Tarantis (Nation)

"The harvest this year was good, and I understand a traveling troupe should be coming through the next fortnight on the Duke's wishes. The Church may be sponsoring a blacksmithing contest as well! We are blessed!" -- Peter Bluth, Meadowbriar

"Let the night constable know that another one of Professor Sheldon's 'toys' is on the loose. And once you let him know, fetch the fire brigade as well? This one is another torcher." -- Night Watch, City of Siren's Cove

The Nation of Tarantis

Tarantis is a nation of devout worship and noble ancestry. Throughout the Nation, the Church of Adonai is present to provide spiritual guidance to the people, where minor nobles work to keep the day to day life consistent and full of meaning. A nation of Dukedoms, Dutchies, and hamlets, most of the Nation is an agrarian life of farming and worship. Individual towns are run by a Noble, who ensures that the town will have enough to eat and the materials to engage in support crafts like blacksmithing. Larger cities are often run by a Noble that has earned some favor to enjoy their position, where much of the craftsman make their home. Most important about the larger towns is the slow growth of steam-based technology. Traders move the farm goods to these cities and bring back equipment and trinkets to allow life to move on.

The center of Tarantis, the Joshuite Faith, is present throughout the land. Their wandering priests work as Magistrates to help take care of criminals who are beyond a Noble\'s position to judge, and they also act as talent scouts for the nation, ensuring the best and brightest move to the correct station to put forth the will of Adonai.

Siren's Cove, the Capital City of Tarantis, stands at odds with the rest of it; a bustling middle and upper class city where the best and brightest push forward the boundaries of magic and science with church and noble backing. The jewel of the Tarantis Crown and seat of it's King embraces logical thought, even to the point of having trials without the oversight of the Church.

Geography and Climate

File:Kithkanaan bigcropTaran.jpg

Tarantis is a nation nestled in the northern areas of Kith Kanaan, bordered to the south by Drachen. Three of it's four sides are surrounded by ocean, with Siren's Cove being a natural bay to the east and the Aregon bay across the mountains to the northwest. Directly north of Siren's Cove is the Exta Sea.

The majority of Tarantis is covered in wooded grasslands starting from the south. In the North and Northwest of Tarantis, guarding it's fertile lands is a mountain range known as the Teeth of Vindiction - which provides only a single pass to connect the majority of Tarantis to the Capital of Siren's Cove. In the eastern part of Tarantis, near the city of Klaven, is another natural bay and the only unguarded way into the heart of the country that is not protected by mountainside or Drachen; it is however nearly impossible to get there without first passing the ports of Siren's Cove, making it a formidable and defensible Nation.

Because of it's more northerly clime, once past the Northern Mountains the temperature drops and the winters become harsher. While they do not have to worry about being iced in, those that live in the northern part of Tarantis are no stranger to snow and frigid temperature. An excellent Real Life analogue is the Netherlands.

Demographics

The majority of Tarantis is simple god-fearing mortals of a variety of shapes. Most tend towards wolves and other canines until you reach the larger cities, where things are decidedly more varied.

When it comes to the more supernatural bloodlines, they include Angels, Griffins, Phoenix, and Unicorns. Other bloodlines can be found within Siren's Cove, but they are never native.

Government and Politics

Tarantis is a kingdom, ruled by King. The crown is responsible for the direction of the country and oversees most events which concern the nation as a whole. beneath the royal family are the nobility, many of which are members of the Guilds. The Guild is concerned with the day to day tasks of the nation. The Church of Adonai is responsible for law enforcement within Tarantis, and oversees the rule of law and the justice system. Both the Arin and Joshuite faith have representatives within the royal court, acting as spiritual advisors to the king and queen. The royal family have the protection of both the Arin faith and the Joshuite faith.

The King is ratified by the Church when accepted, and once so ratified, can only be deposed by the Church of Adonai. Should the King fall, a new King must be ratified to take their place until their time on the mortal coil runs out. The current King of Tarantis, Jason, was appointed outside of the Church of Adonai in Siren's Cove, a point which causes some friction in the Nation.

Order and Religion

Political Orders:

The Witch Hunters: The Witch Hunters are the non-secular guardians of the Tarantis Border, and charged to seek out and destroy users of profane magic and the terrifying creatures from the Northern Wilds. They are trained experts in the use of Firearms, having earned a mastery of it that few others can.

The Kithain: The Kithain are an Exclusive Order local to Tarantis. While very few people know what they are capable of, they are rumored in hush tones to be psychics of great and frightful power. Thankfully, they are also somewhat of an unbelievable legend.

Religious Orders:

• The Clerics of the Host: A meta-order that contains with it followers of each of the Angelic Hosts of the Church of Adonai. Most famous of these are those that are Clerics of Uriel, as they are the wandering magistrates most often seen within Tarantis.

• The Sacred Knights of the Order:

Primary Religion:

• The Joshuite Faith

Other Religions and Orders:

• The Guild of Midnight Mages
• The Arin Pantheon

Military

Tarantis has a standing army of soldiers that is at the call of the King, including Calvary, Archers, and Pikemen. Should war ever break out, each noble is of at least Knight strength, and can lend their sword skills and their men at arms to the task at hand. Those that are in the regular army are paid from the Empire's coffers a wage to be able to take care of themselves and their family - serving directly for Tarantis in this way is a position worthy of fighting for.

Elite Soldiers, the Witch Hunters, are entrusted with the most advanced portable weapons in the nation

With so much of Tarantis bordered by water, it keeps a reasonably sized Navy to patrol the Siren's Cove bay, although they often times do not go into the Exta Sea without reason. The Tarantis Navy has been spotted out as far as the Aregon Bay, but rarely do they ever go into the cove that protects the Drachen city of Threshold.

Tarantis' main military might however comes from Siren's Cove and the University within. All manners of strange technology and magic are developed here, and anything that has direct usefulness on the battlefield can be called to the front for immediate field testing.

Economy

Much of the Tarantis economy is based on the farming and craft fields. The arable land is turned to food by equipment and hard work, which is then traded for coin at the larger cities to be exchanged for newer equipment or trinkets of trade. Oftentimes a farmer will buy one or more of the "Testing Kits" developed by the Church of Adonai to see if they have the aptitude to be chosen for a different place in life.

Craftsmen take designs and ideas from the University in Siren's Cove and construct and repair things to make the farming life easier.

Tarantis does little trading with the outside except with Drachen and R\'Tal. While Tarantis and Drachen border each other, most trade is done over sea lanes from Siren's Cove to Threshold. Likewise, trade with R'Tal is either by ship around the outside of Kith Kanaan, or by Airship over Exta Port and around Springdale.

The most visible city of Tarantis is almost wholly coin-based, getting much of it\'s bare essentials from elsewhere in the Nation.

Magic and Technology

While the majority of Tarantis is firmly in the medieval age, it is again the outlier city of Siren's Cove that tips the scales. While magic is a temperamental art and those that can wield it are few, those with the ability to create mechanisms has seen them send battle suits into combat, and the creation of steam-powered airships that float through the sky. Where technical mastery is concerned, Siren\'s Cove is the bar.

The favored magical Path of Tarantis is The Path of the Artificer.

Official Languages

Arin, Trade