Do you have a discord channel? I know there's a stigma attached to it and I can get it but it does spice up activity a lot and allows brainstorming like never before.
That being said, I have several possible ideas in my head. Will re-read the plot and read over other player sheets to see if there's a particular niche which needs to be filled.
The lands colloquially referred as the Sundwald region.
|Cities| - Drachenstadt --- Capital of the Dominion. Originally the castle of the Grandmaster (Drachburg) built atop Mount Drake. It soon grew into the Order's headquarters, then administrative center. Eventually they created an entire metropolis surrounding the mountain. Drachenstadt is the Dominion's largest and most important city, enough thatnits 21 districts have rights akin to an individual city each.
|Natural Resources| True to its name the Sundwaldian region is rich in evergreen forests, counting as much as over a hundred different species. The harsh winters are demanding to the nature and only the toughest specimens can survive. Aside from its unique flora Sundwald is overall reasonably abundant in resources like stone, iron and have plausible deposits for materials only discovered in the last century. Mining towns that were founded hundreds of years ago are now industrial cities. Recently though Sundwald became a source of envy for its neighbors due to its huge deposits of oil. While only providing a small percentage for the world's oil Corax is a well-known exporter with an oil industry that is over 70 years old.
People & Culture
Official Name:Dominius Coracis de Gladisylvus Alternative Names: Corax Dominion, Chivalric Dominion of Schwerternwalde, Dragonlands, Sundwaldian Commonwealth Government: Feudal Constitutional Stratocracy Ruler: Current leader of your country, or leadership in the case of a senate/group of people. Population: 27,541,056 (according to the last census)
|Volksgeist| TBA
|Demographics| Located at the edges of the Norden Region the majority of Sundwald's population are of various Norgeling cultures. While roughly similar in culture their historical roots tie them together in a complex web and there are probably three dozen different Norgelingian dialects in Corax alone. To ease this to a degree Corax along with its neighbors introduced Hauptnorglich, allowing relative standardization and overall modernization of the tongue. That being said a century passed and the regional dialects are still very much alive. Hauptnorglich is currently taught in every school alongside with courses in the regional tongues. Prior to that Corax used a variation of the liturgic Orthodoxic language, usually referred as Lingua Dominian.
|Social Structure| The Dominion is effectively a militaristic federation of multitudes of small states called Cantons. These cantons are rooted in historical countries but various reforms shifted, split and combined Cantons to facilitate more efficient governance. As a side effect Cantons also have smaller autonomous regions called Freibezirk, which are special regions with partial self-governance usually formed around a distinct culture. Land ownership is not universal in Corax and limited to a pseudo-nobility called the knight (Ritter). Knights are members of the Draconic Order which provides them support and certain political sway alongside with the above discussed right of landownership. Being a knight though also has certain responsibilities, including largely increased taxes and active support of the military effort. Unlike nobles of the modern times, Unlike classic nobility, knighthood is a title which can be easily granted by the reigning knight masters so long it's approved by the Grandmaster. Becoming a knight usually requires outstanding military service but merchants and factory owners also received knighthood. Consequently there are set standards which have to be met otherwise one could also be stripped of their title. While losing knighthood entirely is rare the Dominion has numerous examples of stripping aristocrats of their status and lands due to incompetence. As a matter of course knights have a wide range of ranks which also represents the Coracian social ladder. Junkers sit on the very bottom, they are demoted or landless knights who aren't significantly different from the average citizen. They often become small scale enterpreteurs or low ranking government or military officials thanks to their upbringing. Lords (Meier) are land owning knights with some affiliation to governance. Freiherr are small land owners or town mayors. Graf is a semi-militaristic title for those who own Dampffestung (steam castles, a type of armored train/fortress hybrid) to patrol the lands. Graf are involved with both the military and law enforcement. Margraves (Markgraf) are moderately large landowners who usually oversee multiple knights with the title of Meier and Graf altogether. Next step is the Princeps (Fürst) who rule over multiple manors. The Princeps in turn serve the Masters (Meistern) who have the right to self-govern their assigned Cantons. Lastly the supreme ruler of the Dominion is the Grandmaster (Hochmeister), effectively the emperor of the entire nation.
Aside from knight-titles the status of commoners also varies. Gemeinen are the lowest class of the Dominion, they are peasants and poor workers whose life could be compared to serfdom. Gemeinen are not free (often even prohibited to leave their Canton) and generally they aren't a very active part of economy. What they provide is cheap workforce. If one was lucky or amassed sufficient wealth they could become a freeman or Landsmann (also used as a general term for fellow countrymen). They form the middle class of society and unlike lowly folk they have to pay regular taxes. Failure to pay could lead to them and their entire family becoming Gemeinen. Aside from these there existed a third status called stewards (Knecht) who swore their services directly to a knight. They live with or close to their lord and could be considered another layer of the middle class. Voting rights are not universal in Corax. Rather it's limited to knights and freemen who were provided citizenship. Being a citizen (Burger) requires one to either complete a length of government or (more often) military service and be evaluated satisfyingly. Failing to pass one could take extra service up to three times. Failing evaluation for the fourth time permanently bars one from citizen rights. Stewards/Knecht are not freemen and normally cannot become citizens to avoid voting fraud. One could effectively become a freeman by filling the paperwork and willing to pay the regular taxes (actually more, because stewards pay extra) then either receive evaluation for its deeds or volunteer for service to earn citizenship. Such stewards often aim even higher, dream of becoming knights themselves. In general Coracian social structure is explicitly built to reward the achievers and those who work for the good of the state. |Religion| TBA
History
Chapter I - Pre-Dominion [to be continued...]
Armed Forces
Overview: While conscription is plausible Corax almost entirely relies on a volunteer military force. All landowners have the responsibility to maintain a military along with sufficient logistics to operate them (including steam castles, see later). The term used for these is Landwehr, they are professional soldiers who patrol their territory and help solidifying order as necessary. Above them exist the Reichswehr which includes central command, trainers, specialists and other duties that need to be organized on a realm-wide manner. During war the Reichswehr also calls upon the Landwehr, borrowing said troops as an unified force. To establish decent cooperation the various Landwehr conduct numerous military exercises.
Land Forces: Corax is landlocked and cornered by several nations. It is no surprise their focus is on standard warfare on land. The cornerstone of modern Coracian warfare are the Dampffestungen, armored trains provide more than just safe transport. Replacing stationary castles the steely behemoths serve as mobile fortresses that house the Lord, station the troops, carry essential equipment and basically handle the majority of war logistics. Corax might be not the most developed nation but they sport the highest rail density in the world. Just like medieval castles their steam equivalents add protection while deploying cavalry to rapidly respond to threats. Of course in the modern times horsemen were replaced by motorized forces and especially mechs. While defensive in nature the Coracian doctrine effectively focuses on quick response and rapid offenses, overwhelming their opponent before they could mount up a decent attack. They also excel at railworks, capable of laying down massive amount of railways within a day thanks to their utilization of mech labor. That being said during peacetime they still prefer traditional rail building both for its long term endurance and because operating diesel consuming mechs is a costly affair even to Corax. While named after steam, many steam castles are actually diesel powered nowadays. In addition certain steam castles are actually river barges and there are ongoing plans to introduce "airship castles", too.
Coracian infantry is equipped with armor providing defense against pistols, antiquated muskets or distant rifle round impacts. This aspect is not different from Norden standards as armored infantry are fairly common on the North. Yet Coracian doctrine goes even further, with civilians prohibited to use high powered rifles or anything that can reasonable threaten this armor. Even the infantry usually carries carbines loaded with light munition. Ritter (knights) and assault troops go even further and equip full plate harness to the field of battle. Of course carrying armor has drawbacks like impacting endurance or be unwieldy in heat. This is partially compensated by the fact Corax has very high degree of mechanization thus the troops usually don't need long marches.
Corax has a rather active firearms industry with ancestry dating back to hundreds of years. That being said with the country's relative isolation, unique laws and already strong traditions their weaponry can be considered weird to other nations. The Coracian standard unit of measure is the unicia, equaling 3cm (~1.18 inches). This is also used to measure their calibers, thus a 9mm round would be considered .30 caliber by Coracian standards. The amount of decimals after the point also tells whether the cartridge is intended as a rifle (ie.: .55 Jaeger) or as a "pistol" (.233 Vex). Another strange fact is their preference for fast yet light bullets, specifically hollow projectiles (also called ring/tubular projectiles). Unlike hollow points which only have an indentation at their front a hollow projectile is basically an overly thick tube with ballistic shape. Betraying expectations this feature actually aids in aerodynamics and shaves off weight for even more velocity. That being said hollow projectiles have plenty of unique issues and as such most nations don't bother with them. Corax kinda went in the other direction. Common Cartridges:
- .233 Vex: A lightweight 7x28mm cartridge commonly found in pistols. It fires fairly light projectiles but at very high velocity, often exceeding 1000 k/s (kubits/second,~600m/s). This results in a relatively flat trajectory, better effective range and more manageable recoil. Most bullets are also designed to practically burst into tiny pieces upon entering the body and can do damage comparable to 9mm hollowpoints. That being said .233 rounds have occasional issues with accuracy and have excessive muzzle blast. Furthermore since they depend on velocity their wounding capacity is less reliable than more conventional pistol cartridges like the 9x19mm. Their low penetration and degrading performance at range are also issues though it depends on application. This is perhaps the most popular commercial cartridge from Corax, often used by sport shooters. Outside Corax though the .233 Vex is very unpopular for self defense as the combination of stumpy barrel and extreme short distances (<2m) can result in the round penetrating without any expansion, doing minimal damage in the process.
- .215 Carbine: 6.45x38mm cartridge which evolved from pistol munitions. Widespread with hunters and as self-defense weapon the cartridge requires a relatively long barrel to be effective thus not advised for pistols. The standard military load fires a 3.2-gram tubular projectile at over 1550k/s (930+ m/s) thus providing decent lethality even at 500 kubits (300m ~ 1000 feet, provided there are no obstacles or armor involved).
