Agon

At the heart of the continent, this country is rich, with access to the sea through the mighty river that runs past their capital city. Their skills in diplomacy and charming a crowd are considered to be unmatched. There are fairly distinctive classes among the people. The land owners are powerful, making vast wealth from those that farm their lands.

The workers are often poor, especially those that farm for landowners. In the cities, a thriving merchant class survives, especially through trade with the other countries. The landowners are considered to be nobles, with power usually equal to their wealth and holdings. They wield considerable influence over the king, though the majority are simply loyal to the bloodline of the savior of humanity. Each, however, seeks to be the king's favorite so that they can grow in power.

A typical Agonish believes their culture to be the most advanced and civilized in the world. They believe that it is their right to rule the world, as King Ago I did so long ago. They would like to see the world joined together in peace under their rule. However, their current plan is to expand into the Disputed Lands, not conquering other sovereign countries.

There are several cities, many quite large with extensive sewer systems and marketplaces for trade. The coins of Agon are accepted in nearly all lands and are one of the standards by which all coin values are judged. Most Agonish coins, however, are minted by the Nuvroc. Nuvroc calls their own coin “Standards” and uses them as the template for the Agonish coins.

Agon's biggest advantage is that they have a majority of the continent's tillable land. Farming is big business, and land owners are powerful nobles in the land. Many of the farm workers believe in a deity called Xatcli, the god of the harvest, whose symbol is an ear of corn. The landowners encourage the faith, as it preaches that each should do their part, like a worker bee or ant.

Agon plies a good bit of trade up and down the Ago River and its tributaries. Of course, this is mostly trade between parts of Agon, though Feergrus and Kurrot have borders along this mighty river's tributaries. While many of the towns are farming communities, there are several major urban cities. The major cities all have extensive sewer systems as well as a special marketplace with storefronts and shops. Smaller towns trade in the town square with traveling merchant caravans.

The Ago River's tributary closest to the sea is the Olphar River, named after a hero who fought beside King Ago against the giants. The next tributary is the Xatcli River, named for the deity of the harvest. Then there is a major split as the Ago River reaches the capital city of Agonor. This branch is the major tributary called the Capital River, and it forms the southern border of the capital city. The next branch, the Torstan River is named for the first Magehunter. The Ago River's final tributary is called the Lucantul River. Finally the Ago River is forked at its beginning, and these forks are called the Devil's Fork, as it points towards Tarvon and the Disputed Lands.

The Capital River has its own tributaries. The grand city of Wevner sits where the three tributaries meet, and is often known as the City of Bridges. The northern tributary of the river is called the Florisica River. The middle tributary is called the Videnthal River. Finally, the southern tributary is called Kelmbach River.

The Agonish military is quite large, and as all have some training it can easily swell to vast numbers with the support of the populace. The nobles lead their own regiments of men, often supporting many soldiers on their land to protect it. When the king calls, they send their troops to serve him, often leading the soldiers themselves.

The typical male enters militia training shortly after puberty. After learning the basics, they usually return to their family's trade. Even nobles typically submit their children to learn the art of war. There is no requirement to enter the militia, other than a social one. However, all Agonish people learn the basics of swordplay from their parents. Even the women are taught this, despite the discrimination against women common in the land.

The cavalry are the most familiar part of the military, thanks to the horses that are bred throughout Agon. The Agonish horse is a powerful creature, and particularly powerful ones are given to the best soldiers of the land as their steeds. People who show little martial talent instead often become heralds. Their songs and battle cries move enemies to fear.

The Magehunters, however, inspire fear even to citizens. Hand picked from children throughout the land, they wear an “M” symbol marked with white paint, usually on the face with the nose as the meeting point for the bottom of the letter. They have an almost supernatural ability to sense magic and use that talent to hunt the users of arcane magics. Their base in in the fortress of Hadrarius, once home to a powerful noble family. The final descendant of that family helped to start the Magehunters and donated his lands to their use.

The heraldry of Agon was in question for the first few years of the reign of King Ago the First. Some thought that the symbol of the kingdom should be the Throne of Kings, the stone throne of the giants. However, it was argued that it should instead be the crude crown that had been fashioned for the king. The throne had been the symbol of the rule of the giants, much like their palace. It had been carved from a giant rock mesa by the labor of slaves.

The crown, however, had been forged by human hands. The victorious humans had taken the massive bejeweled crown of the giants and melted it down. They had destroyed that symbol of power. They took the gold and forged a human sized crown for their leader, the hero Ago. The crown remains a symbol of the past, on display in the palace. The later kings wear a new crown, leaving the original as a piece of history.

As many of the noble land owners stay in Agonor to play politics, they must appoint someone to run their lands. These people are the Stewards. They are not considered noble unless they are a member of the family, but they do run things in their master's absence. It is a position of considerable power. Their commands carry the weight of the noble landowner.

Nobles take the title of Lord or Lady. They give symbolic titles to those who serve them best. The title of Knight they may give to noteworthy soldiers that serve them, The title of Rancher is given to some of the more noteworthy renters of their lands. Much of the noble's wealth comes from those who live on their land and pay them rent to use it.

Some of the more prominent or interesting landowning families include:

Arishke – The lords of the eastern plains are considered some of the best horse riders in Agon. They breed most of the horses used by the Agonish Cavalry. Their horses are considered the best, especially a few of the higher end breeding lines.

