Nation Name:
Governorate of Aurelia

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Flag:



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Type of Government:
Province of the Yllendir Empire, under elven government.

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Head(s) of Government:
Head of Council Vulre Pazana

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Economy: (Main imports, exports, industries, technology level, etc.)



Courtesy to the Northern Range, the mountains that make up almost half of the province, Aurelia has hundreds of industrial centers scattered around, mining precious metals, building materials and even pumping the relatively new wonder resource called "Petroleum". These sacred mountains offer iron, bronze, brass, stone, gold and diamonds. The aurelian people have longe since mastered the art of terrace farms, with many such farms forming the unique landscape of the Uplands, the base of the Northern Range mountains. These farms are one of the reasons such a mountainous province such as Aurelia manages to maintain closely to 52,000,000 people. Stable food is both consumed province-wide, aswell as exported to the Empire.



Another considerate resource is wood from the numerous forrests of the Midlands, some of the Empire's finest ships, furniture and buildings being made from the famous aurelian wood. And of course, Aurelia's southern coast, the Emerald Coast, is famed for it's sea food and cuisine, not to mention the numerous luxurious resources such as the purple color extracted from the squids and the pearls of the southern ocean or the more notorious gigantic Palmyra Mushrooms, whose hallucinating proprieties are used by the wealthy, especially during decadent parties.

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Primary Species:
Humans are the most populous, with a sizeable population of Dwarfs and Elfs.

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Population:
Around 52.000.000 of which 2,000,000 are Yllendir elves and 4,000,000 dwarves, with small pockets of other races here and there, but the bulk number of 46,000,000 is made of human aurelians.

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Culture:

The humans of Aurelia come in many diverse variations, from swarthier complexions in the south to more lighter ones in the North. Aurelia's human population has a long history of peasantry. They take pride in living simple lives, with the most sacred thing being the rigid family structure where man is the leader of the household. Many aurelian families have up to 6 children, especially in the rural parts of the province, for they require additional help on their fields of work. Aurelians have the privilege of bearing a rich culture, with traditions, poetry and a code of duty. The key word is "kinsmanship". Because of the imperial administration, most rural humans are segregated from the elven presence, but time has proven that humans are quick to adopt the elven culture, especially in urban centers. Their traditional art and motifs often include straight lines, elaborate curves. Among the traditional decorative art of aurelians, the sun motif is the most common one to be found, for they have long since worshipped Ayleris, their cheif deity.
Aurelians take pride in their homeland, and even though scars of the Yllendirian conquest began to fade decades ago as new generations take the helm, there's still a strong disdain for elven presence, albeit secretive, passed down from parent to son among the human population.



Aurelia's dwarven population had lived for generations together with mankind in the Northern Range, but ever since the imperial conquest, most of the dwarven population has been cast away from their cave holdings nestled in the mountains, with many of their cities and outposts having been collapsed due to imperial orders. Only a handful of them remain nowdays to remind the glory of old times, some converted to mining slums, and even fewer managing to remain hidden from the elven knowledge, forever bound to retain the dwarven secrets and treasures.
Since their exodus, many have chosen to settle in cities, towns and villages across the entire province, either as local blacksmits, industrial slaves or same field of work as their human neighbours. Of interest is the fact that the human and dwarven relationship was good even before the Empire, the conquest serving only to solidify it.





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Religious and Other Beliefs:

The primary religion is the cult of Ayleris, who is often associated with the sun, however, many regions have their own unique way of worshipping him. Along with him, there's a small secondary pantheon of gods.

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Location/Territories:



Aurelia is split in three main territories, as follow:


The ancestral homeland of aurelian mankind. The Northern Range Mountains dot the upper half of the province, providing both the Empire and the people resources such as iron, stone, gold and other metals. Tousands of villages and towns dot the Range's peaks and plateaus on the mountains, with a railway network spanning from Aurelia all the way towards Qubus.

Important cities/towns:








A great vast of hills and pastures, full of civilization. The forrests and the terrace farms engulf much of the territory. Great industrial towns and villages flourish due to the wood and food commerce and production, and a great deal of dark elven barons and lords rule over petty settlements from their castles and mansions.

Important cities/towns:
















Also known as The Southern Coast, this region marks the end of the Trans-Aurelian Railway. Exotic in appearance, this region developed a healthy and serious tourism industry, with high officials from the Empire choosing to spend their vacations on the numerous resorts on the coast. The sea provides resources such as corals and it's vital for trade, exports and imports. The Emerald Coast has a rich history of piracy and naval warfare.

Important cities/towns:







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Climate:
Colder temperate climate in the Northern Range, with warmer temperate climate in the Midlands and a dry summer climate on the Emerald Coast, a location favourite for the rich on vacations.

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Military:
Being a province of Yllendir, the same principles apply here.

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Magic Prevalence/Usage and Elemental Alignment:
Magic prevalence is very low, as Aurelians shun it, but certain underground organisations actively practice what is called by the inhabitants "Black Magic".

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History/Background Info:

Since a good portion of the population of Aurelia are peasants, written documents are scarce, especially after the imperial conquest of Aurelia. The general consensus regarding the earliest Aurelian history, as imperial historians put it, is that the region of Aurelia has been a battle ground between western and eastern forces at many points in time, but as one Yllendirian scholar puts it: "Mankind of Aurelia is both an enigma and a miracle." referencing the fact that despite incursions from the outside, the human population has succesfuly maintained identity integrity and cultural cohesion. It is, however, known that aurelian cultural presence has definately been a part of the barbarian invasions into Yllendir, 1000 years ago.

The surviving records show the feudal foundation of the Aurelian province at the start of the Moonrise War, 288 years ago. There were dozen of petty states ruled by different lords. Out of all these lords, the most famous person of Aurelian history will rise. Aurelian the Great, the man who would come to conquer all the human states of Aurelia, founding the Aurelian Dynasty. Scholars have been unable to properly find the old name of the current province, lost in time, probably erased by force from the scribes of Aurelian.

The Aurelian Dynasty would last only a bit more than 200 years. Around 70 years ago, Yllendrian armies began their conquest of Aurelia, known as the Great Patriotic War in aurelian culture. The Northern Range campaign proved to be a bloody one, and because of this, it took the Empire just a bit more than five years to conquer the entire province, as once the Mountain Ranges fell, the Midlands and the Emerald Cosat were no match for the superiority of the elves.

Nation Name: Celestial Empire of Amrea



Type of Government: Absolute Monarchy

Head(s) of Government: God Empress Marute Na-ryu, the Gwangyeong Empress

Species:
Amreans, resembling humans and light-skinned elves with fox-like features such as fur on their lower legs. a long flowin tail and canine ears. Amreans naturally live up to a century, but practitioners of magic frequently find themselves living up to two centuries on average. They are divided into five distinct ethnic groups, the Shen-zi, Yin, Ka-yon, So-nin and Kou'ji.

The Shen-zi (The Children of the Mountains): Amreans hailing from the western provinces bordering the Ten'sha mountain range. They are considered the oldest of the Amrean groups, being the genetic ancestor of the Yin, Ka-yon, So-nin and Kou'ji peoples. They comprise roughly 9% of the Amrean population. Their dialects of Amrean most closely resemble Classical Amrean in use by the Imperial Court and government bureaucracy.

Yin (The People of the Yin River): The first wave of Amrean settlers from the Ten'sha mountains who migrated to the Yin river over 5 millenia ago. They are the oldest of the Amrean river peoples comprising 45% of the population, mainly growing rice in the rainy, subtropical territories of southern Amrea. Around 100 years later, a group of the Yin, as well as additional Shen-zi settlers would migrate further North to the Ka-yon River.

Ka-yon (The People of the Ka-yon River): The descendants of the Yin and Shen-zi that went North to the Ka-yon River. Comprising 30% of the population. They can be distinguished from the Yin people by their more gruff way of speaking and general rowdiness. A trait perhaps inherited from their proximity to the So-nin.

So-nin (The Men of the Grasslands): The descendants of Yin and Shen-zi migrants who did not stop at the Ka-yon river but instead went further North. They dominate the lands further north, being traditionally herders and horse-riding raiders. Another group lumped into the descriptor of So-nin are the Aarehan of the Miranid Empire, descending from Yin migrants who made their home on the steppes southwest of modern Amrea. They are derogatorily referred to as 'Ratmen', and are treated with disgust for having reverted to barbarism by most Amreans. The So-nin residing within Amrea consist of 6% of the population.

Kou'ji (Those of High Blood): A mysterious ethnic group of Amreans whose origins are shrouded in myth and legend. They claim to be descendants of the Sun God, in holy union with a woman of the Yin, but written records of Amrean history cannot be traced back beyond 2500 years, and thus only oral accounts of their origins exist. The Marute Dynasty, as well as roughly 70% of Amrean nobility can trace or claim descent from this group. They account for roughly 8% of the population. They are seperated from normal Amreans by virtue of their longer lifespans, approximately 140 years on average and their distinct ear-shape, more clearly resembling that of an elf than a fox as well as a universal affinity for plasma magic.

Apart from the Amreans, there is also a population of humans residing in Amrea's south known simply as the Myeong-bin (The Civilized Guests) who account for 2% of the population. They are various groups of Tzücomen and Üarim that have over the past few centuries sought to settle within the borders of the Celestial Empire. Most of them are allowed to by Imperial authorities, on the condition that they adopt Amrean dress, customs and culture, embracing civilization and casting away the trappings of savagery.





Population: 312 million (± a few million)

Economy (Main imports, exports, industries, technology level, etc.): Agrarian economy transitioning to an Industrial one. The Steam engine was only introduced in the capital in the past decade, and the main industries consist steel and textile mills in the capital. Amrean Engineers are always looking for ways to innovate however, and there are rumours of a backroom war being waged amongst the intelligentsia to build a revolutionary device that would earn its creator a one way ticket to noble status.

In the countryside, life continues as it always has. A small trickle of young men and women head to the great cities where pyramids and temples rise to pierce the sky to find work and opportunity. The vast majority remain in the countryside, growing rice, herding livestock and harvesting fruits and fish to feed the ever growing populations of the urban centres. The Empire is rich in natural resources like coal, iron, copper, lead and bauxite, but much of it remains trapped in the ground and untapped due to lack of investment or demand.

Main imports: Silver from the Yllendyr colony and Gerudo, assorted tribute from tributary states.

Main exports: Limited amounts of tea, porcelain and silk to the Yllendyr colony. Gifts of assorted materials and weapons to tributary states.

Literacy: Due to the Amrean language being written in the form of logographic characters, it is quite difficult to measure literacy, as each logogram corresponds to a concept or word. Rural peasants may know simple characters like those for the sun, weather and animals, enough to get by in daily life but incapable of intellectual expression. On the other hand, the nobility are more likely to know the full set of characters in the Amrean language.

