Ivrian

"How quaint!" -An Ivrian noblewoman

Appearance
Natives to Ivria like to think that they "set the norm" for how humans look. Skin is peachy, with tanning more common near the coasts, and hair is usually a blondish color to light brown. Red is more common near the Lands of Eald. Along the farming communities, shorter hair is common among both sexes. Eyes are usually brown or blue, with green being rare.

Other cultures don't seem to appreciate being called "abnormal" by Ivrians.

Personality
Ivrians are friendly enough, as all sorts of foreigners come and go through their lands, sometimes staying. At least, in the south they're like this. The northerners seem to live in their own little world, and while they don't go out of their way to make you feel unwelcome, it's pretty clear that they don't like outsiders.

Clothing
Upper class Ivrians believe that they set the standard for what is "acceptable" attire. Crushed velvet and lots and lots of dyes are popular, as are furs and excessive amounts of jewelry. At least they cover up more than Calgarian nobles do.

General
Ivria is a green land, with a tropical coast and a heavily forested center. The western portion is hilly, turning into mountains further north that extend east. I visited in the Winter, and was surprised to find that the air on the peninsula was only a little nippy, and snow was sparse.

Major Settlements
Figlia: Figlia's big! There are all sorts of places to go to and things to do there: There are at least three magic academies, a bardic academy, a huge temple most anybody can pray at, and a museum. The real bread and butter is the theatre next to the bardic academy, and all the shops and taverns and inns all over the place. I'm pretty sure there are houses for the people to live in somewhere in there.

Morningwood: Morningwood is a town on the northwestern borders of the Peninsula, which has sort of blended in with a nearby dwarven colony. It's run by Adrie Brightlance (LN F H-Elf War), a retired adventurer, and the Druids also have some say in local matters. It is named for the great treant that makes its home deep in the woods.

Minor Settlements
The Inn of the Screaming Penguin: While not actually a city, I felt it necessary to include the Inn of the Screaming Penguin in this report due to the number of irresponsible adults who seek out other, like-minded adults for crawls through musty dungeons, help thinning out bandit populations or finding missing persons, or thwarting evil priests. You know who you are. On the upside, the food is great, and so is the ale.

It's run by a retired adventurer named Bilkar (CG M Hum War) and his daughter Maralea (CG F Hum Exp/Arc). So naturally it's favored by adventurers in Ivria as a place to sit back, relax, and find new companions (though I never saw the wisdom in doing that after this one jerk my boyfriend and I picked up ran off with all our loot). Bilkar is a nice guy, but kind of imposing. I've seen innkeeps beat cooks for spilling things, but Bilkar just smiles and tells them to be more careful! Maralea is likewise a real sweetheart, and pretty to boot, but keep an eye on your purses, because I've seen her pocket coins while she flirts with the customers!

General
Ivrians love money, make no mistake about that. The lower class has this nasty habit of bending over backwards for the social elite whenever they so much as stick a hand out a door, hoping that they'll get recognized and saved from their existence selling fish or shoes for a living. This usually has the opposite effect, with the nobles turning up their noses and becoming (even more) standoffish. And, of course, the poor peasants just don't seem to be able to take a hint, and keep pandering. When they're not thinking of money, Ivrians are either hunting or playing games.

Things are a little better in Morningwood these days, since food and resources shared between everybody. When I had a chat with its mayor, Adrie Brightlance, she said that she got the idea from a book she read in Padan. This seems to be bleeding into the Peninsula, but only time will tell if it holds.

Religion
Ivrians that pray to the gods tend to worship Meamia or Zelea. Other gods get some attention, but not nearly as much as the Charmer or the Smiler. In some places, it's actually a little dangerous to worship other gods, and there are frequent feuds between faiths. The only places that this isn't tolerated at, are roadside temples or the Grand Temple in Figlia.

Government
Ivria is run by the wealthy first, and their associates second. These two could be military commanders, business owners, or people who got lucky gambling. Smaller settlements are run by elected officials, with elder priests ruling the others. In any case laws, be they local or regional, have to be run through the common people first and given a majority vote before they're passed or dismissed. Whether or not the upper crust listens to the little people depends entirely upon who's in charge. Thankfully, with the current leadership, most laws get passed.

A long time ago, Ivria was ruled by a royal family, but when that proved problematic and bad decision-making devastated the lower and middle classes, a civil war broke out and their rule came to an end. So, the government was restructured. Several times. This one elf I was talking to in The Enchanted Scroll - completely soused, by the way - said that "Ivrian government makes the Goddess cry.".

Female

 * Ensorcelled Doom (CE H-Elf Arc/War/DH) is a Death Hunter of Algam who makes her home in Morningwood. She's kind of a drag like my ex, but she organizes raids on the spookies that the Eald-Sur like to send into Ivria. She's also bald.
 * Daria Guillerme (LG F Hum Div/War/Pal) is a Paladin who recently became famous after donating all the money she got for handing a child-killer in to their families. You can't tell me that all humans are bad when there are individuals like her sharing your breathing air!

Male

 * Kianos the Redeemed (CN M Hum ArS) is a pompous sorcerer I met in the Inn of the Screaming Penguin. The only reason I'm even including him in this text, is because he claims he's going to become famous.  And because he bought me a meal.
 * Marcus of Figlia (LG M Hum War) is a retired adventurer who went on all sorts of adventures across En in the name of his god, Riknaan. Now, he teaches swordsmanship to whoever can pay for his lessons.