The Principality of Dara

These cultists are not worthy of your time my boy, evil creatures all of them, the very spawn of Azrai himself. Oh not heard of Azrai have you, well he is the god of the Adurians, yes the same people who even now are attacking the lands of our mighty empire. He is an evil and cruel god who cares not for the people who worship him, but rather only in his own power. I would stay well away from his temples if you wish to live, for it is said that they sacrifice little boys like you.

Teacher to his pupil after seeing priest of Azrai in the marketplace, 2611 AR.

Alignment: Lawful Good
Status: Recommended

Provinces/Holdings: Dara is the oldest of the northern principalities, founded nearly three hundred years ago after the building of the road across the Azure peaks. Despite its age only the coastal provinces have been settled and explored with many areas inland, in the forests and mountain still wild and untamed. It is these wild areas that the priests of Azrai have gained a foothold, fighting against the traditional religions, more common along the coast. Dara is also the only one of the northern principalities where the Neha goddess, Nestellia is worshiped, with the others favouring gods such as Brenna and Reynir.

Click Here for the map of Dara.

* indicates a fortified holding.

Abbreviations: PL = Prince Leostis (Dara); TCB = True Church of Brenna (Untrini the wise); DM = Dara Mining (Olli Brarc); SP = Silver Princess (Halwan); DTN = Dara Temple of Nestellia (Partilen Kerwin); RFW = Reynir's Forest Wardens (Harri the druid); DF = Dara Foresters (Gorgi Brightaxe); DTA = Dara Temple of Azrai (Suris Hormien); HTV = Halwan Temple of Vorynn (Anna Storinius).

• Law: Along the coast of Dara the law is held by the prince, and he tolerates no-one working against his rightful law. Inland once the land becomes wilder the law tends to lapse, and in two provinces the temple of Azrai has much more control that the prince would like. So far he has been unable to dislodge them though, as they sits safe in their fortress, despite several attempts in recent years.
• Temples: The Dara Temple of Nestellia (Neha Goddess of Life) is the dominant religion, as her temples are throughout Neha. Several other religions have gained some power though, most notibly the temples of Brenna, Reynir, and Azrai. Also a small shrine to Vorynn has been set up in the southern province of Amal, near the border of Halwan. The temple of Azrai is the most dangerous at the moment as it is only a year or two old and has already expanded through two provinces and is building temples elsewhere in Dara and Tarbul. If the other regents are not careful then they will soon have considerable power and be a threat to all in the region.
• Guilds: Only two main guilds exist in this principality, the foresters and miners guilds.They both have elected heads and each five years a new guildmaster is chosen. Often the current guildmaster will be returned for another term, but it all depends on the profits he has bought in over the past five years. Both of the guilds work together well, and do not interfere with each others interests. So far the mining guild has proven the more profitable as it also control large number of business and trade along the coastal areas, while the foresters are generally restricted to on of the forested provinces. The Foresters guild has less members though so it work out about the same.
• Sources: The only source holder in this principality, and in fact in most of the north is the Silver Princess, the Erhshegh ruler of Halwan which lies south of Dara. She does not work against the people of Dara, although is currently involved in a war of sorts with the temple of Azrai after they destroyed her source holdings in the provinces where they control the law.
• Provinces: Prince Leostis officially controls all of Dara, and along the coast this is true. Inland though the ruler is less clear. The provinces are still claimed by the prince but in two of them the temple of Azrai has taken control, extorting taxes from the locals and mustering their own army. The prince is most concerned about this but so far has been unable to successfully attack the cultists fortress in the mountains of Quass.

Regency Generated/Accumulated: 0/0
As the prince does not have a bloodline this realm does not collect RPs.

Treasury: 57 GB
The Dara treasury is a little lower than normal at the moment as Prince Leostis has been financing a large army that has been sent south to aid the Imperial forces against the Adurian Legions. Taxes are heavy through out the principality, but the temple of Nestellia assist the prince in assuring the people remain loyal behind him. In the wild lands to the east though, where the Azure Peaks meet dark forests the people are not as loyal to the prince, and taxes are generally not paid.

Army/Navy: Dara is used to supporting a large army, but currently nearly half has been west south through the mountain pass to Nehalim. The rest is either attempting to drive out the Azrai cultists or are based in the southern forts.
5 units of swords, 2 of archers and 3 Elephant units are currently with the Imperial Army in eastern Nehalim while the rest of the army, 3 sword, 2 archers, and 1 chariot unit remains. Dara also maintains a small fleet of 5 war galleys that are docked at the capital. These ships are mainly used to fight off pirates and keep an eye of the large Halwan fleet.

