The Central Kingdoms of Noraedor

The Central Kingdoms in Noraedor is one of three Factions in Renicia. It is based in the Noraedor continent and is divided into four kingdoms: Mylran, Rydor, Crywren and Farron, and Ren Sáron (the Mages' independent country). Each kingdom is ruled by an elected monarchy. The main source of political power in Noraedor is the High Council; it seats every kingdom's monarchy and the Kel'Mor Mages leaders, creating a united council, but other powerful organisations can be invited as witnesses too.

The main part of the roleplay takes place in Noraedor, as it is the most Corrupted part of Renicia.

Plot Standing
The High Council of Noraedor has invited the other Factions, the other Mage organisations and other key neutral organisations to a global summit in Ren Sáron. They will treat each invited party as honoured guests and will put aside past or current feuds to deal with the matter at hand.

The Corruption in Noraedor is returning, the Blights are expanding, the Fiends are restless and the Balance of Magic is growing extemely volatile. These are all tell-tale signs that the Chaos, who are mostly believed to be children's tales, is returning, or something else is affecting the Corruption and Magic. The Darksworn, Humans who have sworn themselves to the Chaos or the Dark, have appeared in greater numbers than previously thought.

At the moment, these events are affecting Noraedor the most in comparison to the other continents, but the High Council believes the problem will spread.

As always, the High Council has different opinions because it is a group of different monarchies and powers in Renicia. There will be different motives and opinions for the present events.

Some groups, like the Kel'Mor, truly believe that the Chaos is returning and that they need to be prepared for future events.

Others, like the Hand of Light or Crywren, believe that the Mages are responsible for the present situation and blame them.

And others truly do not know what to believe.

With unrest spreading in Noraedor and tensions between the different kingdoms rising, it is turning into a political mess, with many towns being attacked by Fiends and Darksworn.

The other Factions' and Organisations' parties, who have been invited, are arriving to try and determine who is responsible for the Corruption and if it will become a greater threat to Renicia.

But will anyone truly put aside their differences, personal feuds and lust for power for the greater good?

And who can be trusted when there are Darksworn in the world, secret agents of the Chaos, pretending to be nobles?

It is a dangerous time in Renicia, and this plot mixes adventure, politics and drama in one huge web that affects the entire world.

History
1. Age of Promise (702 years)

 a. 3A. 1 - 56 (Mages guide Humanity)

 b. 3A. 57 – 92 (Mages unite kingdoms treaty)

 c. 3A. 93 – 521 (Prosperous Times)

 d. 3A. 522 - 579 (Zaed Hostility)

 e. 3A. 578 – 702 (Zaed Peace)

2. The Blight Wars (301 years)

 a. 3A. 702  – 734 (The Fall of Moran)

 b.           7 34  – 776 (The Fall of Anorhan)

 c.           776  – 830 (Counter-attack)

 d.           831 – 906 (The Fall of Noraedor)

 e.           907 – 957 (War in the Cleth Plains)

 f.            957 – 1003 (Ren Sáron Siege and Aftermath)

3. The Noraedor Wars (495 years)

 a. 3A. 1003  – 1043 (Tensions in the East)

 b.           1044  – 1082 (A Rising Empire)

<p style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm;margin-left:43.5pt; margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-25.5pt;mso-list:l3 level1 lfo3"> c.           10 83  – 1188 (Crywren riots)

<p style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm;margin-left:43.5pt; margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-25.5pt;mso-list:l3 level1 lfo3"> d.           1 189  – 1276 (Mylran riots)

<p style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm;margin-left:43.5pt; margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-25.5pt;mso-list:l3 level1 lfo3"> e.           1277 – 1420 (Civil War)

<p style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm;margin-left:43.5pt; margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-25.5pt;mso-list:l3 level1 lfo3"> f.             1421 – 1498 (Fallen Empire)

<p style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt">4. The Free Era (510 years)

<p style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm;margin-left:43.5pt; margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-25.5pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo4"> a. 3A. 1498 – 1570 (Mages unite Noraedor again)

<p style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm;margin-left:43.5pt; margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-25.5pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo4"> b.           1573 – 1620 (Rebuilding, old hostilities fade)

<p style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm;margin-left:43.5pt; margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-25.5pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo4"> c.            1621 – 1801 (More contact with the Mardor Empire)

