Camaerith
Camaerith was one of the four Shelter Cities -- those settlements that survived the Reckoning, where the last surviving Emaxians hid away in the wake of the God-Wars. It is the oldest elven society in Emaxus, and its political institutions have stood since the Age of Rebirth. Camaerithians are strong-willed, intelligent, and cultured -- but the city's isolation has taken its toll.
The threats to Camaerith are many. Though the War Against Orakgra just ended, it was a long and bloody war and its ending was by no means peaceful. Indeed, the coup that rocked the city-state was quick, brutal, and shook Camaerithian society and government to its core. Now, many questions stand as to Camaerith's future: how does the government of Camaerith recover? What cultural changes are needed to avoid another Order of the Forgotten Blood? What makes a Camaerithian?
An Ancient People and a Divine Rescue
Before the Reckoning, Camaerith was the capital of a massive empire. Records and ruins suggest that pre-Reckoning Camaerith spread into even the Theussaun Ridges to the far north. But, as with all things in the God-Wars, Camaerith lost everything. When the entirety of the Camaerithian Empire burned, Syluru and Valereth banded together to save the capital itself. Thus, the Wild Heart and the Arakhor Tathra was born. Camaerithians tell the story often of how those Twin Gods worked together to lift the heart of Camaerith far into the clouds atop a titanic tree -- the Wild Heart -- and then surrounded it with an impenetrable, sacred forest -- the Arakhor Tathra. It is from this isolated perch that the last survivors of Camaerith waited out the final days of the Reckoning. This divine gift had many benefits. For one, it ensured the survival of the Camaerithian people and the preservation of a true pre-Reckoning society -- at least the pieces of it. Also, it made a people who were cultured but skilled and deeply in-touch with the gods and nature; however, over nearly nine hundred years of isolation, it has had its downsides as well. Camaerith has spent all but the last two decades since the Reckoning simply observing the world. While it's impossible to fully generalize a people, there has long been a trend of xenophobia and high-browed isolationism amongst Camaerithians. It is this cultural plague that created the Order of the Forgotten Blood -- an organization that nearly spelled the doom of Camaerith, and perhaps the world. Thankfully, they were defeated by heroic Camaerithians and heroic outsiders. This was a wake-up call for Camaerith, both due to the threat the nationalistic fanaticism of the Order posed and because of the fact that Camaerith was saved by many outsiders. In the time since, Camaerith has begun the slow process of trying to change an elven society that has remained largely unchanged for a thousand years or more.Goals
Prior to the Order of the Forgotten Blood, Camaerith was torn by a faction that desired xenophobic conquest, a faction that sought isolationist stagnation, and a faction that sought openness and globalism. In the wake of the Order, the first faction is largely dead or imprisoned and the second faction has had "fire under their ass," so to speak. Now, for the first time since the Reckoning, Camaerith is in a volatile environment. Within this, there is the potential for great, healthy change, to truly secure a future for Camaerith amidst their fellow Emaxians. But there is also the chance for dangerous back-sliding and impassioned mistakes.Relationships
Camaerith belongs to the Camaerithian Concord, and thus has a strong alliance with the Theussaun Protectorate; however, with the recent end of the War Against Orakgra, that relationship has become more complex. While the remaining members of the Camaerithian Circle are good allies with King Usur himself, the Council of Generals has many opinions about the war ending. Where this web of allies and rivals will go is anyone's guess. Additionally, Camaerith's relationship with Orakgra is tempestuous. While the Circle desires peace and perhaps friendship, there are malcontents within Camaerith and Orakgra who are not so easily placated.Figures of Interest
Ilthinaluvar Aramoira
Chaotic good, high elven archmage Author of The Complete History of Emaxus and Ilthanluvar of Abjuration for the Arcanul Ordinate, Ilthinaluvar Aramoira is perhaps the most influential woman in Camaerith. She was a vehement opponent of the War Against Orakgra since its inception and has been a proponent of Camaerith opening to the outside world since she became an Ilthinaluvar some two centuries ago. A pacifist at heart, Aramoira is an intelligent and strong-willed woman. She was the first to welcome the Five of Swords, and fought alongside them against the Order of the Forgotten Blood. Now, as one of the five remaining Circle members, Aramoira has been working diligently to push Camaerith towards an open, peaceful future.Ilquithea Serode Tathviel
