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This will be the last realm I will be writing up this week, but I will
have more done by next week.

- --
Ian Hoskins

e-Mail: hoss@box.net.au
ICQ: 2938300
Home Page: http://www.box.net.au/~hoss/birth.html

>From the Darkness we came,
and to the Darkness we will return.
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The Protectorate of Solontara

Alignment: Neutral
Status: Recommended


Province Law Temples Guilds Sources
Cefalu (2/3) GT (2) UTA (1) - -
LL (0) KTV (0) - -
Solontara (8/0) GT (6) UTA (4) UTC (6) -
LL (2) KTV (2) LL (2) -
- SPM (2) - -
Larcara (2/3) LL (2) SPM (2) LL (2) -
Salemi (5/0)* LL (5)* SPM (5)* LL (5)* -
Mistagata (5/2) GT (4) UTA (5) UTC (4) -
LL (1) SPM (0) LL (1) -

* Fortified holding

Abbreviations: GT = Governor Tibearis; UTA = Udine Temple of Azari
(Unknown); LL = Lily Lucius; KTV = Kiskum Temple of Vorynn (Terri the
white); UTC = Udine Trading Consortium (Clavius Grapintus); SPM = Solontara
priestesses of Masela (Harine Mortisium)

Province/Holdings: Solontara is a divided realm. Officially part of the
Adurian empire there has been a civil war running for the past five years.

* Law: In the east, along the coast the law is controlled by the
appointed governor. Inland Lily Lucius and her rebels have taken
control in many provinces.
* Temples: The Udine Temple of Azari, and the Solontara temple of Masela
fight for control of the temple in the province. The Kiskum Temple of
Vorynn also control a few holdings.
* Guilds: The Udine trading consortium and Lily's merchants control all
of the available holdings in Solontara.
* Sources: No wizards live in, or control sources in Solontara at the
moment.

Regency Generated/Accumulated:

Treasury: As part of the Adurian Empire, Solontara is expected to pay a
tribute to the emperor each year, usually amounting to 20 GBs. This money
is still paid despite the lack of taxes from the western provinces at the
moment. As a result currently the treasury only holds 5 GBs.

Army: Both the Governor and the Rebels support large armies. The Governor
supports a force of 2 units of chariots, and also can call on a portion of
the empires 5th legion which is based in Udine. 12 units from the 5th
legion are currently fighting in Solontara, they include 5 swordsmen, 4
spearmen, 2 archers, and 1 mounted scouts. The rebels have a smaller army
of 4 spearmen, 3 archers, and 1 elite swordsmen. There army was once much
large but recent loses have hit them hard.
Solontara support only a single vessel, a large transport belonging to the
Governor. Parts of the Adurian Navy can occasionally be found here though,
searching for pirates or transporting goods and fresh troops to Solontara.

Regent: There are currently two rulers claiming to control Solontara. The
first is Governor Tibearis (MAd; F1; Unblooded; Age 45), an overweight
noble from Udine who was given control of Solontara six years ago. He
spends most of his time in the capital, letting his generals fight the war
for him while he enjoys himself and puts as much of the treasury as
possible into his own pocket.
Lily Lucius (FAd; F3/T6; Unblooded; Age 27) is also claiming to run
Solontara at the moment. She is the daughter of the last governor, a very
popular man who was ordered killed by the Emperor. Five years ago when the
latest war between Aduria and Nehalim began she decided to seize control of
the realm and organized an army with money her father had borrowed from the
treasury. The current governor was so unprepared for the attack that Lily
took the fortified city of Salemii without any resistance and now runs her
empire from behind the tall walls of the city. Over the past five years she
has spread her influence to take control of the province of Larcara and is
now moving on Cefalu. If she succeeds she will have control of all the
provinces west of the mountains and will be in a better position to defend
against any attacks.

Lieutenants: General Harius (MAd; F14; Unblooded; Age 39) is in charge of
the 5th legion forces in Solontara. One of the highest ranking generals in
the 5th legion he was sent out by the Governor of Udine to calm the
rebellion before the emperor finds out and sends and investigator to find
out what is going on in the north. Since he arrived a year ago the Adurian
forces in Solontara have won three out of four engagements and crushed half
of the rebel force.
Jerine (FAd; F8; Unblooded; Age 26) is Lily's general. A young warrior she
has been a part of the rebellion since it started. Unlike Lily though she
is seeking independence for Solontara and wants to set up a new empire,
dedicated to the worship of the sea goddess. She is a very devout
worshipper and is usually found at the temple in Salemii when not out
leading her troops.

Important NPCs: Harine Mortisium (FAd; Pr, Masela, 15; Unblooded; Age 48)
leads the priestesses of Masela in Solontara. From her temple in Salemii
she has expanded her influence to include most of Solontara. Currently she
is fighting to remove the influence of the priests of Azari over the people
of Solontara. She is not a supporter of the rebellion, but will make her
healers available to both sides in the conflict.

