Nation Name: Celestial Empire of Amrea [hider=Flag:] [img]https://i.imgur.com/X7DZSRY.png[/img] [/hider] Type of Government: Absolute Monarchy Head(s) of Government: God Empress Marute Na-ryu, the Gwangyeong Empress Species: [b]Amreans[/b], resembling humans and light-skinned elves with fox-like features such as fur on their lower legs. a long flowin tail and canine ears. Amreans naturally live up to a century, but practitioners of magic frequently find themselves living up to two centuries on average. They are divided into five distinct ethnic groups, the Shen-zi, Yin, Ka-yon, So-nin and Kou'ji. The Shen-zi (The Children of the Mountains): Amreans hailing from the western provinces bordering the Ten'sha mountain range. They are considered the oldest of the Amrean groups, being the genetic ancestor of the Yin, Ka-yon, So-nin and Kou'ji peoples. They comprise roughly 9% of the Amrean population. Their dialects of Amrean most closely resemble Classical Amrean in use by the Imperial Court and government bureaucracy. Yin (The People of the Yin River): The first wave of Amrean settlers from the Ten'sha mountains who migrated to the Yin river over 5 millenia ago. They are the oldest of the Amrean river peoples comprising 45% of the population, mainly growing rice in the rainy, subtropical territories of southern Amrea. Around 100 years later, a group of the Yin, as well as additional Shen-zi settlers would migrate further North to the Ka-yon River. Ka-yon (The People of the Ka-yon River): The descendants of the Yin and Shen-zi that went North to the Ka-yon River. Comprising 30% of the population. They can be distinguished from the Yin people by their more gruff way of speaking and general rowdiness. A trait perhaps inherited from their proximity to the So-nin. So-nin (The Men of the Grasslands): The descendants of Yin and Shen-zi migrants who did not stop at the Ka-yon river but instead went further North. They dominate the lands further north, being traditionally herders and horse-riding raiders. Another group lumped into the descriptor of So-nin are the Aarehan of the Miranid Empire, descending from Yin migrants who made their home on the steppes southwest of modern Amrea. They are derogatorily referred to as 'Ratmen', and are treated with disgust for having reverted to barbarism by most Amreans. The So-nin residing within Amrea consist of 6% of the population. Kou'ji (Those of High Blood): A mysterious ethnic group of Amreans whose origins are shrouded in myth and legend. They claim to be descendants of the Sun God, in holy union with a woman of the Yin, but written records of Amrean history cannot be traced back beyond 2500 years, and thus only oral accounts of their origins exist. The Marute Dynasty, as well as roughly 70% of Amrean nobility can trace or claim descent from this group. They account for roughly 8% of the population. They are seperated from normal Amreans by virtue of their longer lifespans, approximately 140 years on average and their distinct ear-shape, more clearly resembling that of an elf than a fox as well as a universal affinity for plasma magic. Apart from the Amreans, there is also a population of humans residing in Amrea's south known simply as the [b]Myeong-bin[/b] (The Civilized Guests) who account for 2% of the population. They are various groups of Tzücomen and Üarim that have over the past few centuries sought to settle within the borders of the Celestial Empire. Most of them are allowed to by Imperial authorities, on the condition that they adopt Amrean dress, customs and culture, embracing civilization and casting away the trappings of savagery. [hider=Amrean] [img]https://1d4chan.org/images/thumb/d/dc/Kitsune.jpg/540px-Kitsune.jpg[/img] [/hider] [hider=Myeong-bin] [img]http://factsanddetails.com/media/2/20080215-89227~Portrait-of-a-Mandarin22-Posters.jpg[/img] [/hider] Population: 312 million (± a few million) Economy (Main imports, exports, industries, technology level, etc.): Agrarian economy transitioning to an Industrial one. The Steam engine was only introduced in the capital in the past decade, and the main industries consist steel and textile mills in the capital. Amrean Engineers are always looking for ways to innovate however, and there are rumours of a backroom war being waged amongst the intelligentsia to build a revolutionary device that would earn its creator a one way ticket to noble status. In the countryside, life continues as it always has. A small trickle of young men and women head to the great cities where pyramids and temples rise to pierce the sky to find work and opportunity. The vast majority remain in the countryside, growing rice, herding livestock and harvesting fruits and fish to feed the ever growing populations of the urban centres. The Empire is rich in natural resources like coal, iron, copper, lead and bauxite, but much of it remains trapped in the ground and untapped due to lack of investment or demand. Main imports: Silver from the Yllendyr colony and Gerudo, assorted tribute from tributary states. Main exports: Limited amounts of tea, porcelain and silk to the Yllendyr colony. Gifts of assorted materials and weapons to tributary states. Literacy: Due to the Amrean language being written