Name of your Nation: The Royal Commonwealth of Claoria
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-Location of the Gukou Colony within the Archipelago-
Type of Government: Constitutional Monarchy
Demographics:
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Moon Elves (“Claorians”): The oldest living race within the Isles, a race of elves said to have been around almost as long as the few dragons who were native to the land before others of their kin came along and established a hegemony of power for a number of centuries. Once calling themselves Claorians, though this term has come to encompass the whole of the Isles’ citizenry now, it is theorized they are a descendant species, one ultimately derived from the original inhabitants once living upon the back of the Great Dragon Claoria in primeval times.
Others beyond their shores, and by modern times the race proper, have mostly called them “Moon Elves” for their incredibly fair skin that is reminiscent of the pale light of the moon. That and the legends of ancient Moon Elves holding dances and parties underneath the light of the moon. The race likewise exhibits gemstone colored and precious-metal-colored eye colors, and a sort of mystical aura and a whimsical yet elegant grace just like those of fey creatures. Even so, their pointed ears are shorter than a number of other elven races.
Yet their most unique trait is their possession of what is called “The Golden Magic”, a type of magic tied solely to their race’s bloodline to gain access to…and a unique magic with seeming ties to the stars and heavens themselves to some extent. It also seems to have drawbacks such as causing them pain and otherwise when using or overusing it under certain conditions. They are likewise a seemingly much more flexible race despite their elven lifespans, adapted to the chaos of the Isles and ever-changing nature of things as they seek out what they could do and push forward next. A perhaps ultimately necessary cultural aspect for them due to how history has gone in their homeland for so very long, weeding out those who could not adapt and survive and thrive amidst the centuries of chaos.
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Dragail (“Dracobred”/”Derived”): A race created by the dragons interbreeding with other ‘lower’ races who lived upon or migrated to the Isles, done on purpose to create servitors and minions who would bear the brand of their heritage. Those who supported the dragons were long driven to the four winds or slaughtered, but those who had supported the rebellion against the dragons would survive and continue to live there. Yet they would still feel the effects of this association in the aftermath of ending the rule of the dragons within the Isles, an effect that only petered out over great centuries and ultimately with the unity of the Isles underneath the “Claorian Kingdom” and ultimately the Commonwealth beyond that.
The Dragail at first mostly lived within the northern half of the largest main island within the Isles in ancient times, with the majority of Moon Elves mostly occupying the southern half, though enclaves of them lived elsewhere otherwise. Traditionally many had homes in the hills and valleys of the north of the greater island they lived upon within the Isles, as well as on even the likes of cliff sides and other little places elsewhere that their creators/masters placed them, and once were more numerous than the other races prior to the rebellion. A rather physiologically hardy group whose living arrangements were in large groups and expanded familial compounds, they were initially used as laborers and troops and other fodder positions that the dragons saw as beneath themselves.
Their bodies would always bear draconic horns that flow back on their heads, as well as a draconic tail, alongside patches of scales that would appear on their bodies in generally random places (though placement for certain family lines remains generally consistent genetically). They are also very hardy, capable of taking quite the amount of punishment physiologically before it actually kills them. Occasional draconic traits also have hold upon them, such as a minor fire-breath or even minor icy liquid-nitrogen-like ice breath that are produced from a special organ (and they can still breathe while using it otherwise due to this). Even rarer, one will be born with usually function (within this realm rarely nonfunctional) wings attached to their upper back. A very very rare portion of this population in general also has seemingly ties to the originally rather small minority of dragons that were native to the Isles, who possess a weaker form of the Moon Elven “The Golden Magic” called “The Silver Magic” for being both weaker than it yet also distinctly silvery in its aesthetics.
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Hernaer: Outside of the deer antlers they grow, the once uncommon cases of a deer-like hoofed foot replacing a singular for or both feet being hoofs, and the earthy eye colors they possess, their peoples’ mutation on the Isles and likely exposure to manarite on the easternmost part of the Isles did not do much more than this. Otherwise they look like humans, and indeed are a race descended from the first humans to settle there or be brought there as servitors and slaves by the dragons who migrated there from outside the Isles. Their hair colors likewise generally represent those more common in the human populations of the region within whose seas the Isles exist (sitting off the western coast of a nearby continent), ranging from blonde to vivid reds to light browns and so forth in a standard human-like array.
In ancient times it is recorded that the earliest known Hernaer that emerged distinctly within the historical record, from what is currently known at least, settled within the easternmost parts of the Isles and had the original name of the “Grimr” for themselves before the term “Hernaer” emerged and ultimately was adopted by them. Their old Death Deity was eventually and ultimately absorbed into the pantheon of the Kingdom and then greater Commonwealth as part of seeking to integrate them in and establish a stable rule over them. In general the ancient Hernaer worshiped death as both a bringer of peace, a keeper of the memories and souls of the dead who watched over them, and as what all would return to in the end. The Great End. The Keeper of the Dead. Etc. This deity was celebrated at a certain time of year during the end of winter (a month associated with death), after which symbolically came spring and new life within it as a show of how death is likewise a new beginning and brought hope into the world.
