Name: The Palatinate of Sancre Tor
Territorial Extent: Much of Sancre Tor's territory lies in the western Jerall mountains and southern Dragontail mountains. Rather than war with the other states for more fertile lands, the Palatinate has instead expanded into the dense mountain passes, thereby monopolizing trade between eastern Hammerfell, western Skyrim, and northwestern Cyrodiil. In addition to their mountain territory, the Palatinate possesses a singe farming village, Tinnark, which lies just a handful of miles south of Sancre Tor, providing the city with much of its rations.
Governance: The Palatinate of Sancre Tor, unsurprisingly, is led by a Palatine. The Palatine currently sitting on the throne is Chaim, descendant of the Reman line, holder of the blood of Saint Alessia, son and chieftain of the Alit Clov'r tribe, third level Ansei of Sancre Tor, and self-declared Aspect of Pelinal Whitestrake. Chaim is a rather fair man, and though he rules with absolute power, he gives his ear to officials elected democratically by his people. In addition, the Palatine is head of Saint Alessia's Church of the Eight, holding religious ceremonies and collecting donations to use for both the Church and the city.
The title of Palatine is passed from parent to child, though thus far it has only done so once. In addition, the Palatine must posses the blood of Reman, along with the Amulet of Kings, which is currently in the Palatinates possession.
Economy: The driving factor in Sancre Tor's economy is its monopoly over trade between northwestern Cyrodiil, western Skyrim, and eastern Hammerfell. To Sancre Tor's south, the mountains soon give way to the Cyrodiilic countryside, while to its west the Sancre Route leads to the southern Dragontail mountains and Alik'r desert and to the north Alessia's Pass leads up into western Skyrim. To profit off of its position, three different toll roads have been established, two in the mountain passed of the north and one just bed or the mountains end to the south. Every merchant carrying goods past these toll roads must pay a tax, whose price depends on what goods are being transported and the amount of said goods.
Citizens of the Palatinate enjoy lessened transport taxes, ensuring that Sancre Tor merchants remain the most dominant in the region and encouraging more merchant to move into the city to exploited the tax reduction, increasing population and inner competition. Sancre Tor, though focussed on taxing trade, also has two major exports, metals and furs. As far as metals go, the most prominent are iron, silver, corundum, and orichalcum, with Sancre Tor silver being some of the finest silver in Tamriel. Fur-wise, many varieties of heavily-coated beasts make their homes in the mountains around Sancre Tor, and here the fur trade flourishes, making hunters a high-demand resources.
Taxes on the people of Sancre Tor themselves are rather low, compared to this in the rest of Cyrodiil, with most of the tax revenue coming from the toll roads. Instead, donations to the legendary church from both pilgrims and residents alike help line the Palatinate's coffers, as the money is evenly distributed between the church and the city.
Military: The Army of the Palatinate of Sancre Tor is, unsurprisingly, the only branch, with no navy necessary, given their location. The Palatine oversees Sancre Tor's army himself, donning the title of Ansei, and employs high-ranking sword-singers as his battlefield commanders, second only to himself. The military is entirely meritocratic, with rank being granted by skill, rather than years of service, wealth, or familial standing. The following are the units of the army:
Principes: The bulk and backbone of the Sancre Tor army. Principes are trained with the age-old weapons and tactics that soldiers from Sancre Tor have always used, ever since Alessia herself founded the city. Unlike the soldier of the bygone Alessian Empire and Second Empire, the Principes of Sancre Tor do not employ the use of the common Cyrodiilic weapon, the sword. Instead, Principes are trained in the way of the spear and shield, focussing on stable and solid formations, rather than the common duelist strategy of most Cyrodiilic soldiers. The spear of the Principes is a standard six-and-a-half foot one with a wooden (usually oak) shaft wrapped in leather where the hands are placed and a straightforward, yet proven, steel tip.
The shield of the Principes is not one of standard Imperial make, either. Rather than the hulking tower shield of the Second Empire's legionnaires or the small, round bucklers popular among raiders, bandits, and adventurers, the Principes wield wide-brimmed, large circular shields that slant slightly back towards the user as the outer edge grows nearer. These shields are made of Sancre Tor steel, which is both sufficiently stalwart and yet not too cumbersome, and are usually emblazoned with a symbol or words of the user's preference. In addition to the shield, Principes wear a open-faced steel helm, rounded steel pauldrens, a steel bracer on their right arm, steel grieves, and boots of steel. Cuirasses and armor on the left arm are completely absent, as their wide-brimmed shield is expected to protect those areas.
