Idris
| Idris | |
|---|---|
| Ethnicity | Idrian |
| Capital | Bevalis |
| Ruled by | Dedelin |
| World | Nalthis |
| Universe | Cosmere |
“Composed, simple, hard, and capable. Idrian. ”
Idris is a kingdom on Nalthis. It is located in a large mountain range.[1]
Geography and Ecology
“They’re rocks, like you said, but they’re not lifeless. They’re green—as green as your jungles. But it’s a different green. ”
Idris lies in a large mountain range.[1] The Idrian mountains experience cold weather, with it being warm for only a short time in the summers.[1] Due to this cold climate agriculture is hard, and crops sometimes fail.[3] For at least part of the year it snows, which is an important factor is the nation’s defense.
The northern mountains have vegetation that buds out in spring,[1] There are fields and meadows with grasses and wild flowers. The air here is crisp and chilly due to the elevation.[2] A known type of flower is the Vanavel, the flower and the roots from this plant are eatable.[4] Some valuable roots grow high up in the mountains.[4][5] There are also berry bushes in the highlands.[4]
Government
Monarchy
Idris has a monarchical system of government.[1]
The King or Queen
The Idrian King or Queen is responsible for ruling the country.[1]
They can write treaties themselves, such as the marriage treaty between Idris and Hallandren somewhere around the year 327. They also sit on the Idrian war council.[1][4]
| Key | Parents/Children | Siblings | Ancestors/Descendants | Marriage | Partnership/relationship | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deceased | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succesion
The eldest child of the King and Queen inherits the throne, regardless of gender.[4] This only happens after the ruler, be it the king or the queen, has died.[1]
There is at least one known case of the second eldest child inheriting,[4] while the eldest child is still alive. This usually happens because the eldest child is engaged to a ruler of another country, and cannot rule Idris.[4]
The Royal Locks
Those of the royal family who either rule or are potential heirs have the Royal Locks: hereditary hair that changes color according to the bearer's emotional state, at their will, or not at all when the bearer uses training and discipline to suppress the changes.[1][6] Those with the Royal Locks can also grow them when they want to, and this feels to them as if they were using a physical muscle.[7] The members of the royal family usually keep their hair black or brown, as other colors such as red or yellow are considered ostentatious.[1]
Foreign Policy and International Relationships
Hallandren
“Your people are in a state of rebellion against the rest of the kingdom.”
Hallandren and Idris have bad relations with each other. This is due to a number of reasons.
Idris and Hallandren used to be the same country, although at the conclusion of the Manywar they split.[9] The Idrians view this event as the Hallandren rebelling against them, turning into pagans by worshipping the Returned. In turn the Hallandren view the Idrians as rebels. Due to this Hallandren claims the Idrian mountains as their own territory, further provoking hostilities.[8]
The Idrian religion of Austrism teaches against many things done or used in Hallandren such as ostentation, lifeless and awakening.[1][5] This makes the Idrians believe that the Hallandren are terrible, as they do everything their religions preaches against. The Idrians also view the Iridescent Tones as heresy, thinking of the Hallandren as pagans. This further provokes hostilities.[4]
The Idrians have many false views of Hallandren, this is because of, among others, false stories told by ramblemen.[1]
Tedradel
Tedradel has good relations with Idris.[1] The General of the Idrian army, Yarda, considers it possible that Tedradel would aid Idris if Hallandren attacked them.[1]
These nations also have many similarities, such as in fashion, with both nations preferring covering clothing.[10]
The Northern Kingdoms
There are dozens of kingdoms north of Idris that do not share Hallandren's belief that Idris is a rebel faction, and these countries would ally with Idris should a war break out, or use the opportunity to seize control of T'Telir.[11]
Vendis
It is currrently unknown who or what the Vendis are. They are in a state of war with Idris however, constantly raiding them. They are still doing this around the year 327 of the Hallandren calendar.[1]
Military
Command structure
At the head of the Idrian Military is the Idrian ruler. He also sits on a war council. Directly underneath is a general. During the reign of King Dedelin the general was named Yarda.[1]
Spies and Guards
Idris has a large number of spies. These spies all have passcodes which will get them to listen to you. The Idrian spy network in Hallandren is loosely organized. The ruler of Idris knows all of the agents. These spy networks have leaders, who act as coordinators between the king and the agents, During the rule of King Dedelin the head spy in Hallandren was called Lemex.[12]
Idris employs a number of soldiers as guards. These guards are used to watch the Hallandren border and to guard the northern passes. These duties are often very lonely.[5]
Army
Idris has an army, but it is not terribly capable, being no match for the Hallandren army. It is likely that this army fights against the Vendis whenever they raid Idris.[1]
The heavy snowfall also contributes to the Idrian defenses.[1]
Culture
People
“Women chasing runaway geese, men pulling donkeys laden with spring seed, and children leading sheep on their way to pasture.”
