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Key Info
Government Type: Democratically Elected Monarch
Capital City: Deheath
Symbol:
Primary Religion:None
Hallmarks: Mining, Smithing, Bar fights, close communities

Torshan is located north of the of the Penmyrth Mountains, occupying a relatively small section of northern Aeldun. Torshan’s northern and eastern borders are the sea, and their south border is the mountains. The western border is loosely defined with Callora; the border approximately follows a river flowing from the southwestern corner of Threndallo Bay towards Theanovene. Most of Torshan’s lang is rough terrain and best described as foothills. The only area suitable for farming in Torshan is the port city Bredon though few in Torshan do farm. Torshan gets very strong winds, blowing in from the sea and then back after hitting the mountains. The region is unusually cold, locked between cold fronts from the sea and Penmyrth Mountains.

Torshan was founded by a group who left Eraia after the Church became the controlling factor of the city. Along with the people who would found Callora and Dwyr, Rousek Bomir lead his people north and decided to continue travelling east. Finding the valley that would one day house Dehearth, Rousek took his miners and laborers and said they would settle in the valley. He lead them as an informal leader for the founding of Dehearth and the rest of his life, eventually handing off the reins to his second in command Ardich Cowler. Ardich was quickly the target of the first community upheaval and replaced with another king. Kings and queens are frequently replaced for the rest of Torshan’s history, the longest to last was Queen Lifhilda, who during her four and a half years in charge opened trade with the Wynnite people. She would later serve as Torshan’s ambassador to Wynne.

Torshan has no hard and fast religion. A few people here and there worship Lylalel, and a few others follow one of the less common religions like the Church of Ylthar or Ancestral Worship, but otherwise people of Torshan tend to be focused on the material plane before them. Being religious isn’t looked down on by Torshonians, but one can expect the occasional jab about it.

Cat Kissaelain and Kouneli laguz are treated no differently than a human in Torshan. In fact, very few will even comment on their laguz traits and some may never even notice them. Torshonians respect strength and energy in the people that visit their lands, as long as a laguz can keep up with the chaotic Torshonian way of life they’ll be welcome. Tiger Kissaelain however get special attention in Torshan. Long have Tiger Kissaelain been respected for their powerful tiger form in Torshan, and these laguz are hounded at every turn by employers. Tiger laguz can make more many than most in Torshan, simply from the stigma of their increased strength and beast forms making them better workers. Having to pull mine carts as a tiger can be a bit degrading when seen by someone from another kingdom, but Torshonians will sing that tiger’s praises all night long.

The Torshonian government is something of a joke, even to themselves. There is a single capitol building that serves as the home and workplace of the Monarchy. It’s not large, nor grand, but it is sturdy. The current monarchy rules from the capitol building for as long as he manages to stay in term. Torshan, owing back to the words of it’s founder, gives the crown to whoever takes it from the current ruler. While it sounds nonsensical, this style has persisted into the common era. Monarchs rarely last long than a year, and those that have never more than four years. The typical cycle is something goes wrong, the people singing shanties in the pubs decide it’s time for a change, and a brawl evolves to encompass the entirety of Dehearth. Brawlers are rarely malicious, often continuing to sing and drink as the town is consumed in the chaos. The brawl makes it’s way slowly towards the capitol, where the people’s so called champion, often decided during the fight, confronts the monarch with the people at their back. Monarchs traditionally fight back, despite the fact the champion will get help from the crowd if the monarch seems to be winning. By the end of the night, the champion is crowned ruler and the people go to work like everything is the same.

In a sense, the ruler of Torshan is always someone the people choose, making their convoluted system a form of Democracy disguised as Monarchy. Some tricksters have attempted to take over Torshan in the chaos, but they’re quickly routed out by another town consuming ball of chaos. The ruler of Torshan has full power over the nation, but every action they take could prove the people into yet another upheaval of government. Others in the political system tend to last longer, but the constantly changing rulers makes working in Torshan politics an exhausting life. The longest lasting members of the political system tend to be diplomats who don’t actually need to be in Dehearth to do their work.

Torshonian cities are loud places. In Dehearth it’s the sound of boisterous miners and smiths, and then the racket they make doing their jobs. In Bredon it’s shouting sailors and traders coupled with the sounds of the ocean itself. There are very few places truly quiet in a Torshonian town, such a place requires thick walls to keep out all the outside noise.

Torshonian buildings are both incredibly simple designs but also stylish in that way. Torshonian design is practical, yet well engineered and built with the best materials which makes them look a far cry better than many homes in Aurii. Dehearth businesses tend to look more rundown than homes with very few decorations or accents that aren’t necessary for operations. The streets themselves are cluttered and vary in width and material. Some are cobble and large, others are raw stone and narrow, others are a further mix. Torshan’s building are well made but the city is a haphazard pile of buildings, no uniformity in sight.

