Khrossian Isles

### Territory

The Khrossian Isles are a pair of islands in the Ardellian sea: Khrossia Major, the bigger one, and Khrossia Minor, the smaller one.

The islands are volcanic in nature, although the volcano that formed them has long been extinct.

Both islands are very small, and not really of any economical interest. Most of the very small population lives in small villages, with the exception of the touristic and archaeological city of Khrossia located on Khrossia Major.

Politically, Khrossia Major belongs to Ardelaine, and Khrossia Minor belongs to Ledenon.

### Important places

* The National Museum of Khrossian History, on Khrossia Major, is the only museum entirely dedicated to the Khrossian civilization (though most history museums have khrossian artifacts). It's also where the Khrossia meteorite, where it has resided ever since its excavation from the ruins of Khrossia, apart from the occasional lending to another museum, and the two years it was taken out of public view while it was studied by the Quest (rumors say that it was crucial in discovering the Aether)
* The ancient city of Khrossia, on Khrossia Major. Historians believe that it used to be the capital of the khrossian kingdom. It's the best preserved ruins, as its buildings were made mostly out of stones, bricks and ceramic tiles, while wood was the primary material in other settlements. It is now surrounded with hotels, shops and various accommodations for tourists, and the National Museum is located next to it.
* The Hall of Companies, on Khrossia Minor. A modern building funded by Ledenon, where the companies trying to evade Commonwealth taxes set their headquarters. It's still of moderate size, and comprises of many small rooms with a single office desk and a mailbox. It was particularly difficult to find a spot to build it, as in most places where the Ledenese started to dig, it turned into an archaeological excavation.

### Special status

Khrossia Major and Khrossia Minor, historically, belonged to the Ardellanoise Crown. However, they didn't belonged to the king of Ardelaine, but to the king of Khrossia, a title that was traditionally held by the elected king of Ardelaine.

When Ardelaine joined the Commonwealth, technically speaking, they were only able to relinquish the title of king of Ardelaine to the Senate. As such, the Khrossian isles never really joined the Commonwealth.

That technicality exempts all citizens and companies located in the Khrossian isles from paying federal taxes. While this has been, for most of Commonwealth history, used to exempt the priceless historical artifacts found on the islands, a couple years ago, Ledenon bought Khrossia Minor from Ardelaine for a ludicrous amount of money to be able to benefit from that tax exemption. Most people in Ardelaine are mad about this purchase.

### Archaeology

The Khrossian civilization is very old, predating even Ardelaine. As such, most artifacts found on the Khrossian Isles date back to the bronze age, sometimes even earlier.

Some finely decorated ceramics have also been found, although most of them have been broken overtime. The tiles and mosaics in Khrossia are still mostly intact.

They apparently had a fairly prosperous civilization, as mundane items such as bronze haircombs have been found, and there has been no evidence of famine, proving that resources weren't so scarce.

The Khrossians had developed written language, on clay tablets and parchment. Some traces of papyrus paper suggest that they interacted, directly or not, with the Sanaan desert. Apparently, all scripts except Yakuma's derivated from Khrossian.

Another notable artifact is the Khrossia meteorite, an ancient meteorite that, apparently, was formerly worshipped almost as a god. Ancient documents suggest that it was considered to be the source of a divine power held by the king of Khrossia. Some visitors claim to have seen it glow faintly blue when the museum closes after the night falls, but this phenomenon has never been certified.