Rael

### Inhabitant makeup

55% Faion Humans20% Manebamus Humans10% Ur-Taenese Elves5% Tianese Elves10% Others

### Religions

75% Solarionite10% Church of the Tides4% Fae6% Others

### Architecture

1700s American, Primarily wooden, Wild West in the plains, more american classic in the coast

## Military

### Overall military power

Overwhelming numbers in naval combat, quick speed in infantry

### Strengths

Ability for infantry to take to the skies, high amount of naval ships allows for a simple over-whelming strategy

### Allies

The Listerian Isles, The CPE, The Talus Empire

## History

### The Fae (4000 BFNE-2000 BFNE)

Much like the rest of Auron, Rael was also home to the fae. The fae of Rael were the largest courts, their Seelie Court being seen as the unofficial leaders of the Seelie Courts, led by King Titan and his Queen Oberia. It is unknown what prompted this, but King Titan eventually declared war upon the Unseelie Courts of Auron. They thought a long and bloody war, but it was eventually resolved through the creation of the Torri Rituals. The Torri rituals were a set of complex magics that stripped the Unseelie of their intelligence and banished them to Tian, where they were doomed to eventually become the feared Kemono.

### The Dragon Empire (2000 BFNE-700 BFNE)

During the Dragon Empire era, much of Rael was used for agricultural purposes, with the fertile fields being home to dragonborn and centaurs. The forests were left for the Fae that resided there. The smooth beaches that stretched down from Stentuur was often used by visiting draconic royalty to relax and enjoy the warm waters and sunshine.

Around 700 BFNE, when the Storjrya rebelled against the Emperor, Rael was the site of several small skirmishes, but most importantly, it was the site of a major battle. While the actual events of the battle are unknown as they were suppressed by the Emperor, it is believed that it involved one of the Primes and an unknown weapon that was created or summoned by the Storjrya. During the battle, much of the north east coast of Rael was destroyed, turning into the swamps of Wight. Following this event, the Dragon Empire abandoned Auron south of the Lake of Yurin.

### The Kingdoms of Ral and El (616 BFNE- 435 BFNE)

Following the abandonment of the south of Auron by the Dragon Emperor, many of the Hespern across Auron fled to the lands of Setral, Rael, and the Listerian Isles, with the majority settling within Setral and Rael. Led by a group of Hespern, whose leader was named Faion, who had learned of a god of the stars and of freedom from the remnant of angelic structures buried across Anagrian and created a new form of travel magic, the Hespern settled across South Auron in the hope of achieving freedom from the oppression of the empire. The first of these was established in the coastal fields of Setral, the kingdom of Set. The second was in the woods of modern Rael, which at the time stretched into Setral, known as the kingdom of Ral. The third to be founded was within the fields of Rael, by the family of El. The last and smallest was the Listerian Kingdom, founded by the Listerian family across the main islands of the Listerian Isles.

In 616 BFNE, a group of humans from the oak forests of Helianen arrived in the woods that linked Setral and Rael at the time and found comfort in the likeness to their home, settled there. They were led by one Valentine Ral, a logger who had found success in the Empire primarily due to his close friendship with the fae of the woods there. This was no different in the woods of Rael, and Valentine Ral very quickly hit off with King Titan, in what is described as the first royal inter-species polycule. Due to the more than friendly relationship between the leader of the refugees and the local fae, the refugees very quickly grew into a proper town: Faerest.

In 604 BFNE, a group of humans from the Generathian hills arrived in the rolling fields of modern Rael, led by a farmer from Generath by the name of Ainsley El, who had owned a large farming company in Generath until it was taken by dragonborn. She packed up and fled with her employees with the help of Faion, settling in the fertile ground of Rael. There they found the remnants of the Dragon Empire's prior settlements and took up residence, beginning to claim the land, and by 598 BFNE had established a small town by the name of Midfield.

