Kingdom of Caldaven

Caldaven

  Caldaven is a Monarchy ruled by the half-eadun king Conn Benn Calad. Sharing almost the complete east border with the Norn empire of Cun Moragh Norn, the realm of Caldaven has, in the course of its history, clashed with the Elves quite often. Although a peace stands now for ten years already, thanks in no small part to King Conn himself, mistrust against the pointy eared "bastards" is usual among the common folk.   The reign of the king over the different cities is loose, yet the cold climate, the constant threat of Norn and plague incursions have exerted enough pressure to form the people into a tight knit community. Caldavians are used to harsh climate and honor strength. Warriors are well regarded and Caldaven remains strongly bound by the traditions of chivalry.   The Caldavians mainly follow the Faith of the Seven, even though the Church of the Creator has gained in influence again in the last decades. King Conn however has made sure that no secular power falls into the laps of any of the religions, something which greatly helped to broker the truce with the Norn, who are deeply distrustful of the Church.   The Tower of Caldaven, which is located in Amn, is ruled by the Oromi (actually Sand) Headmistress Ashar Nirudi, and although the Church of the Creator has sent several demands to empower at least the Sentry, King Conn has refrained from doing so, referring to hints of a possible involvement of the Sentry, and by that extend probably even the Church of the Creator, in a coup to dethrone the King several years ago. Although it could never be proven conclusively, the Sentinels of Amn are thus left to a counseling role, and will stay that way for the foreseeable future.   With the Shearwind Monastery, Caldaven also houses one of the four great monasteries that exist on Ardu. The Monks of the Shearwind monastery practice the monastic tradition of the Way of the Elements, and have proven to be a valuable ally in battle but, in peace times, also to be a skilled negotiator between Caldaven and Cun Moragh Norn.  

The Monarch of Caldaven

  Caldaven is a union of 18 Duchies, whose rulers elect a king. The elected king does not necessarily have to be a duke or duchess, but becomes one through the election, as the Duchy Amn is given to the ruler as a fiefdom.   The actual Monarch of Caldaven is Conn Benn Calad, a half eadun, who was elected 12 Years ago after being proposed on initiative of Romburak Roxifex Ronduin, who, at that time, was the freshly crowned Duchess of the Northmarch. He was elected in order to enable peace between the Norn of Cun Moragh Norn and Caldaven.   Although heavily contested by Duke Greifax Ordywnn V of Faroden , who wanted to establish his own son on the throne, and who heavily opposed to peace with the elves, Conn Benn Calad managed to gain the necessary votes.   Once a soldier, then knight and later Duke of the Northern Nornweir and Marshall of the Realm, Conn became the Duke of Amn, the traditional charge of the King, and handed the title of Duke of the Northern Nornweir and Marshal of the Realm to his long time friend and general of the Caldavian forces, Ronan Giantshield, the protector of Blade Grove.   Supported by Romburak, and Ashar Nirudi, King Conn has established many new laws which ease the fate of Elves in the Kingdom of Caldaven and limit the secular power of the Sentry. Be that as it may be, after ten years of his rulership, Elves still remain citizens of second class even in Amn itself, and the attempts of the Sentry and Greifax Ordywnn V of Faroden to seize more power remain a constant challenge.  

The 18 Duchies and their Rulers

 

The Duchy Amn

  Although large on paper, at least according to the number of square miles it encompasses, the effective size of the duchy of Amn is small, as most of the area is covered by the Forest of Amn, a large impenetrable thicket. The true Duchy of Amn consists of a few cities along the shore on the way south to Faroden or Northwards to Widewater and the region around the Lake Amn, where about 9 of ten people in the Duchy of Amn live.City of Amn

The duchy is traditionally goverened by the Monarch of Caldaven , it's small size ensuring that the monarch can actually concentrate his or her full attention on the job of governing Caldaven.

The main Export of The Duchy of Amn is Wood and Hides, Leather, Spices and Herbs from the forest, then fishing Tools, or felt and peat products which are coming mostly from Endmarsh close to the Southern Marsh.


Main import of the Duchy of Amn is Steel, Gems and Metals, either all over the year from other caldavian regions like Northmarch, North Nornweir(organization:16638154-feb1-46be-a970-f8894ce7ebd7), East Nornweir, South Nornweir and Shearwind, or via ship from all over the world in times the Drift Ice Bay and the northern part of the Moonstream are ice free.

 

Duchy Aquira Bordermarch

The Aquira Bordermarch is governed from Faroden by Duke Greifax Ordywnn V of Faroden, whose son Prince Greifax Ordwynn VI of Faroden leads the Sentry of the Bordermarch from his bureau in Faroden more so on paper than factual.

