Ten Nations Netbook

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C O N T E N T SIntroduction...........................................................................4

EDITORIAL.............................................................4

Backgrounds..........................................................................5

Choosing a Background...........................................5

Human Characteristics.............................................5Languages.........................................................................5

Backgrounds Tables.................................................5

Aelgari.......................................................................6

Almoren.....................................................................7

Aramaelle..................................................................7

Aridhol.......................................................................7

Coremanda................................................................7

Eharon.......................................................................7

Essenia......................................................................7

Jaramide....................................................................7

Manetheren...............................................................7

Safer...........................................................................9

Tar Valon...................................................................9

Ogier..........................................................................9

Background Feats.....................................................9

The Ten Nations.................................................................10

Playing during the Trollocs Wars...........................10

History of the Ten Nations.....................................10

Aelgar.......................................................................10Government..................................................................10Great Cities....................................................................11Minor Cities...................................................................11

Coremanda...............................................................11Government..................................................................11Great Cities....................................................................11Contracts & Trade........................................................12

Manetheren..............................................................12Government..................................................................12Great Cities....................................................................12Minor Cities...................................................................12

Safer.........................................................................12

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Introduction

E D I T O R I A L[Add nice speech by Llewin]

Backgrounds

C H O O S I N G A B A C K G R O U N D

[Summary of all backgrounds]

H U M A N C H A R A C T E R I S T I C SAll the rules are the same as in the rulebook, except for the following points.

LA N G U A G E S

Language choice + Old Tongue problem

B A C K G R O U N D S T A B L E SBackground Background Feats Background Skills Home Language Bonus Language

ChoicesEquipment

Aelgar Artist Craft(any one) ? ? ?

Living History Sense Motive

Mercantile Background Appraise

Silver Palm Diplomacy

A E L G A R IClosest of all nations to the Sea Folk islands, Aelgar is the central point of Sea Folk trade. Claiming to descend directly from Age of Legends rulers, Aelgari have pecu-liar rules, laws and customs, but remain tolerant and re-spectful of strangers.

Personality: The very essence of an Aelgari is his love of Freedom. Their most basic concept is the free-dom to live, trade, and travel as they want. Their laws protect them against intrusion into their privacy, and they have a hard time understanding that it may be oth-erwise in other nations.

The elite of the kingdom have a reputation as great collectors of the marvels of the Age of Legends, and have built wonderful museums to store and show these artifacts. They pride themselves in being those with the closest lifestyle and government to the peace and pros-perity of the Age of Legends. Established, according to legend, by the elite leadership of the Age of Legends, one of the core values the nation of Aelgar claims to hold true to from the Age of Legends is a profound re-spect of the law. Laws protecting the freedom of the Elite are the oldest recorded records of the kingdom of Aelgar. These laws grew over time in to a strict and overwhelmingly detailed book of laws which were origi-nally intended to ensure that their liberties were respect-ed. Most of these laws now protect the common man as well, though not to the degree that they protect the po-litical and financial elite. That said, the Aelgari will not hesitate to break foreign laws if they consider them a threat their personal liberty. This has caused problems many times in their dealings with foreigners, leading some to think Aelgari are not to be trusted.

Aelgari are a strong willed and versatile people, who enjoy the pleasures of life as they come. Privacy is some-thing very important to them, and they consider that a person would not involve himself with another, unless it affected him. This tends to create a very inward looking nation, which is slow to recognize dangers which are not immediately threatening. Aelgar is one of the nations with the least differences between commoner and noble. Nobles know their duty is to serve commoner and do so with great application and open-mindedness, while com-moners respect the nobles’ dedication to their task.

Aelgari enjoy sumptuous public baths, sporting and Daemar’dai events in which men are pitted against each other, animals, or creatures of the Dark One for sport in a great arena. They are an extremely superstitious peo-ple, as a whole, which explains some of their strange customs. One example is that men and women must veil their faces for any monetary transaction to protect the buyer and seller from what are called “curses of the eyes” while haggling. Another is that an Aelgari will not enter the home of another without pronouncing the “Blessings of the Light” upon all who reside within. They believe that without such blessing they will bring curses upon their own home.

Physical description: Aelgari are of an average height, with a darker skin tone ranging from coppery-

colored shade to a pale tan. Most have dark hair, brown and black with a range of eye colors. Men usually wear their hair short with a variety of facial hair styles being very popular. Noble and commoners alike wear ample robes. The wealthier the man, the more elaborate his clothes (and their embroidery), and the finer the material they are made from. Aelgari women wear dresses cinched with elaborate cording, which are slit up the side of the leg to allow ease of movement and show quite a bit more leg than people from many nations would be comfortable with. Many of these dresses are sleeveless and are often worn with robes similar to those worn by men, though of lighter fabric with much more embroidery. Nobles wear silk dresses, while most com-moners only have wool or linen ones.