The population of both towns blossomed and they entered into trade with each other, slowly expanding into multiple other towns in the land surrounding them. Valentine Ral was effectively immortal due to the effects of his fae spouses while Ainsley El was replaced by her son, Mark El in 567 BFNE. Much of the trade routes of the two groups relied on the access to Faion's travel magic provided by his abolitionists, and when the attacks of 528 BFNE occurred and Faionite travel magic became considerably more limited and insular due to the forced formation of the Faionite Order of Solarion, the trade routes faltered. This was resolved by the domestication of horses by Midfield, which created greatly boosted the impact of over-land trade for the groups, and also opened up trade with the kingdom of Set in what is now Setral. Furthermore, Midfield's access to coastline allowed them to make contact and official trade relations with the people of Herebeorg in what is now the Listerian Isles.

In 525 BFNE, urged by the Kingdom of Set, Valentine Ral created the Kingdom of Ral and began rapidly expanding with the limited help of the fae, creating a firm northern border to separate out the Dragon Empire from what was becoming the Faion Kingdoms. Shortly after, in 510 BFNE, Mark El also followed suit, forming the kingdom of El. The transition to Kingdoms also came with a major focus on expansion, and both kingdoms created numerous towns across their lands, inspired in part by the works of Ava Listerian's colonization efforts. The kingdoms had a strong focus on international relations to provide a unified front, and as such the border between the Kingdom of Ral and El were poorly defined, primarily being based upon the treeline of the great forest that the Ralians were within. Mark El was replaced by his 3 year old son following a horse riding accident, Arthur El in 506 BFNE. That same year, Queen Oberia had a child that was born of both King Titan and Valentine Ral, and was named Merlin Ral. Merlin was an incredible wizard and his works during his lifetime are the basis of much of wizard convention, specifically of the arcane variety. Arthur and Merlin became fast friends, and were officially wed in 487 BFNE.

In 450 BFNE, Stentuur was shattered by the Dragon Emperor, and many of it's residents fled to the twin kingdoms. One of the groups that fled was a druidic order led by Archdruid Solomon. While most of the Gramenistic druids returned to Empire lands, the druids of Solomon believed that there was a better path forward within the forests of the Kingdom of Ral, as he had been getting visits from a Wild God that resided there. The Wild God was the Elk of the Forest, and believed that the druids could become something greater than the cruel abusers of nature that Gramen was leading them to, especially as many of Solomon's order came from lineages that were involved in the first Dragon Caller's Guild, those that worked with nature instead of forcing it. Solomon founded the Circle of the Forest and settled in the Kingdom of Ral, partnering with Valentine Ral.

With the new-found druidic order in place, Valentine no longer needed to be the main point of contact between the Fae and the kingdoms, and as such retired to be with his lovers, bequeathing the crown upon Merlin. The date of his retirement is a well-known and celebrated holiday in the early part of the year known as Valentine's Day and is a celebration of love and relaxation. Merlin was immortal through his fae lineage and Arthur became immortal through the magics of Merlin, and in 435 BFNE, the pair merged the twin kingdoms into one: Rael, taking the name of the country as their own, the capital moving to the city of Lakenside.

### The Kingdom of Rael (435 BFNE- 0 BFNE)

Merlin and Arthur became the Lover Kings of Rael and their reign was welcomed by the populace. To assist them, Merlin recruited the Circle of the Forest in an official capacity, helping ensure that the kingdom maintained nature and harmony with both the world and the fae. Arthur meanwhile, officially recruited the Faionite Order of Solarion, a religious order that controlled the travel magic within the kingdoms to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Dragon Empire, into helping the interconnectedness of the kingdoms. This led to the spread of druidism within the Twin Kingdoms.

While the population capital remained in the kingdom of Set, the shift of power was noticeable and many considered the Lover Kings to be the head of the Faion Kingdoms, and they were the ones that were approached by the Nightborne Empire to begin the aggressions into the Dragon Empire's lands in 415 BFNE, but not much was done until around 300 BFNE, with the Kingdom primarily expanding and reinforcing it's own military capabilities as well as creating plans with the Kingdom of Set and the Listerian Kingdom. Not wishing to be a part of their violence, the Circle of the Forest left the Kingdom of Rael in 312 BFNE, moving to Meder to be with the Wild Gods there. A large number of the druidic population also moved with them.

