Offical Name: Kingdom of Nevarra
Demonym: Nevarran
Government: Monarchy
Capital: Nevarra City
Religion: Chantry (majority)
Nevarra is a nation in central Thedas bordered by Orlais to the west and the Free Marches to the east. It is known best for its unique treatment of death and strong royal dynasties.
Nevarra was actually one of the largest Marcher city-states before it expanded to become a full nation in the Exalted Age. Bolstered by deep coffers and strategic, central location, Nevarra has grown over the last few ages into a power that many claim rivals Orlais. While the capital lies in the original city of Nevarra, the city of Cumberland has seen rapid growth in the last century to become one of the largest in Thedas. Cumberland's advantageous position on Minanter River means it hosts the bulk of Nevarra's trade.
The ruling Pentaghast are among Nevarra's most famous families. Many generations have taken the throne, earning a reputation for seemingly heredity aptitude for military strategy. Under Pentaghast leadership, Nevarra fought and won a long war with Orlais for control over the mineral-rich hills in Nevarra's western region. This victory over Orlais brought Nevarra much of its prestige and wealth, although the indigenous people of these western lands are still not fond of the Nevarren presence.
By the Glory Age, rule of the Nevarran city-state had changed hands several times. Ineffectual leadership and infighting resulted in a poor populace lagging far behind other Free Marcher city-states. Ionas, the last ruler before the First Pentaghast Dynasty, ruled Nevarra for several decades and was in failing health. His friends and advisors took advantage of his weakened state, suggesting courses of action that benefited themselves rather than the city. Nevarra was destroying itself from the inside.
Many Nevarrans, including some of Ionas's closest advisors, felt that Nevarra could not survive on its own. They thought it best for Nevarra to cede itself to Olais or one of the more powerful city-states like Starkhaven. Rumors swirled that some advisors had brokered deals with either Orlais or Starkhaven and would be rewarded if the cession of Nevarra's lands occurred.
Fortunately for Nevarra, this never came to pass. Caspar Pentaghast, originally of a small town not far from Nevarra called Hunger Fell, plotted to depose Ionas before he ran Nevarra into the ground or delivered it to its enemies. In the middle of the Glory Age, Pentaghast seized the Nevarra throne, and under his leadership, the city-state's fortunes turned around.
Three royal dynasties have since persisted in Nevarr's storied history:
First Pentaghast Dynasty: King Caspar's bloodline held the Nevarran throne from Glory well into the Exalted Age, about three hundred years all told. In that time, Pentaghast rule was only temporarily interrupted when Orlais occupied a Blight weakened Nevarra. It was famously retaken by Casper II, still one of the nation's most revered Pentaghast kings.
First Van Markham Dynasty: In the aftermath of the Fourth Blight, Nevarran general Tylus Van Markham, who claimed to descend from Kordillus Drakon of Orlais, took the opportunity to stir the populace against the Pentaghast. Van Markham claimed the royal family had abandoned the values that once made them great, and leveled accusations of decadence and corruption. Anti-Pentaghast sentiment grew and Van Markham rallied the populace to overthrow the Pentaghasts so he could take the throne for himself. King Nestor Pentaghast was killed, stabbed sixteen times while seated on his throne. The surviving Pentaghasts fled to Hunter Fell. Under Tylus and three more Van Markham kings, Nevarra aggressively expanded from a city-state to a full fledged nation, occupying large swaths of Orlesian land.
Second Pentaghast Dynasty: Deep in the Steel Age, the last Van Markham King died leaving no sons. His daughter married a Pentaghast, merging the two powerful families. Together they solidified Nevarra's status as a significant power in Thedas, and the family has ruled Nevarra under the Pentaghast name for generations, with the Van Markhams enjoying an equally lofty status among the ability.
Uncertain Future for the Throne
The current king is Markus Pentaghast. The old man, of waning health and sanity, has come under fire from many political opponents who believe his Mortalitasi advisers are ruling the country through him. Members of the Pentaghast and Van Markham clans are lining up to replace Markus upon his inevitable death.
Some Nevarran noble families believe that both the Pentaghast and the Van Markhams have held power for too long, and that it is time for them to step aside. The most direct successor to the throne is Ferdinand Pentaghast, the younger brother of Markus. Ferdinand is a legendary dragon hunter known more for his writing on the many uses of the beast's blood than politicking. He is also quite old and has expressed no public interest in assuming the throne. Neither bother has any known offspring.
One of the most unique aspects of Nevarran culture is their perspective on death. While most Andrastian nations burn their dead in tribute to Andraste's martyrdom in the stake, Nevarrans mummify their corpses.
Nevarrans believe that when a soul crosses the Fade at death, it displaces a Fade spirit. Casper Pentaghast's personal advisor, a Tevinter mage named Vitus Fabria, founded the Mortalitasi order of mages and first preached the idea. The Mortalitasi believe mummifying corpses keeps the host safe for displaced Fade spirits.
The mummified corpses are placed in a massive, elaborate tombs, and the grandest of these come complete with gardens, bathhouses, and ballrooms. Wealthy Nevarrans begin construction on their own tombs while young, and add to them as they grow older. Outside of Nevarra City stands the Grand Necropolis. It appears almost as a city itself, complete with mansions and great places, although it is utterly silent and kept only for the dead.
It is common for nobles to take Mortalitasi advisors, and rumors persist of noble involvement in secret necromantic cults. Outside of Nevarra, inflated stories of ancestor worship and obsession with the dead have become Nevarran stereotypes.