Kingdom of Cantoras

Capital (and also largest city)	Camelot
Official Language	Cantor
Demonym	Cantorian
Government
Form of Government	Feudal Monarchy
King	Fabius III
Heir of the Throne	Lukrezia
Formation
Kingdom of Cantoras	643 AC
Area
Total	352.855 km²
Population
December 1760	27.250.000
Currency	Silver Pound

The Kingdom of Cantoras, located in the northwestern part of the continent Esradon. The Kingdom was a feudal monarchy from its formation in 643 AC until 1289. From then until 1660 it was a constitutional monarchy and afterwards reverted back to a feudal system, although considerably more centralized and consolidated than before. Though technically not absolute, the most recent kings wielded most of the power in the land, but there is pushback from provincial nobles.

Historical Eras

Prologue

Antiquity (before 643 AC)

Various peoples have inhabited the lands constituting Cantoras. One such group were the Galls, whose various tribes and subgroups had inhabited most of Esradon by around 500 BC. Around 300 AC the ancestors of the Cantorians left what is now Scania and conquered the southern parts of the region, subjugating the native Galls. These tribes wouldn't develop into more complex states for at least another 300 years. Around 600 AC was when the original five kingdoms of the Cantors began to form. Historians arent sure of when the various dynasties ruling these lands began or who they descend from, as this time period descends into various myths and legendary figures. One semi-legendary figure was a leader by the name of Caedwallia, who supposedly ruled Old Cantorshire in the early 7th century, and could be the oldest known ancestor of the original House of Alfredson.

Early Medieval Period (643 - ~1050 AC)

Alfred I(643 - 682): The first king of Cantorshire that has been decently documented, Alfred is the individual to which the House name Alfredson derives. He was the founder of the city of Camelot around 670, though sources vary.

Athelred I(682 - 686)

Edmund I(686 - 688)

Alfred II(688 - 706)

Athelstan I(706 - 713)

Alfred III(713 - 719)

Guy I(719 - 729): Guy's reign was marked by wars with the other Cantorian states, As well as incursions by the Castairian tribes to the south. He was the younger brother of Alfred III, who died suspiciously in a war camp(probably cursed or poisoned). Whether foul play took a part is debateable, but given the nature of the Cantorshirian throne, assassinations were frequent. Guy himself most likely met his end in a duel with his cousin Edmund.

Edmund II(729 - 750)

Athelstan II(750 - 771)

Ulrecht I(771 - 778): During this time period, the threat of Scanian raids all over Esradon was really taking off, and the Cantorian kingdoms were rather easy targets, being small and disunited. Ulrecht was the first king of Cantorshire to face off with the Scourge of the North, attempting to defend the coastline by founded the Cantorshire navy in 776, a precursor to the Royal Cantorian Navy.

Berengar I(778 - 795): One thing that needs to be mentioned is that the House of Alfredson during its early years followed a form of succession known as Agnatic Seniority, where the throne passed to the eldest male in the family, so the crown would pass through brothers and even cousins before any sons would inherit. This form of succession was infamous for promoting considerable rivalry among siblings, so many of the early monarchs were most likely assassinated by orders from relatives. Berengar I is the one who would finally do away with this system in favor of Agnatic Primogeniture.

Alfred IV(795 - 821): During Alfred's bloody reign, the neighboring kingdoms of Kennex and Avshire were conquered and annexed in 806 and 813, respectively. In 820, the Castairian tribes to the south, recently converted to Cadrielism, would invade north again in an attempt to spread the faith further. Alfred would meet his end in battle with them a year later.

Guy II(821 - 852): Known to history as Guy the Uniter, he would finish his father's ambitions of united the Cantorian peoples under one crown. Stating the threat to the south as a key reason to unite under one banner, he convinced the king of Harford to submit to him in 832. The ruler of Northorpe was less willing to give up his power, so Guy invaded in 837, conquering the country by 840. In 845, he gave himself the title "King of Cantoras", instead of just Cantorshire. In 852, he would meet with Charlain of the Violaine, and he would die to him in the resulting duel. Charlain would go on to found the Kingdom of Chastain, beginning the unification of the Castairian tribes in a similar manner to the Cantorians.

