Caelor

A Minor power of the world.

Geography
Caelor is a bright kingdom filled with river valleys and farming villages. Their King has nominal power over all affairs of state but keeps distance from the day-to-day running of his kingdom. Interference by the crown is often only in the most extreme cases of corruption and national peril. Picturesque villages dot rolling hills kept safe by detachments of guards from occasional raids by their neighbors.

The population is mostly human with a fair sized Shekami presence. Other humans with odd marks walk upon the land, some appear afflicted with a stunted height, some tall and unnaturally long lived. A few other races from the far west make their home among the verdant landscape. Agrarian economics are bolstered by a Cursed minority, kept in check by guilds that prevent too much belligerence. In fact, Caelorite Cursed are an accepted part of their society. They are often dismissed as 'eccentric' and rarely cause trouble, preferring to be left alone to study in their towers. It is unknown why they are so different in this small kingdom. Though they maintain their same insanity, within Caelor the Cursed are demure, even taking part in their society.

Caelor is home to an unusually high number of ruins, these are well explored by a state sponsored apparatus of the monarchy, the Adventurer’s Guild.

Adventurer's Guild
The Adventurer’s Guild acts as a multipurpose organization dedicated to the exploration of ruins, assassination, and a national pastime. With an excessively high casualty rate, the Guild takes everyone who volunteers. Given the agrarian lifestyle of the inhabitants of Caelor, becoming an Adventurer is seen by ambitious peasants as the only method to raise one’s social status. Teams sent out by this organization often employ at least one Cursed. Guild members are expected to provide their own equipment and expertise. Attrition raises the most talented, ruthless, or brutal to celebrity status. As such, the cultural landscape constantly adjusts to accommodate the actions of the most famous Adventurers.

Caelorian aristocrats, especially females directly connected to the royal family, are subject to an extremely high rate of kidnappings. These are often done by renegade Cursed or disenfranchised nobility. Coinciding with the abductions seems to be a significant and notable change in climate, drifting from the usual temperate weather to a much more gloomy atmosphere. To date, none of these plans have come to fruition, having been foiled by the Adventurer’s Guild.

An Unmarred Kingdom
Autocratic, Commonwealth, Oblivionite, and Padishah fact-finding attempts to discover the source of such an unusual kingdom have been met with repeated failure. However, ASH State Security has noted pervasive irregularities within the kingdom of Caelor. Demand for basic necessities seem to be unneeded by Adventurers. Merchants within deem it necessary to raise prices of goods to Guild members as the internal situation is worsened by one of the many plots against the kingdom. High ranking Adventurers do not seem to require the normal amount of sleep and are often homeless despite carrying overly ornate weapons and unwieldy armor worth small fortunes. Citizens seem to be much more pacifistic than their counterparts in other nations. Orphans tend to become Adventurers one way or another. Caelor has a high instance of village exterminations with only one to three survivors on average, almost all are young.

The Adventurer’s Guild spreads its members from Mandumine to the Free Cities. Fame precedes them enough to tip off clandestine operatives from other factions. While inherently difficult to beat in a confrontation, they have been noted to be weak to convenient environmental hazards such as falling rock formations. Unfortunately for operatives of other factions, Adventurers tend to have preternatural skills of all types.

The Autocracy keeps wary of Caelor. Such odd proclivities in such an area indicate powerful Cursed with much more control than Kreisgrad is comfortable with. Many in the ASH consider finding more information and possible military action a priority. Commonwealth and Padishah dealings tend to be more pragmatic, Caelor doesn’t produce much in the way of resources so with the exception of hiring Adventurer parties on occasion, they maintain a comfortable distance. Oblivionites are antagonistic but unfocused on the area. Increasing numbers of Khulanders establishing peaceful dealings have been noted by operatives of all factions. Notably, the denizens of Caelor seem completely unaware of the Khulander's form, seeing them as bright and calm rather than their true wretched forms.

Scholar note
''The castle was empty. Adventurers gathered for a feast that was not there. Only a man in rags watched from the shadows, grinning at the farce in an empty chamber as killers thought themselves heroes while sitting on invisible chairs. Where all others saw sunlit fields stretching into the horizon, I only saw wasteland, cracked under a grey sun. The ragged king grins at the plots he invents for his farce, contented with his puppet kingdom. Invisible strings dance in stale air, shaping ignorant playthings in a stage of his own making.''