Alright, you caught my interest in chat, so I wrote up a nation. Obviously, extensive edits are likely to be made, but I hope the main thrust of the idea is clear. Also, my apologies in advance for having so many cities and varying terrain. Hope that doesn't make your cartography too challenging if you go with my application. Cheers! [hider=The Free Dukes of Illyria (Orange)] [hider=Government and Factions] Monarchy (Federation) – the Grand Council of Dukes The Illyrian Grand Council consists of seventeen independent Duchys inside the borders of Illyria, all of whom maintain representatives at the Grand Council in the fortress city of Devastation Gate. Each independent Duchy retains control over all their domestic affairs, including local laws, taxes, infrastructure, military levies, local government, and rules of succession. The Grand Council works to standardize some of these rules in order to facilitate protected trade amongst the Duchys, put pressure on Dukes who implement laws not conducive to the promotion of the collective well-being (of the Dukes, that is, not necessarily the people), and to coordinate foreign affairs. This includes major military operations, the setting of tariffs and organization of major foreign trade deals, and the selection of generals, ambassadors, and major advisors to the Council. The Duchys are roughly split into four factions inside the Council, though some members are prone to switching sides spontaneously depending on the issue or what they're being paid. I will briefly list their names ([b]consider the name of each Duchy to be the major city located therein[/b]), and then briefly describe their location. [i]The Virenti League[/i]: In the south of the Illyrian Duchys, the coastline and the numerous islands ringing the bay are home to five of the richest and most populous Duchys in the Federation. The Duchys here are tiny in terms of total land yet each is home to a major port or island city that gives the Duchy its name. - The Duchy of [b]Virenti[/b]: island Duchy - The Duchy of [b]Quimble[/b]: island Duchy - The Duchy of [b]Wester Isle[/b]: island Duchy - The Duchy of [b]Devastation Gate[/b]: main port on the mainland - The Duchy of [b]Kraken's Rest[/b]: located on the eastern edge of the bay on the mainland [i]The Western Hinterlands[/i]: To the west of the Virenti Leagues sandy and beautiful shores, deep bays, and countless islands, the coastline becomes considerably rougher and steeper, making the ports fewer and far between. The Western horn of the Hinterlands has incredibly rough storms, which further limits the amount of navel travel and trade undertaken by the Duchys located in this region. Four dukes split the control of the rolling foothills and heavily forested valleys of the Hinterlands – populations are smaller and more spread out, and the land is wild and often untamed. Lumber is the primary export of the region, but as much as they cut down trees, the forest never quite seems to diminish in size... - The Duchy of [b]Silverwood[/b]: the very centre of the western point - The Duchy of [b]Desolation Point[/b]: the northern point and shoreline of the western point - The Duchy of [b]Coldhollow[/b]: The west shoreline - The Duchy of [b]Helliwell[/b]: the south shoreline [i]The Triumvirate[/i]: These three Duchys control the central regions of Illyria, and despite being outnumbered in absolute terms by the Virenti League usually retain immense influence in the Council due to their role as the breadbasket for the entire Federation. Though the Virenti league produces sizable quantities of seafood for consumption, it is the grain from the Triumvirate that feeds the rich cities to the south. - The Duchy of [b]Pythia[/b]: borders the Western Hinterlands - The Duchy of [b]Berengar[/b]: located north of Devastation Gate, dead in the centre of Illyria - The Duchy of [b]Kioria[/b]: east/south central, farthest east of the triumvirate. Kioria is a port. [i]The March Dukes[/i]: To the north of the Triumvirate, the land quickly fades into arid desert, which constitutes close to 45% of Illyria's landmass. As such, the four March Dukes control the largest amount of land but have the smallest total population. Their revenue comes mainly from mining metal, including precious ores, and in facilitating trade across the wide-expanse of Illyrian desert which is prone to deadly sandstorms. They, of course, charge generously for their services as guides. The March Dukes are also the most militarized of all the Duchys, being the first line of defense against incursions from the north as well as constantly engaging with bandits and... other threats... that arise in the desert. - The Duchy of [b]Precipice Point[/b]: farthest east - The Duchy of [b]Ogre's End[/b]: smaller Duchy located in the middle of the others, mostly mountainous - The Duchy of [b]Redsand Cleft[/b]: largest Duchy, contains most of the desert - The Duchy of [b]Liberty Oasis[/b]: controls a substantial amount of desert – fully surrounded by Redsand Cleft though. [/hider] [b]Ruler[/b]: The current Grand Duke is Duke Nathaniel Berengar (see bios). [b]Trait[/b]: Ruler's trait is diplomat. [b]Prominent Terrain[/b]: Illyria has a primary terrain of arid savannah and sandy desert mountains, though most of the population lives to the south of that region. This region takes up the northern half of the country and contains the four March Duchys. Various small mountain ranges ring the desert, creating the conditions for an incredibly hot, dry, and isolated climate inside the desert. [b]Secondary Terrain[/b]: Illyria has two secondary terrains: flat plains south of the desert continuing almost all the way to the south shore, and a hilly forested region in the Hinterlands on the western point. [hider=Prominent Race] Human (neutral – each Duchy has a specialisation which roughly balances the Federation out when viewed holistically). However, each Duchy has one or more sub-races who have intermarried extensively with the local human population (often out of necessity), which leads to very distinctive looks for most citizens of each region. Pure human ancestry is considered by the elite in the Verenti league to be the most valuable, but few other Duchys agree with or support this superiority complex to the same degree. As such: Virenti League: Mainly human, though some of the “lesser classes” have interbred with orcs. Western Hinterlands: A