Lanreath

League of Lanreath
Politics and Religion
Capital: Lanreath Religion: Soreism Government: Elected Monarchy Ruler: Sofi Gannarion
Population and Economy
Population: Beastfolk (Cat-people!) Languages: Pliuni Tax Revenue: 5000 Resources: Mana 750 Food (total) 18 Food (net) 2 Levistone 20 Books 100 Common Draft 47 Noble Draft 3

Although the city of Lanreath itself has an extensive history, the League of Lanreath is a construct born of the Necromantic Wars. By the end of the conflict, Lanreath had gone from a city state to ruling an entire archipelago, and is now a prosperous trade centre.

Domains: 315 SP
Race: 20 SP (Beastfolk- Celerity, Crushing Strength, Why Won't You Die?!)
Military: 15,849/ 16,250 gold.

History

The Valdaire Archipelago has been inhabited since well before recorded history. Evidence suggests that the current inhabitants, a cat-like race of beastfolk known now as Pliunis, conquered the islands and drove out the original human occupants at roughly the same time as the Alfar Empire was beginning it's expansion into Lemuria, likely driven into migration from the inland plains of Lemuria by the advancing Imperial armies and their desire to put a stop to the nomadic raiding lifestyle of pre-Imperial Val culture.

When the Alfar reached the coast, the Pliunis had nowhere to retreat further. Despite their diminutive size, their impressive physical strength and speed delayed outright conquest for a time, but eventually, the Empire prevailed. With a small population and limited entirely to a single island chain, the Pliunis were easy to pacify, despite their position at the outside edge of the Empire. Until the Late Imperial period, the archipelago remained a backwater, little more than a source of manpower for frontier garrisons. When the Alfar began sending expeditions to Thule, this changed somewhat, as the islands were well placed for trade with the frigid continent, and trade that had previously been a tiny trickle became more substantial.

Even so, the islands were far from the centre of power and not fantastically rich compared to many other provinces, and their more accessible gold, silver, wax, salt, timber, tin, copper, wheat and rye. Apart from being noted as a source of very high quality amber and resins, almost unmatched in the Empire, the Valdaires languished in obscurity. Accordingly, when Imperial influence began to retreat from the periphery of the Empire, the Valdaires were some of the first territories to go.

During the Succession Wars, the islands did not have a single government; individual settlements went their own way, and Pliuni raiders were almost as common as those from Thule. The islands did not escape the depredations of their northern trade partners unscathed, but the inhabitants cheerfully returned the favour, pillaging and burning Thulian coastal settlements as often as those on Lemuria. It was in this period that the prolonged and permanent interest in trade with Thule became immovably rooted in the economy of the archipelago; Lemurian cloth, glass, spices and other goods, as well as slaves seized in raids, were bartered for Thulian resources which had suddenly become much more desirable on the mainland as the Imperial roads and trade network began to break down.

As the Succession Wars died down and continental realms became more able to protect themselves, the Pliunis shifted from a mixture of raiding and trading to trading exclusively, although the various islands and cities of the archipelago continued to raid and war amongst themselves. This continued until the Necromantic War. Under pressure from the Necromancers who had set up domains on Thule and on the mainland on one hand, and the Alliance of Light on the other, the various petty states that controlled the islands met together in the Congress of Fallo and agreed to unite their realms into a single kingdom. After much debate, the city of Lanreath was selected as a capital, and the first King of Lanreath installed in the ancient residence that had originally belonged to the Alfar governor of the province.

Although officially part of the Alliance of Light after that point, and contributing a limited number of pike colonelcies- the forerunner of the modern pike square- the League was a minor and reluctant player in the Necromantic War and emerged mostly unscathed. In the immediate aftermath, they were one of few states willing to continue normal trade with the new rulers of Thule, a policy that granted a significant advantage once other nations overcame their distaste for the Necromancers and began their own trading schemes.

Politics

Lanreath is ruled by an elected monarch who reigns for life, and from whom all power ultimately devolves. The franchise is far from universal; there is a strict property qualification, and no individual below that boundary may vote. It is, however, 'universal' in that gender, race or social background play no part- the only deciding factor is wealth. Likewise, anybody able to vote may stand for election upon the death of a monarch.

Assisting the king is a Chamber of Competencies, a group of advisors and specialists appointed by their respective guilds and political organisation, whose task it is to ensure that the policies formulated by the king and his immediate advisors are based upon sound knowledge and principles. In many cases, this entails results in rather more than simple advice, and various members of the Chamber possess important government posts; the Banker's Guild representative, for example, also holds the post of First Lord of the Treasury. Except on the occasion of the death of a monarch, the Chamber has no formal power beyond being able to force an audience with the king at any point in time in order to be heard. When a new election is required, however, it is the Competencies that assume responsibility for organising a new election and directing the country until a new king can be crowned.

Below the Competencies is a second Chamber, the Chamber of Pays, the function of which is to present grievances held by those without suffrage to the king. Generally summoned three times a year, it has even less formal power than the Competencies, in that the monarch is not required to assemble a session of the Pays at all, and may chose not to be present when grievances are aired. However, the Pays are a useful tool for raising tax revenue from the lower classes, and thus are not usually ignored. Indeed, some argue that, while a king can rule (probably badly) without heeding the advice of the Competencies, he can't rule without assistance from the Pays.