- .32 Schwer: 9.6x54mm cartridge originating from black powder rifles. During its modernization the cartridge got lengthened and introduced a neck as well as most loads became hollow projectiles. The standard munition weighs 6g and has muzzle velocity in excess of 1700k/s (surpassing 1020m/s ~ 3350 fps). Unlike the carbine and pistol rounds which break apart upon entry the .30 Schwer tends to go straight through which actually makes it less damaging against infantry. Development is underway to solve this but so far it only resulted in expensive composite bullets that are unfit for wide scale adoption. On the other hand its extreme velocity makes it a decent AA round.
- .50 Gross: Heavy caliber used against tanks and in anti-aircraft roles. 15x120mm cartridge is known to have great power, even surpassing standard 14.5mm anti-tank rifle rounds thanks to its velocity which surpasses 2000k/s (1200m/s).
Standard Infantry Gear: - Brumbara A89D: Fairly popular revolver rechambered for the now commonplace .233 Vex cartridge. Its medium-short barrel also received a flash hider to partially mitigate the side effects of the hot cartridge. It has a revolving 10-round chamber and known to be highly reliable.
- Brumbara SL12: Self-loading pistol designed with military contracts in mind. Based after the SL9, an already unique pistol which manages to squish a decently long barrel into a compact frame thanks to its weird off-axis action. Basically the action slides 90 degrees downwards into the pistol grip portion, freeing up space at the back of the gun. SL12 improved this system and instead of a rotary magazine at the end it uses either tube or (more commonly) helical magazines of various length inserted under the barrel. This also fixes the old issue considering the sights thus making the gun easier to handle. Sl12 has long entered the civilian market and has many customization options. The typical military pistol has a 5-unicia (150mm) barrel including a flash hider and usually supplied with a 24-round helical magazine. The pistol has a decent performance and very high ammo capacity yet it tends to not handle adverse conditions very well. Unclean or poorly maintained SL12s tend to malfunction a lot.
Bold move to ping me considering how scarce on RPG I've been ... but I eventually saw it so I'd say that strategy panned out well.
Now remind me, which game archetype (or typically combination thereof) best describes this? Writing game, Stats game, or Dice game? Is it masterful prose, meticulously kept stat sheets, or Lord RNGesus who will be deciding the fates of nations?
Wonderful prose, though us narrative based roleplaying folks prefer to say the aim is to write an engaging collective story.
Stats in the form of tech tree exist but may even disappear if it gets in the way of writing. It is more meant to display specializations and to give people a good idea where things are. Plus tech tree should add a sense of progression since the game ambitiously aims to stretch from interwar to early cold war era in terms of development.
I am interested as semi nomadic techno barbarians aping ancient cultures from eastern europe. Actually I feel that's thmain appeeal of playing as an East European faction.
I also wish there would be an Enclave expy with EU origins instead of USA. Should be amusing. EDIT: Oops, GB only. Well, I managed to sneak a Hungarian expy to Yellowstone Fucking Park in a previous RP like this. Don't underestimate me.
Fenizia, the radiant capital of the Fenician Dominion. Built on the ishtmus connecting Falcola and Albator. It's a maritime megalopolis where waterway transport through intricate channels is considered a regular form to commute. As a maritime trade and overall economical powerhouse Fenizia is the thriving place. Skyscrapers and similar giants are a rare sight, though. Most places lack solid foundation, restricting buildings to light construction. As a consequence population density is relatively low, mostly offering homes for the rich and influential. In contrast Fenizia has twelve "slum cities" right at their borders, offering homes for workers, secondary docks and of course the warehouse space for storing goods. Not including them would be unfair thus the so-called "Greater Fenizia" has the total population exceeding 10 million. A galaxy of shining stars during the night, the city of Fenizia often felt like a gigantic lighthouse for sailors. Yet today the radiant capital is covered in near complete darkness.
Fenizia was far from empty, not yet anyways. While the eruption of Monte Vesvia lead to the rapid evacuation of the entire Falcola Island it was determined that the capital situated at a safe enough distance. Being the commercial and economical keystone of the entire Dominion the city could not stop either way. Normally Fenizia would shine in the radiant light of millions of solarite bulbs yet at the present time such feat is beyond them. Unlike electric lightbulb, solarite based light works through re-emitting the sunrays absorbed during the day. With dense volcanic ash covering the skies solarite bulbs are practically useless, only a limited number of them are maintained through alternative means like direct mana transfer. It's been exactly a month since the catastrophe. Thousands of miners died within an instant, entire settlements flooded in lava. Without the slightest warning Vesvius blew its mountaintop into the stratosphere. Thanks to its odd vertical pattern the collateral damage was minimal yet the gigantic mountain threatens the entirety of Falcola. Furthermore the explosion sent many million tons of dust and volcanic rubble into the high atmosphere, throwing a literal shade over the glorious Sunrealm. Experts say the dust should eventually disperse, slightly weakening its effect yet also covering most of the globe. If it's true this might effect not just Fenice but the entire world. Fenizia was considered a frail city made secure through the naval superiority of Fenice. It would not fall to any invasion. Yet it appears the city might just fold under nature's might.
Like a sole star in the vastness of dark space, the royal estate of Albaminissare shines brilliantly, defying all odds. Several tons of magic crystals are consumed for a singular event, a statement of the royalty's excess. Yet today's occasion is a bit special. Instead of the standard niceties the Imperator called upon the royal family to discuss a grave emergency. The crisis of Vesvius' eruption provides a yet unparalleled challenge to Fenice. Depopulating Falcola and persistent night over the homeland obviously hit the economy, changing the value of lands dramatically. Aristocrafts and royalty alike have their very lifeblood put in these lands and as such the catastrophe is risking their financial security. In order to remedy this the Imperator plans to reshuffle holdings and reaffirm the status quo. Discussing frivolities like the fate of commoners is something better left to the Parliament, that's what they're for.
Leonello IX Fontana di Alberinis, reigning Imperator of the Fenician Dominion oversaw this celebration from a distance, sitting solemnly on the throne. A hero for many people, his rule brought forth a golden age of Fenice with territorial expanse unlike any before. Being in his 80s, his magical affliction began to show and his bones creaked with pain and an uncomfortable chill. Rumors say he could barely stand for an hour and even taking a short lap around the palace could drain his stamina. That was his official excuse. In truth he felt no connection to his own lineage anymore. Greedy nobles and spoiled heirs, that's all he saw beneath him. Using the lure of re-allocating mainland ownership he had hoped to gather the once mighty elite of Fenice to discuss grave times. This past month had been the worst of his life. He was an ambitious leader, proud emperor and pious Dionist. All three were squashed by the eruption of Vesvius. Seeing his efforts crumbling by a literal act of God shook his entire existence. It broke him. For all he knew God may had forsaken this entire world. It might not happen today, not even in ten years. In all likelihood he'd die before this divine punishment is fulfilled. He may had officially gathered these people to reassign lands and riches. In reality he was desperately looking for a successor, somebody to lead his people through these desperate times. For this purpose he planted agents everywhere in the palace, acting like his eyes and ears. Nothing. This charade has been going on for all day yet he found nobody to inherit his will. The former giant who carried the entire Dominion on his shoulders realized the harsh truth. In his anguish he silently recited a plea for God.
His prayers seemingly answered the entire palace shook. The sky lit up as Monte Vesvia erupted for a second time. No, calling it an eruption would be inaccurate, it was an explosion. The gigantic mountain held back overwhelming pressure until it reached critical phase and monumental mass of rocks transformed into a pillar of orange fire. That was just the beginning. Masked by the perpetual darkness a wave of rocks and volcanic ash swept over the area, not just the capital but almost the entire mainland of Fenice if not beyond. Unlike the previous eruption this wave propagated horizontally at a more modest velocity. Royalty and the remaining citizens of Fenizia cried in panic yet they barely had a chance. A particular spike of ejecta headed right in their direction, destroying almost all in its path. That was the last day of Fenicia and the day when 80% of mainland Fenice transformed into a realm of ash. Albator, Trieste on route to the Paesedione region ~ 47 hours after the Catastrophe
Endless seas of grey snow. Ashen ruins. Desolated plains. Yet when observed from bird's view one could see a tiny convoy escorted by 8 riders spewing up dust in the distance. Many would doubt their eyes over the unusual sight yet they'd be outright maddened to hear this rundown and shoddy looking vehicle is transporting royalty. Being in the last month of her pregnancy, Princess Celeste Dietto di Alberinis remained in her mansion in Arizia when the volcano had erupted for a second time. Though only hit by rock showers and a seemingly neverending cloud of ash, such environment was unfit for a frail pregnant woman. Grabbing a military halftrack and a small entourage of knights from the Phoenix Order they chose to undertake the risky journey for the health of both mother and the child. This small yet elite team was lead by Vettorio da Vigo Contarini, grandmaster of the Phoenix Knights. How such a prestigious person ended up leading such a small band during grave times is a long story but mostly can be explained by unique circumstances. Vettorio would normally be attending the royal meeting in Fenizia yet excused for personal matters, namely the birth of his daughter. Unfortunately, her wife Isabetta caught a strange affliction related to unrefined solarite and currently she's fighting for her life. With their home situated in Arizia he wanted to do something to draw his attention away. And now they're on the run with two pregnant women. The situation is grave and if telegraph messages were to be beleived, it's far worse than anyone could imagine. Almost the entirety of Fenice is under volcanic ash save for a relatively small portion situated southeast, often referred as Paesedione due to the proximity of the Dionist holy land and the sacred city of Torredios.
The landscape underwent a dramatic change since the last two days and there's no guarantee they could navigate safely to the south. Yet they must, this environment is poisonous and while ordinarily the sun elves were tough enough to survive, they couldn't risk the health of the Princess. Isabetta also needed medical attention and unfortunately the only solution was to travel southward and at least reach the nearest city in Paesedione untouched by this blight. Vettorio could bet it was either Armas or Ostias. On their way, they met numerous refugees who likely had a similar idea to them. Vettorio and his men occasionally requested goods and supplies albeit most often the refugee caravans were stringently packed just as them. By Vettorio's calculations it'd take another day to escape the ashen wastes and his men were exhausted. He ordered them to set up camps and rest. Yet he could've never imagined what happened next.
