Holy Empire Westelande

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The Nomad’s Resting Place

Summary

An expansionist and imperialist nation. The Flame Lord Eugene rules Westelande with an iron fist, and seeks to spread his domination across the lands of Elder Tale in order to bring law to what he perceives as a lawless world. Westelande’s primary Wave element is Fire, emphasizing its expansionist heart and passionate drive. Its Root Town is Breg Epona, the City of Dragons. Its color is Red.

History

The Monsters

The Holy Empire Westelande was formed during the First World Fraction, after the fall of the Scrapped Princesses. Upon return of Glenn Nestra from the difficult war, carrying the body of the fallen priest, Elgunaha Thrinima, the Salamanders would be led into the now empty city of Breg Epona; once held by the Alvs - formerly left alone, as the people barely understood workings of the city’s magics. Breg Epona would become the foundations upon which the Holy Empire Westelande would come to stand.

This change came none too soon, for the First World Fraction brought monsters into their lands en-masse. While the Salamanders were tough, they had never dealt with monsters before. Their smaller nomadic groups were no match against such creatures. More and more Salamanders flocked to the city, fighting as they fled.

The Adventurers Arrival

When the Adventurers arrived, they found the region surrounding the Holy Empire Westelande to be extremely dangerous. Monster nests were far more common in that region and the might of the monsters rivaled the toughness of the Salamanders themselves. The first Adventurers to arrive were humans and they were met with hesitation and distrust.

As the new Adventurers showed how powerful they were by clearing nearby monster nests, the Salamanders saw something to aspire to. Where they were tough, the adventurers were /relentless/. No matter how many times they were resurrected, they would return to the same lands, tackle the same monsters with alternate tactics and renewed tenacity. These tactics and complex combat formations were quickly adopted by the Salamanders and used by their own armies.

The Dark Times

When the Adventurers all disappeared, the Salamanders saw this as a chance to prove themselves. They sought to face those same, daunting tasks on their own but saw only varying levels of success. They lacked the Adventurers' power of resurrection, so raids on monster nests slowed and the focus fell upon defending their walls and building their army.

Still, the monster numbers had been greatly reduced by the Adventurers during their short time in the Salamander territories. During the next millennia, outposts were erected within their borders. They monitored the most dangerous of monster nests and guarded the trade-ways within the Kingdom. Over time, other races began to seek them out for protection, though they would never offer sanctuary to the Spriggan.

Soon, the Salamander culture began to change as well. Battling monsters became so ingrained during the Dark Times that it became ritualized and used in many military rites of passage. Ranks in the Army were determined by the largest monster a soldier managed to eliminate. Those who became part of the King's advisors had to prove themselves by slaying dangerous, unique monsters.

The Return of the Adventurers

When the Adventurers returned in great numbers, no longer all human, it was a shock to the Salamanders. They now had many races within their territory. Most shocking of these were Spriggan Adventurers who somehow managed to get registered within their Empire. Largely distrusted, the arrival of Spriggan caused an uproar among the people. Many still carry the old prejudices towards their race.

In the end, the Salamanders sought out many of the Adventurers, asking for their aid with the most dangerous of monster nests. They were quick to find out that these new Adventurers were not as powerful as those that had come before. So, the Salamanders took it upon themselves to aid in their training.

Conditions

Government

The government is run by a single king and his advisors. Those that lead the outposts are Tribe Masters, who report directly to the King. Any outpost is required to have a Tribe Master. As such, it’s a feudalistic nation-state, where the Nobility is required to be prime examples of the warrior class - involving involuntary arena tournaments - and the clergy are bound into military service for a minimum of five years once coming of age.

It is a government with a heavy social hierarchy with the only chance for Serfs to reach a higher place in society, is through joining the clergy, or to rise to the top in one of the state tournaments. Membership of the Kingdom is required to participate in these state tournaments for this very reason; though there is a culture of all-year-round coliseum events.

Opinion on Adventurers

Adventurers are seen in a fairly positive light within the Holy Empire of Westelande, though tension lingers due to the existence of Spriggan Adventurers. Westelanders generally treat the Spriggan with great suspicion, though the behavior of those among the Adventurers does not match the well-known stereotype that mark Spriggan as 'thieves' and 'murderers'.