Rael's place in the aggression was primarily of the magical variety. The combined might of the mages that had studied from the writings of Merlin, who at the time was one of the most renowned wizards of the time, the remaining druids, and the Faionite Order of Solarion allowed for extremely powerful infantry forces, primarily used for defeating the initial resistance groups sent by the Dragon Empire while the Kingdom of Set's forces secured land and freed dragon-made. As such, even with the chronomancy of the Nightborne, the Kingdom of Rael suffered the greatest losses during the period.

Merlin and Arthur were directly present during the era of the dragon-made rebellions of 200 BFNE, assisting with freeing the greatest population of Giants and Centaurs from Helianen and Generath by killing the Primes guarding them through a combination of Merlin's incredibly powerful magic and a legendary sword, which was given to Arthur by King Titan before the aggressions began and augmented by both the Nightborne and the Faionite Order, known as Excalibur.

In March 15th, 145 BFNE, Merlin and Arthur were also victims to the assassin that claimed the lives of the rest of the Faion rulers. Unlike the rest, however, Merlin and Arthur managed to just barely survive and went into hiding, vanishing into the Feywild. As with the other kingdoms, Grandmaster Loren of the Faionite Order of Solarion took direct military control of the Kingdom of Rael to ensure that the nation did not collapse and that the war effort was able to continue. Merlin and Arthur, now hidden in the Feywild, spent the next 45 years secretly assisting with the war effort and gathering allies from within the Empire.

On June 17th, 100 BFNE, the Dragon Emperor was driven into a rampage by an unknown force. He flew across the Empire, decimating much of it before turning around and heading south to obliterate the Faion. However, unbeknownst to him, the time spent across Empire-lands gave Merlin and Arthur enough time to respond. They united with the Guardian Order of the time, specifically the members of it that were not willing to stand by while the Emperor decimated all that they had built. They had planned on attacking him in Helianen, but their efforts were barely noticed by the God. However, when he landed and began to kill every single person in Setral, they began a more drastic course of action.

Merlin had told Arthur, along with the the majority of the Guardians, Grandmaster Loren, and other powerful heroes of the time directly fight the Emperor, while they would provide covering fire. Secretly Merlin, with the assistance of Zandil (Guardian of Runes), Amazial (Guardian of Earth), and Megra (Guardian of Fire), began to shatter the very land of Setral. They cracked the crust, pulling magma from the depths of the planet to the surface. They burnt away the land, and shattered the bedrock, dragging the Emperor into the planet. As Arthur and the survivors retreated, horrified at the devastation wrought by the spell, they began to seal the Emperor. The Emperor made one final attempt at violence, lashing out with one of his hundreds of heads at Merlin, a beam of golden dragon fire lashing out. One that Arthur stopped at the cost of his life, taking the blast for his lover, Excalibur being lost to the shifting ground and bubbling lava as the Emperor was subsumed by the earth.

At first, it seemed like it would be enough, that the Emperor was unable to break free. However, as the ground began to churn and the beast raged beneath the earth, Merlin sacrificed his life for one final spell. He extended his immense magic reserves into Gaea herself, and injured her where Setral was with a massive blast of cursed magic. The Emperor was pacified by this blast, forced into regenerating, but as Merlin collapsed, he found that he could not regenerate as Gaea attempted to heal herself and Merlin's curse ate away at it, for Gaea began to digest the Emperor's spirit to repair herself. Merlin had calculated it exactly, and Gaea will never be able to heal the wound on Setral and the Emperor will always remain raging and trapped as his regeneration just barely keeps pace.

In the end, all of Setral was decimated. Miles of shoreline was lost, and the previously fertile plains were sunken into a valley of lava and ash that encompassed more than a third of what the kingdom of Rael, the crater separating the devastation from the surviving lands of the Faion with the aftershock creating the Jagged Row of Rael's south coast. However, the cloud of ash and smoke from the shattered land's creation dealt devastating environmental effects on the kingdom of Rael and the surrounding lands and waters, decimating the breadbasket of the Faion and forcing many of to flee to other lands.