They woke up to shrieking and thundering noises. Rockets. The impacts were random and inaccurate, meaning whoever was using them either lacked skill or used them from extreme distances, or both. The rattling noise of water cooled machineguns and constant rifle fire could be heard. "Signore Vettorio, it's an ambush!" Shouted one of his paiges. The experienced knight leader tried to supress his shock before turning towards the youth. "Calm down and raise the alarm! Run to the servants and tell them prepare to move!" Only a few words, no encouraging speeches. Nothing to add, just telling him what to do. The enemy were surely inexperienced, unlikely to be regular soldiers. Yet they owned rocket projectors that had yet to be adopted by even the military. Vettorio wished to know more but for the time being he was preoccupied with assessing the situation. His troops of elite knights were already engaging in combat, their experience and skills allowing them to act prior to any orders. That was fine, mere rabble shouldn't even faze the bests of the Fenice. Numbers don't mean anything if they lack discipline and proper direction. On the other hand something just felt off and he didn't like this one bit.
Without a second thought Vettorio ran towards the medical tent. The close noises of gunshots unfortunately confirmed his fears. Without even confirming who's inside the knight leader weaved a wind spell in a hurry, literally blowing the assailant away. With the assassination foiled the figure in back faded into the shadows, unwilling to challenge the seasoned veteran in a single combat. Or just fearing his identity might be discovered? Whoever planned this intended to keep everything under wraps. Vettorio of course had no luxury to linger because one of the servants got grievously wounded. His name was Bonaccorso Albergati. His vigilance, bravery and ultimately sacrifice saved the princess who might be now considered candidate to become the Imperatrix. Listening to his final words the servant Bonaccorso passed away in contentment, immortalized by his deed. Vettorio felt almost envious yet he understood there's something far greater for him to do. Meanwhile the Phoenix Knights were busy halting the enemy forces. They bad no time to waste as the servants resumed the preparations for their escape...
They were no longer safe. Hunted by an unknown group and isolated from the rest of the Order or even the military, Vettorio had to avoid more predictable routes and lose yet another day for it. He originally intended to treat Princess Celeste and his wife at one of the more prestigious hospitals in a big city but the threat of assassins made this impossible on the short term. Yet the clock was tickling and they had to risk a backwater clinic with barely two rooms. On that day two lives were saved and the face of the Dominion irrevocably changed.
1937
The tenth anniversary of the Catastrophe is approaching. Preparations are long underway but currently regent lord Vettorio Da Vigo Contarini spends his well-deserved rest at his personal estate. In spite of effectively becoming the ruler of Fenice the regent's residence is hardly out of the ordinary by the standards of nobility. If anything his preferences may even seem simple or puritan in nature but that came with cultural shift. The glory days of the Dominion are over yet the country still exists. 80% of the mainland are uninhabitable ashlands while the rest struggle with massive overpopulation. Industry consolidated yet their current output is merely 30% of what it's used to be before. Emigration is still an issue, even if the country is no longer bleeding its loyal subjects by the millions. Yet they still hinge on. In spite of all expectations Fenice is far from finished. And thanks to a borderline miracle the last member of the royal family survived. Registered as Bonaccorso Dietto de Alberinis, the youth is less than 10 years old, nearly a decade away from becoming a proper adult. In his stead rules Vettorio Da Vigo Contarini, grandmaster of the Phoenix Order, witness of Princess Celeste's death and last will and practically one of the most powerful aristocrats left after the volcanic disaster. Being a true military man it's a miracle he could adopt to the life of politics.
But matters of the country currently enjoy the backseat as Vettorio spends his free time catching up with his favorite books. This pastime is interrupted by the calm and measured steps of one of the housemaids. Even though she's out in the corridors and at least 30 paces away Vettorio possesses ears and senses honed by decades of training. The next minute is spent by regent guessing exactly which refined lady's steps he's listening to. Turns out to be Stella, a young maiden and one of the more recent hires. She's still learning the ropes and this inexperience shows in the uneven steps she makes. "Stella, come in." Vettorio exclaimed before she even had an opportunity to knock. "Lord Contarini, your daughter Celeste's practice is about to start." "Thank you Stella, I would never miss it." Vettorio said as he jumped off his seat, letting Stella escort him to the courtyard.
Name: Fenizia Dominiqua dell'Dio (Phoenix Dominion of the Sun, often abbreviated as Fenizia/Fenice) Government: Constitutional Monarchy (transforming into a theocratic-military junta) Head of the State: Maestralto Vettorio da Vigo (regent) Dominant Species: Calavenyr (Sun Elves) Population: 55 million
Previously a great power Fenice had significant ambitions with influence in several portions of the Othea. Their momentum came to an abrupt halt when the supervolcano Vesvius erupted, covering most of the main islands in a thick layer of ash. Losing their capital and nearly the entire royal family Fenice is at the brink of collapse yet still intent on retaining their former status.
History
TBA
Territory
WIP
Fenice is an empire with its domain stretching across the globe. Their mainland Fenizia consists of three islands: Albator, Falcola and Yelinor. Used to be an abundant land with nearly 90% of the Dominion's population the supervolcano reduced most of these into borderline unlivable wastelands. Even the neighboring island of Giazol bathed in dense ash, although its inhabitants of hardy trolls managed to survive. Even after the catastrophe Fenice retained considerable control over the Verronto Sea with a couple of territories held near the shores. As far as the Western continent goes Fenice has two major holdings in Firoir (North) and Kazatrea (South), the latter currently being the largest agricultural region of the entire Dominion.
Demographics
Fenice is an empire ruled by the Sun Elves. Their magical prowess and overall positive attitude defines the nation. Only a decade ago they made up the majority of the Dominion but after the catastrophe they are forced into a minority rule of only 47% of the population. The second most common race are the humans, of course. Forest elves also compose a respectable portion of around 5%. Trolls suffered great loses during the disaster but thanks to their fertility and massive government aid their numbers are steadily growing back, their strength and resilience finds great use within the Ashlands. With colonies nearly everywhere it could be said that Fenice has minorities of nearly every species from Othea.
Distant descendants of the more widespread forest elves (or just elves for short). It is actually uncertain how they came to be and curiously why their populations are exclusive to Fenice. Many creation mythologies exist with the most popular taught by Dionist clergy. According to this the Calavenyr used to be common elves who answered the call of the Phoenix, mythological entities considered the closest to the Sun. Rewarding such devotion these elves underwent a divine transformation, receiving the Sun's blessing. At first glance there are no obvious marks distinguishing a sun elf from their forestry ancestors. Sun elves tend to have brighter eye and hair colors like blonde or various shades of red but this isn't universal. Their tendency for less pale skin is also dependent on lifestyle. Yet interacting with a sun elf the difference is immediately obvious. Most elves are aloof and distant with outsiders. Their pride does not allow them to acknowledge others like equals. While equally prideful a sun elf has no such restrictions and actually are considered quite open and warm personalities around. This is of course cultural and so is their focus on family. While the bloodline is important for all elves only a sun elf could speak hours about their family, at times even when nobody asked them to. They love to talk and curious to meet new people, an elementary part of their culture. Overall sun elves are possessed by a sorts of "energy" none of their other brethren do. Dionism teaches this to be a divine inspiration permeating their race but more rational minds explain it as a side effect of their high magical aptitude. Elves tend to be more magically capable than humans but even among them magical talents are uncommon. For sun elves the ability to use magic is universal and innate, they earn it at birth. Their gift is so abundant it actually turns into a curse. Without proper training sun elves are doomed to be killed by their own errant magical powers. Sun elves are universally adept at casting spells. One would think this naturally mean they became pioneers in magical research yet the reality is slightly different. When everybody is special, nobody is. Calavenyr revel in their talents but also consider them a natural part of their lives. They don't fear magic and don't really seek it, either. It's already there for them. Thus while most nations have tales if not historical documents about mighty wizards abusing their great powers, Fenice consider this idea almost entirely foreign. This is partially because their power is also designed to be a sun elf's downfall. Amassing more power invites the risk of losing control to disastrous results. Even with temperance at average sun elves only live for 70 years compared to the forest elves' 200. They are not long lived like other elves, although they are gifted with eternal youth. No sun elf ever grows old, although strain and magical mishaps can cause effects like whitened hair or health complications. That being said sun elves rarely if ever envious to the longevity of other elves. This is rooted in their faith and the Dionist creation myth. The Mighty Phoenix gave them short lifespans as a mercy, a gift to allow faithful Calavenyr to reunite with the Sun earlier. This also changes their attitude towards death, while they do mourn their loss and protect their families with fervor in the personal sense they view their own death like a glorious event. Fenician philosophy is to live one's life to the fullest and pass away in glory. It goes without saying that sun elves are considered "weird" and unusual to both elves and humans alike.
Trolls are the indigenous life on Giazol, albeit different species of trolls can exist in other parts of the world. Before interacting with Fenice they were tribal hunter gatherers which gradually became a monarchy. Trolls (or Hruogi as Fenicians call them) are massive, at times 3m tall, and possess a weirdly overdeveloped upper body. They are known to be simple and not very dexterous but excellent for physical labor. Even before the catastrophe many trolls wandered out of their island either as mercenaries or laborers and this only intensified since then. After Vesvius' eruption Giazol was covered in thick ash but thankfully their hardy nature saved them to suffer the same massive fatalities as the Calavenyr. Regardless they were left with practically no food and were at the mercy of Fenician aid. This in turn meant them sacrificing even more of their previous independence, giving room for new Fenician industries and agreeing to worker quotas that are constantly being shipped for mainland to do heavy labor. 10 years since the catastrophe and troll workers are a common sight on the ashen wastes. They work in mines and other resource extraction attempts. Their homeworld is also engaged in similar activities. There are also over a million trolls who have effectively became factory slaves. Working 12 hours a day for not even minimal wage. While many trolls are resigned to their fate or even embrace the change there's a rebelious minority which causes unrest, crimes and various other trouble to the government. Given the financial standing of trolls at large it is unknown how they acquire their equipment but their activities are seemingly intensifying.
