The Kingdom of the Scarlet Eagle

The Kingdom of the Scarlet Eagle is kingdom of about one million located in the valleys and grasslands to the east of the Crimson Kingdom. The Kingdom of the Scarlet Eagle is properly the Kingdom of Rhür, but is usually referred to as the Kingdom of the Scarlet Eagle due to its religion and ruling family.
==Geography==
The capital city of the Kingdom of the Scarlet Eagle is St. Albans. Located in the grasslands west of the Mountains of the Moon, St. Albans was constructed long before the formation of the kingdom and is home to several monastic orders. In the South lies Mathilde and the fortress Aldridge. Mathilde is a small town notable for its library second to only the Royal Library of St. Albans. Alderidge is a sizeable bastion of military power and possesses the largest garrison in the kingdom. In the Mountains of the Moon lies Gnib, a tower that serves as a watch over a wide pass through the mountains and also is home to several mines. In the North lies the fortess of Mareheld and the large villages of Burge and Caththrop. Caththrop is unqiue for its lying in a mostly wooded area. Burge is high enough for the foliage to mostly be composed of pines but is not well-forested like Caththrop to the West.
==History==
The Kingdom of the Scarlet Eagle formed a few years prior to the Crimson King's rise to power from a collection of small towns that shared common culture and religion. It was not until about two hundred years later that it became a real power. At this point in time, the kingdom launched its first crusade against the Crimson Kingdom. This crusade was failed to achieve anything of note, but did begin the long history of hostility between the two nations. Similar crusades occurred roughly every 50 years. After the arrival of the Warlock-Khans about 500 years after the countries founding, the crusades became less frequent. Several attacks by both the Warlock-Khans and the Crimson Kingdom left them weakened for a time. Since then there were two major attacks on the Crimson Kingdom. The First and Second War of Retribution. The First War actually resulted in several major victories, but the campaign had to be recalled when the Warlock-Khans launched a massive sacking of the northern reaches of the kingdom. The Second War resulted in only a minor victory in which they managed to disrupt the mines of the Crimson Kingdom. This war had the negative effect of leading to political turmoil as the throne was almost usurped by a nephew of the king. The Hausberger family changed their crest immediatley after and the "false Hausbergers" converted and joined, the Crimson Kingdom.
==Politics==
All power within the Kingdom of the Scarlet Eagle lies in the hands of the royal family. The lower ranked nobles that serve under him are kept weak so that they do not pose a threat to the crown, and the monasteries are forbidden to join together in a union like the Crimson Kingdom's holy orders. The current king, Aered II, is a pious man who is widely believed to have been planning for years to lead the next crusade. His half-sister and former regent, Sybeth, is also known to have a powerful influence in politics. Currently the members of the royal family are King Aered II and his wife, Queen Ryellia, his two sons, Wulfher and Cenwiu, and Sybeth and Aered's great-aunt Drosta. Drosta is feared throughout the kingdom as a wizened crone believed to have dark powers and lives alone in a cottage south of Gnib.
==Religion==
The religion of the Kingdom of the Scarlet Eagle is monotheistic and places all divine power in the hands of the sun god and divine, scarlet-colored eagle, Veles, hence the kingdom's name and the shield design of the Hausbergers. The creation myth gives a good justification for the eagle's status.
: In the beginning there was nothing but a high mountain with steep cliffs on either side and no ground below. Upon the mountain a great, scarlet eagle built an aerie and in its nest had two eggs. For many days and nights the eagle sat in the nest and lived a solitary life, yet the eagle grew sad and shed tears of pure silver which rolled down the mountain into the nothingness. The tale continues to tell how in a selfless gesture, the eagle threw its own eggs off the side of the mountain 
: to create the world. Interestingly, though the eagle is in possession of the eggs, it is still regarded as a male entity.
It is believed that during each day, Veles drags the sun across the sky in is his talons and his tears are believed to be the source of all precious metals. Today the royal family keeps a rookery of scarlet eagles, a species that seems not to exist in the wild. These are said to be a gift from Veles and are used as heralds and for falconry. 
The religion's clerics serve primarily in a military function. They form several holy orders whose man purpose is to purge the kingdom of unbeliever's and support the kingdom's troops in crusades. There is no formal head of the religion and few formal temples that do not incorporate a military element. Most worship is done at private shrines in the home. Generally the ranks of the clergy are grand master, commandant, captain, veteran, cleric, and initiative. Grand Masters operate their own monasteries independently of each other. Unlike, the religious orders of the Crimson Kingdom, the religious orders of the Kingdom of the Scarlet Eagle are more or less composed of many sepearate groups with their leaders and agendas. They do, however, unite in the event of a crusade.
==Culture==
While the Crimson Kingdom's culture has remained similiar for more than 800 years, the Kingdom of the Scarlet Eagle has undergone some major shifts. For the first hundred years of its existance, the kingdom retained many tribal elements that were eventually displaced during the New Rule Period. During this time tribal titles were destroyed, a new nobility had them thrust upon them, and the former city-states lost much of their autonomy. Nevertheless, the tribalism of the past still left a lasting impact on the culture of the kingdom.
=====Art=====
Painted art in the Kingdom of the Scarlet Eagle is mostly religious and puts detail into the foreground while leaving the background far less clear. Scarlets and golds are often employed in art as these colors hold a special religious significance. Besides painting, molded figurines are common as toys and religious idols. Some families even have their own idols commissioned to represent dead members of their family and preyed upon. This practice is, however, frowned upon by the church and has its roots in the tribalism the kingdom has long hoped to destroy.
=====Written Work=====
Most people, peasants and nobles alike, in the kingdom are illiterate. This has had the effect of their being very little written work of merit. The most important piece of literature to come out of the kingdom is The Tales of  Creation, the holy book of the kingdom's religion. No other book in the kingdom has received such wide circulation. The many other books written are only read by a small minority and are not of major renown, and unlike their neighbours, there are few poems written by natives of the kingdom.
=====Music=====
Music in the Kingdom of the Scarlet Eagle primarily consists of vocal religious music and stringed instruments, There are two broad categories into which these fall. Bardic music is that which can be preformed by a single performer and includes the folk music that is heard in some areas of the kingdom, while focused music refers to orchestral and choir pieces.
=====Cuisine=====
Most meals in the Kingdom of the Scarlet Eagle consist of stewed meat mixed with mjelot, a bitter tuber similar to a beet but grey in color. The wealthy eat a far greater variety of foods than the poor, however, and they attempt to artfully present and prepare their food. There is a saying in the kingdom that "a man's worth is judged by his meat" and those that seek to make a lasting impression or boast seek to serve their finest which is often stuffed with cow or goat cheese, and served with mint leaves on the side to clear the pallet between each bite.
=====Clothing=====
Most clothing in the Kingdom of the Scarlet Eagle is woven, whether it is made of wool or some other fabric,  originally so that the family's pattern can be clearly displayed. Long considered a sign of sin, today only the providential regions of the kingdom continue to display family patterns, but the desire for woven clothes continues. Surprisngly enough, the kingdom produces its own silk and the nobility are always dressed in it, no matter the weather. Among the nobility, even though the family weaves were long abolished, a family will often dress only in the two colors of their crest to show family unity.
Category:Grimoire of Shining Black