Berengar II(852 - 861)

Margaret I(861 - 890): The last ruler of the House of Alfredson, Margaret's reign would be remembered as one full of conflict with the new Kingdoms of Chastaine, Montataire, and Gardelegen. These recently formed realms, now with increased ability to raise armies, posed a greater threat to the Cantorian peoples than ever before. She married a nobleman from the House of Issos: Roderick. Therefore when Margaret died, this became the next dynasty to rule the kingdom.

Roderick I(890 - 896)

Roderick II(896 - 932): Son of Margaret Alfredson and Roderick of Issos, he would be baptised into Cadrielism in 902. A few years later, he would found the city of Avalon as the new religious center for the country. The main institute in the city was the Royal Cantorian School of Magic, which would eventually gain a reputation as the most prestigious school for the natural art in Esradon.

Arthur I(932 - 986): Arthur the Great is one of the most well-known of all Cantorian monarchs. Some of his accomplishments include the defeat of various Eilgwish invasions during his reign, even annexing some territories to the north. He also managed to severely defeat the king of Chastain, Charlois II, at the Battle of Trora, and then the leader of Montataire at a similar battle in the Breckensfaire Mountains. He is best known, however, for encouraging his people to convert to Cadrielism, hence his canonization as a saint has been considered by various Patriarchs of Avalon. Indeed by the time of his death in 986, Cantoras could be considered a Cadrielist nation.

Athelred II(986 - 1005)

Theodore I(1005 - 1013)

Roderick III(1013 - 1019)

Arthur II(1019 - 1046): The main innovation of Arthur's reign was the introduction of the three-field system, an idea developed at the magic school in Avalon. This form of farming would eventually spread to all Esradon and even beyond as a more efficient way to grow more produce and use more land simultaneously. The implementation of this farming system would see Cantoras's population increase dramatically in the centuries to come, unfortunately it also had the unintended consequence of reducing the value of labor, and the increased population would mean less land for each peasant, so many became landless or even fell to serfdom.

High Medieval Period (~1050 - ~1350 AC)

Alfred V(1046 - 1064)

Alfred VI(1064 - 1077)

Athelred III(1077 - 1092): Athelred ascended the throne at a time when Cantoras was prospering well, thanks to the innovations and accomplishments of his predecessors. He himself, however, wasn't very effective, and would occasionally do and say very strange things, earning him the moniker "Athelred the Eccentric". One issue was his impotency, rendering him unable to have children. On his deathbed, however, for some strange reason he refused to name a successor. Instead he announced the idea of having an election. One reason the king might have had this utterly bizarre idea was that he was a fan of the Republic of Venata's leadership, having visited the country several times during his life. So he probably figured such a mechanism could work in a strictly monarchical country. This lead to the War of the Clashing Nobles, where various knights and other warlords would fight each other for control of regions of the country.

Interregnum(1092 - 1098): During the War of the Clashing Nobles, various candidates vying for the position of King of Cantoras would duel each other, usually in the streets of Camelot to the attention of crowds of onlookers. Many tried to project an air of chivalry and respect as opposed to power. Just because they would attempt more peaceful means to win the hearts and minds of the people did not mean they were weak and unable to fight, though. One such individual by the name of Oliver Fortescue would win over his enemies with diplomacy and words rather than shedding their blood. However, he was a tactical prodigy who defeated nearly all his adversaries he could not win over diplomatically. Eventually he would seize the throne and declare his dynasty the new royal house in Cantoras.

Oliver I(1098 - 1133): After coming out on top during the fiasco of the War of the Clashing Nobles, Oliver the Chivalrous claimed the throne as the first king from the House of Fortescue. His glory days were during the war, though, as his reign was generally quite peaceful and consequently, uneventful. Despite numerous crusades called during his reign, he would not participate in any of them. However, he would instill in all his retainers the same sense of honor he showed others during the troubling times.

