Not accepted -WIP [b]-Faction name:[/b] Democratic League [b]-Faction Type:[/b] Confederacy of independent democratic city states. [b]-Flag/Banner:[/b] [u][b]NATIONAL (if applicable)[/b][/u] [b]-Capital:[/b] The confederacy has no official capital. However the great City of Feral is considered the diplomatic hub of the confederacy.[/b] [b]-Government Type: [/b]Confederate democracy. All the 8 great city states are independent democracies with the separation of the legislative, executive and judiciary powers. The citizens of the individual city states vote once every 4 years for the senate of citizens and the constitutional house. Based on the result of the vote for the senate a majority government is formed who can pass laws for that city. The senate then will vote for that law and if it passes the senate, it will move to the constitutional house that will look at the law and vote over if it does not violate the constitution. Next to the individual cities government there is the Confederate council. In this council all city-states have equal representation and voting rights. The confederate council consists of 16 members. 8 of whom are representatives of the cities government and 8 directly chosen by the population. The confederate council has legislative powers overs matters that transcend the individual city states such as foreign relations, military affairs and the distribution of water. The confederate council appoints the ministers of Foreign relations, Military affairs, Water management and Espionage. Also one of the council members is elected every year as Consul of the confederacy. The right to vote and many other rights depends on the citizenship level of the individual people. The system consists of native citizens, full-citizens,half-citizens and non-citizens. Native and full citizens have a full vote while half-citizens have a half vote. Non-citizens can't vote at all. Also native and full citizens can become active government, senate and constitutional house. Half and non-citizens cannot be elected. Citizenship is awarded to non-native population based on how useful they are for the state. Higher levels of citizenship can be earned by enlisting in the military for 5 years, working as a civil servant for 10 years or being granted after achieving excellence in the fields of science, magic, engineering, military prowess, the arts or religion. [b]Currency:[/b] The official currency is the confederate Florin [b]Population: [/b]The total population of the confederation numbers roughly 4.5 million. This is the combination of all different citizen classes combined. Of those 4.5 million people only 2 million are native citizens, 400.000 are full citizens and another 900.000 are half citizens. 1.2 million people are considered non-citizens. [b]Unique Trait #1:[/b] Free thinking minds. The confederacy does not let progress getting bogged down by conservative religious doctrine. It strives of scientific progress and draws upon the wealth of idea’s that migrants bring along with them. [b]Unique Trait #2:[/b] (Created by me) [b]Unique Flaw #1:[/b] Suffers from overpopulation and conflicting cultures. Water from the fountain of Eden has drawn many people towards the confederacy. The population has grown to a point where the fountain can no longer sustain the large number of people. Also the great deal of different peoples within its border combined with the citizenship system leads to tensions as rights and cultural and religious backgrounds clash. [b]Unique Flaw #2[/b] (Created by me) [u][b]GEOGRAPHICAL[/b][/u] [b]World-Realm Map:[/b] [IMG]http://i68.tinypic.com/e01zjl.png[/IMG] [b]Major Cities:[/b] [u]Feral:[/u] Feral is the largest of the 8 great cities and is located at the bay of Blackwater, east of the Great Sea. Officially the confederacy has no capital land all the 8 cities are of equal importance. Unofficial the entire confederacy revolves around Feral. This is due to the ancient relic known as the fountain of Eden, the primary source of fresh water throughout the entire confederacy. Ferals population numbers roughly 1.200.000 [hider=population info] • Native citizens: 447.000. • Full citizens: 100.000. • Half citizens: 180.000. • Non-citizens: 473.000 [/hider] [u]Badural:[/u] Badural is the smallest city of the confederacy when it comes in population numbers. However it is the largest city in terms of land. The truth is that Badural is hardly worth calling a city state because the majority of its population live in small villages on the country side. Badural borders directly to Feral and is connected with it through a system of underground canals. Badural is the most important agricultural producer in the Confederacy. Only 50.000 people live in the city of Badural. Around 150.000 live on Badurals country side in farms and small villages. [hider=population info] • Native citizens: 75.000 • Full citizens: 5.000 • Falf citizens: 20.000 • Non citizens: 50.000[/hider] [u]Khoral:[/u] The city state of Khoral is the second largest of the confederacy and is known for its military University. Many of the higher officers and generals of the confederate army are trained at Khoral. Innovative