TOLG

Althum

Polytheistic society whose chief deity is The Make-Way-Man, most accepting of others with decent to good relations with all settlements, the only city-state with an active navy, led by democracy

To the west Althum is plains and savannas, with a cut into Jaeter Grove, Althum has strong established borders with Il-Oovi and Cradle. To the west, Althum becomes a vast coast known for beautiful beaches. The Make-Way-Shores act as a safe caravan trail for the refugees of Il-Oovi heading to Althum. There are vague borders between Althum and Essilada as neither nation ventures too far to the southwest, and the navy of Althum patrols Windswindler's Strait which acts as the true border between them and Essilada.

A coastal polytheistic democratic society that attempts to take all comers.

The pantheon is headed by The Make-Way-Man, a god of war, will, and ambition. Althum’s denizens interpret him in many different ways, but all agree that self-improvement is a mainstay of his archetype and he blesses those that strive for it. Beneath him are six other gods as follows: the Groundtender, matron of the earth and growth and lover of life. The Windswindler, freer of souls who takes the souls of the dead to fly with him above the Windswindler’s Strait. The Wordbearer, keeper of lore who commands all written works and is in charge of order and history. The Arcanist, diviner of magicks who gives knowledge of the arcane arts to their followers. The Tomfool is the patron of luck and chance and change who is said to always be there when he’s needed most. Finally, the Corpseswallow, who eats the bodies of the dead as they are cast out into the Windswindler’s bay and lives at the bottom of it, it is not necessarily worshipped, but it revered out of fear and respect.

The hills and forests of Cradle give way to plains and savannas which mark the western end of Althum that becomes scenic eastern coasts and beaches. Because of their good relations, Althum doesn’t exert as much strength at their borders and instead have built up an impressive navy, having had people join all the way from Cim-Khetar. The navy mostly stays garrisoned along the Make-Way-Shore, but ships are required to make a scouting trip around Tolg every few years. Additionally, the navy serves as the main point of contact between Essilada and the rest of Tolg, aside from occasional ships to Il-Oovi. The Make-Way-Shore is potentially the safest path in all of Tolg, as many caravans come and go along it from Il-Oovi and ships regularly patrol it.

The democratic voting process for Althum’s president is relatively simple, consisting of a 5-day ritual. The first day sees the candidates giving their testimonies on what changes they will bring in their attempts to persuade the public. The second through fourth day sees the citizens standing around their chosen candidate as the one with the lowest number of voters is dropped from the ritual, until finally there are only three remain. On the fifth day, they each give their testimonies one more time before the public must once again choose one to stand around, and whoever has the largest crowd wins. Additionally, on the fifth day- coined “election day”- one of the previous runners may challenge one of the final candidates to a duel to the death, with the winner taking their spot in the final vote. However this is seen as barbaric and it rarely comes up. This democracy has led to Don Crompit winning the election for 7 years in a row, with a growing sentiment of unrest beneath the surface as he seems to be favoring trade more than the town.

The president of Althum does not have total control, as each of his decisions must go through the Grand Jury, who are born into their roles, and they must have at least eight out of ten members in agreement for a ruling to pass. The ten chairmen of the Grand Jury are Ezio, Conan, Cirob, Lurerak, Enshin, Emrybor, Jeroh, Wallamir, Thalnus, and Sullustius.

The city of Althum lies on the coast, in an area deemed to be the most beautiful in all of Tolg. The main city is fashioned atop a boardwalk created by boardwizards in an age past with eboned wood from Jaeter Grove, they have withstood the test of time with barely even a creak in them. The buildings themselves are formed of coquina, reinforced with clay and wood. The city is wide with many spaces of open air and fountains and parks. The democracy has wallwizards hired just to make sure waves don't crash down upon the city itself. Closest to the shore and visible from all parts of the city is the Capitol, where the president lives. The grand coquina castle takes up almost a quarter of the boardwalk and houses a huge number of citizens, it even has a shelter for the homeless. From there live the nobles who have not a want in the world, hiring fishermen to catch their food and being the money behind the markets that sell what they do not take. Further out are the open markets and traditional coquina homes of those who can afford their own filling out the boardwalk. There is a lower level to the city, the sandwellers, who live in wooden and hardened clay shacks.

Population:

Humans are the main race in Althum, but you can find all sorts of people there. Beastfolk are less represented, and mostly are sandwellers, but they do exist in the city and have been known to have settlements in the area. Althum is also where the lesser-seen elves of Essilada have been known to be found, such as dark and nasal elves.

Military:

The Althumn military is on the weaker side, as its focus is more on their navy and peacekeeping. However, it is said that they have marginal elven training allowing them to expertly wield longbows and scimitars.

Values:

Trade. Presentation. Reason. Relationships. Self-improvement. Those who commit to the betterment of themselves, and thus those around them, are most deserving of the Make-Way.

Relations to other major settlements:

Althum and Cradle have had a trade agreement for many years and have never had any trouble with their established borders.

Althum and Il-Oovi have a relatively new officiated trade agreement, but there has been trade for many years. Althum also ferries refugees from the war. Relations have soured a little bit due to Althum denying a military agreement which resulted in a peace treaty that favored Cradle over Il-Oovi.

Althums navy is the first to have spotted the dark miasma gathering throughout the western country of Cim-Khetar. They were civil, allowing passage as Althum’s scout ships traveled Tolg, but all of Cim-Khetars ships have been found wrecked in the Sea of Broken Bows.

Most of Althum’s interaction with Brekkon has been through their pirates, so there isn’t any good blood between the two city-states, but Althum’s ships never fire first so they have saved and supported cooperating vessels from Brekkon.

Once under a trade agreement, ever since Biis rose from the ground all trade ceased. Ships have attempted to enter the Break-Biis Bay and have been fired upon. Currently Althum is biding it’s time and not entering Biis waters, which has made circumnavigation difficult.

Althum is the only city to consistently trade with Essilada, and even entertains guests from there. Althum is as close as many people get to ever seeing Essilada, and Althum’s navy is how the rest of Tolg knows that the city of Essilada seems to move around its domain.