Nestoria
Where East meets West
Nestoria is a nation in the Western Continent. It makes up much of the central to eastern part of that region. It borders Al-Andalus, Cathay, the Dragon Kingdom, the Gray Marches, and the Silvas Jankil. It is flanked by the Al-Andalus Mountain Range to the east, the Ice Floes in the north, and the Silvas Jankil in the south.
A bazaar in Samarkand, Nestoria
Nestoria is a nation of diverse landscapes from mountains, deserts, steppes, and salt flats to plains, rivers, forests and jungles. Much of the landscape is fairly flat, with most of the elevated lands of Nestoria making up the borders of the nation, namely the lands near the Al-Andalus Mountain Range. This geography makes the nation well-suited to their mercantile aims, as the generally flat and gentle lands of Nestoria are a boon to travelers and merchants who traverse the roads in search of fortune. Being on the leeward side of the Al-Andalus Mountain Range, it is generally drier, leading to the deserts and salt flats that make up most of the eastern side of the nation. As one travels west, the land gets greener, with the deserts giving way to steppes and eventually to green and airy fields on the western side of the country. The southern end of Nestoria is bordered in large part by the Silvas Jankil, a vast jungle that straddles the Eastern and Western Continents. The north is home to temperate forests, eventually leading to a number of small port towns that border the Ice Floes.
Nestoria, since the earliest days of antiquity, has been a land of nomads and travelers. Elves have long wandered the listless deserts and fertile plains of the land, ultimately seeking out their final destinations in lands like Al-Andalus, Cathay, and Romanorum. For those who stayed, many elves continued to live their long lives as pastoral nomads, seeking out plains and oases to feed their herds, passing on their simple lifestyle to others for centuries or millennia. Over time, permanent settlements began to form around notable locations, such as around oases or rivers that served as centers of trade or craftsmanship in their time. As these settlements continued to develop, so too did it attract the attention of the fledgling Romanoran Empire. With overwhelming force and numbers, the peoples of early Nestoria largely surrendered to the expansion of the Romanoran Empire. Ultimately, this allowed the Romanorans to expand further west, into the land that would become Cathay. Even under Romanoran occupation, Nestorian life did not change greatly.
Under Romanoran occupation, these settlements continued to grow steadily, and numerous of these places were fortified, ultimately doubling as frontier fortresses in addition to being trade centers. This allowed the Romanoran's to have an unbroken supply chain and would facilitate east-west travel and trade, leading to a golden age for the Romanoran elves. Despite this focus on building up settlements, the Romanorans did little to invest in the countryside or new settlements, and many of the local nomads in the area continued to live as they long had. However, this golden age would not last forever.
By the time of the Second Primordial War, the eastern portion of the Romanoran Empire was desperately embattled, and recalled nearly all of their forces in the area, leaving the Nestorians hopelessly defenseless against the Shadow's forces. The resulting power vacuum caused by the departure of the Romanorans caused a long period of lawlessness in the region; which disrupted trade, the lifeline of the nation. The powerful merchant houses of Nestoria, who stood to lose the most, would not let this stand.
Picking up where the Romanorans left off, the merchant houses of Nestoria began to assemble local governments and establish guards with their resources and influence. With their burgeoning trade cities secured, they began to expand their efforts along the major trade routes, securing these as well. For a short period, they began to compete with each other to build power and influence in their own regions. After the events of the Last of the Primordial Wars, Romanorum was beginning to recover from their losses, and looked to regain their former territories in Cathay and Nestoria. The merchant houses, standing to lose much once more, had little love lost for the Romanorans who had once abandoned them. The merchant houses banded together in mutual self-defense. and narrowly drove out the invading Romanorans. Recognizing this mutual aid as the key to maintaining sovereignty and economic position, formed a federation made from the local city-states and the merchant houses that support them.
Nestoria is a land with people as diverse as it's landscapes. While humans are the majority in Nestoria, it is only narrowly so. Each of the major trade cities will have varying kinds of populations, especially depending on what areas they are bordering. For example, most orcs in Nestoria live on the eastern side of the nation, closer to Romanorum, while most elves live on the western side, closer to Cathay. Kobolds, originally refugees from the Dragon Kingdom, have since raised in prominence, forming their own merchant houses in the north-western part of the nation.
The people of Nestoria value freedom and peace above all, and love a good day of profit. While they compete for mercantile fortune, they generally act in good faith in both their relationships and businesses, preferring solutions that benefit both parties. To them, a happy and satisfied customer is one who will do business with them again in the future. Similarly, a good reputation is important to any Nestorian or the merchant house they belong to. Many Nestorians love to hear about the travels of others, and frequently add stories of their own travels.
