Londar

Londar, previously named Londaran Arin (elven for Distant Home), is a large kingdom in the north and west part of the mainland Athelon. At the northernmost point, a range of mountains known as the Crown Mountains act as a natural barrier into the frozen northlands and beyond. To it's east, another range of mountains form a barrier between Londar and its neighbouring kingdom, Raelic. The south and western parts of Londar are protected by the waters from The Abyss and The Eternal Sea respectively. Londar is one of the three great Northern Borderland countries with the other two being Raelic and Ti'hanka.

Londar is a largely mountainous environment in the northern and eastern areas with vast stretches of flaming, red farmland in the flatter, more southern lands. Forests of boreal and deciduous evergreens dot the landscape in the colder reaches of the north while more temperate woods and forests can be found in the Londar lowlands. A turquoise lake features prominently in the heart of the kingdom, The Jewel of Hyvern. The capital of the kingdom, Hyvern City is situated between the Highback Mountains and The Jewel of Hyvern.

The current ruler of the kingdom, King Raxis, has ruled peacefully for the last 36 years without major incident and succeeding him are his two sons, Prince Paxil, aged 24, and his younger brother, Prince Tordil, aged 13.

History
The complete history of the kingdom is a little spotty in areas as records of those times have long since been lost, exaggerated or destroyed but it is estimated that Hyvern City was first built between 10 and 15 centuries ago, near to the year Y3A-300. It is widely believed that the city was originally built by the elves of Elhaíg as a stronghold and then, later evolved into the thriving city seen today. It is speculated that the elves spent the early years of their occupation cultivating the land, first imbuing magic into the surrounding areas and creating the extremely fertile soil of the Firefields of Londar, then enchanting the waters of The Jewel of Hyvern, and finally enriching the lives of the wildlife, making the animals of the land healthy and strong. Mutations in creatures such as the Jacktyl are speculatively due to this enrichment.

The Londaran War
At some point around Y3A-1100, tensions between the elves and the recent arrival of the humans from the east drastically and rapidly spun out of control and reached a tipping point with the Hyvern Uprising which later led into The Londaran War. Hundreds died in the ensuing bloodbath and even after the initial fighting had stopped, the bloodshed continued as the elves that survived and managed to escape were hunted down and killed. Among those killed in the uprising was the High Priestess of Londar and as retribution for her death, the elves of Elhaíg swore that they would avenge her.

Five years passed before the elves returned, and when they finally did, they swept through the countryside like a great tidal force. Though the humans fought valiantly, Hyvern city was ultimately lost and the humans were forced to flee north to the mountains. The humans eventually won the war with the aid of the dwarves but the victory had cost them greatly. Thousands had died, villages and food stores were destroyed and their capital city had been set aflame and left to burn, causing large portions of the lower city to collapse into the river. Though much has since been repaired, remnants of the battles can still be seen as ancient, broken weapons and ruined buildings lie scattered throughout the kingdom.

Post-Londaran War
The elves that survived the war scattered into the wildlands of the kingdom. Angry and full of hatred for what had been done to them, they banded together and formed the guerilla force named the Thar'dau. The Birds of Fire.

Politically, the kingdom was now in turmoil. The King, the Council of Elders and most of the royal line had been killed in the war, leaving the only heir to the throne a 9-month old baby with only a few governors to help guide him in his ruling.

Their dwarven alliance was also rapidly failing as the human governors had voted to forfeit the agreement struck during the war. With the death of the king, they saw no reason to uphold their terms any longer and denied the dwarves their payment.

With the farms in ruins, no food to feed the citizens and winter quickly approaching, It was becoming readily apparent that Londar was dying. After much deliberation and internal arguing for what should be done, Raelic offered to provide Londar with enough food to begin rebuilding their civilisation upon the condition that they become a vassal state in servitude to Raelic's rulership. Within just a few days, the agreement had been made official and Londar became a tributary state vassal of Raelic.

