Maritime Kingdom of Ilara

The **Maritime Kingdom of Ilara** (Ilarwēn: *Quélathōr Munīn au Ilara)* is a state located to the East of the continent of Relveth. Historically, it controlled much of the seas of the Vethel's expanse, as well as a great portion of its current mainland continent. Though once a Grand Realm, extending over large swathes of land, it is now a rump state that conserves not much beyond its name and its prideful history.

Whilst the few remaining scholars and philosophers in Ilara describe it as an absolute monarchy, reality shows that the Quélathor is much less absolute than one would think. Though by culture & belief the *Quélath* holds absolute power, this rump state has a presence of extremely strong *aresęr* (counties, shires, etc.) and *necastér* (duchies, provinces, etc.). A great deal of political influence and autonomy exists for these governing classes, rendering the absolute power of the Quélath much more malleable than it would be preferred.

Since the event known as the **Devastation**, the aristocracy of Ilara has been increasingly more disconnected with the realities of life and, further, their duties. A growing divide in the population can be seen, bigger than ever observed in Ilarwēn history - even during the times of proper Absolutism.

Due to scrambled records and a great loss of information, the dating system of the Ilarwēn realms was thrown in disarray. Recently, scholars describe the dates in relation to whether they are **Before the Devastation** (B.D.) or **After the Devastation** (A.D.).

## Ancient History

[Much of this section is a Work in Progress]

### The Vethelite Cultures

The Ilarwēn cultures started on the islands of the Vethel's Expanse. Early on, they were mostly dissociated tribal societies with quite different customs and methods of governance - not much is known of their general societal structures. The development of the first identifiable precursor to the modern Ilarwēn culture came with the apparition of the Ertēn culture, which dominated an important portion of the Vethel Expanse.

Being a seafaring civilisation, and with several groups all over, the Ertēn culture had a variety of scripts which prevented them from efficient recordkeeping. While many Maritime Tribal Kingdoms formed, they were loose and managed in an almost confederation-like style manner. A higher level of centralisation developed with the spread of the Irān script, an abjad-like system of writing from the northern portion of the Vethelite islands.

Recordkeeping was still not extensive in the Vethelite cultures, however. Not much is known about the history of the Ertēn peoples due to the lack of reliable sources, which are further muddled by very vague historical myths surrounding them. There are few agreed upon facts surrounding these peoples - for example, that their religion was composed of a series of different star-and-moon cults, while the sun was often seen as a malevolent or punitive force, and an extremely martial society when compared to the other two pre-Ilarwēn cultures. The martial culture is probably related to the fact that many of the Ertēn groups were sea marauders, executing several raids against the continental pre-Ilarwēn cultures and even other Ertēn peoples - pushing even those that hadn't developed a warrior custom to adapt to such conditions.

### The Continental Cultures

There were two main pre-Ilarwēn continental groups: the Ynorin of Relveth and the Aua'atmori of Rovenell. Though separated by an expanse and many islands, these two had brief interactions through the very means of the Ertēn people and their seafaring.

The ancient Ynorin Civilisation was a highly developed society that, however, lacked much military prowess. A great deal of the Ynorin cultural focus revolved around exuberance, shows of prestige, and great hedonism. The extensive usage of gold, silver, and jewelry that dominates modern Ilarwēn society probably comes from the Ynorin cultures. The Southern Ynorin groups, though still having a focus on great exuberance and shows of wealth, also turned themselves to a more scholarly direction.

Ancient Ynorin Society was extremely horizontal - though there was a leader in every town, and towns formed loose associations between themselves, there was little to no stratification as the many Ynorin governments functioned in an almost ochlocratic manner. While Southern Ynor had elections, the power of officials was completely undermined by the power of mob rule and the populace.

To the northeast, in Rovenell, the culture was quite different. The Aua'atmori had an extremely stratified technocratic society, where thinkers, philosophers, and mathematicians controlled the government. The order was kept also due to the unwavering sense of loyalty that the Aua'atmori had - the best fighters of society found themselves bound to the wisdom of the leaders, and thus honour became a staple of their society.

### Invasion & Integration

Around 3500 B.D., the Ertēn civilisation moved towards the lands of Relveth, due to populational growth in the island countries and the necessity of available land. Though at first it was a full fledged invasion that started with the displacement of the Ynorin cultures, and then the settling of several Ertēn groups, the groups down south were much more resistant and populous than the northern populations. Due to the sheer strength of their martial invaders, they formed one of the first "countries" of the region - a confederation of the many Ynorin communities against the conquerors.

## Modern History & Present

[Much of this section is *ALSO* a work in progress]

After the **Devastation**, the culture of Ilara shifted to something much more focused on exuberance, extravagance, and luxury. Due to the loss of their highly scholar population, as well as a weakening of the army, the Ilarwēn aristocracy had to focus on the preservation of looks and appearance in order to cast upon themselves an air of elegance and wealth. This decadence also led to a growing divide in society, much greater than any socioeconomic "abysses" from before, which creates a high tension between the common population, the lower nobility, and the higher aristocracy.

The current ruling Quélath of Ilara is Arthwa II au Elrewāt. Though his reign has seen a certain amount of reforms passed, there is still a stagnant quality to it. The next in succession to the throne is the Calaquēlath Lenatar au Elrewāt.