The Risen Sovereignty

The **Risen Sovereignty**, also known simply as the **Sovereignty**, is an absolute monarchy in Terra on the continent of Helion. Formed by the survivors of the elvish kingdom of Tauriol, this nation is relatively young compared to its peers, having only been formed some two hundred years ago. The Sovereignty is led by a monarch known as the Sovereign. The current Sovereign is Sovereign **Galathor** **Taurioliant,** who is the first and only Sovereign of the Risen Sovereignty so far.

## History

### *Origins: The Kingdom of Tauriol - circa 142 Third Age*

Around 200 years ago, around 142 TA, there was a nation in the south of Helion. The Sun elves that dwelt there had formed the Kingdom of Tauriol and was said to be one of the oldest known cities in the world at the time. At this time, the Kingdom of Tauriol was one of the oldest civilisations in the world, and one of the most powerful. Only the Twilight Imperium and the Dwarfdom of Gald Alfrell eclipsed them in power and prestige

The southern elves had gotten into conflict with what is now the **Aetiam Triarchy**. At the time, the Triarchy were simply the High Elven Kingdom of **Illum**, the Wood Elven Kingdom of **Arnyale** and the Swamp Elf Kingdom of **Madrias**. Jealous of the power and prestige of **Tauriol**, the three elven kingdoms banded together and utterly destroyed the Kingdom of Tauriol. Only a few thousand of Tauriol's people survived the brutal war. These elves travelled up the middle ocean that separated the two continents and found themselves in the frigid north, far from the other elven kingdoms. They travelled into the valley between the two mountain ranges of the north and settled at the foot of the mountain range in the deep north. There they sacrificed to their Gods and were made into snow elves by their deities, giving them the strength to not only live in the cold but to thrive. It was in the year 150 TA that the Risen Sovereignty was formed.

### *Origins: The early years of the Sovereignty - Circa 150 to 200 Third Age*

The first few years of the Sovereignty were difficult. Strangers to a new and harsh land, the survivors from Tauriol suffered greatly in those years. Many died from the harsh conditions. It was until the year 150 TA, that the elves of Tauriol offered a great sacrifice to the elven gods, the pantheon known as the **Seldarine**, that they were turned into snow elves. This sacrifice, alongside the great trials and tribulations the Tauriol survivors faced, caused the Seldarine to take pity on them. The **Seldarine** granted them a boon in the form of turning every single Tauriol elf into a snow elf. With this, the Elvish Kingdom of Tauriol was no more. In its place were the Snow Elves of Northern Helion, who in turn formed the Risen Sovereignty.

Following this, the luck of the snow elves drastically changed. Now perfectly acclimatised to the frigid environment of northern Helion, the snow elves founded their new civilisation and built their capital city called **Fethyrfall** in the year 151 TA In the following years, **Fethyrfall** would flourish. More settlements would follow. **Fethyerise** and **Fethyreflow** would be founded in the years 170 TA and 190 TA respectively. Smaller settlements would also be founded during this time period.

### *The War of Frost: War between the Sovereignty and the Frost Goblins - Circa 200 to 210 Third Age*

In the year 200, the Sovereignty was flourishing. It had three cities, multiple towns and dozens of villages. The Sovereignty, thus far, had only known peace since its founding.

This would change in the year 200. Several villages had been razed in the most northern part of the region. **Fethyreflow** soon found itself besieged by a massive horde of frost goblins in 202 TA. The siege would last for half a year until the Sovereignty was finally able to break the siege. The siege was a Sovereignty victory but cost over three thousand Sovereignty soldiers and over two thousand civilian casualties. At this point, the Sovereignty only allowed snow elves to enlist in the army. Although there were many non-elves who wanted to volunteer, the Sovereignty refused them on account of their race. This severely limited how much manpower the Sovereignty could muster. At best, they could summon ten thousand soldiers and three thousand of those had been lost in two years. Unfortunately for the Sovereignty, the war had only just begun. For the rest of 202 TA, there were no more raids from the frost goblins, who licked their wounds and replenished their forces.

