Vorell

Vorell is a nation in northwestern Prindern. Formerly the Empire of Vorell, it covered the entirety of northern Prindern and included colonies across southern Veşti at its height.

## History

Humans settled across northern Prindern in prehistoric times, trading among themselves and across the Hasberan Sea. A common culture and language arose around the mouth of the Pichmar River, centered on eight city-states that held significant sway over the region after the fall of the Erst Empire. These city-states had a shifting set of rivalries, alliances, and outright enemies among themselves, until Berdinar united them under his own banner in -52 Reformed. Leader of the Swinmar League, a coalition between the city-states Heindis, Liris, and Nophi, he managed to negotiate the southern states into service and turn his combined forces west to conquer the Pichnal Concord. The new united body was named Vorell and began absorbing other lands across the coast of the Hasberan. Nophi, Berdinar's city, was established as the capital of the growing power. Under Berdinar's son, Manachim, Vorell became the Empire of Vorell and had its most rapid early growth, reaching the western coast, and founded its first colonies on Veşti.

### Early Phaelism

Lophael returned from the Higher Realms to his hometown, Liris, in -32. As a distant cousin of the emperor, he was given greater room to preach and travel than other priests. With this opportunity, he spread his teachings across Vorell and neighboring nations on either side of the Hasberan. In -16, after Lophael had already left for Vortex, the Empire of Vorell adopted Phaelism as its state religion. Noting that the gods that were now revered within Phaelism were previously worshiped in Erstarwyn before it was conquered by the Agnarin, the Empire of Vorell began building power and expanding east. They struck a treaty with the nation of Pran and its ruling body, the Order of Branu, in 7 Reformed, in which the Order officially became a religious sect within Phaelism. Bolstered by the military might of the Order, Vorell launched an invasion of Erstarwyn that lasted three years and finally drove the Agnarin out completely in 12. Restoration of the temples to the worship of Phaelist deities began immediately, though Agnarin architecture and artwork was left largely intact.

### Schism

Debate had been raging between Vorell and Enrelisha about the proper practice of Phaelism since the latter claimed Elyse had ascended. The Order of Branu, having a standing opposition to Enrelisha and now formally aligned with Vorell in this debate, pushed the matter to the brink of war. In one last attempt to peacefully resolve the issue, Emperor Marcus I arranged for a summit at Erstarwyn between the priests of Enrelisha, Pran, and Vorell, optimistically called the Arwyn Accord in 23. The Enrelishan delegates felt that Vorell and Pran were trying to force them to submit through a show of power while ignoring important religious texts, and talks were tense from the very beginning. After two weeks of discussion, Enrelisha and Vorell condemned each other as heretics, and the accord broke down. Pran took the initiative and invaded Enrelisha, sparking the First Schism War. Vorell assisted Pran and the pair were often referred to as the Southern Alliance, while Enrelisha sought support from nearby free nations and revolutionaries within Vorelli colonies. Two years into the war, Vorell declared Erstarwn an independent state and placed a theocracy of religious zealots who opposed Enrelisha's theology, called the True Phaelist Council, in charge of it.

Fighting between the two sides raged for over a decade, with the southern alliance nearly conquering all of Enrelisha before the continued unrest in Vorelli colonies and war on other borders of Pran spread their forces too thin. Sensing weakness, the Agnarin began concentrated assaults directed at reclaiming Erstarwyn. Having lost all the land they had conquered and desperate to see Erstarwyn stand as a symbol of the righteousness of southern Phaelism, Vorell finally withdrew from the First Schism War to focus on driving back the Agnarin. Pran and Enrelisha would continue to fight for another three years, but without the empire's support and with growing unrest across Veşti, Pran simply didn't have the power to continue and the war was officially ended in 41 Reformed. It takes nearly a decade of war, but the Agnarin finally relent and establish an uneasy treaty with Vorell in 48. During this time, a treatise from Rigvar officially coins the terms Orthodox Phaelism (southern) and Reformed Phaelism (Enrelishan). Vorell immediately adopts and makes ample use of the terms.

