Phovezilan Domain

• 25 August 2025

Phovezila was a duchy that has stood upon Legere since its ancient times. It was founded in the wake of the fall of Sandar.

The Phovezilan homeland was extremely saturated with magic, being a naturally occurring nexus of archons. This aided in the development of magical education and research.

Phovezila was very large before the Demon Wars, spanning from the edge of Gunkol to the shores of Axehead Bay. Many of its cities were crushed during the Demon Wars, as Phovezilan soil was the most common theatre for battles. Post-Demon Wars Phovezila would be only a shadow of its former might, but its people would remained confident and hopeful that their return to glory was nigh.

Capital #

Phovezila's capital was the city of the same name, Phovezila.

Ethnic Groups #

While Phovezila's native denizens were primarily West Hohmite Humans, duns and other races frequented the kingdom as expatriates.

![[Humans#Phovezilan]]

History #

Founding #

Phovezila rose as a young kingdom after the dust of the Mundane War settled. As the final remnants of Sandar were toppled, Sir Azthur of House Unicorn elected several intact noble families that had been opposed, whether secretly or publicly, to Lord Bern's extremism and warmongering. These noble families, headed by the Dukes of Phovezila, would form the basis of a ruling oligarchy that would serve as the new government of the Phovezilan Domain. Phovezila's shift away from its traditional monocratic rule was in response to the failure of the last two rulers of Sandar--Bern and Sadoln before him.

![[Sandar#^67d387]]

The oligarch's first orders of business were:

• To return the ancestral home to the displaced and enslaved duns, creating demarcations that separated the new Gunkol from the Sandarian territories.
• Rename Sandar to Phovezila to wash away the foul taste that Sandar left on the lips of those who spoke its name.
• Disband all knight houses that were loyal to Lord Bern, leaving only House Unicorn.

The Noble Families of Phovezila #

Adom #

The Adom family had approached extinction during the Mundane War, with their entire family resisting conformity to Lord Bern's anti-magical rhetoric. They were a small family, so their defiance was considered of little impact. Their castle near the west edge of Crossroads Lake was surrounded in a relaxed siege during most of the Mundane War. Eventually, they were starved out and put in irons. They were imprisoned for several years, and one by one they were executed for their heretical clinging to magic. On the eve of the execution of the remaining sons of Adom, Sir Azthur's men breached the prison and rescued them.

The eldest son was Trisdon Adom, and went on to serve as one of founding Dukes of Phovezila in 370 PBD.

Centra #

The Centras of Danthol were once known as the Net Kings. They were big-time magistrates of Danthol's thriving fishing culture, and had even been quite greedy and monopolistic on the fishing trade before being conquered by Sandar. The Centras wanted to be left to govern their family's homeland, even if the king of Danthol was long dead. Being the most familiar with fishing and nautical business, they were an ideal choice to govern the northern edges of Phovezila.

The Centras' patriarch was Flas Centra in 370 PBD.

Knoobi #

The Sandarian Knoobi family, headed by Malon during 370 PBD, was focused on bestowing prosperity to the Phovezilan people. Malon also happened to be the closest living descendant to Sadoln, making him the most rightful ruler of Phovezila if they had chosen to pursue monocratic rule. Malon was more than happy to remain as an oligarch to avoid the unwanted attention that came with being the nearest relative to Sandar's wizard-tyrant.

Multis #

The Multis of Falla found themselves in defiance of Lord Bern but unable to openly oppose his rule. They served their part in overthrowing Lord Bern by skimming supplies and sabotaging supply lines to Sandarian forces. The Multis' head was Linar Multis in 370 PBD.

Trakka #

The Trakkas were powerful Danthol lords that had proudly managed the king's armies for years before Sandar invaded. They held a grudge against Lord Bern for years after watching their meticulously maintained chains of command dismantled and their requests to be made military officials were denied. Reeling with humiliation, they had plotted for years to lead a coup against Bern, but never had a good enough window of opportunity. Once House Unicorn led the revolt against Lord Bern, the Trakkas were the first to lend their support and soldiers, quickly helping Sir Azthur to turn the tides against Bern.

Aru Trakka was the master of the Trakkas in 370 PBD.

House Unicorn and the Witch Maliam #

As the only standing house of knights in Phovezila, House Unicorn had their work cut out for them. Their first trial was to defeat a mage named Maliam Blaada who kidnapped Malon Knoobi's baby son in an attempt to blackmail the new rulers of Phovezila. Their success spread their name far and wide throughout Phovezila, and recruitment into their ranks grew.

