IF THE SOUTHERNERS ARE CORRUPT AND DECADENT BECAUSE THE WARM SOUTHERN CLIMATE HAS SPOILED THEM TO THE BONE, THEN THE PRIDE AND RESOURCEFULNESS OF IEPLANS HAS BEEN FORGED BY THE BITTER COLD OF THEIR HOMELAND. AND YET, IN SPITE OF THE ICE SURROUNDING THEM, IEPLANS MAINTAIN A WARM FIRE OF HOSPITALITY IN THEIR HEARTS, OFFERING IT TO THE OCCASIONAL WANDERER WHO STUMBLES UPON THEIR LAND…
Kingdom of Iepla
The Kingdom of Iepla (occasionally also spelled Yepla) is a small, frost-bitten realm situated at the far north of the Mainland. It occupies the wide Ieplan Peninsula, a land separated from the Vascavanian Empire by an imposing mountain range. This natural barrier, combined with the region’s brutal climate, has shaped Iepla into one of the most isolated nations of the Continent. Its people have survived centuries in a world of unrelenting cold, where snow smothers the land for most of the year and agriculture is all but impossible..
Through necessity, Ieplans turned to the sea and the hunt. Fishing, whaling, trapping, and pursuing northern beasts remain their primary means of survival. Renowned across the Continent as exceptional furriers, they produce pelts of unmatched quality, harvested with both skill and a deep respect for the cycle of life in the frozen wild.
Iepla is widely regarded as the cradle of shapeshifting. The majority of its population consists of shapeshifters who rely on their feral forms to endure long winters, navigate the tundra, and stalk prey. Ieplan folklore teaches that beneath the peninsula lies the slumbering ancient Dragon Iliya the Hermit, whose dormant aura shields the land. Many Ieplans believe their gift for shifting is an ancient blessing drawn from Iliya himself.
Although Iepla is formally a kingdom, its monarchy is relatively weak. The royal bloodline primarily manages diplomacy and matters concerning outsiders, while internal governance is organized on a local, clan-like level. Every village elects an Elder, and each region follows a Chief; these Chiefs answer to the monarch, but wield significant autonomy. This loose structure is an adaptation to the hostile terrain — vast distances, heavy snow, and limited infrastructure make large cities nearly impossible to maintain, and communication between settlements can be sporadic at best.
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[Show]History
Compared to other lands, Iepla is a relatively young nation, having existed as an independent kingdom for only about a century. Prior to that, the region was a remote northern province of Phisna, a rugged, sparsely inhabited land ruled by the so-called Northern King. The terrain was harsher than in the rest of Phisna, characterized by scattered mountains and unforgiving winters, but it remained under the monarchy’s control — until the birth of Iliya.
According to Ieplan lore, Iliya was born a normal human child, but as time passed, he matured into a mountain-sized Dragon. His willingess to help the people hunt and keep them safe from danger of the treacherous North caused the local tribes to revere him as a living wonder, eventually declaring him the rightful King of Iepla. The Northern King found this intolerable, yet could do little against a Dragon. Instead, he pressed the people for resources and taxes in an attempt to raise an army capable of confronting Iliya.
These burdens fell heavily upon the Ieplan people, and Iliya realized how much suffering their King had caused them. Determined to end the conflict, he descended upon the Northern King’s forces, scattering the army with little effort.
In a final act of defiance, the defeated Northern King withdrew to his mountain castle and proclaimed, “The Dragon will never have our mountains.” In response, Iliya demonstrated the full extent of his power — legend has it that he reshaped the land itself, literally pushing the Ieplan mountain range southward until it formed an immense natural barrier, crushing the Northern King's castle in the process and killing him and his three sons. In doing so, Iliya also exposed rich beds of metals and minerals, transforming the region’s fortunes almost overnight.
Yet this upheaval had consequences. Forests were buried, wildlife displaced, and the land left raw and wounded. For years, Iliya worked hard with the people to restore what he could — replanting woodlands, reshaping riverbeds, and encouraging the return of fauna. Maritime trade, now available thanks to newly accessible coasts, additionally aided Iepla’s recovery. Eventually the ruler of Phisna was forced to concede Iepla’s effective independence, even giving one of his daughters to become Iliya's bride lest the Dragon descended upon his kingdom as well.
Iliya and the princess had many children. When his firstborn son reached maturity and proved a wiser ruler than his predecessor, Iliya gave up oversight of Iepla to him and withdrew from politics. He spent the rest of his days living humbly across the countryside, tending the land he had reshaped.
In the centuries that followed, Phisna fell to the expanding Vascavanian Empire, but Iepla — shielded by the very mountains Iliya had pushed into place — remained unconquered. It established its own monarchy and formally proclaimed itself a Kingdom, a hardy nation thriving under the lingering protection of Iliya the Hermit.
