[hider=Republic of Aurelia]
[b]Nation name:[/b] Republic of Aurelia
[b]Type of Government:[/b] Military Republic
[b]Heads of Government:[/b]
[indent]President-General Solomon Luther
Admiral of the Fleet Charon Sunderson
Spymaster Tharlon of Turtle Latoa
Minister of Research Sarah Thule
Minister of Civil Affairs Jean Jacob[/indent]
[b]Economy:[/b] Recent industrialization efforts are paying off as more and more factories pop up along the coastline. While coal and iron can be imported from deeper within the country, Aurelia has a need for more so will mostly import both coal and iron. Further up north there are also large farms producing wheat, vegetables, and cattle. Enough food is produced for export. Finally, in a bid to improve it’s standing on the international magical field, Aurelia both imports foreign magical objects and resources and exports magical trinkets.
[b]Primary species:[/b] Humans
[b]Population:[/b] 45 million
[b]Culture:[/b] With now a peasantry freed from the oppression from nobility and royalty and took up responsibility for themselves. The obligatory two-year draft has instilled a deep sense of respect for the military forces. While many state-sponsored artworks are now instilling a pride for being Aurelian in the hearts of the people.
[b]Religious and Other Beliefs:[/b] For long Aurelia had believed in a one true God and his angels. The Church of Ionius held influence everywhere. Now, however, it has fallen out of favor. Young people reject its teachings. Religiousness, in general, is in decline across the country as miracles are explained through precise magical theory and technology.
[b]Locations:[/b] Bordeaux red
[b]Climate:[/b] Temperate
[b]Military:[/b] At this moment there are three official branches. The Aurelian Navy, the Aurelian Army and the significantly smaller Aurelian Arcana branch.

The Aurelian Navy is but a shadow of what it once was. With only 15 cruisers and not allowed to build many more, it prefers to keep its larger ships near the coast. The fifteen cruisers are quite well maintained however. Most of the Aurelian Navy currently depends on lightweight, wooden destroyer ships to cut through the waves beyond its own coast. These destroyers are build to be fast and heavy hitting but lack any defenses. The marine corps in the navy is nearly non-existent. As for now, despite the constant insistence of Admiral Sunderson, the President-General has not given much attention to the navy.

The army on the other hand, has been given quite a bit of love. While it is heavily observed by dark elves, it has grown in the recent decade from an incompetent militia to an actual standing military. During General Solomon’s military reformation he made sure to organize constant marksmanship competitions and drills. Ensuring that his troops wouldn’t loose their edge. For now the army could be seen on par with most other armies on the Old World continent. Capable of defending their own home yet too small to invade anything. Aurelia lacks any and all equestrian forces. As horse riding was, until recently, a luxury only for the nobility. With their demise, the cavalry vanished as well. Instead of rebuilding it, General Solomon began to expand the artillery divisions.

The third branch is unarguably the one gaining the most attention. With the establishment of the Free Academy for Magic, mages could be pulled from the general population. Furthermore, a great many advantages were offered the join the military. The pay off was quickly seen with the establishment of General Solomon’s Brimstone Mages. Plasma mages with a high affinity for fire and combustion. While it would seem that the whole country has a greater affinity for plasma magic, the other forms were not neglected. With the establishment of the Magitects, newly improved fortresses could be built faster and cheaper. Sadly not everything is going as fantastic. Those with an affinity for liquid and gas are extremely rare. Too rare to form effective divisions for them. These days the Arcana branch also offers massive grants for both in-house and independent (but educated) mages for military research. In essence, it would be insane for any mage living within Aurelia to not have some affiliation with the Arcana branch.

The fourth branch is an unofficial and highly secretive branch. It exists of hired pirates, mercenaries, thieves, smugglers mixed with extremely loyal army officers. The fourth branch is highly active overseas in other countries. Establishing themselves in the underworlds of foreign cities. Its influences vary from nation to nation. Some nations, often those with problems towards humanity or trade, are totally sealed off. Others, especially nations that trade a lot, will be infiltrated to some degree. The fourth branch does its best to stay out of any official business within the host country. Generally, their agents are found in shady taverns or running gambling dens. If they reside within loyalist nations, they will attempt to disrupt any official and military business through terrorism and even guerrilla warfare. If they reside within separatist nations, said host nation can request support from the underworld. Within neutral nations, the fourth branch generally remains neutral as well.
[b]History: [/b]The kingdom of Aurelia once considered itself the pinnacle of civilization. Valiant knights stood against dragons, golden paladins vanquished evil witches and priests blessed the fields of the peasantry. The nobility, royalty, and clergy held themselves to the noble duties and protected the innocent. While the peasantry’s duty was to provide for the three former castes in life so they may be protected. Aurelian historians look back and call those the simpler days. When everything just worked. Where your word was your bond and the divine watched over you.

But it couldn’t last. A combination of greedy kings and insubordinate nobility had plunged Aurelia in several civil wars for the passed 300 years. Then, when king Bran the Unifier brought the once-shattered land back together, people had hope once more. Hope that kings like Bran would lead them to wealth. King William, son of Bran, promised exactly that. Wealth and greatness through conquest and heavy expansion. He pushed through reforms and triggered an industrial revolution. King William, according to many, was a fair man with a good heart. He made sure his subjects would have enough. Hopefully forever. This delayed the plans of expansion again and again. The nobility grew restless. Young knights felt a greed for glory. The Clergy was getting anxious as well. Especially when William was pushing for education.

His downfall was, maybe luckily, not the clergy or the nobility. It was an external threat. Right when he was going to order his troops to march into his neighbors, Yllendyr attacked. Pushing through Aurelia they met strong resistance. A well-prepared army and a population utterly unwilling to bend the knee. Thousands were slaughtered. It took half a decade for the Yllendyr forces to reach the capital. Once at its gates, king William was still completely unwilling to surrender. Rather suddenly though, he fell ill. A week in the siege of Aura, he died. The clergy were quick to crown his very young child as the new king and install one of their own as bishop. Mere hours after the coronation Aurelia surrendered. The only conditions were for the clergy, royalty and nobility to maintain their status and ability to govern Aurelia under the rulership of Yllendyr. In essence, they sold out the land to protect themselves.

The middle class suffered greatly under this surrender. They were the ones raised in levies, while the nobility could pretend to fight with bandits as leaders of the militia. They were the ones being double taxed now, both by Yllendyr and their own state. A deep sense of resentment and bitterness boiled over many times. Each rebellion was quickly squashed by the nobility though. Who didn’t want to attract even more ire from their overlords.

Sadly the economy began to falter as of recently. The heavy taxations and general hopelessness of the population is crushing efficiency. This lasted until Solomon Luther entered the realm of politics. As an accomplished soldier from the Yllendyr levies, he was quick to raise his own militia. Which appeared easily more capable than the nobility’s own militias. He was also elected as mayor of his hometown and managed to make it one of the few places in Aurelia where people appear to actually like living. King William II raised Solomon up and made him a royal advisor. As the years carried on, Solomon worked hard and long on rebuilding Aurelia. Even though the nobility tried to block him at every step, it began to get hard to argue with results.

However, Solomon realized that he was but remedying the symptoms of a much larger issue. Yllendyr occupation and the willingness of the royalty, nobility and clergy to obey their overlords. Solomon knew that someday he’d have his chance. So he prepared. Shades and shadows moved into other countries. Forming a network of illegal smuggling and other underworldly activities. At home, he made lists of dark elves, people trading with dark elves, locations of mansions. Everything. Maybe someday his children’s children could take off the chains. Imagine his surprise when one of his shadows told him that the Emperor is dead and the Empire was in a civil war.
[/hider]