Talios

Map of Talios

## Common Knowledge

Just west of the Binturian Forest, the great and old nation of Talios rests, its content, sometimes-vindictive people quietly living their own lives. This vindictiveness occasionally gets the better of its people, as it nearly plunged Orelisle into war not long ago (Spring, 10,019).

## Topography and Climate

Much like the areas surrounding it, Talios hosts a number of large, dense forests and temperate climes.

## Population

Most Talios natives are Human, with the occasional Elf, Dwarf, or non-Human eking their way through life. Many people born in Talios have slight tendencies towards xenophobia.

## Exports and Trades

Talios is famed for its music and works of art, though it more commonly exports beef and dairy products.

## Government

Talios is an oligarchical monarchy. Lesser barons from across Talios form a council, which advises and aids the King. The King is also aided, albeit less than he is by the barons, by the Order of the Ravens, a group of mages dedicated to offering magically-conscious advice. King Gwynn, a quiet forty-something Human with the poise of a knight and the concerns of a politician, currently holds the throne. Talios is subdivided into 16 precincts, each with a standing army for self-defense.

### Military

Ignoring city guards and organized militias, the Talios military operates under a strict hierarchy. As expected of a monarchy, the King holds absolute authority over the military, its organization, and its operations. Just below the King sits their Lord Marshal, who also wields supreme authority of the military, but is more directly focused on its management. The Lord Marshall commands a number of Grand Marshals, who in turn manage the military’s operations in different theaters within and occasionally outside Talios.

Each Grand Marshal commands a number of Field Marshals, each of which controls a Corp of soldiers varying in size between 50,000 and 100,000 soldiers. Corps are further subdivided into: Legions of about 6000 soldiers commanded by a Marshal; Brigades of about 4000 soldiers commanded by a Brigadier; Regiments of about 1000 soldiers commanded by a Colonel; Battalions of about 500 soldiers commanded by a Major; Companies of about 100 soldiers commanded by a Captain and a First Lieutenant; Platoons of about 44 soldiers commanded by a Lieutenant; a Squad of about 15 soldiers commanded by a Sergeant; and a Firing Team of 5 or 6 soldiers commanded by a Corporal.

Talios relies more heavily on martial than arcane prowess, with strictly mundane soldiers far outnumbering the magically-apt. In spite of its massive, organized military, Talios tends to stray away from fully committing to war, instead of trying to resolve issues diplomatically. Even crimes committed by foreigners within Talios are investigated fully and handled by the royal investigative and law enforcement branch, Talios Yard, before military action is taken.

## Social Hierarchy and Culture

Culturally, the folk of Talios are a solemn people largely content with their lives without interruption. This focus on maintaining the status quo can be brought out in their occasional xenophobic tendencies, but ironically they reserve most hatred for their racially-similar neighbor country: Aiur. For centuries, Aiur and Talios have been the most bitter enemies, even down to the commoners. This hatred can manifest in outright aggression, as in 10,019 when Talios nearly started a world war by attacking Aiur during a period of political upheaval, or in incomprehensibly petty forms, as with the comically-abbreviated “Annual Irregular Undoing of the Rind competition”. This particular holiday, its origin, and its play is elaborated on later, under the ‘A.I.U.R. Competition’ heading.

Talios celebrates many other holidays, when their otherwise reserved nature takes a backseat to a genuine excuse for merriment. The founding holiday of Azalea Day sees participants dressed in red, as a sign of respect to those who fell during King Talion’s struggle to unify and found Talios (see ‘Founding and History’), so named for Talion’s second daughter’s favorite flower. Floating Petal Day, by comparison, is a jubilant celebration of spending time with loved ones and exchanging gifts. Though romantic love is the most frequently celebrated, Floating Petal Day celebrates familial and platonic love as well. The annual Harvest Festival celebrates exactly what it sounds like it would celebrate: a bountiful harvest and thanking both the hard labor of the farmers and the generosity of the gods for the bounty of food for the rest of the year.

