Vermeer

Vermeer at Night

The country is mostly a populous of Elven and Gnomish counterparts. It is an elegant country with many magic users the has a high emphasis in the love and appreciation for the arts. Vermeer is well sought by bards, traveling merchants, performers, and magic users of all sorts due to the celebration of these trades. The majority of incoming trade and visitor come from Highever, Ludas. and the neighboring countries within Cìrbann. Located close to the Continental Trinity parts of Vermeer have dedicated themselves to sailing and trade through oceanic routes.

## Culture

In all of Vermeer the citizens great and small all celebrate the arts and magic. Whether that be arts in regards to painting and music or steel working and baking it is all held in high regard to those in Vermeer. They take a great pride in their appearances and wear the finest of clothing. It is nearly impossible to pass a single person not covered in some sort of ribbon, lace, and expertly crafted fabrics with embroidery. Most recently in history they are the first to invent the zipper. Due to the intricacies of the metal teeth it takes the best blacksmiths months to create a single zipper, due to this only those within the royal lineage have zippers in their clothing. Men and women both don makeup of various colors sometimes even attaching longer hairs to their eyelashes to make them appear longer. Tattoos and piercings are also incredibly common since their are seen as expressions of self and artistic in their own right. With hair anything goes, the most common feature to see among the Vermeerian people are braids big and small, simple and complex. This is all in high contrast to the Selks, the Dwarves of Vermeer.

Among the citizens nobility is honored and celebrated among the community. Whenever a noble is born within Vermeer a party is held for the newborn child. The longest celebration to date is that of Arane whose celebration lasted a week.

An older but still common tradition among Vermeerians is to wait and name a child once they have their first real smile. The child is usually named something similar to what had made them smile, for example Princess Andromeda was named such since she first smiled at night and a great star sharing her name had changed color from silver to blue.

## The City of Vermeer

The City of Vermeer is the grand capital of the country. The Grand Duchess of Vermeer and other nobility live within the city. The Grand Duchess remains in Castle Valencia which is heavily guarded by the Akh'Faer and is revered to be the most beautiful Castle in all of Cìrbann. The city, like its people, is very ornate and detailed. The paths through the city are tiled bricks of various colors creating incredible patterns and designs. Blossoming trees native to Vermeer alone are planted all along the sides of the paths most commonly the colors of the petals are blue, yellow, pink, and white; and the trees grow small berries that have ability to make the most sour of things taste sweet and are a bright red. In the very center of the city is a large marble fountain that was gifted to them from the King of Avalor. The city center is where many celebrations are held including All Hallow's Eve and every Royal Birthday. The City of Vermeer is also home to the Ceol Concert Hall. Only the best of the best perform there in front of the Grand Duchess. One of the most famous performers is that of Erdan Melphekiir. Vermeer is also the birth place of many, if not all, royalty within the country of Vermeer.

## Military

Throughout the country the Akh'Faer, or the Army of Art, guards the Grand Duchess and her subjects. The Akh'Faer despite their name are a fierce group made of several sects. The assassins of the Akh'Faer roam the country's borders and among the citizens as regular Vermeerians to gather intelligence. Mages, wizards, and great fighters make up the remaining sects. These groups are equally dispersed around the country. Only the 10 best remain with the Grand Duchess at Castle Valencia with only two assassins on standby posing as her handmaidens. The Akh'Faer, aside from the assassins, are recognizable by their black and dark green filigree armor. Higher ranking military have different emblems on their cloak pins. The Captain, the highest rank, has the official seal of Vermeer placed on his pin. It can take years of training to officially become a member of the Akh'Faer, but anyone can be trained to serve except those of the Selk and any that appear to be kin. There have been a great many lords and ladies that have served for the country including Gregor Bareghast.

## Religion

They believe that music is the cause of life and to make creations is a form of celebration. They do not have a name for the being that created them but rather refer to it simply as "The Creator." They celebrate the creator with every festival and have a day dedicated to it in the spring of every year.

## Magic

Magic is common in Vermeer due to its dominant high elf populous. Even the most common of Vermeerians are capable of small spells. For a long time Gregor Bareghast was revered as a talented wizard and was even offered a position among Cìrbann's College of Eight before his disappearance. Other great wizards and mages have been a citizen of Vermeer before they left for their travels. According to rumor it may have been a Vermeerian wild mage that transported the City of Subara into the ocean and created the salt lake of north eastern Cìrbann. There is no proof of this of course since everyone present for the endeavor is now deceased.

## The Lost Lady of Vermeer

A rare instance in Vermeerian history where one of noble lineage was kidnapped and never found. The noble in question was Lady Arane Melphekiir at the tender age of ten. She was taken during an Hollow's Eve celebration and never seen or heard from again. Her parents Lord Erdan Melphekiir and Lady El'ara gathered those that they trusted most to investigate their missing child. They appointed their lifelong friend, Gregor to lead one of the many search parties. Not a single person found a trace of the young girl. A memorial date had been made by the grand duchess so that the Lost Lady would always be remembered. Due to this rare incident border patrols had been doubled and more scrying magic has been taught among the military.