Kingdom of the Heartlands

The Heartland is a kingdom in the northwest and center of east Valahir. Finorin is the king of the heartlands and the capital is Val Niar. The kingdom is known to be neutral in wars but will strike back ruthlessly against any invaders. Many believe that the kingdom is one of the last remaining bastions of freedom and equality. The Hellenist faith teaches it's followers that the land was blessed by the gods because the saint Hellen was born there. They claim it is the reason that the land has all the natural resources it needs, but there is no actual data to support this.

"We are a free nation, from now on until the end of time."

— Field Marshal Hans von Königsmarck

Structure

Executive Branch

The head of state is chosen by the senate, also called the council of order or the council of elders. Depending on their gender, the monarch is called king or queen. If they marry, the law grants their spouse considerable authority, although it is inferior to that of the actual monarch and his hand. Usually the oldest child of the monarch is groomed for the post and chosen when they are of age and their parents are killed or abdicate. If the king or queen are unable to rule the kingdom the hand of the king (or queen) steps in. The hand is the monarch's proxy and is only subordinate to them. The kingdom itself is divided into regions with capital fiefs. Lords govern the different regions from their fiefs and keep the peace in the name of the monarch.

Legislative Branch

Laws, regulations and policies of the kingdom are decided by the senate. The senate appoints a king everytime an old one dies or abdicates, but it also has the ability to create a provisional government for a maximum of one year if no favourable candidate for the throne is found. Senators are elected by the people, usually they're old military figures, lords, rich merchants, and other important citizens of the kingdom.

Judicial Branch

Every few years, each city in the kingdom elects several judicial officials, also called justices. When the guards capture lawbreakers these men and women are judged by at least three justices. Each time a senate is chosen, new people are appointed to the high tribunal by the senate. The high tribunal deals with important or unique cases to set up a precedent.

Culture

Religion

Because many different races and people live in the heartlands, it is a melting pot of different cultures and religions. So it's impossible to assign one single culture to the people of the heartlands. However, the largest religion in the nation is the eldarnín faith, the ancient elven belief in gods of sun and moon. A large amount of dwarves believe in ancient gods, each representing one aspect of the stone, many others claim that dwarves are the descendants of dragons and some have entirely different beliefs. Humans rally under diverse beliefs such as the hellenist church or the varadin mythos. Most people believe in a blend of different religions and the lines between cultures are often blurred.

Traditions

Regardless of what faith, religion or beliefs there are some traditions that are upheld in all of the heartlands. One of these is the fertility festival, an annual celebration with roots in elven culture which is held in spring or summer. The festival starts with a speech from the highest religious official in the region and then escalates into a party where dancing, singing and the eating of traditional elven meals is common. Before the party religious officials use ceremonial sticks or rice to hit women on their hands gently, this is believed to ease delivery for the pregnant and increase fertility for those that are not. It is also common to exchange gifts before the feast. After the festivities some of the young participate in random matchmaking and sometimes even coupling, although the latter is frowned upon by many humans and some elves if it is premarital. For reasons unspecified, a strange magic has been documented to appear during this time of year whenever the fertility festival is held. All those near it seem to temporarily lose their sanity and inhibitions, as if they had been drinking. Although few have ever been hurt because of this, it is common for people, especially humans, to wear enchanted trinkets or seek out aid from nearby magicians to retain their lucidity and judgement.

History

The history of the kingdom starts before the first demonic war. Initially, the tribes of Val Niar conquered many other elven civilizations with superior military doctrine and tactics. New tribes and cultures were incorporated into their society and eventually the heartlands become one united kingdom. This would not change after the first demonic war, instead the war would serve to increase the friendship and solidarity between all elves and an elven empire was established.
This changed with the coming of other races, the first of them were the dwarves. Misunderstanding and confusion caused conflict to arise, which eventually escalated into a full scale war between elves and dwarves, today it is called the ancient war. After a century of fighting both races had diminished significantly, and their numbers were spread out across Valahir. The war was ended but then came men, most numerous of races and fleeing west from an unknown threat.
In the following years humans would colonize large parts of the west. Elves and dwarves, not having the power or will to contest them, simply retreated deeper into their own territories. For a while this worked and some nonhumans even started living among humans. This did not last, pogroms, racism and segregation became common in human realms. Humans and nonhumans frequently fought until the only elven nation left was the kingdom of the heartlands, although many nonhumans joined resistance groups in human nations.
The first and second great wars, as well as the second demonic war would take a huge toll on the world, including the heartlands. Many invasion attempts of the heartlands were made by humans, including the first and second crusades. The last war that the heartlands were involved in was the third crusade, which occured a few centuries ago and was a terrible failure for the helleist church due to the Arthur Ilvenar's reformation, which drastically improved the quality of the Heartland army.

