Places, locations, and topography

Topography of the Alliance

The Alliance of Kingdoms is surrounded by the dragonlands to the southwest, a great area under dragon rule with high peaks and volcanoes, a border that was fought over bitterly and has been mantained for near two centuries. The Nichar empire rose quickly and conquered the entire east area. It maintains an uneasy peace with the alliance, strengthened with carefully negotiated trade deals and marriages, but the empire is generally considered as a dangerous and powerful force with overly strict beliefs and an iron fist. The Mejotis Kingdom to the north is a mountainous region sparsely inhabited due to its climate, but the coastal area brings in trade from distant lands beyond.

The alliance itself consists of seven kingdoms, with Valrutis only establishing itself a few decades ago. The kingdom of Thagel is the main trade and travel center, for it boasts of a central lake towards which all rivers flow.

The economy is based primarily on agriculture and animal husbandry. A lot of trade happens along the rivers - especially of metal, cloth, dye, and medicine. Unfortunately, the naval situation throughout the seas is dangerous and inaccessible.

A note on noble ranks

In the Aldigy kingdom, Ash is considered a prince not only for his status as a crown prince of the realm heir to the throne, but also because 'prince' and 'princess' are just what you call the offsprings of nobles above a certain rank. It is a placeholder title and princes(ess) will gain an actual noble title through marriage, certification, managing lands, or otherwise.

In Fiona's kingdom the titles of 'prince' and 'princess' only belong to the children of the royal families while the rest of the nobility uses courtesy titles for their offspring. This means that the children of a titled noble rank are granted by courtesy a title one rank below their parents that does not have any lands attached to it. Fiona's parents have a dukedom and she is the daughter of a duke, which makes her courtesy title technically a marchioness. In her lands Ash is still rpince but in Ash's kingdom Fiona is considered a princess, a title she hates. Both of them compromised and call her a duchess.

The Dark Lord Robert, while being the sole ruler of his small kingdom and having joined the alliance of kingdoms, chooses to use 'Dark Lord' as his legal appelation followed by his first name, both for being a conquering warlord and for never having belonged to any noble family and therefore not having a last name at all. His kingdom barely has a court due to the power being reigned from a centralized ofice, his trusted delegated being mostly skeletons, and the highest ranking humans he presides over being glorified ealdormen.

Notable locations

The annual summit

A yearly gathering of the most important rulers and nobles in the alliance the annual summit convenes each year in a different kingdom, giving all rulers the opportunity to boast of their riches and influence the political and trade plans for the coming year. It brings a fresh influx on money to the hosting kingdom, maintains the security of the roads for the nobility to travel on, and promotes cooperation and academic exchange. The summit is how guilds find new apprentices, programs like the knight exchange get established, and information about activity from the empire and dragonlands gets passed along. This year's summit is set in the Staorin kingdom, sandwiched between the dragonlands and the coast.

Fiona's dukedom

The Gremsheaf dukedom lies in the mountains of the Sidorland kingdom and is near the first beneficiary of trade from the Mejotis kingdom in the alliance, specializing in trading thread, fabrics, and dyes. Like most in the alliance, during the draconic wars the humans were housed in underground cities which have now mostly been abandoned and fallen to ruin. The area is characterized by steep cliffs and treacherous roads, making travel difficult, and forcing a reliance on specially bred pack animals. It is also hosting a dragon deep in the forest guarding a currentyl unused princess-hosting tower.

The Dark Lord's lands - Kingdom of Valrutis

This area has only recently been organized into a structured and centralized society, as thirty years ago it was a land plagued by small-time warlords battling for dominance over a starving population and an iron mine whose ore could only be extracted under the most perilous of conditions. Then suddenly a new warlord came out of nowhere with an army of skeletons and conquered the entire area by force, centralized the ruling, built a river, and managed to turn the mine into a profitable business that didn't necessitate the loss of human life.... only the human dead. The taboo magics animating the skeletons of the inhabitant's ancestors have dubbed the new ruler a dark lord of magic, and have made the rule a constant attack of warriors and heroes seeking to restore light to the people.