[hider=The Valkyrian Empire]
Nation Name: The Valkyrian Empire
Flag: [img]http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/valkyria/images/b/bf/Principality_of_Gallia.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width/640?cb=20100630184515[/img]
Government: Constitutional Monarchy in theory, in practice the military hold majority of political sway and authority in the Empire.
Economy: Mixed Economy, the government exists to support and set economic policy just as it does diplomatic and military policy, and businesses are expected to coordinate long-term plans with the government. While largely hands-off during times of peace, provisions and bureaus are in place for large-scale war mobilization as needed.

Major Imports: Technology, advanced steam engines, inventions, expert specialists, 
Major Exports: Luxuries, bicycles, steel, high-grade anthracite coal, iron

Leader(s): 
Empress Presilla Dalones Corvo-Valkyron, nominal leader of the Empire but still a young teenager and not of age to rule due to the early death of her parents, but beloved by most of the country as a progressive leader regardless. Her neophilic mindset makes her very aware of the changing tides of technology and society, but still somewhat naive in political or military settings.
Supreme Commander Adrian Weiben, supreme commander of the Valkyrian Empire military and de facto leader of the country. Ruthless in action and thought, but extremely loyal to the Empire and Empress.
Tethys Zevos, Chief of Administration. The master of coin, policy, and bureaucracy, meaning he’s perpetually overworked and angry at everything. But for all his grousing he is also very good at what he does. Coups may happen, political tides may shake, technology can bring change, but Tethys will keep the Empire chugging along no matter what.
Important People: 
“The Tycoons” The five most powerful industrialists and businessmen in the Empire who built its foundations of economic and industrial power. While profit-seeking capitalists to the core, their interests presently align with that of the royalty and government in regards to the New World, and are pledging their assets for a cut of the take.
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Desired Map location: 
[hider=Location]
[img]http://th05.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2015/044/2/4/valkyrian_empire_by_trent01-d8hx1bn.jpg[/img]
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Important Locations: WIP

Anvala: Capital of the Valkyrie Empire, Anvala is a large city surrounding the fortress-palace of the Valkyron Family. Distinctly medieval in aesthetics, it is nonetheless a bustling and active city. Factories and railroads can be seen springing up across the city, and it is also host to the Ragnarov Military Academy, the premere military training center of the Empire.

Engines East: A former mining town that exploded in importance when deep veins of Elan and high-grade anthracite coal were discovered, quickly growing into a major industrial powerhouse. Predomiantly the production of steam engines, locomotives, and motors with associated secondary industries. Also is the world's largest bicycle manufacturing center.


[hider=Cultural Overview]
The Valkyrian Empire can be equally described as a nation of militants and a nation of consumerist hedonists. Its army is large and prestigious, with every man required to serve five years in the military starting no later than the age of 20. Women may volunteer, unless they have families to maintain. Immigrants, non-citizens, and foreign vassals may earn citizenship through meritorious military service. Loyalty to the nation and crown is a core element to life within the Empire, and there is a undercurrent of condempt for nations that have not accepted the ways of the Empire. But all will become one with the Valkyries one day...

For all its high militarism and nationalism though, the Empire also practices rather hedonistic social customs. Public baths, legal same-sex or polyamorous relationships, public arena games, conspicuous production and consumption of luxuries from across the continent, and a very active night-life that often crosses over into day-life. So long as it does not compromise one's abilities to produce, serve, or obey, the Empire is rather loose on what people do in their spare time. This has led to a surprising degree of tolerance of other religions, social customs, and fashions for a imperialistic state.

In short, Valkyries Work Hard, Fight Hard, then Play Very Hard.

The central religion of the Valkyrian Empire is Yiggidism, the worship of the holy Valkyries as goddesses that saved the world from a great evil from the underworld, taking the bravest warrior souls with them to the celestial realms and giving the gifts of civilization to the peoples that would become the Empire. Primarily a martial religion, demanding that one could only join the honored ancestors in heaven through meritorious service in battle and loyal service to the crown supposedly descended from Valkyries themselves. Large cathedrals and religious monuments have been built to honor the Valkyrian legacy, although the majority of the religious fervor when it arises goes into military campaigns.
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[hider=Technology Overview]
Technology Overview: 
The Valkyrian Empire isn’t on the cutting edge of technology for the times, being slower to adopt Elan, airships, and latest-iteration steam engines due to its size and lags in spreading new technology across the whole empire. But for what last-generation technology they have, they produce and use in bulk to try and compensate for their disadvantages. For what they can’t, they try and import foreign designs and inventors.

Railroads have been the focus of two kings and a succession of military administrators, resulting in lines upon lines of heavy-gauge railroads spanning the Empire’s major cities and connecting its industries. Enabling fast transit of cargo and troops when and where needed. Usage as a passenger system is a more recent addition, and something they are still working on.