While all of the previously mentioned gear is provided for the soldier by the army, Principes are expected to provide their own sidearm, be it a short-sword, dagger, or club, as well as their own bow or set of javelins. In addition, many of the Principes don heavy fur cloaks when not battling, as the frigid and harsh winds of the passes are enough to chill even the most stalwart man to his bones. Some soldiers, in fact, will even battle with these cloaks on, despite their hindrance, as men have been known to freeze to death in just a few scant hours, when not wearing the proper clothing.
The tactics of the Principes revolve around the formation a a tightly knit line of 20-30 soldiers called a phalanx, in which they interlock their shields and use their spears to smite down any being unlucky enough to stand in their path. Though formidable when in formation, Principes, who are again trained mainly in group spear formations, are relatively vulnerable when caught alone or broken-up. Almost any halfway-decent swordsman, in fact, can quickly kill or incapacitate a Principe, provided that can dodge their first spear thrust and quickly close the distance.
Peltast: The Peltast are the infantry skirmishers of the Sancre Tor army. These men are the least paid and least trained units of the military, mainly made up of young men and women who could not find work anywhere else. While Peltast have the opportunity to advance in rank, this is a rare thing, as only those who scored exceedingly low scores in training are placed in this category. The Peltast stand second in line, behind the Principes, while marching and group up in squads of eight behind the phalanxes after fighting ensues. Their purpose is to serve as javelin-throwers, light skirmishers, and battlefield medics. Upon being accepted in the ranks of the Peltast, a soldier is only provided with three javelins and a wooden or wicker oval shield. Past that, Peltast are free to purchase their own weapons, supplies and armor to wield on the battlefield.
Most Peltast, because of their usually poor nature, splurge only on an extra three javelins or a short sword of simple make. This means that Peltast suffer high casualties on the battlefield, given their lack of a proper shield, a set of armor, decent weapons and proper training. Because many other soldiers pity them, Peltast are usually given the first chance to loot the bodies of the dead after a battle and given the beat scavenged equipment, which usually results in veteran Peltast wearing a mix-match of armor and wielding foreign weapons. Unlike other units, the Peltast are not professional soldiers, instead training three days every moon, in addition to whatever training they have in their free time, and working normal professions the rest of the time.
Sancre Alit: The Sancre Alit are one of the newer units of Sancre Tor, formed when the Alit Clov'r made their way to the city and integrated with its people. The unit's names, which is obviously a compound of the name of the city and the name of the tribe, translates into something akin to 'the golden falcons'. This unit fights in the traditional Redguard way, one-on-one, face-to-face duels on the battlefield. Just like their ancestors, the Sancre Alit fight without the protection of armor. Their original, thin and loose-fitting desert garb, however, is impractical in their new environment, so instead they now wrap themselves in thick furs, gaining the nickname of beastmen from both their fellow soldiers and their enemies.
When the tribesmen came to the Golden Hill, not only did their environment and garb change, their swords did as well. When the men first visited the city they wielded very thick-bladed schimitars, weapons that were more axe than sword, meant for heavy, swooping strikes. The smiths of Sancre Tor, however, were not used to such blades, and so when the next large order was made to supply the newly-formed Sancre Alit, the weapons became longer and thinner, though they still curved towards the end. These new swords were unique to Sancre Tor, and the smiths who forged them gave them the name 'falchion' after the Alit who they forged them for. While still suitable for heavy chops, the blade was more agile and versatile than the schimitars of the Alik'r, almost akin to the cutlasses of the Hammerfell shore.
Sprinkled among the Sancre Alit, a few lesser sword-singers command the others and train them. These soldiers, the sword-singers, have always been the most capable swordsman in all of Tamriel, following the teachings of Frandar Hunding. All strive to become Ansei, though only two in Sancre Tor have received that title, with one having passed away recently.
