Danar

Danar is an Aristocratic Republic located on the north west of the continent. It's Capital is Dana, a large city that sits in the centre of the nation. It is ruled by the Danar Senate, an institution of elected official, who usually come from one a small number of political dynasties within the country. Danar was a human colony, built by humans leaving Arnellia, however it's population has grown and changed over the years to include Dwarves, High Elves and Night Elves as common citizens.

History
Main Article: Danar History

Founding of Danar
Danar was founded in the year 327 of the Third Age by members of the "Dana" movement from Arnellia. The Dana movement had begun in response to the Paladin orders beginning to splinter, and the tensions that arose from the Prophet and Prophetess being in separate countries. This movement began in 321, and grew slowly until 324, where the situation came to a head, and they were ultimately assisted in leaving the country to escape the church.

Following it's founding Danar was ruled by the Owston siblings, two prominent members of the Dana movement. They were poor rulers however, and soon the third leader of the Dana movement, Bart Dabney was forced to step in and take leadership of the revolt against them. Following the overthrow the the Owstons, Dabney created the first Senate of Danar.

Formation of the Senate
The first Senate was elected in 335. It was at the time made up of 10 individuals, elected in a crude vote. This Senate lasted 10 years before a new election was called. Under the rule of the first Senate, Danar grew aggressively, expanding from it's limited settlements into the lands that surrounded it. The Senate continued to function in this way for the next 100 years, until in 435 the Senate needed to be expanded to accommodate the growing population. The 435 elections contained 30 seats, instead of the usual 10, and the elections were changed to be held annually, with 10 seats being added each year.

The First Troll War
In 478, trolls were encountered wandering out of the jungles in north Danar. The trolls were quickly killed by the army, however a few escaped, and a few weeks later a proper warband of trolls emerged. They encountered a fort, and were swiftly repelled. Several years later, in 483, the first proper attempt to invade was made by the trolls. They attacked with a massive warband. They captured a few forts, before being repelled in the Battle of Trasmeer.

The Cellarian War
In 568 Cellarian scouts entered the Summerlands, scouting out the Danar forts that had been built. For the most part they were left alone, however one legion that was unaware of their presence stumbled upon them in the field, and not knowing what else to do, attacked. The elves of Cellaria were killed in the fight, which lead to tensions between the two nations. In 571 Danar retaliated, and attacked the First Gate of Cellaria. They breached it, and the Second Gate, before being fought to a standstill.

The conflict died down for a while, until the Warmaster Heash Lightstrider assembled an army and launched a counterattack, he crushed through both gates, and moved in to Danar lands. To respond, the Danar Senate appointed Jonathon Odell as Dictator of Danar. Odell requested help from the dwarves of Kepeerie, before moving out to meet the elves. He followed them, drawing up battle lines but never engaging, until finally the reinforcing dwarves arrived. With the dwarves, Odell baited Lightstrider into engaging, and killed him in the Odell Battle. Following the Odell Battle, peace was drawn between the two nations.

The First Danar Collapse
In 692 the Senate had become split between three main factions, each supporting a major family. The Jeanes family led one such faction, which held power in the Riverlands and the Heartlands. Meanwhile the Dennel family led another, which held power in the Dana Region and the Borderlands, and sway with the military. The final faction was led by the Dayforge family, and held power in the Summerlands and the Coastlands. These three factions proved unable to achieve anything in the Grand Senate, as each refused to give ground to the other. This stagnation lead to a great deal of political unrest.

This unrest came to a head when the citizens of Bekahstown seceded from the country, electing a former senator from the Dennel family as their new Governor. The Senate made moves to punish this action, but the deadlock stopped anything getting approved. This failure to respond resulted in other towns seceding from the country, and forming their own unions, until soon the country was split in three, with each faction controlling a third of the country.

The Second Founding
In 763 the Dayforge faction became a vassal of Cellaria. The Dennel family, identifiying as Danar, and the Jeanes family, leading the Kingdom of Jeanes, both tried to oppose this, but tensions remained high enough that they refused to co-operate, and ultimately could not stop this vassalisation. The nation of Danar remained splintered like this until 984, when the Prime Senators Deon Rey and Brendan Griffin were elected. They were in total agreement of the need to reassemble Danar, and so they issued a decree to ready as many legions as possible.