Further, the Hernaer made proficient use of necromancy. Whilst speaking to the souls of the dead was a purely religious and clerical thing left to their druid/clerics, and done via them to avoid offending the Death God, the flesh and body of the dead was seen as naught but a resource to the living. For the dead did not need it, and that which was dead was always a resource of that which yet lived and would live. The whole ‘circle of life’ type deal that even took place in their ancient hunting practices, funerals, weddings, etc.
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Amirai/“Amazons”: Natives of the island of the Archipelago, whose race spread out and forged enclaves elsewhere within the Archipelago over time. A warrior race with strength and pride in their might, they became raiders and tribes who would even take slaves and captives for use in various forms of labor and to use as loyal slave-soldiers and the like. Most notably they had a presence on the northern half of the island of Gukou, wherein they forged a kingdom of metal weapons and stone buildings that reaped its own slaves and took for itself and even struck deals with others whilst ibeing surrounded by a small handful of lesser Amirai-controled vassalized minor tribes/polities on its eastern and western borders.
Indeed, the Kingdom boasted an amount of its own art, architecture, and even slave variety as it expanded and pushed its far smaller border-buffer vassals farther and farther outward in the process whilst restricting their size and actions to a certain extent. They even warred with local Vasiris in the mountains to their south, mountains that would eventually come into full possession of the Gukou Colony later on. However, with the arrival of foreigners in the Archipelago there was some struggle…and then a misunderstanding when making diplomacy with a foreign colony settling on the Amirai Kingdom’s shores would lead to the Kingdom launching a war before getting obliterated in return. It sent those who wanted to flee all over the place, but the majority of Amirai would be assimilated by force into the Gukou Colony proper and disseminated throughout the greater lands of the Commonwealth and its homeland elsewhere to boot (a trademark tactic for major colonies like the Gukou Colony).
Whilst the race looks human, their major initial defining feature is that they are all women. All female, with a lean yet dense muscular and a height range existing a solid half foot greater than standard humans/human women. A mixture of standard reproduction and the race’s inborn recombinant parthenogenetic capabilities are how they have long reproduced, at times even using magic to get pregnant with each other when proper partners for reproduction were too scarce. This particular reproductive magic, and their rudimentary medical methods of birthing a child who cannot come out the natural way (aka: a ‘cesarean section’) would become adopted by their new overlords in the Gukou Colony as well due to its applications for those struggling to have children and for women during childbirth and so forth.
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Humans, Dwarves, Centaurs (a generic version of em’ all): Exist as present groups within the Commonwealth, doing so in generic versions appropriate to the culture and nature of the Commonwealth proper.
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Dark Elves, Ukani, Vasiris, Sea Elves, and other Indigenous Races to the Archipelago: Exist within the Gukou Colony and even were disseminated some alongside the Amirai to elsewhere in Commonwealth lands. Definitely are all still present in the Gukou Colony though to some extent or another.
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Other: (To be noted or eventually added as or if they are relevant to the Commonwealth somehow. An open door slot here just in case someone adds a race that would’ve been present in the Commonwealth in one way or another basically.)
Population: The Gukou Colony of the Commonwealth has a population of 10 million
Governance & Politics:
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The Grand Convocation of the Commonwealth: A greater political body split into three houses - The Nobles House, The Peoples’ House, and The House of the Throne:
- The Nobles House is filled with representatives from all across the Commonwealth, and to whom the position is hereditarily passed down from parent to child. Historically as well as currently the overwhelming majority of those in this house are Moon Elves in turn. Further, historically the Nobles House used to possess a veto and auditing power to their advantage…which was only abolished twenty five years ago in 1850 to place them on equal terms with the other houses. This came after debate over the house vetoed a bill aimed at some matter of government funding, a bill that was brought into question as it would impact a number of influential Nobles House members’ business interests for which they leveraged anything they could to enforce the veto. From here the matter would escalate outside, resulting in riots in the capital that would eventually lead to deaths and attempted murders as the debate raged before the monarch and Peoples House jointly worked together and forced a veto-breaking referendum to occur to solve it. In the end these few inciting members were forced to resign their seats to their heirs, whilst all seats in the Nobles House were put on an even level (they hadn’t all been so before legally but unofficially speaking) and further reforms were voted in to remedy the potential issue moving forward. It…was a big matter at the time. Even so, the members of the Nobles House retain an amount of power both by simply being a “House of the Convocation” involved in the government as well as due to their still-existing but now far more limited veto power.
