Theocracy of Thrane

Thrane is one of the original Five Nations that formed the Kingdom of Galifar before the Last War. It is the only nation out of the five that has replaced its monarchy with a theocracy. Unlike the other nations, which largely worship the Sovereign Host, Thrane's state religion is the Silver Flame. Politically, Thrane is very different to the other Five Nations. The most notable deviation is that it is no longer a monarchy but the first and only theocracy of Khorvaire. After the death of King Thalin, many were concerned about the weakness of the next-in-line, Prince Dalsin. Since the country was at war, it was relatively easy to convince the people to want to replace the prince. In 914 YK, Prince Dalsin ceded the throne to the Church of the Silver Flame without opposition. The Church's takeover of a monarchy was seen as threatening by the monarchs of neighboring nations, and as a result Thrane often feels isolated and had the most difficulty during the Last War making alliances. The head of state of Thrane is the Keeper of the Flame, the spiritual leader of the Church of the Silver Flame. The current Keeper, Jaela Daran, is very young, only 11 years old. As a result, the de facto leader of Thrane is Jaela's regent, High Cardinal Krozen. Who should rule the country is probably the biggest political debate within Thrane. The majority are content with the status quo, but many believe that the monarchy should be restored. To this day, the scions of the Thranish monarchy are simply figureheads without any temporal power. Ruling Queen Diani Flamekeep ir'Wynarn supports the return of the monarchy and many Thranes, especially nobles, support her return. A third proposition to solve this problem exists within Thranish politics, one held by Captain Otherro of the Knights of Thrane, is that the monarchy should be restored to rule alongside the church rather than replace them. Supporting the side of restoring the monarchy however, are a group of extremists known as The Galifar Loyalists or colloquially the Throneholders . This group criticizes the events in which the church seized control of the nation, thus casting doubt on its legitimacy. Thrane is still rebuilding from the Last War and its treasury is low. It is in debt to many dragonmarked houses, particularly House Kundarak and in return its citizens are overtaxed. Unable to afford large-scale repairs, many cities show signs of destruction wrought by invaders. The dragonmarked houses find it very difficult to operate within Thrane due to the church's strict legislation.

Culture

Thranes are overwhelmingly honest and passionate about their state religion, the Silver Flame. Thranish culture is conservative in that the Thranish are devoted to religion, family, work, and puritanical ideals. Thranes are known to be hard working, and once accepting a task, they devote themselves to its completion. The Thranish tend to lead abstinent lives; gambling, carousing and similar hedonistic activities are frowned upon. Religion Despite common belief, the majority of Thranes are not zealots and tolerate other belief systems because most are aware that Tira Miron herself started as a paladin of Dol Arrah. The Thranish understand that the Silver Flame demands its followers only destroy evil incarnate in the forms of the undead, fiends, and other abominations. If a paladin sensed evil within a person, they would council them back to the light and as a rule would not attempt to execute them. However, on some extreme occasions, this has been too hard a set of ideals to follow. Art Thranish art embraces and expresses the tenets of the Silver Flame. The most popular style of art in Thrane is Kree-Flamic, a stylized form of rendering that uses cubes and triangles to create all shapes and images. A counterculture has emerged within Thrane's art world known as Pre-Kingdom style and though still small it is growing. Cuisine Most foreigners tend to think that the theocracy stifles secular life in Thrane, but Thranish cuisine is surprisingly good. During a diplomatic visit Princess Wroya of Breland once said "It is like a breath of fire in the cold of a dark winter's night" after partaking in the Feast of the Silver Flame. Thranish cuisine utilizes thrakel spices cooked in thick sauces. Thrane cuisine tends to be heavy, filling and spicy. Renowned Thranish dishes are thrakel-seared beef in red sauce, three-thrakel fish stew, and silvered vegetable skewers. Desserts are also popular and are used to counteract the spicy nature of the main meal. The desserts are often sweet and served cold, the most famous of which is silverfruit pie topped with beesh-berry sorbet.

History

Under Galifar The nation of Thrane's name originates from its first governor-prince, Thrane ir'Wyrnan, in a formal proclamation in 32 YK. However, the nation itself was one of the original five human nations during the settlement of Khorvaire until it was conquered by Galifar I. After Galifar's conquest, Thrane was governed by relatives of the king of Galifar until the Last War. In 299 YK, fiends began invading Thrane from a chasm in the Tamor Hills. This incursion was defeated only after a paladin named Tira Miron sacrificed herself to defeat the leader of the fiends. Tira's sacrifice inspired the creation of the Church of the Silver Flame, which would become the dominant faith in Thrane by 400 YK. The Last War When King Jarot died in 894 YK, Thalin ir'Wyrnan was the governor of Thrane and a devout follower of the Silver Flame. Seeing the chaos following Jarot's death, Thalin broke with tradition and declared Thrane independent with himself as its King, believing himself to have divine right to rule, helping to spark the Last War. After Thalin's death in 914 YK, Thrane rejected his son Prince Daslin as too weak for the throne, and instead became the first theocracy in the Five Nations. Thrane fought zealously despite being surrounded on all sides by enemies during the Last War. But while it ended the war owning territory from Aundair and Breland, including the former Aundairian capital of Thaliost, many lives were lost and coffers drained in the process.

Territories

Thrane is located in central Khorvaire, sharing its western border with Aundair and its southern one with Breland. It also shares a small land border with the Mournland in the south-east, though it is largely separated from the Mournland by the Scions Sound, which forms nearly all of Thrane's east coast and also separates it from the nation of Karrnath. Thrane's long coastline on the Scions Sound gives it close proximity to Thronehold. Thrane occupies a rich territory of fertile farmland and large forests. What is now northern Thrane was historically a core part of Aundair, most notably Thaliost, the former Aundairian capitol.