The two Senators over the next ten years managed to arrange an impressive army, and they invaded the Cellarian holds in Danar. The Cellarian armies were swiftly evicted from the lands, and the Danar control was quickly re-established. The Cellarian vassalisation of these lands had been poorly received, and little to no efforts had been made to properly integrate the citizens into Cellarian culture. As such the lands returned swiftly to Danar ways of life.

The Kingdom of Jeanes returned to Danar rulership readily, seeing the armies arrayed against them, and the nation of Danar was re-formed. To prevent future problems, the Regional Senate was established in each major city, to ensure the local problems were addressed.

The Griffin Epidemic
Following the re-establishment of Danar, a new problem arose in the Summerlands and northern reaches of the Coastlands. The increase in population of High Elves attracted the attention of the Griffins of the Cellarian Mountains, who had historically feuded with the elves of Cellaria. In the year 2 of the Fourth Age, the first reports of Griffins raiding the villages reached the Senate. At first the issue was dismissed, however as it persisted over the following ten years, finally action was taken.

It took a further three years for a proper solution to combat the griffins was settled on. Conventional armies couldn't reach them in their mountain lairs, and so they sought the aide of the Hippogriff Knights of Norridge. Norridge was happy to oblige, in exchange for the establishment of a new temple in Dana. The Senate agreed, and construction began while the Norridge forces mobilised. They brought with them a herd of breeding Hippogriffs, which were gifted to Danar to produce a new population of Hippogriff Knights. The Griffins were swiftly driven back to the mountains by the Hippogriff Knights, who made clear their dominance of the skies.

The Knights remained in Danar for five years, while the first Hippogriff Legion was trained, at which time they departed, heading back to their home, leaving the monitoring of the Griffins to the newly trained Hippogriff Legion.

The Ha'gzoal Invasion
In 196 the Warband of Ha'gzoal invaded. It was a swift, and well-organised invasion, using an impressive level of mis-direction to draw the Danar Legions to fight a threat, before striking with a stronger force in another location. For twelve years, the trolls struck from the jungle like this, inflicting blow after blow on the forts that defended the Borderlands. The Scouting Legions were completely destroyed on three separate occasions during this time, until finally it was decided by the fourth leader to hold the Scouting Legions in reserve for whatever was coming next.

In 208, Ha'gzoal finally made a tangible step forward, marching his warband into the weakened Borderlands. He rapidly overwhelmed the forts of the Borderlands, and established his own camps across them. Seeing the threat that was posed, the Senate named a new dictator, Jithas Winterlight. The appointment of a Night Elf was hotly contested, but Jithas ignored the dissent, focusing his efforts on marshalling the legions to draw a new battle line.

The new battle line ran across the edge of Bekahswood, up through the Summerlands to the Elfwoods. Here, Jithas held back the trolls, as they tried to break through, drawing on his most mobile forces to reinforce whenever a camped legion was under attack. The siege here lasted for another fifteen years, and after just two years, the Senate became convinced that Jithas was never intending to attack. They immediately appointed a second dictator to take his place, Raylene Sutton, the commander of the Scouting Legion who had distinguished herself in leading the effort to keep tabs on the troll movements.

Raylene accepted, and promptly deferred all her decisions to Jithas. After fifteen years of holding the line, a lone scout finally returned from an expedition with news of the death of Ha'gzoal. With this, Jithas mobilised every legion, advancing rapidly into the Borderlands. Without Ha'gzoal, the trolls had fallen into petty disputes as they tried to determine a new leader. The Danar forces crushed through the disorganized trolls easily, and sent them fleeing back into the jungles.

The Heartlands Rebellion
In 413, the tensions that had been present over the past 400 years in the Heartlands finally boiled over. When the Kingdom of Jeanes rejoined Danar, the culture that had been created within the Heartlands was never re-integrated into the grander Danar culture. A desire for independence began to foster in the late 300s, and when finally it expressed itself, it did so violently. The Danar officials were overthrown in a night of bloodshed, and the Heartlands declared itself independent, under the leadership of it's new king, the heir of the Jeanes family.

