STATUS:
"Out of every hundred men, ten shouldn't even be there, eighty are targets, nine are the real fighters, for they make the battle. But one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back." -Heraclitus
5 yrs ago
Current
"Out of every hundred men, ten shouldn't even be there, eighty are targets, nine are the real fighters, for they make the battle. But one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back." -Heraclitus
3
likes
7 yrs ago
"I have resolved never to start an unjust war, but never to end a legitimate one except by defeating my enemies." -King Charles XII 'Carolus Rex' of Sweden, 1700
1
like
7 yrs ago
“Civilians are like beans; you buy 'em as needed for any job which merely requires skill and savvy. But you can't buy fighting spirit.” -Robert A. Heinlein
5
likes
7 yrs ago
"The soldier is also a citizen. In fact, the highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is that of bearing arms for one’s country” -General George S. Patton Jr.
3
likes
7 yrs ago
"Wine has drowned more than the sea." -Roman proverb
|Geographical Location of Country:| Off the eastern coast of Geisel’s mainland clay. Marked in white on the map. |Country Size:| Approx. 640,000 km^2 |Cities:|
Cante (Blue) - The capital city of Arcanain, situated at the inlet of the Monnow Bay. Renowned for its freshwater ports letting directly to the sea down the silt-laden Monnow Channel. Possesses the largest concentration of people on the entire island. Blackcaster (Red) - A largely industrial and sea industry-based city, Blackcaster is situated on the far side of the (inactive) volcanic mountain chain on the northeast side of the island. Least populated of the major cities. Presburn (Green) - As the main mooring station for the Royal Arcanain Navy, Presburn is a military town situated among the wilds of the peninsular lowlands. Boasts a respectable amount of land and population, albeit the facilities are subpar when compared to the rest of the island. Keldby (Magenta) - As an inactive volcanic island, Keldby is home to a specific ethnic group similar to those of mainland Arcanain, although said ethnic people are much lighter skinned and shorter, averaging a whole head shorter than the average citizen. Popular spot for entrepreneurs due to its relatively untapped precious metals and extremely fertile soil.
|Natural Resources:| Arcanain is primarily renowned for skilled and efficient steelworks. With iron from the island of Keldby and coal from the Northern Mountains, Blackcaster’s steelworks can produce up to 45 million tons of steel annually. A noticeable absence of proper woodlands has made the lumber production of Arcanain sink to levels which fail to even satiate their own needs, requiring them to import much of their timber and wood products.
Arcanain’s food situation is stable, being mostly a sustainment industry, with most of the food coming from saltwater fishing and lowland wheat farming, with most non-seafood products being imported. Rich copper veins in the lowlands, large salt deposits on the coastal cliffs of the north, and flax plantations and textile mills on the southern coast are also staples of the natural resources on Arcanain. Additionally, a small crude oil supply exists upon Keldby, which often is enough to satiate simple civilian demand, however Arcanain has negligible military oil supply, relying on imports and inefficient synthetics to substitute.
People & Culture:
|Population:| Approx. 34 million people |Demographics:| 68% Arcani, 15% Kelds, 4% Geiselian, 2% Sairish, 8% Other |Government:|
Arcanain, as a kingdom, is undeniably a constitutionalist one. While the head of state is clearly the monarch King Liam III (born Edmund Liam Sheridan) of the House of Sheridan, the parliamentarian system dictates that the head of government is to be separate of the monarch. The head of government, as the chief legislator and executive power, is the Premier, a title held by one Davian Merrill, a staunch conservative who is a vehement activist on maintaining the status quo.
Under the King and Premier is the Parliament, divided into two houses and charged with drafting and passing legislature. The first house, being the House of Nobles, are a limited sort holding only 25 seats of no particular provincial allegiance, each member appointed by the King and approved or vetoed by the Premier. If the Premier vetos the appointment, the decision goes to a select council of 10 members of the lower house, the House of the Public, who decides to support or overturn the veto. This lower house, the House of the Public, consists of 50 seats (3 per province), with each representative being elected in by the province in which they reside.
