer served the Shadow. However, to the people of Kingdom who lived past the nigh impassable Shifting Wastes, no such rebuke or invasion ever materialized. Unknown to them, it was widely believed that all such followers of the Shadow had simply vanished.
Still awaiting an invasion that would never come, the Enlightened made an even more powerful defense than the geographical one made by the Shifting Wastes. Powerful wizards, known as the Magi, shielded the land in a large bank of fog that stretched along the nations borders, impenetrable by eye or magic. In this fog, there were numerous illusions that were designed to scare off any potential intruders to the realm, and even the sight of such thick fog kept away the vast majority of sailors.
Now presented with two formidable barriers, the Enlightened began to lower their guard, and began reorganizing their former army to new purposes, which is why the Kingdom is now relatively lightly-defended. Between the Wastes, the fog, and the restructuring, the military was largely deflated or directed to other tasks. Even regardless of the nation leaving isolation, few nations have the desire, much less the means, to invade such a far and isolated territory.
As a nation that has only recently opened its borders, trade has been off to a relatively slow start. However, due to their long self-imposed isolation, they have long had an independent and self-sufficient economy that is capable of meeting much of the needs of their internal markets. Unlike in the other nations of Arda, the people of the Enlightened Kingdom shun the use of gold due to the metal's long association with the Shadow (known to them as the Gilded Dragon). Instead, the people of the Kingdom trade in silver dust, or with platinum dust in very large transactions. Unlike most nations, gold is not seen as a valuable metal in the Enlightened Kingdom. As a result, the once-refuse gold of the Kingdom can now be sold in the other markets of Arda for tidy profits.
In addition to gold and silver production, they are famous for numerous recent additions to Arda's palates - chocolate, coffee, tea and sugarcane. The plants thrive in the warm lands of the Kingdom, and their novelty throughout Arda ensures they will be sold at a premium in any market they are sold in. Harad has recently begun planting such crops of their own in the hopes of competing with their monopoly on such goods. With the wealth generated by these comparatively exotic goods, they trade for fabric and iron (which are rare or luxurious in the Kingdom), or for magical tomes and items.
The Enlightened Kingdom has been in self-isolation for numerous centuries since defecting from the Shadow. As a result, the Enlightened Kingdom has few connections throughout Arda, and even less in support they can rely on. The first to respond to the outreach by the Enlightened was the Torches, who have a keen interest in the long-separated descendants of the Shadow worshipers. In return, the Torches have helped set up a small series of diplomatic ventures throughout the Eastern Continent.
Few people outside of the Kingdom have seen one of the Enlightened men. Their skin is dark, much more so than the tawny peoples of Al-Andalus, Harad, or Mujmal. As a result, some such peoples are mistaken at first glance for strange-looking fetchlings, much to their peril. Their appearance, coupled with their long-severed relationship to the Shadow, makes for a perilous combination, and ripe for persecution, especially among the superstitious peoples of Harad. Sadly, numerous Enlightened men in Harad are often captured and then enslaved, driving a rift between the Kingdom and one of their closest neighbors.
The Enlightened, with their innate skill in magic and thirst for knowledge, make them natural allies with the Magnosi, who have begun cultivating a relationship between the two peoples. The Enlightened also have opened up trade and relations with their next closest neighbors, the Mujmali, who possess a unique form of magic that makes them intriguing to the Enlightened. Numerous such Enlightened scholars have ventured to Mujmal in the hopes to learn of their unified magic.
A part of Geography and Regions See Also
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Geography
The Enlightened Kingdom, geographically, is the cape territory that lies south beyond the Shifting Wastes, and is situated on the horn of the Eastern Continent at its southern-most point. It is fair to describe it as consisting of two major geographical regions - the green and wet coastal regions and the generally dry interior. The former is where most of life in the Enlightened Kingdom lives, upon large coastal towns and cities that thrive in the warm region. The environs here are rich in wildlife, both flora and fauna, and is ideal for the cultivation and growth of the crops of the Kingdom. This coastal region makes up the larger part of the Enlightened Kingdom. The latter, the interior, is quite different by comparison. It is a smaller part of the nation in comparison to the warm and wet regions of the coast. Indeed, it is in this region that borders with the great sand sea, the Shifting Wastes. It is fair to describe the interior as the end of the Wastes, as vegetation can grow here, albeit weak and sparse. The region is not as tumultuous as the Wastes, and experiences sandstorms in significantly less frequency than the desert it borders. Life and agriculture are possible in the region, but only the hardiest of crops and animals can live in the region, and is therefore lightly populated. The interior, however, is famed for the Xori Mountains, a numerically small but tall set of mountains from which the great Xori Cascades fall from, and is considered sacred by worshipers of the Primordial Water.