Fenice has a state religion and it's called Dionism, named after the Sun. It celebrates the Sun and views it as an abstract meaning for all that is good in life. Dionists are taught to revel in the daylight and despise darkness. This of course goes beyond just celebrating the day, to a Dionist the Sun symbolizes enlightenment, revelation, cleanse and purity. They also view fire as an extension of the Sun and respect it accordingly. Although they similarly accept other sources of light. While in theory religious freedom is allowed (since the 18th century) in practice Fenice offers considerable benefits to Dionists and has various restrictions on the temples of other faiths. That being said Dionism is flexible and accepting of other dieties. In order to quickly assimilate other beliefs they allow these religions to be part of Dionism. They retain their traditions while also adopting Dionist system, gradually becoming similar to the main Dionist faith. As such there are dozens of sub-variants to Dionism, even a type that outright denies the existence of god. This so-called Atheist-Dionism is gaining traction among various Fenician thinkers. Altogether it can be said that over 95% of the empire is practicing some form of Dionism. The leader of this faith has the title of Genitrix and always assumed by a woman. As the symbolical Mother of all Dionist she commands considerable influence and growing sway over the politics.
Government
Fenice is technically a Republican Dominion, a form of democratic republic turned constitutional monarchy ruled by the Imperator. While the duty of the Imperator is somewhat ceremonial in effect he or she has almost complete control, only delegating his authority to various ministers and the Senate. The Senate itself is democratically elected although validated by the Imperator. In turn the Senate has the right to accept a new Imperator among the heirs. Unfortunatelly the current Imperator is only 10 years old, born not long before the catastrophe. Until Imperator Bonaccorso Dietto de Alberinis is of age (20 years) he's under the tutelage of Vettorio da Vigo, Maestralto (Grandmaster) of the Phoenix Order of Holy Knights (Ordine Sacro Fenicio). Thanks to that and the dire times the military is gaining steadily in influence, threatening to turn Fenice into a military dictatorship. Since Vettorio is a regent and not the Imperator the Senate is powerless against him.
Magic
Sun elves are gifted with magic from birth and thus magecraft is part of their everyday lives. Neglecting that the errant magic energies are bound to result in health complications and random accidents. Sun elves regularly channel their powers to some purpose and this lead to a fruitous industry of enchanted household items. Fenice used artificial lights run on Solarite centuries before the invention of lightbulbs and if you show them a lighter they might laugh at its flimsy design compared to their magical firestarters. This does not lead to technological leaps but does result in the average Fenician having more conveniences than others.
True to their religion Fenice is almost enamored by the element of fire. Also dubbed as the plasma element they excel in magically producing or controlling heat energy which can be channeled to various utilities, usually with Solarite as the medium. Fenician Blaze Masters are known for their dreadful destructive potential in battle although at home they are more often viewed as weirdos. In truth sun elves view magic as a tool, an utility. They view it as a gift and rejoice in its use yet don't feel particularly empowered by it. Thus Fenice had rather limited emerge of mighty magic users with agendas and delusions of grandeur. It is just not something in their culture.
Economy/Industry
Fenice used to be powerful merchant nation and its wealth lead to early industrialization. Yet unlike elsewhere Fenice approached industry in moderation, unwilling to sacrifice their beautiful landscape for more output. This didn't stop them to create massively successful industries and they certainly had less reservations from exploiting territories outside their mainlands. After light industry flourished Fenice focused their efforts on steel, became known not for the volume but the sheer quality of their production. Fenician metallurgy is still sought after in many parts of Othea. Given their overall obsession with fire and other energetic events they quickly adopted steam and gradually other types of engines. Turbines in particular are Fenician inventions, although the original required the cooperation of fire elementals to function. Of course magical enchantments in both the production and the function of the goods is standard in Fenice. Electricity itself was understood in Fenice but treated like a curiosity rather than something practical. It took decades of rapid development in the field for Fenice finally deciding to adopt electric devices and they only really began using lightbulbs in the last 10 years.
Of course in their recent history the event with the single greatest impact to their economy is the supervolcano catastrophe. Half their entire population dead, 80% of the mainland covered in ash. Even after massive restructuring Fenice only has 40% the industrial capacity compared to 1927. Fenice's once prosperous light industry is in ruins and since the government focuses on rebuilding their heavy industry first it continues to erode. Agriculture is restructuring but still insufficient to sustain as many as 55 million men. The treasury is bleeding away money at record rate and it's unknown if it could be stopped before the Dominion goes bankrupt. Yet outwardly Fenice maintains a strong front, presenting its best side.
Also referred as sun-metal it takes the form of faintly glowing crystal with the ever changing color of fire (when refined). Usually found in areas with volcanic activity Solarite has the capability to store light and heat radiation and also transfer it rapidly given the right impulses. It's a convenient energy medium and modulator material with plethora of potential uses. Fenice of course doesn't have monopoly over Solarite yet given their expertise and already extensive industry they hardly have any competitors in the field.
Technology
As an island nation populated by the eccentric sun elves Fenice took unique approaches to developing their science. For starters magic is part of the common domain and its use is an everyday practice. It comes at no surprise that Fenician inventions very often include magic in their operation. This doesn't make them inherently superior, though. Fenice juat views magical solution the same as you try to choose between different engine types or other mechanism. Speaking of engines Fenice developed blaze turbines that since then spread everywhere in more limited quantities. The obvious advantage for a blaze turbine is their compactness as they are powered by a huge solarite core heating up a steam or occasionally gas turbine. While compact they are also having limited range and outside Fenice they are considered expensive. Various hybrid blaze systems are developed for more economical uses, including the blaze engines where an internal combustion engine's performance is supported by a solarite energy for compact performance. Aside from engines solarite has widespread use in many applications, most notably heaters and light sources. While electric lights are nowadays more affordable solarite lamps are still in use. Aside from solarite Fenice is also known for using elemental devices, an offshoot of golem tech. While golems require the creation of artificial souls Fenice sidesteps this by calling spirits to inhabit their objects. While technically cheaper this method relies on delicate spiritual contracts and personal compatibility, for example inheriting an elemental device could be tricky. Based on this Fenice developed semi-elemental controls but due to its reliability issues everyone else rather uses the more stable pseudo golem system.
Nation Relations
As a major power with presence all around Othea Fenice often invokes polarizing opinions. Their ideologies are also strong enough to provoke this. Fenice views magic as an absolute good and evaluates others by their capacity to it. Their theocratic stance in the enlightened world is also somewhat controversial. They also used to be opponents to overindustrialization and corporate overreach, although their stance weakened considerably. In addition several countries have territorial claims to the Dominion which of course provides tension if not outright hostilities. On the other hand making enemies also resulted in them making unlikely allies to which Fenice makes full use of.
- Volsinii Empire: Fenice abused the Volsinii civil war for territorial gains while also providing support to the elven side. The occupied territories were put under elven leadership and treated humans like secondary citizen. Both garnered resentment from the now human-dominated Volsinii. Although elvish elements still provide partisan support and many of their important people fled to Fenice.
- Hastur: The great empire shares many ideologies with Fenice yet the two nations focus more on their differences. This is partially thanks to Fenice's approach towards Hastur as a bounty, a land to exploit. After their near-collapse 10 years ago Hastur struck back and now provide non-stop trouble.
[to be continued...]
Military
Fenician military is sworn to protect three things: the emperor, the senate and the Dionist faith. While there's a state army in effect they are often split up between Fenician militant nobles who treat them like retainers. Thus even above these three the soldiers tend to be loyal to their Lord and his/her family. All lords own "castles" that are mobile fortresses while also acting as their living quarters while in action. These "fortresses of war" (rocca di guerra or roguerra in short) can take the shape of armored trains, air cruisers or most commonly giant naval vessels. This keeps Fenician army constantly on the move with a complex yet flexible line of logistics to maintain it. This is the natural evolution of their fighting style adopted for securing territories as the first priority while requiring relatively small active forces. Indeed the Fenician military focuses on quality of soldiers over the numbers, although recent events lead to a rapid expansion of their forces.
Infantry Fenician infantry unites the style of old and new. Their soldiers wear high-quality steel armor to protect the vital areas while altogether adopting modern equipment. This is partially due to their traditions and appearances but also because of the value in each soldier. They consider armoring up troops cheaper than training new ones.
- Carbina Modello 24 "Rombo": Self-loading carbine firing 6x60mm cartridges using a 24 round helical magazine hidden within the stock. The gun is relatively compact yet features a long barrel and has great accuracy thanks to the high velocity projectiles. Rombo carbines need proper care and do not tolerate amateurish handling. Their choice of magazine also forces soldiers to carry spares in "quivers". Although most of the extra ammo is issued in 6-round stripper clips with conversion kits to even feed these into ammo belts. Lastly the rifle is designed with the intention to also fire rifle grenades and can fire up to 200 meters.
- Revelioni Arch.P. 30M "Gigantosso": Large caliber semi-automatic gun originally invented for the police against trolls. It fires 13mm medium velocity smoothbore rounds from a 5 round tube magazine. Essentially an elvish shotgun for riot control but also seen service in the military. People occasionally dub this gun the "trollslayer".
- Franchii 19M "Contesa": The most popular variant of Franchii's series of sporting pistols. It has a relative bullpup design allowing a longer barrel in a more compact package. It can accept various magazines available both in tubular and helical style. It's originally chambered in the long 5x40mm Franchi cartridge but can also accept the newer 5x30mm Auto cartridges more popular for military pistols. Due to its cost the 19M is mostly found with officers.
- Franchii 28M "Fulminare": A simplified and cheaper version of Franchii's sporting pistols, accepted for military service. It fires 5mm Auto rounds that are light but posses great velocity (for a pistol) and its helical magazine can hold 25 rounds.
- Scioppo Modello 29: Submachinegun chambered in 5mm Auto issued for assault troops. It has a top mounted helical magazine available in 50, 100 or even 200-round variants. The reinforced barrel and action allows sustained fire and the heavier variants can be considered ultralight machineguns designated for fire support alone.
