United Kingdoms of Anglonia and Eirein
Type of Government: Constitutional Dual Monarchy- A monarch of two mostly separate states, limited by a constitution.
Head(s) of Government:
Economy (Main imports, exports, industries, etc.):
Imports:
Food
Sea Food
Working/Military/Farm Animals (to a small extent, mainly to experiment with using other animals)
Precious Metals
Vehicles
Exports:
Anglonian Horses (strong all-round working horse with exceptional strength. Working horse to pull and carry equipment)
Fleet Horses (fast horses with less strength, but better stamina, used as transports and racing)
Eireinian Pegasi (swift, agile, and daunting flyers; 1 or 2 sterile pegasi traded to nice foreign leaders, otherwise UKAE holds a 'monopoly' of them)
War Machines (quite recently, and mainly to Southern Verdasou)
Small Arms
Exotic/Luxury Goods
Wood
Having industrialized only in the later half of the last century, many would think that the UKAE would be a bit behind, or have just caught up. But it is not as simple as that. Instead the nation has advanced certain areas at the purposeful expense of others. Their knowledge and abilities are up to date, they have vast factories and docks for civilian, army, and naval use. But the nation is resistant to vehicular modernization: horses and pegasi are used almost exclusively outside of the military due to both their versatility and people having bonds with them. In the military, there is still an overwhelming amount of horses, though a transition from traditional cavalry to mounted infantry and powered armor cavalry has taken place. The government sees no reason to change how things are. Horses mean a more mobile army, literally down to earth populace, more fuel to the military, rougher roads that would hamper invading forces (except for the few roads that the UKAE uses for its own tanks), the list goes on. The main problem with this concept is that the horses are best suited for the UKAE and surrounding territories, prompting development into quality naval vessels, and trucks that would take over transportation duties overseas. Also large tracts of land have to be dedicated to providing for horses, which prompted, especially in the aftermath of the explosion, foreign human food importation.
Unique Technologies (the more exotic or interesting stuff your nation uses or has come up with):
Talisman-men: Soldiers equipped and trained to pass messages between magical/spiritual slips of paper. More reliable than radio, depending on only a man instead of a man using a radio, and no risk of hearing messages wrong, while still being instantaneous. Though not the most powerful weapon on the field, it is not only common in the UKAE, but can only be found in it. Its possible to strike deals where talisman-men are traded to serve in other nations, but even if this does happen they will never reveal how they do it, only serve. There are rumors that something magical/spiritual physically prevents them from revealing their techniques to foreigners.
Principal Armor Cavalry: In this day and age, mounted infantry is as far as you can get with horses on the battlefield, and in some cases not even that. And for a nation with such a long history of horse culture, that wasn't going to cut it. Enter Principal Armor Cavalry, or PAC, named during the transition period where this armor was replacing lesser outdated cavalry. PAC units armor the horse and the rider, with armor that is not only protective enough to shrug off small rounds, but enhanced with spiritual energy. A talisman is attached to both the rider's and horse's armor that not only relieves the weight of the armor, but actually improve the speed and performance of the wearer. Overall cheaper than armored vehicles, more maneuverable, and reliant on food and talisman instead of oil, PACs are the dominant unit in the army. With the trade off of not being an actual tank, PACs, when equipped with the right weapons, make very good modern day cavalry, especially for taking care of infantry and tanks. Due to their weight, they are harder to transport overseas than normal mounted infantry, which in turn are harder to transport overseas than normal infantry.
Primary Species: Human
Population:
20,422,845 Human
17,654,321 Horses
6,543,210 Pegasi
Culture: Horse culture is extremely prevalent in the nation. Not only does each family have a horse, but many families have multiple horses, or even personal steeds. Every part of the horse is enjoyed by the people: the personality, the convenience, being in nature, and horse milk, blood, and meat. Horses are in fact one of, if not the definitive reason why Anglonia and Eirein could successfully unify. It is often said that a Anglonian/Eireinian is only half a man without his horse, but equal to two men with it. Horses come up in conversation as often as mentioning friends or hobbies do. When a Anglonian/Eireinian is far from his horse, one of the few things that can make him feel comfortable is to be out at sea, where the openness of the oceans parallels the openness of the steppes. The sky as well is open, even more so, but it is romanticized less often than the steppes or seas, and has led to a relative lack of aircraft use.