<p style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm;margin-left:43.5pt; margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-25.5pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo4"> d.           1801 – 1811 (Mages begin to notice a change in magic)

<p style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm;margin-left:43.5pt; margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-25.5pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo4"> e.           1812 – 1868 (Mardor Prince marries into Rydor, tension)

<p style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm;margin-left:43.5pt; margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-25.5pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo4"> f.            1867 – 1988 (Mardor reduces communication, cold war)

<p style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm;margin-left:43.5pt; margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-25.5pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo4"> g.           1988 – 2006 (The Spark is awakening in more people)

<p style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm;margin-left:43.5pt; margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-25.5pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo4"> h. 3A. 2008 (present date – the world's soul is dying, magic is corrupted)

Age of Promise
1 3A. - 702

<p class="MsoNormal">With the Final Battle ending in a victory, the Age of Chaos came to an end and the Third Age began. Much of the Second Age’s history and power was lost during the Final Battle, leaving Renicia blind and helpless. In the first decade, the Noraedor Mages regrouped in their city of Ren Sáron and became the Kel’Mor. Under their guidance, humanity soon began rebuilding and moving forward.

<p class="MsoNormal">Magic’s destructive power was revealed in the Final Battle and Noraedor’s nobility and monarchies needed a way to trust the Mages. In 3A. 53, they drafted the Five Oaths as a way to control and weaken Mages but it unexpectedly provided the Kel’Mor with its greatest advantage, their political supremacy and power. They were solely responsible for guiding and assisting the kingdoms with the rebuilding process after the Final Battle. Even Kings and Queens bowed to their wisdom and trusted their advice. The Oaths made the Kel’Mor powerfully politically because their word could always be trusted and they were completely devoted to Noraedor’s future.

Nine powerful kingdoms came into existence: Farron, Crywren, Rydor Mylran, Moran, Anorhan, Liran, Cleth and Vessia. In EP 93, the nine kingdoms of Noraedor signed a treaty which united the kingdoms in peaceful trade and alliance. Humanity flourished for four centuries and there were hopes of recapturing the glory of humankind from the Age of Chaos.

However, in EP 522, the continent of Zaed became restless and hostile towards the Noraedor continent because of a plague which was disturbing southern Zaed. Some Zaedik people fled to Noraedor, whilst others were pressuring their leaders to invade the weak Noraedans. The Mage Circle managed to use their wisdom and skills in diplomacy to avoid a full out war and in 579 AS, the Zaedik people agreed to stop all hostilities towards Noraedor and resumed normal trade and communication. Several skirmishes and battles at sea were fought during these five decades but a declaration of war was never made. From the years of 579 AS to the end of its Age in 702 AS, the newfound trade and alliance with the Zaed continent gave the Noraedor continent much wealth and resources, allowing it to expand and flourish even more.

The era was brought to an end when Noraedor was invaded by the forgotten hordes of Fiends, who had fled to the Blighted Mountains in the Age of Chaos. The war lasted 301 years and devastated the continent.

The Blight Wars
<span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">It was a shock to Noraedor when the forgotten fiends returned from the Chaos Islands and the Blighted Mountains. Many nations who were closer to the shadowspawn’s origins were taken by surprise and suffered heavy losses.

<span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">The Kel'Mor formed the High Council, a council which had representatives from every Noraedor kingdom and the Mages itself, and moved to rally the kingdom’s troops and their Mages to destroy the shadowspawn once and for all.

<span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">During this time, human servants of the Chaos – Chaosfriends and Chaoslords – also revealed themselves and fought against Renicia.

<span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">The wars also mark the end of a period of intense cooperation between the nations of humanity and the beginning of a somewhat more fractious and disunited period, with the Nine Kingdoms either totally destroyed in the war or weakened so much they collapsed shortly after it concluded.

<span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">The Start of the War
<span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">The Blighted Mountains had been avoided since the Age of Chaos. It was said that the remaining fiends had fled to the Mountains and across to the Chaos Islands. Moran and Andorhan had been tasked in the Age of Chaos to watch the Mountains and the eastern seas. However, after the Final Battle and the peaceful Era of Promise, the two kingdoms had forgotten their duties and the tales of fiends were mainly used to frighten children and entertain drinkers in taverns.

<span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">Renicia had become too content in their newfound peace and too blind to learn anything from the past. The fiends took advantage of their naivety and struck the north eastern kingdoms first.

