Terresol

The birthplace and cradle of religion in the south of Marin.

**Terresol** is one of the Middle Kingdoms, located east of Ibethiel between Northwind and Araedia. The kingdom is governed by a 'Grace' who rules from their grand palace in Sol.

Despite it's relative lack of arable land, Terresol's geography is mineral-rich and provides sweeping access to the Eastern Sea, making Terresol a historically potent sea power, a force of rampant colonialism, and a great concentration of material wealth in Eastern Marin. The great Solan Empire once dominated much of Northwind and had hundreds of colonies all along the coasts of Southern Marin and Northern Amoroth, and throughout the Southern Isles. However, a combination of the depredations of Northwinder barbarians and the revolts of increasingly organized Southern Islanders has caused the great nation to wither away over the last century. Most of the Terreme colonies have been conquered or have claimed independece from their motherland, and the province of Pemberlum (otherwise known as the 'Gray Hills') is all that remains of the once-numerous Northern Exarchates.

Terresol is the origin of the faith of the Southern Pantheon. More than in any other Southern-Pantheist-majority kingdom, the clerics of the various cults, from the Physics of Emin to the Red Guard of Mafalda to the Passionates of Auryn, are intrinsically woven into the fabric of Terreme society, and have been for hundreds of years. The Abigreth, located in Sol, is the largest of the famaeszars and the home of the Grand Clerics. Beyond the capital city, Terresol also features many sites of spiritual and/or historical significance to adherents of Saris: the Fields of the Rain just north of Korkou, where the ancient army of the faithful gathered before marching on the sorcerers of Sol; the acropolis of Telvi in Elegorgou, which houses an abundance of divine statues and holy artefacts; the caldera-city of Potruuxou, where the greatest of the sulfur-drakes of Falsa are said to have risen above the earth and publicly accepted their connection to Saris; and many other significant locations that receive thousands of pilgrims every year from all over the continent.

The cities of Terresol—Sol, Posoxe, Iannapoïs, Rikolto, Elegorgou, and Potruuxou—are renowned for their high culture. Elegorgou in particular receives thousands of Southern-Pantheist pilgrims every year from all over Marin, by virtue of its famous temple on Telvi. Posoxe, the most cosmpolitan of the kingdom's cities (to the point that it has developed a residential quarter for every kingdom it trades with), is the mouth of all trade passing into Terresol, with ships coming in from as near as the coastal towns of Araedia to as far as Zahrada.

Terresol is where the faith of the Southern Pantheon began to flourish, displacing a pagan religion that worshipped magical power given by serpentine gods. Belief in these ancient deities still lingers in the 'sulphur dragons' that the people of Northern Terresol believe to live beneath their land, and the symbolism of the serpent as a creature of might, ferocity, and prowess (as well as the sigil of House Vortigon). But if darker rumors are to believed, it is possible that remnants of these heathen cults still exist to this day amidst some of the Terreme nobility.

Terresol is one of the oldest kingdoms in Marin, beginning with the foundation of the Elekorian dynasty in c. 800 BCE. Comprised of magocratic city-states before the Red Maiden's War, the kingdom still bears the marks of a darker, half-eldritch past, in its ruins, such as the carved subterannean cities and the Broken Moonbeam and the indestrguctible 'black statues', architectural fantasies such as Sol and Aspasian's Wall, and many other wonders.

Besides the oddities of its landscape and history, Terresol is also made unique against other kingdoms on account of its social structure. The clerical orders of the Southern Pantheon are more deeply interwoven into secular life in Terresol than in any other kingdom of the faith: Physics dominate the medical profession, ears both common and noble hang on every prediction from a Seeker's tongue, members of the Red Guard can be found at the lead of almost every Terreme army, and on it goes. Rare is the Terreme family who does not have at least one son or daughter in the clergy.

The secular hierarchy of Terresol is slightly different to that of other kingdoms: whereas most states in Marin use the generic term 'lord' to describe varying levels of land ownership and authority, Terreme lords are clearly divided into 'archons', each of whom rules a province or 'archonate', and 'demarchs', each of whom runs a provincial district or 'deme'.]