- The Peoples’ House originally began as “The Merchants House”, where non-nobles of mercantile or monetary influence could come to make grievances known and to help manage these things legally speaking as it overwhelmed the initially lone body of the Grand Convocation that was the Nobles House. For a long time the Nobles House had powers that created a hierarchy within the Convocation itself, though by the time the manarite-fueled industrial revolution kicked off the house was also coming to be filled with more and more citizens and was expanded to accommodate changing times. The burgeoning size difference between the houses, and growing corruption in the now-named “Peoples’ House”, would eventually lead to at least two civil wars before reform would finally even out the representation by doing a little balancing to how the houses interacted with each other to put them on generally equal grounds and would likewise determine how representatives in each house would be chosen . For the Peoples’ House, this would be through election processes at lower levels that were already being used to fill lower positions to a limited extent already by that point (and would see further streamlining in the coming years after this event). This system of choosing would be stretched and used to simply add electorates from the colonies to the Peoples’ House, though some such as the Gukou Colony do stand out as more important hubs and as such have unofficially somewhat more of a voice than the more minor places.
- The House of the Throne is the smallest house by both law and standard, being either assigned members of the royal family historically or modernly now using the Monarch and other educated royal officials chosen to fill these seats. As things are now the Monarch will always be the legal Head of State and symbol of the nation, but the Peoples’ House and the Nobles House jointly elect and approve a Head of Government (aka: The Head of the Convocation) who runs the day to day within the government otherwise from among their own ranks and mediates between the houses as an impartial mediator as well as being answerable back to them. Beyond this The House of the Throne and remainder of The Grand Convocation of the Commonwealth are balanced out between each other in the general sense in ways meant to check and balance what is going on in the government without dangerous and risky things like “one person pays and controls the whole army entirely” for example.
The House of the Throne is currently led by King Eadwehren V, who has four children and is married to his wife Queen Liana.
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The Grand Judiciary: Judges at all levels must get a required judicial education, and then qualified candidates run in elections at the lowest levels where they actually can get positions. From here candidates form pools of those running for higher and higher offices, with certain redundancies and laws in play to accommodate ‘extraordinary situations and wartime issues’ along the way as they’ve come up and made a mess of things from time to time.
Then at the top of the Judicial System is the five-member "Grand Judiciary", the highest court in the nation, of which the applicable list of veteran candidates are appointed to it. One seat is appointed by each house of The Grand Convocation of the Commonwealth (3 total, 1 for each house), two are filled by a national public election among applicable candidates specifically, and the final seat is filled by a carefully overseen lottery from among the remaining candidates. The seats within the Grand Judiciary, and only them since judicial terms legally and mandatorily exist at all lower levels, are all lifetime appointments. This when a seat is emptied it is only ever legally replaced by the same means by which the seat was filled, aka by appointment or by the election and such. Their job is to deal with judicial rulings on the highest possible legal cases and things of nationwide impact, as well as look over new and older cases to examine and make rulings there if the need arises.
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Authority of the Government: The government is unitary in nature, and exerts top authority on the nation at large with its branching parts exerting that authority at lower levels semi-independently despite being answerable to those who are higher-up than them inherently. There is indeed some room for debate as well within the government, hence the checks and balances of things in part, but even so the unitary power remains in place, to ensure a certain balance in what goes on. Whilst people by current times within the Commonwealth have a voice as well, they are also still subject to the power of the government proper in the end. This all to some extent can be said to be a carryover from the origins of the current Commonwealth government going very far back, but at the same time has remained in place as the generally accepted status quo in how the government works within the Commonwealth (especially the homeland of it) in turn.
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Constitution: The Commonwealth has a Constitution that has existed since the Kingdom and has been worked out and expanded since then. It acts as the blueprints for the government, by which it is run and organized and so forth, and helps cement a number of things and even rights in legal law rather than merely handing them over to the whims of those in power.
Culture & Society:
-The worship of Claoria remains within the pantheon worshiped by the main bulk of the Commonwealth, at first only continued by the Moon Elves after the draconic hegemony was broken apart. It is said that the Moon Elves continued the practice as it was already part of their culture prior to the dragons taking over the Isles, though association of this with the hegemony in the immediate aftermath didn’t make the Moon Elves very popular either for some time. By the time the Kingdom was first united under Moon Elven leadership, the practice was gradually reintroduced to the rest of the Isles and came to hold a place of prominence within the royal family especially.
By current/modern times, the worship of Claoria is a generally accepted and standard within the Commonwealth. It is said the the Great Dragon ascended to become a deity after its passing and turning into the Isles, and indeed Clerics and Paladins (albeit regulated as part of the Claorian Church in particular) exist who are given access to the literal divine blessings and magics of their patron deity through religious rites. Shrines and prayers to the defied Claoria are made by those who take up the worship of Claoria, including small home shrines and even more communal community ones that mostly just exist back in the Isles proper.
