Kingdom of Vah'kan (vah-KHAN)

The Kingdom of Vah'kan is the kingdom that leads all other Principalities on the continent of Siarvald.  

Siarvald and the Kingdom of Vah'kan

  The continent of Siarvald is entirely occupied by the Kingdom of Vah'kan; there are no other political forces on it. In historical documents (and on this page), the Kingdom is sometimes used to refer to the continent, and vice versa.  

Culture

Nobody knows exactly how or why King Vah'dis the Undying managed to live for so long, for he is a human, but his presence and rule has defined much of the current Siarvaldan culture for the last four hundred years.   While Vah'dis is just, he is also a very stern ruler, emulating the principles of the Father. The period of time after the reunification was a time of strife for the continent, and King Vah'dis used all of his military and magical might in order to make sure that nothing like it would happen ever again. He imposed strict laws and encouraged the people to follow authority, both religiously and culturally. Furthermore, all of the former kings and warlords that were littered around the continent were replaced by his own children, making sure that those principalities would obey his rules and laws.   With his reign firmly secured, Vah'dis, for the last four hundred years, has worked on improving international relations and making sure that his people are prosperous and happy. If one were to look at it from a purely statistical standpoint, most would argue that the King has been successful; the monsters are kept at bay through adamant military efforts and the people lack for nothing, living lives many would call blessed.   However, in practice, not everything is running as smoothly as King Vah'dis may have hoped. The current atmosphere of growing discontentment can be attributed to two factors: the effects the King's laws have had on the people, and the effects they have on his own family.   The laws imposed by King Vah'dis state that all must contribute to the well-being of the Kingdom, and thus all people of Vah'kan are employed at all times. From a young age, children are taught basic skills, such as mathematics and reading, and a profession according to a very complicated population census that is updated yearly, and is used to calculate what will be needed in the coming years. Only the children of the very wealthy get to pick a profession to learn; for the rest, it is imposed by the government. While efficient to keep the kingdom running, this method fails to take personal preferences or skills into account; thus, it has led to a general atmosphere of existential dread that the Princes and Princesses are finding very difficult to combat.   While this strategy is effective at reducing crime amongst natives of the Kingdom, it does not affect any visitors from Yasamaq or Qarah's Dream. Because of this, and in spite of the King's best efforts, most people of Siarvald feel jealous and suspicious of anyone not from their continent. As a matter of fact, they often use the presence of a foreigner to commit a minor crime, such as theft, and pin it on the stranger. Usually, all charges are quickly thrown out once the investigation is done, but this «tradition» has considerably damaged the international reputation of the Kingdom - which only serves to exacerbate the tensions created with the waning trade between Siarvald and Yasamaq.   To further accentuate these problems, the Descendants are also growing discontent with Vah'dis' laws. The third generation of rulers has recently come into power, and while their forebears were perfectly content with bowing their head and keeping a low profile, that attitude is starting to change. The regulations regarding trade, military, and religious worship are so strict that the Descendants are starting to doubt their relevance in the current landscape of the world; this has caused the trade network to slow down.  

Flag

The flag of the Kingdom is divided into four parts, representing the four regions of Siarvald. The topmost part is larger than the others, as it represents the Thoracic Region and the central seat of power. Each quadrant is a different color and presents different heraldry; furthermore, its border is striped with various shades of green. The topmost quadrant is royal purple, and represents a golden crown in its center, marking it as the central seat of power. The leftmost quadrant is forest green, and bears representations of trees, noting the importance of the Foxwoods. The centermost quadrant is brown, and bears the image of a mountain, noting that it is separated by the Spine. Finally, the rightmost quadrant is red and bears the image of two crossed swords, noting its particularly chaotic past.

Salute

The Kingdom of Vah'kan has a special way of saluting. One must straighten their back, then wrap their non-dominant arm behind their back, then put the open palm of their dominant arm on their heart. Should they be addressing somebody of higher standing than them, one must also bow before them.

Funerary rites and the disposition of bodies

Siarvaldans believe that the underground is the domain of the Betrayer. Therefore, in order to dispose of the dead, two methods are prefered over burial.   The first is cremation, using pyres usually constructed from the plentiful wood of the continent and straw. The scope and grandiosity of these rites depends greatly on the wealth and importance of the deceased (and their family). Peasants are usually cremated in very private, very intimate ceremonies, with only the bereaved family and close friends of the deceased in attendance. On the other hand, when a Prince or Princess dies, it is usually a nation-wide, multiple-day affair, of which the pyre always serves as the conclusion for the funerary rites. Sometimes, items of importance to the deceased are thrown into the flames, as a way to remember the dearly departed.   The second method, which people from other continents tend to find much more morbid, is a sky burial. The body of the deceased is specially prepared and perfumed, and then left out in the middle of the wind-swept plains of Siarvald. There, a variety of birds and animals, such as the Siarvaldan Great Harpies, will take care of the disposal of the body by eating its flesh. The family of the deceased then gets the bones back, and those are usually ground into powder and spread in a location determined by the deceased's family or will. Elves tend to do this more often than any other race.   In either case, those who pray to the Siarvaldan Pantheon believe that the deceased will then join the Gods in the heavenly paradise they occupy.

