Taurmen

History
Taurmen as a country has a rich history of wars and intrigues and its borders have rarely been stable before the Draconic War of -1200 AC. At this time, the King Jun II led a succesful rebellion against the three Dragons dispatched by the empire to rule these lands ; controlling Taurmen as a central hub was vital in the Eagle coalition victory over the Dragon Empire, for it allow to dispatch supplies and reinforcements in a timely manner to the rest of Audasthelm.

Once the war was over, the kingdom was laying in shamble and had lost more than half of his population, including three quarter of his youth.

To remedy this problem, the King published one of the most famous edict of Taurmen's history, the Reconstruction Act, which allowed strangers to come in and acquire the nationality and some land in as little as twenty years. It was a tremendous success and allowed Taurmen to keep up with the Western Realms which had not been effected as harshly by the war. Oftentimes, the most entreprising newcomers would gather in Guilds to increase their leverage as well as their land share. As the centuries went by, Guilds merged, disappeared, not always in a peaceful fashion, and in the end remained only those who managed to adapt themselves.

And as the country grew more wealthy so did the Guilds, to the point that four hundred years ago, they overthrew the Queen Zel IV in one of the less bloody civil war of all times, as only the royal guard and all the extended royal family fell under the intriguers swords. The Guilds then founded the Council, an institution residing in the capital Metelon,

Nowadays, there are no heir's remaining, for the Guilds were very thorough in their hunt, assassinating all people with a claim and sometimes their family up to the fourth of five fdegree. The Throne of Bronze has been melt away and all crown symbols have been erased from buildings, statues and monuments alike.

However, the Reconstruction Act still remains in place and all strangers are welcome to Taurmen, it is now the most wealthy country in Twinside and its thriving metropolis Metelon is unequaled in size (238, 781 inhabitants at the last census of 1197).

Current Laws

 * All travelers must carry a pass, including their name, their place and date of birth, their race, their description, and for strangers, their tax status.
 * Foreigners without work permits are expected to pay a tax of 50 gold pieces per year.
 * All criminals are to be tried in front of a Judge as well as one member of a respectable guild and a member of the temples. The criminals are then to be subjected to a Zone of Truth interrogation. If the spell fails more than three times, then they will be tried on the basis of the evidence available against them.
 * Guilds are exempt from Zone of Truth trials, to protect their trade secrets.