Kingdom of the Asharalyn

The Kingdom of the Asharalyn (Known by its inhabitants as the Reyiume Asharalyn) is a nation in Eastern Eldham. The Kingdom was founded by Anarion Kaistra who continued the ancient traditions of the Aseri people within Eldham and established the systems which now make up the Kingdom. The Kingdom of the Asharalyn is a feudalistic monarchy in which various estates control tracts of its lands by means of counties.

Etymology
The name, Asharalyn, comes from a combination of the Aseri words: Ashara, for 'Rocky', and Lyn, for 'Forest'. The country was named by Anarion I Kaistra upon his landing in the Forest now known as the Lakewood.

The Great Calamity
The homeland of the Aseri, though unknown now almost to all, was a land that was torn apart by war, chaos, and destruction. The last of these wars caused the Aseri to migrate West to Eldham.

The war had started due to the constant tensions present between the three Aseri cultures. The Asún, the High Elves, and by all accounts the de facto rulers of the Aseri homeland, had teamed up with the Lorún in order to challenge the ever growing threat of a Drikún lord. The war effectively ended in a decisive victory over the Drikún, but the great amount of blood shed by the Asún and Lorún deeply troubled the gods themselves. In response, the gods themselves sent a calamity to punish the Aseri as a whole.

Accounts differ on what the calamity actually was composed of, though almost all accounts agree that the gods placed the fate of the Aseri into one Lorún peasant from the small village of Kaistra, Anarion. The young peasant lumberman received knowledge of the coming destruction by means of a dream late one night. He had woken in a cold sweat upon his realisation of what the dream had meant and quickly rushed to the elders of his village. Upon his explanation of his vision, the elders eventually went on to bring the dream to the attention of the local lord. However, being too hyper-focused on the recovery from the war, the lord ignored their pleas for any aid in preparing for the calamity, and attributed the dream to peasant superstition. The lord also claimed that the gods would not place a vision so important into the head of a commoner, and so completely dismissed the idea.

When the news of the lord's defiance reached Anarion, he made it his mission to fulfil the gods' wishes and save his people. If the lord and the rest of the Aseri remained ignorant, he would fulfill the role that the gods had charged him with.

Anarion set to work immediately by building ships. He laboured day and night, his axe becoming duller and duller as the time passed. Each day he offered a prayer to Araleth, hoping that she would bless him with the strength to carry on. By the night, he gazed up at the stars and offered a prayer to Fanmarel, begging for the eventual journey across the sea to be a safe one. As he laboured, various signs began to appear across the Aseri lands of the coming calamity. The harvest was far worse than it had ever been in living memory, the heat of the day burned crops and caused even the forests to turn to a blaze. Still, Anarion persevered, with some, but little help from the others living in his town. The population of Kaistra had begun to view Anarion as the local crazy man, and often avoided him.

By the time that the war had officially concluded, Anarion had completed twenty-four ships, each with the ability to carry around a hundred people. As he finished the twenty-fourth ship, the forest fires grew to be within a mile of Kaistra. On that very day, riders arrived in the village bearing the bright blue banners emblazoned with a golden bear symbolising the Asún Royal House of Tenstina. As if the rising smoke in the distance had not been an evident sign of doom, the Tenstina vanguard told the village of the calamity's arrival. Villages had been emptied within the eastern-most stretches of the Aseri lands, their occupants either dead or dying with sickness. It was at this moment that the villagers of Kaistra had realised that Anarion's visions had been correct. Immediately, Anarion took charge of the evacuation, helping his people onto the ships. The Tenstina Vanguard had included the heir to the Tenstina name: Alre Tenstina. He immediately began to assist Anarion. The Asún took six of the longboats that Anarion had constructed, filling them with the remains of the Vanguard and those who had accompanied them in the form of camp followers. The Lorún took ten of the boats which soon became filled with the villagers from Kaistra, and those from the surrounding villages. The remaining eight boats were filled with livestock and many Drikún prisoners who had been intended to be sold as thralls. During the escape, these prisoners were officially freed, though they ultimately chose to evacuate with their former captors than to stay and watch their world burn. As the sun began to set, the fires reached the outskirts of the village of Kaistra and began to set the wooden and thatched houses alight. Just after the longboats had pushed away from shore, the village became a smoldering mess of flames dancing to the tune of an ancient demonic song.