Arthur III(1133 - 1153)

Roderick IV(1153 - 1167)

Alfred VII(1167 - 1193): By this time, the leaders of the Castairian realms were all on relatively good terms, which was obviously troubling news for Cantoras. Particularly, Caestoire of Chastain, Sylvain of Montataire, and Marius of Gardelegen agreed on a combined invasion into Cantoras's southwest region, the duchy of Kennex. During the Kennex War of 1185-89, Alfred would face off against this trio of friends numerous times, sometimes coming out victorious and other times not, though he always displayed that Fortescue sense of honor no matter the outcome, at one point even letting Sylvain live after a duel because he had spared Alfred's life in the past. After the death of Alfred VII, the threat to the south would become increasingly dangerous to the realm, which would lack stability for the troubling times ahead.

Theodore II(1193 - 1199): During Theodore's six-year reign, an event occured which would alter the direction of Esradonian politics forever. Sylvain de la Marvours, King of Monatataire, and Marius, king of Gardelegen, would swear fealty to Caestoire of Chastain, effectively creating the Empire of Castaire. Theodore, sickly and not up to the new threat, would abdicate in 1199 to make way for his more capable brother.

Fabius I(1199 - 1204): In 1200, Scotia and Castaire came to an agreement to jointly invade Cantoras. Scotia agreed due to the fact that they had been continuously losing land in their south to the Cantorians over the centuries, and like a spring being pushed down, would eventually push back. The armies of Scotia led by the famous general Seamus Macalister rushed down in [month] 1201 and conquered the northern half of Northorpe. As Fabius rushed to meet him, he was tied up in the north, so left command of the southern forces in the hands of the generals Sir Oswald Maxwell and his own brother, the future Alfred VIII. Cantoras would hold on, keeping both armies at baywith much loss of life and property. Unfortunately, Fabius would catch a serious ear infection which became fatal. Only 4 months later, his brother Alfred would die from an eye infection.

Alfred VIII(1204)

Oliver II(1204 - 1236): After losing his father and uncle, as well as his childhood friends during the joint Scotia-Castarian invasion, he vowed to end the conflict and bloodshed, hopefully victoriously. Unfortunately, Oliver wasn't too capable on the battlefield. In the peace treaty of 1207, he would cede northern territories to Scotia and the coast of Kennex, as well as much of the Great Liriam Mountains to Castaire. At the very least, he had peace, so perhaps he was somewhat satisfied by the outcome?

Theodore III(1236 - 1255)

Oliver III(1255 - 1279)

Alfred IX(1279 - 1289): Alfred was considered by contemporary historians as a rather cruel and frivolous ruler, increasing taxes and hardships on peasants and serfs, and he even got the idea to tax the nobles as well. This went about as well as you'd expect. Fearing that they had a tyrant on their hands, a few nobles led by the Duke of Harford and the Viscount of Merriwick would stir up abused peasants to start a revolt. In 1286, they surrounded the _ Castle in Camelot, demanding an audience. When he accepted, the Viscount presented a major document that would give the nobles an elected assembly to share power with future monarchs. This document would be known today as the First Constitution of Cantoras. Alfred signed the new constitution on the condition that this so-called "Parliament" it would create would not convene until after his death, which occured three years later.

Oliver IV(1289 - 1322): After the death of his father, Oliver would be the first Cantorian monarch to share power with the new Parliament, which at this time only composed of nobles. The house of Nobles would write new laws, and the king would sign them into legitimacy. Parliament would also approve of the succession right of future monarchs. Being the first "constitutional monarch" in Esradon's history, this was all a great experiment on ideas that wouldn't catch on in other countries for centuries. Oliver was cooperative and would not overstep his power limits.