## Archontic houses

Terresol is divided into seven traditional provinces, which in Terresol are called 'archonates'. Each of these archonates is ruled by one of the eight Archontic Houses, who make up the most powerful nobility in the kingdom. In the present day, there are six fully-fledged archontic houses, and then the seventh house who hold the Grand Archonship of Sol and Andallion—in this regard, they are more stewards to the Grace than archons in their own right. Beyond these are the 'Exarchic Houses' who rule over the external territories, of which there is only one today: the exarchate of Pemberlum.

Current Archontic Houses

## History

### Prehistory

The earliest signs of human civilization in the modern domain surely go back at least 1,500 years. The astounding skeleton of Sol and the ancient caverns ruins found elsewhere could only have been formed in that lost era when men still knew the spells to sculpt the earth like marble.

### Age of the sorcerer-kings

For a period of hundreds of years, what is today known as the singular Kingdom of Terresol was divided into a shifting multitude of city-states. These independent bodies were ruled by sorcerers and magicians, either as autocratic 'tyrants' (in this context, a generic name that gives no description of moral character; some of the tyrants were benevolent rulers who left great legacies that still shape the modern kingdom) or through oliIgarchic councils. The power possessed by the great city-shapers had waned by this point, but the mages of Terresol were still greatly feared, and dark rituals were regularly performed deep in the bowels of Sol and other recesses. The different city-states had founded founded a handful of ports on the eastern coast of Araedia, and even more colonies down south on the fringes of the Southern Isles and the northern coast of Amoroth.

These small, thalassocratic demi-empires often made war upon each other, though they would form extensive alliances when the threat of Northwind loomed dark over their lands, especially during the height of Iron Gate's power in the ancient world. The mage-kings had great statues of black bronze erected in their honour or those of their predecessors, the monuments enchanted so that no man could take them down without knowing the exact spellwork by which they were created.

### Red Maiden's War

The age of these magicians came to an end when a new faith rose, combining beliefs of Feyshore with the native pantheon of Terresol. This was the early form of what today is the Southern Pantheon. Slowly, this new religion spread across the city-states, with the authority of magic-users being placed beneath a clerical hierarchy with a mandate of divine wisdom. Resistance increased sharply as the faith pressed upon Sol, where practicioners of dark magic began to flock in preparation for a stand against the Southern Pantheon's followers.

Those who worshipped Saris and his myriad faces raised a great army in the fields of modern Korkou. This army marched on Sol, and in a devastating battle that left the depths of the city poisoned by catastrophic maleficium, the new faith won the city and chased the surving magicians out to the sea. Aspasian the Good, a great leader of magicians who had helped convince many of his fellows to convert to the Southern Pantheon and join the march, was turned to to become the supreme king of a new, holy realm under Saris. Seeing it as a great waste of life and labour to let yet another dynasty of magic-users reign, Aspasian rejected the crown, and instead took his fellow magicians to an island that became known as the Isle of Aspasian, where they would found a community of magic-users that lasted all the way up until the Inquisition. Thus the throne was claimed by men of mundane powers, and the Kingdom of Terresol was founded much as it is known today.

### Vortigon dynasty and Kelwynd's Conquest

The throne of Saris-worshipping Terresol passed between different dynasties over the centuries. Approximately seven-hundred years ago, it fell into the hands of House Vortigon. The last royal couple of this house was King Caspian Vortigern and Queen Rhia Vortigern; their assassination along with Minister of Commerce, Castor Vortigern, by **Vronti Kelwynd** ended the Vortigern rule. Since two remaining Vortigerns held positions forbidden from taking the crown, a local Serfblood philanthropist, **Charity Lane**, was hoisted to the position of Head Counsellor by the First Knight. Trusting that local militias would be able to handle the threat of Vronti Kelwynd, Charity kept the Royal Army in Terresol to protect the city and remaining Vortigerns. However, Kelwynds advance did not slow and Charity relented, sending an army led by **Carney** and **Caderyn Vortigern** to meet the assassin on the battlefield.

