Raone (RAY-own)

A good mix of mostly humans, elves, gnomes, halflings, dwarves and half-elves with a enough of "other" races (half-orc, teifling) to be common, but they tend to live in pockets together. It's rare to see a Dragonborn in the valley. Warforged, Tabaxi, Firbolgs are not common, but not unusual.

The refugees established a Council based government from the beginning, trying to avoid a single ruling monarch. After some time in the world, they realized that a single diplomatic figurehead would be beneficial. Not only for relating to other nations that did rule by monarchy, but also as a figure the people could look to for leadership. The Crown is voted on by the people after a series of trials narrows down the pool to a handful of candidates. A Crown sits in their position until death, deposed by the people, or voluntarily stepping down (seen as the most honorable way to retire).   The Crown can be any gender, any ancestry, and holds a single seat on the High Council. He or she sits on the council as the position that speaks for the people as a whole. They also will interact with crowned kings and queens from other nations as the ruling monarch. This position is not inherited by bloodline, but instead the individual is chosen by a series of trials until one is chosen by the people.   The High Council consists of the Crown, The Head Archivist, the High General of the Leyvarr Guard, and Council Reps from each major Guild (9). Together, they make decisions abou tthe direction of the nation, external matters and relationships with other nations, large scale trade policies, and large scale projects within the Dom.   The Minor Guilds, called Associations, each have their own Council rep for the Advisory Council, alongside the Leyvarr Guard Major Generals (3) who share a voting seat and the Advisory Archivists (a trio of three that rotate sitting on the Advisory Council). The Advisory Council makes decisions concerning internal matters to the Dom. City planning, internal management of resources, conviction of criminals, organization of festivals, admission of new Associations, etc.   The Archivist Guild is a key organization to the government and doesn't function like a typical Guild. It is made up of the historians, teachers, accountants, and other scholarly professions. Its members do some voting internally, but ranks are earned with time, and in managment skills. The voting aspect is to provides an honor system since a vote is a formal way of showing respect. The Archivists assist other Guilds with research, and it is the organization that people report thier taxes to and receive their citizen voting Tokens, which are magically imbued stamps that are worn around citizen necks.This Guild has other duties within the governement including the yearly Census, maintaining the school and lower education structure, and keeping the Grand Library. It's members are the only citizens who do not vote in the Grand Testing, since they manage the voting process and provide information and advice for all the other Guilds and Councils.   Citizenship within the Dom   A good number of people in the Dom are immigrants from other areas or from portals, so the Dom has always had a path to becoming a citizen of the Dom. Any non citizen is free to explore, live and work within the Dom provided they don't cause trouble. And every Guild does have at least one rank specifically for no-citizens. The yearly Census still records both citizens and non-citizens. This means it is possible to live and work in the Dom legally at a decent and fair wage in most trades.   If, however, a non-citizen wishes to become a citizen, there are a few different paths to take. One must be a member of a Guild or Association in a non-citizen rank in a profession of their choice. They can change professions, but the vetting process would start over. The must be an elder, mentor, or higher rank indivudal in the same Guild who is willing to sponsor the person wishing to become a citizen.  The Sponsor and non-citizen (applicant) must go to the Archivists Guild and register for the vetting process to begin and the applicant applying will be assigned to a school to report to a certain number of days per month to learn local education. From that point on, life continues mostly as normal. The applicant will continue their training in their profession if learning the trade, or if already an expert, they learn from the masters in the Guild, as well as teach the methods they learned elsewhere.  The Guild/Association and it's leadership has the most amount of say in the vetting process, reporting often to the Archivist's Guild on the person's process. The applicant must pass a number of educaitonal tests at their assigned school within the vetting process, as well as recieve marks within their trade. As this can take time, the overall vetting process takes between 1-3 years, depending on a variety of factors. Many things are taken into account, including character, motivation, story, skill in their trade, and interaction with fellows.   The benefits of being a citizen include greater access to certain areas of cities, full voting privilages, bank notes for wages and payments, ability to purchase land or property in the Dom, ability to serve in the Leyvarr Guard (2 yrs required min of all citizens), and able to submit formal complaints.  Being a citizen does mean paying taxes on property and wages.   A citizen token is a small square cut piece of enchanted stone (much like an old style square nail) with a small hole at the top to allow a leather cord to thread through. It's worn around the neck and usually kept on a person at all times. If lost, stolen or not worn for a full day, the magic wears off and it becomes no longer functional. Each token is tuned to the person it was enchanted for, therefore the enchanment prevent theft or forgery. Few lose it by accident due to the difficult nature of getting it replaced, which requires going to the Archivists Guild and calling witnesses to prove who you are, as well as a blood and bone test to verify.   Citizens can be members of more than one Guild or Association, but can only be officially registered at one, which is the one they have voting power at.