strategies, equipment and training methods often found it origins in Khorhal. Military tradition is deeply rooted in Khorals society. Not only hosts Khoral the largest legionary training facility but it also prides itself in having the best and most active militia cores of the confederacy. The legion of Khoral is concidered the Elite legion of the confederacy. Roughly 850.000 people live in Khoral. [hider=population info] • Native citizens: 321.000 • Full citizens: 50.000 • Half citizens: 204.000 • Non citizens: 200.000[/hider] [u]Cerentaral:[/u] Cerentaral is concidered the cultural capital of the confederacy. Nowhere in the confederacy you will find more esquizit architecture. Its many galleries and theatres are well visited among the elite and the great open air theatre of Cerentaral has an impressive 40.000 seats located in the inner ring. The beauty of the Cerentaral inner ring is unmatched in the confederacy and only few places in the world can compete with its standards. Cerentaral is a double sided coin. Its beauty and culture of the inner ring are in sharp contrasts of the large slums full of half and non-citizens of the outer ring. Roughly 600.000 people live in Cerentaral. [hider=population info] • Native citizens: 320.000 • Full citizens: 75.000 • Half citizens: 133.000 • Non citizens: 122.000 [/hider] [u]Argeon:[/u] Argeon is a city that prides itself for the study of the magic arts. It has many magic acedamies that are devoted to the magic arts and the study of relics of the old ones. The most powerful wizards of the confederacy are all trained here. However magic only plays a minor role in the confederacy. Not to mention that the vast majority of the magic students fail to unlock any form of magical potential. More important to the confederacy is the study of the old ones. Many archeologers gather in Argeon to study the relics of this lost civilization or organise expeditions deep into the desert to uncover more of the lost knowledge. Roughly 350.000 people live in Argeon. [hider=population info] • Native citizens: 200.000 • Full citizens: 25.000 • Half citizens: 25.000 • Non citizens: 100.000[/hider] [u]Meteron:[/u] Meteron is a vast city state known for its industry and mining operations. The city is so fast that it consists of multiple cities that have grown together. Some area’s are rather spacious while others are densly populated. Within the lands of Meteron there are many coal and iron mines. Various metals and other products are produced here and skilled labourors are migrating to the city from within the Confederacy and beyond. Roughly 700.000 people live in Meteron. [hider=population info] • Native citizens: 250.000 • Full citizens: 50.000 • Half citizens: 250.000 • Non citizens: 150.000[/hider] [u]Fennecia:[/u] Long before the Confederacy was formed most of the cities formed a kingdom together with Fennecia as its capital. When the kingdom fell apart in warring city states, the importance of Fennecia as political center of the realm vanished. All that remains is the legacy of the last dynasty with its large royal palace now turned into a museum of forgotten times as a kingdom. Fennecia considers herself as the last true Guran-Kha bastion within the League as it imposes strict migration policies to safeguard a healthy balance between natives and minorities. Only 250.000 people live in Fennecia. [hider=population info] • Native citizens: There are rougly 237.000 native Guran-Kha people in the city. • Full citizens: Full citizenship has been granted to a small group of immigrants with exceptional talent. This group consists mostly of Dratha, Ereyn'na, some High Neil and humans. Less than 5.000 full citizens reside in the city of Fennecia. • Half citizens: Half-citizenship has been granted to a group of aproximately 8.000 humans. Many of them serve in the Fennecian Legion or have special talents in the fields of engineering. • Non-citizens: Fennecia is the only city-state with strickt immigration laws. Only by invite non-native peoples are allowed to settle in the city. [/hider] [u]Dhoran:[/u] Dhoran is proberbly the most enthnically divers of all the citystates. It prices herself for her liberalism, education and thechnolocial advancements. It whas here where the Confederacy invented the arquebus. There are many Universities within the city that are both a place of education and research. In Dhoran many innovative ideas about water management have been researched. One of them is to transport water in closed systems in order to prevent veporazation. Also many politicians have studied at one of the universities of Dhoran. Roughly 400.000 people live in Dhoran. [hider=population info] • Native citizens: 150.000 • Full citizens: 65.000 • Half citizens: 80.000 • Non citizens: 105.000[/hider] [b]-Major Castles:[/b] The Royal Palace is the largest castle like structure within the confederation. With the fall of the old monarchy and the aristocracy many castles disappeared or where converted for other uses. The only true castle that still holds a military function is the Fortress of Khoral. The Fortress of Khoral is the military base of the Khoral legion. All soldiers