Nation Name: Seculcia
Flag: No single flag, but uses the
vulture as its official symbol.
Region on map:
Just the island that I circled.
Capital: Sadorra
Capital Population: 400,000
Other Major Settlements:
Hath (200,000)
Barthyion (100,000)
Kalus (67,000)
Population: 1,900,000
Racial demographics: Mixed and varied. The ruling classes are composed of the tall, olive-skinned Seculcian people. The slaves are composed of various colours and ethnic minorities and the freemen are likewise varied.
Social dynamics: First and foremost, Seculcia is a nation of slaves. The foundation of the Empire was the enslavement of the steppe people of Karind by the aristocratic City-State of Sandorra. The establishment of a hierarchical nation was imminent and slaves were imported from as far as the eye of Seculcia could be cast by its naval capabilities. This led to a great influx of labour and wealth in the cities of the nation amongst a small and privileged native Seculcian elite, who themselves worshipped the God-King Tyranis as their supreme deity. After the death of Tyranis, the nation was engulfed in a bitter civil war that eventually ended with the new God-Queen Ealsi defeating a slave rebellion and re-establishing control over the nation. It now, once again, has settled into a rut of prosperity as the decadent natives control the vast slave population as they see fit. A small number of freedmen - ex-slaves, and those who emigrated to Seculcia of their own volition - operate the mercantile and skilled work sectors in the stead of slaves.
Fashion: The slaves wear whatever they are given by their masters - the lowliest of farming and mining slaves wear rags and whatever they can scavenge to cover their bodies in the heat and cold. Household slaves to royalty and the Seculcians may be gifted linen and other semi-fine materials to allow them to appear more respectable in the vast homesteads of those that they serve.
The Seculcians favour eccentricity and opulence in their clothes. Beads of jade and hammered gold are common in their jewels, worn by both men and women in their hair, ears, and as bracelets on their wrists and ankles. They also favour long, flowing and impractical tunics and dresses hewn from fine silks and cotton and dyed shades of startling purple, red or green. The royalty wear white only, at all times, with ruby jewellery to signify their place. The white is kept dust free - a symbol of the wealth and prestige that they have accumulated. Hair is worn up in a variety of fashions. Women grow it as long as they can to have it piled atop their head in intricate designs, while for men it is fashionable to pluck every hair from the body to accentuate one's masculinity.
Calendar: The calendar operates by the moon's cycle. At the start of every new lunar cycle, a slave is sacrificed in the Temple of the Kings to appease the monarch's supposed inherent bloodlust, a tradition that has kept peace since the end of the Civil War.
Art: Sculpture is the artistic forte of the Seculcian elite. They spend excessively on having great sculptures of themselves created by the freedmen and the occasional slave, hewn from granite and marble. The God-Queen is especially replicated in this manner, with statues of her in various circumstances appearing throughout the nation. Statues of monarchs can be marked out by the rubies set in the eyes and designed to reflect sunlight down onto the people below - a direct link to their status as deities.
Type of Government: Absolute, divine monarchy.
Major industries: Jewellery manufacture, sculpture, slave trading, fine gemstone mining.
Currency: Gold coins known as 'Calii'.
Military: The military of the nation is small, and largely composed of the aforementioned slaves. In times of crisis, field and mining slaves will be called to service. They are often armoured mostly in leather with some iron also being present. Popular weapons include the bow and arrow and the broadaxe. The standing military numbers some 10,000 slaves most often used to put down other slave revolts in various parties of Seculcia. The nation relies most heavily on its island status and naval capabilities - the possession of some 200 longships in its port-capital and around the oceans and their slave capturing capabilities - for its defence. It takes care to cultivate strong ties with those who would trade and not to offend other nations.
Landscape: The landscape is composed of hilly, forested areas to the north and flattish plains to the south. The climate remains temperate, especially in the north where the forest canopy provides constant warmth for the large cities of the Seculcians. The entire nation is fertile and crops are grown year round. Likewise, the hills are rich with gem deposits and also small amounts of iron that are harvested by the slaves.
Strengths: Strong labour force, island capabilities, concentrated wealth.
Weaknesses: Large amount of slave labour required to keep nation running, small landmass, opulent upper class.
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Name: Seculcian Human
Classification: Human
Appearance: The Seculcian pure-bred are usually taller than their average slave, at 6’0 for both men and women as an average height. They invariably have dark hair, but their eyes vary between colours of violet, blue, green and brown. They have soft, pretty features in both men and women and are not prone to gaining great amounts of muscle mass.
Lifespan: 90-110 years.
Lanuages: Seculcian. One of the most prominent advancements of the Seculcian civilisation is the existence of a written script used to represent their language.
Religious beliefs: The Seculcians practice the Religion of the Crown, wherein they worship their King or Queen as the chosen incarnation of one of a variety of Gods and Goddesses that compose the Greater Pantheon. The current Queen, Ealsi, is purported to be the incarnation of the Goddess of Fertility, Netifiri. In that sense, pregnant women are offered to her as human sacrifices, and love-making rituals occur amongst the Priesthood.
Preferred occupations: Artists, writers, poets, aristocrats.