Beltheria

**Beltheria** is
often considered the most civilised of all the lands of men. The Beltherians
were once ruled by an elvish upper class which was eventually overthrown and
the two races became one. It is believed that their elvish blood is responsible
for the civility of the men of Beltheria.

The southern
half of the continent was conquered by a great evil many centuries ago, this
has made the people of Beltheria united and strong. All Beltherian men must
undertake two years of Military training and service when they turn eighteen,
so that if Beltheria is ever in danger, it can call upon a large militia force.
Beltheria is also a great place of art and learning, with many universities and
colleges.  Beltheria is ruled by a King
whose dynasty, The Marx family, has prospered for a thousand years.

## The Nariin

Beltheria was originally inhabited by a race of elves known as the Nariin. From the time of The First Light, they served as the guardians of all life on the continent. The
Nariin kept watch over Beltheria, holding true to their sacred duty given to
them by Paldâ. Thousands of years passed without change for the Nariin, until
the arrival of a creature they had never seen before: Humans.

## The Arrival of Men

It is unknown exactly how or when humans appeared in Beltheria, the only record available of this time is from Elven oral tradition, which is not exact in its chronology. The
elves saw these humans as weak, simple and flawed. Their lives were much
shorter than those of the elves, they lacked any divine purpose and they were prone
to anger and violence. The Nariin saw these men as a threat to the balance and
harmony of the world, so they decided they must stray from their path and
intervene. The Nariin took these early men and tried to make them like the
elves. But the men were too unpredictable, unable to live in harmony with
nature. They would destroy trees to make tools and kill animals for food, so
the elves decided a different approach was required. Rather than try to educate
the humans, the Nariin instead subjugated them to try and limit their
destructive behaviour.

The generations
went on and eventually the humans rebelled and overthrew their Elven oppressors,
slaughtering them almost to the point of extinction in an event known as The Beltherian Revolution. The two races eventually
found peace and learnt to co-exist in a period of time that is known as The
Unification, which marks the beginning of the Beltherian Calendar. According to the calendar of the Elves, this happened in the 33rd year of the 9th Era. Over the
next few centuries, the humans and elves interbred into the modern day
Beltherians. It is believed that it is this melding of peoples that lends the Beltherians
their superior civility, as well as their slightly longer lifespans.

## The Wise Council of Beltheria

Once peace had been settled between the Nariin and the men of Beltheria, The Wise Council of Beltheria was formed to govern the new nation. The council was formed of both elves and men and functioned as the governing power of Beltheria. During this time, known as The Unification, Beltheria made great strides towards becoming the bastion of civilisation that it is today.

## The First Black Veil War

At the height of the The Unification period, a darkness began to grow in the south of Beltheria. Whole towns started to go silent, as their populations disappeared without a trace. The Council sent men to investigate, but by the time they got there, it was too late.

A great and powerful Necromancer summoned an
army of undead. Sweeping across the nation, his legion of the damned grew
stronger with each town that it conquered. The Council decided that the threat
had to be contained and formed up their armies at the Pass of Vulthrox, a
bottleneck where they could halt the undead advance north. After a horrendous
battle with the undead scourge, The Council were victorious and the necromancer's army
retreated south. However, the lands that the necromancer took could not be reclaimed.
He had constructed great obelisks that spewed a terrible clouds of dark fog
across the land, the south of Beltheria would hence be known as The Black Veil Mists. The Council erected Blackguard Keep, a mighty fortress at
Vulthrox; to stand against the necromancer should he ever return.

## The Second Black Veil War

Generations passed and the evil of the Necromancer was forgotten, Blackguard
fell into disarray and the Council of Beltheria grew weak and bloated. It was
The Necromancer's time to strike and once again, he assaulted Beltheria. The Council
spent so much time bickering and arguing that the undead advance was
unhindered, mile by mile, and town by town, Beltheria fell to his dark will. It
was a young General, Itharan Marx, who took it upon himself to go behind the
Council’s back and lead the armies of Beltheria against the necromancer. After
many days of vicious battle, the Necromancer was defeated once again and Itharan was
praised a hero. So angered by the council’s lack of response, Itharan lead a
coup against them and installed himself as King of Beltheria.

Itharan decreed that the undead would never again take his
homeland unprepared. He enacted a law that every son of Beltheria would serve
four years of his life in service of Blackguard Keep.
And so the Marx Family has ruled over Beltheria, ever vigilant against the dark
menace that brews in the Black Veil Mists.

## The Marx Dynasty

Ever since the dark days of The Second Black Veil War, The Marx family has ruled over Beltheria.

## Government

Beltheria Governs itself in several different levels, from each individual village, to the nation as a whole

The head of Beltheria is the King, who wields supreme authority. Belttheria does not employ any kind of feudal system, with all land and property owned by the crown or by private citizens. Beltheria does have a formal nobility, but these nobles may be granted positions of power within the government, rather than owning lands.

### **Land Management**

By default, all property is owned by crown. The people who live on and work the land pay rents to crown in either gold or produced goods. In order to raise funds, the king may sell property to a citizen, so they may earn all profits from that land. These land deals are not permanent however. Once the citizen dies, that land is not passed on to their progeny and instead defaults back to the crown. It is common for the descendants of the landowner to buy the land back, in a kind of lifetime lease.

Because the people who work the land are not tenants, as they are in Arland, they are free to move to other parts of the kingdom. There is also room for social mobility, as common folk are sometimes able to save their money and buy land for themselves.

