Elphegort

Elphegort, originally the nation of Heldogort and formally known as the Kingdom of Elphegort or the Green Country, was a state in the Bolganio continent's Evillious region. Staunch, hardy, and independent, the nation suffered multiple hardships and later became part of the Union State of Evillious.

Early History
Following the discovery of the the Tree of Held and the formation of the Levin Held sect, Heldogort was created and broke off from the main faith preached by the neighboring Magic Kingdom Levianta. With the followers of Held branded heretics, the nation suffered severe repression from the Magic Kingdom. At some point, the nation ended and was recreated as the Kingdom of Elphegort.

In EC 013, the Levianta Catastrophe destroyed the Magic Kingdom and the citizens witnessed the shadow of a two-headed dragon appear in its red sky. As a result of the catastrophe, famines and pestilence spread wildly throughout Elphegort for a time.

Kingdom of Elphegort
In the late 5th century EC, a king aligned with the Levia sect renamed Held's Forest, the pilgrim site for the Held sect, as the "Millennium Tree Forest". At some point, the nation made an alliance with neighboring Divine Levianta. In EC 500, Elphegort sent aid to help alleviate the Kingdom of Lucifenia's famine in conjunction with the Kingdom of Marlon. Soon after their petitioned aid, Elphegort was invaded by the Kingdom of Lucifenia and suffered the systematic genocide of its green-haired female population.

After the intended target was killed, the Lucifenia-Elphegort War continued, forcing King Thorny Elphen and the Elphegort army north into Merrigod Plateau. With the outbreak of the Lucifenian Revolution, the Elphegort military met and negotiated with resistance leader Minage and assisted in blocking the Lucifenian army from escaping the country. Once the capital of Lucifenian was captured, King Thorny imprisoned all surviving Lucifenian soldiers within Elphegort's borders and later proceeded to the peace talks between those involved in the revolution's success.

Sometime after Marlon occupied and later annexed Lucifenia, the growing imperial power imposed sanctions blocking trade with the Green Country, though allowing its merchants to trade within Marlon. Around the EC 530s, the Millennium Tree perished and was replaced by a new tree; the Elphen populace accepted it as the New Millennium Tree. After some negotiation with the Freesis Foundation, the Evillious nations all agreed to the establishment of the World Police organization in EC 573.

Following the discovery of Maistia in EC 592, Marlon established trade with the foreign continent. On September 6, EC 609, Elphegort issued a joint statement with Marlon and Lucifenia to limit the importing of tobacco from the New World following the death of Marquis Caspar Blankenheim a week earlier; the government faced opposition from the Freesis Foundation and the aristocracy.

Starting on October 17 of that year, a mysterious epidemic spread throughout Toragay, prompting the World Police to prohibit traffic to and from the city. By November, the 72 survivors from the plague were moved to hospitals in Aceid to receive treatment. The incident would later be recorded as the Toragay Serial Killings.

Union State of Evillious
In EC 878, Elphegort, along with Marlon, Lucifenia, and Levianta, signed the Aishikeru Treaty and formed the Union State of Evillious. In EC 990, the Millennium Tree Forest had become known as Evil's Forest where any who entered seeking the treasure left by Gallerian Marlon would never return. In EC 993, Nemesis Sudou came to power as a dictator and ordered the Elphegort army to invade the Lucifenian Republic; expelled from the USE, Elphegort occupied Lucifenia and immediately forged a military alliance with Beelzenia and Jakoku.

Afterwards, the USE army launched a two-pronged siege against Elphegort. By Nemesis' order, a secret project was launched to develop the nation's newest weapon: Punishment. In EC 998, a prototype for Punishment was created and moved to the Millennium Tree Forest for testing. Once the weapon was fired for the test, the entire Millennium Tree Forest was scorched by the blast. Soon after, the USE army liberated Lucifenia and the Elphegort army was forced to retreat.