Talios also values smaller festivals, such as the Quadrennial Bardic Competition at the National Art Museum of Talios in the Zafiro Precinct. National and cultural landmarks also include: the Talian Edible Arts Museum (TEAM), where the A.I.U.R Competition is held; Lamester Larchen’s Academy of the Musical Arts (LLAMA); the Archive of Talios’ Historical Records (AoTHR); and Requiem Meadow, the largest and most famous cemetery dedicated to fallen heroes of Talios.

### A.I.U.R. Competition

An unnamed Talian man, drafted into an Aiurian border war, got bored on the frontlines and began carving up a heap of medium-hard parmesan cheese cube rations with his comrades. They began to compete amongst each other for the best carved cheese cubes, and a visiting supplier remarked that the cubes resembled Aiur itself. Regardless of whether the supplier was correct, they began to spread the story of a cheese-carving competition. Over the years, it has evolved from a military-exclusive mockery of the enemy to a nationwide form of artistic expression almost wholly disconnected from Aiur itself.

Contestants in the Annual Irregular Undoing of the Rind (AIUR) Competition receive a perfectly symmetrical cube of medium-hard cheese, usually parmesan, and spend the next 20 to 30 minutes carving the cheese into the most beautifully asymmetric and imperfect sculpture possible, with as few unused scraps as possible. At the end, the sculptures are judged by their creativity, asymmetry, and craftsmanship, with unused scraps deducting points. Depending on the strictness of the competition, contestants may use their hands and spatulas or may only use survival knives and combat daggers to mimic the original competition. Some more lenient rulesets use softer cheeses and contestants rely more heavily on their hands than anything else.

### Zafiro

Home of the capital, the most politically and economically important precinct in Talios. Home of the National Art Museum of Talios.

### Rubini

Home of the Talian Edible Arts Museum (TEAM), where the A.I.U.R. Competition is held.

### Frontier

The easternmost precinct, sharing a border with Binturia. Frontier offers a significant buffer between Talios proper and the magical maelstrom that is Binturia during summer and winter

## Alliances

Though Talios trades with just about any country that isn’t Aiur, its main allies include: Cathais; Brennon; and the Arlaven Glades.

## Enemy Countries

Talios is not presently at war with any other country, and sits on the Orelisian Council to avoid more bloodshed. That said, it staunchly dislikes Aiur, and given the opportunity may push for another all-out war with them if the threat of continental destruction could be avoided. Due to the nature of this connection, Talios is slightly at-odds with Aiur’s allies: Kuragma; Oscoria; Taphran; Marujai; and the United Sanctuaries of Orelisle.

## Founding and History

Long ago, the land that would become Talios was peopled by the Lumberel Clan, engaged in a bloody feud with the nearby Reclilt Clan in what would become Aiur. The Lumberals slowly lost ground, inch by inch, until the intervention of violent the violent animal-mortal hybrids known as the Chimera. Created by the necromancer Salabon Aeglosson, the Chimeras were unleashed upon the battlefield before Aeglosson could learn to properly train them, and they massacred thousands on both sides. The Reclilt clan surrendered, not wanting to face such horrid monstrosities, and retreated for a time. The ruling council of Lumberel treated Aeglosson as a scapegoat, arresting, trying, and executing him for his crimes against Lumberel, its people, and nature itself. Aeglosson himself, furious at his execution when he himself warned the council that the Chimeras were not yet ready for implementation, bound his soul to his buried research notes in what would become the town of Carcon.

