Kingdom of Aundair

Capital: Fairhaven
Known for cheese, education, fashion, grains, wine, wizardry
Aundair is a land of earth and sky. On the ground, common folk plow fields and raise crops, toiling to make the land’s villages and communities thrive. Fertile farmlands surround the grand cities of Aundair. The nation’s fields and vineyards are among the most bountiful in all Khorvaire, tended by the same families for generations. Although the nation’s largest cities attract traders and adventurers from across the continent, most of its citizens live a simple, rural existence. The floating towers of Arcanix are the finest institute for mystical study in Khorvaire, and magic is deeply ingrained in Aundairian culture. The nation produces more magewrights and wandslingers than any other in Khorvaire.
From the nobles lounging in the towers of Fairhaven to the common folk working the vast vineyards of Bluevine, Aundairians value wit and wisdom. Aundairians prefer finesse to brute force and appreciate cunning wordplay and fine fashions. The Sovereign Host is the dominant faith of Aundair, with a particular devotion to Aureon. However, the Silver Flame also maintains a devoted following — some might say overzealous.
Although Aundair is a small nation, its arcane superiority allowed it retain its dominion during the Last War. The people of Aundair know that knowledge is power, and they take pride in their nation’s magical advancements. To ensure her nation’s prosperity and dominance, Queen Aurala ir’Wynarn instituted the Arcane Initiative, an aggressive series of programs intended to forward the development of mystical infrastructure and battle magic.
Cynics scoff that powerful wizards act as the power behind the throne of Queen Aurala, but there is little evidence that the arcane has an undue influence on the crown. While the nation utilizes master mages for its defense, the common folk are quite capable of defending themselves. They are steadfast, trusting what they know, what they can make, and what they can defend by themselves. The trials of the last century have only strengthened their resolve. Without magic, the average Aundairian works long and hard to succeed. With it, she is even stronger.
While the nation has orders of knighthood, militias drafted from the common folk bolster its standing armies. This is as much out of tradition as necessity — large and extended families are common, and any threat of danger can bring distant relations running to help. When war looms, young men and women gather in the fields to train with simple and martial weapons. Like a thunderstorm rolling across the plains, a noble’s call to battle can marshal armies overnight, mustering commoners willing to fight and die for their land and queen.
When the martial wizards of Arcanix, the Starpeaks Academy, and other secluded schools emerge from their studies, their combined force is undeniable. Enemy tacticians can prepare for an assault against an Aundairian army, but predicting the ways of wizards is far more difficult. To this day, wizards, sorcerers, magewrights, and artificers are held in high esteem.
The influence of wizardry and sorcery has fostered respect for intellect and wit here. From commoners to kings, most Aundairians have strong opinions and enjoy a spirited debate. A typical peasant may possess an encyclopedic knowledge of local and natural lore, while a lord or lady can often regale listeners with local history. Although labor offers its own rewards, the average Aundairian believes that intellect and dedication can overcome nearly any problem. Magic merely empowers and exemplifies these traits. In fact, respect for quick wits and intellectual discipline may very well be one of the reasons so many talented wizards come from this country.
Aundair, the land of wizards in floating castles, ivy-covered universities, fragrant vineyards, and golden wheat fields, struggles to reclaim past glories in the wake of the Last War. The nation isn’t what it once was, having lost land and people to the Eldeen Reaches while trading territory with Thrane. Still, it is a proud land, full of proud people, led by a proud and ambitious queen.
The common folk of this largely agrarian country stand fast to defend their land, valuing wit and bravado and demonstrating a powerful connection to knowledge and magic.
Before there was a Galifar, the human settlement that would eventually become Aundair grew up along the northwestern shore of Scions Sound, in the approximate location of modern-day Thaliost. In fact, that city carries the original name of the nation as a reminder of its beginnings. It wasn’t until later, as the nation spread to the west, that Fairhaven became its capital.
Today, Aundair holds a long sliver of land that stretches from the Eldeen Bay and Scions Sound to the Blackcaps in the south, and is bordered on the west by the Wynarn River. The eastern border is harder to identify, and is hotly disputed with Thrane.

