Kingdom of Vecresia

The **Kingdom of Vecresia** was a kingdom that established in the Vecres Peninsula, and one of the Six Kingdoms of humanity west of the Eastern Mountains, serving as the heir to the Empire of the West, along with the Kingdom of Dreolia. A nation based on negociations and a strict code of honour, the nation has a long history of honour and diplomacy. Its ruling family is the Cinderswords Family.

## History

It is unknown when humanity first came to the Vecres Peninsula but it is supposed to have been early in their history. It is known that early humans established first states there and had cultural domination over there, living out of trades with the Orcs.

In 2453BF, the Human Empire was established, conquering a vast region over all of the modern Six Kingdoms. The Vecres Peninsula was at the time separated into the western people under influence from Orcs and the eastern people, already influenced by the Human Empire. Thus, the conquest was swift and uneventful, and unlike some other lands, there were no real attempt to assimilate the locals, safe from language being unified as Common and the Church of Aym being made the main religion. It seems that the region had been ruled by a prince of the Empire, usually a second or third son.

As the Human Empire collapsed after the disastrous First Divine War, the Vecres Peninsula was unified to the Dreol Fields, by a fallen disinherited Prince, claiming himself Emperor of the West. The Empire came to exist for a little more than a thousand years. Through trades with Orcs, the Vecresian Province became a very powerful and wealthy province.

The Empire of the West suffered much from the Flood, losing most of its coastal lands, but it was nothing compared to how Orcs did, and a few months after the Shattering, Orcs had unified under a warchief, as they sometimes did. This chief, called Gorvakknum Wickedsmile, came to conquer the whole Vecres Peninsula, founding there the Orcish capital of Normeron. The Orcish warrior became so dreaded that an alliance of Elv'elda, Atheria and the Dreol Fields was made to defeat him. During this war, the last Emperor of the West was killed by Gorvakknum, who was defeated by two heroes, one of these being a rebel from the Vecres Peninsula, Anna Cinderswords. After this, the Empire of the West was split, with Vecresia being given to Anna and her descendants, who claim dominion in the West, rejecting Dreolia's claim. Normeron was renamed Chantebourg, and made capital city of Vecresia. Currently, the King of Vecresia is Athaulf II Cinderswords, known as "the Merciful", for his renowed acts of mercy and diplomacy.

## Government and Politics

### Power Structure

The Vecresian Kingdom government is ruled by a single absolute monarch who held a majority of the power within the government. Below the monarch are the Dukes who helped advise and manage the nation, as well as an advisor that can be considered a sixth minister in terms of powers. The Dukes are also powerful lords who manage the militaries and economies of their individual province. Below the dukes are the counts, charged with ruling a region of each province in the count's stead, and eventually the local chieftains.

Each position within the government is an hereditary function, passed down to each . Early on, and probably because a woman was the first Queen of Vecresia, women were allowed to be a part of government affairs and they now are able to be in positions of power. Vecresia, unlike the strictly agnatic succession line of the Empire of the West, developped as more of an agnato-cognatic one, accepting female heirs if no male heir is available. In any case, a daughter comes before an uncle in succession. The succession depends on age, with the eldest children inheriting.

### Military

Vecresia's military, despite still being a strong one, is among the mid powers of the Six Kingdoms. It is however mainly composed of knights and nobles, considering implicating unwilling peasants in their wars to be dishonourable. Their military commanders are usually charismatic and able to inspire strength in people. Vecresian soldiers, no matter the rank, were taught to fight with two swords, similarly to the Dimachaeri. The most commonly used material for weapons was steel, but Orcish iron was sometimes used.

Trained in weaponry, the army is mostly used for self defense, as Vecresia has good relationships with its neighbours. It was not prepared for any surprise attack, and a well placed attack of powerful foes, such as were the Orcs could be very damageable to Vecresia, although the same could be said of nearly every countries after the Flood.

### Economy

After its formation, Vecresia adopted a feudal system, with peasants of a province required to farm the fields for the nation's agriculture. In exchange, the peasants can keep a portion of what they farmed, and the aristocracy were tasked to make law and justice prevail. Among its primary crops were the Vecresian Avocado.

Coinciding with its agricultural aspects, the kingdom's economy is open to trade, notably with their friendly foes, the Orcs of the south. It also allows merchants to settle and run businesses within its borders. Currency in the Vecresian Kingdom, descending from the Empire of the West, remained the same as the latter, is called Lys, and is divided in golden Lys, silver Lys, bronze Lys and copper Lys.

## Society and Culture

The people of Vecresia are a proud and honourable people, focused on a legacy of keeping words. Vecresians had a very mixed view of Orcs, notably these of the self-formed Clan Wickedsmile. Despite this, it recognises the Orcish lands as being mere pawns in a higher game.

As part of their culture, Vecresians typically did not adopt a unique surname to coincide with their first name, using nicknames such as "the elder" if there are more than one person with said first name. Noble families had surnames.

Having chosen the Church of Aym as the official religion, the King of Vecresia is recognised as dependent of the local Archon, living in Chantebourg. It is a very faithful attachment to Aym, with subtext of honour, as Vecresians consider that a vow pronounced in the name of Aym, such as a declaration of faith, is so powerful that no one could break it, not even Aym herself. However, some people are of a faith that seems syncretic of the old beliefs of mankind and the Orcish beliefs

Due to common contact with Orcs, many Vecresians, despite Orcish not being an official language, are at least somewhat knowledgeable in Orcish, in addition to their native Common. Southern and Western Vecresians tend to be more skilled than others at it.

## Geography and Climate

Vecresia is a country, in the Vecres Peninsula, located directly above the Orcish lands and below the Kingdom of Dreolia. Most of the peninsula is composed of fields, with some mild forests. However, the northwestern region was mostly mountainous, as part of the border between Vecresia and Dreolia. The southeastern coast was a desert, composed mostly of rocks, where Orcs had no issue to live.

## Trivia

* Vecresia is loosely inspired by Visigothic Spain, and by some things about the Roman Empire and its fracturation. Many names however, notably of towns, are distinctly French. In comparison to Warhammer, the Kingdom of Vecresia can be considered an equivalent to Estalia.