Aurora

Introduction:
The Alkri are a broadly peaceful race who follow under their much beloved monarchy. The current monarch is the tyrant, King Turic Kelman. This monarchy was founded by the first Dragun, Alana Kay, thousands of years ago, when she changed from her human form to her dragon form for the first time. Alana also gave birth to the 6 Lairds whom started the 6 clans.

Their lands are separated by clans or families who are ruled by a laird who reports to the king. These lairds are highly respected and tend to own most of the land in their clans "homelands", but a few upper class peoples do own blocks of land for profit. There is sometimes fights between clans over land, but fights scarcely break out especially in public and normally they are only duels. Unfortunately, under the rule of their newest monarch, King Turic, the once peaceful Alkri have been dragged into war with their neighbouring kingdom Laenjstrym and King Daniel, that has torn apart much of their remaining culture, inside the Auroran homelands. This has been in a vain attempt for power by the King and as a display of their military power.

They also face the war with the Muir Homelands in the south who harbour an embodiment of dark or black magic, Alec Muir a necromancer of sorts.The Murian's believe their king, Andras, should be ruler and own the lands of Thallidor. It is this that led to the Murian/ Alkri war, in the south. It is also a war of religion and belief.

Alkri:
Those who inhabit the Auroran lands are very Scottish-like race, who have very similar customs, they also exhibits traits from races such as the Norse and Romans with their forms of currency, demeanour and even ways of dress, both causally and in battle. They are known as the Alkri. Often considered a "warrior race", the Alkri are actually a rather peaceful people, but can and will fight if needed. Alkri are trained in the ways of the sword, magic (mainly druids) and other basic weapons, such as spears and bows. They do boast a large militia force, but it is scarce that they are sent into battle, as the only fights that the Alkri really see are scurries between clans and duels.

Druids:
A sub-category of the Alkri are the druids, much like Clerics they believe their powers come from the divine beings and spirits. These beings live on either the exiled or Hallowed planes. Depending on what plane a druid draws from depends on what "power" they have over the natural elements. These druids also have specified affinities dependent on what spirit of being they draw from.

Usually brought into battle, the most common forms of druids are healing and havoc druids, these are used as useful additions to the Alkri's arsenal. Healing druids draw power from the hallowed planes, allowing them to take their power and turn it to the powers of medicinal potions and spells. Where as a havoc druids draw their power from the exiled plane, allowing them to take the rage and fury of the exiled divines and fight with their pain.

The other from of druid are arcane or black magic druids. These druids draw their power from a plane that very few are aware of. Commonly referred to as the abandoned plane the druids that draw from it play with the risk of having their body taken over by a desolate divine (a god or spirit abandoned by both mortals and divines). They are considered to have the strongest power but the highest risk, as a consequence they are often burnt on stakes similar to witches.

Draguns:
The Dragun's look and act like normal Alkri and are until they come of age and are able to use their magic. Once their abilities appear so does a marking. This marking will appear anywhere on a Dragun's body and signifies that they are the only true magic users in Alkri society. The symbol is a dragon facing to the left with its tail knotted into a classic Celtic/Norse knot.

The main ability that a Dragun posses is that of shape-shifting. Their forms include most animals but their most famous is their innate ability to change into a dragon. This form was seen as the image of war and fear for centuries when the Alkri were still a war ridden race. Those who were on the side of the dragon were almost certain to win. Their other forms include animals such as, deers, wolves, eagles and other various animals that reside within the Auroran peninsulas.

The Dragun also have the ability of magic wielding. These abilities and aspects are specified to their personality and their personal preferences, this is why Draguns are so powerful. They will master their aspect(s) quickly making them masters at the three forms of magic: Elemental, Mental and Arcane. Most Dragun are masters of elemental or mental magic and few are ever aligned to the arcane arts. The only Draguns known to be aligned to this form of magic are the corrupted.

Gancanagh:
Taking the form of a handsome man, the Gancanagh take prey to sex and loved crazed women who roam Aurora's many woods. He makes his prey physically attracted to him by way of a specific toxin excreted from his skin, often seen as a black gooey liquid. After a while the Gancanagh depart, leaving his love-lorn (and de-toxing) women to waste away to nothing except his love and compassion. These women are often drawn to kill one another to win his love and perhaps his eventual return.

Unfortunately these Gancanagh are impossible to catch. For a man or woman who is not attracted to it they appear as a translucent silhouette that blends into it's surroundings with ease, and only those who are attracted to him are able to see his form.

