The Kingdom of Onea (Dominaria Supplement)
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| Carhane | |
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| King Alistair deNurim, Tier 3 | |
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| XXXX | |
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BLUF
There was a land called Onea, long ago. It was a plain on the frontier of human existence in the First Age, a river-fed grassland north of the Barrier Peaks (Nurim’s Mountains). Onea was settled slowly at first, and then rapidly during and after the Beast Wars of the late First Age. The Kingdom here enjoyed four centuries of power, and became the main safe avenue for travel north. Onea was conquered into First Empire, and then slowly disappeared from history. Onea reappeared because the Wars of Succession sparked the nascent nationalism of the Onean Lords. Fed up with the ongoing struggle, the Oneans jumped at the Malkeiri suggestion that they break from the Ramosi-led Coalition. Onea is today a very stable independent country with power split between the High Lord of Carhane and the Brotherhood of Pelor.
History
The Plateau of Onea was settled in the First Age by Mantaéri settlers from Athon before and during the Beast Wars. The Plateau offered good grazing lands and farmland, good mining and a defendable pass south, and opened into the as yet unsettled (by humans) plains of the north. Heroes form this Age are still remembered, in form not name, for their valiant victories over the Plains Centaurs, the Orcs and Trolls of the mountains, fierce Dwarves who rode fantastic beasts, and the roving Red Host of Minotaurs. The five "Tribes" of Onea are remembered for their elemental worship and fiercely prideful independence. Despite this independence, urbanization eventually made it north and the city state of Onea became the center of life north of the mountains and a powerful ally to Cartaan in their rise to power. During the War of Three Alliances in the 400s 1A, Onea began its rise to the height of its early power - a power that it would sustain for several hundred years. This rise continued in the 500s and in 524 Onea smashed the allied Grixis and Jund tribes on the plains to their northwest and became a Kingdom. The Kingdom of Onea ruled the then critical roads and plains leading north and established itself as a player in the Westlands aside form its alliance with Cormyr. Onea even sent expeditions into northern Ramosia and east into the Isen Plains and the now Fenlands. The Time of Troubles in the late 500s and early 600s knocked Onea's ascension off track, and they never again reached their previous height.
Onea got back on it's feet during the Cartaani Rennaisance and it's armies fought well and won Glory defending Onea during the Barbarian Invasion and especially during the Onean Campaign. Onea did well in the years after the war and was on the path to ascend again, but the Second Great War ended that. The Onean army fought King John for a year but then was forced to ask for terms. They joined his force when Onea surrendered and became some of his best men. Onea effectively ceased to exist with the creation of the First Imperium. The Kingdom gradually faded, although the city of Onea became a very important city in the Imperium, and the people gradually began to consider themselves Cormyri. The High Houses of Onea, X, X, X always considered themselves the 'Onean Bloc' though. The Onean territories thrived under the First Imperium for 200 years, but fell during the horrors of the Flood War.
More than 300 years later, Andrew Nurim would claim the desolate wastes and abandoned ruins of Onea and found one of the most storied nations to rise on Dominaria. Nurimania was a dream in the beginning, a nation of transient beggars, hardscrabble farmers, and the last scholars of a bygone era, led by rare knights in a dark age. But Prince Nurim and his men cleansed the land and drove back the horrors, or so the stories say, and within a century Nurimania was a thriving nation of safe cities and ample farmlands. The line of Nurims ruled for some 400 years, and shone more brightly than anyone else in that time. They built the great Colossus, the first such work built by the hands of man, and the silent sentinel stands still on the plains east of the Plateau. They built Nurim's Wall against the rise of Ramosia, who's ruins stretch to the Lugard Plateau. Nurimania stayed out of the Crusade east, and thrived as a trade empire with a strong military. Then the Beast Wars and the Dragon Wars came, and although Nurimania survived, it was a time of high magic and high technology. Nurimania was weakened, and could not have gotten back to strength before the Planar Wars. The line of Nurims failed and their great nation fell to the hopelessly powerful onslaught caused by the Riptide Cataclysm. (Tentative, needs work. Most of this comes after the rise of the Second Imperium.)
