[CHAR] Into the Rifts: The Reawakening

[Willy Vereb]

FEDERATION OF RIKSAAND

Name: The Federal Dominion of Riksaand, Riksaand Federation Tre Kronor (three crowns)
Government Type: Federal Constitutional Monarchy
Head of the State: Riksuurd/Kejser (loosely translates either as king or emperor)
Capital: Drachenfel
Dominant Species: Human
Important Minorities: Dwarves, Elves, Trolls, Minotaurs

The history of Riksaand began a long time ago when the rifts sent through people from diverse set of worlds. Not having a way home these people have created their own communities fighting off raiders, monsters and each other. Yet these small communities would not survive long term so they formed an alliances, confederated and ultimately 3 major countries emerged. These countries ultimately merged together and formed Riksaand. The kingdom has diverse races and cultures, each with significant degree of autonomy. Though seemingly a single cohesive country, Riksaand is anything but truly united.

Map Claim --- light blue southwest

Governance & Structure

Riksaand is a federation of many states but especially the kingdoms of Fröjtand, Sveogard and Amsel. These three major nations contribute 70% of the landmass and 90% of the population of Riksaand. Aside from them there are over a dozen small autonomous states. This is not counting that the three kingdoms are also far from united, each have their own small autonomies usually inhabited by major non-human populations. The main governing body is the Riksdag, an assembly of representatives from all member states of the realm held in Drachenfel. Riksaand is formed as a personal union of all three kingdoms and as such officially the Kejser is ruler of the entire realm. Yet in practice his power only exist on paper and for emergency situations while the true governance is done through the Riskdag, the individual parliaments of the three kingdoms and the autonomous governments of the miscellaneous states.

The Three Kingdoms

Amsel
Rich country with highly industrialized environment. The center of trade and naval goods. With the capital of Drachenfel the country is often envisioned as the most important member of the federation of Riksaand yet the full picture is of course a bit more complicated. Amsel depends on the foods and resources imported by Sveogard and as of late they began switching over to services rather than industrial production. The Yngval Dwarven Bank is an independent bank which holds deposits not just for Riksaand but for private clients from across the world.

Sveogard
The largest country in Riksaand defined by its beautiful green plateaus and picturesque mountains. Sveogard holds high quality ores and can be also considered the breadbasket of the realm. Almost 40% of the population lives in Sveogard and more recently they became the mainstay of heavy industry of all kinds. Löwenholm is the capital of Sveogard.

Fröjtand
Entirely landlocked region found towards the continental borders of Riksaand. Due to unique fluctuations of magic Fröjtand is ruled by tundra-like cold and often extremely harsh winters. Fröjtand is a home to hardy people with many of them still chosing nomadic lifestyle. Though easy to write them off Fröjtandians are the most militant out of all kingdoms and they are also possessing massive reserves of Ragnarite, a type of magical crystal essential for modern Riksaandians. Its capital is named Hälsinke/Helsing.

Demographics & Society

Riksaand is diverse realm of humans, dwarves, elves, trolls and a number of other races normally you'd only hear about in mythology and folklore. Even members of the same race often originated from more than one universe. As the majority race this applies to the humans the most. Scientists still disagree on the exact count of Rifts and the exact number of worlds from which humans have arrived. Conservative estimates put it at just twelve for Riksaand but more radical theories support a much larger number. This lack of united culture further motivated Riksaandi people to make connections and work together. The realm's official language is the Rikerōst ("voice of the realm") which about 96% of the nation speaks or at least understands. Aside from that Riksaand has a myriad of local languages, reflecting their mixed culture.

Humans of Riksaand

Humans are by far the realm's most populous race. They are roughly comparable to the Homo Sapiens from the modern world yet they aren't exactly them. There are various unique genes, either inherited from humans of various alternate dimensions or even from other races. Humans can intermarry with other humanoid species, producing hybrids. By law any hybrid which is at least quarter-blood of the race is automatically granted citizenship and recognition as such. So a half-elf is both human and elf, although in practice they like to choose a culture they honor the most. Since humans make up 72% of the population this also produced an unique effect. All non-human sapient species are referred as The Races and often times clash between Humans and Races can occour. This doesn't mean The Races are united or even they prefer to support each other instead of humans, though. Just the fact that in practice the minority rights of The Races is something they have to fight for and it's easy to forget the unique needs of certain non-human species when the majority of Riksaand are humans.