### The Caravans of Rael (0 BFNE- 300 AFNE)

These survivors remained within Rael for a single, unifying reason: Faith. While the rest fled to the Listerian Kingdoms, to the welcoming arms of the Unified Republic of Amunists, the remainders of the Faionite Order of Solarion refused to give up their faith so easily, and remained upon their lands. They came caravans not out of faith, but out of necessity. The plagues unleashed upon the Faion mainlands were strong, spreading from person to person with ease, driving their infected mad and forcing them to roam until they collapsed, spreading their infection with them. Pillars of corrupted earth and broken flesh rose from the ground across the land for the first 200 years, seeding the very plants and animals with the infection, making drinking of the water itself dangerous. The worst, however, were the pestilence-bearers. While the later victims of the plagues, the infected, were driven to roam the fields, they were aimless, shambling corpses that had no coordination. They existed solely to spread the plague, but had no internal thoughts, no higher thinking as their spirits had already moved onto the Eternal Isles. This was not the case for the victims of the First Plague .

The First Plague struck shortly after the beginning of 50 BFNE within Lakenside, a grand pillar that pierced through the stone of the city and spread it's horror amongst the remaining populace. This was devastating for the remaining residents of the city, those that had chosen not to flee 50 years prior, of which there was but a mere fraction of the old population, numbering roughly at about 3,000. This first, original, scion of the plagues was pure, refined, a masterpiece. It corrupted to the very spirit of it's victim, rotting away at their essence, and twisting them into it's agents. The victims of the First Plague, much like those of the latter ones, were driven to spread it. Unlike the latter victims, they retained their intelligence, making them far more dangerous. They were able to synchronize with other infected as one great pestilence, unified in action and mind., capable of calling up more pillars to help spread their filth. This made them infinitely more dangerous, and made it impossible to secure a location, making a nomadic lifestyle vital.

Another major cultural element for Solarionites did manifest during this time, and that is the usage of guns. Originally created in Al'daj around 200 BFNE due to their ease of use and incredible effectiveness against magi, guns were originally a form of wand that simply launched a physical projectile via magic. The Al'dajians further refined them into fire-arms, guns that utilize an explosive powder of some variety (whether enchanted or found) to allow their usage within anti-magic zones. For the Solarionites, however, the major advantage was in the first iteration, for they were cheap and incredibly simple to use and most importantly: 'sanitary'. Blades required one to directly stab their target, which increased the risk for infection greatly, while arrows were expensive and, if recovered, contaminated. A gun could kill an infected incredibly quickly and the mana cost of creating the projectile and firing it was incredibly cheap for the magically-talented Solarionites, members and descendants of an order of magical warriors. Guns became a staple of Solarionites for centuries to come, a case of convergent evolution with their patron god.

For the first 200 years of the plagues, well into the second century AFNE, the Solarionites fought a war against the plagues, their population remaining a very steady 2,000 individuals, descendants of the Faionite Order, now known as Solarians. Numerous died, but their ranks were replaced, the magic becoming ever more concentrated. In March of 257 AFNE, the last of the Pestilence-bringers fell. By 270 AFNE, the last of the pillars fell. By 300 AFNE, Solarion-adherents from the URA and others began to return, resettling their ancestral land under the guidance of the Solarians and with the assistance of the Union of Labor. The Raelian People's Council was founded by the new-comers, heavily guided by the mutualistic nature of the Solarians and the Union of Labor.

### The Raelian People's Council (300 AFNE - 600 AFNE)

The Raelian People's Council established it's capital on the coast, primarily due to the heavy assistance from the Union of Labor, named Phamton (for the Union member that drove them to establish themselves). From here, the People's Council became an intermediary between the Union of Labor and the Solarians, assisting with distributing the people and workforce to where they need to be to ensure a smooth establishment. Over the following century, the leadership of the Council shifted into a more centralized and focused state, separate from the Union of Labor. This Central Council, as it had become known, became a powerful force that heavily influenced the distribution of wealth across Rael.

