Demonym: Caelumian
Description: Caelum is a nation known for being wild, untouched and unexplored. The natives take only what they need from the land and leave the rest to grown wild. Such a mad, uninhibited land can only prosper with an equally mad, uninhibited populace, right? Calm down, we're not barbarians. Caelum is ruled with a strict hierarchy, with the Queen Lilith at the very top, the Dark Angel Nobles just below her, then all the way through the various castes and classes. Men take castes from their fathers, women take castes from their mothers. That said, there is enough caste leeway to allow someone to rise or fall a few ranks.
Caelum is considered a soft matriarchy. Women gold most of the political and religious clout, women are generally of higher classes than their husbands and it falls upon the woman to find a husband, not the man to find a wife. That said, there are no laws inhibiting men or holding back the rights women have from the male populace, so this is strictly a cultural quirk.
A rich and cultured nation, Caelum is nonetheless held back from its true potential. Angels have colonised very little of the land, amassing either in large central cities or small agrarian villages that maintain the populace. Most of the land owned by the Queendom is wild and untamed. Many resources remain hidden behind the Queen's arbitrary border. Even though what they have is enough, they are still behind technologically, relying on bows and arrows before gunpowder, and they still use catapults and trebuchet rather than cannons. Caelum is a very colourful nation. Everyone, from slave to noble, is expected to wear bright, merry colours. Everything is vibrant and blooming, even terrifying at times. Fashion is jarring and contrasting. Angels may dye their hair with streaks or stripes just to stand out. Sometimes they spike their hair up or cut it unevenly, doing whatever they can to be as oug there as possible. Dark Angel nobles are the worst for it. Because they dont need the Caste facepaints, Dark Angel nobles are free to apply all kinds of madcap facepaints. Don't mistake this for wearing clown makeup of warpaint - the focus is mainly on the eyes and cheeks, favouring long stripes and big circles.
Ideologically speaking, Caelum is hierarchal to the extreme.
Everyone has a place. Those at the top must look after those at the bottom and those at the bottom must serve those at the top. This system, in theory, means the weak provide for the strong and the strong provide for the weak. In practice, it means the noble classes are outrageously decadent and the lower classes live in total abject fear of the higher ups. Many castles and keeps are filled with castless slave boys and servant girls who run after the ever more extravagant needs of their mistresses,
taken from their families or born in captivity
Government: The nation is a feudal monarchy. All Angels are in thrall to the Dark Angels, who make up the nobility. They are lead by the Queen, Lilith, who has total power over everything and everyone in the nation. Her authority is religiously based, the Creator having given the Dark Angels wardenship over the Angels and the Angels being enthralled to their Queen. Queenhood is passed on via Assignment, however Lilith has been queen for all recorded history.
If one has the fortune of being born a Dark Angel, one is destined to become a noble. The region is divided into Holds, each of which is ruled by a local Dark Angel dynasty
Economy: A thriving merchant caste of Angels runs business, however it is strictly inhibited. All trades and profits are, of course, subject to Her Majesty's approval and if she says no, then no is the answer. Local nobles also take a cut, and there are clearly defined geographical boundaries that cannot be crossed.
The environment of Caelum is rich and well sourced, holding an incredible amount of rare and precious materials. However, most of this lays untouched. Religious rule declares that since the earth is property of the Creator, it must be protected and maintained. Angels are permitted to use their natural resources only if deemed necessary to survive. What exactly qualifies as necessary to survive depends on the reigning Queen, and Lilith has taken a hardline environmentalist approach, decreeing most of the land sacred. Despite this, Caelum remains an incredibly wealthy nation.
Religion: Caelum follows a primitive religion centred around the god-queen, Lilith - who remains the current monarch. Insulting Lilith or her children is considered blasphemy, and is punishable by oubliette. Lilith claims authority by a God higher than her, the Creator, through which all was made and unmade. Lilith, therefore, is the Creator's emissary on earth and is the ultimate authority after the Creator. Supposedly the Creator made the Dark Angels to watch over their paler cousins and the Angels themselves were made to protect the earth from all threats, demonic or otherwise. The religion is strict and elitist, essentially placing Dark Angels above all others. What little "worship" there is takes the form of a cult of personality.
Geography:
Trees. Seriously. Enough with the trees, guys. Trees are EVERYWHERE in this nation. You cant take five steps without seeing a tree. You get out of your tree house and eat breakfast made from the fruit of a tree then go to your tree work to plant trees for the woman living in a big tree. Trees goddamn everywhere The trees are so thick and so omnipresent that Caelum is written in most maps as the "Caelumnian Forest". To make matters worse, the whole goddamn country is canyon after canyon. High plateus and deep canyons, all covered in forests thicker than a feminist's underarm. As if all that wasnt enough, the number of caves and caverns underground mean that even if you do get out the trees, you have to navigate a labyrinth of cave after cave after cave. To top all THAT off,
the nation is scorching, being a jungle and all. If getting lost in a tangle of vines and caves, getting eaten alive by insects and beasts and dying of heat exposure is your bag, come down to Caelum!
Population: 8,700,000
Demographics
The most common description of the creatures that inhabit Caelum is "angels". Standing between a rather short three to four foot, with woman generally taller than men, these creatures boast an impressive pair of multi-coloured wings, each as long as the person it carries. However, these "angels" have some conventionally un-angelic features. Their skin is pure white. Not simply pale, but white, like porcelain or snow. Their eyes, like their wings, are an array of colours, both in iris and sclera. Likewise, their hair grows in naturally a wide variety of colours, such as purple, blue, pink, green and orange. Blonde is the only "human" colour that appears common amongst Angels. Angels are sexually monomorphic, meaning other than genitalia and breasts there is little discernible difference between males and females. Both lack body hair beyond head and genitals. Both sexes are described as "feminine", "fragile" and "girlish" by outsiders. Their metabolisms are incredibly fast, allowing them to break down poison and fat quickly, but also making it incredibly difficult to develop muscle. Their bones are hollow, making them very lightweight and swift, but easily injured.