The first battle at which Carney clashed with Vronti was a dramatic victory for Carney, and sent Vronti fleeing. But Vronti still lived, so Carney gave chase all the way to the swamps of Akno, which had been suffering from unusually dry weather. Vronti and his followers crossed the dry wetlands easily enough as it began to drizzle for the first time in months. When Carney arrived he also attempted to cross the wetlands, but near the middle of the trek, the rain began to downpour, mud began to form, and Carney and his men were sucked into the mud. Vronti and his allies peppered the Terresolian army with arrows as a troop of mercenaries hired from Ibethiel flanked the army and killed many soldiers trying to escape the mud hell. Caderyn urged Carney to flee, but Carney's rage for Vronti pressed him onwards with whatever men still followed him.

Vronti would not fall in this battle but neither would either of the brothers. Carney, and what remained of the army, made it back to the capital thinking Vronti was hot on their heels, but Vronti did not show up for a week. Caderyn got separated from his brother and had a longer trip back to the capital than his brother by about a week. When Vronti did show up to Sol, he was well prepared for a siege but tried a "diplomatic" solution instead, inviting whoever the city considered its leader to a discussion. Carney abhorred the idea of discussing anything with Vronti and wanted to arm all men, women, and children in the city to fight Vronti's army. Charity instantly rejected this idea and went out of the city walls as Sol’s diplomatic representative. At the beginning of the destruction Vronti bragged that the rains leading to his victory were inevitable and the will of his god, he promised to burn or convert all the heretics within the kingdom, and he would rule over the city of Sol whether they were on their knees or a pile of corpses. Charity knew that the citizens of Sol would share Carney's rage for this man and would fight to almost the last, so she proposed an alternate solution, a political marriage between them. Originally Vronti dismissed the idea, but gave in when Charity argued that it would alleviate the resistance to his reign.

Caderyn arrived in the city while the negotiations were taking place. Knowing that they could not stay, Charity Lane ordered for the boys to leave. Distraught by losing both family and kingdom, the brothers imposed on themselves a self-exile. They remain in exile to this day despite Charity offering them the throne in the aftermath of Vronti's death.

### Reign of the Sun King

When Vronti ascended to the Circlestar Throne, House Kelwynd and their legion of adherents to the **Cult of Syntherion** took control of the kingdom, imposing a reign of terror and exensive persecution. Homosexuality was rooted out and punished by burning, in a society thitherto famous for its free-loving norms. The Grand Archon Izador Astabaros was executed only two months into his new king's reign, accused of plotting treason.

King Vronti met his end at the hands of a Terreme pirate, **Valkrin Farensun**, on the docks of Augornai. Without their unscrupulous leader giving them the breadth of government, the Cult of Syntherion began to wane in influence, and their moralistic violence dissipated.

## Government

In Terresol, the 'grace' is the sole and absolute ruler, and their power is regarded as having a divine mandate. Since its inception, the graceship has been a hereditary position handed down to the eldest child, regardless of gender. In accordance with Southern-Pantheist dogma, the grace earns their position by virtue of Saris allowing their soul to be incarnated into royalty. The grace rules from the Chryselephantine Throne in the Great Palace of Sol.

Governance of the lands outside the royal province of Nivia is delegated to archons (for 'traditional' territories) and exarchs (for conquered territories). The modern archontic houses reflect a time when the traditional provinces were independent kingdoms that swelled against each others borders, before eventually being unified under the dominion of Sol. Compared to equivalent lords in other kingdoms, archons have future individual rights granting them independence from the grace; the hand of the royal capital is felt very strongly throughout the state. This dictatorial system is reinforced by religious doctrine, and quietly but firmly enforced by the clergy; in each arconate, the archon effectively shares power with the magistrate of that same district.

The lowest level of administrative division is the 'deme' system. The demes are subdivisions within archonates that generally follow old tribal boundaries. Compared to the archonates, demes vary widely in size—royal knights hold humble manorial estates in the shadow of much larger demes owned by old and powerful families—but the general rule is that rural demes stretch wide, whereas urban settlements are divided into many small neighbourhoods. Just as archons share power with magistrates, demarchs share power with one or more powerful wisdoms who hold great judicial authority over their assigned areas. Some demarchs are owned exclusively by the Abigreth.

