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Bishop Aklan

Bishop Aklan

Head of State: The Balanced Council
System of Government: Theocratic City-State
Major Religions: The Balance
Minor Religions: None
Languages: Alvaric
Major Species: Humans
Minor Species: None
National Descriptor: None / The Faithful (internally)

Deeply faithful to the Balance, Bishop Aklan is a very small city or, more believably, a township in the south of the Palatinate, and was formerly the headquarters of the Prince Bishop of the Palatinate. After the last Prince Bishop was executed in Durholme for treason – or martyred in Durholme for her faith, to the locals – Bishop Aklan seceded from the Palatinate in 1306, and has never been reclaimed.

Five Rumours about Bishop Aklan

Rumours may be known by characters who are not from and have not visited Bishop Aklan. This is just a small sample of rumours you might have heard about this tiny, but devoutly holy country.

  1. Bishop Aklan is waiting for the reappearance of the Prince Bishop, who is not dead, but instead is magically sleeping under a hill somewhere, and who will return when the time is right.
  2. Bishop Aklan is a holy city and is protected by the Balance. This is how it maintains its independence despite having no resources: Durholme know that if they strike it, they will be struck down in turn.
  3. Bishop Aklan’s independence is actually just a scheme to avoid having to pay Durholme taxes.
  4. Bishop Aklan is the real secret power behind Durholme, and is sensible enough to operate at a remove. This is why Durholme has never crushed it.
  5. Bishop Aklan is responsible for all the troubles that Durholme undergoes every year.

Five Facts about Bishop Aklan

For your OC reference, or IC if your character is from Bishop Aklan or has visited it in the past.

  1. City of the Balance: Bishop Aklan was formerly the seat of the Balancite Prince Bishops, who were said to be chosen by an artefact of the Balance, and once ruled both Durholme and the Palatinate. The city-state is still considered a holy city of the Balance, and while worship of other gods is permitted, it is deeply uncommon.
  2. Tiny City-State: The nation of Bishop Aklan controls only the eponymous city and enough surrounding farmland to feed itself, and the normal population is only around 1-2,000 people. It is surrounded on all sides by Durholme’s territory, and continues to independently exist only because its former overlord has made no moves against it.
  3. Estranged from Durholme: Durholme’s killing of the then-Prince Bishop Reba Blackwell in 1306, who claimed ownership of the entire Palatinate, resulted in Bishop Aklan demanding independence from Durholme, which was granted. The city-state has refused to engage with Durholme ever since, distrusting any attempt at reopening official discussions.
  4. Permissive of Necromancy: The former Prince Bishop Iorwerth was a revenant, and Bishop Aklan retains legal necromancy within its borders, albeit with legal restrictions limiting its use only to those dead who consented to the process in life.
  5. Waiting for God: Bishop Aklan is currently ruled by a council made up of all prominent Balancites living in the city, which is a large number given its status as a holy city of the Balance. This makes decision-making frequently slow and arduous, and most inhabitants await the return of a divinely-elected Prince Bishop chosen by the Balance, who they believe will lead them into a new age of spiritual prosperity.