The Holy Kingdom of Gilneas (C1)

## Introduction

Flag of the Holy Kingdom of Gilneas.

The Holy Kingdom of Gilneas (Gil-nay-us) was a human kingdom officially established in 2,842, however had existed as a unified nation for over one thousand years. The kingdom, most notable for its rich culture, rapidly advancing technology, and formidable navy, was located on the Praymal Peninsula south of Silverpine Forest and north of the Corin Gulf. In Strathas of 2,847 with the suicide of its only king, Liam Greymane, the short-lived kingdom had quickly dissolved into a secularist nation along with the Greater Nation of Thrasseth and the City-State of Holy Gilneas.

## History

### The Splitting of the Gilnane Tribe

Around the year 50 with the unexpected death of Thoradin, the Arathi Empire had suddenly come to an end, and the numerous human tribes that constituted the empire had split from this great faction. Among these tribes was the Gilnane Tribe (Gil-nayn), their people characterized by their dark hair, culture of wolf-taming, as well as druidism. At this time, the young warlord known as "Praymal" (Pray-mull) would step forward to lead the tribe, however little is known about Praymal as to whether that is his real name, or even if he existed.

House Greymane also avouches Praymal as a descendant of their bloodline, though this is widely disputed by other Houses. The Gilnaic peoples in particular traveled as far west as they could go, trekking along the rocky shores of the Corin Gulf until eventually reaching a vast peninsula which rested on the southwestern shores of the northern Eliadic subcontinent. This peninsula would come to be known as Praymal, named after the supposed young warlord who led the exodus here.

Praymal Peninsula, as opposed to the Arathi Highlands, was covered in vast woodlands, providing the Gilnane Tribe with endless resources to begin the construction of what would become their kingdom. Praymal however was very particular, perhaps to a degree that was superfluous. He called off the construction of any settlements despite the access to various streams and rivers, asserting that the entirety of the tribe must devote their work on a single city in a region with plenty of water to drink from and woodlands to hunt and construct from. Around the center of the peninsula, they finally reached a massive brackish lake which led directly to the Great Sea, the waters notably still therefore the lake becoming known as Stillwater Lake.

The reason for the lake's still waters is due to the Calathine River northwest of the lake taking the brunt of the Great Sea's waves. Though they couldn't drink from the lake, it was abundant with fish and even the occasional shark which would help feed the hundreds of people that constituted the tribe. Not only that, but the tribe discovered an extensive river (now known as the Kresford River) which stretched across the entire north-eastern section of the peninsula before pouring out into Stillwater Lake. Upon discovering this beautiful region, Praymal would designate it as Pilthorne, and had begun planning the construction of the city.

### The Construction of Gilneas City

As a mark of Gilnean ingenuity, Praymal wished for the city to be built over the lake rather than beside it, something never before seen in Arathor. From an unnamed Gilnaic architect, this led to the "invention" of water pylons which would be built underwater to support the structures above, however pylons had already been invented several millennia earlier by the Kerahgorian humans who were making much more rapid progress as opposed to their Eliadic counterparts. Though normally the construction of a lake-city would be incredibly difficult for architects never familiar with the process, the waters of Stillwater were particularly forgiving on any faulty construction made in the early days of the city's development.

After several months of hard work, the city had begun to manifest, and Praymal would designate it as the forever-capital of the tribe known as "Gilneas." Gilneas City and the Gilnane Tribe would henceforth become incredibly intertwined being that the vast majority of Gilnaic people lived within the city, thus the tribe had gradually seen a shift from the old demonym of "Gilnaic" to "Gilnean." This shift is also simply due to the gradual evolution of the Gilnean language, similar to how "Arathi" had shifted to "Arathian."

Over the millennia Gilneas City has existed, the city has been renovated countless times due to the advancement of architectural technology. During the time it was first built though, Gilneas City was supposedly made entirely of wood as is evident of the wooden structural remains at the bottom of Stillwater Lake. Presumably, this is due to the fact that the ancient Gilneans were hesitant to build stone structures on top of a lake, and so substituted with much lighter wooden architecture. This is also quite ingenious of the Gilnean people being that the Arathian Empire and the kingdoms to stem from it generally built from stone, and Gilneas was the first of these Arathian nations to utilize wood in their infrastructure on such a massive scale.

Stories of this mysterious new kingdom forming on the peninsula had developed an idealization of Gilneas. Fantasies of the unique wooden architecture being built right over a lake had aroused a sense of wonder about the Gilnean lifestyle, and in turn Gilneas had received a fair amount of immigrants for its time. However in the early years of Gilneas City, it is estimated that no more than 2,000 people could actually be housed within the city. This led Praymal to form an edict which excluded non-Gilneans from living within Gilneas City, resulting in immigrants being forced to build their own settlement outside of the city.