75% human, 19% avalonian elf, 4% half-elf, 2% other
Once thought to be the last bastion of humanity after the Battle of the Fall, the Holy Kingdom of Avalon has fallen far from the halcyon days of its past. Though it remains a cultural powerhouse across Zenith, cracks are showing in its cultured façade. Centuries of endless war with the elves of Qel’Oris has given rise to a society of proud nationalistic humans. Though the common man may never admit it, the scholars of Avalon know that for the Kingdom to survive, they must reach out to their neighbors.
Government: Avalon is ruled by the divine lineage of the Gloryhelms, tracing back to the original ancient hero Vergil, who believe themselves to be the true scions of humanity’s hope. In practice the day-to-day governance of the kingdom is handled by lesser nobles and bureaucrats. Authority is vested in these individuals by the Crown and can just as easily be taken away. The common citizen typically has little hope of being a civic leader, but can often find steady work in the ranks of Avalon’s burgeoning, and labyrinthine, government offices.
- Office of Nature & Wildlife (ONW) – This office tends to the wildlife and other hazards that crop on the island not suitable for military intervention. In essence they function in many ways to an Adventurer’s Guild; any citizen of Avalon (and some offices accept foreigners) can be hired as a ‘Ranger’ and receive official permission to handle Crown business. The Rangers also occasionally double as an extra police or militia force in times of need.
- Office of Public Health (OPH) – Formed centuries ago, this office handles sanitation and health-care needs of all Avalonians, including slaves. After weathering scandals in its early days related to sterilization and experimentation of slaves, the office now maintains highly stringent ethical and transparency requirements for all employees. Even the smallest village in Avalon houses a free clinic managed by this office.
Economy: The island nation of Avalon is rich in natural resources including lush forests, mineral-rich mountains, and verdant fields. This bevy of resources has was eagerly harvested in the early days of the Kingdom and some say was the direct cause for the enslavement of elvenkind and the resulting war with Qel’Oris. For millennia the Kingdom remained secluded from the rest of the world, allowing their wealth to remain within their borders. As a result, even the lowest of Avalonian commoners tends to enjoy a certain level of luxury, and indeed even their slaves are afforded a level of comfort not normally seen in similar societies. Recent trade with the outside world has given rise to greater wealth for the Crown and the various noble houses and globalization has caused the wealth of the lower and middle class to recede, creating a small but growing sense of unease.
Religion/Spirituality: Avalonian faith is guided by the Church of Unyielding Light, founded upon the principles of compassion and enlightened reasoning. The Church remains a cornerstone of Avalonian society and the archpriest (known as the Beacon) is second only to the King himself in terms of political clout. Beyond the official church, many homes carry a hearth shrine to Vergil Gloryhelm I, the ancient hero and first King of Avalon. Other faiths have difficulty finding an established foothold, but no other faith has been explicitly outlawed except for the worship of Zekariel, the fallen angel patron of the Elven Resistance.
Lifestyle:
- Society for the Advancement of Reason and Technology – Founded only in the last few centuries, this technologist’s guild has seen rapid expansion due to the egalitarian nature of its recruiting practices. Anyone with an ingenious invention or idea is allowed to join the Society and reap its benefits. They are frequently at odds with the Institute over how best to advance Avalonian society, favoring social reforms and innovation over magical solutions to societal ills.
- Wizardly Institute of Theory – The prominent guild of wizardry and arcane research on Avalon known colloquially as the “Institute” has a long and storied history of providing all manner of arcane wonders for the citizens of Avalon. Known to attract all sorts of quirky individuals, it is sometimes used as a sort of boarding school for young layabouts of rich families to try and become the next Archmagus. The Institute frequently feuds with the Society, often advocating for conservative magical practices (that conveniently keeps leverage and power in their hands).
Diplomacy: Avalon is locked in a seemingly eternal war with the dwindling elven nation of Qel’Oris; a war it is winning primarily through attrition. For centuries the Avalonians believed themselves to be the only mortal survivors after the Battle of the Fall and it is only in recent generations that contact with other countries has been established. Being mostly self-sufficient and an island nation, Avalon remains largely uninterested with the rest of the world at large. Despite this, they have enjoyed a prosperous trade agreement with Al’Hasier and the northern port towns of Avalon are a frequent stop for travelers to and from the Far Isles.
Military/Defense: Avalon has a highly regimented military that is commanded by aristocratic knights and populated roughly 30% by career volunteer soldiers, 40% by rotating drafted soldiers, and 30% slaves. The bulk of Avalon’s military attention is spent engaging in war against Qel’Oris. Generations of warfare has bred a certain callousness into most professional soldiers and they have little qualms when it comes to defense of Avalon. In recent generations the Society has successfully lobbied for the creation of a navy to patrol Avalon’s shores and smoke-belching iron-clad ships are a common sight in their harbors. Despite their technological superiority and numbers advantage, the Kingdom has a hard time logistically fielding their armies to where they need to be to fend off attacks from Qel’Oris (which can seemingly come from any direction.) As such, most cities contain at least a small garrison of troops to come to the city’s defense and the people live in constant wary fear of elven attacks.
