Fact Box for Malan

Here is the fact box for the the Forest Kingdoms of Malan, a large temperate region in Central Llachatul made up of 11 separate states known as Hendecarchies, each ruled by a monarch or council that together fall under the leadership of the enigmatic Lady Aegis - an otherworlder of great age and influence.

This is one of the oldest regions in Elyden, in that it has existed in my head for the longest, after only Temuja and Korachan, and I've been putting off making the map of it for a few reasons - its pretty big, as you can see from the area in the image above (its just under half the size of Russia!), so it was going to be a pretty time consuming to get done, and there's a lot of lore behind it that was pretty barebones, so was going to take quite a bit of time to get done. Though I think i did ok.

The text from the above images is recreated below with some minor additions. You can also look up the Encyclopaedia Elyden for more information on anything mentioned in the text. There's also a small link to my recent map of Zhariah.

This will be the focus of the next high-res and textless atlas map that will be published next week, exclusively for Acolyte patrons and higher followed by the normal version the week after that.

The Encyclopaedia Elyden is already updated with all the relevant entries related to the region and is history, so you can check it all out there.

Thanks all for your support :)

As always, feel free to point out typos in the comments :)

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MALAN

The third largest nation in Llachatul, dominating the east of sub-continent of Eastern Llachatul, west of the Argent Mountains. It stretches from around 33O north to 56O north and 40O east to 72O east, and encompasses a wide range of climates from warm temperate in the south to cool temperate in the north, with various biomes that are influenced by the Arcane Tempers to make them warmer and wetter than they otherwise would be. This has promoted the spread of near-tropical woodlands in the south, with many varieties of Firmamentally-sensitive trees that are not found elsewhere, such as such as helix trees, neagari(2.), and ranawyrt, amongst others.

Malan is not a single nation, but rather a federation of eleven kingdoms, known as Hendecarchies, or Forest Kingdoms. Each kingdom is allowed to rule autonomously the Hendecarchs are beholden to a supreme leader – the so-called Lady Aegis, an otherworlder of great age, wisdom and power, believed by many to be more potent even than the Archpotentate Malichar himself.

The south easternmost Kingdoms (Atallua and Deraeia) are both rocky and mountainous, for they are largely situated in the western expanse of the Argent Mountains. The former is mostly noted for its many gigantic vines and creepers, and the latter is situated along a warm temperate area that is far warmer than would otherwise be the case at such latitudes, with much of its northern territories dry and hot. A large cracked chasm known as Saranthia dominated the north eastern region of Deraeia and is where noble children go for age trials and war training.

The central kingdoms of Amillaere and Sthaman are also rocky, though are of average far lower elevation and remain covered in various woodlands, with Sthaman in particular noted as a land of rivers.

The south westernmost kingdoms of Lonar and Chloris are characterised by their low elevations, vast woodlands (many of which are old growth), and rivers. They are also the only kingdoms to have coastlines bordering the Dark Sea.

Myein and Aonia are the driest of the kingdoms, with the former being bordered to the west by mountains and having sparse inland woodlands. The latter has the flatter terrain and is the most outgoing of kingdoms, with close relations with Saua and Temuja.

Haton and Nhora have the longest coastlines of Malan and have its strongest naval traditions. Both are rocky, with coastal mountains and clear woodland cover, particularly in the case of Nhora.

The northern kingdom of Cyrenia has sparser woodland, and has the coolest climate. Many notable structures and settlements are constructed over Ley lines and the ruins of ley cairns from the dawn of Malani history pepper its groves.

Malan was founded in 2075 RM following decades of war with the nation of Laram(1.). Both had emerged from the ruins of an ancient late Fourth Age empire known as Nahoria, itself a remnant of an even older late Third Age civilisation known as Seithal, of which little is now known other than it was home to the Ivory Moon worshipping pale-skinned mortal people known as the seithin.

Nahoria collapsed c. -2400 RM, leaving the region populated by a multitude of warring human nations (some people of which bore hints of ancient unions between humans and seithin) and various city-states that rose and fell over the next two millennia. Nahoria was spared of the worst fighting from the War of Scourging, though parts of the Malani forest were burnt down, and the Fading saw various remnant cultures of Nahoria resettling the region in c. -1000 RM.

Invading armies from Saedish (present-day Saua) settled the western-most regions what are now Myein and Lonar), leaving their people culturally and physically linked with those of Saua, though those bonds have diminished today.

This multitude of city-states coalesced into more stable states between c. -750 and -50 RM, at which point the Lady Aegis is first recorded as appearing, settling in the centre of extant Malan, founding the feudal kingdom of Amillaere(3.), whose armies slowly united the region’s disparate people over the next centuries. At the same time the states of Laram(1.) had grown in power in the south, becoming a powerful monarchy, and later an empire.

By c. 150 RM the remnants of Nahoria was divided in two – Amillaere(3.) in the north, ruled by the Lady Aegis and her feudal lords, and the Larami monarchy in the south, whose people were closer culturally to Saedish than Amillaere. The assassination of emperor Ladraolan III in 2021 RM, following decades of economic decline, saw the empire fragment into two main camps – those who sought an alliance with Amillaere(3.), and those who did not want to lose their independence. The first camp brokered an alliance with the Lady Aegis and in 2023 RM her armies marched on the imperialists, leading to seven decades of brutal city fighting that ended finally in 2075 RM with the formation of the Forest Kingdoms of Malan.

Over the next decades, the Lady Aegis restructured the nation into eleven territories, known as Hendecarchies, which are today: Amillaere, Aonia, Atallua, Chloris, Cyrenia, Deraeia, Haton, Lonar, Myein, Nhora, and Sthaman.

Malan is feared and distrusted by people from the more industrialised nations, and is the subject of many erroneous beliefs, the main one being that it is a singular large forest and that its people live symbiotically with it. The truth is more complex. Though the Malani people understand the importance of forests more than other places like Almagest or the Korachani empire, many of its old growth forests have been cut down throughout the Fifth Age, to be replace with inferior planted woodlands, though this differs from region to region, with some places respecting the virginal forests more than others. Its ruler, the Lady Aegis, is regarded with awe by most outsiders, though in truth she is now little more than a figurehead, with the Hendecarchs wielding the true power. Outsiders are largely unaware of this, and instead the image of a fearless competent ruler is deliberately cultured by propaganda.

The passing of the dead is honoured through the tradition of heart veneration as well as the building of ancestral tokens known as Cayiyths: statues erected in the extended family homes in honour of the dead. Hunting is also an honoured tradition and is part of most coming-of-age rituals, and is a pastime followed by most nobility, who maintain hunting lodges.