Power Structure
The Kingdom of Elphegort's government was ruled by a single absolute monarch who held a majority of the power within the government. Below the monarch were the multiple ministers who helped advise and manage the nation's economy and domestic or foreign affairs, led by the prime minister, who presided over the cabinet of ministers and acted as the monarch's official advisor.

Below the ministers were the dukes, powerful lords who managed the militaries and economies of their individual province. Below the dukes were the marquis and the earls, aristocrats charged with ruling the monarch's or duke's territories in his or her stead. From the earls, each individual village chief would organize and maintain the town.

Each position within the government was subject to a hereditary line-of-succession with the firstborn male usually inheriting the position and title; however, early on, women were allowed to be a part of government affairs and were able to be in positions of power as high as the office of Prime Minister. After the Tasan party took control of the nation, Elphegort functioned as a dictatorship with absolute power given to the dictator to control its government and military.

Military
Elphegort's military was tenacious and obstinate; although weaker than the offensive and powerful Lucifenian army, their military commanders were charismatic and allowed even small fractions of the army to remain resilient. Before the war with Lucifenia in EC 500, the army was only used for self-defense and was not prepared for sudden surprise attacks. After the Lucifenia-Elphegort War had finished, the military was in shambles.

By the late EC 900s, Elphegort's military had recovered enough to successfully invade and capture Lucifenia, although was still weaker than the full force of the USE army. The nation, however, was given an advantage by developing a powerful weapon capable of leveling enemy forces: Punishment.

Economy
After its formation, the Kingdom of Elphegort adopted the feudal system, with peasants of an earl's territory required to farm the fields for the nation's agriculture. In exchange, it is assumed the peasants were given a moderate fee or permitted to live on the land they worked and take a small portion of the harvest. Among its primary crops were the trauben fruit found on the west of coast of the Lake of Amusement, used in winemaking.

Coinciding with its agricultural aspects, the kingdom's economy was open to trade, allowing merchants to settle and run businesses within the kingdom and kept an entire district in its capital reserved for trade with the Kingdom of Lucifenia. With enough endowments paid to the state, the government could bestow titles of nobility to the richer merchants in the kingdom, granting them prestige and influence that could help grow their business and help stimulate the nation's wealth and growth. Among its domestic products included Yatski Lopera wine, trauben jam, and other products made from trauben fruit.

The government also subsidized talented individuals for promoting the arts, such as singing and literature. After the discovery of Maistia, Elphegort became a major importer of goods from the continent, especially its tobacco. It later limited its tobacco imports following the death of Marquis Caspar Blankenheim. The kingdom maintained minted gold coins as their currency to back the nation's economic wealth. The nation later adopted Evillious' regional currency, the Evu.

Society and Culture
The people of Elphegort were a hardy and independent people, likely due to the discrimination faced throughout their history. Although both the Elphe and the Netsuma races were indigenous to the country, the connection between the Netsumas and Duke Venomania caused the white-haired race to be heavily persecuted to near extinction.

As a result, the Elphe acted racially intolerant to foreigners, often looking down upon those without the characteristic green hair, pale skin, and green eyes shared by their people, earning them the nickname as the "Green Country". Despite this, many foreigners chose to flee to Elphegort for sanctuary and several even managed be successful in spite of racial differences.

As part of their culture, Elphegorteans typically did not adopt a unique surname to coincide with their first name, save for the members of the aristocracy and royal family who possess a noble family name. For entertainment, the aristocracy primarily enjoyed reading literature or poetry, though some literate commoners also enjoyed the pastime. Regardless, both social classes enjoyed opera and attended the events.The culture also emphasized literature and the arts and was protective of them and the talented individuals that promoted them.

During its days as Heldogort, Levin became the primary religion with the Held sect growing into a major cult faction. Eventually, following the persecution inflicted by Levianta, the nation was refounded as the Kingdom of Elphegort and the Held sect was able to grow with the Magic Kingdom's destruction. Despite this, Elphegort was intolerant of the Behemo sect due to its association with demon worship.