The “Founding Festival'' celebrates the settlement of the Great Dragon Claoria, and thus the creation of the isles, and is a tradition that hails from very ancient times and way farther back than the Kingdom or Commonwealth can ever fully recall. It is held at the beginning of the summer, when the heat is greatest and is somewhat vaguely reminiscent of the ‘primordial fire’ the Great Dragon is once said to have traveled through constantly during its lifetime until the world had settled. Spicy drinks of alcoholic and non-alcoholic nature, fire-roasted foods like ‘Dragon’s Green’ in the form of non-spicy peppers, ‘Dragon’s Stew’ that tops this relatively unique pot of piping and ever traditionally-prepared stew with crispy crunchy toppings packed with spicy heat, traditional ankle-length wrapped robes that are both a traditional clothing of the isles but have festival/holiday designs and variants for occasions such as these, fireworks and rudimentary magic sparklers made using magic, and more can be found during this festival in particular. Some Claorian Church congregations, usually in more rural parts but also in some cities increasingly so now, also have special sermons during the time of the festival, followed by a great festival east over the course of three days that worshippers and non-worshippers alike are invited to in these locations (after which the remainder is taken and delivered to the poor). Even the Royal Family partakes in its own great feast as part of the festival, and similar to others will donate the leftovers to nearby orphanages and soup kitchens and such as is tradition. Fermented rice-water drinks have also come to be included in this, alongside rice in general after it became a hit in the Isles after some time as a good second staple grain, helping to cut down on the spiciness of things and being covered sometimes in a spicy yet savory gravy created using the scrapings of pan-fried meats such dishes usually incorporate (not not always).
There is also the “Rite of Passing”, a celebration held in the mid-fall that celebrates the passing of the Great Dragon and both their ascent into deity-hood and the transformation of Claoria’s physical vessel into the Isles proper. It usually involves the creation of a myriad of sweet or semi sweet cakey treats made to look akin to islands or the land itself, or in representation of it, as well as some of these having liquid centers traditionally (though not always in modern times) tinted red to represent the blood of Claoria. Savory stuffed meats with cheese or similarly liquid-looking red-dyed stuffings in the center after they are cooked are made and eaten as well, and there are even slow-roasted meats placed in an over (or in more rural areas cooked over a roaring fire) whose juices are prepared into a savory red-colored herb drink called “Dragonblood”. “Dragonblood” is traditionally non-alcoholic, though some brewers have used associated spices and herbs from it alongside honey and such to make a festival-exclusive brownish-red alcohol called “Bloody Dragon Mead” made only for this festival in particular. Special red-colored local (to the Isles) bread is also made using ground-up roasted and seasoned wheat/barley seeds to celebrate the occasion, which pairs well with seasoned meats but is inherently a little sour in taste.
-The Hernaer Death Deity, Grimr (who they once named themselves after as a race), is also a fixture within the pantheon of the Commonwealth by modern times. The “Day of Spirits Calling” is Grimr’s most prominent festival and celebration, and is held a day near the end of the year that, each winter, families bring flowers and other special items or trinkets to place on the graves of the dead (even donning again the traditional ankle-length wrapped robes that are both a traditional clothing of the isles but have festival/holiday designs and variants for occasions such as these). They do this as they remember those who have died, and it is said the spirits of the dead are closest to the mortal plane during this time and even visit some of their living relatives to talk with them and reminisce about their own former mortal lives. Special foods are made for the festival that it is said both the souls of the dead as well as the living can partake of and enjoy. Those who die on this day are said to be escorted by the souls of the visiting dead to the afterlife in jubilant celebration as well, and those born on this day are said to be blessed by Grimr with good fortune.
Yet whilst he is the Death God, Grimr does not hoard souls in a realm of his own. Only those who wish to reside with him after death. Otherwise he watches over their movement and coming and going, their passing and birth, and guards and protects and watches over them. But these souls will go to wherever they best belong, whether it be with a deity they most worshiped in life or to some other underworld or the like.
There is also the “Grim Hunt”, a tradition that only generally pretty rural worshippers of Grimr still practice in modern times or some outsiders migrate to such areas to participate in, wherein during the fall one goes upon a hunt dedicated to Grimr in celebration of taking the life of wild game animals that their own lives might be continued by gaining needed sustenance and nourishment. Not the biggest festival by any means, but a smaller one that has persisted even in this state through modern times. It involves a fast the day before, then the ceremonial preparation for a hunt, going on said hunt to get the game as those back home prepare vegetables and herbs acquired beforehand, and then all hands on deck to prepare a humble feast from the meat and vegetables dedicated to Grimr with a prayer. This involves generally only a few select special recipes that have to be made, whilst the others are just common meals from home and even potentially abroad that those participating in the tradition know how to make in general and can contribute to the end feast. The community is generally welcome to come to these feasts, but it is expected that one brings a dish even if they weren’t there for the hunt.