- Revelioni L.Mtg.F. 21C: Belt or magazine fed light machinegun which uses helical chambering to allow phenomenal rate of fire. It can fire 1440-1800 rounds per minute but due to safety concerns it's limited to only semi-auto and 6-round burst. The underlying theory is that the rapid spray of 6 rounds allows more likelihood to cause damage but this also limits the gun's usefulness at close range or anti-air.
- Franchii Modelo 11: Medium machinegun chambered in the same 6x60mm round as service rifles. It has a rather standard blowback mechanism and rugged design that allows 600RPM. Like its designation implies the M11 is a bit heavier than more modern machineguns, in the excess of 15kg without the tripod and ammo belts, thus more frequently seen in fortifications or as vehicular mounts.
- Revlioni Ri.P. 33 "Stretta": Compact anti-tank rifle using the same shells as the common 14mm anti-aircraft and tankette cannons. For this purpse it uses a recoilless mechanism and single shot configuration which might sacrifice stealth and second shot accuracy but gives an easily transportable and powerful weapon to the field. In addition since based on the 14mm shells it can fire high explosive warheads or other types of ammunition than just AP. Due to its success even 14mm starshells were invented to shoot inside windows.
- Lancirazzi Modello 32 "Pugilo": Versatile rocket projector used both as mortar and direct artillery. It launches a 60mm rocket that can reach 3km indirect and 400m in direct fire mode (though accurate hits are only guaranteed at 100m). Intended for fire support and to storm bunkers, the latter is accomplished by starshells (thermobarics). The launcher is light enough to be carried by one man and can be broken up into two pieces for easier transportation.
Armor Due to Fenice's history of golem usage they became enamored with walker vehicles rather early. Thus their AFV development quickly shifted for creating legged vehicles, relying on their semi elemental technology and dubbed Camminarmato (abbreviated as CA, roughly translates as "armed walker"). Initial models were slow which was frequently criticized by the cavalry branch. To answer this they created the "rolling legs" concept where the legs housed either wheels or track propulsion along with the capability to shift their posture and lean on said surfaces to behave like conventional vehicles. While added complexity the system ultimately allowed faster and more economical travel while giving it rough terrain capability uncontested by wheeled vehicles. An offshoot of this development are the non-bipedal Passarmati (PA) that are quad-, hexa- or octopod designs made for stability. Passarmati can be also a collective term for all walker machines used for combat, including those used by other nations.
Name: Camminarmato Modello 04 Genera H "Lancaris" In Service: 1913- Height: 3.77m (maximum in walker mode), 2.1m (tracked mode) Length: 1.87m (walker mode), 2.95m (tracked mode) Weight: 4.2 metric tons (older variants are around 3.3-3.8 tons) Top Speed: 16 km/h (walker mode, 12km/h for older variants), 30km/h (tracked mode) Armor: 5-16mm (older variants only have 10mm) Armament Options: Obice da 30/24 M18 (Howitzer, 120 rounds) CC-14/120 M25 (anti-tank gun, 250 rounds) Mortario di 60/13 M21 (light mortar, 60 rounds) Lancifiamma M14/M29 (flamethrower types for special use) Secondary Armament: Franchinii M11 machinegun Crew: 2 (sergeant/commander/knight and assistant/driver/paige)
Golems were a staple of Fenician military but they never became very common. Their magic hungry nature limited their applications so with the advent of motorized vehicles and pseudo golem mechanisms it soon became a race between Fenician companies who could produce the most capable military walker. While initial models were not very successful after studying foreign designs it eventually lead to the Lancaris (archaic Fenician word for lancer), a walker and light tank hybrid intent on becoming the modern cavalry. Initial models had poor reliability and construction, only serving really as a training model rather than a serious vehicle. The B variation continued this trend but introduced a stable and very streamlined design which became the foundation for future upgrades. In 1919 the Generation D introduced cannonry for the first time, its 30mm howitzer was engineered explicitly for vehicular use. During the chaotic year of 1927 Lancaris I Gen. E formed the backbone of the military. The wars exposed the walker's newfound vulnerability to anti-tank rifles, hence first the F model with add-on armor and then by 1930 they introduced the G model with a new chassis and hull structure, although many D, E and F variants were also upgraded to the new standard with varying success. The current variant is the H model with improved powerplant and various other upgrades inspired by the Lancaris II. With the introduction of the new battle walker the Lancaris I of course is being rendered obsolete yet their lightness means they can be useful for second grade military units and local security. Their low fuel consumption makes them viable to run until their expiration.
Name: Cavarmato Modello 14 Genera C "Lancaris II" In Service: 1932 Height: 4.27m (maximum in walker mode), 2.7m (tracked mode) Length: 2.28m (walker mode), 3.75m (tracked mode) Weight: 9.2 metric tons Top Speed: 25 km/h (walker mode), 50km/h (tracked mode) Armor: 12-36mm Armament Options: 14mm Autocannon (fed by 60-round helical magazines, 9 magazines plus 140 loose shells total) CC-30/90 (anti-vehicular gun, 90 ammo) Obice da 60/24 (howitzer, 50 ammo) Secondary Armament: Franchinii M11 or Revelioni L.Mtg.F. 21C Crew: 2 (knight and their paige)
Second generation cavalry walker based on both the lessons of previous theaters and technological advances through the decade. It features a larger turret encompassing half the upper hull to allow greater depression and elevation. This larger turret is driven by a blaze-electric mechanism to make it responsive. Armor wise the Lancaris II received a massive improvement, its pike shaped frontal plate can resist surprising amount of firepower thanks to its metallurgy and steep angling. Overall though the Lancaris II is still a light AFV, not meant to take heavy fire. Some of the components are still vulnerable to machinegun fire, potentially crippling the vehicle without requiring to pierce its armor. Side protection is also weak, still vulnerable to anti-tank rifles. Regardless the vehicle is highly successful with battle proven performance in multiple theaters. While some argue the Lacaris II is inadequate against future threats currently there's a strong opposition to replace these walkers. Given the meager industrial power of Fenice the replacement of thousands of battle walkers would also require considerable time.
Name: Cavarmato Modello 19 "Battiste" In Service: 1936 Height: 5.27m (maximum) Length: 2.98m (for the hull, 5.89m w/ gun forward) Weight: 22.7 metric tons Top Speed: 25 km/h (walker mode) Armor: 15-55mm Main Armament: CC-60/75 (modified 60mm general purpose gun, 80 ammo) Secondary Armaments: Revelioni L.Mtg.F. 21C (top), Franchinii M11 x 2 (one co-axial and one for bottom) Crew: 3 (knight/commander, gunnery sergeant, paige/driver)
Heavy battle walker under testing by Fenice. It features a strong combination of armor and firepower along with a number of revolutionary features. The upper hull disappeared, replaced by a huge turret. Its main cannon is the same 60mm general purpose gun that Fenice adopted widescale). Unfortunatelly the walker is subject of controversies both due to being a heavy battle walker and for the multiple compromises the designers had to do in order to create these. For starters it's heavy and lacks the rolling leg design, limiting its strategic mobility. The three man crew also introduced complications as for decades Fenician knights were used to fight in pairs. The fact the knight could no longer fire the main gun but rely on another assistant is loathed by many, feeling like they had been reduced to supporting roles. Lastly while the 60mm cannon is powerful many blame this weapon for requiring such a huge vehicle and thus many of the inherent faults. A lot of people argue that a hexapod design could've accomplished this far easier. This obviously slows down the adoption of the Battiste.
There are still holes to fill in my sheet but I basically satisfied the requirements for the Friday app. @Skepic
Name: Fenizia Dominiqua dell'Dio (Phoenix Dominion of the Sun, often abbreviated as Fenizia/Fenice) Government: Constitutional Monarchy (transforming into a theocratic-military junta) Head of the State: Maestralto Vettorio da Vigo (regent) Dominant Species: Calavenyr (Sun Elves) Population: 55 million
Previously a great power Fenice had significant ambitions with influence in several portions of the Othea. Their momentum came to an abrupt halt when the supervolcano Vesvius erupted, covering most of the main islands in a thick layer of ash. Losing their capital and nearly the entire royal family Fenice is at the brink of collapse yet still intent on retaining their former status.
History
TBA
Territory
WIP
Fenice is an empire with its domain stretching across the globe. Their mainland Fenizia consists of three islands: Albator, Falcola and Yelinor. Used to be an abundant land with nearly 90% of the Dominion's population the supervolcano reduced most of these into borderline unlivable wastelands. Even the neighboring island of Giazol bathed in dense ash, although its inhabitants of hardy trolls managed to survive. Even after the catastrophe Fenice retained considerable control over the Verronto Sea with a couple of territories held near the shores. As far as the Western continent goes Fenice has two major holdings in Firoir (North) and Kazatrea (South), the latter currently being the largest agricultural region of the entire Dominion.
Demographics
Fenice is an empire ruled by the Sun Elves. Their magical prowess and overall positive attitude defines the nation. Only a decade ago they made up the majority of the Dominion but after the catastrophe they are forced into a minority rule of only 47% of the population. The second most common race are the humans, of course. Forest elves also compose a respectable portion of around 5%. Trolls suffered great loses during the disaster but thanks to their fertility and massive government aid their numbers are steadily growing back, their strength and resilience finds great use within the Ashlands. With colonies nearly everywhere it could be said that Fenice has minorities of nearly every species from Othea.
Fenice has a state religion and it's called Dionism, named after the Sun. It celebrates the Sun and views it as an abstract meaning for all that is good in life. Dionists are taught to revel in the daylight and despise darkness. This of course goes beyond just celebrating the day, to a Dionist the Sun symbolizes enlightenment, revelation, cleanse and purity. They also view fire as an extension of the Sun and respect it accordingly. Although they similarly accept other sources of light. While in theory religious freedom is allowed (since the 18th century) in practice Fenice offers considerable benefits to Dionists and has various restrictions on the temples of other faiths. That being said Dionism is flexible and accepting of other dieties. In order to quickly assimilate other beliefs they allow these religions to be part of Dionism. They retain their traditions while also adopting Dionist system, gradually becoming similar to the main Dionist faith. As such there are dozens of sub-variants to Dionism, even a type that outright denies the existence of god. This so-called Atheist-Dionism is gaining traction among various Fenician thinkers. Altogether it can be said that over 95% of the empire is practicing some form of Dionism. The leader of this faith has the title of Genitrix and always assumed by a woman. As the symbolical Mother of all Dionist she commands considerable influence and growing sway over the politics.
