Turmish

Turmish was a republic with the capital of Alaghôn, and was located in the north of the Vilhon Reach. It was a densely populated nation, with bustling cities that were home to many mercenary companies and mercantile organizations that traded across all of Faerûn. As the saying from Starmantle goes: "The hordes of Turmish are as numerous as the waves upon the Inner Sea".

Government
During the late 14 century the republic of Turmish was governed by the Assembly of Stars, who in turn would appoint a Lord of Turmish. As of the, the position was filled by Lord Herengar.

Culture
Since the Turmians are known for respecting their land, they often buried valuables, partly as gifts to Chauntea and partly as "seeds" to grow future wealth. It was frowned upon to be found digging in Turmish.

Turmishan merchants customarily wore long, square, neatly trimmed beards. The phrase 'square as a Turmishan's beard', commonly heard throughout the Vilhon Reach, means a fair deal.

Turmishans in the countryside had unusual inheritance practices. It was common for farmers around the age of forty to leave their farms to their inheritors and leave to go pursue a life of a merchant or soldier. Some stayed near their farm and tended to a nearby wood, and others joined the farmland monasteries that were common across Turmish. These 'retirees' tended to be patient, calm, and confident in battle, with their bodies strong from a life of hard work but not broken by overwork. It is likely that the Turmishans reputations as brave warriors and fair-minded traders come from this unusual inheritance practice.

Archery was commonly practiced in Turmish, with many farmers being quite skilled with a longbow.

Turmish warriors were known to wear ornate, finely-crafted armor. This armor mixed both human and elven styles, with spires and fluted curves.

Festivals

 * Feast of the Moon:
 * Also known as the festival of lovers, this joyous celebration was celebrated throughout all of the Reach during Highsummer.


 * Reign of Misrule:
 * Beginning on Marpenoth 10, a tenday after Highharvestide, the citizens of Turmish would break their religious and mercantile vows by yelling and fighting with one another in the streets, so long as they didn't kill anyone or cause serious harm or destruction. Non-natives were prohibited from joining in these revelries.

Origins
The Turami people migrated to the region from their native lands around the Alamber Sea when they were displaced by the Mulan after the fall of Imaskar in. After finding these sheltered fertile lands, they settled down.

The coast of what became Turmish was once home to the nation of Scarbala, a country of fisherfolk and pirates. When Scarbala tried to expand inland and was met with raids from angry satyrs, concurrent attacks from vengeful victims of their piracy and several years of harsh winters destroyed the nation. The coast was also subject to attacks from koalinth and ixitxachitls.

Alaghôn and the Formation of Turmish
In, the port city of Alaghôn was founded on top of the ruins of a dwarven mining settlement, and soon became a major trading hub of the Sea of Fallen Stars. In the, a mercenary leader named Dempster Turmish declared himself mayor of the city. This precipitated a brief civil war that Dempster's mercenaries swiftly won for him. Dempster expanded the lands that he controlled, conquering all of the towns and villages that surrounded his city for thirteen years. By 145 DR, Turmish had taken control of the lands up to the lowlands of Hlondeth and set their eyes upon the city-state.

Assaults on Hlondeth
Dempster died in his sleep in 150 DR and his wife Florentine took over from him. Florentine was far more interested in mercantile ventures than continued expansion, ordering a halt to the wars of conquest. Florentine was assassinated after only four years in power, leading to a leadership contest that lasted 116 years.

An attempt from Chondath to conquer Turmish united the country behind Alesam Mischwin in the. This war, known as the Stalemate, ended in one but the stability caused by a leader finally being chosen remained. Chondath would try to take Turmish on two further occasions over the next few decades, failing both times. House Illistine proposed a mock war every Shieldmeet between Turmish and Chondath, the winner of which would gain a reward of slaves, resources and trading privileges, while ensuring that the two nations would remain at peace.

Disasters and Druids
In the, a fire in Alaghôn crippled Turmish's navy and destroyed its food stores, causing a rise in piracy and widespread famine. Turmish's noble houses, rather than working to help solve the issue, bickered with each other over who was liable for the damage. It therefore took over a decade of reconstruction to repair the damage. The saw the establishment of the House of Silvanus on the Isle of Ilighôn where powerful druids kept close watch on the ships travelling off the coast of Turmish.

