Babylon
The vast
empire spanning the entirety of the southern continent, the Babylonian empire
is the largest and most populated empire in the world. With the crown jewel,
Babylon itself, in the heart of the continent the empire has spread to
encompass every city in the south. And despite a very tumultuous past, the Babylonian
empire is currently experiencing a golden age of art, culture, medicine and
science. Having invented gunpowder, the Babylonian empire has a vast advantage
on its’ neighboring empires, but the current emperor seem to have put his
sights on bettering the empire for its citizens, and thusly have avoided
aggressions towards their neighbors.
The people
inhabiting the Babylonian empire are many and varied. The empire accepts any
immigrants and boasts a large ethnic diversity unseen anywhere else. People from
every city and city state on Elidrophyn and Halga, the humans of Babylon come
in every flavor and background. While the empire has enforced public
healthcare, relatively advanced taxation system, and have in place a network of
roads connecting their various cities.
*Authors’
note: While my opinion might be a tad biased (seeing as Babylon is my current
home), I would consider Babylon the most advanced society in the world. While
they might lack the technological advancement of the Grey, they more than make
up for it through their advanced social policies.
Tyvia
A
militaristic city state based on the fertile volcanic Tyvian islands, the
Tyvian kingdom has long warred with the Babylonian empire in the south, and the
wars only drawing to a close after the new emperor of Babylon claimed the
throne. The kingdom of tyvia is the seat of the burning retribution church, and
worship of any other church or deity is strictly forbidden. The kingdom
furiously pursues any sign of treachery and heresy, making it a very puritan
society.
Mostly made
up of Humans, with some significant splashes of Azur population, the kingdom
view Ifrits as heretical creatures and do not allow them into their lands.
The tyvians
have recently started to arm up for war, although upon what or who is still
unknown.
*author’s
note: a development occurred recently, as the Tyvian navy and army marched into
Govens, ceasing the weakened city state after the attack of Dagon.
Additionally, Tyvian forces have started marching north and west.
Lianess
Mostly made
out of elidrophyn’s heartlands, the city state of Lianess spreads out into the
great forest to the northeast. Owning a large series of silver and iron
deposits in the mountain ranges, the lianess city has long been a center for
military production, and with its’ relatively large forest and farmlands, there
are plenty of food supplies available to the people of Lianess.
Governed by
the church of the all-seeing eye, the people of lianess (at least if you look
at the larger towns and the capital city) are a very pious folk.
Though in
the remote villages within the great woods, the people are very
self-sufficient, and largely belong to the state only by name, ignoring the
taxes and fending for themselves. Additionally, older beliefs considered pagan
and heretical by the church are still wide spread in the remote areas of the
state.
Erisand
Situated on
the rocky plains of the southwestern parts of elidrophyn, the people of Erisand
are isolatoric and largely remain undisturbed by their neighbors. The people of
Erisand live under a byzantine system of nobles that more often than not do
battle with one another. Where they have had interactions with outsiders, it
has generally been through war, and thus outlanders are not especially welcome
into the nation.
There has
not been a unified kingdom of Erisand for a hundred years, but the leadership
of the nation goes to the high-lord, also known as the man who manages to
gather enough soldiers to take over the capital city.
Just like
the government is always in conflict, the various high lords have enforced
either the burning retribution or the all-seeing eye as the main religion of
the nation, depending greatly upon who happens to hold the throne at the
moment.
This has
all created a great lack of attachment to anything by the peasants of the
nation, most uncaring about who happens to be king, or whatever religion
happens to currently be dominant, paying lip service to both but believing in
neither.
*author’s
note: A common misconception about Erisand is that legends say that its’ land
is covered in blood-colored sand, discolored by the blood of all the people
lost to the endless wars, something many believe to be true. In fact, the land
of Erisand is neither red, nor largely covered in sand. Instead the land is
covered in plains with large ratios of rocks, and the exposed nature of the
nation makes it very windy.
Govens
A city
mostly driven by commerce and the exchange of coins, Govens is a massive harbor
city and one of the largest cities in the world. The city is located at the
southern edge of mainland Elidrophyn, and is surrounded by sea on three sides.
The city of
govens is ruled by a council of nobles and trade-lords that are elected by
public vote. Of course, the elections are mostly rigged, but it is the closest
to a democracy that can be found on the central continents.
In secret,
the actual ruler of Govens is the Toreador cainites, who control it through
bribery, seduction and marriage to important political figures.
The city of
Govens is known because of its’ general acceptance of other religions and
cultures, as long as they have coin to spend.
*Author’s
note: As of late, the city of Govens have become annexed by the kingdom of Tyvia
after the dragon Dagon set almost a third of the city into ruin. This also
means the vampires have been chased from the city.
