Cumbria

The **Kingdom of Cumbria**, also known as **Alfenheim**, is a kingdom located in northern, midwest Mawikt. Cumbria is known for being the historical homeland of the Alfenheim elves and where the Alfenheim Empire ruled from when it existed. Many parts of the Alfenheim Empire's culture survives in present-day Cumbria with the kingdom being one of the three footholds of Selusian culture in Maywikt. With its strong cultural ties to the ancient empire, most Cumbrians consider themselves to be the continuation of the Alfenheim Empire. In recent history, the Kingdom of Cumbria has become a vassal state of the Kovithian Empire.

## Geography

### Other names

* Alfenheim
* The Kingdom of Cumbria
* Kingdom of New Alfenheim

## Society

### Cultures

* Selusian
* Albionfolk
* Higardi
* Kovithian
* Sojourner
* Orthodox elves

### Religions

* Selusian faith
* Astral Star Faith
* Eleven traditional faith
* Goerwyr
* Kovithian Church
* Steam Church

### Langauges

* Selusian
* Sylvan
* Common
* Higardi
* Jotunn

## Commerce

### Imports

* Aether
* Goods
* Machinary
* Magic items
* Tea

### Exports

* Magic goods
* Beer
* Lumbar
* Gold
* Iron
* Trade goods

### Other industries

* Academia
* Archaeology
* Theater

## Politics

### Legislative

* Nobility
* Local governments

### Notable organizations

* Page of Sword's College
* Court Jesters
* Knights of Autumn

## History

### 1st Sun

* Alfenheim Empire
* Higardi Yormoth Empire

### Preceded by

* Kingdom of New Alfenheim
* Higardi Yormoth Empire
* Alfenheim Empire

### Notable figures

* King Allant Kavandell
* Queen Ionia Moonshadow Kavandell
* Lady Prixyanna Hyperia
* Fenris' birth parents

## Geography

Cumbria shares borders with Old Pashnew and Iycodust to the east, the Rapax Rift to the Northwest, Albion to the west and south and the Higardi Commonwealth on the Southeast. Sapphire Lake provides a border and water way between Cumbria and the Maywood Protectorate with the Albion river flowing from the Lake. Cumbria expands from Sapphire Lake to west, north, and east with the Stonewall Range marking its western border. Sapphire Lake also houses a large number of small islands. From the west of the lake and the Albion River is a swampland.

Eastern Cumbria is primarily covered in woodlands including both the Autumn Forest and the Wight Wilderness. On its southeastern border, the Charred land reaches into Cumbria as it becomes the radioactive Vilegrove.

Cumbria experiences primarily temperate weather, but it is noted for having more rainfall than surrounding areas as well as its more northern location making it a bit of a colder place than lands to the south.

## Name

The word *Cumbria* is the result of the Selusian people 'rising from the shadows.' The word itself is a strange, bastardized translation of an old Sylvan phrase shortened down to one phrase, likely by speakers of any Runic-based language having a difficult time juggling flowing Sylvan phrases. Cumbria's historically traditional name, Alfenheim, translates roughly to "Haven for Elves." The name Cumbria became more and more common to refer to the region over the years as the kingdom grew increasingly diverse while also confronting itself not truly being an orthodox elf society. With submission to the Kovitihains under King Allant, the human dominant Kovithians, who see their own ancestors as enemies of Cumbria's cultural ancestors, have only further secured the modern name's dominance in usage amongst most folk.

## Government

Prior to being a vassal of the Kovithian Empire, Cumbria was an independent kingdom ruled by a royal family, often a King or Queen. A council of lesser nobles served under the sovereign The King of Cumbria continues to be the representative figure for Cumbria within the Imperial Diet of the Empire, granted the rank of Royal Estate. Cumbria itself is divided into various Estates that are overseen by other noble lords that answer to the royal family. Local settlements often rely on an elected town council and an alderman who oversee the day-to-day of a settlement.

### Nobility

Most Cumbrian noble families claim to be able to trace their heritage to great Alfenheim houses while others trace their lineages back to great Yormoth Higardi houses which has led to a mixture of Sylvan and Higardi names amongst the noble houses. The primary noble houses of note in Cumbria are:

