Gratalia

Summary
A thousand years past, the Gratalian Empire stretched from the Dirhandish deserts to the Goskan border, where great defenses were built in anticipation of an invasion from their Goskan neighbors. The invasion never came. After a millennia of mismanagement and a fattening peace, the once great empire has shrunk to nearly a third its original size, after bureaucratic mismanagement and two costly losses in its vassals’ wars of independence.

Following the death of Emperor Casimir and the anointing of his daughter, the ambitious Empress Trask, the nation is experiencing a revival of patriotic fervor - and productivity - as whispers of unrest across Uarach spur the once-great Empire to ready itself against hostile foreigners. Pressed against the Three Brothers to the West, the Goskan Heptarchy to the North, and their former vassals, Westarmarch, to the South, the Gratalians face diplomatic and economic challenges that were once solved by strength of steel. Once… and perhaps again.

The foothills of west Gratalia, lining the Three Brothers, represent more of a physical border than a political one - any attempts to settle further into the mountains are repelled by force of nature, or beast, or wild magics. Lacking the talent for mountaineering so commonly associated with the Goskans, the Gratalians prefer to keep to their lowland forests, temperate climates, and enormous, bountiful coastline. From the Bay of Lions, upon which Scorhill, famed capital of Gratalia, juts from the earth with the arrogance only Gratalia could afford, the Royal Navy grows in size, a hundred warships strong already. The Empress, balancing the interests (or demands) of the merchant class, the Royal Navy, and her people’s growing appetite for glory, must tread carefully lest she repeat the mistake of her forebears.

Inhabitants
The Gratalian Empire is a diverse and populous land, where all races of Uarach may live, work, enlist in the military, and enroll in the clergy. Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, and Half-Elves are common among the working class, though the majority of the Empire is Human. Orcs, Dragonborn, and even Tieflings are seen on rare occasions on the streets of Scorhill, rarer still outside of the capital city and port towns.

A socially open-minded people, Gratalians, like their nation, have been around long enough to be unsurprised by most. They witness their fair share of crime, and of violence too, but nothing to compare to the savage lands of the West, or the Bloody Isles to their East. Gratalians have rarely been fiercely nationalistic people, until recently, and even now, much of the Empire treats this newfound wave of fanaticism with a deep cynicism.

Religion
The Church of Evanar, with the Empress at its head, is an organized faith which worships Evanar, The Light of Dawn. The greatest volcano in all of Uarach, Mount Evanar, is seen as the Dawnbringer’s physical presence in the mortal realm. From teetering parapets lining the Temple of Light in Scorhill, priests watch the volcano for messages from the divine - and smoke has begun to rise from Evanar’s peak…