The Shrine of Hamaskis.

The Realm of Lendleland

The Shrine is indeed fortunate to be able to bring our visitors Jared Milne's Cyclopaedia of the Old World. This article covers the nation of Lendleland, whose history is intimately connected with that of nearby nations.

A Dissertation upon Said Realm and the Peoples Thereunto

Many have wondered at this strange land which differs so much from our own fair land of Femphrey. Many people have traveled across the whole of the Old World and given information on its strange lands, each of which differs in some way from the others. With such a contribution to the ongoing efforts of the priesthood of Tyralar, the Lord of Learning, and their kin in Allansia and Khul who seek to discover ever more knowledge about our world and its peoples. Having disposed with the introductions, I will now speak of the subject at hand, which is that of the realm of Lendleland, south of Femphrey. It must be said that most of Lendleland's people are poor, petty and jealous of us Femphreyans.
Sir Jarvis of St. Wymerios University, Crystal City, 293 AC.

Geography

Major cities are Pollua, Puss, Canunie and Rorutuna.

Climate and Weather	Physical Resources	Creatures and Vegitation
	Lendleland is primarily grassland, as "lendle" is an old mountain-man's term for grassy plains. Much of the land is only moderately fertile, and Lendleland's section of the Eelsea offers very little bounty compared to Femphrey. They suffer constant raids from the monster-infested southern plains and mountains, known as the Anvils of the Gods. Mauristatian barbarians frequently attack the people of Puss and Camunie as well.

Inhabitants

As for non-humans in Lendleland, they are not as common as in, say, Analand, Gallantaria or Brice. Dwarfs are infrequent on the wild grassy plains that make up Lendleland, although many of them trade with the Lendlemen from their homes in the Anvils of the Gods. Elves may be found in various points across the nation, and they are more often among the higher classes, and tend to be detested by peasants because of this. The peassants of Lendleland are a repressed lot, and tend to hate anyone better off than they are. Most of them are human, but a couple of Dwarfs also live among them. As well , Orcs, Goblins, Trolls, Red-Eyes, Craggeracks, Kobolds and Gorians can be found in their own isolated settlements around the land, treated badly by humans of all classes.

People and Powers	Occupations and Skills	Trade and Commerce
The very peculiar system of government centers around khans, orkohns, ilkhans, and kha-khans. Each is roughly equivalent to a baron, count, duke and king, with the Kha-Khan sitting upon the Scarlet Throne in Pollua. The three lesser noble titles give successive levels of authority: a khan can rule over a small fiefdom, an orkhan can rule over a larger mini-state, and the four ilkhans can often be found ruling entire citiies or the largest fiefdoms of all. But what of the royal family itself? The Kha-Khan, Adessios Ryogax, is currently 47 years of age. He has ruled for over twenty-five years, successfully repressing most peasant rebellions quite well, and handling relations with the horse nomads in an efficient manner. However, his sour disposition and demand to reacquire the Crown of Kings has not improved his relations with other nations, especially when he attempted by subtle methods to take more of the mining operations in Crystal Lake and extend his borders more into Mauristatia. His constant struggles with the monsters in the Anvils of the Gods are also worth noting. He has 45 sons and 56 daughters from 18 wives, and his elderboy, the 21-year old Mebot, is slated to take the throne upon his father's death. Lendleland's taxes and legal system are much higher and harsher than our own, and it could be for this reason that the nation is in such a slump both socially and economically. We must note that the war with the Three has caused things to become much worse, and scutage fees are becoming noted. Death is the punishment for Banned religious worship, Counterfeiting, Home invasion, Murder and Rape. Public humiliation is inflicted before death in the case of murder or rape. Other physical punishments include loss of a member for Arson, loss of a hand for Burglary or Robbery (plus imprisonment for the latter), public beating for Rioting or (with a fine) for Assault and torture for horse theft (with imprisonment) and Assault of a horse nomad (with a fine). Minor crimes result in 3 days in the stocks, minimum, and include drawing a weapon in a public place, disturbance of the peace, sneaking into a city, unlawful entry into a city, vandalism, public intoxication, slander, etc. Imprisonment for the following terms is the minimum given: Robbery (ten years), Horse theft (twenty years), Kidnapping (hard labor for ten years) and Sedition (hard labor for thirty years). Fines of at least these amounts are also given: Assault (40 stallions), Fraud (100 stallions), Smuggling (800 stallions plus all goods), Tax evasion (all income of the perpetrator).		Gold standard (Stallion) equals 10 silver pieces, or ponies. Exchange rate for other Old World countries is 80%, so for every 10 gold pieces given, eight stallions are given in return. Exchange rates for other continents are 70%. Property taxes: Nine percent for a home and all its belongings, and 10 percent for a business. Income taxes: Twelve percent of all income derived from trade, plunder, etc., payable to the kha-khan. Another four percent goes to the ilkhan of the region. Horse-nomads are exempt from these taxes; adventurers pay thirty percent of all treasure found in Lendleland borders or the Anvils of the Gods. Trading duties: Trading duties of nine percent a year must be paid by all merchants, whether they deal in horseflesh or any other good. Mining fees in Rorutuna are sixty stallions a year, subject to the profiteering of the ilkhan and the yields of the mining guild.

