Shadowdale

The Constitutional Monarchy of Shadowdale
Overview
Island	East Continent
Capital	Krimml
Largest City	Fontan
Government	Monarchy
Duchies	4
Regions	1
Population	39,600
Gold	7938
Food	3019
Nobles	18
Council
Shadow Queen	Etain Dubhaine
Grey Exarch	William Armsworth
Tormentor	Dirk Kalamar
Cauldron Master	Everhard Brennaborg
Regions
Region Lord Fontan Roen

Hymn of Shadowdale

Rise, Shadow, rise, for glory of our land, till all the world bows down at our command! From distant shores to borders far and near, Now let our armies fill the world with fear: Rise, Shadow, rise, for glory of our land. Rise, Shadow, rise, for honor and for fame, that every realm may know the Shadow's name, speak of her strength, and of her courage sing, and make obeisance to our Shadow King. Rise, Shadow, rise, for honor and for fame. Rise, Shadow, rise; go forth to victory; our foes defeated may we swiftly see fleeing dismayed before each mighty sword, wielded with valor and with one accord: rise, Shadow, rise; go forth to victory.

- By Lady Flavia Arindal.,

History

The Spider Queen Era

The realm of Shadowdale arose when the Duchess Luciferase of Karbala achieved the independence of her duchy, belonging to Sirion, being self-proclaimed as Spider Queen of Shadowdale. The Spider Queen established a theocratic system whose maximum exponent was herself. There were hardly any laws, everything was regulated by the right of duel, a common means to enforce your claims. In foreign policy, in order to improve his relations with Sirion, Shadowdale entered into the conflict that arose after the Rebellion of First Oligarch, an allusion to an ancient kingdom with the same name. Although the start of the war granted Shadowdale great territorial benefits, the victory was not achieved so easily. The defenders of First Oligarch resisted for more than a year, supported by southern kingdoms, in a game of alliances that would unleash a much bigger and cruel war in the future. It was at this point in the war against First Oligarch that the Spider Queen locked herself in her palace and she did not go out again, leaving the realm unattended. This caused Shadowdale's nobles to rebel against her, throwing her off the throne.

Dark Era

Little is known about this era. There was a king whose name is unknown since it lasted very little on the throne. The only thing that stands out is that Shadowdale ceased to be a theocracy and became in a monarchy. Futhermore, the cult of spiders created by Luciferase ended with her disappearance.

The Shadow King Era

Under the rule of Shadow King Lindow Moonsun, the realm observed a slow and steady growth of noble population but, nearing the end of the war, somehow, this kingdom’s court began growing very rapidly due to a huge influx of noble families joining its ranks. Some people say it was due to the Shadow King’s fair rule that this realm became attractive and, thus, attracted so many people. While others believe he somehow contacted otherworldly entities outside our plane of existence and was granted the ability to summon shapeshifting demons bound to his will by supernatural ties. We will never know.

Whatever the reason, the reality was that Shadowdale was in desperate need of a greater income to maintain its booming noble population. Its total economy was estimated to be a total of 8428 gold pieces, and one of its population spikes reached the 35 mark. Without accounting for inefficiencies, militias and suboptimal partitions of land, the realm should have been able to provide 240 gold pieces per noble, making it one of the poorest on the continent at the time.

A few days before the end of the war – which no one knew was coming – the Shadow Legion mobilized under the command of Grey Exarch Luna Tempest with the aim of taking Nascot, while a small detachment accompanied the rest of the conjoined northern army southwards to create the illusion of Shadowdale’s presence and buy the rest of the Legion time to try and take Nascot before their by then enemy could react. These efforts were cut short, as the Gods halted every ongoing conflict and caused what is known as the Great Peace to happen.

The following months, every realm could feel an atmosphere of uncertainty and unease. Direct action by the Gods is uncommon and, due to a misinterpretation of their desires, no realm declared war for a while, fearing punishment. And due to that same misinterpretation, a different kind of fear settled, for no one knew if their old alliances held true, and if their old neighbors would wage war on them or not, or if the old Great War would be reignited or not. Everyone waited to see the rest of the realm’s actions first, in a tense standoff.