Aftermath of the Last War

Aundair spent most of the Last War in battles against Karrnath and Thrane, and those nations remain rivals to this day. The Treaty of Thronehold established Scions Sound as the border between Aundair and Karrnath, and the two nations eye each other warily over coastlines that bristle with defenses. At any given time, most of the Aundairian Navy’s flotillas are patrolling Scions Sound and Eldeen Bay, keeping a close eye on their Karrnathi counterparts.
Aundair and Thrane were bitter rivals during the Last War. Thrane seized the ancient city of Thaliost during the war and holds it to this day. Most of the people of Aundair remain furious about the occupation of Thaliost, but the city has become a haven for Aundairians who revere the Silver Flame. Aundairians keenly feel the loss of Thaliost and many mutter that it is “Aundair’s by heritage,” believing that Queen Aurala’s diplomats capitulated too easily during the Treaty of Thronehold. Other Aundairians point out that Thrane’s Army of the Northern Crusade was camped in Thaliost when the treaty was signed (and have been in control of the region, for the most part, since 977 YK), so it’s not surprising that Thrane wound up with this chunk of land. Aundair would very much like to reclaim Thaliost — through either diplomatic or military means.
The loss of territory on the western border also continues to haunt Aundair and its leaders. Forty years ago, the nation lost two-thirds of its land mass and a fifth of its people when the Eldeen Reaches declared independence. The western farmers rebelled over high taxes and neglect, allying with the druids of the Towering Wood. Periodic efforts during the Last War to reclaim “Western Aundair” met with bloody failure, and a low-intensity guerrilla war still wages between the Aundair army’s border garrisons and the people of the Eldeen Reaches. Aundair was forced to accept the sovereignty of the Reaches under the terms of the Treaty of Thronehold, but many Aundairians view it as a renegade nation.
Despite the loss of territory, Aundair has strengths that match its strategic ambitions. Aundair’s army and navy are slowly rebuilding from their low point at the end of the war, and periodic saber-rattling about “liberating Thaliost” ensures a steady stream of young recruits. The Arcane Congress provides the country with access to arcane magic that often exceeds that available anywhere outside the dragonmarked houses. Moreso than any other nation, Aundair integrates arcane magic into its military efforts — from the magic missile-casting sorcerer attached to an infantry squad and the artificer-built arcane weaponry, to the summoned creatures and earthshaking spells of mighty wizards. This arcane potency is enough to make any enemy think twice before clashing with Aundair.
Extensive use of magic has repaired most of the damage to the cities of Aundair, but the countryside remains scarred by the war, especially along the border with Thrane. The Crying Fields are a region of farmlands permanently scarred by magic and haunted by restless spirits. Aundairians claim their nation is stronger than ever, but some worry about the long-term impact of the loss of the Eldeen farmlands and the Crying Fields.
Now, Aundairians debate over differing views of their nation’s future. Some believe the first focus should be reuniting Aundair and the Eldeen Reaches, whether through diplomacy or force. Others consider Thaliost to be the pressing issue. And still others support Queen Aurala’s claim to the throne of Galifar.

Aundairian Style

What distinguishes Aundairian style from its neighbors? As in the other nations, the influence of the unified kingdom of Galifar makes some aspects of architecture and fashion similar, but Aundair has developed its own variations that make it stand out from the rest of Khorvaire.

Art

The people of Aundair tend to employ paint and rhyming verse when it comes to artistic expression. Fine art, in the form of oil paintings and watercolors, ranges from realistic renderings of landscapes and people to the uniquely developed and increasingly popular Mage-Aundist style. First seen in the markets of Arcanix, this form combines a highly stylized approach that uses mildly glamered, richly pigmented paints to create a type of expression that one Wynarn University provost called “life at its essence, as seen through an arcane haze.” Compared to its fine art, Aundairian rhyming verse tends to be crude, boisterous, and relatively unsophisticated.

Architecture

The people of Aundair prefer neat, orderly construction that stresses function above style or comfort. That isn’t to say that Aundairian architecture is neither stylish nor comfortable, just that utilitarian concerns are first and foremost in mind when a building is designed and constructed.
In Aundairian cities and towns, towers of magically worked stone form the central spoke from which the rest of the community grows. Most buildings tend to be made of brick or worked stone, though wood is used in portions of the construction. Everything has an elegant look, light and airy, with ornate features that suggest the soaring spirit and outlook of the people of this nation.
Farms and villages promote a simple architectural style that one can find throughout the rural regions of the Five Nations. A traveler can tell he’s visiting a farm in Aundair, however, due to the concave gables that adorn the roofs of the houses, barns, and outbuildings.
Interior design throughout the nation strives to create open, airy, well-lit rooms with high ceilings and few partitions separating one space from another.