Dwarves

The largest minority in Riksaand. Dwarves are short but robustly built and significantly stronger than humans. They are also long-lived with the average life expectancy of around 200 years but some living for over 500 years. Dwarves live for action, booze and their machines. As such they die relatively young by their standards. In the past decades significant leaps were made towards health and safety but even with that a dwarf dies by their race's equivalent of 52 year at average.

Dwarven culture is unique and yet strangely similar. It's been said that dwarves arrived from seven different universes yet all of them were the same. Dwarves find a strange kinship no matter the country so what is more defining is their disposition to humans and other races in their neighborhood. Clan Dwarves are highly industrious. They quickly adopted the technology of Amsel and transformed their underground holds into giant factory complexes. Another category are diaspora dwarves who true to their name tend to form their own cliques in foreign lands. They are the most common type of dwarf to encounter and the ones perhaps most attuned to modern life.

Somewhere in the mountain ranges of Sveogard lies the autonomous state of Zwölfberge. Unlike their Clan brethren these dwarves broke away from their traditions and built their own community based off socialist ideals. Meanwhile in Fröjtand there is the United Kingdoms of Svenfal, a loose collection of traditionalist dwarven holds. Unlike the other dwarves the Svenfali are fairly open with humans and their kingdoms often have a significant human population. Human-dwarf mixed marriages are by far the most common in Fröjtand and there is little distinction there between the two races. At the same time Svenfali dwarves are more rooted in traditional craftsmanship and runes. Some runemasters sages are said to be a match for even elven archmages.

Elves

Constituting only a bit more than 4% of the entire population the elves of Riksaand are regardless a powerful and influential race. They are marked for their beauty, grace and magical prowess. That being said calling the elves as a race may be a bit reductive, if anything there are at least four. Sylvan elves are the significant majority. These elves are slender and often a bit shorter than humans. They are deeply spiritual and close to the nature. As such they are often living in hidden villages and barely interact with humans. Compared to the past they at least hold diplomatic relations to others and they are no longer just ghosts to Riksaand but they are highly autonomous tiny communities which often refuse the advances of technology. A portion of these Sylvans become wanderers and they are semi-frequently seen in various places. They are aloof folk with their own unique set of values, only offering their services to earn a living. Wanderer and traditionalist Sylvans are often at each other's throats due to disagreements. For the recluse folk it's sacrilegous to leave their forest and do anything with humans. While the divide is far narrower than it used to be the two groups still try to convince each other of their right.

Sylvans are the majority of elven folk yet not the only one. Svártalfal (dark elves) once used to be even more prominent in Riksaand. Their dark arts managed to conquer Sveogard and they ruled the nation from the shadows. History books teach this as the era of the Black Empire, a power which lead to all its neighboring states to form a coalition against them and ultimately succeed. The war and the subsequent purges lead to untold thousands of dark elves to be slain. The remnants formed their own tiny country but they eventually collapsed. Since then dark elven diasporas are spread across Riksaand. It's been decades and the dark elves managed to become productive members of society. While discrimination and unreasonable hate does pop up they are doing far better than before. Compared to other elves who at least have a passing respect to nature and tradition, dark elves are more akin to dwarves. They are known for their craftsmanship and they often combine it with sorcery. Highly skilled dark elven craftsmen are a resource sought after by everyone. Dark elves are the shortest among the elven races and they have charactistically black, grey or bluish skin tones.

High elves are a noble race of elves who are remarked for their great magic. A high elven archmage is often remarked as the greatest magic user known in the realm. High elves make use of arcane technology powered by nothing but mana. They are disdainful of others as well as rejecting "modern" technology because they feel it doesn't fit them. High elves are distinct for their very tall yet slender builds and the fact their eyes vibrate with magical energy. Ice elves on the other hand are an often forgotten race in Fröjtand. Unlike other elves the ice elves have little problem with humans of Fröjtland or even the local dwarves. They are often neighbors and they show mutual respect. Like their name implies the ice elves prefer cold environments and they are highly uncomfortable with anything above 15 degrees Celsius. In many aspects their culture is similar to the Sylvans, albeit they are more accepting of technology so long it doesn't harm the nature. They are slender and beautiful folk like the other elves, mostly identified by their pale white to bluish skin tones.