Arthur IV(1322 - 1345)

Late Medieval Period (~1350 - ~1500 AC)

Alfred X(1345 - 1376): Alfred was a rather ambitious man. He believed that the House of Nobles had usurped much of his rightful power and he would usually be non-cooperative with the institution. He still had the final say in any law, but frequently tried to pass decrees without submitting the bills through Parliament first. He was also bent on regaining territory lost during the invasions of the early 13th century. Securing a rare alliance with Scotia by agreeing to marry his son to their crown princess, and with funding approved by the Parliament, he launched an invasion of the Castairian held lands in Kennex and the southern mountains in 1349. This event would spark the Everlasting War between the two countries. By 1360, Alfred and his Scotian allies had driven Castaire out of the southwest and were even pushing through the mountains into mainland Castaire. By his death in 1376, the Cantor-Scotian forces had conquered much of northern Chastain, Gardelegen, and Monatataire.

Alfred XI(1376 - 1396): Known as Alfred the Mostly Lucky, the "luckiest" part of his reign was the fact that he was actually the second prince. His older brother Fabius had died in the Siege of Soleilieu in 1372, making him the heir. And since he was married to the crown princess of Scotia, this effectively made him king of both realms. However, he could not take this luck with him to the battlefield. The Castairian forces, now being led by the charismatic Elise de la Vendee, had pushed the Cantorians back to the Great Liriam Mountain Range. She would eventually be caught using forbidden dark magic to secure victories and be burned at the stake in 1381. However by 1389, both Cantoras and Castaire would sign the Treaty of Liramond, keeping the border along the tallest peaks of the Liriams. After his wife's death in 1393, he would fully annex Scotia into Cantoras.

Oliver V(1396 - 1399): While the two previous King Alfreds were pretty popular leaders, most likely helped out due to the war with the old enemy and all the patriotic ferver that came with it, Oliver V would prove to be very unpopular. He was so hated in Scotia that the region attempted to revolt in [month] 1399. After several years of incompetence, the Parliament finally decided to depose him, but the question was who to replace him with. He had a young son, but his wife, Patricia Kabanough, of a junior line of the same family, was made queen.

Patricia I(1399 - 1424): There is a longstanding theory that the only reason Oliver V's wife, not his son, was approved by Parliament, was that Patricia had some loyal magicians cast mind hexes over members of the Parliament to make them support her instead. The Cantorian government to this day claims that the Hall of the House of Nobles had anti-dark magic abilities to prevent something like this from happening. No matter how it happened, however, Patricia proved more capable than her husband. She quickly sent troops in to crush the separatist uprising in Scotia in 1400, and formed an alliance with the rival and emerging nation of Portamundo in 1404, an alliance which existed until recently. The rest of her reign was quite peaceful, although she taxed her subjects rather heavily to build extravagent castles, mansions, and monasteries.

Oliver VI(1424 - 1437): Oliver continued the rather strenuous taxation policies of his mother, which continued to burden the peasants. Eventually the strain was too much, and after his home village was burned for not coughing up enough tribute, a man by the name of Haytham Eversmith led a peasant uprising against the crown in 1431. Various peasants from manors all around Camelot and Avalon rose up and marched toward the cities, demanding less taxation, the abolition of serfdom, a second chamber of the parliament for commoners, and some even the abolition of corvee and other seignerial privileges. Eventually the uprising was quelled, and the rignleaders were executed. Eversmith himself died when his horse was shot under him in a clash with royal soldiers. After the uprising, Oliver had the House of Commons set up for more representation for Cantorian people. However, while he would not abolish serfdom or eliminate corvee labor taxes, he made the buying of one's freedom more approachable.

