A central kingdom of Terath, located on the south eastern border of the King’s Lands.
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Important Figures
Leader: King Satana Akida: King Akida is the former General of the Myzentian army. He is also the shortest ruling King in Terath, other than King MutT of Westerland. He acquired the crown by besting the former Champion Karn, former King Creon’s champion, in honorable combat. Prior to being King, he was the General for decades and largely responsible for large gains in Myzentian territory in recent years. He is a fierce Elentari warrior, and master tactician. (More Detail)
The High Council: The King of Myzentius has sovereign rule over all Myzentian affairs, but is advised by the four members of the High Council. They consist of the Champion, the General of the Army, the High Ambassador and the Captain of the Civil Guard.
Champion Karn: The Champion of Myzentius is the second in command. It is the duty of the Champion of Myzentius to defend the King and his honor. The position is appointed for life, usually after the glorious death of the former Champion. The new Champion gives up his name forever to become “Champion Karn”. The current Champion was previously known as Crovax Boon, the only halfling to ever hold the position. Most believe that King Akida will never actually call upon the current Champion to defend his honor, as the Halfling is known more for his wit, cunning, and sheer daring, rather than his combat prowess. His appointment seems related to some underhanded assistance in the surprising turn of events that led to King Akida’s coronation. However, the champion achieved his position through political maneuvering a causing an impressive rise in profits from the Mercenaries Guild.
Lord General: General Shul Razia of the Myzentius army is a brutish warrior known for intimidating his subordinates and for working with the Myzentian Mercenaries far more than with the kingdom’s standing military. Shul Razia is the former Captain of the King’s Guards. He is a parthan with a bloody past and a famous temper, and even as the Lord General, he insists that the King will continue to oversee all major military decisions.
High Ambassador: Ambassador Gillian Glozen is in charge of running the intelligence network and managing all foreign affairs. Gillian Glozen is a Human of some notariety. Much like Crovax Boon, his ascension was rapid, and involved a great display of intelligence. Next to Boon, there is no one who knows the extensive spy networks of Myzentius as well as High Ambassador Glozen.
Captain Of The King’s Guard: Captain Illia Laren is in charge of the Kingdom’s Civil Guard and it is her duty to maintain peace within the kingdom’s cities. Illia is new to her post as well. Little is known about her, except that she was the former lieutenant of the Guard under Shul Razia, before King Akida came into power. She is known to have a rivalry with the famous bounty hunter, Talbert Morrowstone, who founded the legendary Ronin Stone Academy.
Law & Commerce In Myzentius
Myzentius is known for producing three primary domestic products – High Quality Salt, Fine Silver Ore, and Deadly Mercenaries.
The further inland one travels, the more Myzentian Salt one finds on the table. The largest active Salt Mine in Terath exists in western Myzentius, a stone’s throw away from the great lake. The Salt Mine is the exclusive property of the King, and over half of the workers are either prisoners serving out sentences, or debtors working to dig themselves out of trouble. Life expectancy in the Salt Mine is rather low, due to rapid dehydration caused by constant contact with the salt (both in the mine passages and scattered in the air), among other problems. And yet the Salt Mine is one of the major sources of revenue for the crown. Additionally, Myzentian Mercenaries can be found travelling with Salt Caravans to nearly every corner of Terath.
The Silver Ore found in the mountains of Eastern Myzentius is among the most pure in all the land. High amid the southeastern Peaks of Adjua one can find the old Dwarven Mines, worked by the Hrungnor & The Grungnir alike. While Myzentian Smelters melt down a fair portion of this silver into coin, a considerable amount of Silver Ore is nearly always shipped to Akeron, where the fine Akeronian silversmiths and tinkerers can ply their impressive skill.
Lastly, the kingdom thrives on its Mercenary Contracts. The vast majority of the Mercenary Guilds of Myzentius operate independently from government interference, and yet every guild must be registered and licensed. More importantly, every Guild must pay taxes to the crown, even for contracts which are fulfilled beyond Myzentian borders.
Within Myzentius there are clear laws which prevent assault, theft, murder, treason, the casting of Necromancy without writ, and the violation of a written contract. Of these listed crimes, only treason is considered to be worse than contract violation. When a person’s life, home, or property can be taken at the edge of a blade through a Challenge of Combat, then the lines between murder, theft, and righteous victory can easily become blurred. As such, written & binding oaths of service & loyalty are treated as completely sacrosanct. It is well known that foolish, cowardly, or greedy mercenaries have often been executed for violating a contract, even when such a violation had taken place in an entirely different kingdom.
Domestic products
Mercenaries, salt, furs, metallic ores, siege equipment
Relations with other nations
Myzentius takes great care to stay in the good graces of all Kingdoms, a tricky endeavor. They currently have the best favor with Akeron, often trading guard duty for building supplies and items. Relations with Hadrianus are somewhat strained, as a large part of current Myzentius once belonged to the Hadrians in generations long past. Due to this territorial dispute, both kingdoms are known to send unofficial raiding parties across the border nearly every year. Since Hadrianus rarely need their services, King Akida hasn’t tried very hard to mend this bridge.
