Serpentine88

Sacrilege War (Apocalyptic Grimdark Fantasy - Interest Check)

DAWNSTAR said
I like this idea. I am new to Grimdark though so would you mind explaining anything if I have questions?

No problem.

Sacrilege War (Apocalyptic Grimdark Fantasy - Interest Check)

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"The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong in the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good, and the very gentle, and the very brave, impartially."-Ernest Hemingway

Welcome to the Grimdark
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OVERVIEW OF CONCEPT
Premise: We shall be playing in a fantasy world, formerly a high fantasy world that due to the appearance of a lovecraftian force of darkness in the centre of the world has been sent down the drain to its current (Grim)dark fantasy state.

In terms of influences, think part Warhammer Fantasy and part Berserk. The world is a crapsack one under siege by eldritch forces. All mortal (And some immortal) life wages a war of extinction against impossible odds and regularly loses. When not fighting for their lives, civilizations commonly turn on each other over petty issues with tragic results. Benevolent gods are progressively becoming weaker and weaker, impotent against the relentless assault of darkness. The living stand defiant with collective awesome might, however for every step heroes and warriors take forward, the living as a whole take three steps back.
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Political Map

Legend

[note: The above map was drawn by me]
White = open blocks to claim
Coloured Blocks = Claimed blocks
Brownish-Grey = Impassible landmass (Extremely large mountain ranges, note the rectangular blocks within this land are mountain passes)
Brown = The ocean (We live on a continental mass similar to Pangaea)
Grey = Land currently being invaded by the Darkness
Black = Land taken by the Darkness

Geographic Map

Legend

Dark Green = Forests/Woodland
Green = (Thick) Grasslands + Minor Woodland
Light Green = Plains and (Light) Grasslands
Pale Green = Tundra
Purple = Marshes/Swamp
Light Brown = Hills and Rocky Terrain
Dark Brown = Mountains and Ranges
Gold = Desert
Tan = Cold Desert/Steppes
White = Arctic
Grey = Grasslands, Plains and Forests with gradual darkness corruption
Black = Here be (Not even!) Dragons.
Pale Blue = Jungle/Tropical
Pink = Great Defensive Structures (E.g: The Wall from ASoIaF or the Curtain Ring-Walls from Attack on Titan)
Lavender = Holy City

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------->Features:<-----------

list of features

-Dark fantasy world

-Standard fantasy races (Note: Applying grimdarkness optional but recommended)

-Custom fantasy races

-Late Medieval to vaguely Renaissance tech (Handcannon’s/Cannons available, Arquebuses are for elite units, swords/spears/polarms/crossbows are still the common weapons however)

-Apocalyptic existential warfare: The ongoing two hundred years war against the relentless forces of darkness spewing forth from the entropic life-consuming hole in the centre of the world is a serious factor in convincing realms to cooperate in a kind of loose (But easily broken) alliance. The so called “Sacrilege War” appears to have no ending in sight and is rapidly expanding towards all corners of the world, allowing only the most distant and safe kingdoms to pretend the world is perfectly fine.

-GreivousKhan (The RPer) as the All-Consuming Horrors: Fear him, for he will be playing the forces of darkness, and we are not talking demons or undead here, but bona fide lovecraftian horrors. (Undead and demons as additional threats to all life optional)

-Four major religions (Preset by GM) accompanied by local religions (Created by players), the four major religions have four holy cities (Positioned North, South, East and West to the darkness) which power the most influential benevolent (And not so benevolent) deities in their losing fight against the ever expanding darkness, so it is imperative that the cities are defended at all costs. Beyond the four great faiths are minor religious cities, holy relics, religious sites and other things which contribute power to both the four great faiths and various local deities.

-The power gained by the deities is then trickled back down to mortals in the form of magic (As well as divine intervention). Magic originates from divine origins however once in possession of mortals (Either from birth or from certain events) can be used in various forms learned by the mortal. The closer a magic user is to a holy city, holy relic or holy site the more powerful they become. Conversely, entering territory taken by the darkness will sap the user, siphoning their power off to the entropic environment.