Alfred XII(1437 - 1466)

William I(1466 - 1472)

Early Modern Period (from 1500 AC)

Alfred XIII(1472 - 1515): Alfred XIII's 43-year reign was a time of great change in the Kingdom of Cantoras. The renaissance movement, starting in Ventalia over 100 years earlier, was making its way across the rest of Esradon. In Castaire, new painting and architetural styles were transforming the city and artistic communities there. Especially the reign of Emperor Celestin IV, who was building a grand new capital city in the new renaissance styles, was alarming to Alfred, who felt that Cantoras shouldn't lose to Castaire even in the field of art and culture, began transforming his cities (except Camelot) into new artistic hubs. After the Emperor's death in 1485, the new emperor, much more militarily-minded, began a fierce war with Cantoras in 1489. Lasting until 1491, this conflict resulted in pretty much nothing and is commonly refered to as the War of Nothing. Alfred would gain a great ipportunity to strike at Castaire during the Ventalian Wars of the early 16th century. He faced the highly incompetent imperial regent Claude at the Battle of the Fleches in 1508, resulting in Claude being captured, and demanding a ransom for his release, Castaire was humiliated, but lost only minor border territories in the Liriams.

William II(1515 - 1536): The major conflict during William's reign were the increasingly dragging Ventalian Wars, where Castaire claimed territories in Northern Ventalia such as Licerra and Clermonte. The Battle of Miaciaza in 1521 resulted in the Castairian conquest of Clermonte, while the Licerran capital of Iltorino was occupied. The island of Cilicia had been conquered by Escalona in 1504, so the Ventalians feared their entire homeland would be split up between the two powers. Sensing that if the Castairians would not stop with Licerra, and were probably trying to conquer all of the northern Ventalian peninsula, Cantoras entered the war on the ventalians' side in 1524. Although they never pushed too far into Castairian lands, the distractions was what Ventalia needed to keep the invaders at bay. When he died in 1536, the Matriarch of Altari Angelica IV had the idea to canonize him a saint, but settled with Blessed.

Gwendolyn I(1536 - 1592): The longest-reigning Cantorian monarch, Queen Gwendolyn was also pretty successful in her endeavors. A major policy of hers was the improvement of the lives of all her subjects, even the lowest. In 1543, she would coax the Patriarch in Avalon to break with the leader in Altari, making Cantoras a [Protestant] nation. In 1558, with Parliament's approval, especially the House of Commons, the practice of serfdom was abolished. This practice of tying peasants to plots of land had been in steady decline ever since the Great Revolt of 1431, but this freed the last few thousand still in bondage, mostly miners. In 1574, the queen, intrigued by the newly discovered lands across the Archonic Ocean, ordered the establishment of the first Cantorian settlements in Seraphia. This was also partially in response to Castaire building a presence there as well. These would prosper and get off the ground by 1600.

Fabius II(1592 - 1605)

Alfred XIV(1605 - 1616)

Oliver VII(1616 - 1644): Oliver was a fan of the idea that a nation's government (ie. monarch) should have control over the religious affairs of the country. He would take this further in a new idea sweeping Esradon called the Divine Right of Kings, the basis behind the growing absolutist movements in many countries such as Castaire, Escalona, Rothenia, and others. While others leaders, especially that "overly pompous" Seraphin of Castaire, they could rule as they pleased, while his will was contained and restricted. He despised the parliament, which he saw as earthly interference in his divinely appointed authority, and would frequently dismiss them when displeased. This absolutist attitude would reach a tipping point with his son.

Oliver VIII(1644 - 1688): Oliver VIII would continue his father's rather authoritarian ways, continuing to battle with the Parliament over the running of the country. Finally in 1653, ordered Parliament shut down, and its members arrested. This resulted in a mob of city folk coming to the Parliament's aid, and Oliver and entourage had to retreat. They later declared war on the Parliament, resulting in the Cantorian Civil War. While they had initial success taking control of rural areas, the major cities remaining mostly loyal to the crown, and by 1655 the royalists were coming out on top. In 1658, the last Parliamentary army was crushed on the plains of southern Avshire, resulting in a Royalist victory. In [month] 1660, Oliver signed the Edict of Grantham, effectively abolishing the Parliament for good. The crown could now rule as it saw fit, or so Oliver thought. The rest of his reign was marked by expansion of colonial holdings in the New World and Aphrina.