The military uses a variety of tactics and building techniques to bolster defenses. Due to the nature of the original Elarian's unplanned arrival, they utilized the natural defenses of the geography to their advantage and it still shows in their planning today. The Moonsilver River borders the valley on the West and South. The river is wide and deep enough to carry shallow boats, but thankfully, the dangerous bandit and Goblin clans in the hills south don't know how to build good ones. Mountains to the north prevent any army from attacking in that direction, and the large lake and tricky Forest of Bones mean no one can march in from the West. The Sehanine Forest is inhabited by the wood elves that live in the forest, and have not been agressive towards the Dom of Raone.   Perhaps the best defense is the large mesa in the middle of the valley. Since it's capital, Elaria, sits on top the mesa, that provides some good protection from invaders. Travel up and down the mesa are controlled by two elevator systems with Leyvarr Guard presences on both top and bottom of both elevators.   Raonens also have the mentality that the best defense is deterrence. The Leyvarr Guard are a larger force than expected for such a small nation, and they are well trained. The culture of Raonens also values being the best one can be at something, so those who are guards, marks, and mages in the Guard are typically better than the average guard, archer, and magic user in any given army.

Raone Dom has good mining operations, excellent wines, apple orchards, and fine artisans in the capital city. Their jewelry makers are exceptional and even the elves admire the jewelry that comes from Raone artisan workshops. The valley also provides excellent farming land, and so food crops often can have multiple harvest in one long growing season.   The Dom of Raone trades openly with merchants who travel to farther reaches of the continent, as well as directly with the nations Raone is aware of (The Forges, Sehanine Elves, the Free Cities, the Draskons, and Tavark). The Forges and Sehanine Elves have further relations on the other side of their borders that the people of Raone don’t have direct access to and are building trust with their immediate neighbors before their neighbors are willing to introduce them. Essentially, 180 years is not stable enough in the eyes of Elves, Dwarves and Gnomes.

The original settlers from the portal were already educated and used to living in a city built into a cliff. So naturally, they quickly found solutions for getting up and down the mesa, it was just a matter of material sourcing and getting it running. Built into the natural caves of the massive arch, are a series of elevator platforms that allow goods and people to travel up and down the mesa. The smallest elevators are for groups of up to 50 people at a time. And the largest elevators allow up to 30 large livestock (roughly 30 tons). The elevators are mostly mechanical, with the help of magic infused materials at strategic gear points to help with movement.   There are a series of stone paved roads connecting the towns of the valley and these are used by citizens, merchants, and all people traveling through the valley. The major roads are maintained and patrolled by the Leyvarr Guard.

