Iellas

**The Kingdom of Iellas** is Mundassia's most significant and wealthy maritime and mercantile powers. It is unique among the Kingdoms for the fact that its ruling Royal family shares its power with the powerful Merchants Guilds which in truth carry more power there than the Noble landowning families of the realm.

## History

### 1st Epoch

Iellas was originally founded by settlers from Gilder who came to the Jagged Coast with the backing of the Gildan Crown to found a Port City that would become a centre of Ocean travel to explore the wider world. At this time, it was not even considered that there may yet be other lands or peoples let alone that it would become the hub of continental trade.

In its original form, the Port City was most famous for the incredible trout that swam in its waters but the early Iellas Settlement was not impressive by any mark. Their efforts were moreso spent on building ships, mapping coasts and islands than on the building of properties.

But with the Sundering of Gilder, Iellas became a haven of those who survived it and those who had hoped to settle in Gilder and left no place to go. This sparked the beginning of Iellas being a true civilization to itself. The survivors who settled in Iellas had among them architects, masons and tradesmen of many trades that made Iellas a Kingdom worthy of the name.

### 2nd Epoch

By the turn of the Second Epoch, Iellas had arisen to the status of a formal Kingdom that spanned more than its original City-State of the Port City. One of the wealthiest Sail Lords as they were known, House Devorard under Regis Devorard became its first King as his influence was undeniably strongest and the realm clamoured for a leader to pave the way.

It was the Devorards that successfully established permanent diplomatic relations with the nations beyond the seas. Through this, Devorard would uncover their greatest legacy; Trade. With the founding of trade routes, agreements with foreign powers and a mighty Armada to guard her interests Iellas became a powerhouse not just in Mundassia but of Immorhia. Her wealth expanded, and their business was growing at such rapid pace that the King created charters to establish guilds that would manage the vast trade territories under Iellander management.

It was this decision that would inevitably break the power of the Devorards. The creation of expansive charters allowed powerful Merchant Guilds to arise who were dissatisfied with the power dynamic of the King who was used to governing all of the Trade interests of the Kingdom and yet those decisions were not only not always in the interests of the Guilds but also hard for the King to enforce. The guilds took notice and the Kingdom was set on the course of a power struggle between the Crown and the Guilds.

This war known as the First War of the Seas, would bring the deposition of House Devorard and its replacement by the House of Waldon who were thoroughly in the pockets of the Guilds. This established the present polity of Iellas, House Waldon governs, but with the Guilds. Nor can it be said the Guilds have undisputed control as they still need the King to exact their interests and have Sovereign backing.

### 3rd Epoch

In the four hundreds years of this era, Iellas has continued to flourish but only by its teeth against the challenging currents of the world. With the Fall of Arleans in the 4th Century of the 3rd Epoch, one of Iellas' chief partners fell to the Curse of Malite robbing the Kingdom of a great deal of its security and wealth. In addition, the relationship between Crown and Guilds has been tense and a rift seems to be struggling to heal over centuries of competing interests since before the 3rd Epoch.

The Royal House of Waldon has sought to balance the power differential in the Kingdom that has left Iellas at the mercy of the Guilds with much of the Kingdom's subjects out of their nation's gains and no better off for it. Peasant Leagues form behind their Feudal lords to pressure the Guilds to improve economic conditions within the realm to the guilds chagrin and resistance. The Nobles press their Queen for some relief in the matter however the Queen is unable to oppose the guilds too harshly or risk what wealth Iellas does possess.

In Iellas, there is now occasional political infighting between Guild and Feudal Forces seeking to equalize the difference of wealth while the Queen mediates. The Crown and its power endeavours to balance the power differential naturally and through tactful reform, this has been enough to keep the bubbling tensions from boiling over but all the power players fear what may happen if the Queen were to suddenly die and an unprepared Monarch were to ascend the throne. The resulting instability would likely steal away what protections there are keeping the realm at peace.