Government
Fenice is technically a Republican Dominion, a form of democratic republic turned constitutional monarchy ruled by the Imperator. While the duty of the Imperator is somewhat ceremonial in effect he or she has almost complete control, only delegating his authority to various ministers and the Senate. The Senate itself is democratically elected although validated by the Imperator. In turn the Senate has the right to accept a new Imperator among the heirs. Unfortunatelly the current Imperator is only 10 years old, born not long before the catastrophe. Until Imperator Bonaccorso Dietto de Alberinis is of age (20 years) he's under the tutelage of Vettorio da Vigo, Maestralto (Grandmaster) of the Phoenix Order of Holy Knights (Ordine Sacro Fenicio). Thanks to that and the dire times the military is gaining steadily in influence, threatening to turn Fenice into a military dictatorship. Since Vettorio is a regent and not the Imperator the Senate is powerless against him.
Magic
Sun elves are gifted with magic from birth and thus magecraft is part of their everyday lives. Neglecting that the errant magic energies are bound to result in health complications and random accidents. Sun elves regularly channel their powers to some purpose and this lead to a fruitous industry of enchanted household items. Fenice used artificial lights run on Solarite centuries before the invention of lightbulbs and if you show them a lighter they might laugh at its flimsy design compared to their magical firestarters. This does not lead to technological leaps but does result in the average Fenician having more conveniences than others.
True to their religion Fenice is almost enamored by the element of fire. Also dubbed as the plasma element they excel in magically producing or controlling heat energy which can be channeled to various utilities, usually with Solarite as the medium. Fenician Blaze Masters are known for their dreadful destructive potential in battle although at home they are more often viewed as weirdos. In truth sun elves view magic as a tool, an utility. They view it as a gift and rejoice in its use yet don't feel particularly empowered by it. Thus Fenice had rather limited emerge of mighty magic users with agendas and delusions of grandeur. It is just not something in their culture.
Economy/Industry
Fenice used to be powerful merchant nation and its wealth lead to early industrialization. Yet unlike elsewhere Fenice approached industry in moderation, unwilling to sacrifice their beautiful landscape for more output. This didn't stop them to create massively successful industries and they certainly had less reservations from exploiting territories outside their mainlands. After light industry flourished Fenice focused their efforts on steel, became known not for the volume but the sheer quality of their production. Fenician metallurgy is still sought after in many parts of Othea. Given their overall obsession with fire and other energetic events they quickly adopted steam and gradually other types of engines. Turbines in particular are Fenician inventions, although the original required the cooperation of fire elementals to function. Of course magical enchantments in both the production and the function of the goods is standard in Fenice. Electricity itself was understood in Fenice but treated like a curiosity rather than something practical. It took decades of rapid development in the field for Fenice finally deciding to adopt electric devices and they only really began using lightbulbs in the last 10 years.
Of course in their recent history the event with the single greatest impact to their economy is the supervolcano catastrophe. Half their entire population dead, 80% of the mainland covered in ash. Even after massive restructuring Fenice only has 40% the industrial capacity compared to 1927. Fenice's once prosperous light industry is in ruins and since the government focuses on rebuilding their heavy industry first it continues to erode. Agriculture is restructuring but still insufficient to sustain as many as 55 million men. The treasury is bleeding away money at record rate and it's unknown if it could be stopped before the Dominion goes bankrupt. Yet outwardly Fenice maintains a strong front, presenting its best side.
Also referred as sun-metal it takes the form of faintly glowing crystal with the ever changing color of fire (when refined). Usually found in areas with volcanic activity Solarite has the capability to store light and heat radiation and also transfer it rapidly given the right impulses. It's a convenient energy medium and modulator material with plethora of potential uses. Fenice of course doesn't have monopoly over Solarite yet given their expertise and already extensive industry they hardly have any competitors in the field.
Nation Relations
As a major power with presence all around Othea Fenice often invokes polarizing opinions. Their ideologies are also strong enough to provoke this. Fenice views magic as an absolute good and evaluates others by their capacity to it. Their theocratic stance in the enlightened world is also somewhat controversial. They also used to be opponents to overindustrialization, although their stance weakened considerably. In addition several countries have territorial claims to the Dominion which of course provides tension if not outright hostilities. On the other hand making enemies also resulted in them making unlikely allies to which Fenice makes full use of.
- Volsinii Empire: Fenice abused the Volsinii civil war for territorial gains while also providing support to the elven side. The occupied territories were put under elven leadership and treated humans like secondary citizen. Both garnered resentment from the now human-dominated Volsinii. Although elvish elements still provide partisan support and many of their important people fled to Fenice.
- Hastur: The great empire shares many ideologies with Fenice yet the two nations focus more on their differences. This is partially thanks to Fenice's approach towards Hastur as a bounty, a land to exploit. After their near-collapse 10 years ago Hastur struck back and now provide non-stop trouble.
[to be continued...]
Military
Fenician military is sworn to protect three things: the emperor, the senate and the Dionist faith. While there's a state army in effect they are often split up between Fenician militant nobles who treat them like retainers. Thus even above these three the soldiers tend to be loyal to their Lord and his/her family. All lords own "castles" that are mobile fortresses while also acting as their living quarters while in action. These "fortresses of war" (rocca di guerra or roguerra in short) can take the shape of armored trains, air cruisers or most commonly giant naval vessels. This keeps Fenician army constantly on the move with a complex yet flexible line of logistics to maintain it. This is the natural evolution of their fighting style adopted for securing territories as the first priority while requiring relatively small active forces. Indeed the Fenician military focuses on quality of soldiers over the numbers, although recent events lead to a rapid expansion of their forces.
Infantry Fenician infantry unites the style of old and new. Their soldiers wear high-quality steel armor to protect the vital areas while altogether adopting modern equipment. This is partially due to their traditions and appearances but also because of the value in each soldier. They consider armoring up troops cheaper than training new ones.
- Carbina Modello 24 "Rombo": Self-loading carbine firing 6x60mm cartridges using a 24 round helical magazine hidden within the stock. The gun is relatively compact yet features a long barrel and has great accuracy thanks to the high velocity projectiles. Rombo carbines need proper care and do not tolerate amateurish handling. Their choice of magazine also forces soldiers to carry extra ammo in "quivers". The 6mm rounds are too light to propel grenades but Fenice developed a rocket assisted version that can reach over 100m. Like every service rifle the Rombo has a solar bayonet which is activated by the user's magic to create a semi-solid blade of searing light.
- Franchii 19M "Contesa": The most popular variant of Franchii's series of sporting pistols. It has a relative bullpup design allowing a longer barrel in a more compact package. It can accept various magazines available both in tubular and helical style. It's originally chambered in the long 5x40mm Franchi cartridge but can also accept the newer 5x30mm Auto cartridges more popular for military pistols. Due to its cost the 19M is mostly found with officers.
- Franchii 28M "Fulminare": A simplified and cheaper version of Franchii's sporting pistols, accepted for military service. It fires 5mm Auto rounds that are light but posses great velocity (for a pistol) and its helical magazine can hold 25 rounds.
- Scioppo Modello 29: Submachinegun chambered in 5mm Auto issued for assault troops. It has a top mounted helical magazine available in 50, 100 or even 200-round variants. The reinforced barrel and action allows sustained fire and the heavier variants can be considered ultralight machineguns designated for fire support alone.
- Revelioni L.Mtg.F. 21C: Belt or magazine fed light machinegun which uses helical chambering to allow phenomenal rate of fire. It can fire 1440-1800 rounds per minute but due to safety concerns it's limited to only semi-auto and 6-round burst. The underlying theory is that the rapid spray of 6 rounds allows more likelihood to cause damage but this also limits the gun's usefulness at close range or anti-air.
- Franchii Modelo 11: Heavy machinegun chambered in the same 6x60mm round as service rifles. It has a rather standard blowback mechanism and rugged design that allows 600RPM. Like its designation implies the M11 is a bit heavier than more modern machineguns, in the excess of 15kg without the tripod and ammo belts, thus more frequently seen in fortifications or as vehicular mounts.
- Lancirazzi Modello 32 "Pugilo": Versatile rocket projector used both as mortar and direct artillery. It launches a 60mm rocket that can reach 3km indirect and 400m in direct fire mode (though accurate hits are only guaranteed at 100m). Intended for fire support and to storm bunkers, the latter is accomplished by solarite-enhanced warheads (thermobarics). The launcher is light enough to be carried by one man and can be broken up into two pieces for easier transportation.
- Solancini Modelo 23 "Purgatio": Compact flamethrower containing volatile fuel and a solarite-assisted pumping system. The weapon is relatively heavy but effective in the right situations and has the reach up to 40 meters but most effective at 5 meters or less.
Armor Fenice has long cavalry traditions and this is continued after the development of tanks. Fenician armor development focused on mobility and versatility over protection and thus the concept of Cavarmato (roughly translated as "knight armor") was born. While standard vehicles play a significant role the frontline combat is taken by versatile walkers that can also fold their legs and traverse like a tracked vehicle. With speed, all-terrain capability and relatively modest weight these Cavarmati are rather popular in Fenice, allowing mobile fortresses to ferry them anywhere they want. Cavarmati like many other Fenician technology are imbued with magic. In this particular case the engine and machinery is inhabited by a living fire elemental which provides assistance in operating the vehicle. On the other hand fire elementals are temperamental creatures and only accept people worthy to be with them.
