Lytheria

The foundations of Lytheria is rumored in legends, the human tribes of the region was taken over by the Elderkin during the middle of the Second Age, forming the first kingdom. 600 years after the formation of the 1st Kingdom, Lytheria was invaded and conqured during the Orcish Wars. It was the humans who first rebelled against the orcs during the occupation and when the elves joined them, it was the final blow for the Orcish Hordes in the region. Initially the Elves settup a feudal system where the lesser human lords submitted to the Elvish ones. 

Eventually however reforms took place as it looked like the humans were getting more and more  intelligent and wise, eventually bringing the first reforms where mankind was allowed to freely travel, recieve formal education, and rise the ranks of the feudal system. In 2174 SA a major event known as the Pikemen Revolution took place. A rebellion led by several noble houses within the north as well as the newly educated humans who had attempted to break away to form their own kingdoms, it was named after the main fighting force who started the revolt. This rebellion was eventually crushed by Elvish forces.

However unlike most elven monarchies, the leadership of Lytheria actually compromised with the leading house of the rebellion, the Kilgours, to create a Dual Monarchy. A law was made splitting the rulers to north and south bound together by agreements and shared rulership. In year 2864 SA, the dual monarchies established the first Parliament, transforming Lytheria into a Constitutional Duel Monarchy. Humans were allowed to run with their own parties and pass laws, bringing a new era of prosperity and representation for the humans, as well as a sense of national unity and brotherhood between the humans and elves of Lytheria otherwise unheard of in the rest of the world.

In the final century of the Second Age, a wealthy human entrepreneur from Lytheria named Alas Mercos began doing business dealings with the rapidly growing nation Voskgardia. After seeing the potential of Voskgardia's early industrialization, he established the first factory in Lytheria with the financial backing of the Kilgours. After his family's wealth exploded, many would soon follow in his footsteps as more factories began to spring up in Lytheria's northern realm of Rohalor. 

During the War of the Dawn, the humans of Lytheria began getting ideas from Voskgardia as it seemed that it was possible to finally stand up to the Elderkin. However the rulers of Lytheria, both Kilgours and Ammranduali, were far more progressive with their humans than the oppressive states of the Umrinor Cordiale.  

Lytheria is located in northwestern section of West Ciradon, near the dividing line between East Ciradon. It is bordered by the Red Mountains and the Urd-Ferdurun Dominion to the south and east, specifically the Guildholds of Barkenbar and Degerdan. To the east is the Federation of Istunia, while the north is bordered by a loosely organized tribal region known as the Circle of the Star Stone. Lytheria itself sits in a large basin crossed in half by a major river.  

The south of the country mostly experiences a humid continental climate characterized by warm humid summers and cold snowy winters. As one travels further north in Lytheria the weather becomes colder, slowly transitioning into a subarctic climate. In the furthest reaches north the landscape becomes arctic tundra along the norther borders of the nation. Much of the country is heavily forested with small rivers and rolling hills being other common sights. 

The government of Lytheria is a constitutional dual monarchy, with the parliament being the main body of representation within the country. There 2 Senates made for the human and elf populations respectively for each of their realms. It's a coalition style government, with 14 officially registered parties within the parliament representing every part of Lytherian society. The dual monarchy system came about after the Pikemen Revolution when the northern houses of Lytheria revolted in the aftermath of the Orcish Wars. 

Although the rebellion was crushed, the monarchy agreed to compromise with the largest human house of the north known as the Kilgours. The compromise led to the nation being split into 2 governing realms. In the north is Rohalor, the human realm, and in the south is Eneria, the elven realm. Tied together in a duel monarchy between the Kilgours and Ammranduali with equal powers, the north and south districts have their own senates where local parties determine changes for their own district. Parties in the parliament determine the changes and decisions made nation wide.

The largest parties are the "Federal Unity Party (FUP)" and the "Traditional Rally (TR)", both extremely powerful but unable to win on their own. The FUP is a modernist human led party with significant elvish politicians in it. The TR is a conservative elvish led party which advocates to keep industrialization at bay as much as possible and heavily despise it. There are other several smaller parties within the system, from human survivalists to elderkinists, to socialists to nationalists, a democratic exercise rarely seen in the rest of the world.

The position of Prime Minister is equal to the position of monarch, making Lytheria a nation of duel leadership. The Prime Minister concentrates on internal and domestic affairs while the Monarch takes care of international and military affairs. The two monarchies remain as an extremely powerful institution along side the Parliament. The Ammranduali Family is highly respected by humans and elves alike, humans for their stance on human rights and elves for their leadership and wise decisions. The Kilgours remain as the sole rulers of Rohalor and the main leaders of the humans in Lytheria. 

