Kingdom of Eventell
The Kingdom of Eventell is, in many ways, little more than a polite fiction. Constructed out of a patchwork of petty kingdoms by the Principality of Vikorel over two thousand years ago through a combination of diplomacy, trade, threats, and open violence, the Unified Kingdom remains in many ways divided along cultural, politickal, and historical lines. Only the institutions of royal government serve to bind the 11 million people and disparate regions of Eventell together, however tenuously.
Thus, to understand Eventell is to understand that it is still many nations pretending to be a single entity—a collection of hundreds of little local governments, administered by members of a common aristocracy, and linked together through a quasi-feudal network of obligations and privileges, all in the guise of a unitary state.
In many ways, that divided character still shows itself. Nowhere is this clearer than in the strong regional identities of the major constituent regions of the country. Having once been sovereign and independent kingdoms prior to the establishment of the Unified Kingdom, these regions still maintain strong ties to their past, and often owe their loyalties foremost not to the Monarchy of Eventell but to the Great Houses, who claim descent from the kings and queens which once ruled those regions.
The sole exception is Vikorel itself. Though once the Monarchs of Eventell descend directly from the Princes of Vikorel, the family was overthrown and extinguished five centuries ago. Their replacement tries hard to pretend that it is just as old and gloried as their predecessors, but the lands which the Principality of Vikorel once covered have been accustomed to the rule of the royal House of Rendower, not for decades but for centuries. As a result, the institutions of royal government, the Army, the Navy, the Intendancy, all are seen as fundamentally Vikorelian in character, and the great city of Kiver itself is seen not as an appendage of the Unified Kingdom, but as its heart.
Which is not to say that the Duchy of Vikorel can do without the other regions of the country. Vikorel's soil is mostly ill-suited for farming. Much of it is only useful for the raising of sheep or the growing of particularly hardy crops. The City of Kiver must rely upon trade with other regions and even other countries to feed itself—and its status as a commercial centre has more to do with its excellent harbour, excellent location, and royal favour than any particular productivity.
The same could not be said of Cunaris, traditionally the wealthiest and most populous of regions. During the period of the Petty Kingdoms prior to Eventell's unification, the Findlay kings of Cunaris were considered the most powerful in the land. Ruling from the fortified city of Pey, they governed a realm possessed of productive lands, fine rivers, and a strong military tradition. Indeed, to hear some Cunarians speak of it, a Findlay of Cunaris ought to have been the first to unify Eventell under his reign, not a Rendower of Vikorel.
Despite such sentiments, Cunaris has never really chafed under Vikorel's rule. Its admission into the Unified Kingdom had been early and entirely peaceful, a legacy which few in Cunaris regret.
The same could not be said of the hardscrabble dwarven folk of the wind-blown Skovgaard, who had never unified into a single entity. Split into three dozen small realms dominated by the Englesseys pirate-kings of Hrafnhavn, the Cannaya of Erebrynn, and their collateral branch, the Cassions of Castermaine, the hard-bitten, fractious states of the south had prided themselves on self-reliance, independence, and defiance in the face of any threat. They were the first to take up arms against the threat of an expanding Vikorel. Only after five decades of military defeat did Erebrynn, the last of the southern kingdoms, at last accept Eventellian rule. Resentment and resistance would never truly settle down, and the entire region would be handed over to dwarves four hundred years later.
At least part of Skovgaard's persistence was the result of outside support. Through imports of iron and coal, as well as the occasional military alliance, the Candlesses of Wulfram were the animating force behind multiple attempts to contain Vikorel's expansion. Dominating much of the north-east, the Kings and Queens of Wulfram saw a unified Eventell as a threat to their power and security. Only after nearly six decades of resistance did the Wulframites at last submit, though the Dukes of Wulfram have striven to use their land's prodigious natural resources to keep their seat at Wetcester an economic powerhouse independent from Eventell's direct authority.
Like Wulfram, the Big North kingdom of Warburton joined the Unified Kingdom late. Blessed with great reserves of silver and fertile land, and separated from the Vrohan mainland by the Strait of Worcier, Warburton developed its own culture and systems of governance separate from those of the mainland. While the Norgren Kings of Warburton would eventually join the Unified Kingdom in the wake of military defeat and a campaign of diplomatic pressure, its languid—some would say indolent—way of doing things mark it as a very different place from the rest of Eventell.
