The Kingdom of Zelaya

The Kingdom of Zelaya is a large empire of the Zelayan people, as well as a considerable number of Beastfolk refugees, stretching from the Tychi Sea in the west to the Endless Ocean in the east. The southern border is at the Disleri Yorthi, the Teeth of Yorth, a large mountain range with the Lunian Wildlands beyond. Their northern territory extends all the way up to the Simal Bay, and their western boundary north of the Bay of Blood on the Tychi Sea is the Crimson March, a massive battlefield and no-man's land that has not shifted in over a decade, serving as the border between The Kingdom of Zelaya and The Verum Imperium, with which the Zelayans have been at war for over 20 years.   The Zelayan people are not native to Yorth. They came here via magical means from their homeworld of Kumah shortly after the Awakened woke on the First Day, settling in the eastern regions of The Sundered Ring. As their presence slowly spread, encountering fighting, and ultimately making peace with the native Beastfolk, the Zelayans on Yorth witnessed the Infinite Sorrow, the burning of Kumah. Many tried to return to Kumah, World and were never seen nor heard from again. The fires continue to burn to this day, which has galvanized the Zelayan people on a holy quest: to extinguish the fires of Kumah to end the Infinite Sorrow and someday return to their home.   The four races that make up the Zelayan people are the Hündür (associated with Agil), the Yusil (associated with Urek), the Tüklü (associated with Kumah), and the Cevik (associated with Goz), rudely called by the awakened Hobgoblins, Gremlins, Bugbears, and Goblins respectively.   Together, the Zelayans worship the Aspects of the Cosmic Mother, Kainat Ana, the four of which, Agil, Kumah, Urek, and Goz, form a Quaternity, each a part of the Cosmic Mother herself. They believe Yorth is associated with their estranged Father, Yer. The Beastfolk, many of whom live among the Zelayans, traditionally worship the Great Owl, Ibin, but the Zelayans believe Ibin to be one of the manifestations of Yer. They do not believe the Automaths of the Awakened to be gods at all.   The Zelayans brought with them many wonders from Kumah. Foremost among these are Psionic and Blood magicks, which are generally unknown to the Awakened and much sought after by The Verum Imperium. They also have magick and technology that massively increases the yield of farms and grows creatures to gargantuan size, evidenced by some of the huge Kuman creatures they brought with them from Kumah. These also are sought by The Verum Imperium, which, despite its large size, sometimes struggles to find enough arable land.   The capital city of The Kingdom of Zelaya is @Sermaye on the Bay of Kumah, with other major cities being @Peytaxt further north, @Malikane closer to the Crimson March in the West, the holy city of Gol Seheri on the shores of Derin Gol, the port of @Liman at the mouth of the Thyella Sound in the far southwest, and the Beastfolk enclave of @Penagah at the far southern end of the @Veshi Valley in the east.   The Kingdom of Zelaya is called as such, but has a unique system of governance. After many dynasties ruled by powerful families from the four Zelayan races throughout their history, the shared trauma of the Infinite Sorrow put future of the Kingdom into focus for the Zelayan people, and thus they came up with a new type of Monarchy: the currently serving Monarch would adopt a child from one of the other races, in the following order: a Hündür Monarch would adopt a Yusil heir, the Yusil Monarch would then adopt a Tüklü heir, the Tüklü Monarch would then adopt a Cevik heir, and finally the Cevik Monarch would adopt a Hündür heir, completing the cycle. Any given Monarch would be served by a council consisting of councilors from the other three races, as well as a representative of the Beastfolk. In this way, the four races would become melded into one great dynasty, cementing their future together. Recently, there has been some internal strife as the Beastfolk have pushed both for being admitted to the royal cycle so that they might have their turn ruling as Monarch, and for greater representation of the diverse Beastfolk people on the royal council.