Caspia

The Great Caspian Canyon stretches out for miles from the base of the Rust Edge Mountains where an incredible waterfall of red-hued waters pour out and into the canyon like a faucet. The red dry earth spans for miles, as the crimson mountains loom magnificent across the horizon. A Caspian warrior clad in black and red armor flies atop a great wyvern down into the canyon, seeking their monstrous quarry below.

A pair of knights stand in the sandy pit of the Rex Colosseum. A crowd of thousands of onlookers erupt into cheers as the steel grate at the far end clangs open. A mighty roar bellows from the darkness within. The two fighters draw their swords, slamming them against their shields and letting out battle cries to rile up the crowd further. As a group of ugly trolls brandishing giant maces and clubs spill out from the open gate, one of the knights yells “For House Jagger!” and charges the monstrosities.

Sailing the coastline of the Middle Sea, a group of privateers rush to their cannons. A black-sailed ship on the horizon heads towards them as they stand between the oncoming pirates and a group of small trade ships attempting to make it to port. “Ready the weapons,” yells the gruff captain. “Let’s show them what happens when they pick a fight with a Caspian ship!”

Caspia is a confederate nation formed by six prominent Great Houses, who have a not-undeserved reputation as boisterous and gregarious people. Their culture and politics drive their prideful scions to seek adventure throughout the world, and meddle endlessly in the affairs of other nations.

Every nation on the continent has warred against Caspia at least once in their history, and every Caspian house had gone to war with each other countless times. However, since becoming a united realm, Caspia has never fallen to foreign invasion, and in spite of these numerous conflicts, the realm has remained remarkably stable over the years thanks to its unique succession rules.

Every decade, the six Great Houses elect a reigning monarch via a contest known as the Kingsmoot. This important tradition decides the High King of Caspia. Over the past thirty years, the prominent House Joplin has consistently won the Kingsmoot, and High King Venus Joplin has enjoyed a long rule. Yet, as the next Kingsmoot nears, the other Great Houses scheme and plan to unseat House Joplin and establish their own family as the ruling dynasty.

Overview

Extending along the eastern coast of the Middle Sea, Caspia is a subtropical land where wild grass and foliage cling to wide red rocky knolls. The dry plains are speckled with column-like rock formations and bordered by large spanning mountain ranges in the north. The climate of Caspia ranges from arid to humid. The northern cusp of Caspia is home to decent farm land for ranches and vineyards, and the semitropical coastal regions to the south are a rich source of fine spices such as cloves, pepper, and saffron. There are only a few large forests, which include pine and spruce in the north but more tropical species emerge in the south. Many Caspian towns tend vast orchards of either fruit or citrus depending on their latitudes. During antiquity, Caspia was a rich source of tin and home to many bronzeworkers. Today, Caspia must import most of its iron and steel.

The most populated cities are sprawling places filled with single-story limestone abodes. Caspia is frequently rocked by tremors and earthquakes, so only the castles and keeps of the most prominent houses reach a second or third story. Traveling south, the center of Caspia leads to more barren landscapes and rocky badlands, and the famous Caspian Canyon until making its way to the tropical jungles to the south

Population

Amongst the three great powers of the continent, Caspia is the most sparsely populated, with only 5 million people living within its borders. Most dwell in the coastal regions along the Middle Sea or towards the northwestern regions which border Elyria and Westemär.

Caspia is comprised mostly of humans, who make up all of the six Great Houses of its nobility. However, several halfling communities exist along the northern area between the Glimmer Mountains and the Rust Edge Mountains. Dwarves from the Glimmer Mountains commonly travel through Caspia, and half-elves and tieflings make their homes in most port cities. Uncommon folk with anthropomorphic lineages dwell mostly towards the southern borders with Terene and Orleone.

Capital

Caspia does not have a true capital city — the seat of power lies at the Tower of Swords. There, the High King of Caspia holds court, and the Kingsmoot meets here to choose the next ruler.

Government

Six Great Houses rule Caspia. The head of each household holds the title of Prince-Elector, and all their heirs style themselves as princes or princesses. Each household has complete authority over the laws and jurisdiction of their individual lands. These six houses are in fact each distantly related, for all descend from the six children of Rex Caspian, founder of the nation. As fitting for a nation ruled by headstrong siblings, these factious nobles have long struggled to form a united government, and often make war against each other for frivolous reasons. A tradition known as the Kingsmoot was established as a means to end the petty warring between the six major houses of Caspia by choosing a High King to mediate disputes between the houses, make the final decision on any matter affecting the nation as a whole, and wear the Crown of Caspia.

The Kingsmoot is both an election and a competition. By custom and law, it is held no later than ten years to the day after the coronation of the most recent High King, or should the High King die in office, immediately after their funeral. One candidate for the throne is put forward by each of the six Great Houses, and the reigning High King must abdicate the throne to the winner of the contest. However, the current High King can retain the throne if they are both chosen to represent their own house again and their House wins the Kingsmoot

Each of the six Great Houses may submit two votes in the Kingsmoot. One vote is discretionary, but the households cannot vote for their own candidate. The other vote is decided by each household making a bet or challenge placed at the conclusion of the previous Kingsmoot. These challenges represent a goal each house can strive towards over the next decade, although most commonly, the houses will issue a challenge they might have the upper hand accomplishing to secure a guaranteed vote for themselves. Traditional challenges include assembling the largest military force, procuring the most treasure, securing the strongest foreign alliances through marriage, building the greatest castle, wielding the finest magical weapons, having the most impressive muscles, and slaying the most dragons or other notable monsters.

