Decester

**Decester** is a country that is part of the Pridish Isles and the Pridish Empire. It shares borders with Sombria to its south, Rutshire to its west, and Cornumbra to its north. It sits in the low stretches of the Northern Sea and includes twenty islands, five of which are inhabited.

## History

### Pre-History

The area now known as Decester was first inhabited by humans in the Slow Diaspic period when they were introduced as pets by the native Giant population, traded by slavers from an unknown prehistoric civilisation. Small populations of escaped or released humans grew in the outskirts of giant territory, the earliest known settlements in Decester of wholly human creation being in the waterlogged marshes on the eastern coast. During the Long Autemic period, as the Giants fell back into the mountains of what would become O tse Wal and Rutshire, the human population stabilised by breeding with the refugee Baze populations moving in the northern reaches of Sombria.

### Fenizian Colonial Period

At the beginning of the Fast Diasporic period, around the year -543, Rekaduz Toliam Arezio led his invading fleet from Fenize to the island of Winesaile off the north-eastern coast of Decester where he established a foothold for the total colonisation of the Pridish Isles. This occured by the year -513, by when a large influx of disparate human groups were forced into the land via the Fenizian conscript military and slave legions. As a result of this total domination many of the native groups of Decestrian tribal life fled the land into the mountainous territories of the last remaining giants or the coastal islands that would come to be known as Isla Anvil, leaving the lowland plains to be entirely conquered by the Fenizians. During this period (and ending when the Fenizians left in -232) widespread construction of permanent sites occured, many of which are still inhabited today, such as the Fenizian bridge at Foque-over-Tun which is now the site of the Grand Reeve's Bridge in Fowkverton. The withdrawal of the Fenizians was caused by increasing pressure mounting from both home and rebel groups causing a breakdown of focus and a fracturing of the chain of command, as some influencial Fenizian soldiers defected to the various Pridish rebel groups and even more returned home to assist in the fledgeling civil war occuring there. Among those who defected was the Rekionz Viriba Bendrax whose line would go on to birth Arthenius Bendrax, founder of the Decestrian Monarchy. When the Fenizian military pulled out of the Pridish Isles they left behind many of the slaves and conscripts to hold whatever interests they had left, but these were quickly assimilated in the new burgeoning Decestrian culture.

### Pre-Empiric Period

For the next 200 years Decester was for the most part a land of constant warring and competition between emergant tribal powers, battling for control of the limited ariable land within the limits of Decester. The most influencial among these tribes was led by the descendants of Viriba Bendrax, which often assimilated smaller tribes into its population through conquest. This tribe was patronized by the celestial Beo Ve who granted them boons, and often led them into conflicts with lesser tribes who were connected to the other powerful creatures of the region. In -41 Arthenius Bendrax was born and through his adolesence grew in popularity as the heir to the Bendrax Clan, he became a singularly talented warrior and dominated many Decestrian tribes. His true legend begins when he betrayed Beo Ve and stole their magic, weakening the creature and binding it to servitude. Bouyed by this success his tribe continually expanded their lands over the next twenty years conquering many of the Decestrian behemoths and binding them away via a highly mysterious ritual created by Arthenius himself. By the year 0 Arthenius had taken most of the lands that would become known as Decester and crowned himself king, completing the rituals of binding by the sacrifice of Beo Ve, and using the great peacock's body to craft his crown.

Eventually Arthenius would leave Decester to pursue more of the creatures where he would eventually meet his end at the hands of the celestial Pra Za, who drowned him off the coast of Cornumbra, outside the city of Naunium in the year 29. The crown would pass to his son Dommazo Bendrax who would settle the abandoned settlement at Foque-over-Ton and establish it as the Decestrian capital. For the next two hundred years Decester under the monarchy would settle, with tribal power transitioning to static centres of influence controlled by the Crown.

