Talingrad

"Victor in Pace, Et in Bello, Et in Gloria"

Talingrad is one of the most virtuous, pious, and noble nations in the world today, at least publicly. The land is currently ruled by a Queen Ericka I, called the Ironbound, adopted daughter of House Darin. The foreign spouse of the deceased monarch William Augustus Darin, called the Victor, she holds the throne for her heir and daughter, the beautiful princess Dariah. This ascendant monarchy is heavily intertwined with the church of Iomedae, the Inheritor.
Iomedae, the Inheritor, is the goddess of righteous valor, justice, and honor. In the heavily organized church of Talingrad, she is the justification for laws, hierarchies, and knightly orders. So ingrained is her church in Talingrad these days, that other religions are often pushed to the periphery, ostracized, and in many cases, outlawed entirely. The Knights of the Alerion, he elite warriors of Talingrad, are an Iomedaen order. The monks of St. Macarius, who travel the land healing the sick and helping the needy, are also an Iomedaen order. Supposedly the house of Darin, the royal family of Talingrad, are devout followers of hers as well, at least officially.
This wasn’t always the case. Before the reign of house Darin, Talingrad worshiped an entire pantheon of deities. From Torag among the dwarves, and Calistria among the elves, Desna for the dreamers, to Pharasma, to Gozreh and natures domain. In the Caer Bryr, it is believed some of these shamanic deities are still worshiped, as are imported deities from Karlsguard and beyond in the Savage North. Even darker deities like Asmodeus, god of ambition were allowed worship.
Then came the purges of House Darin, where the worship of Asmodeus was outlawed, the worship of racial deities was pushed to the periphery and the worship of anyone besides Iomedae precluded anyone from certain employment. The silence at the end of the 6th Era only served to strengthen the organized church, and increase its political power across the nation. With the current reign of queen Ericka, eager to distance herself from rumors that she and her former husband venerated deities from Karlsguard has allowed the church free reign in her attempts to unify the nation. These attempts have largely been successful, devout followers of the Inheritor will not say the names of certain deities, referring to them as “the Silenced” or in the case of Asmodeus “the Fallen”.
The Kingdom of Talingrad today consists of the southern half of the large Island of Talingrad just west of the Sea of Ghosts and north of the Licidian ocean. The heartland of the nation consists of the curved inverted "U" making up the large Cambrian Bay. Cities dot the coast of this bay, and it is from these cities that Talingrad exerts its power. The north of the island consists of the "savage north" as the natives of Talingrad call it. It is a hostile wasteland populated by cannibalistic halflings, snow elves, goblins, giants, and sentient polar bears.

Structure

Talingrad is a Monarchy, with heavy ties to the clergy and the nobility. It is ruled by a sovereign leader, who executes the decisions of the state and all matters of foreign policy. The Sovereign king or queen seeks council on decisions and laws from a Parliament, and it is expected that they should work together for the proper administration of the kingdom.
Talingrad possesses a parliament based out of the Capital of Matharyn, charged with day to day functionality and laws, and the administration of the kingdom. The "council of the estates" as it is known, is divided into two houses, one for the clergy and one for the nobility. The reason for the parliament is to primarily ensure that the monarchy has the consent of it's governed parties for the actions that it takes, and that it acts in line with the peoples direction.
The clergy appoints at any time fifteen members at any time to represent the interests of the various religious orders and institutions across the nation of Talingrad. These members serve in the "inheritor's council" and members of this parliament are referred to as "the Venerable" before their given name. Terms of office are for as long as the clergies internal structure desires their appointment, with some members having served for decades at a time.
The nobility, or the "landed tenants" as they are sometimes known is a larger body of associates. In theory any land holder who can establish significant enough proof of capital may serve in the nobility. However, to do so they must be granted a title of "baron" or greater. As the titles of Baron (or Baroness) are bestowed by the parliamentary council however, this in effect means that the parliament is allowed to choose who it's members are. The Monarch may also directly appoint noble titles, and has done so in the course of modern Talingrad history to especially deserving knights, heroes, and distinguished persons of the realm. The nobility serve in the "landed council", and membership currently fluctuates between one hundred fifty and two hundred members based upon attendance and proof of wealth.
Other important positions include:
Prince or Princess: Referring to the "first citizen", traditionally the eldest child is considered next in line for the monarchy within the order of ascension and is called the "crown prince/princess". The current Crown Princess is Dariah Augustus Darin.
Duke or Duchess: Refers to members of the nobility who run entire duchy's or large territories of land or cities. Current Dukes include

• Duke Hadrian Barca of Ghaster: Duke of Ghastenhall
• Duke Argus Welshire: Duke of Farholde.
• Duke Martin Sempronis: Duke of Daveryn
• Duke Hubert Rowen: Duke of Matharyn
• Duchess Orssa Pribi: Duchess of the Greenwood
• Duke Jobin Quinrich: Duke of Ambryl
• Duchess Polly Havelyn: Acting Duke of Havelyn
• Duchess Lily Bell: Duchess of Estyllis