The war reignited at the middle of 203 TA, where the Frost goblins struck Fethyreflow again. The Sovereignty had placed a large garrison in case of this. The garrison were able to hold out but unfortunately the reinforcements were ambushed as they marched from Tauriol's Shelter into the Feathyreway Pass. The main territories of the Sovereignty in the Shelter were under attack, with **Alfa Rie** besieged and several villages razed. The Sovereignty had to split their forces. Only three thousand five hundred soldiers were sent to reinforce **Fethyreflow**. This small army was only just enough. At the end of 203 TA, the Sovereignty was able to break the siege but at the cost of nearly the entire army. Only five hundred soldiers of the combined four thousand soldiers remained in the north. The war had yet to finish. This victory was disastrous. The Sovereignty only had a quarter of its full strength remaining. Luckily, the goblins were low on numbers too. For the next five years of the war, there would be no pitched battles or sieges, only raids with the Sovereignty only able to drive off the raids as they happened, rather than stop them pre-emptively. In 208 TA, the Sovereignty had only one thousand soldiers left. Thousands lay dead. It was in 208 TA that the Sovereignty had finally reached its breaking point. The goblins had made mounts of the snowy animals of the north, using monstrous snow wargs as cavalry and had also tamed giant bats to act as flying cavalry. Worse yet, the raids were simply a way to keep the Sovereignty occupied whilst they recovered from the losses. Due to the goblins rapid reproductive rates, they could replenish their losses far more quickly than most races on the planet. By 208 TA, they had massively outnumbered the Sovereignty's remaining forces 20:1. In 209 TA, both Fethyerise and Fethyreflow were besieged and with only one thousand soldiers left, the Sovereignty could not break any siege, let alone both. The situation had gotten so desperate to the point that the Sovereignty finally allowed non-snow elves to enlist in the army to bolster their numbers. With fresh levies, the Sovereignty could finally take the war to the Frost Goblins. There were so many volunteers that the Sovereignty were finally on even footing with the Frost Goblins. The Sovereignty broke both sieges by the end of 209 TA.

At the beginning of 210 TA, Sovereign Galathor led an army to the Frost Goblin holdings in the eastern mountain range of Northern Helion and finally broke the Frost Goblins. The Sovereignty spared no goblins it could get its hands on and the Frost Goblins were made virtually extinct. They have not been seen since the final victory in the year 210. The Sovereignty had been wounded but not killed. It took ten years for the Sovereignty to defeat the Frost Goblins but the Sovereignty had won their first war.

### *Citizenship for All Movement: Insurrection of 212 - Circa 211 to 212 Third Age*

In the immediate aftermath of the War of Frost, the Sovereignty had saved itself from annihilation and won its first war, emerging battered but victorious. With this victory, a new problem presented itself. In the years prior the War of Frost, non-snow elves were not granted citizenship in the Sovereignty and essentially had no rights. While there were some people who raised the issue, it never got any momentum. This was due to the fact that most got by well enough without citizenship and thus felt that it was not necessary. By the end of the war, it had become a more glaring issue. Near the end of the war, when the Sovereignty finally allowed non-snow elves to volunteer, it gave energy to an old but not forgotten issue: citizenship for non-snow elves. Although the non-snow elves races were at first glad to finally be able to defend their homes, with their victory, came a desire to finally be recognised as proud citizens of the Sovereignty. The beginning of the year 211 saw an increase in a movement that would be known as the *Citizenship for All* Movement. It was started by a dozen families of humans, gnomes, halflings and dwarves and a few other races. Although this movement was initially a peaceful one, it would turn hostile and bitter later in the year.

With the victory still very fresh in most people's minds, public opinion swung in its favour. Although all positions of power and nobility were filled by snow elves, there were ten non-snow elves for every snow elf. As the movement spread and grew, so did its membership and influence. By the middle of the year, half of the Sovereignty's population supported the movement. It had grown to the point that the Sovereignty could no longer ignore it. In June of 211 TA, the Sovereignty famously or rather infamously held a Referendum to decide the issue. After two weeks of extensive and fierce debate followed by a vote in which all of the Sovereignty voted, it was announced that the Sovereignty would not grant citizenship to the non-snow elves, not even to the ones who fought bravely in the War of Frost.