-Two playable faction types, Realms and Hosts.
: Realms are physical nations with borders, populations and armies. They have smaller starting armies than Crusaders however can rapidly replenish their forces (And as such usually have far larger maximum army sizes, particularly when factoring in modifiers they gain when being physically invaded by the darkness), have far more resources and static defenses like castles and walls. Realms must attend to political matters far more than Hosts and while the war of extinction is the most important matter, it is hardly the only one. Realms consist of empires, kingdoms, principalities and other nation-states that can claim ownership of territory.
: -Hosts are landless factions with a single, massive starting army, this 'host' is given an objective and funding by one of the four holy cities to either defend a besieged realm from the darkness or attempt to venture into the darkness itself to recapture territory (The latter is very dangerous). Hosts only physical territory besides the land they camp in (Usually with permission of the country they are passing through) is either specific 'order' buildings permitted to them by patron realms or any land they conquer back from the darkness and don't give back to its original owners. Due to Hosts difficulty with regaining troop numbers, Hosts are advised to have a high number of hero characters and bands of larger than life fighters. Hosts are typically comprised of crusaders; adventurists, great heroes, warlords, barbarian nomads, refugee’s who wish to reclaim their lost lands and any other willing to form together into vast armies of light (Or not so light).

- Heroes and other legendary figures are usually individuals chosen by certain deities and empowered to ridiculous degrees. Hosts are renowned for having high concentrations of such individuals. Some exceptional normal individuals have reputations of heroes despite being normal; these individuals are incredibly lucky and should be glad they haven't been eaten by giant thirteen headed eldritch flame-breathing slugs yet. The existence of heroes as almost their own social and racial group has become so distinct in this doomed world that entire eras are literally named after their prevalence. The birth (Metaphorical birth, not literal usually) of an unrivalled, world changing hero or legendary figure (messiah, god-emperor etc) from a great event usually marks the beginning of a new “Heroic Age”. We are currently in the Seventeenth Heroic Age.

Of Steam and Ambition -

Following Alfhedil's scathing remarks and ragequit, I would suggest Kilo take this matter to heart and officially set an absolute technological limit not just overall but on each sub group....

I would divide as so:

Infantry technology:
Armour(Tanks) and vehicle technology:
Planes technology:
Airship technology:
Naval technology:
Industrial technology(Energy Generation):
Industrial technology(Means of Production):
Scientific (Medical):

And also we should outline limits to punk tech
Gyrocopters: YES/No
Tesla-Weapons: YES/No
Biopunk: Yes/No
HANDHELD GATLING GUNS: Yes/No
Steampunk Jetpacks: Yes/no
etc etc

Of Steam and Ambition -

Rhymer said
Wow. So many new countries. I have no idea who is what now. What's the deadline for finishing Nation Sheets? I'm up for dropping everyone down to 1 region. The population thing seems largely arbitrary because this is a numbers-less RP. Also, welcome to all the new players

The problem (In my opinion, since obviously there is a significant group who disagree) with dropping everyone to a single region is that it'll get really weird when nations that have 10-20 million people are the exact same size as nations with 100-120 million people. This can be solved by forcing everyone to have the same population size, but then the game's war mechanics become extremely unbalanced because numerical superiority focused factions or factions with inferior technology but superior numbers become meaningless.

Another problem with forcing everyone to be 1-region states is that everyone will be way too far from each other, nearly everyone's neighbours will be NPC's or no-mans-land. The military, trade and diplomatic problems with this are obvious.

Of Steam and Ambition -

I am willing to cut my size, my statement was less complaint and more recognition... although cutting physical size doesn't seem to affect all that much anyway (Considering the GM has 120 million people crammed into a single region country, I am assuming these regions are indeed gigantic).

Although if each region is the size of a large country, this world is going to either have a lot of NPC's or a lot of blank colonization land (Though why there would still be empty land after 500+ years on a single continent is beyond me).

Of Steam and Ambition -

Alfhedil said
While we are also looking at the geographical size of nations, perhaps this should be addressed as well. According to the setting, the world is still sorta emerging from a devastating disease that wiped out 80% of the world's population. Perhaps a bit of perspective needs to be gained here ._.

First off, on the matter of massive states: I was aiming for a Russian Empire-esque state, so I purposely went large, however seeing as this is against the playerbases liking, I guess I am forced to downsize. I'll cut 54, 36 and nameless unnumbered region from my empire, leaving the still sizable 40, 39, 38, 37 and 35.

