Politics of Aundair
O
ut of the four surviving nations, Aundair lost
the most during the last war. The secession of
the Eldeen Reaches resulted in a loss of more
than half the nation's territory. Unlike Droaam
and Q'barra, the Eldeen Reaches were a vital
part of Aundair's economy. Unlike Zilargo and
the Mror Holds, the Eldeen Reaches have not
stayed on good terms with the country they seceded from.
The Crown
While Boranel is certainly the most beloved of the current
surviving monarchs and Kaius is the most personally
powerful, the Aundairian crown is the most influential within
its nation. Aurala's immediate family directly controls almost
every lever of power within Aundair, unlike Boranel's
innefectual heirs or the direct challenge to power represented
by the Karrnathi warlords. Lord Darro ir'Lain represents the
biggest power in Aundair not directly related to Aurala by
blood or marriage, but even as first warlord he agrees that
Aundair should strike first in the next war.
The Royal Family
Queen Aurala ir'Wynarn knows that Galifar is hers, both by
the rights of succession and on account of her capabilities as a
ruler. While Mishann, governess then Queen of Cyre, was the
rightful heir to Jarot, Cyre is no more. As such, the throne
should fall both to the only heir to join Mishann in upholding
the right of succession, but also the second oldest and thus
rightful heir in the event of the death of the first - the line of
Wrogar ir'Wynarn.
Furthermore, by every measure of merit Aurala deserves
the throne - Boranel is too old and his heirs too incompetent,
Kaius III too young and naive to believe in peaceful
coexistence, and Thrane has gone completely overboard by
ousting their monarchs. The only way to rebuild Galifar is
under a single, strong ruler, and Aurala is certain that means
the duty falls to her.
The Lawful Good Conqueror
Aurala, as the only ruler of the five nations
interested in war, is easy to cast as the villain.
However, it's important to understand how she can
also be listed as LG in the various 3.5 books.
Namely, Aurala places great importance on
concepts like honor and chivalry.
Honor in war focuses on negotiating with foes
throughout the conflict and trying to promote a
'fair' fight. Battlefield sites are negotiated
beforehand, and as battles draw to a close
reasonable surrender terms are offered. Prisoners of
war and civilians are respected. For Aundair, Aurala
actively disallowed dangerous magical experiments
that risked massive collateral damage.
This not to say these rules were always followed,
but commanders who broke them faced real
consequences, especially in the Thronehold trials.
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Sasik d'Vadalis is the royal consort, which is to say he is the
husband of Queen Aurala. While he has renounced all formal
ties to House Vadalis, many point to the fact that he has not
given up the Vadalis name, something mandated by the Korth
Edicts.
While Sasik has truly renounced all formal power within
the house, his relationship with Aurala is integral to her long-
term plans for the Eldeen Reaches. The heirs of handling seek
to usurp the Wardens of the Wood, who currently hold the
formal reigns of power in the Reaches. Aurala intends to
capitalize on this, stabilizing the Eldeen Reaches as an ally
much the way Breland can lean on Zilargo, ensuring a reliable
supply of food and other resources when the next war breaks
out.
Prince Wrogar ir'Wynarn is the crown prince of Aundair
and a gallant knight. Or, at least in his head - the truth is the
crown prince has been enabled his whole life by an army of
retainers and assistants who smooth over every problem he
runs into and prevent him from ever facing real danger. His
podsnappery is in part enabled by Lord Darro ir'Lain, who
has worked to take the prince under his wing and teach him
the ways of magic as a way of gaining influence.
Jurian is Aurala's second child, a playboy duelist-in-exile.
Shortly after signing the treaty of Thronehold, Aurala banned
the national pastime of Aundairians - dueling. To indicate the
seriousness with which she believed this was an issue, she
exiled her very own son who killed a nobleman in a duel over
a young lady. However, this exile served a second purpose - it
gave Jurian free reign to roam the five nations the past two
years as the Royal Eyes' top agent, and currently allows him to
spend time developing a relationship with Ruken ir'Clarn,
encouraging him to force the democratic question.
Princess Corrine is Aurala's youngest, a tempestuous
teenager who has made good friends with her cousin
Austasia, the adolescent daughter of Governor Aurad. Both
love to create new adventures for themselves in Fairhaven, but
the time may come when they find themselves far from home
with nobody to bail them out.
First Warlord and Minister of Magic Adal holds both
significant formal and informal power in Aundair. While he
shares his older sister's vision for a united Galifar under
Aundair, he believes himself more suited to the task. Despite
his respect for Lord Darro ir'Lain, he rejects Darro's plans to
retake the Eldeen Reaches by force, seeing it as a waste of
time and resources.
