Agenom

Agenom (ɑ:.ge.nɒm) is a human nation on the southwestern side of the northern half of the Kalesten continent, settled on the interior coast of the Kalesten Gulf. It has two major cities, with many smaller cities, towns, and villages in between. The capital, Coom, is in the north. The southern city of Dashy is a major trading hub located in the south.

Geography

Agenom's northern borders are shaped by the western edges of the Perdraser Mountain Range and the river Eora that flows from the southern end of the mountains, then arcs down into central Kalesten where it forks. The western fork that empties into the Kalesten Gulf marks the southernmost border of Agenom. The eastern border was defined politically and is only marked by outposts. The border was formerly shared with the nation of Cheuz, which has since been conquered by the Kalestein Empire.

Agenom has a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Much of the region is scrub, sparse woodland (such as oak savanna), shrubland or chaparral. much of the land is hilly, sloping down to the sea. Rolling foothills with scattered boulders are common sights.

Government

Agenom is a monarchy ruled by the Pholleios (FOHL-le-OHS) family in a succession determined by birth order. The current monarch is the young Queen Morotia Pholleios, married to King-Consort Baron Darius Kopios. Their son, Anais Pholleios, is the Crown Prince and stands to inherit the throne from his mother one day. Queen Morotia inherited the throne from her father, King Erios Pholleios, after he abdicated the throne in poor health, and died shortly after her marriage to Darius.

Beneath the monarch is a tier of nobles, a system taken from the old Kalesten Union. Dukes, Marquis, and Barons control regions of Agenom beneath the monarch, and act on the monarch’s behalf, managing taxes and laws for the nation, and representing their region to the monarch. Titles are determined by the population of the region in question, and the larger duchies and baronies are maintained by descendants of the royal line. Lesser lords and knights are often placed in charge of villages beneath a higher noble.

Succession

The Pholleios family has ruled Agenom for thirteen generations, shortly before the Kalesten Union united North Kalesten. Like many other monarchies, the succession relies on birth order, regardless of gender. Female and male heirs are equally valued. Typically, after the death of the current monarch, their first born child will inherit the throne. However, it is not uncommon for a monarch to abdicate the throne if their health is failing and they feel their heir is ready, as the previous King Erios did for his daughter, Queen Morotia.

In the case of the death of the heir apparent before succession, the next child in line is selected. If after the death of the current monarch there is no heir, one of their younger siblings maybe selected, and if they have no siblings, the task will go to an aunt or uncle—one of the younger siblings of the monarch before them—and so on until an appropriate heir is found. However, it has rarely ever had to go back more than two generations. In this event, the heir and their family is immediately elevated to royal status, and any children they have had before the succession thus become the next heirs.

The spouse of the monarch has no claim upon the throne, and their title is traditionally the King or Queen Consort. The main role of the consort is bear or sire heirs for the monarch, and provide companionship. Consorts hold very little political power, but in some cases they are granted regency in the death of their spouse when the heir apparent is under the age of sixteen. However, regency must be approved by the dukes, and if the consort is considered unfit by this council, one of them will take the regency until the heir apparent comes of age.

Monarchs are encouraged to marry higher Agenomian nobility, even though most of these nobles are descended of the Pholleios family, marriages are allowed as close as first cousins. Foreign consorts are highly discouraged for purity of the Agenomian ethnicity and Pholleios bloodline. Only three monarchs have taken foreign consorts, and they were divided by generations, allowing the Agenomian blood to as good as erase superficial North Kalestan traits. As a rather small and isolated ethnic group in Kalesten, the Agenom royalty feel it is imperative that they maintain the family’s ethnic background to relate to their people, rather than make political bargains with other nations through marriage.

Military

Agenom has been at peace for many decades, maintaining a standing volunteer military and navy only to secure their borders and protect trader. In generations past, Agenom was once divided by civil war, which created the neighboring nation of Cheuz. After a few generations, tensions faded and Cheuz and Agenom were at peace. However, when Cheuz was conquered by the Kalestine Empire several years ago, Agenom has prepared for war. Kalestine has frozen in its advancement while Chawoven, Agenom, Rheneld, and Kosony put up a united front, but the threat of war still looms. Agenom has stepped up recruitment and is putting its army and navy through their paces, preparing for conflict, but they have not gone as far as to issue a draft.

As a coastal nation, Agenom has a navy alongside ground forces. The Agenom navy has many of the same standards as the army. At times, the navy has had far more enlistments than the army as it provides more opportunities than the army in peacetime. They navy has long patrolled the Kalesten Gulf along with the navies of Ertia, Cheuz, and Kosony to guard against piracy and protect merchant vessels.

