[b]Flag[/b] Royal blue background, with a golden 'V' in the center. [b]Nation's Name:[/b] The Tsardom of Ventium [b]Nation's History:[/b] Ventium is one of the oldest nations on the planet, staking it's claim on her land well before the common era. Ventium started out as a mass of rival tribes at eachothers throats, constant wars and skirmishes holding them back from advancement. However in the course of 10 years the 87 tribes were united under one flag, the flag of Ventium. The first Tsar, Darius Ventus, had united the tribes in many wars of conquest and royal marriages to form a stable base to expand and grow, in both territory and intellect. And they did grow, expanding eastwards from their western home, annexing tribes and small nations that spurred their territorial renaissance, giving them large swaths of fertile farm land and mineral rich earth. But after a glorious era under the rule of the first Tsar he passed away of old age in his bed, leaving the people of the tribe to choose his successor from his children, this ushered in the era of Tsarina Veronik Ventus. Her goal was no longer conquest, Ventium was large enough in her eyes, she wished to cultivate it, and through her guidance the country sides were turned into lush farms where cereal flowed like rain and vegetables grew faster then people could eat them. The rivers and oceans had been tamed and their fish farmed with care as to not upset the natural order, the people conscious of the world around them and not wanting it to fall into ruination. After the Tsarina's passing came the age of many other Tsars and Tsarinas that propelled Ventium skywards, building elegant yet functional cities and towns and raising good, grateful, patriotic folk that wanted to maintain the peace and tranquilty that their nation had given them. However the age was shut from the gaze of the rest of the world, Ventium had entered a long period of isolationism as new countries popped up and started looking at the old nation hungrily, wanting to destroy the balance and peace it had forged for itself, so they locked themselves from the world to protect their unity and locked they remained.  [b]Race:[/b] Humans, mostly people of brown and black hair, skin tone depending on where they live within the nation, though all can be described as Caucasian. The most common eye color is a soft, blue-gray. They are a soft spoken people with pleasant accents and modest, controlled mannerisms. [b]Form of Government:[/b] The government of Ventium is an Elected Monarchy, meaning that the people of Ventium choose the Tsar or Tsarina from the offspring of the previous Tsar or Tsarina. However when choosing a sovereign there are lots of protocol and rules: - Once the Tsar's or Tsarina's offspring have all surpassed the age of 21 the election shall commence. - Once a new sovereign is chosen the previous Tsar or Tsarina must abdicate the throne and the new leader take charge. - If the offspring of the Tsar or Tsarina do not appeal to the needs of the people they are obliged to choose one of the offspring of the current Tsar or Tsarina's siblings. - If none of the royal offspring suit the wants of the people they must choose from the offspring of the current Tsar or Tsarina. - If the current Tsar or Tsarina doesn't have 4 offspring or higher a niece or nephew may be chosen to fill the missing places. - If a the newly elected Tsar or Tsarina refuse to take the throne the crown is automatically passed to the offspring with the next most votes and so on. If all refuse the offspring with the smallest proportion of the vote will become sovereign. Just to name a few. [b]Current Leader:[/b] His Imperial Majesty, Supreme Commander, Tsar Voltus Ventus, Servant of The Ventian People. [b]Notable People:[/b] - Tsarette Katarinda Ventus, Daughter of the Tsar and Foreign Representative  of Ventium. - Tsarum Leopold Ventus, Son of the Tsar and Minister of Interior. - Tsarum Ericlis Ventus, Son of the Tsar and Captain of The Imperial Winter and Summer Guard.  - Tsarette Felicity Ventus, Daughter of the Tsar and Ministerette of Commerce and Finance. [b]Total Population:[/b] 46,950,000  [b]Nation Location:[/b] [url=http://voltusventus.deviantart.com/art/World-Map-498278470?ga_submit_new=10%253A1417716717]Location[/url] [b]Nation Geography:[/b] The nation consists of mainly grasslands and highlands, most of the grasslands have been converted to farm land and used as pastures for live stock. The highlands however tend to be where most of the cities and centers are located because of their easily defendable positions and visibility over the low lying grasslands. To the south west are the more mountainous regions, here is the capital, built high in the rocky mountain for again, defensive purposes.  [b]Economy: [/b] The Ventian economy is generally an inwardly based economy running off trade that happens within the country, however with the opening of the eastern bordercrossing, trade internationally has increased, Ventium off loading excess agricultural and artisan crafted goods like food, clothes and furniture. In terms of industrialized economies Ventium is by no means a major player, with industry counting only towards 5% of their GNP, the rest is agriculture and primary recourse acquisition. Other then food and timber as primary recourses Ventium has a large mining sector, mainly based in the northern tundras and some of the unoccupied highlands, the three things Ventium is rich in is Iron ore, elektrum ore and Tanzanite, Iron is exports for obvious reasons, elektrum because of international demand for it's flexibility, maluablity and electric conductivity and Tanzanite because of it's beauty, through it is mostly exported in the form of jewelry. the two ores are often alloyed together with smaller portions of other metals to make Elektrum Steel, a Ventian trade secret that gives it's