Relations: Relations are tense with expansionist Safer. Aelgari closely guard their northern border against Saferi raids, and have a secret agreement with Manetheren to mutually help each other against Saferi raids near their common borders. Relations with Eharon are also a bit tense due to the strong commercial rivalry between the two. To safeguard their advantage, Aelgari heavily tax goods coming from Eharon. This causes stirs with Manetheren, which suffers from the high prices, only partially balanced by their mutual defense agree-ment. This common rivalry with Eharon has led Aelgar to maintain good relations with Essenia: the two nations have signed a secret commercial agreement that allows them to trade one another’s goods at a better price than Eharon’s, allowing Aelgar to secure Sharan goods for trading with its neighbors. As a trading nation, Aelgar has quite good relations with all other nations.

Lands: Located in the Southwest corner of the Westlands. It is bordered by the Aryth Ocean to the West and along most of the Eastern portion of the country, the Mountains of Mist. It contains tributaries of both the Akuum and the Arinell rivers. The land tends to be flat except for along the coast in the Shadow Hills and the mountains to the east, with only the occasional low hills and spotty forests of mostly oak and other hardwoods. The climate across the nations is mild and quite pleasant, becoming humid and hot to the south. Aelgar is a land rich in resources, with gem mines in the mountains to the east, great herds of sheep and cattle through out the plains and a strong tradition of crafts-manship. Crops grown include a great many orchards and melon plantations, wheat fields and the many prod-ucts of the sea. The typical Aelgari meal is filled with va-riety of dishes, their foods tend to combine sweet and savory and spicy in complicated sauces.

Language: Although the Old Tongue is becoming less and less used as time passes, most Aelgari pride themselves to still know how to speak correctly and use of the so called “Vulgar tongue” is uncommon except among the poorest and most course citizens of the king-dom.

Adventurers: The Aelgari love of freedom often leads many to seek the road, whether as traders or ad-venturers seeking their fortune. Merchant Wanderers, quick and deadly Armsmen and powerful channelers all could come from Aelgar.

A L M O R E NPersonality:

Physical description: Relations: Lands: Language: Adventurers:

A R A M A E L L EPersonality:

Physical description: Relations: Lands: Language: Adventurers:

A R I D H O LPersonality:

Physical description: Relations: Lands: Language: Adventurers:

C O R E M A N D APersonality: they are quite showy about their wealth. I think this attitude would be the same for commoners, who would try to show off the more they can, even if they are not very rich.

Physical description: they will most likely look like your average Midlander, light skinned to very lightly tanned skin, hair ranging from darkest brown to golden blonde to bright red, round eyed, mostly brown eyes, some hazel, few blue or green... women wear their hair in many ways but always with gems (or colored glass) worked throughout their hair on long, fine, gold or sil-ver (or cheaper pot metal) chains... Men wear long mus-taches which curl extravagantly and are also known to place gems throughout their facial hair, though not their headhair...

We keep the idea of men wearing short hair, parted in the center and extremely large curled mustaches, of-ten studded with gem stones or colored glass... we keep the women with hair worn many different ways, typical-ly long, but always studded with gem stones or colored glass... and for clothing they wear something similar to that worn in Manetheren but much more voluminously cut so that it has lots of folds or pleats from its drape, and typically they wear a long, floor length, open vest on top of their clothes, this vest is always elaborately em-broidered, and the wealthy have it embroidered in threads of precious metals and perhaps also studded with gems or somesuch nonesense...

We will need to remember to include this 'sash' con-

cept (perhaps as an indicator or rank or guild affiliation?) and coats and lace... In keeping with the 'classical' and early medieval theme I have been using I dont think I would like to make the coat a rennaissance style garment though even though this description makes me think of 1600 and 1700s French nobility

Appearance is still to be discussed but will include the following:

• Men wear their hair short and parted in the middle. Men also have extremely long, elabo-rately curved mustaches which they are known to thread gemstones in to.

• Women wear their hair in many fashions, though typically keep it long and are also known to weave finely wrought chains of pre-cious metal and gemstones throughout their hair

• The nobility (perhaps both high and low no-bles) denote something of importance (rank? mercantile guild affiliation?) by wearing a sash of some kind

• Lace is popular among both men and women's clothing.

• Elaborate embroidery is popular among both men and women's clothing

There does need to be class distinction... the Mer-chant class, the highest levels of which would be power-ful nobles... the Keeper class (as in shop keeper) these would belong to their own guild and could sell any product at the final stage of sale, to the end user, never in large quantity... and I suppose a working class...who I dont imagine would be thought very highly of...

Relations: The rest of the world is a mean to get more money. They would have good relations with nearly every other country, with periodic crisis when Coremanda wins a deal with the Sea Folks over Eharon, Aelgar or Essenia.

Sea Folk: very good relations; they have “a mile of land”. [see Coremanda section below for more details]

Lands: Language: Adventurers:

E H A R O NPersonality:

Physical description: Relations: Lands: Language: Adventurers:

E S S E N I APersonality:

Physical description: Relations: Lands: Language: Adventurers:

J A R A M I D EPersonality:

Physical description: Relations: Lands: Language: Adventurers:

M A N E T H E R E N[Note: all blue text is to be transferred to the Ten Nations chapter]

Known through out the Ten Nations for their unbend-able honor, the people of Manetheren live and breath the code of life their nation is built upon. They are the only nation to require their ruler to be Aes Sedai, which leads to strong ties to Tar Valon. The laws and tradi-tions of Manetheren are built on a code they call Chival-ry.