As a land at the crossroads of many nations and peoples, discrimination based on ancestry is rare. As a result, people regardless of origin can succeed in Nestoria with the right kind of ambition. In a similar token, the freedom offered by Nestoria is also why it is home to numerous mixed-race peoples whose parents fled discrimination or disdain in their own lands. Religion is neither encouraged nor dictated by law, but in a similar vein to businesses, missionaries or clerics compete to acquire followers for their deities.
The primary division in Nestoria doesn't actually lie in the competition of the merchant houses or city-states, but instead between the different lifestyles lived by the merchants who live in cities and the nomads who live in the rural lands outside the trade routes. The nomads prefer the continuation of their long-held and humble nomadic lifestyles and traditions; loving riding, contests of strength, or storytelling. The people of the trade cities look for expanding their businesses; learning trades, owning and admiring fine craftsmanship, and enjoying new games from travelers who pass through their cities. In particular, they love audacious colors for both their clothes and banners, especially in the otherwise drab eastern deserts and salt flats. As a result, Nestorian cities and trade caravans tend to be very bright and colorful. At the end of the day, both peoples value their freedom and bond over their love of travel, regardless of their ultimate aims for Nestoria.
Religion in Nestoria is varied, and is largely dependent upon the city or nomad group in question. For most of the urban population, Heavens and Primordial Worship are favored, with almost every trade city having one or more shrines or temples dedicated to those deities. As for the nomadic population, they tend to be more monolithic in their beliefs, with some of these groups largely following variants of Heavens or Primordial worship, but some of these groups may hold older beliefs, believing in the power of theirancestors or spirits to guide their fortunes.
Nestoria is home to one of the largest kobold populations in Arda. Kobolds, especially those who favor their draconic origins, venerate the Primordial Air. As a result, Nestoria is home to the most shrines and temples dedicated to the Primordial Air. Many elven nomads also credit the Primordial Air in their prayers, and even many merchants, regardless of ancestry, leave offerings for the Primordial Air for favorable winds and blessed voyages.
Nestoria, in textbook terms, is described as a federation. In practice, Nestoria is a series of closely-allied city-states bound by the need for mutual self-defense and economic regulation. In most city-states, the head of the most powerful merchant company will act as or appoint a ruler. These rulers may go by different titles from city-state to city-state, but function in capacity similar to a magistrate. Each of these rulers meet on a regular basis to discuss the needs of the people and their companies, but will meet more frequently in times of need. In general, they prefer to let each city-state deal with their own local issues, and only pass laws or deploy their forces if they face a common threat.
Each city-state in Nestoria has standing troops, which are most commonly used to protect cities, patrol trade routes, or enforce trade customs. The appearance and training of these troops vary from city-state to city-state, and their equipment and training are typically tailored to their environment. For example, Nestorian troops in the drier eastern side of the nation will favor camel cavalry where they can be deployed more effectively across their desert landscape. The western and more grassy side of the nation will favor horse cavalry which make use of the generally flat and gentle plains of the region, and so on. Fortunately for the people of Nestoria, the Romanorans left behind a series of fortresses when they recalled their troops, and most have been expanded and fortified throughout the centuries. With their proximity to the Dragon Kingdom, the Nestorians can employ their wealth to gain the aid of a renegade dragon from the region, though this is rare.
Realistically, however, the military is not the Nestorian's strong-suit. Their guards are mostly intended and are used to guarding their trade routes from beasts or banditry. Most of the merchant houses prefer to resolve their issues with diplomacy first or in more dire situations, they will levy powerful trade sanctions instead. Only where these first two options have failed will they deploy troops.
The economy is the lifeblood of Nestoria, the raison d'être that has allowed Nestoria to stick together and become a cohesive and influential nation. In particular, the trade from east to west is the foundation which allows the country to prosper despite Nestoria's general lack of arable land or rare mineral deposits. Its central location, however, makes up for the nation's otherwise natural shortcomings. It is located at a natural crossroads between nearly every country on the Eastern and Western Continent. If anything in the world could be found, it will be in the bazaars of Nestoria. The markets are rife with silks from Cathay, spices from Mujmal, magical items from Magnos or mithril from Khazad-Mor in Rian. As such, it is a paradise for traders and collectors the world over, and the Nestorian's have built their economy largely around the moving of goods and hospitality to travelers and merchants.