While not a major innovator in technology or steam engines, the Empire is remarkably advanced in policymaking, administration, and communications technology, due to the need to administer a sizable empire prompting bureaucrats to capitalize upon any means possible to ease the colossal task. The Empire was one of the first to adopt telegraph at large to supplement its chains of courier riders and still offers sizable rewards for any inventor of any country to further improve distance communication technology. Its bureaucracy, while extremely sizable, is more efficient than can be expected for such a large domain and able to keep up with changing scenarios and situations.

In a curious quirk of technological development, bicycles are popular in the empire due to the Royal Family’s current preference for bicycles over horse-riding. Which in turn resulted in a sudden spree of bicycle advancement, from well-sprung cycles for nobility to peddle in comfort, to six-person chain-gang cycles for transit of labor crews, and more recently folding bicycles for mobile infantry. Bicycles are a major export of the Empire despite its last-gen industries.
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Military Overview:

The Valkyrian Military strives to stay abreast of the times, but the sheer size of the empire and its conscript-heavy armies make equipping the entire army with top-line weaponry a financial and logistical impossibility. Thus it is forced to manage its priorities of funding and support carefully.

[hider=Cavalry Corps]
The Cavalry Corps are the vanguard force of the Army. Well-equipped, well-trained, and led by aggressive and highly able leaders. Generations of breeding has yielded strong warhorses and meritorious leaders. But whether they can stand up to the changing mechanizing battlefields of the future is beginning to come into question even among conservative generals, and they are gradually being moved to a flanking role as the infantry grow in primacy.

The average cavalry soldier is equipped with either a cavalry saber (light cavalry) or halberd spear (heavy cavalry), alongside a sidearm revolver or pistol and a lever-action carbine.
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[hider=Infantry Corps]
The Infantry Corps compose the bulk of the Valkyrian Army. More than three-fourths conscripts, they are seen as second-line troops more for garrisons and line-of-communications work than frontline fighting. With recent technological advances and the implementation of the income tax, efforts are underway to modernize the Infantry with automatic weapons, mortars, newfangled rockets, and better training for standing force elements. But so far efforts are slow and piecemeal due to the large size of the infantry. 

Various divisions of the growing infantry Corps include:

1st Mobile Infantry Division:
A radical new concept emerging from the central territories of increasing an infantryman's speed, marching endurance, and load capacity through the usage of specially made folding military bicycles, the 1st Mobile Infantry were first conceived as a parade division for the amusement of the neophilic Empress and to show off the Empire's own technological advances. But after initial wargames, the 1st Mobile Infantry took a far more serious turn when their improved mobility proved to be an operational advantage. While plans for expansion have been stalled due to production bottlenecks in military-grade penumatics, there is serious talk of expanding the mobile infantry corps to give almost-cavalry level mobility to infantry while retaining their operational endurance.

Trencher Infantry Corps:
A full third of the Empire's infantry forces are made of trenchers, trained in siege, trench, and shock warfare. While its brutal work for the men of the Trencher divisions who willingly charge into the guns of the enemy, its equally brutal to be on the receiving end of these hardened trench fighters. Alongside their Armory Rifles and trenching spades, the Trenchers are getting new tricks like man-portable mortars, clockwork gatling guns, barbed wire, and rifle grenades to become even more deadly. Their weaknesses are in open-field battle and mobile fighting, with Trenchers dependent on digging fixed positions to fight from and mount their weaponry.
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[hider=Navy]
The Navy has always had a second-string role in the Valkyrian military, serving to support the Army rather than operate as a force unto itself. Thus they have naval infantry rather than marines, and ships are assigned on an as-needed basis to army groups during campaigns. With the discovery of the New World, the Navy is receiving new funding and expansion, but are still facing manpower shortages for their explosive growth.

The Valkyrian Empire favors building large numbers of cruisers and destroyers over big-gun battleships, and its current expansion plans to protect the troopships to the New World reflect this with a wide range of specialized and generalized cruiser classes, backed by squadrons of mass-produced destroyers. While a few "pocket battleships" have been built, they are built as coastal bombardment platforms than ship-to-ship weapons to crack open fortresses and beach defenses.
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[hider=Air Force]
The Valkyrian Air Force is a new and rather underutilized asset. Like the Navy, they are considered an extension of the Army and subordinated under Army command. With limited Elan supplies the Empire can't field large sky battleships even if it had the inclination to do so. Instead local supplies of Elan, hydrogen, and helium are allocated to the production of medium-sized airships designs for reconnaissance and ground fire support. As the risk of enemy airships grows, some are being refitted or built purpose-made for air-to-air combat with large numbers of machineguns and "pom-pom" clip-fed light cannons.

Recently, proposals are being made for the deployment of infantry from airships via fast-roping and parachute. Invoking imagery of the Valkyries descending from above, and the interest of the Empress in the fast-moving Skytiger airship designs, the "Paratrooper" concept is beginning to take sway in the Empire. Whether it will stand the test of time and war remains to be seen for the two paratrooper regiments raised have yet to see battle.[/hider]