On population: The super plague wiped out 80% of the population 500+ years ago (Assuming the Golden age was not 1 year ago or less, it could have been more than 500 years, even 1000 years). The Black Death killed 1/4 of every person in Europe some 600 years ago and Europe recovered pretty damn well. Still, the mass of 100+ millions is alarming, however I can't say anything as a Russia-expy I am one.

Of Steam and Ambition -

@Syrian: I apologize I claimed 3 unknowing you already had it, I'll remove my claim on that region in the nation dump.

Of Steam and Ambition - The Library of Nations

The Empire of Panacealsia

Nation's History: The Empire of Panacealsia was formed during the Jarkata Flu five centuries ago when the Panaceanian people migrated south from the Shadow Downs (See Species information). The Panaceanian People had fought numerous genocidal wars as the nomadic people moved through the continent, their collective immunity to the disease seen as proof that they were carriers or even creators of the plague. When they eventually arrived in the broken principalities and states of the Twilight Vale, they found a dying Osralandish people fading away with the rest of the world’s population.

For the first years the nomadic people fought with the natives as usual, attempting to pass through the land. This changed when one of the Panceanian’s priestesses decided to drastically change their method of survival. Knowing that their numbers could not survive another century of this, the priestess Panceania Vaeliel-Vol Av (Named after their people’s deity, the Goddess of Health and Medicine, Avar-Panceaniel who herself was a derivative of the Shadowspawn Goddess Avarinne as well carrying the Vol Av bloodline of the ancient Shadowspawn people) attempted to turn this land into a settlement for their people.

She negotiated, preached and manipulated her way into the native’s society and then used her races extreme resilience to diseases and immunity to the Jarkata Flu as a means to work miracles. After a number of years she was considered a messiah to the local people, only the local temples of the natives Goddess of Darkness and Death Stiguosi attempting to stop her influence.

Over time and working through aristocratic connections Panceania was able to eventually gain political power through marrying one of the locals most powerful princes. Quickly bending him to her will she was able to use his army to conquer neighbouring lands, making openings for her people to move and settle as she divided up old states into new ones. After achieving total control of her region, the declared Healer-Queen Panceania began a policy of quarantine and crowd control, setting up some of the oldest hospitals in known history. The priestesses became plague-doctors and she would go down in history as the eradicator of the Jarkata Flu long before the rest of the world recovered from the plague.

Eventually the Healer-Queen had become a divine figure in the Twilight Vale a powerful cult of personality eventually transforming her into a goddess figure. This goddess figure would eventually become the current Empire’s official deity and fusion of both the Goddess Avar-Panceaniel and Stiguosi as the living goddess of Life, Health, Medicine and the earlier deities Darkness, Water and Death. Panaceania eventually founded the Empire of the Vaeliaslia, which was later renamed to the Empire of Pancealsia after her daughter took the thrown and the religious offshoot became mainstream. Overtime the native and nomadic people eventually fused into a single state and while divided racially were united culturally.

The Empire of Pancealsia continued to expand aggressively throughout the last years of the plague, some people celebrating their arrival as they gradually cured the people while others fighting violently as they remember the tales and stories of the plague-bringers from the north. As the plague era ended, the Osralander people begun picking up genetic traits of the Panceanians as they interbred, including resistance to diseases. Despite this the faith and hierarchy remained (Though the Panceanians increased vitality and immunity to diseases through interbreeding helped this) strong.

The Empire continued from then to today as a theocratic autocratic regime supported by a fanatical populace. An empire of holy wars and harshness, the Empire was (And still is) a disliked nation to foreigners, only in the last century has real attempts been made to set up embassies and diplomacy, the Empire’s culture so alien to others they are almost incompatible with the rest of the world and took great enlightened tolerance to even talk with them. This incompatibility comes from the process of the Empire’s two cultures fusing together more seamlessly; the cultural norms became alien and strange to everyone else (Except the Virians, whom were their historical cousins and cultural mirror image). Death worship; occultism, strict social castes, female-favouring primogeniture in feudalism, matriarchal faith dominated by priestesses, God-Empresses/Emperors holding both secular and sectarian power, suicidal soldiers followed by the bizarre religious fused traditions ranging from the drinking of blood, human sacrifice and selective incest.

