Tull

  A Kingdom located in the Inner Sea of the South. Ruled by the Royal Family of Tull, this small nation nevertheless carries immense power within the world. The humans of Tull claim to be descended from the ancient Lufenians, a race known for their unusual technologies and magicks, beyond anything seen today. Tullains tend to be tall and intelligent, albeit with a superiority complex. They believe their ancestory places them above the other nations and races of the world, and lay claim to all forms of Lufenian technology in the world, much to the chagrin of other nations, both ally and enemy.  

Recent History

  Like many nations, Tull relied upon the farmlands and city of Ranai for the majority of their food and produce. As such, they suffered shortages when the strange tower appeared and transformed the city and its surrounding area into The Salt. Immediately, the nation pushed for war against the Northern Empire, believing them to be the cause of the disaster. With their political weight, and generally been on good terms with all of the sourthern nations, an army quickly formed, led by Tull. They have since waged war on the North, using Parms vast navy, as well as sending in strike units to disrupt enemies skulking in Erith. However, the war has come to a stalemate, with the South unable to pierce the defenses of the North, and as yet has not managed to land on the large landmass of Gazythrae. Negotiations to travel via the outer Blood Plains have been resolutely refused, as they land must remain neutral, lest the horde escape.   As of Cursebreakers Ep8: Tull is in turmoil. The city has suffered massive damage after an attack by a flying mechnical monstrosity. Driven off by the powerful lightning blasts of the Grand Mage Irux, it has retreated back to the Isle of Amber, leaving the people of Tull in devestation. Worse, in the immediate aftermath, two bloodrains fell back to back, causing a surge of undead in the city. While order has being restored, the loss of life, the massive crevices in the city and the loss of many a home, business and supplies has left the people with many struggles. They fear the return of this strange enemy, lest it lay waste to the city once more.   Several have also called into question the Queens decision to expend resources chasing some fugitives and continuing to try to wage war against the Empire instead of trying to rebuild the city and find defenses to repel the mechnical monstrosity should it return. Tull is, for the first time in its thousands of years of history, faced with uncertainty about its future.  

Leadership

  The Royal Family of Tull leads the nation, and carries great influence all over the Island Nations, for better or worse. The current Monarch, Liria Tull, is known as a warrior queen, standing shoulder to shoulder with her soldiers and laying waste to her enemies on the battlefield. As an absolute ruler, she can choose to impose whatever she wishes upon her people, overuling her council of advisors at a moments notice, something she has done many times before. Nevertheless, she is respected by the people, as her choices ever seek to raise up the Tullian people. While she does not care overmuch for a persons origins or race, she still adheres to the traditional system in place of placing Tullians above all else within the nation, having made no attempts to change the status quo.   Most of her family is gone at this point, her parents having passed away many years prior, her husband having fell to illness over a decade ago, leaving her with just her son remaning. Prince Arlion is liked by the people, but viewed often as very immature for his 20 years. Rather foppish, preferring to study music and the arts rather than learn to govern and shows utter disdain for the sword. His knowledge of Tullian history is extensive, having shown great interest in the ancestory of the realm, though in recent months has appeared somewhat troubled. There are concerns that when Liria steps down, be it through death, age or simple desire, that Arlion will not be prepared to take the throne, or be prone to manipulation by the council.  

Religion

  Tull has no set Pantheon that they follow, instead the presence of most religions exists within the Kingdom. At a push, most will pay lip service to the Guardians of the Dead, or Omen, Keeper of Secrets. Fate has a strong presence within the city as well.  

Culture

  The Tullian Culture is rather limited for outsiders. While they have grand theatres and a powerful scientific and technological foundation, they limit access to this to only their own people. Those few who do get allowed access to study whom are not native are inevitably treated harshly, with unreasonable expectations and the more unpleasant tasks foisted on them. Those that manage to endure rarely remain in Tull once they have completed their studies, as prospects overseas are inevitably better. The Tullians use this as an excuse to not improve matters, claiming that if they opened up, it would simply encourage moreof these leechs to visit, benefit, and leave.   Despite this, their culture has developed over the centuries. A deeply traditional nation, viewing the lessons of the past as important. They have a powerful archaelogical field, the Lufenian Research Guild, which sponsers expeditions all over the world to try and discover lost technologies and histories. While they view other nations history as lesser, they nevertheless show some modicum of respect when excavating in their lands, and if it proves that the subject of the dig is not in fact Lufenian, they often will still continue and contribute their findings to the descendants of whichever people once lived there.   An intelligent nation, they favour learning over all else. This has led to many great leaders in their respective fields, of magic and warefare, of technology and science, of medicine and engineering. THey have accomplished military tacticians, and while not a large army, their techniques have led to this small nation having a powerful presence on the battlefield.  

Military

  While their force is small, its power lies in its use of technology and training. The Military will train anyone who chooses to join, regardless of origin, although only those of Tullian descent may become Commanders. Through use of their magic and artificers, they pose a great threat to any opponents on the battlefield, with mortars and firearms in abundance. Perhaps most useful of all however is their Navy. From massive Galleons, to smaller but agile caravels and clippers, the the Queens flagship, a powerful Dreadnaught. Every ship has at least one wizard equipped with spells specifically for naval combat, trained in magics to scuttle enemy ships and powerful defensive counters to opposing magical threats. What makes them most dangerous is a strange technology they have developed that controls the waters immediately around each ship, keeping them calm and smooth and seemingly unaffected by outside magical forces, able to even sail into the middle of a magicly created whirlpool with ease. The secret behind this technology is a closely guarded military secret, and every ship equipped with it has several of the Queens guard on board protecting the chamber whatever technology used is housed within. They are under strict orders to destroy it should the ship be at risk of falling or sinking, lest their enemies discover the secrets.