People and Powers

Occupations and Skills

Trade and Commerce

The very peculiar system of government centers around khans, orkohns, ilkhans, and kha-khans. Each is roughly equivalent to a baron, count, duke and king, with the Kha-Khan sitting upon the Scarlet Throne in Pollua. The three lesser noble titles give successive levels of authority: a khan can rule over a small fiefdom, an orkhan can rule over a larger mini-state, and the four ilkhans can often be found ruling entire citiies or the largest fiefdoms of all.

But what of the royal family itself? The Kha-Khan, Adessios Ryogax, is currently 47 years of age. He has ruled for over twenty-five years, successfully repressing most peasant rebellions quite well, and handling relations with the horse nomads in an efficient manner. However, his sour disposition and demand to reacquire the Crown of Kings has not improved his relations with other nations, especially when he attempted by subtle methods to take more of the mining operations in Crystal Lake and extend his borders more into Mauristatia. His constant struggles with the monsters in the Anvils of the Gods are also worth noting. He has 45 sons and 56 daughters from 18 wives, and his elderboy, the 21-year old Mebot, is slated to take the throne upon his father's death.

Lendleland's taxes and legal system are much higher and harsher than our own, and it could be for this reason that the nation is in such a slump both socially and economically. We must note that the war with the Three has caused things to become much worse, and scutage fees are becoming noted.

Death is the punishment for Banned religious worship, Counterfeiting, Home invasion, Murder and Rape. Public humiliation is inflicted before death in the case of murder or rape. Other physical punishments include loss of a member for Arson, loss of a hand for Burglary or Robbery (plus imprisonment for the latter), public beating for Rioting or (with a fine) for Assault and torture for horse theft (with imprisonment) and Assault of a horse nomad (with a fine). Minor crimes result in 3 days in the stocks, minimum, and include drawing a weapon in a public place, disturbance of the peace, sneaking into a city, unlawful entry into a city, vandalism, public intoxication, slander, etc.

Imprisonment for the following terms is the minimum given: Robbery (ten years), Horse theft (twenty years), Kidnapping (hard labor for ten years) and Sedition (hard labor for thirty years). Fines of at least these amounts are also given: Assault (40 stallions), Fraud (100 stallions), Smuggling (800 stallions plus all goods), Tax evasion (all income of the perpetrator).

Gold standard (Stallion) equals 10 silver pieces, or ponies. Exchange rate for other Old World countries is 80%, so for every 10 gold pieces given, eight stallions are given in return. Exchange rates for other continents are 70%.

Property taxes: Nine percent for a home and all its belongings, and 10 percent for a business.

Income taxes: Twelve percent of all income derived from trade, plunder, etc., payable to the kha-khan. Another four percent goes to the ilkhan of the region. Horse-nomads are exempt from these taxes; adventurers pay thirty percent of all treasure found in Lendleland borders or the Anvils of the Gods.

Trading duties: Trading duties of nine percent a year must be paid by all merchants, whether they deal in horseflesh or any other good. Mining fees in Rorutuna are sixty stallions a year, subject to the profiteering of the ilkhan and the yields of the mining guild.

Culture

A rather important caste system governs the land - once you are born into it, your social position is quite often restricted for the rest of your days, unless you are promoted or demoted by higher-ranking members of the society. However, it must be said that this does not happen very often, and the gap between rich and poor is blatantly obvious in Lendleland. As such, often the peasants revile the middle class, who revile the nobles, and so on. Much politicking and intrigue goes on as one tries to promote himself and make his rivals look bad in order to ascend on the social ladder.

Prisoners and slaves are held to be the lowest of the low, followed by peasants, the city-dwelling middle class, the wealthy nobles, and the extended family of the Kha-Khan as the ruling class. Very rigid rules define what size territory a noble can rule, as well as what he must do to ascend into that rank. Peasants, for example, can ascend into the middle class by performing an act of exceptional valor in battle. A middle-class citizen who is a fine horse breeder and increases his fortune to an appropriate level can become a khan, and so forth. Marriage or adoption can be used to increase your position in society, while committing very shameful acts such as murder, horse-theft or rape can cause it to fall.

