KINGDOM OF ORELIA
The lands that are now the Kingdom of Orelia once resembled the Barbarian Kingdoms, as small kingdoms and city-states fought for land and dominance throughout the area. This, however, ended with the rise of Queen Orelia I, as many chose to ally themselves with the new growing kingdom, and those that tried to wage war against it were forced to join after facing its might. With this, what was once thought impossible happened in a single generation as Queen Orelia expanded her kingdom from the Strait of Baical in the west to the Storm Vale allowing a path to the free cities of Yhord in the east, with only pockets of allied kingdoms and city-states remaining that kept it from being completely unified. However, these small pockets would vanish as political marriages were used to fully incorporate them over the next few generations of queens until the Kingdom of Orelia stood as one land with natural borders that prevented the significant incursions of enemy nations for years to come.
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Orelian humans tend to have light-colored hair and fair-colored skin with average heights and lean very much toward average builds.
Mirador: The capital of the Kingdom of Orelia containing Castle Mirador, where the current queen resides. Mirador is a bustling metropolis of law and order that acts as one of the known worlds largest trade centers. The end of many trade routes and a stop for the others heading further north or to the western continent, the riches it generates for the Kingdom seems almost unending. Its queen and the many noble houses within it are happy to spend that coin on beautiful towers and innovative architecture that improves even the lowest commoners' lives. Crime is rare, and starvation is almost unheard of, but with these wonders comes an unrelenting steel eye and fist, watching and enforcing its intricate laws and systems that many find too restricting even with the benefits that come along with it.
Arkvale: Once the largest and most glorious kingdom in the region before the rise of the Kingdom of Orelia, Arkvale now only falls behind Mirador in splendor and wealth within the kingdom, owing its position to all the land-based trade that travels in and out of the kingdom. With a history older than the Kingdom of Orelia itself, Arkvale is the city of nobles, a place unfettered by the watchful eyes of the queen and her court, allowing political ploys and intrigue to play out that spiral down to affect even the commoners as the houses jockey for position and power underneath a Duchess that seems all too happy to show favor to those that prove skilled at the game, and that uses these houses to empower her position and keep the queen's fingers from wrapping too tightly around the city.
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Duskmire: Once planned to be expanded into a city that could rival that of Arkvale, Duskmire was chosen specifically for its location, a place only hours by ship across the Strait of Baical to the western continent and that was along the only path that allowed sea travel to the Jade Sea and the lands of the frozen north. It could quickly grow and prosper as a trade port, but that plan was all but thrown out after the Day Without Light and the ensuing curse in the region. Support dwindled other than what the baroness was given to keep control of the land, allowing only a slow expansion as resources were used to keep the people safe. This has changed in more recent years, with Akhatar built just across the strait. As more traders willing to risk sailing through the region to the mostly untapped markets up north continued to increase, Duskmire has started to see some of the growth that it was initially promised. Still, only time will tell if this growth will continue.