KINGDOM OF ORELIA

ORELIA THE JUST

Before there was the Kingdom of Orelia, there was the Reenthar Kingdom, a kingdom mired in injustice and corruption. Its path eventually took it headlong into oblivion.

The beginning of this path is most easily marked by an event that saw a nobleman killed by a group of Elves. While the Elves were defending themselves, the stories that were spread and the fact that it was a noble ended up having severe consequences. Throughout Reenthar, worshippers of Patrin had worked their way into positions of power. With this incident, they whispered and threw coins around until laws were being made that put severe restrictions on nearly all aspects of life for anyone that was not Human.

King Reenthar VI was no different; while not a follower of Patrin, he saw little reason not to agree with his advisors and the general consensus of his court to take advantage of the situation. The only member who spoke against the idea was Orelia Sorren, a lesser noble from a family of knights recently raised to the nobility. Having only been allowed to attend the King's court because of her appearance, Orelia was removed as King Reenthar VI took advantage of the situation to send soldiers to ransack several wealthy nobles and communities of these nonhuman races to fill the kingdom's coffers with the spoils.

This hatred continued to spread over the years so that even when priests of Initia started to warn officials that several floods were coming to cleanse the kingdom and that all that wished to live should flee, they were mostly ignored as stories created by lesser races to try and scare people since many of the priests were nonhuman.

One of the few nobles who listened to the omens was Orelia, who was restricted to her lands and faced other severe repercussions for refusing to uphold the unjust laws against the nonhuman races within her territory. Orelia, however, spent everything she had to prepare and move her people out of the area and to safety, gathering up many other commoners that had little reason to doubt the priests on the way.

A few weeks later, the predicted flood washed over and destroyed most of the kingdom's important cities along the coast, including the capital. King Reenthar VI and a few of his council had barely managed to survive by having court mages teleport them away from the capitol just before the floodwaters struck.

However, the omen said several floods, and it proved true as the second came months later. This one did not contain any water, but the surviving masses that had come together over months under the now Avenger of Justice Orelia, a knightly position given to her by the church of Justice for her actions and faith, and she immediately went to task. She and her allies fought through the remaining Reenthar forces and pulled King Reenthar VI from the keep he was hiding within, dragging him back to the now-ruined capital to face judgment for all the corruption he fostered and the deaths he allowed.

Eventually, Reenthar VI was found guilty by the people he once led and was executed by Orelia herself, who would continue to root out the previous corrupt officials and see they all faced trial.

PRESENT DAY ORELIA

Though it has not perfectly kept up the ideals set forth by Queen Orelia I, the Kingdom of Orelia is still to this day a place where the majority of those in power, including Queen Orelia VII, attempt to use that power for the betterment of the people, and welcomes all those willing and able to abide by its rules within its borders, though now restricting some races from becoming citizens (Orcs, Kobolds, Goblins, Trolls, Tiefling, and Drow) after incidents in the past. However, in general, Humans, Dwarves, High Elves, Halflings, Gnomes, and Half-Elves make up the core identity of Orelia, with Beastfolk and Half-Orcs also expected but being a bit less common.

SOCIETY

Having restructured itself since Queen Orelia I, the Kingdom of Orelia has solidified itself as a matriarchal society, though more from tradition than any resentment or mistreatment of males. Power such as a head of a household, head of a noble family, or ruler of the kingdom is generally in the hands of the most senior female, bloodlines are tracked, heirs decided, and family names are passed down on the female side.

This does not mean that men cannot have power or lead houses, as widowers or families with only male children will have a male head, and they are treated the same by most. But like anything else, there are those who will take anything to the extreme and look down upon any male in such a position.

RELIGION

Throughout the Kingdom of Orelia, worship of Justice is still the main religion, with Thero not far behind. Both of these gods not only see worship throughout the kingdom, but worship of Justice is tied directly with the royal line, and both the tenants of Justice and Thero significantly affect the kingdom's laws and customs.

Then with most of the important cities and trade routes being along the coast, Marna and her worshippers are pretty common, with worship further inland amongst farmlands and other rural areas instead turning toward Geb and Gaeya. The lawful kingdom also draws a considerable amount of Luthor and Helm worshippers to work alongside those of Justice and Thero and handle a bit of the darker and less glorified side of running a kingdom where required. And while rarely at the forefront of people's minds, worship of Luumpho always returns when childbirth or injury is at hand.

Perhaps strangely, considering the other major religions in the kingdom, the worship of Tlazolteotl has spread considerably throughout the land. Its matriarchal society and the ease at which those in positions of power can slip to abusing that power and look down on others, as well as the kingdom's acceptance of all religions as long as no laws are broken with their practice, has allowed the religion to spread to the point of prominent temples sprouting up in many major cities across the kingdom and even shrines in small villages. One can generally find a vocal minority of women who accept these extreme views, from commoners to nobles.

Other gods that are openly worshipped and have rare temples about the kingdom but generally don't have much influence are all of the rest of the good ten, mainly for the fact that since Justice and Thero are the most important religions, they make sure the rest of the good ten they are allied with have at least some representation.

