Nation Name

The Kingdom of Cheln

History

            Regional background:

See Nation's History and Timeline.

Nations History:

Cheln was created by a group of Planith colonists around 200 years ago.  Although immediately separate from Planith, they felt an urge to help their mother country out, a strange loyalty.  Whenever Planith need materials, they were there.  Whenever Planith was in war and the tide was turning against them, there was always a squad of Bow Riders there to aid them.  About the first documented history came in at around 160 years ago, however pieces from Hallinder and Shan'lo give the general idea of what was happening.  At about this time, Hallinder was being threatened for its land. 

At around 100 years ago, the people of Cheln grew tired of war and decided to make peace with the barbarians to the north, who they had been fighting for a while from what little text is gathered.  A small reserve of land was put together and a peace treaty signed.  Now peace reigned for about 40 more years, and then the biggest war of Cheln history started. 

In the morning, a group of border soldiers where watching the border without much interest.  That was until a huge mass of men suddenly appeared on top of the hills.  Immediately one knocked a whistling arrow and launched in the air, aiming farther in.  Soon more and more arrows where going off, until the whole nation was ready for the incoming soldiers.  Shan'lo was invading.  The border troops met together some 25 miles away from the border, along with a group of hastily prepared troops and townspeople who had been conscripted.  There where 750 in all, and they where facing off against some 15,000 troops.  They knew it was hopeless, but they would fight nonetheless.  They fought and died, but killed or injured some 1,500 men, thanks to hit and run tactics and volleys.  The massive army moved forward for some 200 more miles before they met another challenge.  A small city had thrown together some fortifications.  The city had some 3,000 archers and 500 spearmen guarding it.  But the Shan'lo general was smart.  Instead of taking the city and wasting his troops against it, he simply kept some 3,000 handpicked men their to make sure their rear was guarded.  The effect was the death of 2,000 of the handpicked men, but the effective rear guard was established, and the city was eventually starved out.

All seemed loss for the country.  The soldiers where confused, and men ran around with no leadership.  Then an unnamed hero arose.  He jumped on his horse and began to ride off to the enemy army, 700 miles away.  Men watched, astounded.  "Its now or never!" they shouted as they jumped on their horses and rode to meet the enemy.  In all some 6,500 men made off in horseback.  Some 3,000 men joined arms and walked off to meet them.  The battle was hard, but the Shan'lo army was devastated.  They were down to some 1,500 men, not including the 1,000 still back at the city.  Their newfound leader was dead, but still they rejoiced.  The country was saved.

From here on out, the country kept a large standing army.  Their borders were now small, thanks to the blow that had been inflicted upon them.  But Shan'lo was now friendly with them.  The people wanted no trouble, so they kept to themselves.  It is here that baby booming started, class identification, racial hate, and everything else.  The country evolved.  It now keeps history reports that make other nations blush.  Their current leader, Norman Qelzin, is a genius at political affairs. 

            Timeline - 200 years ago-Cheln Founded

                              189 years ago-Barbarians routed

                              170 years ago-First known recordings of military units aiding Planith   

                              165 years ago-Interest in Hallinder land develops

                              160 years ago-First known history documents developed

                              150 years ago-Barbarians begin to show themselves again, war develops

                              100 years ago-People tire of death, sign treaty with Barbarians

                              100 years ago-The long peace starts

                               60 years ago-Shan'lo invasion

                               58 years ago-Invaders attacked is halted

                               57 years ago-Peace Treaty signed with Shan'lo

                               57 years ago-The second long peace begins

                               50 years ago-The massacre of Long Horn, 2,000 Lower Class men killed by Upper Class men.

                               45 years ago-The council gains new powers

                               20 years ago-Council begins to abuse those powers

                               10 years ago-Preachers of Protection appear

                                 2 years ago-Preachers of Protection gain large amount of weapons

            Historical Iconic Characters - Cheln is strange.  Although they started recording history, rarely ever did they record names.  Usually the names recorded were of people of little or no use to historians, like the name of some person they author just met.

Government

            Type - Monarchy

            Structure - At the top of the structure is the king.  Next in line are the Upper Class; the nobles, wealthy people, and officers in the military.  The next is the Law Class; The judges, the lawyers, and the soldiers and town guard.  The next is the Middle Class; Artisans, Merchants, and people with enough money to get by.  The lowest class is the Common Class; it is made up by anyone not on the above lists.

            Politics - Politics are resolved by the kings appointed advisors.  They have been gaining increased amounts of power, and in turn have been growing more and more corrupt.  Several have been hiring assassins to kill those who go against them in the advisor meetings.

The only person who is permitted to overthrow the rulings of the advisors is the king himself.  Although he does so only occasionally, as most of their rulings does not affect him in any way, and he has grown very pleased with them.  He does not know of their illegal activities.