It is due to the worship of Grimr that improved standards for the practice of necromancy were established within the Isles and enforced, and indeed some believe that the incorporation of Grimr into the greater pantheon of the Kingdom and then Commonwealth was in part to help regulate these sorts of things and culturally discourage the use of still-legally-forbidden arts dealing with the capture and use of the souls of the dead via necromancy. It is known that, in the face of churches and marks and even symbols of Grimr, such soul-defiling arts specifically are generally negated or weakened or even potentially dispelled.
-Guilds still exist within the Commonwealth, though their form and nature are different in ways than they used to be. They exist as a sort of counterbalance to larger-spanning corporations, being associations filled with smaller-scale business owners ranging from a small ‘mom and pop’ shop to district-level farmer cooperatives. They must get a charter approved with the government and renew it every few years, but in return get some government support and likewise act as an internal support network for members. They do not exert control over who can do business in an area, but do have size limits and members limits.
Within the current Commonwealth, Guilds both pool in some of their own funds from members alongside a set amount of government funding. This pool of money is maintained and looked after, and is used to: support members (as well as their families, orphans, widows, etc), support individual practices in need of temporary financial support (there are certain limits placed), as well as most notably provide an apparatus with which to negotiate with the government and have a louder voice. Some guilds in larger cities or certain places have even negotiated with schools to get members and their children discounts in return for regular yearly financial donations.
Corporations, in turn, do have their own looser groups of a sort who petition the government and negotiate with them that way.
-Knights exist, but differ from their origins to a notable extent. They exist modernly as orders of secular knights who form under a government-approved charter that must be renewed every few years, answerable to the government and military specifically in the form of being military and even aid-providing organizations who are separate from the professional military of the Commonwealth itself. They are smaller, quick-deployed ever-ready military and aid forces alike who remain ever at the ready, and from protecting officials on foreign grounds, to being sent on aid missions internally after disasters within Commonwealth lands, to supporting the professional military in a pinch situation, to even use in guarding or protecting special Commonwealth interests or officials. They are basically ‘professional military secret service/military groups and aid/relief groups who can be quickly deployed’. .
Government aid and so forth are their own organized things, but the “Knightly Orders” are founded and funded to be ‘already ready quick-response groups’ who supplement the Commonwealth in modern times. They do retain titles and ranks and so forth within their orders, of course, but are regulated and so forth in their nature to ensure quality, conviction, and service are only ever top-notch.
With the nation ever advancing, their potential incorporation into proper branches rather than being in their own government-regulated overall circle has become a matter of some debate. Despite the great formalization and modernization involved in their existence, as well as regulations, some see them as simply groups who should either be changed in their nature to simply be ‘government protection’ of a sort or otherwise should be disseminated into other areas of the nation as ‘rapid response groups’ under the authority of the more major organizations. The only one not really held in this is the noteworthy “Order of the Golden Throne” who protects and guards and escorts and defends the royal family itself, but that group is itself a different matter of debate or discussion otherwise.
-(To Be Added to over ime, As Ideas Come, Etc)
Magic & Technology:
Whilst calling them a ‘magitech’ nation would be inaccurate, as not everything has magic incorporated into it, a number of things do combine magic and technology into a more easily-accessible package for use. Examples include (but are not limited to): Magic runes (brought in with the Herner originally it is said) being combined with industrial forges to produce incredible heat for smelting metals or processing manarite in certain ways (and in rudimentary toasters whose manarite internal elements power them when plugged into an electrical socket), protective magical talismans used alongside other advanced farming techniques to maintain and keep fertile and productive fields of crops to meet societal demand, firearm ammunition combining modern powder with manarite to ‘activate’ specially enchanted or magic-inscribed bullets when they are fired (which lends some variety in bullet types alongside technological advancements in this area over time), to even manarite-incorporated electricity-generation means that use both mundane and magical aspects in conjunction with each other to produce power for houses and neighborhoods and such. Yet again, to state the truth, this is not everything and everywhere, and it likewise isn’t as deeply entwined in some areas such as Fenice would. Commonwealth power stations, for example, would need just one magical-parts expert on staff and otherwise operate the rest of the way without non-magic staff being necessary.
Their technology in some areas is just technology (like firearms in the first place and most bullets that soldiers use), and in certain areas magic is just magic (such as specialized mages who are hired to help tweak weather or such to help struggling farms with their fields of crops). But in general the idea of ‘magic as a tool’ has at least sunk into the cultural mindset deeper and deeper, all since the boom of industrialization began within the original Kingdom prior to the formation of the Commonwealth (and especially so after colonies and so forth began to be forged into existence).
