Llewdor

Llewdor is the name of a fictional country used in the personal computer adventure game '. It is separated from the by a huge ocean accessible only by large ships like traditional pirate ships. The nation was ruled by an elderly and despotic wizard by the name of during the course of the game. He kidnapped babies from other realms and "adopted" them as his slaves. However, Manannan never used more than one slave at a time, in order to eliminate the chance that his vassals would escape by using teamwork. Seagulls are seen in the game near the ocean and a spider that is capable of devoring humans is located in a gigantic spider web in the forest. However, bees are completely absent in the game, even though the Three Bears hold residence in rural Llewdor.

History
During Manannan's tenure as absolute leader of Llewdor, brigands and thieves prospered. These criminals are fond of stealing valuables from townsmen and slaves alike. All forms of crimes (including attempted escape from slavery) usually has the death penalty as the official form of punishment. However, the local bandits were always sneaky enough to avoid the wrath of the nation's leader. The leader's ability to turn people into ashes is the primary form of punishment to people who break his laws. However, he uses lesser punishments on his slaves before trying to kill them.

Port Bruce is Llewdor's capital city and its only city. While holding no place to hold a proper government, it has a public newspaper called the Bruce Banner, a restaurant/bar with a local female bartender that serves alcoholic beverages to pirates, a general store that is owned by an elderly man and his dog Kenny, and a port for seafaring trade. Manannan's rule was eventually ended when a slave named Gwydion (a.k.a. Prince Alexander of Daventry) learned magic and neutralized the threat by turning the malevolent ruler into a cat. The fate of Llewdor is considered to be unknown as of the conclusion of the game, although an unofficial sequel using ZZT called [http://www.sq7.org/KQ/index.php/King's_Quest_ZZT_(IF) King's Quest ZZT] suggested that Llewdor developed a more representative form of government. This step in their evolution as a country would come right after the people realized that they would have to rule themselves after their former ruler could longer rule them as a cat.

Geography
The geography of Llewdor features hills, grassland, little agriculture, and a large desert to the west that is ruled by a tribe of Medusa-type monsters that turns people into statues. This desert divides Llewdor from its neighbor to the west. The nation's close proximity to the ocean makes it profitable for merchants to do trading to other lands like the Kingdom of Daventry. Due to the absence of arctic or tundra lands, it is suggested that the ocean's currents keep the eastern half of Llewdor at a moderate temperature year round. A fatal chasm is located south of Port Bruce that was created by supernatural powers harnessed by the leader in order to prevent the citizenry from leaving Llewdor by land. However, a similar chasm is used near the leader's house to keep a massive amount of intruders out. Only a small amount of people could use the narrow roadway that leads to Manannan's house.

Demography
The demographics of Llewdor consists of mostly peasants, sailors, and lower class townsmen. Literacy is virtually absent even in Port Bruce because Llewdor's only library is owned the the leader. Except for visitors from Daventry and other countries, most denizens of Llewdor are either completely illiterate or only possess basic literacy skills. Economic growth is 0% as the rigid authoritarian rule of the wizard Manannan stifles any technological progress, which would indirectly affect economic progress, through the use of magic.
Since there are no children in Llewdor, the birth rate is also 0%, representing a problem of zero population growth. The combination of zero economic growth and zero population growth has discouraged warmongering overseas kingdoms from invading the country while under Mannanan's rule, assuming that the nation is:

* 1) impoverished, and therefore, it would not be worthwhile to invade
* 2) packed with harsh terrain, and therefore, the population will always remain very low
* 3) underdeveloped, and therefore, would make a better trading partner than conquered territory

However, the leader of the land practices a form of laissez-faire and does not directly interfere with the economic progress of Llewdor. Feudalism is notably absent for a society with 13th century values and technology level due to the lack of agriculture. Beef, pork, and honey have to be imported from other lands while chicken is considered a luxury item solely consumed by Manannan because he owns the nation's only chicken farm. Bees are absent from the land, but a giant spider is present. This makes silk an influence factor in the finer fashions worn by the barmaid and general store owner who reside in Port Bruce. Despite there being no external threats from other nations, internal threats are high due to the prosperous reign of thieves, brigands, and pirates in this atmosphere of laissez-faire economics. This problem is complicated even further by a lack of police force or public militia that is served to protect the innocent civilians.

At the lowest level of the social hierarchy are the slaves, who do not have access to gold pieces, thus making purchasing ale from the town's female bartender or purchasing items from the general store impossible as charities are non-existent in this country. Slaves are killed by the leader at the age of 18, thus there are no adult slaves in Llewdor. Unlike most villages, Port Bruce doesn't have a village elder or a mayor (either appointed Manannan himself or elected by the people) that represents the people's interests. This information suggests that the government of Llewdor is not representative in any form.

Industry
The main industries of Llewdor are alcoholic beverages, statues (collected from the local Medusas and often that of deceased people unfortunate enough to gaze upon one of them without using a mirror shield as described in the legend), and seafood. While it trades with other kingdoms, the prosperous bandits and thieves keep economic growth at 0%. While zero economic growth has protected Llewdor from ambitious invaders in lieu of an organized army and/or navy, it has also caused poverty. This advanced level of poverty has prevented the formation of guilds in Llewdor that are present in other medieval societies. Despite the economic stagnation and the poverty, there are an absence of homeless people in Llewdor and homelessness is not considered to be an issue for the citizens of Llewdor.

The leader of the nation practices a form of laissez-faire in the economic operations of Llewdor and does not play a role in the economic development of the nation. Agriculture plays a very limited role, so the diet of the citizens consists of mostly fish and alcoholic beverages. Cattle and horse farms are notably absent in Llewdor, suggesting that animal husbandry is considered to be an unknown concept among the citizenry of Llewdor. However, a chicken coop is located just outside the leader's house. The wizard's slave is supposed to feed the chickens regularly and they are a luxury item enjoyed only by the evil wizard Manannan himself.

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