Idris is home to the Idrian people. It is unknown if Idris contains any other peoples.[1]
The perfect Idrian is not timid or soft, like some noblewomen from the northern kingdoms, but composed, simple, hard, and capable. The Idrians are taught to be reserved from a young age and to avoid shameful outbursts of emotion.[1]
Fashion and beauty
Idrians tend to dress in a way that avoides attention, in line with their religion. Hair is often contained modestly. Idrians never wear make-up.[1]
Clothing is drab, bleached grey or white. Some clothes are also brown, although this borders on being to colorful.[1]
Clothing is typically very covering.[5] Most women wear clothing that covers even the neck. Trousers are not found to be modest.[3] These clothes are often made out of wool.[1] The Idrians don’t use silk for clothing.[7] Some Idrians wear gloves when they are working.[4]
Biochroma
Breath
The Idrians consider their breath to be intimately linked to their soul. For that reason they are afraid of losing their Breath, and consider holding the Breaths of others to be sinful. Using them to Awaken is considered to be an even greater sin.[13]
Returned
Although the people of Idris can also become Returned, this is a rare occurrence. The people of Idris, unlike those in Hallandren, refuse to provide the Returned with Breath, causing them to die at the end of the week.[14] It is unknown if this affects their ‘mission’.
Architecture
Idris is drab and relatively devoid of color, reflecting the Idrian people's aversion to any display of "ostentation" in their way of living. Stone walls are whitewashed etc.[1]
Most buildings are single-storied and are squat.[1] Idrian homes are fairly small, with a normal Hallandren home being considered a mansion.[15] The Idrians also use thatch for their roofs.[1]
Cuisine
The Idrian people enjoy a wide variety of foods. Known vegetables include cucumbers, onions and something that looks like grass. They also eat flowers and berries, a known type of eatable flower is the Vanavel.[1]
Idrians also eat meat, although they primarily subsist on vegetables. They don’t eat fish, and many Idrians find it distasteful.[5]
Economics
Trade
Idris has few exports of note. The kingdom gains most of its income from tariffs on four main trade passes that it controls. These trade passes are extremely important to Hallandren, as they are the kingdom's only reliable method of passage to the north. Idris must be careful with the tariffs it charges on goods that pass through these trade routes, as raising them too high would upset the countries that use their routes and could be cause for war.[11]
“It’s hard, sometimes, living up in those mountains. Crops fail, and what do you have? The king owns your land, so you can’t sell...”
Commerce in Idris is not particularly robust at the time of the Pahn Kahl rebellion. Due to this, many struggling Idrians find themselves traveling south to Hallandren for work to support their families.[5] Farming is difficult in the snowy mountain range of Idris and farmland is owned and levied by the kingdom, not by the farmers themselves. Thus, struggling farmers cannot rent or sell land if their crop yield is low, forcing them to find work elsewhere.[3]
Disaster relief funds
Idris has disaster relief funds, and one can petition the king in the case of disaster. A major flaw with this program is that it requires travel to Bevalis, which can take several weeks. Thus it is more practical to seek work in Hallandren, which is not far from lower farms in southern Idris. This is often a better alternative to taking a long trek through snowy mountains, likely with minimal supplies due to the disaster, to petition the king for assistance.[3]
History
“The royal family of Idris, who can apparently trace their line back to the first Returned. Another heritage of divinity, a challenger for rightful rule in Hallandren. ”
—Siri musing on the politics surrounding the throne of Hallandren[9]
Hanald
The region that became Hanald was originally populated by the Pahn Kahl people.[9] When the people of Chedesh, who dominated the world at the time,[9] began exploring other parts of the Inner Sea's coastline, a group of their ships discovered this valley filled with jungles.[9] One of the explorers, Vo, died and became the first Returned while on one of the ships in the bay.[9] He then died again a week later.