Demography and Population

The kingdom is the only place where elves, dwarves and humans live in peace except for the isle of light. Elves make up most of the population and live mostly in the cities or in the forests of the kingdom. Dwarves prefer to live in the mountains or in caves below certain cities like Val Niar. Humans had not been allowed into the nation until 200 years ago, when Arthur Ilvenar managed to put forth his own candidate on the throne. A candidate who was not only a capable ruler and adept politician but also a friend of Arthur. As hand of the king Arthur managed to pass a bill commonly known as "the reformation". Much was changed but one of the new policies was that humans would be allowed to settle in the Heartlands. Most of the human population live on the countryside as farmers, merchants and craftsmen.

Territories

The kingdom controls all lands within the Eckari mountains, from the northwestern part of east Valahir to it's center. The heartlands neighbour the Abraian Kingdom, Grindar tribes, Varadin hegemony and the theocracy of Arithea. Originally, the heartlands were divided into various kingdoms, but they were conquered by the elves of Val Niar before the first great war. Since then the heartlands have been held by elves, although many dwarves and humans have migrated there over time.

Military

The Heartlands have one of the most powerful militaries in the west. Their army consists of well trained, well equipped and disciplined warriors. There are elven, dwarven and human regiments, they are not mixed to due to their varying skills, advantages and disadvantages. After the reformation, the law stated that each region and their lords had to field troops for the kingdom, 5000 of the strongest and fastest men of each province are to be trained every year. Military training in the heartlands is intense and the soldiers are taught to follow orders, but also to take initiative. Many men actually aspire to be part of the military, as it means that they will receive land, pay no taxes and get a large sum of coin once they are honorably discharged.
In the event of war, the lords of the kingdom are contacted magically and ordered to rally their men and meet up with the rest of the army at a designated gathering zone. If time is of the essence, any forces that arrive late move to the rest of the army as soon as possible. Normally the army consists of at least 45,000 men, at least 10,000 of those cavalry, 15,000 missile infantry and the rest melee infantry. It is important to note that percentages can change and that the size of the army can be increased if necessary. The Heartlands have spies in most nations, often in the form of traders, merchants and other contacts.
Most able-bodied citizens in the Heartlands have undergone a mandatory month-long training program. These citizens make up the bulk of most cities' garrisons but may also be summoned to war if the situation demands it. The capital of the Heartlands, Val Niar, has an elite garrison consisting of the sentinels and guardians of Val Niar. These troops rarely ever leave the city, if they do it is typically a sign that things are extremly dire.

Foreign Relations

Officially, the kingdom is neutral, but in actuality hundreds of agents are spread out throughout the lands of enemies and allies alike. Most nations are either indifferent or hateful towards the Heartlands due to the fact that the kingdom doesn't allow the Hellenist Inquisition or the templars to operate inside it's borders. The fact that most of the heartland's inhabitants are nonhuman and don't follow the Hellenist faith only serves to increase the tension between the kingdom and other nations. There have been three crusades against the heartlands, but after the third one failed horrendously no more attempts to invade have been made.

Agriculture & Industry

The heartlands are known for their extremely fertile land. Grain, wheat and corn are common crops which are either exported or made into other products like bread, which are then sold. There are also many large vineyards, olive groves and apple and orange orchards. These crops are used to make wine, cider, olive oil and more. Shepherds, cowherds and swineherds, mostly humans from Varadin, look after and raise animals as livestock. Some elves raise warhorses and a unique race of deer to be used by the cavalry of the kingdom. Dwarves mostly work in the mountains or under the cities where they extract various minerals, ores and gemstones which are used for weapons, armor, jewelry, cutlery, building materials like nails and spikes, horseshoes and burning in the case of coal.

Trade & Transport

The kingdom of the heartlands has trade agreements with multiple nations, and although the tension between kingdoms is high many don't want to go to war due to the large amount of goods and resources that flow out of the heartlands. A lot of products are exported through the sea, often with protection from the navy. Most roads in the kingdom are built of paving stone and are upkept by the state, this makes it easy for caravans to get from place to place faster and more safely.

Education

The long lifespan of elves and dwarves means that many of them can learn about many different topics throughout their lives, and become very knowledgeable. Many work as teachers for large groups of people at affordable prices, and the state offers free education to all public servants and members of the military. Those of the lower class sometimes have difficulties getting themselves or their children educated due to the large amount of work required to earn a living, however, many magicians and alchemists can be paid to enchant or create solutions and compounds that increase the quality and output of crops in farmland. This, combined with the fact that the heartlands are already very fertile, means that farmers have it easier there than in most other places.

Founding Date

-428

Type

Geopolitical, Kingdom

Capital

Val Niar

Demonym

Heartlander

Head of State

Finorin

Head of Government

Finorin

Government System

Monarchy, Elective

Power Structure

Feudal state

Economic System

Mixed economy

Currency

Crown

Major Exports

Lumber, Metals, Wine, Grain, Corn, Wheat, Olives, Grapes, Cider

Major Imports

Perfumes, Purple dye, Silk, Spices

Legislative Body

Senate/Council of elders/Council of order

Judicial Body

High Tribunal

Controlled Territories

• Val Niar

Notable Members

• Hans von Königsmarck