Dullahan:
Similar to the head-less horseman of "The legend of Sleep Hollows", the Dullahan are horse riders that carry their severed heads under one arm and in the other a whip made of their victims spine. Their hideous head is often seen grinning at their victims with their eyes giving a classical thousand mile stare. He rides swiftly to the place where the deceased is to perish, all doors and gates opening before him, and proclaims the name of the condemned, who then immediately dies. The Dullahan does not take kindly to onlookers, and will supposedly lash out the eyes of spectators with his spine whip. Oddly enough, Dullahans are said to be terrified of gold, and will flee from the sight of it.

Kelpie:
Often seen in the form of a young foal or lost pony that is dripping wet, the Kelpie or "water- horse" is a malevolent spirit that tricks foolish farmers or young children to ride on it's back. Upon mounting the Kelpies smooth and silky fur turns adhesive causing the rider to be permanently glued to the back of the spirit. It then gallops headlong into a river or lake where it drowns its victims and devoured them. The Kelpie will leave the heart and liver for an unknown reason. It is sometimes seen as a beautiful man or woman (siren-like) that lures their victim to their deaths.

Selkie:
Selkies are said to live their lives mostly in the form of a seal, but from time to time they go to the beach to dance. When dancing the Selkies will leave their pelts on the beach, this changes them to a attractive man or woman. A common folklore is that the fisherman on the coasts of Aurora will take and hide the pelts causing the Selkies to become their brides, hiding the pelts from them as well as their children. Of Selkie men, it is said that they will come to seduce a fisherman’s widow if she cries seven tears into the sea.

Ankou:
Seen as a hooded figure dressed in black robes accompanied by skeletons that haul the dead into a black carriage the Ankou is seen as the symbol of death. Once an unnamed prince of Aurora he loved to take risks and hunt. One day on a hunt the prince came face to face with death. He made a bet saying that the winner of the duel could decide the fate of the looser forever. The Prince lost and was cursed to collect the souls of the dead for eternity. His sign was a cold wind that rushed passed the soon to be deceased. He has also been seen with scores of Dullahans.

Slaugh:
A swarm of evil fairies this swarm would attack from the West lifting their victims to substantial heights and dropping them. The fairies were thought to be the souls of those who died without being baptized. These swarms also fought amongst themselves over victims. The Slaugh was renowned for their sadism and would force their victims to shoot each other with poised arrows.

Types of Draguns:
There are three types of Draguns, elemental, mental and arcane. Each have their own set of abilities and affinities.

Elemental (Seachran):
An elemental dragon is one of the most unique dragun forms, leaning off the clique dragon appearance. They have bird like feet adorned with large talons that are a deep red, almost black. They are coated in a fine brown fur (almost velvet like) that changes to green on various parts of their body, excluding the feet were black and white scales coat the foot and ankle. They have four feet and their wings are placed on their back opposed to being their front legs or arms. Their head is the most unique of all dragon forms and looks oddly horse-like. Their head has a horse nose and shaped head but long horns protrude from their brow into wood like antlers out the backs of their heads. These horns start off as green or brown (coated in their fine fur or velvet) then slowly morph into the strong bones of the elemental dragon. From a distance these horn are easily mistakable for tree trunks due to their wood colouration (varies depending of affinities) and texturing. These dragons also have a main that looks as if it's made of various plant matter or fire (this depends on the most predominant use of deviation). Upon touch it will feel different depending on what it appears to be (i.e Fire = hot)

These Draguns have the ability to wield the forces of nature. They can use the basic elements (water, earth, fire, and and lightning) and wield them to their desires. They have 5 main abilities called "deviations" these deviations depend on what basic element a dragun is calling upon.

Uisge (oosh-ka ) deviation - power over water

Teine deviation - Power over fire

Talahm deviation - power over earth

Gaoth deviation - power over the wind and air

Dealanach deviation - power over lightning and thunder.

Unfortunately these deviations are much weaker then their native counter parts (Ormr, born dragon). This is as a Dragun is only half Dragon and cannot call upon their full power due to their human soul holding them back.

