Aldan

The Gallian heartland, this was originally the Azlanic province of Adantu, from which the northern portions of the Zakhemite Empire was ruled. Irud seized Adantu during his great revolt, and renamed the province Aldan, meaning holy gift. The capital of the empire, Sacris, is in Aldan, further increasing the province's esteem. Aldan is a temperate land, the southern part of the province is demarcated by gigantic walls called the Daeza. For an army to cross the Daeza without the emperor's approval is blasphemous, for Aldan is the holy heart of mankind, the sacred field of Irud. Northern Aldan faces onto the Grey Sea, and so much of the coast is blanketed by snow during winter. Beyond the temperate rain forests of the coast, Aldan is rugged moorland, dotted with the palatial villas of the aristocracy and the fortress-temples of the Outsider cults. Broad, raised causeways radiate across the moorland, where the numerous processions required by the cult of Sol walk in splendid array, calling down the Empress Sun's blessings on the holy province. The highest point in Aldan is Mount Haru, and the largest river is the Anahi, which flows from Mount Haru and through Sacris into Cloud Bay. 
The Aldanis are stereotyped as being a proud and haughty people, much given to religious excesses and an almost reflexive distaste for anything that is not human. Though Empress Karleen II (r. 2976-3053) abolished the last of the 'purity' laws that discriminated against non-humans, dislike for maedi remains common, particularly in the old families connected to the Cult of Martyrs, which venerates the thousands of human slaves who lost their lives resisting Azlan tyranny. 
Though the kingdom has long since expanded into an empire, the ruler of Gallia takes on the title of ‘King of Aldan’ along with the other stylings required of rank.
Category:Nations