A household must win a plurality of votes to win the Kingsmoot. While smaller houses of notable renown within Caspia may compete, they are not permitted to vote. As such, the Kingsmoot has always been won by a Great House. Given that only twelve votes are cast, two-way and three-way ties are extremely common. In this case, a Caspian duel decides the next High King. Under the terms of the duel, each candidate chooses four retainers to accompany them on a quest. Each candidate has one week to seek out and slay the largest and most terrible monster they can find, and return with a trophy. The other houses then decide which candidate has made the most impressive kill, and declare them High King.

House Joplin are great dragonslayers, and they most often use this skill to win tiebreakers. This tactic has made them the winner of 17 of the 34 Kingsmoots.

The current High King of Caspia is Venus Joplin II, who has been the reigning monarch for the last three decades.

Noble Ranks

High King. The monarch of Caspia. This title is used regardless of gender.

Prince-Elector or Princess-Elector. The elder of a Great House, given the right to cast a vote or issue a challenge during the Kingsmoot. Only six individuals hold this title in Caspia, and each bear one of the Six Swords of Caspia.

Prince and Princess. This title is used by both scions and direct family members of the Great Houses.

Marquis or Marquess. The rank held by landed noble families who may submit a candidate to the Kingsmoot, but who cannot vote in the contest. All are vassals of one of the six Great Houses.

Royal Council

Once the Kingsmoot is over, the High King must receive five envoys from each of the noble houses to act on their council to help manage the realm, but can then appoint as many other nobles to their council as they wish. The High King can invent any office or title for these councilors as suits their whims. While many High Kings establish a Master of War or an Admiral of Ships, other administrative functions are assigned more haphazardly to niche roles, such as the Potions Inspector General or the Lord Commander of Field Sports. As a result, the High Kings of Caspia are known to assemble massive entourages, making the court a rowdy place of nobles gathered from across the nation.

The Kingsmoot is administered and overseen by represent atives of the Amethyst Academy and the Faith of the Sacred Flame to ensure legitimacy, fair dealing, and sportsmanlike conduct in the proceedings. The gnomish Archmage Marigold Kettleborn and the human High Flamekeeper Elara Jones are the current Kingsmoot administrators.

Each representative also joins the Caspian Royal Council. As a member of the Amethyst Academy Directorate, Marigold has held her current position since the Kingsmoot was established, and the event is one of the few times the otherwise elusive figure makes a public appearance. High Flamekeeper Elara Jones has been recently elected from House Jones of Caspia after spending twelve years abroad in Elyria training under the Divine Matriarch.

Seals of Caspia

The Edicts of Lumen prompted the Caspian Houses to organize the Kingsmoot to decide who would wear the Crown of Caspia gifted to them. As such, the Seals of Caspia are six swords and a crown. Each of the Great Houses holds one of the swords, which are unsheathed in the coronation ritual of the High King. The High King usually wields both the sword of their house, and wears the Crown of Caspia.

Religion

Caspians are known as a largely irreverent people. Nevertheless, the Faith of the Sacred Flame is the most common religion throughout Caspia. Though Caspian dedication to the Sacred Flame is less than that of Westemär and very much Elyria, most major cities house a chapel or cathedral to the Faith. Devout noblewomen often travel to Elyria to train as a Flamekeepers, many Caspians see this as another possible avenue to add clout and renown to their house’s name.

Caspians tend to think of the Old Gods as ghost stories, and many Caspians speak of them as if they were demons or evil monsters. One Caspian legend claims that great heroes of House Jackson, Joplin, and Jones fought against and slew Kromac, Nodens, and Morrigan, which caused the Old Gods to run away from Caspia in fear of meeting the same fate. These Caspians are heroes in old tales used to impress upon young Caspian children the importance of strength and courage. Many point out, correct ly, that the timeline given by these tales makes no sense, as the Caspian houses today did not exist at the time when the stories are said to occur. Facts often make for boring stories, however.

Military

Each notable house of Caspia has its own army. The size of these forces, their fighting styles, and equipment differ from house to house. Nevertheless, each Great House boasts about their soldiers and what they deem to be most valuable. The combined might of Caspia far outstrips the militaries of any other nation. However, this apparent strength is counterbalanced by the uncooperative nature of the Great Houses themselves. Still, when Caspia has faced invasion from Westemär, Elyria, or Terene, the Great Houses’ armies have readily united and have proven to be an incredibly resilient and unstoppable force. The competitive nature of the Caspian Houses has also encouraged diversification amongst the household armies to cover a wide range of martial doctrines, as each house wants to be different from the others, and train their armies to be the best at something the others are not.

Magic

By tradition, a court mage of the Amethyst Academy serves each of the Great Houses. However, the Amethyst Academy does not have a major stronghold in Caspia, instead operating through a variety of outposts or traveling from the Enigma Ziggurat in the neighboring city-state of Liberio.

Caspians are fascinated with art and music, and love when bards tell stories and sing songs of their deeds. Noble houses often recruit a minstrel or herald, and it is a mark of prestige to have a bard with true magical talents on your household staff.

Trade

Geographically, Caspia lies in the center of the Continent along the Middle Sea, and as such the nation is the crossroads for international trade. Goods flow through Caspia from Elyria and Westemär to Terene and Orleone, and Caspian spices are often used as a medium of exchange for cargo passing between these places. Such trade progresses by both land and sea, as most of the Six Great Houses make their estates on coastal ports.

Principal Exports: Tin, bronze, spices, wines

Principal Imports: Iron, steel, coal, silk, textiles