[hider=Nur Tacenie] [center] [h2][b][color=green]Nur Tacenie[/color][/b][/h2] [img]https://i.pinimg.com/736x/15/7f/c7/157fc78c7a35c9b3d7bc9c3d133edd86.jpg[/img] [color=green]Government Form[/color]: [sub]Kratocracy. Before the storm, the elvish society of Tacenie had reached such heights of magical supremacy that living in an essentially post scarcity society had eroded most forms of hierarchy since it was no longer needed to sustain society. When Tacenie fell however, this meant that no authority was recognized except the one you could force on others with the threat of violence. Now, authorities rest in the hands of petty tyrants who come and go with a Supreme Tyrant maintaining loose dominion over all of Nur Tacenie. The Tacenian elves maintain a similar dominion over their thralls, though since most races are far less long lived than them (and far less prone to violent conflicts), they often elect to designate a person's lineage as their proxy for rulership, though these families are often reminded that they only rule by the whim of their elven masters. [/sub] [color=green]Demographics[/color]: [sub]Tacenian Elves used to be immortal magically attuned 'demigods' by their own claim, but the storm put an end to this. They are still by most norms superhuman in most aspects, retaining the magical alterations they made to their bodies a long time ago giving them superior strength, speed, intellect, agelessness, health, regeneration and other things. Another unfortunate alteration that was common before the storm was infertility, as in their hedonistic lifestyle it was considered simpler to keep the possibility of conception at 'off' until they were sure they wanted to procreate. Thus the legacy of Tacenie is doomed to die as its members perish in battle or from a form of cancer that magic would have trivially cured before it all went wrong.[/sub] [color=green]Population[/color]: [sub] -60.000 Tacenian elves. -1.100.000 Thralls of all species, mostly humans. [/sub] --- [/center] [color=green]Description of Claimed Territory[/color]: [sub]Large swats of lands above Ordun and the bottom left Aris enclave?[/sub] [color=green]History[/color]: [sub]The elves of Urionmar had begun as a land of warrior-mages, fighting for its survival and glory until such a point as where they felt they stood above all others with the terrible powers they commanded, which had reached the point where food, clothing, housing, anything they could want really, could be provided with magic. From then Urionmar turned inward, leaving the land itself behind as they took to the skies in their flying city of Tacenie. For many years the elves who had conquered mortality itself lived in hedonistic pleasure, that is until the storm. When the storm came, Tacenie fell. Millions died that day and those left would struggle to survive in its ruins, fighting for scraps of food and dying to starvation. Magic had given them everything and without it, the most basic things like agriculture had been forgotten long ago. They tried to rebuild but simply put, every Tacenian had been born a lord and refused to lower themselves to do base manual labor, they all judged themselves too good for such things! It was all work for... others. Even before the storm had completely subsided, the remaining Tacenian, still blessed with superhuman bodies and a martial culture, began braving it to find thralls who could do the labor they couldn't or wouldn't do. When the storm finally ended, the surviving Tacenians had taken a liking in ruling over others and decided to ride out into the world. For some it was about the dream of rebuilding their decadent lifestyles, for some it was about never needing to ever have to serve others ever again as they were forced to do during the storm, while for a few the thrill of battle, conquest and domination proved a far more intoxicating lifestyle than the hedonism of the previous era had ever been. Thus was reborn new 'Nur' Tacenie.[/sub] [color=green]Culture and Society[/color]: [sub]The easy life of the previous age of magic muddled what Urionic culture looked like, but one thing that was perhaps surprisingly retained and even strengthened was its martial aspect. Simply put, when an elf can have anything it wishes with a magic command, the only competition that remained was not material, but martial. Pride, status and social standing went to those who would fight and win. Magic may create more wondrous crafts than any experienced hands might, but to best another elf could only be achieved through one's expertise! Plus, with physical magical enhancement, everyone had the potential. Conversely, another trait that this lifestyle maintained was the taboo about killing other elves. Being without end, an elven life thus had infinite value! The act of killing an immortal was and even now is supremely rare. In the olden days, another reason was that it was seen as poor sportsmanship: if you vanquished an enemy in a duel then it was only fair to allow him to learn from his mistake, if you didn't it was an admition that you feared he would best you next time. Today, it's also another thing... Tacenians fear death. Against other species they may seem like they embrace it because they are too prideful to surrender, but between each other, to show mercy on those you vanquished is a silent promise that should the tables turn, you will receive the same mercy. The legions of thralls the Tacenians command also have their own societies and culture, but they all have in common how they must live under the boot of their overlords. They deal with this differently, some see the Tacenians as gods, others as their feudal lieges, it mostly depends on what Tyrant rules over them. While some have quirks that demand special considerations from their thralls, most are distant and simply expect tributes to be delivered to their palaces and castles.