Culture: Amrean culture dates back to around 5000 years ago to clans of farmers around the fertile Y'in and Ka-yon rivers who migrated east and north from the Ten'sha Mountains, and highly based on two guiding principles, Legalism and Nobility of Blood. The principle of Legalism calls for society to be stratified, with educated scholar-bureaucrats and nobles taking the duty of reigning over the common folk. Nobility of Blood refers to the species whose duty it is to civilize the savage races (their racial subgroup or geographical neighbours). Amreans have the duty to civilize what they consider to be the barbarian states that neighbour them, whereas a race such as the Yllendyr have the duty to civilize the peoples of their empire. Amrean Noble Blood theory is split into two schools, that of Mutualism and Hierarchism, which is again split into various subgroups. The majority of Amrean aristocrats and the House of Marute sponsor the school of Mutualism, believing that the noble races are equal to each other and that the savage races may eventually be made equal, after centuries or even a millennia of being civilized. On the other hand, 13% of the Amrean nobility espouse the school of Hierarchism believing that the noble races are equal, but it is next to impossible for the savage races to be made noble.

Nominally, the entirety of the New World (known in their language as Tien'sha, meaning Lands under the Sun) is under Amrean control, with the myriad peoples ranging from the Strigoi of Wulfram to the Gerudo paying tribute and respects to the Emperors in C'hung-jin. In reality, Imperial control barely extends beyond the frontiers of the Empire and whilst the Empire is no doubt capable of projecting its might, it sees no need to whilst the illusion of control can be maintained.

Religious and Other Beliefs: The Amrean people believe in the inevitability of the End Times. It is foretold that one day, the world shall end in fire and blood, lest the Sun God, the father of light, love and life be ritually renewed with the life-essence of those with magic potential, as it is believed that the life-essence of mages is the essence of the Sun God, cast down to the Earth during his struggle against the End Times. Thus, the essence of the Sun God must be returned to him in great sacrificial altars to renew his power and stave off the End Times. They also believe the God Emperor to be the avatar of the Sun God to the Earth, chosen to guide his followers to aid him in his battle against the end.

Military: 800k professional 'modern' (20% armed with breech-loading rifle 80% with muzzle-loaded muskets, swords and trained in line tactics alongside their assorted cavalry and artillery) troops organized into Banner Armies under the joint control of the God Empress and court aristocrats, 2 million militia (armed with traditional steel swords, halberds, matchlock and flintlock muskets, the quality varies between provinces. Poorer provinces tend to use swords and matchlocks whilst richer ones afford flintlocks and the occasional rifle.) used as local police forces as well as reserve forces. Amrean combat doctrine consists of a barrage of Hwa-myeon fire rockets to soften the enemy, before initiating a mass charge towards enemy lines under cover of smoke-screens deployed by cannons, firing muskets at ranges of 10-20 metres and then closing for melee in an attempt to break the opposing force's morale and force a route or surrender.

Aiding the Banner Armies is are two specialized forces. The first numbering twenty thousand, are known merely as the Man'shu Braves, named for the southern province from which the vast majority of its soldiers come from. (The rest come from the So-nin recruited in the northern steppes). It consists of the various steppe peoples who settled on the fringes of the Empire, specifically the Myeong-bin. Armed with sabres, the ocassional rifled carbine, flintlock carbine, bow and fire rocket as well as ceramic grenades, they fulfill the role of skirmishers, border guards and elite cavalrymen supplementing the iron discipline of the Bannermen with the ferocity and swiftness of the Steppes. The second force, known as the Sunriders are also elite riders, yet whereas the domain of the Braves is the plains, the Sunriders take to the sky. Riding phoenixes, rare and beautiful creatures barely numbering fifty thousand across the length and breadth of the entire continent, the Sunriders harness the flames of their phoenix mounts, to rain destruction upon the foes of the Emperor. The Order of the Sunriders number up to 500, and answer only to the reigning monarch, as their personal Honor Guard

In additional to the conventional army, the Empire employs the services of some 50000 mages, known collectively as the H'ang-hyun (Dawnguard). The H'ang-hyun is seperated into five legions led by a Junior Commander numbering 10000 each, with each Legion consisting solely of users of one magical element. The 1st Legion, consisting solely of Plasma Mages is the most prestigious legion, with its commander granted the title of High Commander of the entirety of the H'ang-hyun. These Amrean Noble Mages take the form of monster hunters, in particular being used to wipe out the ravenous Strigoi that occasionally encroach on Imperial territory and tributaries in defiance of the agreement between the Regent Hildegund and the Gwangyeong Empress' grandfather, the Gwangwu Emperor signed two centuries ago.



The Amrean Navy consists of a grand coastal fleet of some 60 copper-hulled steamships and an experimental ironclad. It is mostly used to bully the surrounding tribes and nations to collect tribute. Amrean ships are armed with smaller cannons and a small team of mages (separate from the H'ang-hyun and more akin to Marines) to provide heavier artillery support, taking advantage of mobility to evade enemy fire

Location/Territories: Located in the central-east coast of the new world, on a large concentration of rivers and tributaries that provide it with ample farmland. Flanked by Ten'sha mountains to the west, hills to the south, steppes to the north and the great Sea of Krakens to the east, the Empire's borders are relatively self-contained, allowing it to remain somewhat isolated by land, but capable of projecting strength when necessary



Climate: Subtropical and Temperate

Magic Prevalence/Usage: Present in about 30% of Amreans and considered to be the essence of the Sun God. Usage of magic is restricted to the nobility. They have a natural affinity to plasma magic, at around 60% of the population, and a 10% occurance of the other forms of magic. However, due to the heavy restrictions placed on magic, it's usage in the military takes a far more even distribution.

Foreign relations: Limited trade with Yllendyr colonials, and suzerain of various tributaries on the continent.

History/ Background Info: In ancient times, the area constituting the empire consisted of warring Amrean kingdoms and lesser states which had varied in power over the millennia. Ultimately, all were subsumed into the Empire. Ancient stories tell tales of other creatures; goblins, dragons and the like, but many assume they were killed off during the rise of the glorious Empire. The Amrean Empire of the Marute Dynasty has existed in some form or another for three thousand years, although at times it may have been reduced to but a single city and its surrounding territory. Led by the enigmatic House of Marute and it’s line of God Emperors and Empresses, the Empire has expanded to its greatest historical extent in the present day and what it considers to be it’s “natural borders.” Under the dynasty's rule, only once had Amrea fallen to the control of outsiders. Eight centuries prior to the present day, the mighty Bankuo Emperor was defeated in a magic duel with the vampire lord known in Amrean history only as "The Weeping Emperor" (Emperor Wulfram to the vampires). His reign was a period known as the "Nights of Tears", with the vampire lord and his progeny ruling Amrea before his grief paralyzed his rule and allowed the commonfolk to rise up and restore the Bankuo Emperor's descendants to the throne. Whilst short and bloody, his rule was not without benefits. Numerous canals, roads and monuments headed by the newly-created Ministry of Public Works were constructed during his time to feed his thirst for blood and bring him closer to his grand designs. These were eventually repurposed after the Marute Restoration to transport water and irrigate agricultural land. Due to the relatively isolated position on the continent with the only easy way to access the Empire from the northern steppes and southern hills, the territory is almost entirely homogenous. Whilst wild Strigoi do occasionally intrude into the Empire's borders, reports of strigoi attacks are taken extremely seriously, and amount to the deployment of an entire mage battalion to exterminate the marauding vampire.

For centuries, the Empire has remained in isolation, looking to its own defenses and maintaining a limited diplomatic presence with realms on its direct border. In 1881, the Myosong Empress began reformation attempts which were largely successful, expanding the power of the Imperial Court over that of the bureaucracy. This policy has been continued by her successor, the Gwangyeong Empress. Since then, times have changed. In the south, the barbaric warlord Miran has arisen to wreak havoc amongst the states that once kowtowed before the Empress. In the Southeast, dark-skinned strangers have landed on the continent's shores to settle and trade. All the while, the Phoenix has watched and waited. Perhaps it is time for the Empire, the bastion of Western Civilization to strike out once more, to ensure the universal prosperity of the land's myriad peoples.

Type of Government: Absolute Monarchy under Regency

Head(s) of Government: Patriarch Wulfram, Favored Daughter Hildegund

Economy:
Work specialization has been for many humans a path to salvation and a form of capitalism where being replaceable was seen as being edible by one of the bloodthirsty overlords meant that artisans have always had an easier time than say, your most basic dirt farmer. At the same time however, Strigoi are smart and always eager to make as much people as possible replaceable and as such, despite the Strigoi poor technological level, they have been excellent at establishing basic mass production, simplify and divide work and manage human resources scientifically. Especially to clothe the cattle and provide tools to them, uniqueness has no purpose, it is better to standardize and provide numbers quickly.

The technology operated has thus until recently being almost medieval and the catching up that has began 200 years ago by the new regent hasn't finished yet, but still this makes for a very unequal society. The cities are the center of production for everything and the country side only care about exploiting raw materials as fast as possible, with maybe a single smith per small town to take the city made horse shoes and don them on the horses. This interdependence is by design as this prevents localized civil wars from constantly happening when both parties need each other. Overall however, despite the low technology environement, the Realm remains surprisingly productive.

Notably as the work of artisans become more and more redundant, people still try to make themselves desirable and recently this has begun to take the form of an artistic renaissance as all adults would wish to see their child climb out of the muck by becoming the next sensation in the arts.

Primary Species:
-Strigoi: The children of Wulfram and Adelheid, they consider themselves of the blood of demi-gods due to their incredible strength, speed and boundless stamina coupled with incredible magical abilities they use with triviality. Still, their nature is violent and selfish, most Strigoi despise vampires and the urban 'civilized' ways of life, instead living lives ranging from that of nobles with large estates living in remote castles and manors to that of savage beasts living in caves praying on anything mortal.
-Vampires: Half-Strigoi born from Strigoi wombs. While they are in many ways lesser to their pureblood relatives, they enjoy preferential treatment and amicable relations with them should they be respectful and humble of course. Put simply, they 'Smell right' to their bestial parents. Like mules, these are sterile.
-Daywalkers: Sons and daughters of male Strigoi with female mortals, their vigor and physical qualities overall are superhuman but considerably less so than their fathers and less so than their vampire cousins. Likewise they aren't in the most terrible pain when under the sun, it is merely extremely inconvenient. In Wulfram society however they tend to consider themselves closer to their mortal kins rather than their fathers because said fathers tend to despise their offsprings who 'don't smell right'. Still, many strigoi understand daywalkers are extremely useful intermediaries to use when dealing with mortals and breed them for this purpose, giving them enough fatherly affection to insure themselves loyalty. Like mules, these are sterile.
-Mortals: Humans, elves, Gerudo, Amreans... They are many and varied, but they all share in common mortality, making them apart from those who share the blood of Wulfram.

Population:
Total: 152,000,000
Strigoi: 1,000,000 (??? Impossible to calculate, in especially dangerous areas Strigoi will devour censors)
Vampires: 640,000
Daywalkers: 11,360,000
Mortals: 140,000,000 (??? Impossible to calculate, in especially dangerous areas Strigoi will devour censors)

Culture:
In the backwater areas of the realm, whatever culture the local mortals might have is always centered around the presence of a super predator that wishes for blood. If it wanted them all dead, dead they would be. Some offer sacrifices to be left in peace, others try to fight it and consider themselves even victorious since they aren't all dead but no matter their words, they fear, for the Stigoi tyrant still looms.

