[hider=The Kingdom of Aznavor]
Nations Name: The Kingdom of Aznavor
Flag:[img]http://flag-designer.appspot.com/gwtflags/SvgFileService?d=6&c1=2&c2=0&c3=0&o=7&c4=5&s=9&c5=0[/img]
Form of Government: Absolute Monarchy 
Describe the System: 'One King One God One People'. This saying sums up the Aznavor Kingdom's method of rule. The King rules supreme, He draws his authority from divine mandate. To support his rule he is supported by a powerful religious body who praises faith loyalty and productivity to be the primary virtues. Every once in a while the Church initiates an inquisition from which neither prince nor pauper is safe. Only the king and the church patriarch holds the power to interrupt such an inquisition and although not necessarily violent the inquisition does usually result in the disappearance of undesirable elements of society.
 A couple generations ago the current king's grandfather agreed to the creation of a parliament to advise him after a local riot grew out of control. For two generations this Parliament was little more than a token gesture that appeased the masses; little more than a club for nobles to join to gain another title whilst doing little to represent the interests of their lands. However the current king was born with a vision that his forefathers did not have, and is beginning to expand his parliament selling non-hereditary titles enabling well to do commoners and burghers to accede to positions of responsibility in governance. This not only buttresses his support with the middle-classes but also provides the king with much needed revenue. Members of the parliament who stand out for their talent, honesty, loyalty, ambition,erudition and daring are promoted to a reduced court of close advisors called the Council of ministers in which the men are assigned various positions according to their particular talents and empowered with the authority to take what actions they deem necessary as long as they explain and justify their decisions to the King. 
Location on Map Desired:[img]http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/zz156/Cayrouse/Colonialism.png~original[/img]
Important Settlements:

Ironfort: Ironfort is primarily a military outpost that guards the mountain passes to the east of Aznavor. Most of the Kingdom's weapons,tools and metalworks are forged here. The foundries and smithies are kept well supplied by the coal and iron found in the eastern mountains.

Shipskeep: Aznavor's naval base is located just east of the capital on the easternmost tip of the state. It guards trade engages pirates off the main coast. The Naval Yards here are manned by shipbuilders, carpenters and artisans who carried on the occupations of their ancestors infusing generation after generation of knowledge into their work.

Havenport : To the North of Shipskeep lies Havenport the second largest of the of the Kingdoms three ports cities second only to the Capital. Blessed by a curved coastline that protects the city harbour and its ships from the strong northern storms and guarded by the War vessels from Shipskeep, trade from all over the continent has thrived here and the merchants have become opulent.

Oceansrock: Oceansrock is the capital of The Kingdom of Aznavor, The Kingdom's most formidable castle;The Rock,. The Kings court , the High Temple of the Faith and the Military headquarters are all located here as well as a large merchant population and Burgher population. The proud guilds here that have protected the interests and skills of their members for so long are increasingly pressured by royal authority to disband and share their knowledge on a national scale.Oceansrock enjoys a slightly warmer climate than the rest of the Kingdom due to its southern position meaning that it rarely goes hungry thanks to a large amount of arable land an abundant sea.

Wintergate: Until Recently Wintergate was little more than a town. Located on the western coast near to a Azanavor's largest forest it would traditionally cutdown timber and float it down by river barge to the capital as well as Oceansrock and shipskeep. However rumours of undiscovered lands to the east have brought more and more adventurers to Wintergate and has resulted in the emergence of a local shipyard. The King is observing the development of Wintergate with keen interest attention move that has not gone unnoticed by the inhabitants of Havenport.

Misthall: The Northernmost city in the realm. Small in population it is responsible for the northern regions of the Kingdom.The lands surrounding Misthall are mountainous and not very fertile although cattle farmers and the occasional arable fertile valley exists. The men who live in these lands are hard men who scorn the peaceful southerners but depend on them for food. Misthall is not a coastal city as the northern Seas are far too icy and the coast is far too rocky to be feasibly navigated. The main source of employment here are the few stone quarries that supply the hard rocks for the castles of the south although many locals make use of the many cows to become tanner and leather workers. Poaching has always been common here and the locals have become very adept with the Yew longbow a weapon that few others have mastered. The ability to supply the Kingdom of Aznavor with hundreds of longbowmen a year had traditionally given the inhabitants a disproportionate amount of royal attention in comparison to the wealthier southern cities.

Description: The Kingdom of Aznavor used to be a very feudal society that relied on its heavy infantry and its bowmen to defend its borders and win its wars. However constant skirmishes with its neighbours became costly and the Kings of Old decided that the lands being fought over were not worth the blood cost. relinquishing its authority over lands beyond the eastern mountains for the sake of lasting peace the Kingdom withdrew into semi-isolation. Now at the dawn of the 18th century, safe behind these mountain ranges and confident in the strength of the men of Ironfort who guard the passes the Kingdom looks towards the new worlds that are to be explored.

Culture: Northern Latin/Anglo-Saxon
Language: High Aznavori
Currency: Iron Florin
Important Characters:
King: Philip Duloire. 'The hammer' for his myriad building projects as well as his repeated efforts to destroy the guilds of the Capital.
Queen:Fiona of the Summerlands
Heirs: Alexander (1) and Dominic (2)
Daughter: Celena
Patriarch: Karlick the Bard. Known for having been a particularly successful and violent inquisitor in the past he is nicknamed the Bard for having made many strong men 'sing' whichever song he wanted to hear.

Council of ministers:
Richard of Ironfort: Guardian of the East and Defender of the Mountain passes.
 Thomas Steward: Master of Coin and chief exchequer
Ross of Shipskeep: Naval Minister
Alexander Duloire: Minister of information, stability and royal unity
 Barlow: Treasurer
Martin of Misthall: First Ambassador
Matthieu Delunion: Secondary Ambassador:
Marc: Overseer of Canals and Roads
Guy of Havenport: Minister for exporation
Vincent: Chief of the city guard
Master Klaus: Respresentative of the Holy Patriarch and Inquisitor

Traits:
Small Army: Your nation maintains a relatively small number of troops, when fielded in battle against another nation your forces are almost always outnumbered. +2
Decentralized Army: You have an official head of the army however apart from troop allocation he controls very little. Men fall, under the complete command of their own general and whilst this means that they may react to local problems much faster when trying to organize full scale invasions your army is slow and takes a long time to ready. +/-0
Sealegs: Your sailers have spent some time at sea and so can deal with storms and rough weather better than those of other nations. -1
New Age Ship Construction: New ways of shaping the wood and newly discovered types of wood has led to advances in how ships perform. However these come at a cost, making ships more expensive than usual. +/-0
Trading Hub: Your country is a nation of traders and merchants, many coins pass through the fingers of your citizens every day, especially through your own after taxes. -3

Army:
20,000 Regulars
25,000 Recruits

Navy:
1 Frigate
8 Schooners
10 Sloops
5 Brigs

GDP: 51,000,000,000 ($)

Stability: Very Stable
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