Kingdom of Theranderol
by Jeff DalyPHILOSOPHY/SOCIETY
The Kingdom of Theranderol is influenced by Bettellyn's moral interests, Randel's nationalism and pride, and Haven's sense of beauty. Influenced yes, but not nearly so governed by these interests, as are those kingdoms themselves. Theranderol's populace are lovers of beauty, honour, and nation. They have a deep sense of independence and morality, coupled with a strong desire for liberty. In general, the populace has no wish for the government, imperial or royal, to interfere in their day to day lives.
At the same time, they believe a strong unity in the face of Arogansan aggression, whether political or military, is important to preserve the freedoms of not just Theranderol, but the empire as a whole. It is fairly certain that an Arogansan emperor would be much more inclined to put legal restraints on magical research, spellcasting, and all the other less important(but vital nonetheless) aspects of people's lives.
To maintain their liberty, the Theranderol people rely on a well educated, well armed spellcasting public. Their military is made up of volunteer militia groups, led by trained soldiers of the crown. Because these soldiers are often trained by the expert tacticians and teachers of Randel, they are quite adept at organising the home-grown forces of Theranderol. But do not get the wrong impression, the militias are suitable only for domestic purposes. They are gung ho about defending their kingdom, but likely they would baulk, and even desert, if ordered to invade another land. Their primary use is along the southern border, and as a domestic guard force.
Because the citizens themselves often serve some time in the militias, the populace of Theranderol tends to have a strong interest in lawful activity. This is not to say they have as many laws as in Greenspur, nor are they as fascist in executing the law as in Arogansa. In fact, Theranderol has far fewer, and simpler laws, than Greenspur; and the courts are pretty fair, unlike Arogansa.
Courts do, however, tend to weigh in favour of the spellcaster over the gentry, and the gentry over the commoner. This is not an outright favouring, but an inner bias which tends to yield the same results. The people of Theranderol have a difficult time understanding unlawful action in their own kingdom, due to the fairly reasonable, non-intrusive, laws that are in place.
Theranderol is an excellent kingdom to go to for retirement(especially if one wishes to remain close to Sundsvall, and the centre of power), or to begin in as a young adventurer. High level adventures exist in the larger cities mainly, and in the occasional mage who owns a tower and turns out to be a rotter. One rarely finds ruins. Most of the ancient edifices of the native tribes that predated Alphatia, have been scoured from this kingdom. Caverns and crypts exist, providing young heroes with some experience, and mages with subjects on which to experiment. The occasional dragon, or other magical being, may be living in the remoter areas of the kingdom, but not usually for very long.
The ruler, Eldrithila, is lawful, as the royal family of Theranderol is always brought up (Eriadna herself was trained to think lawful, though her personal chaotic mannerisms are still present). She is gentle, but firm at the core. If Eriadna died, and a struggle for the throne resulted, she might be persuaded to oppose Zandor if she was convinced of his insanity, and of her being empress as the only way. Deep down, she fears Zandor, and would prefer another taking the opposition role against him. She knows (and has heard him say) that he will stop at nothing to rid his path of all contenders. Unlike the rest of her family, she does not have the attitude that "even Zandor is preferable to an Arogansan", though she does have a bias toward them. If an honourable Arogansan stepped forth, it is possible she would support him over Zandor.
Mostly though, she just wants to rule her kingdom, and to protect it against all threats to its peace.
Avakinel(4k)-Avakinel and Nehiun are societies of humanoids, living in an aboveground town, and in the Grey Mountains. Avakinel spends a great deal of time raiding Sabetta and Nehiun. The mages of both Theranderol and Bettelyn make use Avakinel for subjects on which to experiment. So far, there have been no humanoid spellcasters to come forth and demand liberty for these towns. This would be a troubling scenario for Theranderol.
Bigos(13k)-The last town before arriving in the protectorate of Vertiloch, is a fair-sized one known for its freshwater fish and local taverns and shops. It sometimes suffers humanoid raids. There are 10 Grand Council members who keep estates here, but only 1 to 3 can be found residing there at any one time.
Dolas(9k)-A town that has grown up around the tower of Dolas, an ancient archmage of the 8th century after Landfall. As this was over a thousand years ago, the current Dolas is undoubtedly a descendant, though no one knows how the original Dolas died. Dolas frequently sends adventurers to destroy outposts made by Avakinel. Dolas himself, who likes to keep the outrageous rumours alive by being mysterious about his age, sits on the Grand Council. There are 2 other Grand Council members living in Dolas.
Errolyn()-The ivory towers of Errolyn are legendary. The libraries are vast, and the streets are clean. 20 Grand Council members live here, most residing near the palace of the Queen herself.
Herot(7.5k)-a major trade intersection, and the last defence should Kirn finally fall to the Arogansans. A major temple to Alphatia is here, as are several trading guilds. No less than 3 Grand Council members reside here, running their own trade guilds.
Kirn(5k)-a war city, set up similarly to Avrads (from the Arogansan gazetteer). There are rumoured to be between 1 and 10 Grand Council members who scheme, plan, and play a game of duels in the combined towns of Kirn and Avrads. A series of temples lie outside Kirn to tend to the sick and wounded of the town.
Leeta(14k)-It is difficult to determine where Errolyn ends, and Leeta begins. In the face of an invasion, the lack of a wall around Leeta would be deadly. Towers, surrounded by farmland, make up most of this town.
Lidyem(10k)-Lidyem sits at the southern point of the great Randel Wall, a testimony to the not-quite-perfect relationship between Randel and Theranderol. While the two get along, and are long time allies, the tense moments in history were just as passionate as their support of each other. Lidyem is an excellent town for scribes, with many schools, paper mills, philosophy taverns, and libraries. 15 Grand Council members live here, though the others often frequent the town.
Mersepolis(10k)-Mersepolis is where one lives, if he wishes to live near, but not in, the big city. From the highest tower of the town, one can actually see the multitude of lights that stretch from Errolyn to Lidyem, in one vast, unbroken city. 10 Grand Council members live here.
Nehiun[neh-hyun](3.5k)-Nehiun, like Avakinel is a society of humanoids. They have fairly far reaching interests and are not as passionate about attacking Avakinel as that town is about attacking Nehiun. There are 10 Grand Council members hiding among the humanoids, all unbeknownst to each other. Whether they are keeping tabs on the monsters' numbers, studying them, experimenting on them, or beefing them into their own fighting force is unknown to all except their closest confidantes.
PLACES TO SEE
Philosophy taverns--are a must see
in Theranderol. They apply the ancient art, and love, of philosophy
with the taste for a good wine. Scholars get together here and
strike up conversation about the quintessential nature of air, the
meaning of life without magic and whether there is any, and the
prospect that matter is not really objective at all, rather
subjective and therefore illusion. The scholars often get into such
heated debate, that the matter can only be settled through a duel,
though the likelihood of this does not really occur until well into
the night, when the two mutual loves of wine and philosophy have
risen to a crescendo of thought and feeling.