### Grand Archon

Though the province of Nivia is technically the personal estate of the grace, an administrator is still required to handle bureaucratic matters that do not warrant the attention of one who must already deal with the matters of the larger kingdom. This authority is devolved to the Grand Archon, a powerful administrator elected by the demarchs of Nivia from among their own. The Grand Archon chairs meetings of the Nivian demarchs on the Hill of Siggir—once the meeting place of the old senate—with the additional presence of the grace themselves on pressing occassions. The Grand Archon thereby acts as both a civic administrator and a liaison between the grace and some of their oldest and most powerful vassal houses. The Grand Archon represents the grace in their absence, such as when they pursuing their bi-annual tour of the kingdom.

### Palace offices

* **High Chamberlain** – usually a eunuch, who sleeps in the grace's bedchamber and runs the royal household.
* **Vestiarian** – usually a minor relative of the grace, who takes care of the grace's personal wardrobe, especially on military campaigns.
* **Magistrate to the Royal House** – a magistrate of the clergy, who acts as the spiritual advisor to the Grace and their family, as well as the tutor of their children.
* **Excellence** a primacy of Mafalda who commands, organizes, equips, and maintains the training of the Companions. The Companions are the Grace's personal bodyguard, typically numbering three-hundred men. The Companions are a mixed group, and are, much to their fame, mostly composed of Northerners, some Witherlander and some Northwinder, as well as a good number of Ibbishmen. A handful of Feyorian knights came to join the Companions after the fall of Feyshore. During times of (relative) peace, the Excellence might lead the Companions on incursions into the Grey Hills, or even the Far Gone, to raid the Northwinders or bring criminals or warlords to justice. The current Excellence is Ser Wyndar Redval, the disgraced son of a Reaper's Skull lord who travelled the east as a mercenary before joining the Companions.
* **Solace** – a passionate who acts as a companion to the crown. Traditionally, the Solace forms a sexual and emotional relationship with an unmarried Grace, or with their mature heirs. Even though the Solace is expected to end any affair with the Grace once the latter takes a royal consort, she is known to sometimes become a semi-secret mistress. The Solace is generally not spoken of, and any extramarital affairs with Graces are especially left unacknowledged, as opposed to the royal favorites of other kingdoms, whose nature as part of court can be more open. The Solace is valued as a companion to young male heirs, since a bastard cannot be fathered with a passionate. Instructing the young women of the household in their bodily educations also falls under the responsibilities of this position. With the aim of keeping this courtier as unobtrusive as possible, the Solace wears the staid vestments of a normal wisdom, and their chambers are nowhere near as lavish as some of their expensive sisters outside the palace. Solaces have been known to exert considerable influence over some Graces.
* **Brilliance** – the high priest who heads the cult of the Grace's household deity. In the case of House Vortigon, this was the Brilliance of Vorte, an owl goddess of wisdom and justice who is associated with Tatico. Due to their intimate association with the royal family, Brilliances also act as genealogists.

## Geography

*See: Map of Terresol*

The Terreme landscape is shot through by broad ranges of highland. Arable land land is sparse between a handful of breadbasket districts, most notably the well-watered fields of Akno. For the most part, and especially in the north, the land is too rugged for cultivating cereal crops, and in its place the inhabitants mostly rely on animal husbandry, and tree crops (such as figs and olives) that can thrive in the thin mountain soils.

The modern kingdom is bounded by the Rustlands and the Sea of Emin in the north, the Pyrennines to the west, and the Carpathus to the south. It reaches out into the Eastern Ocean, counting a multitude of islands large and small under its domain. Whalewyk is the northernmost island under Terreme control, ruled by the subjugated House Stighardt.

### Climate

Terresol experiences a climate of dry seasons and wet monsoons. During wintertime, cold, dry winds sweep in from the Northern Kingdoms, while during summer, warmer, moister winds rise from the Southern coasts.

### Provinces

Terresol is made up of seven ancient provinces–Syrago, Akno, Omairo, Tave, Sadavu, Nivia, and Falsa–and the relatively recent conquest north of these, Pemberlum.

#### Nivia

Nivia is the largest of the provinces, extending in the northeast from the Augamonic Meadows to the tip of the 'Andallic Spear' peninsula, and encompassing many islands off its coast. Nivia is the most urbanized of the provinces, and is home to the royal capital of Sol, situated on a plateau at the foot of the peninsula with its two symbiotic port towns of Betuin and Parnesti on either shore. Betuin faces north to the expansive Blessed Bay, where the waters are kept calm by a barrier of surrounding islands, chiefly Inynvi.