Nordic Longbows: The Nordic Longbows are a mercenary warband from the Nordic city of Falkreath who are known for their use of- what else- their longbows. The band, who had started off as a hunting lodge in Falkreath, formed a mercenary unit after the demand for hired soldier in the area continued to grow. After Chaim took the throne of Sancre Tor, he saw the need for a unit of ranged infantry, something that the city-state's military was missing. The city's own hunters, who felled everything from brown bears to mountain lions, however, were not the best option for such a unit, as the small amount of them who were proficient in the use of the bow were being employed in the Watchmen and most of those not employed in that unit were expert trappers, rather than archers.
The unit, made up mostly of Nords, could fire their larger-than-average bows with surprising power, a result of their muscled build. Though they originally had experience in firing at long-ranges individually, they adapted to become a cohesive unit of ranged infantry after they were hired by Chaim, or at least some did. The others were trained to extend their range even further, focussing instead on sniping from extreme heights. This made them perfect for defending the citadel of Sancre Tor, nestled high up in its cliff. For the archers could strike down enemies from their cliff, but the enemies could not even fire an arrow high enough to scrap the citadel's marble walls.
Watchmen: The Watchmen of Sancre Tor are just what they sound like. These men may see the least amount of battle out of any of the other units in the army, but their life is certainly the hardest. Only the most grizzled foresters and mountain-men even contemplate joining this order. These men, of which few exist, dwell on the summits of the mountains surrounding Sancre Tor and its passes. They wield whatever they wish to wield, wear whatever they deem the warmest, and fight however they must fight. These men live either in deep caves or small huts perched upon the crags of the high mountains, though they never travel higher than the clouds that envelop the apex. Up here, where Nirn almost meets the void, the air is thin, the air flesh-freezing, and the wind so harsh and omnipresent that it won't even let snow settle to the ground.
These men live in isolated groups of three, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves. Each one is a harsh, lonely man who prefers the company of mountain trolls and the voice of the gales to that of humans. The only thing connecting the Watchmen to Sancre Tor is a troop of great, domesticated eagles that carry with them a message every month, telling the Palatine of the most recent going-ons on the summits. The purpose of these men, besides holding off the odd incursion of mountain trolls into their territory, is to alert the city of any armies who may approach. For the Watchmen are equipped with a device of Redguard invention, the 'seeing-glass' which lets men see like hawks from the sky, spying on possible prey. In the case that the do spot an approaching army, each camp of three men has a great brazier which is always at the ready. If an enemy approaches from the south, the brazier is lit with no change to its natural color. If an enemy approaches from the Sancre Route, then fire salts are added to make the flames blaze an unnatural red, and if and an enemy approaches from Alessia's Pass, bits of orichalcum are added to the flame, turning it green.
When other stations see one-another's flame, they too light their own brazier in the same fashion, and so-on and so-forth until all of the mountain braziers are alight and in no way could anyone in the Palatinate miss the glow.
The Sword-singers of Sancre Tor: The Sword-singers of Sancre Tor are the finest infantrymen in all of Sancre Tor. Made up of an entire class of sword-singers, widely renowned as the world's best order of swordsman, the sword-singers indigenous to Sancre Tor, while not as able as some orders from Hammerfell and Yokuda itself, is certainly quite effective. Each man fights in the traditional way of the sword-singers- that is, with great skill- and besides that there are no other ways to describe them. As is tradition, the sword-singers are recruited on the eleventh anniversary of their birth and trained in the ancient ways of blade until they either die or become the highest of Ansei, or Saints of the Sword. The Sword-singers of Sancre Tor's main task is to right wrongs of any sort and protect their master, Ansei Chaim.
Cataphracts: The strong-arm of Sancre Tor's cavalry wing, Cataphracts serve as the city-state's heavy cavalry. Equipped with steeds that are mixed between Imperial destriers and Nordic draught horses draqed in armor of steel scales, the Cataphracts' steeds are durable and strong enough to do the work that they do admirably. The riders themselves, similarly to their horses, wear armor of steel scales and full steel helms that cover all but their pupils, leaving almost no chinks or weak-points open. These riders are mostly of Alik'r horseman roots, with riding in their blood, and train from a rather young age. Forgoing shields entirely and trusting instead their steel coats, the Cataphracts ride into battle wielding a great, needle-like lance, which they hold with two hands and under their shoulder.