Other than their central focus on trading exotic goods, the land of Nestoria also has its own domestic goods, largely gathered and cultivated by the nomads who live in the rural lands outside the major trade cities. This includes wool and textile goods, leather, or fine jewelry. In areas nearer to cities they quarry stone, mine salt, grow crops (if possible), blow glass, or produce pottery.
Nestoria, unlike other nations, is largely decentralized. As a federation of states, each can maintain their own network of relations between themselves and outside nations. As such, most of the powerful merchant houses employ their agents to act as diplomats and envoys to foreign nations to establish trade and peaceful relations. Similarly, neighboring nations could have numerous such envoys from Nestoria, each representing one of more of their merchant houses. By having multiple agents, the Nestorians have the advantage of getting multiple perspectives in their diplomatic dealings. The other nations, however, frequently elect to simply send a single diplomat to Nestoria, who will frequently travel across the city-states to deal with each state individually. Most such diplomats will reside in Samarkand, the de-facto capital of Nestoria.
Nestoria has friendly relations to almost all nations of the world, but in particular focuses on those it shares a border with or can trade with easily. It regards both Cathay and Romanorum with some degree of distance, as both empires have had aspirations to conquer their territories. It also has a level of distrust for Harad, who are not only their competitors in the economic sphere, but also have been frequently known to employ bandits and pirates which can threaten Nestorian trade routes.
A part of Geography and Regions See Also
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Geography
Nestoria is a nation of diverse landscapes from mountains, deserts, steppes, and salt flats to plains, rivers, forests and jungles. Much of the landscape is fairly flat, with most of the elevated lands of Nestoria making up the borders of the nation, namely the lands near the Al-Andalus Mountain Range. This geography makes the nation well-suited to their mercantile aims, as the generally flat and gentle lands of Nestoria are a boon to travelers and merchants who traverse the roads in search of fortune. Being on the leeward side of the Al-Andalus Mountain Range, it is generally drier, leading to the deserts and salt flats that make up most of the eastern side of the nation. As one travels west, the land gets greener, with the deserts giving way to steppes and eventually to green and airy fields on the western side of the country. The southern end of Nestoria is bordered in large part by the Silvas Jankil, a vast jungle that straddles the Eastern and Western Continents. The north is home to temperate forests, eventually leading to a number of small port towns that border the Ice Floes.
History
Nestoria, since the earliest days of antiquity, has been a land of nomads and travelers. Elves have long wandered the listless deserts and fertile plains of the land, ultimately seeking out their final destinations in lands like Al-Andalus, Cathay, and Romanorum. For those who stayed, many elves continued to live their long lives as pastoral nomads, seeking out plains and oases to feed their herds, passing on their simple lifestyle to others for centuries or millennia. Over time, permanent settlements began to form around notable locations, such as around oases or rivers that served as centers of trade or craftsmanship in their time. As these settlements continued to develop, so too did it attract the attention of the fledgling Romanoran Empire. With overwhelming force and numbers, the peoples of early Nestoria largely surrendered to the expansion of the Romanoran Empire. Ultimately, this allowed the Romanorans to expand further west, into the land that would become Cathay. Even under Romanoran occupation, Nestorian life did not change greatly.
Under Romanoran occupation, these settlements continued to grow steadily, and numerous of these places were fortified, ultimately doubling as frontier fortresses in addition to being trade centers. This allowed the Romanoran's to have an unbroken supply chain and would facilitate east-west travel and trade, leading to a golden age for the Romanoran elves. Despite this focus on building up settlements, the Romanorans did little to invest in the countryside or new settlements, and many of the local nomads in the area continued to live as they long had. However, this golden age would not last forever.
By the time of the Second Primordial War, the eastern portion of the Romanoran Empire was desperately embattled, and recalled nearly all of their forces in the area, leaving the Nestorians hopelessly defenseless against the Shadow's forces. The resulting power vacuum caused by the departure of the Romanorans caused a long period of lawlessness in the region; which disrupted trade, the lifeline of the nation. The powerful merchant houses of Nestoria, who stood to lose the most, would not let this stand.
Picking up where the Romanorans left off, the merchant houses of Nestoria began to assemble local governments and establish guards with their resources and influence. With their burgeoning trade cities secured, they began to expand their efforts along the major trade routes, securing these as well. For a short period, they began to compete with each other to build power and influence in their own regions. After the events of the Last of the Primordial Wars, Romanorum was beginning to recover from their losses, and looked to regain their former territories in Cathay and Nestoria. The merchant houses, standing to lose much once more, had little love lost for the Romanorans who had once abandoned them. The merchant houses banded together in mutual self-defense. and narrowly drove out the invading Romanorans. Recognizing this mutual aid as the key to maintaining sovereignty and economic position, formed a federation made from the local city-states and the merchant houses that support them.
