The 13 Kingdoms of Strawthorn del Maire

The Empire of Strawthorn del Maire

. The Empire is a loosely held alliance of 13 kingdoms brought together ages ago to defend the kingdoms against a great darkness that came from the seas surrounding the continent of Strawthorn. Three human kings, three elven kings, the draconian king, the dwarven king and others from the hundreds of fiefdoms across the continent joined together under Ulthar the Mighty and his army of mad sorcerers to defeat the dark daemons and the great Shadow that rose from the Eastern Ocean.   The war lasted 100 years and laid waste to much of the lands across the continent, but the Shadow and its minions were finally driven back into the sea. But not without great cost. The unicorn people of the eastern beaches were exterminated to the last one. The stoic Aldmaldai, an ape like race with bright red fur and extreme strength, from the frozen islands in the Eastern Sea, all perished beneath an onslaught of winged sea serpents, only their cryptic writings and beautiful stone carvings remain to testify to their existence.   The war was near a thousand years ago now, and yet the songs and stories still live in the hearts of the people of the 13 Kingdoms.   The Kingdoms used to be segregated, but now all flow freely with races of many kinds, some more common than others, and most existing side by side in relative peace, as long as they are citizens of the Empire. Occasionally, wars still break out between kingdoms, but those last for only small amounts of time and grudges are put aside readily when pockets of still remaining darkness and shadow are found.   Even now, pockets of the evil that laid waste to much of the land are found, hidden pockets of foulness that corrupts and destroys. When these pockets are found and opened, heros muster and fight to contain the evil that quickly spreads. No foothold must be allowed, and the Empire’s Band of Protection, a government office with branches in every major city and many good size villages, enlists the help of seasoned veterans and greenhorn adventure seekers alike, to fight the spread of these dark forces when they arise.   To be sure, the Band of Protection offices sometimes overstep their bounds, and there are known instances where a local Prefect of the Band has used his standing to extend his own powers and attempt to build his or her own little fiefdom. These transgressions are dealt with harshly and publicly. The executions are quick and bloody, making an example of those who abuse this particular power.   A thousand years since the end of the war that almost killed or enslaved all of the free peoples of Strawthorn, and yet still the stories live and the songs are sung, as if the war was but a few years a memory. Such was the horror of the war, and the horror of the all too frequent reminders of the Shadow that darken the current days. Only a handful of years past, the once beautiful and vibrant Kingdom of Tanglemount was almost overrun by a shadow-beast and its horde. The corruption had grown unchecked and undetected in the caves beneath the great mountain. Animals, humans, orcs, dwarves and all other forms of living beings were bent to its will, corrupted and twisted, grown to huge sizes or twisted and misshapen to serve the great shadow-beast that lived in the earth. Tanglemount still lay smouldering in much of its land, the mountain for which the Kingdom was named still held many dangers and an odorous stench still seeps forth from its caverns and no decent creature lives upon its shoulders.   The other 12 Kingdoms thrive, more or less, the machinations of Kings and nobles notwithstanding. In the center of it all, the Maire de Crue, the seat of the empire, sits like a jewel with the 13 Kingdoms scattered about it like a novice jeweler’s first necklace. In the center of Maire de Crue, in the middle of a deep, crystal clear lake, on an island of crystal and rock rising from the sparkling waters like a hand toward the gods, proffering a priceless jewel, the city of Maire Claurie and the Emperor's Palace, shine like beacons.  

The 13 kingdoms are:

 

Tanglemount:

Elf

A once thriving green and verdant kingdom, the recent Shadow attack there has left much of the kingdom around its large, central dormant volcano in ruins. The capital city, Deransne, that sits at the western foot of the Tanglemount (the locals very much dislike outsiders referring to the mountain as Tanglemount Mountain, since the Mount part of the name actually means mountain…) was largely destroyed, but the citizenry have come together, nobles and commoners alike, to rebuild the capital and the two major cities most damaged by the Shadow. Growdenurt lies on the north foot of the mount, on the shores of the inland sea Crastforrow, and the City of Ret lies on the south side of the mount, overlooking the vast farming lands of South Tanglemount. The King of Tanglemount is traditionally an Elf as the kingdom was founded by the Elven Hunters; Kendra, a Drow and Follofq, a Woodelf. These hunters were lovers and had fled their homelands where their relationship was ‘frowned’ upon.  

Woodshire Del:

Human

One of the oldest Kingdoms of Men, this was at one time a bastion of human civilization. A place where other races were at best looked down upon, at worst, enslaved and persecuted. Those were the very old days and today this small country is as integrated and mixed as any of the 13 Kingdoms, but that does not mean old prejudices don’t still remain. Draconian (Dragonborn) and Tiefling still receive significant looks and comments. This Kingdom produces some of the finest quality of armor and weapons of all the Kingdoms and the iron mines here bring significant wealth to one of the smallest of the 13.  

