#callinia

[projectccu]

The political system of ancient Aurlia valued large, strong families and dynasties. This kept the power stable, and allowed for a smooth transition of power should the King perish.

Upon the King's death, the crown would go to his eldest legitimate son. Should the King have no sons, the crown would go to his eldest legitimate daughter. If the King should perish before his heir has come of age, the Regent would rule as the King. Ideally, this would teach the new King how to be a King. Though, there have been many cases where the Regent would seize the throne for himself.

Of course, the King had the right to select their heir. However, deviations from the norm could put strain in the King's key supporters, and so it was in the King's best interest to discuss these decisions with their court.

The ruling family could only remain in power should the court allow them. A position in the royal court is still a position of power, and if any of them start to get worried, they could replace the King at any time. A good King would know this, and would work to keep his key supporters happy. It was especially important for the King to keep his Blade and Regent happy, as their word carried the same weight as the King's. Should they deem it necessary, the Blade and Regent could simply allow a coup to occur, replacing the King with one someone they chose. Most successful coups in Aurlia only happened because the Blade and Regent allowed it to happen.

The role of the King's spouse changed between cultures and the current ruling family. The King's spouse was usually not granted any special rights beyond being related to the King. The King's spouse could also have been seen as a cultural representative, another Regent, a diplomat, or as co-King. There have also been times when the King's spouse functionally acted as the King himself.

It was essential for the King to have many children. Both male and female children were deemed necessary: having many sons meant having many potential heirs, their daughters could be offered to other families in order to establish alliances.

This system was established by humans, and spread across Aurlia through the Callinian Empire. Smaller settlements and cultures often had to mimic this structure when interacting with larger powers, even if it is just temporarily. Establishing these temporary Kings was a particular enjoyment of the halflings.

[projectccu]

The First Queen of Callinia had abandoned her name, and remained nameless throughout her reign. However, when the queen was still a young girl living in a lonely hamlet, her caretakers would give her the name Callyn. It should be noted that Callyn was the demonym used to refer to anyone from Callinia.

The First Queen of Callinia would never introduce herself as Callyn, nor any other name. She would only respond to the name if used in informal situations and only by people she was close with. In any other situation, she considered it a great insult. She often had to speak the words, “I have no name.” An exception to this would be when the First Queen was to interact with Glaclians. Glaclians would call her Callyn regardless of her feelings on it. But the First Queen had good enough judgment to understand the benefits of having Glaclian allies, even if it meant dealing with their disrespect.

The First Queen’s Blade and Regent were the two people who she trusted most.Still, the two would never refer to her as Callyn unless they were alone together. Though Tsyrilus, she avoided referring to the First Queen by any name following the First Queen’s coronation and herself being recognized as the Queen’s Blade.

The greatest offense towards the First Queen would be to refer to her by her birth name. Hearing her birth name ignited many emotions in the First Queen, from fear and discomfort to anger and hate. These emotions were only furthered amplified after she had touched the Abyss; she would go so far as to personally kill anyone who uttered her birth name.

[projectccu]

CCU-1-C1-1-A

Once every six months, an older man visited a local village to trade for goods and medicine not produced in the hamlet in which he lived. It was expensive, but it saved lives and excited the kids, so it is worth it in his eyes. On one of these trips, returning to his home, he found a child collapsed on the ground. The child had been starved and abused. The child’s long and tangled hair had been roughly chopped in places. Oddly, the child’s clothes appeared to be of noble design, but were tattered and torn beyond recognition.

The old man looked upon the body with sadness and disappointment toward the world. "Who could do such a thing to a child?" he thought. He sat his things down and began digging a shallow grave for the child, intending to return later with his neighbors to give a proper funeral. Though, when moving the child to the grave, he noticed breathing--the child was still alive! He rushed back to his home, leaving his belongings behind.

The old man took the child to the hamlet’s only priest, an elf who took a liking to the people of this nameless hamlet and wished to spread the goodwill of his god to them. Using holy magic and elvish medicine, the elvish priest cleaned the child and treated their wounds. After twelve long hours of work, the child finally woke up, their face filling with fear upon seeing the elf. The child tried to leave, but the pain was too great. And so the child cried and begged for life.

The child did return to health, being cared for by the old man. The child was indeed an odd one, speaking and acting like a noble. But, when probed, the child would not even give their name, and rejected any name their neighbors gave. Despite these quirks, the child was loved by everyone in the hamlet, always willing to help with anything asked. No more than eighty people lived in this nameless hamlet, mostly humans with a few halfling families, even some ambians that wandered in from nearby woods. However, the child avoided the lone elvish priest, and shed no tears when he eventually passed away.

As the child grew up, they began exploring the lands surrounding the hamlet. They would leave for days at a time, returning with treasure and newfound skills. In one of these expeditions, the child brought home a winged friend, a speawren. The two became inseparable. The people of the hamlet were skeptical of the speawren; songs were still being sung about the rise of humans against the avians. But the speawren had proven to be just as caring and skillful as the child they had rescued less than a decade before.

