Cetairiacelos

Cetairiacelos (please don't ask me how to pronounce that, because I shall never, ever do so) is the northernmost country on the world of the War of Light and Dark. It is comprised of mainly spies and assassins, which serve as an interesting form of government. Along its southern border, it is somewhat protected by a mountain range that marks the divide between their world and the "outside". To their east, they have a large river and lake between them and Aduro.

Cetairiacelos's borders are protected by much more than mere geographical features, however. Ever since its creation eons ago, magical wards have been created and strengthened to hide its inhabitants. As a result of such, if one tries to scry, they will see nothing but forest, or how the land would be were there no people there. It also gives an added boost to the illusionists that patrol the borders, enabling them to use their magic much more effectively. If no illusionist is available, the land will mysteriously and subtly attack the invaders and any dangerous animal in the near vicinity will find itself quite hungry. It also causes a curious growth frenzy of various poisonous plants, many of which are rare, or not found in Aduro at all.

All of the spies and assassins that live in Cetairiacelos--or anyone who lives there--have discovered a way to force the wards to "recognize" them. They spend the span of at least one week aiding the illusionists anyway they can; many times this means that they act out what the illusionist is trying to portray (for example, the ghosts of faery twins, headless hunters, etc). This makes it easier for the illusionists, because all they have to do is change how the person is viewed ever so slightly, since the explorer already believes that there is a person in front of them already.
As previously stated, Cetairiacelos's government, and military, is made up of assassins and spies. There are seven academies, each with seven headmasters. The head guru of it all is known as the Avelate, and basically has supreme rule over the country. Most of the time, he doesn't try to execute supreme rule for that will get him killed rather quickly, and he has decided that he rather enjoys being alive. Instead, the government is a twisted form of democracy and manipulation.

Many times, after an assassin/spy has decided to terminate his/her career, they shall go learn a new set of skills which they will most likely practice throughout their lives. In a time of extreme emergency, though, they shall be called up by the Avelate to aid their country in its time of need.

Cetairiacelos was created long, long ago, before the faeries had begun to colonize the northern regions. At first, it was a refuge for the assassins who had been forced into exile. As time went on and the assassins' families (if they had any) decided to live with their loved ones, the population grew to a size where they could begin to spread out and colonize the rest of the northern half of the continent. Over the years, assassins and/or spies with exceptional skills were discreetly invited to come and work for the Cetairiacelosian government.

The primary reason for the exile of the first assassins/spies was thus: There was a faery king who was loved by all his people. His brother, however, was jealous that his younger sibling had been named King upon their parents' deaths. Said brother hired a faery assassin by the name of Kardama, and, needless to say, Kardama succeeded in killing off the younger sibling. Rumors started spreading that the eldest sibling had poisoned his brother, and the newly made king became worried. He offered a reward if anyone could bring him information about his brother's murderer in an effort to appear innocent.

One of the assassins that worked within the same group as Kardama became tempted by the reward and turned him in. The Faery King made it look as if Kardama was from a terrorist group, and nearly beheaded him. No one would listen to Kardama, or his friends, as they tried to explain what had happened. In the end, Kardama and his friends were exiled. They headed north, not knowing where they were headed. The eventually settled in what is now known as D??neco, which was named as such because one of the elven members of their group died from snow fever there.
As the population continued to rise, the assassins/spies would go into libraries and change or take away various records. There is a small, brief chapter on the assassination of the original Faery King, but all court records were mysteriously lost. The population census was also missing for the next few decades, until a few years after an epidemic broke out. Surprisingly, the library at Sanusiaer and a few other academies have records that look remarkably close to the originals.

Because Cetairiacelos is so far north, it is covered in snow/ice most of the year. A popular pastime is ice-skating, or a more deadly version simply known as ice-fighting. The blade of the skates is normal, but the forefront is elongated and sharpened, and tapers upwards into a thin stilletto. You have forearm guards with a blade running along the outside edge from below your wrist to your elbow. In the end, it is exactly like the name suggests; you fight people and cut them up with ice skates, no other weapons allowed.

One of the most important parts of Cetairiacelosian society is, of course, the Academies. At first they were academies built in the middle of nowhere, but slowly towns built up around them. Because they are so vital to the workings of the country, they shall be explained in their own section.