VEROTH (Kingdom of)
Location: Northern Bellissaria, south of the Alphatian Sea, west of Notrion, north of Lagrius, east of Dawnrim. AS
Area: Approx. 125,000 sq. mi. (323,750 sq. km). Area is approximate as there is still dispute with Notrion as to where exactly to place the borders.
Population: 30,000.
Languages: Alphatian (Randellyn dialect).
Coinage: Alphatian Standard: crown (gp), mirror (sp), judge (cp).
Taxes: 20% income tax on everyone of servant status or higher, and an import/export tax of 2% on magical items and components, and 1% on all other goods (Naycese kingdoms, Karameikos and Thyatis excluded). 10% of tax revenue goes to the Naycese treasury, and an additional 10% is spent on military forces in the name of the confederation.
Government Type: Monarchy, member of Nayce.
Industries: Military, Agriculture.
Important Figures: Verothrics (King).
Flora and Fauna: Like most Bellissarian kingdoms, Veroth's animal and plant life was largely brought in from elsewhere. A large portion of the country consists of plains and light forests, and thus one may find many typical woodland animals, such as deer, foxes, squirrels, birds, and bobcats. Wolves are not unknown, but rare. Most of the plant life consists of varieties of deciduous trees (particularly cherry, oak, and maple), grasses, and shrubs. Those regions settled by the Verothians also contain vineyards.
Further Reading: Dawn of the Emperors boxed set, previous almanacs.
Description by Trastamar.
Our kingdom was carved out of Notrion lands in AY 2016 [AC 1016. Ed.], to create a new fatherland for the Randel folk on Mystara. This land, while technically owned by others, had not been put to proper use, so we seized it and then convinced the Naycese government to acknowledge our claim, which was justified by our military power. The land is suited to our needs, with wide plains and terrain suitable for the military training to which all Randel devote their attentions. Notrion serves as our commissariat, their role is to provision our people so that we can devote ourselves to military and magical pursuits. However, they quibble over prices and terms, when they should simply send us what we requisition. After all, we put out lives on the line fighting, and should not have to barter for what we need, especially since pay is not always forthcoming from the Nayce [and Veroth has developed little of an economy of its own to support its militaristic establishment. Ed.]. Notrion agreed to provide us with grain, and if they continue to bicker over terms we will compel them to live up to their obligations. We used Thyatian labourers to construct barracks within fortified encampments to serve as our settlements, as well as two fortresses in AY 2016 guarding the mouth of the Lagrius River. But the Naycese government, in their treaty with the Thyatians, agreed to send these prisoners back to Thyatis when by all rights they should have served out their lives as our slaves. This stripped us of a needed labour force for our mundane needs, a quite short-sighted policy.
The resort town planned by Targrus along the shores of Lake Lagrius has had a hard time turning a profit, as most Bellisarians seem insular and home-bound and not much interested in travelling to tourist resorts, and the town is out of the way and hard to get to for most other Alphatians. Many don't seem to have the funds to spend on frivolities these days, part of the fiscal crunch and no doubt due to the necessity to devote all efforts to building up the military strength and prestige of Nayce. The climate here is also not alike that of Randel itself, so producing our vintages has not gone as well as first expected, with most of year's wine being too vinegary for drinking.
These problems, and the reluctance of the
Naycese central government to provide the funds we require, has necessitated
dramatic cuts in our training budgets.
This is an unconscionable state of affairs that may lead to the troops
losing their keen fighting edge, which has made the folk of Randel renowned for
their combat prowess throughout the Alphatian Empire. The political authorities of Nayce also have refused to grant to
us either authorisation or requisition of funds to stamp out the rebellion in
Esterhold, but many of us are not going to accept this situation much
longer. If need be, we'll organise a
punitive force to sail to Esterhold on our own account and teach the Jennites a
lesson they will not soon forget. We
can then seize mining facilities in the area and conscript Jennite labour to
operate them, which will provide us with the wealth we require for our needs.