As time went on, the two would leave their hamlet for longer periods of time, returning with more people and treasure, and would even ally themselves with one of the Dzroutk. Before long, this lone nameless hamlet would grow to be one of the biggest cities in Aurlia.

Long ago, a single man rescued a dying child out of the goodness of his heart. And in return, the child would bring wealth to his home, and would become the First Queen of the Callinian Empire.

[projectccu]

When the Morlorn attacked, four Heroes rose up to seal It away. This final stand against the evil of the Morlorn took place in the legendary city of Callinia. While the world was spared from destruction, the city of Callinia itself could not. The once great capital of the world fell to the Abyss and was left in ruin, and the everlasting empire collapsed.

The Callinian Ruins were dangerous, littered with beasts known as Abyss Walkers. A new defense was needed for this dangerous threat. Thus, the kingdoms of Aurlia founded the Abyssal Guard, an organization of highly skilled fighters and explorers dedicated to defending the realms from what now lurked in the Callinina Ruins, and anything more that may crawl from the Abyss. They swore themselves to all the realms, and not to any one kingdom. A black trim was added to the coats of arms of members of the Abyssal Guard.

With the Abyss Plague and the Morlorn's attack forever burned in everyone’s memories, it was agreed that it was of utmost importance to prevent the Abyss from entering this plane of existence. Even the cruelest dictatorships and the most ambitious empires respected the Guard’s independence.

[projectccu]

Located five days’ travel south of the Triac Lakes was the city-state of Eldryn. Known to some as the financial center of Aurlia, it seemed to have connected the continent through trade. It was one of the last territories conquered by the Callinian Empire, before the First Queen’s campaign against Wylgran.

Despite the nation’s vast success, it had dark secrets lurking in its alleys. Were they perhaps related to the city’s close proximity to the mysterious Triac Lakes?

[projectccu]

When the King died, the order of succession was typically as follows:

The King's eldest legitimate son

The King's eldest legitimate daughter

The Regent of the King

The King's Blade

If an heir could still not be found, you go up one level and try again.

[projectccu]

There were typically three top positions of power in the old Callinian Empire, which was often replicated throughout the first two eras. These were the King’s Blade, Regent to the King, and that of the King himself.

The King's Blade was appointed by the King himself, and was most frequently chosen based on loyalty, tactical skill, and combat prowess. They essentially acted as the King's military advisor. Domains such as the military, the King's Guard, and the police are the responsibility of the Blade. The King's Blade acted as Commander in Chief in all of these departments, just under the King himself.

All final decisions came down to the King. The King's Blade may suggest strategies and provide advice, but it all comes down to the King's decision. Once that decision is made, the King's Blade is under oath to make that happen, which included fighting on the battlefield. And on the battlefield, the Blade’s word was just as good as the King’s.

The primary role of the Regent was that of political advisor, though the responsibilities of the Regent extended far beyond that. The Regent was second in command in the royal hierarchy, and the King's most trusted advisor. When the King gave an order, it was the job of the Regent to make it happen. However, a good Regent did not blindly follow the will of the King: a good Regent must have always had the King’s best interest in mind. Though, it was in bad form for the Regent to question the King's orders in front of others, as it makes the King appear weak. A Regent was to bring up concerns with the King beforehand, either alone or among trusted company. This usually was not a problem, as a good King kept his Regent and Blade informed.

Should the King pass away and no heirs could be found, the Regent got promoted to King. If the King's heir was not of age, the Regent acted as King until the King’s heir did come of age. In this case, the primary responsibility of the Regent was to teach the next King exactly how to be King. Should the Regent pass away, the Blade was to take on the duties of the Regent until a new Regent could be appointed.

The word of the Regent was as good as the King’s, and only the King can overrule the Regent.

The King was the autocrat over his rule. He made the laws and appointed members of his court to carry out his will. Though the King may have seemed invincible, no man rules alone. The day-to-day responsibilities of the King revolved around money. The King decided on taxes and how to allocate his treasure, which did include how much money got put back into the development of his nation. But more importantly, the King had to pay his court. Should the King not pay his court, he would not be King for long. While some Kings were kinder to the people and others were more ruthless, he could do as he pleased as long as his key supporters got paid.

The King was the face of the nation, and so it was important for the King to maintain a proper image. A weak King may be seen as an opportunity for other powers--or for his own key supporters.

In the old Callinian Empire, the ruler had the titles of both King and Emperor. The Emperor ruled over the entire nation, while the King simply ruled over the city of Callinia. While in theory the two titles could be held by two people, in practice this almost never happened. During the time, the Emperor of the Callinian Empire could be referred to interchangeably as either the King or the Emperor. Individual Emperors had their own preferences as to which title they were to be referred to as.

When historians studied the Callinian Empire, they refered to the ruler as Emperor. However, when studying ancient Aurlia as a whole, historians listed the Callinian Emperors alongside the Kings of Aurlia.

[projectccu]

One of the goals of Callinia was to conquer Glaclia, though they were never successful. In what later became known as the Week's War, Callinia sent troops into Glaclia in the middle of winter, thinking that Glaclian supplies will be down, and the people would be weak. Estimates put Callinian losses at 60-80%. It seems people always make the same mistakes, doesn't it?