Ragnnloth

**Ragnnloth is a nation in maligon**

through its political manoeuvring, religious leanings and knightly orders, the holy family of Ragnnloth has become the majority of the south coast

Purity, Perseverance, honesty, Courage, Honour and grattitude

The history of modern Ragnnloth is the history of the position of Holy pontiff of Leholimo. After Gesurb’s power base was forever sundered in the irongate war, many humans found themselves following new banners. At the same time the twilight of the elves was dwindling to a shred of light at the edge of the aethersphere. It was in the lands of the merec wilderness north of gesurb that a man named Ral Letosand was granted visions of Leholimo. The goddess of order showed Ral a hierarchy of loyalty to her, with him as her Hierophant, he could plot her mysteries and harness her miracles. He took to maligon on foot, with surmons for anyone who would listen and diagrams for anyone to see. To put ones faith in a goddess is common sense, but to listen to their goddess through the rantings of pilgrim was a difficult prospect for many to understand. Especially as Hierophant Ral’s pilgrimage was at the very first indications of the madness of sixir, where much of the conventional wisdom around the goddesses were being tested. He found himself expelled from Oweib by the last of their elves, denied a home in Yoluger for challenging the exile authority. He was given the name Ral of the Ragged Cloth, which through the mumbling of his allies and detractors became the name Ragnnloth that he adopted as a badge of pride. But in the lands that now make up Kalev he found his first devotees, humans and other shorter lived races that found opportunity in the inaction of the stone hearted dwarves and in the languishing elves. An alliance was formed, and the poplar Hierophant Ral found himself at the spiritual head of it. The coalition of shorter lived races included his congregation, the warriors and slaves of Arghig, the hobgoblin clan of Prit and others who took the lands from the dying lands to themselves. Hierophant Ral revealed another vision to his flock, that Leholimo had decided that the southernmost coast was for the humans, her favourite children, and that they would have success without measure if they were to settle there. With the might of the coalition behind him, The hierophant carved out the coastal city known as Perseverance. As he had prophesied, Leholimo lent his Church of Ragnnloth direct aid. She mustered her angels to defend them, and saw off the betrayal of Arghig with titans of rock carved in her image. Vindicated by his goddess, The hierophant died as an old man, the leader of a town he had himself founded. His successor was chosen from his flock, A woman who had marched with him from Kalev named Kamila Akhmetova. Akhmetova was given the title pontiff, as only Ral of the ragged cloth would be the true hierophant in their hagiology. She rallied the last embers of the coalition to fight against the increasingly chaotic Mages of Sixir, especially the newly founded citykeep of Zuge. At the same time, she expanded the nation dramatically, building a new capital and largest city, Purity.

In the centuries since Pontiff Akhemetova, Ragnnloth has seemingly grown stronger and stronger. Theologians would suggest that it is due to Leholimo’s desire to have a more dominant share over the domain, but such talk would be heresy in Ragnnloth. Its borders push against those who would oppose them, with expanding towns such as Courage and Prudence being the farthest point of their territory. Presently, the Pontiff of Ragnnloth is a Ninety five year old male human named Lehothellus. His holy court in the grand cathedral of Purity is one of great intrigue, with factions of his bishops and priests vying for positions in Lehothellus and more importantly Leholimo’s favour.

Purity is the capital of Ragnnloth, and as such is kept resplendent by the holy family of the high church. Built during the aforementioned short war with Zuge, purity is designed to remain orderly. It is split into three main wards surrounding the Grand Cathedral, which then are divided into ten districts of housing for the layfolk. The Cathedral has had centuries of Pontiffs of the holy family improve upon it, till the white building resembles a grand village of buttresses, spires and statues. Cloisters house tens of thousands of Clergy, some who will spend most of their lives in service to purity’s churches and others that will be sent on pilgrimages to the furthest corners of the cog. Pilgrims are also the majority of the traffic in the town themselves, as it has become tradition for any member of any church of Leholimo, Logbelyan or Leh to visit Purity, where their goddess has her attention placed most often. As such, the city is ran on the donations and tithes that are collected by the church and given by thankful pilgrims. Pontiff Lehothellus resides at the centre of his nation and church, and from their he examines every single event of consequence. He has, for almost thirty years now, kept up the illusion of a doddering old man concerned only with scripture, but is in reality one of the most devious and intelligent political minds in maligon. The adage that guides him, is not one of his goddess, but of his own creation: ‘My dearest hope is that my foreign enemies overestimate my forces, and my enemies at home underestimate my power.’

Perseverance is somewhat overshadowed by purity, but is still renowned as the Hierophant’s town, a place for him to be venerated. As Ragnnloth has grown wealthier, much has been spent on the elaborate docklands of the south coast, a key point for anyone looking to travel out of the cog. Priests of Leholimo will other have two or three other positions as harbour masters and inspectors of export and import. Despite this, Perseverance has one of the largest populations of laypeople across all of Ragnnloth. While openly practising other religions is still frowned upon, the transient nature of merchants, ship owners and sailours means that its one of least dogmatic towns. Perseverance has two taverns: the Net, A pub owned by a dwarf sailor ‘Beardo’Hardhewn who is taxed heavily by the church and the Pious feather, A abbey complete with cloisters and monks in residence who produce and sell the beers, wines and sparkling wines they make. Perseverance is home to the impressive tomb of the Hierophant, filled with relics of Ral Letosand’s life and guarded by paladin docents.

