[hider=my nation] Name: Empire of the outstretched roots [b]Location:[/b] Elsewhere to south far from most contact of others. The capital itself is within a marshland of a savannah like environment on an artificial island within a lake although the environment changes depending on where you are within its territories although their climes are rather warm save for the areas within the tropics or on the mountains for obvious reasons. [b]Society:[/b] The government is a hegemonic tribute based empire with a slight militaristic traits ruled by an emperor who obviously rules over all the territories as well as the one he inhabit. The lands that they conquered and are now on their dominion retain a good amount of autonomy and will continue to do so save for some Empire wide crisis of if they have not been paying tribute adequately. On a more close up level the society has a caste of sorts that form a [insert visual metaphor]. The strata of the society in no particular order is is made of slaves, nobles, and commoners, of course the Emperor and his household at top. The commoners run the gamut of being simple farmer to more middle class sounding jobs like craftsmen and merchants. The nobles are both actual noble families that occupy positions in the government or rule their own territories as well as odd occupations that just happen to be prestigious like astronomers or scribes. within the empire and warriors. Inspite of the caste system it is not as rigid as it seems as it well be which will be detailed in the next section because I need stuff to write out. [b]Unique Notes:[/b] Slaves are made of three people: Those who were peoples of conquered territories, criminals, and debtors/those who sold themselves off to pay off debt. Due to recent history the first avenue is a bit rare. Slavery is not hereditary merely resting on the individual. A slave had ways of restoring their freedom with the most straightforward methods being either going through the legal system or simply buying themselves off. Commoners can move up to the lower end of nobility either by having their children become selected to enter the nobles’ school which itself is not easy and would land them some nice job. The other method is to enter the military and score some prestige and climbing the ranks and or entering one of the elite warrior groups. [b]Other:[/b] The Empire has gone through many events within its history. Most recently it has been reunified after it split and fell into infighting caused by unrest by its tributaries over a bunch of stuff which will shortened to be basically attributed to being too ironfisted in their demands and ruling. Currently it is in a state of repair with its efforts being spent on infrastructure and wrangling those of old regime to go along with the new as well as dealing with its closer neighbors rather than the outside world. Although it does engage in some semi-distant trade through proxies. [/hider] [hider=My dude] [b]Name:[/b] Jade Owl [b]Age:[/b] 24 [b]Gender:[/b] M [b]Sexual Orientation:[/b] [b]Role in Society:[/b] Emperor [b]Legend:[/b] Some whisper that out in the furthest of the lands in the middle of nowhere there exists a city of gold and decorated with finest riches borne of the earth. However such a beautiful city is inhabited by monsters ruled atop a golden throne by their lord. Which some describe as being a beast of man while others say he has a veneer of a handsome man that hides a cruel and violent ogre who serves out violence with blades made from the torn tusks of a demon boar. The truth is sadly far less simple and bloody than the legends suggest. For it is just the distorted hearsay over the country which has for all intent and purposes closed itself off and become hostile to unwelcome visitors. Its ruler is human and handsome he is not some blood thirsty demon. However like all citizens he is trained like all others in the art of war even more so as a ruler and his force extends not just in the martial realm but also keeping others in check as he tries and run the country [b]Appearance:[/b] Brown skinned with hair that’s kept short . Build wise he is in excellent shape given his military training and involvement. Clothingwise it depends on the situation needless to say he has a multitude of lavishly ornamented and colored clothes that are also quite breezy given the heat. However there many times he forgoes any clothes save for breech cloth due to heat and not needing to wear anything in particular. His royal regalia consists of a head dress with jewels and feather and who else knows what. A fabulous cape and an equally fabulously colored loin cloth. As for military regalia it’s obviously something very distinctive in its armor and weapon set made from the best possible stuff. [b]Personality:[/b] He’s a bit of a cocky jackass who is cracking from the pressure of having to rule as well as handling the image problem he has with the other nobles. His less that an agreeable attitude is grating and is slowly pushing others away as he just stoically keeps to himself rather than confide on other. He also is of decent cunning and intelligence which helps with strong arming pesky nobles into getting things he wants or needs to happen. However he is capable of being nice and pleasant it’s just that his mood is always set int between exasperation and annoyance to be a proper peace to do so [b]Skills:[/b] Posing -expert Politics and other related shenanigans related to ruling- journeyman Carousing- master Fighting- expert Military strat & and stuff- apprentice Slacking- master Ōllamaliztli-expert [b]Combat Flaws:[/b] Impetuous & reckless While well trained and skilled he is still young and more than a reckless sometimes taking unnecessary risks due to him being impulsive Gloryhound- The culture what with being militaristic and placing emphasis on glorious warriors. One of the ways of advancing is to simply put showing off not only your adeptness at it but also making it look good. His young age as well as obligations to put up appearances has influenced him to not only just add some stylishness to his fighting but also to seek out attention for moments that will grant him glory. [b]Personality Flaws:[/b] Jerk: He's in a state of almost permanent irritation given combined from mindnumbing busy work of small scale stuff as well as having to deal with occasionally uncooperative members of the court. Plus there is a certain pride in him that gives some air of arrogance although some of that arrogance is an act of feigned confidence. Not to say he isn't capable of being nice it's just he needs a moment to take a breath which doesn't easily appear before his daily life. Irresponsible: While not chronically especially with his duties. The transition from easy going playboy lifestyle of heir in waiting to actual ruler is a grand change that needless to say wasn’t something he wanted to do so soon. So in the name of trying to cut back on having to do so much he’ll try and delegate as many minor and low priority seeming things to others and sometimes this goes off without a hitch and sometimes well… he should have payed attention to the fine details. [b]Backstory:[/b] The collapse of the previous dynastic system in place happened from overworked vassals that began to rebel as well as petty infighting against the nobles all combined the perfect storm after the country overworked itself from a costly war against a long standing rival nation that it had never quite managed to squash. His father was a soldier turned gladiatorial slave that became free again thanks to some friends re-recruiting him while the nation split itself off into smaller territories. With his natural charisma his father managed through many years of fighting to reunify the squabbling houses and lands into one realm and crown himself ruler. Things were quite well all thing considered although many changes took place to ensure a more sustained harmony and stability. As just reunifying everything doesn’t magically change the problems the nation had. Needless to say the change in both power structure, people, and policies which rubbed the older noble families the wrong way. However they begrudgingly respected the man and not just because he had the strength of his supporters in positions to back him up. One of his sons is a whole different matter. For he was born in a time of peace (kinda) and had it great as outside of being groomed and trained for his future position he’d be able to enjoy himself quite leisurely earning him a reputation of a useless playboy with a talent for seducing everyone’s daughters and not much else. However there would be a huge shock as when brought into battle alongside his father in a counter attack against the rival nation which was planning to attack while they were still weak he somehow vanished. He was presumed assassinated despite any evidence showing that. The young man would end up having to fight in his father's place first. Which he did and with some help and more than a little luck he managed to gain a decisive victory and promptly won the long running feud. However while a military victory under his belt might be nice and reputation building his true challenge would be to rule a nation. While not the best ruler ever he’s managed to a good job and most importantly kept the nation in check although some of his work is cut for him as there’s a lot of rebuilding to do after the split. Although his attention turns to figuring out what happened to his father as well as perhaps some expansion. [/hider]