Last of all, there is Kentauri, nomadic norse-lords of the Elleao Steppe. Pushed into the poorest and most inhospitable part of the country by centuries of encroachment from the so-called Settler-Lords who now ruled the rest of the Vrohan mainland, the Kentauri have developed an understandable mistrust of most outsiders. Fractious, proud, and prone to violence, most of the Kentauri clans live within the borders of the Unified Kingdom but refuse to partake in its institutions.
Only Clan Lundqvist serves as an exception. Possessed of Elleao' only sizeable natural harbour, the Lundqvist grew wealthy and powerful off of trade with the Settler-Lords, a relationship which eventually developed into an alliance with Cunaris and Vikorel. The chief of Clan Lundqvist was among the very first to accept annexation into the Unified Kingdom, and centuries of Vikorel-backed conquest allowed Clan Lundqvist to bring the steppe region into heel. Lundqvist were then merged into Rendower through generational marriges, and it's Duchy came under ownership of the crown. Only the County of Bydel remains the last bastion of the Clan, and even they are seen as the crown's boot-lickers.
While these Great Houses control much of Eventell's wealth and population, the majority of the country is not administered directly by such families, but by a vast array of lesser nobility. Where the Duke of Wulfram might control the city of Wetcester and wide swathes of Wulfram's richest and most profitable land, the rest of the region is split up into the estates of dozens of lesser aristocrats, each in possession of a few villages, a handful of farming estates, or a town. However, many of these lords are equal to the heads of the Great Houses in one respect: they too each possess a seat in the Cortes, the Eventellian parliament.
The Cortes is emblematic of the compromise between the Crown and the aristocracy that sits at the heart of Eventellian governance. While the King reigns, it is the Cortes which represents the interests of the nobility. It is the Lords of the Cortes who perform most of the functions of government and provide the bulk of the King's Army in times of war. Thus, if he is to govern effectively, the King must negotiate effectively with these aristocrats, regardless of their wealth or seniority within the peerage. As a result, the Crown must consider the concerns and counsel of even relatively poor and undistinguished members of the nobility.
Of course, such a compromise remains an arrangement between the components of the aristocracy, not a measure of genuine popular rule. The vast majority of Eventell's people are not of the noble classes, but the commons, who build its houses, run its shops, work its fields and die in its wars. They possess little voice or influence in the processes which determine the laws they must live under, the taxes they must pay, and the leaders they must submit to.
Structure
King/Queen*
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Dukes*
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Earls*
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Counts*
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Barons*
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Seigneur/Lord of the Manor
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Knight/Mage/Minor Noble
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Commoner
*Has seat in the CortesCulture
Eventellians get a perhaps deserved raputation for being a dower, serious people, overly concerned with propriety and doing things not to just complete an objective, but to do it in a certain way. Spontenuity is something only the rich are able to support and afford; the regular man should plan out his life and be methodical and practical about things. Eventellians enjoy a slow and simple way of life, and introversion is slightly more prized (or perhaps just understood) than extroversion is.
However, in contention to this cultural zeitgeist, there is a facination with the nebulous concept of personal glory. This is a different thing for every person, but usually involves a degree of adventuring, treasure-hunting, or world-travel. Others may join a military order, a mercenary company, or form a rag-tag group of 'adventurers'. This is seen as a perfectly normal practice for teens and young adults to engage in before they come home to do their duty, settle down, and build a family of their own.
Demography and Population
The total resident population of Eventell was 11,477,781 during the 1010 census. Censure is a relatively new practice in Eventell, and so the number may not be completely accurate.
The average population density is just over 5 people per km2 (13 per square mile), with 1,437 persons per km2 in localities (continuous settlement with at least 200 inhabitants).
47% of the population live in urban areas, which cover 6.5% of the entire land area. Population is substantially higher in the north than in the south due to greater food sources. The capital city of Kiver has a municipal population of about 59,000, but the Duchy of Vikorel has some of the lowest numbers overall, at only 873,946 people.
The second- and third-largest cities are Pey and Wetcester. Pey counts just over 55,000 inhabitants, though it's Duchy is one of the most heavily settled, at 2.9 million people living in it.
The same goes for Wetcester and it's Duchy of Wulfram, which has comparable numbers at 51,000 in Wetcester but 3.4 million in Wulfram.
The Elleao Duchy, which covers approximately 23% of the Eventell territory, has a very low population density (below 5 people per square kilometre). It has a population of 462,947 people, 42,000 of which are in the city of Lord.