It is considered unprofessional, and to some people rude, insulting, or mocking, if you refer to the current nation-state as Anglonia-Eirein or AE. This has led to the common names for the country being the 'Second Union' or the 'United Kingdoms'. Even more awkward is the demonym for the whole nation being 'Anglonian/Eirienian', and the official shorthand being 'UKAE'.
The most mildly disrespectful and casual way to refer to the nation is Anglonia/Anglonian. Few raise a verbal issue with this, but it is standard for Eireinians to grit their teeth in annoyance for a few moments afterwards. This Eireinian annoyance is felt most strongly when someone more familiar with the region's history, mainly Pandyssians, say it, as it is thought that they are underhandedly referencing the dreaded Anglonia-Eirein and pretending to be talking casually.
Religion and Other Beliefs: The main religion centers around one god, Uldan, he who birthed the universe into creation, and his son Glonchaun (pronounced 'Glon-chon' or 'Glon-Con' depending on regional dialect), a telepathic centaur being that reminded people the true, deep value of humans and horses, and even a look into nature itself.
Location/Territories: Dark Green in the southwest.
Climate: A mix of tropical and sub-tropical, flat/grasslands and forests, along with the greater part of a mountain range. Despite many being directly descended from nomads, a group that is not associated with tropical climates at all, the people and horses are well adapted to the region.
Military:
Royal Union Army- Mounted Infantry and PACs form the backbone, with foot soldiers, medium tanks, light artillery and Anti-Tank, and AA making up most of the rest. Token amounts of heavy artillery and anti-tank guns can be fielded to attempt to stall until the production of more heavy guns or allied assistance. Horses and pegasi, coupled with some trucks, fulfill the transportation necessities.
Royal Union Aerial Army- Aware of the UKAE's lack of focus on aerial warfare, the Aerial Army puts its efforts towards air superiority, and as such there are a decent amount of fighters and fighter-bombers, and multiple different types mainly depending on speed, maneuverability, altitude, and durability, but few if any of other types of aircraft. Seeing an airship in the UKAE is as common as meeting someone with the same birth month as you. The Aerial Army is part of the Army.
Royal Union Navy- RUN is what you should do upon confronting this Navy. Although perhaps not the most innovative, there is both quantity and quality to be found, enough to rival other naval powers. There is a preference to subs, destroyers, and light cruisers due to their versatility and speed, but the Navy is not opposed to having a few battleships and aircraft carriers.
Royal Union Aerial Navy- Taking off from both the coasts and carriers, the Aerial Navy is made up fighters and torpedo bombers. The torpedo bombers are mediocre at best, but serve well to distract and sometimes score a hit on enemy fleets.
Royal Union National Defense- A large branch, divided into the Royal Union Coastal Guard, and Royal Union Home Defense/Militia. Notably divided between these divisions are large, powerful coastal artillery guns. The Home Defense mainly deals with preparing for an invasion of the UKAE penetrating inland, while the Coast Guard is mainly there to help anyone having ship troubles near the coast, or is overboard or about to be and needs water rescue.
Magic Prevalence/Usage: The people do not believe they use magic, and believe the word sounds fake, but instead believe in spirituality, power of the soul, and connectedness to the earth and nature. They call it
Inner Ability, or
Spiritual Energy. This spirituality is not mingled with technology like how many others use magic, but instead often used completely on its own. For the common man, they might channel it to increase their physical abilities, or use it on their horse if its starting to tire out, if the person is strong enough to even use it in the first place. There are some other uses, but few are notable. In the military the uses increase: superior communication system, shotgun-like blasts of energy, prolonged survival underwater, etc. Whatever the ranking of UKAE's magic is in the world, it is probably one of more straightforward and intimidating. Depending on what direction the government takes, magic use has a chance of declining, but quite unlikely due to the populace not believing their Inner Ability is magic.
History/ Background Info:
Ancient History: About one and a half thousand years ago, four khanates formed from the loose collection of nomads, sedentary tribes, and city states in the region.
-The Santeyla Khanate flew a flag of red and focused on being a united collective. One by one, both violently and peacefully, all of the constituent groups surrendered their former identities and became one with Santeyla. Some believe the beginnings of socialism come from here, while others dismiss the claim.
