Alba

The **Tanistry of Alba** is a mighty kingdom inside of the Emerald Forest united by the Witch-queen Bé-Fáil who rules over it as its benevolent High Queen.

The population of Alba exists mostly out of star elves, humans, and their half-elf children. With small populations of gnomes and dragonborn living between them. While the Elves and Humans can be found amongst almost every occupation in society they primarily work in the mining and woodcutting industries. The Gnomes almost exclusively live inside of the cities as traders and business owners. Meanwhile the dragonborn mostly keep to themselves, only coming into contact with the other races to sell the animals they have caught or to buy supplies.

## Government

The country is ruled by the Tanistry system. Every landed noble title higher than baron is elected by their vassals from the previous ruler their clan. Counts are chosen by their barons and mayors, petty kings by their counts, mayors, and barons, and the high king is voted in by petty kings and counts. A candidate is not allowed to vote for themselves, even if they are the only possible choice. Electors usually vote for someone outside of the current ruler's direct family, such as a landed nephew or a prestigious cousin. There have even been cases where a simple farm boy suddenly found themselves as the new king.

## Points of interests

* **Moh's Pub** - A tavern made inside a gigantic green emerald, popular with both peasants and the high kings.

## The Green Knights

The Alban military is renowned for its Green Knight corps made out of exclusively half-elves. These half-elves are chosen because they combine the nimbleness of an elf with the brawn and survival instincts of an human, making them excellent soldiers. These knights are clad in emerald infused green armour covered by an coat of made out of woven leaves that protect them against arrows. Because of this coat they can use both their hands to wield a mighty great axe into the battle.

While they are knights in name, they are infamously unchivalrous. Using ambushes and dirty tactics such as sucker punches to give themselves the edge in battle. Few however dare to deny their efficiency in combat.

## History

Thousands of years ago, when the world was still young, a tribe of star elves made their home in the lush Emerald Forest. They called themselves the Alban, after the clan of their rulers. They raised large standing stones known as the miststones to protect their home from a drought that had claimed many of the tribes around them. Decennia later a tribe of humans had found its way into the Emerald Forest, despite the thick mist that was supposed to protected the forest from invaders. When the two groups first met they fought each other for land and resources, but over time they began to warm up to each other and united into a single people.

As the world grew older the tribes became bigger and eventually they formed cities. Those cities developed into petty fiefdoms each ruled by a separate clan, who fought between one another to fall in the good graces of the high king. Until one day the last of the royal clansman was assassinated and the Alba clan disappeared. Over night the petty kings went to war with each other and the Emerald Forest fractured into a collection of squabbling states.

One of these clans was the Kingdom of Coillín who thousands of years after the death of the last high king would unite the clans once again. In the year 1384 AD at her 16th birthday, Bé-Fáil was elected and crowned as the petty queen after her uncle Lugh, the previous duke died from an infected wound. Normally it would have been impossible for a woman to be elected, but Bé-Fáil was the last living tanists of the Coillín clan.

In the first four years of her reign she did nothing but hold exquisite banquets and lavish parties. Many of her courtiers began to whisper about their low expectations of for this spoiled teenager, but behind their back Bé-Fáil was forging powerful relationships with the rulers of the neighbouring kingdoms, sometimes as formal allies or political friends, and sometimes as secret lovers.

In her 20th year Bé-Fáil arrived at court with a new found vitality and potent magic. She started to work to on securing a future for her clan. She saddled up her Dire Wolf Cernun and led her army, the green knights, to beyond Coillín's borders. each kingdom that they arrived in was faced with a choice: Join Coillín as a free vassal or be put back in line by the green knights. At first the neighbouring kingdoms laughed into her face, but after two years of total war they surrounded. Eventually more and more petty kings started to join on their own volition and over the next eighteen years of her life Bé-Fáil conquered state after state until eventually the entire Emerald Forest came under her rule. She named her kingdom after the ancient Elven tribe that lived here before.