The Senate's response was slow, and for two years they attempted to negotiate with the new king, to find a compromise. No compromise was ever found however, and finally the new kingdom marched an army on Dana. The Senate still was hesitant to act. The army of Jeanes was met by four legions, under the command of Booker Walter. Despite being outnumbered heavily, Walter lead his men into the fight, despite orders to the contrary, to delay the army. Ultimately, he was defeated, by his heroism spurred his fellow commanders. The Jeanes army reached Dana, and lay siege to it, however soon found themselves surrounded by sixteen legions, led by four commanders. Trapped between the city and the legions, the army was crushed, and killed to a man.

This defeat was followed by a swift occupation of the Heartlands, which capitulated. The Senate once again refused to take strong action however, and the sixteen legions marched back to Dana. They entered the city as heroes, advanced to the Senate, and killed every member for their cowardice.

The Kingdom of Dana
With the Senate dead, one of the commanders who participated in the slaying was declared king. King Charlton Josephson claimed to be king of all of Danar, however most cities didn't acknowledge him. The Heartlands, Riverlands and Coastlands all denounced the new king. The legions that had been commanded by Josephson and his allies marched to suppress the dissidents.

The legions native to these regions all rallied together, and stood in opposition to Josephson's armies. The two armies assembled each day for a week, until finally a particularly intense storm season left the terrain unmanageable as a battlefield, and both armies abandoned the fight. The storm season displaced many trolls within the jungle too, and so the raiding in the Borderlands picked up, forcing the armies of Dana to turn back and help support this problem, while the threat of a Cellarian invasion kept the western region from attempting an invasion to reclaim Dana.

The White Hat Gambit
In 636, the fourth king of Dana died, leaving behind a cruel heir. This was the breaking point for the White Hat faction, a group that had been slowly gaining influence within the Dana courts. The White Hats held traditional values of the Danar Senate, many of them being relatives of slain Senators. So they hatched a plan to overthrow the king. They encouraged a final solution to the splintered kingdom, and suggested to king obtain a dragon, with which to strike a final blow.

To the White Hat's surprise, the king did not die in his attempt to tame one, and soon he returned with a green dragon. Seeing this turn of events, the White Hats decided to turn this misfortune to their advantage. They encouraged a show of power, to subdue the west, to which the king agreed. He invaded the Riverlands atop his dragon, leading a sizeable legion. With his dragon, he destroyed the castles and forts of the Riverlands, leaving them all as melted ruins, filled with half-melted skeletons. The Riverlands capitulated immediately, and seeing the power arrayed against them, the rest of the west capitulated too.

With his victory secured, the king returned to celebrate. During this celebration, he was assassinated by a Shadow that the White Hats had hired. With the kings death, the White Hats sprung into action, killing off the loyalists and remainder of the royal family within Dana. With their opposition dead, they seized power, and declared themselves the new base for the Senate. The west was unimpressed, however a compromise was reached, as members of every Regional Senate that remained were offered places within the Grand Senate.

Northmarsh Settlement
The green dragon tamed by the king died in 874. The loss of this dragon weakened Danar considerably, who had been using it in it's efforts to subjugate the trolls. The Senate decided the solution to this problem would be to expand into the Northmarsh to their south, and ideally begin a dragon breeding program, similar to the Hippogriffs they used. This effort was split into two points of focus. First they attempted to settle the lands beyond the southern pass. Secondly, they sailed colonists to the western cape of the Northmarsh, and began to build a town there. Progress into the Northmarsh was slow, as the native lizardman colonies opposed them. By 961, the settlements had become largely self sufficient, and Owstown had grown from the influx of trade that flowed from it, to the towns on the cape.

The Kepeerie Mountain Invasion
The Dwarves of Kepeerie were not fond of the Danar expansion into the Northmarshes. The issue came to a head in the year 31 of the Fifth Age, as finally the Danar expansion reached a point just outside the Kepeerie border, which was not reinforced to prevent invasion. Seeing this potential threat, the dwarves mobilized an army. It passed through the mountain range between Kepeerie and Danar, and struck at the head of the Owston river. This sudden invasion by Kepeerie forced a huge response from Danar.

Aaren Danniel was declared dictator almost immediately. Her first act was to recall the legions in the Northmarshes, to help reinforce the lines against the Dwarf invasion. The legions fell back and within a month, the invasion was contained. The battle lines remained like this for five years, during which time the colonies in the Northmarshes slowly deteriorated, and one by one died out, as lizardman raids drove out the residents. When at last even the town on the western cape was abandoned, the dwarves offered peace.