Personality: The core of all Manetherens is their code of Chivalry. This code of laws and traditions influ-ences every act, thought, and decision of each man and woman of the Kingdom of the Mountain Home. Just as the Queen and ruler of Manetheren is always Aes Sedai and a native of their land, her Warder is always the na-tion’s King and Marshall General of the army. With the help of the First Lords and First Ladies the Queen and her King rule their nation with an even hand, holding the nobility to their Chivalric code to an even greater de-gree than the common folk. Written on the granite cliffs standing at the gates to Manetheren stand the code by which all nobility is expected to live.

• Thou shalt never lie, and shall remain faithful to thy pledged word.

• Thou shalt be generous, and give of your wealth to everyone.

• Thou shalt respect all weaknesses, and shalt con-stitute thyself the defender of them.

• Thou shalt love the country in which thou wast born.

• Thou shalt not recoil before thine enemy.• Thou shalt make war against the Shadow with-

out cessation, and without mercy.• Thou shalt perform scrupulously thy duties of

fealty.• Thou shalt be everywhere and always the cham-

pion of the Right and the Good against Injustice and Evil.

• Thou shalt never kill an unarmed foe in battle apart from a creature of the Shadow.

• Thou shalt never use a weapon on an opponent not equal to the attack.

• Thou shalt never attack from behind.• Thou shalt never abandon a friend, ally, or noble

cause.“Firsts” are chosen from among the pool of nobles

by the royal family to stand highest among their peers. The Queen and her King designate their “Firsts” from among the general nobility, taking in to consideration a varied list of attributes such as prowess in battle, degree of wealth or land ownership, and degree of Chivalry in daily life. The number of “First Lords” or “First Ladies” can vary. And right to the title of “First” can be taken away if the lord or lady holding it acts in a dishonorable fashion. Most native Manetheren Aes Sedai are First Ladies of their nation, if only in name. Members of the nobility, the King included, swear fealty to their Queen. Typically the “Firsts” of Manetheren have lesser lords and ladies who have sworn fealty to them as well and many lesser lords and ladies may have armsmen, mer-chants, and craftsmen who have sworn to them. This structure of leadership allows for protections to be giv-en to the weaker citizens of the kingdom while also al-lowing that should the need become necessary those who have “sworn” to another can be called upon to de-fend their Liege. To break an oath of fealty is punishable by a trip to the headsman upon immediate capture. To a Manetheren breaking an oath of fealty is an abhorrent thought and such an act would spread throughout the kingdom like wildfire, were it to occur. Along with these strong ties among the leadership comes a strong tradi-tion of responsibility for those placed ‘in your charge’.

Every man would lay down his life to protect the wellbeing and reputation of any woman, no matter his personal opinion of that woman. By the same token, any man or woman would lay down their lives to protect their liege lord or lady whether that be protecting the health and wellbeing of their lord or lady or simply the honor of their liege. Both men and women are touchy about attacks against their honor and are known to de-mand satisfaction through formal duels. These duels could be as simple as fighting with fists or as serious as swords to the death, but are always governed by their chivalric law “Thou shalt never use a weapon on an op-ponent not equal to the attack.”

Every man and woman of Manetheren is considered a free citizen who owns the land they work and live on. However, the center of each city, town, village, or ham-let holds a central gathering place for the sale of all products. The nobility owns all commerce centers. This method ensures that a man can own his own lands or business, while allowing the kingdom to collect taxes on sold goods without infringing on the personal freedoms of individual landholders. To buy or sell an item outside of a commerce center is a crime as it is an avoidance of taxes.

Physical description: Manetherens tend to be above average in height and though not dark skinned in general they would not be considered “fair” either. The men of Manetheren tend to wear their heads shaved to the scalp and their beards long and braided in to two or more distinct points, which are typically kept standing out from their face through the use of various waxes.

Women wear their hair lose and long for the most part. Both men and women tend to have dark brown or black hair though occasionally light brown or dark red has been known to appear. Most people of Manetheren have dark eyes as well though to the north east there are communities where light colored eyes and hair are fairly common. The dress of Manetherens tends to be built for utility, men wear loose fitting tunics which tend to fall anywhere between hips and shins, beneath their tu-nic is sometimes worn another tunic layer, either to show wealth or to keep warm, and a pair of pants which are neither loose fitting, nor tight. A typical Manetheren will wear boots that rise to their knees as well. Women dress similarly to men though their tunics invariably fall to shin or lower and are closer fitting, sometimes very form-fitting indeed. Men and women show status and wealth through layers of expensive fabric and degree of fine embroidery. A typical shop owners dress may have an embroidered hem and neckline while a First Lord may have elaborate mazes embroidered on his tunic in thread of gold, bronze, and silver.

