Tènduranŷn

**[WIP]** The High Kingdom of **Tèndulan** (from ras. *Land of the Warden*) was an absolute monarchy situated in the Ganaic Valley, among the forests of the Southern Shore of the Old World in the basins of the *Tyer*, *Nirekyèn* and *Zurudêş* rivers, inhabited mainly by humans - the free *Syèram* and Vanurian serfs, with significant minorities of Teńǵo living in the west, Centaurs and Grogs in the north and Nyewida in the south. They were mostly concentrated around the cities of *Tyermaje and* *Laşârin*, although the united state formed by *Hìnr* *Laşâ* incorporated other settlements, such as the fortress of *Firakâln* located near the Dragon's Pass, *Keşædirm* on the Great South Road, the bustling port of *Èvènpetaun* or the royal city of *Ìlmantir*.

## History

### Prehistory of Tènduranŷn

Not much is known about the lands of modern Tènduranŷn before the Sunscythians' expansion. It is widely believed that the main group who lived in the region were the Proto-Vanurians, cutting down lush forests to create pastures for their herds and building small temporary settlements called *çamaya*. Occasionally, Centaurs could be seen travelling through the sparser forests, while the ancestors of the Nyewida and Dwesheans possibly lived in the south of the Ganaic Valley but migrated to their respective homelands on the Nyehef Peninsula and lowlands of Dexedeko not long after the Htahl'zè first set foot in these lands. During the next centuries Sunscythians tried to convert the resisting locals to their faith by force, particularly harshly oppressing the Vanurians and even committing atrocities on them. In the meantime, a famine struck the lands east of the Zurudêş River, causing the populations living there to migrate west. The largest of those groups were the Syèram, who would later create and rule the realm of Tènduranŷn. They agreed to convert to the Sunscythians' faith and with their help they pushed the Vanurians away from the Tyer River, where they settled down instead. For the next hundreds of years the Syèram continued to fight the remnants of free Vanurians, while steadily increasing their influence in the region. During the *Age of the Red Sun*, when the Sunscythian Empire split in two, the Syèram were powerful enough to overshadow other groups and indirectly control the eastern part of the Empire until its full collapse a century later.

### The Creation & Early Years of the Yordom

After the definite fall of the Sunscythian Empire in the east, a period of chaos and social regression ensued. Only several bastions of the ancient civilization have stood the test of time, including the city of Tyermaje. Built by the Sunscythians on high ground, with easy access to the Tyer River and a network of old roads connecting it with other settlements, it was the center of Duranish culture. The *yor* (council) of Tyermaje became the supreme ruling body in the area and managed to create a stable proto-state. With the election of *Yavede Laşâ Vyevrau* as the council's leader and the unification with the town of *Yurækha*, the yordom of Tènduranŷn was born. In the following years Laşâ secured his position, conquering and incorporating nearby villages and smaller nations. After being paid tribute by the Centaurs, he moved further west and south, expanding his realm beyond the territories of the Syèram. In one of those campaigns he was supposedly ambushed and killed by a group of sabrewolf riders, who were later captured and executed in Tyermaje by Laşâ's son and heir, *Mŷskar*. Around a month later, during a meeting of the national yor, Mŷskar was chosen as Laşâ's successor and new leader of Tènduranŷn. He took upon himself the title of *Vikan*, meaning *ruler* or *governor* and ran the state for around 20 years, which he spent raising cities, such as *Laşâtur* and *Keşædirm*, and introducing many new laws. After his sudden and unexpected death, Tènduranŷn fell into disorder, as the children of Mŷskar fought for power.

### The Kinslaying

Even though *Vikan Yavede Hìnr Mŷskar* left Tènduranŷn stronger than it ever was, indecisiveness about who should be his successor and splitting the state into dominions controlled by each of the remaining members of the dynasty led to them plotting against each other to achieve supreme control over the nation. Thus, around 5 years after Mŷskar's death, during a period of anarchy, a civil war broke out. The main parties involved were: *Suve the Tall*, younger brother of Mŷskar with the councilmen of the national yor, operating from Tyermaje; *Laşâ the Bold*, firstborn son of Mŷskar supported by the yor of Yurækha; *Paràn*, the daughter of Mŷskar followed by the Vikan's guard and centaurs; *Hese*, the youngest son of Mŷskar. The first to put out a claim for kingship was Laşâ son of Mŷskar, who then came to Tyermaje from Yurækha where he resided. Surprisingly to him, Suve, the brother of the late Vikan did not allow him to enter the city, as he did not want Tènduranŷn to become fully controlled by a single person. Enraged, Laşâ challenged him to a duel and Suve reluctantly accepted. They fought before the gates of the city until Laşâ managed to strike the opponent's sword out of his hand. However, just when he was going to kill Suve, a messenger came and told him that Paràn, his younger sister, was marching with the Vikan's guard and a group of centaurs towards the capital, ready to fight both him and Suve. Thus the men agreed to form an alliance against Paràn, who they deemed too mentally unstable to even try to negotiate with. The Yurækhan mercenaries of Laşâ and the guards of Tyermaje started preparing the city for a siege, when a horde of centaurs attacked. Many defenders fled in disarray, but just before the gates, as a few hours earlier during the duel, stood Laşâ the Bold. He drew his weapon out and fought back centaurs after centaurs without any fear. The attackers did not prevail, but when the sun was setting, Suve stood before his nephew's body, burning in the dark on a ritual pile. A few days later Paràn arrived with all of her forces and took the abandoned city, destroying its ancient Sunscythian walls. Then she moved towards Yurækha, which she burned to the ground in search of Suve. After looking for Suve for a year without any success, she returned to Tyermaje, where she murdered every member of the national council with her own hands and still covered in blood proclaimed herself Vikan of Tènduranŷn, from then on known to history as Paràn the Bloody. In the meantime, Suve the Tall, who was hiding in the south, met with Hese, the brother of Paràn. The young man was terrified by the cruelty of his sister and promised his uncle to stop her. He travelled to Tyermaje and tricked Paràn into believing that he is an ally of her, but still needed to get rid of his weapons to gain her trust. Some years later the brutal Vikan judged one of her guards untrustworthy and wanted her brother to kill him. Hese agreed to do it, but just before executing the guard, he turned around and cut off Paràn's arm. She shrieked and threw herself at her brother, poking his eyes out. Hese lived through the fight and managed to escape, but not long after meeting again with Suve, he died from his wounds and an infection. After the war ended, Suve came back to Tyermaje and chose the new members of the national yor. He died of old age some time later and the council elected his firstborn son, Lhanr Laşâ, as the new Vikan.

## Administration & Government

[OLD] Political power in Tènduranŷn is usually very dispersed, although in the south lies mostly in the hands of the council of Lašarin. At the lowest level there are family councils (called yoræm) made up of the oldest family members. Sometimes they are grouped into regional councils, governing entire villages and towns. The highest level of the government is the Great Council (Yerkkhètijn), which, in addition to the regional councils and non-grouped family councils, included the king of Tjermadžæ, for role of which Laša of the Ëremetš was elected. He was known for unifying many duranish settlements into the state of Tènduranŷn and establishing new towns and cities. After his death a civil war broke out between the nobility, but eventually the Armereš family brought peace to the nation, establishing a regency council until the new king would be chosen. They also created a complex legal system that regulated the way in which power is transferred in the monarchy when the current king dies and moved the capital from Tjermadžæ to Lašarin, to enable easier supervision of trade with other peoples of the Southern Shore.