Due to their strategic neutrality in the War of the Dawn, Lytheria managed to remain relatively untouched. As a result it is one of the few elf majority nations to remain intact and growing instead of recovering. The humans of Lytheria pioneered the construction of factories in the north and different forms of mass production of goods and services. The south is well known for the traditional artisan production, swords, armor, and artisan works like ceramics, mosaics, fabrics and art. 

In the northern realm of Rohalor industry is highly developed, but small compared to most other modern human nations. Despite Rohalor being a human dominated region, they are still culturally close to the elves of Eneria, making it extremely difficult to build heavy industry without causing Elderkin backlash. Laws in the north limit industrial capabilities and outputs to reduce damage to the fieldic leylines. Rohalor's industry prioritizes vital and necessary goods which can also be used in the south such as fertilizers, farming equipment, medical supplies, and medicines. 

Despite the closeness of the two peoples elves are forbidden to enter Rohalor mainly for their own well being, while humans are allowed to travel to Eneria but with strict guidelines. Elyvora is the only city where both can come without restrictions. Here humans are able to see the beauty of the elvish architecture and elves can see the marvel of human ingenuity without danger. Large factories are outright banned in Elyvora and few car lanes exist in the city, making pollution non existent. Most human made commodities supplying the city are imported from Rohalor. 

In stark contrast to Rohalor, Eneria is a mostly rural and forested region known for it's natural beauty. Eneria's economy largely focuses on agriculture and livestock. Food is by far the largest export, with most of it going to Rohalor and Elyvora. High quality grains, greens, meat, and produce are  abundant and cheap, in part thanks to the use of human made fertilizers (though not pesticides). Other notable areas of economic activity are the sale of unique art pieces, such as glass, ceramics, fine arts, and fabric. 

The culture of Lythria is devided between the human north and elvish south. The Elves arrived from Midboria around the middle of the Second Age and setup in the human populated lands. They ruled over them, but they also adopted cultural values and traditions from the human natives, such as the belief in Ulai, the god spirit of nature and the universe. This belief later evolved to be known as Ulaiism which about 2/3s of Lytheria still follows to this day. This also lead to a more controversial part of Lytheria's culture, that of interracial marriage which is far more commonplace within Lytheria than most to the outside world. 

This often leads to half-bloods being born, which make up around 2% of Lytheria's population. Recent cultural developments have made the divide between humans and elves more prevalent. The human dominated provinces in the north, as a result FUP dominated policy, became far more industrialized then the south. Meanwhile the south is more agrarian and traditional as it is dominated by elves. Eneria is Lytheria's hub of creativity and artwork. Rohalorens visiting the south often marvel at the craftsmanship not only of the elves but also the small dwarf minority living near the southern border.

The capital city of Elyvora is a city unlike any other in the world, a strange but beautiful hybrid of industrial progress and natural traditional elvish architecture. The city was artificially planned that way, to keep one group from dominating over the other. Most new citizens who move to the capital usually come in pairs. Lytheria's north and south rely upon each other to keep the nation together. Economically, the north relies on the south for foods and agricultural outputs, while the south relies on the north for fertilizers and other industrially made tools for comfort. 

The Lytherian military system is divided into 2 corps, the Human Corp and the Elvish Corp. Each have their own command structure and systems of fighting and strategy. The Human Corp is the most reliable in open combat, as well as the cheapest and most flexible of the forces. They make up about 70% of Lytheria's military, due to how quick and easy it is to train and arm their forces. They primarily use mechanized tactics and weaponry, they are more likely to use trucks, planes and trains to move around, as well as armored cars and tanks.

The Elvish Corps are more traditional as their traits are primarily magical. These traits manifest in the Lytherian Knights, a branch of the military that specializes in singular or squad based elite soldiers. Their equipment is top of the line, northern human scientists and engineers working to improve them in collaboration with dwarven engineers to make them as high quality as possible. They are more likely to lead battalions of human soldiers into battle, go on squad missions behind enemy lines, or act as a support unit. 

Although they are very effective, they only make up about 1/3 of the Elvish Corp. The rest are made up of logistical support, as well as magic healers and archers. They use enhanced weaponry from the north as do the knights to power and improve their accuracy and reliability. Lytherian command quickly realised during the War of the Dawn that ranged warfare was far more effective, so they adapted, with the vast majority of elvish troops being ranged archers or long ranged mages and sorcerer's.

The Lytherian military command has sought not only new technologies, but also worked to update their strategy and organization. Combining both human and Elderkin military systems has achieved something previously seen as practically impossible, combined arms assaults using both magic and industrial weaponry. The 2 Corps are made to regularly meet and interact to foster unity and concensus. Commanders from each Corp often discuss with one another, something encouraged by the high command, to work out strategies and new, never before seen tactics.

• Lytheria was created bt Anmo.