The Valley is broken into regions   Mesa  Top -- The large mesa is central to the valley and is also the seat of the government. On its mostly flat top sits the capital city, Elaria, in the center section. The northern portion of the top is mostly country villas and farmland of the nobles, whereas the southern portion is the heart of the merchant sectors, university, a smaller training center for the Leyvarr Guard, and the Guild houses. Cities/Large Towns: Elaria Towns: South End, Noria, Bluffedge   The Banks -- the southern arch of the mesa is the cavernous tunnel for the river and The Banks, where the vast majority of the lower classes live and work. There is a complex elevator mechanism on the northern bank that acts as a large freight elevator for heavy supplies to the markets and upper factories, and smaller elevators for people to go up and down the mesa. Large Towns/sections: The Banks, Greenbanks, Westbanks, Eastbanks   The Undercrossing -- The northern arch is smaller, but significantly nicer as it’s meant to be the grand entrance for higher class visitors to the city. The nobles also use it on a regular basis for traveling up and down the mesa. There is a welcome center on the ground level, and beautiful apartments and inns built into the cliffside under the arch.   West River -- Southwest of the Emerald Fields and the Mesa is a stretch of land East and north of the Moonsilver River. Cities/Large Towns: Esen Towns: Rode, Spoon, Tem, Kelna, Sesones, Aven   Emerald Fields – west of the emerald hills and the central mesa, several small branches of the Moonsilver River feed into the small plain, providing plenty of water for a lot of the kingdom’s richest farmland. The floods in the spring are overall mild but provide enough new fertile silt to feed the land for the whole year. Crops that need wetter soil do better here. The river reeds here are also the best for weaving baskets. Cities/Large Towns: Dembe, Carcaso Towns: Selene, Damerel, Silverdell, Orlete, Bluff Trail, Pendle   Emerald Hills – Starting north of the grasslands of the Golden Fields, south of Tiny’s Pass, west of the boulders and east of the Sehanine Forest. The rich soil of the soft, gentle green hills provides excellent farmland for a variety of choice crops, including most of the vineyards of Raone, prime grazing land for Cows, Goats, and other livestock, and Some of the best apple orchards. Cities/Large Towns: Carmela, Serlete Small Towns: Enesta, Boulder, Bliss   The Northern Reach – North of Carmela, the Sehanine forest and eastern boulders close in and form what many call Tiny’s Pass, the old Troll bandit that used to park himself in the middle of this wide opening and protect the lands behind him. The Northern Reach includes those land north of Tiny’s Pass up to the base of the Cliffs and High mountains of Giant’s Crown. Cities/Large Towns: K'lune, Dett Small Towns: Knife   Golden Fields – East and Southeast or Elaria to Giant’s Tears Lake are the grasslands. This includes the Towns of T’lune, Gitte, and Keylara and the villages around those towns. The land is gently rolling and best for growing wheat, flax, and sun loving vegetables. Dark Sun weeds grow well in this area. There are little to no trees in this area, especially in the center fields. Cities/Large Towns: Keylara, T'lune, Gitte Towns: Gravebluff, Lightdale, Sol, Wolfgate, Redsun, Nimbus, Cress   The Eastern Reach – Covers the area east of Giant’s Tears Lake, includes Lores, Nosta, and Sunnywood and north before the forest thickens and becomes the forest of Bones. Cities/Large Towns: Nosta Towns: Fork,

Within the Dom of Raone, there are several Guilds and Associations (Junior Guilds) that any citizen of Raone may join. A citizen does not have to join a Guild, but many do so that they can have representation on the Councils. Most Guilds and Associations also have a rank or two for non-citizens to allow for shop and work licenses, but these ransk don't allow voting for representation.   See the Guilds in Raone page for more info.

The Dom of Raone began with a large group of people from a faraway city of Alarya in another world. The city was built into a 2,000 foot cliff overlooking a lush valley and had been ruled by a series of kings for centuries. Alarya was well known for its Grand Library full of knowledge collected from everywhere possible and its secrets were closely guarded by the monks and scholars who swore to protect it from those who would abuse such knowledge. Over the course of a few decades, the king, his family and most of the royal court fell ill, with only a few remaining to decide a new king. Hagius the Wise was respected by many who remained and was crowned King of the cliff city.   Within a decade, the city no longer resembled the grandour and hub that it once was. Instead, the people lived in fear, the Royal Guard grew in number and waves of famine and disease would roll through the city anytime the King's decisions were questioned. Eventually, few ever saw the king in person.  Frustrated, cornered, and betrayed, the people fought back with the help of the Archivists. And the Guild Heads soon found themselves more as leaders of a rebellion.   After years of fighting in every way possible -- hunger, plague, guards, secrets, and magic -- the people found themselves cornered in a crumbling section of the old city. Low enough to consider escape, but high enough that few would make it out alive.  With only the most extreme options left available, the people sent their prayers to the only god they felt could hear them, Selene, the goddess of the moon, secrets, and the lost.   After days of prayer and a last ditch preparation to tunnel a way down to leave the city to its fate, a massive portal opened mysteriously. The other side revealed nothing but a sunny day and an open field with two moons above the horizon. Another world.  There was no explanation other than their prayers had been answered. The people picked up the last of their belongings and walked into the new world.   It took hours for roughly 45,000 people to walk and run through before the crumbling atrium finally fell behind them. The portal wavered during that time, as if the strain to keep it open took everything that the goddess had. The portal closed at dusk, setting over the tall mountain peaks to the West.    Dawn the next day brought hope, and questions. The people discovered quickly that they were on top of a mesa, set in a valley. The mesa top had ruins on it, the most impressive being the massive arch that they walked through. Farther along the mesa were other ruins of a people long ago, and an abandoned mine shaft they could use to reach the valley below.   The first few years were rough, with few supplies, resources and food. But they rallied and worked together, forming a quasi governemnt system based on the leaders they already trusted, the Guild Masters and Archivists. Over time, the ragtag rebels built an impressive nation, expanded off the mesa and into the valley, built amazing feats of engineering, and have become a cohesive melting pot of a nation that values freedom, ingenuity, peace, and skilled workmanship.