Relations: With a queen who spends much of her early years learning at the White Tower and remaining Aes Sedai for all of the hundreds of years of her life, Manetheren’s strongest relationship is with the city-state of Tar Valon. The nation also has a strong alliance with the borderland nations of Jaramide and Aramaelle be-cause of their Chivalric code to fight the Dark One. There is always one legion of Manetherens posted along the Blight border of both nations to fight alongside their borderland allies. Relations with Aelgar have been strained at times due to a precarious balance held to-gether by a mutual defense agreement against their com-mon antagonist, Safer. This balance is sometimes tipped to the negative by excessive taxes applied by the nation of Aelgar on imports from the Seafolk Islands and the southerly kingdom of Eharon. Aridhol has kept strong trade relations with Manetheren, as has Coremanda. Re-lations with the rest of the Ten Nations are moderate.

Lands: Located in the center of the Westlands and bordered by the Mountains of Mist to the west, Manetheren is a land of forests and fields, rivers and mountains, swampy terrain and grassy plains. Despite the variety of their kingdoms landscape the people of Manetheren truly consider themselves the people of the mountain homeland of their capitol. One of the chief exports of this wealthy nation is Tabac from the many fields throughout the land, renowned as the best tabac in the Westlands. Manetheren is also known for their exportation of Copper, Iron, Marble, and Redstone from the Mountains of Mist and Garen’s Wall. The Roy-al Palace in the capitol of Manetheren is called the “Palace of the Eagle”. An elaborate complex of build-ings, built by Ogier given a free hand, the Royal Palace is truly a sight to behold. When approached from the Great Stair leading up to its entry gates from the main city the palace gives the impression of a giant bird of prey stretching beak and talons to snap up any who would pass within its reach. Even more amazing, when viewed from the Rampart, a small keep 200 feet above the city, and established as a last defense in times of war,

the Palace of the Eagle gives the impression of an entire Aerie of Eagles circling a great stone nest. At any given month of the year approximately half of the Firsts of Manetheren can be found in residence at the royal palace or in the city itself, while the rest are typically found at estates in the country or near cities under their protection. Lesser lords and ladies tend to mostly stay on their lands unless they are accompanying one of their Liege lords to the city or live within less than a 1-week ride. The city of Manetheren has a great library in the royal palace as does the city of *******. There are num-ber of moderate Schools throughout the nation, most established to study one topic such as the Art of War, the Fine Arts, Philosophical Thought, or Engineering.

Language: The nobility of Manetheren tend to speak the language of their forefathers without excep-tion, though with a drawn-out accent which is hard for some other nations to understand. The commoners, on the other-hand, tend to use what is called the “Vulgar Tongue” among themselves and something close to the venerated language of their betters when speaking with a person of wealth or nobility.

Adventurers: Manetherens adherence to their values of Chivalry have been known to send men and women out in to the far reaches of the Westlands in search of glory, love, a cause to defend, or a more tangible enemy to assail in the Blight. Manetheren sends many mer-chants out in to the world, though many men and wom-en simply set out on a journey to find their own stories of glory. Adventure seeking Wanderers, Chivalric Arms-men and powerful channelers all could come from Manetheren.

S A F E R

Personality: Saferi have a fierce sense of pride in their nation, their people, and above all for their battle prowess. Though they do not typically pick a fight it is nearly unheard of for a Saferi to step down from a fight. Though it is difficult to truly insult a Saferi, once insult is taken to heart a man or woman from Safer will seek a level of vengeance most people of the Ten Nations find extreme.

For all Saferi, to die in battle is the ultimate achieve-ment. They have the largest standing military below the borderlands and some say the best trained throughout the Ten Nations. All men and women join their military force for three years, starting at the age of sixteen. At the end of this time those who survive are tested and some are offered a position as “Honor Warriors” the troops of the standing, permanent military power in the kingdom. Those not offered this position are allowed to return home but must serve for 1 day each month until old age and citizens tend to await eagerly the opportuni-ty to serve again as warriors.

Much as the Saferi hold strong to their sense of na-tional pride, a man or woman will also hold strong to a sense of pride in the form of a perfectly proportioned body. Most large towns and all cities have one or more

Gymnasium filled with various pursuits of physical prowess such as racing tracks, pools for swimming, wrestling circles, and areas set aside for lifting large, pre-cisely forged blocks of steel to gain greater strength. The thought of a body out of its physical peak disgusts most Saferi and those who can not reach the masterpiece of human form society demands are typically relegated to the least savory levels of employment. However, it is ex-pected that a man or woman work their best at whatever they do, no matter the glory found in it, or lack…

Though they are best known among the Westlands for their military prowess and aggression, there is more to the people of Safer than many who have not been to one of their cities would believe. Saferi are great enthusi-asts of the arts and believe that a warrior must under-stand beauty to understand how to destroy, must under-stand life in order to understand death, and must under-stand the sounds of melody, harmony, and lyric in order to understand the structure and cadence required to move successfully in formation. Some of the greatest, most elite warriors of the Honor Warrior forces are known throughout their nation as the best sculptors, musicians, and dancers.

Physical description: Saferi are of an average height though typically very well-built. They tend to have olive or light skin and hair can range from black to light brown or red. Men and women from north of Safer tend to have tilted eyes and strong features such as cheekbones and noses. Those from the south do not have these strong features as often.