Geography:
The vast lands of Aurora consume the two north-east peninsular of the Thallidor mainlands. It boasts the north most point of the mainland and some of the thickest woods, widest of rivers and the highest of mountains. To the north is a frozen land that is scarcely populated due to it's harsh climates and almost non-stop snowfall all year round. Slightly further south is more hospitable with snow generally falling through the night but melting away during the day underneath the warm sun. The main mountain ranges are towards the south east coasts with a few mountains littering the coast lines in the north and a little further south. Often these lands are considered sacred and haven't been touched due to the fierce belief in their religion. Regrettably, with the improvement of technology, coal mines are starting to become a common occurrence in the mountain ranges due to wealthy land owners who have brought blocks of land for profit, from the King. This has destroyed much of the geography in these areas.

Many of the forests are also left untouched, due to the Alkri's religion, but groves of pine and oak trees are grown for the much needed wood supply in the Auroran economy. These large groves are part of either their agricultural lands or towards the south in the warmer climate. It is in this climate that the trees grow stronger and have a better out put than those in the north or agricultural regions, unfortunately with the war in the south, these stocks are becoming damaged and scarce.

Climate:
Due to it's north most position on the mainland, Aurora is often considered to be a frozen desert. Towards the south (inside the Muir homelands) is a warmer climate were snow is only brought in through the winter months but the rest of the year is a warm climate, perfect for the growth of agricultural crops and wood groves. Unfortunately due to the war, this warmer climate is inaccessible to the north, this has caused great decreases in productivity of the Auroran economy.

In the north snow is often falling all year round, even in the summer months. This makes agriculture hard but the Alkri manage. The climate is unbearable to most and only families who have lived in the north for generations live through the day to day fight with the bitter climate. A little further south is warmer and is where most crops and agricultural lands are grown in the north part of the Auroran landscape. It is also in these areas that the land flattens out, perfect for farming. It is one of the last strong holds for the Auroran economy. The main trading post is also here to insure that only the Alkri have access due to its inhospitable climate, and bitter geography.

Forms of currency and Economy:
The Auroran economy uses two types of currency. This currency depends on what caste a person comes from and what work they take part in. In the lower castes their main form of currency is salt. As salt is hard to come by commodity for the lower castes, for generations they have been bribed with the payment of salt in exchange for their labor, and sometimes their freedom. Some peasants and workers will sell the salt in exchange for the higher classes, liard ( a form of cold coin, not to be mixed up with Laird), that varies in value depending on what ruler is carved into the back of the coin and from what year it was manufactured. These peasants and workers who sell the much needed salt in exchange for liards, are often known as the salt traders or malairt salann (pronounced: mali-tu Sal-anne) in their native tongue.

For the higher castes, the liard is the most easiest form of currency as salt is a common household item for the rich.These coins are named Liards in respect to the traditional clan leaders called Lairds. Though it is very rare that a high caste will actually ever handle or haggle with this gold coin. A few do trade with the malairt salann for salt, that they can buy or purchase peasants and lower caste workers with, though these tend to be more middle class workers, who then sell the peasant for a profit of liard coins to the higher castes.

One liard coin manufactured in King Turics reign is worth approximately 1kg of wheat or half a kilo of salt, but as the economy has begun to decline this value has begun to fall dramatically, making salt worth more than ever before and causing the diminishment of the liard. This has caused strife for the higher castes as their once powerful money has lost all its sovereignty. The decline is the by-product of King Turics war efforts in both the South and East borders. It has come at a bad time for the Alkri as their lands have been ravaged by the coldest climate in the Alkri's history.

Government and Politics:
The Alkri follow under a much beloved monarchy, that causes the people to fall into various castes. These castes are separated into seven main classes. The church sits above even the monarch as it symbolizes the Alkri's beliefs, morals and values. It holds much power in the Auroran government but it does not have the will nor the power to decide on new policies for the kingdom. All decisions are made by the ruling monarch with the aid of the church, so in a sense the monarch and church hold the same power.

The monarch is chosen by blood and by belief in religion (slánaitheoir, said slan-he-horse). Though if a Dragun is to be born than by ancient tradition they are to become the new ruler. But, because of their decline in recent years the Alkri have returned to the old ways of blood and family ties. This has led to the uneasiness towards the monarch as society believes that they are unable to protect the people from danger as the Dragun, once could. The Dragun were symbolized by a dragon facing to the right. These marking would appear on the Dragun body once they found out their true "calling". But of the dragon was facing the left they were considered evil and often killed once the symbol was seen. This custom was brought up after the incident of King Brennan over 200 years ago.

The term Dragun is used, because in legend a Dragun could change into a dragon if they could let go of the human form. But this has become nothing more than a myth to the people of Aurora as a dragon has not been seen in thousands of years.

