Application for Mr. Abefroeman:
Name of nation: The Nouvelle Kingdom
Species: Nouvellians
An offshoot of standard humans, the Nouvellians differ from their ancestral cousins from millennia ago in a few key biological ways. The planetoid they live upon, a moon that circles a gas giant, had a much higher noble gas content due to the celestial body it orbited. These higher level lead to many interesting biological adaptations and evolutions to evolve. The first, and perhaps the most interesting and alarming of all these, was the increased lifespan of the Nouvellians.
This development was first noted some 3,000 years ago, and has since become commonplace. The people first started living only a few years longer, and as time progressed, each successive generation that had the mutation began to live longer, and longer. As those with normal lifespans began to slowly phase out, their genetic code no longer being carried forward, the Nouvellians became one unified species once more. As of now, their current lifespan last some two hundred standard years, with some living to be a venerable early three hundred.
The next noticeable difference is the skin pigmentation of the Nouvellians. Due to their home world’s atmosphere, they gradually changed from their former whites, browns, and yellows, to a hue that sat between a dark red to a reddish purple. Along with their skin changing, so did their hair. Gone were light colors, replaced by hues of dark red-brown, black, dark red, and red-purple. These change was a matter of pride for the people, and along with this change, came changes to their eyes. Gone were the blues and greens, the true browns and pale colors. The light spectrum caused a correlating change for the Nouvellians to now only have hues of yellowish red, reddish brown, and reddish purple.
While at first look, such a change could be seen as a mere outward change, but, this change in eye coloration allowed to see far better in lower light, due in part to their world’s atmosphere.
Description of government: Absolute Monarchy
The people of Nouvelle, are all subject of the current monarch, Her Royal Highness, Queen Sabine Rouverte. Her dynasty, the Rouverte’s, have ruled over Nouvelle for some seven hundred years, having replaced the former military dictatorship that had ruled over Nouvelle for many, many years. Along with the current ruling monarch, the government has a ruling body of a joint court of nobles, and elected representatives of the people of Nouvelle.
Description of military: The military is broken into two branches, the Royal Army, and the Royal Navy. The army is comprised of a standing army of some 230,000 soldiers, with another 70,000 reservists, and then another 70,000 military personnel that act as the police force for Nouvelle. In times of great need, a call goes out, and local militias and conscripts are called in to supplement to forces of the Nouvelle. This is the largest of the two forces, and the oldest.
The Royal Navy is comprised of some 50,000 active duty personnel, along with 20,000 reservists. The Royal Navy is a hodgepodge of conflicting technologies. Outgoing are the older warships of decades past, to include older Iron-Clad and Wooden warships. These ships now sit in harbors and coastal areas as reserve and training ships, awaiting for their final decommissioning and scrapping. Crewed by cadets and reservist, they serve a vital role as a training and refreshing ground for the Nouvellian’s naval forces. These hulks and remainders of bygones past are hastily being replaced by newer steel ships and designs, the era of the sail and wind to be replaced by steam powered warships.
Standard equipped forces of the Army are equipped with the Ryanos R-33 bolt action rifle, along with officers having a revolver side arm. Many officers also carry swords, when close combat ensues. The same goes for the infantry, though, their close combat weapon is their bayonet. The ground forces of Nouvelle have a few armored units to supplement their ground forces, along with artillery pieces, but, one could say, that the Nouvellians have yet to catch up with the rest of the galaxy.
Main infantry weapon: Ryanos R-33 bolt action rifle. Holds five rounds, clip fed. Removable bayonet.
Side Arm: Rikos R-13 Revolver. Six rounds, double action.
Automatic gun: Wilmos M35 Auto-gun. One hundred rounds, belt fed. Requires a crew of at least two to operate.
Light Artillery: 35mm Maura K-30 Gun. Team of four to operate.
Heavy Artillery: 75mm Maura K-45 Gun. Team of six to operate.
Light Armored Vehicle: Lida Renau Light Tank. Equipped with a 20mm main gun, and an M35 Auto gun for anti-personnel.
Medium Armored Vehicle: Lida Renau Medium Tank. 35mm main gun, 20mm secondary, with two M35 auto-guns.
Anti-armor: 35mm Maura K-30/2 anti-armor gun. Four man crew.
Air Vehicles: Mainly bi-plane designs, equipped with the Wilmos M35 auto-gun. Air Wing consist of some 200 fighters, and another 40 or so bombers. This coincides with about 30 light transport aircraft as well.
Technological Overview: The people of Nouvelle are in a state of renewal. They are entering what closely resembles early 1900’s Europe, so, roughly the turn of the century. They rely heavily upon coal/wood power plants and steam power in order to power their world. Oil reserves have been discovered, but have not be fully utilized. They are not a space faring people, but do look to the sky, and they see interesting things in the skies above them. Space, is a dream they have of one day reaching, but as of now, the technology is many decades, if not centuries away.
Cultural Overview: The culture is very noble and honor based. The Nouvellians believe in many things, but above all, comes ones honor. They value being true and honest, and in doing the right thing. This comes from the years of darkness their world endured under the Militarists. In order to combat such a darkness, the light must be always held aloft, for all to enjoy and bask in. The people of Nouvelle thus have a culture that is based around the sun, the planet they orbit, and their sister moons.
