The Holy Kingdom

If you ask which of the many City-States that span the neck of land from the Greater Halvards to the borders of Taldameer is the greatest, you'll get many answers. But one name that will surely arise is that of the Holy Kingdom of Lescatie. It may not have the great sphere of influence of Fiora or the merchant fleets of Alcasse, but, as the seat of the Cult of Voltan, god of law and rulership, it holds the status of primus inter pares among the cult centers, viewed ceremonially as the reflection of the Heavens on the mortal coil. To that end, it has attained great fame and great wealth as an important destination for pilgrims, and increasingly as a forum of diplomacy between different lands. Though its recent history is one of great upheaval, it has not marred the city's prominence.

Located centrally in a valley, the city's strategic location makes it the nexus of several roads. Like many of the City-States, Lescatie enjoys a modest temperate climate, with grapes being a prominent crop - though its proximity to the Halvard Mountains tempers the warmth of the south.

Lescatie has been a sacred site to Voltanites since time immemorial - one of the earliest Voltanite grottos was found in the caves beneath the Grand Temple, and early Pantheonists migrated from the valley along the Vardess River to spread through what is now Vardessy. However, the history of the Holy Kingdom itself begins with Matto the Great. Believed to have been fathered by a five-horned bull that came out of the sea and impregnated the wife of a chieftain, Matto grew to be a great leader of men, and slew a dragon upon a hill on the south shore of what would come to be known as Lac de Salvarisonnes. Following a prophecy that a city built where the dragon fell would become the capital of a great kingdom, Matto erected a castle there, and over the centuries, the city grew around it.

It was only many years later that the cardinals of Voltan's cult, fleeing the destruction of their previous seat of power, petitioned the king of Lescatie to take up residence in the city, citing the ancient grotto beneath its walls. The king agreed - and over the years, the power of the cult grew and grew, while that of the monarchy dwindled. By the early days of the reign of Emperor Harald IV, it was an open secret that the kings of Lescatie were little more than figureheads, and the real power sat with the Patriarchs. And with that power came greed and corruption, as the elites of the clergy and the nobility enjoyed a nigh-untouchable status thanks to the primacy of their city and the fortunes brought by trade, pilgrimage, and the fertile land. In time, the Patriarchs lost communion with the gods, but continued to hold their status, abusing it to whatever whims cemented their power. Elitism and xenophobia ran rampant. The priesthood grew rich, while the downtrodden were neglected within the walls of the most holy of cities.

About twenty years ago, spurred on by foreign agitators and joined by the kingdom's disaffected, an uprising took hold of Lescatie - and the city was conquered from within in the course of a single night. The cult had grown so confident and complacent in their rule that they feared no invasion, leading them to neglect the city's defenses, and even the armies that defended the kingdom saw the promise of a better life by turning aainst their masters. The reigning Patriarch, Gascon III, was usurped by Lady Wilmarina, a paladin and the Knight-Commander of the very order entrusted with his personal bodyguard, who asserted her rightful claim to the position by divine mandate.

Wilmarina's ascension to the position of Matriarch was not without controversy. Not only was she the youngest person and the first woman to hold the position in generations, she was not part of any monastic rites, breaking a long-standing tradition (and, in fact, married within the first year of her tenure). Nevertheless, she cemented herself as a radical populist by Lescatian standards, establishing a council of dignitaries from many lands and welcoming the voices of outsiders, as well as filling her circle of cardinals with those she trusted to place service to Voltan and to the kingdom above their personal advancement. Since then - per the cult - the balance of the Heavens was restored, and Lescatie has enjoyed peace and prosperity.

But can such peace last?