Military Overview:
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Land/Army: ‘Modern’ rifles and bullets are the name of the game for the average soldier, including a pistol sidearm and knife allotted to each standard soldier no matter the branch of the military they are in. All soldiers trained professionally and rigorously to use and clean their weapons, as well as care for their weapons, and even have had training in basic runes/simple basic-level spells added to their training as supplementation (instead of making them into proper mages which would distract) as a tool for the battlefield. This is the general way and how things are done, one that has given the Commonwealth one of the best land militaries in the world alongside its emphasis on trying to remain ‘updated’ with what technology its soldiers are making use of on the battlefield and during times of war.
In particular, “Military Engineering Corps'' and “Artillery Crews” and so forth are among the sub-branches of the Royal Commonwealth Armed Forces (the formal name for their army) in general. Whilst similar sub-branches of the military exist in other branches, naturally the ones in the Army are focused on where they fight and what they do as with the others in turn. Those seeking to join the military in general go to the military and join up, or are recruited, and then are trained and prepared within their branches after a ‘general training course’ all soldiers no matter the branch have to go through. Those seeking to become officers are able to try to apply to and go to modern officer academies to seek out their career in the military in that way.
Breech-loaded rifles and artillery, two-person vessel-mounted or wheeled in ones or handheld two-to-three person gatling-style handle-cranked rapid-fire weapons used when on foot, and standard forms of modern gunpowder are by far and wide in common use within the Commonwealth’s military, though the concept/idea of smokeless powder has begun to creep in (but not ‘boom’ into use all over as of yet) as it is tested. Likewise a small number of bolt-action rifles are in use within the Commonwealth’s military in current times, basically to put them to the test and make more if they prove useful.
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Sea/Navy: The Naval forces of the Commonwealth are big, but generally standard for the times. A minority are heavier ironclad vessels without sails or a need for masts and driven solely by electrical power as heavy ships, a good and gradually increasing number of them are ships with ironclad plating and improved guns on them that used a joint propulsion mix of masts/sails and smaller electrical power to move, and the remainder of their forces are ever-retrofitted old ships that have been converted and remastered and updated to more current standards (aka the prior entry on this list that mixes masts/sails and electrical power, and putting on better guns and such). It is not the premier naval power of the world, but as a naval power by necessity in some ways the Commonwealth is definitely not the weakest either. One could call it ‘solidly above-average at least’ in the end.
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Air/Aerial Force/“Air Force”: Airships (no gas-filled bags or zeppelins of any sort) are the only and primary air force of the Commonwealth,and for historical reasons. Indeed the idea of aerial cavalry proved to be an unsustainable project in times of old, mostly as sources of mounts and breeders for these were just not feasible within the Isles nor could be arranged effectively for the Kingdom itself due to terrain and availability. The emergence of the airship was indeed the first thing to bring Commonwealth forces into the air in the practical sense, leading to them composing the whole of the Commonwealth air force in comparison to any other area of the Commonwealth’s military.
Due to struggles against smaller and faster-moving aerial units, a thing still lingering in some nations in the form of aerial cavalry and such, as well as to keep up with those who had access to airships before they acquired it, the Commonwealth has sought two differing design approaches that both make them unique as well as to try to compensate for where they lack. This originated in the Commonwealth coming up with their own design that has come to be called the “Superior Ironclad of the Skies”, aka the “Steelhull Airship”. This is an ironclad-style pre-dreadnought-level thickly steel-metal-hull-having and -steel armor-plated type of airship that boasts notably improved defensive capabilities/runes/armor/enchantments in an increasingly standardized and streamlined process. Anything that could improve this design, from weapons to components, has been sought out to do something in furthering this design for the sake of aerial supremacy. Indeed, compared to their navy (which is solidly respectable) the Commonwealth air force is actually more advanced and has even more focus and funding being put into it overall as ‘a potentially stronger navy of sorts for the future’.
The second unique development of the Commonwealth is a smaller airship type called the “Iron Drake”, nicknamed “The Little Iron Maidens”, which are their attempt to create smaller aircraft to combat smaller targets such as aerial cavalry. Yet this smaller airship struggles to even have enough firepower, and its speed is only somewhat better than its larger ‘cousin’ in the form of the Steelhull and still inferior to other smaller non-airship aerial mounts/craft. They all have wooden hulls plated with metal, and yet a number have had to trade this for weapons due to weight limitations/concerns. It sees a certain amount of deployment regardless, but mostly only ever sees combat in a supporting role to the Steelhull Airships whilst being carried to the battlefield on one for quick deployment (usually on a particular Steelhull Airship altered to be a carrier-type aircraft of sorts) due to their fuel limitations (another concern). It is this struggle with attempting to develop smaller and faster aerial craft that has driven the Commonwealth into trying a lot of things in an attempt to make it work better, somehow, and indeed the search continues fervently even now for a ‘fast-moving, decently-armed, supporting lighter aircraft’. The funding and drive and need exists to put one in the air, all they need is the breakthrough they’ve been searching out for over two decades as of the year 1875.