in the form of logographic characters, it is quite difficult to measure literacy, as each logogram corresponds to a concept or word. Rural peasants may know simple characters like those for the sun, weather and animals, enough to get by in daily life but incapable of intellectual expression. On the other hand, the nobility are more likely to know the full set of characters in the Amrean language. Culture: Amrean culture dates back to around 5000 years ago to clans of farmers around the fertile Y'in and Ka-yon rivers who migrated east and north from the Ten'sha Mountains, and highly based on two guiding principles, Legalism and Nobility of Blood. The principle of Legalism calls for society to be stratified, with educated scholar-bureaucrats and nobles taking the duty of reigning over the common folk. Nobility of Blood refers to the species whose duty it is to civilize the savage races (their racial subgroup or geographical neighbours). Amreans have the duty to civilize what they consider to be the barbarian states that neighbour them, whereas a race such as the Yllendyr have the duty to civilize the peoples of their empire. Amrean Noble Blood theory is split into two schools, that of Mutualism and Hierarchism, which is again split into various subgroups. The majority of Amrean aristocrats and the House of Marute sponsor the school of Mutualism, believing that the noble races are equal to each other and that the savage races may eventually be made equal, after centuries or even a millennia of being civilized. On the other hand, 13% of the Amrean nobility espouse the school of Hierarchism believing that the noble races are equal, but it is next to impossible for the savage races to be made noble. Nominally, the entirety of the New World (known in their language as Tien'sha, meaning Lands under the Sun) is under Amrean control, with the myriad peoples ranging from the Strigoi of Wulfram to the Gerudo paying tribute and respects to the Emperors in C'hung-jin. In reality, Imperial control barely extends beyond the frontiers of the Empire and whilst the Empire is no doubt capable of projecting its might, it sees no need to whilst the illusion of control can be maintained. Religious and Other Beliefs: The Amrean people believe in the inevitability of the End Times. It is foretold that one day, the world shall end in fire and blood, lest the Sun God, the father of light, love and life be ritually renewed with the souls of those with magic potential, as it is believed that the souls of mages is the essence of the Sun God, cast down to the Earth during his struggle against the End Times. Thus, the essence of the Sun God must be returned to him in great sacrificial altars to renew his power and stave off the End Times. They also believe the God Emperor to be the avatar of the Sun God to the Earth, chosen to guide his followers to aid him in his battle against the end. Military: 800k professional 'modern' (20% armed with breech-loading rifle 80% with muzzle-loaded muskets, swords and trained in line tactics alongside their assorted cavalry and artillery) troops organized into Banner Armies under the joint control of the God Empress and court aristocrats, 2 million militia (armed with traditional steel swords, halberds, matchlock and flintlock muskets, the quality varies between provinces. Poorer provinces tend to use swords and matchlocks whilst richer ones afford flintlocks and the occasional rifle.) used as local police forces as well as reserve forces. Amrean combat doctrine consists of a barrage of Hwa-myeon fire rockets to soften the enemy, before initiating a mass charge towards enemy lines under cover of smoke-screens deployed by cannons, firing muskets at ranges of 10-20 metres and then closing for melee in an attempt to break the opposing force's morale and force a route or surrender. Aiding the Banner Armies is a specialized army numbering 20000 known merely as the Man'shu Braves, named for the southern province from which the vast majority of its soldiers come from. (The rest come from the So-nin recruited in the northern steppes). It consists of the various steppe peoples who settled on the fringes of the Empire, specifically the Myeong-bin. Armed with sabres, the ocassional rifled carbine, flintlock carbine, bow and fire rocket as well as ceramic grenades, they fulfill the role of skirmishers, border guards and elite cavalrymen supplementing the iron discipline of the Bannermen with the ferocity and swiftness of the Steppes. In additional to the conventional army, the Empire employs the services of some 50000 mages, known collectively as the H'ang-hyun (Dawnguard). The H'ang-hyun is seperated into five legions led by a Junior Commander numbering 10000 each, with each Legion consisting solely of users of one magical element. The 1st Legion, consisting solely of Plasma Mages is the most prestigious legion, with its commander granted the title of High Commander of the entirety of the H'ang-hyun. These Amrean Noble Mages take the form of monster hunters, in particular being used to wipe out the ravenous Strigoi that occasionally encroach on Imperial territory and tributaries in defiance of the agreement between the Regent Hildegund and the Gwangyeong Empress' grandfather, the Gwangwu Emperor signed two centuries ago. [hider=Amrean Banner Armies] [img]https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/alternativehistorychristos/images/5/59/Pnp367563.