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Geography: Kagnar is situated in the center of the continent of Maddengrahl, bordered on the north by the Guardian Mountains (called simply the Ulhurst by the dwarves who live in them), Floregh to the west, Cryndal and the Plainsmarsh to the east, and the Oelthen Forest and Baergan Dhol (the Kheldic Tribelands) to the south. A few miles of the northern part of the Oethlen forest technically lies within he
Kagnaran border. There is one major waterway through Kagnar: a river running roughly north-to-south from where Holden Pass leads a way through the Guardian Mountains down into the Oelthen Forest. A second river breaks off of this main one and heads west through Floregh, and numerous smaller creeks and brooks run between Kagnar's gentle hills and sparse forests. The spaces just south of the Guardian Mountains
and just north of the Oethlen forest are full of green fields that are good for farming, while the center of Kagnar has rocky soil that holds the kingdom's primary asset and that which earned it its nickname: marble. Most buildings in Kagnar have some form of marble used in their construction, and the more plentiful varieties have been used to pave Kagnar's major roads. The capital city of Eresthesca, which sits on the main river in the center of the kingdom, is made entirely of marble of all types, shades, and hues, and is recognized the world over as the most beautiful city on the face of Ifrai.

People: Although there are more humans than any other race, they only make up about 45% of the population. The rest are dwarves, hin (halflings), elves, triclopes, gnomes, various half-breeds, and other races either come from other lands or born there into families that did so long ago. One of Kagnar's recognized strengths is its unmatched diversity; the monarchy does everything it can to ensure equality and fairness among its people, and to encourage the use and cooperation of all the various strengths that each race brings.

Government: Kagnar is ruled by a monarchy with the power to appoint or depose other noble families to govern various areas. These noble families hold the power to approve or disapprove these appointments and depositions by a vote. They may also retain a portion of their military and financial assets as their own, while the rest is at the Monarch's beck-and-call, but may commit more than that should they so choose (and often do in times of crises that threaten all of Kagnar). This portion has been negotiated and renegotiated many times over the years, and has even been different for certain areas at times, but tends to hover at around 50%. These two powers give the nobles some leverage at court, but the monarch's commands must be obeyed in all other things, and for the most part they have learned from history that cooperation will lead to the best results for all. It should be explained that if the diversity of its people were to be called the force behind Kagnar, the Avendove dynasty would have to be called the guiding light that has made it great and kept it alive. A human dynasty that has had an elf or two in the bloodline over the millenia,
the Avendoves have appointed noble families that represent almost every race that lives in Kagnar's borders, and even the longest lived of these recognizes that the short-lived nature of their human rulers has kept Kagnar feeling fresh, vital, and alive. With one or two new monarchs every century bringing fresh ideas and the energy of a young ruler, nothing in Kagnar is allowed to stagnate. The guiding principles of fairness and justice have never gone away, but each king or queen can shed new light on the problems that their predecessor could not solve.

Military: The military of Kagnar has a merit-based promotion system - to a point. While common folk can serve either as enlisted soldiers or earn their way to becoming officers, noblemen and noblewomen who join are given rank as officers right away. As a practice, officers who are of noble birth have their noble title placed before their military rank when announced, formally addressed, or when introducing themselves, such as Baron-General or Lady-Major. This is not a required practice, and many noble-born officers prefer not to have their noble status advertised thus in order to avoid the scorn of the soldiers they lead. They are required, however, to wear their family crest on the upper left breast of their military tabbards. This is something almost every noble-born officer agrees to, wanting to show pride in his or her family, even if they don't want their noble birth brought up every time a subordinate asks them a question. While some
elitism is unavoidable, it should be noted that the highest ranking officer in Kagnar is General Ardence DeSordre, known also as the Lion of Kagnar. While his family was noble many generations ago, they were deposed for reasons that are much debated over fine crystal glasses and simple clay mugs alike. Even so, Ardence himself is a commoner, yet frequently tells the heads of noble families what to do with their soldiers. It is success stories like these that have made the military both a way for common-born citizens to gain upward mobility and a way for commoners and nobles to share the undeniably unifying experience of fighting and shedding blood side-by-side. Other monarchies have shaken their head at the Kagnaran military and wondered aloud how a force that allows commoners to look eye-to-eye with, and even down upon, their ruling class can be as effective and powerful as Kagnar's, but the results cannot be argued with. No force
on Ifrai can match Kagnar's for sheer numbers, few equal the effectiveness of its training, and only Floregh's has the same sense of comaraderie and purpose. As for organization, the Kagnaran military is broken down into a number of sections, called "Corps," which are seperated by their basic mission and denoted through different colored tabbards, explained below. Each tabbard has a pair of simple padded epaulettes on the shoulders, generally a darker shade of the
primary color (except, of course, in the case of black tabbards). Rank is worn on the right shoulder while a unit crest is worn on the left. Two-toned tabbards are split diagonally from left shoulder to the right hip, so that the portion below the belt is a solid color, and the epaullets are of the lower color.

