Thelaji

Thelaji is a kingdom on the northernmost border of the Ankouvian continent. Historically, it was primarily populated by arctic gryphons, and during the Age of Kingdoms it was particularly powerful, with King Aubin leading a conquest resulting in over a quarter of the continent being under Thelajian rule. In y1057, King Caelus chose to rename the kingdom to Liwon, in an attempt to distance his new kingdom from the atrocities of Thelaji's past and of his great-grandparents.

Climate

Thelaji has one of the coldest climates in Ankou, second only to the island of Nordyr. It has long, bitter winters, and mild summers. The northern border is largely composed of high, jagged cliffs overlooking the ocean, and the general landscape is mountainous, resulting in powerful winds.

History

Thelaji Conquest

File:Ankou thelaji conquest.png

The conquest at its height, circa y914

The Thelaji Conquest occurred between of y893 and y914. Led by King Aubin and Queen Kaithe, the kingdom of Thelaji used its army and the Frost Jewel to forcibly take over dozens of kingdoms and territories. At its height, Thelaji controlled the majority of the northern continent. It ended in y914 when Aubin and Kaithe were killed by Ignis during an attempted takeover of Lyndoreth, after which most of the kingdoms reclaimed their independence. Several years later, their daughter Nix attempted to recover the Frost Jewel in order to begin reclaiming the territory her tribe had once controlled, but she too met her end at the talons of Ignis, during the Siege of Lyndoreth.

Civil War & Thelajian Blood

After the fall of the Thelaji conquest, the end of the Siege of Lyndoreth, and the ascension of Queen Parhelia, there yet remained a subset of creatures who believed in the inherent supremacy of the arctic gryphon species, and rejected the current leadership's notions of peace and harmony. Parhelia's own son Caligo was sympathetic to their cause, having grown up hearing stories of his great-grandfather Aubin and grandmother Nix, neither of whom he had met, and idolizing their power. Growing concerned about her son's ambition, Parhelia chose to make her younger son Caelus the heir of Thelaji, which only served to turn him away from her further. Once Caelus took over as king, one of his first acts was to rename the kingdom to Liwon, which Caligo saw as a betrayal of their shared legacy. This resulted in a civil war in the kingdom, with the two brothers on opposite sides, which ultimately led to Caligo and the other creatures loyal to his cause choosing to leave their homeland and settle their new tribe on the northern island of Nordyr, focusing on maintaining the purity and legacy of their bloodline. This tribe persisted onward for several thousand years, only coming to an end during the Age of Spirits when their numbers were too few to maintain their legacy, and their last hope and heir, Rothaniax, had escaped the tribe and fled south.