The Cataphracts are trained almost specifically for one action, the charge. For these great beasts of metal and their tenacious riders can frighten even the most grizzled soldier, shaking them in their boots with both their appearance and their physical rumbling of the earth. With their lance held in their two-handed grip, utterly steady, and their horses at full gallop, the Cataphracts can fell even the most stalwart men, no matter their shield or armor. Rather than staying for the ensuing melee and risk losing their advantage of speed and power, though, the Cataphracts immediately retreat after a frontal charge, returning to the rear of the line to gain rest and reorganize. Here they surround their command and await his commands, for the Cataphracts usefulness does not die out after the first charge.
When the keen eyes of the Palatine spot a weakness in an enemy line or formation, or need to break-up one that is gaining too much momentum, the Cataphracts are sent in for a single change, before rinsing and repeating. This not only breaks down enemy formations and kills of their men, it also demoralizes them to no end, for they no that one their begin to recuperate, they will soon face the deadly knights once more. In the case that a Cataphract is knocked off of his steed, the man will quickly abandon his lance and instead pull out a spiked mace with which to fight. This is not their forte, however, and if a man's can manage to pierce the Cataphract's scales, victory is most certainly the enemies.
Setti: The Setti are another important cavalry unit in Sancre Tor's arsenal. These horse archers forgo to frontal charges and solid formations of their Cataphract brethren and instead focus and harassing and whiddling down the enemy. The Setti are made entirely of old tribesmen and their sons, as horse archery was the main form of combat among the Alit Clov'r. These men are more born to the unit, rather than anything else, as this way of combat seems to run in their blood. In combat, the Setti wear either no armor, substituting it with furs, or don leather lamellar armor. Their horses, however, always go without barding, as speed is much more valuable than protecting in their case. The bow that the Setti wield is receive in nature, made more elastic through its use of both bone and horse glue, in addition to standard wood. Some Setti will also carry a thin lance in case they find themselves in the path of an enemy, though moat forgo the extra weight.
The main function of the Setti is to circle an enemy after the main melee begins and repeatedly loose arrows into their midst from afar, all the while galloping at an even pace. When targeted by enemy archers, all the Setti must do is ride off on their pure-bred Alik'r steeds, a fragile race known for its great bursts of speed and moderate endurance. In addition to being used during the melee, the Setti will also chase down retreating enemies in the case of a victory, making sure that the amount of soldiers that they must face next time are fewer than they would have been. The Setti are also employed in the lightning-fast raids of villages, ridding in, felling and scattering the townsfolk, gathers some supplies, and returning within minutes.
Rattin: The third and final cavalry unit of the Sancre Tor army, the Rattin serve and the light melee infantry of the military. Their steeds are mixes between the Alik'r pure-bred and the Imperial destriers that are quick enough to stay as mobile as a light infantry unit should and strong enough to charge. In addition to acting as light infantry, the Rattin also are employed as scouts and messengers for the main body, quickly traveling from point-to-point. While the Rattin keep their steeds unarmored, they themselves wear steel mail, though they forgo helmets entirely. Unlike their Cataphract cousins and their massive lances, the Rattin, wield a lighter, once-handed lance in one hand and a small iron buckler in the other. In addition, they each carry two javelins under their shield and another three fastened to their saddle.
With the Rattin lacking the protection of the Cataphract knights, they would be suicidal to charge a fully-organized unit head-on. Instead, the Rattin await the melee and, once the lines are drawn, charge for the enemy's flanks. This, of course, make them the prime target for their bane on the battlefield, archers, while they despise with an undying passion, for they cause nearly all of their casualties. If they make it past the arrow storm, though, result is an almost immediate advantage for the infantrymen, for the enemy line collapses on the sides, allowing for infantrymen to flood through and fell the enemies more unprepared soldier and archers. In addition, the Dayton also show their value against individuals admirably. If a battle turns from one of formations into one of individual duels, than the Rattin have lost their one weakness, a solid enemy formation.
Brief History: Sancre Tor, or the Golden Hill, a city nestled high in the unforgiving Jerall mountains, is one draqed in many layers of venerable and intermingling history. At the site of the yet unborn Golden Hill, Saint Alessia of old, great champion of humanity itself and bane of the tyrannical elf-kings, received her most enlightening and divine vision of freedom for humanity. This catalyst, happening where two great passes converged in the Jeralls before spilling down into the fertile lands of Cyrod, saw the birth of both Alessia's Save Rebellion and the city of Sancre Tor. Alessia herself started the city in this most harsh site, declaring it to be one of great holy importance.
