Arelia (The Arelian Empire)

Name: Arelia, Arelian Empire

Leaders: Queen Boudicca as Head of State, and the Gryphon Council (like Parliament only less power)

Type: Imperial Monarchy

Capital: Stromwall

Largest cities: Stromwall, Kirkless, Cirbuk

Monetary unit: Griff, though Dracons and the British Pound Sterling is common

Ethnicity/Race: Humans and Gryphons are the main citizens, though it has become a safe haven for the persecuted and holds hundreds of different races

Language: Gryphonic, Arelian, and Oveilian

Religion: Druidism

Climate: Varies from region to region, and each is prone to their own climates due to the girth of the empire. The Region of Prechan is the most variable of them, with warm springs, hot summers, cool falls and cold winters. Within the Daron it never gets above freezing for more than a week during the middle of the summer. The Region of Baffren is often tormented with storms due to it being on the coast. The Kilmerna Forests are often temperate, and the trees keep their foliage year round. The regions of Brolein and Oric can be unpredictable due to either the plains of the Brolein plateau going in to the mountains, or the dangerous mountains of Oric having storms sweep across the plains.

Resources: *By Region*
Prechan: agriculture, artwork.
Daron: heavy furs.
Kilmerna: lumber, pelts and furs.
Oric: ores and gems
Brolein: gold
Baffren and Islands: fishing

Flora and Fauna: Varies between regions.

Known Dangers: Frequent vampire uprisings in Oric who want to reclaim their homeland. Trow and bugbear attacks are also common throughout Kilmerna and Daron. Redcaps in the Brolein plains, and deadly storms on the Baffren coasts

History:
After the Inner Veil was created by the Veil Council the Gryphon King Prechan settled in the small meadows of the Drecian continent. The land became inhabited by the gryphons that joined him, as well as some humans. Prechan was old, even for a gryphon, and within sixty years he passed away. Despite the might and ingenuity of the gryphons, and the bravery of the human warriors, the sheer numbers of outside warring races such as the Trow, the Bree, and the Hydroits caused the territory to shrink drastically. It was all the Arelians could do just to defend the capital city Stromwall, much less take back their lands. When they thought things could not possibly get worse, the vampires from Oric started making raids during the night. It became common for people to start turning up dead...or not turning up at all. The druids did what they could against the vampires, and the lords sought out alliances with the elves from Borine to the west, and the Dragons. But the elves were under the same troubles and were unable to help, and the mighty Elder Dragon and his kin could not be found.

Days passed turning in to months, which turned in to years, and the Arelians who had once been a noble band of gryphons and humans had become little more than cowering kittens. Every night the people prayed that Luge would send a king who could bring Arelia back to her former glory. Their prayers were soon answered. A warrior from the Outer Veil had come to Arelia. This warrior had fought against the Roman invasions of Briton, if it had not been for a traitor in the court, the Romans would have been pushed out in the last attempt the warrior made against them. An imposing figure at the height of a tall man, Boudicca promised that if she was given loyalty, she would lead Arelia to victory.

The Arelians complied and the warrior queen began to strengthen the little kingdoms defenses. She first lead the army in raids against the Trow who were occupying the nearby Kilmerna forest. Once they were pushed out in to the Borine lands she advanced there to free the elves so that an alliance could at last be made with them. Once this was complete she moved south towards the coast with a army of over two thousand infantry and cavalry, and six thousand elf archers. The Hydroits of Baffren quickly surrendered. Queen Boudicca continued her advancements until the Brolien plains, the Daron Tundra, were also under the Arelian banner.

For fifty years the Arelians had peace until the vampires of Oric decided to begin killing more than they had in the past. The Arelians had had enough of this, they demanded that something be done. Boudicca obliged them. She called up reserve troops, and amassed an army of over two hundred thousand infantry, cavalry and archers, as well as several thousand gryphons and riders. She advanced in to Oric. With in fifteen years the vampires were put down or they went in to hiding. On Mount Oric, the highest mountain in that range, the Arelian banner is rumored to be seen even in Kileran in the forests several thousand miles away.

The Arelian Empire is now the largest on the Drecian continent, and arguably the Inner Veil. It has become a place of safety for the weak and exiled. The Queen's arms are open to all who need her kingdom's aid. Her two daughters, and her step brother govern by her side. To ensure that the regions of the empire are kept safe from harm, she has placed six powerful gryphon lords and lady in charge of the regions. Each of them containing an orb that links them with their protectorate. After several hundred years of turmoil, the Arelians are a noble race once again.