Thrane

Thrane is one of the original Five Nations that formed the Kingdom of Galifar before The Last War. It is the only nation out of the Five Nations that has replaced its monarchy with a theocracy. Unlike the other nations which largely worship the Sovereign Host religion, Thrane's state religion is the Church of the Silver Flame.

Geography
Thrane is located in central Khorvaire, sharing its western border with Aundair and its southern one by Breland. It also shares a small land border with the Mournland in the south-east, though it is largely separated from the Mournland by the Scions Sound, which forms nearly all of Thrane's east coast and also separates it from the nation of Karrnath. Thrane's long coastline on the Scion's Sound gives it close proximity to Thronehold. Thrane occupies a rich territory of fertile farmland and large forests. What is now northern Thrane was historically a core part of Aundair, most notably Thaliost, the former Aundairian capitol.

Society & Culture
Thranes are overwhelmingly honest and passionate about their state religion The Church of the Silver Flame, and their state military. Thranish culture is conservative in that the Thranish are devoted to religion, family, work and puritanical ideals. Thranes are known to be hard working, once accepting a task they devote themselves to its completion. The Thranish tend to lead abstinent lives, gambling, carousing and similar hedonistic activities are frowned upon.

Religion
Although the majority of Thranes are not zealots and tolerate other belief systems, this tolerance traditionally extends solely to kine followers of the Silver Host, because most are aware the founder of the Church of The Silver Flame, Tira Miron, herself started as a paladin of Dol Arrah. The Thranish understanding of what The Silver Flame demands of its followers is strictly controlled by the Church structure, and all members are called to destroy evil incarnate where ever they find it. To the Church of the Silver Flame, evil exists both in the forms of the undead, fiends, and other abominations, but also in unholy societies, such as those where monsters rule over kine. The dissolution of the human-dominated empire of Galifar led to the creation of multiple "monsterous" states like Q'Barra and The Shadow Wastes; to the average Thranean, this is anathema. Most follow the example of Tira Miron: If the paladin sensed the evil within a person, they would council them back to the light and as a rule would not attempt to execute them - at first.

Art
Thranish art embraces and expresses the tenets of the Silver Flame. The most popular style of art in Thrane is Kree-Flamic, a stylized form of rendering that uses cubes and triangles to create all shapes and images. A counterculture has emerged within Thrane's art world known as the Pre-Kingdom style and though still small it is growing.

Cuisine
Most foreigners tend to think that the theocracy stifles secular life in Thrane however, Thranish cuisine is surprisingly good. During a diplomatic visit in the later stages of the Last War, Princess Wroya of Breland famously once described her meal as, "It is like a breath of fire in the cold of a dark winter's night" after partaking in the Feast of the Silver Flame.

Thranish cuisine utilizes warming spices cooked in thick sauces. Thrane cuisine tends to be heavy, filling and spicy. Renowned Thranish dishes are seared beef in red paprika sauce, three-thrakel fish stew and silvered vegetable skewers. Desserts are also popular and are used to counteract the spicy nature of the main meal. The desserts are often sweet and served cold the most famous of which is silverfruit pie topped with beesh-berry sorbet.

Power groups

 * Council of Cardinals
 * The Galifar Loyalists
 * Knights of Thrane
 * The Silver Torch

National Anthem
The Thranish national anthem is called Light the Way; the lyrics are as follows: "O Silver Flame, light the way, Through war and darkness and despair; O Silver Flame, we shall not stray! Spirit of Thrane, hear our prayer, No foe can dim your argent glow. No child can live beyond your light. With swords in hand, Your soldiers stand, O Silver Flame, burn ever bright!"

Politics
Politically Thrane is very distinct from that of the other Five Nations. The most notable deviation is that it is no longer a monarchy but the first and only theocracy of Khorvaire. After the death of King Thalin many were concerned about the weakness of the next in line, Prince Daslin, whose claim to the throne was shrouded by the murky circumstances of his birth. Since the country was at war it was relatively easy to convince the people to support the widowed Queen Regent establishing rule with a council of advisers. In 914YK, Vicarius Johannes Goodman was acclaimed High Exarch of the Silver Flame and acceded to the top of the Church of the Silver Flame without opposition. Between the Queen Regent's age and Exarch Goodman's clear intentions, this was seen as the Church's takeover of a former monarchy by the monarchs of neighboring nations and met with great dismay. As a result, Thrane feels diplomatically isolated and had the most difficulty during the Last War making alliances.

The head of government of Thrane is Exarch Johannes Goodman, the spiritual leader of the Church of the Silver Flame. The current Queen Regent, Queen Diana ir'Wynarn, is 71 years old and is rarely engaged with the day-to-day ruling of the country as a result.

Who should rule the country is probably the biggest political debate within Thrane. The majority are content with the status quo of a monarchy-only-in-name; however, a small and relatively elite minority believe that the monarchy should be restored. The increase in power of the Church has led to the scions of the Thranish monarchy becoming figureheads without any temporal power. Ruling Queen Diana ir'Wynarn is said to quietly support the return of the monarchy, but without an eligible heir, her fate seems sealed to most.

The two years of peace since the end of the Last War have seen the rise of a group of extremists known as The Galifar Loyalists, also known as the Throneholders colloquially. This group criticizes the events in which the church seized control of the nation and cast doubt on its legitimacy to rule; as a result, they are hated by the Church heirarchy.

Thrane is still rebuilding from the results of the Last War and its treasury is low on coins. It is in debt to many dragonmarked houses, particularly House Kundarak and in return its citizens are overtaxed, especially the unfortunate members of non-kine races that suffer as serfs in Thrane. Unable to afford large scale repairs, many cities in Thrane still show signs of destruction wrought by invaders.

The dragonmarked houses find it very difficult to operate within Thrane due to the church's strict legislation.

Under Galifar
The nation of Thrane's name originates from its first governor-prince Thrane ir'Wyrnan, in a formal proclamation in 32 YK. However, the nation itself was one of the original 5 human nations during the settlement of Khorvaire until it was conquered by Galifar I. After Galifar's conquest, Thrane was governed by relatives of the king of Galifar until the Last War.

In 299 YK, fiends began invading Thrane from a chasm in the Tamor HIlls. This incursion was defeated only after a paladin named Tira Miron sacrificed herself to defeat the leader of the fiends. Tira's sacrifice inspired the creation of the Church of the Silver Flame, which would become the dominant faith in Thrane by 400 YK..

The Last War
When King Jarot died in 894 YK, Thalin ir'Wyrnan was the governor of Thrane and a devout follower of the Silver Flame. Seeing the chaos following Jarot's death, Thalin broke with tradition and declared Thrane independent with himself as its King, believing himself to have divine right to rule, helping to spark the Last War. After Thalin's death in 914 YK, Thrane rejected his son Prince Daslin as too weak for the throne, and instead eventually became the first theocracy in the Five Nations.

Thrane fought zealously despite being surrounded on all sides by enemies during the Last War. But while it ended the war owning territory from Aundair and Breland, including the former Aundairian capital of Thaliost, many lives were lost and coffers drained in the process.

Other notable features

 * Brey River
 * The Burnt Wood
 * Chamber of the Flame
 * The Face of Tira
 * Harrowcrowns
 * Scions Sound
 * Shadukar
 * Thrane River