During the negotiations of the Treaty of Thronehold, Adal
refused to allow Aurala to concede the pieces of Western
Thrane that Aundair had seized during the war in exchange
for the return of Thaliost. In particular, he saw great value in
Arcanix - once a small village with an unusually prodigious
school of magic, now the ground base of the Arcane Congress'
floating islands. Many in Fairhaven's court, including Aurala to
some degree, believe Adal's refusal to trade Arcanix the village
for Thaliost to have been a mistake. As such, Adal seeks to
prove them wrong - his plans and research all focus on how to
retake Thaliost, even if it means provoking war with Thrane.
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 Aurad is Aurala's youngest brother, the governor of Fairhaven,
and the chief diplomat of Aundair. A dedicated public servant,
he splits his time between managing the city and serving the
national interest. He too believes his sister is destined to wear
the crown of Galifar, but believes the path is through
diplomacy rather that more bloodshed. He has found an
unlikely ally in his brother-in-law Sasik, advocating that the
Eldeen Reaches can serve as a model state for a rebuilt
Galifar - regional governance, but a recognition that Aurala is
the true ruler. Sasik's violation of the Korth edicts bothers
Aurad slightly, but he reconciles it by asserting that Aurala
holds the reigns - the houses must have renewed subservience
to the crown of Galifar, renewing the original promise of the
Korth Edicts.
The twins Wrel and Wrey are brilliant wizards and leading
researchers at Arcanix, heading up the mysterious Project
Gemini. While most wizards in their mid-20's could only hope
of heading up entire projects, these twins have found that
their combined magical might is far beyond what they can
accomplish individually. Project Gemini studies sympathetic
magic - binding similar objects together to extend the range
and potency of magic. While the twins are interested in their
research for purely academic reasons, their older brother Adal
has been tracking their project and spinning off battlefield
applications from their discoveries. Furthermore, any number
of the Lords of Dust might take an interest in their project,
especially Sul Khatesh, whose whispers may be the true
source of the twin's talent.
2
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The Royal Eyes
Aundair's intelligence agency, the Royal Eyes lack the sheer
number of sources and boots on the ground that the Dark
Lanterns cultivated prior to the outbreak of the Last War. Still,
they are one of the premier intelligence agencies in Khorvaire,
leaning on magical might from both spells and items to cover
ground where they lack personnel.
While the Royal Eyes ultimately report to Aurala, the day-to-
day operations are handled by her spymaster Thuel
Racannoch. Thuel has only held the position for the past two
years - he replaced Nara ir’Galanatyr, who retired under
mysterious circumstances to Wyr shortly after Aurala signed
the Treaty of Thronehold. Thuel is completely loyal to Aurala,
having worked his way up the ranks the hard way over many
years, without the usual benefit of an easy start granted to
those of noble birth.
The Last War
The Last War began with the paranoia of an aging king. The
sinful pride of his children led to the fracturing of a kingdom
that they saw fit for the taking. While Wrogar allied with
Mishann at the onset of the Last War, the trials and
tribulations of extended conflict eventually broke the bonds
between Aundair and Cyre, leading to Aurala's infamous
declaration at the Treaty of Thronehold that as "Cyre no
longer exits", it did not deserve representation.
At the onset of the war, Aundair more than any other nation
viewed the war as one great glorious adventure. The sons and
daughters of Aundair would go forth and win battles, tell
stories, and reforge the broken blade of Galifar stronger than
it was before. This is not what happened, as the great
adventure stretched into a hundred bloody years and a
shattered kingdom. Jarot's paranoia had led to the
development of advanced defenses, inhibiting the ability for
any army to convert tactical victories to strategic ones. Armies
constructed large trenches to provide cover against war
magic. Soldiers who survived the battlefield didn't always
come back whole in body or mind, either missing limbs and
wracked by spellshock. Wealthier families could afford
Cannith grafts or Jorasco therapy, but access to veteran's
benefits remains a political hot potato throughout the five
nations as debt-minded politicians try to skimp on paying out.
While the taking of Thaliost in 928 was a blemish upon fair
Aundair, the secession of the Eldeen Reaches was the real
turning point. Without the material support of Eldeen
ranches, Aundair could not sustain its deployments abroad on
the Cyran warfronts. The gradual withdrawal of Aundair's
armies from the Cyran warfronts was not just a sign of tactical
or strategic weakness - it was a mortal wound to the pride that
all Aundairians are taught, to wear their heads high knowing
that they are the greatest nation in Khorvaire. Giving up the
fight to defend Cyre meant acknowledging that Aundair was
not the nation she thought she was.