Finally is the Royal Courts, which interpret and apply laws according to the founding documents. Five members comprise this highest court, which handles the most pressing issues. Under them is system of federal circuit courts divided by province. Under the circuit courts in each province are the local courts.
|Ruler:| Head of State & Monarch - King Liam III (born Edmund Liam Sheridan) Head of Government & Premier - Davian Merrill |Volksgeist:|”If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, if you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same. Yours is the clay and everything that's in it, and - which is more - you'll be a man, my son.” -Arcani philosopher John Vaugh
The Arcani are a proud people, with the great virtue of continued and voluntary neutrality, along with stoicism which could make the steel from their mills look weak in comparison. The Arcani are not overly nationalistic, and by no means do most Arcani possess a jingoist bone in their bodies, having thus avoided war and true entanglements beyond trade and pacts of non-aggression.
By no means a world power, Arcanain has often had little say in any world events, only able to conduct influence through trade partners and those weaker than even them, and their reliance on imports in the modern day has left them at the whims of the market, a much contended state of affairs.
WIP |Religion:| Most Arcani, mostly due to their roots, worship the Orthodox faith, housing their own Arcani branch, of which the reigning monarch is protector. However, other than titles and invokings of the names of the Gods, Arcanain’s government is rather secular, and the religious fervour of populace varies depending on the presence of the Church.
|History:|
The story of the Arcani begins millenia ago, as a travelling people. As the Geisel people left the lands of Zengrav, the Arcani had become them. Ethnically the same, it could be said at this point, the Arcani were of the Geisel. And though as many Geisel found Magna Geisel home, many tribes, the Arcani amongst them, did not. But where these other tribes made to fight their way through the kingdoms and duchies to the south, the Arcani found a solution more practical to them: the sea.
The Arcani took to the sea in the 700s, taking their nomadic lifestyle over the ocean. After probings of every landmass within their reach, they stumbled upon the island they had called Arcani’i (roughly Arcani’s, as in possessive), now known as Arcanain. Tribes and clans descended upon the haven, finding that other tribals had settled there: the shorter, paler, and hardier people now known as the Kelds.
But the Arcani were numerous, and the Kelds were not, and the foreign peoples descended upon the island with conviction. By the 1000s almost the entire island belonged to dozens, even hundreds of clans of the Arcani. The Kelds had been forced into the sea, as the Arcani had been forced into the sea by the Minga, and the Kelds eventually came to inhabit the island known as Kelderbie (Land or Clay of the Kelds), now known as Keldby.
The Arcani clans, now in firm control, had none else to contend with but the other clans. A quasi-feudal society had emerged by the mid-1100s. The petty clans contented with each other for centuries, until, in the 1300s, the southern portion of the island came under the control of a single clan, the Sherdugh (meaning Clan of Order), under a chieftain by the name of Bhaltair Sherdugh. By conquests and intermarrying, Bhaltair came to control a fair portion of territory. Unfortunately, he promptly died in 1379 of illness, leaving the clan to his son, Willem.
Willem is the man most often credited with the founding of the modern Arcani nation. Given chieftainship at 17, Willem raised the levies of his territory and engaged the interwarring northern clans. The campaign was easy pickings, most of the clans falling by 1385. Despite this, a pact of six clans formed in the volcanic mountains and cliffs on the northern coast, calling themselves the Northern Alliance. Holding out for six years, their final hold was overrun in the year 1391. At the age of 29, in the Orthodox abbey at Cante, Willem was crowned King Willem I of Arcanain
Having conquered the entire northern half of the island in 12 years, and made many reforms in the civil, government, and military sectors, his rule stagnated once he reached the age of 50. He retired to his manor in Presburn and left his governmental machine to rule. He eventually died at the age of 67, leaving his kingdom to his son, Liam.
After multiple monarchs reigning supreme and sitting complacent, the feudal system began to break down as it had in other places. The people grew restless, and the feckless and inept monarch King Jermaine II witnessed the ultimate result on June 18th, 1653. The long neglected standing military could not stop angry peasants marching on the Royal Palace at Cante. Jermaine II retreated to the Royal Manor at Presburn as the thin line of Royal Guards blocked the mob’s path.