Earl or Countess: Ranked below Dukes or Duchess on the titles of Talingradi nobility, these lesser nobles may run small settlements, or possess significant enough peerage to hold the title through centuries of tradition. While the title was popular under the Barcan line, it has fallen out of traditional appointment with the rise of house Darin.
Viscount or Viscountess: Ranked below Earl or Countess on the titles of Talingrad nobility, these titles traditionally were appointed to judges, and other chief administrators of the Talingrad government. Additionally, it is not uncommon for the rank of Viscount or Viscountess to be used for heirs of Earldoms or Dukedoms within Talingrad society. A rank of Viscount is thought to be the highest rank that a non-landed member of the Talingrad population can hope to obtain through skill or purchase, and such these members of nobility are entitled the right to hold certain lands across the heartland.
Baron or Baroness: The lowest level of the Talingrad nobility. The title is typically granted to new members of the landed tenants in exchange for sufficient capital to their patron or to the state of Talingrad. The title allows one to participate in affairs within the landed council, to hold land, or to marshal local populations in the defense of a territory from outside incursion.
Lesser titles of Nobility: The following titles are considered honorifics displayable to the common population of Talingrad, but do not grant ranks within the peerage system.
Baronet: A lesser title of nobility, the origin of the term Baronet was created in order to honor deeds of certain knights and soldiers for their assistance in the defense of Talingrad after the "second great war" of the north. Not wishing to grant certain dwarves and halflings and svirfneblin who participated full titles of nobility, the term Baronet was created to grant them the honorific of "Sir" or "Lady" without the need for additional support. Indeed, it is thought that during both these wars and the "Skald Law" of the 5th era, no less than 4000 baronets were appointed by various dukedoms to foreigners and commoners in exchange for their defense of the realm. As a result, no official role of all existing baronets exist, and it is up to individual baronets to prove their rank to the city record keepers of Matharyn. In theory a Baronet is entitled to be gifted lands (though they may not purchase them), but this practice is rarely used outside of specific Earldoms or Dukedoms. Some members of specific cultures or races have petitioned multiple times for their Baronet reinstated or upgraded to a full title of nobility, but the difficulty in verifying the claims of appointments makes such appeals difficult to grant.
Knights: Talingrad possesses several orders of knights both intertwined with and independent of the church of the Inheritor. Knights are granted the title of Sir, or Dame, and under the current rule of house Darin are entitled to a small stipend each year from the royal treasury, taken out of the taxes of the countries holdings.

Public Agenda

The public agenda of Talingrad, as dictated by the House of Darin is as follows:
1. Preserve the greater public good for all citizens of Talingrad. 2. Guard the Watchwall and defend the realm against all the savages that lie beyond. 3. Protect the shores of Talingrad from hostile incursion from Karlsguard, or any other nation that would threaten Talingrad's sovereignty. 4. Spread the truth of the Inheritor to all borders of Talingrad and beyond. 5. Maintain the Moral, Political and Social Order for all aspects of society within Talingrad.

Assets

Talingrad's assets can be broken down economically, militarily, and socially, as shown below:
Economics: Talingrad is a largely protectionist economy, that does not participate in trade in excess with other nations. This is not to say that trade does not exist, as individual merchants in Ghastenhall participate in a booming trade industry. It is simply to say that the Talingrad government chooses not to participate. Talingrads natural resources include:

• Salt
• Niter
• Robust Farmlands producing wheat, barley, sheep, cattle and fish
• Limestone
• Iron
• Gold
• Chalk
• Silk
• Truffles
• Lumber

Military: Talingrad possesses one of the most advanced militaries on the northern continent of Artalnaas. The key to their military strength is their navy, which while in repair from losses during their war with Karlsguard some 23 years hence, is still far and away the most intimidating ship design in the hemisphere. Frigates and Ships of the Line as they are called are the backbone of the Talingrad Navy, possessing rows of cannons to arrange a "line of battle" with which to decimate enemy fleets. Ships are denoted H.M.S. referring to His (Her) majesties ship, and are typically commanded by a captain, or admiral in the case of a flagship. Providing air support for these crews are members of the clergy, who provide holy beacons of energy against their enemies, and dispel any who would approach by air. In dire situations, members of the celestial host are often called upon to support the fleet if there is ever concern for loss of control of the battle.
On land, specific dukes are often called upon to field armies at the behest of the monarchy, who in turn call upon their own members of nobility. The only permanent land based military in Talingrad are members of the Watchwall, led by the "lords of the wall", defending primarily in skirmishes from the north. However, these forces are supplemented by orders of religious warriors and paladins belonging to the church of the Inheritor, both working independent of, and in tandem with Talingrad's army. The truly most dangerous warriors on the battlefield are often members of these knightly orders, as they can call the heavens themselves to battle if so ordered. The greatest order of Knights in Talingrad are the "Knights of the Alerion" a holy order whose origins can be dated back to before the Skald Wars.
Socially: Unarguably, Talingrad's greatest asset is its people, and it's peoples work ethic. The Talingrad people maintain an heir of poise, from the greatest noble to the lowliest commoner, within Talingrad society. It's people are pious, honest, and ready to do their duty. Any who would question this mentality, is no citizen of Talingrad at all.

History

Please See the Timeline of Talingrad for a full history of the island. The timeline is located below

Victor in Passe, et in Bello, et in Gloria.

Founding Date

3420 PCR

Type

Geopolitical, Country

Alternative Names

The Shining Nation

Demonym

Talingradi

Leader

Queen Ericka I, Called the Ironbound

Location

The Isles of Talingrad

Controlled Territories

• The Isles of Talingrad

Related Ethnicities

• Dwarves of Talingrad
• Elves of Talingrad
• Gnomes of Talingrad
• Goblin Races of Talingrad
• Halflings of Talingrad
• Humans of Talingrad
• Monstrous Races of Talingrad
• The Naatanuk