Geography/Borders: At the heart of Avalon lies Drakesbane Peak, a dormant volcano that houses a labyrinthine system of passageways that was once the home to an entire family of ancient crimson wyrms. Though dormant for centuries, the peak will occasionally billow out ominous smoke and the elves of Qel’Oris are known to use the passages to cross the island quickly. Smaller peaks jut out from Drakesbane creating three distinct yet passable mountain ranges that help divide the island. Lush rainforests dominate the interior of Avalon, wherein all manner of native beasts and tall trees reside. The land closer to the coastlines is dominated by rolling plains, sparser forests, and highly cultivated farmland and it is here that many of the Avalonian cities thrive. The interior of the island benefits from heavy torrential rains during the spring and fall and even in the dead of winter the temperature rarely drops below 60 degrees. The northern and western shores of Avalon are home to some of the steepest, most majestic cliff faces in the world, and scholars largely believe that the cliffs are where Avalon was once joined with mainland Al-Hasier and Arna before it was sundered during the Battle of the Fall.
- The King’s Road – Circumnavigating the entire island, the King’s Road is exquisitely maintained by laborers and magicians. Though it is regularly patrolled by soldiers, there are long stretches between cities where Elven freedom fighters waylay travelers and merchants alike. Attempts have been made to link the King’s Road to Drakesbane Peak from a variety of directions but all attempts have been quickly quashed by Qel’Oris.
- Providence Castle – Regal in bearing and gargantuan in size, Providence Castle is the pinnacle of human engineering and the seat of the monarchy in Avalon. Built on the ruins of a much older castle that was razed by elves nearly five centuries ago, the new castle’s massive towers provide an eagle-eye view over almost all of southern Avalon. The tallest tower houses a powerful magical telescope capable of remotely viewing any location in the Kingdom. It is whispered that in the bowels of the castle’s dungeon lies a secret chamber that contains a secret and awesome power that is the key to the Gloryhelm bloodline’s divinity.
Variants: A human variant is available for native human Avalonians. Avalonian elves are a custom race.
Prominent Figures:
- Vergil Gloryhelm VIII (Male Human Psychic) – The current King of Avalon is unusually spry for his advanced age. Though the Gloryhelms typically live nearly twice as long as regular humans due to their divine blood, Vergil VIII is as hale as a middle-aged man despite approaching his 15th decade. An active equestrian and hunter, he is the epitome of human elegance and ingenuity. He rules with a firm yet caring hand.
- Merin IX (Female Human Cleric of the Church of Unyielding Light) – As Beacon of the Church of Unyielding Light, Merin is the mouthpiece for all that is holy and virtuous in Avalon. Unlike previous Beacons, Merin IX has taken the issue of Avalonian slavery head-on and is a firm advocate of kingdom-wide emancipation. Some of her harsher critics paint her as an Elven sympathizer but she has thus far brushed off such accusations.
- Duke Harland Fairchild (Male Human Cavalier) – One of the highest ranking nobles in Avalonian court, Duke Fairchild is the King’s primary military adviser. He distinguished himself at the age of 17 when, as a squire, he picked up his fallen lord’s lance and led the defense during the Siege of Whitecliff. He is a hero amongst all professional Avalonian soldiers and some whisper that most military men are more loyal to him than the King or the Beacon.
- The Red Fox (Female Half-Elf Swashbuckler) – Avalon’s most wanted criminal is a red-haired (a rarity in Avalon) masked vigilante with a fiery personality and a penchant for flamboyant displays. Rumor has it that she is the bastard child of some great Avalonian noble, possibly the king himself. She is rarely in one place for very long and her crimes mostly consist of vandalism, destruction of property, and leading slave rebellions/escapes.
- Archmagus Caius Mardoan III (Male Human Arcanist) – The current Archmagus of the Institute is a severe and humorless middle-aged man and also the youngest Archmagus in the history of the organization. A firm believe in the ‘old ways’, his rigorous defense of conservative arcane theory was crucial in his ascendancy over his more experienced peers. Being the grandson of Caius Mardoan I, the archmage responsible for bringing Avalon out of the mists and into contact with the rest of the world, also played no small part
- Savant Elwayn Freefey (Female Avalonian Elf Investigator) – The head scientist of the Society is warm and friendly despite her racial standing in Avalon. She achieved her position by revolutionizing the designs for a steam engine and in the years since has been instrumental in the fledgling railroad system that is beginning to take root on the southern part of the island. Her public feud with Archmagus Caius is as legendary as it is heated.