Toldrun See (tohl-druhn say)

Most cities and towns are headed by mayors who are chosen from among the local clergy of Toldrun. These mayors report to the main church in the Holy City, where the high council of priests oversees much of the nation's administration. Everyone reports up through this religious hierarchy, with the ultimate power resting with the Sanctified King who rules over even the high council. This theocracy operates under the "mandate from heaven" and considers its leader to be holy and divinely inspired.

The majority of the population in this nation are dwarves, with just over 60% of the total population as of the most recent census. Almost 90% of these dwarves live in the Holy City, which has a population of around 32,000 people. The remaining small towns in the central and northern parts of the nation are made up primarily of human and halfling farmers. The varying sized military forts that dot the southern border are a mix of many different demographics, as people from around the kingdom - and mercenaries from around the world - are stationed here to protect the border from Skerrittese raids and incursions.

The military of the Toldrun See is quite varied and far-flung. The southern border forts are manned by hundreds, if not thousands, of troops each, ranging from conscripted members of the kingdom to religious Inquisitors and even foreign mercenaries. These same divisions are present throughout the rest of the See's forces, including Watch units in the various towns and cities. The only force that is uniquely and exclusively dwarven are the Inquisitors, the secret force that venture throughout the nation and nearby lands hunting heretics and those that harbor them. These Inquisitors are highly skilled paladins trained in combat, interrogation, and religious purity. They have extrajudicial rights and are often sent across borders without larger military support to find and eliminate heretics of the faith.

The military of the See performs mostly guard duties on the southern border. All people of adult age are conscripted sporadically for up to a year at a time, depending on ongoing campaigns or the level of activity at the border. The time between these tours can last anywhere from one to three years, during which time they return home and carry on normal lives. For those who cannot be trained as effective combat participants, every position in the military forts are staffed by the same draftees: barmaids, lantern lighters, street sweepers, smiths, etc. There is a place for every one of the conscripted individuals in the border forts where they are sent.

In addition to this conscripted force and the highly trained Inquisitors, the nation employs the services of vast numbers of mercenaries from around the world, offering pay in raw ore and gems that are in abundance in the nation. Mercenaries and adventurers make their way to the See to man these forts, signing contracts that keep them there for at least two years at a time, with a lower base pay for their presence and general guard duty and vast incentives for surviving and turning any attack that comes to the forts. These mercenaries are among the first forces contacted when the Sanctified Leader or the military generals want to conduct a raid on foreign lands; these mercenaries are often trusted above the conscripted soldiers to be good enough fighters to accomplish the objectives.

One of the biggest strengths of the See's military might is - paradoxically though it may seem for a nation of mostly dwarves - its navy. The See has a massive shipbuilding complex at the fort of Moradin's Watch, in the southwest corner of the nation. From here and several smaller ports along the coast, a vast armada of ships protects the waters around the See and even patrols the perimeters of the Isle of Basilisks looking for smugglers or heretics trying to get past their lines to safer areas. This navy has successfully blockaded Skerrittese port cities numerous times in the past, only to have the mainland forces fail to hold the territory and be forced to retreat back across the border. The navy has very few dwarves from the See and consists mainly of the non-dwarf population and all manner of mercenaries and adventurers.

The Toldrun See is far from the most advanced nation in the world. Their tight religious structure tends to push away serious academics who instead flock to more open-minded cities elsewhere in the world. This has left the See with a bit of "brain drain" in the realm of arcana and academia, though some of this negative effect is offset by the influx of trained mages from foreign lands who come to the See looking for fortune and steady work. These mages focus mostly on creating weapons, armor, and items for the Inquisitors and religious leaders instead of conducting research on advancing magical techniques. While this has left the civilian sector with woefully inadequate technologies, it has led to the military of the See being one of the most advanced in the world. Some of the newer naval ships are outfitted with arcane cannons, and the See's military is among the very few in the world with regular access to firearms and cannons.

As a result of this neglect of academical research and focus on military gear, the technology of the See lags far behind most other nations in the world. The Holy City has paved and well-maintained roads, though the rest of the nation does not. Even the trade roads throughout the kingdom are rough and not much better than dirt roads. Only the very wealthy and influential families in the Holy City have access to running water, while the rest of the nation's inhabitants rely on wells throughout the settlements. Medicine has also suffered from this neglect, and the majority of the nation relies on local priests and herbalists for relief from pain and sickness.

Officially, everyone in the Toldrun See worships the god Toldrun, as decreed by the Sanctified Leader and enforced by the Inquisitors. There are many citizens who secretly worship other gods and practice other faiths, but they do so on threat of death - especially if they worship the traditional dwarven god Morgran. The Inquisitors are tasked with ensuring compliance with the state religion and sniffing out heretics who worship other faiths. The Inquisitors usually do not go after families who worship privately to small idols in their homes; rather, they try to find secret groups of people who meet in hidden rooms and speak in hushed voices in pubs.

The Toldrun See has a very antagonistic relationship with its southern neighbor, the kingdom of Skerritt, as the two nations have been embroiled in conflict for almost 500 years. This conflict has either been directly part of or a close offshoot of the Dwarven Civil War which has seen forays and raids launched in both directions across the border, though the Inquisitors of the See are responsible for most of these.

Relations with the northern neighbor, the kingdom of Oestbernia are cordial if not slightly strained. Oestbernia does not necessarily approve of the civil war and the incursions the See makes on the kingdom of Skerritt, but the vast wagonloads of ore and gems the See sends to their northern neighbors helps ease these reservations. At the same time, the relationship is slightly frosty because Inquisitors are frequently seen hunting heretics in the kingdom of Oestbernia, which often leads to town guards fighting off these fanatics and trying to save villagers from their swift justice.

Other than that, the See does not have regular interaction with most other nations. They do operate the stations on the Isle of Basilisks which control the raising, training, and selling of these creatures to people across the world. The See also exports a great deal of ore and gems to other nations and wealthy buyers - at ridiculous mark-up, as they have more than enough to provide for their own needs and only sell what they can comfortably live without. The only faraway nation with whom the See interacts - and the relationship is definitely a negative one - is the city-state of Gel Morgran, the ancestral sacred city of the first dwarves who still hold tight to their religion and rebuke the false deity Toldrun.

The Toldrun See is a very self sufficient land, relying on imports for almost none of its needs. The vast grasslands in the heart of the nation provide enough crops and meat to feed all mouths comfortably, including the soldiers and mercenaries in the southern forts. The deep mines in the Holy City produce more than enough iron ore for weapons and gold for buying people's goods and services. The forest of the Holy Copse provides lumber for all manner of industry across the nation, including shipbuilding at the massive naval fortress located in Moradin's Watch.

The main imports the See gets from foreign nations are fine silks and other cloth, spices, and occasionally horses from larger grassland areas. These come overland across the northern border with Oestbernia as well as through the sea ports at either end of the nation.