Danniel refused the first two offers of peace, only finally accepting when the dwarves offered compensation for the lost colonies. With this offer, peace was made, and Danar agreed that neither they, nor Kepeere, would attempt to settle the Northmarshes, beyond what they had both managed to hold onto during the war.

Politics
Danar is an Aristocratic Republic, being ruled by the Grand Senate. The Grand Senate is comprised of a varying number of senators, however no more than 300 senators may be sitting at a time. The Senate is lead by two individuals, called Prime Senators. A Prime Senator is elected by the populace, and sits for a year, before a new election is held. A Prime Senator may hold his position so long as they hold their seat in the Senate. Senators are elected to the Senate each year, with 10 new seats opening up. A Senators term is 30 years, and once their time is up, they are unable to run for Senate again.

The Senate is typically dominated by members of 278 political families, all of which have long histories of holding office. As a general rule the populace is largely supportive of these families, with each having enough of a following to accrue the votes they want gain a seat before they lose one. Despite the large number of political families vying for power within the senate, around 25 to 30 seats of the Senate are almost always held by populous candidates. These candidates are usually poorer, and they draw upon the public forums that are regularly held before the elections to drum up support with their rhetoric.

Below the Senate sits the Regional Senates. There are six Regional Senates, each composed of up to 150 individuals, who govern the major settlements and their surrounding regions. The Regional Senates hold yearly elections of 10 individuals. A seat on the Regional Senate may last up to 15 years, however it is not uncommon for Regional Senators to leave their seats as they run for, and win, seats in the Grand Senate. Each Regional Senate is headed by a Governor, who is appointed to this position by the Grand Senate. Governors do not just sit atop the Regional Senates however, as every small region of the nation has a Governor, and many govern an area that does not house a Regional Senate. These Governors have an interesting relationship with their Regional Senate, as neither technically has power over the other, and their mandates can, at times, conflict.

Laws
Danar's justice system is robust, with the community strongly engaged in it's proceedings. The laws of Danar are largely flexible, with only a few core crimes outlined. These crimes are assault, murder, theft, destruction of property, disturbing the social order and impropriety. Each crime covers a broad spectrum of deeds, and it is usually down to the judgement of the local guards, and the civilians in the area to decide if an action constitutes a crime enough to warrant arrest. Typically, if the victim of a crime believes it to be worthy of arrest, the guards will follow through with it.

This lax approach to defining crime is largely because of the nature of the courts of Danar. The courts of Danar are large, public affairs, with a judge presiding over each case brought forward, and a jury assembled from 20 individuals who have arrived on the day. The courts are always teeming with volunteers and spectators, and finding a jury is never a problem. A trial is held for every crime, with the defendant being allowed to bring forth a case for their innocence, or why their actions do not constitute a crime, while a prosecutor, usually working on behalf of the victim, argues both guilt, and why the action was a crime. The jury votes to determine the outcome, and the judge makes the final decision regarding the sentence.

A sentence is given in marks, with each mark representing five lashings, or a day in jail. If neither option appeals, a criminal may opt to fight in one of the arenas around the country. The arena is the most popular option among criminals, as the days they serve between fights are counted off their marks, and they can remove at least ten marks in a single day by fighting. Most crimes within Danar are those of disturbing the social order, which usually carries sentences of seven or less marks. Theft is the second most common crime, and usually attracts sentences of a hundred or more marks. Murder, awards the most marks, with the average sentence being 3000 marks.

Landscape and Rivers
Like most nations of the world, Danar is surrounded by mountains which form natural borders around it. Three mountain passes, one in the north and two in the south provide exits to it's two neighbours, Cellaria and Kepeerie. The third mountain pass opens onto the Northern Marshes. The north east border is not blocked by mountains, but instead leads into the Northern Jungles. The Hagari and Kisgatha jungles directly border Danar, with a small area of perpetually burned out jungle separating the jungles and the lands of Danar.