##### The Cuvices

The 'Cuvices' chiefly refers to the islands of Inynvi, Rhuba, Turtsi, Sekymyn, Nevako, and most of the smaller isles between and surrounding them. These islands are home to the Cuvics, a distinct cultural group characterized by an ancient maritime culture that predates the modern ethnic groups that make up the rest of the nation. The Cuvics possess their own language, Scalloptongue, which bears some resemblance to the Nivian dialect of Soltongue but is mostly untintelligible to mainlanders. The Cuvices were once their own archonate ruled from their capital of Cuvi on Inynvi, until Archon Nagamem dar Inynvi rebelled unsuccessfully against the crown, with the islands being absorbed into Nivia as a consequence, deprived of any independent rule.

#### **Falsa**

Falsa is the second-largest and second-most powerful of the provinces, situated west of Nivia. The terrain is considerably mountainous, and offers little agricultural bounty with the great exception of the valley surrounding Lake Iulvu, the breadbasket of the kingdom's northern districts. Most of Falsa's population lives in the fertile fields surrounding the lake, while the rest either farm goats and tree crops in the mountains or dwell in the handful of meagre fishing villages along the northern coast. Situated in Falsa is Mount Coronei, the highest peak in Terresol.

Falsan culture is markedly distinct from the rest of the kingdom, reflecting the customs of the 'Tenatsan' ethnicity that dominates the region. This subculture is marked by staid, conservative fashion, an ancient warrior elite, and an unorthodox offshoot of the Southern-Pantheist religion that holds an old pantheon of local 'sulfur dragon' gods almost to the same reverence as the six chief deities worshipped in Sol.

The current rulers of the province are House Dumagne, governing from their ancestral fortress on the island of Sasevima.

#### Syrago

Syrago is the smallest of the mainland archonates. Humble and pastoral, Syrago is known chiefly for the dense pineland flowing between the foothills of the Pyrennine Mountains, and the rich culture of sheep farming and wool textiles. The prized wool of the 'Syragian' breed is exported down the River Taarec where it either travels west to Ibbish buyers via Riktolto or eastwards along the River Aagaten to the skilled dyers of Odibar.

The rulers of Syrago, House Dan Consantim, are the oldest archontic line in Terresol. Their ancentor, Consantim, famously drove out Ibbish invaders from the foothills during the chaos following the collapse of the Erillian Empire. Despite their legendary origins, the Dan Consantims of today are known to be rather timid and reclusive, bothering little with the greater affairs of the state.

### Akno

Akno lies in a lowland expanse in the southwestern corner of Terresol. The heart of the province is Springs of Akno that stretch out south of its grand capital, Rikolto. These bountiful fields are watered by numerous acquifers rising up from below the earth. Running through this plain is the River Regit, running east from the Barrier Lakes that separate Terresol from South Feyshore with a march of marshy terrain. Where the Regit meets the River Belgaare lie the Regit Swamplands, river-hewn and heavily forested mires where Vronti Kelwynd and his army famously massacred the Royal Army during his conquest of Terresol. The Belgaare runs northeast from the swamplands till it meets the River Aagaten, facilitating waterborne trade with Omairo and Tave to the east.

## Culture

Terresol has a bright, falmboyant, artistic, and scholarly culture. In many markets, songs fill the air, serenading weary travelers with tales of brilliant battles and tragic romances. Theatre is quite popular in the major cities, inviting travelling tropes to stop in and display their talents. The Silverlight Theatre in Sol is famous throughout Marin, believed to be blessed by the Emin the Moon Daughter herself during performances. Terreme art is heavily influenced by the belief system and mythos of the Southern Pantheon. Frescoes and paintings of

