The Sovereign Baronies of Everflame

Founded by Arden Sunbringer in 478 ANG, The Sovereign Baronies of Everflame, more commonly referred to only as 'Everflame', is the largest nation in Tilendrel as well as the most diverse. It is ruled by a council of seven barons, each ruling over a section of the empire. While devastated by the Second Arcane War, resourceful use of rediscovered runecraft combined with the unstoppable Everian will to create have made it once again the crown jewel of Tilendrel.   Location and Geography   Everflame is located in the centre of Tilen, sharing a border with almost every other nation on the continent. Its capital, located roughly in the centre of the empire, and surrounding areas are fertile and mostly forested, while its outer areas are mountainous and rocky, providing a deterrent from attack. Unlike some other nations, there is no magic affecting large parts of Everflame's land; while some sites do exist, most notably the recent incursion from the Feywild, magical terrain and relics are uncommon outside of major cities.   Culture and Religion   It would be impossible to broadly define Everflame's culture in any way, since its seven baronies are so different in that respect that they may as well be considered separate countries. While the nation was founded on ideals of good and equality that some barons still work to maintain, such concepts have not truly integrated themselves into the greater population, especially in the aftermath of the Second Arcane War.   Religion, on the other hand, is a different story. Almost everyone in Everflame, barring the growing atheistic population, worships Minara, the goddess of light, since the Everflame was lit in one of her temples. That is not to say other gods are not worshipped in Everflame; many of the populace are polytheistic or occasionally make prayers to the others for advice.   The Baronies     Verdegar   Led by Randus Guiseppe, the oldest of the current Council, Verdegar is Everflame's main source of food and livestock. Its inhabitants are mainly farmers and merchants, though a small university has recently been set up to study the Feywild's influence on Verdegar's great forests. The people of Verdegar are hardworking and relatively non-aggressive compared with the other baronies, content to live alongside the forest's creatures so long as their lives and homes are not threatened.   Southsea   Located in the southeast of Everflame, Southsea contains multiple bustling port cities which enable trade with the various islands of Tilendrel. While the majority of its population comes from transient sailors, almost any profession can be found in or near the cities, from musicians to bandits. The largest of the port cities, Dharmouth, is famed for its 'Swashbuckler's Guild', whose members earn a living by providing protection from pirates to any ship willing to pay.   Due to the enormous number of sailors who take up residence there, Southsea's culture is strongly influenced by those of other nations, and you can find people of almost any race and ethnicity there. Its leader, the halfling ex-privateer Linna Farsight, is a shrewd businesswoman who has rebuilt Southsea back to its former glory, and shows no intention of stopping there.   Forge's Eye   Named for the famous volcano next to its largest city, Forge's Eye is second only to the Dwarven Ironhearts in the quality of its armour and weapons. It is said that if Lightarm is the empire's fist, Forge's Eye is its arm. Its equipment isn't purely mundane, however; an entire guild of artificers, wizards, and runesmiths specialising in weaponry and armour has been set up to organise their services. The barony's leader is Vila Mandlehand, a gnome artificer who prefers to spend her time optimising production schedules than engaging in the web of political entanglement the other barons have set up.   Lightarm   Named for the nation's Goddess, Lightarm was founded as a district to create an army of paladins, clerics, and other righteous soldiers to keep the peace across the country. While Minara's Legion, as it is known, is still in operation, the area has also attracted many less devoted soldiers and tacticians who rent out their services to the highest bidder. The long arm of the law has so far managed to keep these mercenaries in check, but they grow stronger and more numerous every day, and many fear a coup is imminent.   Even among the nonmilitary inhabitants of Lightarm, justice and order are highly respected ideals, and many set up neighbourhood watches and town militias to that end. Its leader, the Second Arcane war veteran Tenno, is a strong leader, taking large steps to crack down on crime and insurgency, though many suspect him of corruption. While no conclusive proof has yet been uncovered, the mercenary population of the territory has undeniably increased under Tenno, though some claim that it is due to the high amount of unemployed veterans in the wake of the Second Arcane War.   Hallermin   If Lightarm is Everflame's fist and Forge's Eye is its arm, Hallermin is its heart. Rich with art, music, and theatre, the richest aristocrats in the land come to see its works and experience its creativity. The finest bards in all of Tilendrel make their fortunes in its music halls, and world-famous works of art are exhibited in its museums.   Beneath the surface, however, not everything is so glamorous. While it was largely ignored during the Second Arcane war due to its tactical insignificance and cultural importance, a large underworld of enforcers and masterminds took advantage of the fear and chaos to effectively take control of large portions of the major cities. Known as La Mafiosi, this criminal organisation preys on those who are desperate or stupid enough to enter their territory, especially if someone might be willing to pay a large amount of money for their release.   Hallermin's governor, Mertoni Salvadore, is an avid patron of the arts, funding many new buildings out of his own pocket. While he claims he acquired his immense fortune from an inheritance, some suspect he has ties to La Mafiosi, though anybody too vocal about it is quickly dealt with.   Candlekeep   Candlekeep is widely renowned as the home and workplace of some of the best and most famous arcanists in Tilendrel, with vast libraries containing information on every subject imaginable. While some of its reputation is exaggerated, there is no doubt that some of the brightest minds in history came to Candlekeep to perfect their craft. During the Second Arcane War, Candlekeep's records on military forces and arcane secrets were highly sought after by Everflame's enemies. In order to protect them, the organisation that would come to be known as Force Arcana was formed. Comprised of the greatest war wizards and runesmiths in Everflame, Force Arcana was an unparalleled military unit, though they stubbornly refused to take any action beyond the defence of Candlekeep, despising the war in its entirety and wanting to protect the valuable secrets of the territory's great libraries.   