Reynardia

"The forests here are lovely, no? I think we deserve a little something for that. Let's call it a tax."
-Francois Morneau, highwayman

Home to beautiful forests and idyllic towns and villages, Reynardia seems an ideal place to live. Its people see themselves as free-spirited and passionate. Others, however, often prefer to think of them as listless and unstable, their nation lawless and corrupt.
In many ways, Reynardia is all those things, embracing all parts. This is something of a romantic land, full of a people who live free, both for the better and sometimes for the worst. No matter what, life in the land beneath the flag of the fox is rarely dull.

Structure

The Reynardian government is far different than those found elsewhere in Acitern. They proudly call themselves a kingdom, and do have a hereditary monarchy. However, while their nominal ruler is in many ways a revered figure, they're also primarily a figurehead. They represent Reynardia to the other kingdoms, but little else.
Almost all power actually rests with elected officials. Communities elect officials to an assembly called the House of Citizens in Bellailles , who make laws and make decisions on behalf of the nation. These people often use noble titles such as "baron", "viscount", or "marquise", but they only gain their position through election, not inheritance.
Conversely, on a smaller community scale, the people don't have as much direct control over their leaders. They elect their representative to the House of Citizens, but the day-to-day affairs are usually run by administrators appointed by that representative. Still, unpopular administrators don't keep their posts for long, as most representatives remove them before their own positions are in jeopardy.

Culture

More than anything, the Reynardians value freedom and individuality. This can sometimes lead to a very spotty enforcement of the law, as leaders don't want to be viewed as tyrants and guards ignore laws that conflict with their own values. Few Reynardians mind this, as they, too prefer to go their own way.
In this vein, adventurers are often heavily romanticized. Indeed, although members of this profession are incredibly diverse, more come from Reynardia than anywhere else on Covenant. When adventurers come to Reynardian towns, they are often welcomed very enthusiastically.
This romanticization often extends to outlaws, as well. The view of the attractive highwayman accosting the wicked and aiding those in need is an enduring image in their public consciousness. Few such bandits actually live up to the ideal, but many take effort to create such an image.
The people have a great deal of reverence for one figure specifically: a trickster fey known as Reynard the Fox. Parents tell stories of him deceiving his foes with cunning schemes and tricks, especially the wolf-like Isengrim, who is sometimes believed to represent their Aurandian foes due to their lupine heraldry.
Much like the rest of Acitern, the Reynardian people are followers of the Church of the Light. They are, however, not as devout as many others on the continent, which sometimes leads to them being denounced as heathen. It does also make the human population generally more tolerant of non-humans.

History

Unlike most other places in Acitern, the early history of Reynardia is actually quite well documented. The first people in that territory came from Aurand. Specifically, they were criminals who banded together to escape the law into the nearby forest-- an untouched wilderness that could perfectly hide them.
They didn't find that forest as empty as they expected. Instead they met a gentleman with the head of a fox. With a sly smile he introduced himself as Reynard, and expressed his approval at the independent spirit of those outlaws. He and the fey with him helped them avoid their pursuers and sheltered them in his land.
More came from Auarand after that-- exiles, criminals, and social outcasts, mostly. Due to this, the Aurandians have claimed Reynardia as its own off and on throughout its history, invading again and again. They have even fully conquered more than once, but Aurand could never hold the independent Reynardians for long.
Because of this history of conquest and liberation, Reynardia has been many things throughout its history. It has been an absolute monarchy like the rest of Acitern, a bandit kleptocracy, and most anything in between. One thing that's for certain is that Reynardia will always be changing.
The Reynardians as a whole had comparatively little involvement in the plague of undeath caused by Karad Blackheart. Despite one of the companions of Vidar Elf-Child, Simone Arquiox, being Reynardian, the House of Citizens was unwilling to listen. Since most of the fighting was in Aurand, they were unwilling to intervene on their behalf.
However, the archer Simone was able to inspire many of the people of Reynardia to fight. There were far fewer Reynardians among those who faced Karad's legion of the undead, but they managed to distinguish themselves through their courageous acts of hit-and-run ambush. Despite the lack of official support,  Reynardians never forgot these deeds.

Demography and Population

Due to their greater tolerance of non-humans, the human majority isn't as wide in Reynardia as it is elsewhere on the continent. Gnomes make up the next highest population, as they are more comfortable in the wooded terrain than their halfling counterparts, although they, too have a healthy population.
Those forests are also home to many less sophisticated humanoids that often raid their neighbors. Most of these are bugbears, with goblins as the next most numerous. Reynardia also has the highest population of ogres, which are often used as glorified war beasts by these more intelligent creatures.

