[hider=Andria] [center][h1][i]Andria[/i][/h1] [img]https://i.imgur.com/iUrtWnb.png[/img][/center] [u]Type of Government:[/u] Absolute Monarchy [u]Head(s) of Government:[/u] Queen Eldanorré IV [u]Politics:[/u] Andria is both an absolute monarchy and magocracy. Executive power is held by a hereditary monarch and a council of sorcerous elites simply referred to as [i]the Circle[/i]. High-ranking mages form the country’s nobility, lording over the non-gifted populace. The reigning monarch is Queen Eldanorré IV, of the Ardise familial line. The Ardise line has had a stranglehold on the throne ever since Andria’s founding. The monarch’s chief duties include commanding the army, overseeing religious matters and managing diplomatic affairs and treaties. The monarch has the final say in the passing of laws and may appoint individuals to the the Circle. Succession in Andria is hereditary and observes primogeniture. The sex of the firstborn has no formal bearing on succession. The Council has the power to nominate a monarch, if the reigning one dies without an heir, but this has been a non-issue since the Ardise line first reigned. The Circle is the most powerful political force in Andria, next to the monarch. The Council is a collection of individuals sworn to aid the monarch in governing the kingdom. Membership is restricted to magisters, the highest-ranking magical adepts in the kingdom. Andria has several administrative districts acting as intermediaries between the central government and wider populace. These were established following the dissolution of the impractical general assembly. Each district is responsible for at least one major city and the surrounding villages inside its borders. These districts carry out nationwide legislation from the central government and bring local affairs to executive attention. [u]Economy:[/u] TBA [u]Unique Technologies (the more exotic or interesting stuff your nation uses or has come up with):[/u] [u]Primary Species:[/u] Andria is a predominately human nation. Only humans may hold political office, and only mages at that. [u]Population:[/u] 38 million [u]Culture:[/u] At a glance, foreigners might think Andrian society is divided into two major groups - the mages and non-mages. The reality is more complex, as all nobles are mages, but not all mages are nobles. Likewise, occupation and daily life bring mages and the non-gifted populace in constant contact. Social classes are stratified, primarily according to magical ability. Common citizens, those born without magical aptitude, make up the vast majority of Andrian society. Commoners are independent, have the ability to decide their own lives and make their own wealth. In most regards, they are allowed similar freedoms in most other countries - they can own property, own and manage businesses, serve in the military, allowed education, have inherent human rights and legal representation, and so on. However, they have little to no say in the nation’s governance and are unable to hold office at anything beyond a basic local level. It is highly desirable for commoner parents to conceive a magically apt child. This increases their standing and affords them some degree of social mobility. This hope, however small, goes a long way to keeping commoners complicit with their lot in life. Most mages belong to the intermediate class, between the commoners and the high-ranking nobility. Intermediates are mages without an esteemed lineage, sometimes born of commoner parents. Their families may have been commoners up to this point, or have birthed mages for generations, but have no ties to the upper echelons of magical society. While not as privileged as nobility, intermediates have many opportunities available to them and can reach high-ranking positions through perseverance and effort. The difference between an intermediate and commoner is perhaps greater. It is an unspoken courtesy that commoners defer to their magical peers. Crimes against mages are punished more severely than those against commoners. The nobility of Andria are mages all. Their familial lines are held in esteem, going back centuries, if not millennia. Many are descendants of legendary Andrian heroes of yore, or claim to be. They will go to great lengths to record and preserve these genealogical histories. It is the nobles who hold the majority of Andria’s most powerful positions, and are likewise often the most high-ranking mages in the kingdom. Noble families will spend great sums on magical education to expand their repertoires and legitimize their positions. The nobility is competitive, each trying to accrue and maintain the favor of the monarch and their positions within society. Even with the emphasis on magical ability, high aptitude is not necessarily a requirement for many roles. The courts that oversee commoner cases are generally staffed by low-ranking mages to better