Outside of that, some other neutral gods see small bits of worship. Worshippers of Paradox that wish to change the stuffy old ways of the kingdom, worshippers of Ehkahk that make up a large part of the kingdom's underbelly with its thieves and assassins, and then worshippers of Lyre for entertainment and Methus for libraries.

Finally, amongst the evil 10, Cenob is the only evil god other than Tlazolteotl that sees open worship and has many temples and shrines. This is mainly because worshippers of Cenob generally see to funeral rights as he is the god of death, but also because he is simply that powerful and feared as leader of the evil gods. Past that, a few pockets of worship for Nexus, Patrin, and Venom are hidden about the kingdom.

The notable locations can all be easily viewed on the Map

NOTABLE LOCATIONS

LAW & ORDER

In general, anyone traveling to or from the Kingdom of Orelia expects fair and just treatment, and its laws generally reflect that. Its cities even allow for evil religions and generally hated races as long as they follow the same laws as everyone else.

PUNISHMENTS

Punishment for a crime can include one or more of the following based on the nature of the crime, who or what the crime is committed against, and the criminal record of the convicted:

Death
Exile
Flogging (whip on back)
Hard labor
Imprisonment
Fine (inability to pay the fine leads to imprisonment and/or hard labor)
Damages (payable to the injured party or victim's kin; inability to pay damages leads to imprisonment and/or hard labor)
Edict (forbidding the convicted from doing something; violation of an edict can result in imprisonment, hard labor, and/or a fine)

LAWS

I. Crimes against Royalty, Officials, and Nobles

Assaults or impersonating royalty: death
Assaulting or impersonating an official or noble: flogging, imprisonment up to a week, and fine up to 125s
Blackmailing an official: Flogging and exile up to 3 months
Bribery or attempted bribery of an official: exile up to 3 months and fine up to double the bribe amount
Murder of a royalty, official, or noble: death
Using magic to influence royalty without consent: death
Using magic to influence nobles without consent: imprisonment up to 2 weeks, and fine or damages up to 250s
Using magic to influence an official without consent: fine or damages up to 250s and edict

II. Crimes against the Kingdom

Arson: Death or hard labor up to a month, with fines and /or damages covering the cost of repairs plus 500s
Brandishing weapons without due cause: imprisonment up to a week and/or fine up to 10s
Espionage: death or permanent exile
Fencing stolen goods: fine equal to the value of the stolen goods and edict
Forgery of an official document: flogging and exile for 3 months
Hampering justice: fine up to 50s and hard labor up to 3 days
Public Indecency: fine up to 10s and edict
Possessing illegal goods: fine equal to the value of the stolen goods and edict
Littering: fine up to 1s and edict
Poisoning a city well: death
Theft: flogging followed by imprisonment up to 3 days, hard labor up to a month, or fine equal to the value of the stolen goods
Treason: death
Vandalism: imprisonment up to a week plus fine and/or damages covering the cost of repairs plus up to 25s

III. Crimes against the Gods

Assaulting a priest or lay worshiper: imprisonment up to 3 days and damages up to 125s
Disorderly conduct within a temple: fine up to 5s and edict
Public blasphemy against a god or church: edict
Theft of temple goods or offering: imprisonment up to a 3 days and damages up to double the cost of the stolen items
Tomb-robbing: imprisonment up to 3 days and damages covering the cost of repairs plus 125s

IV. Crimes against Citizens

Assaulting a citizen: imprisonment up to 3 days, flogging~ and damages up to 250s
Blackmailing or intimidating a citizen: fine or damages up to 125s and edict
Burglary: imprisonment up to a week and damages equal to the value of the stolen goods plus 125s
Damaging property or livestock: damages covering the cost of repairs or replacement plus up to 125s
Disturbing the peace: fine up to 5s and edict
Murdering a citizen without justification: death or hard labor up to 3 months, and damages up to 250s paid to the victim’s kin
Murdering a citizen with justification: exile up to 2 months or hard labor up to 3 months or damages up to 250s paid to the victim's kin
Robbery: hard labor up to a week and damages equal to the value of the stolen goods plus 125s
Slavery: flogging and hard labor up to 3 months
Using magic to influence a citizen without consent: fine or damages up to 125s and edict

V. Crimes against People

Assaulting a person: imprisonment up to 2 days, flogging~ and damages up to 50s
Blackmailing or intimidating a person: fine or damages up to 50s and edict
Damaging property or livestock: damages covering the cost of repairs or replacement plus up to 50s
Murdering a person without justification: death or hard labor up to 2 months, and damages up to 125s paid to the victim’s kin
Murdering a person with justification: exile up to a month or hard labor up to 2 months or damages up to 125s paid to the victim's kin
Robbery: hard labor up to 3 days and damages equal to the value of the stolen goods plus 50s
Slavery: flogging and hard labor up to 2 months
Using magic to influence a person without consent: fine or damages up to 50s and edict