Over a century of small incursions from orc and goblin tribes culminated in the War of 512 when the Candlekairn clan destroyed three Turmishan cities and carried off all of their accumulated wealth. When Mount Andrus erupted five years later, all hope of recovering that wealth was lost.

In the, druids from Gulthmere Forest and elves from Xorhun appealed to Arton Githsberry, the then ruler of Turmish, to stop logging in the forest in order to let the trees grow back. Arton appeased them with a show of consideration, but had no intention to stop collecting timber. The druids continued to pressure Turmish, becoming quite the thorn in Turmish's side by the.

Magocracy and Merchants
In the, the rulers of Turmish, a conclave of wizards calling themselves the Windlass, decided that they had enough of the druids in the region and launched an attack on both Cedarsproke and Ilighôn. Both attacks were halted before they could do any damage by the magic of the druids and their giant allies. The Windlass were executed, replaced by Alaghôn's merchant families. The druids of Ilighôn, now a formal organization known as the Emerald Enclave, had established themselves a force to be reckoned with.

The saw the merchant families of Turmish lose their temporal power to a dynasty of warlords, the first of whom established Turmish a powerful military nation. Their martial strength saw them through the 1018 DR Rage of Dragons quite safely, but the ever-increasing population was feeling the pressure of running out of space so, in the, the warlord Sjorn Sendreth initiated a war against Ironfang Deep. It was a protracted war that diminished Turmish's wealth to an unexpected level. Sendreth sent people out to bring back treasure which could fund the war effort - a tactic that worked spectacularly - Turmish was wealthy once more.

Wyrm and the Stars
Unfortunately, one such group of treasure hunters was tracked back home by the ancient blue dragon Anaglathos in the, who slew Sendreth and claimed Turmish for himself, killing or charming any who opposed him. The next five years were known as the Time of the Wyrm in Turmishan histories.

Anaglathos's rule was brought to an end by a paladin by the name of Corwin Freas, who led the rebellion against Anaglathos and personally slew the dragon. He was then acclaimed Turmish's king by a grateful populace. However, after a reign of only one year, Lord Freas dissolved his own monarchy and established the Assembly of Stars to rule Turmish instead.

14 & 15 Centuries
With a few small exceptions, such as the Plague of Dragons in the for example, Turmish had grown into become a democratic nation that was peaceful, safe and content, if occasionally a little overcrowded.

The Spellplague changed Turmish's fortunes for the worse, as the Sea of Fallen Stars drained away, leaving Alaghôn's port miles from the new shoreline. Turmishans became xenophobic as bandit raids from Erlkazar terrorized them and they were cut off from their neighbors. Nonthal took over as Turmish's most prosperous city as Alaghôn became increasingly dilapidated, while Sapra became the nation's only port. In the, the city of Gildenglade was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Kolimnis.

After the dissipation of The Great Rain, the Sea of Fallen Stars had risen to water levels not seen since before the Spellplague. Turmish's great cities were once again connected to the Inner Sea and its trading opportunities. This, along with a great agricultural boom aided by the Emerald Enclave, brought an upturn in the country's fortunes.

Cities

 * Alaghôn: The ancient port city channeled nearly all the trade that Turmish had with the rest of Faerûn for centuries, before the waters of the Inner Sea receded.
 * Gildenglade: Before it was destroyed, Turmish's second-largest city was a haven for non-human populations, home to many of the dwarves, half-elves and elves of the nation.
 * Ravilar's Cloak: A wild and rowdy mining town nestled in the foothills of the Orsraun Mountains.
 * Centaur Bridge
 * Nonthal
 * Jathrin's Jump
 * Xorhun: This community of elves and gnomes hearkened back to the communities of the ancient elven civilization.

Ruins

 * Ironcloak
 * Morningstar Hollows: A former farming village that had since been flooded into a bog and inhabited by lizardfolk.

Geography

 * Aphrunn Mountains
 * Mountains of the Alaoreum
 * Orsraun Mountains
 * The Orbrekh: A branch of the Orsrauns that was home to a family of giants, who protected the surrounding area.