### **Government Officials**

Before the Marx dynasty came to power, many noble families rose to power within Beltheria. These families drew their wealth from the land which they owned. After the Kingdom of Beltheria was formed, all noble land was repossessed by the crown and the nobles lost their wealth. As recompense for this, the nobles were appointed positions within the government and payed substantial wages for their work.

Because of this change, the formal nobility was robed of most of it's power. Any nobles that were did not perform adequately in these positions were replaced and thus, ceased to be nobility. During the reign of the Marx Kings, many noble families have risen and fallen. This is based purely on the members of the families and their competency in positions within the Government. This has turned the Beltherian nobility into more a meritocracy.

### **Town**

Each town consists of a town centre, where the inn,
shops and other buildings of commerce, and of the surrounding farms, mills and
other lands. The town is governed by a group of officials that control
certain aspects of life.

**The Town Administrator** is responsible for collecting the taxes from the
townsfolk, each citizen will pay an amount of tax according to their
profession. The Administrator is the record keeper of the community and is
responsible for keeping a census of all town inhabitants to be sent to the
county’s administrative office. The Administrator will sometimes have a number
of scribes and clerks to assist them in their duties.

**The Sheriff** is in charge of the local guards and militia.
Most town will only have a few guards to keep the peace but, according to
the laws of conscription, all sons of Beltheria must answer the call if an
enemy threatens their home. The Sheriff is responsible for gathering all men of
fighting age, as detailed in the town census, should the need arise. The
Sheriff will also oversee the jail, if his town has one.

**The Arbiter** is the law keeper of the town. He or she is
responsible for making sure all citizens obey the laws of the crown. If a
citizen breaks one of these laws, the Arbiter will determine their punishment.
If a citizen has been accused of a more serious crime, such as murder, they
will be tried and sentenced by the County Magistrate. The Arbiter is also
charged with settling land and property disputes and sales between citizens.
The Arbiter will sometimes have a number of scribes and clerks to assist them
in their duties.

**The Keeper of the Light** is the spiritual leader of the
community. They will usually run a small chapel where they will lead sermons,
conduct marriages and funerals.

### **County**

A county is made up of several villages, towns and sometimes a city. The largest (or only) town/city will form the capital and will be home
to the governing officials of the county. These officials function in similar
ways to the village officials, albeit on a larger scale.

**The County Administrator** processes all taxes and census
information from the various villages in the county and they determine who will
serve as the village administrators.

**The Warden** is in charge of county guards and soldiers. They
will coordinate the various village and town captains and their men in the
event of conflict. The Warden also maintains the county jail and the defence
of the county. If a village

**The Chief Magistrate** is the legal head of the county. They will be in charge of the county courtroom, trials will be held for the county citizens and serious disputes between citizens will be heard. Each county will also employ several Magistrates, who serve under the Chief Magistrate, to oversee trials and disputes.

## Military

The Beltherian Military is a well organised fighting force. Ever since the days of The Second Black Veil War, limited military service has been compulsory for all Beltherian men. When they come of age, each man will be sent to Blackveil Keep to undertake four year's service. Those who are not suitable fighters, will be trained as medics, scribes and aides.

### **Military Ranks**

**Recruit -** Upon commencement of their four years service, new soldiers are given the title of Recruit. This is the entry level rank in the Beltherian army.

**Man-At-Arms -** After a Recruit has completed his training, he will be promoted to a Man-at-Arms. A Man-at-Arms is a rank and file foot soldier, usually clad in chain-mail armour with a steel helmet, greaves and bracers and armed with a spear, shield and short-sword. Men-at-Arms may also be trained and equipped to perform speciality roles such as skirmishers, cavalry, engineers and archers. These soldiers will be organised into groups of ten, known as units. Each unit will usually contain men from the same village or area.

**Sargent -** Soldiers that have been identified as potential leaders may be promoted to the rank of Sargent. A Sargent will be put in charge or a unit of Men-at-Arms. The Sargent will normally be from a different village to the rest of the men in the unit. This decision was made by the general Travan, who thought that young soldiers would have trouble obeying orders from someone they grew up with.

### **Military Leadership**

The leadership of the Beltherian Military follows a strict hierarchy.

#### **Grand Marshall**

The leader of all Beltherian forces, the Grand Marshall is responsible for leading the Beltherian army in times of war and peace. The position is usually held by a relative of the King, such as a brother or cousin, but is often the leader of one of noble families.

## Religion

In Beltheria, the religious tradition is ruled by two
opposing forces: The Light and The Darkness. It is believed by the Beltherians
that the history of the world is a constant battle between these forces. All
misery, strife and war is caused The Darkness and all joy, peace and love comes
from The Light.

The Beltherians see themselves as agents of the Light and
pride themselves in upholding values of morality and good deeds. They believe
that each man has both The Light and Darkness within himself and every day
these forces fight to take control of him. Each good action is victory for The
Light and each evil action, for The Darkness.

The philosophy of Beltherian religion is quite simple:
Commit acts of kindness, compassion and charity to strengthen The Light and
condemn and punish those that commit acts of hatred, jealousy and malice for
they strengthen the Darkness.

The holy men of Beltheria are known as The Keepers of the
Light, they maintain chapels and churches across the land offer council in the
ways of The Light. They also perform various services like funerals and
weddings.