by Tal Meta (talmeta@optonline.net)
Used with Permission. Do not repost without obtaining prior permission from the author.

SUNELA
Proper Name: The Great Southern Empire of Sunela
Ruler: Vellin IX, Emperor of Sunela, Prince of Shatura, the Flame-Kissed.
Government: Constitutional Monarchy
Capitol: Shatura
Major Towns: Chevvid, City of Arches, Felisfon, Gaqofon, Grazid, Hesnoth, Kendair, Mulaantis, Pyrkura, Thelest, Xia'il
Provinces: Eleven major princedoms, each run from the major city of the same name.
Resources: Ores (gold, iron, copper), Furs, Foodstuffs (fish, dairy, grains), lumber, shipbuilding supplies
Coinage: Sovereign (pp), Prince (gp), Noble (ep), Knight (sp), Sheaf (cp)
Population: 2,350,000 (human 87%, olves 5%, dwurin 7%, other 1%)
Languages: Suloise (ancient)
Alignments: CG, LN, LE
Religions: Lendor, Lydia, Wee Jas, Osprem, Kord, Xerbo, Syrul
Allies: Zofon, Zobolfon, Xamaclan
Enemies: Osbyle, Huuncha League

Overview: Sunela has long been the 'Southern Capitol' of the Suloise Imperium, as well as a vital part of the economy. When the Colorless Rain began to fall, the Empress and her three youngest children were in residence at the Grand Palace in Shatura, hosting a party celebrating their victory over the Bakluni.

The next few years were dark and violent. Empress Vionne proved to be every bit the leader her husband had been, pulling together the ideals of her people and being highly visible at all times. Once the immediate Huuncha/Niphon threats were dealt with, she made her Warleader, General Hiati, her official consort. She and he then retired to Pyrkura, leaving her eldest remaining son, Evan, to assume the Exiled Throne as Emperor.

The two younger daughters were wed to heroes of the war, who were given the kingdoms of the west, Zofon & Zobolfon, to rule. The Sunelan Empire, which comprised Sunela, the Kingdoms of Zobolfon & Zofon, the Duchies of of Osbyle and Westreach, and the Protectorate of Nochet, enjoyed relative peace for another two centuries.

When the Niphonese invaded Westmarch in 5290 SD, things began to change. With the loss of Westmarch, Zobolfon was directly threatened by Niphon warlords. The actual territory that was once Westmarch would continue to change hands over the next 40 years, but in the end it would be conceded to the Niphonese as the price of peace.

Sunela maintained her position as the 'Heartland of Suloise Culture' by peaceful means for another century or so, but eventually the greedy princes of Zobolfon and Zofon conspired together to assassinate the 402nd Emperor on the day of his coronation, plunging the entire region into the War of Three Crowns.

War would rage between the kingdoms for thirty years, ending in a sham Regency Council, that would survive for another forty years before being torn apart by the greed and injustice of it's officers. The Second War of Crowns would see the destruction of Osbyle as a part of the Empire, leaving it a haven for pirates.

When Ulin I ascended the Exiled Throne in 5531, it was widely hailed as the dawn of a new age for the region. He and his descendants spent the next century rebuilding the roads and shipyards, and strengthening peaceful ties with all her neighbors.

Tensions would flare again in 5760, when the Huuncha League began raiding Sunelan shipping again in earnest. Reprisals against the hochebi reavers would draw Niphos into the conflict within another six years, embroiling most of the region into an extended naval war that would burn on and off for nearly a century.

A series of earthquakes in 5801 would result in nearly half of the treacherous shoals known as Xerbo's Teeth dropping into the sea, though the northern parts would rise even higher. Mariners braving the new passage would begin peaceful contact with the Olman of Xamaclan, though the monotony of the jungle coastline would not inspire them to explore much beyond that point.

Contact with the east has been sporadic. In 5960, a ship flying the colors of the Scarlet Sign ran afoul of Xerbo's Teeth in a storm, killing all but two of the crew. While recovering, the two crewmen were interrogated extensively, and were quite informative (albeit prejudiced) about the current state of affairs in the Flanaess. Both were quite popular in certain circles in the Empire, married well, and eventually died of natural causes.

A second vessel made port in Gaqofon in the spring of 6047, bearing ambassadors and offers of formal alliance between the two lands. Vellin VIII, newly installed in his office, received the ambassadors as honored guests in Shatura, but felt that further negotiations would be in order before any formal alliance could be formed between their lands.

It didn't help matters that Vellin considered himself their automatic sovereign, seeing as how they received their original charter from his ancestor, and that the delegates from the Kingdom of Shar disagreed. The ambassadors sailed east again in 6051, bearing gifts and messages of friendship, but no Brotherhood ships have returned to date.

That is not to say that their presence has not been felt. Several Brotherhood monks and assassins apparently made their way over the Hellfurnaces on foot in 6079, managing to kill several nobles before they were eventually captured or killed in turn. As those captured died under questioning, it is as yet unsure that all of these operatives have been accounted for....

Conflicts & Intrigues: Sunela, for the moment, exists in a relative state of peace. Though Osbyle and the Huuncha League are problems to be dealt with, neither is currently capable of standing against the Sunelan Imperial Fleet.

Trade continues with Niphos, though relations are mercurial as always. The olves of Niphos, unlike those of Nochet, are expansionist and warlike, always ready to take offense at the slightest provocation. The current rulership of Niphos seems more interested in retaking ground among the Huuncha islands than in pressing any claims against the humans of the north, however.

The Scarlet brotherhood remains something of a mystery to Sunela, a mystery that the Emperor is eager to resolve. Are they guardians of Suloise culture and beliefs as they have claimed, or has their vaunted isolation bred a culture that resembles that of the Ancestors, but which has decay in it's heart?