History lesson continues

“Let us return the Empire again,” Dietrich resumes the lecture. “It is home to three and a half million people. The capital city is called Ylong and is located on the northern coast of the nation. The Empire is led by Emperor Hazin II. The Emperor is known for his short temper and any diplomatic missions with them are usually very tricky. The Empire is the largest nation on the continent, with the largest population and a formidable military power. The Empire’s population is estimated at around 3.1 million people. Next, Shavian Theocracy. As I said, it is a fairly new nation with a newly established religion. Located at the southeast of the Empire’s land. It has a population of 470000 people, and its capital is Goldbreach located on the western coast of the nation. The Theocracy is led by the Council of the Seven Holy Saints. That is what they call themselves, at least. Both the Empire and Theocracy are predominantly populated by humans. They achieve that by continuously hunting and relocating, imprisoning or executing anyone who is not human. Barbarous behavior, truly.” Dietrich shakes his head. “Shavia and the Empire have an alliance going on together built on mutual belief in the superiority of the human race.”

“Between our kingdom and the Empire lies the Kingdom of Castrevia. It has borders with us on the east, with Roredenia on the southeast and the Empire on the whole western border. That is, speaking of their mainland territory. You see, they have an island the same size as their mainland territory directly to the north of the coast. The capital city of Castrevia, Lodnan, is located on the northern coast of mainland territory. Their naval fleet is considered the strongest among all the nations on the continent. They have a tendency to assist anyone who is willing to pay for their mercenary services. Our kingdom is in cordial relationship with Castrevia.”

“On the northeastern coast bordering our kingdom lies a small land of the Council of Faeldorei. Faeldorei is home to the largest concentration of elves on the continent. Its capital city is called Efanlin and is surrounded by a vast forest. The Council is led by a group of Five Elven Elders. A lot of the surviving elves banded together in order to protect their culture from the crisis of childbirth they were facing. Over the centuries, the elven population diminished greatly from being one of the most widespread species to species being close to extinction. There are around 200000 elves living in Faeldorei. Our kingdom is on friendly terms with the Council, and you can find elves living within our communities. Though, it is quite rare.”

“Continuing, on the right side of Faeldorei is the Invian Theocracy. Its belief goes against the Shavians and both Theocracies regard each other with resentment. We have already briefly gone through the beliefs of the Invian religion. The capital city is Anobovia. The Theocracy is led by a Saint Pope. Upon the passing of the previous Pope, a new Pope is selected from within its clergy. Usually, the new Pope is chosen and trained by the previous Pope. The current Pope is Saint Pope Khalificer who has been the head of the Theocracy for the past 46 years. He is described serious and dedicated man. The Theocracy has a friendly relationship with our kingdom, primarily due to our shared belief in the rights of species besides humans. The Theocracy is home to approximately 700000 people.”

“Directly on the north of the Theocracy is lies that lands of the United Tribes of Kin. It is a nation of mixed races. The United Tribes of Kin is a nation of dwarves and beast folk. The nation is traditionally led by a couple. A dwarf and a beast folk, who are united in marriage and are appointed by their people, lead the nation together. The nation's capital is called Nilin. The population is around 500000 altogether. We have a friendly relationship with the United Tribes, and you can find dwarves and beast folk living within our kingdom more than the elves.”

“Moving onward, to the north of the United Tribes lies the Kingdom of Markadia. Our kingdom and Markadia border each other as well, but the border is almost completely, save for the small route on the upper side of the border, divided by a wide mountain range. Markadia is home to 1.8 million people. They follow the Invian teachings and are accepting of all species. Markadia is also the only matriarchy on the continent, led by the Great Queen Baella Markadia who has been ruling the kingdom for the past 13 years and is considered one of the greatest rulers in the kingdom’s history. Upon her inauguration, she swiftly started spearheading many reforms that changed her kingdom for the better. For example, she established an Anti-Corruption Bureau in the early days of her rule which saw the government offices and ministries cleaned of much of the corruption, which allowed an influx of budget to be diverted from the pockets of the corrupt officials to the projects that greatly improved lives of the people. It is a good thing that our kingdom is on friendly terms with Markadia. It is scary to imagine what Markadia as an enemy would be like.” Dietrich chuckles and continues.

“Speaking of Markadia’s enemies, we move to the final nation on the continent, the Principality of Hadria. It has a population of 1.7 million people. Hadrian people follow the Shavian teachings, although not to the same extent as the Empire and the Shavian Theocracy themselves. Hadrians indeed discriminate against people of other species than humans, but they do not go out of their way to hunt and exterminate them. The Principality is led by Prince Jaevon of Hadria. He is fairly young at only 32 years old and became a ruler of the Principality only two years ago following his father’s unexpected passing. Hadria and Markadia have been enemies for over six centuries now. Historians find it hard to pinpoint what exactly was the reason for the beginning of hostilities between the two nations, but the most plausible hypothesis is that around 600 years ago a king consort of the Great Queen of Markadia at the time had an affair with the wife of the then ruling Prince of Hadria. That infuriated the prince, and he dedicated his life to leading the Hadrian people to antagonize Markadia. Their grudge persists to this day and their hostilities and antagonistic behavior make the Markadian people angry and the vicious cycle goes on. Queen Baella has been pushing forward efforts to fix the relationship between the two nations, but Prince Jaevon’s father and now Prince Jaevon himself refused to answer Queen Baella’s attempts and continued with their antagonistic behavior against Markadia. As for our kingdom’s relationship with Hadria, it would be best described as strained. Primarily due to our support of Markadia and differences of religious views.”

“With that, today’s lecture is finished. We will continue our journey into the history of the continent during our next lessons. I hope you found this first lecture interesting, young princes.” Dietrich bows before exiting the room.

I look to my right and look at my brother’s reaction to the lecture. He looked focused throughout the lesson and didn’t put his quill down even for a second. As for me, I found it very interesting as well. There seems to be a lot going on in this world and I find it all so exciting.