Name: Cavarmato Modello 1934 Genera C Height: 4.17m (maximum in walker mode), 2.5m (tracked mode) Length: 1.87m (walker mode), 2.95m (tracked mode) Weight: 7.2 metric tons Top Speed: 18 km/h (walker mode), 45km/h (tracked mode) Armor: 7-24mm Armament Options: 14mm Machinegun (60-round helical magazine) 30mm AT Gun (necked down 45mm case and uses elongated APCBC rounds) 60mm Howitzer (elongated shell, comparable to 75mm howitzers) Secondary Armament: Franchinii M11 or Revelioni L.Mtg.F. 21C Crew: 2 (knight and their paige)
Name: Imperium Quavarazium/Kvazsír Birodalom/Quavarazi Empire (in short just referred as Quavaraz/Kvazsíria) Capital: Levedium Head of the State: Imperator/Zoltán (currently: Absalon Jenw Levedicum) Dominant Species: Quavar/Kvazsár Population: est. 16 million Area: ~ 3.12 million square miles (8.08 million square kilometers)
Quavaraz is a large nation built on the heritage of the Aurelius Empire. The once prosperous empire imploded in a magic catastrophe that plague the inhabitants even after many centuries. Collecting the countless scattered survivor tribues Quavaraz was formed and presently they secure the Golden Road, the largest safe land route connecting the eastern and western portion of the continent. Quavarazi are considered harsh and hardy people who manage to survive under the constant threat of monsters.
HISTORY
The proper origins of Quavaraz are shrouded in many legends and mysteries but according to the most popular tale their history began with the Aurelius Empire, a legendary nation of magic. A prosperous realm in spite of their hostile and resource thin environment the Aureliei were revolutionary and thanks to their ambitions they were set on a path of steady growth. During their peak they nourished another golden age of magic, charming in practitioners from all across the world. Yet as quickly as they rose the Aurelius Empire fell even faster in the wake of another magic disaster. Nobody knows why it happened though almost everyone blames the arrogance of the Aurelei to think they could master magic. The magnitude of the blast wiped off the capital, scorched the empire and spread waves of mayhem even beyond their borders. While never a hospitable place the land turned into a toxic wasteland infested by monsters, seemingly hopeless for anyone to inhabit. Yet people are hardier than given credit for. Hundreds of years passed and those who remained within the country underwent a dramatic change. Humans, elves, orcs and other races all went through various magic mutations, countless tribes were formed and the land was a forbidden realm to most travelers. Quavari eventually came to prominence. They were descendants of the magically bred warrior servants once faithfully serving the Aurelei. Their tough builds became even wilder thanks to mutations although without proper leadership they were divided into countless tribes. They had to wait until the divine emergence of Almis of the Levedis tribe whose charisma and excellent leadership lead to the first ever united government in central Aurelia. Almis had uncanny foresight and unlike many other tribal leaders before him the government survived his passing and only began to prosper. Of course prospering is relative in a disaster-stricken land but the entity known as the Levedis Alliance rapidly expanded. Using the resting place of Almis as a foundation the capital of Levedium was created to provide admninistration to this new country. After finding scraps of the last Aurelian Imperator's holy raiment the ruler Gyulák Gyulája (meaning: First of the Gyula-s), Lehel Tehatom son of Tarhony, renamed his title Zoltán while declaring himself the new emperor. Since then the country is referred as the Quavarazi Empire.
GEOGRAPHY
Quavaraz, alternatively referred as Aurelia Magna, a huge land mostly dominated by savannas and magically hazardous deserts. Harsh terrain, haunting remains of dried up rivers and weird phenomenons that defy reason can be all expected for the brave who wish to travel through these lands. Monsters of great variety provide an ever present threat. Sandstorms could carry the poisonous particles from still corrupted lands to spell gruesome death on all exposed to them. This is the land of Quavaraz. Yet not all is about doom and at small patches life is blooming anew. Albeit slow but after several hundred years the land is gradually recovering. In addition Quavaraz took territories outside the afflicted zone of the magic catastrophe and now these provide a good bulk of the nation's foodstuffs to consume.
Society
Quavaraz is a diverse nation uniting a myriad of tribes and while there are constant efforts at strengthening the administration this feature did not change. Quavari are the first rate countrymen of the Empire. Bulky and huge, these horned black demi-monstrosities make up roughly 12.5% of the country's population even if their large bodies mean they actually consume the most food out of any race. Quavari naturally form the first class of their society, a warrior and leader caste which is responsible for creating this great nation. Underneath them are various lesser races of mutated people, generally adopting a slim and much more human-sized profile. Their collective name (which technically includes the Quavari and some races outside the nation) is the Tülkösnép which literally means "horned people" or alternative called the Ceranicus in the neo-Aurei language. They are the commoners and worker caste of the nation. While aren't prohibited to bear arms this is limited to self-defense or tiny militia forces. In addition as second class countrymen they are unable to advance to higher ranks of the administration and are literally prohibited to fight as anything but auxiliary to the main army. The third group is a tiny minority called the Hospicites/Hospitánsok AKA "guests". These are inhabitants from different country legally allowed to settle down in Quavaraz. While their numbers are small they are far from negligible and their total count approaches hundreds of thousands. They tend to be merchants, artisans or possess other important skills that positively impact the Empire's growth.
Founders and the strongest race of the Empire the Quavar are living in a martial culture. Built to be powerful a Quavar obviously values strength, often ready to prove their superiority. This is especially true to male members (Quavarus/Kvazsárom) whose almost implausible muscle bulk makes them easily stand out. Given this massive disparity it isn't that much of a surprise Quavars have a much more defined distinction of gender roles. Quavarus are aggressive and supposed to do the menial jobs, fighting and take the leadership. Quavara (female Quavari, also called Kvázsa) are calmer and more dexterous who take on jobs that are more demanding of knowledge and finesse. Quavara might rarely if ever lead a large community but they are equally valuable as assistants to their husbands and considered equals. This is not an ironclad rule but closer to a "common sense" to all Quavari. Thanks to the Quavarusi predominance of huge muscles their society also tends to view males of other races as rather effeminate in comparison, at times even mocking them.
Quavars themselves are also divided to castes, although these are closer to trends rather than rigid structures. Hwarum (masculine:Hwarus, feminine: Hwara, plur.: Hwaroi) are the warrior bloodlines. The most prominent line of Quavars known to produce first rate warriors. They have the highest presentation in the military and their political and social status makes them akin to nobility. Puavar (plur.: Puavari) are the religious caste. Their bloodline have shamanistic traditions and practically all of them are either with the Valrahu faith or highly learned wise men either employed by the government or serving in schools. Mavari are the shaper caste and they provide a great portion of magic users and craftsmen in general. Avari are the commoner caste that don't possess similarly prestiged bloodlines and consequently make up the majority of Quavari within the empire.
When talking about the Quavarazi/Kvazsír society in general it can be said that most of them live in a semi-nomadic state of affairs. Most locations in Aurelia aren't safe for permanent settlements and even if they could the fortifications and military assistance necessary means this is mostly limited to towns and other important places. As such the typical Quavarazi settlement is erected hastily and can be packed up just as quickly to avoid a horde of monsters or other incoming disasters. Fighting monsters and the cursed environment is part of their daily routine. As such while technically under the iron rule of Quavari the commoners still view these people as their saviors and shields from harm. They both fear and respect them for all the obvious reasons. With resources scarce the average Quavarazi is frugal, not wasting anything. They also have a culturally ingrained hatred of magic, the source of their present plight. As such Quavarazi have inherent hostility to all magic users but their own. They especially hate those who use magic for their own gain or try to rely on it to dominate their lessers. It's well-known that any foreign magic user without an escort and/or official papers could end up being targeted by the angry Quavarazian mob. Religion-wise the faith in the Sacred Wheel of Light dominates everywhere, its cross symbol representing both divine protection and reverence to the Divine Trio. In spite of this the Quavarazians are rather tolerant of other religions, accepting those gods as either their own by other names or divine spirits aiding the work of their true deities. Indeed, while the pantheon of the Father (Er), the Mother (Eny) and their Son (Arany/Ereny, consequently also the name of "gold" in common Quavarazian) is the official faith there are a myriad of local gods rooting from previous faiths of the inhabitants.
Valrahu/Vélrönkeny is the most proper name to their faith centering around the Sun Wheel and the trio consisting the Father, Mother and the Son. It combines the archaic words of "Valu" (light) and Rauhau (peace), roughly translating as "peace through the light". When spoken in common Quavarazian the word gets morphed into Vélrönkeny, which has no special meaning aside from sounding similar. The faith emerged from the combination of ancient shamanism and the re-discovery of old Aurelian religious texts. The chief members of the faith are of course the Puavari although the organization as a whole is staffed with all races. As explained before Valrahu believes in the trinity of deities and uses the sun wheel as their common symbol. Sun has divine significance in Quavaraz and its light considered the will and mercy of the Son, Arany.
Name: Fenizia Republiqua del Dio (Phoenix Republic of the Sun, alternatively Divine Republic of Fenice), Fenice for shorthand Common Demonym: Fenizian/Fenician Government Type: Federal Divine Republic (see below) Head of the State: Genitrix del Dio Grande Superior et Santissimo Dominant Species: Calavenyr (Sun Elves) Capital City: Fenizia Population: ~72 million Area: 1.336 million square km land, 0.136 million square km territorial waters
Fenice is a somewhat eccentric country ruled by the sun elves. Their state religion Dionism is well known and focuses on worshiping the Sun. Fenicians are almost infectiously vigorous and their enthusiasm might easily catch one off guard. While considered friendly they are also known to be ferocious fighters and lead several holy crusades in the past. Calavenyr (sun elves) have a long history of love-hate relationship with dark elves of Ylleria. Sometimes they were grave enemies, other times staunch allies. Currently the relations between Yllendyr and Fenice are quite positive thanks to the Dionist clergy signing an alliance to the Imperium.
History
TBA
Territory
The land of Fenice, alternatively referred as Ardensuo, is located somewhere at the edge of the temperate climate zone between 29 to 47 degrees latitude. A lush and abundant territory thanks to being in the delta of the river Rilucorsi. Weather wise the northernmost regions are more mediterranean while the southern edges are closer to oceanic climates. A small patch between the end of the river deltas and the ocean bays is also known to be a desert thanks to the mountains blocking rainclouds.