From the cities mines, which webbed through the mountains that surrounded it on all sides, came many varieties of minerals, both rich and mundane in nature. This was not the city's main source of wealth and prestige, however, instead, this came from the grand temple that the city held, designed and commissioned by the most just Saint Alessia. In addition, the city's pass to Skyrim, the only pass that was widely used, saw a great deal of traffic, both by free merchants exchanging goods between the two lands and by messengers of Alessia, who exchanged her words with the people of Skyrim, with which she retained good relations.
Sancre Tor was also the site of one of Pelinal Whitestrake's many great battles with the elven overlords during the Slave Rebellion. Here, in the city established by his companion, the Star Made Knight fought valiantly against Haromir of Copper and Tea. While this battle ensued, Pelinal let a name yet-unknown to others tear forth from his mouth; Reman. Though none at the time yet knew of any Reman, for indeed he was not yet birthed unto Nirn, it would later become apparent to all that a relation of sorts existed between the two, who despite existing millennia apart from one another communicate through Sancre Tor.
After the Slave Rebellion simmered down and the Alessian Order brought about- what else- order, the city saw a great deal of favor. From here, a great empire was ran at least in a spiritual sense, though some sources argue that it was indeed the physical capitol of the first empire. The city saw a great expansion, with one of the results being a nearly impenetrable citadel being carved into the cliff side overlooking the city itself, with no visible entry and no way to scale its cliff-born walls from its front and no way to safe decend from the all but unreachable mountain peak to its rear. In addition to its physical protection, the citadel was said to have been protected by the divine themselves, who favored Alessia great, and enchanted by only the most powerful mage lords.
The city itself grew as well, as the lack of indigenous nourishment, barring stubborn mountain goats on stout vegetables was not enough to keep more and more people from settling down in the city. Pilgrims of all sorts came to pray at the holy place of Alessia's enlightenment, and merchants frequented the city in growing numbers to trade through the Jeralls and buy some of the cities famous furs or metals. Indeed it was a good time for the Golden Hill, and as more people flooded in they ran out of room in the city which was nestled tightly between great peaks and in narrow passages. So as the demand grew housing was carved from the mountainsides themselves, layered on top of each-other and intermingling the the mines that provided the riches of the city.
Even after the founder of the city, most beloved Alessia, died, it continued to see its own renaissance as her corpse was buried in the cities proximity. Over the years, though, as the Order that she had founded lost more and more of its strength over its people, Sancre Tor's age of gold began to end, finally seeing a great collapse after the War of Righteousness. In the immediate wake after the war, the grand city dissolved into one of the many city-states dotting the land of Cyrod. The dark age did not last long, however, for history was always being made in and around the passes of Sancre Tor.
Not long after the collapse of the Alessian Empire came the Akiviri Scare, with the odd man-beasts of the east sailing to Skyrim and carving a path through it with their might forces. In this time of need, a hero rose for Sancre Tor, just as Alessia once had, and his name was Reman, the same Reman that Pelinal had spoken of ages before. This man, if one would call him just a man, was a product of the mating of a mighty King Hrol and the spirit of Saint Alessia, still containing writhing her burial mound just outside of Sancre Tor. As Hrol gave his seed to Alessia's spirit, passing in the process, the mound in which Alessia had rested grew and grew until it become a great mountain of mud.
In the beginning, the city-folk of Sancre Tor shied from this mound, for they heard of the foulness that begat it, the union between man and dead. After nine moons, however, a shepherdedess heard a wailing from atop the mound and went to investigate it. What she found was a sight that is still not explained to mortals in how it came about, for atop the mound sat the infant Reman Cyrodiil, and clutched in his newborn fist was a bloodied amulet, Chim-el Adabal, or the long-lost Amulet of Kings. So with the Worldly God Reman Cyrodiil, favored of Akatosh and son of Alessia, ascended the throne and brought about the Second Empire, the city of his birth witnessed a second golden age.