are trained and stationed in this large castle. The Fortress is located 15 miles outside the site on a remote hill. It is a square sandstone building with high walls and on each corner a high round tower. Within the walls there are a number of separate buildings including barracks, armories, stables and workshops. [b]-Buildings of Interest:[/b] The most important building within the Confederacy is the Fountain of Eden and the League's underground canal system that distributes the water. Other important buildings are the Khoral military university and the Forum of Feral. [b]-Geographic Features of Interest:[/b] [u][b]RACIAL[/b][/u] [b]-Majority Race:[/b] The majority race are known as the Guran-Kha. [b]-Majority Race Appearance:[/b] Guran-Kha are a race that closely resemble humans but have some very distinctive features that set them apart from humans. The most notable features are the Guran-Kha's skin color paterns. Their base is generaly a shade of grey which can range from both very dark to lighter shades. The skin is covered by a patern of stripes or tribal like curves and shapes in a different color. The color for the paterns generally ranges on a black to blue scale but other colors and even multiple colors do exists. The patern is always a continious system of lines and shapes that start at the top of the Guran-Kha's head. Over time, these paterns extend and eventually cover most of the body. Those who meet a Guran-Kha for the first time often think that the paterns are tatoo's rather then alterations of the skin color. Another easily noticable feature of the Guran-Kha is the lack of any form of body hair on both sexes. They lack any form of facial hair such as eyebrows. [b]-Majority Race Characteristics:[/b] The Guran-Kha are slightly smaller than regular humans and generally more slender build. They generally lack the physical strength of humans but make up for it in speed and intellect. The Guran-Kha origins are unknown. Religious leaders often say that the old gods granted them live while scholars argue that they might be a product of evolution. [b]Minority Races:[/b] More than of the population consists of minorities. Pretty much any race can be found within the borders of the League. After the discovery of the fountain of Eden many people were attracted to the wealth of water. The water greatly boosted the economy creating a need for many able bodied men. Both to work in the large construction projects and to defend this new found source of wealth. Some people where invited but many tried their luck on climbing on the citizenship ladder. Dratha have often been invited for their magical talent where Oqers and humans simply came looking for water to survive. Intelligent and disciplined races have a higher chance to succeed in becoming full citizens. Oqers often try to elevate their citizenship level by joining the legion but have a hard time dealing with the strict discipline of the League's legions. Most of them fail to even get through the training period. Humans and their subspecies are the most dominant minority within the Confederacy. Their combination of physical qualities and intellect gives them a decent chance to become full citizens through various ways. Probably the smallest but most successful minority are the Ereyn'na. A humanoid species that is best known for their pure white skin and hair. Ereyn'na closely resemble humans but are generally longer. They generally measure between 6.2 to 6.8 feet. Another unique feature of the Ereyn'na is that their skin is ill adapted to the intense desert sun. Their skin is very prone to sunburn. The Ereyn'na thus tend to prefer clothing that covers all of their bodies. There is the general concensus in the Confederacy that there is no room for Ghul. Ghul that try to enter the the League's lands are mercilessly slaughtered by the legions or the Fennecian Rangers. [u][b]NATIONAL DRAMATIS PERSONAE[/b][/u] Confederate representatives [u]-Consul: Raraaziz Anwar[/u]. Razaaziz is a 47 year old carreer politician from the City-State of Feral. Unlike most Guran'Kha he has the well-being of the entire state as highest priority and not just that of his own people. He is generally well liked among the full and non-citizens and prefers to bring the different peoples and city-states closer together. [u]-Minister of water management: Samir Al-Fenna.[/u] Samir is a 51 year old career politician from Feral. He has extensive knowledge of water management and was the first to recognise the dangers of overpopulation. He is a strong advocate for changing the constitution to distribute water based on the number of people in every city-state rather than giving every state 1/8th of the water supplies. [u]-Minister Of foreign affairs: Tariq Fawwaz[/u]. Tariq is A 37 year old career politician from Fennecia with a strong love for his own people. A shrude polician and a clever speaker. He is in charge of the diplomatic affairs. [u]-Minister of military affairs: Abdul Haadi Hafiz[/u]. Abdul Haadi is a former legionary general that both served as general of the Khoral Legion and commander of the Fennecian Rangers. At 57 years old he is an highly experienced