A typical man from the nation of Safer will dress in a leather vest and pleated leather and canvas kilt, typically reaching just below his knees. Underneath their vest men typically wear nothing as there is a great pride taken in showing the degree of strength their muscles have. Men do not wear facial hair. Men and women both wear their hair in one long, thick braid and as much pride is taken in the care of their hair as is taken in the care of their bodies, it is not unusual for a Saferi to spend one or more hours brushing and applying scented oils to their hair during peacetime.

Women tend to dress much less rigidly than their men do in Safer. Most women tend to wear dresses which attach over only one shoulder and have no sleeves. Depending on a woman’s status or sometimes just the confidence she has in her physical form, a wom-an’s dress will have little or no fabric along the sides from arm to hip, sometimes lower. Though not so tight that they would impede combat, these dresses tend to be fairly form-fitting and are tied tight with criss-cross-ing cords of delicate silken cording from just below the chest to the line of the hips.

When performing in any acts of athleticism, Saferi men and women will remove all of their clothing and perform nude, even in the coldest time of the year.

Relations: Safer has tense relations with both of her southerly neighbors though relations with the border-lands are strong. Safer has had a history of expansionism for hundreds of years and has been known to regularly skirt around guidelines set down by the Compact of the Ten Nations in attempts to expand her borders in to ter-

ritory controlled by Manetheren and Aelgar. The Saferi have reasonably good relationships with the Seafolk, ap-preciating the beauty and physical perfection of most Seafolk sailors. By the same token, Saferi respect bor-derlanders as the only people of the Westlands with the battle prowess to come close to matching their own. With their last neighbor, Aridhol, protected behind the inaccessible Mountains of Mist, Safer has strong com-mercial relations in order to get the renowned Aridhol Black Hills iron. The rest of the nations of the Compact tend to hold the political agendas of Safer at arms length though the general population is welcomed in most lands without a second thought because Saferi believe strongly in structure and will adopt the laws of whatever land they are traveling in.

Lands: Located along the western coast of the Westlands, the cradle of Saferi civilization lies on a thick peninsula reaching out in to the Aryth Ocean. Though the start of Safer’s history is on this well protected peninsula their capitol was moved many centuries ago to a position chosen for its defensible location as well as easy access to border expansion. The Mountains of Mist border some of the eastern border of Safer, a border shared with Manetheren, and the southern border is shared with Aelgar. To the north the border of Safer is shared with Jaramide, one of the borderland nations. The climate in Aelgar is generally mild in the south, lending itself to fruit orchards and grain plantations easi-ly. To the north the climate tends to become significant-ly colder and more rainy, especially during the winter months. Most of the lands to the north are used to raise livestock, though some farms can still produce large amounts of leafy green vegetables. A typical meal on a Saferi table will be balanced between slabs of roasted meat and piles of stewed greens and mashed grain. Most Saferi food is simple, though tasty.

Language: The Old Tongue is alive and well in Safer though spoken with short, clipped words and a much more guttural tone of voice. Saferi can be difficult for other Westlanders to understand.

Adventurers: The Saferi love of physical challenge leads many men and women to explore the Westlands as hired arms, merchants, or even as traveling performers. Deadly Armsmen, Performing Wanderers, and powerful Channelers could all hail from Safer.

T A R V A L O NPersonality:

Physical description: Relations: Lands:

Language: Adventurers:

O G I E RPersonality:

Physical description: Relations: Lands: Language: Adventurers:

B A C K G R O U N D F E A T S

The following feats are available only to characters of the specified background. Backgrounds feats not mentionned here are in the rulebook, pages 42–43.

[to do]

The Ten Nations

P L A Y I N G D U R I N G T H E T R O L L O C S

W A R SCountless evils have brought death and destruction to the Westlands of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. Each Age brings its own wars and its own challenges but few put the men and women of the Westlands un-der that Shadow for so long as the Trolloc wars. The Trolloc Wars ravaged the continent for nearly 350 years. Strong nations broke, cities disappeared, and a people who dreamed of a return to the Age of Legends watched that dream die.

The Trolloc Wars saw titanic armies overmatched by endless hordes of shadowspawn. Aes Sedai Queens ruled nations, never dreaming of the Three Oaths. Treachery shattered the ‘Sword that would not break.’ The wars also brought other, unintended effects, such as when Balwen Ironhands choose to fight evil with its own tactics and thus doomed Aridhol. The White Tow-er was fertile ground for a new Ajah, one that is never mentioned. Men terrified of the Madness submitted to the Great Lord of the Dark, saving their minds and dooming their souls.

The Trolloc Wars are a Player’s dream. Nothing is left unchanged; nothing is guaranteed to survive, noth-ing is fated to happen. Only the Players and their allies stand between the Westlands and the Shadow.

The Trolloc Wars are a Game Masters dream. The era is limited only by your imagination. Rand is not standing on the center stage. Epic events occur during the wars that become legends in the Third Age but they are left for you to write. Finally, Ba’azalmon stalks the dreams of men searching for the keys to freedom, only you know if he will find them.