People and Culture
Nestoria is a land with people as diverse as it's landscapes. While humans are the majority in Nestoria, it is only narrowly so. Each of the major trade cities will have varying kinds of populations, especially depending on what areas they are bordering. For example, most orcs in Nestoria live on the eastern side of the nation, closer to Romanorum, while most elves live on the western side, closer to Cathay. Kobolds, originally refugees from the Dragon Kingdom, have since raised in prominence, forming their own merchant houses in the north-western part of the nation.
The people of Nestoria value freedom and peace above all, and love a good day of profit. While they compete for mercantile fortune, they generally act in good faith in both their relationships and businesses, preferring solutions that benefit both parties. To them, a happy and satisfied customer is one who will do business with them again in the future. Similarly, a good reputation is important to any Nestorian or the merchant house they belong to. Many Nestorians love to hear about the travels of others, and frequently add stories of their own travels.
As a land at the crossroads of many nations and peoples, discrimination based on ancestry is rare. As a result, people regardless of origin can succeed in Nestoria with the right kind of ambition. In a similar token, the freedom offered by Nestoria is also why it is home to numerous mixed-race peoples whose parents fled discrimination or disdain in their own lands. Religion is neither encouraged nor dictated by law, but in a similar vein to businesses, missionaries or clerics compete to acquire followers for their deities.
The primary division in Nestoria doesn't actually lie in the competition of the merchant houses or city-states, but instead between the different lifestyles lived by the merchants who live in cities and the nomads who live in the rural lands outside the trade routes. The nomads prefer the continuation of their long-held and humble nomadic lifestyles and traditions; loving riding, contests of strength, or storytelling. The people of the trade cities look for expanding their businesses; learning trades, owning and admiring fine craftsmanship, and enjoying new games from travelers who pass through their cities. In particular, they love audacious colors for both their clothes and banners, especially in the otherwise drab eastern deserts and salt flats. As a result, Nestorian cities and trade caravans tend to be very bright and colorful. At the end of the day, both peoples value their freedom and bond over their love of travel, regardless of their ultimate aims for Nestoria.
Religion
Religion in Nestoria is varied, and is largely dependent upon the city or nomad group in question. For most of the urban population, Heavens and Primordial Worship are favored, with almost every trade city having one or more shrines or temples dedicated to those deities. As for the nomadic population, they tend to be more monolithic in their beliefs, with some of these groups largely following variants of Heavens or Primordial worship, but some of these groups may hold older beliefs, believing in the power of theirancestors or spirits to guide their fortunes.
Nestoria is home to one of the largest kobold populations in Arda. Kobolds, especially those who favor their draconic origins, venerate the Primordial Air. As a result, Nestoria is home to the most shrines and temples dedicated to the Primordial Air. Many elven nomads also credit the Primordial Air in their prayers, and even many merchants, regardless of ancestry, leave offerings for the Primordial Air for favorable winds and blessed voyages.
Government
Nestoria, in textbook terms, is described as a federation. In practice, Nestoria is a series of closely-allied city-states bound by the need for mutual self-defense and economic regulation. In most city-states, the head of the most powerful merchant company will act as or appoint a ruler. These rulers may go by different titles from city-state to city-state, but function in capacity similar to a magistrate. Each of these rulers meet on a regular basis to discuss the needs of the people and their companies, but will meet more frequently in times of need. In general, they prefer to let each city-state deal with their own local issues, and only pass laws or deploy their forces if they face a common threat.
Military
Each city-state in Nestoria has standing troops, which are most commonly used to protect cities, patrol trade routes, or enforce trade customs. The appearance and training of these troops vary from city-state to city-state, and their equipment and training are typically tailored to their environment. For example, Nestorian troops in the drier eastern side of the nation will favor camel cavalry where they can be deployed more effectively across their desert landscape. The western and more grassy side of the nation will favor horse cavalry which make use of the generally flat and gentle plains of the region, and so on. Fortunately for the people of Nestoria, the Romanorans left behind a series of fortresses when they recalled their troops, and most have been expanded and fortified throughout the centuries. With their proximity to the Dragon Kingdom, the Nestorians can employ their wealth to gain the aid of a renegade dragon from the region, though this is rare.
Realistically, however, the military is not the Nestorian's strong-suit. Their guards are mostly intended and are used to guarding their trade routes from beasts or banditry. Most of the merchant houses prefer to resolve their issues with diplomacy first or in more dire situations, they will levy powerful trade sanctions instead. Only where these first two options have failed will they deploy troops.