The result the Sovereignty got was immensely negative. All over the Sovereignty, protests were held. The workforce stopped working, people protested outside the citadels and people all over stopped paying their taxes. The immediate result was disastrous for the authority. Still recovering from the War of Frost, the Sovereignty could not bear the costs of the protests nor the economic disaster that occured when a majority of the workforce stopped working. Still the Government would not budge from their position. For three months, the Movement and the Government would butt heads but neither side would budge. Things would change in September. The Government sought to end the Movement on their terms. Thus they plotted to kill off the leadership of the Movement. Cut off the head and the body dies. Thus in September 211 TA, the Sovereignty sent an assassin to kill off the figurehead leader, Charles Firth, a human from **Fethyreflow** and a War of Frost veteran. They succeeded and the Movement suffered a devastating blow. While Charles did none of the planning or writing, he was charismatic and down to earth, with his past as a veteran making him a much admired figure in the Sovereignty. His death was felt keenly by the Movement. He would become known in Sovereignty history as the Movement Martyr.

In the next month, the Movement stagnated and lost a good portion of its influence and momentum with Firth's death. The Sovereignty had almost succeeded in destabilising the Movement. What they could not have foreseen is the Movement uncovering the government's assassination order. A group of adventurers had been hired to investigate Firth's death by Firth's family. Their investigation led them to the capital itself **Fethyrfall**, where they discovered the truth behind's Firth's death. The reaction to this revelation was even worse than the reaction in June earlier that year. Protests were held but then quickly devolved into massive riots. People everywhere rioted over the death of Firth. Sovereignty citizens were attacked in the streets, shops were vandalised and tax revenue dried up entirely. The entirety of the Sovereignty's non-elf populace had completely rallied against the Sovereignty. In each city, the city guard had to contend with the riots. Whilst well armed and well provisioned, the guard were outnumbered significantly and could barely contain them, let alone presently stop them. The Sovereignty had attempted to maintain order but only made things worse when they ordered the guard to actively stop the riots through force. Near the end of the year, around October, the situation had deteriorated that the Movement formally declared a revolution. The Risen Insurrection had begun.

Following this declaration, the Movement had moved to **Alfa Rie** in November, located in the east of Tauriol's Shelter. It was here that they established a base of operations and began raising their forces. By the beginning of the year 212, the Movement had assembled a large army numbering around seven thousand strong, with a large portion of this army being comprised of Frost veterans, who in turn trained the rest of the army which was comprised of regular people. In three months, the Movement had a disciplined but inexperienced army. The Sovereignty in turn were massively outnumbered as they had only a thousand soldiers left, having not yet recovered from the War of Frost. What they had were mages, which in turn evened the playing field somewhat. The first and only battle of the conflict occured in April of 212, at the field of Mael, in what would later become Mael's Hearth. The battle of Mael Fields would be a disaster for both sides. The Movement took grievous casualties as the Movement had no answer for the magic users in the Sovereignty army while the Sovereignty were so massively outnumbered that every loss taken was a loss that could not be replaced, due to the slow and comparatively infrequent reproductive rate of snow elves. The Movement could replenish their numbers easily whilst the Sovereignty could not. The two sides found themselves in a stalemate. With no counter to Sovereignty magic, the Movement would likely experience severe casualties in further combat, something they wanted to avoid, due the war fatigue that was still fresh in the Sovereignty's mind. On the other hand, the Sovereignty could not raise any more forces nor could they afford to raise them anyway, being dangerously low on funds. Thus the two sides agreed to a meeting in May.

In May 212 TA, the two sides met in the plains near Mael's field, in what was the middle of Tauriol's Shelter. The two sides negotiated a ceasefire. The leaders of the Movement led by Karla Firth (daughter of Charles Firth) met with Sovereign Galathor and his Frost Council. They argued for hours and eventually agreed to a compromise. While the Sovereignty would not grant any non-snow elf any position of power nor nobility, they would be granted citizenship, not just for the currently generation but for future generations. Both sides would work together to rebuild what was broken and destroyed in the two conflicts and agreed to build a town that would be supervised by a noble house but be managed by the Movement as well. This town would be called Maelbar and while officially the noble family chosen would the main power in town, unofficially the Movement and the noble family would manage the town together. The Sovereignty would give its word that non-snow elf citizens would get the same rights as regular citizens such as voting rights. In turn, the Movement would disband its forces and return everything to normal. The two sides agreed to this compromise and peace returned to the Sovereignty.