The Voyage to Eldham
Anarion's longship led the voyage westward. In the earliest days of the journey, he had been risen to nobility for his heroic actions by Alre Tenstina. Anarion chose for his house's name, the name of the village from where he originated: Kaistra. For his sigil and coat of arms, he chose a white stag upon a striped field of green and silver adorned with three white eight pointed stars. The stag represented Anarion's favourite animal, whom he used to tend to in the forests of his childhood. The green represented the forests of his homeland, and the forests that he would surely soon come to know. The silver represented the colour of the fish which swam in the seas as the armada sailed westward. The white represented starlight which consistently bathed the Aseri, the people in the stars, at night and guided them westward towards their new home. Finally, the three eight pointed stars represented Ventrism's connection with the Aseri.

The voyage lasted for twenty-four weeks. The Aseri survived on fishing off the side of their boats and passed the time telling stories of their past, whilst wondering where the future would take them. During the journey, Alre of House Tenstina was agreed upon to be the Karida of Ventrism, considering that his predecessor had died in the calamity. Upon his choosing, a shooting star crossed the sky late at night, which the Aseri took to mean the gods' approval. Throughout the journey, Alre led prayers for the Aseri to eventually find their new homeland. He and the worshippers begged for guidance. Eventually, the ships did spot land.

Far in the distance, as dawn broke upon the sleepy Aseri voyagers, a gigantic tree was spotted. It's branches scraped the sky and some speculated that they even reached the gods themselves. Immediately, a breakneck pace of rowing was issued to the ships, but they had barely a need of it. The wind alone carried the Aseri to their new homeland. The longships grounded themselves on the opposite shore from the island in which the tree had been located as the sun crept into the sky. Eventually, the Aseri began to explore the island that the tree was on. They named the tree the Aldoaka, viewing it as a sign from Ventria, the mother of all. Under the Aldoaka, the Aseri would spend their first night in Eldham, gazing up at the stars. It was also on this night that Anarion was crowned as Anarion, the First of His Name, by the will of the Gods, Aldarei of the Kingdom of the Asharalyn and Protector of the Realm. His crown was made from the branches of the Aldoaka, and was placed on his head by Alre Tenstina. The Kingdom of the Asharalyn had been established with Anarion I as its protector.

Foundation of Asariana
Immediately, the Aseri got to work on the construction of a city underneath the Aldoaka. The forest within which they resided had thankfully been filled with ancient magic to prevent the intrusion of unwanted outsiders.

Governance
The Governance of the Kingdom of the Asharalyn has remained unchanged from its foundation under Anarion I.

Structure
The Asharan Government is a feudalistic monarchy in which land-ownership, and therefore political power, is established in a hierarchical and bureaucratic way.

The Aldarei (Aldareina in the case of a female monarch) is the title of the ruler of the Kingdom of the Asharalyn. Starting with Anarion I, the first Aldarei of the Kingdom of the Asharalyn, this title has passed down through his descendants. The Aldarei is anointed and crowned by the Karida of Ventrism, and has a divine mandate from the Gods themselves to rule. In such regard, the Aldarei is the head of the feudalistic structure which is present in the Kingdom of the Asharalyn and presides over its functioning.

The Sagetoria is comprised of Sages whom are advisors to the Aldarei of the Kingdom of the Asharalyn. The preside over various departments on an ad hoc basis, the current composition can be seen below. The Contoro(s) (Feminine, Contara) are rulers of the various counties which make up the Kingdom of the Asharalyn. These are members of the nobility and are always directly appointed by the Aldarei. The Contoros swear fealty to both Asariana and to the Moonstone Throne, in that they are swearing an oath to the Aldarei. All minor nobles within a county swear fealty and are under the control of the Contoros.

The Baro(s) (Feminine, Bara) are the rulers of minor tracts of land within the Kingdom of the Asharalyn. Ultimately, the Baros typically are the leaders and mayors of towns.

Military
The military of the Kingdom of the Asharalyn is made up of men-at-arms in service to the country. The masses form the bulk of the military and the promises of glory and glory lead many to seek service in the warbands of the nobility of the land. Though a rare occurrence, mounted warriors in service to religious orders such as the Order of the Shooting Star or the Order of the Moon are present on the battlefield. Aside from men-at-arms and the knightly class, the Asharan Military focuses heavily on the employ of ranged weaponry such as crossbows, or, much more prevalently, bows.

Religion
The official state sponsored religion of the Kingdom of the Asharalyn is Ventrism. Conversion to this Faith, commonly referred to as 'the Faith', is highly encouraged and such encouragement is made a goal of the various nobles who rule the land. To that extent, it is rare to see any other religion worshipped, and much more rare to see any monuments to foreign Gods. The Kingdom of the Asharalyn, on a governmental level, does not prosecute different faiths and to an extent allows religious freedom.

Ventrism
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Ventrism came with the Aseri to Eldham and