History
The history of the Enlightened Kingdom begins following the Last of the Primordial Wars, making it one of the younger nations of Arda. Before this time, there were no known or recorded peoples living in the area past the perilous Shifting Wastes. During the Last of the Primordial Wars, the Shadow took on the form of a large and powerful golden dragon that hid its vile but true nature. The splendor of the Shadow, known to its followers as the Gilded Dragon, attracted to it numerous followers from nearly every ancestry and walk of life in Arda. The Dragon preached the destruction of Arda was the only way to save it from its sinful and wretched history, and through destruction they would reach mutual oblivion, which would live on in the Dragon. In a desperate time such as the Second and the Last of the Primordial Wars, even such a seemingly self-defeating message took hold in the hearts of many who joined the Dragon in flocks.
Thus did the Shadow, then allied with the Primordial Lords, do battle with the mightiest remaining stronghold of the Children of the Heavens, Khazad-Vala. The Shadow's followers were numerous and powerful among the Primordial forces, and caused great havoc and destruction, even among their allies. When the deities of the Heavens came down to do battle, the Shadow knew this would be where the tide of the war would turn, and quickly recalled its followers away as the battle raged in divine fury. The Last of the Primordial Wars would soon reach a peaceful resolution with the noble sacrifice of Mendos and the creation of men.
It is likely unsurprising, that the Shadow and its followers who sought mutual self-destruction, objected to the peace forged by the Primordials and the Heavens. The Shadow took its forces south to the land of early Harad, and converted or took to the sword the population of the new orcish and duergar homeland they had built there. Entrenching themselves in this land, the Shadow worshipers soon took to imposing their rule and law over the remainder of the people. From their strongholds, the Shadow worshipers would attempt to convert the weak and vulnerable to their cause, including some of the early men of Arda. For those who would not follow, they would cause destruction and violence throughout the Eastern Continent. As the centuries passed, the numerous and diverse Shadow worshipers intermixed, creating a new people in Arda, which are believed to be the predecessor to the Shadow's favored servants, fetchlings.
Over time, the Shadow worshipers were slowly driven from their strongholds by the coalition forces of the Children of the Primordials and the Children of the Heavens under the banner of Romanorum. The alliance followed the shattered remnants of the Shadow's forces south until they reached the Shifting Wastes on the southern border of early Harad. Many knew the legends of the inhospitable lands of the grand desert, and knew the Shadow worshipers would not last long there. Similarly, they knew following the worshipers here would spell death for an army, and thus encircled the northern edge of the Wastes, hoping to corner any survivors as they would attempt to flee the Shifting Wastes. None came, and the Romanoran soldiers left, glad to know the desert did their work for them. The Shadow or its main body of worshipers would not be seen again by them for several more centuries, until they reemerged as the fetchlings.
The truth of what happened to the Shadow's followers here is more complex. Driven into the Shifting Wastes, many of the followers died of exposure, exhaustion, and thirst, draining the morale and spirit as they trudged further south. For the peoples raised among the Shadow since birth, and having been largely brainwashed by the Shadow's followers, even they felt their belief in the Gilded Dragon was shaken. By this point, even the immortal Shadow, must've known it would have no followers left if it continued this grueling death march. Therefore, the Shadow put its plans for the conquest of Arda on hold to save its few remaining followers that were the source of its power and burgeoning godhood.
It was in the Shifting Wastes where it was said the Gilded Dragon ripped open a great hole in the Prime Material Plane, creating the great valley known as the Dragon's Scar. There, it beckoned its followers into the Shadow's plane, which would come to be known as the fetchling's home plane of Amumbra. It was after the opening of the planar portal that one such follower, a man whose name has been lost to time. He felt such incredible regret and despair for his past and actions that brought him to this moment, having to consider to leave his home and even plane behind to serve the Gilded Dragon who seemed to care about them little more than as tools for the Shadow's goals.
In his weakest moment of faith did this man receive a divine vision from the Heavens, showing him of a green and fertile land that lie beyond the Shifting Wastes. In compassion for his fellow followers, the man begged the Gilded Dragon to take the followers to this green land of his visions. This enraged the Shadow, this seemingly insignificant man who dared question its judgment. In its rage, the Shadow stole from the man his true name, and thus he was known in Enlightened history as "The Dissenter". The Shadow bid that the man die in the desert, to search for his seemingly mythical kingdom. Yet, for numerous of these tired, weary, and repentant followers, the Dissenter's words rang true. Thus did some of the Shadow worshipers reject the extraplanar exile of their people, and chose to remain behind with the Dissenter.
