Bard Becomes KingMohammed Sidibé crowned King of TalmoriaCoronation portrait of King MohammedSeptember 3922 - After years of instability, chaos, and outright civil war one player emerged as the victor in the post-Caliphate struggle for power. The Asli nobility, united around the Aristocratic Union and championing a return to traditional Asli values, has taken over the capital city of Tajabad, gaining internal and international recognition as the legitimate successor of the crumbling Israist theocracy. Promising an end to the brutal discrimination against the Kalkali minority, an abolition of the harsh religiously-inspired legislation, and a liberalization of Talmoria's statist and corrupt economy, the nobles seem to have mustered enough popular support to take over the reins of power. Promising a new era of religious freedom, inter-ethnic harmony, and continental integration, the aristocrats proceeded to implement their own vision over Talmoria. And with the crowning of Mohammed Sidibé as King of Talmoria that vision has a face.
Hailing from the Sidibé dynasty of jeli, the new King descends from one of the most prestigious griot clans, with roots going all the way back to Dankaran Sidibé, the jeli of Mohammed Ali Khan I, the medieval Brmek warlord whose conquests in Dovani led to the creation of the Asli Sultanate. The jeli (or jeliw), as the preservers of oral history, are highly respected in Asli society; serving the role of historians, poets, musicians, and praise-singers, the jeli are roughly equivalent to Western bards, but unlike their Artanian counterparts, the jeli have considerable political power, as no figure of authority is without his jeli. It is therefore not surprising, although highly untraditional, that a jeli became King.
For all the celebratory atmosphere surrounding King Mohamed's coronation,Talmorian nobles have much work left to do after their victory against the Caliphate's forces. Israist militias continue to offer armed resistance, the economy is in shambles, and centuries of ethnic conflict have left much resentment and antipathy between the nation's ethnic groups. The new Talmorian government also faces the daunting task of successfully navigating the maize of shifting alliances and competing loyalties that is Dovanian diplomacy, while also attracting the foreign investments needed to rebuild its battered economy. As a monarchy founded on an apeal to traditional pre-colonial political and cultural values, Talmoria's new regime has ideologically positioned itself closest to Indrala, the continent's champion of political traditionalism, but, after Indralan
claims of suzerainty over Talmoria, the Kingdom is keen on emphasizing its independence. Talmoria may try to shift her attention to the North and forge close ties with Hulstria and Gao-Soto while adopting Septembrism as a succesful model of inter-ethnic harmony, but the collapse of the Labsburg Empire and the vilification of Septembrism across the continent has left the former Imperial Crownlands unable to project their influence and promote their political model. Or Talmoria may seek its foreign friends outside the continent and forge closer ties with Cobura, the informal leader of the Esinsundu (ooc African) world after the fall of Ibutho's monarchy. Whichever path the Kingdom of Talmoria chooses, it is guaranteed to be fraught with difficulty and will face considerable domestic and international opposition.