Erdelicht

Overview
The Erdelichtian Reich (Meaning Empire of the Land of Light in the erdelichtian language), also known as just Erdelicht, is a nation in the far Northwest of Acoria. A extremely religious, traditional and xenohpobic place, where since time imemorial the priesthood and the army have called the shots and where the mere idea of democracy is seen as laughable at best and treasonous at worst. Despite many setbacks in their history and a period of colonization, the Reich has managed to secure most of its territorial integrity until the modern times, and constinues to this day to be a thorn on the side of anyone who wants to see the region peacefull and stable under their influence, for the Erdelichtian are untamable, and ambitious.

History
The history of the Erdelichtian people is inherently linked to that of their religion, for the main unifying factor amongst their people was always their unique faith known today as The Cult of the One. Most documents regarding the early history of Erdelicht are religious in nature, and the only source besides oral tales and foreign hearsay to try and discern what the past of the country was like.

All tales, however, seem to agree that the focal point of erdelichtian culture, faith and government came from a peninsula in the southwestern part of the island, where today now stands Friedrichsburg, capital and holy city of the erdelichtian faith. It was amongst the tribes of that peninsula that a unique happening would change their country's history forever.

A Light in the North
All tales about erdelichtian origin, be they religious or secular, agree on a primordial point: a main factor for it happening was the figure of Friedrich Karl, first emperor and leader of the Erdelichtian faith.

According to the religious writings, the emperor was born a simple man amongst the many tribes and cities that ruled over the peninsula, and would grow to be a respected warrior in his community. Alas, his life was destined to so much more than simple war, for the gods themselves decided that he was worthy of conducting their task, or The God.

Not long after becoming chief of his tribe, at a very young age, Friedrich was blessed with holy visions during the religious cerimonies of blood and fire that his tribe normally used to mark the ascension of a new chief. These visions, he would later recall in his Fireside Talks, were of the many gods of not only his tribe but of all the peninsula and even far away lands, in this vision he was told much, but the main things that stuck with him and were passed on to his brethren were that:

1) All good gods are One

2) All Evil gods are one

3) All good must act together to defeat evil

His revelation must surely have backing from the heavens, as his tribe quickly picked up the banner of this strange brand of monotheism, the likes of wich belief had never been seen so far North, and rallied behind this monstruosity of a man, larger than life that he was.

In the years that followed, through war, diplomacy and cunning, Friedrich Karl subjugated the entirety of the peninsula in which his tribe dwelt, a feat none had ever managed before him. Even more baffling than military unification, was the spiritual cohesion that he managed to bring, specially since his ideas were so alien to the area. By the strange mix of dogmatism and tolerance that his "Cult of the One" brought, he managed to at the same time exert a centralized spiritual authority and not cause rebellious sentiments on the conquered.

It was during his time that the first ever city of the island of Erdelicht, and according to some sources of the entire North of Acoria, the city of Friedrichsburg, located on the top of a small mountain at the south of the peninsula in which he stabilished his domain. This first city of the erdelichtians said a lot about how they managed to create it and how they would continue to do most of their things: it was a entirely religious place, economically and politically it didn't make much sense to use it, it was difficult to reach, food and other supplies had to be hauled by a long climb up to the top and once there the space was limited, but the idea of the place was to enshrine the religious nature of governance and, specially, the royal family forevermore, and that it certainly achieved. Never did a united Erdelicht have other capital that wasn't Friedrichsburg, and at its gates glorious battles for the destiny of all the souls in the North were fought.