Now left alone in the desert, the weak and weary people rejected the Shadow, and left in search for the new homeland promised by the Dissenter's vision. Wandering for many more perilous days, they miraculously survived the crossing of the treacherous Shifting Wastes. They crossed from the Wastes to the green coasts of the lands that would become the Enlightened Kingdom. No longer Shadow worshipers and having no other lands to call their own, they named themselves the "enlightened" men after receiving the vision from the Heavens, and making the bold but vindicated decision to reject the Shadow and his exile. For this, they named their new land the Enlightened Kingdom, and installed the Dissenter as their king.
Even despite their rejection of the Shadow, they feared they would caught and killed by the Romanorans for their sordid past. The wizards among the Enlightened enacted a great and mighty barrier of fog around the lands of the Kingdom, enshrouding and isolating it from the outside world. Since then, the Enlightened men strove to create a peaceful and harmonious nation that could one day reemerge to a better world. However, the scholar-wizards of the Enlightened, known as the Magi, detected that the Shadow was on the move, trying to reclaim its inheritance - Arda. Knowing this was a battle they could not sit out, the Enlightened ended their isolation, and now see it as their personal responsibility to do their part in defeating the Shadow once and for all.
People and Culture
It is worth noting that the men of the Enlightened Kingdom are physiologically similar, but have a different genetic background, to that of the other men of Arda. It is not unfair to describe the Enlightened men as a large and more complex offshoot of the ancestry of the men of Arda. This is because of the Shadow's influence over its followers. Unlike in other nations, the Shadow worshipers wed and mated with by direction from the Shadow or one of it's clerics. As a result, intermixing of peoples were very common among the Shadow's ranks. It is unclear exactly why, but it would be likely the Shadow wished to remove any vestiges of individuality or identity from their followers. Over time, the followers of the Shadow became increasingly homogenous, with most looking like the men of Arda, thus taking on the name "men". In truth, they are truly a complex blend of nearly every ancestry on Arda.
While there are many remarkable and notable things about the peoples of the Kingdom, by far the most striking of these is their features. Indeed, such men look on many levels similar to the ashmen, the fetchlings. As beings shaped by the Shadow's influence and image, dark skin shades were seen as signs of closeness and divine bond to the Dragon, which the Enlightened retain to this day. Their skin tones range from a light brown to ebony black, which is generally uncommon among the other peoples of Arda. The fetchlings, by comparison, can reach those hues, but are more commonly skewed towards "grayscale" - stretching from a pumice gray to ash black. Despite its former connotations, the Enlightened do not detest their appearance or heritage, but see it as a mark of honor for overcoming their people's past.
Due to their long isolation, the men of the Enlightened Kingdom have largely remained monolithic, but as new peoples have come to see the Kingdom, some have decided to build new lives there among the Enlightened men. As a result, new censuses have shown a small but increasing numbers of other peoples who have come to live in the Kingdom, largely men or elf from nearby nations, mainly Mujmal or Magnos.
The people of the Kingdom have a strong belief in knowing and understanding their past, and thus education is a large factor of upbringing in the Kingdom. Schools are widely available for children, and elementary education is compulsory for every child of the Kingdom, a factor not shared by any other nation of Arda. Continuing education is common for families, and it is considered to honorable to continue one's studies until they begin more specific training for their chosen line of work.
They also place great personal pride on personal integrity and trust. Those who have proven to be honorable are favored, and often become powerful or indispensable. With the high standards and expectations placed on them, they are encouraged to retain their virtuous standing to remain in their elevated positions. Such people found to be morally wanting are often disgraced; for some this dishonor or tarnish of their reputation could be worse than death. Regardless, many hold and retain themselves as moral and upstanding people wherever they travel.
Religion
Religion has had a strange place in the Kingdom. Defecting from the Shadow, the abandoned and adrift followers were said to have been guided to their new and peaceful land by a divine vision from the Heavens. Even in the face of divine aid, the former followers were unsure what to make of this and themselves, as they worked to overcome their collective trauma from their abuse at the hands of the Shadow. Most would eventually come to accept the Heavens as their protectors, but others followed the religions of their ancestors, the Primordial Lords. As many were descendants of orcs, most would come to worship the Firelord, but the more magically inclined would come to worship the Primordial Water as well.
