Kingdom of Mardier: Sign-up and Discussion

[Khorne]

Kingdom of Mardier
The Old Kingdom

The Kingdom of Mardier, once flush with gold and glory, now struggles beneath debt and division. The Temple Tax,
imposed on the Nornian faithful, has inflamed tensions in the Carolean Pale. The recent death of queen-consort Isabella of
Eslandola has left the dynasty of the dual kingdom weakened and the king devastated. In a kingdom as diverse as Mardier,
a weakened central authority clears the path for ambitious trade companies and Free Cities to expand their own power.

 

Sub Factions:

The Carolean Pale | The Namereen Princes

Heraldry

Flags: Yellow
Colors: Yellow, warm hues such as nougat, dark orange, dark tan
Sigils: Dragons and Dragon Knights *
* For example. Faction colors are key.

Lay of the Land

Political

Ruler: King Raul II the Pious
Capital: Londa
Government: Decentralized feudal monarchy

Faction focus

Faction Focus is a roleplaying instrument that helps indicate what a Faction finds important on a quick glance. It can help inspire your builds or shape your stories. The ranking of the Focuses indicates what a Faction finds more important, i.e. the Focus that comes first is most important to a Faction.

 

People and History

The majority of Mardierians are ethnic Madrician and see themselves as the proper inheritors of old Imperial Madrician power and authority. The Old Empire was once the largest and most powerful nation of the whole peninsula. As the Empire succumbed to internal strive and trivial politics, Mardier was one of the first provinces to break away and carry the imperial torch in its own way. Mardierians are a proud and boastful people. They are renowned merchants and explorers. They are often seen as haughty and pompous by others, especially in their open display of wealth. While proper Mardierians are somewhat conservative and loyal to the Crown, Eslandolans and other people are generally known to be more free-spirited and independent.

While Mardier presents itself as a strong and united kingdom on the world stage, that is only a superficial sheen. In truth, Mardier is an amalgam of many different smaller states and peoples, with many internal fault lines.

At the start of king Raul II’s reign, there was a strong push for more centralization and turn the tide of fragmentation in the Kingdom - but to little avail.

In order to gain approval for a tax increase to enlarge the royal army, king Raul II had to seek the support of Mardier’s most wealthy and influential duchy: Eslandola, a long-standing proponent of more local ducal authority. The Eslandolans devised a deal in which they would politically and financially support the young king. In return, Eslandola would be elevated to a Grand Principality and the king would take the hand of princess Isabella of Eslandola, elevating her to Queen of Mardier. Eslandola would become a near-equal of Mardier, transforming the state into a dynastic union of two crowns. King Raul II, needy for Eslandola’s support, accepted the deal and created a dangerous precedent for other constituent entities in their struggle for more autonomy.

Seeking to show Mardier’s role as power broker on the Madrician peninsula, King Raul II decided to enter the Long War on the side of Oléon, in Oléon’s darkest hour - an act that became known as the Mardierian Intervention. Brokering a marriage deal between one of his sons and the Oléonder princess, an alliance was forged and Mardier invaded Corrington. The war was over soon after.

Unfortunately, Mardier’s golden moment was not to last long. Soon thereafter, queen Isabella died of illness. The Long War had put a large strain on Mardier’s coffers. Ever more, the King sought refuge in the Faith - spurred on as well by his pious Oléonder allies. While Mardier had never been a really devout country, the King erected many temples which only exacerbated the financial troubles.

In the end, the King was forced to raise extra taxes, many of which have proven to be deeply unpopular with the populace and have furthered the tensions between the different peoples, local governance and the Crown.

 

Geography

The Kingdom of Mardier is a diverse place, with overall an warm climate. It is rather mountainous, with large stretches of arable land and pastures in between. The Mardierians are famous for their horse breeds. Mardierian landed nobility often live in large haciendas and own gigantic plantations, known especially for the cultivation of olives and tomatoes.

The southeastern coast boasts several large ports, with most people living in ports and towns and some residing in the beautiful isolated countryside.

In the east you can find the flatlands and marshes of the Carolean Pale, while in the northeast the mountains continue - forming many natural borders for the different Princes of Namere.