The mountains and most of the remote coastal areas and islands are almost unpopulated. Low population density exists also in large parts of western Samnath, which stands at 652,739 people with its capital of Blackbottom accounting for 24,000. Though that number tends to swell to twice that amount during the summer months as traders come.
It's been calculated that 3.8% of the population lives in remote, dangerous wilderness and was thought to have not been accounted for during the census.
The rest of the population resides on Big North, which totals 32% of the total population of Eventell. The Duchy of Warburton totals 3.5 million, with its two cities of Nordstead and Brane standing at 47,000 and 29,000 people.
Since the 990 census, the guidelines for the common statistical definition of the four categories of settlements and their relative populations are as follows:
HAMLET = 100-500 people
VILLAGE = 500-1,000 people
TOWN = 1,000-10,000 people
CITY = over 10,000 people
Military
Military service in Eventell is required, especially by nobility. Eventell is famous for its military prowess, and has always held a level of military technology and understanding considered the best in all of Kelnor. A still-large portion of social and academic institutions are focused on military training and physical development, though not at the expense of other areas. Eventell's largest military academy is located in Lord, though most major cities have some sort of military educational facility.
Eventell maintains a peactime army of 20,000 men, though before the reign of King Alistair, this number was twice that amount. It still remains the largest of any other country. Eventell also sponsors many mercenary companies, and maintains them as a highly trained auxiliary force of about 6,000 men.
Religion
Eventell follows the religion of the Sainted Martyrs and has for thousands of years. Many Saints were said to have been from Eventell, including Joseph,
Foreign Relations
Eventell has a strained relationship with its neighbor, the Thanedom of Faldir. The conflict goes back centuries, but a recent (relatively speaking) point of very high contention is the Eventellian crown giving the Marsor Isles to Faldir after the Quiet Wars. The Crown gave over 30% of it's southern territories after the Wars, but it is only the acquisition of the Isles that caused the citizens of Eventell to revolt and behead their monarch.
The Isles are an excellent strategic location from whence an attack on the Eventell capital of Kiver could very swiftly occur. The island of Marsingor (where Boldershire is located) had over 70,000 settlers, 80% of them legal Eventellian citizens. When the island was signed over nearly 100,000 Eventellians were uprooted and forced to leave the island chain.
Laws
Honour and respect have long since been pillars of Eventellian society. Nevertheless, corruption is rife throughout most large cities, including the law courts and city guard. Bribery and intimidation are commonplace, with the wealthy and influential able to buy or cajole their way out of most problems. For minor infringements on the street, a discrete handful of coins goes a long way to convincing the watch to mind their own business. However, certain large offenses do result in harsh punishment: commonly adverse branding, maiming, flogging or exile.
In the walled cities, investigations and arrests are generally carried out by the guard. In situations of imminent danger, the watch are empowered to kill offenders on the spot, acting as judge, jury and executioner (and for most part no one bats an eyelid if the victim isn’t highborn).
Alternatively an accused might be fined, thrown in the watch house, dumped outside city walls, or dragged before a justicar or other authority.
Punishment
Very serious offences such as maiming or murder are generally punished on an eye for an eye basis (self defence, if made out, is a valid rebuttal to such charges). Property damage, fraud and theft may incur a range of penalties, depending on the quantum involved. In the Eventellian cities, executions, maimings and floggings are traditionally carried out by followers of St. Rox, while brandings are performed by the justicar. A period of indentured servitude is overseen by the master appointed. Terms of imprisonment are served in the dungeon of the resident keep, or possibly the cells beneath the watch house. Murder, Treason = Hanging, beheading. Maiming = Eye for an eye, prison. Fraud, Theft = Recompense, branding, fine, maiming, servitude, flogging, stocks. Sexual Assault = Castration, prison, branding, flogging, slow bleeding. Arson = Maiming, branding, flogging, prison, hanging, beheading. Brawling, Disorder = Fine, servitude, prison, flogging, stocks. Property Damage = Recompense, fine, servitude, flogging. Slander = Fine, servitude, flogging.
Founding Date
18 Late Winter, 1622 IY
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Alternative Names
Kingdom of Dragons
Demonym
Eventellian
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Currency
Eventellians call their gold pieces "Gulders" and their silver pieces "Silds" and their copper "Crus".
Legislative Body
The Cortes
Controlled Territories
Comments