Cyre's destruction meant that the great adventure Wrogar
had led Aundair on ended in failure. Aurala chose to play on
Boranel's soft heart, convincing him to accept the majority of
the refugees. By contrast, she still refuses to even meet with
any of the surviving Cyran diplomatic corps. Aurala is
martialing the Aundairian spirit, harnessing its wounded pride
to revitalize the country and prepare it for whatever is to come
next.
The Army
Aundair's army pioneered many of the advances in the arcane
arts over the war, with the Arcane Congress working on an
endless stream of classified projects for the Aundairian
crown. While Karrnath certainly has the lead in necromancy
and even manage to match Aundair in abjuration and
evocation, Aundairian war wizards provide a much broarder
and more diverse skill set. Conjuration, enchantment, and
transmutation are three key schools of magic where Aundair
simply has no peer. Fog of War enshrouded formations of
Thranish archers, Gallant Charge enabled formations of
Aundairian soldiers to charge through enemy fire, and Mass
Darkvision allowed elite Aundairian forces to strike even
during the darkest nights.
More formally, Aundair's ordinary armies were
supplemented by the Knights Arcane, a large order that
included almost every noble who served in the war. The
Knights Arcane embodied the mixing of arcane and martial
traditions. Many of the Knights Arcane conventionally raised
their own mounts to serve as traditional cavalry, mixing spell
and blade from horseback. The Knights Phantom were an
elite unit of light cavalry that preferred to leverage the spell
Phantom Steed over flesh and blood mounts, using a special
dragonshard focus item that extended the duration of the
steed beyond the conventional one hour.
Perhaps the most famous of the Knights Arcane were the
dragonhawk riders, whose mastery of magic solidified
Aundair's aerial superiority. While Brelish hippogriffs, Cyran
griffons, Thranish wyverns, and Karrnathi undead
monstrosities all challenged Aundair's dragonhawk riders
throughout the war, more often than not the dragonhawks
came out on top. Still, this wasn't enough to prevent the major
losses Aundair faced throughout the war. While a Lyrandar
airship can be constructed in a matter of month, it takes years
for a Dragonhawk to grow to a rideable size and war-ready
state. Furthermore, the reliance on the noble class for both
mounts and riders limited the overall size and scope of aerial
warfare, something that may change if the next war were to
break out.
Sample NPCs
Lauren ir'Isen is a commander for the First Aerie of
dragonhawk riders in southern Aundair. A stocky, ginger-
haired khoravar ace with more than fifty kills, she's more
comfortable in the sky than on the ground. Moving up in the
ranks meant that for the last four years of the war, she didn't
see any direct combat despite a deep desire to. With the end
of the war and the force drawdown, she's returned to
patrolling Aundair's skies with her prize dragonhawk,
Featherheart. Recently, she's become concerned for the aviary
- Dragonhawk eggs are extremely valuable due to their slow
rate of breeding, and one has recently gone missing. Any
number of suspects could have stolen the egg, from local
bandits, to a rival country, to House Vadalis. Characters who
locate the missing egg not only earn favor with her but can
use her to get introductions in the Aundairian military or
Aurala's court in Fairhaven.
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The Navy
While the conventional war wizards of Aundair explored many
more branches of magic than their counterparts in other
nations, the Aundairian Navy pushed those studies even
further, deeply incorporating illusion magic into their tactics.
The inherent uncertainties of war are only amplified on the
water, where information is everything.
In terms of warfronts, Aundair's First Fleet was the
smallest, patrolling the Eldeen Bay and maintaining shipping
routes in the waters north of Khorvaire. The Second Fleet
was the largest, vying for control of Scion's Sound and the
waters around Thronehold. The Third Fleet protected
Aundair's western flank, conducting operations in Lake
Galifar against Thrane and Breland.
Sample NPCs
Erica Spellvig is a master illusionist for the Aundairian Navy.
A human transwoman with long, braided hair, she is
renowned for her control over large-scale illusions and her
attention to detail. She was conducting operations in Cyran
waters when the Mourning struck, miraculously surviving the
dead-gray mists. However, something's been off with her
illusions since then - small, unconscious alterations. Recently
she's been seeing moving shadows in the periphery of her
vision, sometimes coalescing into hazy form. In truth, the
Mourning created a shadowy duplicate of her past self that is
trying to replace her.
The Korth Edicts
When Galifar was founded, the Korth Edicts were an
agreement between the (then eleven) dragonmarked houses
and the fledgling kingdom that separated the rights and
privileges of each. A legal barrier was erected between the
nobility and houses, declaring that any house member who
marries into the nobility must renounce all claims they have
on the house.