The city was greatly favored by Reman, just as it had been by his mother, and under his rule it flourished once more, it's sizable glory heard by all. As the kings of the Reman dynasty each took their throne, they recognized the Golden Hill as the ancestral birthplace, and each was buried in its citadel's catacombs alongside Alessia. Yet, just as it always does, its golden age ended once more, this time brought about by the Imterregnum, rather than the War of Righteousness. As the Reman dynasty was considered eliminated and warlords once more occupied Cyrod, a woman claiming herself to be the descendent of the Reman dynasty, with her line coming from a forgotten son of Reman II took control of the city, deciding that she had to be the one to once again restore place a Reman on the throne, as was proper.
Meanwhile, however, in the desert of Alik'r, a tribe called the Alit Clov'r was turning their vision towards the city of Sancre Tor. This tribe was one of the few tribes of horseman who dwelled in the narrow, sparsely grassed strip of land where the Alik'r deserts meets the Dragontail mountains, vying constantly for resources with the Orc savages of the Dragontail and the Redgaurd sand-men of the deep Alik'r. While they possessed neither the considerable strength of the Dragontail orcs of the sand-magic of the Alik'r sand-men, this band of Redguards did have a pair of advantages, their unmatched skill with a blade, brought about by the study of the sword-singers of old and their possession of fine Alik'r steeds, sleek, intelligent, and relentless beasts that they rode into battle with unrivaled prowess.
This tribe, separated from all of that civilization by the mountains to the east and the endless desert to the west, knew little of the outside world. Their chieftain, however, who had just taken the title from his father and was an aspiring sword-singer, had knowledge of a certain artifact that her longed for with an unendeding passion, the Amulet of the Ansei, which was said to be one of the Ansei's legendary memories-in-stone, containing many secrets of the blade that had been lost in time, as the sword-saints became fewer and less powerful. With the knowledge that this memory-in-stone could very well make him one of the last Ansei on Nirn and teach the rest of his tribe of what he had learned, the chieftain set course for a location south-southwest, towards Sancre Tor, where he believed the amulet was located.
After a long journey south, though the edge of the Alik'r, the tribe turned east, to cross though a pass in the Dragontail mountains that they had discovered. As they traveled through this pass bringing with them their many steeds and numerous warrior, they annihilated many Orcish tribes who stood in their path, driven by their greed for the memory-in-stone. The tribe came across many twists and turns in the pass, each one trying to fling them off course, but through the confusion the chieftain stayed on his course, supposedly guided by the unknown war-gods. After many days, the sharp, black rock of the Dragontail mountains began to change in color, becoming a light grey, and the weather began to change from clear and hot to freezing, with frigid rain assaulting them from the heavens and harsh winds assaulting them with the frightening howl of lost ancestors.
The chieftain knew that they were getting closer, and indeed was correct. Just half a moon later the tribe reached a grand citadel, reaching into the heaven and overlooking a city carved into the very mountains themselves. This, he knew, was Sancre Tor. But he was disheartened anyway, for the fort was unassailable, and his band was great outnumbered by the spear-wielding residents, who could easily fell his horses in the tight pass, where they had no room to stretch their legs. So instead he called to the citadel, and requested an audience with its lord. And so it was so, with the last descendant of Reman and the chieftain of Alit Clov'r meeting, translator between them.
The woman of Reman expressed her surprise at finding someone who had come from the west, as the pass that way had been unmapped since Nirn itself was born. After a bit of speaking with one another, the two decided that, in exchange for telling her the ways of the pass, the chieftain would receive his memory-in-stone, which had sat on display in the citadel for ages, unlabeled and gathering dust. Something unexpected had developed during the visit, though, something that wasn't agreed upon by the two, but rather it simply happened. The descendant of Reman Cyrodiil and the tribesman fell for one-another, urged on by Mara's loving hand. And so the man and his tribe stayed for just awhile longer, or so he told himself.
The two coupled every night for a moon, as they loved one another greatly and yet knew that they had to separate. So their brief time together was meant to be both a loving hello and passionate goodbye. Just as the chieftain had gathered enough willpower to leave his brief lover, however, and return to the desert he loved too, the descendant of Reman made it clear that within her womb she had his child, a child that she would call Chaim. So the man stayed permanently, making the city of his lover now his own. Despite his urgings otherwise, his tribe stayed too, owing him their loyalty, and so start a new age in Sancre Tor's history, though whether this one would be golden or not was not yet known.
» Sat Nov 23, 2013 8:03 pm 
