Population: 3.7 million
Racial distribution:
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Humans 41%
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Dwarves 26%
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Elves 18%
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Other 15%
Capitol: Te’ralyn
Major Resources: Gold, grain, lumber
Government: Hereditary monarchy (in it’s 5th generation)
Climate:
Nothern Llafanwyr is usually warm and humid, tempered by ocean breezes. The areas directly next to the Cremaian expanse are characterized by the extreme climate changes common to all areas near the War-related deserts. The Verde, being South of the Shards, is more temperate in the West, but grows more tropical in makeup as it grows East. Central Llafanwyr’s plains receive rain on a regular enough basis to keep crops year round.
Geography:
In the far northwest, Llafanwyr has the relatively gentle hills of the Shard Mountains (these mountains form the North of Crandol, and grow steadily larger as one moves further West into that country). To the South and Southeast, the much more imposing Ordren Mountains are a natural wall between Llafanwyr and Danreay. The Southwest is largely dominated by Llafanwyr’s portion of the Cremaian Expanse, the vast desert that serves as an ever-present challenge to adventurers and a reminder of past chaos. The West houses Llafanwyr’s half of Lake Jontila, the largest body of freshwater on Volara, along with the Western Side of the Verde. The interior has fertile plains, and the North is coastlands, with the veritable metropolis of Te’ralyn almost dead center.
Major figures:
The primary figures in Llafanwyr are the Ellowyn royal family, headed by King Dalen and Queen Candara. Their sons Davin and Durwin are equally well known.
Features:
Despite Llafanwyr’s significant resources, the country is most famous for its capital city, Te’ralyn. No other city comes close to Te’ralyn in terms of size, population, education, or trade. Te’ralyn is home to Volara’s largest university and second largest library (most agree that the library in Salinar is larger, though some dispute this). While Llafanwyr has a 40% human population, that number decreases to a mere 30% when one is considering Te’ralyn alone, meaning that a full 70% of those who call the city home are of non-human roots. The city is famed as a place of tolerance, with a sizable (2000+) community of Kender in the Eastern part of the city. This Kender community is, by far, the largest grouping of the creatures outside their native country of Kend’ran. The community is encouraged as the Kender prove to be an excellent source of news and rumors, often bringing vital information days, or even weeks, before official couriers are able to. In addition, there are numerous other minority groups operating in the city, many of whom have as bad or worse reputations than the Kender. While some suggest that there is something magical in Te’ralyn that forces otherwise unfriendly creatures to work well with others, most of the huge local constabulary would argue that they don’t know too much about magic, but that there are a lot of their brethren in the streets.
Damon’s Notes:
One of the most interesting facts about Llafanwyr (that people often forget), is the history of Te’ralyn itself. While most know that the city, as we know it, is only about 100 years old, its history seems to go back to the War of the Gates. Originally, Te’ralyn was three cities: Ralyn, Te’ral, and E’ral. Of these, both Te’ral and E’ral were established fishing ports, while Ralyn’s larger bay has been a major trading destination since the time of Maldona. Indeed, researchers have recently concluded that the two sea walls protecting Ralyn, and the foundation of the Westernmost sea wall in E’ral, can be definitively proven to date to the War (possibly the Pre-War) era. The fact that there are at least twenty recorded actions by Gamble in the area that was to become Te’ralyn suggests that there was a major Pre-War Cremaian community here at one point, confirming the theory that the sea walls are the largest known Pre-War ruins, outside the Asurisian site claimed to have been found by Uthreya Steeleye in 1116.
The three ports (Te’ral being 31 miles East of Ralyn, and E’ral being 26 miles West) existed as separate entities until the rise of King Deyami Ellowyn and the formal establishment of Llafanwyr in TY 1200. The first King Ellowyn made his capital at Ralyn, and, as the outlying communities surrounding the three ports were relatively close, he worked to close the gaps between them. While the gaps cannot be said to have been properly closed until late in his grandson’s reign (almost 100 years later), the area came to be known as Te’ralyn by the end of King Deyami’s reign.
This unification of many separate cities was completed with the incorporation of the numerous colleges that had existed in the area. The third King Ellowyn (Del), set aside an area and began the construction of what is now the University of Llafanwyr. Highly intrigued by the actions of the academics, King Del Ellowyn gambled that he could drastically increase the population of his capital by making it a center of learning that would be recognized across Volara. In so doing, some records indicate that the grand buildings we have now nearly bankrupted the nation prior to the discovery of the rich gold deposits in the Northernmost Ordren Mountains. This gold, and newly reopened trade with the dwarves of the Ordren Mountains provided the necessary finances to complete King Del’s university and also attracted others to the now thriving Te’ralyn.
