Nation Name: The Holy Stomian Empire
Flag:
Region on map: Calxus
Capital: Stom
Capital Population: 440,000
Other Major Settlements: Port Gord, Fort Jalk, Rentan.
Population: 8,700,000
Racial demographics: 60% Human, 20% Elf, 5% Dwarf and 5% other.
Social dynamics: The Holy Empire is preached as a place of peace and forgiveness yet beneath the apparently perfect exterior lies a world of racism. Tourists and pilgrims are treated with great respect whilst they stay in the holy land. However in the cities all other religion is treated with contempt and violence. Families following different faiths are attacked and killed before their houses are burnt down. The government declares these ‘crimes’ yet do nothing to find those responsible. If you are to meet a man who follows Haloism and you too followed Haloism then there would be nothing but happiness and pleasure from that person however if you were to follow another faith you would most likely be dead before you had a chance to speak.
Fashion: Those men of the Empire dress in loose linen togas held with belts made of coloured rope, whilst women dress in slightly tighter linen dresses. The rich replace the linen with silks and the destitute replace linen with whatever rags they can find.
Calendar: The Empire celebrates three different holidays, each one week long. The first is the Summer Festivat, this occurs on the first day of summer and is to celebrate the warm glow sent by the one God and to thank him for the bountiful harvests. The second is the Winter Festivat, this occurs on the first day of winter and is to pray for the summer to return and for the ground to become fertile again. The final festival is the Thanking, this happens every 5 years on the longest day and involves a day of fasting and praying as thanks to God however the rest of the week is a huge celebration with wine and food flowing freely.
Art: The art of the Empire is renowned throughout the world. Huge marble statues and large oil paintings decorate the walls of the wealthy as well as the Grand Palace and churches all throughout the Empire. Sculptors and artists flock to the Empire to show off their religious masterpieces.
Law: The legal system of the Empire is run by the state. Three men, elected by the ten heads of the largest churches, every year hear every court case that comes too them and must unanimously decide whether the person is guilty or not. The strong arm of the law is the Stomian Inquisition who use torture and scare tactics to get the information that they need. However crimes against religious minorities rarely, if ever, make it to court. Public executions are common for heretics and the dungeons of the Palace are normally quite full.
Education: The education system is very basic. Tutors are paid for by the wealthier families and teach the children everything they are paid to teach. Whilst the poorer families go without education and simply sign up with firms they wish to work for and learn by doing. A majority of the poor simply do manual labour for a pittance a week.
Religion: The religion is what the whole nation is based off of. The head of state is the Emperor however he is only really a figurehead. The real power is the head of religion, the Doge. He runs the entire of the Haloism faith from the White Palace; it is the largest Haloist cathedral in the world. It has one huge marble and gold statue of the first and only Prophet, Hamud. There are then ten Marshals, they each run one of the ten churches that exist in Stom. The religion runs on the idea that one God controls everything and that through the first Prophet he was able to teach people his message. His message is that of love, compassion and forgiveness however the words can be interpreted in other ways however and this has lead to many violent sects to arise. His words are written in the Holy book, the Theman.
Type of Government: Theocracy
Influence and relations: The Empire will have good relations with any country that officially follows the Haloism as its national religion whilst those that don’t will be ‘deemed’ inferior. They will also always have a delegation present in the courts of countries that follow Haloism.
Important People:
Emperor Sad III
Doge Rudun
Marshal Hazaz
Marshal Killan
Marshal Hilad
Trading and tax: The Empire is a world of red tape and beurocracy for those who don’t believe however nations that welcome Haloism are always sped through. There is an Import tax, a Faith tax which goes on any product made from a country that doesn't follow Haloism. They are also happy to trade with any nation following Haloism however nations that don't normally find it harder to broker deals. The Empire exports marble and statues as well as metal products however they import a lot of crops and wood to help keep the nation running strong.
Major industries: Large sculpting community as well as a vast metalworking society. Furthermore the Empire has a large labour force arms building business. They lack in the agricultural sector though.
Major Associations:
The Sisterhood, women are treated very poorly in society and so this is a large party of women who campaign for equal rights using the words of God.
The Inquisition, the strong arm of the law who will use violence and fear to get answers, they also act as a police force and can be recognised by the steel masks they wear that have expressionless faces crafted on.
The Holy Order, a militia like group who commit lynchings and crimes in the name of good against heathens and non-believers.
The Purple Flag, an underground group who fight for equal religious representation within the Empire as Stom is the Holy city for more than one religion.
Currency: The Stomian Dol
Military -
Known as the Golden Order, the Stomian army is made up of 3 Sects. The first is the Sword, this is made up of roughly 140,000 men. Clad in Steel armour that is painted gold they are your basic army. This is Knights, Spearmen, Crossbowmen and some Engineers. All of these carry a sword with them, the spearmen carry a large shield and a spear, Knights lances and Shields and crossbowmen a small buckler and a crossbow. The second sect is the Sail, this is the navy of the Order and is made up of roughly 50 galleys each armed with 2 ballista, archers and marines. The final sect is the People, this is the home guard, they are more cheaply armed versions of the Sword however they do well in holding a location until the Golden Order is able to deal with a threat. To summarise.
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Sword70,000 Spearmen (Golden steel half-plate armour, long spear, long sword and large square shield)
50,000 Crossbowmen (Golden steel armour half-plate, crossbow with steel bolts, long sword and small buckler)
15,000 Engineers (Leather armour, steel hammer and equipment needed to build siege ware)
5,000 Knights (Golden steel armour half-pate, steel lance, long sword and medium kite shield)
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Sail50 Galleys (2 ballistas, 50 crossbowmen and 25 marines)
PeopleRoughly 5,000 per city (Leather armour, long spear, long sword and large square shield)
Roughly 1,000 per town
A hundred in large villages
Landscape: The land scape changes from vast metropolis of cities and towns to industrial hell holes filled with smoke. There is close to no nature in the land as it was all torn down for the advancement of the faith and it’s industry. There are occasional vast wheat plantations to try and feed more of the population than none.
Wildlife: Due to there being next to no nature there is next to no wildlife either.
Notable places:
The White Palace, the most holy site in the world and the birthplace of Haloism.
The Imperial Palace, the home of the Emperor and a damn impressive one at that.
The Golden Harbour, the largest port in the Empire, it houses the Sail and a majority of the Empires trade.
The Imperial Barracks,the home of the military leaders of the Empire, here they plan and draw up strategies before being on the field. Also the most elite soldiers live here.
Summary: WIP
History: WIP, do this with other people.
Strengths: Most of the population is fanatically loyal, they have a history of military power, they aren't racist against a particular race and they are masters in art, sculpture and metal work.
Weaknesses: The Empire is fairly new to the seas and are poor seamen, they grow very little of the food needed to feed their population and require very high imports of crops, they are incredibly racist against faiths other than Haloism and they are a very arrogant people. They also have a lot in the way of militant revolutionary groups present.