Cegna – One of the old and powerful noble families of the west. Scandal has rocked this family, as some had turned to professional burglary to make ends meet when noble blood was not enough. When one was caught, it was quite the embarrassment for the whole family. If it was not for the influence of the Treyvan family, likely the Cegna family would have lost their noble titles. The family is quite wary of the debt now owed to the Treyvan family however.

Daskaar – They own a large deal of the land around Wevner, the “City of Bridges”. They rule over the city as powerful lords, and as the city is the largest in Agon save Agonor itself, they wield considerable political power. Their mercantile power is impressive and they are rumored to have strong ties with the Rava Coast Trading Company.

Demachet – A family with claim to royal blood. When the fifty-sixth king of Agon was nearly toppled by the plot of a Tarvoni mage, the Demachet family would have risen to the throne. After the coup failed, they fled Agon. Rumors of their resurgence or reappearance come from time to time but none have ever been verified. Their actions also led to the death of many of the Hadrarius family, leading to that family's demise and the final descendant's work on creating the Magehunters.

Esclataphe – One of the old and powerful noble families of the west. They control the trading barges that move down the rivers. Rava Coast Trading Company has been trying to wrest control from them or at least to create competition. The old guard of the west have teamed up to keep them out for the moment, but rumors of deals with eastern families for trading rights has put the Esclataphe family on edge.

Florisica – One of the remaining great families of the eastern expansion. They, like the Kelmbach and Videnthal families, headed up Agon's expansion to the east in its early days. They control much of the northern farms and plains area. It is rumored they have signed a deal with the Rava Coast Trading Company to move their goods by wagon through Kurrot, trading for the unique goods of Ravalei. The main money maker of the trip, however, would be the transport of salt from Kurrot to both Agon and Ravalei.

Grafenthal – This family is well known for their military tradition. The majority live on the edge of the Goblinoid lands, fighting to keep the border safe. Many of the greatest knights of Agon are part of this family. They are also distantly related to the Videnthal family. They were a part of the family that went even further east during the eastern expansion of Agon. Originally the main Videnthal family disowned them and there is some bitterness over that incident that remains to this day.

Hadrarius – Once a powerful family, all but one was slaughtered by the Tarvoni and the Demachet family. The survivor, too old to start a new family, donated his family's holdings to the king as a place to train a new kind of soldier. Zauber Hadrarius became the first headmaster training the now infamous Magehunters. The family name lives on thanks to the fortress of Hadrarius where the Magehunters continue to train to this day.

Kelmbach – One of the remaining great families of the eastern expansion. They, like the Florisica and Videnthal families, headed up Agon's expansion to the east in its early days. They control most of the central farm areas and may be the richest land owners in the world. With their vast monetary wealth, they try to buy favor and all that they want. They believe they can do anything they want as money can solve all their problems. This includes their various schemes to gain even more money.

Lucantul – Once one of the great families of the eastern expansion, currently the only surviving family member is the eccentric Kyran Diafand. Extraordinarily rich, he is sometimes known as “The Collector”. He lives in a heavily guarded mansion in the river city of Lucantul. His mansion is full of artifacts and other unique and odd items. He always searches for other objects to add to his collection. He is the son of a daughter of the family and the actual Lucantul name was lost due to a lack of sons. The family own most of the farmlands around the Devil’s Fork, Torstan River, and the Lucantul River, though that does not compare to the huge swaths of land owned by some of the other families.

Mandovarian – One of the old and powerful noble families of the west. Perhaps the most respected of all the noble families, their ties go back to the head adviser to the first king of Agon. They have almost always held the ear of the kings over the many centuries of the country's existence. Other families have briefly had more favor, but always the Mandovarian family rises to the top. They seem to have an uncanny nose for ferreting out the most secret of information and finding traitors. It is rumored that the family has some ties to the Magehunters, or at least works to help train them in investigative techniques.

Ostler – One of the old and powerful noble families of the west. They ponder and reflect on the past, running a museum of sorts. Some see them as a decaying family, trying to live in the glories of the past. Others see them as preservers of a past best not forgotten. They also have an obsession with art, and pride themselves as patrons to new and rising artists. As would be expected of their love of the past, their favorite artists are those who draw people or events that were historically significant.

Rabistach – One of the old and powerful noble families of the west. They are greatly concerned over the heritage of blood. Many of the family have been great healers as they have studied the human body extensively. They have begun work to breed out defects and create the perfect human. They point to the failing of the line of Ago as proof of what happens if one does not properly breed out imperfections.

Solen – One of the old and powerful noble families of the west. The Solen family is well known in Agon's military. They are staunch defenders of the land, but also are the strongest voice for Agon's expansion. All the males in the family are expected to join the military and become high ranking commanders. They are also well known for their aggressive tactics.

Treyvan – One of the old and powerful noble families of the west. As one of the old guard of the west, the Treyvan family has worked to build a powerful alliance to keep the western families as the greater power in Agon. They denigrate the eastern nobles, fearing any possible shift in power to the new blood. Even though those families have been around for centuries, the Treyvan family still considers them unwelcome newcomers. They will even cover up scandals or fix problems for other western families to keep the power in the west. It does not hurt that this causes those families to owe debts to the Treyvan family.

Videnthal – One of the remaining great families of the eastern expansion. They, like the Florisica and Kelmbach families, headed up Agon's expansion to the east in its early days. A few of the more independently minded members of the family decided to push farther east, wanting to get away from some of the strictly set roles they had been given by the elders of the family. This disobedience did not go over well with the elders and when the independent faction would not back down, they were disowned. However, this also left the family too weak to control the swaths of lands that the other expansion families grabbed.

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