But during all this time, Shadowdale’s needs were still unresolved, and its court kept growing ever larger. At the end, it was this kingdom the first to break the Great Peace, after a series of unsuccessful negotiations of land concessions led it to declare war on Nivemus, seeking land to expand into. This action was met with hostility from the old northern bloc, and Shadowdale’s relations with them began souring. Bruck, Shadowdale’s entry point to Nivemus, ended up being given to Eponllyn, effectively cutting off the realm’s only access. At this point, Perdan, which wanted to establish a colony on the Obsidian Islands, declared war on Nivemus, and Shadowdale, not yet strong enough to face both Eponllyn and Nivemus at the same time, gave up its claims and signed peace.

But the realm’s problems never disappeared. Its court reached the 46 mark at some point, further increasing its needs – although the amount decreased in time to a more manageable size. At this point, Perleone’s by then King, Gaheris Camlann, offered Shadowdale to fight Caligus with their help in exchange for nothing, arguing they sympathized with Shadowdale, and that they wanted to take revenge on Caligus too. Shadow King Lindow Moonsun agreed to this, and both realms planned a conjoined attack. This resulted in a change of allegiances of Viseu’s Lord, joining Shadowdale before his region was touched, and the later conquest of Fontan.

Seeing their allies’ sorry state and Shadowdale’s alliance with one of its former enemies, Eponllyn decided to join the war on Caligus’ side, and attacked Shadowdale’s northern front, temporarily making Greatbridge an independent region. This, however, only gave Shadowdale a reason to begin its conquest of Eponllyn’s lands. And to make matters worse for Eponllyn, Perdan had also been waiting for this opportunity to strike them to access Nivemus’ mainland, since they had been unable to advance through the Obsidian Isles due to Kalmar’s garrison being too much to fight.

Politics

Shadowdale is currently a despotic monarchy wherein the ruler makes the decisions, consulting the Shadow Council when they are important issues.

Realm Hierarchy

1. Shadow King
2. Ministers: Grey Exarch, Tormentor and Cauldron Master
3. Dukes
4. Lords
5. Knights and Nobles
6. Commoners

Government bodies

Shadow Council

It is the main organ of the kingdom. Dedicated to give advice to the King on diplomatic, legislative, fiscal and other matters. Formed by

• Shadow King
• Ministers
• Dukes
• Nobles with the rank of ambassador
• Leaders of a majority faith in the kingdom.
• Shadow King's trusted nobles.

Minor organs

1. The realm council: this body is made up of the Shadow King and his ministers. It is dedicated to improving newsletters. Proposals for changes to bulletins are also accepted.
2. War Table: military body, dedicated to advise the Grey Exarch on tactics and strategies in military campaigns. Integrated to:

Corps in the Goverment

• Corps of Officials

This is a body dedicated to covering the kingdom when necessary, whether acting as courtiers, diplomats, or traders.

• Spy Corps

Any noble who wishes to start the career of subterfuge and espionage must be integrated into the Spy Corps. Their identity will be hidden except for the Shadow King, to whom they must request permission in the case of wanting to carry out some act of subterfuge or espionage.

Military

Armies

Shadowdale now has one army in its service.

• The Shadow Legion it is the Flagship army of Shadowdale. It was founded by Lindow Moonsun when he was crowned as Shadow King. The Banner of the Shadow Legion has been seen in many regions across the continent, from the north to the south.

Military Decorations

Decorations are granted by the King in person or by letter

• Cavalry Order maximum cavalry recruitment limit, prestige 20, 2 month in the realm, warrior class, cavalier/hero subclass
• Royal unit – more than 9 campaigns, maximum recruitment limit, prestige 20, 2 months in the realm, warrior class, cavalier/hero subclass
• Elder unit– between 4 and 8 campaigns, maximum recruitment limit, prestige 10, 1 month in the realm, warrior class
• Prime unit – between 1 and 3 campaigns, maximum recruitment limit, prestige 5

Religion

Several religions have a presence in Shadowdale, but the most present and influential is The Shadow, which is held firmly by many religious nobles both inside and outside the realm.

Laws

Shadowdale's Legal Code was created as a way to reliably and fairly solve disputes, after its steep increase in noble population also led to petty squabbles that needed be dealt with, lest they escalated further and threatened to weaken the realm. The laws derive its power from the authority the Shadow King wields over the realm, and aim to channel that authority in a pragmatic and secular system that can solve conflicts without the need to divert his attention from more important matters and can do so with minimal effort. Laws are classified in Zeroth Laws and Regular Laws. The former dictate how to properly add, change and remove laws, how to interpret them during a trial, who has authority to deal justice, etc. The latter dictate what actions can be sanctioned and their penalty.