Terreme art is mostly religious and highly conventionalized; whereas dramatic works are known to play around with artistic interpretation of the Southern Pantheon's mythos and belief system, visual arts tend follow traditional models that translate carefully curated Pantheon ideology into artisic terms. Painting in fresco, illuminated manuscripts, and on wooden panels are the primary media in modern Terreme art. Mosaics also have their presence; though their production has waned with the centuries, the walls of ancient buildings like the Palace of Sol or the Abigreth are still decorated extensively with them. Figurative sculpture is very rare, except for small carved ivories, a great descent from the days of antiquity when Terresol was renowned for its sculptures. Paintings that depict critical figures, events, or places in Terreme's history almost always include figures of the relebant gods watching over these affairs—Mafalda observes famous battles, Emin watches great perfomances, depictions of saints or other religious leaders figure a white circle in the background to represent Saris, Tatico stands tall behind great archons and Graces, and so on. Falsan art includes heavy use of dragon imagery, often woven into the background of natural scenes. Members of lower Blood Caste also create art of their own through pottery, jewelry, and other trinkets that are sold in markets throughout the Kingdom.

Despite its focus on the arts, Terresol is also a hub for studying the world and its connection to the divine. The heavy influence of the SP has allowed breakthroughs in the sciences, art, medicine, and agriculture to penetrate the kingdom with relative ease thanks to the myriad of religions under its umbrella. The Abigreth is a Szar with a library open to religious scholars frequently occupied from dawn to dusk, lit by burning candles in the windows late into the night.

A heavily institutionalized religion is the dominating feature of Terreme culture. The society of the Terremes distinguishes itself from the Araedians, however, in that the pervasively intertwined clergy serves the needs of a well-rounded secular community more than the secular community serves the whims of the clergy: magistrates advise lords and ladies, the Council of Commerce oversees the financial welfare of the Saris-worshipping kingdoms; outside of the central clerical body, the soldiers of Mafalda's divine order are crucial in Terresol's military affairs, the Passionates of Auryn officiate weddings, the Physics of Emin attend to the sick.

Philosophers are given high regard in a society that contemplates extensively on ideas of perfection, purpose, intellect, and the wisdom to be sought in one's lifetime. Dutiful, focused work and meditation are the two main pillars of the Terreme lifestyle. Whereas Araedia has interpreted the Southern Pantheon belief system as a regime of discipline, zeal, and austerity, however, the Terremes use religious philosophy and mythos to fuel a vibrant culture of song and dramatic arts that often plays around with different perspectives on what most Araedians would consider very serious matters. In Terresol, stinging satire on religion, society, and the various interplays between is something not only welcomed on the public stage, but high valued as fuel for critical thinking and unceasing efforts at improvement.

Terresolian law states that a citizen of Terresol cannot be executed; the most severe punishment is exile, unless the guilty individual chooses death. On the rare occasions where forceful executions do occur, strangulation is the traditional method, with the act occurring away from the public eye due to the shamefulness of killing in Southern Pantheism.

Ethnically, the Terremes can be divided into two major historical groups: the Laurians and the Tenatsans. The Laurians are cosmopolitan sea-farers who dress brightly and elaborately, while the Tenatsans are a generally more solomn group who follow more staid and narrow conventions of dress. Laurians enjoy foreign delecacies and stageplays, whereas Tenatsans prefer good food and drink from Terresol's own breast, and have more of a taste for epic poetry than actors in theatres. Laurians embody the all-encompassing spirit of the Southern Pantheon, while Tenatsans are more conservative in their worship, and cling to many unorthodox beliefs that predate the Southern Pantheon in Terresol. Laurians speak Soltongue with a flowing slur, while Tenatsans utter its syllables in sticatto. Laurians inhabit the coast and the fertile south of Terresol, whereas Tenatsans dwell in the rugged highlands of Falsa, much of Andallion outside of Sol, and many of the islands in the Sea of Emin.

### Fashion

Terresol is famous for its highly sophisticated textile industry, which engenders a fashion culture of richly patterned clothing. The wealthy achieve this look through intricate weaving and embroidery, while the poorer use simple dying methods and woodblock printing. Exquisite 'Terreme silks' find high demand throughout Marin, and are one of the nation's chief exports, as well as a frequent choice of gift for foreign royalty.

It is considered proper for a Terreme man to wear his hair short, in neat, elegant curls (by treatment if needed, though most Terreme men have curly hair by nature). Noblewomen also adhere to a fashion of curls, and do their hair up into elaborate styles.