<span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">The Fall of Moran
3A. 702  – 734

In 3A. 702, Moran was the closest kingdom to the Blighted Mountains. It was a small but wealthy kingdom and was renowned for its music, arts and literature. When the fiends attacked, they were taken by surprise and suffered heavy losses. No generals alive had fought against the fiends before and were unaware of their power. Moran managed to send warnings to the other kingdoms by horse and ship but their Queen Eráwyn and her heirs were trapped in one of the fiends' raids. They were killed during the assault on Moran's capital, Rhyádell.

With Rhyádell under siege and about to fall to the rampant fiends, Moran was leaderless and broken, and the majority of the Morish fled to the kingdom's second city of Tearlin. They attempted to rally their forces there under the heroic Warric, the nephew of the Queen, who wanted to drive the fiends out from his homeland. Unfortuantely, after decades of war and skirmishes with the fiends, they were losing lives and land at a gradual pace until a full retreat was ordered. The survivors fled to the neighbouring kingdom of Anorhan in 3A.734.

The fiends continued their rampage and after the harsh winter, they invaded Anorhan.

<span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">The Fall of Anorhan
7 34  – 776 After three decades of war, the fiends had destroyed the majority of Moran and had built several permanent foundations under the leadership of the Soul Fiends; intelligent, humanoid fiends. With the fiends displaying more intelligence than usual because of the Soul Fiends' guidance, the Kel'Mor knew a powerful ringleader - possibly a survivor from the Age of Chaos - was behind the fiends' aggression. The Anorhish had hoped they would be prepared for the fiends' invasion, after witnessing their tactics and numbers in Moran, but once again the kingdoms of Noraedor were struck with surprise. The Chaos Islands had been sheltering a society of Chaosfriends, Humans who had sworn allegiance to the Chaos and had been corrupted with their magic. Several of the Chaosfriends had the Spark and were using magic on the battlefield.

Although the Kel'Mor were not to blame and they were the key reason why Noraedor was still able to fight the fiends, the surviving members of Moran and Anorhan had become bitter towards anything related to the Balance of magic. This group founded the Hand of Light and were extremely dedicated to justice, and removing magic from the world.

<span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">The Counter-Attack
776  – 830 It became clear that since the Age of Chaos, the fiends had been waiting patiently for the Chaosfriends and during exile; the Chaosfriends had been increasing their numbers and saving their strength for the opportune moment to attack.

Unrest was spreading through Noraedor and the eastern coast had been hit hard with the fall of Moran and the deteriorating Anorhan kingdom. The western and central countries had rallied in the country of Crywren, neighbour to Moran and Anorhan, and attempted to control the Chaos' movements.

The Chaosfriends had made it clear that Ren Sáron was their target as it was Noraedor's main defence against the Chaos. But with large forces in all central countries, the path would be a long and bloody struggle.

Gradually, the fiends and Chaosfriends were taking city after city in Anorhan. The defending Noraedans had been struck with poor weather and poor crops, leaving the armies weakened and hungry, especially the eastern countries, and the invading force began to win more victories.

With few towns left, the Anorhish fled to the nearby countries of Crywren and Cleth, weeping for their beautiful country.

<span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">The Fall of Noraedor
831 – 906 In the country of Cleth, bordering Mylran, the Chaos force were beginning to fall in greater numbers.

<span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">War in the Cleth Plains
907 – 957 <span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">Cleth sacrificed its own kingdom to weaken the Chaos enough for the Kel'Mor to finish in Ren Sáron.

<span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">Ren Sáron Siege and Aftermath
957 – 1003 The Chaos force were met on the battlefield by the Kel'Mor. Their Kel'Dorn, Taen, and Kel'Vaen, Dyrámere, were ruthless with their attacks.

The Noraedor Wars
Noraedor was left shattered and broken after the Blight Wars. Although they were eventually victorious, the price for their naivety and stubborness around the Blighted Mountains was a hard price to pay. The Wardens were created and based in Sentinel's Watch in Crywren, sworn to watch the Blighted Mountains and prevent another Blight War by being the front line against the Fiends. The leftover veterans and armies from Moran, Anorhan and Cleth joined together to make the Hand of Light.