Lawful neutral, wood elven general Now the only Ilquithea in Camaerith, Serode Tathviel is Oron Tathviel's twin sister and a calculating, passionate general. Though she was never against the war itself, she always opposed the way it was being fought. She believed the goal should've been to make the Orakgrans see reason and respect the Arakhor Tathra, not commit genocide. In the wake of the Order's attempted coup, Serode believes there is much to corrected in Camaerithian society. While she agrees with Aramoira on much, she believes Camaerith needs to reckon with its inner strife before going out into the outside world.Ilthinaluvar (Archmage) Findire Maltanthir
Neutral good, wood elven archmage Ilthinaluvar of Bladesinging for the Arcanul Ordinate, Findire Maltanthir is a kind-hearted man who cares deeply for Camaerith and her people -- though he can be spacey, at times. Having been great friends with Aramoira for centuries, Findire opposed the war from the start. When the Order moved, he smote former Ilquithea Earwenen Bertanonel, betrayer of her people and one of the leaders of the Order. Now, with peace attained but tenuous, Findire works to ensure Camaerith reenters the world correctly: through peace, diplomacy, and trade. With Harmathars Oron and Ladrilye, Findire strives for Camaerithian growth and expansion.Harmathar (Master Merchant) Oron Tathviel
Lawful good, wood elven merchant Despite being the owner of Guardian Arms Production (Akhaelerma Yuvia in Camaerath) and the richest man in Camaerith, Harmathar Oron is a serene, non-materialistic man who believes that the purpose of weapons and arms should be to ensure peace, not to pursue war. Good friends with Ilthinaluvars Findire and Aramoira, Oron was a part of the core anti-war party in the Circle. Oron narrowly survived the coup, an event which galvanized his pacifistic beliefs. He works with the Temple of the Twin Gods and the Empyrean Circle to achieve religious and natural harmony in Camaerith once more.Harmathar (Master Merchant) Ladrilye Eleneth
Chaotic neutral, high elven merchant Owner of the Ilphilkiir of Commerce, Ladrilye Eleneth is a shrewd businesswoman who constantly has a dozen things on her mind. Though she was never extremely anti-war nor close friends with the Five of Swords, she has been doing her part since the coup to secure a brighter future for Camaerith. Ladrilye devotes much of her time to securing lucrative foreign deals and trying to get merchants from across the world to set up in the Ilphilkiir's markets.Former Ilthinaluvar Arbane Elendiir
Lawful neutral, wood elven archmage Grandson of Ellas and Ilthinaluvar of the Camaerithian Circle, Arbane worked for most of his seven century-long life to further the machinations of the Order. His father, Fendrel Elendiir, groomed him for specifically this purpose. A cold, calculating man, Arbane likely would have been the perfect Prefect of the Order, had it not been for his wife Aninyel and his daughter Valna. Children among elves are exceptionally rare. As there can only be three hundred elven children every decade, elven parents consider themselves blessed and extremely lucky. Though he did not realize it, Valna's birth and Aninyel's began to form cracks in his purpose to the Order. Arbane did further the War Against Orakgra, enact the coup, and free Ellas, but at the precipice of the Order's victory, it was Valna and Aninyel who stopped him. Aninyel's castigation and Valna's belief in Arbane's true self gave him the willpower to defy Ellas and stop the arcane rites that would replace the Arakhor Tathra with Ellas' prison plane. Though he must still pay for his crimes, it was Valna's willingness to redeem her father that ultimately led to the Order's defeat.Religion
For much of the Age of Extant, Camaerith only really worshipped their saviors: Syluru and Valereth. The Camaerithian temple devoted to the two, known as the Temple of the Twin Gods, is arguably the single grandest temple to Syluru or Valereth in Emaxus; however, since the Concord was formed, Camaerith has created the Aethen (Other) Temple Square, where temples to Laianath, Xaen, An'liceth, Lythaelos, and Yamma rest. Alongside their devotion to certain Children of Yamma, Camaerith is defined by its sometimes-fanatic devotion to nature. They see themselves as the stewards of the Arakhor Tathra and many Camaerithians believe it their divine mission to defend the forest -- a belief that served as the impetus for the War Against Orakgra.Economy
Despite being isolated to the two mile wide canopy of the Wild Heart, Camaerith has a strong economy built on arcane research and magically-amplified industry. Additionally, because the population of Camaerith is so settled and relatively small, the general quality of life is extraordinarily high.Military
Camaerith is defended by the thousand-strong Arms of Mithril, a small army of well-armored, armed, and trained rangers and soldiers devoted to the sanctity of the Arakhor Tathra and the Camaerithian Circle. Sadly, many Arms of Mithril turned in the coup, and many were slain in the fighting that broke out. It will take some time for the Arms of Mithril to recover, for only a fraction remain standing with so many dead, maimed, or imprisoned.
Type
Geopolitical, City-state
Related Traditions
Comments