The first sign an area is 'Civilized' is that the local Strigoi will mingle in human affairs. This generally begins with the demand that a castle be built for it and progressively, the Strigoi will feel more comfortable making more public appearances and demands such as ordering every woman to always be pregnant, much like livestock. The mortals notice this of course, but woe to those who refuse to comply. This allows for 'normalcy' in the life cycle. The strigoi having the sense to demand blood to quench its thirst and eat the old women or redundant males to quench its savagery. The ruler of this territory may then further increase its involvement to make sure its flock prospers, sometimes investing in infrastructure for they are immortal and thus the benefit of such projects will always be visible within their lifetimes (If something terrible doesn't happen of course).

The next step to become a center of culture is of course, to tolerate the presence of others. Except for mating, Strigoi generally shun the presence of their kin but no matter how powerful, a single Strigoi is just one entity and eventually when their lordship grows, it will become more preferable to accept the presence of others than risk losing control over a massive human population. Back in the days Strigoi did the occasional culling but now its more preferable to sell mortal males to the big cities. The regional lords prefer to keep a maximum of females. This means the big cities of the realm are overwhelmingly filled with males. Prostitution is a big business encouraged by the local Strigoi for who cares who makes who pregnant as long as the herd grows and doesn't rebel? Males are also useful for labor and labor they do, thus gaining more wealth and fabricating more things to sell to the local strigoi lords who don't have this industrial capacity who will sell more males.

At some point, the city might become so big and humans so numerous that administering every aspects of their lives simply becomes impossible. At this point, Strigois need to learn to just... leave the thing going alone. Of course they get involved in the most critical areas of metropolitan life because the point is still to make profit out of everything, but the mortals are left with a lot of liberties at this point and can accumulate considerable wealth. The overlords meanwhile can afford to murder every night in the comfort of large mansions and castles prime pieces of meat bough from the country side, no reason to stir up a hornet's nest. Large cities would thus be theoretically safe for mortals the most and yes, their death isn't scheduled so one might die of old age, but cities also attract the landless newborns who have nothing in life and thus prey on the poor during the night, so death tends to just be random.

Religious and Other Beliefs:
The mythology the Strigoi have and of course, force on their mortal followers, is astrology based, with stories of how the Sun, king of creation, made all the races to glorify him, but made them moral and weak to make sure they could never rebel. The moon was his sister-wife but he never conceived children with her by fear such divine entities could overthrow him, until one day, the pull out method failed him and the moon became pregnant. She managed to hide the pregnancy until it was delivered to term. The sun however, as it looked down on all of creation, saw the twins she had birthed to, named Wulfram and his sister-wife Adelheid, and cursed them with all his might. Never could they prosper under his gaze!

Thus, it is the destiny of Strigoi kind to one day overthrow the sun and rule over all creation as they do during the night. For the mortals of course, parts were added that hey, the vampires are immortal and more intelligent as such, it is their duty to administer the mortals and that also, the whole blood drinking and killing bit is due to the curse of the sun and that once the sun is defeated they'll all be able to live in harmony.

Territories and Climate:
Civilization tends to be found south where the winter is the harshest. Some people have linked this to the presence of... pines. Indeed, Strigoi and their bastardized offspring are all at some degree fond of the scent and taste of pine resin, something mildly addictive to them that seems to sooth their killing urges. The Strigoi living in heavily forested pine areas are thus those who were the more disposed to collaborate with mortals and the rise of civilization in the realm is attributed by some to the mass production and sale of pine resin based candies and 'medical items for the humor'.

Still, not all have discovered the miracle benefit of pine resins and as such, travel within the realm remains difficult by land. This insured that navigable rivers have become the arteries of this nation as the wild Strigoi will rarely attack anyone in the middle of these large water currents that generally border their territories anyways. Slowly however, the infrastructure is becoming more developed.

Military:
-The Questers:
Composed of around 150,000 strigoi and 200,000 vampires, the Questers were founded by Wulfram himself in prevision of the fact that land is finite and as such, they would eventually need to face strong foes to take this land, their greatest success dating to the taking of Amrea where Wulfram led the Questers to a new land of plenty. Simply, newborn Strigoi without territories are expected to find their ways to the Questers and await the next great invasion Wulfram will lead to glory. Still, with Wulfram being in his current state, new members are rare, most prefer to go out in the world by themselves and try their luck alone.
-The Day Guards:
Daywalkers bred for the purpose of guarding their fathers while they sleep, they can be considered the 'professional' soldiers employed as enforcers from the various Strigoi around. They are equiped with the best equipment available but generally are terrible at fighting organized enemies. They tend to rely too much on their personal strength and centuries of weapon mastery rather than tactics and team work.
-The Destined:
Humans with religious endoctrinement, they serve their masters in exchange for special privileges (such as they and their families being spared from any culling or dinner lists) along with the promise that worthy heroes will have the privilege to make an immortal child with a Strigoi. These people are trained professional and their advantage relies in the fact that both they and their commanders are aware of their individual weaknesses. Destined are thus trained to use tactics and such as a force multiplier to make up for this.
-The Rabble:
It isn't rare Strigoi force their cattle to fight in desperate situation and in fact for territorial wars, it is preferable to send barely trained and barely armed cattle first to sap the enemy of their ammunition and energy, soften them up for the real fight where the Strigoi and its professional warriors will charge in. The quality of these troops vary, cities are expected to maintain a trained force to draft for example, but overall with the advent of firearms the idea of mass mobilization over the use of small elite forces has increased.

Magic Prevalence/Usage:
There probably isn't another place in the world where magic is as present as in Wulfram's Realm. Strigoi and their subspecies are all magical users and it is said that the Patriarch and Matriarch, Wulfram and Adelheid, were both capable of commanding every forces of nature to their will. Their offsprings saw their powers divided and from them, all Strigoi carry the power from their mother.

-Solid Magic: These are the more numerous and tend to be found in most civilized areas. The enormous towers and architectural nonsenses that make the metropolis of the realm... they are made and maintained by magic forces for the most part. This design makes that they will always be needed and mortals know that they can't just chase their overlords out of the cities for without them, the stones around them would fall appart!
-Mind Magic: Where most solid mages prefer urban lives, mind Strigoi are more often the savages, those who live in the most recoiled and savage lands. They monitor their territories through the eyes of insects and animals, the very plants hide their every step... Some live in the cities, but more often than not they were the very founders, the ancestral owners of the land it is built on and always know every happenings.
-Gas Magic: They all come from Nantechildian blood, the first priestess of the sky. They have a variety of tricks up their sleeves of course, but they are known for being the harbinger of Strigoi everywhere for they can blot out the sun!
-Liquid Magic: Some use this power to sail the seas and rivers, but overwhelmingly this power is seen as that of the warriors, as the holy power of blood!

History/ Background Info:
The begining of the race is mythological and more detailed in the religion section and if Wulfram or Adelheid know better, they are not telling. History would thus begin when other eyes contemplated it after the birth of their first son, Theodulf. It might seem hard to believe to contemporary people, but at first, relationship with mortals were good and long before Amrea was a thing, they build the first cities of mortals and immortals together, the first traces of civilization. The mortals were afraid and justly so of what lurked in the night and thus, Strigoi were natural protectors all they need was their pound of blood, but blood was cheap in front of life.

For generations the Realm of Wulfram and Adelheid prospered and grew, goblins and dragons all but disappeared from the continent as Wulfram's influence grew for he and his sister-wife were not just immortal warriors, but magical casters of the likes that were never seen. Eventually, the attention of the divine rulers turned to Amrea.

They met like old friends and vanquished the last of terrible enemies together and ultimately, the Emperor of Amrea and Wulfram had a talk. The role of a leader was to protect and guide its flock, the virtue of power was mainly that of strength and as there was the matter of if the realm should join the empire or vice versa, then surely it could be decided by choosing who was the most apt to protect the whole of mortals? A contest of strength. Wulfram won and although history record a great fight, many of his sons would say that they found it obvious that their father was gallant and wanted to give his opponent a fight rather than crush him.

With this, there seemed to be nothing else to unite. The Strigoi influence was at its height and reached everywhere but still... it lasted only about 10h a day. It was then that Wulfram had his 'Great Idea' and sent his people on the path to damnation. Strigoi... they could borrow the strength of mortals through blood! An amazing power and one Wulfram wanted to use to do something that was never seen before. The lesser moon hung in the sky, going back and forth and sometimes it blocked the sun. He wanted to make it so permanently, move a moon between the world and the sun! Accomplish the oldest of prophecy.

Tens of thousands of mages were regrouped to try and achieve this feat and it began. Wulfram honestly thought it would be easy but then, a person died. He felt so close, he only needed to push a little more! Then hundreds and then thousands, he couldn't stop, he had to make their sacrifices worth it! Then, when only he and Adelheid were left he still had hope but his sister-wife was then consumed by the spell, just as he felt himself hanging the moon in place. He stopped everything in vein hope to save her and she disappeared in the cosmos in front of him until moments later, forever to be seen above the sky of what the Imperium would call the 'New World', the moon shattered.

Many of his sons and daughters had accompanied him to Amrea and had tied in the ritual, the road home was long and painful but... he had done something, to his race, to the cosmos. When he came back home it was not to welcoming arm but to a scene of horrors. In magical terms, the plane of thought, that of the Mind, it had forever been altered. So many had told him to stop, begged him as their souls were thorn apart, this hate, this resentment, it forever marked the Strigoi. Callous, brutal, uncaring, evil... these adjectives had become part of all Strigoi, forever and in these few nights, the oldest civilization had fallen to nothingness, the mortals who trusted the Strigoi for protection had all been eaten or had fled into the wild.

Wulfram would weep for the next thousand years as slowly his children were left to try and pick up the pieces. In time, the Realm would begin to recover but it would never be the same. Strigoi would never again be guardians but only Tyrants, ruling through fear and might alone.

He left his eldest, Theodulf, to rule in his name, just as he did when he was gone to Amrea. Theodulf however wasn't a builder, he only ever kept 'things going' while Wulfram was left and so this misery perpetuated itself. The situation couldn't last and when he and his siblings decided he would resign, it was in the hope Wulfram would have no choice but to leave the shrine he had made to his sister wife. They were betrayed however when Wulfram, going down the name of his children one by one, named Hildegund, the childless and loveless, who accepted to take the mantle of regent.

This was 200 years ago and since then, there is no doubt Hildegund's rule brought the Realm back to quite a significant status! Even Amrea no doubt fears them once again. But still her rule is tedious as her siblings have little respect for her.

Economy/Technology:
Thanks to the progressive policies set forth by the preceding monarch, the Avalian economy has done well to modernize and industrialize to a point of being on par with most modern powers. This is also thanks to in part the large systems of navigable rivers that snake through the nation, generating a far higher ceiling for potential capital wealth. In fact, with trade and transport relatively easy, the resulting canals and railways only furthered this rise in both credit and capital. With a growing middle class and a easing of acquiring credit, this has led to a boom in entrepreneurship and innovation. Despite this industrialization, and with it, urbanization, some of the main exports come from agriculture, being namely cotton and wheat. Salt and Coal also remain high on the export list, thanks to the very rich low lying mountains that make up part of the northern border. The largest imports happened to be sugar, coffee, silver, and spices.

The lack of a proper merchant marine and the domestic problems at home as created a highly centralized economy within the nation. Large unions control vast swaths of labor, unions who not a decade before were entirely illegal. Various ideas of Social Liberalism and Market Liberalism are practiced within by said organizations as the government itself has yet to take any true hard stance on the matter. Regardless, the Republic most certainly practices and endorses capitalism and only seeks to modify the system, not outright replace it with an entirely different system. This has lead to an explosion of a middle class and with it, a internal consumer market, creating a healthy tax base that has been more than useful in stitching the country back together.