By the current days, the Empire’s two cultures have completed its demented and warped fusion, becoming a single united grouping detested by all others (Minus the Virians). Its wars are becoming harder to fight as the world industrializes, its strict societal castes being forced to bend so to survive a cultural war against the rest of the world. The Empire stands as a juggernaut of the north, its people however band together for what they see as a final war to defend their culture, religion and belief’s against an alien world.

Form of Government: Theocratic Autocratic Monarchy
Political Status: The Panacealsian Empire is mostly stable due to the religion and government being mostly the same entity. Due to the Empire’s highly dogmatic and widely supported platform of faith among the people, revolutionaries and foreign nations are having a hard time breaking the ancient regime. Externally, the Panacealsian’s position is less stable, with the population while loyal are also fanatically jingoist and want to see the faith and people remaining strong.

Political Overview: The Panacealsian Empire is a theocratic empire ruled by the Panceavilov dynasty, the Osralandish translated version of “Panceania”, the name of the Empire’s original founder (Note: The Dynasty was once the Vaeliel-Vol Av , however during the culture fusion the languages fused, and the Osralandish term became the more commonly recognized name, though in some religious and political cereomnies Vaeliel-Vol Av is used as a formality). The Head of State holds both secular and sectarian power as a God-Empress/Emperor (The religion favouring female succession first), as well as holding the ancient Shadowspawn " Volduph" title (In this case reprsenting the Goddess Avarinne). Below the absolute ruler is an imperial managing caste dominated by proto-technocratic-theocratic “Doctor-Priestesses”, originating from the original plague-doctor priestesses of the Empire’s founding during the Plague Era. Aristocrats compete with this caste of priestesses, however their power is mostly restricted to the military and outer provinces, though this power is becoming dramatically more important as the Empire enters into the industrial era and being surrounded by rival military powers.

Society is divided into strict religious/societal castes of “Absolute Divines” (The ruling family holds a mandate of heaven), “Loving Healers” (The Technocratic-Theocratic magistrates), “Great Regals” (Warrior-Aristocrats), “Venerable Harvesters” (Peasants and farmers, considered strangely valuable in society and a respectable position), “Venerable Seers” (Scientists and industrialists), “Diligent Hands” (Labourers and workers), “Diligent Legs” (Merchants and traders). Below these official castes are the Sub-castes of “Loyal Flock” (Indentured servants) and “Glorious Chosen” (Technically speaking the Glorious chosen are the lowest level of caste functionally however are the second highest caste culturally as they are volunteers who wish to commit ritual suicide in the faiths annual harvest rebirth festival)

Head of State: Volduph-Emperor and Supreme Potentate of All The People’s of the North, Vael Osraliv Panceavilov II (Age: 77 and currently infirm and in his last days)

Notable Figures
- (Soon to be Dowager) Empress Cizisi Zaraliva Panceavilov (Age: 37, Emperor’s Second Wife)
- (Soon to be Empress) Crown Imperial Princess Anastaszia “Drasculina” Cizisi-Vaeliva Panceavilov (Age: 14)
-Imperial Prince Alexis Vaeliv Panceavilov (Age: 14, Born of second wife and is Anastaszia's twin brother)
-Imperial Prince Vael Vaeliv Panceavilov (Age: 36, Born of first wife and is Anastaszia’s half-brother)
-Imperial Prince Yuriv Vaeliv Panceavilov (Age: 30 born of first wife and is Anastaszia’s half-brother)
-Imperial Grand Vicar (Chancellor and Representative of the Aristocrats): Igorvis Vael Rusin (Age: 68)
-Imperial Grand Healer (Representative of the Techno-Theocrats): Tassanliva Asadorov (Age: 53)
-Imperial Grand High-Marshal & Grand Prince Vlaed Drasculin Panceavilov (Age: 61, younger brother of the Emperor, Grand Prince of the Principality of Warschulvia)
-Baron Koschei Wrazgrov Yugantanzev (Age: 48, General and Baron of Utengursol)

Total Population: 89,963,901
Employed Population 85,465,706 (5% Unemployment)
Military Population
-Standing Army: 2,400,000
-Reserve Army: 8,600,000
-Total War Conscription Manpower: 20,000,000

The Species Information:
-Humans (Osralanders): The strong and resilient people of the north, the native Osralanders have lived in these lands for millennium undisturbed until the plague five centuries ago. Unlike their distant Kurskan cousins to the south, the Osralandish people were once pale and now sickly pale after interbreeding with the Panceanians. They have black hair like their Kurskan cousins (Though interbreeding with Panceanians has also made albinism common among them) and are stoutly built. Due to interbreeding with the Panceanians, sickness and illness are far less severe among the Osralandish, hospitals in the Empire far more easily run than anywhere else in the world. Osralanders make up the significant majority of the population.