Gray: Rank-and-file ground forces meant for taking and occupying ground.
Black: Spies (worn only in ceremonies and official meetings)
Green: Scouts
Blue: Town guard
White: Road guard
Red: Nobles' personnal guard
Red over White: Royal guard (the king's own)
Gold: Chaplain Corps (armed, unlike in contemporary militaries)
Purple: Magus Corps
White over Green: Marines
-Note: If a soldier in one legion is attached to another, the tabbard will have the primary legion's color as the main color and the color of the legion they are attached to as a border. For example, a Magus Corpsman attached to a rank-and-file unit will wear his purple tabbard with a grey border on it.

Kagnar has only a tiny coastline which it shares with Floregh and the Oelthen Forest, and its navy is not the largest on Ifrai, but is still respectable. Most of its sailors are Seafaire- seafaring elves who sometimes spent their whole long lives on their magnificent ships. In ages past, Kagnar has given many of the Seafaire a port-in-a-storm, and the water-elves have not forgotten. If neccessary, Kagnar could
call upon many, many of the Seafaire's ships, and while it may take some time for them to arrive, they will answer the Marble Kingdom's call to arms.

History: Kagnar has been a pillar of peace, justice, and liberty for thousands of years. The Avendove monarchy has ruled with fairness and understanding from the first to the latest. Many a time, this nation has been called upon to protect not just itself, but its neighboring nations, and once or twice its brave people have stood against a dark
fate that threatened to consume all of Ifrai. A thousand years ago, for example, Kagnar's forces did battle against the self-proclaimed demi-god Dorainkoth and his army of undead demons. While the courage of Kagnar's armies held strong, a small band of heroes led by a cleric of Roaro Pyre, god of courage, fire, and war, along with Lady-General
Ardencia DeSordre, defeated the dark deity and forced him back out of our plane of existence. Roughly one hundred years ago, Kagnar worked behind the scenes to assist the nation of Floregh in its revolution against Otoria- their rulers from across the sea. Floregh is now a flourishing young republic and a stalwart ally of Kagnar. Their
friendship was tested six years ago after a small allied force of Kagnaran, Floreghn, Ulhurst, and Cryndal troops stopped the Gragen's Hand cult from opening a permanent gate to the Far Realm in the frontier beyond the Guardian Mountains known as Coradel North. The King of Kagnar surmised afterward that Coradel North was so wild and
untamed that it had become a breeding ground for threats like that. With the Gragen's Hand still living in hiding, it could easily happen again, so Kagnar began stationing troops in some of the independant frontier towns nearest the border, with plans for expanding this occupation. Floregh, on the other hand, believed strongly against such action, stating that if Kagnar were to annex these towns, they would be no more than conquerers, whatever their intentions. This led
to strife and even skirmishing as Floregh sent troops to assist towns that wanted nothing to do with Kagnar's intrustion while Kagnar's forces fought alongside towns who welcomes their protection. Finally, a small band of adventurers helped to bring the two nations back to
the negotiating table, where they worked a compromise. Kagnar would be allowed to build fortifications and station troops all throughout the Guardian Mountains as a ward against invasion, and the other countries of Maddengrahl - Cryndal, Til Gaertan, Ulhurst, and Floregh would assist by bolstering the forces at these forts with their own soldiers. Meanwhile, Floregh and their legendary guerilla warfare experts - the River Patrol - would train and lead small teams of scouts who would roam Coradel North to protect the people living there and watch for emerging threats. These Coradel Rangers are still in their intial stages, but have already begun to distinguish themselves. On the heels of this crisis came another as the Black Prince invaded
Kagnar itself, bringing his army of hobgoblins north along the
Guardian Mountains and down through Holden Pass to strike right at Eresthesca. Fortunately, the famous ranger Andrenas Sherand and his brother Engallian Soaringsteel assisted the armies of Kagnar by bringing hundreds of horses from the Wyldegonne to the south in time to serve as cavalry, which General Ardence DeSordre used in a brilliant surprise counter-attack to break the Black Prince's siege and send his army running.