Laenwalde

The Unified Kingdoms of the West. The largest political power in all of Zol. Laenwalde is a kingdom formed of the island of Arcadia, the green hills of Eucaren, and the flowing sands of Saen. These three regions are bound by code, trade, and military ties. However their citizens do not necessarily see their neighboring regions as friends.

Laenwalde is comprised of the three unified Kingdoms

• Arcadia - A proud island that has a culture deeply seated in military strength, heroism, and worship of the Zolaen Gods.
  • Audran - The Ruin City
  • Penthe - The City of Glory
  • Ryze - The Tower City
• Eucaren - A pragmatic and communal people who live on the distant coasts of their lush, green, and peaceful slice of the world.
  • Kahdinacht - Wine and Luxury
  • Woogis - Slow Country Life
  • Reach Run - The Central Hub of Airships
• Saen - A gritty and toughened people of the dangerous desert. Many of the people of Saen hold true to the ancient ways of The Badlands.
  • Kosskazoka - The Neon City
  • Diddan - The Wild West
  • Rockfire - The Volcanic Oasis

As well as a shared capital, The Floating City of Heliodor and its terrestrial sister settlement, Elysium Station which is located in Eucaren.

Each of Laenwalde’s three regions has its own natural landscape that differs from its neighbors

• Arcadia - A well mapped and inhabited island. The wilderness of the island is tamed more than most places of Zol, but still presents moderate danger for those unprepared. It’s north is full of the snowcapped peaks of The Auroran Summits which are inhabited by territorial Dragons.
• Eucaren - The wilderness of Eucaren is most associated with the beautiful Madre’ells. A vast expanse of forest covered hills. Known to be considerably tame at the edges of its wilderness, this region supplies the people of Eucaren with many resources. While reasonably safe, there are some great threats that reside in the deepest parts of the forest. Its north east contains The East Mounts, a remarkably dangerous mountain range that is thought to be cursed in the teachings of Elves. Its north west extends into Yaa’fedell, the forest of the wood elves. This territory was gifted to Eucaren long ago as a thankful gift from the Elves of Gethsemane for their aid in war against The Glassius Reach. In the center of the region lie 2 ruined cities: Aefadel, and Lamour. Both were destroyed in the various conflicts of the region.
• Saen - The Desert of The Three Corners. Saen is possesses great sand dunes, oases, the mesas of The Kodoros, active volcanoes, and The Savanah. Its wilderness is extremely hostile but holds resources and treasure that can only be obtained within its sands. While the region is a challenge to traverse, an advancement in Apparatum technology known as Skimmers have made navigating the desert much easier.

All of Laenwalde is notably covered in ruins of old forts, castles, towns and other settlements. This is because of the frequent destruction that occurred during The Taming of the Badlands.

Once know as The Badlands, a lawless wild of disordered society. Its chaos was quelled over a long effort known as The Taming of the Badlands. A long history of feudal battles, and large scale wars between various powers that rose and fell in a complicated political and military game.

This game took a much different appearance after the attack of The Castle of Bodies, a horrible event that involved one of the Void Gods appearing in the Prime Material Plane and attacking the city of Audran.

After the chaos, a the ruling council discovered a living heir to the first king of Laenwalde. King Tatelak II was installed and the new capital Heliodor was constructed.

For a comprehensive telling of Laenwalde’s history, see The Taming of the Badlands

The people of Laenwalde hail from all Races and have many different backgrounds and cultures. After The Awakening, Laenwalde’s region was more racially diverse than any other. This set aside many issues other regions faced, but made unification much more difficult.

The people of each region are stereotyped as follows:

• Arcadia - Thought to be an overly proud and patriotic people. Those who hail from the island think that Arcadia is the ’true’ heart of the kingdom as it is where the capital was once from and now homes the strongest military in Zol.
• Eucaren - Thought to be a soft and laid back people. The disproportionate population of Halflings, finest alcohols, and proportionally safest wilderness in all of Zol.
• Saen - Thought to be a rough around the edges people. Gruff gun slinging westerners, dirty beggars of the neon city, or religious devotees of the volcanic temples.