-Humans (Panceanians): The Panceanian people are the ruling caste and semi-divine chosen people of the Empire. Originally from the extreme north of the world (The Shadow downs), the Panceanian people are a very close cousin race of the Shadowspawn who originally migrated south before them. The Panaceanians and Shadowspawn share many phenotype and other genetic similarities, along with holding many shared cultural and religious values. They are ghostly pale in colouration like their cousins however unlike them have numerous genetic defects running from common albinism through recessive gene’s and hemophiliac problems. Despite their genetic problems, their bodies are incredibly unique in that they are immune to most diseases. Why this is so is still unknown to scientists, however some believe the Panceanian people millennium ago survived an earlier global plague that lasted many generations, causing their bodies to adapt to extreme pathogen resistance.

Approximately five centuries ago, the Panceanian people made a mass migration following similar legends of the first migration by the Shadowspawn. They moved south through the Nymph Woods and other directions like the Highlands and Great Forest. Coincidentally (Or some believe not so) this was during the infamous Jarkarta Flu, since the mass of nomadic people immune to the disease were passing through, many people blamed them for the diseases spread and so the Panceanians fought numerous genocidal wars throughout the era. When the Panceanians finally settled down in the (eventually) friendly Twilight Vale, they interbred with the native Osralanders, mixing the bloodlines. While the Osralanders became paler and picked up genetic defects, the Panceanians picked up black hair and an even stronger immune system. As the first ruler of the Empire demonstrated, the Panceanians collected a messianic mystique to them as they performed miraculous feats such as walking unaffected through plagued hospitals or regularly touching lepers.

The Panceanians today hold many of their original genetic traits now due to the fact that most of the Osralanders hold the same recessive gene’s as them and their tendency towards inbreeding, meaning the traits are constantly recurring.

-Humans (Taesheshi): When the Empire advanced towards the west and reached the Hellspire Mountains, they found that the new human residents of the regions they occupied were a people called the Taeshesh, a mountain-living former nomadic horde that settled in the region a century after the Empire was founded and originally came from far further western (Technically far east on map) lands. The Taeshesh people though settled are still highly tribal despite their partial technological advances alongside the empire, living in isolated mountain villages and towns and usually only interact with the empire through being translators, guides, merchants and soldiers. The Taeshesh are notable among the Empire's minorities for being both aggressive skirmishers and capable mountain-fighting troops as well as being as (if not more) fanatical than the Osralanders concerning the religion, one of the few minorities after the initial formation that took the religion to heart. Now days, the Taesheshi provinces guard the Empire from any potential advances from the Hetteland Republic.

-Humans (Kurskan): The distant southern cousins of the Osralanders and people originally of the Hellspire Ranges. A small minority of Kurskans live in the southern regions of the Empire, however their heathen faith makes them ostracized by the Osralander and Panceanian neighbours. The Iron Federation to the south also makes racial issues problematic as the Empire suspects the Federation may attempt to use the minority as an excuse to invade.

Army Overview:
-Infantry and Cavalry

Regular Imperial Infantry

Taesheshi Headhunters

Taesheshi Skirmishers

Conscripted Infantry

Trench Shocktrooper Infantry

Armoured Trench Shocktrooper Infantry

Dismounted Regal Panacealsian Hussars

Taesheshi Mountain Lancers

Imperial Lancers

Regal Panacealsian Hussars

-Light Arms and Devices

-Armour and Ordnance

Air Force Overview:
-Airships and Aeroplanes

Emperor Vael-class Battleship

Grand Listhen-class Battlecruiser (Imported design from the Virian Empire)

Osra-class Carrier

Nation's Location: 40, 39, 38, 37, 35, unnamed region and 4. Centred on the Twilight Vale.
Nation's Geography:

WIP

Economy Overview: WIP
-Exports: Agricultural Produce (Beef, Pork, Chicken, Wheat, Corn, Cabbage, Potatoes, etc etc), Minerals (Copper, Iron Ore, Coal, Precious Metals, Potash, Nickel, Zinc, etc), Timber, Furs, Venison, Steel, Medical Technology, Chemicals, World-class Literature (Particularly Horror and Drama), Classical Music... Fear.