The formal term for this branch is the “Royal Commonwealth Aerial Forces”, though the nickname of “Air Forces” is catching on a bit recently among some of the soldiers in this branch. Out of the branches, it is the most advanced technologically and the most forward-pushing one, with the Army taking second place and the Navy taking up last place in these particular rankings.
(I want Air Dreadnoughts and such in the future, as well as planes, dangit. To have the Commonwealth become the “British Navy” of the skies! XD)
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Special Ops/Other: The idea of elite groups of soldiers in each branch, that stand out beyond the rest, has been a thing within the Commonwealth since the times of swords and bows and the like. Areas such as espionage have also been budding out to form their own more distinct parts within the military for some time, though the advancement of technology and manarite and magic has brought with them further changes and ideas to these increasingly specialized and distinct groups within the military proper.
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Structure/General Tactics: A chain of command exists within the Commonwealth Military, going from the Generals (usually; the monarch is still Head of State after all) all the way down to the lowest squad-level officers. Higher-ups work out greater plans and concepts, as well as being high in the chain of command, but as strategies and orders are disseminated lower officers are capable of making choices and decisions on the battlefield in a flexible manner. Issues with plans from higher-up can be brought up for good reason, though the chain of command still exists for a reason as well.
***Defensive Tactics: Tactically the idea of digging trenches and fortifications defensively, or to siege out a place, remains the standard as it has for quite a long time. Gatling-style weapons are used to try to send bullets farther downrange or to defend Commonwealth/allied troops locations in coordinated waves (or irregular ones used to disrupt enemies trying to time their assaults on the aforementioned coordinated waves of gatling-style weapon use) as well, whilst artillery bombardments from a range on targets are used to try to soften enemies or force them into charges they can be shot down from are the go-to. Confusing dead ends and such are included in trenches as well, alongside the making of ‘rooms’ and such that are used for soldiers to rest in, hide in, store supplies in, or even care for wounded and such are part of this. Airships are also used in support of defensive tactics, being both an additional means of bringing in supplies for positions and taking out wounded as well as being able to fire down on enemy offensive positions from a higher-up position and then retreating when they need to.
***Offensive Tactics: Artillery bombardment to soften enemy positions is how it all generally begins, with explosive, sulfur/quicklime, and other types of artillery ammunition used to hit them. Scouts are used to ascertain the effects of these things whilst the infantry holds the line and protects the artillery. Airships also act as vanguard who move ahead and fire on enemy positions to try to soften them up and push back.This is usually followed with squads of soldiers advancing along certain paths or to certain positions and the like as ordered by their commanders, being trained to use cover and so forth where viable and possible to approach and get closer to the enemy. Captured locations along the way are held to help channel forward more troops as the infantry advances, and airships are used to keep supporting troops on the ground from above in turn as the offensive front moves forward. Airships are also used to support ships during naval battles in turn, where applicable at least, raining death from above as naval craft move forward to engage enemy naval vessels.
History: The Isles of Claoria were named for the literally titanically-sized Great Dragon Claoria that was said to once roam the world in primeval times, who carried being supremely ancient upon its back who lived upon its back and worshiped it as their protector and deity? Eventually the Great Dragon waxed old, older than any dragon could imagine, and ultimately settled down after ages of travel until the world had settled. From after it lied to rest, Claoria’s flesh and body were then transformed into the land that became the very Isles of Claoria itself. Such was also the reasoning that dragons, who lived upon and also came to the Isles after they were formed, justified and cemented their rule upon the isles alongside their own worship of Claoria. Such is the origin story of the Isles of Claoria, which has been passed down through untold centuries and beyond.
What is clear beyond this is that the plentitude of dragons upon the Isle in the past led to their outright hegemony for a time, and that the land was indeed imbued with magic and various strange phenomena. It was only by a union of the three most notable local races that freedom from the draconic yoke would be achieved: the Moon Elves (once calling themselves “Claorians”), those among the created dragon-bred draconic half-breeds who would war against the dragons (their very makers) who would eventually come to be called the Dragail, and Hernaer. These three would come together to throw off the yoke of their overlords in what became known locally as the “Dragonic Conflict” or “The Centuries War”, for that was how long it took for the locals to throw off the draconic yoke…over two centuries of resistance and battle that was in no small way or amount bloody and costly. In fact, the conflict was enough to depopulate most of the Isles of Claoria proper.
Once the dust of the war faded, the remaining population among the rebels would ultimately fragment into their own internal factions and squabbling petty kingdoms of all sorts in turn. All as the danger was finally gone and the seat of power on the Isles was now entirely empty. The population would take a very long time to return to pre-war levels, all amidst further centuries and more of various struggles and diplomacy and interactions that would ensue from this point in time. Such is the way of mortal races, after all, and so it would be for some time.