Honesty is the town least recommended to travellers, adventurers or any non natives of Ragnnloth. Located deep between two untouched forests, it is a foreboding stone walled town. The Cardinal of Honesty is a position currently held by a female dwarf named Clemence Pennebrygg. those who have had political dealings with Ragnnloth know that the Cardinal of Honesty is a position closer to Spymaster, inquisitor and executioner. Those who are suspected of heresy against Leholimo, the holy family or one of her celestials are sent tethered to a cart to the windowless church of penance. Therein, the priority is to find as many other members of a group that oppose the church, if such a conspiracy is to even exist, by any means necessary. Behind the dark keep are hundreds of unmarked graves that signal when a heretic has served their uses. Honesty is the training ground for the assassins and spies of the holy family, often brought from the ranks of clergy and paladins who have embarrassed themselves in some way and seek redemption. Masters of information repression and altering power structures, the ‘Eyes of Honesty’ as they are called can be found implanted into every major court or senate across Maligon. Beyond these sinister institutions, the townsfolk are little more than serfs to the holy families clergy, producing crops and livestock with enormous tithes to the Cardinal. A curious feature to the unwarned outsider is that because of the vigilance of the Eyes of Honesty and the looming presence of the Penance house, a large portion of the layfolk have become almost entirely silent. While vows of silence are encouraged, The harried farmers and villagers have almost involuntarily learned that to remain mute is to remain unpunished. Its singular coaching house and tavern, ‘the untarnished Key’ ran by Helmut Karz reflects this with its eerie silence.

Courage is the town of the knightly order of the holy family, The feather knights. As disciplined as a knight of Labremuylor, as formidable as a dragon order of gesurb and as Zealous as a warrior of Bendattan, these crusaders are a force to be feared and respected. After the fall of the coalition of shorter lived races and Arghig’s march, Courage was deliberately placed as a forward encampment in opposition to the Ka-Prit-Prit hobgoblin settlement. It has had an unbroken line of Priest Knight commanders and lieutenants as its governance ever since. Training is rigorous and all consuming for a paladin of the Feather, spending years within the walls of the grassland monastery the town has sprung up around. Blacksmiths, armourers, fletchers and farriers are all employed by the holy family of Ragnnloth, creating streets of industry with nothing to be purchased by an outsider. The Feather are the sole town guard and protectors, giving the town a rigidity to its customs similar to ritual. The only entertainment to speak of in the town are the five small circles of fences across the grasses, where every afternoon, knights practice combat of various sorts, watched on by instructors.

Honour provides the holy family with its artists, artisans and bards. The small coastal town takes in imports from its neighbours and turns them into works for the glory of Leholimo and her cogly agents. Its current Leader is Archbishop Augustine Curson who founded the tapestry weavers guild of Honour. These tapestries can be dozens of meters squared, depicting the hierarchy of the hierophant, the angels of Leholimo and idealised moments from ecclesiastical history. While a small number will find their way into the churchs of Ragnnloth or some wing of the grand cathedral, most are designed to be given as gifts by spiritual dignitaries to other lands, as an impressive sign of Ragnnloth skill and the revere of their religion. Because of these spiritual Dignitaries are known to make a stop in Honesty before travelling abroad, there are worries about the sincerity of these common gifts. Honour is also home to the Downtheatre, extremely vetted and religiously approved plays designed to tour in troupes the other towns of Ragnnloth in elaborate caravan churches. The holy Family have also began a bard collage in Honour, known as the cloister of the holy voice, to sing the praises and create magically imbued hymns for the armies and knights of the feather. They train the choirs that accompany any high-ranking clergy to public functions. All these propaganda methods pale in comparison though to the Holy honour printing presses, a veritable castle of typeset press boards and ink that produces thousands of tomes and pamphlets in the millions. Their most popular psalm are that of the traveller pilgrim known only as ‘the pious brother’

Grattitude is the latest city in Ragnnloth and is still being built in present day. A project of Pontiff Lehothellus, it is simultaneously a way to strengthen their position as masters of the south, but also provides a new form of missionary pilgrim. Although the convent of Grattitude is still being built, its purpose is to function as a medical centre and a place for Life clerics of the holy family to develop new and powerful healing techniques and salves. Stonemason and builders toil away, digging wells and building ornate wards for the sick. In the temporary tents marked with feathers, the First Deacon of grattitude Aquila Byllyng and his clergy are beginning to establish new methods of curing wounds and new healing words. Under decree of the Pontiff, Eyes of honesty searched out the sick and infirm to be brought as subjects of the new institution. Farmers were displaced from courage and honour and given holy decree to become the first to provide labour for grattitude. Most curiously, Deacon Byllyng has been requesting and receiving rare and dangerous animals to the new dock of Grattitude for use in his tests.

Being a large and diverse biome, Ragnnloth has a lot of native wildlife. The Ral pelican is a seabird venerated as a symbol of the hierophant common alongside gadprig gulls and seagulls on the coasts. The woods around Honesty have high numbers of wolves, many with a unique speckled grey pelt. The forests are home also to treeants and cockatrices, though these are rare, in no small part due to knight hunters from Courage seeking them for trophies.