Oliver IX(1688 - 1693): When yet another Oliver took the Cantorian throne, many people didn't expect much change in their lives. After all, he was also absolutist in his views, and refused to reestablish the parliaments; not even at least the House of Nobles. This made support for the monarchy decline considerably during his reign. In 1693, a group of nobles and commonfolk alike, plotting to assassinate him, snuck gunpowder into the basement of the _ Castle, and were to ignite it, but the plan was foiled. However in the confusion, someone, no one is sure exactly who, shot a lightning spell at the king's chest, causing him to cardiac arrest.

Arthur V(1693 - 1715): Succeeding his assassinated brother in 1693, Arthur saw to an extent the problem the monarchy had in its relation to the people. While still and absolutist and a strong advocate for class distinctions, he would attempt to rule with a lighter hand. He would not give any prisoner or criminal the death penalty. He instead advocated for public floggings for criminals, as there was no honor in not dying for a cause. His peaceful ways would even continue into the early 18th century during the Ventalian War of Unification, where he kept Cantoras neutral, despite many wanting to enter the war on the side against unification, as Emperor Nathaniel I had steared Castaire into the conflict for it.

Arthur VI(1715 - 1742): Arthur VI would pretty much be more or less the same as his father. He was mostly a man of peace, but had no time for ideas of limiting the power of the crown or nobility. He attempted to maintain close relations with most of the powers of Esradon, and to form alliances with them to counter the hegemony of Castaire. The new Emperor, Nathaniel II, was highly militaristic and was rapidly building the armed forces of that already-powerful nation. One alliance he ended up breaking, however, was the 300-year old pact with Portamundo, after a military coup in 1727 sidelined the monarchy there, and Arthur thought the junta was illegitimate, cutting off diplomatic relations. His attempts at maintaining the peace fell apart in 1738 at the start of the Grand War Against Cantoras, known there as the Great Defensive War. During the seige of the capital Camelot, he fell gravely ill. Command was transferred to his son Fabius.

Fabius III(1742 - 1757): After making peace with the also-newly-crowned Stephane IV of Castaire, Fabius would attempt to help Stephane, and his wife Belle, also Fabius's sister, improve the relations between Cantoras and Castaire. He would set about restoring the order in Cantoras. Being a staunch conservative like his father and grandfather, Fabius suppressed the growing movement of intellectual thinkers and philosophers of the time period, lest the upper classes start seeing the commonfolk as mistreated and oppressed. Fabius never married, and was without issue at the time of his death in 1757. In a will he made days before his death, he named Stephane's daughter Lukrezia as his heir. As This greatly alarmed the other powers of Esradon, as Castaire and Cantoras under one monarch would be nigh-unstoppable. So the other powers, chiefly Escalona and Osterlitz, came up with their own candidates for Cantoras's throne, and attacked the pro-Lukrezia nations.

Interregnum(1757 - present): Cantoras has been without an official crowned head for a few years, and is fighting the War of the Cantorian Succession. The whole conflict started over an issue with the balance of power in Esradon, as Castairian Emperor Stephane recently changed the succession laws to Absolute Primogeniture, making Lukrezia his heir. This same woman being named heir to the throne of Cantoras by its late monarch Fabius III may result in a union between two already-powerful nations. Cantoras is aligned with Castaire and the small reiken nation of Cesky-Mirava to place Castairian princess Lukrezia on the throne. On the opposing side, Escalona supports its king's eldest son Carlos becoming the new Cantorian monarch, while Osterlitz, despite being allied with Escalona, actually supports one of its own princes, Maximilian, being Cantoras's new leader. Despite these differences, Escalona and Osterlitz are cooperating at the moment.