military commander that has proven his merit in the field. Even though he has commanded multiple ethnicities he has a strong racial bias against everything not Guran-Kha. -Minister of Espionage: [hider=Leaders of the individual cities] Prime minister of Feral: Aqeel Javid Prime minister of Badural: Hashim Noori Prime minister of Khoral: Zahir Batur Prime minister of Cerental: Said Kamil Prime minister of Argeon: Sadi Raheem Al-Argo Prime minister of Meteron: Ya'qoob Agha Prime minister of Dhoran: Basheer Nadine [/hider] [hider=Other characters] Name: Sadrach Eghani Race: Guran-Kha Gender: Male Age: 29 Occupation: Sadrach is the captain of the 34th Ranger company. He joined the Guran-Kha Rangers at the age of 19 and became a capable soldier and commander. He has somewhat of a legendary status within the League as he has the highest confirmed Ghul kill rating of all the active soldiers. Personality: Sadrach Eghani is loyal to the League and dedicated to his craft. He values training and discipline but also has an outspoken opinion. To him, loyalty is not about blindly following your leaders. If they make poor decisions, Sadrach will tell them, sometimes even downright refuse to follow them. [/hider] CULTURAL [hider=History:] The history of the Guran-Kha starts roughly 1.200 years ago with the legend of Feron the Conqueror. The legend say that Feron received the task from the old gods to lead his desert dwelling people to a new home. For 20 years Feron and his people wandered the desert until they reached the shores of Great Sea. Feron found out that these lands where inhabited by human clans who soon took up the arms against these settlers from deep in the desert. Opposed 10 to 1 Feron managed to defeat the humans in the legendary battle of Blackwater bay. The humans submitted to their new ruler and Feron found the city of Fennecia and proclaimed himself king of Fennecia. For the next 4 decades the kings of Fennecia expanded their borders and conquered the lands and cities around them. However the age of disaster would soon strike. 800 years ago the decade of the Ghul raids would nearly bring the kingdom to its knees. Constant Ghul raids forced the kingdom to spread its forces to thin, a situation the human neighbors took advantage off. The humans quickly marched on Fennecia and laid siege on the City for 5 years. Under the pressure of the siege, the Guran-Kha put audacious water rations on their own people. When they found out that the royal family where still wasting water like mad men, the Guran-Kha revolted against the house of Feron, stormed the royal palace and beheaded their king. One day later the republic of Fennecia was proclaimed. The humans, with most of their forces laying siege to Fennecia where feeling the pressure of the Ghul raids at home. Both side agreed to start negotiating a peace treaty. The treaty of Fennecia meant that the republic lost a large portion of their lands. Only 8 cities would remain. But the treaty was the start of the 400 years of peace. Throughout these years the republic prospered until the great drought started. When rain was not seen for 5 years, crops started to fail and general water and food shortages struck the republic. The government proved the be unable to deal with the situation and rioting hit the streets. Religious leaders proclaimed that calamity had struck because the people had angered the Old Ones by casting down the house of Feron, 400 years ago. Soon a man named Raul Feron proclaimed himself as a direct descendant of Feron himself. The people rallied behind this new leader and soon overthrew the republic, proclaiming the second kingdom of Fennecia. One year after the proclamation of the second kingdom the rain returned and the shortages where lifted. For 250 years internal peace returned to the kingdom but that would all change with the discovery of the Fountain of Eden. Archio-technologers discovered a giant hall with great contraptions deep beneath the City of Feral. With the help of some Dhatra they managed to start the great machine and they soon found out that it purifies water in great quantities. Realizing the economic potential, the magisters of Feral kept the discovery secret, using this new found source of water to enrich their own city. When the monarchy found out, they demanded that Feral would share the fountain. The magisters refused the demands of their king and proclaimed Feral independent from the kingdom. This act would initiate the 50 years of water wars. Feral used its seemingly endless supply of water to amass a large force of human and Oqer warriors and crushed the royal army in the first battle of Feral. In response the other great cities all formed legions in support of their king. With this new large force gathering near Fennecia, the rulers of Feral decided to take the offensive before all the legions could assemble. In the battle of Fennecia the army of Feral managed to gain a Phyrric victory. Their losses were so high that they could no longer lay siege to the capital. For 20 years the war raged on between Feral and the Monarchy. Disaster would strike the crown in the second battle of Feral. Both the