When Torshonian’s typical rioting kicks off, people are often found in bars and their place of work, damaging the building in the process. Few Torshonian business owners mind the damage however, as the kingdom frequently pays some form of reparations to businesses heavily damaged. Those who do mind don’t maintain the businesses in Torshan for long.

Torshan cities are welcoming to outsiders, though it’s easy for others to get lost in the hustle and bustle. Outsiders are flagged down and dragged into bars for drinks, offered directions at any turn, and greeted by half the people they pass. While the town looks rough and tumble, and the people more so, there is an air of friendliness in the town that’s hard to beat.

Torshonian’s wear practical clothes suitable for the work they do. A large portion of the Torshonian population does some form of manual labor, making the most common clothing to see related to the professions in the city. There’s little fashion trade in the city, and formal wear rarely survives long in Torshan. Torshonian casual fashion is loose and flowing, and considerably less modest than other cultures. It’s not at all uncommon for Torshonians to be showing enough skin to get them arrested in Eraia or other nations.

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Traits for Characters from the Nation

Culture

Torshan’s two cities each have a primary profession for the city as whole; Dehearth is a mining city first and foremost while Bredon is a shipping port. Large portions of the population are employed in these trades and trades that support them, such as smithing or trading. Torshan’s cities have a wide variety of pubs, frequently open all night. Mining shifts run around the clock and ships arrive in port at the whims of the sea, so there’s a strong nightlife to support these various pubs. Other careers tend to be unique shops that are treated as specialty. Jewelers are a profession that started in Torshan, in fact Dehearth is host to the only Precious Metal College in Aurii.

Torshan is the largest weapon and armor producer of northern Aeldun and has many jobs surrounding it. With immediate access to the materials, Torshan produces far more weapons than they would ever need themselves and Torshonian equipment is regarded as some of the best equipment you can get. It’s hardy and strong, more resilient than any other nation’s work.

Torshonian’s working culture is both casual are challenging. The work is hard and the hours are long, but there’s a sense of ease on the job site itself that most are satisfied with. Worksites run by Torshonians are both a hang out and place of work, and frequently compete with other worksites or shifts for drinks in the pub. Many jobs in Torshan run overnight, creating a need for different shifts of workers. The same crew might be assigned to a day shift one day and a night shift the next, though swaps aren’t common. Shift crews are rarely broken up, as the comradery is one of the things that make the shifts so tolerable.

Torshonian’s don’t get specific days off work, due to the shifts required by most jobs. Instead, Torshonian crews get a certain number of free shifts a week, the equivalent of two, sometimes three days off in the week.

Torshan has few farms. All farming around Dehearth faded out early in the city’s history, the smoke from the smithys affecting the crops. Some farms still exist along the road to Bredon, but they aren’t large enough to support the entirety of Torshan. Torshan relies on the trade from Callora to fully feed their people. Torshonian cooking tends to be sloppy and easy to eat, spicy, and alcoholic whenever possible. Callora has difficulty every year with keeping up with the beer demands in Torshan, and Dwyr wine is imported in as large quantities as Torshan can manage. Torshonian diet is meat heavy, frequently grilled and smokey.

Torshan pads beer and wine imports out with spirits of their own, simply called as such. There’s is a variety of different Torshonian spirits, each distilled differently. These drinks are far stronger than the beer and wine from their Alliance neighbors.

Torshonian children are left pretty much to their own while their parents are on a shift. Children are often seen wandering around, playing imaginary games, being underfoot whenever possible. Adults generally direct them away from the dangerous tools and leave them be, letting the kids be kids. Kids are shuffled into the nearest house during a city wide brawl, be it their own or a strangers. Many friendships are formed out of these occurrences.

Schooling takes place over four years in Torshan, ages 10 to 14. Once 14 a Torshonian is able to join a shift immediately or can apprentice with a trade that requires further training that their general education covers. Those who join a shift work their way up to the full workload slowly, with guidance from the their shift mates. Cleanface’s, as green workers are called, are a welcome addition to most shifts and are quickly integrated into the fold.

Torshan has spotty records at best of a lot of it’s own history. With the frequent changes in leadership and chaos that surrounds them things tend to be forgotten about. What records do exist are kept in a stone vault a block from the Capitol building. The vault is managed by an independent company from the ruling monarch, the Records Guild. It’s a small group, maybe two dozen employees at the largest, but they do their best to capture the history of Torshan’s chaos.