Description/History: Solontara has had a long history as part of the
Adurian Empire. It was one of the first areas conquered during the Adurian
expansion 2,000 years ago and has remained part ever since. During the
Skissshar invasion the empire mounted a strong defence of Solontara. For
nearly a whole year the Adurian 5th and 7th legions held the mountains of
Solontara, keeping the Skissshar forces at bay. Eventually the Skissshar
went south and broke through the Adurian lines just south of Solontara.
Soon after that the Priests of Azari from Udine routed the invaders and the
war was soon ended. Because of this strong defence the lands east of the
Solontara mountains were free of the Skissshar influence and survived
intact. As a result these two provinces have a much higher population that
the rest of northern Aduria.
Ever since the Adurian Empire first took control of Solontara from the Vos
and Andu tribes the small realm has been a protectorate of Aduria. This
means that it has its own Governor, despite it only being five provinces in
size. For most of the past four hundred years this governor has come from
the Lucius family, once a very respected family in northern Aduria. But
like many others the last Governor, Gorin Lucius keep a large portion of
the realms treasury for himself, funding grand building projects in his
honour, including Salemii Fortress.
When the new Adurian emperor, Augustus, came to power eight years ago he
sent out agents to each of the regions of Aduria and ordered any who were
found to be corrupt to be executed. As a result the Governor of Solontara
was one of these and he was crucified as a warning to others.
The Governor's daughter, Lily was most upset about the death of her father
and with the money he had stolen started to hire mercenaries and warrior as
part of her own army. Then when Aduria went to war with Nehalim and most of
the 5th legion left for the west Lily used her troops to take control of
the second largest city in Solontara, Salemii. With the fortified city
under her control she was able to withstand any attack from the new
Governor's armies and was close to capturing all of Solontara. Two years
ago though the Governor of Udine to the south learned of the troubles in
Solontara and sent half his remaining troops into the troubles realm. Even
with 3000 new soldiers entering the battle Lily had an advantage. These
troops however where the highly trained imperial legion, not the normal
provincial soldiers and her forces have been losing ever since. Currently
most of the fighting is going on in Cefalu province as the 5th Legion is
trying to take back control of the province. Lily's forces are popular with
the locals though and have so far managed to avoid capture, although they
did initially take heavy loses. Lily herself remains in the fortress at
Salemii expanding an improving on already strong fortifications. The
Fortress (Level 7) is now one of the strongest forts north of the Adurian
city of Bella.

Provinces: As the northern most outpost of the Adurian Empire Solontara
lies to the west of the massive city of Udine. To the west is the southern
reaches of the Adurian Wastes and the Juh grasslands. North is the isolated
land of Kiskum.

* Cefalu (2/3) is in the north-west corner of Solontara. It is a farming
community with little interesting ever happening here. Most of the
food for Solontara city to the east is grown here. Unfortunately for
the Governor the hills and mountains in the east of Cefalu mean that
all goods must be taken along the roads to the mountain pass in
Salemii.

* Solontara (8/0) is the largest province in northern Aduria. A large
city, also called Solontara, sits on the coast and is home to the
Governor and his armies. Because most of the west of the province, and
even the north is hilly and mountainous there is little farming in the
province. Many small mining villages and towns dot the mountains
though, sending a steady stream of ore into the city for transport to
Udine and other lands further south.

* Larcara (2/3) is situated in the far west of Solontara. It is a grassy
province mainly used for herding animals. There is a road travelling
from Salemii to the east into the Adurian Wastes to the west. This
road was built to allow the Empire to quickly send new troops to back
up the forces stationed in the Waste if Nomads or Skissshar decided to
attack.

* Salemii (5/0) sits on the southern border of Solontara. It is a
mountainous province and like Solontara province is home to many
mining villages. The province is also home to one of the few passes
through the mountains to Juh and the Adurian Wastes. The fortified
city of Salemii is built into this pass to protect against any
invaders. A road travels through the city to Cefalu in the north and
Larcara in the west. Anyone wishing to travel west must cross through
Salemii and it is currently in the hands of the Rebel armies.

* Mistagata (5/2) lies on the coastline south of Solontara. The large
city of Mistagata is the capital of this province. With the mountains
now moving west into Salemii this province is fairly flat and fertile.
Many farms dot the land and they are among the most fertile in
northern Aduria. A road from Solontara city in the north travels south
through Mistagata on its way to Udine in the south-east.

Allies: A part of the Adurian Empire, Solontara has the support of the
Adurian legions. Other allies include Lindos to the north.

Enemies: Nehalim, Juh, and the Skissshar are all considered enemies of
Solontara. None of these realms are currently capable of mounting an attack
on the Protectorate though.


By Ian Hoskins

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