Example builds

[Example MOC or troop build]

 

Real world inspiration and influences

• The Kingdom of Mardier is mostly influenced by southern European countries such as Spain and Portugal, or southern Italy. This is reflected in its culture, geography and architecture. Politically, Mardier is similar to the Holy Roman Empire: a claimant to old glory, but a patchwork of divided fiefs, duchies and principalities.
• Future equivalents in BOBS: Mardier and Eslandola

Subfactions
Sub Factions are for all intents and purposes part of the Main Faction, but they offer the chance at playing a character of a distinct culture or subgroup of the Main Faction. As Sub Faction are mostly less strict in terms of uniform, the overall Faction uniform is of less importance here. What is important is that soldiers or armies of the Sub Factions still fly the main colors/flags of the Main Faction

 

The Carolean Pale

The wet and green flatlands, fields and marshes in the east of Mardier are home to the Karlomans, or Caroleans. This warrior people set foot on the shores centuries ago and ultimately pledged their swords to the King of Mardier in exchange to cultivate and live on the lands they had settled. Over time, the Karlomans drained most of the wetlands by the use of ditches, canals and windmills and have turned the land into fertile farmlands and pastures, perfect for raising sheep which are then used to make textiles and cloth that have made the cities rich.

The Karlomans are known to be a free-spirited people and ferocious warriors. This is reflected in their politics, as the Carolean Pale is hardly a united entity. It is a patchwork of city-states, principalities - many governed by guilds and trade leagues - the most well-known of which are the Garvian League and the Riverlands Trade League.The Carolean warrior spirit has never quite left the hearts of its people, and many Carolean mercenary companies are found in conflicts all over the world - called Reiseläufer in their own tongue.

Recently, the King's deeply unpopular Temple Tax has agitated the populace of the Pale to such a degree that a rebellious priest, called Birger Jung, has risen up in the defiance of the Crown to declare the independence of the Nornian Faithful from the authority of the King. A dangerous statement which in practice would mean the independence of the Pale itself, a treasonous act.

Lay of the Land

Political

Ruler: The High Council and Viceroy-Elect
Capital: None officially, but Riesmond is the most prestigious city

Real world inspiration and influences

• The Carolean Pale is influenced by the historic Hanseatic League and many Free Cities in the Holy Roman Empire. The western part of the Pale is based upon the rich trade cities of the Low Countries, famous for their textile industries. The western part of the Pale, called Westerland, is what will later become the Dutch-influenced part of Eslandola. Next to the Hanseatic League and the Low Countries, the medieval Swiss Confederacy is also an important inspiration, whose mercenary armies helped shaped European politics. The Caroleans lust for adventure and combat is still evident in the cultures of the future nations of Altonia, Garvey and Carno.
• Future equivalents in BOBS: Carno, Garvey and Altonia

 

The Namereen Princes

The rough northeastern area of Mardier is a patchwork of petty principalities and counties. While it may have been a united territory in the past, it has long since fallen into rivaling territories of squabbling and conniving lords looking to further their own power and wealth. Most of the people live in the coastal cities, with the inland only sparsely populated and largely consisting out of huge plantations. The country side is ruled by so-called Cosas who try to emulate the power structures and schemes of the noble Famiglias. Often the Dons who rule the Cosas are subservient to the urban noble families, whose countryside estate is lent to them as a fief. The Famiglias often employ the Cosas for their shady deals, be it piracy, or arson of a competitors warehouse.

Next to being infamous for its highly fluctuous power structures, Namere is famous for its fine clothiers who attract clientele from across the globe, despite the chaotic nature of the country. Its many vineyards produce some of the finest wines, rivaled only by the best Oléonder wines.

Lay of the Land

Political

Ruler: Various Princes presided by a Viceroy
Capital: None officially, but Gonda is the most eminent

Real world inspiration and influences

• The Namereen Princes are based upon the various warring (Northern) Italian city-states and republics during the medieval era. This, coupled with influences from the Balkan political climate, make for a volatile nation, infamous for shady deals and backstabbing - despite its beautiful nature and cities boasting tons of art and culture, patronized by the Princes who all seek to outdo one another.
• Future equivalent in BOBS: Namere

 

 

Want to join the Kingdom of Mardier and bask in wealth and glory?

To sign up, post a picture of your signature figure, preferably accompanied by Mardier's formal flag colors. You are welcome to include a bit of a description as well. 
Your signature figure, or sigfig, will represent your character throughout your MOCs within Tales of Old (That does not mean that your sigfig has to be in every MOC you make).

Although this is the “Yellow” faction, that does not mean that everyone should have a yellow-uniformed soldier as sigfig.
Within Tales of Old you build your own story – for example, your sigfig could start out as a carpenter that decides to work on a ship.