[hider=Divine Republic of Fenice][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/506708314839580672/523259019284971521/Fenice_new.png[/img]

[color=f7941d][b]Name:[/b][/color] Fenizia Republiqua del Dio (Phoenix Republic of the Sun, alternatively Divine Republic of Fenice), Fenice for shorthand
[color=f7941d][b]Common Demonym:[/b][/color] Fenizian/Fenician
[color=f7941d][b]Government Type:[/b][/color] Federal Divine Republic (see below)
[color=f7941d][b]Head of the State:[/b][/color] Genitrix del Dio Grande Superior et Santissimo
[color=f7941d][b]Dominant Species:[/b][/color] Calavenyr (Sun Elves)
[color=f7941d][b]Capital City:[/b][/color] Fenizia
[color=f7941d][b]Population:[/b][/color] ~72 million
[color=f7941d][b]Area:[/b][/color] 1.336 million square km land, 0.136 million square km territorial waters

Fenice is a somewhat eccentric country ruled by the sun elves. Their state religion Dionism is well known and focuses on worshiping the Sun. Fenicians are almost infectiously vigorous and their enthusiasm might easily catch one off guard. While considered friendly they are also known to be ferocious fighters and lead several holy crusades in the past. Calavenyr (sun elves) have a long history of love-hate relationship with dark elves of Ylleria. Sometimes they were grave enemies, other times staunch allies. Currently the relations between Yllendyr and Fenice are quite positive thanks to the Dionist clergy signing an alliance to the Imperium.

[h2][color=f7941d][b]History[/b][/color][/h2]TBA

[h2][color=f7941d][b]Territory[/b][/color][/h2][hider=Map Claim - Orange, southeastern location, Old World]
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The land of Fenice, alternatively referred as Ardensuo, is located somewhere at the edge of the temperate climate zone between 29 to 47 degrees latitude. A lush and abundant territory thanks to being in the delta of the river Rilucorsi. Weather wise the northernmost regions are more mediterranean while the southern edges are closer to oceanic climates. A small patch between the end of the river deltas and the ocean bays is also known to be a desert thanks to the mountains blocking rainclouds.
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[h2][color=f7941d][b]Demographics[/b][/color][/h2]The land of Ardensuo has many inhabitants albeit the sun elves (Calavenyr) are the most dominant. According to the census in YDC 4900 there are currently 100 million sun elves, about 45 million at home while 55 million is spread elsewhere through the Fifteen Dominions. Even in other countries the Calavenyr tend to form their own little circles based on Fenician culture. While this isn't necessarily paired with a sense of loyalty it can be said that practically every sun elf still considers Fenice their motherland. In spite of the Imperial effort to unite Calavenyr with the growing pan-elven culture it only had moderate successes so far. Make no mistake the Calavenyr does feel a kinship with other elves, there are little if any lingering hostilities from the past. Yet the divergence from the general elvish culture is so distant their complete integration feels like an impossible task. Given these circumstances it isn't surprising that Fenice has a very low Yllendyr population, maybe one and half million. This includes government officials, merchants, skilled workers, scientists and even those who serve in the Auxilia stationed in Fenice. Fluctuations in this number are considerable as most Yllendyr would not find the Fenician society comfortable. As a consequence there's also the popular Fenician view on the dark elves of Ylleria as stuck-up no-nonsense weirdos. Instead of them the second biggest elvish demographic in Fenice are the wood elves, roughly 4 million. They live in the autonomous body of Iontachyr which allows them to posses their own unique culture.

Aside from elves the second largest recognized population are the humans, a bit less than 16 million. Unlike most regions of the empire the humans are not considered slaves within Fenice, although they are definitely second class citizens at best. In spite of that the promise of freedom did charm humans from other regions to the country even if this slowed down considerably in the recent decades. Aside from wood elves there are two other races who manage to self-govern within Fenice. Zwölfberge is a region of twelve mountain city states ruled by dwarves. While formally part of Fenice they effectively can decide on their own laws so long it doesn't infringe on the guidelines laid out by Fenice or the Imperium. Of course dwarves also live outside Zwölfberge, especially in mining towns or cities. Traveling dwarven merchants are still a reoccurring sight in the country, too. Combining all these there are roughly 4 million dwarves total. The other autonomous region is Ithaké, a rough semi-desert environment dominated by the centaurs. These semi-nomadic people are hard to tame, sticking to their traditions even in this age. On the other hand they are not hostile to Fenician influence and currently 2 million of them exist in Ardensuo alone. Slavery is rare in Fenice, not entirely abolished. It is generally linked to special permits, including debt slaves who are forced to become servants until they could pay back to the owner. Yet there's one significant group whose enslavement is oft forgotten, kobolds and to a lesser extent the goblins. A weak and diminutive species sharing traits of both rats and lizards they were bound to be subjugated by a greater race. No census bothers to count the number of kobolds or goblins within Fenice but estimates are between 20 to 40 million.