king and the crown price lost their lifes. Without any royalty left, the second kingdom collapsed into independent city-states, ruled by the nobility. Some proclaimed themselves king. The magisters of Feral tried to buy the loyalty of the newly independent states with water but soon found out they they all demanded their fair share rather than a little bit. The 7 cities allied against Feral and continued the war for another 30 years. As more men where pressed into service by their autocratic leaders, the people started to revolt in all the great cities. Magisters, nobles and wannabe kings where overthrown and governments elected by the people put into place. Nobody wanted to continue the war over water against their own brothers. Representatives of the great cities started negotiations that would lead to the Democratic League. The most important part of this new treaty is the equal share of water. Every city-state would get 1/7th of the water produced by the fountain of Eden. For every city-state that was far more water than they would ever need. The next decade would prove to be enormously prosperous for the League. As water fuelled their economy, word began to spread about the Fountain of Eden throughout Azoth. All kinds of peoples started to migrate towards the League. At first these newcomers where more than welcome, as the 50 years water wars has had its toll on the population. But as time progressed the population of the confederacy grew so large that at this point, the fountain of Eden can no longer sustain it. Especially not in the largest city-states. The governments are now faced with a potential disaster that might pull the Confederacy into civil war again.[/hider] -List of Historical Grievances -Relations [b]Cultural Notes[/b] The Guran-Kha tend to favour a more organized and disciplined society. They like to have everything nicely organized but are also pragmatic. If certain designs, systems or forms of organisation don’t work anymore they are willing to adapt new ideas. The Guran-Kha culture puts great emphasis on learning and discovering the world around them. They often question ideas, systems and authority. They strive for excellence in their field of work and merit is considered extremely important. This strive for merit and excellence has lead to the citizenship system. A form of organizing minorities by rewarding their merit while making sure at the same time that political power remains with the Guran-Khan people. The confederacy recognizes 4 citizenship classes. Based on these classes the different people get a portion of the rights. [b]Native-Citizens:[/b] The native-citizens are those of Guran-Kha descent. The natives have full political, social and military rights. They are allowed to access all parts of the confederacy, work on all levels of the government and military and are granted the highest water rations. Also they are allowed into all education forms and have the right to own weapons. But there are also strict laws that prevent the natives to engage in relationships with other races. They also have a mandatory service in the citizens militia. The native Guran-Kha generaly form the social, economic and political elite. Many are well educated and work as politicians, bankers, traders and teachers. Others are officers in the legion, landowners or even artists. [b]Full-citizens:[/b] Full citizenship is granted to those of foreign descent that have proven their exceptional merit towards the City-State. Full-citizens have a full vote in the elections and can become politically active on most except the highest of offices. They also are granted the right to relocate between the cities without permission and the right to own weapons. Full-citizens also have mandatory service in the citizens-militia. Full-citizenship is earned by showing merit and cannot be inherited by children from their parents. Children of full-citizenship level start out as half-citizens. Full-citizens cannot hold any office on Confederation level but can be elected into the confederate council. They also cannot hold the military rank of general and thus never command a full legion or more. Nor can they join the Guran-Kha Rangers. [b]Half-citizens:[/b] Half-citizenship is granted to those who have served the state for a certain number of time. Either through military service or other ways. Half-citizens have slight political influence as they are allowed to cast a half vote. They are not allowed to hold any political office and can only become lower ranking officers in the legion. Half-citizens are not allowed to own weapons and thus are excluded from service in the citizens-militia. RELIGION, MAGIC and ARCHEO-TECH -State Religion: There is religious freedom in every city-state and no state supported religion. Many of the minorities keep their own religious believes and there are places of worship throughout the Confederacy. The Guran-Kha themselves have a tendency to either worship the Old Ones or follow an more agnostic path. Some Guran-Kha scholars even argue that there are no gods. Just more superior races from beyond the borders. -Magical Information: The Guran-Kha talent for magic is