Eöstrend

### Intro

Eöstrend is an ancient human realm, native to the continent. A land filled with forests, fields, and lakes Eöstrend has close ties to nature, with a very druidic culture and an economy that focuses on using natural resources in a careful way in order to maintain balance. They also have access to the northern sea. They are militaristic but focus on technology and prowess over numbers. They also have a connection to the Feywild, due to a permanent portal there, and other routes into it throughout the realm.

The capital of Eöstrend is Ardobriga and the current ruler is High Queen Venixima.

### History

#### Origins

Eöstrend is the second oldest human realm on the continent. It was founded approximately 950 years before the founding of Dreotha and the Elvish Empire. The historical records going back that far are sparse, but the people of Eöstrend are thought to have arrived on the continent around 5000 years before the Dreothans, by way of a land bridge that connected the Dreothan continent to the island of Aivuria, and from there to the continent of Ekix. The Ekixians crossed this bridge from Ekix to Aivuria, where some of them remained. The rest traversed to what is now the continent of Dreotha. There they formed various tribes and clans. Around 1000 years before the founding of Dreotha, a group of tribes united to form the realm of Hyldsorn. A few decades later, the remaining tribes formed the realm of Eöstrend. Since they predate the Dreothans, the peoples of Hyldsorn, Eöstrend, and Aivuria refer to the continent as Vilithea, which was their original name for it.

#### Early Years

Unlike their neighbor Hyldsorn, which began immediately as a unified realm, the peoples of Eöstrend instead elected to form a sort of confederacy of clans. Each individual clan was led by a chieftain whose role was hereditary. The chieftains would meet regularly at the Chief’s Moot to make centralized decisions for the realm. Over the years, some clans dwindled out and others combined with one another. At times, they even fought and conquered each other.

This internal strife kept Eöstrend too preoccupied to concern itself with foreign affairs, and stayed relatively isolated.

#### Founding of Dreotha and the Elvish Empire

When the human and elvish expeditions arrived on the continent to form what would be the Realm of Dreotha and the Elvish Empire, the Eöstrendi advised their neighbors the Hyldornians that they expel the new settlers. However, Hyldsorn had had good relations with newcomers in the past, so they declined to consider it. This led to strife within Eöstrend, as the Siromos and Tarvanus clans wished to attack the Dreothans regardless of the wishes of the Hyldsornians or of the other clans.

#### Partial Centralization

Strife between the clans reached a head when the Siromos clan began conscripting soldiers from other clans. This was seen as a major violation of those clan’s sovereignty, and almost let to a full-scale civil war. Paradoxically, in order to preserve the independence of the clans, the people of Eöstrend determined they needed a stronger central authority. They decided to elect a High Chieftain who would rule all of Eöstrend. However, this High Chieftain would only serve for 5 years at a time until another must be elected.

When the clans elected the first High Chieftain, they also ratified a central code of laws that would enshrine the remaining clans as independent sovereign entities in perpetuity, and made it illegal for any one clan to go to war with another. They also made it illegal for any clan to go to war at all, and decided that only a unanimous vote of the Chief’s Moot and approval of the High Chieftain could approve a declaration of war. The High Chieftain’s seat in the city of Ardobriga, and the individual clans headquartered at the other large cities.

#### War with Jormoth

500 years after the founding of Dreotha, the realm of Jormoth was founded. Tensions immediately rose between the Hyldsornians and Eöstrendi on one side, and the Jormothans on the other. Total control of the northern sea was at stake, as Jormoth wished to claim it entirely, in defiance of the previous de facto policy of leaving it open to anyone. After Hyldsorn declared war on Jormoth, the High Chieftain of Eöstrend called the Chief’s Moot to meet, and they unanimously approved a declaration of war as well. Together, Hyldsorn and Eöstrend easily defeated the fledgling Jormoth’s forces, and accepted King Jorm’s reluctant surrender. Leaving Jormoth to its business now that the threat was neutralized, Eöstrend again turned away from foreign affairs.

#### The Shattering

The fall of Dreotha and the Elvish Empire caused major economic concerns for Hyldsorn, who had come to rely on trade with both of them. Furthermore, during the Shattering and Jormoth’s Jormoth's subsequent landgrab, the Jormothans again moved to attain near-total control of the maritime trade routes. This time much stronger, the Eöstrendi and their Hyldsornian neighbors saw Jormoth as too powerful to oppose militarily. As such, they were forced to enter into complex trade agreements with Jormoth. Relations remained strained to this day, though the

two realms begrudgingly accept partial dependence on one another.

### Government

#### Overview:

Eöstrend is a confederacy of semi-independent clans, with a limited centralized government. Each clan is ruled by a hereditary chieftain and maintains some of its own laws and customs. The chieftains of all of the clans meet together as the Chief’s Moot to vote on major central decisions. To oversee the Moot, every 5 years a High Chieftain is elected from among them. Election of the High Chieftain is a special ceremony that takes place in the sacred city of Nemeturos, as opposed to in the capital of Ardobriga. The High Chieftain is styled as “High Queen” or “High King” and is given limited additional powers for the duration of their term. Once a clan’s chieftain has served in this role, that clan may not hold the position again for at least 15 years.