Lastly but not least Fenice has some unique residents, fire elementals. Being embodiments of flames they are unable to speak and their existence could be destructive to most things around them. Yet through effort Fenice managed establish a line of communication with them and forge a deal. Since then fire elementals and sun elves live in relative harmony, although their societies rarely interact. Fenice effectively brought them out by offering them better ways to sustain themselves and giving them better habitats. Thanks to that the formerly scarce population of fire elementals grew massively, currently registering over 5000 specimen in just the country alone. Fire elementals of course help Fenice in return in various ways. They assist in magical and scientific research, moderate forges and turbines or even lend a few of their members as soldiers. In spite of the occasional "troubles" associated with fire elementals they overall had a positive effect on Fenice's growth.


[h2][color=f7941d][b]Government/Society[/b][/color][/h2]To put it in brief the Fenician government is rather unique. At first glance it is a republic with long history. On the other hand it has monarchic ruler for life in the form of the Genitrix whose selection is done through the Violet Hall of Fenice's Dionist clergy, not the people. In a sense this is a dual system where the two sides have influences on different matters. Historically the Senate and the Violet Hall were engaging in non-stop power struggles. This dynamic relationship was solidified upon Yllendyr conquest. The secularist views of dark elves couldn't accept a pure theocratic leadership thus the Senate became the overall governor of the state. They manage the country while the Violet Hall with the Genitrix represents Fenice within the Imperial Court, although they still hold a limited authority over the Senate. Normally this would mean the Genitrix is Imperial Viceroy yet in effect this is a bit more complicated. Rather than Her Holiness the official viceroy is her aide and chief ambassador, appointed directly by the imperial government. This results in the funny situation of the viceroy of Fenice serving both the emperor and the Genitrix, of course with their loyalty swaying more towards the imperial side.

This is just the foreign politics portion, of course. Internally the so-called Divine Republic is a federation of numerous autonomous or semi-autonomous states. A group of such states form a Diocles and there are 12 of them including racial autonomies like Zwölfberge (dwarves), Ithaké (centaurs) and Iontachyr (wood elves). Each of the twelve diocleses divide into prefectures (Prefecturas) which of course contain various settlements and a local capital. Speaking of which the capital city Fenizia is also governing the Fenizia prefecture which has authority over the Ignis diocles. The 9 "normal" diocleses have fairly uniform atmosphere. Local differences like the dominant economy, neighbors and the demographics aside it is simple to harmonize laws through them. Racial autonomies on the other hand are like their own little countries. While Iontachyr is gradually adapting to sun elven and now also Yllendyr norms the other two races are far more on the stubborn side. Ithaké itself is the largest diocles and that is because there's barely anything on it. A semi-desert world where a lot of centaurs still live like nomads. As such there's no major push for them. Zwölfberge is the other way around with its highly developed cities and robust industries they can effectively ransom the government into giving them more freedom. Fenice is a complex country and perhaps because of this the Yllendyr chose to minimize their interference on Fenician politics.

[h2][color=f7941d][b]Economy/Industry[/b][/color][/h2]Fenice's extensive mercantile traditions enabled it to achieve a relatively smooth transfer into the age of corporations and the free market. Unlike their government the Fenician economy is highly centralized and has been for centuries thanks to sitting on a nexus of well-navigable rivers that cross a good portion of the continent. Fenizia in particular is a mammoth of a city, deserving its title as capital with the population surpassing 5 million. Of course sustaining this through waterways alone would be insufficient and while reluctant at first Fenice is now building up a dense railway network. As for agriculture the country has a decent soil albeit not the best weather which results in highly variable production rates. This makes local farmers harder to compete with others on the market, especially when it comes to granary goods and other mass consumption products. On the other hand Fenice has a rich seed oil and sugar industry. Sugar beet and its products makes up some 16% of Fenice's income. As a curious note Ardensuo is actually a terrible land for growing cotton and as such they import raw cotton and often even cotton products from other dominions.