Over time, technological mastery over the land led to religious decline and active followers of the Held sect began to dwindle in the kingdom. Regardless, members of the population still affectionately accepted the New Millennium Tree after the death of Held, referring it as such despite the tree not being a thousand years old. With the decline of religious faith, persecution of foreigners related to Sateriasis Venomania also dwindled, although heavy prejudice still existed in some concentrated areas during the early 6th century EC.

Due to the invention of the printing press and newspaper, media reporters spread news quickly to readers across the nation and kept them updated on important political or societal affairs within the country as well as abroad.

Geography and Climate
Elphegort was a mid-western region of Evillious, located directly above Lucifenia, below Levianta, and west of Asmodean. The area was filled with rocky ridges and characterized by the Millennium Tree Forest to the south, stretching across its entire border with Lucifenia.

The wood contained its famous Millennium Tree, the largest tree in the entire forest, accounting for a quarter of Elphegort's territory. As a result, the forest acted as a natural barrier protecting the country from invasion.

The state also contains a large lake in the northern area of the forest and along its north-eastern border lies Merrigod Plateau, the largest known highlands in Evillious. Also along its northern border are several ruins.

Aceid
The capital city of Elphegort in the South, near its border with Lucifenia and is placed near the Millennium Tree Forest. The city had been divided into five districts, all connected by its Central District. The Southern District was the trade hub with Lucifenia, while the Northern and Western districts were residential areas for nobles and the Eastern District had residentials for the poor. Its most important locations include the Freesis Mansion in the Northern District and the Royal Palace. '' Main Article: Aceid''

Millennium Tree Forest
The portion of Held's Forest within Elphegort's borders. Lying between the capitals of Lucifenian and Aceid, the route represented a tactical disadvantage for any direct invasions between the two nations. It was later dubbed Evil's Forest after rumors spread of its visitors disappearing in search of Gallerian Marlon's small theater. '' Main Article: Millennium Tree Forest''

Yatski
A village situated between Aceid and the Lake of Amusement, north of the Millennium Tree Forest. It was a major trauben fruit grower and wine producer in Elphegort. A little north of it was a dangerous and narrow cliff path leading to Aceid. The village was under the jurisdiction of the Felix family's earl during the turn of the sixth century EC. '' Main Article: Yatski''

Toragay
A city located north of Aceid, at the foot of Merrigod Plateau. The city was under the jurisdiction of the Felix family's earl during the turn of the sixth century EC. During the Lucifenia-Elphegort War, the Felix family was imprisoned in Lucifenia and the city was used as the headquarters of the Lucifenian army. The Felix family later lost its noble title over the land over the next century. Following the Toragay Serial Killings in EC 609, the city became a ghost town. '' Main Article: Toragay''



Calgaround
A city above Toragay, situated at the foot of Merrigod Plateau and the residence of the noble Calgaround Family. It was previously a territory within the Magic Kingdom Levianta before breaking off and becoming part of Elphegort. Most of the buildings were painted red to show the citizens' devotion to Meta Salmhofer, who was worshipped by some Levin practicioners. During the EC 600s, Mayrana Blossom became the mayor of Calgaround as "Julia Abelard". '' Main Article: Calgaround''



Merrigod Plateau
A large highland situated in the northeast of Elphegort, directly north of Aceid. The city of Toragay is situated at its base, along with a military fort. During the Lucifenia-Elphegort War, the fortress was the headquarters of the Elphegort king and army. In EC 611, a major battle took place between Elluka and Irina Clockworker.

The Forbidden Graveyard
A ruined graveyard in the north of Elphegort near its borders with Levianta.

Conceptualization and Origin

 * Elphegort is inspired by the real world country of Germany; its history mirrors that of both medieval and modern Germany.
 * Its name comes from Belphegor, the patron demon of Sloth.

Curiosities

 * When creating the Third Period, Sickle modeled the Elphe race after Held's green-haired appearance from the Second Period.

Gallery
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