[hider=The College of Blackhelm - VERY WIP]
[center][h2][b][color=9e0b0f]The College of Blackhelm[/color][/b][/h2]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/IG2KEfU.png?1[/img]
[i][color=9e0b0f][b]Scientia ipsa potentia est[/b][/color][/i][/center]

[center][b]Demonym:[/b] Blackhelms/Helmsmen[/center]

[center][b][u]Description[/u][/b][/center] 
When the College began is lost to the ages. In fact, some say the College has always been there upon the Blackgape Mountain and the city of Blackhelm simply was crafted around it. Regardless of her origin, the College of Blackhelm has been go to destination for thinkers, philosophers, and inventors outside of the Commonwealth for decades. What lies inside the College is only known to those who have been inside, and only a handful ever venture back and none tell tales of what they've seen, for the College is always watching within Blackhelm. What is known of the College is that the institution is run entirely by a council of scholars called 'The Great Minds', each 'Mind' being the administrator for a certain field of study within the College, and the head of the council being the Arch-Scholar. 

The people of Blackhelm live in a general malaise with the College; the College provides for Blackhelm and the surrounding towns and cities, but also requires tribute be paid in 'subjects'. Subjects sent to the College never return from the College, and their families are compensated for the loss. The fate of those who are sent to pay the price for the College's protection is unknown, and many believe the College tests them as victims of likely inhumane experiments. However, all cities and holds under the College's ever watchful eye benefit by being recipients to the ever growing list of wondrous technology the College creates. Not to mention the protection the College brings in the form of 'The Helmsguard', an elite force of musketeers dressed all in black. In addition to the bi-yearly subject payment, the College only has one law that all holds under it must abide if they wish to remain within the College's borders; magic is a crime against nature, and all who practice it are to be immediately seized and brought to the College. It is not uncommon for a citizen to be dragged away in the dead of night by the black armored Helmsguard for practicing minor magic and to never return.

[center][b][u]Government[/u][/b][/center]

Blackhelm is a technocracy ruled by the Great Minds of the College of Blackhelm, a massive institute housed along the cliffs of the Blackgap Mountain range. The leader of the Great Minds is the Arch-Scholar, who is elected by the council and holds his/her position until death. The Arch-Scholar has complete and utter control over all aspects of the College, and with each new Arch-Scholar the College changes to fit their interests. To ensure loyalty from the minor lords and leaders outside of the College, a representative from the College sits in all courts and councils as an 'adviser', though more often than not the advice these representatives give are politely worded orders. 

The iron grip the College holds over the rest of the realm is both a blessing and a curse. While all of the realm does generally prosper from the technological wonders created by the College, some of the common folk and lesser nobility feel they hold no true independence, and these wonders are merely distractions the College gives out to keep the people content while they continue to exist as servants to the whims of the Arch-Scholar and the Great Minds. In fact, in the borderlands of Blackhelm the discontent seems to be growing more and more as the luxuries sent from the College begin to dwindle, with the focus being brought more and more onto the industrializing city of Blackhelm.

[center][b][u]Economy[/u][/b][/center]

As to be expected of such a state, Blackhelm is a industrial powerhouse. Within Blackhelm-proper, the skies are continually thick with smog from the growing medieval foundries that dot the city. The nobility of old, once content to simply manage agricultural serfs, have fallen to the wayside as merchant-lords have grown to be the more profitable and powerful clique within Blackhelm. Of course, industrialization has downsides. While the College has focused more and more on turning Blackhelm into a city of wonders and power, the rural countryside has decayed and fallen into neglect. Once vast farmlands have become rotten and polluted, and it seems each year Blackhelm city expands and eats up more and more fertile land for new factories and houses. To counter this the College has begun to debate methods on how to properly balance industrial power versus agricultural necessity, though it may be years before the eccentric scholar-lords agree on the most efficient and inventive method to do this. 

Due to her geographical position, Blackhelm exports vast amounts of ore and refined metals such as copper, steel, and iron. With the growing food crisis and the lack of immediate response from the Great Minds, foodstuffs and agricultural goods have begun to be imported to the major cities while the crisis is 'handled' by the College. In addition, the miners who work the vast mountains of Blackhelm cannot help but wonder when these great stones will no longer offer their resources, and what will become of Blackhelm and her College when that day comes.

[center][b][u]Religion[/u][/b][/center]

[center][b][u]Geography[/u][/b][/center]

Blackhelm is a mountain nation. The College, the heart and mind of the entire nation, looms over the city of Blackhelm from her perch upon the Blackgap Mountain range. Between the great mountains lies vast and deep valleys, once inhabited only by beasts and creatures unfriendly to civilization, now plains fit for farming and agriculture. Across the mountain valleys of Blackhelm, mining towns have risen in prominence as the cities begin to require more and more coal and rare earth materials for their ceaseless expansion. Some believe that, without intervention by the College, the nation of Blackhelm may someday be one vast city in itself, with foundries dotting across the mountains themselves. However, this is but a fantasy.

[center][b][u]Population[/u][/b][/center]

[center]4,200,000[/center]

[center][b][u]Demographics[/u][/b][/center]

[center][b][u]Notable Locations[/u][/b][/center]

[center][b][u]Personalities of Note[/u][/b][/center]

[center][b][u]Institutions[/u][/b][/center]

[hider= The Helmsguard][b]TBA[/b][/hider]

[hider= The Fleet of the Black][b]TBA[/b][/hider]

[hider= Other Information & Traits][b]TBA[/b][/hider]

[/hider]