A male looks over his sister's head as she poses for the artist. Notably, there is not much difference in their facial features, despite their different sexes. The paint on their face is symbolic, denoting caste and rank - the male is of lower rank than the female in this instance. Also notable is the male's hood - The eyes and mouth serve to intimidate foes, be they bandits or animals and is commonly worn by hunters.
There is an exception to this rule. Dark Angels, as they are nicknamed, fly in the face of most Angel conventions. Unlike their porcelain counterparts, they have dark skin and are far hardier, with slower metabolisms and thicker bones . As is typical of Angel fashion, they cover their faces in warpaint, but since their skin is dark enough that they don't really need to mark their caste, this is pretty much just for The Gigz.
Notable Locations
Auria - The capital city and largest city in Caelum, this militant city stands proud and strong against all comers. The only real "city" in Caelum is
home to Heaven's Throne and the Aeternia family, headed by the Queen, Lilith. Everyone here lives in actual homes and a white stone wall has been erected around the city, making it unique amongst Caelumnian cities
Personalities of Note
(Your ruler, perhaps your highest military officers, generally just use this space to help us keep track of your POV characters)
Institutions:
The Rangers - Brave members of the Warrior castes may elect to become Rangers. Rangers are in charge of looking after the vast forests and mountains that make up Caelum's wilderness. There are many threats in the wilds that make this job incredibly dangerous as well as vital. The work of a Ranger is one of monitoring and preservation, and its because of the careful work of Rangers that Caelum's wilderness is one of the best kept in the world
Caste Keepers - When one's rank can be determined by the painting their face, it becomes vital for someone to keep records of who does what. Caste Keepers do this job. They are the only ones who can make the special paints that permanently mark one as a member of a caste, and they are the only ones who know how to remove the aforementioned paint
Military:
Organization: Battlemages are organised into Colleges, where they study and practice magic. These colleges can be called into war if the situation demands it. In addition, most nobles keep Honour Guards and retinues that they train and assign themselves and the Rangers are well trained in guerilla warfare.
Troop Total: 43,500
Army: The standing army consists of the Battlemages. Battlemages are a queer lot, combining both magic and physical soldiery in a very literal interpretation of the phrase "spellsword". Their shields and weapons are summoned through magic, and some adept units can even summon armour. Their magic focuses less on the typical fireballs and blizzards and more on glyphs, runes and healing. Basically, imagine normal soldiers who use magic instead of normal gear. Makes it easier to supply them, but the training is a bloody nightmare
Navy: The Navy consists of three elements - The Naval Guard, the Merchant Navy and the Colonial Fleet. The Naval Guard is the militant branch of Caelum, serving as their "watchers in the water". Their job is to watch over the seas, monitor sea life and protecting against anyone who wishes to disturb it. The Merchant Navy is the economic branch. They collect the goods produced at home and take them abroad to sell. This part of the navy is the largest and most well funded, since they are most likely to be hit by pirates. The Colonial Fleet is the... Well, the colonists. They find, occupy and explore new locations, increasing the size of the Queendom and its power.
Other: Jaegars - Dissatisfied with their caste, a group of Angels have reformed into a mercenary company. These Jaegars are particularly adept scouts, manhunters and assassins, often either supplimenting a normal military or serving in an elite capacity.
Other:
Lots of money and resources
Highly defendable
Racial Hierarchy restricts foreign interference.
Religious Intolerance
Growing resentment for the upper classes
Lots of nasty wildlife
Rolls
Basic Demographics & Government Info
Population:
8,700,000
Territory Size:
5. Your nation is "blessed" with a significantly larger than average amount of land. While you may have a great deal of opportunities to utilize both your ample farmlands and wilderness, your borders are hard to defend and your settlements are spread out which can impede communications.
Technology:
3. Slow modernization, you're lagging behind somewhat and still catching up to your neighbors in the rest of Albion.
Prevalence of Magic:
3. You have a fair amount of magic proficiency but relatively few users.
Government Type:
3. Your society is a feudal monarchy. Quite typical, there is a king who inherited the throne from his father, and then there are all manner of other aristocrats: dukes and barons and knights all swear fealty to one another in exchange for control of land, all in a complicated system of legal obligations...
Political Stability:
2. Your people are growing increasingly discontent, but so far it hasn't boiled over to the point of violence. Or if it has, your government has found a way to suppress it before it erupted into anything major.
Economy
Overall Wealth:
6. Opulence and obscene wealth define your nation. Your streets might not be paved with gold, but great monuments, beautiful works of art, and a large variety of public works stand testament to your economic power. Your government of course has the funds to do almost whatever it wants.
Urbanization:
4. Your nation is decently urbanized with the fair balance of towns and rural areas
Agriculture:
9. Your nation relies heavily upon orchards and fruit plantations. Coconuts, dates, or perhaps even bananas are your main crops. For some reason all this fruit seems to make your sailors a lot less likely to get scurvy.
Notable Resources:
Citrus, salt, iron
Military
Military Structure:
4. A school of battlemages, but little else to serve as a standing army. Levies and mercenaries both utilized during times of war to create an army of average size.
Military Focus
5. Emphasis on light infantry and skirmishers.
Navy:
3. Average navy, has limited force projection capability
Military Leadership
5. Generals are somewhat competent; competitive; mixture of hereditary nobles and soldiers that rose to the rank through battlefield exploits
Military Reputation
3. Many call your forces valorous; others say that they are brave to the point of stupidity.