Azale’cont ~ari:

Draconian (Dragonborn)

The borders of this Kingdom have been changing since before humans were more than an small gathering of newcomers to the islands off the coast of the continent. Only the Elves have been here longer, but the borders do change. Once this Kingdom consisted of all of the southern half of the continent. Dragons and Dragonborn roamed their territory, mostly peaceful with the elves who occupied the rest of the land here. That was thousands of years even before the coming of the shadow. Now, the Draconians control the kingdom whose borders have remained the same since the War with the Shadow. The dragons are rare now, and not confined to the Kingdom. Most of the dragons flew off across the western sea, some say to a new land there where humans and other races don’t exist, others say they flew on past the edge of the world, out into the vast sky to fly among the stars and birth new suns, some day to return and rule over all. Even the dragonborn don’t know, or won’t tell. The ruins of a once great city lay near the center of this Kingdom, a great stone city built by ancient Dragons, with flying turrets and great arching bridges, huge rooms and high flat landing places, all dragon sized. The city was already abandoned and falling to ruin hundreds of years before the Coming of the Shadow, but even today brave adventures explore the city discovering great riches, or never returning to the knowledge of anyone living. Even the Shadow avoided this ruin when advancing on the Kingdoms, but no one knows why.  

Bromadorian:

Human

Established during the War with the Shadow, this human ruled Kingdom is the most tolerant of all races. King Tristian and the Counsel of Three tolerate no prejudice and work tirelessly to educate the populace on other races and differences. This makes for an excellent atmosphere for the three great colleges that reside at Picainthrawl and the University of the Occult at Yort. The three great colleges are: The Science Hall at Whitehead, a college dedicated to the physical world, animals, alchemy and mechanics. Some of the greatest Gnome inventors have come out of this college.   The University of Wick is the smallest of the three colleges and accepts only a handful of new students each year. Established by the surviving members of the Command Arch of Ulthar’s Mad Sorcerer's, this school of wizardry and sorcery requires a 10 year commitment from each student that walks through its doors, but every wizard or sorcerer that graduates (and none who survive do not graduate), will go on to be a great and powerful, and greatly revered, VIP of the Empire.   Grantree. Grantree is less a college and more an interfaith monastery or cloister. Hundreds of the priests and clergy from the hundred or so religions from across the Kingdoms gather here to teach, worship and pray. The campus is sprawling and divided to be sure, but it is amazing that the worship of so many gods and goddesses exist within its grounds and yet rarely do arguments or battles break out among the different followers. All worship is tolerated and represented here, except those of the dark gods who sided with, or at least did not pitch in against, The Great Shadow. Many of the sects here at Grantree actively hunt down worshipers of dark gods, at the behest of, and cooperation with the Empire.   The University of the Occult is the place where magic, the dead and undead, the supernatural, and magic for those who can’t or won’t get into Wick, go. Some of what goes on here is certainly frowned upon by the citizenry of the Empire, but most look the other way or ignore it, as does the Emperor, because of the great advancements, new spells and enchanted items to enrich the common man’s life (such as the Stone of Weather, a rock that tells one of the weather in the local area tomorrow by being wet, cold, hot, shadowed, in accordance to what the weather will be tomorrow, and the rock can be stored inside and still tell the weather! Mass produced and sold at nearly every market across the Empire!)   All the best new magic items come out of Bromadorian.  

Hazelton Writ:

Human

A Kingdom formed of many disparate fiefdoms and want-to-be kingdoms. The history of this Kingdom is short, formed after the War with the Shadow was finished and the land was healing. The Emperor granted the land and titles to Nubar Trent, Commander of the Mad Sorcerer Army’s First Squad. The First Squad was instrumental in driving the Shadow and it’s Commanders to the final battle at Ulthar’s Right Hand on the southern beaches of Strawthorn. This Kingdom produces the finest cloth and clothing in the Empire. Fabrics from here are said to be near magical in their beauty, quality and durability. From the best sail-cloth to the finest silks worn only by the most delicate of concubines, Hazelton Writ ships their clothes and cloths to all corners of the continent, and to the distant islands in the Western ocean where only the Aasimar live.  

Pctrqwetrwe:

Tiefling

There is a great walled city here called Traflehorn, with catacombs and caverns beneath it where demons used to dwell. The demons were driven out of the city and catacombs, and even this plain of existence, by elves, dragons and angels a hundred years before the Coming of the Shadow. The demons left human servants and slaves behind, and thus the Tiefling were born.... The Tiefling then occupied the city and established this Kingdom. The Tiefling were feared, and warred against by humans especially, but other races as well, and when the Shadow came, many in the 13 Kingdoms thought the Tiefling would side with the Shadow and the Drow, but the Tiefling were one of the first Kingdoms to join Ulthar.  