Elves of different races don't really like each other. In certain extremes they even refuse to cooperate or can't be put in the same room. Carefully maneuvering between these elvish relations only becoming more complicated when you add hybrids to the mix. Half-elves have varying degrees of acceptance. They often have to prove themselves and their loyalty to their elvish heritage. Consequently a lot of half-elves don't even try and chose to remain in human-dominated communities. A lot of "elves" met in urban areas are actually half- or quarter-elves. Ironically this lead to the fact that elven hybrids are a larger minority than genuine elves. This bothers the ice elves not since intermarriage between races is kind of normal in Fröjtand. The dark elves also see opportunity in this and some say their "unofficial" population is at least 5 times larger when they add humans with strong dark elven ancestry. Yet for every other elven hybrid this is a significant social and moral issue and goes to the point where these people are about to form a minority group of their own.

Trolls

Trolls are the second larges minority in Riksaand and they almost exclusively live in Sveogard. They used to stay out of civilization and lived in rural communities until they were forced out by the Black Empire. Trolls were enslaved and became the muscle and enforcers of their regime. After the empire's fall the trolls slowly but surely integrated with human civilization. Although they still suffer stereotyping and discrimination they are active part of society. Trolls are often working in jobs which requires their strength the most.

Minotaurs

Minotaurs are 9 feet tall creatures of fur and muscle. A long time ago they were considered mere beast to be slain the people of Fröjtand managed to convince one of the tribes to fight for them as mercenaries. Eventually the scattered tribes all grew to support the local countries. Being dispersed into small wandering tribes the minotaur race doesn't have a strong government and instead they often rely on the locals. Over the time a significant portion of minotaurs wandered into cities and found employment in various job where their brute strength is highly valued. Minotaurs are a rare sight but they are well-recognized for their powers. Some feel the stereotyping as dumb muscle is harsh but there aren't enough minotaurs who get an opportunity for proper education.

Military Overview

The Riksaandian Federal Forces are the major organization collecting all the diverse military units under one. The Federal Army doesn't strictly have their own forces. Instead they can request its member countries to provide troops for a purpose. That being said they do have enough authority to dictate more united standards for armies, including their equipment or the amount they can field. As such the kingdoms of Amser, Sveogard and Fröjtand all have their own military, same is true for various small autonomous states.

In terms of doctrine and equipment, Riksaand is relying on conventional weapons enhanced by the usage of Ragnarite. They are the most common power source and it's even utilized for weapons. Ragnerite engines glow with blue light and they need special radiators to vent the heat. These radiatiors often need to be exposed and the biggest liability for the tech. This is less problematic for naval vessels which can just put the radiators below the waterline. Another element where Ragnarite dominates is firearms. Be it a pistol or even a warship cannon they use Ragnarite Catalyzers. These can be thought as controlled explosion devices which produce most of the energy while the cartridges only contain some additional fuel to help. This makes Riksaandian ammunition more compact and also significantly increases performance but at the cost of complexity. Other utlizations of Ragnarite include warheads, sensors and curiously enough also medicine. Ragnarite radiation in particular is renown for its healing and rejuvenating properties. Although overdosing Ragnarite can be dangerous.

Combat Vehicles

- Strv. 4084 m/71 "Perun": Versatile combat vehicle produced all over Riksaand. A nimble and medium armored tank armed with twin 84mm autocannons. While effective against all but the heaviest tanks the main purpose of the Perun is to defeat monsters and other fantastical threats or support the infantry in combat. It has two types of rounds, arrow and multi-purpose. Arrows are hypersonic sabot rounds which can either be armor-piercing, semi-armor piercing or shrapnel in function. Multi-purpose rounds have a versatile Ragnarite warhead which can produce various blast effects (demolition, airburst, proximity blast, anti-tank, etc) or even imbue the shell with magical properties (water attribute against fire elementals, lightning against those weak to electric damage, anti-ghost warheads, etc). The weapon can also do indirect fire support or function as an anti-air gun, making this a true jack of all trades. The Perun has a modular design and produced countless sub-types, most famously the Strf. 3057 "Dorun", an IFV mounting the smaller and compact single-barrel 57mm autocannon with room for up to 11 human soldiers.

