The Great Kingdom of Nevermore

[Sardinal]

The Great Kingdom of Nevermore


Capital: Stonesky Keep
Population: 2,221,600 (Humans 36%, Dwarves 32%, Elves 10%, Avoreal 5%, Half-Elves 5%, Half-Orc 5%, Dragonblooded 3%)
Government: Monarchy
Current Rulers: King Bailron Stonesky (Fighter 25) and Queen Brella Ironheart Stonesky (Cleric 17 of Galleon [Craft, Dwarf])
Religions: Major: Galleon, Sierra, Dardanis, Nathis Minor: Thelin, Rawruun, Zivix, Sardinal
                 Opposed: Cyian, Koric, Chal-Tsu
Imports: Fruits, Vinegar, Spices, Glass
Exports: Stone, Iron, Coal, Grain, Cattle, Armor, Weapons, Lumber, Precious Metals and Gems
Alignment: LG, NG, CG, LN, N


Founded during the Pax Draconis, the Kingdom of Nevermore was originally a set of five separate regencies. The legendary Silver Dragon Myrinalis divided up a portion of the lands she controlled into ten colonies and allowed the humanoid races in her domain to rule them. The first five regencies, formed in 4a3128y, were named Valis Fork, Mirror Lake, Watervale, Appleford, and Corvis. These five were deep into Myrinalis's domain, well protected from border skirmishes with the Blue and Green dragon lands on her western border. The next five, however, she formed much closer to the border and gave over rule of them to five heroes she had begun training as Dragonslayers. These were the regencies of Arbor Vale, Delvin's Reach, Inistol, Lake Thanite, and Riverward and their regents were Galleon Stoneshoulder, Bailron Stonesky, K'mar of Nathis, Varzan Cree, and Rostik of Riverward.

For years these five rulers worked together to defend the new humanoid settlements, enabling them to grow and prosper despite the animosity of the chromatic dragons. In 4a3133y the group also rediscovered the ancient Stoneshoulder Clanhold. They formed a sixth regency called Stoneshoulder around it. By 4a3135y these five regents, now called The Dragonslayers, had formed their lands into a well developed society with infrastructure, education, and trade as well as a highly trained military that repulsed the forces of the blue and green dragons multiple times.

In 4a3141y, after a decade of adventure and war, the five regents agreed to merge their lands into one great kingdom. They chose to name this kingdom Nevermore, after the God of Nature's scimitar Never Again, to signify that never more would dragon kind control the lives of their citizens. Bailron Stonesky was chosen to lead this new kingdom and was crowned the First King of Nevermore in late Natuus.

Over the course of the next century, King Bailron would see his comrades slowly drift away. First, of course, Galleon Stoneshoulder ascended to godhood, becoming the Lord of Crafts and God of the Dwarven Race. Then K'mar and Varzan became chosen of the god Nathis, leaving to pursue such goals as their god demanded of them. Finally, in 4a3191y, Rostik of Riverward succumbed to the infirmities of old age. By the hand of several gods, Rostik was beatified and raised to sainthood, becoming Saint Rostik the Dragon Slayer, Patron Saint of Dragonslayers and all those that suffer under the depredations and ego of dragonkind. His sainthood becomes a cornerstone of the faiths of Rawruun, Sama'el, Zivix, Sierra, Galleon, and Dardanis inside the Kingdom of Nevermore and elsewhere.

Bereft of his comrades, King Bailron turns each of the regencies of his Kingdom into Principalities and appoints rulers to replace his friends as Princes and Princesses of them. The Principality of Stoneshoulder is given to his firstborn daughter with his first wife (Gaullia Stoneshoulder), Princess Crassia Stoneshoulder. The Principality of Arbor Vale is given over to his firstborn son with Gaullia, Gaulron. Gaulron formed a new clan called Cragshorn. The Principality of Riverward is given to Avea Windwright, the daughter of Rostik's Avoreal Lieutenant creating a royal Avoreal bloodline. The Principality of Inistol is given over to leaders of the Nathis worshiping desert nomads, creating the human royal bloodline of Hia'baad. Al'Akori Hia'baad becomes the first prince of this bloodline. Lake Thanite is given to Daniva Astali, the leader of a large group of refugees rescued from green dragon lands who had become powerful allies of Varzan Cree. Upon being named Princess, Daniva changed her surname to Varzion and established the Varzion dragonblooded royalty that have ruled Lake Thanite ever since. King Bailron himself maintained direct control of Delvin's Reach for the next century and a half. In 5a65y his first wife, Gaullia, died of old age. In 5a91y Bailron married his second wife, Brella Ironheart. In 5a117y Sierra named Bailron one of her chosen, making him immortal. At this point, he chose to give over the rule of Delvin's Reach to his first son with Brella, Rostark Stonesky.

In the years since, the Kingdom of Nevermore has only grown and prospered. A steady trickle of refugees from chromatic lands and immigrants from other metallic dragon lands ensures a small but constant influx of people who have lived under the rule of dragons. This maintains the Kingdoms wary attitude and constant vigilance towards dragonkind. The five older regencies have maintained themselves as separate entities, but each trades heavily with the far wealthier Nevermore and each pays a yearly tribute to the Kingdom in exchange for Nevermore's protection.