Candlekeep's current leader is a young half-elf named Lennis Baltin, a magical prodigy who has made great leaps in furthering the study of runecraft but is unused to the complex political intrigue among the barons and their subordinates.   Everflame City   Widely considered the greatest city in Tilendrel, Everflame City is a bustling metropolis home to millions of people of all species, most attempting to carve out a successful life for themselves in the City of Light. It is home to dozens of guilds of all kinds, legitimate and otherwise.   The baron of Everflame City is the leader of the Council, and is believed by most to have been chosen by Minara herself. The current baron is Eve Brieland, a generally popular governor determined to restore Everflame City to its former glory. She has brought back the legendary Light Guard to combat the rising prominence of thieves' guilds and evil cults like Ra'keth Brotherhood.     History   Shortly after the collapse of the Republic of Light, Arden Sunbringer, a famous hero of the time, defeated the lich Nhyzal, trapping some of his power within a modified continuous flame dubbed the Everflame. Placing it in the Temple of Minara in the Republic's capital, Lyria, he declared the formation of the Sovereign Baronies of Everflame, renaming the capital to Everflame City and appointing 6 other great heroes of the time to rule alongside him as Barons.   The nascent nation initially laid claim to what is now Central Everflame, Hallermin, Candlekeep, and parts of Forge's Eye, Southsea, Verdegar, and Lightarm. After Sunbringer's death in 496 ANG, the processes for electing barons were formalised, and the nation slowly began to grow in size, opening diplomatic relations with its neighbours as it went. Due to its inhospitable climate and rumours of powerful creatures living in it, the Great Eastern Desert was left mostly alone by Everian explorers.   Despite its noble ideals, the country remained mostly independent in the Elven War for Independence against the Ironheart Empire, as well as the secession of Gildmire and Duerga thereafter. The fallout from these wars, however, did cause many dwarven and elven refugees to flee to Forge's Eye, Lightarm, and Verdegar, both increasing local diversity and strengthening diplomatic ties with both races.   Though it was formed primarily by Everian migrants, the First Litherian Empire was rivals with Everflame almost since the former's founding, due to their vast differences in ideology as well as territorial disputes. This was exacerbated after the discovery of runecraft in 1460 ANG, which caused an arms race leading up to the First Arcane War two years later. A border skirmish between Everian and Litherian forces escalated into all-out war, 'allies' joining together in the hopes of gaining more land or prestige.   After the Litherians began to adopt a scorched earth policy when it came to runecraft, destroying anything and anyone that contained knowledge of the discipline, Everflame and the Alliance of Kings followed suit, leading to atrocities some still blame the country for a millennium later. While condemned after the war by both sides, the attacks achieved the intended effect: by the time of the Treaty of Gildmire, no recoverable knowledge of runecraft remained anywhere. The deaths of so many powerful magic-users led Everflame to place a renewed focus on arcane magic, establishing the Great University and establishing the position of Archmage as an advisor to the Head Baron.   Though the Treaty of Gildmire enforced a white peace, Everflame nevertheless split Litheria's old land with the Southern Elves after it fell apart in the Litherian Civil War. It was also during this period that borders were formalised with the Ironheart Kingdom, Gildmire, Duerga, and the Southern Elves, causing an increase in reported dragon attacks which led to the Great Dragon Hunt. Everflame gave up its occupied Litherian territories two centuries later, due to the efforts of Elena Tristris and the Independent Litheria Movement.   In the following 400 years, Everflame cemented itself as a key power in world trade and politics, leveraging its large territories and lingering alliances to make itself central to world economies. This was only helped by the Darhemian War, as after the formation of the Empire of Hin-Sung and Eastern Elves the country found itself one of the only links between the eastern and western nations. Thanks to this, Everflame managed to acquire much of the surviving Darhemian magical artefacts, bolstering its magical knowledge greater even than the Southern Elves'. Eventually, however, most of these artefacts were stolen or destroyed by foreign agents in the years before the Second Arcane War.   After the rediscovery of runecraft, an all too familiar arms race began, as many other countries became jealous of Everflame's near-monopoly on cross-continent trade and magical education. An ill-advised power grab by the Orcs of Krin'garr escalated into a bloody conflict which was only exacerbated by new Darhemian magical techniques. While they initially found some success due to the inability of Litheria's Council of Priests to coordinate a war effort, the mysterious death of the Litherian Emperor and the passing of the throne to his more competent son quickly put an end to that. Thanks to the intervention of the Fey in Verdegar and Force Arcana in Candlekeep, however, Everflame never lost much more than it gained.   When the Armageddon Ritual began, Everflame was one of the first countries to be hit, leading many to suspect that it originated there. While the natural disasters narrowly avoided Everflame City, large parts of Southsea, Verdegar, Lightarm, and Candlekeep were devastated. Attempts to warn Litheria and its allies were passed off as wartime deception tactics. Johann Songspire, the then-Head Baron, was one of the victims, having travelled to Verdegar for a strategy meeting.   Thanks to help from their Gnomish allies in Bentrelhold and magic-users from Candlekeep, Everflame's recovery effort has been swifter than most. In order to prevent hate crime caused by the Great Schism and suppress the rise of cults like the Ra'keth Brotherhood, the new Head Baron, Eve Brieland, has toughened national security, re-establishing the Light Guard, the nationwide city watch of Arden Sunbringer's day, and repurposing more parts of the Citadel into City Watch facilities.