Myzentius tries to stay neutral in any conflicts between Kingdoms, as it makes no business sense to take sides. This often grates on those Kingdoms, but they can rarely do without the services offered.
Brief Summary of Culture
The culture of Myzentius is one which favors boldness, arrogance, and a fondness for travel. These qualities stem from an ancient foundation of Myzentian mercenary activity throughout Terath.
During the era of Queen Octavia Lucius, the rulers of Myzentius essentially served as administrators for a massive network of talented Mercenary Guilds. The champions and leaders of these guilds were more respected and beloved than the merchants or the nobility. Regardless of age or gender, if you were from Myzentius, then the people of Terath expected you to be eager to live the life of a mercenary.
The old trade treaties of Terath invoked special privileges of tax and travel for any Citizen of Myzentius who worked as a caravan guard, monster hunter, or soldier of fortune. Nearly every single territory on the continent has been known to employ Myzentian Mercenaries to chase off bandits or to eliminate a threatening horde of monsters. Even to this day, a legally binding Myzentian Mercenary contract is considered to be incredibly reliable.
In Myzentius, anyone can rise to power and glory. The various guilds follow ancient traditions to compete in tests of stealth, strength, cunning, and strategy. As such, tournaments of all sorts are immensely popular in Myzentius. Displays of prowess have often been the traditional method of awarding valuable mercenary contracts. Champions would duel one another before the common crowds. And indeed, these traditions of honorable combat have extended to every facet of life, including challenges for marriage, property, title, and wealth.
In certain instances, those who refuse a challenge of combat can be brought before a magistrate and forced to surrender their title or property. Of course, anyone who is challenged may appoint a champion to fight on their behalf, and many mercenary champions have earned the favor of the common people by serving as a champion to the downtrodden or unlucky when faced with a challenge which might be perceived as dishonorable.
Brief Known History
Little is known about the previous ruling families of Myzentius before the Creon Royal line ruled. Over a millenia ago, it is said that a man named Asheron D’leron was the ruler of Myzentius, but was discovered to be a shape shifting creature known as a Forsaken. Whether this is truth or myth has been lost to history.
What is known for certain is that the Creon family came to power long ago through the creation of the first Myzentian High Council, which was guarded by the fist Champion of Myzentius, known as The Champion Karn.
Shortly before his fall, Baron Creon ordered the creation of Shadow Watch. Created as a series of fortresses that run for miles overlooking the neighboring kingdoms of Haven & Hadrianus. Few outside of the inner circle of the King know the true number of fortresses and how they are connected to each other (though it is generally accepted that many are connected via tunnels and caves that run throughout the mountains).
Following the War of Kings, The Draconic Domination of Terath, and the chaos of The Pale Campaign, a number of former mercenaries have separated from the official guilds of Myzentius in a bid to carve out their own tiny realms. These minor independent states possess only very small territories hidden amid the Peaks of Adjua. They usually consist of small groups led by a Bandit King, or in some cases, a collection of few mining towns ruled over by a notable Warlord.
5 things you should know
1. Shadow Watch is built directly into both sides of the mountain that houses it, and is more like a scattered group of connected fortresses rather than a single towering stronghold. It was constructed with the help of the finest architects and supplies from Akeron, and is rumored to secretly connect to deep and ancient caverns within the mountains.
2. Individual chartered guilds within the Mercenaries Guild are usually paid a percentage of the contract based on the status of their leader, as determined by the crown. A higher ranking leader receives not only more lucrative contracts, but a larger share of the payment. The remaining percentage is paid to the kingdom to cover the costs of the Guild.
3. Myzentius has the highest concentration of Dwarves in all of Terath, most of which reside in mountain settlements among the Peaks of Adjua in eastern Myzentius. The Peaks of Adjua are often regarded as the most beautiful mountains in all of Terath, and it is generally conceded that the finest Silver Ore in Terath originates within the dwarven mines there.
4. Due to the laws of the Challenge, and the rules of the Champion, no noble has ever lost a challenge in the history of Myzentius. The last known challenge issued to a noble was over 200 years ago due to this fact, publicly, at least.
5. During the War of Kings, Myzentius broke their long tradition of not choosing sides in a conflict. During the war, King Akida openly declared that he believed King Falion of Ebrus should have become the High King, and not King Kajorelle of Westerland. He then declared that the Mercenary’s Guild would not be allowed to take any contract that would put them against Ebrus or their allies during the war.
Additional Information
Myzentius is a kingdom of great simpliMyzentiuscity and direction. Don’t get me wrong, it is a complex infrastructure, but built on a very common maxim, “Money is Power and Power makes Money”. I myself, during my days as a freelance mercenary, held the title of Squad Leader of Myzentius and led a guild sanctioned under the Kingdom of Myzentius. It’s a good place for a young adventurer to learn the sword and build a name for themselves; that said, it’s also a good place to die trying to make a couple coppers too.
- ~ Xukkuth d’ Barra, Shadow of the Vallahorien