[/sub] [center] --- [/center] [color=green]Governance and Politics[/color]: [sub]No warrior can tyrannize a nation alone. At the highest spheres of power, the Supreme Tyrant rules from his throne in the ruins of Fallen Tacenie by coalition based on what rights and privileges he can insure for those loyal to him. Back in the days of the storm when they were mostly closed to the world, it meant balancing the feuds and egos of an army of vainglorious warriors, but now it is widely seen as a much simpler solution to bargain with the various Tyrants with the resources of Tacenie's neighbors rather than its own, so the role of Supreme Tyrant is in great part that of supreme warlord, with the longevity of its rule based on how much land, thralls and riches he can give to his supporters. Underneath him are the individual tyrants, elves that rule over others with ties of friendship and common interests. The former might seem curious, but an elf who finds his Tyrant too... well, tyrannical, will often defect to one he finds more agreeable. Tacenians are in constant competition with one another, but since to kill another immortal is the ultimate taboo, in victory or defeat it is often the case that nothing is personal. Said Tyrant will often rule from a palace where he will live with his more social warriors serve as his companion and retinue, though there are always some warriors who dislike the company of their own and will live as petty tyrants of thrall settlements, often enjoying the social aspect of being the most powerful person in a given area. Some tyrants likewise rule over others and are called Overtyrants. Under the elven tyrants are the thralls who are ruled either by elven warriors or by their own leaders serving as proxies for the tyrants. These will often be warriors themselves due to the preference of the Tyrants, but their main duty is actually to produce tributes and goods for their masters so said Chosens have great incentive in setting up structures that maximize productivity since they are not immortals and thus their elven masters rarely allow a thrall to live if they displease them.[/sub] [color=green]Technology[/color]: [sub]Tacenie warriors fight with weapons and armor made from Tacenie steel, a magically enhanced metal with properties that make it vastly superior to all others but that can no longer be made and exists in a now very finite quantity. The ruins of Tacenie are being dug up around the clock to find the vast quantities of personal arms the population had, but every year there is less and less rubble to be explored and these weapons are often jealously protected by Tyrants who are hesitant to give replacements to their warriors when their old and overused weapons and armor eventually chip and break. Otherwise the technology levels found in Tacenie land varies widely from places to places depending on the skills of the thralls that inhabit the lands. While others inovate, Tacenians rely on pillaging and enslaving their neighbors to bring innovations, and then again the only thing they care about often is exotic luxury goods that only benefit them while the thralls sometimes live like iron age peasants. [/sub] [color=green]Military Overview[/color]: [sub]The military structure of Nur Tacenie is mostly feudal: The Supreme Tyrant who is the guarantor of elven lives against outsiders will defend his underlings for if he doesn't he is sure to be deposed by someone who promises he will. He thus calls on the subject Tyrant with the promises of plunder and the threat of punishment to come to his aid with his warriors and warband of aspirant thralls. The core of a Tacenie Warband are the Brotherhoods, extremely skillful elves equipped with Tacenie steel weapons and armor who will often initially stay in reserve to enter the melee at a critical moment to break the enemy. A brotherhood is formed by a Tyrant and his warriors who know each other's fighting style completely and who excel at covering each other's weaknesses. The main fighting force of any warband however are Aspirants and the Chosens that lead them. Chosens being the proxies of the elves ruling over the conquered people, they are tasked to educate a levy in the ways of war. Failure to deliver an appropriately trained and equipped levy often result in a Chosen being killed and a new one chosen from the aspiring men he brought with him. Tactically a Tacenie warband is a blunt instrument, it has significant focus on melee and often lacks the discipline to execute complex tactics, but it remains a fearsome adversary due to its warriors being individually extremely trained with sky high moral. The thralls are after all dubbed aspirants since they aspire to the many benefits gained by distinguishing themselves in the eyes of their elven masters for should they succeed, a share of the plunder, luxuries, concubines and the chance to become Chosen and rule their town or village is open to them. Another trait that is often underestimated is the autonomy of the individual tyrants and their ability to make the most of said autonomy. A Tacenie brotherhood is often seen as just a bunch of tough, but also mindless vainglorious warriors, but nothing could be further from the truth. Tyrants are the veterans of hundreds of battles and through this experience have come to show the ability to 'feel' the flow of battle, what unit is strong, and which one is about to break. They may be a bunch of frenzied warmongers, but in the middle of a battle they tend to find themselves at the exact place where a bunch of frenzied warmongers can do the most damage. [/sub] [center] --- [/center] [color=green]Additional Info[/color]: [sub](Anything else you want to include that there isn't a spot for up there.)[/sub] [/hider]