The nation’s military and civilian benefit from cutting edge communication technology which when combined with their complex railroad, road, and more recently canal efforts have lead to a nation where a message from one end of the nation could be spread to all the far corners in merely hours or days.

Among many of the innovations, none of have causes as much of a stir than in heavier than air flight. For the past few decades, the modernized army had utilized lighter than air balloons as both scouts and staging points for their now famous Winged Fusiliers, but much to the dismay of Valkyrians everywhere, their kingdom was not the first. Vaspen was able to get some aircraft flying before the Avalians could, and thus the previous king ordered full research to grow their own homemade aircraft. For now, the AR-3 serves as the latest in Avalian design, with much talk surrounding other related fields as well. However to this day, a sort of jealousy and rivalry is felt towards the Vaspen aircraft designers.

Primary Species:
Humans

Valkyrians, Valkyria
The natives of the lands the Autumn Republic are known as Valkyria. In terms of their physiology, they are fairly similar to humans, but with very notable differences. First and foremost is their bird like features.With their large wings and feathered tails sprouting from their lower backs, giving them the natural ability to fly. For a Valkyria, flying is nearly no different from walking or running, making them incredibly mobile creatures. For the rest of their physiology, Valkyrians stand at a modest 5’2 to 5’3 with rare exceptions, normally possessing hair/feather colors of black, white, and brown. Valkyrians also seem to naturally perform better at high, thin air altitudes, where normally humans would have difficulty breathing, making them right at home in the sky.

Population:
51 Million

Culture:
For much of Avalia’s history, a strong divide between the nobility and the peasantry has existed. Between the ethnic origins of the Valkyrians and Humans to the infamous book “The Peoples of Law”, a strong sense of servitude and noble birthright had been enforced to appease the mighty Imperium that the held vassalage to. This all changed, however, with the rise of King Holfgar the VII, otherwise known as the “Iron King”. His radical changes in both power and economic structure has lead to a growing sense of self determination and hatred for the nobility. Even as the merchants coffers grew, they were still held by tradition to be subservient to even the poorest of the noble families, as was their noble blood. This too, seems to be changing, quietly, in the dark.

Religious and Other Beliefs:
While many in this growing age of rationalism prefer to merely believe in the natural order of the world, some still speak of the ancient prophecies and traditions that swirl around the original peoples and the mysterious “King of the Skies”. Some call him a god, others merely think he was a powerful ruler of the time, but no one has yet known for sure what to make of it. Aside from that, various major religions are practice without much fuss for now.

Location/Territories:
Dark Green

Climate:
Fair temperate, experiencing warm summers and cold winters.

Military:


The entire military as a whole is headed by the “General Staff” with the Field Marshal at its head. From there it splits into the Avalian Army and Avalian Navy.

Within the Avalian Army there are two Corps, The Infantry Corps holding much of the artillery, infantry, and Winged Fusilier battalions and the Cavalry Corps which held Dragoons, light, and heavy cavalry battalions. These Corps hold within them various divisions and brigades. Of course, the most famous of which are the “Winged Fusiliers”. These brigades were formed during the Iron Kings reformations of the army alongside Field Marshal Adron. They’re purely made up of Valkyrians using their incredible mobility to their advantage. They wield often carbines, grenades, and pistols. They even use a unique pistol that was converted to launch grenades as pictured. These brigades are of higher quality than most, as Valkyrians also serve in the regular infantry battalions alongside human comrades.



In addition, the Army Corps has formed an experimental wing made up of scout aircraft and small lighter than air vessels for reconnaissance and harassment. This field is showing promise to the General Staff, so it is likely to be highly subjected to change.

The Avalian Navy is a luxury that the Kingdom has had a hard time affording. With potential land base enemies posing more of a threat, the naval arm acts more as a trade interdiction and coastal defense force, made of cruisers, destroyers, and even a few submarines. Some of the larger ships also host a platoon or two of Winged Fusiliers for commerce raiding and scouting.

Magic Prevalence/Usage:
Magic was outright banned from the masses centuries ago and has remained so ever since. Only the Royal Cabal of Sorcerers are allowed to practice. Every year “Dousers” go through the cities and farms to find those who contain large magic potential, and then are whisked away to become incredibly powerful sorcerers who serve the nobility, in particular, the king. Thus, while powerful and skillful users exist, they are very few in number, and solely serve the king. When they were outright slaughtered, magic within the nation died with them. Perhaps with the vacuum and changing times, it may return.

History/ Background Info:

Where All Things Must Begin
“Welcome the people of the sky, and they shall serve well.”
-A common phrase found on artifacts of the region.

Much of the early history of the native Valkyrians to this land has been lost to time. What remains is mostly speculation, as recorded history of the region only begins after migratory human tribes began to settle the region, and consequently interact with them. Full integration was suspected to have occurred during the raider invasions of around 400 BCE. These invasions are to have supposedly created a deal among the two races, in which the more fortified human communities allowed shelter and safety so long as the peoples of the sky served them loyally . Many radicals point to these events as evidence for human superiority, but with recent trends and archeological digs, the evidence seems to suggest a far more symbiotic relationship than previously thought. Much is being rediscovered, as it was destroyed when the later kingdom was vassalized by the Imperium.

The Rise of a Kingdom
“Those of noble blood, of noble mind, and of noble heart are the true heirs of this world!”
-King Aaden Holfgar’s coronation speech.

The Kingdom of Avalia was created when a man only remembered as “The Sky’s King” had binded the small fiefdoms surrounding his land under his rule through marriage, blood, and war around 200 BCE. Though this kingdom would not last too long. Around 1700, the Yllendyr Imperium had begun its expansion. The noble families and King Adalwolf the Wise were given an ultimatum by the Imperium, to either become a loyal vassal or be completely folded into the Imperium itself at the end of a gun.

King Adalwolf the Wise agreed hastily, fearing the Sky’s King would “return” should their homeland be laid to waste. In an attempt to appease the Yllendyr Imperium, to prove the completely loyalty, and gain favor in the higher court, the noble families went about destroying Avalian, and more often than not, Valkyrian symbols of culture and pride. This drastic move, while upsetting to many of the peasant Valkyrians and Humans who lived under this rule, seemed to have worked perfectly, for the Kingdom of Avalia was able to retain its name and relative indepence so long as it served as a loyal vassal and never operate on its own outside of the Imperium. The Avalian Accords, as this became later formalized as, solidified this agreement and thus began the longer chapter of the Kingdom’s history. A vassal kingdom.

Centuries of being a part of this Imperium lead to a growing gap and disconnect from the peasantry and the nobility, particularly the Valkyrians, as the various families competed to gain favor with the high courts of the Royal Family. The Valkyrians and human peasantry began to become further agitated, and in response to the growing unrest, King Enar the III requested aid from the high courts of the Yllendyr Imperium. In response, a cabal of powerful sorcerers arrived, swearing loyalty to the crown and nobility. After a demonstration of their powerful magic, the masses became quite once more.

This was further emphasized when in the early 1700s, a book was published titled “The Peoples of Law” detailing the necessity of the nobility. The very survival of the kingdom, the peasants, and the Valkyrians depended on the continued leadership of their King and his rulers, less the great and powerful forces and evils of the world, raiding from the sea and invading from the land, would destroy us all.

The book became widespread and soon was taught to many dukes and duchesses, as well as preached to the common folk of the land. A mentality soon set in among many, that the nobility and their blood were of a special breed, a higher quality crop, then that of other lesser peoples. From noble to peasant, it was all sincerely believed for hundreds of years that this held sway. Having good harvests and generally staying out the major wars the Imperium waged seem to justify, validate this belief. However, as the century began to turn, so to did Avalia’s history, and culture.

A Man of Iron
“One man always makes a difference. Sometimes it’s a small one. Other times, he tips a war.”
-King Harold Holfgar the VII to his advisors upon promoting Field Marshal Adron

The Kingdom of Avalia had more or less stagnated under Imperium vassalage. Series of unimpressive kings and queens had lead Avalia to the edge of outright decline in the 18th century, but soon one of the most ambitious men of Avalia’s history would take power. King Harold Holfgar the VII was crowned on May 3rd, 1820 at the age of twenty five years. This was a man with an insatiable appetite for power, and was the first of many to begin turning the nation towards total independence. For the first time, instead of seeking favor from the courts of Imperium to achieve power, he sought to distance himself from it, to make it clear he was the one in charge, not the high court. Of course he was not public with this goal or idea, but began to make subtle changes to how the kingdom interacted with the Imperium.

First and foremost was the banning of the once treasured book “The Peoples of Law”. While it was seen significant, it was already falling out of favor with recent discoveries in the fields of science and biology, and merely served to encourage the nobility to seek favor with Imperium rather than the king himself. Secondly, in private, he ensured the total loyalty of the royal cabal of sorcerers to further secure his personal protection. Using them, he began to strong arm noble families into attending conferences, balls, and festivals hosted in the capital itself more often, all the while displaying his vast wealth to show who really ran the kingdom. Any who showed a hint of disloyalty was imprisoned while any who proved their loyalty gained favors and reward. Very soon he had much of the nobility behind himself.

Once he had his house in order, so to speak, he began to work upon the nation itself. A century of near total stagnation had originally left the Kingdom of Avalia behind in many fields, thus he sought to change that. He invited merchants and artisans onto his council and together they began to re-industrialize the kingdom. Factories went up, mines were dug, and rail laid. A complete rework of the tax system fostered a great deal of easily acquired credit that, after the “adjusting” of a few laws, made it so those of lower class could acquire far larger loans than originally allowed.

Soon private ventures were establish and a growing middle class began to form. While originally the noble families protested such moves, they soon grew quiet as their own coffers grew thanks to the booming economy and industry. King Holfgar even established an official “Royal Research Division” and injected his own funds into the University of Avalia to foster a more common form of education. These particular actions and his strong control over the nobility earned him his title “The Iron King”. While he never formally accepted this name, he certainly didn’t stop people from calling him such.

With his economy pointed firmly in the right direction and modernizing, he turned his gaze towards the military itself. Previous kings had done little in the way of modernizing, but had at least created a professional standing army years ago. In this army, only the nobility could rise high in the ranks. It was unheard of, and almost illegal for a commoner to even become an officer, let alone a captain. Thus, it was a place were many of the noble families simpled dumped their bastards, sons, and daughters who were not being groomed to take over the house. As a result, the commissioned based system of the Avalian military had also lead to further stagnation.

The Iron King sought to change this immediately, but he needed an example. An infallible man who demonstrated, no, commanded authority, regardless of his birth. That man was Robert Adron. Adron had entered the military at the very bottom, and through courageous valor in the new world, cunning, and quiet a few duels of honor, had risen through the ranks as high as captain. That seemed to have been as high as he could go, as a noble family conspired to prevent him from climbing any further as revenge for shooting their son’s ear off in a duel. After reading through the seemingly endless pile of recommendations, commendations from both peers and officers alike, the Iron King stepped in personally and resolved the matter. Acting as a sort of not-patreon-yet-totally-a-patreon, Adron was able to rise higher and higher until becoming Field Marsha himself in 1880. With this promotion, Adron went about further modernizing the military, completely banning the noble commission system, reforming conscription laws, and modernizing both the military tactics and logistical systems.