Legal System - The legal system is slightly different in Cheln.  The King himself decides the new laws by allowing the person who committed it to come before him. He then decides if that person is guilty or not, what their term is, and if that specific act that person committed is worthy of being called a crime or not.

After his decision, other accused will get to speak their side of the story to a judge, followed by what the prosecution says about it.  Lawyers are around to tell people what is illegal, and to tell them what little tricks they can use to still be considered truthful, however bend the truth a little bit so that it works in their favor.

Religion(s)

            Theological History -  None.  Religion is left for the people. 

Culture       

            Recreation - Recreation has become a rare thing in Cheln.  Many people work all day everyday, and just about the only people who get any playing done are the small children, the very small children.  Although many people enjoy card games when they are not working.

Nobility, the wealthy, and just the upper class in general is enjoying an abundance of free time.  Many of the youth enjoy simple games of Delp (tennis).  As they get older, the females generally fall out of this and begin to play chess and such games.  The males continue Delp, but also improve their swordsmanship and horsemanship.

            Arts - The upper class is, in general, the only one who enjoy the fine arts.  Having a lot of money, they spend it on anything beautiful so that they may impress the many guests who visit their houses every day.

            Holidays & Celebrations - Salvation day (2nd month, 14th day)-The day an unnamed hero fought back against the Shan'lo invaders.  Thanks to his work, they managed to stop the invaders and receive a ceasefire.

            Calendar - Universal

            Styles - The common people tend to use light clothing that makes work easy.  The upper class wears anything that is outrageously lavish, yet something that they can afford.

            Sociology - The classes stick to themselves.  Although it is not yet illegal to marry outside your class, it is still mostly looked down upon, although few people seem to notice when a middle class person marries a lower class person.

            Diet - The diet of the commoners is that of mostly bread, a little beef, some milk, and possibly some egg.  Basically whatever they or their neighbors can raise.  The upper class eats whatever is available that looks good.  Since they are near the frontier, food is sometimes down to the basics.  It's one of the rare things that the upper class doesnt seem to care about.

            Transportation - Transportation is still fairly dangerous.  Roads have been developed, but bandits take advantageous of this by robbing the people that pass, although they rarely attack lower class people.  It is fairly easy to tell when an upper class person is coming.  They'll be the only ones not on their feet walking.  They are usually in a carriage, although several have been reported in lavish wagons.

            Race and Creed - Humans are the main race.  Usually racism is very harsh against Dwarves, Halflings, Gnomes, and Orcs/Half-Orcs.  Elves are treated with the utmost respect, while other races are looked upon with fear or idle curiosity.  Racism here is usually never verbal, but the occasional masked man will throw a brick through a window.  Even though most non-Common Class people feel hate to these races, they always look down on people who show their hate to them directly.

            Iconic Characters - Ivick Branelar-leader of the Preachers of Protection, King Charles Aldor-Available 25 year old King of Cheln, David Blanch-King Advisor, Veronnica Heldant-King Advisor who has not been corrupted yet, Allen Vernick-Heavily corrupted Advisor, Yula Dalnit-An Advisor who is mixed between morals and corruption.

            Superstitions and Cultural Beliefs - The people here are fairly down to earth, however, they believe that in a small grove their are two paths.  One that leads to happy place, and the other that leads to a place filled with death and torment.  Although no one really knows the truth, all they know is that people who go down the roads are never saw again.

Life Events

            Births - The birth rate has skyrocketed with no clear reason.  People are giving birth to more live children more often.  Its a great joy for many, but the government is afraid that eventually they might not be able to feed the masses, however, a small group sees this as an opportunity to get a large amount of people together to form armies and retake the land that was once theirs...this event has been going on for 15 years, and many are pressing for a new and improved military.

            Childhood - For a commoner, a baby becomes a child whenever he can work, which is usually around 4.  For an upper class person, a baby stays a baby for a while.  Babies become children at around 6.  For other classes, its usually around 5.

            Adolescence - Adolescence is usually the same for both classes, at around 10 they become and adolescent.

            Adulthood - Adulthood is reached whenever the family declares it, or whenever a child sets out on his own.  This all usually happens around 16.

            Death - Death is a sad thing for both classes.  This new generation has not yet had war, much disease, or famine, so it does not yet fully feel what happens when these things happen.  Overall the death rate is fairly low.  The population is booming thanks to this.

Education

            Unlike many other countries, the education here is open to all people...should they be able to afford it.  Also unlike many other countries, the classes are not separated by...well...classes.  The poor sit next to the outrageously rich, who in turn sits next to the fairly well off.  Many upper families send their children to private schools, although who have money on the mind send them to the regular schools so they can save a couple hundred coins.