While the houses control and regulate most trade in
Khorvaire, certain sectors are outside of their purview. First
and foremost, land is primarily controlled by Khorvaire's
nobility, the rent from which funds their continued existence.
Derived from the land is agriculture, which the Raincaller's
Guild supplements but does not control or regulate. Other
natural-resource oriented industries such as logging and
mining are similarly sequestered from the houses, creating
opportunities for the Aurum. In a more conventional industrial
sense, textiles and construction are at most regulated by
Cannith, but are far enough outside its ordinary purview to
allow others to build wealth.
With the fracturing of Galifar, the houses have begun to
push and test whether any nation will uphold the Korth
Edicts. Aundair bears the two biggest cases of this, with
House Lyrandar controlling Stormhome while Sasik d'Vadalis
sits in Fairhaven as the queen's consort.
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Education
Aundair's system of education is one of the most advanced in
the five nations, raising the standard of living not just for the
noble classes, but for everyone. While all nobles in the five
nations provide education for the farmers and local
merchants that pay them taxes, Aundairian nobles take great
pride in the quality of the education they provide.
While magical ability certainly requires some level of talent,
it's also a function of education. Every Aundairian villager
receives some level of magical education, even if they only
retain the very basics of spellwork - a piece or two of
prestidigitation, for example. On a more professional basis,
almost every craftsperson in Aundair can be considered a
magewright, using magic to improve their productivity and the
quality of their work. On a material level, the people of
Aundair have a higher quality of life than every other nation.
For higher education, well-to-do Aundairians and the nobles
can afford Aundair's elite universities - Arcanix for the
magically talented, and the University of Wynarn for those
pursuing more mundane studies. Elsewise, a variety of
Sovereign Host monasteries provide higher education to the
faithful few who are selected each year. The Twelve, while
based in Karrnath, also provides education to those affiliated
with the houses or one of their subsidiary guilds.
Arcanix
Formed over the prison of Sul Khatesh, the Keeper of Secrets,
the village of Arcanix has always been known to produce an
unusual number of magical prodigies. While she slumbers
deep beneath in Khyber, her dreams sometimes prove to be a
muse to young magic-users, gifting them insights far beyond
their comprehension.
At the beginning of the Last War, Aundair captured much of
Western Thrane, including the village of Arcanix. Recently
nationalized to serve Wrogar's purposes, the Arcane Congress
aided the war effort by turning their floating towers into
floating fortresses, patrolling this newly claimed territory in
the name of Aundair.
The Arcane Congress has long functioned as a high-level
research institution, pursuing projects for the good of Galifar
that the Twelve won't. The Arcane Congress has slowly built
up a dozen schools across Aundair, providing artificers,
magewrights, and wizards the skills they need. The floating
towers themselves were only for the highest levels of research
for accomplished spellcasters.
The minister of magic under Wrella was impressed by the
academy of the arcane arts in Arcanix during a tour of the
warfront and decided to bring it in as a thirteenth school. After
some tense faculty meetings and other academic negotiations,
the floating towers parked themselves above the village and
integrated its school into theirs, transforming it into a
prestigious onramp into treasured research positions in the
floating towers.
One side effect of the nationalization of the Arcane
Congress was the many wizards from abroad who left to serve
their countries - founding and bolstering their own arcane
institutions in the process. Amongst those who benefitted
from an infusion of talented wizards were the Atur Academy
and Rekkenmark in Karrnath, the Vermishard Academy and
Wynarn Institute of Art in Cyre, and Morgrave University in
Breland.
4
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The University of Wynarn
The University has six departments, each with their own
enormous building that includes dormitories, classrooms,
laboratories, restaurants, and museums. For much of the past
century, these facilities sat empty, as ministers of magic
prioritized funding and recruitment efforts for the Arcane
Congress. Members of other nations could no longer attend,
while Aundairians who had the money and status to attend
frequently chose to pursue other, more practical paths.
By 990, the faculty outnumbered the students. The
administration made a bold choice after the Treaty of
Thronehold to open enrollment up significantly while creating
a scholarship system, filling out empty classrooms with
students of all nations and races. This has created tension
amongst the student population, as members of the
aristocracy confront the reality of warforged, goblinoid, and
shifter students who have never had access to university.
Arcane Science and Theory
The department of arcane science and theory eschews the
practicalities of spellcasting, focusing on topics such as the
planes and magical phenomena. The department chair is Dr.
Odatra Orulin Ornan, a wizened gnome that's nearly blind
from age. Still, her mathematical mind is unmatched in
Khorvaire, having published the majority of the major
mathematical breakthroughs of the past two centuries.