Now and then there would be the rare temporary alliance in the face of outside powers trying to invade, though regardless outside powers also occasionally took a slice or portion of the Isles for themselves for longer or smaller amounts of time. After some time of this going on it would be a petty kingdom ruled by the Moon Elves that would eventually establish the first serious greater Kingdom of the Isles in a very very long time. They would fully-establish local dominion bit by bit, and in the long term the Isles would be fully united by them underneath the legendary “Uulraven” Dynasty. This Kingdom in turn would last through a number of dynasties forged from local bloodlines, and even imbued with foreign genetics due to foreign intermarrying from beyond to create outside alliances, though even then the Kingdom would generally remain a moderate power at most (rather than a major one). They had part in what was going on in many places and situations locally, but did not quite rise up to become a major power yet. The Isles even saw three notable civil wars in attempts by others to take control, ones which would ultimately fail for one reason or another but would lead to some reforms along the way that helped form the foundations of the future Commonwealth (despite the trend toward the internal status-quo in general within the Isles even after this point).
Where things began to change was with the embracing of manarite technology. Underneath the rule of the famous sage king King Claorianus IV, of the Igsbren Dynasty, and the Grand Convocation, basically the Kingdom’s version of a parliament/assembly, the at the time controversial adoption of budding manarite technology was undertaken. It was a gamble, a bid at improving the Kingdom and pushing it to greater heights, and for this gamble it was ultimately met with success in the end. Among the first nations of the world to experiment with and embrace the fledgling manarite industry, the Claorians (now a term for all citizens and not just the humans of the Isles) would eventually boom from it and rise rapidly to become a major power in their own right. A major power that, of course, began to expand its once minimal foreign holdings and influence with a notable zeal. It would also be during this time that the Commonwealth would form steadily as the non-Isles holdings and peoples and places the Kingdom had control over came into question.
Yet the Commonwealth would not truly be seen as a major power in the eyes of those ‘major powers’ who were already in the position. The Commonwealth was merely an upstart little place, and remained such until one of these powers attacked a protectorate the Commonwealth had guaranteed (in return for dominance over the vast and deep manarite stores of the much smaller nation of course). The end result would lead to the general defeat of the opposing nation on land and at sea decisively, after which the conflict escalated as both sides called in allies or others became drawn into it. Thus began the infamous “War of Five Nations”, where the Commonwealth would prove a competent technological power that could hold its own and back up its pursuits with serious force. Not that things were swimmingly perfect, but in the end a victory was achieved on the part of the Commonwealth and its allies. It sent some who had been involved into an uproar, but the place of the Commonwealth on the world stage was likewise cemented after this point in time on a more global scale.
When in particular settling the “Isle of Gukou”, named for a famous foreign navigator who had been hired on by the Kingdom to assist their efforts after said navigator’s services had been rejected in his own homeland, the Kingdom took its usual approach. The colonists sought to strike a deal with a local group for trade and protection so it could build up steam, which in this case was the Amirai Kingdom. Yet in a misunderstanding of circumstances, the Amirai Kingdom (the largest power on the northern side of the island that the colony settled near to) saw the colony more as a trading vassal under their protection in return for economic submission. It did, however, keep smaller Amirai groups and tribes and so forth from messing with the colony for the most part when it was most vulnerable. The matter of the misunderstanding would not much become an issue for some time, however, but as the colony expanded and took up more and more land from the Kingdom’s neighbors on the island tensions began to grow. With the subjugation of some Kingdom-unaffiliated lesser Amirai groups, some coastal local Dark Elves, and a small handful of Ukani city-states, the misunderstanding would erupt into a full war known as the: “Gukouan War” or “One Year’s War” to locals of the colony. It was a conflict on the island where the Amirai, the last potential power to resist the colony at the time, launched a surprise campaign that saw initial successes. Yet when colonial forces began to push back, and homeland forces arrived in the colony to support it, the tide would rapidly turn for the worst for the Amirai. It would see the Amirai’s greatest kingdom and other smaller Amirai tribes/minor polities on the island pushed back, devastated, destroyed, and ultimately their remaining chunk of the island assimilated into the rest of the colony proper.
Since then the Gukou Colony has been built up as a colonial industrial zone. Or in other words, a base of operations from which the Commonwealth could more easily exert its power abroad stemming from that area and elsewhere nearby. The colony was not itself expanded during this time period, mostly seeking to build up (or “play tall”) until otherwise needed. In this manner the Gukou Colony has become one of the more key and important colonies the Commonwealth has sought to protect and invest in. Yet with tensions beginning to rise locally, and rising ambitions to expand the colony after a long time of building up within it to a certain point, only time will tell what might come to the shores of the Gukou Colony (or emerge from it) moving forward.
