Saltur

From Zok

Current revision as of 05:30, 24 December 2007

Saltur is south of Eltrin and Itarada, and north of Valtadre and Kashrak's territory.

Expulsion Era:

As an older and more conservative city-state, Saltur is among the elven powers which strongly oppose the Cerneen and especially the Bantlings. Built out of the solid stone of Saltur Mountain over a thousand ago by Saltur dar Itar, it watches over the fertile farmlands below and to the west. The mountains to the east impede travel in that direction, but their forests provide an ample supply of wood for Neru dar Saltur's war machines, and their rivers and mines keep gold flowing into the city. While perhaps not as sorcerous a city as Valtadre, Saltur has a long tradition of powerful magic, and her lords and ladies are often sent north to Eltrin or south to Valtadre to study the Truespeak for decades before returning and being groomed to take their place in local politics. Still, her true strength lies in her armies, whose discipline and training rival the numbers of Comtraya and Itarada or the dwarf-made arms of Hagak.

Saltur has strong ties with Valtadre and Eltrin as a result of their long tradition of sending their children to each other (for those nations entrust their future military leaders to the Salturni college of Tein-Larion for tactical and combat training, while Salturni sends its youths to Valtadre and Eltrin to learn magic), and it has long resented Hagak's wealth and access to finely worked metals, and their economic competition with Kashrak (with its similar trade goods and monopoly on trade with the Dakzan Empire) has led to contempt bred of local pride. The Salturni aristocracy happily adopted the use of Cerneen slaves, if only to increase the volume of material being brought out of their eastern mines. Perhaps because they used their slaves primarily for grunt labor rather than more aesthetically-oriented tasks, the Salturni are far less likely to sympathize with the Cerneen as people rather than well-trained animals, and their discovery of Bantlings shocked and sickened most of them. The fact that the elves of Kashrak had neglected care of their children to the point that they began breeding with animals didn't seem all that surprising to many of them, as the elves of Kashrak had always been less civilized and too taken with various aspects of goblin culture anyway. Thus, they've heavily allied themselves with Valtadre, sending their armies to reenforce the ally's assault on Kashrak's pet trade city, Nyeir, in order to oust the Cern who currently governs its affairs.

System of Government

Saltur is essentially a feudal monarchy, although its current king is only its second. He delegates power to various noble families, who he charges with ruling over different portions of his domain. He collects yearly tithes from his nobles, and can demand that they reenforce his armies with their own in times of need. Each noble has a patriarch or matriarch who is responsible for the governance of their lands, and is accountable to the monarch for their treatment of their subjects. Many of these patriarchs have authority over their domain that predates Saltur's ascendance to power, but their loyalty to the king of city, if not absolute, is generally firm. This is due in large part to Saltur's success in leading their allied forces against the Stormdancer several hundred years ago, and the fairness of his justice upon those who allied themselves with her out of fear.

Ruler

The present king, Neru dar Saltur, is widely believed not to be the great leader his father was. The patriarchs are willing to continue to pay him his tithes and their lip-service because he has made no particularly unwise moves, and because they feel it's important to avoid appearing to lack solidarity. One never knows when the Eltrin cowards to the north will finally surrender to pressure from the Itarin, who are far too caught up in attempts at empire-building in the west to be trusted. Having a strong central authority who can command the other families to give you support when you're under attack is far too valuable to give up on the off-chance some other noble's territory will be attacked first. Even the central nobles would rather deal with their neighbors through marriages and bribes and political maneuvering than with unknown conquerers, and so they are happy to send their armies to fight on somebody else's land when necessary. And they appreciate the economic support that their proximity to the city lends.

Neru dar Saltur, for his part, is perfectly aware of the situation. He knows that the elders don't trust his judgement in a crisis, and that some of them especially dislike his decision to send aid to Valtadre. He knows that he is currently a well-armed and moderately well-liked figurehead, and that the elders will attempt to direct the military in the way they see fit rather than heed the council of one so young, who was born and raised in times of peace. He is currently quietly figuring out which members of his court and the upper echelons of his army are reporting back to his nobles, and subtly granting them lucrative employment in the outlying areas of the territory under his control (primarily in the sparsely populated mountains to the east). With the slowness that only an elf can manage, he is cementing his power. The more competent (and usually, as a result, the more powerful) elders can see his hand at work, and are impressed enough with his administrative ability that they're willing to offer him their support.

Neru is a skilled warrior, having studied under Master Teleis on the peak of Black Mountain. He studied at the Hall of Names in Valtadre, and ravenously consumes books of knowledge at a rate which causes his trusted chancellors to worry for the future of the treasury. He is as-yet unmarried, knowing full-well that each of the powerful nobles will strive to stay on his good side so long as there is a chance that one of their daughters might be made queen.

Heirarchy

• The King (Who it is good to be)
  • The Noble Patriarchs
    • The Noble Houses
      • Everybody Else

Laws of Note

• All poisons are illegal.
• All drugs are illegal, 'cept alchohol.
• Licenses have not been invented yet. Feel free to ride your dinosaur in public.
  • If your dinosaur eats someone, you get charged with murder.
  • Lawsuits have not been invented yet.
• Murder is punishable by death.
  • Unless the guy you're murdering is waaay below your social station. And even then it's strongly frowned upon in the "fine your sorry ass" sorta way.
• All sea serpents are banished from the land by royal decree (the former king joked that's why they live in the water. He liked his puns, King Saltur did. Maybe that's why he vanished...).
  • If the guards ever sea your serpent, it WILL be banished from the land.
    • With you or without you.
• Bestiality (which includes sex with any non-elven creature) is punishable by exile from the king's lands. Despite his youth, the king is siding with the elders in the Expulsion.
• Travelling between the provinces of different nobles imposes a property tax equal to ten percent of the cash you're carrying.
  • This does not include gems or worked items, but it does include unworked precious materials and staples such as wood, metal, or food. If you are travelling for purposes of trading these goods in the province you're entering, you aren't taxed, but the amount you have when you enter the province is recorded when you enter, and you're charged two percent of the profit you make selling your wares in the province.

Current State

Organizations

Significant Locations

Significant NPCs

The Patriarchs of the Aristocracy:

• Neru dar Saltur
• Marathesian dar Murdran
• Thurva dar Eltri
• Cela dur Comtrana
• Kaman dur Sinsi

Public Enemies:

Krondik Elfrender

Possibly Useful Contacts: