ARCHIVE ENTRY 1: THE RESEARCH ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF CHERWIND (EXCERPTS)

The Kingdom of Cherwind

Capital: Malvette

Population: 24,047,322 (latest census)

-54% Beastmen

-26% Human

-16% Mixed Race (Beastman-Human)

-4% Other Races (Elves, Demons)

Subdivisions: 8 regions (6 prefectures, 1 special capital region, 1 autonomous state)

Date Founded: unknown, estimated in the first years of the Golden Age (legend)

The Kingdom of Cherwind is a sovereign state encompassing nearly all the southern lands and territorial waters of Cherwind. It is an ancient kingdom, tracing its origins way back in the Golden Age of the land. Its capital, Malvette, is a major economic hub and metropolis, as well as the largest city in all Cherwind. Several prominent institutions—some of which dates back to the ancient times—have its headquarters in that place.

Geography

The kingdom’s borders stretch from its northernmost limit at the Outer Stone Walls down to Cape Yatoi at the South Insetus Island (the southernmost point of Cherwind), and from the Isle of the Black Feathers from the west to the Cape Avinus to the east. Its geography varied widely, from dense evergreen forests that dominated its western territories, to the wide plains of center and east of the land. The Grand Marshes as well as the Great Lake of Cherwind lie within its jurisdiction, which serves as a natural barrier to any invader coming to its north and east.

Other countries that surround it are the Free Federation of the City-States of Cherwind to its immediate north, the enclave of the Holy Crater Lake State at the Cauldron Island, and the Wessen Mountains Republic to its northeast. The autonomous Confederation of the Isidus Peoples lie within the territorial waters of the Kingdom of Cherwind.

History

The origins of the Kingdom of Cherwind are obscure; only the legends can explain its beginnings. One prominent story relates of how a former beastwoman slave from the West Ursus people led the Beastmen in a war of independence against their human masters. She was eventually acclaimed as Queen Ursura I. The subsequent queens of the kingdom claim an unbroken line of succession from this semi-legendary figure…

Queen Ursura I

Every queen of the kingdom of Cherwind traces her authority from this person. Archeological evidences from the Black Palace of Malvette shows such a woman existed from the ancient times, though it is unclear if this queen really did the famous things she was attributed with, based on the folk songs of the Beastmen. To date, the scholars from the Royal Academy are still about to uncover many facets of this queen’s reign.

Lady Rishnu of the Mantis Insetus

Also known as the patron of the medical workers, Lady Rishnu remains a semi-legendary figure in Queen Ursura’s court. It was said that she was the progenitor of the early modern medical knowledge, and that she healed many people from both sides of the conflict of her day.

Military

The Kingdom of Cherwind’s military was said to be founded by Queen Ursura, under the name ‘Black Feathers and Red Feathers’. According to Beastmen culture, Black is the symbol of ultimate bravery, while Red is that of cunning. A peculiar thing to note about the kingdom’s army is that, they have a long and ancient tradition of using demon weapons and demon powder in battles, yet the earliest instance of a demon migrating to Cherwind was dated over a millennium ago. How the people of Cherwind could arrive at the idea of designing and incorporating the demon weapons and powder in their army back in the ancient times is still subject to debate and confusion among the scholars.

The Holy Railgun

The Holy Railgun is an ancient advance weaponry that surpassed even the most powerful of the demon weapons of the time. Legends state it was the personal arms of Queen Ursura, given to her by a heavenly being. Scholars who tried to reverse engineer the artifact could not solve the mystery of the Holy Railgun’s material, nor how it works.

Lords General Luka and Rumia of the Dogs

Archaeological findings confirm the existence of these persons from the legends, from which, the military of the kingdom claims its origins. They are always depicted in ancient art as dog-children, and was hailed for their bravery and cunning in battle. But the scholars find it impossible for young people to command respect and leadership from a powerful army of human and beastmen, even if it’s in the past. As such, the studies on these personalities continue to this day.

Lady Malu of the Owls

Another semi-legendary figure, Lady Malu of the Owls, is a prominent minister to Queen Ursura and is the founder of Cherwind’s aerial armies, according to traditions. Not much is known about her, though it was widely-believed that she was the mother of the Royal Academy’s founder, Lady Salis of the Owls.

Education

It was said that Cherwind’s educational institutions were also formed by the legendary queen, and its system had barely evolved even after two thousand years have already passed. The first school in this land, the Royal Academy, is a prestigious institution that produced multitudes of scholars and great people over Cherwind’s long history, and has branched out to other worlds since then.

Lady Salis of the Owls

Lady Salis is a semi-legendary figure dating back from Queen Ursura’s time. While our research have no conclusive facts about her, traditions claim that she’s the first Director of the Royal Academy, and is a brilliant Beastwoman who invented things like pens, trains, and the steam engine. There are studies being conducted to see the possibility that this Owl woman might be the one who thought of the demon weapon and powder used by the ancient army of the Kingdom of Cherwind.

Director’s Note: Please research into this matter more. The prestige of our academy is in line here.

Industry and Economy

The Kingdom of Cherwind possesses one of the land’s most advanced economies, relying on production of export goods that often rivals those made by the dwarf guilds. Ancient railway lines crisscrossed the land, now overlaid with modern train tracks. Up to this day, Royal Academy scholars are dumbfounded how the ancient peoples of Cherwind could conceptualize the idea of the railway network, some of which are going to Chersea’s crossing.

Most of the industry is located in the city of Habu, in the Avinus archipelago. The mines in this region provide a lion’s share of the kingdom’s income in trade. The locals also take pride in their art of creating iron-mithril alloy wares, which they claim to have been taught to their ancestors by Queen Ursura herself.

Shipbuilding is the main source of income for the port city of Navaren. Its people say that steam ships were born in this place, and is petitioning the royal government to grant their city the title of ‘Shipbuilding Capital’ of Cherwind.

Scholar’s Notes and Commentary

The early days of the Kingdom of Cherwind is wrapped in mystery, though I find it strange that given the system of education and record-keeping at that time, they were unable to put on writing such amazing events, inventions and discoveries. In any case, I’m just taking comfort in the fact that it was something that happened two thousand years ago, so archives and official records barely exist by then.

Archaeological expeditions produced a lot of inconsistent data. For one, the demon weapons and powder are prominently featured in the ancient army of the Kingdom of Cherwind, yet demons only came to this land a millennia after the supposed ‘Golden Age’. Another issue was the knowledge of the ancient people about modern economic and industrial concepts. How they came to invent those things, there are several explanations, but never a definite answer.

And the most glaring one among anything else: the steam engine. This technology allowed the creation of ancient machines and railway networks. This concept was an old dwarven technology, though in the ancient Cherwind there was no significant migration of dwarves in this land. And another thing to take note about this is that, our radio-magic origin dating machines revealed that steam technology was introduced in the dwarves’ world only after the Kingdom of Cherwind came into existence. Scholars are puzzled as to how such technology was born in the minds of the founders of the kingdom…

One of the scholars proposed that there might be a missing figure in between the lines of the folk songs. But the majority find it impossible and laughable; such ‘divine being’ or ‘alien precursor’ theories have no place in scientific discussions.

I concur with the findings of the Scholars’ Committee. This topic should require more people, funds, and time to have a conclusive answer to the questions being raised. I hope the Director would support this initiative.

MEDLIN FENGOR, MA, PhD

Chief Researcher, Department of Ancient History

Royal Academy of Malvette