* **Kavandell**: The current royal house of Cumbria. House Kavandell came to the position after the extinction of House Hyperia with many criticizing the house's rise to power and the Kingdom's subsequent fall into Kovitihian control. As the royal house, all other houses swear fealty to House Kavandell, accepting them as the Lords of the Cumbrian Kingdom.
* **D'autym**: Based in Red Leaf, House D'autym watches over the Autumn Forest in Northeastern Cumbria. House D'autym shows great loyalty to House Kavandell since King Allant's marriage to Ionia Moonshadow as their current lord is also married to a Sojourner.
* **Koryos**: The difficult task of securing Cumbria's border with the Rapax Rift was once left to the proud house Koryos. With the Kovithians providing order amongst Cumbria's Rapax neighbors, House Koryos has become a shadow of its former warrior glory.
* **Intera**: The noble family charged with overseeing Res'Intera, house Intera controls the Albion riverlands. They are often jokingly referred to as the *swamp lords* due to the location of their keep being near the swamplands to the west.
* **Galerion:** One of the few noble houses with a provable legitimate claim of heritage that can be traced back to Alfenheim nobility. Strong critics of House Kavandell, House Galerion pushes for an independent New Alfenheim state.
* **Whiteflower**: The Lords of Eastport are renowned for their knowledge of trade and commerce. They oversee their lands from their spire keep. They facilitate most of the trade in Eastern Cumbria.
* **Yvez:** Lords of the Wandering Lands, house Yvez secures Cumbria's tense border with Albion and Maywood. Along with being mighty warriors, their holdings based out of Yvez'Syth facilitate great trade and commerce for Cumbria.
* **Hyperia:** The previous royal house of Cumbria and now currently extinct. Their last living heir died in battle, which left the royal throne open for House Kavnadell to ascend.

## Trade

Being the previous seat of the Alfenheim Empire, Cumbria is often sought after by tourists, which itself has become a form of trade and commerce for the Kingdom. The University of Dernholm draws students from both near and far to study within the kingdom's borders, which also makes artifacts and magical reagents a large trade item for the kingdom with many Alfenheim ruins still waiting to be discovered and plundered.

Cumbria makes great use of the waterways it has access to to facilitate its trade. The Sapphire Lake and the rivers that run through Cumbria and from the lake give Cumbria a fortuitous position for logistics and moving goods, even prior to the advent of steam power. Kovithian occupation has led to the early developments of the previously rejected railroad. Eastport is currently working to install rigging for an airship port.

## Demographics

### Ancestry

Being the former capital of the Alfenheim Empire as well as a major territory in the subsequent Yormoth Empire, the majority of Cumbria's people are of half-elf descent. Many elves still live within the Kingdom. Other ancestries often pass through Cumbria with a descent mixture of other folk comfortably settling within Cumbrian society.

### Cultural

Cumbria is one of the three major centers of Selusian culture with the majority of Cumbrians identifying as being a part of the Selusian heritage. Albion-folk escaping the Queen's tyranny; Sojourners from neighboring Kovithian Iycodust; and Higardi from Old Pashnew and the Commonwealth often settle within Cumbria's borders. The rare Rapax may also live amongst Cumbrians as well. Since becoming a Kovithian vassal, the Kovithian population of Cumbria has seen a drastic increase.

## Society

### Culture

Being members of the Selusian culture, Cumbrians embrace a variety of traditions from both the Higardi and their Alfenheim roots. With a large portion of their populace being of half-elven decent, many of the Alfenheim practices centered specifically on Elven heritage have long since fallen to the wayside. Cumbria celebrates its own unique and diverse society made up of many different folk that have called the region home be it Old Alfenhiem, Cumbria, or a Kovithian frontier while also maintaining to be the true successor state to the Alfenheim Empire. Although much more diverse than their ancestors,' the Cumbrians allow all members of their culture to embrace their ancestors' traditions and practices that have passed down from the region being a foothold of both Alfenheim and Higardi Yormoth rule.

Cumbria has perhaps one of the proudest theater traditions in all of Maywikt due to the influence of Harlequin elves after centuries past. It is home to the prestigious Page of the Sword's College of Bards who are responsible for the training of many famous actors across Evarencia with Bootsy Hammertoe and Keyras Many-faces being a couple of examples. Folk from across the realm travel to Cumbria to experience the theater with connoisseurs treating the experience as something akin to a pilgrimage. The other proud tradition carried down from their ancestors is the proud warrior caste that exists within Cumbrian society with the Knights of Autumn once serving as the pinnacle of what it meant to be a noble knight. Cumbria's strong warrior tradition was born out of a need to defend itself from its Rapax and Maywood neighbors.

Cumbria is well known for its respect and reverence toward both historical and arcane studies. The kingdom is home to many prestigious academies and universities with the Page of the Sword's College and the University of Dernholm being the most famous examples. The proud arcane society rejected the machines from the west, but after becoming a vassal of the Kovithian Empire, Cumbria has been forced to embrace industrialization.

## Languages

The traditional language of Cumbria is the Selusian language, though many Cumbrians who are proud of their Alfenheim roots will usually also speak Sylvan. Common is often utilized with many of Cumbria's neighbors utilizing the language in an official capacity. Higardi is not uncommon for many Cumbrians to know, and the Kovithians brought with them their language of Higher Gothic. The odd Cumbrian may know Jotunn, though the language is often moreso a specialty language or one carried over from a none Selusian culture. Sharing a border with the Wandering Dust felpurr may have the odd Cumbrian to the west learning to at least read the felpurr's unique tongue.