Demographics
The land of Ardensuo has many inhabitants albeit the sun elves (Calavenyr) are the most dominant. According to the census in YDC 4900 there are currently 100 million sun elves, about 45 million at home while 55 million is spread elsewhere through the Fifteen Dominions. Even in other countries the Calavenyr tend to form their own little circles based on Fenician culture. While this isn't necessarily paired with a sense of loyalty it can be said that practically every sun elf still considers Fenice their motherland. In spite of the Imperial effort to unite Calavenyr with the growing pan-elven culture it only had moderate successes so far. Make no mistake the Calavenyr does feel a kinship with other elves, there are little if any lingering hostilities from the past. Yet the divergence from the general elvish culture is so distant their complete integration feels like an impossible task. Given these circumstances it isn't surprising that Fenice has a very low Yllendyr population, maybe one and half million. This includes government officials, merchants, skilled workers, scientists and even those who serve in the Auxilia stationed in Fenice. Fluctuations in this number are considerable as most Yllendyr would not find the Fenician society comfortable. As a consequence there's also the popular Fenician view on the dark elves of Ylleria as stuck-up no-nonsense weirdos. Instead of them the second biggest elvish demographic in Fenice are the wood elves, roughly 4 million. They live in the autonomous body of Iontachyr which allows them to posses their own unique culture.
Aside from elves the second largest recognized population are the humans, a bit less than 16 million. Unlike most regions of the empire the humans are not considered slaves within Fenice, although they are definitely second class citizens at best. In spite of that the promise of freedom did charm humans from other regions to the country even if this slowed down considerably in the recent decades. Aside from wood elves there are two other races who manage to self-govern within Fenice. Zwölfberge is a region of twelve mountain city states ruled by dwarves. While formally part of Fenice they effectively can decide on their own laws so long it doesn't infringe on the guidelines laid out by Fenice or the Imperium. Of course dwarves also live outside Zwölfberge, especially in mining towns or cities. Traveling dwarven merchants are still a reoccurring sight in the country, too. Combining all these there are roughly 4 million dwarves total. The other autonomous region is Ithaké, a rough semi-desert environment dominated by the centaurs. These semi-nomadic people are hard to tame, sticking to their traditions even in this age. On the other hand they are not hostile to Fenician influence and currently 2 million of them exist in Ardensuo alone. Slavery is rare in Fenice, not entirely abolished. It is generally linked to special permits, including debt slaves who are forced to become servants until they could pay back to the owner. Yet there's one significant group whose enslavement is oft forgotten, kobolds and to a lesser extent the goblins. A weak and diminutive species sharing traits of both rats and lizards they were bound to be subjugated by a greater race. No census bothers to count the number of kobolds or goblins within Fenice but estimates are between 20 to 40 million.
Lastly but not least Fenice has some unique residents, fire elementals. Being embodiments of flames they are unable to speak and their existence could be destructive to most things around them. Yet through effort Fenice managed establish a line of communication with them and forge a deal. Since then fire elementals and sun elves live in relative harmony, although their societies rarely interact. Fenice effectively brought them out by offering them better ways to sustain themselves and giving them better habitats. Thanks to that the formerly scarce population of fire elementals grew massively, currently registering over 5000 specimen in just the country alone. Fire elementals of course help Fenice in return in various ways. They assist in magical and scientific research, moderate forges and turbines or even lend a few of their members as soldiers. In spite of the occasional "troubles" associated with fire elementals they overall had a positive effect on Fenice's growth.
Government/Society
To put it in brief the Fenician government is rather unique. At first glance it is a republic with long history. On the other hand it has monarchic ruler for life in the form of the Genitrix whose selection is done through the Violet Hall of Fenice's Dionist clergy, not the people. In a sense this is a dual system where the two sides have influences on different matters. Historically the Senate and the Violet Hall were engaging in non-stop power struggles. This dynamic relationship was solidified upon Yllendyr conquest. The secularist views of dark elves couldn't accept a pure theocratic leadership thus the Senate became the overall governor of the state. They manage the country while the Violet Hall with the Genitrix represents Fenice within the Imperial Court, although they still hold a limited authority over the Senate. Normally this would mean the Genitrix is Imperial Viceroy yet in effect this is a bit more complicated. Rather than Her Holiness the official viceroy is her aide and chief ambassador, appointed directly by the imperial government. This results in the funny situation of the viceroy of Fenice serving both the emperor and the Genitrix, of course with their loyalty swaying more towards the imperial side.
This is just the foreign politics portion, of course. Internally the so-called Divine Republic is a federation of numerous autonomous or semi-autonomous states. A group of such states form a Diocles and there are 12 of them including racial autonomies like Zwölfberge (dwarves), Ithaké (centaurs) and Iontachyr (wood elves). Each of the twelve diocleses divide into prefectures (Prefecturas) which of course contain various settlements and a local capital. Speaking of which the capital city Fenizia is also governing the Fenizia prefecture which has authority over the Ignis diocles. The 9 "normal" diocleses have fairly uniform atmosphere. Local differences like the dominant economy, neighbors and the demographics aside it is simple to harmonize laws through them. Racial autonomies on the other hand are like their own little countries. While Iontachyr is gradually adapting to sun elven and now also Yllendyr norms the other two races are far more on the stubborn side. Ithaké itself is the largest diocles and that is because there's barely anything on it. A semi-desert world where a lot of centaurs still live like nomads. As such there's no major push for them. Zwölfberge is the other way around with its highly developed cities and robust industries they can effectively ransom the government into giving them more freedom. Fenice is a complex country and perhaps because of this the Yllendyr chose to minimize their interference on Fenician politics.
Economy/Industry
Fenice's extensive mercantile traditions enabled it to achieve a relatively smooth transfer into the age of corporations and the free market. Unlike their government the Fenician economy is highly centralized and has been for centuries thanks to sitting on a nexus of well-navigable rivers that cross a good portion of the continent. Fenizia in particular is a mammoth of a city, deserving its title as capital with the population surpassing 5 million. Of course sustaining this through waterways alone would be insufficient and while reluctant at first Fenice is now building up a dense railway network. As for agriculture the country has a decent soil albeit not the best weather which results in highly variable production rates. This makes local farmers harder to compete with others on the market, especially when it comes to granary goods and other mass consumption products. On the other hand Fenice has a rich seed oil and sugar industry. Sugar beet and its products makes up some 16% of Fenice's income. As a curious note Ardensuo is actually a terrible land for growing cotton and as such they import raw cotton and often even cotton products from other dominions.
Industry-wise Fenice is quite developed. While not competitive in light industries, they made great advancements in heavy industries and technology. Zwölfberge might be not as abundant as the mountains of Vaurgemyr but they are the main producer of Gramasso (tungsten) and they have great expertise at alloy steels. Steam technology is another field that Fenice is proud of, especially turbines where they are considered the leader. The first gas turbine powerplant was made in Fenizia (although with the aid of fire elementals). Internal combustion engines are curiously neglected in Fenice, though. Speaking of engines Fenice has various steam car companies including the now famous Cizeo Ltd. which sold 500 vehicles just last year. Sun faith is powerful in Fenice thus when they had a chance to bring light into the period darkness they immediately jumped on the occasion. As such public lighting is widespread in Fenician cities and even towns, usually provided by local powerplants of various type.
Major Exports: Sugar, tungsten (and alloyed tools/parts), aluminum, turbines, fireworks, electric equipment Major Imports: Granary goods, cotton, textiles, steel, silver, rare materials
Magic
Like most elves the Calavenyr are born with magic. This does not mean everyone has the ability to become a competent mage but the most elementary spellcasting is almost like a second nature to them. Actually in case of the sun elves this goes beyond as their wild energies have to be periodically released otherwise it could impact their health. Devices to contain this errant power were developed early and nowadays technology which turns this errant magic energy into something more useful is fairly common in Calavenyr households. Magic sticks that can remotely light candles, tea boilers and so forth. Their capabilities are limited and often times replaceable by technological inventions of the time but regardless Calavenyr uses them.
True to their name the sun elves of course specialize in plasma magic with at average three quarter of their mages developing such powers. It goes beyond mere affinity, sun elves are obsessed with flames and the raw energy of this magic. To them plasma magic is often associated by their Sun religion, the Dionism. While less popular than plasma the sun elves can develop capabilities to manipulate different planes. Gas being the second most common as a complimentary to plasma while mind plane mages are always sought after for synergistic effects. Solid and liquid magic receive relatively limited attention, although thanks to Yllendyr influences there are three times as many liquid mages in Fenice than it used to be.
Sola Gladia, solblade, solar saber and many other names... they mean the same thing. They are essentially enchanted hilts that can project blades of searing plasma. The ultimate fire sword, you could say. They are the latest evolution of the sun elvish obsession to hit people with the power of their beloved sun. The hilt is somewhat heavy but since there's no physical blade its balance allows it to be swung at great speeds, almost as if the weapon would lack any momentum. Once activated the Solametta pushes out a blade of pure plasma yet normally the said plasma is merely hot rather than capable of causing major harm. It might burn your skin on direct contact but would never kill you. To be lethal you require velocity, the faster you get the hotter these blades could get. A well-executed swing can burn flesh and causes nearby organic compounds to combust. In effect this means the sword can cut through flesh and leave a cauterized mark behind. On the other hand while somewhat uncomfortable the Solametta would be ineffective against metal armor. Rather than cutting through the blade disperses like blowing dust to a hard surface. The solar blade can reform in a second yet such delay could still give an opportunity to counterattack. Speaking of metal contact, duels between a solar saber and a regular unenchanted sword can get fairly awkward. Formless plasma doesn't stop steel while steel won't really stop glowing hot gases, they pass through each other. In such cases no blocking or parrying is plausible. As such there are enchanted swords that remedy this or specially made Solamettae that can clash with regular blades and retain form. In spite of sounding fairly complicated the fundamental principle is fairly simple and based off the behavior of fire elementals. As such for 200 years now sun elves brandishing their solar blade are an increasingly common sight, even becoming the standard sidearm in Fenice to replace infantry sabers.
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