Ophelia

Bound by honor and ruled by greed, that's modern Ophelia.

History

Decades before the mage city-states united and Preludero brought the Harmonians out of their tribal life style, the Kingdom of Ophelia had already risen.  Setting down the basis of chivalry and acting with a mandate from God, they drove goblins, orcs and dragons from their land to create a prosperous kingdom that has lasted for centuries.  In more recent times, the last king of Ophelia passed away, leaving his daughter, Liliana, as queen. She would also become the last queen, wielding her sword of the Lightwell against the evil forces of the Nether before becoming trapped there.  In her absence, Lord Kaynen Regibrook proclaimed himself Lord-Protector of Ophelia, and has served as ruler since.

Race

Ophelia is populated primarily by humans, with a few elven families (and half-elves) scattered throughout the territories. There is also a resident tribe of kobolds who have sworn fealty to Ophelia.

Government

Traditionally, Ophelia is a feudal monarchy, with the eldest child of the king or queen ascending to the throne in the traditional line of succession. However, as the last queen Liliana disappeared without leaving an heir, the country is ruled over by Lord-Protector Kaynen Regibrook.

Culture

Religion

The original faith of Ophelia is the worship of the angels of Heaven.  There are many churches, temples, and shrines throughout the nation devoted to the worship of the angels, sometimes entire churches devoted to a single angel.  More recently, however, a new religion has grown, in worship of the missing Queen Liliana.  The New Ophelian Faith has quickly gained a large amount of followers, not just among the devoutly religious but also among those especially loyal to the monarchy.  While initially treated as a cult, as the number of worshippers grew in size, Lord-Protector Regibrook officially recognized the New Ophelian Faith as a religion, in order to avoid a religious civil war.

Military

The core power of Ophelia's military comes from its knights and paladins.  Noble defenders of the people and the faith, they are trained from a young age in martial skills, horsemanship, and military tactics.  The Aurum wielded by the paladins of Ophelia has been especially effective at driving off the more chaotic races of creatures that have attempted to invade the kingdom over the decades.

Apart from the knights themselves, the nobles of Ophelia tend to raise peasant levies when they need to go off to war.  These can range from farmers and other commoners eager to earn some extra coin by serving in the army to crusaders taken by religious fervor to defend their country.  They are generally lightly outfitted with weapons from their lord's personal armories, which they rent from them for the duration of the campaign.

An Ophelian Dragon Knight.

An additional element of note in the Ophelian war machine is the Order of Dragon Knights.  this special organization of kobold knights native to Ophelia.  Generations ago, these kobolds became more intelligent than other members of their race, and assisted the humans of Ophelia in slaying the dragon they had been enslaved by. Since then, the Dragon Knights have been loyal and respected citizens of Ophelia, training their skills to be highly adept at slaying dragons.

Holds

Ticondera. Also other places.  Major cities include the capital of Brienne, Cairell, and Cassingham.

Allegiances

Ophelia is engaged in a three-way economic alliance with Taneria and the Mage Republic.

Notable Citizens

Queen Liliana of Ophelia

The last queen of Ophelia, and last monarch as well.  Ascending to the throne at a relatively young age, she worked as hard as she could to govern her people justly while fending off greedy suitors with eyes for her throne.  During her reign, the castle at Brienne was attacked by a crazed scientist, and she retrieved the sacred sword forged from the Lightwell Sword to defend her people.  She succeeded, but her attack resulted in a breach of space, exposing the violent Nether to Midgard.  Feeling the need to protect her people once again, but saddened that she may not be able to return to them, Lily travelled through the hole in the sky to aid the other guardians of Midgard in putting a stop to Ez-Azel.  While they succeeded, she was trapped on the dying plane.  Instead of dying however, the power of her sword activated with the hopes and support of the people of Ophelia, and she ascended into a sort of pseudo-god, migrating to a demiplane from which she continues to draw energy from her peoples' faith and return it to them as miracles.

Lord-Protector Kaynen Regibrook

The lord of Regibrook, Kaynen is a power-hungry Ophelian noble.  After Queen Liliana disappeared, Kaynen stepped in to lead the kingdom and keep it from falling into chaos.  While on the surface he is kind and altruistic, in truth Lord Kaynen seeks total control of Ophelia and its people.