Under fear of a second war from the elves and of not being prepared like last time, the Londaran Legion was established. Upon hearing of this and fearing that Londar would become more powerful than would be manageable, Raelic demanded that each year, in addition to the tithe that was to be paid, one hundred able-bodied men from the Londarian Legion would be selected to serve in the Raelian army in order to be used to defend the towns and villages from bandits and the Thar'dau. This made both Londar's defensive and offensive abilities almost entirely reliant upon Raelic.

Pre Second War of the North
Over three hundred years passed with the quality of life for its citizens being made increasingly dire. Kings and queens had come and gone in rapid succession, the Thar'dau elves were growing ever bolder in their raids and ruling costs had steadily risen with the exponential influx of people that come with time, resulting in an increase of taxes being forced upon the lower classes. The sheer number of poverty-stricken individuals that had nowhere to live and no money to buy food was staggeringly high. Entire districts of cities and towns were forced to cater to the people who had nowhere else to go.

Relations with the dwarves had soured considerably since The Londaran War and talks of any future alliance had long since ceased. The dwarves had given up on ever receiving their part of the deal struck and were stubborn in their refusal to cooperate with them any further. Even if the humans finally relented and gave them what they had originally wanted, the dwarves would no longer accept it out of bitter pride.

Though much of the hardships were in truth, caused by poor rulership on the part of the kings and queens of the past four hundred years, the rulers had gone to great lengths to frame Raelic as the true villain behind their plight and often blamed their problems on their neighbouring and governing kingdom instead. With growing dissent among the populace towards Raelic, the king of the time, Greyla Borea, sought to build an army strong enough to finally break free of their governing kingdom.

The War of Three Kings
Often referred to as The War of Three Kings, the events of this war did not largely involve Londar or its king at all. Regardless, the occurrence of the war was instrumental to the future prosperity of the kingdom.

In Y3A-1483, Raelic began a long and arduous war with its neighbouring kingdom to the south, Ti'hanka. Though not known at the time, this war would eventually become one of the largest wars of the age and result in the total reshaping the Northern Borderlands to what we know today.

Six years after Raelic began their war with Ti'hanka, a devastating blow on the Raelian army caused Raelic to suddenly increase the taxes within Londar from the previously accepted 10% to 15%. This in return caused a small rebellion within Londar to form as they refused to pay. Initially unconcerned and in need of more manpower, Raelic withdrew all of their guards and personnel from the kingdom in order to bolster their war efforts against Ti'hanka and subsequently allowed Londar to gain a foothold in their rebellion. Potentially facing an enemy more than four times the strength of themselves, Londar requested aid from Ti'hanka in defeating their common foe but were denied as Londar had previously been proven to be unreliable after what had happened to the dwarves in The Londaran War and Ti'hanka was unwilling to move from their entrenchment for risk of losing their position.

In order to strike at Raelic with a decisive attack, Londar secretly began building up a second army of highly trained and skilled operatives in addition to the Londaran Legion known as the Mistborne High Guard. Building the army would take a considerable amount of time and money but the intention was to wait until the Raelic had finally won against Ti'hanka and immediately take advantage of the weakened force.

Slowly, Londar managed to secure their borders while Raelic was preoccupied with its own problems and after just a couple of years, they were strong enough to finally strike.

In Y3A-1493, ten years after the first battle between Raelic and Ti'hanka began, Raelic and the capital city of Rylera became besieged by Ti'hanka. Raelic were forced to call for aid one final time and with the promise of freedom upon the success of breaking the siege, Londar finally marched into battle against Ti'hanka.

Neither of the kingdoms particularly wanted to fight each other and with Raelic now almost defeated, Londar proposed a deal to unite the kingdoms rather than tear them apart. A peace treaty was quickly drawn up and signed by the three kings which firmly established the beginnings of what would be known as the Northern Borderlands.

Post Second War of the North.
The three borderland kingdoms finally became unified via a Grand Council of Twelve. Three of each 'Coin', 'Military', 'People' and the King from each of the kingdoms were to convene in the shared city of Kamile twice per year on the winter and summer solstices or rarely on special occasions when the Grand Council was called for a decision that involved two or more of the kingdoms. All twelve were to be in attendance for any decision to be decided and all but the kings could potentially be represented by another in their place.

