[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/lvb8R84.png[/img][/center] [b]Nation Name[/b]: Royal State of Unified Saraya [b]Type of Government[/b]: Constitutional Monarchy [b]Head of Government[/b]: High King Angara Kassaji I [b]Economy[/b]: Economic developments are regionally aligned. Mining and heavy industrial outputs are concentrated around the western border and the mineral-rich mountains and hills. The southern coast is referred to as the industrial heartland, with shipbuilding and heavy industrial factories prevalent there. Service-based, modern economic functions like banking and finance exist in the central coast near the capital and other affluent cities. Education and other service sectors are most prevalent in the central and northern cities, which form an urban corridor along the coast. Farming and agricultural production is centered along the river valleys and in the central grasslands of the country, while lumber and forestry is focused on the jungles to the northeast. [b]Unique Technologies[/b]: I guess I’ll figure this out. [b]Primary Species[/b]: Human [b]Population[/b]: 27.7 million [b]Culture[/b]: Sarayan culture is generally described as mellow. Laid back and relaxed, it is usual to find coffee and conversation in cafes and households across the country. There is an intricate respect-based system of nicety and politeness, derived from beliefs of equality and humility and supported by the religious pantheon. There is little racial or gender-based difference in society, as the country was formed from a quorum of tribal entities that brought diverse viewpoints and experiences into a melting pot. Gender roles do exist in the world but are typically flexible and it is not unusual to see working women or stay-at-home men. Most outright discrimination occurs with non-human outsiders, but centuries of dealing with the Verdasou have nullified problems with “humanoid” races such as the mer-creatures. The official language is Sarayan, also known by its dialectical name of Jazadi (after the capital city of Jazad.) [b]Religion and Beliefs[/b]: The official Sarayan religion is referred to as the Navari Pantheon. The Pantheon consists of the worship and written lore of a dozen deities and their stories. The Pantheon is heavily-based on the ancient writings of the Old Sarayan tribes, who focused their worship towards fire. As a result, most temples are fire temples and many of the gods have a direct connection with fire despite representing facets of the world. Magic use is directly related to the Navari Pantheon, as it is related to the ceremonies and miracles of the gods. Clergy often occupy important roles in the tribal and rural areas of the country, and function as local mages and miracle-workers for villages and towns. [b]Location and Territories[/b]: Southwest Pandyssia, south-southwest of Verdasou and directly east of Anglonia-Eirein. Stretches inland for about a sixth of the continent. (Plot #9.) [b]Climate[/b]: Coastal temperate leading inland, with lush river valleys along the two main river inlets leading towards dry, semi-arid grasslands on and beside the mountains in the south and western edges of the country with the border to Anglonia. While not type-classified as mountains, sizeable hills break up the topography before jungle begins at the western border. To the north, forests turn to tropical jungle environments along the Verdasou border. The interior is mostly calm and temperate with lush forests and wider grasslands. Many of the tropical storms arriving in Verdasou make their way towards the northern regions of Saraya but are usually weaker after spending some time over land. [b]Military[/b]: The Royal Sarayan military is based around modern principles focusing on the Land Forces, Sea Forces, Air Forces, and National Gendarmerie. The Land Forces maintain their area of responsibility for defense of the national borders and land-based foreign expeditions. The Sea Forces patrol the coastline and international waters, while the Air Forces provide air-based support to all of these services. The National Gendarmerie focuses on internal law enforcement and domestic security at the national level. Specialized units like the Border Corps, Amphibious Corps, or Royal Guard Corps are typically sub-unified branches roughly attached to parent services yet with their own independent structures. The regular military is commanded by a quorum of Joint Service Chiefs with a head picked by the government while royal units (particularly the Royal Guard Corps, as authorized by the Constitution) are commanded by the High King. Various lower-level structures exist, including a national conscription reserve and militia element used to raise tribal levies on demand for conflict. These function as inactive parts of the regular military. Imperial tradition has resulted in the presence of several “elite” units generally independent of central authority, despite constitutional attempts to nullify the High King’s power over them. They have been mostly merged into the Royal Guard Corps, but subdivisions remain as independent regiment-sized elements across the country. [b]Magic Prevalence and Usage[/b]: Magic is heavily present in religious ceremony and cultural events. Many of the Navari clergy are adequate magical users, using them from summoning spirits at sermons to healing and providing alms. Gods of the Pantheon have imbued or dispersed magical powers, blessings, and abilities, albeit somewhat mysteriously. Average people are exposed to magic in their daily life as professionals such as doctors use it alongside traditional forms of medicine. It is taught in universities or special mage collages. The military has an organized training program for battlemages in combat and support roles. Usually most effective in the hands of the appropriately studied and skilled, magical power and imbuement finds a way into every facet of society from construction to entertainment. [b]History and Background[/b]: Saraya has a long and complicated internal history. Shielded by jungles to the west and mountains to the south, tribal culture and governments have existed since antiquity. In the early years of the 1st millennium, however, High King Yahani the Unifier established an alliance of tribes under the banner of his council. This alliance established a kingdom, dubbed Saraya after visions of the deity fire queen of Sara (referring to the head) encouraged acceptance and unification. The kingdom thrived on the southern coast of the Pandyssian continent for hundreds of years, establishing a national identity and embarking on campaigns to penetrate deeper into the heart of the continent in search of territory and imperial glory. Dynasties thrived, rose, and fell as the ages passed. Ancient Saraya most famously clashed with the jungle-people in the center of the continent in a massive war. After decades of war, their victory was decisively won when an ancient Sarayi army descended upon their capital and razed it to the ground, going so far as to carry the very bricks of their buildings back to Jazad to form a new wing of the High King’s palace. The jungle eventually reclaimed whatever was left of their civilization, and the rest of their identity was