Interestingly, the horse nomads are considered to be "outside" the social ladder of the realm. Much like "adventurers", who also are considered outsiders, they can travel around the nation and raid at the behest of a nobleman against one of his rivals. They also raid lesser villages and farmsteads as necessary for their own survival, and often are regarded as the first line of defense against Orcs, Goblins, and other evil nonhumans.

The other people exempted from the social class are "adventurers". Foreigners coming into the land are automatically considered such, and are outside the regular social ladder. Most peasants hold them in contempt, because the adventurers are often better off than they themselves are. However, the middle and upper classes often welcome and fete adventurers as guests. Whether they come to trade, seek treasure or are simply travelling, adventurers are always considered either good friends and allies by the wealthy classes, and disdained and disliked by the common folk. However, an adventurer who rises from the common folk is treated as a grand hero by the people. To do this, one must sever all ties with his family and pay a heavy tax to the patron of adventurers the god Kibestos. Lendlemen who do not appease the god will suffer nothing but misery in their new career.

Religion	Fashion	Daily Life
The peasants pray mostly to Sindla, Zaran, Hunnyhna and Fourga. They often curse Libra for not giving her gifts to them. The nobles, on the other hand, pray to Fourga, Telak, Sukh and other powerful, masculine gods. Church tithes: Tithes of ten gold stallions a year, minimum, must be paid to the Swordbearer, Dyshyos or Cheelah, subject to the discretion of the taxpayer. All churches within Lendleland, except the church of Hunnynhaa, must pay eight percent of all earnings a year in temple taxes.		The everyday life of an average peasant can be defiined as waking, praying, eating, going to market, tilling their limited fields, and returning to sleep. Very little else occurs in most of their lives, except when they are drafted for military service or into the ranks of horse-nomads. The middle class can run over them with impunity, and the upper class can treat them like slaves. Scarlet Wine is pressed mostly in Lendleland, named for a noted Kha-Khan who created the drink and named it after his office, the Scarlet Throne. It has a very rich, honeyed taste to it, with a grainy aftertaste, being pressed from grapes grown on vineyards in Lendle territory in Mauristatia. It costs eight ponies a glass. The Horse's March is a stout produced in Pollua and Rorutuna, in Lendleland. Said to have been first concocted by horse-nomads after the creation of the Khanate of Lendleland, this strong stout is beloved by trolls and other chaotics, as well as the horse-nomads and nobility of Lendleland. For peasants, drinking this concoction is an offense punishable by death. It costs eight ponies a glass. The Old World also has many other Famous Drinks and Spirits.

Religion

Fashion

Daily Life

The peasants pray mostly to Sindla, Zaran, Hunnyhna and Fourga. They often curse Libra for not giving her gifts to them. The nobles, on the other hand, pray to Fourga, Telak, Sukh and other powerful, masculine gods. Church tithes: Tithes of ten gold stallions a year, minimum, must be paid to the Swordbearer, Dyshyos or Cheelah, subject to the discretion of the taxpayer. All churches within Lendleland, except the church of Hunnynhaa, must pay eight percent of all earnings a year in temple taxes.

The everyday life of an average peasant can be defiined as waking, praying, eating, going to market, tilling their limited fields, and returning to sleep. Very little else occurs in most of their lives, except when they are drafted for military service or into the ranks of horse-nomads. The middle class can run over them with impunity, and the upper class can treat them like slaves.

Scarlet Wine is pressed mostly in Lendleland, named for a noted Kha-Khan who created the drink and named it after his office, the Scarlet Throne. It has a very rich, honeyed taste to it, with a grainy aftertaste, being pressed from grapes grown on vineyards in Lendle territory in Mauristatia. It costs eight ponies a glass.
The Horse's March is a stout produced in Pollua and Rorutuna, in Lendleland. Said to have been first concocted by horse-nomads after the creation of the Khanate of Lendleland, this strong stout is beloved by trolls and other chaotics, as well as the horse-nomads and nobility of Lendleland. For peasants, drinking this concoction is an offense punishable by death. It costs eight ponies a glass.
The Old World also has many other Famous Drinks and Spirits.

Recent rumours:

In Lendleland, war has already begun across the southlands from chaotics invading from the Anvils of the Gods. They are said to be commanded by three towering ogres clad in costumes bearing evil scenes and frightening war paint. Whether these are The Three, I have no idea. But now horse nomads, peasant levies and the forces of the various khans are marshalling to stop the invading tide of chaotics, who are commanded with frightening efficiency. However, political rot has already begun to ferment in the Plains Khanate - many scheming children seek to take the Scarlet Throne from their father, and infighting among many of the nobles is causing great civil unrest in the capital. Peasants fume at repressive conditions while being drafted into the army, and it seems to be turning into a great powder keg waiting to explode. Adventurers could aid either the mysterious Three or any of the noble factions in Lendleland, and be richly rewarded by their patrons if they become the victors.

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