Later that month, Jermaine II and his advisors eventually met with the peasant leaders, drafting the charters which would eventually become the founding documents, including the Charter of the Parliament, establishing the legislative branch in earnest. Also, in 1688, a treaty with the vassalized island of Keldby brought it into the kingdom as a province.
The June Revolution served as a wake-up call to the Crown and the government as a whole. The amassed coffers were dumped into practical projects, like infrastructure, and a new army model was devised, all under King Liam II, crowned in 1703. The pike and shot formations supplanted by peasant levies were traded for a proper regimental system with provincial quotas, and the cavalry reserve was tripled in size. Roads, bridges, and other public works were completed with royal coin.
And better yet, Arcanain would see its first involvement in proper international conflict, albeit in proxy. Mercenary rifle companies sprung up, men with a lust for coin and glory hiring themselves within and without the kingdom. And by the beginning of the 1800s, these mercenaries, known often as ‘Hesske’ (Hes = Coin, Ske = Warrior) were widespread on both the land and seas. Their most notable involvement was in the Unification Wars of Geisel, where Hesske riflemen and sappers supplanted the Jagers of the Geisel kingdoms.
However, after this, the concept of the Hesske died out. Arcanain drifted slowly from world affairs in the second half of the 1800s, and by the turn of the century was seldom seen interacting with any nations beyond the Geisel and the Sairish. This continued up until the death of King Jermaine IV from tuberculosis. As his son, Liam III, took power in 1927, he slowly built relations with those of the Commonwealth once more, enforcing what is now the status quo.
|Armed Forces:|
Ground Forces
The M1919 General Pattern Fatigues (M19 GPF) are the standard fatigues of the Arcanain Royal Services, primarily that of the infantry and logistics staff. Made primarily from flax and wool, the fabrics of the uniform are suited well to the overall temperate climate of Arcanain. The uniform is printed in two patterns, khaki and olive drab, suited to the southern lowlands and the northern highlands, respectively. Accessories to the base uniform include: campaign hats, kepis, M15 helmets, M24 helmets, frock/trench coats, and lightweight campaign packs.
The M1911 Marine Pattern Fatigues (M11 MPF) are the primary fatigues of sailors and Marines of the Arcanain Royal Services. Colored a deep navy blue, it is patterned to blend with the darker southern sea. It is made from mostly cotton and wool, with flax threading. The accessories include: peaked caps, service caps, kepis, M24 helmets, frock/trench coats, and campaign packs.
The M1905 Line Pattern Helmet (M5 LPH) is the outdated helmet design of the Arcanain Royal Services. Often made with cheaper iron or copper and banded with leather, the M5 was designed to be struck by bullets, unlike its newer counterpart, the M24. However, the intent was not to tank the modern spitzer-tipped bullets, but rather the low-velocity flatheaded rifle rounds and rounded pistol rounds. It rarely worked, but provided some reassurance that the soldier’s brains wouldn’t end up on the opposing wall.
The M1924 Line Pattern Helmet (M24 LPH) is the new standard helmet of the Arcanain Royal Services. Made of steel and bowled with a wide brim, the M24 is optimized not to be struck by bullets, but artillery. By the brim covering the nape of the neck and going well over the ears and neck, any shrapnel from above will rarely be fatal, save for the shockwave. But hey, it’s the difference between an open and closed casket funeral.
WIP
Be prepared to write a lot. I’m leaving this fairly open to what you guys want to do, but I want at LEAST infantry arms, premiere vehicles, navy/airforce details, military uniforms, organisational structure, etc, etc, etc. This is an RP heavily based around combat, after all.
|People of Interest:|
POV characters. A short description as well. Feel free to update this as you want to.
Stats:
|Industrialisation:| I’d like a percentage. 0-20% is tsarist Russia. 80-100% is a modern country like the UK.
Personality: Cole is a young, spry Lieutenant with His Majesty's Royal Corps of Marines. Being a young lad, he has issues with impulsivity and is rather immature, not yet well experienced as other officers would be. He acts more a sailor than a gentleman, unless he's around ladies, and is profane under normal circumstances. He is however, as most young people are, passionate and idealistic.
