[hider=The Republic of Vangren WIP]
[b]The Republic of Vangren[/b]

[b]Government[/b]
The Republic of Vangren is a democratic republic only in name. The official head of state is the Consul, a man elected from within the members of the High Senate. The High Senate itself is composed primarily of members of the nobility or wealthy merchant families. It is extremely difficult to achieve a membership of the High Senate, as it requires a large sum of money paid to the treasury of the Republic, as well as support from current members of the Senate or other influential figures within Vangrenian society. Every now and then, a figure supported by the general public is allowed within the High Senate, if only to maintain the illusion of a democracy and prevent public unrest. Unfortunately, these “men of the people”, who are chosen due to their charisma and ability to lead, are rarely listened to or gain much support within the Senate. In all intents and purposes, Vangren is truly an aristocratic oligarchy masquerading as a republic. 


[hider=The Consul and the High Senate]
The Consul is an individual elected from within the High Senate to serve as the official leader of the Republic for life. While the Consul is simply meant to guide the nation and serve as a public figure, they effectively rule as an absolute monarch in all but name. The High Senate, whose positions are practically hereditary, have a certain amount of power in order to check that of the Consul, yet this is rarely used, as the Consul usually maintains support of the Senate majority either through bribery, threats or other means of intrigue. While officially the Consul is not allowed to declare without the permission of the High Senate, the Consul is still able to do so. Not that he has, as Vangren has not seen war since its establishment as a Republic half a century prior.
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[hider=The Freeholds and Local Government]
The Republic is divided into six different provinces, called Freeholds. Each Freehold is ruled over by a smaller version of the national government with a Low Senate headed by a Proconsul. Their job is to oversee the local governance of the Freehold, such as taxes or local laws. The Low Senate is not as thoroughly controlled as the High Senate is, aiding in the mirage of the Republic truly being a democracy. Any man determined to make a difference in the governance of their home can run for a position on the Senate, even those of humble backgrounds such as a lowly farmer or cobbler. However, that is not to say that the Low Senate is entirely incorrupt. Local merchant guilds maintain a large control over the elections to the Low Senate, usually backing men that they can easily control and use as puppets to ensure that their interests are best expressed in the governance of the Freehold. 
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[b]Geography[/b]
The Republic of Vangren is divided into a number of different provinces called Freeholds, each of which having various climates. To the south and west, the Freeholds of Halstom and Kelek bordering the Heavenly Sphere and the Empire of Khandarai are mountainous and largely infertile. However, they are prosperous due to the large number of mining operations conducted within the mountain range. As a result of the large amount of mining, both Freeholds are home to a plethora of wealthy merchant families competing with each other.
To the east, the Freehold of Retrand dominates the coast. This Freehold is also dominated by merchant families, most of whom recently became nobles during the course of the Great Revolution, due to the many coastal ports within the Freehold that oversee trade across the gulf and even beyond. Here, the climate is warm, like that of the Mediterranean region in our own world. It is also within the Freehold of Retrand that the nation is set at the port city of Tilum, the site of the beginning of the Great Revolution. As well as being a center of trade, Retrand is a place of learning, with a variety of academies and universities being founded throughout. It is from these institutions of higher learning that many grand new innovations and inventions are created, especially as the Republic struggles to compete with the scholarly abilities of the Heavenly Sphere.

Finally, the interior and north of the Republic forms the breadbasket of the nation. The Freeholds Rednar, Helevia and Galend contain rich and fertile soil, the result of the great rivers that run through them from the mountain ranges to both the south and north. These Freeholds are also the center of the Republic’s nobility, as it was here that the old feudal society of Vangren had centered its power. 


[b]Culture[/b]
Vangren, even before it became a Republic, has been a very mercantile-focused nation. It’s position both at the center of Askor and its access to two different seas has caused it to become a prominent trading power. As a result, wealth reigns supreme in Vangren and merchants and their families wield a considerable amount of influence and power. In fact, many of the noble families of Vangren overlap with those of merchants, such as the House of Halvum maintaining a vast control over the mines in the southern mountains of Vangren.
The nobility and merchants of Vangren, especially those who form the High Senate, live lives of luxury and splendor. They make residences in great estates in the country or fine townhouses along the sea. They enjoy great feasts nearly daily and lack for nothing. They are meant to be shining examples of how through hard work and determination one is able to achieve wealth and success, even though very few of them have ever worked a day in their life.

Merchant guilds are common throughout the Republic, a collection of merchants who have banded together as allies in hopes of creating a greater profit. While the local politics of the Freeholds are meant to be controlled through the public, it is the merchant guilds that influence the most power. 

