Cliffton

Cliffton is one of the many provinces (archonates) that comprise the High Kingdom of Daelyria. The capital city of the archonate is the sprawling city of Aeryon located on the coast of the province, the city is a merger between the cities of Klerkenshoop and Silverhill. The current archon/governor of the archonate is Nitro Silverhand, previously Broyo Silverhand. Cliffton borders the the archonates of Greater Halond, Illeryon, Astor and Kyydrosil.

Cliffton was a subregion in the previous Mithran Archonate of Magna Ataraxia and gained its current borders during the years of the Helmian Federation. The archonate is dominated by the Silverhand family, whose members hold nearly all positions of power within the province.

Geography and Climate
Cliffton is a region dominated mostly by plains and wooded hills, although much of the nature along the coast has mostly been cleared for the urban sprawl of Aeryon. The snow covered lands surrounding Ryseria and Arendon is reffered to as the Interior while the area around Aeryon is refferred to as Cliffton Proper. The chunk of the province that extends down the coast is reffered to as the "Cliffton Trunk" or "Clifftonic Cloak", although the locals of Aeryon sometime refer to it crudely as the "Clifftonian Dong".

Cliffton is a notoriously cold region, with much of the cold coming from the Cliffton Peaks mountains and the even colder Archonate of Astor to the north of the province. The coastal region is mainly rainy but warmer than the interior, reaching a peak temperature of around 25 celcius and a low temperature of 15-16 celcius. While in interior, the land surrounding Arendon and Ryseria is extremely cold and covered in snow nearly year round. The temperature in the interior reaches a peak of 17 celcius and a low of -22 celcius. As mentioned earlier, the coastal areas around Aeryon (referred to as Cliffton Proper) is much warmer, this is due to warm winds coming from the sands of Axum in Northern Alamayn, but much of the warm air is blocked by the island of Jardine and also blending with the colder winds coming from Astor.

Government
Outside of the basic polticial structure that every Daelyrian archonate follows, the province also has other significant positions within its administration as well such as the Keeper of Culture, Harbourmaster and of course city level positions such as the adminstrators of the districts of Aeryon.

Demographics and Culture
The two largest demographics in Cliffton are of course the local Clifftonian natives and the descendents of Kastollian settlers. Daelyrian humans also have quite a bit of prescence in the Interior as they had spread from Illeryon and Noxnorris are present to a certain degree in the North as they had spilled in from Astor. Clifftonians are the largest demographic in the region of course and they are found all over from the interior to the coast. The descendents of the Kastollian settlers are the second largest demographic; they are found primarily on the coast, particularly in the District of Klerkenshoop and Silverhill within the provincial capital of Aeryon; although some isolated Kastollian communities do exist elsewhere within Cliffton Proper. The Daelyrians in Cliffton are the third largest demographics and are grouped together within the "North-Illeryonic" of Daelyrians. They are found exclusively in the interior, although it has been noted that some of them have been moving towards Aeryon. Finally, the Noxnorris are found in the north of the province and are the smallest demographic with their numbers dwindling as the years go by; this is due to a majority of them moving to Sovdal as the city is reconstructed. Another demographic are the "Barkfolk", "Tree people" or more rudely "Leaf Buggers"; though they are now extinct. They first live in the areas found around Cliffton Proper, particulary "Hera's Glade" (Hera Iceborn Silverhand's estate) was previously a major habitat for the Barkfolk; but upon being driven out by humans they lived in the mountains, forests and caves of the interior.

A brief history of Native Clifftonian culture
Native Clifftonian culture is mostly lost to time and nearly all Clifftonians in the present have been assimalated into either Daelyrian or Clifftonic-Kastollian culture. But what scholars from both Cliffton and Duskyon have gathered, the original cultures of the Clifftonians before the arrival of Daelyrians and Kastollians were mostly based on Noxist patheons. When the Astorians took over the area that is now modern day Cliffton, the Clifftonians were properly integrated into the Noxist religion; although Clifftonians were apparently very sceptical of their new Astorian overlords. Duskyonian scholars believed that the origin of "Clifftonian Scepticism" came from their time under Astoria; Astoria at the time was the home to many religions tiny and large in following, the Clifftonians believed in only one unifying religion and came to detest Astorian rule. Such was the Clifftonian's spite that when Astoria was dissolved to form the High Kingdom of Arcovel not a single Clifftonian shed a tear. This unification between Daelyria, Kastollia and Astoria brought the first Daelyrians into the area, the Silverhand family also first governed Cliffton at this time, rather than just simply living there. The Silverhand family brought the Domussist faith into province while the Daelyrians brought Draconism. Clifftonian culture at this time would shift towards Domussism as it is believed that Clifftonians stated that the Clifftonian needed one strong ruler and Domussism being monotheistic religion, gained droves of converts in the archonate; the arrival of the first small bands of Kastollians also furthered the spreading of Domussism. In current times however, upon witnessing the horrible actions of the Dommussists first hand, from the crusades to the noxsit genocides, many Clifftonians renounced their faith but kept many traditions and beliefs they had adopted from the Domus' teachings which would then be mixed with Kastollian and Daelyrian culture.

Native Clifftonian beliefs and traditions
Clifftonian natives believe that humans are not superior to other intelligent speices, but are superior to nature and simple animals. The mindset of "This land was made for you and me", a belief held by Clifftonians that humans had every right to bend nature to their will, held strong within the Clifftonian population and was even spread to the second wave of Kastollian settlers that came to the area. From this belief is why nearly half the coast is covered in urban sprawl and why the estates system was even conceived in the first place, to give humans the mastery over nature. Although nowadays, with the Second High Kingdom of Daelyria now ruling over Cliffton, this mindset has been considerably pushed back and Draconism has been making quite a rise in the province. Clifftonian culture in modern times is defined by scepticism towards the central government in Duskyon, an increased appreciation for nature and an unyielding belief in the indomitable humanspirit as they continue to thrive. Native Clifftonians also have a great love for underground, in fact it is rumored that Clifftonians are the second largest demographic behind dwarves in the number of underground dwellings. This is evident through the many underground facilities and amenities seen throughout Cliffton; in fact, a rather large and certainly ancient Clifftonian camp was found beneath Hera's Glade in Cliffton Proper.

Kastollian Settler Culture
Finished soon

The Barkfolk
Stay tuned

Clifftonian Myths and Urban Legends
Ever heard of the Basedlander? It is believed that he is living among us