Industry-wise Fenice is quite developed. While not competitive in light industries, they made great advancements in heavy industries and technology. Zwölfberge might be not as abundant as the mountains of Vaurgemyr but they are the main producer of Gramasso (tungsten) and they have great expertise at alloy steels. Steam technology is another field that Fenice is proud of, especially turbines where they are considered the leader. The first gas turbine powerplant was made in Fenizia (although with the aid of fire elementals). Internal combustion engines are curiously neglected in Fenice, though. Speaking of engines Fenice has various steam car companies including the now famous Cizeo Ltd. which sold 500 vehicles just last year. Sun faith is powerful in Fenice thus when they had a chance to bring light into the period darkness they immediately jumped on the occasion. As such public lighting is widespread in Fenician cities and even towns, usually provided by local powerplants of various type.

[b]Major Exports:[/b] Sugar, tungsten (and alloyed tools/parts), aluminum, turbines, fireworks, electric equipment
[b]Major Imports:[/b] Granary goods, cotton, textiles, steel, silver, rare materials

[h2][color=f7941d][b]Magic[/b][/color][/h2]Like most elves the Calavenyr are born with magic. This does not mean everyone has the ability to become a competent mage but the most elementary spellcasting is almost like a second nature to them. Actually in case of the sun elves this goes beyond as their wild energies have to be periodically released otherwise it could impact their health. Devices to contain this errant power were developed early and nowadays technology which turns this errant magic energy into something more useful is fairly common in Calavenyr households. Magic sticks that can remotely light candles, tea boilers and so forth. Their capabilities are limited and often times replaceable by technological inventions of the time but regardless Calavenyr uses them.

True to their name the sun elves of course specialize in plasma magic with at average three quarter of their mages developing such powers. It goes beyond mere affinity, sun elves are obsessed with flames and the raw energy of this magic. To them plasma magic is often associated by their Sun religion, the Dionism. While less popular than plasma the sun elves can develop capabilities to manipulate different planes. Gas being the second most common as a complimentary to plasma while mind plane mages are always sought after for synergistic effects. Solid and liquid magic receive relatively limited attention, although thanks to Yllendyr influences there are three times as many liquid mages in Fenice than it used to be.
[hider=Solametta --- The Sun Saber][img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ca/25/21/ca2521df96c0169a106ca1a98bca4126.jpg[/img]

Sola Gladia, solblade, solar saber and many other names... they mean the same thing. They are essentially enchanted hilts that can project blades of searing plasma. The ultimate fire sword, you could say. They are the latest evolution of the sun elvish obsession to hit people with the power of their beloved sun. The hilt is somewhat heavy but since there's no physical blade its balance allows it to be swung at great speeds, almost as if the weapon would lack any momentum. Once activated the Solametta pushes out a blade of pure plasma yet normally the said plasma is merely hot rather than capable of causing major harm. It might burn your skin on direct contact but would never kill you. To be lethal you require velocity, the faster you get the hotter these blades could get. A well-executed swing can burn flesh and causes nearby organic compounds to combust. In effect this means the sword can cut through flesh and leave a cauterized mark behind. On the other hand while somewhat uncomfortable the Solametta would be ineffective against metal armor. Rather than cutting through the blade disperses like blowing dust to a hard surface. The solar blade can reform in a second yet such delay could still give an opportunity to counterattack. Speaking of metal contact, duels between a solar saber and a regular unenchanted sword can get fairly awkward. Formless plasma doesn't stop steel while steel won't really stop glowing hot gases, they pass through each other. In such cases no blocking or parrying is plausible. As such there are enchanted swords that remedy this or specially made Solamettae that can clash with regular blades and retain form. In spite of sounding fairly complicated the fundamental principle is fairly simple and based off the behavior of fire elementals. As such for 200 years now sun elves brandishing their solar blade are an increasingly common sight, even becoming the standard sidearm in Fenice to replace infantry sabers.
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[h2][color=f7941d][b]Military[/b][/color][/h2]TBA.

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