Rhowyn (/Ro-in/)

Tall spires and floating castles define the skyline of Rhowyn's cities, their dense populations interspered by backwoods farmland whose population is superstitious but sedate. Rhowyn is a land of magic - from the high halls of the Nexus Aurorealis to the twisted Razi commoners, magic and the Warp has had a profound effect upon this former client of Delos'Nordan. Today primarily humans, the Rhowydians are a mystical folk who embrace the power of arcana and strive to understand its inner machinations with a pragmatic regard for the Warp.

History and Government

Rhowyn is the most silent of the Minstrel Kingdoms, and yet the most mysterious. It is explicitly uninviting to would-be adventurers, its borders closed off except for well-reasoned travel, and hidden everywhere appears to be a Clockwork Raven, surveilling and reporting all wanderers' affairs. Most who give a few minutes of thought can find enough justification to get through, but the nation is an unsettling place to be, and most rejected turn away before wasting their precious minutes.
To be clear, Rhowyn is not an evil place; it is simply a place where magic runs free, and where the ruling mages see it prudent to see that magic controlled - well, at least, as much as it can be. Arcana has brought the Warp to the very land of Rhowyn, and the whole region appears to be perpetually clouded, its trees warped with their veins enchanted, its animals tainted, prone to an erratic nature. Between Rhowyn's small settlements there is not much travel except for minor trade, and within them, things tend to be sedentary, as farmers tend to their fields without much regard for the ruling mages.
Rhowyn was not originally founded as a client-state of Delos'Nordan, as the other Minstrel Kingdoms were. Instead, Rhowyn was a region of Delos'Nordan itself, with a sizable human population subjugated by the dominant elves. The influx of humans during the exodus, as well as the Third Elven War, saw an exchange in power and a brief period of wanton violence against the elves, which all but eradicated them from Rhowyn's borders, as those who did not flee were killed. Magic has run wild in Rhowyn long before the elves first entered, and it is rumored that dragons roost beneath the ground, spreading the seeds of arcane power. In the power vacuum which followed elven withdrawal, Rhowyn's intelligentsia seized control, and it has been ruled by mages ever since.
Rhowyn's true majesty shines in its cities. The eponymous capital city boasts some of the greatest colleges in the land, offering formal training in all spheres, and through all perspective, from the lowly sorceror to the highly wizard. The college even offers classes in the arcane and psionic sources, which are illegal in most other regions of the world; it draws the line at the dark and wild ways, but experts on even these can be found on its premises, and are more than willing to share their knowledge with the good-of-pay and good-of-heart. Further south, Old Ironbrand is built upon ancient ruins, by rumor predating even High Elven society, and the mysterious mages have long studied their properties.

Cities

Rhowyn

Rhowyn is the capital of the nation of Rhowyn, an elven city formerly held by the Client of Emyana Ortheid. It has characteristically elven architecture, though its slums sprawl out in a decidedly more human style, as it boasts a population of nearly one-hundred and sixty-thousand. At the center of Rhowyn lies the massive complex of colleges that compose the Nexus Aurorealis, Rhowyn's magical university, for which the nation is famed. Over half of the residents live on property directly owned by the university, which, in turn, is overseen by the Council of Spheres, the nation's ruling government.

Old Ironbrand

Old Ironbrand is a city built upon a city which is rumored to predate even the High Elves themselves. The original constructors of this city are unknown, as is the veracity of such rumors, but the Council of Spheres has long invested in excavations and experiments within its walls - something is of interest to them. While magic runs wild throughout Rhowyn, it is notably sedate in Old Ironbrand's walls, taking on a more muted tone, supposing that one can cast it at all. Old Ironbrand is a city of over two-hundred thousand, and it could house twice as many more within its walls; so long as the buildings would be rebuilt, of course...
Just as the capital, Old Ironbrand also has its own university of note, which primarily focuses on engineering, history, and philosophy. It is known as the College of Arches, but is pejoratively referred to as the "Nexus Asinine" by students of its magical counterpart in Rhowyn.

Olmra

Olmra is a quiet hamlet which lies in the shadow of the Lone Peak Mountain. It's a town through which many travel on their way through Rhowyn, but in which most prefer not to stay long. About fifty residents live in Olmra permanently, the vast majority of which consider themselves to be proud Razi. This permanent populace includes a small tent city which lies at the hamlet's periphery.
Above Olmra there flies a Sky-Bastion which has long been steeped in mystery. According to legend, its inhabitant is a powerful wizard with connections to the Council of Spheres. This wizard never comes down to speak with the people he nominally rules over, and the hamlet has long elected a mayor to handle their affairs in his stead.

Geography

Rhowyn is primarily a nation of open plains, which often flood when the rivers take in rain. Ah, and another thing - the clouds are always raining here. The plains are thus almost perpetually flooded, albeit in unpredictable ways, and this can make the roads an unreliable path to tread. Wandering off of the roads is never recommended, however, and most who encounter troubles are advised to turn around the way they came.
Aside from the rivers, the nation borders several sources of water, including the Belthore Sound, though it primarily leaves jurisdiction over these to its neighbors. Trade comes to Rhowyn from the northern , but it has no significant ports, and goods typically make their way into one of several villages where merchants congregate to ship them down further inland.
Rhowyn lays partial claim to the Lone Peak Mountain, which its divine mages study intently. It is, in fact, a tradition that all graduates of the Nexus Aurorealis traverse the peak to peer across the worlds, as the deities once did in ages long past. This tradition is known as the Glancening, a perversion of the Common language that the humanities professors of Old Ironbrand can simply 'tsk' in response to.

Resources

The farmers of Rhowyn have long learned to adapt to its dangerous weather, and primarily plant crops that can survive well in unpredictable circumstances, especially rice. Almonds are also a food staple in regions of Rhowyn which are more stable. Grazing animals is an alternative for the less handy farmers, though they have to take care to keep their eye on the livestocks, lest it grow an extra limb.
Beyond this, Rhowyn exports little in raw goods. It's said that the Council of Spheres transmutes barley into gold to fuel its treasury, but, in truth, a combination of plunder, tuition, and debt allow the nation's continued existence. Emyana Ortheid was a rich elven Client, with gold stored primarily in Old Ironbrand, most of it left behind for the humans to inherit... of course, after several centuries, that is on the brink of running out.

Ethnicities

Rhowyn does not have any prominent native peoples, as most of its population comes from various human incursions into a land once integral to Delos'Nordan. It is, however, home to the Razi, humans who have been warped by magic. The Razi are not technically an ethnicity, but they have erected cults and exclusive communities around their shared mutations, which allow them to evade persecution within broader society.

Diplomacy

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"Land of Mystic Magic"

Adjectives: Rhowydian
National Animal: Clockwork Raven
(technically, the raven is the national animal of Rhowyn - a holdover from its times as an Elven client - but everybody associates its ravens with clockwork)
National Instrument: Kalimba

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Ethnicities: Rhowydians, Razi, Delos'Nordani
Languages: Human Common (Pharosian Gultic), Pharosian Common (Rhowyd)

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Capital: Rhowyn
Ruler: The Council of Spheres
Government: Magocracy

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Hallmarks: Wizardry, witches, rice, surveillance
Characteristics: Superstitious, reticent, pragmatic, secretive

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