People

Agenomians are typically tan to olive-skinned with dark hair. Eye colors are typically brown, but hazel and green eyes are not uncommon. They are close to average human heights, if not slightly shorter than average; women stand around 5’5” (1.65m) and men at 5’9” (1.75m).

Agenom is a human nation and recognizes no significant populations of other races as citizens. Most other races in the region live outside the official borders of the nation. Brech’mar and Zaedyn cities are scattered across mountains in the Perdrasers, just north of Agenom, while Ochae’nafod and Dra’nafod tribes are scattered throughout secluded parts of the range. Kuzo inhabit the mountains as well, and can cause issues with livestock populations and sometimes threaten villages. From time to time, local militias are pulled together to slay rogue Kuzo tribes.

Culture

Agenom society is broken into three strict tiers, defined by a person’s station in life, and shown by the color of their clothes. The first tier of society is nobility—starting from the royal family, to the nobles, and ending with knights. The first tier is marked by white clothing typically adorned with gold. This tier is mainly determined by birth and bloodline, and the only other way to enter into this tier is to either be adopted/ensquired or married into a knightly family.

The second tier is the middle class and determined by economic status. Successful merchants and their families, and some individuals earning high regard from the state (such as sorcerers who lend their talents to the monarchy, and are thus paid handsomely) enter into the middle class. They are marked by the azure and indigo dyed clothing, and typically use silver adornments. Families can be moved up into this tier based on their income. The third tier is the peasantry, mostly farmers and laborers. They are permitted to wear clothing dyed either brown or black, which is often unadorned except for formal clothing. They are only allowed jewelry of copper or more common metals.

Foreigners are not subject to this rule, but if they choose to dress in Agenomian fashion, they must wear a color suiting for their station in life. It would be considered a great affront, even illegal, for a foreigner to wear an Agenomian style outfit in white unless they were visiting nobility. Clerics, whether native or foreign, are allowed to wear their temple’s official uniform, even if it is white. Immigrants are expected to adapt to the color coding once they become citizens.

Fashion

The cut and style of Agenom’s clothing is much the same throughout the tiers, though designs and fabrics differ in extravagance and quality between the tiers. The basic fashion is a long-sleeved tunic and vest for men, paired with loose-fitting pants that tuck into mid-shin high boot tops. Women wear long dresses with at least two layers; a flowing gown with long sleeves covered by a sleeveless over-dress. Both genders wear thick sashes around the waist. Higher tiers adorn their clothes with gold or silver foiling on vests, over-dresses, and the ends of the sashes, while lower tiers will use light colored fabric or stitching to achieve the same effect.

Curly hair is considered highly fashionable for women, and is worn pinned up with some scattered loose curls falling free or cascading down the back. Women with naturally straight or wavy hair often curl their hair daily to keep with fashion.

Gender Equality

Genders are legally equal in Agenom, but socially, women are often considered to be weaker—especially amongst the rural and lower classes where women are expected to do little more than marry and have children, while men see to the family’s financial success. In these rural settings, women are often ridiculed when they aspire to more than that, which keeps some young girls from pursuing their dreams. However, in the urban setting and in higher classes, women are expected to be well-educated and capable of supporting themselves without a man—at least, until they marry. In the second and first tier, both girls and boys are educated with the same curriculum, though the genders are segregated in academies.

Religion

Like many nations, the Seasonal Goddesses are highly revered in Agenom, especially amongst farming communities. Both Dashy and Coom have major temples, and there are many shrines maintained by priestesses throughout farming communities in the countryside. One of the grandest Seasonal Temples in the world is located in Coom, but for all its grandiosity, priestesses are still trained at the home temple in Chawoven.

As a nation rich through trade, they are one of the few nations to make Casril a major god in their pantheon. Coom is home to one of the only two actual temples to Casril in all of northern Kalesten—the other being in Serdenaugh.

The other Gods of Light are worshiped in Agenom as well, though their places of worship are far less grand. Acoassa, Erada, Saeven, and Essan and the Muses all have small temples in Coom and Dashy to serve the people as needed. Coom has a large complex of temples, creating a section of city known as ‘the holy quarter’.

Education

Agenom does not have a public education system. Most children in the first tier are educated by their parents in only the skills they need, typically the same skills their parents have. This leads to long family lines of farmers or laborers that are stuck in the same line of work as their forefathers generations before them. Children who aspire to more than this typically only have the options of hoping that a knight will want to ensquire them, or a second-tier artisan apprentice them, or joining the clergy.

Children of the second tier are expected to attend private academies, funded by tuition paid by their families. Most children of the first tier have private tutors, but some lower nobility and knightly children attend the same private academies as second-tier children. Knightly children are either ensquired to their knightly parent or another knight in the family and receive private tutoring along with training, but if they show no martial talent (or sometimes simply if they are female) they are sent to an academy for education.