dizzying array of elf and fae genetic influence, such that it is often unclear exactly at first glance whether a citizen is more fae than human. The Triumvirate: Pythia has independent centaur tribes and Kioria has some halfling influence in their genetic pool, but Berengar is mostly human. The Marches: There is a fair amount of dwarvish blood in many of these kingdoms, especially Ogre's End which is the only Duchy in which humans are not the majority. However, the desert Duchys are also prone to humans with... mutations... that reflect the continuing lingering effects of the apocalypse of a thousand years past. [/hider] [b]Supply[/b]: [b]Levy[/b]: [b]Income[/b]: [b]Expenses[/b]: [b]Treasury[/b]: [hider=Bios of Nation and Major Figures] [i]The Free Duchys of Illyria[/i]: Historically, the Free Duchys were always constantly at war with eachother, and many independent states have risen and fallen over the past millenia. However, the relative isolation of the Free Duchys from the west of the world due to the ocean to their east and the desert on their northern border has allowed for their political development to continue mostly in isolation, though several current Duchys are the result of past successful or partially successful invasions from other regions of Crypso. The constant pressure of conflict allowed little room for racial discrimination towards other races living within the borders of a Duchy, as few Dukes could handle both their external affairs while waging an internal war against another race that often made up close to half of their population. As such, over the centuries extensive racial intermingling has led to a melting pot within each Duchy that can often be repulsive to outsiders who find racial intermarriage distasteful. This is not to suggest that there are not “pureblood” communities of all the racial groups to be found in Illyria, but just that it is far rarer to find an “pureblood” elf than it is to find an half-elf with fae attributes from a grandparent. Given that the current arrangement of populations and political borders has remained relatively constant for the last sixty years, each Duchy has settled into a particular “look” that also tends to reflect their political approach and social outlook. This, understandably, leads to substantial disagreements, rivalries, and intrigue inside the Grand Court. Economically, the Duchys are reliant on the major southern cities for most of their major industry, guilds, and trading ports. Most of the primary products that they produce, such as timber from the Hinterlands and ore from the Marches, are consumed locally, with their major exports to other nations being rare spices and precious metals from the Marches, fishing byproducts and wine from the southern isles, wool/leather from the Hinterlands, and grains from the Triumvirate. Independently the Duchys are not a military threat – it is only when the Duchys band together that they are capable of holding their own against foreign interference. Each Duchy has a specialty, such as the Pythian peasant-knights, the Silverwood pike squares, Ogre's End's heavy infantry, or Coldhollow's lightly armoured rangers. Coordinating these disparate forces in battle is a major challenge which weakens the ability of the Duchy's to fight at full effectiveness, but when used correctly the specialized forces can tear through an unprepared opponent. [i]Grand Duke Nathaniel Berengar[/i]: Now almost sixty-five, Grand Duke Berengar has chaired the Grand Council of Dukes and held the deciding vote on major issues for close to twenty uninterrupted years. A cunning and charismatic diplomat, he has managed to use the rivalries of other Duchys to enhance the power and wealth of his own Duchy, Berengar, while at the same time convincing the other Duchys that their best interests lay together rather than apart. Nonetheless, he is aging and not entirely well, and there is no clear successor to the position of Grand Duke should he die. [i]Marshal of the Duchys Ferrod “The Hammer” Iglesias[/i]: The current man in charge of coordinating the armed forces of the various Duchys, Ferrod Iglesias was born in Precipice Point and spent most of his life commanding skirmisher squads as they hunted down bandits and other threats in the northern deserts. While the Virenti league does not entirely trust him, few can deny his effectiveness and immense talent for engaging in guerilla warfare. Seeing as the Duchys have rarely ever had to fight a pitched battle on the plains of the Triumvirate, his expertise using the specialized forces of the Duchys in surgical strikes in the desert, the Hinterlands, and the rocky slopes of the Virenti League islands is preferred to someone with a more traditional military education. He acquired his title by catching the would-be bandit king Gerrod Onearm at Liberty Oasis in a trap where he smashed the bandit's forces between the massed heavy infantry of Ogre's End and the goat cavalary of Precipice Point. [i]Duchess Aeronwen Gwynedd[/i]: Considered by all to be the most influential of the Hinterland's Dukes, Duchess Gwynedd rules Silverwood with an iron fist. She is uncompromising and brutally efficient, which is a shock to many onlookers who might only initially see her tiny stature and fae features. She gained power in Silverwood after a long career as Ranger-Captain of Silverwood's armed forces, through an overnight coup after the old Duke began to ally too heavily with the Virenti league and their racist policies. Her official reasons were, of course, that she was defending the freedom of Silverwood's population, but the pleasure with which she has taken to Grand Council intrigue reveals her ulterior motivation. Nonetheless, she is popular among all of the Hinterland Duchys, though she secretly worries some of her immediate neighbours. [i]Duke Berrick Polonius[/i]: Berrick is, to put it bluntly, an obnoxious, overly proud, arrogant, and ambitious statesman. Unfortunately for his opponents, he is also intelligent, extremely good looking, and very popular amongst the Virenti league's nobility. His fortune is made from the Duchy of Virenti's wine trade, and his influence gives the Virenti league it's name. He is widely regarded to be the most likely successor to Grand Duke Berengar, though the March Dukes despise the man they consider to be more interested in parties and frivolity than honest work. [/hider] [/hider]