Structure:

As a monarchy, almost all executive, legislative, and judicial power resides in the hands of the King of Nevermore.  This power is delegated in the following ways.

The Principalities:  The Royal bloodlines of Stoneshoulder, Stonesky, Cragshorn, Hia'baad, Varzion, and Windwright rule their given principalities in the name of King Bailron.  They have the power to raise individuals or families to noble status to govern sections of the land they control, the power to raise and maintain a military for their realms, and the responsibility to protect and govern their people with fairness, dignity, and wisdom.  Each Prince or Princess is directly responsible to King Bailron for their actions and liable for their mistakes.  King Bailron insists that the laws governing the Kingdom and each Principality be spelled out in detail and posted for all to see and understand.  

The Twelve Graces:  True to his dwarven nature, King Bailron is a man of order and law.  His faith, however, lies in the more chaotic realm of the Lady of Love and Protection.  In order to ensure that the Laws of his Kingdom never trample on his people, King Bailron created the Twelve Graces of Nevermore.  

The Twelve Graces are magistrates and judges.  Chosen by the King himself, and appointed to the position for life, these twelve individuals travel throughout Nevermore in order to hear and adjudicate over grievances between individuals, families, and nobles.  While most such grievances are settled by those that rule a particular area, one of the Graces can intercede in the following circumstances.  

1.  The Grace may simply decide to sit in on any hearing or sentencing and intercede or take control as they deem necessary.

2.  A party who feels that their hearing or sentencing is unjust or unlawful may request a hearing before a Grace.

3.  The King or one of the Princes may request a Grace to take a direct hand in a situation.

The Graces have the power to alter or negate the ruling of any governing body except those that come directly from the King or one of the Princes.  The only guideline they must adhere to is a dedication to the facts, nuances, and circumstances of each specific case.  They act as the conscience and morality that balances the cold, hard hand of the law.  For a Grace there is no such thing as mandatory sentencing, no regulated enforcement of law.  They are encouraged to be creative in their adjudication and sentencing in order to best fit the specific needs of a case.  Once a Grace has ruled on a situation, it is considered closed.  Only the direct intervention of the King or a Prince may overrule a Grace's decision.

The King does have some strict guidelines for naming someone to the position of Grace.  First, Grace's are only chosen from the ranks of adventurers.  The King wants his Graces to be well traveled, with a sound knowledge of the various regions of Nevermore and their peoples and laws.  Second, the prospective Grace must have a coterie of allies willing to travel with him and aid him in his investigations.  The King prefers his Graces to be forever surrounded by those that shared their trials and adventurers, those that will defend and protect his Grace as family.  Third, he chooses men and women of unconventional thought and wisdom.  His Graces must always see the Law as a scaffolding for justice, compassion, mercy, and order; not as a regimented set of predictable unwavering reactions.

The movements of the Graces are constant.  King Bailron prefers to have at least one Grace present in each of the Principalities at any point in time.  He also prefers, however, that no Grace stay in a given region for more than a year.  Fresh eyes, unbound by the ties of family, friendship, loyalty, and self interest are best when administering a Grace's Justice.

Service:  The Kingdom of Nevermore, though powerful, exists in a world overrun by dragonkind.  This situation demands a constant state of vigilance and readiness to keep the Kingdom safe and free.  In order to facilitate this, the Kingdom requires service to the realm from every citizen.  This service can be given in multiple ways.

1. Joining the Military of the Kingdom or any of the Principalities for a period of 5 years or more discharges an individuals service requirements for life.  Those that choose to serve longer than 5 years can use each further 5 year period of military service to discharge a family members service requirement.

2.  Individuals may choose instead to dedicate 1 full month of every year to service to the their town, city, principality, or the Kingdom.  This service is generally discharged by joining the town or city guard, cleaning and maintaining public places, aiding the construction or maintenance of public works and infrastructure, or crafting items and goods for the use of the Military or the Realm.

3.  Scholars and Historians may choose to discharge their service requirements by working in public schools for a minimum of 4 hours a day, 5 days a week, for a period of 5 years.  These schools teach basic mathematics, geography, history, civics, and literature to the general populace.

For the most part, the people of Nevermore see their service as a point of pride.  They understand that their society needs them as much as it needs the King himself and accept their service as an act of civic duty and social responsibility.

Immigration:  The Kingdom of Nevermore has an open door policy for all those fleeing the oppression of the Chromatic Dragons.  Any humanoid that makes it across Nevermore's borders from chromatic lands is accepted as a refugee.  They are screened magically for their alignment.  Those that are of good and neutral natures are accepted with open arms and immediately placed in a region that best fits them.  There, they are enrolled in a public school to begin learning the history, language, and civics of the Kingdom.  Once they graduate they must begin their civil service and in doing so become citizens.   Those of an evil nature must be evaluated by one of the Twelve Graces.  If they Grace finds them worthy of remaining in the Kingdom they follow the same path as those of good and neutral natures, though they must accept a higher degree of scrutiny during their schooling and service.  If the Grace finds them too great a risk they are expelled from the Kingdom.