Geography

Climate

As Cantoras is a rather "tall" country (ie the length of the nation north to south is very large), the climate typically varies as you go north or south. In the deep south of the country, the massively tall Liriam Mountains offer alpine climate, and a sort of cool, boreal forest as the elevation decreases. North of there are the south-central plains just north of the capital area, where the best soil lies. These areas are the sunniest part of the country, but to be honest it's not saying much. Up in the north-central area, rocky, rolling hills dominate the landscape, and the region tends to be cloudy, if not too rainy. The farthest lands up north, the former Kingdom of Scotia is generally forested in the lowlands and grassy in the interior, and gusty winds are frequent.

Politics

Constituent States

Before Cantoras was a fully united country, the Cantor peoples were divided into five kingdoms which emerged after the retreat of the [Roman Empire] from the region around 600 AC. These kingdoms were Kennex in the southwest, Cantorshire in the southeast, Avshire in the central areas, Harford in the northwest and Northorpe in the northeast. Cantorshire, with its capital of Camelot and its old royalty, the House of Alfredson, would be the one to unite all five kingdoms under their rule. The other kingdoms retained their administrative stuctures to an extent, similar to the duchies of Castaire. Around 1530, the government would reform the administrative running of the country and create the following subdivisions.

King's Land	Camelot Carold Avalon
Queen's Bow	Trineth Grantham Ascort Colechester
Whelmshire	Averton Remington Caelborough Kingsbury
Eilgwend	Poreisther Tullaham Morrington
Whusterfield	Carsther Dalelry Monmouth
Hussex	Novemport Albion Rivercrest Nantwich
Leighnton	Hellensbath Thorpes Holbeck Ashborne
Sixton	Lisbeth Westray Lhanbryde
Lynnwood	Raleigh Oakstead Howerith
Draikeland	Newhampton Killeth Halfirth
Routherforth	Ashtonbury Silworth Kingsbridge

Foreign Relations

Relations to Castaire

Historical enemies turned recent friends, these two countries are on the same side of a war for pretty much the first time in their history.

Relations to Escaloña

On opposing sides of a war, the relations naturally aren't too great, even if the Escalonian king is married to a Fortescue duchess.

Relations to Portamundo

The relationship was quite cordial thanks to a long-lasting alliance between the two nations, but Cantoras views the new military junta in Portamundo as illegitimate usurpers.

Economy

Goldsmithery

When it comes to gold and crafting jewelry from it, the only competition comes from beyond Esradon, mainly the various kingdoms and principalities of Indh, plus the Borcalian colonies of Escalona and Portamundo. As gold is relatively plentiful in the Liriam Mountains as well as in the region of Eilgwend, may artisans take up the trade of goldsmithing. These craftsmen and women can create jewerly fit for royalty and nobility across Esradon and even beyond, as well as emerging middle classes and wealthy business tycoons. Indeed, the newest Cantorian Crown, made for future monarch Lukrezia, is fashioned from gold mined up north, and decorated with liramonds and a firestone (materialized fire elemental magic) from the Liramond region of Castaire, to symbolized her eventual rule over both nations.

A similar metal; silver is often worked by the same craftsmen into cheaper trinkets for everday folk. Unlike the gold, which is mined locally, most silver is imported from the Seraphian colonies as well as from the Salifarian lands in southeastern Esradon.

Demographics

Health

The Health System in Cantoras, same as most other systems, is not as well developed as it could be. Most people in Cantoras believe that ilness is a punishment for bad behavior in life so a serious disease should not be cured. Therefore hospitals or bigger medical establishments don't exist in the kingdom. As a result of that the disease death rate didn't change much in the last 200 years.

In case of ilness the Cantorian visit a local medico, who is mostly found on the edge of a village or in the middle of the woods. While the use of magic is forbidden in the medicine it is still used behind closed doors to help people to relieve their pain. The actions of a medico are supposed to be strickly watched by the government, but due of the bad Infrastructure this is sometimes impossible.

Legal treatments are treatments with herbs, elixirs, insect and animal extracts, minerals and other natural substances.

Despite of all these problems most Cantorian live a healthy life with healthy eating and lots of fresh air.