Kingdom of Marand

The Kingdom of Marand was the state of the Dark Elves between 422 and 473 AEKE. The short-lived kingdom collapsed after the death of its one and only queen, and split into three new states: Dhaeraow Loomin, Gurtha Ndengin and Mori Templa Mellon.

Beginning
Sellin Marand, the founder of the state - started the Kingdom in 422 AEKE as the aftermarth of the Dark Elven exodus. For the first thirty years of existence of the "state", much of the energy was spent in their struggle to survive, let alone prosper in their new environment. The trial-and-error approach to finding out what was edible and what was not claimed plenty of lives, along with the depression from the perpetual darkness and claustrophobia that inspired several suicides, further contributing to the population bottleneck problem. Many tried to escape the gloomy mood by drinking rum, but binge drinking only contributed to the problem, rather than solving it.

The first three decades were very rocky, and the young state was constantly on the verge of collapse. By 460 however, three Dark Elven cities have emerged, and the Kingdom of Marand had a fully functioning system of administration, without food shortages or massive depressions. Not to mention, a second generation of Dark Elves have also emerged, who were born into this dark and gloomy environment, got used to it and were no longer susceptible to growing depressed just by living in such an environment. The infrastucture was present, weapons and armour were being produced, the Kingdom had a fully equipped army ready to fight too. However, with that newfound sense of safety and stability, the Dark Elves were no longer united. The ruling class split into three parties:
 * The Plutocrats: representing the wealthy, lobbying for the Kingdom of Marand to turn into a merchant republic, or at very least a constitutional monarchy where merchants held most political power.
 * The Statocrats: representing the military, lobbying for a larger army with a more prominent representation in politics. They also lobbied for the Kingdom of Marand to turn into a military dictatorship. Initially, they were the weakest of the three parties, but became very prominent later on
 * The Magocrats: representing the mages, lobbying for the state to exclude those who could not use magic from political power, a "rule of the most powerful" system. Initially, they were the strongest of the three parties, and also the most loyal to Queen Sellin, but they lost much of their monopoly on political power to the bickering Statocrats and Plutocrats later on.

The rivalization between these three groups would transform into outright hostility and lead to the state's collapse after Queen Sellin's death.

Collapse
Queen Sellin was assassinated in 473. Following her death, there was intense debate, her three orphans were taken custody by the three parties, and eventually, all of the three parties claimed to be the legitimate successors of Queen Sellin. They ended up retreating to the cities in which they were most popular, and proclaimed that the infant they held was the legitimate successor of Queen Sellin, and that the other two parties were merely supporters of pretenders. The Plutocrats would be the founders of the Dhaeraow Loomin, the Statocrats would be the Gurtha Ndengin, and the Magocrats would be flying the colours of the Mori Templa Mellon.

Aftermath and legacy
This "civil war" between the three successor clans would eventually end up bogging down, as none of the three clans could achieve supremacy over the other two. When one clan would seem to be gaining the upper class, the other two would always ally to beat back the strongest one, then start fighting against each other again. Under one century, it would gradually turn into an unofficial ceasefire, and there would be peace in all but name between the clans, with a bitter rivalry and a state of "cold war" rather than outright violence.

Queen Sellin would be remember by the Dark Elves as a uniting figure, a charismatic leader who managed to keep the state together until her death. In Etrand, she would be seen as a person who tried to keep the unruly Dark Elves tied down and prevent them from committing crime. In Dragoc and Froturn, she would be merely seen as a heretical cult leader.

Diplomatic relations
The Kingdom of Marand heavily relied on trade with Etrand early on - Basilisks were brought from Southern Etrand to serve as mounts in the underground land, wine and usquebaugh were brought before rum was re-invented to fight off the epidemic of depression the first generation of Dark Elves suffered due to the new environment.

The Kingdom of Etrand was the only state that recognized the Kingdom of Marand as a legitemate state - Froturn and Dragoc would refuse to recognize the state and establish embassies to the very end. Through tunnels, Marand also managed to establish relations with the Republic of Keldorn, and trade extensively.