H I S T O R Y O F T H E T E N N A T I O N S

[Just after the Breaking][Rise of the White Tower][The Compact][The Trollocs Wars]

A E L G A RLocated in the south west of the Westlands, Aelgar was founded by a small group of noble families running as refugees during the last days of the Breaking. Aelgari are renowned for their work in gold, silver, and precious gems. The famed Aelgari mines are believed to overflow with precious gems and metals and the nation of Aelgar produces the most beautiful and costly jewelry in the Ten Nations. King Remedan, known as the Golden-tounged was responsible for bringing Aelgar into the Compact of the Ten Nations, who saw it as an opportu-nity to expand upon the wealth of his nation and to help defend against the invariable aggression of Eharon. Since that time Aelgar has grown wealthy on trade, al-lowing a standard of living not seen since the War of Power.

Symbol: A great golden tree on a blue field surrounded by a border of white.

GO V E R N M E N T

The kingdom is ruled by a king elected to lifetime tenure from the Council of Princes. With a government system based on 'equal rights' among the elite nobility, the king has absolute power over the military and all foreign rela-tions but is unable to draft any new laws. While the Council of Princes may create new laws, the king has

veto power and can only be overridden by a unanimous vote from the Council. More than one King has been found mysteriously dead after vetoing a law however, and Daes Daemar flows through the veins of the noble class in this nation.

In the event of the Kings death, the Council of Princes decides on a suitable replacement from amongst themselves, which usually involves much intrigue and backbiting.

Each member of the Council of Princes holds his or her place through hereditary right, and in the event of the death of a Prince without an heir, a new Prince is chosen from the leadership of his or her Household. As with the election of a new king Daes Daemar plays strongly in such an event and it is not uncommon for certain high ranking nobles to grow suddenly ill or have an intense need to visit their lands far in country until a new Prince is chosen.

Aelgar is broken up in to six districts and a Prince sits on the Council for each district. In addition to de-ciding national law, Princes have the duty to give justice in their district and transmit reclamations to the king. Each Prince sits in a palace located in his or her district capitol

GR E A T C I T I E S

Ancohima is the capital city of Aelgar. It is located at the south of the Mountains of Myst. The Seat of the Nation of Anchohima is an immense white golden dome supported by 13 large marble pillars where the Council of Princes meet. The King’s Palace is just oppo-site to the Seat of the Nation, but the structure is not as prominent. Both were built by Ogier, next to the grove, which is one of the finest after that of Tar Valon and Manetheren. Ogier come from all the westlands through the waygate located here to see the grove of Ancohima.

Condaris was also built by the Ogier. While the grove is not as marvelous as Ancohima’s, Condaris’ Palace is much more magnificent than any other Aelgari structure. The structure is recovered with silver and en-crusted gems due to the mines. Condaris’ Prince is, along with Mainelle’s, probably the most influential among the Council.

Mainelle is renowned in all Aelgar for its museum, holding a magnificent fresco dating back to the Age of Legends and showing animals never seen since then. The city occupies three peninsulas overlooking the bay at the mouth of the River Andahar (from north to south, known as the three sisters they are Verene, Mes-sanaa, and Calpriane) and the hills north of them. The city is made of gleaming white stone and has three enor-mous circles. The first circle is the Ogier-built palace of the Prince, built just next to the museum on the north-ern peninsula. The second circle, located on the middle peninsula, is an arena for gladiatorial-style games and great events; just next to it is a small Ogier grove. Final-ly, the third circle, located on the southern peninsula, is the great market place, just next to the great port receiv-ing fine Sea folk goods all year. Two great halls are lo-cated in this the greatest trade city of Aelgar, one is the

Princes Palace, the seat of government in the city and the other is the Hall of the Master, for the cities Guild-halls. Along with Condaris’ Prince, Mainelle’s Prince is the most influential, both because of the marvelous mu-seum located there and because no celebration in Aelgar can happen without a firework display, and such a dis-play is subjected to the Prince’s approval since his family is the only one to detain the knowledge of their making.

Shar Honelle is the fourth Ogier-built city of Ael-gar. Located near the shadow coast, it contains the fa-mous Academy of Song, which is attended as the finest institute of music in the Westlands. In the center of Shar Honelle is the Singing Towers, seven great bell towers a hundred paces tall which sing out at dawn, dusk and high sun. Located just south and outside the city is a small Ogier grove. Inside the city, placed to greet the ris-ing sun, however are the last known Chora trees in exis-tence. Legend says they were traded to the Lord of Shar Honelle before the nation of Aelgar was founded, not many decades after the Breaking. Some say the Tuatha'an gave him 10 Chora saplings in exchange for passage through his land. There are only 4 remaining now but even so they are a wonder of the world and people travel from all the Ten Nations to sit beneath the limbs of the trees of life.

The last two district seats, Darenmedi and Dey’-mael’corenne, are not Ogier built cities but are filled with the finest stonework human hands can create.

M I N O R C I T I E S

Each district has a capital. Condaris, Mainelle and Shar Honelle are the most important, being Ogier built, but there are a handful of other district capitals.

