Aellkouar

The Court of Counts
 **Capitol**
 **Organization**
 **Population**

According to the Kouran scholars, Royal and Glorious Aellkouar is the oldest human-governed nation, boasting nearly two and a half thousand years of continuous existence. Aellkouar was initially founded by the crafty Arkii tribe who rebuilt a number of the Elven ruins along the Shattered Sea, which became the foundation of the power of its Merchant King. As the title suggest, the dominance of Aellkouar was intimately tied to trade along the Shattered Sea and beyond, which Aellkouar would come to dominate.

## Early History

In the years that followed the Liberation Period a myriad of human settlements started to form throughout Ultheles, but many centered around the verdant and prosperous regions around the Shattered Seas or in the Thousand Isles themselves. One such settlement would grow into the prosperous city Iellnouth residing on the Kouran Peninsula. The Kouran Peninsula was rich in both iron, silver and arable land with a very temperate climate allowing for the farming of both foodstuffs and delicacies such as wine. Iellnouth itself was situated close to both the mountain range on the northern parts of the Kouran Peninsula and at the shores of the Shattered Sea, which served to connect Iellnouth to the prospering trade with the rest of Ultheles.

Due to the abundance of ore and luxury goods in Iellnouth, the city was often the target of raids and numerous other threats from rivaling cities. In order to ensure the security of its leaders and citizens, Iellnouth raised high walls by paying of Olthan craftsmen and raised a strong city militia. As time passed, Iellnouth's military and economic prowess started to eclipse the other cities in the Kouran Peninsula, and wealthy families and estates would wed into Iellnouth's nobility. This ensured that the citizens of Iellnouth had numerous strong claims on lands and titles in other city-states across the peninsula, which they would, during a period of about a hundred years, would consolidate. The strong state that emerged would be called Aellkouar, in essence translating to "All of Koura".

The young state would, due to the abundance of the Kouran Peninsula and the Steel Mountains, have a strong influence throughout the Shattered Sea and over time its economic and military objectives would start to overlap. With mighty warships and strong armies of Maroth and Egran mercenaries, Aellkouar would capture essential settlements all throughout the Shattered Sea and establish itself as a dominant force in the central parts of Ultheles. In time, their influence would reach north to the Olthan domains near the Worldspire Mountains. While Aellkouar had no interest in conflict with the Olthans, they could not allow them to consolidate power to challenge them and Kouran politics would sow distrust and malcontent within the Olthan domains, pitting clans against one another and against the Shadowrider populations on the wilder steppes.

## The Battle of Green

Aellkouar was at the height of its power a little more than 1000 years ago and its grip on power was secure. There were few enemies that their might could not fend off or buy off, and what threats loomed they undermined with clever politics. Not only that, but Aellkouar was governed by prudent administrators and leaders who knew the extent of their capabilities, and rather than continually expand beyond their means, they were content to maintain what their ancestors had built. Trade flourished for Aellkouar, and the very best craftsmen and traders called this nation their home. Aellkouar was not only flourishing, it was also lenient toward various religious practices and scholarly pursuits and numerous universities were founded and funded all along the Shattered Sea.

This era of prosperity could not last, however, for the Dragon God Vizzelthezz had his eyes set on pushing back the Olthan upstarts that had been instrumental in undoing the dominion of his kind. Perhaps the Dragon God believed that he, in so doing, could convince the other Dragon Gods to summon their brood and follow him. Whatever he believed, it can no longer be known, as he, after ten horrific years of war against the Olthans, was slain and his brood all but annihilated. The Kourans took little part in the conflict as such, but did send support to the Olthans as they recognized the danger that a reinvigorated war against the Dragons posed. For a long while following the war, the Kourans continued to send aid to the broken Olthan and Shadowrider clans, motivated in equal measure by the humanitarian purposes and to ensure that whatever the Olthans would rebuild wouldn't pose a threat to them. This, however, would backfire spectacularly.

Braedon the Conqueror, in no small part motivated by the unjust meddling of Kouran politics in Aiedonian affairs, would make of Aellkouar his first target and would seize many of the northern territories of the Kouran nation. While Braedon and Aiheron are generally praised for humbling the greatest nation on Ultheles at the time, the fact remains that the northern parts of Aellkouar posed little importance to the Kourans in the grander scheme. Rather, these part, in truth being held by puppet kingdoms to the Kourans, were intended to function as a buffer against northern threats, and as such filled their purpose.

## The Kouran Conflict

The Merchant King at the time was, although his predecessors had not intervened in the First Aiedonian March, not pleased that his kingdom now bordered a band of hostile nomads and clearly identified the threat that the Aiedonians faced him and his designs. He believed that these warmongering barbarians could be tricked and coerced to descending into infighting, which would weaken them substantially and make them susceptible to Kouran conquest and dominance. In order to facilitate this, the Merchant King used quite heavy handed politics in order to buy off certain heirs and rivaling interests and ensured that Aiedon devolved into a murderous and dark affair for at least 15 years in a period that almost threatened to tear the budding Empire apart.

Unfortunately for the Merchant King, his plan backfired the day Dagor Battleborn put his rivals to the sword and ascended the Dragon Seat What followed would see Aellkouar lose most of his Athelornian possession, until only the Kouran Peninsula itself remained, protected by the highly defensible passes of the Steel Mountains and the mighty armada available to the Merchant King.

Despite these immense losses, Aellkouar was still a force to be reckoned with as it was in possession of not only the wealthiest region of Athelorn, but substantial holdings in Othelorn and the Thousand Isles. Indeed, the conflict between Aellkouar and Aiedon was far from over, but at the very least a stalemate of sorts emerged as Dagor Battleborn finally died of a sickness, though some claim poison, while on campaign in the Steel Mountains. The Aiedonian force was at that point forced to halt its forward momentum into the Steel Mountains and withdraw to the heart of Aiedon so that a new Emperor could be selected. This timely death likely saved the Kouran Peninsula from annexation, at least in the eyes of Aiedonian scholars although Kouran scholars claim that not even Dagor could have penetrated the fortifications of the Kouran northern border.