The first challenge of the new faithful was to recreate their services and rituals from their pasts. Many of the Shadow's followers were steeped in Shadow worship even from birth, so they looked to their eldest to try and recreate the rites of the olden religions of Arda. What they could not replace, they remade, and as a result, Heavens and Primordial worship look a good deal different in the Enlightened Kingdom even if the basic principles of their faiths remain the same.
Shadow worshiper, even despite the events of their past, still continue to plague the Kingdom today. While the overwhelming majority of the Enlightened ended their devotion to the Shadow, others persist they were still loyal to it, but simply did not want to leave Arda. These zealots have kept the faith secretly alive even in their centuries of isolation, hiding from the eyes of the Watchers. They hope to return the Shadow to Arda, and to hand over the kingdom of "traitors" to it.
Government
As stated in the name of the nation, the Enlightened Kingdom is a monarchy. The name of the first king of the Enlightened Kingdom is unknown, and lost to time and magic. The first king, having a moment of epiphany and retrospect, argued against the people of Arda fleeing into extraplanar exile. In anger, the Shadow stole and erased his "true name" from his followers, and ceased to have a name of his own. Yet, his actions were supported by many who felt the same as he did. Thus, he was known as "The Dissenter" by the Shadow and even the Dissenter's followers, a name that had stuck even after the Shadow had left Arda.
From the Dissenter, they have had an unbroken line of kings and queens who have wisely ruled the Kingdom, long maintaining their secrecy so not to invite the ire of the other nations who had long suffered as a result of the Shadow's machinations. However, aware of the new and emboldened attempts of the Shadow to reenter Arda, the royalty of the Kingdom decided now was the time to intervene. The royalty of the Kingdom are not supported by any nobles, but are supported by a number of powerful merchants, generals, and the scholar-wizards known as Magi. Together, the create and enact laws which protect the peace and harmony of the Enlightened Kingdom.
Military
The Enlightened Kingdom has a relatively small standing army in comparison to the other nations of Arda. This is due to a myriad of reasons - first, their lack of nearby enemies. In the early days of the Kingdom, they did fear rebuke from the Romanorans, who would likely not have made (or cared) the distinction that they no longer served the Shadow. However, to the people of Kingdom who lived past the nigh impassable Shifting Wastes, no such rebuke or invasion ever materialized. Unknown to them, it was widely believed that all such followers of the Shadow had simply vanished.
Still awaiting an invasion that would never come, the Enlightened made an even more powerful defense than the geographical one made by the Shifting Wastes. Powerful wizards, known as the Magi, shielded the land in a large bank of fog that stretched along the nations borders, impenetrable by eye or magic. In this fog, there were numerous illusions that were designed to scare off any potential intruders to the realm, and even the sight of such thick fog kept away the vast majority of sailors.
Now presented with two formidable barriers, the Enlightened began to lower their guard, and began reorganizing their former army to new purposes, which is why the Kingdom is now relatively lightly-defended. Between the Wastes, the fog, and the restructuring, the military was largely deflated or directed to other tasks. Even regardless of the nation leaving isolation, few nations have the desire, much less the means, to invade such a far and isolated territory.
Organizations
- Magi - The Magi are a group of powerful scholar-wizards who hold a good deal of power and influence in the Enlightened Kingdom. It was the Magi who created and manipulated a large and thick veil of fog that has protected the Enlightened Kingdom from the outside world for hundreds of years. From their library city in Koumbi, the Magi live lives of study and service to the throne and people of the Kingdom.
- The Torches - The Torches are newcomers to the Enlightened Kingdom. Upon hearing of the land of defected Shadow worshipers, the Torches set out to gauge the intentions of the people and forge alliances. If possible, the hope is to learn what methods they used to overcome the Shadow's influence over the mortal peoples of Arda.
- The Watchers - The Watchers are the primary military forces of the Enlightened Kingdom, but due to their period of isolation, their military has taken on multifarious roles in the nation. During their isolation, few knew of their existence of the Enlightened Kingdom, and the Watchers were the sentries who alerted the Magi of breaches in their magical fogs. In most cases, the Magi would lure away wanderers in the fog, but the Watchers would also dispose of any threats that were not swayed by the fog's illusions. Lastly, the Watchers would look over the peoples of the Kingdom, in particular for those who would endanger the Kingdom by attempting to recall the Shadow back onto Arda.