Name 1 …Name 2 …Name 3 …Name 4 …Name 5 …Name 6 …

C O R E M A N D AShort description

Admired for its power and wealth, Coremanda is the foremost commercial power of all the westlands.

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GO V E R N M E N T

Coremanda is ruled by a few selected extremely wealthy guilds that compose the Council of Merchants. The Ma-jor Guilds are the richest guilds; they must have a guild hall in all major cities of Coremanda: Shaemal, Braem, Hai Caemlyn, Nailine Samfara, Whitebridge, [Aringill] and a few other minor cities [see map]. If ever a guilds fails these requirement, it is stripped from the privilege of sieging in the Council of Merchants.

The King is chosen for life by the Council as the richest of the all the head of guilds. The Council of Mer-chants makes the Law, but the King can veto any law, unless it was voted by 2/3rd of the Council. He also has access to vast resources and intelligence as all contracts made under Coremanda’s law must be archived in the Royal Archives. Along with the additional financial re-sources given by the position, it is common for Kings to die in office. However, as influence and Power among the Council of the Guilds is directly linked to wealth, a King whose guild is having financial difficulties can be put in minority in the Council, thus weakening his posi-tion. If ever his guild was to be stripped of its status of Major Guild, the Council would destitute him. The next King would then be the richest head of the Guild three months after the destitution or the King’s death. The Royal Treasury is the one to arbiter on who is the rich-est. As the King has much more resources than even a Major Guild much wealthier than him, this happens quite rarely, but is not unheard of, especially if the King displeased the White Tower.

By law the rule of Coremanda is always a man, but by tradition, the King and any male head of a prominent guild will marry an Aes Sedai; few prominent people of Coremanda are not Aes Sedai or married to an Aes Sedai as not being so weakens considerably any claim to the throne or to the Council of Merchants. Although the Aes Sedai will make her husband her warder, it is tradition that she will not ask an oath of obedience from him, as it would be seen quite inappropriate from a man

of that importance. The Grey Ajah is particularly active in Coremanda and most Queens of Coremanda have been Greys.

Apart from the powerful merchants, a middle class of merchants exists and consists mostly of individual shop owners who sell to consumers; they have to affili-ate to a guild (even a minor one) and the prices of their goods are regulated by the guild they belong to (mean-ing different guilds could have different pricing for dif-ferent goods). Finally, a lower class of labor-workers ex-ists and are shown little respect by their ‘betters’.

GR E A T C I T I E S

Shaemal is the Capital city of Coremanda. It is located on the Erinin river, on the northern border of Braem wood, to the south of Tar Valon. The Crystal Dome, which serves as the Royal Palace, is one of the most beautiful buildings of all the Westlands, showing the splendor of Coremanda. It is located on the western shore of the Erinin river. The Council Dome, on the opposite side of the river, is only a pale copy of the Crystal Dome, and serves as the home of the Council of Guild. The splendor of Shaemal is everywhere to be seen, whether at the Great Royal Library, holding the archives of all Coremanda, the Royal Treasury Palace, or the minor palaces of the head of the Major Guilds.

Braem is one of the four Ogier-built cities of Core-manda. It is located deep in Braem Wood, north to Hai Caemlyn. TO FINISH

Hai Caemlyn is ... TO DONailine Samfara is ... TO DO

LE S S IM P O R T A N T C I T I E SWhitebridge and Aringill, are something like modern day Aringill: the cities are cut in two, one part belonging to Coremanda and the other belonging to Almoren/Manetheren. As they are on a major trade crossroad axis (both river/road), that would make them very important trading centers, even if they are not Ogi-er-built cities.

CO M M E R C I A L PO W E R* Deal with the Sea Folk

* Coremanda Guilds are implemented in all the west-lands

TR A D E R E G U L A T I O N

Any contract on Coremanda soil must be prepared and signed by a Royal Contract Officer. Becoming a Royal Contract Officer is a long and demanding task. You must first study for 7 years at the Shaemal Law Univer-sity, then pass an examination and then buy a charge from a retiring Contract Officer or from the Crown it-self, if the King decides to make some new charges available. A successful Royal Contract Officer will be able to buy an additional charge to become Grand Royal

Contract Officer, but only the most successful Royal Contract Officers can hope to become a Supreme Royal Contract Officer.

All contracts, whether commercial or more mundane (like wedding contracts, testaments, employment con-tracts, merchant price lists, ...) must be established and signed by a Royal Contract Officer. Important contracts involving large sums of money must be established by a Grand Royal Contract Officer and very important con-tracts involving huge sums of money by a Supreme Roy-al Contract Officer.

For a contract to be valid, it must also be approved by a Royal Tax Officer. The Royal Contract Officer must demand an audience to the Royal Treasury and during an audience involving at least three Royal Tax Officers, the contract will be validated. Important or very important contracts will need two or three audi-ences before they are validated, each audience checking that the preceding audience did not let any detail amiss.