Krandel:

Drow Elf

Drow Elf were the founders of this Kingdom only a hundred years or so before the Coming of the Shadow. The Drow came forth from beneath the ground in this area, driving out the Firblog that lived in these wildlands. The Drow Kingdom warred much with the surrounding people and kingdoms, expanding their kingdom to many times the size it is now, but now the kingdom is moderate and quiet. The Drow suffered much in the war against Shadow, the corrupt king at the time of The Coming of the Shadow attempted to bargain with, and ally with, the Shadow and its minions, but was betrayed and the Drow kingdom was shattered and overrun by evil. The old king was killed by his own son, and that son allied with Ulthar the Mighty in the 5th year of the Shadow war and he became one of the 5 great Captains of the Mad Wizard Army of Strawthorn. To this day he is regarded as perhaps the craziest of the Mad Wizards, his deeds still striking awe and wonder in stories told in Inns and Bars across the Empire.  

Limaediaelmareun:

Elves

One of the smallest Kingdoms in the Empire, this ancestral home of the Wood Elves consists entirely of dense woods. The only city in this Kingdom is the Tree Home, once home exclusively to wood elves, now home to a variety of races, but still ruled by the House of Torminald, the original King of Limaediaelmareun. This Kingdom’s history stretches back to well before the memory of man began. Only the Draconian memories reach back far enough to mark the beginning of the Elven Tree Home, and even then, the memories of that age are from actual dragons, before the beginnings of the Dragonborn.  

Wintersstormbrew:

Dwarves

The smallest of the 13 in surface land size, the history of this Kingdom belongs to the Dwarves. The country is mountainous, rough and hard. Precious little grows here in the harsh winds and cold. What does grow is tough and lives low to the ground. Tough goats and sheep climb steep mountain walls. Small wyvern’s haunt the peaks of the mountains and pounce upon unwary goats who stray too far from a deep crevasse, or fail to keep a wary eye upon the sky. Only one valley offers succor from the harsh mountain terrain, and there lies the Dwarven built city of Maltereen. There the dwarves traditionally traded with other kingdoms for what was dug from the earth, and even today the city thrives with that trade, and the dwarves share their true underground cities with those of the other races what can stand the time in the bowels of the earth.  

Patchy:

Tabaxi

The Tabaxi’s presence on this continent was an accident brought about by the War with the Shadow. One of Mad Wizards, a Tiefling know by the name Grndox the Unforgiven was left blinded and horribly scarred by the battle at Calitelian where a great Shadow Dragon with 8 heads lead an army of undead on to the shores of Wallendort. The battle there left a blasted desert that still exists today. Grndox struck the final blow against the great Shadow Dragon, but the resultant magic backlash and final strike of the Dragon struck the Mad Wizard full on, and it took an army of healers and the blessing of Lady Luck to save his life. Grndox formulated a plan during his recovery, a plan to send a call to other worlds and planes to draw powerful creatures of good to assist Strawthorn in its struggle, but what came was the Tabaxi, by the thousands, draw into this world, against their will. The Tabaxi adjusted quickly, and being the adventurous pragmatists they are, settled into this world with a zeal for adventure, exploration and with no regret for their circumstance of arrival. The Tabaxi quickly proved themselves a valuable ally in the War against the Shadow as well.  

Orinhaven:

Goliath

Also called Gianthome by some, this Kingdom with its frozen northern tundra and the huge frozen city of Sluehaven is governed by the Goliath Counsel of 12. Twelve battle hardened Goliaths, 6 women, 6 men. The Kingdom has some of the finest historians and scholars in the Empire, and the official accounts of the War with the Shadow and everything after are held here. Here also, in the great frozen city of Sluehaven, is the final resting place of Ulthar the Mighty. Returned to his birth home at the time of his death, 200 years after the War with the Shadow, a mighty and ornate tomb was erected, with a great statue and an attached library fit to rival even the great library at Maire Claurie. This is a place of legend and awe.  

Wallendort:

Aarakocra

Wallendort was, before the War of Shadow, a mountainous, green kingdom, founded by the Aarakocra. The terrain was tough and difficult, mountains and thick forests covered most of the kingdom. Today, the Kingdom is mostly desert, the forests and mountains lain to waste by the battles fought here during the War with the Shadow. The capital city of Calitelian is a great achievement by the Aarakocra, beautiful and filled with avian architecture and statuary. Aarakocra and Genku abound in Calitelian even though they are not as present in other cities of the Kingdom. Frazeljack resides in the Kingdom of Wallendort, but the bird presence there is light as that city was annexed a couple of hundred years ago during a conflict between Wallendort and Rimerhalden.  

Rimerahlden:

Draconian (Dragonborn)