By the year 207 Decestrian military strength had exploded, influenced by the increasing amount of practicing mages and had become an overwhelming threat to its neighbouring countries. Sombria, its closest and weakest neighbour, secured peace through the marriage of its one and only heir Béatrinnette jê Ventuid to the fifth Decestrian monarch Gachedan Bendrax. Their daughter Madeliève jê Bendrax would go on to rule Sombria as a vassal of her father, and her daughter Erema Bendrax would ascend the Decestrian throne following Gachedan's death, all but securing a lasting bond betweeen the two thrones. Erema's legacy would be the transformation of the Isle of Rest, a barren island off the southern coast of Sombria, into a royal necropolis where she would move the interred bodies of the previous monarchs for safe keeping.

## Governance

### Politics

Decester is part of the Pridish Empire, a constitutional monarchy partly governed by the Charmament, a parlimentary body operated by the reeve families of the empire. The charmament was first established in 1041, and included reeves from Decester, Rutshire, and Sombria. As of 1642 there are 65 seats in the charmament, of which 26 are Decestrian. See The Charmament for more information on their role.

### Regions, reeves, and districts

Decester is currently divided into 17 regions, each granted through the reeve process to a family as dictated by the Crown. Each of these regions are lead by the foremost member of the reeve family, who then chooses who represents them in the Charmament from amongst their kin. The reeves in Decester are:

* Bluebolton
* **Botrist**
* **Fowkend**
* **Fowkverton**
* Hedgemere
* **Henwell Cross**
* Itchmarsh
* Loanswell
* Loxpaine Forest
* Norsham
* Ottertimber
* Patchend
* Shatterparish
* Shirkstone
* Thornease
* Weavering
* West Wormfold

Highlighted are the Grand Reeves, reeves of cities who are represented proportionately in the Charmament. These send members to Charmament equalling their designated city districts: Fowkverton sends five, Fowkend sends three, and both Botrist and Henwell Cross send two.

See The Reeves for more information about the role.

## Geography

### Landscape and rivers

Much of Decester consists of lowland plains and rolling hills but is pock-marked by large lakes surrounded by marshlands. The largest lake, Wyneaux, sits in the south-west of the country and is surrounded by dense marshes known colloquially as the Druid's Triangle. The lake itself feeds into the longest river in the entirity of the Pridish Isles, River Ton.

### Climate

As Decester straddles the lower to mid Northern Sea its climate ranges from temperate maritime in the south and growing colder and more frequently changeable in the north. Spring, summer, and autumn are typically mild and frequently damp, with winter usually reaching a little below freezing commonly.

## Demography

### Population

Decester has a population of just over 4 million. It accounts for just under half of the total population of the Pridish Empire. Of this roughly 3% are mageborn, with 32,499 of these being practicing and licensed mages. Roughly 33% of the Decestrian population lives in its 4 cities, just below one and a half million individuals.

### Language

The primary language of Decester is Pridgeon, a language that shares a common recent ancestor with Rutten, Umbrian, and Islic and a further ancient ancestor in Gogic, the language of the ancient giants. Within the druidic community and uncommonly spoken around their holdings near lake Wyneaux a unique language known only as druidic is spoken.

The capital, Fowkverton, has a relatively large refugee Wåli population meaning the Wålic native tongue is not an uncommon sound within certain sections of the city. Wålic is a common second language within the high academic class.

### Religion

The primary religion in Decester is the Crown Church, an theocractic arm of the monarchy that presents Arthenius Bendrax and his descendants as divine inheritors of the will of the Pridish Isles and subjugators of the native, ancient gods. In the past attendance of this institution in some form was essential within the eyes of the law, with punishment for notable absence ranging from fines to bodily dismemberment. However, this has changed over time and more recent monarchs have made consessions and been more accepting of different view points as their power and influence has wained. Around 95% of the Decestrian population still regularly attend the Crown Church services weekly.