Two major rivers flow through Danar. The first, and largest, is the Owston River. It runs from the mountains in the south east through to the south west coast. In the south of the country the river splits, and an arm of it runs north, where it splits into two lakes. The lands surrounding this northern arm of the Owston river are typically referred to as the Riverlands within Danar. In the north sits the second, smaller river, called the Dabney River. It travels a much shorter distance, running from the northern mountains directly south towards Dana. It splits into two lakes, one of which provides the water used to irrigate and farm the lands around Dana.

Within Danar, the country is broken into a number of distinct regions, based upon the terrain around them. In the center of the country, slightly to the west of Dana, lies the Heartlands. The Heartlands are made up of hilly terrain, the only significant hilly terrain in Danar besides those which surround the mountains. To the west and south of the Heartlands lie the Riverlands. Further west lies the Coastlands, which houses the major population centers of the country.

East of the Heartlands lies the Dana Region, which comprises the city of Dana, and it's surrounding farmland. South of the Dana Region lies the Adkins Forest. The Adkins Forest lies in an unusual position of being mixed between the Dana Region, and the Southlands. The Southlands comprises of everything south of the Dana Region. The majority of it is dominated by the upper end of the Owston River, however it also contains a large area of hills, which house many of the mines of Danar. In the southern reaches of the Southlands lies the Swampfront Wall, a massive fortification which keeps the lizardmen, and other monsters of the swamps from invading.

North of the Dana Region is the Summerlands. The Summerlands are largely unpopulated, and comprise open fields, with a small forest, the Elfwoods, which contains both Cellarian and Danaran trees. To the far east of the country is the Borderlands. The Borderlands contain mostly forts, as it lies along the border between Danar and the Northern Jungles. The terrain of the Borderlands is mostly flat grazing lands, and it's not uncommon to see herds of animals moving around here. On the western rim of the Borderlands, bordering the Dana Region is Bekahswood, which contains the largest population center of the Borderlands. On the southernmost section of the Borderlands sits the Splintershield Wall, a large wall that serves to divide Danar and Kepeerie. Despite it's name, it is in fact a pair of walls which face each other, one manned by the legions of Danar, and the other by the soldiers of Kepeerie.

Climate
Despite it's northern position, Danar is an overall warm place. The eternal summer of Cellaria leaks into nation, keeping it's northern reaches in a perpetual summer. The south is more temperate, and it's temperatures fluctuates with the seasons, ranging from hot summers, to slightly chilly winters. Being coastal, rainfall in Danar is common, and the Coastlands and Riverlands are particularly susceptible to the rains. Overall around a third of the year is spent raining, the majority of which is located in the winter, when the colder air of the south cools the clouds formed by the summer waters surrounding Cellaria.

Population Centers
The majority of Danar's population is located in it's three major cities. These cities are Dana, Owstown and Miscost. Together, these cities house 170,000 citizens, with Dana alone housing 80,000. This marks Dana as one of the largest cities in the world, with only Lightsnest being larger. Outside of these major cities are three other important cities, Summerport, Bekahstown and Colinarae. Each of these cities house over 10,000 each, with Summerport being home to 20,000. The remaining citizens live in the countryside. Around 1000 to 2000 inhabit each of the 38 major towns. All up around 60,000 people live in these communities. The rest live in small villages scattered around the countryside, each containing, on average, 150 people, and spaced out by several miles of land.

Farming
Danar has extensive farmlands, mostly located within the Dana Region and the Coastlands. The major cities of Dana, Owston and Miscost are each surrounded by massive networks of farmlands, that help to feed the populations of these cities, as well as provide homes for the populations that line in the surrounding countryside. The majority of foods grown in this farmland is wheat, however only half of most farms are dedicated to it's production. Alongside wheat is grown an assortment of vegetables, the most prominent of which is potatoes in the south.

In the Summerlands, the climate is warmer, and supports orchards better. Lots of fruits are grown here, particularly grapes and oranges. Other citrus fruits aren't too uncommon in these regions either. The farms are more spaced out here, lacking any central population centers to gather around. In the Riverlands, Heartlands and Borderlands farms are present, but much smaller, with more food being produced in the great herds of cattle that wander these landscapes.

Approximately a third of the population of the country farms for a living. The average farming family of about 4 people owns 30 acres of land, however larger farms are not uncommon. Such farms typically belong to the richer members of society, who hire a similar number of people to work the land for them. On average, after feeding his family, a farmer earns a little over 2 gold per year from his 30 acres of land.