Role: Lieutenant of the 2nd Detachment, 51st Company of Line, Third (Portsmouth) Division, His Majesty's Royal Corps of Marines.
How you got into the Navy: His textile worker father bought his commission in September 1800 as an Ensign/Cornet with the Royal Marines Light Infantry in hopes that the steady pay, discipline, and eventual lifetime pension would do his son well.
Experience with the navy: Initially, he was assigned to the 126th Company of Line, Third (Portsmouth) Division, on the company staff of one Captain Richard Williams aboard the 74-gun Third Rate HMS Robust. The only significant action he saw aboard was on 22nd of July, 1801 when the 126th Company boarded the French 20-gun corvette Chevrette. Of the 15 boarding boats deployed under fire from French shore batteries, Cole was aboard one of the few that made contact with the anchored ship. However, by the time said boat made contact, the fighting had moved below deck and Cole was ordered to remain with the deck party which ultimately cut the anchor and dropped sail.
In 1804, Captain Williams was reassigned as Captain of the Royal Marine Artillery. Cole, unable to afford the courses to become an artillery officer (you could not purchase commissions or transfer purchased commissions to the Artillery), stayed with the Line, transferring to a Company aboard the newly refurbished 64-gun Third Rate HMS Agamemnon just in time to witness Villeneuve's Franco-Spanish Fleet be chased all the way to Cadiz.
After another brief refit at Portsmouth, the Agamemnon joined Vice Admiral Nelson's blockading fleet at Cadiz, soon engaging in the climactic Battle of Trafalgar. Cole, 19 at the time, was placed on damage control duty along with a contingent of Marines and sailors. During the battle, despite the damages eventually getting so bad that the vessel took three feet of water each hour, Cole and his damage control contingent kept steady bucket chains until the battle was over, and even until the vessel reached Gibraltar for proper repairs.
Soon after, Cole was transferred off of the Agamemnon and placed on garrison at the shore forts of Spithead Anchorage in Portsmouth, and soon after received a promotion to Lieutenant, given a detail of infantry. Sometime in late 1806, Cole was transferred to the 51st Company of Line, which was then split into two detachments to be split between two imminently launching Fourth Rates. Cole was given the 58-man Second Detachment and assigned to the 60-gun Fourth Rate HMS Plymouth.
Shortcomings: Cole is immature, and despite having been in his share of engagements, is still naive and over-idealistic. He is profane around all but his superiors and ladies, and is rather mischevious, having a small reputation amongst friends as a womanizer and charmer, which has led to trouble on many occasions.
The bugle cut through the dawn like a knife of brass. The sun was not yet even peaked above the hills, and each watch read somewhere around 6:00 AM. The bugle continued to blast, playing a crisp 'Reveille' which resonated throughout the Fort with unparalleled power. The echo rang in Church's ears as he sat by dim candlelight. His own watch read 5:58, and he'd hoped dearly for it to somehow be wrong.
He adjusted in the lopsided hand-carved wooden chair, leaning over a piece of yellowed paper lined with boxes and smudged ink that barely could pass for words. He gripped the pencil in his hand and hastily checked a few boxes before extending his legs, the poorly made chair groaning as Church rose to his feet. He folded the paper and grabbed his reading glasses from the table, ambling to the entrance to his hut. He slid his feet into a pair of perhaps too well broken in black boots. Grasping at the faded greenish blue wool and cotton frock coat, he pulled it around his figure, tucking the paper and reading glasses within, before fitting it further and buttoning it. He took a quick bite of some stale hardtack as he fitted a sheathed foot saber and loaded his Smith & Wesson Model 10, opening the almost vertical stairs and ascending the sunken step boards.
He was met with fair enough weather, at least for the Commonwealth, a slight overcast with the orange of the rising sun burning through the clouds with immense power. He glanced around, adjusting the collar of his frock coat, pulling a green forage cap from within and fitting it on his head. His eyes fixated to the lighthouse, as they always had, but he found it still in the state of rubble it had been when it had been brought down two weeks ago. Old chunks of clay and brick were contained mostly to the area immediately around the lighthouse, but it seemed that otherwise, none had bothered to pick up the rest of the debris.