Regent: Prince Leostis (MNe; Pl9; Unblooded; Age 56) rules Dara with the strength of justice. He is a paladin of Nestellia and as such is well respected and revered by the the people. His family has long ruled this land, since it was first settled over three hundred years earlier. Under Leostis's rule the people have become used to his firm, but fair leadership and even without the support of the temple of Nestillia he would be well liked. Leostis is a tall, white haired old man who even now in his fifties retains much of his youthful good looks. He is a skilled swordsman and even today remains one of the best warriors in the principality. As a young man he served in the Nehalim army, and was involved in ending the Kowr uprising when that realm attempted to break away from Nehalim. Although he never rose beyond the rank of captain (or unit leader) his became quite famous in the southern principalities before returning home just over twenty years ago after his father died. Since taking over Dara he has changed much, improving the conditions of the people of Dara, and repairing damage done by pervious rulers. He also serves as supreme judge for the realm and deals with the trials of the worst criminals personally. His dislikes any who break the law, and especially dislikes the priests of Azrai who have built a fortified monastery in the eastern mountains. He would like nothing more to remove them once and for all, but so far has had little success in his five attempts so far.

Important NPC's: Olli Brarc (MNe; 0-Level; Unblooded; Age 43) is the current guildmaster of the Dara Miners guild which controls much of the merchant activity in Dara, and a little in the southern parts of Tarbul. Olli has just been elected to the position of guild head after his predecessor made off with much of the treasury. The newly elevated Guilder Brarc has worked for much of his life in the headquarters of the guild in the administration section. He was chosen because he was seen as the least harmless of the choices available, and being a small man, with little stomach for a life on the run would be unlikely to repeat the performance of his predecessor. Olli has so far been busy rebuilding the losses of the past year and preparing for new expansion into Tarbul soon. The mining guild has also recently lost two of its main mines when Azrai cultist over run the camps and killed many of the miners. The guild has now been force to withdraw from this areas until the prince can destroy the cultist's headquarters.

Partilen Kerwin (MNe; P5; Unblooded; Age 83) serves as the current high priest of Nestellia in Dara, as he has done for the past fifty years. He is now a very old many, and relies on his servants to assist him in walking and conducting sermons. He still is renowned as a man of great wisdom and often gives advice to the rulers of Dara. He follows Nestellia, the Neha goddess of life, and one of the two greater powers that dominate the Neha pantheon. In Neha religion all the other gods, both old and new, are believed to be the children of the early power, of which Nestellia is one. Most common in the actually empire itself the worship of Nestellia can be found throughout Dara, although it is the only one of the northern principalities where this is true.

Gorgi Brightaxe (MNe; R6; Unblooded; Age 23) is the youngest of the guildmasters in the north. He runs the Daran forester's guild which deals mainly in the management of Dara's forests and the export of timber to other lands. This young ranger only recently took over the guild after the death of his father. The other members of the guild council decided to appoint him following his fathers death as that would avoid a council meeting of the all the merchants and foresters that make up the guild, something that takes a long time to organize. Gorgi did not really want the position, but now that he has it he intends to make the best job of it that he can, doing as much as he can for his fellow foresters. Similar to the miners guild the DF is a collective of the various lumber camps and merchants that deal in the timber products of Dara's forests. The leader is elect once every five years and usually only serves on term. The Daran foresters are not as rich as the mining guild, but still manage a good income. They have so far not been effected by the uprising of Azrai cultists in the east.

Suris Hormien (MAd; P7, Azrai; Az, tainted, 4; Age 39) is currently the most hated man in Dara, at least by most of the people. He arrived here recently from the west, after travelling across the wasteland and then making his way south along the mountains until he reached the pass into Dara. He is an official missionary from the Adurian Temple of Azrai and has orders to establish a holding here in Dara to assist Aduria in the war effort by preventing troops from the principalities reaching Nehalim. So far he has been somewhat successful in this, but only in keeping back Daran forces to fight him, and the couple of units that were left behind because of him would make little difference to the war. Suris is however a much more dangerous force that many believe, even his superiors back home in the great temple of Azrai believe. He has a tainted bloodline, and believes himself to be a god. Some of his new followers actually believe his claims of godhood and as he does have the blood ability of animal affinity this helps a few believe him. Currently he sits in his fortress in Quass province plotting ways to increase his power and dominate the entire land. He sees himself as one day becoming a great power and perhaps even rising to rule all of Aduria. At the moment though he is little more than a mad priest with one fortress to protect him. His followers do not have the military power to conquer the rest of Dara, and he can not leave Quass for fear of being captured by the Daran army that is out looking for any priests of Azrai.

Description: Dara is a land of contrasts. The provinces along the coast are as civilized as any in Nehalim itself, but travel only one province further inland and the land reverts to wilderness. A vast forest dominates the central provinces, with some logging occurring along its western borders. Further to the east the land becomes more hilly and eventually rises in the impassible Azure Peaks (Deismaar range). The people of the coast live much the same as those in Nehalim, and the mountain pass means that there is only a few days travel from the capital of Dara to the borders of the rest of the Nehalim Empire. Several large inns and fortresses have been built high in the mountains, mainly to assist in fighting off attacks from beastmen and other creatures that may dwell high in the peaks.

