Sacral Guidance

The spiritual wellbeing of all is sagely administered to by the priests of the land. These Olympian priests pray to Jupiter – King of Gods and God of Kings - for salubrious weather, for the continued potence of the king and the lords, the fertility of the menfolk, for the keeping of faith, and the upholding of all that is powerful and masculine. Ceres, the Great Mother, is entreatied to let women be fertile, the crops be healthy and homes secure. All men who live on or near the sea seek out the priests of Oceanus, its god. Furthermore, Mars is entreatied for valour and force, Venus for love, fortune and beauty, Tyche Montea for wealth and prudence, Apollo for health (he is also the Lord of Music) and Mercury for wit and skill. Prosepine, the Lady of Fate and Death, is beseeched at birth and burials only. There are also a host of more specialized gods and spirits entreatied at special occations.

Quite a few of the common people, most importantly those living in isolated rural areas, refuse to let go of the old customs of the witches, and keep worshipping the Triple Goddess (associated with Venus, Ceres and Prosepine) and her consort – the Horned God. However, their antics are deemed to be mostly harmless, and as long as they also take part in the official rites, they are left to themselves. In truth, some archbishops have tried to stamp out this "degenerate veneration of the female" but despite much bloodshed no lasting change has occured.

There is a major heathen group in the land, the Terminants. These worship as their foremost god Terminus, son of Oceanus, and claim that He led the creation of the world. Terminus is the god of order, law, science, architecture and of cities. Most of his worshippers come from urban areas, and are craftsmen or merchants. The worship of Terminus is increasingly seen as a threat to the power of the priesthood of Jupiter, and that of the nobility, as the Terminants claim that birth rank is not a guarantee of ability to rule. The Terminants have been able to convert the Archduke Tauron of Corguin, and this has strained the domestic tranquility.

Secular Leadership

In each and every settlement, the populace live contently, governed and protected by their just lords. Should some of them let themselves be enticed by evil men, to seek privileges not suitable for their class, then the brave knights and tenacious men-at-arms of the realm will swiftly restore the rule of law, securing safety and stability.

Since the land’s independence at the fall of the First Dynasty of Clemencia, all lords of the land have been governed by the wise and benevolent rule of the Lornine kings, who have led the country to great heights, and shepherded its populace through difficult times. Sadly, at the current time, no king is enthroned. King Farnol the 4^th disappeared in the 13^th year of his his reign. The Electorate Council was convened to pick his successor, and picked his six years old son, the Crown Prince Tarlain, rather than the King's brother, the Archduke of Corguin. Furthermore, the king’s brother was once more bypassed when a Regent was chosen to rule during the ten years it would take for the Prince to grow to maturity, this duty fell on the Archbishop Luinpos, second cousin of the King and the Archduke.

Who is who in Avation

Beyond the Borders

Avation shares borders with the two kingdoms of Dorannia and Pacar. To the west, across a strait, kingdom of Senion.

Dorannia lies to the north. It is a wilder land than Avation, with great tracts of dense forest and impassable hills. It’s inhabitants are an amalgam of many races, and speaks the nearly incomprehensible Dorish tongue. The land has often been Avations ally in fending of the greater powers of Clemencia and the Magocracy, and equally often, Dorannia and Avation has struggled for dominance over each other and their neighbours Senion and Pacar. The current king of Dorannia, Eric II, is busy beating down a rebellion within his own borders.

Pacar lies to the east. It is a country rather much like Avation, although it is smaller and more pastoral. It is governed by King Lothin V. The people of Pacarennes are of the same strain as the Avatines, they speak the same language, their culture is similar and many consider them one people. In the previous century, King Tauron I sought to bring Pacar under Avatine protection, but after the Peace of Tangrine, Avation has recognized Pacar as an independent country. There has been some border disputes, though. Pacar is thought to be under undue influence from the eastern sorcerors.

Senion is an island kingdom to the west of Avation. The land is known for its excellent glass manefacture, for its trade and for fishing. Senion is ruled by Queen Raquelia, who has yet not taken a consort to be her King. The Senic merchants have much power, and some are known as Merchant-Princes. Senion has eclipsed Avation in the mercantile world, after Avation's recent troubles.

Beyond, Pacar, to the east, lies the Confederacy of Sorcerers, whose lords have broken the power of the Cargan Primarch only to put the vital essence and the principle of order at risk in their constant feuds and experiments. Their dominion has outlasted a century, but age has not mellowed their recklessness. They question the natural superiority of the nobility and would destroy all decency.

To the south lies the bloodstained lands of Clemencia. Its Second Dynasty was founded by Nouquon the Butcher, and his epitheth says it all. The land is governed by a functional diumvirate of Grand King Stephan VI and the Divine Intercessor (the high priest of Hades, the lord of the hells). Clemencians live with goblins and eat children, but at least they do not attempt to upset the basic social order. King Stephan has proven himself to be less warlike than his ancestors.

Insanity and wickedness make terrible bedfellows, and for the better part of two centuries, the wise and benevolent kings of Avation have had their hands full with keeping one or the other of these two juggernauts from swallowing the free lands of the north.

Avation

A map of Avation

Royal Adminstration - baillages, baillis and coroners

The Distant Past of Avation

Avation – unsurpassed in beauty. Even the wilderness is beautiful: The rugged beauty of the Elfhills at the northern border, the verdant mystery of the Great Forest at the centre of the realm, the singing reeds of the southern marshes. How much more lovely are not the cultivated fields of man: The vast fields and orchards of the three duchies, the vinyards of the Tibellu hills, all bearing forth a rich bounty.

The chief trade of the populace of Avation is farming, as it is in every civilized realm. The farmers grow grains, vegetables and legumes in the fertile soil of the land, and keep poultry and pigs to provide more succulent viands. More prosperous farmers often keep a few head of cattle as well. Horses are the choice draft animals, and their flesh is consumed with great reverence during the festivals of Jupiter. The farmers live in hamlets and villages, within walls securing them from the ravages of beasts, and under the watchful eyes of their noble lords.

Fisheries also provides a livelyhood for great many Avatines, the coast is speckled with countless fishing villages. On the north-western coast, there are many whalers. The Avatine love for, and understanding of, the sea, has secured its lords with readily available sailors, and thus they have been able to secure the shipping lanes for merchants and has made Avation a great naval nation.

The bounty of fisheries and farming, and the profits of shipping, has allowed the towns of Avation to grow vast and manifold. Courite, Dephille, Demel, Eloreville, Naras and Tarlainport – All are cities of great beauties, with wonderful castles, temples, tower and manses. Additionally, there is a greater number of towns.

However, it must be admitted that the land has not been free of troubles lately