Taiga

Taiga, officially the Archduchy of Taiga, is a Heartlandic nation located in northern Interra. It is home to the Taigans, an ethnic group of humans who are culturally distant from their brethren and who have long preached a policy of isolation from the other peoples of Interra. To the north of Taiga lies the Elven Kingdom's Serene Coast, to the east is Greymount, to the south is Eben and Krino Island of Thalassia, the latter of which is separated by the Black River, and to the west is Greengrove across the Great Northern River.

Fairy Age
Fairies were the first inhabitants of Taiga, settling the Norriver, Midhold, Svarhold, and Rulgur regions around 200 FA. Ancient fairy ruins can be found in Rulgur in particular, suggesting that a large and prosperous settlement may have existed in the region.

Fairies ruled northern Interra unopposed for roughly 2,800 years until the arrival of humans to Interra and their rapid expansion. Fairies and humans would first meet in modern-day Eben and eventually make their way up the more northern parts of Interra. The high level of mixing between fairy and human populations would end up spelling disaster for the fairies. The mixed "fairy-humans" eventually evolved into the elves who launch the first recorded violent conflict, wantonly killing fairies and humans across northern Interra around 3600 FA, causing the extinction of the fairies and large scale migration to southern Interra by humans.

Birth of the Taigan identity
The Warring Age was marked by non-stop raids and invasions between elves and humans. The elves and humans were separated by the Black River and simply stepping into the river was treated as an act of war. The region of Horfurberg would see the heaviest fighting between the elves and humans in not just Taiga but throughout the entire age. For centuries the skirmishes would fail to produce a clear victor until the Hirdmenn tribe conquered Horfurberg and Fjallberg in 690 WA. 24 human tribes then crossed the Black River for the first time without fear of an elven ambush and settled the land, all swearing fealty to the Hirdmenn. By 711 WA, the Hirdmenn successfully conquered a huge swath of land and founded 8 human city-states that were meant to rival the magnificent human cities in the south. These eight cities were Riverhald, Snjargur, Vorberg, Svarhim, Fjallgrun, Stikonun, Thyskurba, and Eythiba. At the time humans collectively referred to them as the "Taigan cities", marking the beginning of the Taigan culture and identity.

Rule under the Council of Presbyters
In 729 WA, eight powerful mages of House Hirdmenn based in Stikonun managed to suspend their aging through unknown means, causing a religious panic among the Taigans. These mages and their followers believed that by achieving immortality, they had ascended to godhood. Naming themselves the Council of Presbyters, they took control of the Taigan cities with popular support. These mages were Agnar (Fjallgrun), Aki (Riverhald), Adalsteinn (Eythiba), Brynjar (Snjargur), Einar (Stikonun), Hilmar (Svarhim), Snorri (Vorberg), and Thorir Hirdmenn (Thyskurba).

Initially, rule by the Council was just, however, the mages became tyrannical after falsely claiming that they were invincible instead of simply immortal, invoking fear in the Taigans. Slavery, extra-judicial executions, and land and property theft were common by the mages and other high-ranking members of their regime. Aki Hirdmenn, the ruler of Riverhald, was considered to be the most fanatical, with an ancient source claiming he had 28 wives, all of whom were sex slaves, and around 140 children. The power and terror of the Council were known outside of Taiga and ironically made it one of the more peaceful regions on Interra, as both elven and human armies avoided the Taigan cities and the surrounding land. This developed the culture of isolationism that is present in Taiga today.

Styr's Rebellion and the founding of the Archduchy of Taiga
After 1543 years of unopposed rule, the Council of Presbyters faced a major slave rebellion when a slave, Styr, murdered Brynjar in his sleep on the 91st of Treedusk. The news of the death of an "invincible" member of the Council of Presbyters sent shockwaves not only to the Taigan cities but throughout Interra. In the following 9 days, huge mobs of slaves turned on their masters as they hunted down the Council, their families, and their supporters. The Kingdom of Eben took notice of the turmoil in Taiga and used it as a justification to capture Thyskurba and kill Thorir on the 2nd of Snowfall. Two days later, known as "Bloody Suma" occurred when Agnar, Aki, Adalsteinn, Hilmar, and Snorri were all killed on the same day, though at the cost of the lives of a huge number of the slave rebels. In particular, the cities of Svarhim and Eythiba were destroyed, as Hilmar used powerful magic to blow up Svarhim with him in it, and the Ebenians sacking Eythiba and murdering Adalsteinn and the slave rebels. The lone survivor of the Council, Einar, was killed on the 8th of Snowfall as slave rebels from all over Taiga descended upon the cultural capital of Taiga, Stikonun, and destroyed it along with anybody who lived there.

Following the end of the rebellion, King Klais of Eben traveled to Horfurberg and founded the city of Klaisberg, and proclaimed it the capital of the newly created Archduchy of Taiga. Klais handpicked 6 loyal Taigans and named them the Dukes of Fjallberg, Horfurberg, Midhold, Norriver, Rulgur, and Svarhold respectively. In his final act, he proclaimed himself the Archduke of Taiga, making Taiga a colony of Eben. The newly formed nation would begin to develop for the first time since before the Council of Presbyters took control and within a generation, the lifespan of the average Taigan increased by 30 years. Despite this, Taiga remained the poorest nation in Interra as they had no export or import partner besides Eben, thanks to the Taigans' culture of isolation.