Economy
As a nation that has only recently opened its borders, trade has been off to a relatively slow start. However, due to their long self-imposed isolation, they have long had an independent and self-sufficient economy that is capable of meeting much of the needs of their internal markets. Unlike in the other nations of Arda, the people of the Enlightened Kingdom shun the use of gold due to the metal's long association with the Shadow (known to them as the Gilded Dragon). Instead, the people of the Kingdom trade in silver dust, or with platinum dust in very large transactions. Unlike most nations, gold is not seen as a valuable metal in the Enlightened Kingdom. As a result, the once-refuse gold of the Kingdom can now be sold in the other markets of Arda for tidy profits.
In addition to gold and silver production, they are famous for numerous recent additions to Arda's palates - chocolate, coffee, tea and sugarcane. The plants thrive in the warm lands of the Kingdom, and their novelty throughout Arda ensures they will be sold at a premium in any market they are sold in. Harad has recently begun planting such crops of their own in the hopes of competing with their monopoly on such goods. With the wealth generated by these comparatively exotic goods, they trade for fabric and iron (which are rare or luxurious in the Kingdom), or for magical tomes and items.
Relations
The Enlightened Kingdom has been in self-isolation for numerous centuries since defecting from the Shadow. As a result, the Enlightened Kingdom has few connections throughout Arda, and even less in support they can rely on. The first to respond to the outreach by the Enlightened was the Torches, who have a keen interest in the long-separated descendants of the Shadow worshipers. In return, the Torches have helped set up a small series of diplomatic ventures throughout the Eastern Continent.
Few people outside of the Kingdom have seen one of the Enlightened men. Their skin is dark, much more so than the tawny peoples of Al-Andalus, Harad, or Mujmal. As a result, some such peoples are mistaken at first glance for strange-looking fetchlings, much to their peril. Their appearance, coupled with their long-severed relationship to the Shadow, makes for a perilous combination, and ripe for persecution, especially among the superstitious peoples of Harad. Sadly, numerous Enlightened men in Harad are often captured and then enslaved, driving a rift between the Kingdom and one of their closest neighbors.
The Enlightened, with their innate skill in magic and thirst for knowledge, make them natural allies with the Magnosi, who have begun cultivating a relationship between the two peoples. The Enlightened also have opened up trade and relations with their next closest neighbors, the Mujmali, who possess a unique form of magic that makes them intriguing to the Enlightened. Numerous such Enlightened scholars have ventured to Mujmal in the hopes to learn of their unified magic.
Locations of Interest
- Sankora - The capital of the Enlightened Kingdom. It is home to the royal palace of the Enlightened King, and is the home of the Watchers, the military force of the Enlightened Kingdom. By the few travelers who have gone, it is described as a beautiful city of sandstone and crystal. It is most famous for the Inverted Gardens of Sankora, a vast public garden of exotic plants and flowers that are grown from a vast series of trellises.
- Koumbi - The city of scholars; it is said to have more libraries than grains of sand in a desert. There are many schools here, many dedicated to the teaching and advancement of magic. The centuries long isolation of the Enlightened have created new spells and magic not seen elsewhere. It is from here which the powerful Magi hold their primary residences when not called for other tasks of national security or other needs.
- Torch Mission - The Torches, in their long experience of fighting the Shadow and its worshipers, have a keen interest in the lost descendants of the Shadow's experiments. Some Torches believe that the Enlightened might hold the key to resisting the Shadow's influence. Thus, they have set up a mission to learn more about the Enlightened, and in return help them set up diplomatic missions throughout the Eastern Continent.
- Xori Cascades - From the tall Xori Mountain, a great series of rapids that lead to a massive waterfall known as the Xori Cascades. It is from here that faithful of the Primordial Water go to pray and ritually wash themselves. At the base of the falls stands a great temple that extends into the caves behind it.
Trivia
- The Enlightened Kingdom is based on the Mali Empire, one of most powerful African empires. The Mali Empire was home of the famous scholar-city of Timbuktu, thus the "Enlightened" Kingdom.
- Geographically, the Enlightened Kingdom is based on the modern-day nations of Namibia and South Africa.
See Also
A part of Geography and Regions See Also
Quick Reference
Type
Region
Region: Eastern Continent
Government: Monarchy
National Language: Enlightened Common
Ancestry: 95% Enlightened Men (see below), 5% Other or un-described mixed ancestry
Religion: 70% Heavens, 20% Primordial, 5% Shadow, 5% Other
General Alignment: Lawful Good
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