All three kingdoms were allowed to keep their monarchy and rule within their respective kingdoms so long as they involved only their own kingdom as an internal affair. No taxes or power over either of the other kingdoms was to be allowed and all kingdoms were to be considered equal.

Following the wake of the war, Londar decided to keep its 5,000-man army as a way to keep the peace within the kingdom and to deal with the Thar'dau threat that had steadily become more problematic. The Mistborne High Guard was also kept around as an intimidation tactic and for emergency purposes. Though Mistward Keep is still used as a training ground for new recruits, the Mistborne High Guard resides now mostly on the upper level within the capital city of Hyvern.

Culture
Many of the inhabitants of Londar are workers, primarily as farmers working to feed the kingdom or as loggers creating timber for fuel in the furnaces or as building materials. Hunters, fishermen and craftsmen are also common roles among the populace, though less in demand.

Twice per year, every year, a grand festival known as The Blue Moon Celebration, is held in Hyvern City; once each at the coming of spring and at harvest time. Colossal amounts of food and commerce are brought to the city to be sold and people from all over attend, numbering in the tens of thousands. Each brings with them exotic animals and fruits, entertainment and spectacles that dazzle and amaze. It is rumoured that more money is spent during a single evening at the festival than in the entire rest of the year.

The Highlands of Londar
Londar can be split into two main subregions. To the north, in the Highlands of Londar, the terrain is rugged, mountainous, cold and contains forests of boreal and deciduous trees. Protecting the northern borders of the kingdom lies the impenetrable range of mountains known as the Crown Mountains. Few people have ever dared travel further north due to the extremely inhospitable conditions and dangerous beasts that live there. Cold winds and rugged terrain make passage near impossible and even airships have trouble staying airborne with the tight passes and unpredictable weather that frequently ravages the terrain.

Although often forgotten about by the southerners, many of the inhabitants of the highlands have important roles in maintaining the growth of the kingdom. Albathire and Skarhorn are two of the largest towns of hunters and gatherers in the entire kingdom, often bringing in fresh meat and medicinal herbs that form the centrepiece of every major festival and feast. Riverton is known for the great softwoods that help build the foundations of every town in the region and Stonecross and Amberhill are both great mining towns that specialise in stone and the feldspar used in creating many of the kingdoms pots and dishes. Though the resources the northern reaches gather are extremely valuable, the harsh conditions in which the people must endure has resulted in the highlands being largely unpopulated in comparison to the lowlands, with only around six thousand of the fifty thousand inhabitants of the kingdom living further north than Skarhorn.

To the east of Albathire, following the river through The Cleft of Elwyr, a long-abandoned fortress named Mistward Keep lies. It was at this ancient fortress that the humans held out during the final days of The Londaran War and was used again as a place in which to secretly train the highly regarded Mistborne High Guard during The War of Three Kings. Though not used as much in recent times, training still occasionally takes place there.

The Lowlands of Londar
In the southern reaches of the highlands lies the capital of the kingdom, Hyvern City. To the west of the grand city are the great Highback Mountains which serve as a natural barrier against attackers from the vast expanse of The Abyss. To the east is the iconic turquoise lake known as The Jewel of Hyvern, a massive stretch of water that is said to have mystical healing properties. Further east of the lake, a gap in the Albarond Mountains named the Pass of Rhun allows access into Raelic, halving the travel time between Hyvern City and Rylera to just 30 days on foot.

Far south of Albathire, on the western bank of the kingdom and at the mouth of the Tam River is the small port town of Glimmerstone which makes use of its position as a trading hub for the materials harvested from the northern towns as well as being able to generate its own supply of timber and stone. South and east of here is another logging town, Longwood, which supplies the kingdom with a special type of timber unfound anywhere else in the world. It is unique in that it is remarkably slow-burning and yet, still manages to burn intensely hot and is perfect for the forges used to create weaponry and armour for the Mistborne High Guard.