The different groups manage a begrudging coexistence, with a great deal of prejudice. Eucaren tends to be a sort of exception to this. Its people are seen as simple, but extremely friendly. They are considered unproblematic all across Zol. They are typically welcomed anywhere.

Laenwalde is ruled by King Tatelak II and his advisory council. This rule is conducted from the floating city of Heliodor. The instilment of King Tatelak II upon his throne in the flying city was done as an effort to rekindle the hope people once had for Laenwalde. However many feel there is a disconnect between the crown and its people. They were ruled by a council for so long and now feel that they are under the foot of a distant leader. The King’s disposition is well intentioned, but in reality he is inexperienced and it has been a large change for Laenwalde.

Laenwalde’s economy is quite self sufficient when it needs to be, the kingdom is large enough to provide all resources they reasonably require. However there is a fair deal of trade of rare imports and exports from the east.

The Laenwalde Laws are consistent across all regions. This is good for maintaining order, but difficult for some as many feel that the laws should not be enforced as a wide net for all the regions and their cities. They instead push for each region having its own set of laws.

The regions of Laenwalde all have a unique art and culture associated with them:

• Arcadia - known for upholding the ideals of success, glory and being well mannered. Its ideals are presented in its art in examples like: realism, complex musical compositions, glamorous fashion, and rare foods.
• Eucaren - known for treasuring the ideals of community and the natural world. This is seen in its art as: simple instruments played with a high degree of skill, highly stylized paintings, and dramatic storytelling
• Saen - known for idealizing the concepts of strength and enduring hardship. Its art manifests as martial combat, weapon craftsmanship, large narrative murals, and sculptures.

Academia in Laenwalde is almost exclusively associated with The University. An institution that explores all three of The Wills, each with a dedicated branch of The University:

• The Arcanum, focused on the pursuit of Arcana. Its primary campuses located within the city of Ryze and Audran.
• The Viridium, focused on the understanding of the natural world through Viridescence. Its primary campus located in Kahdinacht.
• The Observum, focused on forming and comprehending mortal bonds with Gods. Its primary campuses located within Rockfire and Penthe.
• The experience of using one of these wills (Observance or Viridescence) is very subjective and differs from person to person
• There is no sure-fire method of gaining the ability to use these wills. They require patience, skill, and a rare predisposition to access Because of this, the majority of the members of these branches are non-magic-practicing academics.

The people of the kingdom are in a strange place. For many years they have been governed by a council. This council was fairly adept at allocating resources and maintaining general order. However the frequent drama, espionage, intrigue, and assassinations that occurred amongst the council appeared as poor rulership to its people. This, mixed with the hardships like: high taxes, overpopulation, conflicts between locals and law enforcement, and clashing cultures made for poor public opinions of rulership and general unhappiness within the kingdom.

In an effort to combat this, the council instilled a new king. A long lost direct descendant of the kingdom’s first, and beloved ruler. King Tatelak II was put on the throne with the council as his advisors. The new rule is conducted from the new capital of Heliodor.

This change has altered opinions. Some for better and some for worse. Many think it is good to have a sole king and not the chaotic rule of the council. Others feel that the king is distant, detached, and inexperienced upon his throne in the flying city.

Tacticians frequently argue who has the more fearsome military: Gethsemane or Laenwalde. Laenwalde has the largest army by far. The kingdoms is so grand and diverse it makes up for any lack of quality with quantity. The only hope an outside foe (other than possibly Gethsemane) would have of defeating them would be to re-open the political divides that exist between the three regions.

The Kingdom contains the mountain ranges of:

• The East Mounts
• The Auroran Summits
• The Kodoros

The Kingdom Borders the Kingdom of:

• Gethsemane

The Kingdom also Borders the Wild of:

• The Kulpis Desert

And has coasts on:

• The Archsea
• The Vast Sea