The Collective Order of Rhella

The lands of Rhella are a bountiful realm that is only now just recovering from decades of war with the once great empire of Vazia, an empire it was once a province of, and the more recent infighting among the church. Now heralded as the realm of divine light by its allies, and the order of zealots by its foes. The nation is ruled by the church, with the capitol being seen as a beacon of the churches power, holding ultimate control over the nation, though with the fracturing of the churches hold during the holy wars, many look to the Princes for guidance.

History

The Collective Order of Rhella is a relatively new nation, having been formed only three hundred years prior to the events known within The Order as The Sinstar Reckoning, or Dahak's Wrath by Vazia, in the era of Blood and Tears a time of great pain and suffering as the once mighty empire of Vazia was shaken to its core and fractured into several smaller nations, Rhella being one of them. During the time of reformation after the war, the priesthood of Iomedae, the major religion within the city-states and holds of the province soon seized power ensuring their church would hold dominance over the new nation, putting in place laws to prevent what caused this rebellion in the first place, or at least what the church believed to be the cause. Washing the new nation clean from its sin whether it be by the sword for those that did not subject themselves to this new world order, or by proclamation of the divine light that they carried.   The reformation of Rhella was swift and decisive, purging any threat from its borders, both divine and mortal, and placing upon the throne of the realm the crusader that commanded the armies of the rebelling province, Alesaine Bhinnei, who ruled a strong and prosperous one-hundred and fifty years, having died to natural causes. Upon her death, she was immortalized as a saint of the church, entombed within the nation's capitol of Ecclesia, a city she helped to build, carved from the marbled stone of the Labyrinthine Steppes, the vast mountain range at the northern edge of The Order.   With the crusader's death, a vacuum of power filled the land, with many of the citizens weeping for the death of their ruler, a holiday was formed known as Saint Bhinnei's Fire, to mourn the loss of the nation's founder, but also to celebrate The Order and the continuance of its power, with a week of feasting, tournaments, and trials depicting what Saint Bhinnei faced during the rebellion, all ending in solemn prayer for the departed.   It is said, during this time, the church convened and prayed on the future, and they were given a sign on the final day of fire, when a flaming white sword encircled the chosen leader, and heralded them as pope of The Order.   This processes continued through the ages, with the clergy convening in prayer after the death of each pope, and for a time this method worked, the nation flourished under the guidance of the church, until the devastating events that destroyed the neighboring country of Tazanti.   During this time much of the ranking officials within the nation died, whether in their sleep or during their travels, including the pope. There was no flaming sword marking the new ruler this time, instead a new pope rose the marbled throne, proclaiming themselves the Patriarch of Rhella, Tihridan Shakhala, and that the deaths of those officials was a sign from the divine of the sin that filled the church, the falling star a cleansing angel that had fallen from the heavens and ended the unworthy, thus naming this event as The Sinstar Reckoning.   Some begun to whisper of the true cause of this, believing their new patriarch as having manifested this reckoning to seize power, while others remained loyal, disavowing such nonsense as heresy.   Infighting within the country began, and soon the new Order of Rhella formed an inquisition, to purge the nation from sin, a bloody war ripped through the nation, displacing many among its people, and showing the true might of the church, ending with the death of many bishops and the disappearance of the patriarch.   Now the realm lays leaderless, the church desperately trying to regain the faith of its citizens with the country fractured into city states, their loyalties laying with the church, themselves, or the missing patriarch.

Geography

Rhella is a land that was once torn and scorched by wars past, but has since flourished under the guidance of the church. With rolling plains, crystal blue lakes, towering forests, thick swamps and mesmerizing mountains.   South of Rhella, lies The Dying Lands, a land that was once full of life that is now a barren wasteland, destroyed during the cataclysm of The Sinstar Reckoning.   The natural resources of Rhella include fine stones such as marble, granite, and quartz. The open plains are filled with fields of fertile farming land that produces the crops that fuel the nation. Although the mountains are controlled not by the Order of Rhella, within the hills there are deposits of Iron, Nickel, and Tin.

Government

Rhella was ruled by the divine church of Iomedae, with all paying respects to the churches figure head, The Pope, although upon the Sinstar Reckoning, this position was ended, and the new leader rose up the marbled throne. The title of Patriarch given to the nations leader, Tihridan Shakhala, now missing after the inquisition purged many within the church. The nations stands alone, leaderless in the current era, with the cities flocking to their Prince's for guidance with the distrust that fills the people regarding the church, though distrust is great within the populace, there are those still that hold true to the church and its governmental control of the nation.