[Dezuel]

Valgradia

The Valgradian Empire

Name: Valgradia (The Valgradian Empire)
Flag:Flag depicts a black silhuette of a moth upon dark pink background.



Government: Imperial autocracy

Demographics: (The people and races of your nation. Could be as simple as a percentage list or include descriptions of the major races.)

- Day fairies
- Night fairies
- Beastfolk
- Elves
- Pixies

Society: The fairy empire of Valgradia is a self-sustaining nation, being able to provide for it's population as long as it has people living within it's borders. Most fairies are capable of manipulating and creating a variety of plantlife through magical means. Both male and female fairies may be accepted into the imperial army that is protecting it's lands, but their roles tend to differ vastly. With most male fairies becoming warriors, with or without much focus in magic. While most female fairies chose to become healers or less combat oriented roles within the army.

Food and drinks within the fairy empire is mostly free, or in very rare cases very cheap as there is an abundance of fairy capable of creating food and juicy drinks for all to enjoy. There is no shortage of wood, healing supplies, spices, poisons nor places to live. Whilst most fairies eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, they are also known to endulge themselves eating fish, birds or meat from various mammals. But they are generally very respective towards their fallen prey and never hunt them for sport. While the beastfolk living within the empire are prone to be more avid hunters of animals, they generally do not have problems with each other as the fairies provide them with healing and other neccessities. In turn the fairies have made themselves good allies with the half-human looking beastfolks of the forests and hills in which they dwell.

The pixies are more commonly found within fairy areas rather than hanging out with the beastfolk or elves. The elves while vastly outnumbered seem to prefer to stick to their own little communities within the empire, typically hosting festivities which fairies tend to often not want to partake in. Despite that many fairies are cheery in personality, they feel more comfortable amongst their own kind. Fairies however, much like pixies are curious and tend more often than not resort to trickery or wordplay. They enjoy riddles and old sayings, aswell as telling stories to those willing to listen. While the fairies may often sound like they are harmless, it mostly applies to the Day Fairies, with the exception of those within the special factions. The Night fairies, which sport mothlike wings instead of that of a butterfly or dragonfly, tend to be much darker and grim in nature. While they can find amusement in things, they tend to not be as cheery or carefree as the Day Fairies.

Fairies have an expected lifespan of 200-270 years, but there are some who has through magic managed to halt their aging so that they are more akin to that of elves. Through a healthy diet and way of life, these fairies serve as inspirations for younger fairies when they are told stories when growing up. When it comes to living within the fairy empire, they are very strict on immigration and only allows settlers to settle in areas which are overlooked by fairy appointed governors. But even non-fairies are allowed to traverse the empire lands to enjoy it's beauty, although they may be stopped and checked for their paperwork, and in the absence of such they would be arrested until their point of origin could be determined and they could be released or exiled from the lands.

If a fairy or non-fairy commits crime within the empire there is going to be punishment befitting of such. For the most vile and heinous of crimes, execution is the given punishment. But having to pay a fine, be sent to the gladiatorial arena or prison is also a possibility. Often the arena is the choice if someone has been found guilty of murder and is a non-fairy approved race. Such as beastfolk, pixies or elves. Where they will fight and execute other criminals, while at the same time acting as entertainment for the more pugilistic of fairies and a reminder that crime doesn't pay.

If the fairy empire captures an enemy commander and a number of enemy troops, depending on how swiftly their surrender went or how polite they were they may receive a fair time within the fairy empire's best prison. After which they may be released after arrangements has been settled with whichever lands they originally came from. Prisoners of war are typically not executed or sent to the arena, unless it is from a land which has commited what the fairies see as barbaric act towards their people. In such a case, they better pray for a swift death.