He turned, ambling to the muster square in the center of all the half-buried huts, where the bugler, a young Corporal, stood, bringing his hand to a crisp salute as Colonel Church appeared. Responding with a half-hearted acknowledgement, hardly a salute, the Colonel grunted something that could've been speech, but the Corporal seemed to know exactly what it meant. The young soldier pressed the bugle to his lips, blasting 'Assembly' and returning to a rigid position of attention.
Little by little, men and women in faded uniforms of blue and green, so drab and matted they looked almost purple trickled out of their communal huts, rifles, shotguns, and even some proper automatic weapons in tow. A ragged bunch, they were, all blocked off into four groups of about thirty, with their commanders and such stood in the front of them. As the arrivals ceased, the Corporal, in his sharp voice, announced, "Regiment, to attention!"
The soldiers abided, standing rigid and shouldering their firearms, before their commanders, which stood before them, swiveled to face Colonel Church, each saluting. Church returned the salutes, before picking the paper and his glasses from his pocket. "Well, no point in getting around it. We all know what we're here for." He spoke calmly, his voice carrying as unfolded the paper, fitting on his glasses. He read off, "Today's garrison duty, Companies B and D, single platoon to each guardhouse." He continued, a bit of coughing and sniffling from the men as they waited. "Pickets have come back that the raiders have abandoned the siege. Company A will be performing scavenging duty for today. That puts Company C on R&R for today."
He paused for a long moment, speaking even quieter than before. "Dismissed." The companies fell out, attending to their duties as the Colonel waved off his staff, which crowded around him like bees to a hive. As he ambled towards the headquarters cabin, he reached in his pocket, ignoring protests of his younger adjutants as he lit a clay pipe.
History: The story of the few now known as 'Church's Regiment' began in 2282. One Captain John Thomas Church had been commander of a company of light foot in the Commonwealth Minutemen for seven years. Falling under the command of Colonel Hollis and his regiment, Church had been sent on incessant 'relief missions' to settlements, often resulting in little more than poking at shadows in the dark. Fed up by a seemingly feckless commanding officer in Colonel Hollis, a federalist colleague by the name of Captain Jones, and the ignorant General Joseph Becker, Church confided his grievances in his own staff. Before the proper case could be made before the General, Becker was killed in a raid on the headquarters camp.
Now left with a Colonel whom he despised for their moderate views and recklessness, Church instead made an ultimatum. Either Colonel Hollis would pass command to another officer, or Church's company, and any other sympathetic souls, would mutiny. Hollis, not one to be pushed over, refused, and in the winter of 2284, Church, along with 126 minutemen, left Hollis's camp. They would soon relocate further east, to the coast, coming to inhabit the area around Kingsport Lighthouse, naming the new permanent encampment Fort Heath, in reference to a fort part of the Boston Harbor Defenses, which had existed mere miles from the lighthouse, but had been utterly flattened and turned indefensible during the Great War.
Church built a true fortress at the site. Layered wooden palisades bound by steel trusses, weather-proof huts dug into the ground, a seawater desalination system, and an observation post built in the barren lighthouse were all features of the Fort. Small amounts of settlers were brought into the Fort during this time, and most merchants were allowed to market their wares to the citizens and soldiers within. For three years, Fort Heath prospered.
In 2287, the aptly named 'Days of Chaos' began. Weeks, even months of chaotic shifts in power followed. The Quincy Massacre all but wiped out the Minutemen, with even those who managed to escape with their lives being slaughtered in the streets of Concord. Gunners and raiders doubled down their raids. The Fort was put under increasing pressure. Breaches in the first layer of palisades became more and more common, and the Fort lived day to day between sieges, rationing all consumables, and seldom being able to send out scavenging parties.
