Arcadia

The Kingdom of Arcadia is one of the Independent Kingdoms in the Isles. It is a rugged natural gem of beauty and hard-working inhabitants. The Arcadians are the primary human race who lives here. Long ago, they split from their ancestors in the tribal Realm of Beruna. The capital city of Arcadia is Castalla, and its most important trade city is Riverport. The kingdom's 6 million people are spread out in hundreds of small cities, towns, and rural forest dwellings.

Notable Arcadian Settlements

Castalla (capital)

Riverport

Sasa Sanctuary

Arcadia's Technological Advancement

Arcadia's roots as a tribal society-turned feudal clashes with its modern, industrialized advances in science and technology. Factories, the assembly line, and mass-production of goods has shifted its populations from rural farming towns to mega-cities like Riverport. Infrastructure and city services experience growing pains as they struggle to adapt to Arcadia's new and evolving identity as a center for commerce, invention, and trade.

Arcadia's largest cities are lit by electric lights. Neon signs light the night, and railroad tracks are being laid for the first steam-engine tests. Human inventors tinker with flying machines and electronic devices. Arcadia's old folk traditions strain against its modernization.

People and Society

Arcadians are the primary inhabitants of Arcadia. They are ruled by feudal lords who report to dukes and duchesses, who in turn report to the King of Arcadia.

Arcadia is a proud, independent kingdom whose ancestors mingled with tribal people of the realm of Beruna. During particularly harsh winters (or once every seven years), an ice bridge forms between Beruna and Arcadia, which enables trade.

In more recent times, Arcadia has established its own identity. The discovery of precious metals and invention of factories has made it a thriving place full of scheming lords, rich merchants, artisans, and laborers who work farms and cut trees. The cedar canoes of Arcadia’s early years have been replaced by galleons and frigates. Steel plating, electricity, and other modern inventions can all be credited to the innovative Arcadians.

Most native Arcadians are practical and non-religious. Hard work for profit is their mantra. Accepting of differences and home to some of the Isles' best scientists and pragmatic leaders, Arcadia is a welcoming paradise to many.

Religion

The majority of Arcadians are not religious, believing that magic and all other “supernatural” forces can be explained by science. They are respectful of other cultures' beliefs and views, and generally tolerant of the religious fervor of others.

The border of Arcadia in the north features more people who worship pagan gods from the Berunic pantheon. Some small towns and cities have local pagan spirits they revere. Arcadia's forests are full of strange and powerful spirits, witches, and other creatures so it is largely practical to pay them homage. Arcadia's southern border features many Arcadians who follow the spiritual path of Paolu.

Verunism has made a few small inroads in Arcadia's rural countryside due to an appearance by Veladriel and her missionaries.

Geography

In general, Arcadia has a wet and cool climate which has led to the growth of extensive forests featuring some of the largest trees in the world. The region's coastal forests are considered temperate rainforests. More inland, however, the climate can be drier with more harsh winters and warmer summers.

Most of the small continent is covered in the Arcadian Forest. The forest is full of thick fir and pine trees that lend themselves to an immense logging industry. A small protected area features massive cedar trees.

To the northwest are Arcadia’s Twin Peaks : two smooth, rounded composite stratovolcanoes that are primarily the result of layered ash, rubble, and lava over the past 500,000 years. They’ve both piled up about 12,000 feet high.

Travel time information

The Arcadian Forest

Glacius River

Twin Peaks

Economy

Draka makes the world go 'round - or at least, it does in Arcadia. Arcadians trade, barter, sell, and mass-produce many of the most valuable goods in the Isles. They have access to cedar lumber, rich iron mines, and have perfected the art of making money. In fact, so focused on wealth is Arcadia that some of its cities are ruled by Merchant Councils (the most notable being Riverport).

Because Arcadia uses factories, its means of production are quite powerful. Unfortunately, the lower class is subject to rampant mistreatment by the upper class. The wealthy upper class can afford education and jobs that don’t involve hard labor, while the lower class toils in factories or taxing professions like staffing brothels and indentured servitude. It is common for the worse-off in society to sell children to factory owners for a quick infusion of draka.

Military

The King has his own standing men-at-arms comprised of champions, knights, militia, bowmen, and cavalry. He also has agreements with his vassals – the wealthiest and most influential businessmen and lords in the Kingdom – to supply their own champions and conscripts to his charge, should he have need of them. The Arcadians have advanced military tech. Their ships are plated with thin steel plates fitted over wooden hulls, they have siege rams capped with iron, and generally well-equipped champions due to the wealth of metal available in the mountains.

Though the Arcadians have never been an aggressor in any wars, they have successfully defended themselves from The Azure Empire's forces before.