On the subject of trade, fairies export food, fruity drinks, lumber, cotton, herbal medicine, fur and various things they make-do from with their magic or through years of practice and hard work.

Things they prefer to import involves minerals (aside from steel and iron mostly) and gemstones and various artistic crafts, they also import often on behalf of the emperor many odd looking trinkets found in other lands for inspection. As curiousity comes to them naturally, they are however careful not to bring unknown objects into the capitol, but instead inspect them in safer locations and upon finding out what an object does they send it to the local artifactory which holds many foreign tools. Then unto the most favored trade object of the fairy empire. Slaves. Slavery is a lucrative and fully legal buisness in the fairy empire, it has however rules with it. That no slave may be a fairy or pixie. And only elves that do not have a family within the empire are allowed to be enslaved.

Military: Both male and female fairies may enlist in the imperial army of Valgradia, there are even minor regiments reserved for non-fairies, but these are all carefully looked after by experienced fairy commanders and special attachment elite groups to prevent any ideas of attempting a coup. Male fairies tend to assume roles of frontline warriors or using offensive plant magic, or a mix between the two. While the female fairies tend to prefer assuming more defensive magics, involving herbalism and healing, aswell as applying for official positions as strategists or magisters in charge of army supplies.

Aside from the regular imperial army and the non-fairy regiments, there are also special groups within the empire, among these are the night fairy only 'Shadewaltzers', which are a group of spies, thieves and assassins. They answer to hand-picked commanders put in place by the emperor to carry out his will within and outside of their nation. In contrast to the Shadewaltzers, which rely on poisons and stealth, there is the Dew Onzen which are a highly armored group of healers and purifiers which cleanse tainted land, animals and plants of ills that has befallen them. They also mercilessly hunt down and destroy creatures which are considered to be unnatural or evil by the fairy emperor, such is the case with undead, demons or abberations. They also have a sub-faction within itself that serve as inspectors, which go through other regiments and forces working within the empire and they carry the necessary paperwork. So if there would be a rebel within the Shadewaltzers, the emperor forbid, then the Dew Onzen would chase that person down and carefully interrogate him or her. The Dew Onsen also acts as a sort of priesthood for the entire empire, enlightening the populace and those seeking knowledge of the fairy ways through almost monklike training, albeit not with the exact same mantras they possess.

The last of the special orders within Valgradia is the Knights of Vol, these are the royal guards and protectors of the emperor and they are fantatically loyal and one can only become one from having served a long time in the military or achieved a feat of grand proportions. The royal guard are however also prone to investigation and being spied upon by the other two factions within the empire. So in a sense all the three special factions work to watch each other, in case one group would somehow get astray the other two are there to readjust them when necessary. Members of all these factions tend to have a higher rank than most within the regular imperial army, the exception to this is found at the very top of the basic army.

When deployed into battles, skirmishes or wars the fairies and their allies employ many things to their advantage, be it thick forestation, animals, beasts or imperial approved transportation. Most fairies, with the exception of the Shadewaltzers come equipped with spears and often with a wooden shield, accompanying these weapons are also often shorter blades made from crystals, sharp wood and imperial approved steel of fae smiths. As most fairies do not like steel or iron, they feel repelled by it. Much like how most fairies are highly disapproving of fire and ice, and will naturally glare whenever they see forest fires or colder lands. Many fairies, regardless of which part of the imperial military they belong to carry bows usually with plenty of arrows along with it. There is no legal permit required for fairies even not part of the army to carry weapons in everyday life, however if a non-fairy seeks to do so they must fill out the necessary paperwork.

The typical mount ridden into battle or along the land consists of large locusts (grasshoppers), Large butterflies capable of carrying a dozen people on their backs or less depending on the size, some also serve as transportation and can lift up cargo or transport troops. The Shadewaltzers also are prone to ride on moths aswell as make use of large terrifying mosquitos which feast on their foes.

The Dew Onzen typically prefer to instead ride upon large beetles of various kinds and the commanders, regardless of factions tend to ride on large mantises of various forms. The royal guard whilst capable of donning mounts tend to stay on foot and within the presence of the emperor and his family, yet they have been known to sit upon dragonflies and charge into threats using large spears or lances.