severely limited. In only extremely rare occasions they show limited magical abilities. To compliment to this weakness the Confederacy has been recruiting Dratha for a long time. They often receive full citizenship as soon as they arrive and sometimes supplemented with additional water rations. This gives the few Dratha that reside within the borders tremendous influence -Archeo-Tech: Under the city of Feral a giant contraption was discovered 150 years ago. This contraption has the ability to purify water from the great sea and make it drinkable. This contraption is known as the Fountain of Eden, the source of the Guran-Kha wealth. The confederacy has built an extensive system of underground canals throughout their lands to distributes the water produced by the fountain of Eden. Under the city of Feral large water reservoirs have been constructed to hold the excess water. However in recent years the supplies of water have been decreasing due to the fact that the Fountain of Eden cannot support the large population of the Confederacy. MILITARY The Confederacy maintains a standing army based upon a legionary system. Every city must supply 1 standard legion by confederate law. These legions are professional fighting force that are trained, equipped and paid by the cities. All higher officers are either full or native citizens and generals are always native citizens. The legions are under direct control of the City-State of origin. The second professional force of the Confederacy are the Guran-Kha Rangers. The Guran-Kha Rangers are considered and elite fighting force and are only open to Native-Citizens. These men guard the outskirts of the Confederacy against Ghul invasions and raids. They receive the highest level of training and mostly operate in small groups of up to 30 soldiers. They are highly skilled horse archers and often employ ambushes and hit and run tactics. Their equipment consists of light leather armor, swords, bows and spears. They are expert trackers and hunters trained to live off the land. All rangers are stationed for 9 months at the border and after they return to their home city for two months of vacation. The last month is used for training before they will return to guard the borders. Unlike the legions, the Rangers are under the direct control of the Confederate council. There are roughly 9.000 rangers enlisted of which 6.000 are permanently stationed at the front. Next to the legions there is the citizens militia. The citizens militia can be drawn upon if a city is in great perril or the existence of the confederacy is at stake. The citizens must buy their own equipment and do not get paid for their service. By law, only native and full citizens have the right to own weapons. All the male population between 15-45 are bound by law to serve in the militia if the confederacy is under treat. -Total Military Size: 7 legions of 5.640 men each. A total of 39.480 men serve in the legions. [hider=Legion organisation]A legion consists of multiple regiments but is always organized the same way. Its emphasis is on heavy infantry to be supported by skirmishers and cavalry. Also every legion has a regiment of combat engineers. A standard legion consists of the following regiments: • 15 heavy infantry regiments of 240 soldiers. These soldiers are equipped with heavy steel armor, large shieds, swords and short spears. They fight in close formation. • 4 Arquebusiers regiments of 120 soldiers. These soldiers are equipped with an arquebus . A revolutionary projectile weapon that uses an explosive powder to launch a round metal projectile. The weapon in very inaccuare but extremely powerful. There are not much armors in the world that can protect against the arquebus. The arquebus is slow to reload and prone to misfire with sometimes leathal results for its wielder. The arquebusier does not carry armor and only has a short sword for protection. • 2 Archer regiments. The archers are equiped with crossbows and short swords. Every regiment of archers consists of 240 men. • 1 Engineers regiment. The engineers are a special regiment dedicated to construct machines of war and siege equipment in the field. They also can build bridges, rafts and other epuipment that might be needed in the field. • 3 heavy cavalry regiments of 120 men. The heavy cavalry wield heavy armor, lances and swords. They are used as shock cavalry to break enemy formations and force a general rout. • *. 4 regiments of scout cavalry of 60 man each. The scout cavalry ride the fastest horses and are only lightly armed. They were light leather armor and are equipped with throwing spears and swords. These units are mainly used to scout enemy armies and harass flanks and rear of enemy lines using their throwing spears. They also are used for the role of messengers. [/hider] The equipment of the citizens militia varies greatly but in general every male citizen of the right class must join one of the cities militia cores. Every core dictates a minimal level of equipment and training. The current militia system recognizes 4 cores. The militia sharpshooters, The militia archers, the militia swods and spears and the militia cavalry.