Highborn men do not tend to wear hats, but a headpiece known as the *kemenike* is the pillar of the Terreme noblewoman's dress. The kemenike is a tall headdress shaped like a nimbus, a half-nimbus, or a crest, tied at the back with long, thick ribbons in a large bow, often with a veil falling from the back and over the shoulders. The crest can be embroidered with pearls and goldwork or simple applique, usually using plant and flower motifs. The forehead area is frequently decorated with pearl netting. While wearing a kemenike, the woman usually wears her hair in a plait. The common dress of Falsan woman, combining crested kemenikes with thick dresses, has led to them being called 'cockatrices', a jab at their dragon-revering beliefs. Some women opt for a simple circlet with pearl netting over the hair.

Travellers and farmers don petasi, sun hats of wool felt, leather, or straw, with wide, floppy brims.

The basis of Terresolian dress is an ankle-length tunic, over which the upper classes wear other garments, like a dalmatic (a heavier and shorter type of tunic), again worn by both sexes, but mainly by men. In place of dalamatics, most upper-class women opt for short, pleated stolas, typically with short sleeves to reveal the tunics underneath. Multiple layers are a sign of wealth, and women will sometimes have the hems of their stolas designed to give the illusion of more than one layer. Wealthy women may wear brocade silk for their stolas.

Terresolian nobility wear cloaks fastened at their right shoulders, and often decorate them with either beautiful geometric patterns or intricate imagery, popular themes for the latter including nature, religion, and legends. The cloak is often draped over the left arm when worn.

Wide, stark borders on cloaks and tunics are very common.

### Arms and armour

Terreme soldiers typically wear coats of lamellar armour with leather strips draping their shoulders, metal coifs covering their noses and helmets pointed. Their shields are typically shaped like inverted teardrops. Falsan helmets differ from this standard in having horsehair plumes.

### Language

The language most commonly spoken in Terresol is Soltongue, deriving its name from the nation's capital city. Due to its mountainous terrain that has historically dampened cultural diffusion between its regions, the kingdom is host to numerous dialects of Soltongue; the many varietes can be roughly divided into Tensatsan Soltongue (spoken in the province of Falsa and most of the islands in the Sea of Emin) and Laurian Soltongue (spoken in the rest of the kingdom). The Tensatsan varieties are more archaic, preserving the more complex grammatical system of the past and a very pure vocabulary, whereas Laurian varietes have more simplified grammar and show a heavy influence from neighbouring languages such as Commontongue and Petaltongue.

#### Soltongue names

*See: Terreme names*

Terreme masculine names typically end in *-an*, *-ey*, *-yn*, *-or*, or *-us*, while women's tend to end in -*ara*, -*aïs,* *-ea*, *-yx*, *-o,* or -*uno*. Exceptions abound (e.g. Samso**m**, Lutu**r**), however, and non-compound names that end with consonants (e.g. Peraz, Sam) are almost never altered in this way. The *-ey* in names such as *Axexey* is pronounced like 'lampr**ay**'.

The most common personal names in Terresol are theophoric (god-invoking) in nature. Axaxey is the most common name among noblemen, and Eubexey among men in general. Auryx is the most common name among women. Firstborn women often receive the name Axaxea (a name with connotations of lordship), since Terreme women are not surpassed by younger brothers in the line of succession.

Other common Terreme name include Raolyn/Raolyx ('defender, helper'), Caspian/Caspiara ('lucky, noble'), and Rullinicus ('manly').

#### Forms of address

* **sudumpsa**: once *sudunbaassa*, meaning 'gold blood'; used to address graces (members of the kingsblood caste)
* **barempsa**: once *barembaassa*, meaning 'high blood; used to address archons
* **lizimpsa**: once *lizinbassa*, meaning 'silver blood'; used to address clerics (members of the silverblood caste)
* **axan**: for any man of higher status; equivalent to *m'lord*
* **ellauxa**: for any woman of higher status; equivalent to *m'lady*
* **ellastim**: for anyone of equal or lower status (literally 'good-soul'); especially prevalent among the silverblood caste
* **bonbonat**: for a foreigner of either gender; can be seen as either endearing or contemptuous (literally 'noisy', making fun of foreigners' strange accents and languages)
* **mauti**: for one's mother.
* **taeti**: for one's father.
* **zaetan**: for one's mentor or teacher.