Since 212, the Sovereignty has kept its word. Non-snow elves have since been granted citizenship and most of the snow elves have treated non-snow elves cordially and with respect. Maelbar has grown to be the most equal place in the Sovereignty and more progressive in comparison to the other settlements. Despite this progression, the Sovereignty is still slow to change, as while non-snow elves have been granted citizenship, they still have yet to be granted any high ranking position or nobility and while most of the nobility is generally amiable to non-snow elves, there are still some powerful families that have a disdain for non-snow elves. These issues have continued to be a major issue in the Sovereignty and would lead to one of the biggest scandals in the Sovereignty's history: the rise and Fall of Sovereign.

### *The Battle Mage of Aestinvale: Sovereign's Rise and Fall - Circa 322 Third Age*

In the year 322 of the Third Age, around twenty years prior to the current year (342 TA), there was a great scandal in the Risen Sovereignty that originated in the southern town of Aestinvale. A human male had risen to a high rank in the Sovereignty Army. This human male had risen to Battle Mage in the Army, a high ranking position in the military. It was a great controversy as the Sovereignty typically did not give non-snow elf races any high ranking positions. To progress to a high position required one to be a pure snow elf. Even half snow elven were not exempt from this. That this human male had progressed to Battle Mage was a great scandal. To make matters even more controversial, this human male was also given a portion of Sovereignty territory to overlook, as a governor of sorts. This scandal outraged much of the nobility throughout the nation.

One day, a snow elf noble accosted the human male Battle Mage and verbally abused him. Enraged, the human battle mage attacked the noble. For this assault, the human mage was publicly flogged and to add salt to the wounds, was severely demoted; he was stripped of both his governorship of the southern border and his position as Battle Mage. Following this incident, the human appeared to be humbled and even kissed the feet of the noble who accosted him. However that same noble was later found murdered, having been tortured and heavily mutilated in the process. The human male was accused and then hung for the murder of the noble. His body was tossed into the gutter. Sovereign **Galathor** censored all mention of the human male. His name was forever censured in the Sovereignty under pain of public flogging.

### *The Ice Formation anomaly: Sovereign's Return - June 342 Third Age*

In the current year, the Sovereignty faced an unusual anomaly in the form of a massive ice formation that suddenly appeared near the southern border. Confused and alarmed by this, the government sent mercenaries to scout the anomaly. No mercenaries sent back returned however, amplifying the government's concern in this matter. It was not until a trio of unknown mercenaries were sent, did the Sovereignty get any intel at all. This intel however, proved to be horrifying. The human battle mage that the Sovereignty had so cruelly treated all those years ago had returned. He had returned with an army at his back and with a new name: Sovereign. Sovereign had told the adventuring trio known as the **Black Knights** that he was coming to get his revenge and he would not be alone. An army of ice was at his command and he would spare none in Aestinvale. He had announced his intention to destroy the Risen Sovereignty and to replace it with the Fallen Sovereignty.

### *The War of the Risen and Fallen: Sovereign's Revenge - August 342 Third Age*

He proved to be a man of his word on the 15th of August, where he attacked **Aestinvale**. The fighting proved to be fierce but ultimately futile as the Sovereignty was massively outnumbered. Most of the army at Aestinvale died to a man with only the Duchess and General Radahn managing to escape with the help of Heor Lou's Guild on the skyship **Cloudfall**. Heor Lou himself presumably fell in combat when he detonated an explosive at point blank range to destroy Sovereign. Aestinvale had fallen to the Fallen Sovereignty and with that, Sovereign had won the first battle in the War of the Risen and Fallen.

## Geography

### *Feathyreway Pass*

This is a valley pass nestled between the two mountain ranges that surround the Sovereignty's territory. In the west was the **Lindon Mountains**. To the east was the **Veil Seranon Range**.