Unfortunately for the large majority of the Republic’s population, they do not live as luxurious lives as the more influential members of society. These men are the farmers, sailors, craftsmen and small businessmen who produce the most for the Republics yet reap few of the boons. Even though they are led to believe that they play a role in how they are ruled, they are as subject and powerless as they were under the rule of the old Vangrenian Kings. Many are so poor they are forced to live as serfs on the large stretches of farmland belonging to the aristocracy or serve as indentured servants to wealthy merchants. While some truly believe they are better of now then they were under the monarchy and place their faith in the Proconsul and High Senate, others believe that the Republic is a farce and yet further action must be taken in order to ensure that each man has the right to control their own destiny. 

[b]Military[/b]
The bulk of the Republic’s land-based military is infantry-based. The Vangrenian Guard is the center-piece of the Republic’s military, as it consists of soldiers serving full-time, having gone through thorough and extensive training. While the Vangrenien Guard can not claim to be Askor’s finest swordsmen, they are well-trained and disciplined. Every able man between the ages of 16 and 30 are required to serve at least three years within the Guard, unless they are able to pay a fee to avoid conscripted. The Guard’s weapons of choice are a combination of halberds and short-swords. The nobility makes up the large portion of the Republic’s cavalry. While not the heroic knights of Lynnfaire, they serve as both heavy and light cavalry, depending on the wealth and expertise of the noble house providing troops. The rest of the Vangrenian military is formed by a levee of able-bodied men who are not currently serving within the Guard.
The true pride and power of the Vangrenian military lies in its navy, however. As a nation that survives on its trading ability, especially that of its sea-faring trade, it is not surprising that the Republic has produced some of Askor’s finest sailors. Their ships are some of the swiftest and strongest, using both sailing and rowing methods to maximize their ability to maneuver. The Vangrenian Marines are also something to be feared. With a detachment of Marines stationed on every military vessel, they are masters of both ship-to-ship and land combat, and are especially effective in raids and hit-and-run attacks. While the navy is currently simply used to patrol Vangrenian waters and protect the shipping routes of merchants, it can easily swell is size and power in order to defend against any threats or attack any potential enemies of the Republic. 


[b]Heroes[/b]
TBD

[b]History[/b]
Vangren as a Republic is a youthful nation, having been born in the aftermath of the Great Revolution fifty years prior to current events. As nation, however, it is ancient. Having been founded during the dawn of the Era of Legends, Vangren had always been a monarchy, the kings being descended from the original children of the Primordials and thus possessing great magical abilities. 
However, as the centuries passed, the blood of the Primordials began to wane within the royal line, especially as foreign marriages were arranged, and members of the family died unexpectedly, leading to distant members of the royal family inheriting the throne. All the while, as the divine right of the Primordials began to disappear, the Vangrenian kings grew more and more cruel. They would raise taxes to back-breaking sums and imprison or even execute those who were unable to pay. Soldiers would be stationed throughout the nation to enforce the taxes, acting more like foreign occupiers than their own military. Soldiers would often rape citizens of the towns they were stationed in or hang those who spoke out against their presence. The oppression of the monarchy only worsened upon the coming and eventual murder of the Prophetess. When she called men to her banner, many of Vangren’s young traveled to join her Silver Legion. When news of her cruel execution and the murder of the Legion, including many of their own, much of the populace of Vangren, especially the common folk, converted to Argentianism. However, the king adamantly refused to recognize her as a religious entity and thus began persecuting those who preached in her name. This only added to the great civil strife that grew rampant throughout Vangren, though it would still take many years before action was taken. 

Eventually, a young sailor from the city of Tilum rose to action. After returning from a long voyage on a trading ship, he returned to find his lover raped and murdered. Furious, the man gathered friends and like-minded individuals and began to fight back against the oppressive military presence. At first, their actions were simply guerilla tactics, such as ambushing small patrols, stealing provisions or raiding unsuspecting outposts. Yet as they grew in infamy and gathered more and more people, they began to act out more and more. Eventually, they were even able to drive the forces loyal to the Vangrenian king out of Tilum. Upon doing so, the sailor declared that he intended to reform Vangren into a republic, one in which each man was equal and had the ability to determine their own destiny.

Not before long, though, the Vangrenian king amassed an army to punish the rebels of Tilum. Knowing there was little hope yet seeing no other action possible, the rebel leader and his forces gathered to face the army outside of the city, even though they were poorly armed and trained. The two sides met in battle, though the rebels soon began to show signs of breaking against the overwhelming power of the skilled soldiers loyal to the king. Yet just when all hope seemed lost, a new force charged the loyalists rear, swiftly routing them and winning the day.