Commerce

            Monetary System - Northern Currency

            Taxes - 1 NP (North Piece)

            Industry -

                        Fishing - The only fishing done is the one at small ponds and rivers.  No major water source is found in these lands.

                        Agriculture - Agriculture is found mostly in the middle lands.  The food produced here is small however, as most of the food was produced in what is now the occupied lands.  So the land depends on food exports from other nations.  Some years major, some years minor.

                        Mining/Lumber - Lumber industry has gone down significantly since the order to preserve the natural beauty of the nation was issued.  Although, a small percentage is still cut down and shipped out or used every year.  Mining on the other hand has a very strong hold on quarry sites.  They produce a huge amount of rock to be used for houses, castles, or some strange other uses.  They also mine gold, silver, and mithril.  However this is a very very small amount compared to other nations that have the same minerals.

                        Livestock - Live stock roams all over the nation.  A great percentage are wild since they live many years without master, who are killed in fights with bandits.  Thus money is basically everywhere.  Recently, the government has begun to take any livestock that has not been found with a master.  This has lead to several...unfortunate events.

                        Crafts - Crafts are everywhere in this country.  Almost anything can be found, however, almost everything is overpriced from 25-10,000 NP.  Although the works are thought to be extremely rare and popular among other countries.

Technology

            Astrology - As many things in this land, Astrology has taken root.  Although what is different, is that people from all classes use it.  Most people use base astrology, focusing on minor things.  Although smaller amounts of people are trained to be able to tell signs from the stars. 

It has become another pass time for the people of Cheln, however is still mostly practiced by the people of the upper class.

Magic

            Magic is accepted in these lands.  The people who labor all day just to survive are no fools (although the upper class my say differently), they are happy when a cleric or wizard comes along to make their lives just that much easier for a couple days.  The upper classes use magic for whatever purpose, illegal or legal.  To the upper class, magic is like a drug.  Although they use those too....

Language

            Idioms, Sayings, and Phrases - "Why don't you just go raise a petty little garden next so that you can get enough food to feed your family?" An upper class saying meaning that that person is too nice to a lower class than they should be.  "Aye, Arthon." Lower class saying that pays respect to King Arthon.  "The left side of the road is rough, the right is dangerous, but the middle is perfectly nice walking." A Law and Middle class saying that means it is better to be their class than anything else.

            Alphabet - Common

            Dictionary& Grammar - Cheln (slightly more noble, meaning more smooth in writing and saying than other common, which the people here call 'harsh' common.)

Organizations (Knightly Orders, Guilds, Underground Societies, Etc.)

            Name - Preachers of Protection

Description - The Preachers of Protection are a group of people devoted to spreading the word about the impending doom by an attack by Shan'lo, the nation who took their land 45 years ago.  People in this organization believe that the large nation will not stop there, and will continue on and finish off the land.  They preach for people to gather their arms and make an official, or unofficial, pre-emptive attack.  They are getting by with semi-success.

            Requirements - Citizen of Cheln, must be willing to fight Shan'lo

            Hierarchy - The leader is called an Ivick. Below him are the regional leaders, and below them are the captains.  Finally, there are celebrated members, and regular members.  Any member who resides in the 'occupied' land, is immediately treated with the respect of a celebrated member.

            Emblem - A dagger through the nation of Shan'lo, with blood spreading out from it.

            Motto - "Always stay two steps of those who wish us harm."

            Responsibilities/Jurisdictions - See Oaths and Loyalties

            Oaths & Loyalties - The organization owes it loyalties to the country of Cheln.  Even when being hounded down by the authorities, it is expected that they will not draw a weapon against them, or hurt them purposely.  They are to be kind to anyone they meet that is of Cheln blood.  They are to aid in the freedom of their brothers and sisters in the former Cheln land in any way possible.

            Ceremonies - The organization has no ceremonies as of yet.  Although, they will have one, they say, to celebrate their great victory that will come some day.

            Benefits - The Preachers of Protection supply their members very well.  They also treat their members well.  Any place with the emblem of the Preachers of Protection on it will allow another member 20% off any purchase.  Other places, like pubs or inns, will allow a free drink, or one free night.

            Dismissal - Should the member fail to live up to his oath, and not prepare for the 'inevitable' then he shall be dismissed.  Should he turn against any member of the organization, or aid any member of the military from Shan'lo, and then he is subject to being dismissed.

Military

            Militia - Militia are used to guard cities, roads, and make up for the lack of soldiers in an area.  Regular citizens with 2 weeks worth of training with a specific weapon(s) and armor become militia members for 2 years.  They give up 2 weeks per a year of their time to help the country.  The militia itself is not used in warfare, however, it could be should troops be running low. 

                        Type of Unit (Light Infantry, Heavy Infantry, Cavalry, etc.) - Light Infantry

Hierarchy/Naming Conventions - No ranks are made, they are led by professional soldiers in groups of 20, sometimes larger sometimes smaller.

