Eprus

  Although the region was populated by Humans for a long time before the founding of Eprus it never fully lost the Elven influence. Many of its current territories were even part of vassal states under Mervidel.   It was only after the split within the Magi Covenant that opportunities arose. Several of the smaller states banded together to overthrow the Elven threat while Mervidel was already involved in a war to the north. After regaining their freedom the formor vassal states merged together with its southern allies, forming the nation of Enor. After a marriage between the royal houses of Enor and Frindhir the nation would be renamed Eprus and take its current form.   From then on Eprus would have to frequently fight for its survival, mainly with Mervidel who wanted to reclaim lost territories. But it also fought with both Terios and Varena who both wanted to claim Eprus' coastline. This led to the nation becoming rather militaristic and spending lots of development and money on the military.   With the signing of the First Eastern Treaty it seemed like a prolonged period of peace was at hand. However, Mervidel formed its largest in its history and invaded Eprus in 1237 AE. Although Varena and Terios participated in the war as well, Eprus suffered the most and is still recovering from the conflict.  

 

 

Government

  Eprus is led by the royal family Ronelia since its founding. Before its founding it was not fully clear what would be the new government. Many of the smaller nations that banded together to form the precursor nation of Enor had their own leaders. The Ronelia family was the most obvious choice as the ruling family given their wealth and power but concessions had to be made to the former nations. This is why even today there is quite a large amount of autonomy in the separate regions of Eprus.   The Ronelia family decides on matters of national importance such as wars and large construction projects. But any matters regarding specific regions and cities is left to the local nobility.   Currently Eprus is ruled by queen Serafina Ronelia, who only recently came to power. She was the only child of king Dorian Ronelia who died a few years before the last war. Since she was only 12 years old at the time most of her rule was under supervison of a regent. Right before the siege on Atmer the regent left the capital, leaving Serafina on her own. Despite her young age at the time she managed to prevent the Magi Covenant from entering the city and is well loved ever since.  

Demographics

  Although the majority of Eprus is Human there is still a very large population of Half-Elves compared to other Human countries. This is not only due to the close proximity to Elven countries but also as the northern regions were once either Elven territories or vassals. Avar Elves on the other hand are not common and severely disliked by most Humans considering the frequent warfare between the two species. At some point there was still a significant amount of Elves living in the north but over the centuries most have migrated.   Curiously the southern mountains of Eprus are also home to several mainly Dwarven and Daski Elf settlements. The regions they inhabit were never fully conquered by the Avaronian Empire despite their isolation from other Dwarven and Daski regions. Their culture is quite different from their other kin because of this.  

   

 

Technology

  On a scientific level Eprus is the least developed Human country which is a logical result of the constant need on needing to keep a strong military. However, what it lacked in scientific progress it made up for in military developments. The region of Eprus was the first to introduce steel and after the unification it quickly became the creator of superior weapons.   In contrast to the other Human countries, Eprus is was always more magic focused. The main reason for this was the abundance of both Tremor and Divine Falls. Many of its fortresses are equipped with magical projectile launchers which use Earth Magic to devasting effects.   Eprus has always been on the lookout for any development that can give them strenght. After the Pavan Empire invented gunpowder they were the first on the continent to start using rifles. Alas this new development arrived only shortly before the war and was not of much help yet. However, the country has now decided to rebuild the miltary with a focus on rifles.  

Education

  Scientific education is not a very high priority in Eprus since the largest institutions of higher learning are maintained by the Keepers. If people in Eprus want to get educated in the sciences they often travel to Terios to get an education there. Nobody is required to get any education but still all of the wealthy families ensure that their children get at least some basic education. In most cases this is done by private tutors. After basic education many of the wealthy families have their children attend the Keepers University in the capital Atmer or one of the many military academies. The poorer layers of the populations can get educated as well in the public schools but there is no real requirement to attend.

The most important type of education in Eprus is given at the military academies. Students here not only receive military knowledge but engineering, geography and political courses as well. Only graduates from these schools are considered for higher ranking positions in the military. Graduates from the military academies sometimes become high ranking administrators as well.

For magical learning students can go to the Averenium which teaches the arcane arts. Just like the miltary academies this is a well regarded form of learning and is seen as a vital part in the defence of the country. Due to the expensive nature of magic the school is mostly limited to the richer people of the country.