bridge the gap between the mundane and the gifted. Plenty of powerful political roles are held by low-ranking magicians. Aptitude always helps, but so does knowing the right people, being in the right place at the right time. Andrians are generally dark-haired, with olive skin and aquiline noses. It is commonplace for scented oils, waxes or lotions to be applied to hair. Women wear their hair in elaborate braids, piled on top of their heads, or in ponytails, while men keep theirs cropped short. Wool is worn during the winter, and linen in the summer. Commoners typically wear clothing dyed in bright colors or kept white. Black robes are telltale signs of a mage and magisters wear these trimmed in gold with a badge of rank. It is fashionable for wealthy women to wear garments of incredibly sheer, almost transparent linen. Dancing and music is incredibly important to Andrian culture. There are over two-hundred distinct dances, covering purposes such as war, humor, athleticism, religion, holidays, weddings, funerals and other causes for occasion. A sought-after traits in both sexes is a partner practiced in either dance or the music to accompany it. Lyres, flutes, tambourines, cymbals and castanets are the most widely played instruments accompanying these dances. A well-practiced commoner is a sight to behold, but a mage can dazzle and move an audience like no other. Tendrils of magic whip in the air as a mage dancer whirls and magic-infused music elicits the deepest sensations in its listeners. [u]Religion and Other Beliefs:[/u] TBA [u]Location/Territories:[/u] Andria is located in southeast Tyviern. It is bordered by Soven-Ampara directly to the south, the Republic of Acrad to the southwest and the Talanian Sea to the east, etc. [img]https://i.imgur.com/sqe1JPf.png[/img] [u]Climate:[/u] Much of Andria is vast grassland and rolling hills. By and large, the country has a Mediterranean climate. Winters are mild and wet, while summers are hot and dry. Andria boasts rich farmland in its fertile lowland valleys. Olives and oil extracted from them are a major commodity of the region. The country is most densely populated by the coastline and its capital rests there. In the southwest, Andria’s border with Acrad is characterised by rocky mountain range. Here, irrigated agriculture produces goods such as wheat, barley, cotton, and tobacco. Many basins are located here, the result of inland drainage or erosion. These basins drain out to sea along rivers that stretch through the country. What forest there is is confined to the north and northwest. [u]Military:[/u] Service in the Andarian Armed Forces is voluntary and open to both mages and non-mages. Non-mages make up the vast majority of enlisted personnel and frontline soldiery. They can rise to NCO and low-grade officer ranks, but nonetheless are expected to defer to mages, who undergo officer training upon enlistment. Mages form both the leadership and force multipliers of the armed forces. Doctrine expects them to issue orders and formulate strategy, but also to bolster the fighting capability of the soldiery through destructive magics. The standard army infantryman's uniform consists of a grey-green tunic and matching trousers. Black marching boots are worn in harsh weather, whereas a more traditional style of Andrian shoe is worn when it is dry. Grey greatcoats are worn in cold weather, or otherwise rolled up in a soldier's pack. Ranks and unit designations are marked by the piping of shoulder straps and the collar. The standard service rifle is a straight-pull bolt-action rifle chambered for a .303 cartridge. It combines a respectable rate of fire of 20-30 rounds per minute with great reliability. More TBA [u]Magic Prevalence/Usage:[/u] Magic is everything in Andria. It legitimizes mages and magisters as the ruling body and the monarch as ruler of the nation. It is quite literally the backbone of Andrian society. Aptitude for magic can both be inherited by genetics and can be a spontaneous gift. Commoner families hold out hope they might bear a child with magical aptitude and reap the benefits of increased social standing. The children of mages are near-certain to be mages themselves. This encourages the magically-inclined to breed among themselves, and magical skill is seen as a desirable trait in a partner. Beyond the socio-political realm, magic is found in all levels of daily life. Street lamps are powered by magically-charged stones, boilers and ovens fuelled with magic blazes, the sick and injured are treated with magical cures, agriculture is nourished with magically-altered climates and weather. The consensus is life is plainly better with magic around, and all classes of Andria can point to the benefits. Mages are not only rulers, but healers, scientists, and scholars as well. More TBA [u]History/Background Info:[/u] TBA [u]Nation Relations:[/u] TBA [/hider]