While the fairy army may be able to deploy wooden carts pulled by various creatures or get unto ships, they often tend to instead find a suitable creature for such a task to ride upon. They do however make an exception for airships, which they use as massive transports and to shoot with artillery at or as a airforce carrier for their insect mounts. They do not use fire to propell them up into the air however, but instead superheats steam to fill the large baloons. In some cases they can also use their flying mounts as extra ways to propell their airships if their baloons crumble.

Insects are a staple in the fairy empire's army, and even whilst there is no special group assigned specifically to insect only-tamers. There are plenty of fairies which communicate and direct insects to do their bidding, such as sending a swarm of wasps at foes or ask an ant colony for assistance. The fairies magic allows them to create and manipulate plantlife of various kinds, they can also indeed speak with animals and insects. They possess some inborn way of healing themselves and others, while these powers require training to get good and not all possess the same potential. Some fairies also have a limited control of water magic, but these are very rare and should only be possible by the best of healers.

Characters:

Emperor Elthrael Vol'Kerno

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The emperor of the Valgradian empire, lord of all fairies. Elthrael has been emperor since the passing of his late father, Valgreed who was the son of Valgrad to which the empires name first came to be. Before the empire there was two tribes of fairies warring against each other and other forces for control. But this came to an end as Elthrael's grandfather brought all fairykind under one banner.

This banner is now displayed all over the fairy lands, and the imperial military standing right behind it. Elthrael is a cunning leader, if not even a ruthless one. He resorts to underhanded tactics where necessary, but tends to prefer to solve things through diplomacy. That said, the emperor does not dread declaring war if need be, and the fairies within his land always have needs that need to be fullfilled. There has been a craving for more land for each fairy to own. While there are space within the empire, most building have several stories and the fairies desire to be more outspread.

Elthrael is well capable of playing on peoples feelings, for better or worse, his words can be flattering, smooth and pleasant. But they can also be seductive, like a slow but highly inducing poison. And if you end up being an enemy of his, or the empire as a whole then he may show his other traits. He doesn't fight fair, he fights to win.

When it comes to skills in civil manners he is well capable, but he shines even more in martial and magical powers. There are only a few within the fairy kingdom who can stand before the emperor and feel that they could potentially take him on in a duel.

Empress Niandi Vol'Kerno

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The empress of the fairies, a well liked day fairy whose father is the leader of the Dew Onzen, one of the major factions working for the empire. Niandi is a kind young fairy and a strong contrast to the emperor who is a persona of fear, the empress is the complete opposite whereof the people by majority likes her.

She is an adept singer and dancer, and also capable at making pre-trained speeches to the people with great effect, upholding a genuine and truthful voice within the empire. Niandi is also used alot in the empires 'promotional posters', usually accompanied by the emperor and her father in such displays. The young woman also is awfully kind to non-fairies.

Almordian Ishandi

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The determined leader of the Dew Onzen, set on cleansing the land of traitors and other dangerous things, upholding the law, overseeing all the other factions and institutions within and outside the empire. He is a physically attractive and powerful looking fairy with golden long hair and powerfully blue butterfly wings. He is easily recognized wherever he appears, and is the subject of admiration from both friends and foes for his hard work.

While effective at his work, Almordian is a very serious man and therefor doesn't approve of most humor nor does he tolerate insolence. The man is also a capable spear and swordsman, and more often than not donning carapace armor of dark blue and gold colours. He really doesn't like non-fairies.

Kaldissia Azuneel

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The current leader of the royal guards and the strongest warrior within the empire as far as anyone knows, she is a woman of passion and easy to angeror rattle. Her loyalty towards the empire and the royal family is about as fierce as her temper, and she has been known to beat up people for simply showing a lack of interest in joining the imperial army or showing support for the empire. She is one of a few fairies within the empire to also be using non-fairy kind weaponry and armor, she also has a hobby of collecting other races cultural objects and books as a means to understand their mindset but also how they differ.