-Imports: Industrial Machinery, Finished Goods, Various Machine Parts, Construction Materials, Automobiles, Airships (Commercial and War), Airship Parts, Exotic Tropical Goods, Luxury Goods (Dyes, Wine, Perfume, spices, etc), Blood(Not a joke) , Engineers and Technological Specialists.

-Relations: (Allied, Friendly, Warm, Neutral, Cold, Hostile, War)

Virian Empire

Friendly/Friendly

United Principalities of Arcandia

Neutral/Cold

Republic of Hetteland

WIP

Iron Federation of Gurska

WIP

The Sacrosant Empire of Durstweall

WIP

Of Steam and Ambition -

Monkeypants said
@serp. I think we should research ftf (faster than foot) jammers!

I HAVE DISCOVERED THE SECRET! OUR GREATEST SCIENTISTS WILL NOW DEPLOY FTF JAMMERS EVERYWHERE! (its an inside joke)

Of Steam and Ambition -

I would like to lay my claim and WIP nationsheet. I would like to claim 40, 39, 38, 37, that space that doesn't seem to have a number, 54, 36, 35, 4 and 3.

What the hell is this?
Theme's include:
-Carpathian Basin nations (Romania, historical Wallachia, historical Transylvania, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria), Dracula Lore, Occultism, Russian Empire (WW1), The Black Plague, Dark Fantasy and Gothic Horror, etc.

---

The Empire of Panacealsia

Nation's History: The Empire of Panacealsia was formed during the Jarkata Flu five centuries ago when the Panaceanian people migrated south from the Shadow Downs (See Species information). The Panaceanian People had fought numerous genocidal wars as the nomadic people moved through the continent, their collective immunity to the disease seen as proof that they were carriers or even creators of the plague. When they eventually arrived in the broken principalities and states of the Twilight Vale, they found a dying Osralandish people fading away with the rest of the world’s population.

For the first years the nomadic people fought with the natives as usual, attempting to pass through the land. This changed when one of the Panceanian’s priestesses decided to drastically change their method of survival. Knowing that their numbers could not survive another century of this, the priestess Panceania Vaeliel (Named after their people’s deity, the Goddess of Health and Medicine, Panceaniel) attempted to turn this land into a settlement for their people.

She negotiated, preached and manipulated her way into the native’s society and then used her races extreme resilience to diseases and immunity to the Jarkata Flu as a means to work miracles. After a number of years she was considered a messiah to the local people, only the local temples of the natives Goddess of Darkness and Death Stiguosi attempting to stop her influence.

Over time and working through aristocratic connections Panceania was able to eventually gain political power through marrying one of the locals most powerful princes. Quickly bending him to her will she was able to use his army to conquer neighbouring lands, making openings for her people to move and settle as she divided up old states into new ones. After achieving total control of her region, the declared Healer-Queen Panceania began a policy of quarantine and crowd control, setting up some of the oldest hospitals in known history. The priestesses became plague-doctors and she would go down in history as the eradicator of the Jarkata Flu long before the rest of the world recovered from the plague.

Eventually the Healer-Queen had become a divine figure in the Twilight Vale a powerful cult of personality eventually transforming her into a goddess figure. This goddess figure would eventually become the current Empire’s official deity and fusion of both the Goddess Panceaniel and Stiguosi as the living goddess of Life, Death, Health, Medicine (And later Darkness, Osralander religious imperial reformers bringing back more aspects of the Stiguosi Goddess). Panaceania eventually founded the Empire of the Vaeliaslia, which was later renamed to the Empire of Pancealsia after her daughter took the thrown where the native and nomadic people eventually fused into a single state and while divided racially were united culturally.