Classics
The department of classics has not benefited from the
school's resurgence, with almost all new students still
considering it to be the study of dead literature. The
department chair is Dr. Sartumal Peters, a venerable elf
whose favorite works were old when he was young.
History
The department of history has worked to understand all
aspects of the past century of warfare. The department chair
is Dr. Juliona Walleau, an Aundairian nationalist. Her latest
book The Forge of War has come under fire for portraying the
Thranish armies as undisciplined zealots rampaging through
Western Khorvaire.
Language
The department of languages has evolved and adapted with
the new student population, integrating the perspectives of
other cultures rather than gazing down upon them from its
literal ivory tower. The department chair is Dr. Kleris Dekker,
a middle-aged khoravar specializing in ancient Dhakaan.
Natural Studies
The department of natural studies has a partnership with the
Wayfinder Foundation, providing scholarly expertise on exotic
flora and fauna. The department chair is currently empty, after
the last one died in a mysterious accident.
Philosophy
The department of philosophy has been directly challenged in
many of its long-held assumptions, as the more diverse
student population brings new views to the classroom. Dr.
Marran Samalliar's career has included an extensive study of
the origins and effects of the Galifaran gender binary; eir
position outside that binary has given them particular insight
in that field.
Local Politics Appendix A: New Spells
The gap between urban and rural life in Aundair is bigger Fog of War
than anywhere else in the five nations, even as both share a 3rd-level conjuration
deep national pride and fascination with magic. Aundair's
pastoral countryside benefits from the nation's abundance of Casting Time: 1 minute
magewrights, but shuns the fast living and fashion-obsessed Range: 500 feet
cities. By contrast, the people of Aundair's cities consider the Components: V, S
rural folks as backwards, always a generation behind on the Duration: 1 Hour (Concentration)
latest magical advancements. You create a 50-foot-radius sphere of fog centered on a point
within range. The sphere spreads around corners, and its area
Rural Aundair is heavily obscured. It lasts for the duration or until a wind of
The farmers of Aundair live a life similar to their ancestors moderate or greater speed (at least 10 miles per hour)
from before the Kingdom of Galifar, tilling the rich soil in a disperses it.
comfortable climate to grow luxury goods desired across the Gallant Charge
continent. Most lords maintain a vineyard of some sort, with 3rd-level enchantment
the quality of the wine believed to reflect the quality of their
leadership and piety to the Sovereign Host. Casting Time: 1 minute
For a land steeped in arcane magic, rural Aundair is much Range: 30 feet
more religious than outsiders might suspect. Aureon is Components: V, S
revered throughout the nation as the deity of knowledge and Duration: 10 minutes.
magic, but Arawai has many devotional temples intended to Up to a dozen willing creatures within range are imbued with
bring about good harvests. Merchants in the towns of Aundair bravery. Until the spell ends, each creature is immune to being
give tithes to local temples of Kol Korran, and villagers who frightened and gains temporary hit points equal to your
live in the wilder patches give praise to Balinor. Rural Aundair spellcasting ability modifier at the start of each of its turns.
is also a hotbed of Pure Flame activity, a holdover from the When the spell ends, the target loses any remaining
end of the Lycanthropic threat early in the last century. temporary hit points from this spell.
Archbishop Dariznu, who currently rules over Thaliost with
an iron fist, originally presided over an Aundairian town of Mass Darkvision
Wyr in Western Aundair. 3rd-level transmutation
Urban Aundair Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: 60 feet.
The cities of Aundair are full of wondrous inventions, courtesy Components: V, S, M*
of the Arcane Congress. While all of Galifar benefitted from Duration: 8 hours
the Twelve's offerings in the centuries of peace, Aundair has
uniquely seen the wonders of a steady supply of local Up to a dozen creatures you can see within range gain the
magewrights. Even the towns of Aundair are fully outfitted ability to see in the dark. For the duration, each creature has
with modern magical marvels, with animated brooms that darkvision out to a range of 60 feet.
clean the streets lit by everburning lanterns. The cities offer *- (either a pinch of dried carrot or an agate)
the latest and greatest innovations, such as permanent
illusions that loop and give tours of historic sites.
While Aundair's rural centers are owned directly by the
presiding lord and usually managed informally by a council of
village elders, its urban centers are much more complex.
Royal governors manage cities, while royal mayors manage
towns. These are more oligarchal than pure feudal positions,
as the various wealthy members of society negotiate with
lords and ladies over who is qualified to lead.

5
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Appendix B: The Royal
Family Tree

Cover Credits
D.G. Landreneau

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