Actual governance of the League is carried out through Royal Governors, who are responsible for administrative tasks inside their area of control, appoint local judges, collect taxes, command the local milita- although not League Army units, which remain under the direct command of the king- maintain roads and harbours, enforce laws and generally keep the country functioning,

For most of the time since the Necromantic War, Lanreath has been politically isolationist. The merchant-dominated Chamber of Competencies has always been in favour of a more aggressive foreign policy in order to further the interests of the trade guilds, while the nobles, fearing that the material costs of such a war might well fall on them and standing to gain little, if anything, from a war for the merchants, have favoured a more peaceful approach. The last three rulers of Lanreath were elected from noble houses, and all espoused the philosophy of the Noble Faction.

The mot recent election, however, placed a former trader firmly on the throne, much to the delight of the guilds. Although possessing only a peacetime army, all indications are that Sofi Gannarion intends to prosecute a policy of aggressive intervention to secure his former colleagues the trade monopolies they desire.

The Pliunis

The Pliunis themselves are physically powerful creatures, significantly stronger, faster and tougher than a human or an elf. Despite this, they are generally rather small in stature; tall members of the species might reach five feet. The exact origin of this seemingly paradoxical set of traits is unclear; some scholars believe that they are the product of an ancient wizardly experiment to produce bodyguards that were effective but apparently nonthreatening, while others suggest that the low height allowed ancient Pliuni hunters to remain concealed in the grass of the central Lemurian plains that were their range before the Alfar drove them to migrate to their current island homes. Others subscribe to different theories altogether.

In appearance, Pliunis resemble humans, with catlike ears, eyes and tails. As a result of significantly denser and more powerful muscles, they posses a higher metabolic rate than humans, and it is very rare to see an overweight Pliuni; such a thing is indicative of illness. Despite this, and their small size, and an adult Pliuni is often as heavy or heavier than a fully grown human male, in part because of their dense muscles and bones. In terms of sexual dimorphism, differences between genders are much less pronounced than in humans; while both genders exhibit similar characteristics as humans, Pliuni kits are much smaller than human children at birth, allowing narrower, more efficient hips as opposed to human women. Likewise, Pliuni females are superior to their human counterparts (and, in fact, human males as well) in blood volume, heart size, muscle density, lung capacity and VO2max. While not as physically capable as males, the upshot of this is that female Pliunis are fully capable of fighting effectively on the battlefield. Indeed, evidence suggests that prehistoric Pliuni hunting parties were evenly proportioned in gender.

Hair colours range over a wide spectrum, most of which are not found in humans. The same is true for eye colour, Pliuni eyes themselves are nearly 40% larger than those of a human. Combined with short stature, generally delicate features and an overall non-threatening appearance, the image presented by a calm, unarmoured or armed Pliuni is almost comically cute and cuddly.

Military

Total Military: 15,849 gold
Upkeep: 964 gold + 176 mana

Squares

6 Half-Strength Squares

Total Cost: 8706 gold
Upkeep: 582 gold

Lanreathan Square
800 Heavy Pike Companies: 776
Men at Arms: 400 G
Pikes: 96 G
Partial Plate: 280 G

800 Pike Companies: 576
Men at Arms: 400
Pikes: 96
Mail: 80

600 Sword Companies: 570
Men at Arms: 300
Sideswords: 90
Bucklers: 12
Javelins: 18
Plated Mail: 150

8 Musket Companies: 640
Men at Arms: 400
Arquebuses: 200
Plated Coat: 40

4 Falconet batteries: 340
Small carriages: 40
Falconets: 300

Skirmishers

6 Skirmish Companies

Total Cost: 840
Upkeep: 42 + 6

Skirmish Company
Men at Arms: 50
Leadcaster: 40 + 15
Broadsword: 25
Skirmisher Armour: 10

Cavalry

10 Cavalry Cornets

Total Cost: 1400
Upkeep: 60 + 10

Cornet
Men at Arms: 50
Broadsword: 25
Hand leadcaster: 20 + 10
Partial Plate: 35
Rounceys: -

Militia

24 Militia Companies

Total Cost: 840
Upkeep: 72 gold

Militia Company
Broadsword: 25
Javelin: 3
Buckler: 2
Plated Coat: 5

Navy

16 Armed Merchantmen

Total Cost: 4000
Upkeep: 208 + 160

Armed Merchant
Air Galley: 50 gold + 75 mana + 2 levistone
Falconets: 75

Domains

Lanreath

Countryside
Lanreath (City)

Prealith

Countryside
Cilwan (City)

Fall

Countryside
Fallo (City)

Vonja

Countryside
Pler Vonja (Town)

Immer

Countryside

Confaer

Countryside

Merinath

Countryside

Camwyr

Countryside

Foss

Countryside

Fintha

Mountains
Gold Mine

Bennarth

Mountains
Gold Mine
Levistone Quarry

Imbela

Mountains
Levistone Quarry
Gold Mine