Ghenrael: History and Culture

The Ghenraen Kingdom is the smallest of the human occupied realm. It was founded by Lucien Daverax, first of his name, its capital is Purdue. Ghenrael to this day, has always been ruled by a King or Queen.

History
Originally, Ghenrael and most of Dyrinin were one empire known as Cesdradin. As recorded in historical texts unearthed in Cesdrain Ruins and records of the first Ghenraens, the Cesdradin empire was one that utilized slavery. Upon the death of the last Emperor of the Cesdradin Empire, his sons turned on eachother starting the Battle of Brothers. Each raised a slave army and attempted to lay claim to the imperial throne through bloodshed. After many months of bloody massacres and ruin, one brother emerged victorious. Though, many accounts described the reining prince as a demon, not just a man who slaughtered droves of slaves in the pursuit of power, but a being with a warped visage.

In the year that followed surviving bands of slaves, remnants of the armies lead by the brothers of the empire's new ruler, banned together and mounted a violent campaign to overthrow their tyrant overlord. Eventually a man named Lucien Daverax rose to lead the amassed rebel force and lead them to victory against the Demon and his dark touched minion hordes eventually toppling the Cesdradin empire as the years past.

Lucien's army, now victorious and free, divided. Of these groups, historians only care to acknowledge the importance of two. The first clan travelled west and eventually founded the kingdom known as Dyrinin. The Second travelled south into the Valleys below the seat of power in the Cesdradin Empire and forged the Ghenraen Kingdom. Five generations later, near five hundred years onward, the Ghenraen Kingdom still stands and its crown still worn by a son or daughter of the House of Daverax. Over the five hundred years to date, the House of Daverax fought to established its boarders hard won against the Duranin, the Revelians, the Gelt, Orcs and Duergar.

Culture and Society
The Ghenraen Kingdom is famed for its culture and Extravagance. The captital City is Purdue, which boasts the University of Ghenrael: a major centre of learning (second only to those found in Revelia) that attracts young nobles from across the human realm with the best education one can buy. The university is a relatively modern institution with peripheral scholastic houses established in Ghenrael's town of Van'tese.

Ghenrael celebrates two major holidays, the Harvest Festival and the Winter Wake. The first harvest each year is made to be a grade spectacle. An entire week of markets, performances and firework displays. At the end of the week, thousands flock to the local vineyards and help with the grand harvests which ends in with the masses also aiding in the smashing of the grapes followed by a grand feast. The more notable holiday, the Winter Wake, is usually held within the grand towns and cities of Ghenrael. Lanters depicting images and symbols of summer hang in the streets and the streets are filled with performers, and stalls trading fine foods and drink. At mid night the town lights a colossal brazier and the Winter Wake dance is performed in hope that the night festivities will usher in the a prosperous spring on the last day of winter.

Art is particularly prized in Ghenrael, painting, sculptures, tapestries, murals, theatre and music all have play are role in the bedrock of Ghenraen culture. In their personal lives, many Ghenraen's favour habits such as indulging in alcohol or smoking tabacoo or even opium. Many also tend to prefer small "toy dogs" as animals companions, such as the Ghenrean terrier or spaniel, as opposed to the domineering Ulfen Mastiffs and Dane wardogs.  

Class Divide  
Ghenrael is a nation where class and social politics frequently rule the day. As such, the concerns and lives of the various classes can differ greatly. Among the nobility a penchant for high fashion is common, often copied in other lands such as Ekkelie and the Revelia but always at its most extreme within Ghenrael. Both men and women wear cosmetics of various kinds, with subtle differences that indicate social standing. In public, they are also prone to wearing very elaborate masks. These are hereditary and identify one's family almost as uniquely as the heraldry on a crest. Servants also wear masks in public that are simpler and not so elaborate as their masters' which indicate the noble household they serve.

Aristocratic society is vicious and marked by fawning envy to the powerful. Bards often entertain nobles in their courts despite their roles as spies, assassins and saboteurs for their employers who are usually other nobles. Nobles welcome such entertainers with full knowledge that any could be a bard; the thrill of outwitting a spy is a notion the Ghenrean aristocracy can hardly resist.