The territories and peoples of Nurimania were absorbed by the growing Ramosi Empire after the wars, and would be the state of Onea under the Ramosians and part of Greater Cormyr under the later Second Imperium. The men of Onea would march under Onean House banners during the war against the Grand Caliph, and during the Second Campiagn of the Wandering One but only as a logistical formality. By the Third Campaign though, the men of Onea marched proudly as Cormyri men - Onea ceased to exist. The Magical Purge after the Third Campiagn broke the Second Imperium, and Onea was once again free. The Houses of the Plateau and the Knights who had always honored their ancient vows lived in an unspoken peace as the West sorted itself out after the Mage's Council fell. The Onean Houses joined Edward Tionne willingly, but as a bloc when he reformed the Imperium. This move was seen as irrelevant, but was remarkably the first step to culturally reunifying these Houses. They thrived during the rise of the Third Imperium but were savaged with the rest during the Dragon's Wars. The Wandering One laid waste to Arnheim and the settlements near the ruins of Onea, and subjugated all but Magden's Tower, Carhane, and the mighty Fortress of the Minotaur Legion. After the Wars, during the Wars of Sucession, the Houses of Onea would unify around their ancient identity and reform a storied land.
Tribes of Onea
The Tribes of Onea as currently described and revered never existed. Onea did begin its long history as a loose confederation of Tribes who developed a fierce warrior independence and, frankly, a reputation for savagery. But this was as a result of the rampant expansionism and settlement of that Age meeting the full force of yet-unchecked Lowland Beast Nations. Onea and the upper Illyri Plains were a desperate frontier for several generations before the weight of mankind stabilized the area and the city of Onea took shape. Long before well travelled roads and bridges though, the Tribes of Onea cemented their place in the Plateau's zeitgeist.
As far as serious modern scholars can determine, more than a dozen tribes and caravans moved north onto the Plateau during the early to mid First Age. Through internecine and external warfare as well as a network of feudal alliances these tribes were pared down to half that number. Five made it through the haze of time and cemented themselves into history. Their original names surely exist somewhere, but even if found the reference would likely be so obtuse and alien to the current prevailing understanding that it would be filed away as a simple reference. What has survived is their worship of elements rather than Gods. These emigrants were surely religious when they left human lands in the south, but the frontier became a fierce battleground of the Gods as well as mortals. Gods of Man and Beast clashed through their followers and, in one of the first "True" heresies on Dominaria, the five tribes of Onea forsook the gods and instead prayed to the ancient building blocks of the universe. It's unlikely that each tribe prayed to one discreet element as currently remembered, but the eponymous artifacts they left behind have made their Tribal associations unavoidable.
While it's true that a given tribe must have worshipped multiple elements, the magical education of the time was focused and a particular practitioner was likely to have been a specialist. Five artifacts remain, as well as a dozen powerful magical items and weapons of the time. The five artifacts are the Battle Plate of the Fire Tribe, the Ring of the Water Tribe, the Hammer of the Mountain Tribe, the Bow of the Forest Tribe, and the Lance (Staff) of the Air Tribe. These artifacts have become symbols for the modern Houses of Onea and, although the Houses didn't appear until much later, they have become undeniable symbols of legitimacy in the current Age.
Country
Until the Treaty of Three Swords, Onea was loosely part of the Malkieri Dominion. Under the terms of the treaty however, a country unified around Carhane emerged. The Oneans fought hard during the wars, and their Lords secured many vital points on the plateau. The Onean Houses, under House deNurim, now rule over a large country and emerged from the wars in a good position. The Capital of Carhane dominates life in the country, but the immense fortress of the VII Legion and the Fortress-Basilica of St. Cuthbert guard the main trade roads east and west while Nurim's Pass south is easily garrisoned. Kenton and the twin fortress at Northwatch fortify the river crossings north and Magden's Tower is an old but imposing fortification. So in an Age of uncertianty, Onea is incredibly secure. Not to say that the kingdom is a military stronghold, but it is as secure as a crossroads country can be.
