[hider=Kingdom of Asceria] [b]Name and Title of Vassal State:[/b] [color=lightgray]Kingdom of Asceria[/color] [b]Ruler:[/b] [color=lightgray]Illyrin Kaçadere[/color] [b]Race:[/b] [color=lightgray]The native elven peoples of the Sceri Basin, Ascerians are a hardy folk. Derivative from their nomadic ancestry, Acserians typically possess a more tightly-built frame, typically amassing tone over raw mass as they make the most of every muscle. They are also noted for their complex set of pupils - ordinarily green or blue in color - Ascerians are gifted with very keen eyesight, able to discern objects with greater clarity at extreme distances. Most Ascerains possess skin tones that range from snowy pale to dark redwood, though the most common tones which are expressed stand with a distinct, reddish hue. Likewise, their hair most commonly manifests itself from shades of bone-white to blonde or bloody crimson, with black or brunette hair being quite rare. Though gifted with famously long elven lifespans, it's more typical that an Ascerian first die to disease or violence before coming close to the end of their natural dotage - a fact no doubt coupled with their cultural propensity for conflict and adventure. On average, an Ascerian will stand at approximately 190cm, with deviations being based more heavily on ancestry as opposed to sexual dimorphism. There appears to be a discrepancy between the number of births between males and females within Ascerian diaspora, with male births seeming to be considerably lower than their female counterpart, yet the phenomenon as of the present seems to be poorly-understood. [/color] [hider=Location:] [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/691801190748520489/889561499696250970/unknown.png[/img] I talked with Aaron about it some in PMs, the actual area is more concentrated to the East along the river and the mountain range. [/hider] [b]History:[/b] [color=lightgray]From beyond the Eastern Ranges, the elf-folk of the Sceri Basin have long held a less-than-stellar repute from their neighbors. Much has been spoken and told of the acts of they and their brethren, yet few of these tales involve cowardice. They and their ilk have long been touted as pillagers and hellions - with these yarns exaggerated or otherwise. Proto-Ascerian society at that point had largely been comprised of small, individual roving tribes, who had at large only reverted into larger coalitions in order to fuse tribal weddings or drive forth potential alliances for an upcoming incursion. Atop their famed greatwolves, the Proto-Ascerians of the East stormed through settlements with lightning speed, often traveling hundreds of miles per day in hot pursuit of a string of villages or outposts to siege. The times of the era were a harsh one, few could dissent; Clashes with men and dwarf were quite common, and for what the Proto-Ascerians lacked in organization they more than happily took in cultural cannibalism. When tribes or settlements were defeated in Proto-Ascerian battle, customary ritual would foresee the integration of their survivors into the clan of the vanquisher. Feuds between loyalties and bloodlines, then, were commonplace among Proto-Ascerians, and had by in large grossly inflamed tensions not only between Proto-Ascerian peoples and the peoples of the hamlets they now found themselves anthropophagizing, but also between individual clans and even inside of clans themselves. The loose, constantly-shifting nature of Proto-Ascerian society paved way for a chaotic, constantly-shifting arrangement, one where wealth and status was lost as easily as it had been gained, for which the fluidity of life itself was seen, perhaps viciously, as free as life itself. Life was orderless, anarchic perhaps, but certainly never dull. But, come the Gaulletics. What would soon come to be known as Asceria would be brought unto the fold - if not unto by heel for lack of trying. Initially, the divisions between Proto-Ascerian tribes had long divided not just individual chieftains, but also their many wise-men and witches in council. Some had long foreseen the sheer power that the Dark Men from across the seal could bequeath unto them, yet in that same breath their opposites warned that the strength lent to them from their would-be ally was not their own. The divisive opinions mattered little in the end, for those who would be lent unto the Dark Man would find themselves absorbed along their wind, and for those who might resist would lead to little aside from a chase back unto the Sceri from which they came - and from which they had long not belonged. The clans and battle-families which had long found themselves fighting side-by-side in alignment of their wrongs with the Dark Men of the West divided even their fragmented society greatly, until the vast and varied peoples of the Mountain Pine were solidified and their culture claimed; In that sense, when the dust settled and their people firmly a vassal, Asceria - then - was born. Aptly, the description to fit the relationship that the Ascerians have toward their overlord is one of acceptance, and little besides. Above all, Ascerians are nothing short of proud, and the aptitude from which the Gaulletics have routinely subverted or thwarted both the efforts of not just Ascerians - but of their friends and foes alike - has earned them something of a...begrudging respect. Respect and cooperation are not always two sides of the same coin, however, and that is a fact that is a painfully omnipresent statement as to be seen whenever one walks through the lands of the Ascerian. The Mycorian language is only spoken in the most absolute of circumstances, regulated only unto middlemen and adjudicators for Móirens. Metropolitan Mycorian fashion is discarded and disrobed for the native cloth and pelt of Asceria's sparked artisanship, from the ornate stone-and-wood, jagged architecture of Asceria displacing any mention of Mycorian masonwork, such that any Merchant Guild or Embassy shall stand out in the Ascerian settlement as to display it like a zoo. Even the Imperial Cult has been ritualistically cannibalized, butchered and carved before Ascerian totem-poles and prayer flags as saints become spirits and prayers become majicks. But alas, an Ascerian likewise has long known the mantra of obligation and mercy unto concord. While Mycoria has earned a their respect, the same certainly cannot be said for their friendship. And with the rumors of a rapacious disease tearing apart Mycorian society - one which only afflicts the Dark Ones - the true nature of their relationship shall be brought to bear, and perhaps with it, Mycoria shall witness whether Asceria shall ride into the future atop her majestic greatwolves with her, or toward her.[/color] [/hider] [hider=Imperial Census on Asceria] [b][u]Imperial Census on the Kingdom of Asceria[/u][/b] [b]Population[/b] 13,000,000 [list] [*] Ascerians 75% [*] Human 10% [*] Gaülletic 10% [*] Other races 5% [/list] [b]Average life expectancy[/b] 85 years [b]Causes of death[/b] [list] [*] Pneumonia [*] Influenza [*] Dysentery [*] Typhoid [*] Smallpox [*] Small wars, inter-clan violence, and related adventurism [/list] [b]Economic Production[/b] [list] [*] rye [*] hops [*] wheat [*] domesticated animals [*] iron [*] lead [*] copper [*] tin [*] lead [*] nickle [*] fish (salmon) [/list] [b]Tribute production[/b] [list] [*] sulfur [*] precious stones [*] iron [/list] The Kingdom of Asceria also has the [b]Minister of Works[/b] in the official service of the Empire. [/hider]