Estul, the Blessed Province

In sharp contrast to Perennion, Estul is largely unpopulated as much of the land is now mountainous and littered with dry canyons, bereft of the plentiful resources it once had; the majority of the towns, like Templeshire and Garyne, are near the sea.

The capital of Estul is Vicary where both the Basileus Cathedral and the royal palace are located. The government is often referred to as the Vicarage or the Vicarage State as both the country’s powers are located there. The prominent deity is Seraphine, although others are also worshiped  Adventurers from Estul tend to be clerics, paladins, or monks.

Before Estul was founded the lands were flat and vegetation was plentiful; however, the lands were not being farmed, as they were the battleground for a massive holy war between the Estuli and the Black Capols. The Estuli, led by Arlere Domingo, were an army of Seraphine-worshipping paladins; while the Capols were a massive tribe of ogres led by the great ogre mage Da’anik. The Capols were fleeing eastwards with the holy relic ‘the Heart of Elysium’ stolen from the Estuli Temple; the Estuli were in pursuit.

Their final battle took place at what is now Capol Point, where the Black Capols became trapped by the sea surrounding them and had no choice but to fight. The battle came to a climax as the elite warriors of the Estuli fought Da’anik at the peak of the cliffs. Here the great ogre mage used the Heart of Elysium to increase his own power tenfold. Arlere and his two closest friends, the vicar and eminent cleric Abitt Sauceny and the monk Garyne of Monos, defeated Da’anik. Da’anik collapsed and in his final breaths used the power of the Heart to cause the lands to shake, forming the plains into canyons and mountains; he then fell backwards off the cliff and into the seas. The victorious Estuli began to travel back to their home with the Heart in possession.

Unfortunately Abitt, who had been injured in the battle, passed away shortly afterwards. The normally stoic Garyne was unable to cope with the loss and left the Estuli to continue his monastic studies; Arlere declared he could not go on and founded Vicary in honour of the late vicar. The Heart of Elysium was placed into a large underground chamber, on top of which the Basileus Cathedral was built as the beginnings of Estul and the Elysium Church: the Domingos have ruled ever since.

A highly religious country, Estul has two governing powers, the first of which is the Elysian Church. The Basileus Cathedral is the dominant power in the Elysian Church, housing a large temple devoted to Seraphine as well as numerous smaller places of worship for other deities. The Elysian Church is lead by the Argent, who at present is Ennez Domingo, residing in the top tower of the cathedral, away from the rest of his family at the royal palace. The cathedral is built on top of an ancient chamber that houses the relic the Heart of Elysium, which only the Argent has access to. The top position in the church which can be attained without assistance of bloodline is that of Vicar, the three of which are generally on diplomatic missions so that the Argent may maintain complete power.

The royal palace serves as the government for Estul, but is little more than a figurehead in terms of its actual capacity for ruling – while officially it has more power than the church, it has never exercised it. The current King of Vicary is Francis Domingo, son of Ennez. When the king ascends to become the new Argent (after the death of the previous), his eldest son in turn then takes the seat of the throne. As a result of this family ascension through positions of power, the clergy and monarchy are very closely tied. The canon prince of Vicary and next in line for the throne is Accel Domingo, who has not recently been seen in public.

Seraphine is overwhelmingly the deity of choice in Estul – it is where she spent a majority of her time historically and those in the country are devoted to her without question.

Let’s jump to game terms for a moment again; the Estuli people are charismatic and devout. Religious types are easily the most common sorts of classes to come out of Estul, clerics and paladins of Seraphine in particular. The Aediles would be best represented by avengers, religious agents trained to work quietly, quickly, and in small groups if not by themselves.