From the mines of Dett, to the tall elegant spires of the Sun and Moon Palace in Elaria. From the ferry boats of Esen to the many opportunities in the ports of Keylara, the Dom of Raone peaks the interest of merchants, adventurers, opportunists, young scholars in search of knowledge, skilled smiths wanting to test their skills or better them, thiefs searching pockets, swords for hire seeking glory, as well as regular folk just wanting a calm rural life with a farm and a few chickens as their greatest worries.   The Mesa -- Although the mesa top offers a great deal to visit or seek opportunities, the mesa itself still has a lot to offer explorers, delvers, adventurers, and archivists.   Tower of Ghosts  -- long since known to be haunted, the tower is really a place you don't want to be. Starting about 50 years ago, the place has been used as a prison for hard criminals. The higher floor you're assigned to, the harder the crime and the less likely they'll survive the hauntings.   Isle of Mist at Giant's Tears Lake   -- There is a lone island in the northern part of the lake with an ever present mist surrounding it. The island is visible only during the sunniest and clearest days of the year, and only from the shores. Many have tried to investigate the island, but no one has ever reached it. On approach, the mist thickens until it's impossible to tell the position of the sun and when the mist begins to clear, it's because the boat has turned around.   The crescent lakes -- Cress Lake is the largest, but all around the valley and into the Sehanine Forest are several lakes in the shape of a crescent moon. Followers of Selene/Selune/Selena the Goddess of the Moon will make pilgrimages to at least one lake, but some of the more pious will seek them all out to offer tribute to the goddess.   Recent Opportunities in the Dom Gitte is a new town in the Dom due to the recent discovery of a new vein rich in resources in Giant's Thumb . Miners and Tunneler travel there seeking work. The town is located just West of Giant's Thumb, a massive rock formation resembling a Giant's fist with thump pointing to the sky that is really difficult to miss.

The capital of Elaria is a marvel of construction with its massive elevators, elegant Sun and Moon Palace, stately temples and inspiring gardens. The location of the annual Golden Dragon Festival.   Carmela is an attraction for the wealthy to its opulence, variety of Inns, and the Grand Tears Racetrack, where a variety of tournaments take place including Praon races. Notably is the host location for the yearly Praon Festival, at the height of tournament season.   Nimbus and Cress are also vacation spots to relax and enjoy the scenery, water races, and the Starlight Festival every autumn.   Keylara offers a bit of everything to everyone. Pubs, Inns, gambling, pleasure houses, booming trade and businesses, and more. As one of the Key import and export cities to the Dom, Keylara encounters exotic spices, food, cloth, technology, and information before the capitol does all within the safety of the Dom. Hosts the Fish Festival, the Ice Fishing Festival, the Sail Races in the summer and the winter, and the cooking competitions at The Copper Spoon Guild Hall are famous for the spicy cuisine inventions.

The Dom of Raone claims the valley surrounding the mesa. On the whole, the valley is roughly 35 miles wide and over 40 miles long. Tall, cliff-like mountains border the north and northeast sides, sloping doward at their base, creating boulder littered foothills to the direct east. Another mountain peak is visible to the northwest, though farther and on the other side of part of the Sehanine Forest, a large forest with exceptionally tall trees that the elves make their home.   Giant's Tears Lake borders the valley on the southeast corner, downriver of both the Moonsilver River and the Bones River. The Moonsilver River continues southeast, with a fork going directly south before the main river bend south and becomes The Dead Marshes. North of this section of the river and east of Misty Lake is Sunnywood, a mostly pleasant woods with a few large towns loyal to the Dom. north of Sunnywood is the Forest of Bones, a denser forest of rocky hills and strange creatures.   Mountain peaks are visible to the far southwest, but just barely. Southwest of the Moonsilver River is a vast and wide grassland plain.