Most people in Onea are farmers. The farms and pastures of the plateau feed Carhane and help supply the guilds and craftsmen who produce and export goods. Mining takes place all along Nurim's mountains as well. The mountains are very rich in mineral wealth: alongside Amacidian mines Onea supplies most of Cormyr and eastern Illyria with Iron, Silver, Tin, Copper, and the other metals that keep industry going. All of this food and ore that Onea produces goes to Carhane through Jehanna's Rest and Kenton. Carhane is the locus of life and commerce in Onea and dominates Onea in a way few other capitols in the 4th Age dominate their countries. Carhane is a sprawling metropolis of markets, mills, foundries, forges, houses, and apartments. This hub of commercialism sprawls through the ancient avenues and buildings of Nurim's capitol and provides refined goods and services all over the plateau and beyond.
Aside from the economy, Carhane has an incredible and broad social life. Many Oneans travel to Carhane for the seasonal festivals or tournaments, and you'd be hard pressed to find an Onean who hadn't been to at least one Shield Meet. XXXX
Government: Onea is a Federated Monarchy under House deNurim of Carhane. The Houses of Onea are given lordship over their Seats and are expected to pay taxes and levies to the Capital. Taxes are year round, but levies to support the standing Royal Army are gathered only in time of need. Due to the Country's strange relationship with its history and its time as a single Seat for periods of the Imperium, there are Low and Trade Houses that pay fealty directly to the crown instead of their High Seat, and Knights who have sworn likewise. The country is currently bound tightly by family and loyalty from the war, but plenty of opportunity for development and shifting loyalties exist.
Military: The Royal Army of Onea was formed from the remnants of the Imperial-raised Onean Legions. It XXX
Judicial System:
Locations
- Cities
Houses
Underlined and bold is a High House, bold is a Low House, underlined is a Trade House, and normal writing is a non Seated House recognized in the Westlands.
- House deNurim: House deNurim is the High Seat of Carhane and the Royal House of the four surviving "tribes" of Onea. The House holds the royal battle plate of the Fire Tribe of Onea and the hammer of the Mountain Tribe. King Andrew deNurim is the head of house and although his wife died in a refugee camp during the Succession War he has an heir in his daughter Atia deNurim. She is married to Prince Felan Telanir, second son to Autarch Telanir of the elven realms that border Onea. She has one surviving brother, Julian, who commands the Onean army, and three children not yet at the age of majority.
- House deNurim of Eldar: The House of Eldar, or House deNurim of Eldar, is a cadet branch of the Royal House of Onea through Lord Julian deNurim who has his seat in the cyclopean Fortress Mastiff on the River Eldar. Lord deNurim is married to Lady Marie Halmso of Balmorra. He met her while fighting for the Coalition and the two are quick turning their corner of Onea into a trade barony. They have three children: Robert who serves in his father's army, Marie who is training in the church of St. Cuthbert, and a child not yet of majority.
- House Amaram: House Amaram is the Seat of Kenton and holds the ring of the ancient Water Tribe of Onea. Lord Lucien Amaram is it's head and he is unmarried. His younger brother Rollan is a mage training at Magden's Tower under the new Order of the Silver Serpent.
- House Tancred: House Tancred is the Seat of Northwatch and holds the enchanted longbow of the Forest Tribe of Onea. Lady Eliza Tancred is the head of the house and is married to Sir Kennen Tionne, second cousin to Emperor Jacob Tionne. The two have holdings on both sides of the Onean border and their young son, Charles Tionne-Tancred, is considered to be heir to a new House entirely.
- House X: is the fourth of the four ancient tribes of Onea.</
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