The High Chieftain has authority to make many day-to-day decisions to maintain the continuity of Eöstrend as a unified realm. They have some diplomatic authority, but may not declare war. A war must be approved by a unanimous vote of the Chief’s Moot. Once it is declared, the High Chieftain’s power is significantly increased for the duration of the war or until their term ends. If their term ends during the war, the next High Chieftain automatically attains wartime powers and continues where the previous High Chieftain left off.

#### Clans:

Each clan controls a region of the realm, and has a major city where it is headquartered. Each such city is named after the clan that rules it. There is also a central, neutral region which contains the capital of Ardobriga, the sacred city of Nemeturos, and The Boundless Glade which surrounds Nemeturos.

The clans are:

* Tarvanus
* Embrekton
* Siromos
* Uxellis
* Marvosium
* Avaralek
* Bektosius
* Runuos
* Eravis
* Vercingos

### Authorities and Organizations

#### The Chief’s Moot

The Chief’s Moot is the collection of the 10 individual clan chieftains, one of whom is a stand-in chosen by its true chief while that individual serves as High Chieftain. The Chief’s Moot meets at least once a year to make major decisions and grant the High Chieftain the authorities that they require to conduct business for the following year. The Chief’s Moot also, once every 5 years, elects the High Chieftain from among them. When the High Chieftain is elected, that individual appoints a stand-in (often their heir, but not necessarily) to serve in their stead while they serve as High Chieftain.

#### The Clan-Wardens

Clan-Wardens are elite warriors who serve each of the clan chieftains. They are separate from the military and are utilized for any special missions the clan chieftain requires. They also guard the chieftain and the location of their official Seat.

#### The Wanderers

The Wanderers are a group of highly knowledgeable and skilled practitioners who have an extensive understanding of the nature of both the material plane and the Feywild. Most Wanderers are either druids or rangers. They serve many roles, from helping protect the High Chieftain, to overseeing religious ceremonies, to going on expeditions into the Feywild. They have their own secret internal hierarchy and choose a leader from among them, who has no official title, but is often referred to colloquially as the Archdruid.

#### Military

Each clan maintains its own small military force, which it can deploy as it wishes within its own borders. However, no clan may declare a war on its own and may only go to war when the Chief’s Moot votes unanimously that all clans will do so. When this happens, command of the soldiers of each clan is transferred to the High Chieftain for the duration of the war. Each clan must also send a contingent every 5 years to serve as part of the High Chieftain’s personal force, so that this is not made up only of soldiers from their own clan.

#### Religion

The religion of Eöstrend was originally that of its Ekixian ancestors: reverence for the primal elements and the spirits associated with them. However, the land of Eöstrend had so much natural beauty and a close tie with the Feywild, that this evolved over time into a more druidic and nature-focused faith. Through their wanderings in the Feywild the Eöstrendi learned from its inhabitants about the gods of nature: Sylvanus and Chauntea, as well as the lesser deities of the nature domain. Many Eöstrendi worship these gods, while others worship members of the Seelie Court from the Feywild itself. Some individuals still follow the ancient elemental religion of Ekixia, and such individuals will often make pilgrimages to Hyldsorn to visit Myrskala and the other elemental altars. There are also followers of some of Dreotha’s popular deities such as  Lathander.

As part of Eöstrend’s sacred connection to the Feywild, there are frequent expeditions into that realm to speak with its denizens and learn its mysteries. Only the most skilled of the Wanderers are sent on such quests, as the Feywild is known to be potentially perilous to mortals.

### Important Locations

#### Ardobriga

Ardobriga is the capital city, located in neutral territory not controlled by any one clan. It is the seat of the High Chieftain and home to anyone currently serving them directly. Compared to most capital cities, it is relatively small since it does not have its own population of permanent residents. Only the High Chieftain, their Clan-Wardens, some of the Wanderers, and anyone else helping to run the central government lives there, and usually only for a few years at a time. There are also many visitors to Ardobriga at any given time as many people travel for an audience with the High Chieftain or the Chief’s Moot.

#### Nemeturos

The sacred city of Nemeturos is at the center of the Boundless Glade and is headquarters of the Wanderers. It is less of a city and more of a large temple. It is where the Chief’s Moot meets once every 5 years to elect the High Chieftain. It is also the home of a permanent portal to the Feywild, as well as altars to important nature deities.

#### The Boundless Glade

The Boundless Glade is a large forest surrounding Nemeturos. The glade is very dense and difficult to navigate. It has strange magical properties: the area within it is more than its borders appear to contain, and its layout seems to change at random. There are also locations where the material plane bleeds into the Feywild. A careless adventurer wandering aimlessly through the Glade might suddenly find themselves on another plane of existence.