Geography
Geographically, Iepla is an expanse of flat, tundra-like terrain, interrupted only by the southern mountain ranges that form its boundary with Vascavania. These mountains hold Iepla’s only true forests; further north the soil is too shallow, rocky, and frozen for trees to take root. Plant life clings to the land in the form of hardy shrubs, mosses, and lichen, with the occasional twisted, windswept tree.
Winters dominate the land, lasting for as long as seven months. There is no true summer — only a brief spring where the upper snow layer melts, giving rise to vast marshes notorious for swallowing travelers and beasts alike. The northern sea remains frozen year-round, while the southern coast stays navigable due to a warm current drifting up from Niamedia. Even then, captains must navigate carefully; icebergs broken off of northern glaciers still haunt the waters.
Notable towns
- Kjorhaem - tba. de facto seat in the south
- Saltvarn – tba
- Skelra – tba
Society & Culture
Ieplans are often described as reserved, cautious, and withdrawn, traits born from centuries of geographic isolation on their frozen northern peninsula. Yet when strangers do manage to reach their secluded villages, they are met with remarkable hospitality. Hospitality is considered a moral duty in Iepla, and travelers — rare as they are — are welcomed like honored guests. Ieplans may be traditionalists at heart, but they are also pragmatic opportunists, quick to adjust or reinterpret old customs if it offers even the slightest advantage for survival.
More than half of Iepla’s population consists of physical shapeshifters, a legacy of Iliya’s ancient influence upon the land. This high concentration, as well as the fact that most of the known Dragons of the world were born in this region, earned them the continent-wide nickname “Dragonborn”.
Ieplans generally favor their “other forms,” typically resembling northern carnivores, omnivores, or small herbivores. These forms grant significant survival advantages; shifters need less food, can consume raw meat when necessary, and share nutrition between forms — an invaluable trait in a land where resources are sparse. Shifting is not merely a magical ability but a practical adaptation to Iepla’s unforgiving climate.
Ieplan social structure is surprisingly egalitarian. Gender holds no political significance — leadership is determined solely by merit, skill, and respect earned. While men are somewhat more common as Elders or Chiefs due to physical strength, women in such roles are neither rare nor controversial.
Family is the cornerstone of Ieplan culture. Given the harsh environment and historically high mortality rates, society places great emphasis on finding a partner early in life and raising as many children as possible. Large families are seen as blessings to the village, strengthening both its workforce and its resilience.
Technology & Economy
Technologically, Iepla is one of the least developed regions on the Continent — rivaled only by mountain-bound Grimma. The northern regions remain especially primitive, relying on oral traditions, tribal survival, and ancient methods of hunting and crafting.
Iepla’s peculiar landscape was shaped dramatically when Iliya flattened the northern terrain and pushed the mountains southward, forming a vast barrier that isolated the region even further. As a result, Iepla’s southern edge is rich in exposed mineral seams, while the north stretches endlessly as frozen tundra.
The south is comparatively industrious, focused heavily on metalworking, toolmaking, weapon forging and trade rather than agriculture (which is nearly impossible anywhere in the kingdom). For many generations, these mines provided abundant resources — but in the past century, Iepla has drained much of its mineral wealth, dealing a severe blow to its southern economy.
The north is dominated by semi-nomadic shapeshifter tribes who follow the migrations of the prey animals they hunt. They produce the finest furs of the Continent, crafting garments prized even in the Vascavanian Empire. Each year, the northern tribes travel south to the great market fairs, exchanging furs and pelts for medicine and other goods unavailable in the tundra.
Religion
The faith of Iepla has no temples, no formal priesthood, and no holy book. Instead, Ieplans follow an ancient animistic tradition they call The Old Breath, also known as The Breath of the Land.
This religion teaches that every living being, and even natural formations such as mountains and rivers, carry a Breath — a spark of ancient life shared across the world. Spirits reside in the land itself, and the people of Iepla see themselves not as masters of nature, but as its children.
The core belief of this religion is that the land is alive; the earth of Iepla is believed to be a great slumbering body, breathing slowly through the seasons. Trees, animals, glaciers, winds, and even snowflakes possess spirits — some kind, some wrathful, some ancient beyond comprehension. Iliya the Hermit Dragon is not viewed as a god, but as the greatest of spirits, Iepla's benevolent protector.
Ieplans believe that shapeshifters were born from an ancient pact between early humans and the spirits of the land. To shift is not merely a magical ability; it is seen as a sign of harmony with nature, a reminder of their origins, and a responsibility to protect Iepla's natural balance.
When an Ieplan dies, their Breath returns to the earth. The spirits of ancestors linger in the wind, the stones, and the waters of the land.
The Old Breath faith has no clergy, but certain roles exist, such as shamans capable of entering a deep trance and communicating with spirits, and Clan-Mothers/Fathers — wise elders within each village entrusted to interpret dreams, omens, animal behavior, and weather patterns. They are also believed to mediate between living kin and ancestral spirits.