-The Kantar Khanate is the most mysterious of the four. It is thought that they were the most nomadic and least materialistic, and the main proof that they existed at all comes from other khanates' documentation, which can often contridict each other.
-The Gloucast Khanate formed the basis of later concepts of religion and kingship. They are revered by priests, who claim they feel an ancestral link to them.
-The Lakhher Khanate was the fiercest of them all, forming a nomadic empire the stretched across the plains and the mountains. They struck fear into their enemies, and in 947, completely absorbed the other khanates into their own. Repeatedly successful at expansion and repelling invaders, their reign lasted for two more centuries. After the loss of a crucial fleet carrying thousands of warriors, tactics of neighbors adapting to counter cavalry charges and mounted bowmen, and a succession crisis, the Khanate fell apart. From the collapse came reforms, the archaic tribes were swept aside, and the new kingdoms of Anglonia and Eirein emerged.
Modern History: Hundreds and hundreds of years back, Anglonia and Eirein were enemies that would fight tooth and claw to gain an advantage over the other. They formed their separate alliances and conquered separate nations, but still fluctuated between unfriendly rivalry and war.
There was even a period, many, many hundreds of years ago in medieval times, where a kingdom called
Anglonia-Eirein emerged. It was a complete mess, where Anglonia tried to rule Eirien as part of its own, without accounting for Eireinians and even some Anglonians not wanting to be considered one people at the time. To add on to it, the Union was proclaimed too early, before the last strongholds of Eirein had even fell. Full of rebellions from professional soldiers, and complaints and uprisings from peasants and nobility, Anglonia-Eirein limped along until it finally collapsed about twenty years after its formation. This past state is usually referred to as the First Union, though it also appears as Anglonia-Eirein and AE in the history books.
Despite this interruption, Anglonia and Eirein still traded frequent blows with each other, trying to instead make the other nation subservient instead of outright annexation. One of the main alliances was that between the fierce but outnumbered Eireinians and Southern Verdasou to counter Anglonian aggression against its neighbors. It was only in the past century that relations began to slowly cool, and an easy peace fell upon the land only in the last few decades. With the hardship of the decade of ash blanketing every inch of the flat grasslands, Anglonia and Eirein made the huge leap of unification. Now, however, the nation is at a crossroads. The two nations are still quite separate, and though people are citizens of the union, there are vastly different laws in each nation. They are different kingdoms, even in name. Some argue that an even stronger monarchy is needed to solidify a powerful leader, while others advocate for a parliament to represent both nations fairly, while still more suggest a shift towards the far right to boost united nationalist, and a somewhat notable but very small few suggest a shift to the far left.
Nation Relations (Can be as simple as a brief two line summary for your neighbors):
Southern Verdasou- Formally an old alliance between Eirein and Verdasou to counter Anglonian aggression, in more recent years relations have smoothed out between all three nations, and with the formation of the UKAE, there exists a friendly rivalry and healthy trading partnership between the two nations.
Elyr and Acrad- The UKAE is one of the nations that facilitates and guards trade between the two nations in exchange for payment. Intimidation of would-be attackers and individual cases of defending merchant ships are on the table, but the UKAE is not required to get involved in wars.
Flotilla- First physical contact involved a police officer (mounted, of course) finding a Flotilla citizen who was digging through a UKAE dump. Relations only deteriorated from here. The more that was learned about the Flotilla, how incredibly restrictive and brutal they were, how unconnected to nature they were (living couped up in airships), and how they sold people into slavery, the more the government felt torn between shunning these sky nomads and helping them get past their old ways and settle down on land. The latter was chosen, and lasted a very short time, before the UKAE realized the Flotilla could not be converted nor persuaded to change anything major. In response, Ula-Williamson I drew in a deep breath, calmly exhaled, and peacefully demanded that the unnatural sky scum were to never be within UKAE airspace again. There is some talk going around about what kind of force the UKAE would use if there was a airspace violation by them, but considering most of the UKAE's planes are fighters, it would be much easier to shoot them out of the sky than figure out a way to safely send people up into the Flotilla.
Dyvonia- Some kind of deal to be determined.
Saraya- Mutual friendship and understanding. Not the deepest bond, but some think it has potential. Modernization is something both have held in common and assisted each other with.