Shortly following what would come to be called the Chimera Incident, the Lumberel clan emerged victorious over the Reclilt clan and reached a short-lived peace. Soon, however, the Lumberel were engaged in a two-front war. On one side, the freshly-formed tyrannical nation of Aiur, born from the ashes of the Reclilt clan, returned to exact their vengeance. On the other, the First Meztec Empire (which later collapsed under the weight of slave revolts) poured out through the Binturian Forest to conquer the Lumberel. It was into this hellish age that Talion — a brilliant, talented, and wise soldier — was born. Though he quickly rose to the rank of general in the Lumberel’s military, he realized that the war was ultimately an unwinnable one in the clan’s current condition. Meanwhile, Lumberel Councilman Droran, a devilish friend of Talion, seized the opportunities the war presented him, and made a deal with the Aiurian tyrant: If Droran could convince the Council to join Aiur, Aiur would grant Droran unimaginable wealth.

The Lumberel nearly accepted Droran’s proposal, as their morale had been nearly ground into dust by a decades-long war. Talion went to visit Droran as a friend, but upon discovering a document detailing Droran’s treachery he marched to the Council bearing the incriminating letters in one hand and his former friend’s head in the other. Inspired by the near-collapse of his homeland, Talion delivered to the Council a rousing speech that would come to be known as “The Litany of the Restoration”. As the scribes spread his words and they rejuvenated the Lumberel, the Council declared Talion to be their long-awaited king and retroactively attributed any prophecies to his ascension. So began the rule of Talion, the Iron Emperor.

As one of his first acts, King Talion dispatched spies throughout Aiur on a mission of slander. Knowing him to be a great and proud fool, the spies spread the rumor that Talion could easily defeat the Aiurian Emperor in a duel. As over-dramatic shows of strength, Talion appeared to his new public wearing massive, spike-covered, showy plate armor. He also enchanted his sword to be able to annihilate any armor it touched. When the Aiurian Emperor challenged him to a duel, Talion knew his victory was sealed. Not one to allow the promise of success to blind him, though, Talion had his wife Joanna and her fellow mages magically conceal the enchantment upon his sword and make it appear mundane to the most discerning eye and detection spell. Detection magic and armor enchantments were illegal in Aiur during this time, but Talion felt he could not be too careful.

Prior to the battle, the Aiurians and Talians each inspected the other champion’s armor and weapons. When neither side found a trace of magic, the duel began. Talion easily maneuvered around the Emperor’s sluggish attacks, and his blow to the Emperor’s back destroyed and rusted the Emperor’s armor while cutting the man himself down in a single strike. Seizing upon the ensuing confusion, Talion called upon his own armies and ended the first Aiurian border war in a single decisive surprise attack. As the Aiurian nobility scrambled to replace their emperor and hide their own embarrassment, Talion turned his attention eastward and fought the Meztec to a standstill. After drawing out a stalemate until the Meztec’s system imploded, he served a long reign over the newly-formed Talios and ushered his people into a new golden age.

Talion passed shortly after the sudden loss of her second daughter, most commonly attributed to grief. Some myths whisper that Talion and his daughter offered their lives to an immortal being to ensure the prosperity of Talios; that even if it fell in name it would never fall in spirit. Regardless of any rumors, Talion’s son rose to the throne on his father’s death. Joanna aided her son during his rule, and founded the Order of the Raven — after her late husband’s favorite animal — to aid all of Talion’s ruling children for generations to come. Though modern texts depict Talion as god-chosen, or even directly descended from gods, most of the truth has been lost to time.

In recent history, a man looking to defeat encroaching Aiurian armies rediscovered the research of Salabon Aeglosson, but found little success in weaponizing Chimeras. Carcon was obliterated by Chimeras, but some say that Aeglosson’s notes found their way into the possession of a Binturian. The veracity of these claims is, naturally, anyone’s guess.

In the Spring of 10,018, Talios nearly went to war with the nascent Oscoria for war crimes committed by a single Oscorian operative on their border. Tensions were averted through diplomacy, and Talios was forced to recognize Oscoria as a nation. In the Spring of 10,019, Talios nearly plunged all of Orelisle into war by invading Aiur. This continental war was averted by the work of the Binturian Party, and the re-establishment of the Orelisian Council.