Illium

"We leave behind this land we knew
For hopeful futures bright and new
The Lord of Justice lights our way
Green Illium's shores we seek this day."

Verse 1, The Pilgrim's Rhyme

Illium is a rugged coastal region of forests, hills and waterways, centered on the port city of Marmella. It is is a far-flung colony of the Pearl Empire, founded around three hundred years ago on a great mysterious continent beyond the Gentle Sea, home to a few other native races of humans, elves and other beings.

Geography

Illium is a frontier province, though the location was chosen by Imperial colonists specifically for its temperate climate. Illium's natural eastern boundary is the Border Range, mountains that catch the tropical storms off the seas in a sort of coastal basin, making Illium a lush and arable land. The land was once covered in thick rainforests, though much of it has been cut back by Imperial colonists for crops and livestock. The forests are still thickest in the south by the Sylvan River, which flows into Illium from its southern source in the Realm of the Wood Elves.
In the east along the Border Range Illium is drier, rockier and hillier. A rift in the mountains leads into the Arid Waste. In the foothills the earth is abundant in iron, silver and precious metals. Where the country is more fertile it can be seen covered in a patchwork of farms, orchards, vineyards and pastures. The coastal waters are calm and provide safe anchorage for merchants, fishers and pearlers.

Society

Illium's society gravitates around Marmella, the only true city in the province. The Empire long ago banned slavery, though indentured workers - criminals, debtors and the like - are still pressed into service, toiling away in the mines and lumbermills. The peasantry are simple yet proud, working fields and waterways for a living.
In Marmella and the few other towns of Illium the lower classes are more diverse. Dockhands, bargemen, servants, peddlers, sailors and hedge knights move about the streets and slums. Generally Illium's folk are hardy, industrious and sincere. They think themselves lacking the bearing and regality of the Empire's other, older provinces, yet they cherish their easy regional life.
The elite of Illium are the Old Families. As a province born from trade, Illium's wealthy merchants became a landed aristocracy, setting themselves up in mansions and palaces in the Old District of Marmella. They are powerful, greedy and ambitious. The Old Families control the Grand Council of Illium, though any landowner may vote in council elections.
At the top of the society is the Duke of Illium. He is the Emperor's representative, usually a relative, tasked with governing and maintaining Imperial order (though the mundane is often delegated to the Grand Council). The Duke controls the Imperial Legion's garrisons throughout Illium, and remains somewhat apart from the regular goings-on of Illiumite society.

Gnome Society

Gnome villages exist in the deep woodlands and barrows of Illium, often well-disguised with their natural surrounds. Gnomes can be found at rural markets or along the road selling their wares. They are an industrious, colourful and wiry folk who still practice some of their obscure magics and sciences. Imperial authorities often turn a blind eye to them, but most humans are still a little uncomfortable around them. Gnomes are skilled inventors and alchemists, but are well-known amongst humans for their trickery and mockery.

History

Little is known of Illium's history before the Empire arrived. Gnomes and elves once cavorted quite freely, though humans arrived centuries after the collapse of the great elvan empires. Remnants of their civilisation are present, though hard to decipher. Marmella itself was founded on the ruins of an elvan citadel, but today only the wood elves of the south remain.
The human colonists who arrived were prisoners, pilgrims and adventurers. After founding Marmella they expanded through the land quickly. In the early days of the colony there were deadly skirmishes in the forests the elves called home. The elves were slowly pressed further and further into the woodlands, unable to contend with the sheer numbers and will of humankind. 
In this early time there were great folk heroes of the colony, such as Sir Vellos the Intrepid, the mysterious Lady Medea and the Brothers Blackrider. They were noble knights, sorcerers and highwaymen. Their vivid lifestyles captured the hearts and minds of Illium's pioneering common folk and quickly became the songs of poets and bards.
Illium grew and prospered under human ambition, and ships from across the Empire dock in her harbours for trade. Iron ore was mined in the foothills and quickly led to the establishment of a thriving steel industry in Marmella. The mines were also known for their rare beauties - gold, silver, and precious gemstones of legend such as the Petalli Family's Butterfly Stone.

Magic

Like any region in the world magic can be witnessed or cast, but it doesn't shine as bright as it once did. As a province of the Pearl Empire, Illium has a ban on the free practice of magic. To use magic one must have a permit. The Empire's persecution of magic-users was born of fear and paranoia, but in the distant Illium one has more places to hide from the Legion's spellwatchers. Though they have ways of knowing when magic is used and by whom, and they won't hesitate to hunt down the practitioner if they are deemed a threat to the human order of things.
Humans nevertheless practice all of the magics. The wood elves to the south still practice the Old Faith magic. These are druidic powers sourced from their connection with the natural world and the mystical Fey beings of other realms. Druidic magic is practiced in the corners of Illium, and the gnome villages likewise have their own rural magical practices. There are secretive groups such as the Wandcutters who undermine Imperial decree by struggling back against oppression, and cultish orders such as the Eldritch Hand who exist on the region's extremities in hermitage.

Relationships

Illium has a strained relationship with its Imperial overlords. So far from the Imperial Heartland it is a difficult province to police. It is a lucrative goods hub for the empire - exporting timber, stone, iron and wine. These industries have made the provincial aristocracy incredibly wealthy despite increasing taxes from the Emperor. These Old Families profit from their imperial trade connections but they're chafing harder against their betters, with many daring to suggest Illium would stand stronger on its own. Only fuelling this problem is the diminishing Imperial Legion garrisoned in Illium, forcing groups such as the Shieldmaidens of Serry to take defence into their own hands.
Illium is still on the frontier, and is beset by hostile neighbours. The wood elves are deeply territorial in the deep forests of the Sylvan Valley, maintaining a hard border patrolled by rangers. This relationship is more often than not inflamed by humans daring to harvest highly-coveted trees and plants from sacred lands. Wood elves, or half-elves, are common along the border and in the valley, and will sometimes be seen in Marmella on diplomatic missions.
In the sandy plains of the Arid Waste whole nations of desert nomads travel. They are mostly trading caravans or livestock drovers, though vicious warbands dare to raid Illium's borderlands.

Maps

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  The Imperial Province of Illium

  This map shows the Imperial Province of Illium, and its surroundings.

Type

Region