Alness

Official Name: Alness

Demonym: Alnessan

Languages: Alnessic, Common

Population: Unknown

Capital: Visaris

Government: Principality/Colonial Protectorate

Head of State: Crown Prince/Governor-general

Leader: Crown Prince Syha III/Governor-general Yarborough

Ambassador: None Currently

Relationship: No Relationship with Gateway

Description: Alness is located on the continent due south of Gateway, sandwiched between Tyr and Tolek with Ostyr across the mountains to the north. It's a fairly remote principality, covered mostly in mountains and jungle, and while it is in no way hostile to visitors, it does not attract many tourists. As a colonial protectorate in the Tyrean empire, Alness conducts no official foreign relations on its on behalf, which has probably contributed to its low profile in Ikol.

Details are currently being worked on. Updates are on-going.

The origins of the Alnessans are ancient and not very well known, but it is often presumed that they share a common ancestor with the Tolekans, given their proximity and the relative similarity of their environment. Legends say that several tribes of those early ancestors crossed the mountains into Alness and never returned, living out their days in the deep jungle and eventually populating that nation. Written historical records are a fairly new phenomenon there, so there is little besides conjecture.

Better-recorded events tell of the Leuvians being the first to discover Alness several centuries ago. They discovered exotic woods and plants in the forests that were of use in instruments, furniture, dyes, and various other artistic endeavors, and so set up trading outposts. The Leuvian presence in Alness was significant, and for a while it was treated more or less as a colony of Pais de Leuvier. Early Vandalusians seafarers developed a presence as well, finding the ready supply of lumber key to the completion of their fledgling navy.

As Tyr's power grew and its naval and merchant fleets expanded, their numbers in neighboring Alness increased significantly. Eventually, talks between Pais de Leuvier and Tyr resulted in the colony's sale. The roi, it was said, had lost interest in attempting to govern from afar, and was convinced to turn the government over to Tyr in exchange for certain trade concessions. (The details of that arrangement were never made public, but those concessions are assumed to have been significant.) Tyr took over the governorship, replacing the Leuvian viceroy with a governor-general and restoring the hereditary crown prince of Alness to his (now mostly symbolic) throne. Alness was officially incorporated into the Tyrean empire as a colonial protectorate, and remains one to the present day.

Alness is bordered by mountain ranges on three sides and the sea on the fourth. The mountains marking the border with Tyr to the east are the lowest and most easily crossed, while the Ostyrean border in the north is marked by the highest peaks on the continent (and, some say, in Ikol) and is impassable for much of the year. To the west is Tolek, the border made imprecise and often disputed by the thick rain forest that covers the region. Thick rain forest actually covers most of Alness, except where there are river gorges cut between cliffs, or where land has been cleared for agriculture by the various colonizers. The coast is rocky, with the jungle-covered hills often running up almost to the sea. There are a few usable harbors, the largest and deepest at the capital city of Visaris.

The climate in Alness is similar to Tolek's for the most part -- hot and humid for much of the year, with a significant rainy season. The mountains on all sides and the deep valleys between leave much of Alness shrouded in mist and it is only along the coast where sea breezes are able to combat the otherwise stifling weather.

Officially, Alness is ruled by a Crown Prince, who is advised by a council of provincial representatives. In reality, the crown prince is a Tyrean puppet, acting at the behest of the governor-general.