It seemed that the Iron King had found his strong man general, and was just about to finally begin plotting his endgame. . .

Where All Things Must End

On September 8th, 1888, King Holfgar the VII died due to a sudden heart failure. His one and only heir, now King Holfgar the VIII, was more interested in his women than in his country. The royal court practically seized power and began to undo much of the Iron King’s work. Many loudly protested, and none louder than Adron and his wife. They both accused, quiet openly, that the nobility would rather see Avalia outright absorbed into the Imperium than care for its citizens. The nobility, at the height of their power, thought to teach Adron like a attack dog why he was to obey the hand that fed him, not bite it.

On a warm, spring day in 1891, the nobility in quick succession with both the royal cabal and King’s Guard arrested, tried, and beheaded Adron’s wife while he was away inspecting a military post. He was mailed his wife’s head in a box. From then on, it seemed the old attack dog had learned its lesson with Adron quieting down.

Now, after 10 years of meticulous plotting and planning, Adron shall have his revenge.

Nation Name: Kitagawa Shogunate
Flag:


Type of Government: Absolute Monarchy
Head(s) of Government: Shogun Emperor Eikou Takagi Kitagawa
Economy: Heavily industrialized with access to coal and iron ore deposits, Still exports agricultural products such as tea, incense, and rice.
Primary Species: Humans
Population: 88.7 million citizens
Culture: Split between three branches: Honor, Loyalty, and Duty. Easy to please and quick to anger, the inhabitants, called the Yamato, in civil life are raised on a code of conduct on justice and wisdom based on class. Inevitably, Yamato are very disdainful of the Yllendyr ever since they executed Emperor Toshiko's grandfather. Social classes, from highest to lowest, is split between the Shogun, Kazoku (comprised of the Daimyo), Samurai, Merchant and middle class, and farmers and lower class workers. Due to Kitagawa society heavily militarized, a Yamato male is expected to serve at least 2 years in the military when he reaches 18 years of adulthood. Yamato are very respectful of another race's culture since they expect the same level of treatment back. Only the Yllendyr are the only exceptions of this etiquette.
Language: Yamato, equivalent to Japanese
Religious and Other Beliefs: Traditional Yamato religion, Kami-no-michi, is the worship of ancestors and nature spirits and the belief in sacred power in both animate and inanimate things. Under Kami-no-michi, the Shogun Emperor is revered as a descendant of the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu-omikami. This is why Yamato was utterly shocked when the Dark Elves executed the Shogun Emperor after he surrendered. This is the official religion of the Shogunate.
Location/Territories:


Climate: Has all four seasons with mild, temperate weather. Lots of hills and mountains with plenty of plains, marshes, and natural harbors around the coastline. There are forests present but not very dominate of the region.
Military: Even though its still traditional where the Daimyo and the Samurai are officers and generals of the Shogunate Military, promotion through the ranks are becoming more based on merit rather than lineage but this is more apparent on a company and battalion level. Even though the Shogunate military is not as elite as the Yllendyr, it makes up for it through its sheer Fanaticism and undying loyalty to the Emperor and the Shogunate. This would lead to extremely dumb but exceedingly brave Kamikaze soldiers and sailors.
Magic Prevalence/Usage and Elemental Alignment: Seen primarily as a tool in civic society mainly used by exorcists to weed out demons. Occasionally, magic would be use in combat but only if deemed necessary. Mind Alignment
History/Background Info: Prior to the Kitagawa Shogunate, the territory was ruled by warring factions of Daimyo and Samurai that fought petty feuds and civil wars over the centuries. Even though a Shogunate was proclaimed, it was quickly split apart after a Shogun's death. It wasn't until the Dark Elves arrive when the Yamato Warlords band together and formed a Shogunate to drive them out. Due to the Dark Elves's superior technology and tactics, the newly-formed Shogunate was defeated in every battle and the subjugation ended with the Shogun Emperor executed and his son taking his place as a puppet ruler to the Yllendyr. Despite the humiliating defeat and the outrageous treatment of previous Shogun, the Shogunate quickly adopted technology from the Dark Elf overlords at the cost of its pride and ethnic treatment. So vicious was the anger towards the Dark Elves that numerous uprisings occurred, especially the Samurai class, under the guise of restoring national pride. The revolts were crushed but the perpetrators were secretly pardoned and lightly punished due to the fact that everybody despised the Yllendyr for their treatment of the Yamato people.

Government: Previously a Constitutional Monarchy where the sovereign retains most powers, and the prime minister is primarily an advisor with some power to make decisions.
Now: Dominion of Yllendyr Empire

Heads of Government:
Viceroy: Riceh Adruzil Male
Military Advisor: Gorrod Puvnar Male
Finance Minister: Alibu Phonardrish Male
Industry Minister: Cindro Sonvria Female

“Herr General” resistance movement leader.

Economy:
Imports:
Clothing
Livestock
Exotic goods
Explosives
Exports:
Raw Metals
Gold
Heavy Machinery
Copper Wire
Communications Equipment
Railroad Equipment
Steel

Industries: Most industrial complexes have been converted to civilian use after the take over. They continue to produce consumer goods but also specialize in Railroads and communication equipment like the telegraph and such. Providing the logistical support for their Yllendyr overlords. The state is also experimenting with naval ship building to cross the great ocean thereby increasing the approval from the overlords.

Technology: Before the Invasion the Vaspen Empire was considered one of the leading states in concerns to military theory, and alternative power sources such as steam, electricity and Gasoline/Diesel. While the military theorists have been “Integrated” into the Yllendyr research departments, the other research have been progressing smoothly leading to innovations in Internal Combustion Engines, Electrical breakthroughs, and Steam Efficiency boosts.

Primary Species: Wolfen, Humanoid-Wolf like, typically 5.5-7ft tall, well built. They Appear very wolf like, large ears and muzzle like nose, they also have a large amount of hair covering their arms, legs and torso to help them survive the harsh winters. They have the lifespan of a normal human, but do possess some enhanced senses of their wolf kin such as: Enhanced sense of hearing, smell, night vision, and cold resistance.

Population:56,604,567

Culture: The Vaspen culture dates back to 1650, when the country was established. The culture while still focusing on olden traditions, is still modern to some degree. The core of the Vaspen culture revolves around the state, and it’s monarch. The state is the protector of the people, and the monarch is the great leader that united the people to stand against tyranny. After the state the next group of importance is the family unit, in which traditionally the father provides for the family. However with the rapid industrialization women are beginning to find work in factories, gaining some independence from this reliance. Finally the core personal beliefs of the people revolve around the lack of a class system, they are only limited the amount of effort they choose to put in to advance in society.

Spoken Language: Ripuarian, Similar to Middle High German, and Yllerian

National Religion: Alaephy, based on the belief that each race has a trait that is embodied by a god. The gods themselves can each be considered two entities, one for each side of the coin, a benevolent, and malevolent version of themselves. These gods are constantly embroiled in mortal affairs, using their respective peoples as proxies for their own battles. These conflicts between gods are the reason the mortal world came to be. After a great battle between the gods, and the near destruction of the universe they decided to create a world which they could influence to resolve their disagreements. The Wolfen God represents Honor, and Valor.

Location: Located on the western most point of the main continent in the old world.
Climate: The empire is situated in a temperate forest climate with Cold Winters and cool summers, the mountains in the north force the arctic air to settle in this region, only coniferous trees survive the winters. Large number of forests dot the landscape between the rolling hills, and streams, cities and towns appearing occasionally as you look out across the beautiful landscape.

Military: Other than garrison troops used by the Yllendyr in other countries the military is non existent.
4,683,021 men available for service as of the Yllendyr’s 1900 census.

Magic Prevalence: Appears in less than 15% of population considered a rare gift. Not forcefully weaponized, up to personal decision on use. The most prevalent form of magic is the Solid type.

History: In 1650 Matthaus Vaspen founded the Vaspen Empire in its current location after the unification of all Wolfen states on the Western side of the continent. Throughout the next 250 years there have been many trials and tribulations within the Empire, but the most significant of which were the many Yllandyr invasion attempts.
Initially the Yllendyr Imperium had a significant land border in the east with the newly unified Vaspen Empire. The First of these in 1697, again in 1746, and 1763, finally in 1840 they successfully invaded. Before they could take over the capital the ruling family escaped to exile in the human kingdom in the north. After the Imperium completed their invasion they took out their centuries of loss and frustration on the populace of Vaspen, deepening the already bottomless ravine of hatred between the two peoples. In the years after during the occupation, the citizens of Vaspen endured harsh treatment and even slave like status within the Yllendyr’s new puppet state. Almost all government positions had been taken over by Yllendyr natives, and the industry was stripped of its military capacity. However many Nationalist holdouts escaped the wrath of Yllendyr, especially by hiding in the northern mountain range, they amassed firearms, and olden weapons to resist and sabotage the Imperium’s every move.

Nation Name: The Imperial States of Endaria

Flag: Multiple

Type of Government: Dominion of the Imperium

Head(s) of Government: Lord Asgrave de Ashintol, king of the Kingdom of Ashintol. Lydia Valcrutio, High Mage of the Quentalian Aristocracy. Grimmock, leader of the “Cadrin Horde” under Cadrin Mountain. (Deemed too uncivilized to be bothered with administration, but kept under heavy watch by many Yllendyr auxilia). Tileran Shadowsong, Prime Defender of the Wood, representative of the Wood Elf race in Endaria. Wulfrik Furion, “military chief” and leader of the Lodnor. Seriah Highborn, Head Chancellor of the High Elf council, representative of the High Elf race in Endaria. Olerphas, Guild Master of Clan Bhufdar. Drakonicus, Chief Dragon Sentinel of Clan Draka. Gwyndolin de Azuria, Princess of the Azurian State.

Note, all titles above except for the Elves are mostly figure heads and hold little power, though influence on their subjects may persist in some cases.

Economy: Yllendyr controlled economy. Capable of producing a great deal of resources that sustained the rest of the Yllendyr war campaign.

Primary Species: Human (40%), Dwarf (30%), Elves (30%) - 45% High, 42.5% Wood, 12.5% Ylldenyr

Population: 53 million

Culture: Since the conquest of the island, peace has reigned. The militaristic ones of the bunch were dissatisfied, but the vast majority of the Endarian populace gave a collective sigh of relief with the suffering having ended with the arrival of the Imperium. This resulted in a massive change in loyalty to the Imperium and an adoption of many of their customs and culture. Even with the heavy taxation and the tributes, anything was better than the way Endaria was before. However, there is sentiment to go back to the old ways among the youthful who have never been subject to the hell that is war.

Religious and Other Beliefs: No official religion, even before the Yllendyr’s arrival.

Territorial Map:


Map Key:
Dots/Mountains = Faction Capitals

Blue Land = Azurian State
Purple Land = Quentalian Aristocracy
Red Land = Kingdom of Ashintol
Dark Green Land = Lodnor
Light Green Land = Elven Lands

Purple Mountain = Mount Draka
Yellow Mountain = Mount Bhufdar
Orange Mountain = Cadrin Mountain

Blue Dot = Azuria
Red Dot = Ashintol
Purple Dot = Quental
Dark Green Dot = Lodnoria
Light Green Dot = Wood Elf Capital (name unknown)
Light Blue Dot = high Elf Capital (name unknown)

Climate: Though it lies on the equator, it still has weather as if it were a temperate climate, experiencing all four seasons.

