The Free People of Kaekana

"We owe allegiance to no crown."

-- inscription over the doors of the Estates General, Resuidad, erected 799 III Age

Ruler's Title: Chancellor
National Hero: Rotica Tapoeirana
National Wizard: Orbido the Rider
Military Units: Jefe, Irregulares, Angles, Odds
Starting Forces: Rotica Tapoeirana, Orbido the Rider, 1 Jefe, 3 Irregulares, 2 Archers, 3 Odds
Starting Treasury: 20
Continent: Faikana

History: Kaekana is quite literally the "new land," a region that rose from the seas at the end of the Second Age. It had mountains and plains and soil potentially rich but dripping in salt water: no vegetation, no cities, no development of any kind.

You would have to be desperate to go there.

There were a great many desperate people at the end of the Second Age.

People wandered into the lands of Kaekana: elves, dwarves, humans, even orcs, and a few half-beasts. One by one, in small parties, in tribes, sometimes in small nations. . . Most of them starved. But enough could work magic to clear the soil of salt, or knew how to grow salt-tolerant vegetation, or could turn rock and rotting fish to soil.

And with the tribe of Kalaai came the Sachem Re, revered in Kaekani memory as the First Chancellor. Her warlike tribe served as frontline defense of Kaekana against marauding barbarians who sought to follow refugees into the new land. Crisscrossing the country to meet with as many of its settlers as she could find, she argued that they must unite to defend themselves and keep themselves safe in their new domains. And they did, at the First Council of Tall Rock.

It is said, "You can tell a Kaekanan anywhere"; it is a paradox, because Kaekanans come in every shape and color: dwarven, elven, human, orc, even a few half-beasts. And yet despite their disparate origins, a shared history of survival and struggle has bred a unique culture. It's not merely the flamboyant dress that sets them apart -- but also a sense of confidence that only the nobility of other nations share.

For in Kaekana, it is neither birth nor breeding that sets one above another; its nobility is for life only, and ennoblement comes with wealth, or service to the state. Thus, anyone can dream of advancement, and most do.