Economy
The economy is the lifeblood of Nestoria, the raison d'être that has allowed Nestoria to stick together and become a cohesive and influential nation. In particular, the trade from east to west is the foundation which allows the country to prosper despite Nestoria's general lack of arable land or rare mineral deposits. Its central location, however, makes up for the nation's otherwise natural shortcomings. It is located at a natural crossroads between nearly every country on the Eastern and Western Continent. If anything in the world could be found, it will be in the bazaars of Nestoria. The markets are rife with silks from Cathay, spices from Mujmal, magical items from Magnos or mithril from Khazad-Mor in Rian. As such, it is a paradise for traders and collectors the world over, and the Nestorian's have built their economy largely around the moving of goods and hospitality to travelers and merchants.
Other than their central focus on trading exotic goods, the land of Nestoria also has its own domestic goods, largely gathered and cultivated by the nomads who live in the rural lands outside the major trade cities. This includes wool and textile goods, leather, or fine jewelry. In areas nearer to cities they quarry stone, mine salt, grow crops (if possible), blow glass, or produce pottery.
Relations
Nestoria, unlike other nations, is largely decentralized. As a federation of states, each can maintain their own network of relations between themselves and outside nations. As such, most of the powerful merchant houses employ their agents to act as diplomats and envoys to foreign nations to establish trade and peaceful relations. Similarly, neighboring nations could have numerous such envoys from Nestoria, each representing one of more of their merchant houses. By having multiple agents, the Nestorians have the advantage of getting multiple perspectives in their diplomatic dealings. The other nations, however, frequently elect to simply send a single diplomat to Nestoria, who will frequently travel across the city-states to deal with each state individually. Most such diplomats will reside in Samarkand, the de-facto capital of Nestoria.
Nestoria has friendly relations to almost all nations of the world, but in particular focuses on those it shares a border with or can trade with easily. It regards both Cathay and Romanorum with some degree of distance, as both empires have had aspirations to conquer their territories. It also has a level of distrust for Harad, who are not only their competitors in the economic sphere, but also have been frequently known to employ bandits and pirates which can threaten Nestorian trade routes.
Organizations
- Merchant Houses - Each major city in Nestoria is overseen by one of more merchant houses. These merchant houses generally focus in a certain kind of commerce or product, basing themselves in areas where that good can be traded or produced. For example, a merchant house focusing on silk fabric would be near Cathay, while a merchant house focusing on stone would be near stone quarries near Al-Andalus. Most merchant houses are run by branches of a single large family, but it is not always the case. They can be managed by any kind of person with a knack for business and organization, such as man, orc, or even kobolds. Multiple merchant houses can exist in a single city, but usually only the most powerful have the right or have the influence to appoint rulers.
- The Torches - While their branches are more common in the Eastern Continent, the only Torch base in the Western Continent is in Nestoria, in the city of Samarkand. Their agents primarily monitor the western lands for rumors of Shadow activity.
Locations of Interest
- Samarkand - while each city-state of Nestoria has it's own major city, Samarkand is Nestoria's largest city and a major trade hub for Al-Andalus, Cathay, Mujmal, and Romanorum. Similarly, this location most frequently sees and hosts foreign envoys, which is why it is often considered the capital of the nation. It is located on the eastern side of the country, not far from the Al-Andalusian border.
- Loulan - in a similar vein to Samarkand, Loulan is a major trade hub on the western side of the nation, a short distance from the border from Cathay. It is an important trade cities for merchants from Cathay and Ado.
- Silver Lake - an old elven legend in Nestoria states that those who bathe in its waters will live forever. As such, its waters have been the quarry of merchants and adventurers everywhere. A common phrase in Nestoria is to say someone "found the lake" when they mean that someone has aged well.
Trivia
- Nestoria is loosely based on the free trade cities that existed along the Silk Road in Central Asia during the medieval ages.
- The name "Nestoria" is based on a branch of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, called Nestorian Christianity, which was practiced in these free trade cities.
- Nestoria is intended as a foil for Harad. Both nations are ruled by powerful merchants; Nestoria was a land preserved and enriched by its merchants, while Harad is the cautionary tale of mercantile exploitation
See Also
A part of Geography and Regions See Also
Quick Reference
Type
Region
Region: Western Continent
Government: Federation (of city-states)
National Language: Romanoran Common
Ancestry: 40% Men, 20% Kobold, 15% Orc, 10% Elf, 15% Other or un-described mixed ancestry
Religion: 40% Heavens, 25% Primordial, 20% Ancestral, 10% Druidism, 5% Other
General Alignment: Chaotic Good
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