Military: Auxilia - 1 legion in the Azurian State, 2 legions in the Quentalian Aristocracy, 1 legion in Mount Draka, 4 legions surrounding Cadrin Mountain, 2 legions throughout the Kingdom of Ashintol, 2 legions in Lodnor, 3 legions throughout the Elven Lands. There are signs of a rebellion on the northernmost border of the Azurian State that started up four months ago and has yet to go away despite the presence of Imperial Sentinels.

Magic Prevalence/Usage and Elemental Alignment: Magic is primarily used among the mages of the Quentalian Aristocracy in the name of research and the Elves of the Elven Lands in daily life and ancient rituals.

History/Background Info: 477 years ago, the Kingdom of Endaria was formed under Azrulain Korcatholus, “The First King.” Since his time, there have been five other kings that came into power and fell out of it shortly afterwards. The most recent being one hundred years ago under King Asgrave de Ashintol. The Ylldenyr Imperium conquered Endaria twenty years later. Immediately after their conquest, they took the defeated factions and returned their land to them. Then, they installed an administration in each of them as if they were a separate nation, creating a divide between the people and the “Throne of Endaria.” Present day, Endaria has been booming in populace. The vast amounts of slaughter and chaos from the past can no longer hinder their growth, and technology only helps further it. All in all, the people of Endaria are grateful to the Imperium.

Head of State: ‘Emperor’ Vermathysliz Und Lymwurm (Male Dragon, age 14/Whelp, under Regency)
Head of Government: Viceroy Nolre Yirvanya (High Elf-Drow Halfbreed Female, Official Regent and Imperium Viceroy)

Type of Government: Pseudo-Absolute Monarchy, Federal State of the Yllendyr Imperium
Summary: Formerly a land ruled by a minority elite of Draconic slaver-barons, individual petty Dragon conqueror-kings and occasionally a few lands ruled by elven or human rebels, the Dominion of Vaurgemyr (then known as the Kingdoms of the Vaurgemyrean) was conquered by the Yllendyr Imperium after the Drow’s advances in military technology, namely, guns, made Dragons far more vulnerable to massed armies than they had ever been before. While Dragons had typically been exterminated in other kingdoms and lands prior to the Yllendyr due to their natural tendency towards domination and tyranny, the Drow in a moment of realpolitik decided to maintain their rule of the region to ensure that there was another slavery-dependent race on the continent so to deflect rebellious forces elsewhere, as well as to have a much needed source of naturally flight-capable soldiers. As such, while an elf-dominated state, all flying races (Dragons, Valkyrians and Harpies) are given highly preferential treatment and privileges within the wider Imperium, and Dragons in particular maintain most of their old landed titles/peerage or gentry.

The change in technology in the world ended Dragon’s individual supremacy of warfare and their ability to singularly conquer or terrorise nations. While the ruling dragon minority remained highly powerful, enough so to persuade their Yllendyr conquerors to spare them as future subordinates, no longer could a single dragon inspire the terror to maintain millions of slaves. The petty kingdoms, robber-barons and sitting bandits of the Vaurgemyrean collapsed to the onslaught of massed advanced elven technology.

While the Dragons maintained their lands and titles due to the benefits the Yllendyr gained from keeping them (An army of aristocratic air-knights capable of burning down whole towns or cities single-handedly, something they made great use of in future wars), their influence waned over the centuries as the Ellempyr (High Elves) reasserted dominance and the Yllendyr (Drow) migrated into their new conquered territories. Harpies and Valkyrians were empowered as well, also being naturally flying races, the Yllendyr wished for an even greater pool of flight-capable soldiers to aid in their conquest of the rest of the continent and the islands, as well as Avalia. (Vaurgemyrean Valkyrians in particular took joy in the Conquest of Avalia).

Today, Vaurgemyr is ruled as a a faux-absolute monarchy with some degree of constitutionalism. The native monarch is a figurehead maintained by the Imperium and is always from one of the Draconic Slave-Baron dynasties. While there is no actual constitution or true legislative body, the cabinet of the government is dominated by elven figures and headed by the Imperium’s Viceory, who makes the majority of national decisions. There is a ‘Diet of the Peers and Gentry’ (Or more commonly The Diet), which is a quasi-legislative body where representatives of the Elven, Draconic, Harpish and Valkyrian elite (Which must be landed aristocrats, no bourgeois involvement) put forward their concerns and issues which are then looked over by the Viceroy.



Vaurgemy’s economy is relatively traditional with a combination of draconic feudal land-owners, slave labour and Elven artisans and industrialisation. While most dragon land-owners remain sitting-bandit types which are economically complacent and decadent, there is a minority that have started adapting Elven industrialisation into a more efficient form of exploiting slave-labour. While continued resistance to the Bourgeois and Labour have stalled more advanced leaps in industrialisation, the mass-exploitation of human slaves means labour costs for cheap goods are nearly unrivaled.

The ascendancy of the corporate form has also enabled the advancement of finance and so further boasted industrialisation in Vaurgemyr - though there is significant resistance to public corporations due to fears of empowering the Bourgeois.

Vaurgemyr has an abundance of mineral wealth due to their mountainous southern regions which they exploit as well as hold numerous Draconic citadel-palaces built into the mountains. Iron Ore, Coal, Sulphur and numerous other minerals are extracted and exported. Vaurgemyr while using Yllendyr’s Silver Standard-backed currency are also fervent miners of Gold, which in particular has a very high demand due to Dragon’s tendency towards hoarding it.

Currency: Vaurgemyr like all of Yllendyr's primary Dominions has the same currency as the Heartlands, being the Dacha, which is furthermore based on a silver-standard.

Industry: Industry is growing slowly but steadily, as the combined industrialisation influence of Yllendyr and reforms in finance has pushed it forward - though there is heavy resistance due to the combination of the fact the nation is ruled by landowning peers rather than bourgeoise and because slave-labour makes further advances in more advanced mechanisation less desirable due to the low cost of labour (slaves also lower the demand in the economy, slowing growth).

Literacy: The Literacy Rate is moderate (60-70% roughly), as while the upper class is highly literate and there is a growing educated middle-class, slavery remain legal and encompasses a solid 20% of the population who remain totally uneducated, and as such caps Vaurgemyr’s literacy at 80%.

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Head of State:

Other Characters:
-Squad 6 Medic

Population: 75 million
Racial Demographics: Vaurgemyr is quite ethnically diverse, though if the two Elven ethnicities are combined, they create a majority of 72% of the population. Historically, Vaurgemyr was ruled by a tiny ethnic minority of Dragons. Post-Yllendyr Invasion, Dragons still hold many of their old titles and ruling elite position, though actual power and influence has since been siphoned to the Elven majority and their imperial supporters in Yllendyr. The Elven population consists of a combination of ruling aristocrats, landowners and bourgeois middle-class. Lower class elves exist, but mostly as urban poor and workers. Dragons, Valkyrians and Harpies were all given titles and land (or in the case of Dragons, allowed to maintain theirs) as part of the post-invasion ‘Charter of Peerage’ which in return for service in the Yllendyr Army and support in the Drow’s conquest of the entire Old World remained as empowered elite minorities. Humanity, following the past policies of Yllendyr and the Ellempyr (High Elves) as well as the Dragons, are a race that is entirely enslaved and holds no rights or privileges, being consigned to chattel slave labour, backbreaking rural agricultural work and being hunted and eaten by Harpy aristocrats/air-knights during their Full Moon and Winter Solstice religious festivals. The 6.6% of other races consists of other slaves besides humans who have been imported from across the Imperium, as well as a small minority of free peoples, expats, etc.




Language: The Dominion speaks a regional dialect of Yllerian, with slight grammatical and spelling changes but with a significantly different accent and pronunciation - both of which are due to the Ellempyr's own language over time being fused into Yllendyr's. The Draconic tongue is also practised as a secondary language and is still commonly used, particularly by Vaurgemyr's elites who wish to speak in secrecy from the commoners trained in only the elven tongue.

Slave Society: The Dominion of Vaurgemyr is and always has been built on the back of slavery. Every human is a slave of some kind. The Elf and predominately Draconic states of Pre-Invasion Vaurgemyr widely enslaved humanity, and while free Harpies existed, Captured Harpy raiders from the Old Forest were made slaves as well. After Yllendyr's conquest, slavery in Vaurgemyr was expanded and normalised even beyond what the Dragons had maintained beforehand, resulting in the entire human race inhabiting Vaurgemyr being enslaved. Harpies were liberated from slavery as part of the 'Charter of Peers' which provided them with confiscated land from the enemies of Yllendyr (or former human lands) in exchange for providing Harpy soldiers to form their new 'Air Corps' that would go on to conquer the Old World. Humans are mostly treated in a chattel slave manner, being tasked with hard-labour in the mines, farms or simple manufacturing. They are given no rights. Human slaves for Harpies, in particular, are used for their religious ceremonies of hunting sentient beings and then eating them.

Draconic Decadence (Inherent Biology): Dragons are, by their nature, callous and can quickly become tyrannical creatures. They are inherently seeking to dominate, control and exploit others - and in fact, do not feel fulfilled or content unless this is being demonstrably obvious. A Dragon in absence of this control-domination will become mentally unstable, depressed or even eventually suicidal if given long enough time - though they will typically strike out aggressively and either win or die long before this. A Dragon's intelligence may alter this though, as a rather dim Dragon may be satisfied with being a Prison Warden, for example, mistaking its position as the ownership of prisoners - meanwhile, a highly intelligent Dragon may feel satisfied in a liberal democracy if it tricks itself into seeing its employees as wage slaves. The legendary image of a greedy dragon hoarding gold, stealing princesses and lording themselves over feudal peasants with threats of fire, demands of taxation and coercion of tribute exists for a reason. This is not to say that Dragons are incapable of empathy or are universally psychopathic, but rather are psychologically oriented towards domination and exploitation. A Dragon may be kind and charitable to what it considers its 'owned things'. A 'Liberal' Dragon as such is typically at best a Benevolent Dictator or believer in Enlightened Despotism. In the words of some radical psychologists, they are an entire race of narcissists, to varying degrees of severity. Draconic states that have existed in the past are typically unstable since they were once a singular dragon (sometimes with a small family unit or harem) establishing themselves as a one-person absolute dictatorship, these states usually sucked dry those enslaved until the dragon was eventually vanquished by knights or other heroic figures.

Charter of Peers: The 'Three Airs', being the flight-capable race trio of Dragons, Valkyrians and Harpies despite being very small minorities in Vaurgemyr have been given overwhelming disproportionate privileges and entitlements comparable to the elven majority - the purpose of this is to ensure a constant and stable pool of air-knights to enable the Yllendyr Imperium to continue monopolising airpower, and so dominate the Old World. These privileges included large land endowments, particularly taken from Yllendyr enemies during the conquests, as well as legal protections, tax exemptions, slave ownership and representation in organisations.