Religion

Please check the Siarvaldan Religion page.

Laws, Order, and Punishment

The laws of the Kingdom are, by and at large, extremely strict. King Vah'dis has ever been of the belief that for the people to be safe and for civilization to strive, crime must not be allowed to flourish.   On the whole, the laws of the Kingdom are sensible. Thievery, burlglary, damage or destruction of property, assault, murder... as could be expected, anything that directly or indirectly harms another or their property is illegal within the Kingdom. There are important exceptions, the most notable of which is the crime of lèse-majesté: it is illegal to insult the Descendants, the Princes or the Princesses, and the King, in public. The definition of "in public" is vague on purpose, and as a matter of fact, has led to the arrest of many who thought they were safe from the law, only to be ratted out by a 'friend' hoping for a reward for catching a criminal. (There are no rewards for doing so. This fact hasn't stopped the rumor from spreading and sustaining itself over the course of centuries, however). Laws are defined in a legal book called a Code of Laws, which has many sub-chapters, including one called the Code of Punishments.   While the laws of the Kingdom may be strict, the Code of Punishments is even more so. That is because the Code of Punishments focuses (as the name indicates) on the punishment of criminals; not on their redemption or rehabilitation. Therefore, any criminal found to be guilty of a crime with repairable damage (e.g. thievery or assault) is kept in jail for a period that begins with a few months, but can stretch as long as a decades depending on the severity of the deed. Any criminal found to be guilty of a crime with irreparable damage (e.g. murder) is to be put to death and executed in private. Public executions are rare in the Kingdom, and reserved for crimes that have had lasting consequences on the well-being of the Kingdom itself.   On the other hand, the Kingdom's laws are nothing if not egalitarian. The reason that Descendants have become so adept at concealing their scheming, betrayal, and political maneuvring is that they know full well that Vah'dis will not hesitate, not even for a single second, to submit one of his own Descendants to the same punishment as one of the common people. As a matter of fact, the King has been known to see to such matters himself - and Vah'dis does not embarass himself with trials.   Each and every village and town of the Kingdom is equipped with a jail, often in the same building where the local guard force lives. Guards (and, in Virtue, King's Guards) patrol the streets of every town, of every village of the Kingdom. If a crime and/or a criminal is spotted by them, they are authorised to proceed to an immediate arrest, drag the perpretator to jail, and keep him in there for the maximum alloted amount of time, as defined in the Code of Punishments. For more difficult or ambiguous situations, the criminal is arrested, then moved as soon as possible to Virtue, where he will be tried in Grand Tribunal. Their fate is to be determined there, and though trials have a tendency to be resolved quickly, most people find their result to be fair.   The people of Siarvald are often content to live within the confines of the law, which has led Siarvald's prisons to be mostly filled with foreigners or visitors, who are not as accustomed to the Kingdom's laws as its citizens. This has attracted international criticism multiple times, but Vah'dis is an inflexible as he is an excellent negotiator.  

Inheritance laws

The King has been very long lived, but he is no fool. Though inheritance laws have been defined within the Kingdom of Vah'kan, they are ancient and oft-forgotten - most would rather believe the King to be invincible and immortal. They state that the King must define which of the Descendant must succeed him in case of his death. Should the King have been unable to, the Queen must define it. If the Queen cannot, then the Princes and Princesses must decide amongst themselves.  

Economy

As a mostly woody and sunny area, Siarvald is extremely rich in things that grow in or on the ground, such as wood, fruits and vegetables, as well as goods that rely on those things to survive, such as animals, including cattle. However, as the Spine is very poor in raw material except stone, and the Siarvaldan are unwilling to go underground, the quality of their stonework and constructions was poor for hundreds of years.   The peace treaty between Siarvald and Yasamaq, however, changed everything. The economy of the entirety of the continent has boomed since that time, and a very extensive trading strategy, as drafted by King Vah'dis himself, has assured that the continent lacks for nothing. The aid of metal tools and various other stoneworks has allowed various constructions, especially defensive in nature, to finally be built, and has made agriculture an even easier task.   However, in the last four years, the economy of the Kingdom has stalled, and even started to decline. This is due to a lack of motivation in the general population, an increase in Fog occurrences, and the unwillingness of the Descendants to do anything about those factors. In response to this, the King has ordered that their focus be turned to maintaining a high standard of living for their own people, which meant reducing the amount of goods traded to Yasamaq. This decision has impacted international relations, but has managed to keep the Siarvaldan (somewhat) happy.

Military

While the Kingdom exists in relative peace, it still maintains an internal military force. The Protector-Saint distributes the available military forces around the Kigndom, answering to the needs of the different Princes and Princesses. Since Vah'kan is currently not at war, the military is used to fight off monsters, patrol the cities, make sure that security protocols are respected during an outbreak of the Betrayer's Fog, and sometimes, albeit rarely, to apprehend people that are not paying their taxes correctly.   The Kingdom of Vah'kan also has a smaller, elite military force, called the King's Guard or the Blessed Children. They are usually sent to take on international missions, or missions that require a certain degree of discretion, such as being a Descendant's bodyguard. While their training is extremely rigorous and the pressure put on them intense, they enjoy greater freedom in their actions and an excellent reputation, making them near-nobles while in Siarvald.