Flag:
The flag was designed by the first Dragun, Alana Kay. She was the founder of the Auroran monarchy and the founder of the six clans. The two dragons represented the protection that she could give, like a dragon watching over their horde of gold and the form that she could exhibit when needed. In reality it is more of a banner than a flag but has been widely accepted as the nations image. In recent years debates have sparked up over whether or not to keep the image due to the last Dragun dying many years ago. This has caused backlash among the people, as they believe that the next Dragun will arrive.

The image was traditionally brought into battle, as a threat to those who would dare to fight the Alkri. It became a sense of pride to the clans and once a image of fear to the neighboring lands. Unfortunately with Auroras fighting days over, it has become nothing more than a banner on a wall. It was also this that has caused King Turic to fight with Leanjstrym, to prove that this symbol could once again be the pinnacle of fear and power, even with out the power of a Dragun.

Social Structures, Class and Power:
Alkri society is broken into seven main castes, though these castes themselves can be broken into smaller subsections. Much like feudal society the caste system can be easily displayed in a triangle representing the rise in power but decline in number. At the top stands the church. This church represents the Slanaitheoir religion as well as the Alkri's morals and values. It is led by Dougal, the Kings Advisor.

Below the church is the Monarch, though in reality it holds more political power, it does not hold the same power as the church over the people. It is currently led by King Tuirc Kelman, son of the last Dragun, King Kenann Kelman.

Next is the Lairds. They own the lands and rent it out to the various tenants of their clan in exchange for Liards. They are also responsible for their clan as they are their leader and representative. They pay some of their collected rent to the King in the form of a tax.

Below the Liards are the upper class and nobles. They are normally responsible for the collection of rents in place of their liard. They also supply jobs to the lower castes. Most of the militia forces are from this caste.

The middle class are normally the artisans and craftsman's of the Alkri society.They are responsible for the creation of most common household items.

Lower class people tend to work at farms, or stables working for low pays of salt. Some of these lower caste peoples can be put under the malairt salann name as they sell most of their made salt to the middle class for liards. Some stoop so low as to even sell their one freedom in exchange for money to their families.

The lowest caste is that of the peasants and slaves. They are the ones that have often sold their freedom for payments to their families or loved ones. But, some are just workers who work for the lowest of pay as it is the only job available for them.

Aurora Palace: (Population= 1000)
Aurora Palace is home to the monarch as well as upwards of 1000 people. Situated on mountains roughly 150 meters above sea level, the castle its self looks precariously placed and as if it will topple at any moment.

It was originally built by King Brennan 200 years ago, but much of it was destroyed when he went rouge, changing to a Dragon and destroying half the kingdom. Since then much of it has been rebuilt and renovated over the centuries. This has resulted in its major expansion.

With the reigning tyrant the inner decor has struck fear into the hearts of many residents that reside inside the walls of Aurora palace. The main colour of the palace is carmine (the colour of blood). This compromises the clothes of guards to the various carpets and rugs that line the palaces halls.

Castle Turic (Population= 250):
Castle Turic is situated directly north of Aurora Palace and is very close to its boarders. It has been home to the Turic clan for centuries and is arguably the oldest castle in Aurora. Often referred to as the "Castle on the Loch" it was built on a small island in the middle of the Loch Turic (named after the castle and family).

Castle Bjourn (Population = 300):
Castle Bjourn in the furthermost castle from both war efforts and as a result holds the highest population, this has resulted in temporary expansion of the castle to accommodate for the rise of people. It sits right on the coast over looking the sea and is most prone to the Selkies.

Castle William (Population = 200):
With one of the lowest populations due to it's situation so close to the Leanjstym/ Aurora war it has been ravaged and lost most of its fortifications. This has led with the Lairds uneasiness towards the throne. Recently they have joined with castle Lagatha to help fortify their once mighty castle and eventually start an uprising against the monarch.

Castle Lagatha (Population = 150):
Now allied with Castle William, Castle Lagatha has been progressively increased its population, after being ravaged by both wars. Most of the castle has been destroyed leaving it to over grow. The only remaining segments are the north east wing and some of the east wing.

Muir Palace (Population = 1000):
Situated in the Muir homelands this palace has been the safest of all fortifications in Aurora. Not been touched by any of the war efforts due to its southern most position, it holds one of, if not the most highest population. Situated on flat land it is the second largest palace and holds its own farms and food supply.

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