The lives of Ghenrean nobility may give the impression that life is easy and prosperous for all. However, the lives of commoners are often much more difficult, while all aspire to the lives of the noble class. Many Ghenreans are hardly well-to-do and work as freeholders, or else laborers on another's property, often leading to general discontent and simmering resentment. For a class of people with little besides belief in the Chant of Light to uplift their lives, this discontent may cause friction with those seen as having unfair privileges or else upsetting their routine or religious beliefs, such as mages.

Furthermore, Ghenrean commoners are at the mercy of the nation's needs in a way that the nobility, and even the Clergy, are not. During war times, press gangs led by the nobility commonly force Ghenrean peasants into military service willingly or no. Those who are not conscripted may be left starving by the demands of the army or else taken as slaves by opportunistic bandits. Additionally, the chevaliers are allowed great liberties with commoners, up to and including murder and sexual assault.

The lot of elves in Ghenrael is unique as well, even from the common classes. Servitude, often bearing little difference from outlawed slavery, is the existence of many. However, despite the aesthetic appreciation Ghenreans have for elves, and the fact that some can potentially live more richly than most commoners, there does not seem to be the hope of social ascendance for them that is a possibility, however small, for humans.

Masks
A bare face in Ghenrael is considered gauche, especially in the presence of a foreigner or a commoner.

The Ghenraen nobility, and those who serve publicly, are prone to wearing very intricate--as opposed to simply gaudy--masks in public. These masks, often half-masks specifically, are hereditary and identify one's family and social class almost as uniquely as the heraldry on a crest: a family might be associated with a lion crest, and matching lion masks will identify them in public. Retainers and servants wear a simpler form of a family's mask. Family symbols are well known among the Ghenraen public, and anyone attempting to wear a mask that doesn't belong to their house runs the risk of a quick death if discovered.

Wearing makeup is another popular tradition for both men and women in Ghenrael. Even chevaliers may wear cosmetics. There is both masculine and feminine makeup, although outsiders may have trouble telling the difference. Makeup can be a strong indicator of social standing. The quality and rarity of one's makeup—uncommon hues and consistencies are prized—speak volumes of one's status.

Politics
In Ghenrael, land is owned exclusively by the aristocracy and titles are granted by the Council of Heralds. Power rests solely in the Emperor or Empress as in many monarchies in Lethron where power descends from the throne, unlike Revelia whose power derives from the support of elected ministers.

Many Ghenraen nobles belong to its renowned knightly order, the chevaliers. The martial training of the chevaliers is legendarily harsh, instilling in the knights a fierce discipline and code of honour that takes precedence over the value of their own lives. The penalty for dishonour is death, something that a chevalier would welcome if he or she has failed their lord. They are honoured by many and are considered amongst the best of all soldiers but they also have unlimited rights when it comes to handling the peasantry; a cause of many conflicts.

Ghenraen Underbelly
As a result of Ghenrael's class divide and its natural attendance to extravagance and indulgence, Ghenrael has a near ubiquitous criminal presence. Two names come to the for front when acknowledging the truly sinister nature of the under hive sculcing in the shadows of this majestic kingdom, The Faceless and The Crows.

The Faceless
The Faceless is a 'many headed' beast in the eyes of the law in Ghenrael, so deeply woven in the culture that removing its deep seeded corruption is viewed as an impossible task. One that has moreover claimed the lives of innumerable stead fast town and city guard. The Faceless is a catch-all term coined to describe the vast network of loosely affiliated cartels, illicit operations and recidivist trades in proscribed items. The concern of governing authorities and even the church of light, is that The Faceless often trade items that go far beyond the merely criminal such as people smuggling, drugs and weapons and into the blatantly profane. The Faceless have a presence in all major settlements across Ghenrael to varying degrees, but their greatest concentrations are localised to the port of Auskell and the infamous underhive of the Capital 'Overshadow'.

The Crows
To those in the know, The Crows are viewed as 'gentlemen' thieves. Artists, rather than petty criminals, these rouges pride themselves in the masterful execution and elegance of completing a task without detection. The Crows specialise in forgery, theft and espionage. Crows prefer to avoid garish tasks like assassinations, however exceptions are made in situations where the target is of notable repute, the task itself requires unparalleled skills and of course the lucrative measure of reward. It is said, that laying eyes on a Crow when they do not wish to be seen is a commendable achievement rewarded by a swift death.