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: | Queen Lieshazionne; Prince Elforngoraran is the heir to the throne. |
Teldanar is the name of a country of the Southland Peninsula. Its mostly-albino people are known for their extremely long names; drug-granted telepathic powers; and the custom of keeping all parts of their bodies, including their faces, covered at all times.
Teldanar went to war in alliance with Elluria against its old enemy Tyranor in 997 (467 Arangothian Reckoning), finally defeating Tyranor and annexing most of its territory.
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.
In the year 467, General Redsword of Tyranor staged a military coup and led a war of conquest. He conquered Teldanar and threw Queen Lieshazionne into prison, and then swept into Emil.
RedSword's Dark Army then conquered Bahr, and sent an ultimatum to King Eldryn of Elluria demanding that he surrender or be destroyed. A powerful Tyranori force in the east soon defeated the Emilians, taking the cities of Arausch, Locand, and Marland within a matter of days. The Emilian army scattered and retreated to Lachstan. King Eldryn dispatched troops under Sir Roger Dulrin to Locand to begin the grim task of taking back Emil.
Sir Charles Ruflin took command of a second force to relieve Lachstan, and then marched toward Arausch with a mix of Ellurian and Emilian forces. With victories at Arausch and Pine Marsh, the Ellurians were able to descend on the remaining Tyranori position at Marland. Redsword, outnumbered three to one, retreated back to Tyranor, where his forces were pinned against Akulek Ridge by a combined Ellurian-Teldanari force.
Redsword's troops finally turned against their commander and forced his surrender. He was sentenced to death by the victorious allied forces, and his last words before being hanged were an ominous vow to return.
Tyranor was divided up between the victorious countries and ceased to exist as an independent kingdom. Those rebellous elements of the Tyranori who could not stand the yoke of their conquerors fled, many to goblinoid Bahr. Tyranori lands were divided between the Kingdoms of Teldanar and Elluria.
In Hearthfire of 470, there was a rebellion in the city of Sydwin, brought on by the harsh treatment of the conquered Tyranori people by the Teldanari. The Teldanari imposed high taxes upon the Tyranori and mandated that all subjects of Teldanar wear the laakh. The Tyranori population seized power under Lord Galturadornak, and threatened to ally themselves with Bahr. In the end, the Teldanari were forced to make concessions on the tax rate and wearing of the laakh before the rebellion spread. To date, however, the rebellion failed to effect significant changes on the world map.
The Teldanari in the west are an ethnic minority in Aslar, with basically identical physical and cultural characteristics; some of these were resettled in Elluria (the Etenari) 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 ruler is Queen Lieshazionne. Prince Elforngoraran is the heir to the throne; 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.
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