#aundair

Wrote a quickie for two politically powerful women with an age gap in D&D’s Eberron setting. Read if you wanna see an impotent queen get bullied by a rich upstart!

Note: This is not canon. This is "In My Eberron" and evolves over time. Assumptions about Cuisine. They eat what they are able to find or grow or trade for. The Five Nations have domesticated meats and farmed vegetables and if not for the Last War, would eat well. The ring nations that used to be part of the five nations tend to have some farming. The outer nations tend to have game meats and wild vegetables, since their lifestyles do not lend themselves to growing crops.

Aundair. Known for their fine wines and ornate complex meals, of small portions, a wide variety of ingredients and sauces. They specialize in wine and soft cheese and bread. Harmless magic is usually part of the meal presentation. They map closest to French cuisine. 

Breland. They are the breadbasket of the continent, they grown most of the wheat and other grains eaten by the nations. They are known for their breads. Like the fashions, the meals tend to be functional more than flashy. A single plate or bowl for meat and farmed vegetables and always a variety of breads. Breland has a warm climate, so many of the food are served at room temperature. Their food maps similar Mediterranean cuisine spice profile.

Karrnath. Their harsh winters made the karrnathi cuisine a mix of heavy and filling food. They specialize in creative ways to preserve food to last the winters. But during the Last War, many starved.  Sausages, sauerkraut,and hard cheese making are considered an art form. Meals have little meats, lots of grains, beans and pasta and winter vegetables, like broccoli, cabbage, beets. Strong alcohol are a standard of Karrnath meals and it’s excellent. Karrnathi are renowned for being able to turn anything that doesn’t poison them into decent hard alcohol. They map closest to German and Northeastern European cuisine. 

Thrane. Because the region is home to several hot and or strong spices that only grow there, they cook very spiced cuisine profile. For example, they make roasted garlic into a full meal.  They do three course meals, salad, main dish and dessert. 

Cyre (The Mournland), was known for their candies and cakes and fusion dishes, mixing foods from everywhere else  They were know for adapting (or stealing) the recipes from everywhere else and combining them.. Like their deep fried candied crickets..

Darguun. What ever tropical food the slaves cook. things that can be prepared quickly and/or lend themselves well to traveling (almost like military rations) are probably commonplace ( I treat the globlinids like Babylon 5 Centari, they eat simple military ration type food, but they reminisce constantly about the glory days when they ruled the known world before the pink skins invaded and they could make recipes that used ingredients from all over the continent.)

The Demon Wastes. Known for their vermin meats cooked over fire. Rat on a stick is quite popular.

Droaam. The area has abundant fruit trees, It was Breland’s orchard district long ago.. Known for their fruit influenced meals. Apples, peaches, plums, pears trees grow especially well. They eat a lot of goat and sheep and pig and what that ghastly stuff is that is made from troll.  

The Eldeen Reaches. Known for their game dishes, with wild spices and local vegetables.

The Lhazaar Principalities. Known for their seafood and sea vegetables dishes.

The Mror Holds. Mushroom and fungus are most every dish. Centipede and giant worm make for good proteins.  

Q’barra. Simple meals made from mostly found vegetables and lots of raw and cooked insects and lizards. Cooked small mammals and fish.   Fresh fruits abound.

The Shadow Marches. Simple meals made from swamp creatures, swamp vegetables and hot spices to mask the taste of the swamp creatures. Their food is like a mix of Thai and Cajun cuisine. Thrane may be spicier, but shadow march food is HOT

Talenta Plains. They tend to be nomads, so their meals are made up of goat, dinosaur, bird, sheep and eggs. Veggies are found greens. 

Valenar - Very, very ornate meals for special occasions, military rations the rest of the time. 

During the Last War and as part of the Treaty of Thronehold, Aundair lost 2/3 of its country, specifically a swath of western Khorvaire now known as the Eldeen Reaches.

Meanwhile, Breland, at various points throughout the Last War, lost 2/3 of its confidence in other countries. Every trust was betrayed. Every ally showed itself to be extremist or unreasonable. Every unshakable truth was revealed to be a fabrication on top of shameful conspiracies and dirty dealings. 

Breland’s King Boranel went from being a bleeding-heart to a broken-heart to now…a lion-heart. He believes in people over countries. Which is why he has dedicated his postwar reign to making people’s lives better. Those people will one day become the vox populi that solidifies Breland’s call for common sense and common decency. 

He just also believes that the only way to truly know who is right and who is wrong is to see what they do when they don’t know you’re watching. Because countries like to present themselves as just big groups of people, and King Boranel believes that’s, like, 90% bullshit. Countries, from King Boranel’s point of view, are enormous complex fusions of magic and machine that could totally power cities, heal the sick, and feed the poor…but that are only one Big Red Button Push away from self-destructing and taking out half the countryside with them.

King Boranel doesn’t want to be The Finger on the Button; he wants to be the one who cuts all those Fingers —and only those Fingers— off.

Which brings us back to Aundair. Aundair is Khorvaire’s seat of magic and learning. It is the continental hub of transportation. Its people have the power, the intelligence, and the maneuverability to drastically affect Peace in Our Time. And King Boranel knows it.

He has built the King’s Citadel up to the point where wealthy, important people don’t use just any protection. When it counts, they use The King’s Shields. When a hostage situation is going down, if the Watch is out of their depth, the King’s Swords will get the job done. If a student mage releases…Things Better Left Unspelled, the fastest and most direct solution is to call in the King’s Wands. 

And Aundair’s people host so many special functions in its beautiful villas and wedding destinations and magical museum exhibits etc etc etc, that it only made sense for the Citadel to have satellite headquarters inside Aundair’s borders. 

Aundair’s people love the services that King Boranel has extended to them. 

Aundair, the country? Less so. 

Because what the people don’t know (and the royals can’t prove) is that the King’s Dark Lanterns are also out there, scattered across the Five Nations, watching. Just watching. ...And also preventing war...which, to the untrained eye, might look like international espionage. But it isn’t. Usually. 

There is a famous political cartoon that shows a dragonhawk waltzing with a bear at a diplomatic function with the caption:

“Breland, you seem to be overstepping again”

“Aundair, only when you trip over your feet.”

When working with stories… and also with game design… it’s tempting to make villains ridiculously powerful, with abilities and powers that rival to the point of surpassing the abilities of the heroes. This is a good “standard” way to have villains operate…