After the battle was finished, it was revealed that the rebel’s saviors turned out to be a number of nobles who had become disillusioned under the tyrannical reign of the king and so had decided to aid the rebels in their plight. Thus, with the nobles wealth, manpower and skill, the Great Revolution was truly born. More and more flocked to their banner until the fires of war had spread across the entire Kingdom.

For five years the was viscously fought, as father faced son and brother battled brother. Slowly, yet ever so surely, the rebels pushed the loyalists back towards the capital, until it was the only remaining loyalist steadfast. It seemed that all was well for the rebels.
Unfortunately, there had long been division within the rebel camp. The original leader of the revolution in Tilum and thus the de facto leader of the commoners and the leader of the noble faction had long butted heads against one another, causing friction among the rebels.
During the course of the battle for the capital, the peasant leader was struck by a stray crossbow bolt and forced off the field of battle, leaving the noble lord in command of the army. In the course of the battle, the capital was sacked and utterly destroyed the city, killing and raping many of its citizens. The entire royal family was murdered, even the newborn son of the king.

When the commoner leader learnt of this, he was furious yet was unable to do much. With the revolution officially won, he turned his attention to reforming the government into what he hoped would see equality for all men. It was he who drafted the plans for a High and Low Senate. However, he was resisted by many nobles, who believed that they deserved many seats in the High Senate for their participation in the revolution. The sailor from Tilum turned revolutionary leader sought to oppose them as best he could, yet the conflict between the two factions began to escalate to physical violence until one day he was ambushed and stabbed to death by a number of assailants. The leader of the nobles declared that he had been killed by a group of loyalists seeking to avenge the death of the former king, as he knew that his rival was celebrated as a hero throughout Vangren. However, a number of the sailor’s supporters doubted the truth to this and continued their opposition, until one by one, they two were mysteriously murdered.

His opposition diminished to nigh on nonexistence, the noble leader created the legal system of the Republic as it is today, establishing himself as Proconsul. He has long since died himself, yet he has been replaced by a number of Proconsuls just as eager to ensure their absolute control and supported by a High Senate intent on maintaining their oligarchic control over society that they had been unable to have under a monarchy. Yet somewhere out there, in the shadows of cities and the hearts of common men, there are the old supporters of the simple sailor who lighted the sparks of a revolution, those that will fight to see his dream of a land where all men were equal become a reality.

[b]Relations[/b]
The Republic is on fairly good terms with its neighbors, since it focuses more on trade than expansion. However, the recently elected Proconsul has been expressing some possible imperialistic tendencies…


[b]Characters[/b]


[hider=Consul Eleric Taren]
A young yet capable man, Eleric is the grandson of the original Consul and head of the House of Taren, one of the most ancient and powerful noble houses in Vangren even before the foundation of the Republic. Only 28, Eleric is a determined individual who has set his eyes upon both living up to the legacy of his grandfather and establishing the Republic has a larger world-power. While he is Consul, this is largely due to large infighting among the High Senate rather than a large basis of support and so Eleric must establish himself as a leader and gain support among the Senate.
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[hider=Grand Admiral Alan Harken]
The commander of Vangren’s naval forces, Admiral Harken is an experienced and skilled leader and soldier. Unlike most other members of the Republic’s upper military positions, Harken comes from humble beginnings, a testament to his ability as an admiral. Harken was born not long after the creation of the Republic and so still holds many values of the Revolution at heart, something not many other Vangrenians still due.
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[hider=Marine Commandant Belric Telskar]
At the young age of 35, Beric is one of the youngest soldiers to have ever taken command of the Vangrenian Marines. As a result, he has received the favor and respect of the new Consul, as he to fills a position expected of elder and more experienced men. Belric is a man of honor, holding the chivalric values close to his heart. He is also a man who values freedom above all else. As a result, he is often conflicted between his loyalty to the Proconsul and the Republic and his pressing realization that the Republic is a farce.
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[hider=Ean Ilvat]
A blacksmith in a small town in the Freehold of Kelek, Ean would normally be a man of inconsequence. He plays no part in the governance of the Republic and has no hopes of ever being elected to the Low Senate of Kelek, let alone the High Senate. However, his claim to fame is that he is the leader of a local band of men who believe the Republic is as corrupt and tyrannical as the monarchy was and wish to see it as it was meant to be. While he has not taken open action as of yet, Ean comes closer and closer to doing so with each passing day beneath the boot of the Consul. 
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