Territories

The landscape of Reynardia is famously forested. That dense woodland mostly only thins on the southern border with Llanuria, where the terrain starts to transition into the grasslands that nation is famous for. The elevation subtly rises from the west, making its shoreline much rocker than Aurand's.
The climate of this land is temperate, changing widely based on the season, averaging colder than its southern neighbors. It rains often here, keeping the forests lush and vibrant. The cool rain is sometimes miserable in the fall and spring before giving way to the heavy snows of winter.
As one of the least populated parts of Acitern, it is home to more wild creatures, both magical and mundane, including animals like wolves, foxes, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits and deer. The magical creatures are the likes of griffons, basilisks, cockatrices, and dragons, especially green dragons.
The land is also very close the Otherworld, similar to lands such as Fasach and Sokoku. This makes fey such as sprites, pixies, hags, redcaps, and boggles more common than they are in other places. These are even more inclined to mischief against authority figures due to Reynard's influence.

Military

Much like other places in Acitern, Reynardia has a professional military, but its organization is less strict than others. Promotions and demotions have an unfortunate tendency to be at the whims of those of higher rank. In theory, the chain of command is supposed to protect against this kind of abuse, but in practice this is spotty.
The military as a whole almost operates as an independent wing of the government, but it truly answers to the House of Citizens. How much this is actually true depends on the time and place. Some parts of the country are effectively ruled by the military while in others they have practically no influence at all.
The military officially has only mundane capabilities, and entirely lacks a navy. In times of crisis, Reynardian mages are often paid a great deal of money for their aid. As with the rest of Acitern, divine magic is almost entirely unheard-of as the Church of the Light worships no gods.

Foreign Relations

Easily the most important relationship the Reynardians have is with Aurand, their neighbor to the west. The Aurandians have long considered Reynardia to be prime real estate and invaded more than once. Due to Aurand's higher population and more organized military, they usually win these engagements, conquering Reynardia more than once.
In contrast, they generally have more positive relations with Llanuria to the south, sometimes even allying with them. They are also far kinder than most places on the continent to the nomadic Aciterni, sometimes even welcoming their caravans when they stop near their towns.
Since the schism of Pranish from the Church of the Light and their call to crusade, relations between them an the church, itself have gotten strained due to their immediate refusal. It has become a concern that this might affect their relations with the devout Llanurians, but might also bring them closer to the Pranishans.

Agriculture & Industry

Agriculture tends to be very localized and quite small-scale. Mostly they grow wheat, flax, and potatoes. They also raise livestock such as sheep, chickens, and especially cattle. Most Reynardians have little interest in farming, only choosing to pursue such a work intensive profession out of necessity.
Due to the thick Reynardian forests, many Reynardians make their living logging. Many use this wood to create crafts used throughout Acitern. These loggers usually leave out offerings to Reynard to ensure that the Gentleman Fox leaves them undisturbed in his woodland domain.

Trade & Transport

While Reynardia is not a center of trade, they do exchange goods with Llanuria on a regular basis. Naturally, due to their centuries-old enmity they never trade with Aurand. This is not to say they don't have access to Aurandian goods, however. Instead, they receive them from Bjornland-- transactions that are made all the sweeter by the Bjornlanders receiving the goods through violence.
Naturally, they export mostly wood, especially lumber to Llanuria, but they also ship linen and wool to other nations. They mostly import metals from other places, they usually come indirectly from Pranish, who also tend to indirectly receive Reynardian merchandise.

Infrastructure

Life in Reynardia is far less urban than it is in Aurand, with Bellailles as the only major urban center. Mostly, Reynardian communities are small towns, supporting themselves primarily through logging and small-scale agriculture. Those near lakes and rivers take full advantage of this through fishing.
Those towns and villages that aren't connected by river are connected by roadways that have more like trails than actual roads. These are often quite dangerous, plagued either by bandits or the "friends" of Reynard. Still, the roads are at least safe enough that they can be used.

Type

Geopolitical, Kingdom

Capital

Bellailles

Demonym

Reynardian

Government System

Monarchy, Crowned Republic

Power Structure

Autonomous area

Economic System

Traditional

Location

Acitern

Controlled Territories

• Bellailles

Neighboring Nations

• Aurand
• Llanuria

Notable Members

• Simone Arquiox