Empire of Alcaldar
Alcaldar is located on the west coast of central Libynos, separated by the sheltering Nazarre Mountains from the southern part of the Maighib Desert. Its largest cities are built on the shores of Iber Bay but its holdings go well inland. Alcaldar was founded as an early Hyperborean colony. The colonists mixed bloodlines with the local plains- and mountain-dwellers for thousands of years, though noble families (and especially the royal family) have more Hyperborean heritage than others. The Alcaldrich favor the traditions and mannerisms of their Hyperborean (and later Foerdewaith) forebears but have also picked up many Libynosi customs that are thought strange in Akados.
One thing that sets Alcaldar apart from its Libynosi neighbors is its intense and exclusive worship of the goddess Muir and her attendant deity Thyr; it is the official, and only, religion of Alcaldar. King Alcoa, who decreed the country’s conversion, also established the Holy Ecclessia Inquisitorial to protect the integrity of the faith. Shortly after that, the high ecclesiast of the temple of Muir in Perona formed the Church Militans as the active hand of the church. The two organizations are enthusiastic in spreading the worship of Muir (and Thyr) and in upholding the beliefs of the faithful.
About 275 years ago, King Istobal-Alcacé began the series of conquests and expansions that took Alcaldar from a kingdom to an Empire. He saw Alcaldar as the natural successor to the Hyperborean Empire, since the Hyperborean Empire of the Foerdewaith had disintegrated into squabbling kingdoms after the end of the Fourth Crusade. This led to the subjugation of the Kingdom of Caddesh, north along the Sinnar coast, and the acquisition of the area now known as the Channel Lakes. Exceptional resistance in northern Caddesh stalled the Alcaldrich conquest of the Desert Kingdoms, but the exploration and development of the Channel Lakes more than made up for it. Opening a navigable water connection through central Libynos allowed Alcaldar to build a colonial empire on the east coast of Libynos as well as the west.
Though its monarch could legitimately call herself an empress, Alcaldar is modestly governed by Queen Leonore-Alcia. The queen is fairly young and still unmarried; after she took the throne, the council and noble houses nearly tore themselves apart jockeying for a chance to have her marry into their families. They finally agreed she should marry a foreign noble to avoid internal conflict. Now the factions are each looking for a wealthy noble who will favor their group. (Good-looking, diplomatic, wealthy knights-errant might also be good candidates.) The queen herself is looking for a spouse, not a co-ruler. The older men of her council already think she should be ruled by their opinions; she is not going to share the authority of her position with a consort as well.
Region
Alcaldar, Empire of
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