Around 400 AFNE, numerous noble families from the Second Dragon Caller's Guild utilized their quite heavy funds to purchase control of the Central Council, primarily through buying out and blackmailing much of the holders there. This action was secretive and furtive until 402 AFNE, when papers leaked that revealed this control. At this point, the Second Dragon Caller's Guild had effectively vassalized the People's Council and established a fairly strong military presence within. A brief bout of riots occurred, but were quickly decimated. Two separate resistances formed almost immediately as well.

The first to form was that of the Solarians and other Solarionites. The Solarians were direct descendants of those that had seen the suffering unleashed by despots and wished to avoid that fate again. Furthermore, the Dragon Caller's Guild was heavily Amunist and had a strong distaste for Solarionites. There was no open legal persecution, but the tension was prominent and violence was high. The Solarians assisted with those that wanted to escape Phamton and the other areas of the People's Council, moving them into the Deep Wood and the Faion Fields as well as hurting the trade done between the People's Council and other nations, forcing naval trade due to the lack of reliable travel magic.

The second, and infinitely more direct group, was formed as a direct cause of the influx of naval trade. The vassalized People's Council heavily cut the welfare benefits of their naval workers in exchange for a meager commission that sounded far better on paper than it was and far higher quotas, and by 405 AFNE, many sailors found themselves struggling for money or out of a job, with a lot of time on their hands and a fire in their hearts. They began a resistance cell, known as the Pirate Armada of Far'sooth, named after their founder. The Pirate Armada was a terror, filled with skilled shiphands and small, cheap attackcraft, they attacked random naval trade around Rael from their headquarters within the Swamps of Wight.

At first, the two rebellions did not agree on their methods, as the Solarians preferred a quieter and less direct method, one that involved less casualties, while the Armada believed that the Guild would not listen if there wasn't any blood in the water. This split in ideology led to Rael to a state of quiet rebellion for most of the 5th century, with the Solarians and Armada both not being potent enough to create a large enough threat to oust the Guild. In the 6th century however, the two rebellions decided to settle their differences, with the Solarians accepting that violence is often times required to remove an oppressor and the Armada coming to the rare conclusion that maybe blowing up random vessels is oft times more harm than good. This partnership rapidly launched the rebellion into speed, and they began to cripple the economy of the People's Council, even orchestrating numerous assassinations on guildmembers within Everntrey with the help of a magemade, an old Faionite mana-golem formed through a coven of mages giving up their spirits.

In 603 AFNE, the Guild brought it's army to Rael to squash the rebellion in one fell swoop. They issued a challenge to the rebels, promising to start killing citizens that they had imprisoned for connections to the rebellion if they did not surrender or face them in an open field of combat. The messenger was killed, his head found inside the toilet bowl of one of the councilmen's chambers. Enraged, the Guild moved to start executing prisoners, but found their prisons empty. While the army began to mobilize to try to strike against the rebels, attacks occurred within Everntrey. Furthermore, the army began to fall to naval bombardments, empowered by travel magic. Within a year, the Guild was staggered and exhausted. By 605 AFNE, the Guild's presence was sundered and by 607 AFNE, the People's Council was dissolved as the Guild began to collapse.

### The United Raelian State (607 AFNE-Present)

The People's Council was firstly replaced by three separate governments: The Solarian Order, the Armada of Far'Sooth (now under the leadership of a different Far'sooth, a Vrokian who took the name as guided by the Harmony), and the Coastal Coalition. Refusing to maintain a position of national power, the Solarian Order quickly passed power to the elected representatives of the cities within the Faion Fields, establishing the Fields Republic. The Armada controlled much of the maritime trade and oceans while the Coastal Coalition was formed from the military mayors of the cities that were formerly beholden to the People's Council, headquartered in the city of Softhern. As the Armada only profited when trade occurred from the Coastal Coalition and the Coastal Coalition was heavily dependent on the Republic's food supplies to continue functioning, a large push was made to unite the three factions into one. However, wary of concentrating power once more, the Raelians chose instead to former the Unified Raelian State, separating the power across the Republic, Coalition, and Armada, each taking their share of the economy, military, and power. As a central meeting point, the URS took Phamton, repurposing it to be a central hall of their parliament to allow for cooperation from the ashes of their oppressors.

