Tálor

Tálor (pronounced as "Tailor",ˈteɪlə) is an island of the Atsyllean Sea named after its natives' famous tailoring culture. The town located in the island and bearing the same name is currently the capital of the Duchy of Tálor, within Yimmu-Audal.

History
The town Tálor proper was founded by Ghastly_Bespoke on the 20th of October, 2020, at roughly 2:15pm GMT.

It was an originally conceived as a colony of Yimmu-Audal. The territoty, however, was already claimed by the The United Empire of Akratia. The Audalad kingdom at first attempted to buy the island from them, but the request was denied. After it seemed the territory was going to be given to an Akratian, Ghastly_Bespoke moved in and claimed the island. It didn't become part of Yimmu-Audal and remained independent over political concerns, given its disputed status. The island kept its independence for 4 hours 11 minutes before a deal was negotiated with Akratia. Tálor agreed to join them, but it was to be shown separately from the Empire on maps, as its own territoty.

Following Akratia's inability to keep up with the aforementioned demands, the nation's general inactivity, as well as for reasons including Tálor's then new geographically close position to Yimmu-Audal's newly expanded southern border, cultural and economic ties to Urnu-Arrak, and personal connections of Ghastly_Bespoke, the island and its subordinate settlements joined Yimmu-Audal as the Kingdom of Tálor, bearing special privileges.

After the Coalition War, before Yimmu-Audal-Ardatia collapsed, it granted the Kingdom independence. However, the island was eventually, albeit shortly, annexed by the Second Empire of Akratia before being handed over to Yimmu-Audal's successor, Theios-Essukdal in The Recognition of Talor, in the midst of the Akratian Civil War. Today, Tálor is part of Yimmu-Audal once again.

Lore
The island was originally known for its fine textiles, which sea merchants bought when sailing through the Atsyllean Sea to sell abroad. The island's native people, the Beireesh, raised a special breed of sheep up the island's hills and turned their fine wool into pieces of clothing and fabric much valued abroad. It is said that a few kings and queens set foot on the Beireesh town of Beiramar before special occasions to have their clothes made by the local tailors. The island would then become known as the "Island of Tailors", and later on, "Tálor".

The Beireesh were culturally connected to the Audaladae from Alteniquia. Their faith descends from that of Hukar Sharud, their construction techniques are similar to those from the mainland and their language is the same. However, the period of relative geographical and cultural isolation before the arrival of Yimmu-Audal was enough time for the Beireesh to develop their own distinct mores, beliefs, folklore and trades, such as weaving.

The town of Tálor proper would only be founded by settlers from the north, such as Ghastly_Bespoke. At first, the Beireesh resisted, but the influx of trade brought alongside the founding of the town appeased the tensions between them and the Audaladae, which would later on develop a symbiotic, albeit complicated, political and economical relationship, lasting to this day.

Geography
The island consists of three main biomes, from west to east: the Lowlands, the Highlands and the Mountain. The Lowland starts with a narrow sandy shore, which is followed by a large, rather flat birch forest cut by a narrow river. The Highland consists of birch hills getting steeper as they near the Mountain. There, two snowy peaks stand tall, distant and cold, separated by a flat valley.

The urbanization of the island changed some of its original landscape, mainly that of the Lowlands. Most of the northwestern birch forest was cut down to give place to farmland, houses and buildings of all kinds.

Buildings
The main building of the island is the Motte Lodge, where travelers and scholars from far and wide can gather to enjoy the local beverage, talk about their adventures and findings around a cozy fireplace, or have some rest in one of the many bedrooms at their disposal. North of the lodge, is the old Council House, from the olden times of the Kingdom of Tálor. Across the street that leads to the University of Tálor, a towering building which is still under construction, a small and welcoming neighboorhood surrounds the local Hukarad Church. To west, the historic site of Beiramar rises from the sandy shores of the island.