Enrelisha is both the name of a nation and the term for the ethnicity related to the nation.
Enrelisha (Nation)[]
Enrelisha is a nation of southern Veşti based around the Lendar River. It has fallen and been rebuilt numerous times, but maintains the name Enrelisha in every cycle of independence. Despite the fact that the nation rarely seeks active involvement, it has been intimately connected to a number of major global events due simply to its strategic position on the Hasberan Sea and its notoriously stubborn populace. The capital of Enrelisha is Jektan.
Geography[]
Enrelisha borders the southern edge of the Black Forest and sits between Pran to the east and Neurbar to the west. It is bordered to the south by the Hasberan Sea.
History[]
Jekland was established in -902 Reformed, condensing power and resources from the neighboring valley and organizing the first major government structure on Veşti. The area stretching south to the sea, roughly fifteen miles north, and about thirty miles on either side of the river all swore fealty to the city. At the time, it was simply all called Jekland, but by the time the first scouts from the Order of Branu arrived on Veşti and recorded what they found in -689, Jekland had become the name of the city and the surrounding countryside was referred to as Enrelisha. The region kept very few records of its own history during this time, and the next notable mention is when the Order of Branu sought passage through Enrelishan lands to get around the Black Forest on their way to wage war on Ristara and her followers in -524. From the reports of those soldiers, it is known that Enrelishan lands at that point included the entirety of the Lendar River, at least seven hundred miles of coast land, and came within a few hundred miles of the Black Forest.
When word reached Jekland about the actual mission of the Order of Branu, which had allegedly been somewhat obscured in their negotiations, and the brutality which the Order showed Ristara, an edict was sent to the coast that forbade the Order from docking at any Enrelishan port. The Order arrived in stolen ships three weeks later, having sailed around Veşti and found no other civilization of note where they could get adequate supplies. When they were turned away empty-handed, Lord General Kleinborg announced that ten Enrelisha would die for every one of his soldiers that failed to survive the trip back to Prindern. In the temple of Branu in Heldar, when they returned, the Order marked every map of Enrelisha they had made with a tally of those who had died on the Hasberan Sea. This led to the War of the 438, when the Order of Branu sent every able-bodied man they had to attack Enrelisha in -507. The Order of Branu kept a careful tally of the dead, and while they never gained more than a foothold on Veşti, they were able to claim their 4,380 Enrelishan dead over the span of the three-month battle. In the process, it is estimated that the Order itself lost 7,000 soldiers. Regardless, they considered themselves victorious, and left Veşti; only to find that the Enrelisha had sent a small band of men to burn Heldar to the ground in the Order's absence. The only object left undamaged was a statue of Branu, which had been turned to face south as if retreating from Veşti. The Order swore eternal vengeance upon the Enrelisha, and have been at war on and off with them ever since.
Religion[]
Enrelisha has a number of religions within her borders, but the official state religion is Reformed Phaelism, which was born in Jektan. Official policy within the nation is built on the assumption that citizens are members of Reformed Phaelism, but there is rarely any legal repercussions from holding to other faiths unless one is already facing significant legal issues for other reasons. Neophaelism was first developed in Jektan, from which it spread around Veşti and the Hasbaren and is still the second most common religion in Enrelisha. The northern districts have a lot of Ristarians and Ristarian Phaelists relative to the rest of the country, with all other belief systems claiming only 4% of the population across the nation.
Enrelisha (Ethnicity)[]
The people native to the area around the Lendar river are commonly called Enrelisha, from which the nation gets its name.
Reputation[]
A number of nations surrounding the Hasberan use a variant of the phrase, "to make an Enrelishan kneel" as a phrase used to indicate that a proposed course of action is difficult or impossible, based on the conquest of Enrelisha by Pran in which a peasant, captured and brought before the Lord General, was ordered to his knees and replied simply, "I am Enrelisha, I bow only before my gods."