Much of the following century was devoted to rebuilding and expanding. Rael was without major trade partners in Auron due to the pressure of Helianen and the Amunist Church, but it's access to top-tier travel magic and experienced shiphands allowed a major boom in naval trade with the blossoming and booming Corinthia, linking them vitally together. By 700 AFNE, when the Third Dragon Caller formed alongside the Concordant, the Raelians expected a fight but were pleasantly surprised by an increase trade that made them less reliant on Corinthia.

When the Twilight War struck, Rael was not a primary focus, but it's heavy population did still cause quite heavy fighting, with many of the minor farming communities falling victim to the demonic assault. During this time, the military of the Republic boomed heavily in response, making it have a significantly larger military than the Coalition and Armada, but post-War, the military sloped back down as people returned to their homes.

When Avian sunk, many of it's people fled to Rael, creating a community west of Softhern by the name of New Avian. A small community, it is the last remaining relic of Avian culture from before the country sunk beneath the waves.

During the Tenuemic War, Rael was a hotspot of conflict, primarily due to it's small isolated communities, and many died, forcing the population into larger cities. However, during this time, the Church of Tides, a previously minor religion from the Swamps of Wight, quickly rose to success as it was able to provide shelter to much of the north east of Rael. Following the Twilight War, many Solarionites converted. This also created a split sect of Solarionism that featured the tides as another representative for the unbound freedom that the faith prioritizes.

Furthermore, during the Twilight War, Solarion was released back into the world, his tomb cracked open by the wave of Eldritch magic from Sanctus entering reality, and following a few odd months, he returned to his position as god-head of Solarionism. Over the centuries, Solarionism had shifted greatly from being a faith that worshipped Solarion to an ideology of unbound freedom, but the return of Solarion created a massive resurgence of worship within the people, one that was spear-headed by Jodie Macbeth who is the Star-Mother of Solarionism.

During recent years, Rael has slowly, but steadily, become a fully functioning country. They have restored trade agreements with most of the world and allied themselves closely with the Corinthian Port Empire and the Listerian Isles. The value provided by Solarian travel mages for the transport of non-magical goods is undeniable and is integral to the continued survival of many nations. Avoiding being heavily active on the world-wide political front, Rael has primarily focused on stabilizing it's own three-state solution as well as cooperating with The Listerian Isles, Setral, and Stentuur to ensure stability on the South Coast.

## Locations

### The Marshes of Wight

* Aruial- the new capital of Rael, run by pirate emperor far'sooth and has a chokehold on the Broken Coast, unfortunately for it, no one else in Rael really cares about the government
* Monastery of the Tides- Home to the Tide-goddess's worshippers, a religion that has only grown bigger following the Eldritch Invasion as the Oceans offered much protection from the undead
* Raelreach- the old Everntreyan fort from their attempt at colonization, now used by archeologists to investigate the Marshes of Wight as that is where the Hespern settled in Rael

### The Coast

* Phamton- the old capital of Rael, still home to King Salmon and the Parliament, but now even less powerful since Far'sooth left and took his entire military with it
* Softhern- CPE port town, home to a massive art musuem and a very valuable bank, guarded by Peter Christ's Goldrunner (which is a ship with basically a magic surface to anywhere missile attached)

### The Faion Fields

* The Standing Stones- old Hespern magic ruins, haunted and cause psychic delusions, Heru was made near here by harvesting some of the magical power off of it
* Poliant's Respite- built near Poliant's hearth by the few survivors, is now one of the biggest towns in the Faion Fields due to its central location

### The Deepwood

* Fo'neuani- the only permanent settlement of the Centaurs that is used to host their Herdmeetings
* Agriplam- Storjryan Outpost
* The Gatherin Place- Where the Caravaneers meet in the case of emergencies
* Dreamisle- An island inhabitated by merpeople and covered in plants that cause hallucinations to most non-merpeople
* Drasumarai- Druidic settlement in the Deepwood to commune with the nature spirits in this place