Borean League

## Heraldry

Borean Feathers, an homage to Elemoryatar

The **Borean League** was a Pracian hegemony under the Pontifect's discretion. The time frame of the Borean League's existence is sometimes referred to as the **Borean Period**, an interval of about five centuries in which Cisteria was divided into increasingly balkanized feudal communities. By the end of the Borean League, elves had all but disappeared, Jade-bloods were dominant, and merchant republics were the driving economic force in the Old World. The Jade House of Lords characterized the later Borean Period.

The elves of Prace had already begun to form a sort of feudal society after revolting against the Olivian Army in CE 149 successfully. From there, pure elves maintained a strict rule over their *half-elf* brethren. However, in less than thirty years, a growing state of Falchios based on the island of Arendor and Lorendor that had amassed great wealth during Olivian occupation faced a succession crisis. The intervention of Velzar led to the creation of the Pontifect, and the first "bundles of reeds" were loaned to fledgling rulers across Prace to help heal the wounds of martial oppression. This action in CE 184 began what is known as the Borean League.

## Origin and recognition

The term "Borean" usually refers to *bore*, the North Wind in Hellastian myths. Ambitions of the Pontifect are reflected in their "uniting" of the northern polities of Prace as well as the heraldry assigned to bishops sent to homogenize worship of Mim Kapal. The peacock feathers reflect reverence of Elemorya, and it was deemed fitting that newly formed societies united by common cults and people should share symbolism of a mighty empire once formed by elves.

Despite Falian rule in Prace lasting for a single generation, the Borean League remained mostly intact thanks to the Jade House of Lords. The sect made decentralized rule simple and compliance was on the margin, meaning very little in the context of rule.

## Legacy

### Banking and balkanization

The most fortunate were those with economic influence at the beginning of the Borean League, who retained their power throughout the centuries by accepting bundles of reeds to loan out themselves and begin banking dynasties. Throughout the Borean Period, banking dynasties formed around these favored families, shifting power only in certain circumstances. This was, however, slowly phased out by Niocletians in the Pontifect. The Oliphian infiltrators distributed new bundles of reeds to form new districts within existing provinces, creating states hostile to one another with rising wealth in places before not expressed.

Finally, the Jade House of Lords helped constrain much of the banking families through succession schemes that ultimately shrank regional power to mitigated influence over a city-state, sometimes even a mere district of a city-state. This further divided "families" into clan-like subdivisions that were based on a highly vertical, occupational, increasingly stratified society. By CE 620, there were over 1,200 families with loans from the Pontifect. Even with consolidation of these loans for diminished rates of interest, at least 300 districts remained within Cisteria by the War of the Dragons, with the number not budging much from its place.

### Merchant republics

#### Background

The elven aristocracy at the onset of the Borean League reflected longstanding monarchies and traditional succession schemes. Centralized power in nations such as Tethryndor remained consistent over the Borean League's lifetime, given such a state was more effective in protecting itself from ambitions of humans in Laconia. In addition, Tethryndor greatly benefited from land-based trade with the realms of men to the south which were far easier to deliver, retaining its status as a nation with a feudal hierarchy and elven upper class even into the Fourteenth Era.

In contrast, more isolated communities within Baredor, Selendor, and Numendor relied on maritime trade. During the Borean Period, prominent elite families held the greatest ties to the Ascani Empire, at one point allowing the possession of Numendor to establish their maritime presence. This meant that no matter the discontent, most communities had to swear fealty to those with Ascani ties to secure trade routes through the Tomyrian Sea.

#### Merchant ruling class

The come-and-go rule of the Falians led to an outbreak of piracy and the beginning of the Saturnite Wars, two contributing factors that made former relationships with the Ascani Empire nearly meaningless. As the aristocracy came to terms with this fact, port cities such as Pria and Cyravest capitalized on the discord and began establishing long trade routes through hostile waters into places with little to no former line to Prace, including Cascadia and Tyrrhos. In less than a century, power would become centralized in the hands of those merchants willing to travel to the south through waters run amok with Auber, jundai, and other hostiles.

This specific shift of power would be the end of the Borea League. Power shifting to maritime city-states would lead to reformations in local governments. Where princes once ruled through family ties, ideas of republicanism resurfaced from the time of the Hellastians. This form of government was vastly preferred by the new wealthy merchant class, where they could exert greater influence.

#### Convention of CE 650

In CE 650, Robaerigon officially distinguished himself and his heirs as a part of the House of Merovia, in an act called the Merovian Schism. The Pontifect held the Convention of CE 650 between several city-states including Pria, Ghine, and Cyravest. The House of Mandolin had sold previously exclusive rights of Ascanium over Arendor and Valendor to a joint-stock company, Nancay Company, which included direct interests to the Pontifect.

Merovian distinction now placed an amount of power with those merchants who held committed funds in trust with Nancay Company. The company held trade bonds with Merovia and partially owned their debt, in addition to existing trade and even lands acquired in *Illyria*. The existing ruling class held significantly less power than their own mercantile class, and Nancay Company bought claimant's rights in each city-state for an insignificant sum. Most of the city-states had the Papet's notaries charter new constitutions to abide by; though this ultimately would not affect the way the city-states were ruled as they only officialized what had been increasingly the case, these were the first "merchant republics" by law.

### End of the elves in Prace

Though elves still exist today in extremely small numbers, the Borean League was largely responsible for the shift from pure-blooded elves into Jade-blooded individuals. The Borean League greatly increased the disparity between lower class and upper class elves, and at the very bottom were the children born between humans and elves under Goodfellow occupation. This generation aged much quicker and died earlier, making their ability to accumulate wealth much slower. However, the benefit to this was that they also had more children and their families outpaced the upper class.

The invasion of the Rones from *Sardonia* into southern Baredor led to human communities appearing sporadically in Prace. This presented opportunities for both male and female elves. Because polygamy at this time was not frowned upon in the region, many female elves joined harems of higher class male elves who had wealth and influence. Male elves of the lower class, with increased difficulty in finding a partner, often had children with Ronish women, who were more willing to wed than elven women who flocked to the elite elven men. In contrast, elven women often only had one or two children with their liege, and thus sought to have children with other men as well. However, because elven men refused to father children with a woman in a harem, elven women in a harem would also form their own with a number of Ronish men. This ultimately led to the assimilation of the Rones in Prace, and a vast increase in Jade-blood families.

As the centuries went on, Jade-blood individuals also joined the Jade House of Lords for greater individual leverage for their families, where otherwise they had little say in matters of the Borean League's elven elite. As a result, the succession schemes of the Jade House of Lords worked to great effect in both propagating greater numbers of Jade-blood families as well as empowering them with regional rights.

The population boom during the Borean Period also diluted the elvish upper class, and by the end of the period, less than one in twenty elves lived in Cisteria. This number would continue to decline and currently rests at less than one in one hundred.