Temple Territories

The Temple Territories, later the Vale Mandate of Elendor was a microstate that existed on the sub-continent of Nándor, formed by the temple of Twin Dragon. The capital was officially the Grand Temple in Lhûmar, and had four exclaves: Old Dun, the Matron's Homestead, Wirmar, and Mount Nantian. It was declared by Sareariel Lelya-Earcala in the year 953ACA, and officially recognized by the Velande.

Formation
The Temple Territories were first formed in 953 ACA, said to encompass the Grand Temples across the world, however in reality that didn't apply as much.

950s-1000s
For the second half of the century the Temple Territories existed mostly unbothered, under the de-facto protection of First United Crowns of Syltör they were an enclave of. The border control between the two didn't exist, due to the fact that it would cut the city of Lhûmar in half.

Vale Mandate Formation
During the Second West March War, Anming Khamen, together with the Grand Warden of the Aurlûnor Velande and the Celeian Harmonizers, would annex the city of Lhûmar underneath the Temple Territories as the Grand Priestess of the Grand Temple to save it from the chaos of the collapse of the First United Crowns of Syltör, and declared the Vale Mandate of Elendor. Bardonia would threaten the Temple Territories that the city would be destroyed, despite the country being largely neutral in the second phase of the war. This would spark response of the Rathnir Entente, who also was stationed in the city. Not wanting another Northport, a resistance would start to be build, before Bardonia back down from internal disagreements on invading the city itself, due to the fact they already won the war, with the Ryzani half of the United Crowns descending into the III Ryzani Civil War, and Aurlunor being in general organizational chaos.

1020s
The 1020s were marked by the general enmity between the more theocratic Vale Mandate, and the more liberal Aurlûnoren Free State, born after the end of the Second West March War. Aside from ideological differences between the two Aurlunoren states, the rivalry was strengthened by the Vale Mandate becoming a city state, basing themselves in Lhûmar, the traditional capital of Aurlûnor, forcing the Free State to base themselves in Quacomar, with the impossiblity to return to the historic capital until the later reunification.

Reunification with Aurlunor Velande
In the year 1033 ACA, the Second Aurlûnor Velande was declared, with Arcon Kalasi-Vinyanis, whom Anming Khamen, the leader of Vale Mandate favored crowned Veleran, thus activating the agreement made by the Temple Territories and the Velande, having it become a direct vassal, and then formally annexed into the nation, ending the existence of the microstate.

Governance
The government of the Temple Territories and later Vale Mandate was directly the same as the templar hierarchy of Twin Dragon.

Demographics
Historically, the microstate's population didn't exceed few thousands living mainly in the town of Old Dun, which was the only proper town, as others were just temples or monasteries, with small villages not exceeding several hundred inhabitants around them, but after the takeover of 1016, the population jumped to about 3.5 million, after the 3.5 million metropolis of Lhûmar was annexed as a whole.