The Empire of Pancealsia continued to expand aggressively throughout the last years of the plague, some people celebrating their arrival as they gradually cured the people while others fighting violently as they remember the tales and stories of the plague-bringers from the north. As the plague era ended, the Osralander people begun picking up genetic traits of the Panceanians as they interbred, including resistance to diseases. Despite this the faith and hierarchy remained (Though the Panceanians increased vitality and immunity to diseases through interbreeding helped this) strong.

The Empire continued from then to today as a theocratic autocratic regime supported by a fanatical populace. An empire of holy wars and harshness, the Empire was (And still is) a disliked nation to foreigners, only in the last century has real attempts been made to set up embassies and diplomacy, the Empire’s culture so alien to others they are almost incompatible with the rest of the world and took great enlightened tolerance to even talk with them. This incompatibility comes from the process of the Empire’s two cultures fusing together more seamlessly; the cultural norms became alien and strange to everyone else. Death worship; occultism, strict social castes, female-favouring primogeniture in feudalism, matriarchal faith dominated by priestesses, God-Empresses/Emperors holding both secular and sectarian power, suicidal soldiers followed by the bizarre religious fused traditions ranging from the drinking of blood, human sacrifice and selective incest.

By the current days, the Empire’s two cultures have completed its demented and warped fusion, becoming a single united grouping detested by all others. Its wars are becoming harder to fight as the world industrializes, its strict societal castes being forced to bend so to survive a cultural war against the rest of the world. The Empire stands as a juggernaut of the north, its people however band together for what they see as a final war to defend their culture, religion and belief’s against an alien world.

Form of Government: Theocratic Autocratic Monarchy
Political Status: The Panacealsian Empire is mostly stable due to the religion and government being mostly the same entity. Due to the Empire’s highly dogmatic and widely supported platform of faith among the people, revolutionaries and foreign nations are having a hard time breaking the ancient regime. Externally, the Panacealsian’s position is less stable, with the population while loyal are also fanatically jingoist and want to see the faith and people remaining strong.

Political Overview: The Panacealsian Empire is a theocratic empire ruled by the Panceavilov dynasty, the Osralandish translated version of “Panceania”, the name of the Empire’s original founder (Note: The Dynasty was once the Vaeliel, however during the culture fusion the languages fused, and the Osralandish term became the more commonly recognized name). The Head of State holds both secular and sectarian power as a God-Empress/Emperor (The religion favouring female succession first), with the empire’s management dominated by a proto-technocratic-theocratic caste of “Doctor-Priestesses”, originating from the original plague-doctor priestesses of the Empire’s founding during the Plague Era. Aristocrats compete with this caste of priestesses, however their power is mostly restricted to the military and outer provinces, though this power is becoming dramatically more important as the Empire enters into the industrial era and being surrounded by rival military powers.

Society is divided into strict religious/societal castes of “Absolute Divines” (The ruling family holds a mandate of heaven), “Loving Healers” (The Technocratic-Theocratic magistrates), “Great Regals” (Warrior-Aristocrats), “Venerable Harvesters” (Peasants and farmers, considered strangely valuable in society and a respectable position), “Venerable Seers” (Scientists and industrialists), “Diligent Hands” (Labourers and workers), “Diligent Legs” (Merchants and traders). Below these official castes are the Sub-castes of “Loyal Flock” (Indentured servants) and “Glorious Chosen” (Technically speaking the Glorious chosen are the lowest level of caste functionally however are the second highest caste culturally as they are volunteers who wish to commit ritual suicide in the faiths annual harvest rebirth festival)

Head of State: Panacean-Emperor and Supreme Potentate of All The People’s of the North, Vael Osraliv Panceavilov IX (Age: 77 and currently infirm and in his last days)

Notable Figures
- (Soon to be Dowager) Empress Cizisi Zaraliva Panceavilov (Age: 37, Emperor’s Second Wife)
- (Soon to be Empress) Crown Imperial Princess Anastaszia “Drasculina” Cizisi-Vaeliva Panceavilov (Age: 14)
-Imperial Prince Vael Vaeliv Panceavilov (Age: 32, Born of first wife and is Anastaszia’s half-brother)
-Imperial Prince Yuriv Vaeliv Panceavilov (Age: 26 born of first wife and is Anastaszia’s half-brother)
-Imperial Grand Vicar (Chancellor and Representative of the Aristocrats): Igorvis Vael Rusin (Age: 68)
-Imperial Grand Healer (Representative of the Techno-Theocrats): Tassanliva Asadorov (Age: 53)
-Imperial Grand High-Marshal & Grand Prince Vlaed Drasculin Panceavilov (Age: 61, younger brother of the Emperor, Grand Prince of the Principality of Warschulvia)

