Célenor

From Almeopedia

Célenor [ˈkɛ lɛ nor] is a vassal state of Verduria, currently ruled by its duke, Caloton Matrey. Its heartland is the valley of the Nof river, where its capital Ožnëa has been a major city since ancient times. The duchy includes a portion of the Eärdur, which is largely Barakhinei speaking, though the merchants of Acöni are Verdurian. It extends east to encompass most of the valley of the Keruna, including its chief town of Onela. Separating the two valleys is the Silva Icëlanië or Icëlan Forest, while the duchy is separated from Curesi to the east by the Baraďu Hills and the Silva Mil Ursi (Thousand Bear Woods).

The Nof and the Keruna both flow north into the Eärdur, but they are only connected through Mútküni territory; trade often passes along the Balal Road which runs roughly from Ožnëa to Balal (in Curesi) to Bogric (in Šerian). In the south, the Nof valley is connected to that of the Nöla by the Nanšohii (Southern Duchy) road.

Célenor is barely half pagan (and the duke's family is pagan); Eleďi however predominate along the Eärdur river.

Early history

The region was occupied by the Bešbalicu and the Gelyet during the Dark Years; its modern character derives from its reconquest by Caďinas in the early 2600s; being on the front line with the barbarians, it was ruled by the military. When Caďinas was occupied by the Curiyans in 2792, its military governor named himself king of Célenor.

Its last king, Tigar, nominally supported Ertala in his war with Caleon of Verduria— Ertala was closer, and a remote relation. This was a miscalculation; after Caleon had entirely conquered Ctesifon, he took care of Ertala's nominal allies, sweeping up Célenor in 2955-56. Tigar was deposed, and Caleon named his remarkable female general Silui Matreya as duchess.

The duchy became independent during the reign of the wizard Utu (which began in 3198). Célenorians have always vaunted their resistance to the dark wizards, but in truth the dukes simply took the opportunity to rule their backwater as they saw fit. Little had changed in the duchy since medieval times.

Mëranac 1e, after reconquering Ctesifon, visited the duke and informed him that he considered him his vassal; as Mëranac came with his army, the duke gladly agreed (3305). Little immediately came of this, but Mëranac's conquest of Vimínia showed that he intended to shore up control over his southern dominions; he died in 3316, however, and his successors, engaged in a dynastic quarrel, lost all of them. Verdurian kings continued to maintain that Célenor was theirs; the dukes were mostly content to maintain silence and de facto sovereignty.

Recent history

The division of Mútkün from Barakhún, engineered by the Dhekhnami, alarmed the local states, and especially their Arašei citizens, who considered it blasphemous for a king who worshipped Gelalh to control the territory of Eleisa. In 3385 Benécia and Célenor allied against Mútkün and Bešbalic, defeating them in a three-year war. Benécia expanded to the south, while Célenor obtained the area of Eleisa and, perhaps more importantly, the city of Acöni.

Célenor was involved also in the rebellion of Hroth against Mútkün in 3425, which had Verdurian support. In the peace negotiations, however, duke Éres tactlessly referred to his country as a dálua (kingdom). King Vlaran reportedly took him to his camp, where he showed him two cases of Célenorian red wine. One was being served to the officers, who expressed their approval of the duchy's finest export; the other was used as a demonstration of the destructive effects of gunpowder.

Éres accepted the lesson, but he negotiated the best deal he could: he accepted Verdurian sovereignty and Verdurian law, on condition that the dukes remain governors of Célenor, and members of the king's Konselora.

Etymology: Ver. Célenor, Bar. Kêlênor; the word is Barakhinei in form and derives from the Keruna river.