Yet despite coming to understand them, understanding and agreeing with are two different things which she is well versed in knowing. She is a good commander, albeit not as capable as Almordian Ishandi and his Dew Onzen when it comes to making structural searches or strategizing for a long time. She is known to take initiative and prefer a strong attack before all else. Her presence as the leader of the royal guards is both an honor to her, but at the same time a leach to keep her from rushing off to join the battlefields. She is known to accept duels every now and then aswell as entertaining the emperor when he desires to spar.

Marsadi Shadewaltzer

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Marsadi's ancestors where the ones which first created the Shadewaltzer's, the shadowy spies, assassins and thieves of the fairy empire. There has been plenty of different leaders of this faction, and not all has been from the Shadewaltzer family. But Marsadi found her way to the highest position of power within the Shadewaltzer's after it's former leader passed the leadership unto her. She has since not disappointed them, as she has shown herself a shrewd and even wicked leader whose interests lie in keeping herself and the fairy empire alive and well. She enjoys parties even if she doesn't drink herself into a stupor, she takes enjoyment in seeing others make fools out of themselves when intoxicated and generally is prone to remove competitors to her position through guile.

Her relationship with the emperor is on good terms as she was formerly one of his concubines before he picked an empress. They still speak to each other and she finds him amusing and would hate to see him removed in favor of someone dull. She doesn't see eye to eye with Almordian Ishandi nor with Kaldissia Azuneel, and in general has a problem with most authority figures. Her martial skills are good, but not the best. Her magic however is extraordinary when it comes to creating poisonous plants or liquids, aswell as being nearly immune to poisons herself.

Morkane Darkfolt

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The general of generals, the main general for the imperial army. A capable strategist and tactician, well respected and liked by most people, whereof they are of military ranks or not. While like most other fairies he has no problem with slavery, but he has problem in cruelty and will not tolerate such. His martial and magic skills are average compared to many of the others within the empire, yet he is a man who seldom has to fight all by himself as many young fairies and non-fairies are willing to do it for him.

His relationship with the other factions within the empire is decent, he is polite and firm in his beliefs. He believes in the emperors dream of expanding the empire and providing a good and safe haven for their people, to which he is willing to give his life to see it happen.

[jorcool]

Usturgian Khanate

The Usturgian Khanate

Government:

The Usturgian Khanate is a type of tribal confederation, led by a Khan. It is highly statelike and autocratic in its foreign affairs and military, acting towards other nations as though it is one nation. In reality, however, it is federally structured internally, being composed of many different tribes as well as vassal states. The Khan, leader of the Khanate, is assisted by their Khurultai, a governing and advisory assembly made up of tribal chiefs, governors and vassal nobles. This Khurultai meets with the great Khan to discuss both domestic and foreign policy, with a focus on military affairs.

The Khanate has three different administrative layers. At the top are the Khan and their court, including their Khurultai. They decide the general direction of the Khanate, and are responsible for foreign and military affairs, negotiating with other nations for the rest of the Khanate as a whole. The second layer is made up of appointed governors, tasked with overseeing the component tribes and vassal states which are organized into various regions, as well as suppressing opposition and solving regional problems. The third, lowest layer is made up of the tribes themselves, led by tribal chieftains chosen by their own people in a variety of ways. While these tribes are not allowed to raid each other and lose their autonomy, being part of the Khanate ensures trading rights, government subsidies and a share of the spoils in case of war, benefits that they are unable to maintain on their own.

Demographics:

Humans

The largest fraction of Usturgia's population is made up of humans. Due to the huge diversity in time and place of origin, this is not one uniform group, but made up of various human subspecies, some of which are ancient while others evolved on distant worlds before the time of the rifts. Most humans tend to live in the steppes that make up the vast majority of the Khanate, with some preferring to live with the Elves and the Orcs.

Wood Elves

Living in the forests in the southwestern corner of the Khaganate, the Wood Elves are renowned for their keen senses, stealthiness and skill with bow and arrow. The Wood Elves are often slightly taller than humans, but much more graceful and elegant. While they prefer to live in the forest, they do not revere it and aren't bound to it like their ancestors were. Still, they are quite enigmatic, but do not shy away from cooperating with the other Usturgian races to defend their home from some of their more expansionist neighbours. Most Wood Elves generally see the other Usturgians as children that need to be guided through the Riftworld, ignoring the fact that they arrived at the same time as the others.