Once a contract has been validated, the Royal Tax Officers will tax the contract to the amount decided, amount from which the Royal Contract Officer will be paid (their fees are fixed by Royal decree and are pro-portional to the amount of the contract). Finally, a copy of the contract is sent to the Royal Archives. Once vali-dated, the contract enters into effect, and not honoring it is considered as a serious offense under Coremanda Law.

The pricelist of a merchant is considered as a con-tract and so must be signed by a Royal Contract Officer; failing to this duty is considered as illegal trade and is severely punished. The pricelist must be clearly dis-played and in perfect condition (or else the merchant could be accused of trying to misinform its customers, which is considered as fraud, and severely punished).

SE A FO L K EM B A S S Y

Coremanda has an exclusive agreement with the Seafolk which looks like this:

• The Seafolk have an established settlement on the Erinindrelle which is held under their sole jurisdic-tion.

• This settlement is 10 miles north of the Capitol city of Shaemal.

• This settlement is a rectangular plot of land exactly 1 mile x 2 miles (or whatever the appropriate form of measurement would be) with the longer side along the river front.

• The Seafolk agree that they will sell silk from the lands of Shara only from this settlement, and that they will pay a tax of 25% on any silk sold to mer-chants foreign to Coremanda.

• This agreement has been in effect for 200 years.

M A N E T H E R E NShort description

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GO V E R N M E N T[Transfer the stuff in blue from the Backgrounds section]

GR E A T C I T I E SManetheren, Corartheren, Jara’copan, Shanaine.

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M I N O R C I T I E S[site of Baerlon], Whitebridge.

S A F E RAccording to legend the ruler of Safer is a direct descen-dant of one of the greatest generals of the Age of Leg-ends, a female Aes Sedai named Julidylen Saferon Man-delin. Those same legends and histories tell of a nation rising swiftly from the ashes of the Breaking through lightning battle tactics. At the height of the Compact of the Ten Nations the nation of Safer has built a strong, consolidated military state with a reputation of aggres-sive expansionism.

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GO V E R N M E N T

Safer is ruled by the military, who create the laws, police the land, and distribute justice. Most of the laws are rea-sonable and tend to be the sort which lead to a culture of every man in his place and a place for every man. The King himself is elected by an assembly of all Saferi Lord-Generals and rules until death. Traditionally the highest ranking son of the current king is elected to suc-ceed him but that is tradition not law and has been over-turned numerous times in the past 1000 years.

Most of the military forces are sworn directly to the Throne, to defend King and Country—included all the Lord-Generals, although it is often that the King is be-trayed in battle by one of his Lord-Generals who wants to take the throne. The remaining military forces are the small private armies of the Lord-Generals used to de-fend their lands from brigands and the attentions of their Saferi Lord-General neighbors… These small armies are sworn directly to the Lord-General who hires them and they are his responsibility to pay for, as they serve as a personal bodyguard. Powerful Lord Generals have as many as a small thousands of men, which can be quite a strain on their finance; if a Lord-General begins to have difficulties paying his guards, it can be the be-ginning of the end for him as his envious neighbors will probably seize the occasion to buy his former guards and use this newly acquired tactical advantage to get rid of their rival and then each take a share of his lands. Not being able to pay for one’s guards has happened more than once to the Lord-General having the ‘chance’ to organize the Alcair’Daemar.

During times of peace, the Saferi nation will lease certain numbers of its troops (never more than a third of the total military) to other nations, lords, merchant baron, etc. An individual soldier can volunteer for these tours abroad but can also be ordered against his wishes to fill one of these positions as well. The rest of the mili-tary staffs extensive border forts, participates in skir-mishes across borders in to Manetheren and Aelgar, and serves as a reason for individual Lord-Generals to keep

their ambitions lower than “King” level…

TH E HA N D O F LA W

Justice in Safer is harsh and swift and is performed by the Hand of Law, a special order of military officers. They are recruited among the officers known to have shown great integrity and and infallible loyalty to the crown. Officers of The Hand of Law have under their command all the town guards of Safer and have an elite force of highly trained men for delicate missions (like ar-resting a very high ranking military officer in his own lands, where the town guard might side with their lord).

AL C A I R ’DA E M A R

Every two years, the Saferi organize a great athletic event called the Alcair’Daemar (the Golden Game). Ev-ery Saferi may participate, but members of other nations may also participate if they have served at least one year in Safer’s special troop for outsiders, called the Legion, or if they swear to do so after the event.

The Alcair’Daemar is organised each year in the Ogi-er-built city of Shainrahien, located about midway of Toman Head’s. The city has all the required installations to cope with the success of the event. The honor of or-ganizing the event is given to the richest general of the army, making him only second to the king in terms of honor during the entire ceremony. Although it is a great honor, having to organize the event is generally avoided because of the great financial strain for the organizer. Political manipulations are at their highest before the richest Lord-General is to be chosen and during the preparation of the ceremony as the political enemies of the chosen organizer try to make the ceremony cost as much as it can in order to try to ruin him.

Those who win an event are offered great honor for the rest of their life and receive an estate given by the Lord General organizing the event. Some very success-ful athletes have been known to rise to the rank of Lord General by successfully winning many years in a row the competition.

GR E A T C I T I E S[TO DO]