Regency of Sauldan



Sauldan is a relatively tiny country to the far west of the main Quesaloth continent. It borders Des Lurian, the westernmost Drachamist Principality. Typical of the region, its geography encompasses a large amount of sweeping plains land sparse forestation. It only has nine cities of notable size and a number of spread out hamlets and farming communities. Most notable of its cities are Dunkelzuhn, Port Kriegan and the Enchanted City.

Its government is a regency watched over by the presiding Regent Lord. This title is not always hereditary, as a Regent Lord's successor is chosen by the acting Regent Lord. The regency came into being in the year 731 of the Sixth Era after King Ulvek III of Sauldan (which at that time encompassed much of what is today Des Lurian) was assassinated by Drachamist agents as part of their long war on Sauldan. With no clear heir- Ulvek was apparently incapable of fathering children, some historians believe this was also a result of Drachamist interference- the nobility of the kingdom held congress and crowned Lord Dorash the first Regent Lord.

The Regency was supposed to be a quick-fix solution to give the nobility a chance to sort out their genealogy and decide which among them was closest to the royal line. Then the war with Drachamist took a turn for the worse and much of the noble caste were killed over the course of a twelve year offensive by the vastly larger Drachamist military. Since the end of the Sauldanian/Drachamist War in 744 of the Sixth Era, the regency has become tradition and interest in a proper monarchical line has dwindled and become- by the reckoning of most- unnecessary.

The current Regent Lord is Lord Van Roke del Kamil, originally from Maora. He was elected to the position by Lord Reinhardt after Van Roke's successful reclamation of the Enchanted City from the hold of the Duergar legions of Kurubar in 1204. He and his wife Lady Shurrein rule the country from the new capitol in the Enchanted City.

Sauldanian Military


The Sauldanian military is arguably the most advanced in the world, boasting recently developed hand-cannon technology and arcane-infused weapons and armor. As a nation of primarily lowlands and open plains, Sauldan has always had a strong emphasis on their cavalry. Their standing army is comprised of over 50% cavalry with enough trained war horses to outfit another 20% of the rest of their soldiers if needed. Despite their small size- and in fact partially thanks to it- they have enough raw power and maneuvering space to defend themselves from almost any existing land force short of a combined army of Tezren Nerich and the Drachamist Principalities. Such large forces would be hard pressed to find enough room to stage a decent assault, however, and so the superior alacrity of the smaller Sauldanian forces would most likely be effective in routing such an attack anyway.

The Sauldanian army is organized into Battle Leagues given a numerical designation (e.g. the 14th Battle League). Each Battle League contains between four hundred and a thousand soldiers and a core of five to twenty Battle Tacticians. The Tacticians are arcane theurges devoted to the church of the Lux Mundi, the most common Sauldanian form of Davalonian worship. A Battle Tacticians specializes mostly in divination and abjuration magic and learns his craft from the Collegium Tactica in Dunkelzuhn. Battle Tacticians are marked by their uniquely crafted and adorned armor and are mighty warriors in their own right, as they use their divination magic to preempt an enemy's attacks.

The military leadership of Sauldan is drawn almost exclusively from the Collegium Tactica, the upper echelons of which comprise a body of about a hundred Battle Tacticians called the Consortium Tactica. The Consortium has offices in Dunkelzuhn, Bertefeld and the Enchanted City and answers directly to the current Regent Lord. The Lord Tactician is the chosen representative of the Consortium to reside in the Enchanted City's branch office. He or she is directly responsible for counciling the Regent Lord on matters of warfare and the deployment of troops. A Lord Tactician may be dismissed by the Regent Lord at any time and they may request that a different one be issued. Alternatively- and more commonly- the Regent Lord will call on a number of the Consortium's members to give second opinions and issue him separate reports. The Consortium and Collegium Tactica encourage development of new strategies, independent learning and application of personal experience. They see their role in Sauldanian society as one of great importance and prestiege, but are anything but slaves to tradition.

