The Kingdom of the Ivory Sea
The Place
The Kingdom of the Ivory Sea, or as some call it, the Ivory Kingdom(the people tend to be called "Ivorian," it's the adjective usually associated with the place) is a vast country, almost as big as the sprawling Arcane Lands. The titular Ivory Sea forms its western border, though the Ivorian navies have conquered many small island kingdoms off the coast and their missionaries(often backed by considerable force of arms) seek distant lands across the seas to bring their faith to, whether it's desired or not.
Much their annoyance, their eastern border remains the Barrier Mountains and Sundered Valley, the place of defeat after defeat in every crusade they've launched against the Arcane Lands, the last one being just five years ago after a decade and a half of peace. To the south lie the Bleak Marshes, a place of disease and rot and another realm that has been the grave of many Ivorian soldiers as they attempt to bring light and faith to the lizardmen who dwell therein.
For the most part, the Kingdom of the Ivory Sea is unremarkably flat, a land of fields and forests, but with the cities unrivalled in size and sophistication anywhere in the Arcane Lands of Sundered Valley. Their great, walled metropolises are beautiful and white, kept clean by legions of labourers and hundreds of thousands of citizens who take their deity's call for Purity a tad too literally at times.
The People
Too far into the past to be recalled, the fledgling Ivory Kingdom conquered and subdued a small High Elven nation, and ever since then, High Elves and half-elves have been a common sights among the Ivorian armies and citizens. The dwarves of the Barrier Mountains feel drawn to the order and predictability of the Ivory Kingdom on a regular basis, and they have many small, but somewhat insular, communities among the cities and hills.
In the Ivory Kingdom there are no mages(at least not in public, and those who are found are soon hung and quartered), and there is but one god, the Ivory Lion, who remains worshipped and loved by most of the people despite the occasional hardships they must weather that a vicious application of arcane or divine magic could deal with.
Besides the royal family, the Ivory Kingdom also has many minor noble houses. Most human, but there are several high-elven and even a single dwarven noble house, their title and nobility granted to the dwarven smith who forged the first crown of the kingdom. Though they have much power, for the most part they do not oppress their servants or take undue advantage of their station. The occasional rotten apple tends to be quietly deposed and disposed of by the Ivorian Inquisitorial Office.
The Deity
The Ivory Lion is often depicted as a warrior with the head of a lion, wearing a lion mask or as a lion entirely. No one has ever seen one of his avatars or proxies, but there are many stories of how they have walked the lands in times of the direst need, combating plagues and corruption. Many of the scriptures of the Ivory Lion center around unnatural creations and creatures, undead and demons, and the Ivory Lion's never-ending battle to stop their constant threat to the world. The general loathing of magic comes from the Scrolls of the Great Journey, wherein the Ivory Lion travels to the edges of the world accompanied by the wizard Nebiros, but at the end of their travels, as they face the Stealer of Minds, Nebiros succumbs to the lure of power and betrays the Ivory Lion, almost leading to his defeat.
Despite not using their divine gifts for the common people, the Priests of the Ivory Lion tend to be accomplished medics and herbalists and will aid the sick and injured in more conventional ways, as well as acting as the judges of the Ivory Kingdom.
The Rulers
By divine writ, the Lionsclaw noble family has ruled the Kingdom of the Ivory Sea since its founding. It would be hard to argue that they are not just rulers, unless you're a mage, in which case it would probably not be a great challenge. From their seat in the capital city Ivory's Embrace, they dictate laws(though the remaining noble families must support their changes through a complicated voting system) and arbitrate when priests or noble families have irreconcilable differences.
The Current King: Albrecht Lionsclaw, presided over the last Ivorian Crusade against the Arcane Lands, launched five years ago, and is currently getting on in years. He's expected to abdicate the throne to one of his sons within the decade.
The Queen: Evangelyne Lionsclaw, a powerful priestess within the Church of the Ivory Lion in addition to her noble status.
The Princes and Princesses: Reiner, Aldric, Jehan, Sybille(disowned), Sabine, Georgine