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130820175329[/img] [/hider] The Amrean Navy consists of a grand coastal fleet of some 60 copper-hulled steamships and an experimental ironclad. It is mostly used to bully the surrounding tribes and nations to collect tribute. Amrean ships are armed with smaller cannons and a small team of mages (separate from the H'ang-hyun and more akin to Marines) to provide heavier artillery support, taking advantage of mobility to evade enemy fire Location/Territories: Located in the central-east coast of the new world, on a large concentration of rivers and tributaries that provide it with ample farmland. Flanked by Ten'sha mountains to the west, hills to the south, steppes to the north and the great Sea of Krakens to the east, the Empire's borders are relatively self-contained, allowing it to remain somewhat isolated by land, but capable of projecting strength when necessary [hider=Map of the Amrean Empire] [img]https://i.imgur.com/OanJQza.png[/img] Star represents the capital of C'hung-jin. Non-coastal red circles represent major inland cities. Coastal red circles represent major ports. The purple circle represents Cantha, the only port open to foreign merchant ships. [/hider] Climate: Subtropical and Temperate Magic Prevalence/Usage: Present in about 30% of Amreans and considered to be the essence of the Sun God. Usage of magic is restricted to the nobility. They have a natural affinity to plasma magic, at around 60% of the population, and a 10% occurance of the other forms of magic. However, due to the heavy restrictions placed on magic, it's usage in the military takes a far more even distribution. Foreign relations: Limited trade with Yllendyr colonials, and suzerain of various tributaries on the continent. History/ Background Info: In ancient times, the area constituting the empire consisted of warring Amrean kingdoms and lesser states which had varied in power over the millennia. Ultimately, all were subsumed into the Empire. Ancient stories tell tales of other creatures; goblins, dragons and the like, but many assume they were killed off during the rise of the glorious Empire. The Amrean Empire of the Marute Dynasty has existed in some form or another for three thousand years, although at times it may have been reduced to but a single city and its surrounding territory. Led by the enigmatic House of Marute and it’s line of God Emperors and Empresses, the Empire has expanded to its greatest historical extent in the present day and what it considers to be it’s “natural borders.” Under the dynasty's rule, only once had Amrea fallen to the control of outsiders. Eight centuries prior to the present day, the mighty Bankuo Emperor was defeated in a magic duel with the vampire lord known in Amrean history only as "The Weeping Emperor" (Emperor Wulfram to the vampires). His reign was a period known as the "Nights of Tears", with the vampire lord and his progeny ruling Amrea before his grief paralyzed his rule and allowed the commonfolk to rise up and restore the Bankuo Emperor's descendants to the throne. Whilst short and bloody, his rule was not without benefits. Numerous canals, roads and monuments headed by the newly-created Ministry of Public Works were constructed during his time to feed his thirst for blood and bring him closer to his grand designs. These were eventually repurposed after the Marute Restoration to transport water and irrigate agricultural land. Due to the relatively isolated position on the continent with the only easy way to access the Empire from the northern steppes and southern hills, the territory is almost entirely homogenous. Whilst wild Strigoi do occasionally intrude into the Empire's borders, reports of strigoi attacks are taken extremely seriously, and amount to the deployment of an entire mage battalion to exterminate the marauding vampire. [hider=Characters] The Gwangyeong Empress, God-Empress Marute Na-ryu The Myosong Empress (Deceased, 4896 YDC) Mu-Go'jun, Supreme Commander of the Banner Armies Kang Li'yen, Director of the [i]Cantha Hong[/i] Min Ru'sa, Chief Commander of the Hang'hyun, Plasma Mage [b]Junior Commanders of the Hang'hyun[/b] Mae-da, Liquid Mage Zhu Rae'in, Gas Mage Lin Ha'en, Solid Mage Wei Wu-myeong, Mind Mage [/hider] [hider=Post History] [b]All Under Heaven[/b] [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/175130-the-fading-light-of-vlandriel-an-industrial-fantasy-rp-need-more-barba/ic#post-4791163]Part I[/url] [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/175130-the-fading-light-of-vlandriel-an-industrial-fantasy-rp-need-more-barba/ic#post-4792434]Part II[/url] [b]The Bony King of Nowhere[/b] [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/175130-the-fading-light-of-vlandriel-an-industrial-fantasy-rp-need-more-barba/ic?page=2#post-4795661]Part I[/url] [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/175130-the-fading-light-of-vlandriel-an-industrial-fantasy-rp-need-more-barba/ic?page=2#post-4797323]Part II[/url] [/hider]