A huge shift in political power and wealth occured in Noraedor. With Moran, Anorhan and Cleth in ruins, and parts of Liran and Vessia limping because of failed trade, there was a bitter tension spreading across the Central Kingdoms. There was particular tension in the east of Noraedor, where the majority of the attacks occurred. Mylran was mostly untouched by the Blight Wars but the majority of its neighbours were either struggling or had been destroyed. Few of the fallen kingdoms had many surviving nobles or positions of power and Mylran was quick to claim the defeated territories, increasing their kingdom's size and wealth. Mylran's ambition and the Eastern bitterness was a beginning to centuries of civil war.

Tensions in the East
3A. 1003 - 1043 The east of Noraedor had been affected the most by the Blight Wars. Three kingdoms had fallen - Moran, Anorhan and Cleth - and its few survivors fled to other kingdoms or organisations, bitter about their lost heritage and past. One kingdom was surprisingly fortunate during these times. Mylran, the wealthy and beautiful kingdom in the south east, then ruled by House Noros, hardly had to suffer in the Blight Wars and had become the most powerful source of trade and wealth in the east. House Noros was ambitious and powerful. The Mylranian people loved their beloved Elected Monarchy because of the riches and glory they had brought to Mylran. Whilst their neighbours were bitter and suspicious of Mylran's intentions.

Government Systems
<p class="MsoNormal">The Central Kingdoms of Noraedor follow an elected monarchy system.

<p class="MsoNormal">Each kingdom has between eight to ten Noble Houses, and many more Lesser Houses. Each Noble House is entitled to run for election and if they win, they become the Elected Monarchy. However, to win the election, one Noble House must have at least 80% of the Noble House vote and 50% of the Lesser House vote. By law, when a new House becomes the Elected Monarchy, they are secure in this position for three decades. After three decades, another election can be called at any time as long as it is agreed by all other Noble Houses. However, it is difficult to remove an Elected Monarchy House because their vote counts towards the 80% needed for another House to succeed.

<p class="MsoNormal">During the time when a House is the Elected Monarchy, their heirs will inherit the crown akin to any normal monarchy government.

<p class="MsoNormal">The only exception to this is Ren Sáron, a small but powerful country where the Kel'Mor are based. It is a magrocratic country and is ruled by the Kel'Dorn and Kel'Vaen - the two leaders of the Kel'Mor.

Ren Sáron
Elected Leaders: Kel'Vaen and Kel'Dorn

Council of Seven: Kel'Vaen and Kel'Dorn, and the leaders of each Kel'Mor Circle

More information here.

Mylran Houses
Noble Houses: Elected Monarchy House Marbeth, House Noros, House Aldagen, House Harador, House Saethell, House Taravin, House Calandyn, House Orázon

<p class="MsoNormal">Lesser Houses: Highbridge, Cantrell, Piper, Aberdon, Norweld, Hadder, Wister, Finbury, Sternforth, Delwart, Boatwright, Brastden, Greeningdon, Illvan, Melliner, Ornfield, Lionfield, Sarchin, Bellcombe, Wellson.

<p class="MsoNormal">More information here. <h3 class="MsoNormal">Farron Houses Noble Houses: Elected Monarchy House Dormorn, House Vaewren, House Revnul, House Feycell, House Therador, House Liran, House Naemonthas, House Riogen

Lesser Houses:

More information here.

Rydor Houses
Noble Houses: Elected Monarchy House Vaedred, House Inestyn, House Belabor, House Aytara, House Lazen, House Sorred, House Doranwell, House Goldenhall, House Carason.

Lesser Houses:

More information here.

Crywren Houses
Noble Houses: Elected Monarchy House Saethor, House Moranábeth, House Anorhen, House Orásell, House Elosdar, House Guathaen, House Tyávo, House Helme.

Lesser Houses:

More information here.

The High Council
The High Council was created by the Kel'Mor (the Mages of Noraedor) during the Blight Wars (3A. 702) to unite Noraedor's different leaders and fight against the remnant forces of the Chaos.

It meets four times every year, traditionally when the seasons change, and is always held in Ren Sáron which is seen as the most neutral territory in Noraedor.

The seats are always occupied by the four leaders of Noraedor's kingdoms, the two leaders of the Kel'Mor, and they are all allowed to select a party or 'small council' of five to accompany them to the council meetings. This would mean the maximum number of seats is 31.

Other positions or organisations of power (such as the kingdoms' armies/generals, the Hand of Light, and the Red Hand) do not have permanent seats in Noraedor but can be invited to witness a council event.