Knights in the Air: Vaurgemyrean Valkyrians, in particular, are renown for a combination of excellent martial prowess yet possessing aristocratic titles considered lesser; mostly controlling highly mountainous regions that lack the wealthy agricultural land or manufacturing of their northern fellow peers and gentry. As such, they specialise themselves in the art of aerial warfare beyond all others, dedicating themselves as generational retainers and hereditary knights to more powerful dynastic families. While Dragons are typically in command, it is the Valkyrians who are the ones actually dominating the air battle for Vaurgemyr.

Nobility Above All: Aristocracy is a dominant concept in Vauregmyr, for both Elves and the Flying Races. Blood and hereditary are everything, and familial and blood ties, as well as race, define your class and status. Noble customs are widespread throughout the culture, and after the Yllendyr conquest, much of the native aristocracy have adopted many such aristocratic customs of the elves. The nobility are considered a higher being inherently by their nature and there is stiff resistance to class mobility - a slave may not be a freeman, particularly since they are human. A poor aristocrat will always be superior to a rich bourgeoise, as the latter's pedigree is always weak. Family history is highly regarded and descendants will often have their lives shaped by their ancestors - a son of a traitor will be barred from positions of authority for example. Aristocrats are also provided many privileges and protections not afforded to other castes. Hereditary roles and caste-like hierarchy are common, with lesser families being bound to higher families for generations. Certain Air-Knight families, in particular, are hereditary retainers for other families.

High Elven Culture: The High Elves maintain a traditionalist, aristocratic and decadent but also romanticist culture. Gentry, for example, are expected to cease working upon reaching a wealth status that no longer requires them to work (particularly with land ownership and very low inheritance taxes). High-level Elven peers are expected to be artists, musicians, writers and philosophers - the only exception being the 'knight', a martial aristocratic living channelling chivalry. Fancy parades and overcomplicated drilling is a must. Religion is far more prevalent amongst the High Elves than their Dark Elf cousins, however, the Pantheonic Cult and Libertine nature of Elven Religion and their deities (A god of prosperity and goddess and love among others are not particularly ascetic figures).

Location/Territories: Old World, South-Eastern Continent. The Purplish-Burgundy on the far-east coast.

Climate: Primarily temperate, though with cold winters and somewhat colder than the northern temperate regions. Many mountains and hills, with the northern areas of Vaurgemyr being warmer and more fertile with grasslands and fields. The border with Old Forest is somewhat militarised and includes areas cut down by logging operations.



Vaurgemyr has no standing land or naval forces as being a closely aligned dominion of the Yllendyr Imperium, its land-based army and naval forces is the Yllendyr Imperium's armed forces instead. Vaurgemyr does possess an extensive police force to deal with possible human slave revolts, however. Its primary military asset instead is its exceptionally large and skilled airforce, which it is allowed to maintain as a state entity (alongside federal air-corp troops). Vaurgemyr is the primary recruitment pool for the entire Imperium's air-corps personnel, with its variety of Dragons, Valkyrians and Harpies supported by extensive and longstanding Air Academies, Air-Knight institutions, generational air-knight aristocratic families and other establishments putting it at the forefront of Aerial Combat expertise. Vaurgemyr maintains two 20,000 strong Air-Corps as a state entity, consisting of mostly high aristocratic Dragon scions supported by retainer Valkyrian and Harpy Air-Knights. While possessing no standing state army, there stand around 400,000 federal troops from the Yllendyr Imperium. Vaurgemyr possesses a significant draftable population, including around 72 million elves, though its enslaved Human population are forbidden from carrying arms and are not used as soldiers.

Magic Prevalence/Usage:

WIP:

Nation Name: Fibor Dynasty
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Type of Government: Monarchy
Head(s) of Government: King Inroc III Fibor
Economy (Main imports, exports, industries, technology level, etc.):
Main imports: Steel, Cotton, Dyes and Salt
Exports: Refined Petroleum Products, Fish, Slaves, Textiles, Aluminum, and Copper
Industries: Petroleum Extraction/Refinement, Fishing, Textile, Mining and Lumber.
Technology level: Fully Industrialized and High Literacy Rate
Primary Species: Ogre
Secondary Species: Half Ogre, Oni, Giant
Tertiary Species: Orc, Human, Other
Population: 64 Million
Culture: Maritime Traders and Mercenaries.
Religious and Other Beliefs: Etholfi and Grese (Co-Dominate Religions)



Location/Territories: Detailed Map of Fibor Territory. (Will get more detail as time goes on)

Climate: Temperate Broadleaf Forest primary climate
Military:559,040
Magic Prevalence/Usage: Only allowed usage is by Ogre nobility. Most prevalent type of magic is mind.
History/ Background Info:
The Fibor Dynasty is the 9th unification of the ogre nations under a single banner. It rose to power 845 years ago unifying the warring states after death of Hog Dynasty King with no recognized heir. The Fibor Dyansty expanded reuniting the shattered ogre nations fully a feet not seen since the legendary 6th dynasty. However this great task would spell the downfall of Fibor dynasty.
For centuries after complete reunification the Fibor Dynasty would focus inward struggling to quell rebellions. The stabilization of realm would come at such a great price as the ogres ignored large continent to south. Looking inward for so long that only seventy years ago was the massive wooden fleet rallied. However a hurricane would shatter the backbone of Fibor strength forcing a humiliating surrender and becoming a vassal state. The boon of being a vassal was ability of rapid industrialization but only with great shame in the oldest generation.
Ancient History:
As chronicled by ogre recorders of history. Long ago before the first metal had been forged the ogres existed as slaves. The greatest of the giants known as titans ruled supreme upon island of Tiagrav. So great were the titans they towered above even the forests of primal Tiagrav and their magics were terrible. It is claimed that the neighboring islands around Tiagrav were raised by the powerful magics commanded by the titans. Ogres were powerless to fight the titans for simple wood and stone weapons were worthless against these great giants.
The blood of heroes would be born on Ember island. Legends have long forgotten this ones name but he was the first ogre to ever wield magic or so the legends say. The smallest of the titans lived upon Ember island and would be the first of his kind to die at hands of a ogre. Using the power of this magic the legendary hero would lift the severed head of the titan to the cheering freed ogres. From his heroic blood would be a lineage of heroes who would go forth wiping out the titans and all who sided with them. Only a single tribe of hill giant would see the wisdom of siding with ogres and side with them. It is recorded in legends with copper weapons the ogres were unstoppable and by the age of iron the last titan known titan drew breath. Bloodlines of heroes became the nobility who became kings.
However the last titan would get to enjoy its long life due to treachery of the oni. Up in the north the elder titan was cared for by oni. Feeble in body but powerful in magic the great noble King of the 6th dynasty would slay the final titan. Foolish oni fought back but the glorious ogre empire would not sit idly by trying for centuries to capture the northern island. The oni were monsters in eyes of contemporary ogres but by the 8th dynasty outright extermination attempts were stopped.

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Velendaal is an absolute monarchy, ruled by King Iestyn III of the House of Arahael. The house has been the reigning dynasty for over three hundred years, itself a cadet branch of the House of Yllewicks, whose kings were key in the political unification of Velendaal. The House of Arahael is related to the Vyalviur Dynasty by marriage. Empress Madessi herself is an Aurendar, a member of the Arahael line and Iestyn III’s aunt.

When the Kingdom of Velendaal joined the Yllendyr Empire, it was able to secure a special status, Reservatracht. It was allowed to maintain its diplomatic body and its own army, which would be delegated to Yllendyr command in wartime. In matters of foreign policy, Velendaal defers to the Imperium, although it manages its own internal affairs.

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Velendaal’s adoption of a free trade economy, with open markets and minimal tariffs, has allowed it to thrive as one of the Old World’s foremost economic powers. Contemporary accounting and management practices streamline the operation of large companies. Output, yields and costs are calculated accurately and efficiently with modern systems.

Its efficiently-manufactured, competitively priced goods can compete with and undersell the locally-manufactured goods of foreign markets. Trading contracts, agricultural investments and a sizable merchant fleet enable it to move high volumes of commodities and complete transactions for distant goods with foreign clients in its own cities. Foodstuffs, raw materials and finished goods are imported and re-exported elsewhere throughout the Old World and Yllendyr heartland.

Coal for factory steam engines are moved along a developed system canals and roads. The railway system is a key element in Velendaal’s economy, providing fast, timely and inexpensive transportation of freight and people to cities and most of the country's rural districts. Tens of thousands of personnel are employed by the rail system, and its model has been applied to other industries and small businesses.

A liquid magic alignment bolsters the Velendaal economy by enabling efficient steam and water power and agricultural practices. Mages are high in demand as prospective employees and their specialized role in many job and civil service sectors has carved them a niche in the country’s upper-middle class.

This century has seen a bit of pushback from the working class regarding the desire for better working conditions. Growing political awareness has led to a rise of trade unions and collectives aimed at representing workers and campaigning for their issues. Companies and syndicates are largely under the control of private investors and entrepreneurs, while government is the realm of the aristocracy.

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Aurendar elves make up nearly 78% of Velendaal’s population. Elves of other ethnicities, predominantly Yllendyr, are the second-largest demographic at 17%. The remaining 5% is split between indigenous ogroid peoples, humans and other races. Altogether, Velendaal has a population of roughly 44 million. Only the elven population is considered full citizenry.

The Aurendar peoples are the most populous elves in Velendaal. Elves first appeared on its shores around 4,000 years ago. Modern-day Aurendar can trace their origins to these first migrants, as well as the influx of other elven peoples that settled the archipelago throughout its early history. The archetypal Aurendar has a swarthy complexion, stands roughly 5.8 feet tall and has fair or ruddy hair.

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Aurendar is the official language of Velendaal, and is spoken by virtually every native-born elf. It shares some linguistic similarities to Yllendyr, but is not considered mutually-intelligible, save for a few loanwords and common nouns. Aurendar is characterized by long, drawn out syllables and hard consonants. Regional dialects are spoken in some provinces, most of which are recognized by Velendaal as minority languages. Yllendyr is the second most widely spoken language and is taught in schools as the lingua franca of the Imperium.

Dionism is the most widespread religion in Velendaal, introduced by sun elf immigrants thousands of years ago. The Disciples of Eluna are the second most populous religion in the country, but have a minimal presence compared to solar religion.

Aurendar generally exhibit a strong national identity of “Velendaal first, Imperium second.” This is due in part to religious differences between Dionist Velendaal and the generally-atheist Yllendyr Heartland. When Velendaal joined the Imperium, Aurendar nationalists wanted Velendaal to remain Dionist. Although this was a source of some tension during the country’s initial merger with Yllendyr, most Aurendar nowadays accept Velendaal as part of the Imperium.

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In maroon, south of the Shogunate and west of the Fibor Dynasty.

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Like the Tiagrav Archipelago, Velendaal is a temperate, forested country with distinct warm and cool seasons. The average annual temperature is moderate - about 37℉ to 60℉. Summers are warm and rainy, while the winter season is dry. Broadleaf, conifer and mixed tree ecoregions are present in Velendaal’s biome.

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The Royal Velendaal Army was integrated into the Imperial Army after its annexation. Rather than divvy the army into separate auxilia, its structure was kept largely intact and was organized as a separate wing of the Imperial Army. This was done, in part, to maintain a high esprit de corps among the Aurendar units, but mostly as concession to the Velendaal throne. The army is well-equipped and trained, although is deficient in cavalry, which is used for reconnaissance moreso than combat.