  The Duchy, just like Southshore and Midland serve as a breadbasket for the Country, moreso for the cooler northern duchies rather than East Nornweir or South Nornweir. Its close vicinity to the Northern Riverlands in Aquira make it one of the most fertile places in Caldaven, turning wheat into one of its major exports

At the same time the Aquiran Bordermarch exports peat product and hides, Wool and Wines, even though the wines rarely can measure up in quality to the wines from Aquira. But they are cheap.

Duchy Southshore

With the Acres of Andrath, the Duchy of Southshore is blessed with access to fertile fields, wood and and a good fishing industry. On top of that the cheese of Troyben has gained fame far beyond the borders of Southshore.   Southshore is governed from Andrath by Duke Oberon Anduin Albenshield IV, a mid fifty warrior type who, despite his martial nature, is a great supporter of King Conn Benn Calad.

As one of Caldavens breadbaskets, the main export is grain, but also fish, cheese and Beer (the famous Usterbrew) that originates from the Uster Lowlands. Furthermore as a collector of art (a long kept secret by him) Oberon saw to it that artists from all over the world were able to settle in Andrath, which has led to a new but slowly growing artist quarter in Andrath.  

Duchy Northmarch

  The Duchy of Northmarch is governed by Duchess Romburak Roxifex Ronduin III from her Throne in Donarfall.   Northmarch is deeply bound to The Duchy of Amn in commercial and political ties via the so called "Two Forest Pact", a set of contracts forged by Romburak Roxifex Ronduin III and Conn Benn Calad during the last ten years of peace. It takes it's name obviously from the Forest of Amn and the Blackfir Forest which are both covering large parts of the duchies they are located in. Where Amn consists mainly of forest though, the Northmarch has fertile plains and hills that stretch out to the Duchy Galwerland, to the Rider's March and towards the Northern Nornwall in the East. Via the broad river Thur, the Northmarch has access to the Moonlake, something the regents of The Northmarch have kept open by regurlarly digging out the river to keep it deep enough, and by paying toll to the Gales of Galwerland.   Since Romburak took the side of Saterna Glinda Karenvil I of Balenhort, the duchess of Balland, in the ongoing conflict between the Bales and the Gales, (after Saterna decided against a marital bond to Ferin Cal Cyrden IV of Galwen to instead choose a partner which would strengthen the peace with the Norn), the toll has risen considerably however.   The Northmarch exports steel made from iron mined in the Northern Nornwall. Furthermore silver and gold coming from the same mountainside, which is exported almost uniquely to Amn to be the basis of Caldavens Coinage.   Due to the good relations the Duchy holds with the Norn Elves in its territory, nornish artwork and weapons have become sought after goods too. Further notable exports are wolven made furs, bought with steel weapons from the Wolven of the the Whispering Tundra.   It is widely recognized that Romburak Roxifex Ronduin III was one of the major architects of the peace of Caldaven, a peace of which the Northmarch with its good human elvish relations strongly profited.  

Duchy Balland

Balland, home of the Bales is a proud industrious duchy which provided Southern Nornweir with weapons during the War with the Norns, and, to this day, provides weapons of utmost quality to all of Caldaven. The steel necessary to produce these weapons is imported from the Northern Nornweir as well as Northmarch.   Famous for being the first who invented the Bluesteel Alloy for their weapons, blades from the city of Balenhort, whose name losely translates to hoard of the Bales, find their way to places all over Ardu.   Due to the Ukaytakeha World tree lying within the borders of Balland still, and because Duchess Saterna Glinda Karenvil I is married to Aruak korul Takwa Ukaytakeha-uru , the Master Artisan of the Norn who live there, and with whom she also had her daughter Kwynn Karenvil I, the Duchy Balland has access to a modicum amount of Ironwood and Cryst. On top of that balic linear-band ceramic pottery from Blackmoor has gained some fame all over Caldaven and Aquira.   Balenhort is also the seat of the naval port that holds Caldaven's Southern Fleet, a role which the city of Amn cannot play, due to the effort it takes to guide a ship through the razorsharp rocks that protect the harbors of Amn.   It is notable that the Bales of Balland and the Gales of Galwerland were involved in a centuries old feud, which, although it has cooled off a bit now, still informs a natural rivalry btween the duchies.   Ever since Saterna Glinda Karenvil refused the hand of Ferin Cal Cyrden IV of Galwen however, and instead took the hand of Aruak korul Takwa Ukaytakeha-uru to strengthen the caldavian peace with the Norn, the rivalry among both ethnic groups has gained more steam, and Gales in Balland as well as Bales in Galwerland must be prepared to face discrimination or at least unfounded distrust.