Examples:

*Smiling, he began to pour the man some wine. "Anything else you'd like, axan?"*

*The farmer slipped in the mud as he struggled against the lady's soldiers. "Ellauxa, please! You cannot do this!"*

*He leaned on the counter, favouring the innkeeper with a smile. "How much for three nights, ellastim? And some privacy, ideally."*

*The merchant waved a dismissive hand at the Taemishwoman. "Pwah, not now, nafat!"*

*"Ha! I know just the remedy for that. My mauti was a healer."*

*"Taeti, please. You need to kinder to our guests!"*

*The apprentice pursed his lips. "Am I doing this right, zaetan?"*

#### Other languages

'Old Soltongue' is a prestige language based off of the form the language had during the early centuries of the Southern Pantheon, when Terreme culture flourished under a new system of religion. Old Soltongue is primarily used for liturgy, but also for scholarly works; there is, of course, little distinction between the two in Terreme society. It is, for all intents and purposes, the language of the silverblood caste. Old Soltongue is also studied by most highborns from a young age.

Almost all Terremes (especially merchants, nobles, and scholars) speak Commontongue due to mercantile incentives. Scalloptongue is a minority language spoken among the people of the islands off the Arm of Andallion, who possess general fluency in Commontongue and Soltongue alongside it due to frequent interaction with seaborne merchants.

## Economy

The primary exports of Terresol are olive oil, wine, pottery, ivory, silks, and metalwork. Their main imports are grain and pork (mostly from Araedia) and furs, silver, and gold (mostly from the North). Terresol's economy is greatly influenced by its relative shortage of arable land.

Sheep and goats are the most common type of Terreme livestock.

## Provinces

Beyond these ancient geographic demarcations, Terresol is divided into seven *traditional* provinces—Andallion, Terredaesti, Brugallion, Omaero, Akno, Ittazmia, and Falsa—as well as a much younger province, Pemberlum, which is the name bestowed upon the Grey Hills region by the Terreme crown after they won it from the Athmorians. In the context of governance, the provinces are sometimes referred to as 'archonates', as the rulers of these districts are known as 'archons'.

The Moondaughter's Islands, a large group of isles in the Sea of Emin, was once given provincial status. However, after House Calcafai led a failed rebellion against the King of Terresol and became extinct in their male line, the islands lost their independence and were absorbed into Andallion, under the direct and often harsh administration of the crown and the Grand Archon.

### Andallion

Andallion, also known as the Graceful Archonate, is the royal district of Terresol. It is home to Sol, and encompasses all the islands of the Andallic Horn. It features many architectural wonders left over from both the sorcerous era and the great works of Aspasian; not only the city itself, but notably Aspasian's Wall.

Aspasian's Wall extends from the northern island of Eufasin to Rozalum in the south, with a westward connection to the fortified island of Kalameiis. Using the last scrolls detailing the earth-shifting spellcraft of old Terresol, Aspasian created the immense wall, for several reasons: to form a barrier against the terrible winds and waves that annually barraged Terresol from the Eastern Ocean; to impede an assault by sea; and to create a crossing through monster-infested waters. Over the centuries, gateways were constructed at intervals along the bridge, to improve its defences and collect tax. The taxation has all but ceased ever since the waters become much more safer to sail through, but the gateways have become the main estates of many an old noble house; all respected, though rather poor. One of the gateway demarchs has developed the lower levels of his home into a passable inn, originally named *Aspasian's Rest*, but known by most as *the taverna on the wall*. The wave-battered eastern foot of the wall has built up a sort of coral reef, the husks of shipwrecks and other refuse forming a sort of rugged, narrow coastline, home to outcastes, pirates, and the odd hermetic fisherman.

## Flora

The province of Omaero is famous for its forest of 'sweetfires', the only population of the strange trees ever discovered in Marin. The trees are the source of the province's famous syrup and brandywine, as well as the 'sweetwood' it uses for furniture and, especially, instruments.

## Fauna

Gryffs are known to pester the coastal settlements of Terresol, as with Araedia. The kingdom is also known for the giant snakes that inhabit its southern swamplands, and the pygmy cats found throughout its forests, which are widely domesticated as pets and often exported as such to wealthy buyers throughout Marin.