Magic hasn’t made it’s way to Torshan in any significant way. Torshan is nation of laborers at heart and using magic to do a job one can do with their own power is seen as lazy. Magic is popular as a sideshow in pubs however. A few mages have managed to find a place in Torshan however, using their magic in creative ways to do things that are impossible for humans unaided. They assist in small ways, using magic to enhance gem stones or regulate smithy temperatures and other such support tasks.

Torshan is a self policed nation. Most Torshonians are more than capable of brawling and there is a very strong sense of community in it’s cities. When a crime occurs, typically every bystander around the crime gets involved trying to stop the criminal in their tracks. These interventions often spiral into large brawls that end up at the capitol building with the criminal held down by a dozen fighters. The current monarch makes a proclamation of punishment, and the people carry it out with cheers. Indentured servitude is for moderate to major crimes, forcing someone to work off their debt to Torshan.

Community is of great importance to Torshonians. Children are watched over by the community as a whole, and every member of the community will support one another time and time again. It’s counter intuitive to their chaotic brawls and fights of the city, but they’re so ingrained in the nation’s culture that they can’t imagine being without it.

Medics are extremely respected in Torshan, more so than some monarchs. Anyone who helps others instead of participating in city brawls is showered in drinks and praise. Anyone who does involve a medic is turned on by the rest of the crowd. Frequently, the medic will even ignore treating said violator of the unspoken rule.

Military

⭕🔴

Unit Skill LevelSize
Infantry: 🔴🔴🔴⭕⭕
Cavalry: ⭕⭕⭕⭕⭕
Magic Forces:⭕⭕⭕⭕⭕
Navy: 🔴🔴⭕⭕⭕

Torshan does not having a standing military. That is not to say they’re defenseless, most of Torshan’s adult population can fight, it instead means that no one makes a career as soldier. When Torshan has been required to muster fighters before, it musters them from the community and a resounding number of people are able to answer that call. What Torshonian infantry lack in training they make up for with gusto and comradery in spades. Torshan’s navy has a smattering of career offerings working on the patrol ships that protect the Bredon harbor. Torshan has a small navy however, and these careers are limited.

Cities and Sites

  • Dehearth: Dehearth is the capital of Torshan, built in a valley along the north edge of the Penmyrth Mountains. Smoke rises out of the city constantly and if one looks from the northern lip of the ravine the entire valley is lit up every evening with the fires of various furnaces and smithys. Dehearth is a dirty city and most of it’s buildings are brick and stone. It’s claustrophobic, though not over crowded. The narrow streets and dark nights under the smoke of the furnaces add to the chaotic feel of the city.
  • Bredon: An offshoot of Dehearth specifically founded for sea trade, Bredon serves it’s purpose as a port city well. Docks wrap the southwest to north east corners of the city. Bredon is relatively tamer than Dehearth, still chaotic compared to another kingdom but a breath of fresh air (literally) for those coming from Dehearth. Bredon’s buildings are wooden and airy. The city itself is breezy as well, wide streets allowing for wind to flow through. The fresh air is a big draw for those residing in the city.

Foreign Relations

Torshan relies on Callorian trade to feed it’s people, and trades with Dwyr heavily as well. Torshan provides precious metals to most of Aurii, especially Theanovene. Spirits are also traded across the world, though it’s not a very active trade currently. Stone from the Torshan mines along with other mined materials make their way to Theanovene, Wynne, and the other nations of the Honoril Alliance.

  • Wynne: Torshonians have taken it on themselves to bring Wynnites into just a bit more chaos. The hardworking northern folk get along well with similarly hard working Torshonians, but they’re far more serious culture. Torshonians, whenever possible, try and get Wynnites to loosen up and enjoy life more, and are met with occasional success.
  • Callora: Torshonians get along well with Callorian peasantry, not so well with Callorian nobility. This is rarely a problem as Callorian nobility don’t bother with Torshonians under the monarch themselves. Callorian lower class appreciate visits from Torshonians, their chaotic energy always good for a laugh and some excitement in the Callorian way of life.
  • Dwyr: Torshonians find Dwyrians to be stuffy and too caught up in thinking about things. There’s also little respect for careers that require no physical work to perform in Torshan, so Dwyrians and their various academic career opportunities turn Torshonians off to them.
  • Eraia: Torshonians consider Eraians similar to Dwyr, stuffy and straight laced. Torshonians have notably all but forgotten about the Eraian Crusades, the only Honoril Alliance nation to do so. Eraians don’t get treated much differently by Torshonians, though most will be told to try relaxing for once.
  • Theanovene: Theanovians are varied bunch and Torshonians mesh well with them. As Torshan has a large amount of exports and importing to do, Theanovians are a common sight in Torshan.

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