Aboniah

**Aboniah** is the capital city of the Kingdom of Llendus, as well as the capital of both the Duchy of Aboniah and the Margraviate of Aboniah. All three titles are held by King Gitaeus II of House Tryalis. Despite being a capital city, Aboniah is not all that urban. The city is more of a collection of large towns and farmlands connected through an extensive road network.

## History

### Before the Withdrawal

Aboniah was first founded in 214 BW. As per the Marenbach Declaration, Aboniah was independent from neighbouring settlements as Humans were not allowed to form countries at the time, only loose partnerships as loopholes. The Second Human Rebellion between 144 and 106 BW shattered the declaration as the Divines, busy dealing with the large-scale rebellion in the North, had no time to enforce it. While the first Human kingdoms began popping up sporadically throughout the South, modern-day Llendus was not one of these regions. A lack of will or strength to conquer led to no large state emerging in Llendus.

In time, a foreign power would gain control over the area. Namely, the Human Kingdom of Sallant. Launching a northwards march aimed at taking out the Freeholds in the North, they were joined by a myriad of rulers on the way there who sought the same goal. By the time they reached Llendus, this alliance of rulers had formed into the Human Kingdom of the South. Aboniah, and almost all settlements near it, joined the Human Kingdom of the South, which reformed once more into the Kingdom of Humanity. However, during this period, it was still a relatively small settlement with little to no power within the kingdom.

Soldiers and militias from Aboniah joined the main advance into the Marenbach Forest and beyond with the other Human armies, though their numbers were small. In time, the Third Human Rebellion would begin to deteriorate, most notably after the counteroffensive of the Nytalyrian Empire under Lyxis the Blind, who achieved godhood in the process. Lyxis pushed the Humans out of the North, marking the start of the Divine War in a period of escalation. When Ivos, God of Earth, tore the Mainland apart only to smash it back into each other, the damage was catastrophic. The newly formed Marenbach Mountains blocked the Nytalyrian advance into the South, and a stalemate broke out. Mortal activity was limited until 20 BW. In that year, Lyxis the Blind and her armies launched a naval invasion of the South around the new mountains, capturing the port of Rytow and advancing further inland.

Aboniah and neighbouring settlements held out abnormally long thanks to the efforts of one man: Veric the Llendan. As the Kingdom of Humanity began to collapse, Veric headed a smaller break-off force that launched a brutal guerilla campaign from the mountains of Llendus. This blocked the Nytalyrian advance for some time, securing the relatively flat and fertile lands of the region's centre, including Aboniah. However, when Lyxis began personally getting evolved, Veric's rebellion was doomed. Skirmishers and militias are no match for a Goddess and accompanying large armies. In 13 BW, Veric chose martyrdom over surrender. His death marked the occupation of the region in that same year, and Aboniah was occupied by the Nytalyrians until 5 AW.

### Growth in Importance

In 5 AW, the Nytalyrians decided to grant Llendus its independence. While it was an odd decision to many, considering the hard-fought struggle to occupy the region in the first place, Lyxis went through with it thanks to a loss of control. While Rytyw (now Rytow) became a prominent Freehold and naval base in the South, other areas of the continent remained disorderly. The founding of the Freehold of Agimiya under Nyvos Khanys, a Nytalyrian general gone rogue, marked a particular turning point for Nytalyrian policy in the area. Rather than devote the time, headaches, and resources to occupying what remained of the South, Lyxis chose the more practical option.

In the immediate aftermath of the Nytalyrian withdrawal, a local ruler, Vaso Marnagys, seized the opportunity, expanding from his native Illas and rapidly subjugating nearby settlements. Aboniah, too, fell to the Marnagys advance. Before the year was over, he had founded a Llendan state, later refered to as the Old Kingdom of Llendus by historians. At the time, it was simply known as the Kingdom of Llendus.

Aboniah grew steadily under the Old Kingdom of Llendus, though it was far from its current importance. Its relatively central position led to it becoming a crossroads for traders, which allowed other settlements to flourish. Aboniah was by far the most prominent, and began integrating nearby towns and villages into itself as it grew. Yet, this importance would come to a drastic and sudden stop not longer after.

### Under the Sapphire Empire

In 443 AW the Old Kingdom of Llendus was invaded by King Ilu of Sallant, in a great series of conquests throughout the South known collectively as King Ilu's Wars. Despite stiff resistance from the monarch in Illas, King Ilu was simply too great a strategist to lose his momentum to the mountains of Llendus. By 444 AW, the Old Kingdom of Llendus was gone and fell under Sallanthian occupation. King Ilu continued his wars, forming the Sapphire Empire in 451 AW as a direct successor to the Kingdom of Humanity.

Under the Sapphire Empire, Aboniah lost its prominence albeit temporarily. The internal borders of Llendus were redrawn by the Sallanthians in 512 AW, with Aboniah falling under House Tryalis for the first time. Before this point, internal trade had decreased compared to the days of independence, which hurt both Llendus as a whole and also the trading hub. Yet, House Tryalis' control over the town would mark a turning point. A string of expert political players allowed the Tryalis dukes of the area to expand their influence, both in their home region and within the imperial court at New Sallant.

After over 25 years of negotiations and the trading of favours, the Dukes of Aboniah were also granted control over a new state: the Autonomous Kingdom of Llendus, which remained an internal province within the Empire yet gave House Tryalis control over the entire region. With this new state, Aboniah, too, became far more important as a regional capital city. Llendus remained largely unaffected by the general instability and myriad of civil wars that plagued the Sapphire Empire in the coming centuries, which allowed Aboniah to grow steadily and act as a safe haven for refugees fleeing the chaos in other parts of the Empire.

Between 995 and 998 AW, the Sapphire Empire entered a state of total collapse. The sitting monarch at the time, Anasthos, was a staunch loyalists to the Sapphire Empire, particularly the Emperor of New Sallant. He sought further cooperation and perhaps even vassalage under Sallant, yet the Dukes forced his hand. Anasthos was forced to declare independence, marking the reformation from the Autonomous Kingdom of Llendus to the modern fully independent Kingdom of Llendus.

### Modern Era

Aboniah, in the past two centuries, quietly churns along as they always have. The Kingdom of Llendus prides itself on its neutrality, and hasn't seen any conflict since its independence in 998 AW. Their monarchs have expertly steered clear from taking sides in conflicts between Sallant and Da'al Mon, the Great War, and the ongoing Epilogue Wars. This tranquillity reflects in Aboniah and many other Llendan settlements, as the population grows steadily each year thanks to a large influx of migrants and refugees fleeing war-torn areas in other parts of the South.

Aboniah has grown significantly in the past 200 years of independence, eclipsing other capital cities of countries of the same size. Between vast and modern road networks, trade routes, temples, palaces, academies, barracks, and some castles, Aboniah is an all-rounded and well developed city. People live prosperous lives within the town, with the streets being both safe and clean. In short, long-term neutrality has served wonders for Aboniah.

## Ownership

* Independent City (214-91 BW)
* Human Kingdom of the South (91-88 BW)
* Kingdom of Humanity (88-13 BW)
* Empire of Nytalyria (13 BW-5 AW)
* Old Kingdom of Llendus (5-444 AW)
* Kingdom of Sallant (444-451 AW)
* Sapphire Empire (451-538 AW)
* Autonomous Kingdom of Llendus (538-998 AW)
* Kingdom of Llendus (998 AW-)

## Buildings

* Castle Tryalis
* Knight Academy
* Royal Palace
* Sapphire Palace