Ardenarai

The Sacred Kingdom of Ardenarai "Sacrath Kahreth yi Ardenarai"
Flag
Motto: "Ahn Reinpeura!" Praise the Purest!
Status	Nation
Capital	Deschareis
Official languages	Tyurigin
Ethnic groups	Aldrnalfar, Serren
Religion	Trinitarianism
Demonym(s)	Ardenaraian
Government	Kraterocratic Magocracy
• Kahrethaya	Clardai Aghirra Eorai yi Celorix
Legislature	The Flower Court
Population
• Estimate	56,170,100
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	$2,213,101,940,000
• Per capita	$39,400
Currency	Wudz

Everybody turns a blind eye to each other's suffering, struggling to survive, and there's no way other way.

— Excerpt from a journal of a citizen

Ardenarai is a kraterocratic magocracy located upon Antarctica, in the archipelago of Geluduco and the region of Eleutheria. Ardenarai is staunchly traditionalist, stratified, and religious, following a religion known as Trinitarianism.

It is known in Kalrania as one of the most dangerous places, with cruel despots exploiting their populations remorselessly. Many advancements have been made during the struggles against outlanders, such as the rapid development of Ruunfabrikta, bringing progress without change. What was once a lush, fertile, and land full of life, was reduced into ruins by centuries of infighting. Remnants of magic taint the air, morphing both animal and men into bizarre monstrosities known as aberrations which roam all across Eleutheria. Many bodies have been burnt, and consumed by the flames of war since the days past.

Etymology

The name Ardenarai stems from the Tyurigin word of "Ardenar", meaning to glow, particularly from a blazing fire or the sun above, suffixed with -ai to denote its existence as a nation. An alternate form of Ardenarai's name could be "Ardenalath", but the founding fathers of the kingdom decided against it, as it would've meant that Ardenarai would be a land scorched by flames. This is by no means, related to the neighboring continent of Ardentia.

Government

A day in the life of Ardenarai

Ardenarai is a ruled over by a kahrethaya (King) a positioned gained through a succession system known as the Festival of Twilight, declared normally after the death of the previous Kahretaya. It is where every noble family in Ardenarai places forward a candidate to duel against one another in a fight to death. The winner of the Festival of Twilight is thus crowned as the Kahretaya, holding their position by the virtue of being the last claimant to the throne. They are given the Ardour Crown, a Coroscian artifact tied to the blood and legacies of the Aldrnalfar people.

The Flower Court contains seats belonging to distinguished noble families, represented by a unique flower. (Larai of Lily, Celorix of Roses, Nariatai of Chrysanthemum, Bacladeai of Poppy, Clardeamos of Tulips, Arzethaal of Orchid). They are descended from six founders of Ardenarai, having formed the kingdom in the aftermath of their expedition into Kalrania. It was originally a military junta of warlords, eventually coalescing into an actual nationstate, and adopting monarchical customs following the razing of Kalestiyanai.

Fortresses of the Kigndom

Fortress	House	Description
Deschareis	Crownland	The capital of Ardenarai, and the seat of the Kahrethaya. It is overseen directly by the crown, one of the first cities built for habitation in their arrival to Kalrania.
Seurois	Arzethaal	An industrial necropolis at the furthermost edge of the Geluduco islands. Here, the dead toil endlessly, driven forward by the liches of House Arzethaal.
Caletal	Bacladeai	Home to the vast hydroponics industry of Ardenarai, its architecture is a remarkable contrast to that of the kingdom, filled with decorative terraces of broad-leaf trees, and a shielded underground complex dedicated to agriculture.
Erdenhal	Clardeamos	The island next to Deschareis, it is a fortress housing the naval armada of the Royal Fleet of Ardenarai,
Ultha	Celorix	Ultha is the seat of House Celorix, the dominant dynasty of the Kingdom of Ardenarai which had produced an unbroken line of Kahrethayas for atleast six generations, all of which had been victorious in the Festival of Twilight. It may as well had been the second capital of Ardenarai due to its overall prosperous economy.
Beurvely	Nariatai	Beuverly is a partially-sunken island, beset by waves and ailed by its lack of height from the sea. Flooding makes it hard for settlements to be formed here, with aberrations assaulting the isle during feeding periods.
Port Jularall	Nariatai
Edellarium	Larai
Solba	Clardeamos
Ichmuth	Arzethaal
Argolath	Bacladeai

History

The Humble Beginnings 1289<

"Us Aldrnalfar are once part of the stellar empire of Coroscia, but the stars have forged a plot to separate us form our kin; still, do not forget the past and oath to Alfheim, for the path way back opens only to those who look forward."