lost to history. The only records that remain name them as the Rustosi, but much of their way of living is now so obscure and shrouded in lore and mystery that scientific and archeological evidence is difficult to prove. Eventually, a national Sarayan identity was formed and used to rally nation-state ideals around. Tribal powers were quickly subsumed into an ever-more powerful High King, who ruled as an absolute autocrat for hundreds of years. Through good and bad, development of the country stalled and stuttered or progressed with the influx of new technology and ideas. Yet in the mid-1500s, the first of the Sarayan Revolutions was ignited by a belief that the monarch had consolidated too much power and the rest of the country was corrupt and undeveloped. Tribal forces rose against the High King and deposed him by 1564 after a decade of brutal fighting. Left scarred and ruined, the Sarayan people began the road to recovery with a new dynasty of tribesmen promising to pick up where the former king had ignored them. A distrust of foreign power had developed as foreign influence crept into the country. These tensions simmered for centuries, sometimes breaking out into small conflicts that left Saraya utterly humiliated yet never totally conquered. These decimated the military and prestige of the new dynasty, forcing the country into its century of shame. Trade and openness eventually petered out, before the country closed itself off for the first fifty years of the 18th century. Eventually, internal strife forced the monarch to reopen the country in order to secure food and resources for a growing population, but a strong distrust of foreign powers remains to this day. This dynasty survived for another two hundred years, before falling into the same traps as before. Just as the previous cycle fell, the second Sarayan Revolution established the Constitution of 1800 and installed the Padvian dynasty as rulers bound by oath to a new government. This was seen as a highly progressive move at the time, generated as new ideas surrounding democracy and government power were increasingly in vogue. These Padvians would rule an increasingly modernized empire as technology and money flowed from newly-opened trade between Anglonia and Verdasou. Jazad became a modern capital and the north coast of Saraya turned into an urban corridor. Industrialization took hold as the Padvians declared a strong military and industrial base the future security of their regime against foreign power, departing from tribal relations and magical-based might. 1927 marked a change in world power as the volcano explosion utterly decimated the northern hemisphere. In the south, the damage was not as severe, but climate change and a collapse of the international system led to hunger and internal unrest. The Padvian dynasty abdicated in early 1929 after two years of famine and rioting led to an attempt on life of the king that left him scarred and deformed. Almost a year of struggle led to the installment of High King Angara Kassaji. Kassaji, formerly a general officer in the Padvian military forces, utilized his connections to regiment and distribute food and resources to the people in the rural areas before marching on Jazad with an army of defectors and peasants. Kassaji declared the empire “Unified” again in December of 1929. The climate began to normalize and the situation improve, while Kassaji managed a reconstruction effort. Bound by the Constitution, revived in 1930 after falling by the wayside with Padvian corruption, Saraya is poised to compete with the Pandyssians as the north proves prime territory for foreign intervention. Relegated to a second or third-rate status for most of their history, High King Kassiji and the Sarayan people welcome the destruction of the north as an open door for their country. Millenia of lore and identity have coalesced into a resurgent state, their people hoping and trying for greatness in a new era. [b]National Relations[/b]: Saraya retains diplomatic relations with several countries. [i]Southern Verdasou[/i]: Southern Verdasou is an important trade partner to the north, providing significant loans and economic support to the Sarayan industry. However, diplomatic disputes around the presence of the former High King Padvia IV in the Coral City have been a friction point in the relationship. While technically not seen as a threat or issue by the Kassiji throne, Padvia maintains a residence there that is often the subject of protests and disruption. The new Kassiji dynasty is also met with some skepticism by Verdasou's government, who are still assessing the new regime. However, positive progression in recent years with racial acceptance have smoothed previous issues regarding immigration and discrimination that was marred by allegations of human favoritism. [i]Anglonia-Eirein[/i]: Sarayan and Anglonian relations have typically been distant, yet amicable. While there is significant overlap in ethnic population, especially near the border, internal disputes in both countries have resulted in more of an internal focus. Despite this, they maintain a mutual understanding as they both have undergone significant modernization in order to reduce their vulnerability to outside partners. They have participated in trade, technology, and doctrine exchange to further "northernize" their economies and strengthen the political power of their nation-states. [i]The Flotilla[/i]: The Flotilla maintains a docking and trading agreement with the Sarayan government in the southern city of Kuzom, which has constructed docking infrastructure and logistical support networks significant enough to take on the massive fleet of airships. Flotilla citizens are allowed in this exclusive economic zone but are typically met with hurdles if they try to travel throughout the rest of the country. [hider=Character Catalog:] Military: - Amsar Kandeh: A team leader freshly transferred to the Royal Guard Corps in Javad. After a career of excellence with the Land Forces, he seeks new opportunity in the elite Sarayan military forces. [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4856648]Introduction.[/url] - Marko Avordani: Another team leader with the Royal Guards, and a longtime comrade of Kandeh. Younger and more assertive, his risk-taking behavior is particularly worrisome to his much older friend. [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4856648]Introduction.[/url] People: - Azmat Sadari: A truck driver in the northeast, working the roads as the security situation in the jungle deteriorates. His desire to make a simple, honest living clashes with the newfound challenges of the political scene. [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4869551]Introduction.[/url] [/hider] [hider=Post Catalog:] 1: [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4856648]Sergeant Kandeh and Avordani arrive in Javad as they begin inprocessing to the Royal Guards Corps. They are informed of potential crises and actions in the near future.[/url] 2: [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4869551]Azmat Sadari completes his trucking job on the road from Voi to N'zwasis, passing through a security checkpoint as border raids intensify.[/url] [/hider]