KINGDOM OF YLECH
The Land
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Ylech is a small exotic island located on the western shores of Meda and north of Gorma. It was discovered by Toralechian explorers in the year 1643. Marveled by its unique flora and fauna, they believed they had found a new place to settle. However and as they later found out, the place was already inhabited.
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Despite its beauty, Ylech is also plagued with gargantuan insects. Insect nests abound, and they feed on equally gigantic meals. The island's tropical climate, hot and humid, is ideal for udankhas and nakhilas to reproduce over six times a year, with over a hundred new larvae each time.
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The terrible sea currents around the island make it difficult for most vessels to reach its shores, let alone navigate. While this used to keep the island of Ylech safe from external threats, its discovery brought most of the Ylechian races to their demise.
The Folk
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Ylechians used to be described as beetle-folk. It only took a few decades for them to become one of the rarest races in Alor, as they were exterminated for their horns, iridescent hair, and colourful wings. Only the Kafkara bloodline, the strongest among the beetle-folk, survived.
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Kafkarans took great interest in learning from their invaders and took many prisoners, and they proclaimed themselves as an independent kingdom in 1720. Most Ylechians today are the descendants of those prisoners, while Kafkarans are still ruling the land.
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Those with pure Kafkaran blood in their veins boast large beetle-like horns and are so strong they can pull a thousand times their own body weight.
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The Kingdom of Ylech had a very long tradition of kings before Queen Mezala. Her father, King Zival XII, died in battle when Mezala was a still child. Her mother, Queen Izina, was beheaded by the people as they refused to be ruled under non-royal blood.
The Kingdom of Ylech was soon in shambles. There was no man bearing royal blood, so the counselors presented Mezala as the future mother of the future king. The advisers would rule in her stead until her first child -a boy- was of age. She was the only one left belonging to the Kafkara bloodline, after all.
A joust was held to marry the young queen. An ideal chance to secure their place in the Ylechian royalty. At the time, queen Mezala was only eleven.
The victor of the joust was a knight. But after much celebration, the man didn’t wake up the following day. The young queen had ripped his ribcage open. The same fate awaited her many other suitors.
The commander of the Ylechian guard, admiring the queen’s strength, vowed to train her, a suggestion that was welcome not only by the worried advisers but also by the rest of the nation. Not only had she inherited her father’s strength, but also her great-grandmother's wings.
Considered one of the most reliable allies in battle, Queen Mezala serves as a shield to her people and protects the small Kingdom of Ylech from harm.
Queen Mezala, Last of the Kafkaran Bloodline
Illustration by Zuza Grużlewska