Cuisine

Aundairian cuisine features a cacophony of ingredients that their classically trained chefs turn into a symphony of taste and texture. Aundairian meals consist of small portions presented in elegant fashion, each plate a beauty to behold and a wonder to savor. Sauces play a heavy role in any recipe, and the cuisine of this nation is considered to be exquisitely rich and suitable for special occasions.
Pan-seared rabbit with an Aundairian wood-nut sauce, gold pheasant stuffed with sparkle mushrooms and rice, and dragon salmon in butter and dark wine sauce are particular favorites that have begun appearing in House Ghallanda inns throughout the Five Nations.
This region also has a reputation for its premier vineyards, and the wines of Aundair are considered among the fi nest in all of Khorvaire. Some of the best recent vintages now being traded in markets across the land include fireburst wine from the vineyards of Arcanix, dark Orla-un wine known for its fruity sweetness, and Windshire rainbow wine, a type of mursi (red wine) that changes color and flavor as one consumes a glass.
Finally, Aundairian pastries and sweets reveal a level of artistic and culinary sophistication unmatched throughout the Five Nations. From tarts to cremfels (thin, fruit-and-cream-filled pancakes), the desserts that originated in this region combine elegance with artistry that reveals at least a portion of the Aundairian spirit.

Fashion

The Aundairian taste for elegance and sophistication extend to the fashions worn in cities such as Fairhaven and Passage, where frilled glimmersilk combines with ornately decorated cloaks and jackets to adorn the rich and powerful. Those of more modest means attempt to duplicate these styles as best they can, using spidersilk or some similarly less expensive fabric in place of glimmersilk. Men and women in the cities and larger towns wear elegant party gloves in public, a style that began as an accoutrement to fashions worn for a night on the town but have become the common practice.
Many feel that they haven’t fi nished dressing if they haven’t donned their party gloves. The simpler folk, including common laborers and farmers, wear simpler garb. Everyday clothes for both men and women include the bard-style tunic, a pullover shirt with a V-cut neck and flared sleeves, durable cotton pants, and sturdy leather boots. Most men try to have at least one set of “best clothes,” an outfit suitable for wear to a town gathering, a special function, or holiday party. Women keep a simple dress and an elegant dress (made of glimmersilk or spidersilk if they can afford it) for the same purposes.

Data based on census ordered by royal decree, 997 YK.

Population: 2 million
Area: 560,000 square miles
Sovereign: Queen Aurala ir’Wynarn, heir to Galifar and Regent of the Brightest Realm
Capital: Fairhaven
Major Cities: Passage, Stormhome
Climate: Temperate
Highest Point: Mt. Colieris in the Starpeak Range, elevation 16,112 feet
Heraldry: The head and wings of a dragonhawk, on a field of blue, beneath the tome of knowledge and grains of unending wheat
Founder: Wrogar, fourth scion of King Jarot
National Motto: “What we sow in effort, we harvest in good fortune.”

Type

Geopolitical, Country

Interesting Things About Aundair

• Arcanix is the most prestigious academy of magic in Khorvaire. Most of its sages specialize in ritual magic and abstract theory, and don’t have the full powers of wizards.
• Magic permeates many aspects of Aundairian life — more so than other nations. A cleansing stone graces every village, and you might encounter animated farming equipment in the fields. The Knights Arcane are an elite unit of eldritch knights, and the spies of the Royal Eyes of Aundair specialize in divination magic.
• Some Aundairian nobles are bound by arcane pacts handed down through generations. Only remarkable heirs develop into warlocks. Most such lines have an Archfey patron.

Five Things Every Aundarian Knows

1. The names of fine wines and other liquors. Not every Aundairian can afford Bluevine wine or something from the Mount and Moon cellars, but everyone can name his or her favorite labels and engage in animated conversations about the relative merits of each.
2. Some signature dueling moves. Aundairians love the flash of swordplay, and even the clumsiest citizen can slowly emulate the “twisting lunge” or “dragonhawk riposte” that he sees in the swordfighting demonstrations common in village square entertainment.
3. A bit about horses. With its rolling verdant hills, Aundair is horse country second only to Valenar in Khorvaire.
4. Several “add-a-verse” songs. Popular as everything from children’s lullabies to drinking chanties, rhyming songs where a verse is added each time (such as “The House that Galifar Built” or “The 12 Days of End Year”) are an Aundairian tradition. Some run for nearly a hundred verses.
5. The Epic of the Valiant and Vigilant. Popularized some forty years ago by Aundair’s bards, this tale takes about forty-five minutes to recite — and most Aundairians have heard it so many times that they can recite it from memory. The Epic of the Valiant and Vigilant describes the twin sieges of Tower Valiant and Tower Vigilant in 951 YK, told from the perspective of two lovers, each trapped within one of the castles but believing the other to be safe.