Their Gods are of three, the Sun God, Lord Tem’plar, their Goddess, Demecria, and finally, the twins, Merce and Elna.
The sun graces many things, from art, to architecture, it is ever present in Nouvellian culture. The same goes for the Goddess, and the twins. The people revere the gods in the knowledge that is was their wisdom and kindness that brought them to this planet that gave them life, and allowed them to survive through all their hardship. The Nouvellians keep a close eye on the sky, as their Goddess, the planet they orbit, has small objects that travel about it. These are the angels, the protectors of the people. At times, two masses of these objects come together, with great lights emanating from them. A battle of the Gods and Evil Darkness.
The people live a life that revolves around the sun. Celebrations, holidays, and so on, all to glorify the sun and the planets about them. The nobility takes care of the people beneath them, to ensure that their lives are just as worthwhile and enjoyable as those whom control the planet. The people are the children of the Gods, and will fiercely defend their home against any who would dare attack them, or seek to destroy the former home of the gods.
History: In the annuals of recorded history, the Nouvellian people are said to not have been originally from this planet, that they were transported here as some sort of experiment. Ancient ruins cover the Northern pole of the planet, an area that is largely uninhabited and unexplored. It has been taboo to go there, as many, to include the queen, believe these ruins are the ruins of the gods, of the people who brought the Nouvellians here, and gave them life.
As such, the Nouvellians largely have left this part of their planet alone, with rare occasions of teams exploring only the outmost ruins. But, to recorded history, that is based in fact, or, at least what can be found in written scrolls and tomes, is as follows.
Year 177: The Capital of Nouvelle, Hollie, is burned to the ground in early civil war conflict between the Royalists, and the Militarists.
Year 179: Royalists suffer catoshtrophic defeat in the bay of Hornel, losing most of their navy, along with King Bouchar. King Bouchar is succeeded by his son, King Bouchar II.
Year 185: Royalists are driven to the western edge of Nouvellian lands upon planet Nouvelle. They make their last stand here.
Year 199: Royalists are defeated, after the siege of Tuc’Volle is won by the Militarists. Royal family is summarily executed. Thirty two noble lords are executed as well, with five hundred and eight nobles taken hostage.
Late Year 199: Remaining Royalist forces surrender completely. Hostages are executed to ensure that the nobles know the price of defying the new regime. Eighty noble families cease to exist.
Year 203: Military Dictatorship begins brutal crackdown on all who were former Royalists, along with enacting new laws to give them even more unilateral power.
Year 211: Life begins to return to normal, as many of the Royalists and supporters travel south, to the Meridian Ridge, and beyond. Militarist leader dies, replaced by General Orville.
Year 345: Planet Nouvelle has been under a military dictatorship for many years now, and the military dictatorship holds in effect for another 1000 years.
Year 1202: Great uprising ensues, the Royalists having rebuilt their armies and powerbase, strike from beyond the Meridian Ridge, catching the languishing Militarists by surprise.
A second war raged for fifty two years, where many of the planets populace was engulfed in a way against one another. The war saw many atrocities, and many acts of heroism. Both sides were complicit in good and bad, and both sides saw many of their loved ones die. From a world population that once held hundreds of millions, the war brought that number far below that line. Famine, disease, and death stalked the land, leading to a near collapse of both governments. In the end, a young Royalist of the Rouverte family lead a daring attack to finally defeat the militarist government, single-handedly killing their General, Lord-Marshall General Stephanos. With his death, along with a slew of other high ranking officials, the war ended.
The militarist forces and government capitulated, unilaterally surrendering across the world. And, as the world stood upon a knife’s edge, this young noble had a choice to make. Many called for vengeance for the deaths that had happened so many years ago. But, he felt as though such an act would only serve to further a new conflict in the future. So, the first King, King Richard Rouverte, pardoned all those of the militarists. He said, “Such acts of violence against those that fought for their country, bears no dishonor nor shame. They yielded, and shall be treated with dignity.”
From that day forth, peace once again returned to the planet. Nouvelle entered a state of rebuilding and renewal. Technology advanced from swords and bows and catapults to what it is today. Those who committed war crimes, were tried, and found guilty. On both sides. Some were imprisoned, others made a choice, death, or exile. These exiles, as history will tell us, now reside in the ruins of the North, a zone none enter lightly.
As time passed, kings and queens came and went, until the current ruler came into power on her 37th name day. While young, she is said to be very wise for such a young ruler. It is also said that she is by far the most beautiful woman upon the planet, and that her beauty even exceeds that of the Goddess Demecria. Still, she rules with the help of her fellow nobles and advisors, and looks to the bright future ahead.
Other: the Nouvellians are a planet bound people, who have yet to explore the stars. They are at the mercy of whomever comes into contact with them first. They look up to the skys, and see other cultures, but do not know this. They worship an alien race who brought them here so many millennia ago, that race has since left, never to be seen again, or, at least with the knowledge of the Nouvellians. A planet that is resource rich, that circles a massive gas giant that can be used for fuel, it seems that Nouvelle is in a cross hairs for first contact eventually. But with who?