Though Church's Regiment and the residents of Fort Heath remained relatively neutral on the larger scale, they were bled slowly by the constant attacks. Even these disorganized assailants proved a handful. In early 2287, the Kingsport Lighthouse was reduced to rubble by repeated structural damage. Now, Fort Heath lay battered, but not yet broken, the weakened soldiers and citizens within not yet dead, and their spirit not yet extinguished.
History: The story of the few now known as 'Church's Regiment' began in 2282. One Captain John Thomas Church had been commander of a company of light foot in the Commonwealth Minutemen for seven years. Falling under the command of Colonel Hollis and his regiment, Church had been sent on incessant 'relief missions' to settlements, often resulting in little more than poking at shadows in the dark. Fed up by a seemingly feckless commanding officer in Colonel Hollis, a federalist colleague by the name of Captain Jones, and the ignorant General Joseph Becker, Church confided his grievances in his own staff. Before the proper case could be made before the General, Becker was killed in a raid on the headquarters camp.
Now left with a Colonel whom he despised for their moderate views and recklessness, Church instead made an ultimatum. Either Colonel Hollis would pass command to another officer, or Church's company, and any other sympathetic souls, would mutiny. Hollis, not one to be pushed over, refused, and in the winter of 2284, Church, along with 126 minutemen, left Hollis's camp. They would soon relocate further east, to the coast, coming to inhabit the area around Kingsport Lighthouse, naming the new permanent encampment Fort Heath, in reference to a fort part of the Boston Harbor Defenses, which had existed mere miles from the lighthouse, but had been utterly flattened and turned indefensible during the Great War.
Church built a true fortress at the site. Layered wooden palisades bound by steel trusses, weather-proof huts dug into the ground, a seawater desalination system, and an observation post built in the barren lighthouse were all features of the Fort. Small amounts of settlers were brought into the Fort during this time, and most merchants were allowed to market their wares to the citizens and soldiers within. For three years, Fort Heath prospered.
In 2287, the aptly named 'Days of Chaos' began. Weeks, even months of chaotic shifts in power followed. The Quincy Massacre all but wiped out the Minutemen, with even those who managed to escape with their lives being slaughtered in the streets of Concord. Gunners and raiders doubled down their raids. The Fort was put under increasing pressure. Breaches in the first layer of palisades became more and more common, and the Fort lived day to day between sieges, rationing all consumables, and seldom being able to send out scavenging parties.
Though Church's Regiment and the residents of Fort Heath remained relatively neutral on the larger scale, they were bled slowly by the constant attacks. Even these disorganized assailants proved a handful. In early 2287, the Kingsport Lighthouse was reduced to rubble by repeated structural damage. Now, Fort Heath lay battered, but not yet broken, the weakened soldiers and citizens within not yet dead, and their spirit not yet extinguished.
Near Phase Line Bravo, Grolsk Wilderness Reserve, 5:04 AM
The fire died down soon after, the Imperials seeming to draw back their fire altogether as what was left of the company cowered and waited behind felled trees, disabled hover sleds, and other debris. Stojan took a deep breath, flooding the hot air in his lungs and throat with cold air. He tucked his DL-44 back into its holster, adjusting his position as the sound of repulsorlift engines grew louder, until the sound seemed to come from everywhere, and the white vehicle, no larger than a cargo truck, pulled forth, the E-Web atop it swiveling wildly as the gunner searched for targets.
The entire company was abuzz. The wounded were packed on by those brave enough to stay, and the rest of the disorganized mass began to pile aboard, taking seats or simply taking place on the metal floors between the cots of wounded. Stojan made to be the last on, standing at the end of the cabin as the door closed, shrouding them all in darkness, leaving only the sound of moaning wounded and quiet chatter to flood the ears of all.
It was not a long ride, supposedly only half a kilometer, but it seemed so much longer as the cabin illuminated idly with what seemed like a million stars bursting and falling to the ground. But it was simply a bitter reminder that the battle had truly begun. The fleets were engaged, and the main Imperial force was gathering just beyond the woods, with enough men to simply trample the partisans. Stojan mulled at the thoughts as he looked through the port which the E-Web gunner stood, watching the exchange far above him.