* **Fethyreflow**: City located at the northernmost of the Sovereignty. The river **Lanondon** flows through it. It is the third largest settlement in the nation. The entirety of the Sovereignty's sea based fleet resides here, as the Sovereignty's only port city. It has a population of forty five thousand snow elves, and over two hundred thousand non-snow elves in general. All of the city's sea trade is based here, and much of the city's wealth comes from this.
* **Fethyerise**: City located near the Lindon Mountains. It is the second largest settlement in the nation. Fifty five thousand. It has a population of fifty five thousand snow elves, and over three hundred thousand non-snow elves in general. This city is located near the Lindon Mountain ranges and is close to many natural resource deposits such as iron, gold and bronze. Most of the city's wealth is owed to this.

### *Tauriol's Shelter*

The majority of the Sovereignty is located in this massive plains nestled between the two mountain ranges of Northern Helion. It is south of the Feathyreway Pass Its lands are fertile and boasts plenty of wild game. There are several species of magical creatures that roam the lands here.

* **Fethyrfall**: The capital city. It is the largest city in the nation. It is nestled against the Lindon Mountains. It is home to most of the nation's nobility. It is the only city that has a standing army based in it instead of a garrison of city guards. As the largest city in the Sovereignty, it has a population of one hundred thousand snow elves. However the general population is estimated to number around five hundred thousand, with many humans, gnomes, halflings and the occasional dwarf.
* **Aestinvale**: Large town located near the southern border. It is a large town, almost the size of a small city. It's massive population growth is owed to the incredibly fertile lands that surround it. Its snow elf population numbers around three thousand, with other races like humans, gnomes and halflings rounding the general population off at ten thousand.
* **Maelbar**: Large town located in the heart of Tauriol's Shelter. It is a large town, similar in size to Aestinvale but larger. Due to its location in what is essentially the centre of Tauriol's Shelter, it is much more heavily fortified, having strong thick walls and a much larger military presence. Its snow elf population numbers around three thousand five hundred, with a little over ten thousand non-elves as well.

## Politics

### *Sovereign*

Since the founding of the Sovereignty, the nation has been led by a Sovereign. The title is for all intents and purposes, the equivalent to a monarch similar to the other countries in the world. The Sovereign holds absolute power but is advised by a council of nobles.

### *Frozen* *Circle*

Similar to the position of Sovereign, the Council of the Frozen Circle has been around since the founding of the nation. This council contains the most powerful families in the Sovereignty. There are several positions that a special council member will take. These positions each have responsibilities over a key aspect of governance. These positions are:

* Lord of Fields.
* Lord of Magicks
* Lord of Laws
* Lord of Commerce
* Lord of War
* Lord of Intel
* Lord of Air
* Lord of Infrastructure

## Military

### *Law Enforcement*

#### City guards: Tauriol's Shields

In each settlement, there is a military base that maintains order, enforces the law and ensures the security of each settlement. They are lightly armored, lightly armed but are trained well and are disciplined.

### *Military*

#### Risen Swords

The Sovereignty has a standing army of five thousand soldiers. There is a variety of melee infantry, ranged infantry, cavalry and magic users. The Sovereignty can summon many more soldiers but it will take time.

## People

The Sovereignty's main population is snow elves. Snow elves are attuned to the colder weather and can handle it far better than most elves or other races in general. The entire snow elf population in the Sovereignty is perhaps only two hundred thousand elves. Due to elf physiology, elf reproductive rates are relatively low in comparison to other races. That the population numbered only in the thousands at the founding of the Sovereignty is an indication of how much the Sovereignty has flourished since then.

There are plenty of other races that live in Sovereignty territory. Races such as humans, gnomes, halflings and the occasional dwarf made their homes in the vast territory of the Sovereignty and typically they are treated well enough. Whilst the Sovereignty does not discriminate against non-elf races, they do not grant them the same rights and privileges a snow elf would get. Whilst they grant citizenship to non-elves, they have yet to grant non-elves nobility or any real position of power. Thus all nobility and positions of authority are all snow elves and filled by snow elves.