The Kingdom of Miden

Size

The Kingdom of Miden stretches 1,180 miles north to south and 920 miles west to east, covering 1,085,600 square miles of the Miden Isthmus.

Climate

Miden's climate shifts dramatically from north to south. The Miden Mountains along the northern border hold snow at their higher elevations even as the lowlands stay temperate, and the Miden Highlands south of the range run arid and windswept. At the kingdom's heart, the Drakelowe Desert is hot and bone-dry year-round, broken only by the oases its nomadic tribes rely on to survive. The Crimson Mountains, add their own warmth to the central ranges with active lava flows, though they haven't erupted in recent memory. The southern hold stands in sharp contrast to the rest of the kingdom - humid, fertile, and mild, the conditions that make it Miden's breadbasket.

Government

The Kingdom of Miden is governed by a confederation of Holds, each led by an elected Chief-of-the-Hold. Unlike Auphera, there are no hereditary estates or manors in Miden. Instead, leadership here is earned through election, not passed down by name.

Representatives from each Hold convene in the capital of Midengarde every semester to conduct the kingdom's business. From among the Holds, a High Thane is elected to lead the kingdom as a whole for a term of ten years.

Should the High Thane die or be removed from power before their term ends, an emergency Assembly of the Holds is convened. Rule passes to a council of Chiefs-of-the-Hold while the Assembly debates a successor within one full turning of the seasons. If the vote comes down to a tie, or a margin too close for the Assembly to settle, the matter is decided by Thul Korda (dwarf for Rule of Hammer), a duel of might between the two leading candidates with the winner taking the title.

The southernmost territory holds a different status within the kingdom. Populated primarily by elves, fae folk, and namarans who fled the zealous Theocracy of Caladonia, this region stands as a semi-autonomous protectorate hold. Rather than a single elected Chief, it is led by a jointly-chosen representative who, like the northern Holds, reports to Midengarde each semester. In exchange for the dwarves' protection, the southern hold pays a tribute of foodstuffs - a fitting arrangement, given its role as Miden's breadbasket.

Culture and Language

Miden is largely a dwarven society with a mix of elf, fae, and namara living in the southern fertile Val'Hara plains. For most of Miden the culture is distinctly dwarven and built around dwarven values, with the other races barely making any cultural waves in the south. 

Culture

Miden is a kingdom of many peoples, but its defining character comes from the dwarves who forged it. Theirs is a culture where craftsmanship is character. A well-struck oath and a well-forged blade say more about a person's worth than the family they were born into. Hold-loyalty runs deeper than individual ambition; a dwarf's word given before their Hold-kin is bond enough, sealed as often with a hammer-strike as with ink. Long days in the mountain holds turn into shared evening get-together's that have made storytelling and ale-hall gathering a central pastime. Sagas of past High Thanes, feats of the forge, and the founding of the Isthmus Wall are told and retold as much as history is written down.

The southern hold stands apart, its elven, fae, and namaran roots shaping a culture built around the land rather than the forge - communal, agrarian, and quieter in its reverence, a legacy of a people who fled a theocracy that demanded loud devotion and chose instead a quieter faith under dwarven protection. Despite their differences however, dwarven cultural values run deep and have sunk into even the southern hold, as they too have learned the value of kept promises and times shared. 

Languages

Chalcedonian holds as the language of trade in the Kingdom of Miden as it does all across Chalcephera and perhaps all of Nor'Ova. Despite that, the official state language is the native language of the dwarves - Thuldic. As the state language, it is the language used for all assembly meetings and official kingdom business. It is also the language most in Miden speak, read, and write, with many not knowing any other tongue, even Chalcedonian. When dealing with other countries of course, the diplomats of Miden will use Chalcedonian. 

The Southern Hold has the most language diversity of the kingdom, with the elvish "green word" being spoken by both elves and namarans, and runic being the preferred language of the fae folk. They also have kept themselves educated in Chalcedonian, and by law have learned Thuldic, as Thuldic remains the language of Midengarde's law and trade. 

Regions

The kingdom is divided into five Holds, each governed by an elected Chief-of-the-Hold — with one notable exception.

Milhiem Hold

The northernmost Hold, covering the western and central stretch of the Miden Mountains and the Miden Highlands below them, anchored by the Milhiem Wall at the kingdom's edge. Its ruler is Chief Borgna Frostvein. Its principal city is Kalpur. Other settlements include Yorpora, Norpist, Anthara, and Dor'Ithil.

Ironfist Hold

Covers the southern reach of the Miden Mountains and Highlands along the eastern coast. Its ruler is Chief Dagna Stonewright. Its principal city is Cobblehome. Other settlements include Tulva.

Drakelowe Hold

Encompasses the Drakelowe Desert at the kingdom's heart, along with the mountain settlements of Westara and Drakenhome. Its ruler is Chief Skarde Duneshield. Its principal city is Drakenhome, with Westara as its other settlement. The open desert itself is home to three nomadic tribes — the Letra, the Tor'Tora, and the Porphera — who answer to no city and roam its dunes on their own terms.

Crimson Hold

Covers the Crimson Mountains at the center of the kingdom, home to Midengarde and its ever-burning forges. Its ruler is High Thane Kaldrun Flamewright, the ruler of all Miden. Its principal city, and the capital of the kingdom, is Midengarde. Other settlements include Rojavra, Melock, and Easterhome.

Val'Hara Hold

The fertile southern plains, and the kingdom's breadbasket. A semi-autonomous protectorate unlike the other four, Val'Hara is governed jointly by two co-chosen representatives rather than a single Chief — Elder Thessaly Windrue for the elven community and Fenrick "Fenny" Briarwhistle for the fae folk. The namarans who also call the hold home traditionally abstain from politics. Its principal city is Naksaka. Other settlements include Nijara, Aquapolis, and Miska.

Religion

There is no state religion for the Kingdom of Miden, however there are prohibited beliefs. No citizen or visitor of Miden is allowed to perform any rituals that cause harm to another or to the land. While the kingdom does not outlaw any one religion or belief, it does outlaw actions which force any form of worship to conform to the code of ethics. That being said, most dwaves in Miden are followers of El Anon, or the Great Father, as they are known to call him. Some however do follow Kymara or Norvus, or all three together. The dwarves of Miden deeply respect acts of sacrifice and great craftsmanship. 

In the Val'Hara hold you will also find another temple alongside those three, the Temple of Ova, showing state sanctioned worship of the goddess by the Miden ruling class. It is only in Val'Hara do you find a temple to Ova, and throughout the rest of Miden you will only find temples to El Anon, Norvus, and Kymara. Other gods can, and are, worshipped - especially in Val'Hara. It is simply that they are not government sanctioned to build a temple.