— Marcaleus, Discourse on the Charred Kingdoms

Arrival of the Three Starships

"Our arrival was met by mongrel-cults that worship those of who layeth beneath, foretelling a world consumed by primal deities. Kahrethaya Celorix decreed that those who bend thy knee to profane spirits are bound to disrespect a temporal authority, one that is ordained by god himself, and thus shall be put down."

— Marcaleus, Discourse on the Charred Kingdoms

Documented around the year 1289 was the arrival of the colonists to the archipelago of Geluduco. Here, they first encountered the natives of Kalrania, being tribal cults of gods then-undocumented. Their cultures were exterminated after a unilateral decision by the Kahrethaya in order to consolidate his authority as a divine ruler. Remnants of the cultists, after their one-sided massacre, were swept back into the Antarctic mainland's wastelands.

Ardenaraian-Kalestiyanai war 1341

"It is not a war of revenge we will fight, but one to spare the future from their injustice."

— General Chellan, Speech after the razing of Doraclea

General Chellan instructing a group of militia to be raised against Ardenarai.

The Republic of Kalestiyanai was a technologically-advanced civilization of Beastmen that have settled a region of Antarctica known as Seibalath, first encountered by Ardenarai at the New Year's Eve of 1341. Their territories lacked the freezing gale that swept through the southern pole, it were instead a temperate landscape, with hundreds of millions of inhabitants that made their isolation from the rest of the world. Ardenarai had first contacted them for trade, forming an exclave in their territories. Relations broke down two years later with the murder of a princess of House Larai by the hands of a local militia, with Ardenarai's request of "Blood for Blood" being rejected by the Kalestiyanaian embassies.

A month later since the incident, the Royal Fleet of Ardenarai approached the port of the Kalestiyanaian capital, Doraclea, and opened fire on its docked ships while being concealed by a storm. The first signs of their invasio being that wired communications system breaking down, and reception from satellites was difficult due to heavy precipation. Signs of tampering were already suspected days ago in other cities, but there was very little time before measures could be implemented to catch saboteurs prior to the attack.

Reinforcements from other cities arrived three hours to a city blanketed with blood-red fires

The Price of Failure 1344

"They killed my brother, chief, why the fuck should I spare some sympathy for them? Look, wouldn't you had done the same? "

— Unnamed soldier, court-martial records

Demographics

The Ardenaraian population consists of Aldrnalfar, a group of descending from the six founding military commanders of the Kingdom.. Around 34% of the population belong to House Larai, 27% to House Bacladeai, 20% to House Clardeamos, 12% to House Celorix, 6% to House Nariatai, and finally a scanty 1% to House Arzethaal, whose populace tend to die out quite easily compared to the others due to genetic curses.

Economy

Ardenarai's industrial base are organized directly by the six noble houses specializing in their various product lines, operating in a manner similar to zaibatsus. Several businesses in particular are family-owned, ran by the aristocratic elites, a majority are as well self-organized workshops sponsored by nobility. The high-end machines and appliances are commonly produced by a method known as "Ruunfabrikta" (lit. Rune Fabrication), a process that utilizes carefully-placed assortments of miniature glyphs, in a similar manner to producing computer circuits.

Culture

Ardenarai has made a lot of technological breakthroughs with the development of Ruunfabrikta (rune-based magitech), being one of the leading scenes internationally.

The people of Ardenarai are traditionalist belonging to a religion known as Trinitarianism, worshipping the unified entity of the godhead Nymenna, the Lightbringer, and the collective spirit of humanity. Much of the Kingdom places magical prowess on a pedestal, to have no affinity for the arcane is equivalent to becoming a soulless human being, and thus forming discrimination towards outsiders incapable of performing magic (such as those of Kalestiyanai). The culture of Ardenarai has fostered an attitude of elitism, where the lowborns exist only to be exploited by magi, although even such aristocrats aren't safe from the machinations of both those above and below them.

Naming Convention

Ardenaraians have a naming convention consisting of :

[First Name][Maiden Name][Cadet Branch Name][Nobiliary Participle][House Name]

Using this structure, a typical noble's name would end up as "Feroa Mithea Solei yi Clardeamos".

Foreign Affairs

See Diplomacy Profile