Aldonia

Aldonia is a country that is carved from the darkness that spawned a seemingly endless number of monstrous creatures. They are a strict and hard people and will do what it takes to continue their existence.

Structure

Ruled by a Paladin-King and supported by a council comprised of the top clergy from the major religions allowed in Aldonia. All court members belong to the clergy.

Public Agenda

The only purpose is to keep the darkness pushed back and the eventual eradication of all monstrosities.

Assets

The military is composed of all divine spellcasters. They are obligated to join though a number of them elect to support adventuring guilds/groups instead of performing guard duties or soldiering. Rangers and druids are enlisted at the age of majority for their race/local customs for 4 years, they may reenlist or leave the service after this term is up. Their assignments work the same as any other.

History

Aldonia was founded by the first Paladin, a human Paladin named Gailavira. She was granted her powers by Taaris and using this divine inspiration she was able to rally a number of people to her and claim an area where the good aligned humanoids could finally find a measure of peace. Slowly she was able to train other paladins and people learned to channel the divine power of Taaris to push their border out further and further. Eventually they joined with other churches and militarized their clergy forming orders of monks and other specialized training regimens to hunt down various creatures. As the borders grew so did the number of settlements, allowing more stable forms of food gathering such as farming. Little has changed in the past several centuries as they have been unable to push the borders back any further, at least not safely but neither are they losing any ground.

Demography and Population

The populace is concentrated in fortified cities with the very occasional small village scattered here and there. Farms are also a very rare sight and tend to have a either have a military outpost nearby providing protection or a Gravediggers' guild house more rarely. Villages tend to grow around Gravediggers houses and tend to be much more fortified then other cities. Birth and death rates are both very high in the villages and noticeably much lower in the areas with a military presence. Only humanoid races are tolerated inside Aldonia, with dwarves and humans comprising the vast majority and elves having the next largest presence. It is very rare to see a Tiefling or any other monstrous looking humanoid wandering around.

Military

Aldonia boasts an extremely tough and disciplined military force comprised only of divine magic users (this includes Druids, Rangers Paladins and Clerics) and monks. No other class is allowed to join the military, however local guards may of any class due to a limit on available forces. The Gravediggers guild has been called on to provide forces if necessary, though they are generally used as fodder.

Religion

All religions that are non-evil and non-chaotic are allowed to establish temples inside Aldonia and if there is enough of a presence their clergy is allowed a seat on the advising council. For the security of the kingdom they tend to avoid any that would cause disruption and naturally find any evil deities to be anathema. Etteus is a rare exception as a true Neutral deity. Since his worshippers are only concerned about preserving natural habitats they are often in line with Aldonian missions to clear out the presence of evil creatures since they tend to disrupt the natural flow. They do have a seat on the advising council however they rarely attend or pass judgement on anything. The Raven Queen worship is also in a strange place. All know of the necessity since she is the one that watches over the dead and has a hatred of undeath. Unfortunately the average person gets uncomfortable in dealing with those that are tied so closely to death. They also have a seat on the council and, like Etteus's followers, rarely make their vote known.

Foreign Relations

Aldonia maintains trade routes with few others since the travel routes overland are rife with danger and sea routes are often victim to piracy. Kintalla is a rare exception as it was granted city-state status and allowed to remain undisturbed inside Aldonian borders. It is viewed with a high amount of suspicion and fear as it allows any to walk it's streets and there are rumors of a powerful thieves' guild operating inside its borders.

Agriculture & Industry

Aldonia relies heavily on what goods they can get from farming and often set up their military garrison around farmlands to protect them from any encroachment. Many clerics are called upon to serve the honor of helping to make sure that crops are bountiful and that nothing harms the farmers and their workers. Aldonia also has very few imports or exports since they have little time and even less interest in cosmetic goods. They have been able to establish several mines with the aid of the dwarves and work closely with them to make sure that their mining is as safe as possible since the cost of outfitting their army would be impossible without.

Trade & Transport

Part of the reason Kintalla was granted city-state status was the condition they would not charge much for their import fees and they would maintain their own fleet to defend trading vessels. As a result the vast majority of Aldonian trade flows through Kintalla. If an adventuring guild is able to establish a stable kingdom elsewhere on the continent, Aldonia will happily create trade routes with them as well. There are several that have lasted for centuries so that Aldonia now has some military patrols on the trade routes as well.

Education

The average education rate is rather low and illiteracy runs rampant. Most knowledge is either trade knowledge from being apprenticed to a master or a few that are given to an arcane user that needs assistants. Everyone is educated on various creatures, what to look for and how to kill them. Nobles are still given the best possible education on a variety of subjects and tutors from many disciplines are generally hired. Some churches will provide basic lessons to people that are interested in learning, though books are rare so the majority of the public tends to not bother.

Infrastructure

Inside the main cities the roads are paved and have channels in them to allow sewage and waste to run down them without affecting those staying to the middle of the road. Outside the larger cities, roads are packed dirt and mud with no special consideration for cosmetics or function. Along the main travel routes there are evenly spaced military garrisons and patrols can be regularly seen. Crews also go out to clear out any growth along the side of the roads to keep a clear view to at least 30' on each side. Gravediggers are on occasion seen in large groups clearing areas around a village they are attached to, generally since it is their family's residence.

Through sacrifice we will find peace.

Founding Date

Aldonia was founded on the first day of the Pegasus Era. (it is the first sign of a new age starting)

Type

Geopolitical, Kingdom

Capital

Adamery

Training Level

Professional

Veterancy Level

Veteran

Demonym

Aldonian

Leader

Paladin King

Head of State

Paladin King

Head of Government

Paladin King

Government System

Monarchy, Elective

Power Structure

Unitary state

Economic System

Market economy

Legislative Body

Legislation is handled by high ranking clerks in the various religious organizations that comprise the advising council. All of these laws are then submitted to the council, any that are a large change to the country are submitted to the Paladin King for final review. The Paladin King may also randomly approve or deny any law submitted, they may also overturn any previous laws submitted without contest.

Judicial Body

The court system is comprised entirely of divine casters and each circuit has a higher ranking member with the Paladin King sitting at the top of the judicial system. Any higher court may overturn a lower court's decision and may also decide to have a retrial if they think it is necessary. There is no assumption of guilt however any accused of crime are held until they are proven to be innocent of the charges.