Immigration from lands controlled by the Metallic Dragons is also open, though it occurs with less frequency.  

[Sardinal]

Keep Stonesky
The Royal City of Nevermore

Metropolis
Population:  52,340 (60% Dwarf, 30% Human, 10% other)
Government:  Monarchy, King Bailron Stonesky and Queen Brella Ironheart Stonesky
Religions:  Galleon, Sierra, Dardanis
Imports:  Grain, Produce, Livestock
Exports:  Stone, Iron, Artisans, Military
Alignment:  LG, NG, LN, CG


Keep Stonesky is in the northern part of Delvin's Reach, sitting at the western mouth of Galleon's Pass which cuts through the mountains separating the Reach from Arbor Vale.  The original keep, built by King Bailron and Clan Stonesky is a heavily fortified castle built into and out of the side of Mount Crenesk.  Of dwarven design, the castle is a virtually impregnable bastion of thick, heavy granite and dwarven steel.  Over the centuries, a huge city has grown up around the Keep.  Today the city's walls encompass the entirety of the pass, so that there is now no way through the pass without passing through the city.

The city is mostly dwarven, and its architecture reflects that.  Almost all of the city is of stone construction, mostly granite with some marble and basalt.  A series of four thick granite walls 30 feet high separates the city into sections.  The walls are built directly into the south face of Mount Crenesk at their northern points on the west side of the city then proceed south then east then finally back to the north to merge back into the mountain on the east side of the city.  This has created five distinct layers to Keep Stonesky.  

At the center stands Castle Stonesky, the first section of the city.  Aside from being the residence of King Bailron and the Capital of Nevermore, Castle Stonesky acts a one of the premier military schools of Nevermore.  Specializing in dwarven warfare, the school teaches siege tactics, underground warfare, and mountain and cold weather combat.  King Bailron himself also regularly teaches master classes in combating dragonkind.  The castle also houses most of the Kings extended family, small chapels to Galleon, Dardanis, Sierra, and Nathis, as well as much of Clan Ironheart, a minor clan that act as stewards to Clan Stonesky.

Outside the walls of Castle Stonesky is the innermost ring of the city, called the Temple Ring.  This section houses much of the cities wealthiest elite, its highest ranking military men and women, and the cities largest temples.  The largest and oldest temple is the Heartsteel Sanctum, an enormous building with three distinct wings.  The left wing is dedicated to Dardanis, the right wing to Galleon, and the smaller center wing is the home of the Church of the Heldfast Bond, a small polytheistic faith worshiping Dardanis and Galleon.  The Ironsong Cathedral is a temple of Sierra well known for its beautiful cast iron gates, fences and gratings along every wall.  Crenesk Fane is a dwarven temple of Nathis built into Mount Crenesk.  Its various tunnels and caverns all lead to its huge mass hall on the shore of the underground lake that serves as one of the cities primary water supplies.

Out from the Temple Ring is the Hammer Ring.  This section is home to most of the cities craftsmen, artisans, tradesman, and merchants.  It also houses a number of inns, taprooms, feasthalls, and parks.  Past the Hammer Ring is the Clan Ring.  the Clan Ring is the home of most of the cities general population.  Outside that is the Shield Ring.  The Shield Ring houses the cities military, as well as more of the common population.  The homes and buildings in this ring are short, squat, and very well reinforced to withstand siege engines.  

Featured of Note:

Crenesk's Guardian (Wonder)

Standing on the slopes of Mount Crenesk just above the top of Castle Stonesky sits an enormous statue of a great wyrm gold dragon.  Close to 30 feet tall, the statue appears to be either made of or coated in solid gold.  It is a work of meticulous detail, every scale and crease, every whisker and muscle formed perfectly.  The Dragon sits on its hind legs with its wings flared back behind it and stares resolutely west through the pass most of the time.  The Dragon is magically linked to the Gold Dragon Orb and whenever the bearer of the Orb detects a dragon approaching Keep Stonesky the statue turns it head in the dragons direction.  Legends in the city say that if the city is attacked the statue will come to life to defend them, though this aspect of the Guardian has never before been seen.

The Heartsteel Defender (Wonder, Artifact, Lifework of Galleon Stoneshoulder)

Called Red Dwarf's Rage by the common folk, The Heartsteel Defender is the King's ultimate defense against those that would destroy Nevermore.  Crafted by Galleon Stoneshoulder himself, the defender is a massive Aelium Forged Steel Golem standing 20 feet tall.  Carved in the image of Crassus Grimson the Red, a half-red dragon dwarf who was redeemed by Galleon before being slain by his father Grimfang, the guardian is controlled directly by the wearer of the Aelium Crown of Nevermore.  King Bailron often brings the golem into combat with him when facing the forces of the chromatic dragons. The sight of the Defender on the battlefield serves as a rallying point for his armies.  When the King is in Keep Stonesky, the Defender stands behind the throne awaiting orders.  Often, when the King travels without the golem, he sets it to pacing along the top of the cities outermost walls as a warning to those that would take advantage of the Kings absence.