army an edge. [b]Technological Overview:[/b] After half a millennia of isolationism when Ventium peaked across their borders they found that they were severly behind in technology, people had developed electricity while they were using steam and waterpower, people were sending messages across continents using telegraph cables while Ventium still relied on long distance couriers, and a multitude of other things. Spurred on by the prospect of falling behind even further they had an emense growth of technology, bringing in experts from across the world to electrify their country and train craftsman in the art of the soldering gun and the blow torch. The average person was the first to feel the impact of technological advancement, suddenly they had radios and telephones and refridgerators, a healthcare system that was over night transformed into one of the most advanced in the world. The Armed forces benefitted second, steamships were torn down and fleets of cruisers were put in their place, every soldier had a semi-automatic rifle and armor under their uniforms. Ventium even developed an airforce where there was none, they had started building computers, both analog and digital and were pioneering in it. However Ventium still has a long way to go before they consider themselves equal. [b]Military Overview:[/b] Population: 2,750,000 [hider=Army Overview:] The Ventaim Army primarily focuses on defensive strategies to safe guard the nation, dropping a long military history of attack and conquer to defend what land Ventium has. Most of the Army forces consists of border guards, keeping an eye on the frontiers between them and nearby nations, they use unconventional guerrilla tactics and mass use of supportive shell fire to crush and disperse enemies which they pick off using ambushes and shock tactics. Though they primarily guard borders it doesn't mean they stay in designated locations, they have quick access to other areas using Zepplins and Trains. - Standard Ventian Infantrymen Unit: is distinguished by the unmistakeable black leather trench coat that they are known for and the blue armbands with golden 'V's. Beneath the coat is a synthetic fiber vest with Elektrum Steel segments in them for ballistic resistance. Within a unit of Infantry (8 troops) there are 6 rifleman using semi-automatic rifles (M1 Carbines) and Revolvers (.44); 1 squad machine-gunner using a one man heavy machine-gun (BAR with a drum mag) and one Grenadier armed with a 50mm grenade launcher (Chinalake) and a submachinegun (ppsh-41). Within the unit one of the riflemen is a trained radio opprator with a back pack style radio set and another rifleman is trained as a field surgeon with the necessary kit for the job. - Ventian Headhunter: They are an elite group of melee shock troops, masters in the art of stealth, ambush and overall badassitude. They are easily recognizable from other Ventian military personal because of their uniform and weapons, they armed with foot long elektrum steel blades as fingers, their original fingers incased in blades at the start of their military careers, their tendons attached to the knives so they can wobble them like fingers (think Edward scissor hands but foot long knife hands). Their uniform is also radically different, they wear leather battle kilts colored to the environment they are stationed in and boots that are the same, the rest of their bodies are painted the same color because they were nothing else. They are also not regulated to the military hair style (cropped hair), they all have Mohawks of varying color, again depending on their environment. - Ventian Mechanized Dragoons: Are a technologically rejigged version of an otherwise antiquated facet of militaria. The term dragoon referred to any member of the Ventian army who is a mounted troop, back before the modernization of the army they rode real horses, however now they ride mechanical steeds powered by electrical dynamos and function due to advance clockwork.  The soldiers riding the horses have also changed significantly, they wear fuller armor, their legs and feet decked in steel and their heads encased  in metal helmets, though they still wear the black trench coat as is custom for a none specialty unit. The weapons they wield are customized versions of the semi-automatic rifle with larger magazines and fully auto capabilities. - Ventian Reperation Corps: During the beginning of the age of conquest, before they shut themselves from the world, Ventium was expanding quickly by means of diplomacy and   force , mostly force, and this of course lead to a lot of unwanted collateral damage to cities, farmland and infrastructure. So in an action to tackle this problem the Reperation Corps was established, with the main aim to repair and rebuild damages assets of a                non-military nature, this service extended to the homeland and the "enemy", either to repair what was gained or to rebuild what they had destroyed and never took. They do not wear the standard miltary uniform, the black trench coat, instead they wear a simple pair of grey khaki trousers and white shirts, they wear tool belts around their waists and carry other materials on standardized back packs. They are often accompanied by a small group soldiers for their defense even though each member is armed (with a .44 revolver) and are often traveling with convoys of trucks filled with construction materials. - Artillery: a mainstay of the Ventian tactic, hit them hard, repeatedly and from a distance. They come in various sizes from field guns, to line howitzers, to giant things that need to be transported by rail and pulled by 40 locomotives and have a squad of anti-aircraft guns to defend it.  [/hider] [hider=Navy Overview:] The Navy was one of the first parts of the armed forces to be re-equipt, during the time of modernization Ventium had problems with piracy and were losing trade vessels constantly to pirate attacks. Not only that but Ventium's only port city was under constant threat of a full attack by sea, so of course it would be among the first to get a major rejig, giving it an edge over pirates. Another issue with the Ventian Navy was that it only had access to one ocean, to remedy this they had many of the new ships taken apart and flown over to unclaimed territory in the south and reassembled. They were put out into the ocean and are refueled at some of the many Ventian military outposts of the northern pole. - Ventian Broadsword Class: The Broadsword is built to hit hard and take hits, it is the replacement vessel for the old steam ironclads of the navy and were parts of it were purchased from private companies across the world and brought to Ventium for assembly. It has 8 main guns all of them 16 inch bores, arranged in 2 batteries of 4 guns in the front in a tiered formation, in the back there are 2 guns in one battery over looking the rear. The vessel also has 6 other 40mm cannons (bofors) for hitting smaller boats and low flying aircraft. - Ventian Defender Class: The defender class was built to do one thing, defend. It patrols coasts and is part of the task force that accompanies Brosdswords, it's primary job is anti-air and anti-submarine, using depth charges on ramps at the back and anti-air cannons to to take out planes. The vessel is also equipt with 12 40mm cannons , 6 in the front on swiveling mount for 360 degree fire, 2 on either side and 2 on the back. It's speed and light weight allows it to speed along side larger boats and shoot at it point blank, or to get boarding parties on enemy ships, this boat is the principle defense weapon against pirates and has done more then it's fair share in crushing the threat of pirate attacks. [/hider] [hider=Airforce Overview:] Prior to the great modernization of the Ventian Armed Forces, there was no airforce, so understandably the top brass thought it would be advisable to introduce one. The airforce, unlike the navy has nothing but completely homegrown technologies and adaptations to flight, things like zeppelins and Gyrokopters unique to the airforce and open for use and to support the other facets of the Armed forces. Though it is small at the moment and lacking numbers of the larger airships, there is intent on increasing it's size but that is simply unnecessary at the moment and a wasteful use of the budget.   - Mk. I Moonshadow Assault Zepplin: This craft was designed, engineered and built by students of the national institute for fluid dynamics in coordination with various arms manufacturer. The main use of this vessel is in the name, it's an assault dirigible, used for attack, escort and support missions, it follows the standard design for a Zepplin, except a bit taller and thinner. Under the envelope is a long aluminum structure that is the cabin, in the front is the pilot cockpit indicated by the windscreen in front, the back is reserved for cargo and the gunners, on the exterior of the cabin in the rear are two short winglets with electric engines on them capable of pushing the ship to 160 miles per hour, On the very rear of the ship is an access ramp that takes the entire width of the cabin. On the inside there are multiple hemisphere shaped lobes on either side of the space (6 on each side), they are made from bullet proof glass and within each hemisphere is a manned turret, the weapon is either a heavy machine gun or a light auto-cannon. The crew ofthe dirigible are 12 gunners, 2 pilots,  2 engineers and for ammo runners. - Mk. 1 Cloudhopper Transport: is another dirigible aircraft however this one is used for the transportation of troops and vital war recourses, there are more of these then there are the Mk. I Moonshadows. This craft would be used for getting troops and recourses into harder to reach areas or to get them to areas faster then they might on train. The design of the Cloudhopper is essentially the same as that of the Moonshadow except scaled up and with a set of winglets and engines in the front to give it added speed and menuverablity. The rear exit ramp/cargo enterence has kept because of it's use for quick loading and unloading of things, the area in the ship is divided into segments called 'eights', this refers to the amount of troops in a squad, within the ship there are 20 'eights' so theoretically a ship can hold 180 troops, however this is usually not the case. One 'eight' can be 4 mechanized cavalry, 2 large cargo bundles, 2 field howitzers, 40 sick beds and various combinations of other things. By regulation and under notmal circumstances a Cloudhopper can't leave docking without atleast filling 70% of the space filled. - Mk. I Hornet Gyrokopter: Is a radically different form of flight, used for vertical take off and accessing the hardest to reach areas. The Hornet's propulsion system is a geared, electric engine, attached to two sets of tillable rotterblades on the top, the body is made of light steel tubing with steel panels riveted on, it has an extended tail with a rotter on it, the tail is plain tubing. There is space for two passengers, the pilot and the navigator/forward gunner. Though the pilot has access to weapons use from the cockpit, the gunner controls them to allow the pilot minimum concentration. The cockpit and gunner seats are open to the air, with windscreens in the front for wind stopping instead of a full glass roof, this slows for easy enterence and exit. The Hornet makes up most of the airforce, often traveling in groups of 8s referred to as a wing, each wing contains colossal fire power which would be devastating against land targets. Each Hornet has 2 light machine guns in the nose and 8 missiles under the winglets, the missiles can be swapped for incendiary, anti-personnel and high-explosive. [/hider]