Since the influx of a number of Maoran individuals into Sauldanian culture (following Lord Van Roke's ascension to Regent Lord of Sauldan), the Sauldanian military also boasts a large number of Spirit Wielders. Spirit Wielders are rare to be seen on any field of battle, but dangerous as a foe can rightly be. The Sauldanian Spirit Wielders are usually graduates of the Azure Circle, a relatively young guild that resides in the Enchanted City and teaches its members the secrets of Spirit Wielding and psionic control. Outside of Maora, the members of the Azure Circle are known to be the most powerful of all Spirit Wielders.

In addition to the standard Sauldanian military (called the Regulars by most) there's the considerable force of the Enchanted City's Marshals. The Marshals are a militarized police force that protects the Enchanted City and upholds its laws. Marshals are rarely seen outside the city in any official capacity save for single agents on clandestine missions or small cadres on loan to friendly governments. The Regulars are more commonly seen outside the nation's borders, protecting Sauldanian embassies or as an aiding force in allied nations' various struggles.

Geography & Demographics
The land area of Sauldan (including the Enchanted City and Twelve-Mile Market) is approximately 270 million acres and is the world's third smallest sovereign nation after the isles of Ratan and Makai. It's situated in an oceanic inlet to the western Malxas Sea, which it shares with Cygnas, the Empire of Dominion, Silverwood, Des Lurian, Cetarius and the Wide Dales. The western coastal plains are home to a number of small hamlets and farming communities, as well as the mining city of Turth to the north and Port Kriegen to the south. The northern and northwestern reaches of the country are more rolling hills than flatlands and are rich in iron with sparse veins of gold.

Local wildlife is similar to that of the surrounding region (mostly sheep and goats in the lowlands with deer more prominent in the plains and sparse forests of the east, wolves, foxes and other predators are found just about everywhere), with a relatively low population of animals that fall into the category of “monstrous”. Thousands of species of flowering and vascular plants dot the landscape, though the truly archetypal flower (the one which is most commonly associated with the country) is the Sauldanian Clover, a bright blue clover that grows all over the country in plains, forests and lowlands alike.

The country has an oceanic climate, having moderately cool summers and comparatively warm winters, and is prone to heavy rainstorms particularly in the late spring and early summer (referred to by the locals as simply “the rainy season”). Hurricanes are extremely rare, as the cool air of the northwest tends to buffer any warm jet streams from southern Dominion. This obviously, however, creates ideal conditions for the tropical storms that regularly batter the Twin Isles to the southwest.

Sauldan has a population of approximately 4.5 million sapient beings, not including spirits or magical creatures living outside of civilization. About 1.5-2 million of those beings live in the Enchanted City, with even more who work or earn their living there but live elsewhere. The demographics lean towards humans, Capishan humans (those descended from the ancient Kingdom of Capishar) making up roughly 30% of the population. About 10% is made up of Ironbender Dwarves from Dal Udan, with the rest being a mash of most common races and just about every nationality (with the notable exception of Otharan humans of the Protectorate).

Religion
(See main article Lux Mundi)

Sauldan's official state religion is the church of the Lux Mundi, a protestant sect of Davalonian worship. The Lux Mundi is a more esoteric and mystical approach to standard Davalonianism that emphasizes the connection between Davalon and the nature of sentient willpower. This in turn encourages all magical and pseudo-magical expressions of this willpower. Priests of the Lux Mundi are often also trained as mages, druids or psions of one sort or another. Worshipers of the Lux Universal (the Lux Mundi's name for Davalon) are recognized by most orthodox Davalonian churches as a wayward sect of harmless heretics.

Despite this predilection towards such a little-known form of Davalonianism, Sauldan's congenial nature is such that all faiths that do not embrace the Fellwarp are welcome and religious intolerance is strictly forbidden and those who practice it harshly dealt with. This is a rare attitude for a majority-human government to take, as just about all others are staunchly supportive of their national religions to the point of- at times- violent rejection of other ways of thinking. Non-human races tend towards more magnanimous ways... at least with regards to one's personal faith.