Sombria

**Sombria** is a country that is part of the Pridish Isles and Pridish Empire. It shares a border with Decester to the north. Its coastline straddles the border between the Northern and Mid seas. Its territory contains three inhabited islands.

## **History**

### **Pre-History**

Not much is known about the region that would come to be Sombria before the arrival of a small number of Enbaze refugees in roughly -820 following the Petrification of Enbaze. This group would go on to spread across the region of eastern Sombria, all the way to the Égrideure mountain range, and come to be known as *native Sombrians*. There is no known Giant activity in the region before or during this time period so it is theorised that they had never passed the mountains.

### **Fenizian Colonial Perioid**

Similarly to the giants, the Fenizians never crossed the Égrideure range. There are many reasons proposed by history but the general consensus seems to be that the Sombrians were not worth the trouble, having organised themselves into a kingdom some five hundred years before anyone else on the Pridish Isles had, meaning they posed some military threat compared to the tribal nature of the rest of the island.

## **Governance**

### **Monarchy**

Sombria maintains a monarchy that serves as a ceremonial vassal to the current Emperor of the Pridish Empire. They wield no real power and function mostly as a custodian of the continued familial relationship between Sombria and Decester, as well as maintain relationships with other visiting nations. The current king is Estivier njê Ventuid, a distant relative of the contemporary Bendraxes via King Gachedan Bendrax's daughter and first Decestrian monarch of Sombria, Madeliève jê Bendrax.

### **Politics**

Sombria is a vassal of the Pridish Empire, and functions as a part of its constitutional monarchy governed by the Charmament. At the time of the formation of Charmament in 1041 Sombria was granted eleven seats in the body.

### **Regions, reeves, and districts**

Decester is currently divided into eleven regions, each granted through the reeve process to a family as dictated by the Crown of Decester. Each of these regions are lead by the foremost member of the reeve family, who then chooses who represents them in the Charmament from amongst their kin. The reeves in Sombria are:

* Bommardin
* Devezcada
* Égrideure
* Guilthaudeur
* jê Bonazére
* Murquardier
* Èzeunrè
* Ravalbè
* ru Zémille
* Ventuid
* Zankledè

## **Geography**

### **Landscape and rivers**

Inland Sombrian areas are typically hilly and densely forested, with the prime example of this landscape being the city of Égrideure, built atop the tallest mountain in the region. Sombria has no major rivers, but many of its smaller ones flow from the Égrideure range and outward to the coast. The hills of inland Sombria gradually fall off toward the coast where long stretches of rocky and cliffside coastline are regularly punctuated by pristine sandy beaches.

### **Climate**

Sombria is typically the most temperate place in the Pridish Isles benefiting from its close relationship with the warmer midsea. Rainfall is regular and reliable but sunny days are common. Winter is colder, but comfortable and rarely if ever drops anywhere close to freezing.

## **Demography**

### **Population**

Sombria has a population of roughly 1,480,000 people, accounting for around 19% of the population of the Pridish Empire. Of this roughly 2% are mageborn, with 12,728 of thrdr being practicing and licensed mages. Around 14% of the Sombrian population lives in its three cities, around 177,600 individuals.

Nearly 20% of the population are born displaying at least one of the physical traits associated with Sombrian heritage. These are most commonly patches of scaled skin on the face, limbs, and/or chest, an articulated forked tongue, or slit pupiled eyes.

### **Language**

Sombrian Pridgeon is a creole language and is the most common language spoken between Sombrians, however most speak standard Pridgeon too to a degree. The traditional Sombrian is still spoken in some pockets of Sombria but it is rare and archaic.

As the port towns of Sombria are common targets for Ahmtean traders the Ahm language can often be found spoken by merchants who frequent these towns.

### **Religion**

The primary religion of Sombria is the Crown Church as decreed by the Crown of Decester and upheld by the Crown of Sombria. However, historically, Sombria was a behemoth worshipping region. This worship centred on a singular entity called Zgi Er, a great serpent. Zgi Er was one of the few behemoths not bound by Arthenius Bendrax and his offspring but is unaccounted for in contemporary times. Cults devoted to them are uprooted by inquests from time to time, but any repercussions meted out to the practitioners only seem to stoke higher passions in the Sombrian countryside. The great standing stone erected for Zgi Er now rests as a flagstone in the hall of the castle at Ventuid.

## **Culture**

### **Architecture**

Sombrian homes are typically round in structure, with swallow tiled roofs. They are usually built in disorganised clusters around a larger, central structure, typically a windmill. Coatal towns are marked by their whitewashed walls and blue tiled roofs and exterior decoration, whereas inland towns traditionally display more earthy tones.

### **Cuisine**

Sombria is famed for its bread, as well as pasta. It produces various types of cakes too. Its meals are typically lighter than the rest of the Pridish Isles, favouring subtlety over heartiness traditionally. Many meals are served in bread bowls.

### **Education**

Sombria has the third highest rate of education per capita in the Pridish Isles, behind the Isle of Ghosts and Decester respectively. Sombria follows the Decestrian academy system, and while it has less graduate mages overall it makes up for these numbers in the low academic circles with a percentage that rivals Decester on this account.

The pride of Sombrian academics is their small but well regarded cohort of arcanitects, who have had a hand in some of the most influencial constructions in the history of the Pridish Empire and beyond.

## **National Symbols**

Sombria's most common emblem is the snake and its colours and white and blue.