• Siyal (5/0) is the most northern of the Daran provinces, right on the border with Tarbul. A road travels through this province, following the coastline and a constant stream of wagons and horse travelling to Tarbul passes though on their way north. Primarily a farming province there is little of interest here, although there are a couple of large regional centers that serve as both markets and stopovers for traders heading north.
• Gadan (2/5) lies just to the east of Siyal, but the difference between the two provinces is quite noticeable. There is little farming here, with most of the population working in the logging camps, or looking after the miners travelling down the road to the mountains in the east. The road through Gadan serves much of eastern Dara and is an important life line to the vast mines of the east. Now though the traffic is considerably lower than it once was with two of the eastern provinces now infected with Azrai cultist who have shut down many of the mining operations.
• Atash (1/5) is one of the main mining centers of Dara. Based in the village of Atash there are over six hundred miners. Four large mines are gathered around the village and caravans carrying goods travel from the village toward the coast at least once a week. This is a lawless province, wild compared to the rest of the principality, with fights between miners over gold and silver that is occasionally mined here are common.
• Babal (8/0) sits on the central coast of Dara. It house the capital of Dara city, as well as several other large towns. The city itself is home to over a hundred thousand people and the rest of the province is dedicated to farming in the most part, although some of the smaller towns are also centers of manufacture, producing furniture and other goods. The city is also the center of trade in Dara with most goods being shipped out to the south by boat from here, although caravans do travel through the pass into the empire to the south.
• Garra (3/4) is a heavily forested inland province. Forestry is a the most common industry, although much of it is now from fast growing plantations, with only a few trees being taken from the old forests. The forest itself is thick with ancient trees and monsters, so few journey into its depth, preferring to log around the edges. Only the druids of Reynir's Forest Warden know much about what exist in its interior, but rumours of ancient treasure filled ruins are common place.
• Quass (2/4) This hilly province is the center of the Azrai worship in Dara. From their mountain fortress the priests have gained considerable power and now control much of the villagers lives. The Dara Mining guild used to run a large mine, even bigger than the mines in Atash The priest have driven off most of the miners and now control the rich mines which they use for their own purposes.
• Morgan (5/0) A large coastal provinces it stretches from the south of Babal province to the border of Halwan. Much of the land is taken up by vast areas of farmland, especially around the large Durba river which runs from the mountains to the sea near Morgan's largest city. In the far south of the province on the border of Halwan is a large fortress that in the past has been used as a base for attacks on Halwan city. Further south is the wall which was recently built to hold off any Halwan counter attacks. None have come so far though, so it not know how well it would stand up to the wizardly magic of Halwan Erhshegh ruler.
• Durba (3/4) lies south of the large Daran Forest, and like Garra is home to a large number of loggers. This province has been heavily logged over the past few hundred years, but still large areas of forest remaining. Logs from the camps in Durba are floated down the river to Morgan where they are generally transported off to the southern lands.
• Haras (2/5) This province is also threatened by the expansion of the priest of Azrai's little empire in eastern Dara. Like Quass the trouble has caused the closing of the mines, but the Daran military has been busy in this province attempting to drive out the priests.
• Amal (5/0) borders the kingdom of Halwan, and is home to a large number of troops that guard the border in case Halwan's armies venture north. They never do though, and it is always the Nehalim armies that invade Halwan, not the other way around. Until recently the province was home to a large force of soldiers from the Empire, but with the war with the Adurian Empire threatening western Nehalim these troops have been withdrawn. Only a few hundred of these soldiers now remain, with the rest, and also much of the Daran military sent south.
• Kanista (4/3) takes up the southern region of the principality. A road from the Nehalim Empire travels through a mountain pass and down into Kanista. There are several mountain villages that guard this pass from monsters and enemies and ensure that caravans are able to pass without any trouble. In the past this was the only way into the northern lands as the war with Halwan stopped any transport by ship. Much of what is now Dara was owned by Halwan at that time, but when settlers came north three hundred years ago the large Nehalim army was able to capture Halwan's northern provinces and claim them as their own. Halwan has never forgotten this but their armies are not as good as their fleet, and if it had not been to the magical skills of their regent Halwan city itself may have fallen long ago.

Allies: Dara is allied with the rest of the northern principalities and the Empire itself, but has no other allies. The prince is very loyal to the empire and would not think of betraying them at any time.

Enemies: Halwan is the most dangerous enemy that Dara faces. There are other threats such as the priests of Azrai, and the monstrous beastmen who live in the mountain, but these are minor compared to the threat that Halwan poses. Fortunately for Dara though Halwan is ruled by a peaceful regent who does not attack unless provoked.

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