Total Population: 125,320,600 (By last year’s imperial total caste census)
Employed Population 119,054,570 (5% Unemployment roughly)
Military Population
-Standing Army: 4,200,000
-Reserve Army: 7,200,000
-Total War Conscription Manpower: 20,000,000

The Species Information:
-Humans (Osralanders): The strong and resilient people of the north, the native Osralanders have lived in these lands for millennium undisturbed until the plague five centuries ago. Unlike their distant Kurskan cousins to the south, the Osralandish people were once pale and now sickly pale after interbreeding with the Panceanians. They have black hair like their Kurskan cousins (Though interbreeding with Panceanians has also made albinism common among them) and are stoutly built. Due to interbreeding with the Panceanians, sickness and illness are far less severe among the Osralandish, hospitals in the Empire far more easily run than anywhere else in the world. Osralanders make up the significant majority of the population.

-Humans (Panceanians): The Panceanian people are the ruling caste and semi-divine chosen people of the Empire. Originally from the extreme north of the world (The Shadow downs), the Panceanian people were extremely isolated from the rest of the world for most of history. They are ghostly pale in colouration and have numerous genetic defects running from common albinism through recessive gene’s and haemophilic problems. Despite their genetic problems and isolation, their bodies are incredibly unique in that they are immune to most diseases. Why this is so is still unknown to scientists, however some believe the Panceanian people millennium ago survived an earlier global plague that lasted many generations, causing their bodies to adapt to extreme pathogen resistance.

Approximately five centuries ago, the Panceanian people made a mass migration south through the Nymph Woods and other directions like the Highlands and Great Forest. Coincidently (Or some believe not so) this was during the infamous Jarkarta Flu, since the mass of nomadic people immune to the disease were passing through, many people blamed them for the diseases spread and so the Panceanians fought numerous genocidal wars throughout the era. When the Panceanians finally settled down in the (eventually) friendly Twilight Vale, they interbred with the native Osralanders, mixing the bloodlines. While the Osralanders became paler and picked up genetic defects, the Panceanians picked up black hair and an even stronger immune system. As the first ruler of the Empire demonstrated, the Panceanians collected a messianic mystique to them as they performed miraculous feats such as walking unaffected through plagued hospitals or regularly touching lepers.

The Panceanians today hold many of their original genetic traits now due to the fact that most of the Osralanders hold the same recessive gene’s as them and their tendency towards inbreeding, meaning the traits are constantly recurring.

-Humans (Kurskan): The distant southern cousins of the Osralanders and people originally of the Hellspire Ranges. A small minority of Kurskans live in the southern regions of the Empire, however their heathen faith makes them ostracized by the Osralander and Panceanian neighbours. The Iron Federation to the south also makes racial issues problematic as the Empire suspects the Federation may attempt to use the minority as an excuse to invade.

Army Overview: WIP
Navy Overview: WIP
Air Force Overview: WIP

Nation's Location: 40, 39, 38, 37, 54, 36, 35, 4, 3. Centred on the Twilight Vale.
Nation's Geography:

Economy Overview: WIP
-Exports: Agricultural Produce (Beef, Pork, Chicken, Wheat, Corn, Cabbage, Potatoes, etc etc), Minerals (Copper, Iron Ore, Coal, Precious Metals, Potash, Nickel, Zinc, etc), Timber, Furs, Venison, Steel, Medical Technology, Chemicals, World-class Literature (Particularly Horror and Drama), Classical Music... Fear.

-Imports: Industrial Machinery, Finished Goods, Various Machine Parts, Construction Materials, Automobiles, Airships (Commercial and War), Airship Parts, Exotic Tropical Goods, Luxury Goods (Dyes, Wine, Perfume, spices, etc), Blood(Not a joke) , Engineers and Technological Specialists.