The standard infantry rifle is the Yllendyr-made Theilmu 96, a magazine-fed bolt-action repeating rifle. The rifle features an internal box magazine, loaded manually or with five-round chargers. The rifle is chambered for the 7.62x54 Theilmu cartridge. A carbine variant exists for cavalry, about twelve inches shorter than the standard rifle. In addition to the carbine, cavalrymen carry sabers of roughly 33 inches, giving them the reach to attack infantry below.

The Royal Velendaal Navy was likewise folded into the Imperial Navy. The backbone of the fleet is made up of armored cruisers. More light cruisers, corvettes and torpedo boats make up the remainder of the fleet. Velendaal also has a vast merchant cruiser fleet it can call on as auxiliary vessels. Velendaal has a long-standing maritime culture. The early Aurendar were prolific shipbuilders who built and policed networks of oceanic trade lanes. While Velendaal’s navy has traditionally been a defensive force, the Yllendyr’s offensive naval doctrine is studied by Velendaalan officers.

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Velendaal’s magical alignment is liquid, like their Yllendyr cousins. Magic plays an important role in society and is used for a variety of day-to-day tasks. It was the Aurendar who developed the refrigerator by freezing water in closet spaces. The combination of fertile soil and liquid magic has had a profound effect on Velendaal’s agricultural development. Liquid magic is used to counter droughts, irrigate crops, power mills, work steam engines, fight fires and navigate the ocean, among other things. As a result, mages have no trouble finding work as private employees, civil servants or in the armed forces - chiefly the navy. The Velendaal Bureau of Magic oversees the distribution of mages and magical resources at the kingdom’s disposal. It operates institutions for magical education and helps mages find employment.

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Velendaal was inhabited by proto-ogroid peoples over a million years ago, estimated by fossils and tools found across the country. They were supplanted by Ogro Sapiens around 40,000 years ago, who developed hunter-gatherer societies and the island’s first civilizations. Elven peoples migrated to Velendaal from the east some 4,000 years ago. As their population spread, they confined the indigenous population to the far reaches of the islands. Many left for Tiagrav and its satellite islands in the east. The elven peoples form the vast majority of Velendaal’s population today. Small kingdoms and villages thrived, thanks to favorable agricultural conditions. Wheat and barley were, and remain, dietary staples. Velendaal fostered inter-island and international trade, especially with dynasties on the Tiagrav Archipelago and Yamato peoples in the north.

Velendaal was not a unified kingdom until the 38th century. It was split into about a dozen kingdoms, open to attack from the sea by raiders and ogroid tribes. Foreign elven peoples also appeared on its shores, consolidating into tribes and petty kingdoms. Several centuries of political maneuvering and internecine warfare saw the Kingdom of Cerewich gain preeminence. It expanded at the expense of the other petty elven and ogroid kingdoms, culminating in the political union of Velendaal. Over the course of the next few centuries, Velendaal suffered minor wars over succession and territorial disputes, but the Yllewicks Dynasty held its grasp on Velendaal’s throne.

Contact between Velendaal and the petty kingdoms of Yllendyr increased during the early 4000s. It fostered a close relationship with the Vyalviur Dynasty, the preeminent ruling family on the peninsula. Elven culture and language formed a bridge between the peoples of both kingdoms, while the idea of a ‘long lost grandeur’ of elven civilization sparked a renaissance throughout the Old World’s elven populations. In the late 47th century, tensions between Velendaal and Lieria over maritime trade and influence escalated into open war. Trade with the Yllendyr Sovereignty, which had recently been united at the end of the Moonrise War, was threatened. Yllendyr entered the war as an ally of Velendaal and their combined fleet achieved a decisive victory at the Battle of Bavogo. Lieria sued for peace following a string of defeats on land and was forced to pay costly reparations for the war’s disruption of trade. At the end of the Yllendyr-Lierian War, the Imperium consolidated its power and Velendaal joined the Yllendyr kingdoms in the interest of a strong, elven nation-state.

In 4771, the thrones of Velendaal and Yllendyr entered a union with the marriage of King Cynwald’s daughter, Princess Madessi, and Prince Naerzo. This cemented Velendaal’s place within the Imperium and brought the Aurendar and Yllendyr peoples closer together than they’d ever been before. The line of the House of Arahael continued to inhabit the Velendaal throne through Madessi’s brother, Prince Koenwyck IV, and then to King Iestyn III in 4866. When Iestyn took the throne, the Yllendyr Imperium had all but conquered the Old World.

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Type of Government: Hegemonic Tribal Confederacy

The Yutlao tribe rules with a light-touch from the capital, Aokki the largest city in the Confederacy, over the various other tribes and towns. News and proclamations travel slowly across these hostile lands and messages are regularly distorted by the staggeringly low literacy rates outside of the towns.

Head of Government: Speaker Acuru of the Yutlao Tribe

Summary:

The largest tribes of the Confederacy controls what would be considered towns by more advanced civilisation as their personal domains, with a plethora of tiny villages and hinterland farms being associated with each of the towns. The tribes then send or permanently keep a representative in the capital, Aokki, to ensure that their peoples' needs are met by the Confederacy.

The fractured natures and desires of the various representatives causes friction between the building blocks of the Confederacy, with pride and various feuds slow the processes of agreements and compromises to a glacial paces. One basic mechanism of the state though has always continued unhindered by these petty squabbles, the “Agrari” or “annual tithe” requires that each of the building blocks of the Confederacy, known as “Ixlaok” provide either people as labourers on the building or maintenance of grand projects or for wars over a specified period of time, if this isn't possible or desirable then a payment of goods or food is accepted instead from the “Ixlaok”.

A Ixlaok is the largest scale political component the Confederacy and they consists of a single central town and an ever-shifting number of hinterlands villages that are under its protection and provide for the townsfolk. But a Ixlaok isn't formed solely on the basis of territory, it is in fact much more focused on familial bloodlines and ethnic or tribal groups as Ixlaoki are formed by “Khoko” which are smaller political units comprised of a series of interrelated families and familial units which unite together for strength and cooperation. A khoko is usual rather limited in their scale or size and tend to stay within their Ixlaok. As such a Ixlaok is formed of between five to twelve Khokoi ethnic groups which specialise in various trades or crafts.

As part of their traditions, each Khoko pays and maintains a temple to their respective gods which can be as elaborate or simple as the Khoko can afford, with the wealthiest having carved vast temple-complexes out of the swamp lands for themselves. Each and every Khokoi though maintains a school-complex for their children with no standardised education system, sometimes inside the temples themselves or sometimes as separate entities. Here the next generations of the Khokoi are taught: the basics of fighting, about their religions, and some of the languages of the Confederacy.

The only school not segregated by which Khoko you were born into is in the capital where any lizardfolk can attempt to join the “Yuknu”, the most prestigious school in the Confederacy. A students capable of entering is judged based on a punishing series of physical, social and mental trials. Those who manage to pass these trials enter the school become “Jothi” and are taught: law, linguistics, religion, music, art, fighting and how to be servants. Once they've survived their time in the Yuknu, the Jothi become indispensable for the Confederacy as they leave their training as strong and capable individuals who form a ruling elite which are usually sent back to their Ixlaoki to take high positions as rulers or state officials.

Under the careful guidance and watchful eyes of the Jothi, the Confederacy have gained a stability and sense of purpose that drives the Ixlaoki forwards towards large-scale projects. The two most common being the construction and maintenance of a crude road system, along with an ambitious food storage and distribution network that gathers food in times of plenty and distributes it back out during times of need. Besides these beneficial programs, the Jothi struggle to convince their representatives to help with other larger projects of state, no matter how revolutionary or innovative it may be.



Main imports: Guns, Gunpowder, Iron, Steel
Exports: Lumber/Timber, Fish, Poisons, Translators, Jade
Industries: Large-scale farming and fishing, Cottage-industry weaving and melee weapon-making
Technology level: 15th Century Aztec Empire (Pre-Spanish arrival). Large-scale organisation of the State. “Hegemonic” (indirect) rule over other tribes and states.

Primary Species: Lizardfolk

Lizardfolk are tall humanoid creatures that look like a cross between a powerfully built human and a bipedal lizard. They have clawed hands, a long tail, and a toothy jaw and are usually between six and seven feet (1.82 to 2.13 meters) tall and they have a muscular tail which is usually between three and four feet (0.91 to 1.21 meters) long. They have green, gray or brown scales that cover most of their bodies with the exception of smaller and softer scales that cover their bellies.

The species is naturally aquatic and can move almost as gracefully in water as on land. Their scaled bodies provide a streamlined figure in the water, while their powerful tails provide stability to their movements when passive or an extra boost of speed when swiped from side to side. Lizardfolk's lung structure differs from other humanoid species, as they have adapted to environments where air isn't always available. Not only do their lungs take a larger proportion of the space in their chest cavity, but they are also divided into six & five lobes rather than the human three & two allowing greater compartmentalisation and storage of air for greater periods of time.

Due to these biological differences they can hold their breath comfortably for four times longer than an average humanoid, as such they are quite comfortable on land, in rivers or in lakes and while they are capable of swimming far out into oceans they tend not to stray from sight of the land.

The species are omnivores with a noticeable preference for meat, with rumour suggesting specifically human meat. Though they will eat anything if it becomes necessary, to the point of having some eating habits during famines that they find normal, but other species find revolting such as culling the slave population and feasting on their bodies.

Secondary Species: Humans, Üarim, Goblins

Population:

A population census hasn't yet been successfully completed by the Confederacy, but estimates vary from between fourteen and thirty one million inhabitants across the land. With the vast majority of the population being Lizardfolk and a small but noticeable minority of humans & goblins who inhabit the area as well.

ation Name: Gerudo Cheifdom
Flag:
Type of Government: Absolute Monarchy (Cheifs are heriarchially chosen, by eldest daughter)
Head(s) of Government:
Economy: Mainly based on oil and mining
Primary Species:
Population: 30 Million
Culture: Matriarchal, but a male is born every 500 years, who becomes the leader. However, the RP will be in between such a time, so all females right now. Very warrior like.
Religious and Other Beliefs: Monotheists who worship the goddess Hylia, believe the Chiefs are chosen by Hylia
Location/Territories: This entire chunk of land
Climate: Arid, hot, dry desert. Rainfall is extremely rare, most cities are build around springs, oases, and the few rivers they have
Military: Have only recently started using guns, mostly rely on scimitars, swords, and powerful magical bows called varks
Magic Prevalence/Usage and Elemental Alignment: Due to the low prevalence of guns, they heavily rely on solid magic. Gerudo in the past have even constructed massive cities and statues from magic, like the Seven Heroines
History/Background Info: zelda.wikia.com/wiki/Gerudo#Theory
The Gerudo were originally nomads who roamed the desert in many separate tribes, eventually, the Gerudo started settling near bodies of water, where the little agriculture they could have flourished. Over many years, they mastered solid magic, since most of the environment around them was solid. Eventually, wars between the tribes broke out, with the Gerud tribe conquering all the others (that is where the name “Gerudo” comes from), and the chief’s family are all thought to be chosen by goddess Hylia. The Gerudo chief became the absolute ruler of the race.