In towns and cities it is not unheard of to find smaller religious centres, especially in places with a high population of localised foreigners or in port cities that have diverse populations visiting them. These are solely operated by individuals and are disconnected with the state in all ways, and are usually funded by wealthy patrons of each denomination. For example, the Baze Statuary in the Hedgemere Arboretum was donated by Chozev Kakmeux, a Baze emissary, and is maintained by the Baze community in and around Fowkverton.

There is still a strict illegality to any religion that places the behemoths, celestials, and/or leviathans in deity roles. Punishment for anyone following such a religion is swift and severe, but in small and secretive communities it is not unheard of for some level of adherence to the old ways to still be present in some form alongside the Crown Church.

## Culture

### Architecture

Decestrian architecture is known for its height and narrow width. Wealthy Decestrians have homes that resemble towers, with height being a primary signifier of wealth. Decestrians in towns and cities typically use arcanitects to construct their homes, with common features being slab walls, flush buttresses, and steep slate roofs.

Less well-off Decestrians tend toward narrow, tall, terraced housing, with street overhangs. In cities and towns these are also commonly divided further into apartments.

### Cuisine

In practice Decestrian meals, like most cultures in the Pridish Isles, are eaten communally in a buffet style selection of individual food stuffs placed at the table. These are usually given in small amounts and refreshed when needed. Food prepared this way is usually given variety by its preparation rather than its wide base of ingrediants. Decestrian meals are simple in concept but lean heavily on execution, with the practice of cooking highly focused upon. Historically choice of ingredients was limited meaning that to create a diverse set of choices for the population attention was lavished upon the process, which was quickly infiltrated by experimental mages. Decestrian meals play heavily with food prepared with magic and food that hasn't, with different spells and arcane imbued processes granting the low variety of Decestrian ingrediants different flavours and textures. Meat that has cooked on an arcane fire tastes different to that of meat cooked on a natural fire, and livestock raised eating arcane food tastes different to livestock that eats naturally.

Common meats are duck and venison. Common vegetables are parsnips, radishes, and carrots. Green herbs such as dill and thyme are used commonly too.

### Education

Per capita Decester has one of the highest rates of education in the Pridish Isles, closely followed by Sombria, but falling short of the Isle of Ghosts. Decester employs an academic system that seperates the magic and the not; calling those concerned with magic High Academies and those concerned with the non-arcane Low Academies. There are also Royal Academies, which are defined as a mixture of both practices, but these are rare. Most of these academies are based in the larger towns or the cities of Decester but a few are spread out dependant on their focus. A good example of this is the Royal Academy of Botany in Hedgemere, which is based within the Arboretum.

Mandatory education exsists within Decester and is solely reserved for the children of the nobility, who are often educated by private tutors until they reach academy age. For moderate to wealthy classes that are not in the nobility private tutors are still an option but for profit school are also common, however many children in these classes still do follow a parent into a trade and learn on the job. An average eligable academic will enter their academy at the age of 14 and graduate their first level between the ages of 18 and 20, depending on the focus.

The Pridish Empire has exported the Decestrian system of academies to the other countries in its control.

### Music

Decestrian music heavily features bowed, plucked, and hammered instruments and is typically instrumental in nature. Singing is rare in the folk music of Decester with humming being much more common. This largely comes from the practice of music in the Crown Church being used to back spells and their casting, thus the sung word would overlap with the verbal casting of spells and cause interuptions.

While still rare and exclusive, some bards within Decester have mastered the practice of playing instruments with magic allowing a single musician to play multiple parts.

### Sport

The singularly popular sport in Decester is the Standard Tourney, a capture-the-flag style competition between teams of mages. These games are played across areas of varying elevations and are heavily standarised to regulate which spells are legal. There is an unregulated versions of the sport too but these are commonly illegal in cities and towns.

Most towns in Decester have at least one team competing in the sport on a national level, but it is rare for any of them to come close to the skills displayed on the city based teams.

## National Symbols

Decester uses a peacock styled emblem as its national symbol, and uses colours inspired by peacock tailfeathers as common signifiers (browns, blues, turquoises, and greens).