The Serrated Blades #

A group of Isutan radicals infiltrated the outskirts of the still-young Phovezila. Calling themselves the Serrated Blades, they believed the Isutan union (that would later become the Ganpoumi Fi) should have conquered Sandar instead of allowing it to regrow as a sovereign state. Even under the new name of Phovezila, they couldn't be trusted to not turn on mages once again. Led by a powerful mage named Kin Kan, the Serrated Blades established a stronghold in the north of Phovezilan lands. With an army of golem soldiers, they attempted to conquer Phovezila.

The knight house of the Unicorn earnestly hunted down Kin Kan and her followers, defending their new lords from the golem warriors. In order to overcome her magic and army of resilient golems, they began to pursue widescale arcane practices, especially Elementalism. Agents of House Unicorn eventually succeeded in assassinating Kin Kan.

As House Unicorn formed the first 4 elemental specializations (fire, water, air, and ice), they would change their name to the Elementum Order as they began to restructure themselves into an order of monastic warriors. In the following years, the Elementum Order would hunt down the remaining followers of Kin Kan who had scattered throughout Phovezila, like the rogue Nakai Lord Arrowspear.

Dal Kharr's Invasion #

As the threat of the Serrated Blades began to fade, a new challenge presented itself to Phovezila: an invasion from Jinifar. One of Jinifar's caliphs, Dal Kharr, was accused of attempting to force himself upon the princess. Dal Kharr never did such a thing, but the Jinifarian sultan did not fully believe in Dal Kharr's innocence. The sultan declared that Dal Kharr would be pardoned if he successfully brought the kingdom of Phovezila to the sultan as tribute to pay for his supposed crime.

Dal Kharr was a poignant shadowmancer, and was famed for supplementing his forces with enormous shadow beetles. Despite their formidable opponent, the Elementum Order was able to defend Phovezila once again.

The Blood Trio's Coup #

A venomancer by the name of Vénéneuse began to dream of becoming queen of Phovezila. Vénéneuse seduced a young elemental warrior named Elementum Fangshawe. With the help of the mage Nathra, Fangshawe started a coup to try to seize power. This sparked a bloody but thankfully short conflict where elemental warriors loyal to Fangshawe fought against those loyal to Phovezila's dukes.

Fangshawe would be killed in battle, while Nathra and Vénéneuse would be executed for treason on the same day Brillon Knoobi succeeded his father as head of the Knoobi family and Duke of Phovezila.

The Golden Age #

Phovezila's golden age started after the end of the Blood Trio's Coup and lasted until the Demon Wars. The Elementum Order grew in strength and the economy of the kingdom became rich and prosperous. Massive advancements in magic and the discovery of new arcane paths seemed to be a near monthly occurrence. Phovezila rose to become a major Legerian power.

The Demon Wars #

Phovezilan soil held the greatest number of battles during the Demon Wars, seriously chewing through its resources and leaving much of it in ruin once the Demons left.

The Ancient Wars #

During the Ancient Wars, Phovezila quickly handed over its Ancients to Arbam's Army, fearing the rumours being spread. They awarded Lord Arbam with lordship and land, but stripped him of his titles post-mortem.

The Spear of the West Campaign #

During 314 DHT, Songkram forces marched towards Destral. The Destrian government, wanting to avoid engaging in direct warfare, struck a lucrative deal with Phovezila to defend them from the Isutan army.

Language #

![[Phovezilan]]

Currency #

Phovezilan Marks were coins of 3 cm in diameter and 0.5 cm thick. They were made of enchanted gemstones, which were magically conjured instead of mined, making them far more accessible. These coins, like the land they were from, were saturated with magic. They were designed to be compact and easy to carry, while also representing the powerful magic of Phovezila. Five of the same value coin can be put together and fused into the next highest value. Similarly, higher value coins could be split into five lower value coins.

These coins were the colours that the name would suggest, and were slightly translucent, like a gemstone.

Combining five marks was done by stacking them together and twisting. While twisting and pressing downwards, the coins would sink into each other until only one higher value coin remains. Inversely, one mark could be separated into five by twisting with the index finger and thumb of both hands, until the one coin expands into five. There was no need to pull the coin apart, as the coins came apart willingly like a spring. Twisting apart the coin felt like separating two magnets, with a slight resistance for the first quarter turn, and then a smooth motion for the rest. A colour change and slight release of light occurs during both the combination and separation.

Phovezilan marks had no physical engravings or symbols on the coins. They were completely smooth surfaces. However, when looking at the coin face from an angle, the symbol of a Phovezilan Mark and text reading "Phovezilan High Mint, Colour Mark, Date" would appear. This text was magically present to further verify the coin's validity, while maintaining it's unblemished appearance.

These coins were referred to as "marks" in Trader's Tongue, but were also colloquially referred to by their colour (ie. "This costs five emeralds!")