Orcs

The Usturgian Orcs are a martial and tough species. They're about as tall as humans, but are much stronger, and renowned for their incredibly resilient physiology. The Orcs of the Khanate live both on the steppe, and on the mountains in the north of Usturgia. The Orcs begrudgingly respect the other races living in the Khanate, having been beaten fairly in open battle by them, and now gladly fight with them.

Wrolvin

The Wrolvin are a race of intelligent, magical wolves. They look remarkably like the wolves of Earth, but are much larger and more ferocious. They live all throughout the steppes, and can even be seen in the southwestern forests, living together with the Elves. The Wrolvin are capable of limited magic (or psionics, if you prefer). They regard most other Usturgians with indifference, but do not hestitate to fight for the Khanate when called upon.

Society:

Because of all its component tribes, the society and culture of the Usturgian Khanate is impossible to describe in a few words, however, there are a few common trends. The majority of the Khanate's population lives a nomadic lifestyle, necessary due to the harsh conditions of the steppe. The Usturgians migrate between small, tribe-owned settlements, either on horseback or using a variety of vehicles. These settlements take care of most of the resource production and industry required to run a modern society, while the flocks and herds of the nomadic pastoralists feed the general population.

While the Khanate has a large number of small tribes, a few ancient clans have become well-established, and are often responsible for imporant roles within Khanate society and government. Almost all Khans since the founding of the modern Khanate have come from the Terzi Clan, and large numbers of governors and other higher-ups are from the Terzi Clan as well. The Anderson Clan has been associated with the Usturgian military for generations, and have always been able to carry out the most successful raids. Members from this clan have also been at the forefront of modernizing the Khanate's military. A newer, but equally important clan is the Herczeg Clan. These do not live the nomadic life that others on the steppe do, but have set up a number of productive settlements on the steppe that produce a large amount of Khanate military gear, mine Nokrium, and trade with the Mountain Orcs.

Each of these clans commands a fearsome Landship. Powered by Nokrium, a special fuel, these behemoths are far more than just simple military units. They are also command centres for entire armies, mobile small cities, and in a way, focal points for the entire Usturgian civilization. Due to their extreme age, originating from before the Rifts, and military strength, some even regard them as sacred. Only three of these Landships are left, each owned by a Clan. Beyond the existing, usable landships, the Khanate's landscape is littered with the remnants of ancient landships, spaceships and other battle wreckage. There are those who revere these as sacred sites, claiming that they were sent by or are even remnants of their gods, while others see an opportunity for scavenging.

Military:

Due to the harsh steppes, need to raid, and tribal warfare, Khanate society as a whole is more militarized than many other nations. Despite this, however, the Khanate still needs an army. The Usturgian Army, under the command of the Anderson Clan, fulfills this role. The Khanate's army consists of people recruited from the nomadic steppe tribes, as well as auxiliary units from Usturgian vassals.

The Usturgian military is highly flexible and adaptive. Its organizational structure is based on small units made up of ten soldiers. These Arbans as they are called consist of people recruited from different tribes, making sure not to add members of the same tribe together. These groups of ten form groups of hundred, and so forth, each combining to make even larger military units.

Equipment-wise, the Khanate prefers living off the land as much as possible. The majority of its soldiers are mounted on horses, usually taking multiple with them on campaign to use as fresh mounts and to cause chaos during battle. Khanate steppe warriors use low-maintenance, easily manufactured energy weapons that can be recharged from naturally occuring energy sources. The Khanate also uses tanks and other vehicles. In the air, Usturgia uses a combination of planes and massive airships.

The Usturgian Khanate prefers a highly mobile form of warfare, using hit-and-run attacks, feigned retreats and flanking. Usually they try to attack with overwhelming force, encircling enemy soldiers to try to destroy them. If the Usturgian military can't easily win a battle, they'll try to retreat not to waste their troops and modify their strategy based on the enemy they are fighting.