### First Civil War

Having suffered greatly at the unrest during the First Schism War and taxed heavily to cover the costs of war with the Agnarin, Vorelli colonies in Veşti began to push for independence. As they gathered support from other groups on the fringes of the empire, Emperor Marcus III was forced to act, and responded with a show of force. The colonies fought back, and the First Vorelli Civil War began in 62. Neighboring nations began annexing land or assisting the rebels across Veşti. Weakened from the extended period of warfare and under the supervision of a young and ill-prepared emperor, Vorell suffered too many losses too quickly and was forced to to sign the Treaty of Eluvia, granting nearly a third of the empire (including all land on Veşti) independence in 69. Disgraced, Marcus III was overthrown by his nobles and replaced by Undall Shen, establishing the Shen Dynasty.

### Shen Dynasty

After three decades of recovery and careful foreign policy, Vorell was again prepared to begin expanding. Under the Shens, the empire reclaimed all of the land they had lost on Prindern, established colonies on the fringes of Tempest, and began pushing against the borders with the Agnarin. This was a carefully metered expansion across multiple emperors, intended to make the empire a force to be reckoned with while avoiding the mistakes of the dynasty before them by restricting how far and fast the empire grew. Having reclaimed their status as the primary power of the Hasberan, Emperor Lorian Shen began a series of public works and peaceful treaties with surrounding nations near the end of his reign in 124. The people viewed this as complacency, however, and began growing irritated with what they perceived to be a lazy and hedonistic monarch. A generation later, when his grandson Sholandar Shen was poised to take the throne from his aging father, an illegitimate half-brother named Fuselli Karious stepped up to oppose him and quickly gained support of those in the empire who were tired of the Shens. This divide erupted into the Second Vorelli Civil War in 153.

#### Second Civil War

War erupted across the empire, with factions rising and falling as nearly every gripe was brought to bear and alliances were formed. Most combatants supported either Fuselli or Sholandar, the former having greater tactical expertise but outnumbered by the loyalists. In 157 the matter was complicated further by attacks from the Agnarin, who sought to take advantage of the weakened state of the empire. Fearing this new threat, many of Fuselli's supporters decided to put their differences aside and work against the Agnarin. Now armed with the necessary support, Sholandar was finally able to exile Fuselli and focus entirely on the Agnarin in 158. The civil war had taken its toll, however, and Vorell was rapidly losing land. By 160, the empire had lost nearly all the land east of the Pichmar River. Under the cover of the war, territories occupied by the Agnarin managed to smuggle Fuselli back into Prindern and begin planning further revolt. Within a year, Vorell and the Great and Glorious Empire of the Wailing Winds signed the Treaty of Slembat Pass, ending the cycles of war between the nations, maintaining the independence of Erstarwyn, and granting nearly all remaining conquered land to the Agnarin. The capital of Vorell, which had been temporarily moved west after the conquest of Nophi, was firmly established in a new city on the coast of the Morabin Ocean, named Sholandar in honor of the emperor.

#### Rise of Swinmar

With much of the Agnar forces focused on the treaty arrangements, however, Fuselli had made his move against the Agnarin and was already claiming land back. This war continued until 165, when the rebels claimed a decisive victory at the Battle of Lancbog, finally securing independence for lands east of the Pichmar from both Vorell and the Agnarin. Fuselli was killed in the battle, and his son, Handal I, was declared king of the new nation of Swinmar, which established its capital in Nophi.

#### End of Shen Dynasty

Vorell attempted to reclaim Swinmar in 187, in a quickly failed offensive. Having been losing influence across the empire since the Second Civil War, the Shen Dynasty was barely able to hold their throne when Emperor Germash Shen was assassinated in 193 after only five months in power. Having failed to name an heir during his short reign, the nation fell into the Third Vorelli Civil War. After two years of fighting, the empire was broken up into four smaller nations, the westernmost becoming the Kingdom of Vorell under a new regal line, the Davenport Dynasty.

### Republic of Vorell

In 1647, amid growing unrest, the throne offered to shift form into a constitutional monarchy, placing much of the power of government in the hands of a senate and prime minister. The country relinquished its title as a kingdom and, after eight months of deliberations, finally ratified the Vorell Accord, establishing the system of government Vorell uses to this day.

## Culture

Vorell was founded under the ideology that it was the rightful heir of the Erst Empire, which had ruled much of the Hasberan for hundreds of years. Vorell itself managed to claim much of this same land and establish itself as a world power for some time, and it has never forgotten this. Between their self-described title as the defenders of true Phaelism, their memory of a bygone empire, and their continued existence after multiple civil wars and invasions, Vorell holds a high view of itself and a high standard for its people.