Teldanar

Teldanar
Country Information
Motto:	We live by our names.
Capital:	Argo
Language:	Teldanari Dialect
Ethnic Group:	Primarily Teldanari and Tyranori, with Bahrians and Ellurians intermingled.
Religion:	Alou Worship
Government:	Monarchy
Current Ruler:	Prince Elforngoraran; the King's name is unknown.

Teldanar is the name of a country of the Southland Peninsula. Its people are very concerned with keeping all parts of their bodies covered, including their faces, which they cover with a cloth that has holes for the eyes and mouth. Teldanar went to war in alliance with Elluria against its old enemy Tyranor in 997 (467 Arangothian Reckoning), finally defeating Tyranor and annexing part of its territory (including the city of Yorklawn).

History

The Teldanari and Tyranori were once one people, but in the distant past, the Teldanari took to the desert, and a nocturnal existence, while the swarthy Tyranori did not. The two peoples have little in common today; they ended up fighting for centuries, though details aren't known.

Roughly 1,475 years ago the Teldanari seem to have controlled a larger area than what makes up the country today, establishing cities to trade with less "civilized" peoples (such as Jorafel, situated in the territory of a people they gave the name Tollor). They also controlled Bahr, with its goblinoid population. The Tollorians drove the Teldanari out of Jorafel about 1,400 years ago, perhaps marking a turning point in the albino nation's history.

At some point a couple centuries ago, there was a Teldanari revolution in which the country was faced by foreign armies (likely Tyranori or Tollorian) while simultaneously suffering from a great famine. The royal family, however, appears to have survived and triumphed.

More recently, about 300 years ago, the Arangothians reportedly conquered Bahr. Bahr later won its independence, and has been at peace with Teldanar for a century. The story as it is told that long ago an Orcish king and a Teldanari king made a pact that the Orcs would take the lush valley of Bahr, and the Teldanari would take the Great Desert The basis of this pact was a vision sent by God (Alou) to both parties.

A few years back the Tyranor provinces under General Redsword made a final grab for peninsular domination and were crushed; their lands were divided between the Kingdoms of Teldanar and Tollor.

Roughly three years ago there was also a rebellion in the city of Sydwin, in which the Tyranori population seized power under Lord Galturadornak. No word on what has become of this, although there was some suspicion they would ally themselves with the Bahrian goblinoids.

The Teldanari in the west are an ethnic minority in Aslar, with basically identical physical and cultural characteristics; some of these were probably resettled in Elluria as part of the short-lived Aslarian relocation policy before the Alesians intervened in the Southland War.

Geographical Features

Teldanar is a desert peninsula southeast of Drache, bordered by a mountain range in Southern Aslar to the north, Elluria to the west, and Bahr to the south.

Government and Politics

Argo is the principal political and religious center, but doesn't appear on any known map. Its other cities are Rafthia, deep inland, and Sydwin, on the coast, and it received the erstwhile Tyranori capital city of Yorklawn as part of the spoils of the Tyranori War.

Notable Government Officials

The current Teldanari prince is Elforngoraran; the king's name is unknown.

Military

Teldanari males often join a sort of warrior caste, but little is known about them.

Religion

The Teldanari people worship a principle god known as Alou, also known as the "nameless god" or the "one true god." Various temples of worship are built all over the country, and citizens of both genders conceal their faces from age 12 as a sign of devotion.

Society and Peoples

Teldanar is a desert region inhabited by a race of pink or red-eyed albinos known as the Teldanari. From the age of 12, both sexes conceal their faces behind a laakh, a cloth with holes for the eyes and mouth. This is both protection from the sun and a sign of religious devotion to their principal deity, Alou. They have various temples, including Gar Martel's Temple, a marble altar on a hill overlooking the Bahrian border. Besides the laakh, they wear breezy white clothing from head to toe. Teldenari warriors eat Nokos mushrooms, which allow them to communicate telepathically, quite an advantage during battle. They also have some sort of hieroglyphic writing system.

The number of syllables in a Teldanari name is a sign of status, and it is governed by strict rules. Those who are "nameless" are essentially enslaved and put to work in the mushroom mines. Some male Teldanari names are Akelarteldanarthon = "Akel who is now Teldanari"; Bronothator; Nartulbandepinturfalon; Forngorarantor; Trallabran; Trogaalufellan; Jaturnillonen; Hugojomenofen. A female name is Orshani.

Language

The principle language of Teldanar is the Teldanari dialect; however, little is known about its syntax or its system of hieroglyphics.