## Religion

With most Cumbrian's being of the Selusian culture, most of them practice the Selusian faith. The Selusian faith is quite flexible in interpreting the gods, which allows many Cumbrians to easily also follow the traditional elven faith, the Astral Star, or many of the gods above. The traditional dwarvern religion is also figured into the Selusian pantheon. Through Selusia's unique religious dogma, Cumbria's geographic location placing it between many cultural groups, and the general tolerance of Higardi cultures and their offshoots, Cumbria's religious practicing has resulted in an interesting melting pot that is not commonly seen in most other societies.

This religious melting pot continues to occur, despite Kovithian occupation.

## History

### Alfenheim Empire

*Main article: Alfenheim Empire*

Throughout many periods in Evarencia's turbulent history, the region known as Cumbria today was known as Alfenheim. (Many residents still refer Cumbria by its traditional name.) After witnessing the Giantsfall, the elves of the region banded together to form the last of the Great Elven Empires at the end of the Titan Age. The region was the center of the mighty Alfenheim Empire, with Daes'helm (Dernholm) being the capital where the godhands once ruled from. After centuries of rule and conquest throughout central and southwestern Maywikt and Dragonsand, the mighty empire declined due to many factors. The Alfenheim Empire was truly ended when Arthur Yormoth's Higardi rebellion overthrough his peoples' former overlords, and with his subsequent marriage to Oprix Ar'Tel'Hyperia, a Higardi dominance was secured in the former Alfenheim lands that would eventually encompass all of Maywikt.

### Yormoth Empire

After their defeat at the hands of their former subjects, the Alfenheim elves, instead of rejecting the coexisting Higardi instead joined with them. Many Selusians consider the union of Arthur Yormoth and Oprix Ar'Tel'Hyperia in marriage as the foundational moment of the Yormoth Empire, and Cumbrians consider this historical occasion the founding of their own culture and "heritage state." The Yormoth Empire based out of Bailen included the former Alfenheim motherland amongst its cultural centers supplying the mighty empire with powerful mages due to the renowned Alfenheim magic academies, including the University of Dernholm. During the Higardi dominance of the totality of Maywikt, the region that would become Cumbria experienced relative peace during the Golden Age. This Golden Age would eventually abruptly end after the arrival of the Dreadlords at the beginning of the Sunless Era.

### Cumbria's Founding

The Selusian Kingdoms were born out of the ashes of the Sunless Era, and the Kingdom of New Alfenheim rose first. After centuries of divisions amongst the Selusian Kingdoms, various folk of different cultures settled the region and as the rule of the kingdom itself often exchanged hands, the modern state that folk know today as the Kingdom of Cumbria was established when a stable rule was established under House Hyperia, alleging to be ancestors of the ancient Alfenheim house Ar'tel'Hyperia, and therefore, descendents of the Yormoth. (Such claims were never substantiated and were more so a family folklore than actual history).

Over centuries of migrations, conflict, and political divisions, the Selusian lands became less unified and fractured the culture, leaving only pockets of the Selusian people. The Kingdom of Cumbra not only saw itself as the continuation of both the Alfenheim and Yormoth state's, but also as one of the bastions and guardians of the Selusian people against a world full of conflict.

### Recent History

The last living heir of House Hyperia, Prixyanna Hyperia, the Alfenheim Valkyrie, died resisting Kovithian rule while leading the Knights of Autumn. With her rebellion crushed under the heel of Egon Morgetnstern's armies, the king, Allant Kavandell, submitted to Kovithian rule to avoid any further bloodshed amongst the already dwindling Selusian people. Allant secured his relationship with his overlords and his neighbors simultaneously when he married Lady Ionia Moonshadow, Maiden of Fury, a noble member of the Erinyes clan of Sojourners. With their marriage, the fates of both Kovithian Iycodust and Cumbria became intertwined.

## Notable Locations

### Settlements

* Dernholm: Once known as Daes'helm. Capital of the Kingdom. The nearby Sapphire Isle house the Page's College, Sapphire Tower, and an Order of the Weave cloister-library.
* Melanenheim: refugee town from Effigy and Black Cathedral.
* Eastport
* Sonnelake
* Yaez'Syth
* Res'Intera
* Eves'Obos
* Deimosfell
* Knight's End
* Redleaf
* Montrose
* Sweetwind
* Murky Water

### Historical Landmarks

* University of Dernholm: old Alfenheim magic academy.
* Page of the Sword's Bardic College: Located on Sapphire Isle, Dernholm. Renown theater college and trains the court jesters.
* Grove of the Equinox: Ancient druid's grove

## Notable Cumbrians

* King Allant Kavandell
* Queen Ionia Kavandelll; sister to Gabriel Moonshadow
* Lady Prixyanna Hyperia
* Fenris' potential birth parents

## Trivia

* The Kingdom of Cumbria was originally detailed in a one on one campaign between GM Alex and cast member AJ. The current royal characters and general lore for the kingdom were created then.
* House Galerion existing in present-day Cumbria suggests that Virwen's bloodline survived the test of time or, at least, rediscovered by later descendants. It is uncertain how Larrel's manipulation of time has echoed throughout history.