Upon entering the Lowlands of Londar, the climate warms significantly and farming takes precedence over mining. Following the Tyr River south from Longwood is the major town of Denethire and the Denethire Woods, a port town that is directly connected to Claybank, The Jewel of Hyvern and Hyvern City via the Cale River. Any trade going to or from the capital has no choice but to pass through this colossal town and so has become a beacon for trade. In more recent years, large areas of the surrounding countryside have been dedicated to the Airship Building Yards that function as an attractive opportunity for the most skilled engineers and airship builders in the land.

Much of the food used to feed the kingdom comes from the vibrant red grasslands that make up the better part of the lowlands, thousands of acres of fertile farmland are spread out between the Cale River and the fortress town of Razor's Edge to the east. The Firefields of Londar are truly a spectacular sight to behold and although no major towns exist in the area, the region is littered with small villages too numerous to count. Over sixteen thousand people live in and around this one area. To the north of the Firefields is a vast forest known as The Everwoods and to the south is a much smaller pocket of trees known as The Grove.

The Isle of Storms
Far to the south of Londar, almost two days boat travel from the port town of Strand is the fabled island of the Stormlanders, the Isle of Storms. A rocky and rugged island of harsh weather and tempestuous seasons. The town of Stormsong is the most hostile of the two towns but is also home to the only port on the island. Havensade is a much calmer town to live in primarily due to its location. The entire town has been constructed within a large cave on the south-eastern tip of the island, protecting them from the heavy blows of the wind and tides.

Highlands of Londar

 * Albathire
 * Amberhill
 * Bayton
 * Cliff Tree
 * Felda
 * Glimmerstone
 * Hebra
 * Longwood
 * Ord
 * Rost
 * Riverton
 * Skarhorn
 * Skeld
 * Stonecross
 * Tama Bay

Lowlands of Londar

 * Danethire
 * Angeldale
 * Claybank
 * Luport
 * Razor's Edge
 * Ryvere
 * Strand
 * Tarnlow

Isle of Storms

 * Havensade
 * Stormsong

Mountain Ranges

 * Albarond Mountains
 * Crown Mountains
 * Highback Mountains

Forests and Woods

 * Amber Woods
 * Red Woods
 * Danethire Woods
 * The Everwoods
 * The Grove
 * The Norland Vale

Rivers

 * Cale River
 * Norlow River
 * Oxlow River
 * Tam River
 * Tyr River

Places of Note

 * The Cleft of Elwyr
 * The Cliff Tree
 * Firefields of Londar
 * The Grey Step
 * The Jewel of Hyvern
 * Mistward Keep
 * The Tarn Valley

Royal kings of the ages

 * Renoveld Borea
 * Anvel Borea
 * Greyal Borea
 * Avantis Borea
 * Raxis Borea
 * Paxil Borea
 * Tordil Borea

Mistborne High Guard
As with all good armies, The Mistborne High Guard has a full command structure for the central, standing army which can be expanded when the additional temporary units join during times of crisis.

Leading the Mistborne High Guard and its additional units is the man known as the Phantom Commander, the most skilled and battle-hardened warrior the army has to offer. Serving directly under him are his two Wing Commanders who take direct command of his flanking corps, four High Commanders who control the central body of the army and four general Commanders who each have command of a corps of 1,000 soldiers.

Serving under each of the Commanders are Captains of the division, elite soldiers who have direct command of their own two hundred units.
 * Phantom Commander Harkas
 * Wing Commander Gritte Orshan
 * Wing Commander Lundie Orshan
 * Commander Syd
 * Commander Erin
 * Commander Drelin
 * Commander Nedrick

Carnivores

 * Bears
 * Boars
 * Snowhunter
 * Wolves

Herbivores

 * Critters
 * Dear
 * Horses

Omnivores

 * Jacktyl
 * Silver Sprite
 * Skyfish

Notes and Trivia

 * The environment is somewhat reminiscent of Scotland in the United Kingdom and the country itself is roughly the size of the UK.
 * The name may be a reference to the English capital city of London.
 * The name may also be a reference to a mysterious kingdom or city of magic in Dark Souls named Londor.
 * Hyvern City was first referenced in a Minecraft map that after many years of work, was irrevocably broken and subsequently never released. Many of the names from this project have been reused. Pictures of the work in progress map can still be found here.