                                    Emblems - Three spears meeting up together (one in the middle, and one on either side).

                                    Mottos - "A small amount of time makes a small difference."

Uniform - White pants and shirt

                                    Armament - All members receive the weapon(s) and armor they were trained with.

                                    Responsibilities/Jurisdiction - As listed in the Militia description

                                    Ceremonies - None

                                    Benefits - None

                                    Dismissal - An illegal act, injury that makes work impossible, highly honored act, or the 2 years expires.

                                    Headcount - 25,000              

            Army - Text

                        Type of Unit (Light Infantry, Heavy Infantry, Cavalry, etc.) - Light Infantry, sometimes Calvary

Hierarchy/Naming Conventions - Low Soldier, Soldier, Rank man, Captain, High Soldier, Expert Soldier, High Captain, General

                                    Emblems - As the militia, except it is 3 swords. 

                                    Mottos - "What goes around comes around."

Uniform - Green shirt and white pants.

                                    Armament - Low Soldier-Rank Man, Short Sword or Short Spear, Studded Leather Armor, and a dagger.  Sometimes receives a shortbow instead of sword or spear.  Captain-Expert Soldier, Longsword or Longspear.  Chainmail, and a Short Sword.  May receive Longbow instead of Longsword or spear.  Anything higher may choose any weapon or armor.

                                    Responsibilities/Jurisdiction - To protect Cheln, and train the militia.

                                    Ceremonies - For the naming of a Captain, High Captain, or General, a ceremony is held.

                                    Benefits - No tax.

                                    Dismissal - Illegal activity, or set period expires.

                                    Headcount - 15,000

                        Special - The flat lands of Cheln make it easy to ride horses.  This in turn means that the horse arts in this land have become very sophisticated.  Troops are now regularly trained as mounted archers.  The BowRiders of this land usually have several years as Calvary men before they head into this field. 

BowRiders utilize the entire Pro's of being a Calvary man, but also use a bow so that they may support a body of troops, or make hit and run attacks.  Currently, they are one of the only forces that is being actively trained all the time.

                        Type of Unit (Light Infantry, Heavy Infantry, Cavalry, etc.) - BowRiders

Hierarchy/Naming Conventions - Members keep their rank they had before.  They advance just like all other systems.  People who have proved themselves are given the title: WindRider.  This title comes before their rank, like: WindRider Captain....

                                    Emblems - A white horse with a brilliant white light behind it.  It is on its hind legs, kicking into the air in front of it.

                                    Mottos - "Swift like the wind!"

Uniform - All white with green maple leaves on the shoulders.

                                    Armament - All members are given the same thing, a longsword, a large metal shield, a heavy lance, breastplate armor, a light warhorse, a composite longbow, 40 arrows, and chain shirt barding for their animal.

                                    Responsibilities/Jurisdiction - To protect the country of Cheln, and make sure that forces don't make much headway before they are discovered by BowRider patrols.

                                    Ceremonies - As army, plus for the naming of a WindRider.

                                    Benefits - No Tax, 10% reduction on any tax for family for children.

                                    Dismissal - Illegal activity, great bravery in battle (optional leave), term expires (optional leave)

                                    Headcount - 8,000

Geography

            Borders - To North: Barbarian Reserve

                             To East: Shan'lo

                             To South: Shan'lo

                             To West: Banlon

            Landmarks - Great White Mountains:  The Great White Mountains are on the border between the reserve and Cheln.  It is formally owned by Cheln, but sometimes barbarians set up a camp their for a couple of months, or go hunting in the mountains.  The mountains themselves are relatively peaceful on the surface, even have a lake at the top of the main moutain, but inside Goblins, Drow, and other terrors from below roam, waiting to kill or enslave a lost miner or adventurer.  Few go down their, and even fewer return.  But some tell tales of an amazing Dwarven Kingdom, one that is friendly to the people above, even though they know nothing of them.  They say that the Dwarves fight off the terrors.  More than one group has gone down to try to form an alliance for mining purposes with the Dwarves and not returned.  A large sum of money is being offered to the one who can. 

The Large Valley:  The Large Valley is around 200 miles wide and 50 miles across.  It is directly in the middle of the country, and it houses the capital city and several guard cities.  The valley itself is used for farming, although strange reports of farmers vanishing have occurred recently.  Some people say giant worms from below grabbed them and ate them.  Others say the Yuan-Ti are at work.

            Significant Areas - As Landmarks

Other

Population - 623,000,000

Racial Makeup - 90% Human, 5% Elf, 2% Dwarf, 1% Orc/Half-Orc, 1% Other

Alignments - N, LN, LE

Cities of Importance -

Qualzert*