The Kingdom of Hovdar

## Main Information

### Geography

The Kingdom of Hovdar is clearly cut in two by the Orian Mountain Range, and its geography varies depending on which side you are in. The occidental part is characterized by the extensive plains along the Golyn river, one of the most fertile areas of the island thanks to the combination of fertile floodplains and of centuries of agricultural tradition. The Golyn river is the most important geographical feature of the area, as it allows the quick transport of goods and is on its shore where the majority of the population of the kingdom resides. The eastern part is a wild and untamed area. Entirely situated inside a valley in the mountain range, which streches till the shore of the Adumbral Ocean. It contains the capital of the kingdom itself, the fortified city of Hovd, but despite a few settlements situated around the road that connects the capital with the shore, there isnt many signs of civilization.

### Ethnicity

The Hovdians are descendants of two diferent groups of people whose name have been lost to history, now referred as westeners and easteners, alluding to the side of the Orian Mountains where they came from. The event that bring those groups together is the discovery of a portal in a cave, where the city of Hovd would one day stand, connecting to the Golyn Delta, wich caused the mass imigration of the easteners to the more fertile land. Although the relations between the two ethnicities were bery tense and hostile at first, millenium of interbreeding and coexistance merged both groups together.

### History

The History of the Hovdian Kingdom is the history of its two most important cities, the mountainous Hovd, capital of the Kingdom, and Tuv, located in the sturary of the Golyn River. Despite the distance from one another, separated by the Orian Mountains, many consider these two cities one and the same because of the presence of 2 portals connecting them to one another. This portal is the most important geopolitical feature of the Kingdom, as without it the western part would be uncomunicated and would probably starve, but the eastern part would loose the valuable fur and iron founded near the capital, wich is usually used for trade. Early in its history the monarch of Hovd learned this lesson, and they started the cration of the Royal Magehold, an academy for magic users that would train them in the art of portal manipulation and maintenance. Over the years, this institution grew so large and influential that they were able to achive putting a puppet in the throne, the infamous King Obst, which remade the crown in the image of the Magehold elite: from now on, the king could only be a powerfull magician trained in the arts of statecraft, magic and combat, chosen after the death of the previous monarch by a series of exams and proves. After a very small civil war, the mages archived to maintain their reforms by pacting with the merchants and traders that, beyond the position of king, they wouldnt interfere in the politics of the kingdom. This pact proved very successfull, as this form of goverment has been continued eversince.

### Society and Culture

The Hovdian society is based around the concept of utility, a remanent of the harsh life that the westeners had before discovering the portals. This can be seen in every aspect of the society: from the weakening of the family in favour of the Guilds (or Gutha) to the social structure, based around the abilities one have and the improvements one have done to its society. Therefor each citizen of the kingdom belong to both a Gutha and to a rank, being this Ma, Ta and Ca, organized in incrasing value to the society. This means that the Hovdians are extremely clasists and derogatories to those in a lower rank. This is specially obvious when you consider that most of the Ca ranked citizens live in Hovd, where they dedicate themselfes to the politics and administration of the kingdom. Anorther thing that should be noted is that the rank of a person doesnt transmit down the family, meaning that they are a extremely meritocratic society.

### Perception and Use of magic

Magic in Hovd is seen as a great responsibility, and all magic users are expected to enter the Royal Magehold, where they will learn how to use their power in service of the kingdom. Despite of this, many mages dont finish their training, as they feel that they are well served once they have leant to control within themself the wild magic they posses, without knowing any further spell or cantrip. Those who stay, however, can learn one of the three main specialties of the Magehold: Restoration magic and Traditional Medicine, wich would allow a mage to become a certified doctor of the kingdom, able to cure many minor wounds and diseases; Geomancers, known for their utility in construction when a bunch of them work as a team; and Portal Magic, which despite their uselessness as individuals, are known to be able to increase the volume of transit between two already linked portals, allowig the survival of the kingdom

### Exports/Imports

The Kingdom of Hovdar has a extense traiding network, selling the fur and iron obtained from the mountains in order to obtain salt, spices and jewellery. The salt, in particular, is then used for the transportation and comerce of food, altough the distances it can cover are pretty limited. Another highly valuated export are its mages, as Hovd mages are known worldwide for their utility.

### Portals

The Kingdom of Hovdar has two portals located in the cities of Hovd and Tuv, represented by two dots in the location image.