Dismissive of the native Pahn Kahl, his crewmates founded a kingdom on the site and named it Hanald.[9] This kingdom would grow and expand to become one of the most powerful kingdoms of its age.[9]
The Manywar and Founding
As Hanald grew, claiming both the High- and the Lowlands, tensions increased with the other Nalthian kingdoms.
Three hundred years after Hanald's founding a Returned known as Strifelover used his Lifeless as well as a revolt by the people to seize power. During this coup he captured the Royal Family, trapping them in T'Telir. After a fellow Returned had a vision of war, Strifelover declared war on the northern kingdoms of Kuth and Huth, starting the Manywar.
After a while Strifelover had a change of heart and recalled his troops from their fighting.[9] He used these troops to seize back control of Hanald. He later stopped the Manywar through diplomacy. Due to this the Hallandren began calling him Peacegiver.[9]
During this time the House of Idris fled T'Telir.[9] They traveled to the northern highlands of Hanald, bringing the religion of Austrism and their servants with them, and established the kingdom of Idris.[1]
Though they had previously experimented with Awakening, they turned their backs on it as a result of their recent experiences, and used the tenets of Austrism to make Awakening sound immoral and evil.[16] This fear of Awakening had a deep impact on Idrian culture, and many superstitions grew up around Awakening.[17] For example, Idrians always wear drab colors, such as black, greys, or tans, so Awakeners can not use that color.[18] However, this is based on misconception, as an Awakener could use those colors anyway. As a result of this isolation and distrust, Idrians are, for the most part, totally ignorant about how Awakening works.
After their departure the Cult of the Returned took control of the remaining nation, renaming it Hallandren.[9]
The Marriage Treaty
Twenty years before the Pahn Kahl rebellion, the Idrian King was assassinated. As crown prince Dedelin rose to kingship.[1]
Dedelin's first official act was to negotiate a treaty with Susebron promising to send his daughter (ostensibly Vivenna, though this was not stated specifically) to the Court of Gods to marry him when Vivenna turned twenty-two, thereby reintroducing the bloodline of the royals into Hallandren's own ruling line. When the time came, however, Dedelin could not bring himself to send his beloved daughter to what he was sure would be her death, so he sent Siri instead.[1]
Pahn Kahl Rebellion
During that time of deteriorating relations, Lemex, the chief Idrian spy in T'Telir, acted on Dedelin's orders in an attempt to destabilize Hallandren and undermine its ability to wage war. Unfortunately, he was oblivious to the fact that Denth and his crew, whom he had hired to aid in his efforts, were manipulating him; Lemex's actions were actually inflaming the already considerable tensions.[19] Vivenna continued his work, also in the name of helping Idris and also unaware of Denth's true motivations.[15]
At the culmination of the Pahn Kahl rebellion, Hallandren's Lifeless army was sent to Idris to slaughter its population; however, Susebron sent Kalad's Phantoms after the army, who reached the Lifeless in time to defeat the force.[20][21]
Notable Citizens
Notes
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af Warbreaker chapter 1#
- ↑ a b Warbreaker chapter 29#
- ↑ a b c d e Warbreaker chapter 28#
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Warbreaker chapter 2#
- ↑ a b c d e f Warbreaker chapter 9#
- ↑ Warbreaker chapter 22#
- ↑ a b Warbreaker chapter 6#
- ↑ a b Warbreaker chapter 16#
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Warbreaker chapter 32#
- ↑ Warbreaker chapter 25#
- ↑ a b Warbreaker chapter 5#
- ↑ Warbreaker chapter 10#
- ↑ Warbreaker chapter 13#
- ↑ Warbreaker chapter 4#
- ↑ a b Warbreaker chapter 17#
- ↑ Warbreaker chapter 46#
- ↑ Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2010-11-11# - ↑ Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2010-07-20# - ↑ Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2010-10-12# - ↑ Warbreaker chapter ep#
- ↑ Warbreaker Annotations
— Arcanum - 2011-08-01#