Jokkafar
The tsardom
of Jokkafar controls large tracts of land in the northeastern reaches of
Elidrophyn, and its’ people are grim and tough. One of the more ordered
societies on Elidrophyn, Jokkafar has a disciplined structure of nobles serving
the tsarina, the hereditary ruler of the vast nation.
The tzardom
has a large slave force that mostly serve in the opal mines along the arctic
rim in Troll territory, and on large whaling ships patrolling the misty sea.
Over all,
the citizens of Jokkafar are united beneath the tsarina, who is the primary
uniting force of the Jokkafar people, in the face of steppe tribe raids and
norse plunders. But there are still a significant portion of the lower classes
that are discontent with the tsardom and are a generally destabilizing element.
Southern Lianese empire
A spiritual
nation seated in the mountain-filled regions of southern Io, the southern
lianese are a people worshiping the spirits of the wind, and more specifically
the four winds. The empire is a mostly spiritual nation that stays mostly
isolated from their northern cousins’ largely economic and centralized government.
The Southern lianese are mostly an empire by name, and are rather governed by a
council of three. The three being the most skilled military commander, the most
significant spiritual master, and the elected representative of the people.
The empire
is this way, as after the last emperor died heirless, the foremost priest,
general and politician decided that the best way to avoid a long and bloody
civil war over the throne was to make a decentralized government of the people
with the greatest skills within their fields rather than the one who happened
to be born into a specific noble house.
The
southern lianese have avoided conquest from their northern cousins and the
kalinese through a combination of their inaccessible strongholds, and their
mastery of the sky as they have entered into a long-standing partnership with
the griffins.
Northern Lianese empire
Much of the
heartlands of Io are under the control of the Northern lianese empire. Under
the rulership of the celestial emperor, believed to be a decendant of the
gods’, and their living spokesperson in the world by the mainstream religion of
the northern lianese.
The empire
is an autocratic state ruled by the wish and whim of the emperor, and its’
history is enormously tumultuous. Some of the most notable events that has
transpired within the empire are the dividing of the empire during the schism
of the two kings, and the outlawing of ancestral worship that led to a long and
bloody civil war.
The
Northern empire is the vastest single empire on the northern hemisphere of the
world, and even rivals the Babylonian empire in size. But in terms of
population, mostly due to infighting and plague, the northern empire has a
slightly smaller population and one that is in general more spread out
throughout the nation, thanks to the larger fertile landmass.
*Author’s
note: The northern lianese empire was annexed by the Kalinese empire after the
rise of the dragon Myo’gin as the sole diety and ruler of the kalinese. The
last Celestial emperor was publicly executed and his heirs slain. Now with the
death of Myo’gin at the hands of outlanders, what will happen next with the
empire will be interesting to witness.
Gray empire
The
male-dominant half of the Gray people form a relatively modest empire, that is
ruled out of the legendary fortress-city of Uzel. The gray empire has a single
emperor that is elected upon the death of the previous emperor, and will remain
the emperor until his death. In difference to how most empires deal with their
government, being the emperor of the Gray is far more a duty than a privilege,
and the emperor is expected to distance himself from being an individual in
order to serve the people as their leader. While this is considered the
greatest honor a Gray can achieve, it is not a position taken lightly, and only
the most driven Gray volunteer for this position.
The Gray
nation as a whole is centered around the plains, mountains and jungles of the
western edge of Io, and what is considered the gray empire is the eastern parts
of this nation, while the female-dominated tribes inhabit the western jungles.
The gray
empire also has access to the largest deposit of the material Metite, also
known as meteorite steel. The capital of the nation, Uzel, rests within the
crater of a meteorite. Which upon impact with a mountain hollowed out an
enormous, contained valley, that serves as Uzel’s primary defence.
*Author’s
note: The Gray empire shrunk greatly with the ascension of Myo’gin, as the
emperor of the Gray foresaw the great threat that the Kalinese, under the
leadership of Myo’gin, posed. It is my theory that he might have had outside
warning. This theory must be investigated.
Kalinese empire
Situated on
the eastern coast of Io, and along the great archipelago existing there, the
Kalinese have lived rather isolated from their Lianese cousins. For most of
their history, the Kalinese have not showed any inclinations towards greater
conquest, but they have a long-standing military tradition with two rulers controlling
their nation. The first and foremost being the Dragon-emperor, a hereditary
title passing along the bloodline considered to have been passed along from the
ancient dragons, and that the family is given the right to rule by birth.
The second
ruler of the Kalinese, and the one with actual power in the nation is the great
general, a title gifted to the conqueror, or the son of the conqueror of the
Kalinese empire. The title of Great general is not hereditary in the classical
sense, but rather a title that has to be conquered from the current great
general.
The
kalinese empire is divided into three different classes. The uppermost class is
the emperor, who stands at the top of the kalinese, the second tier of the
society are the warrior-clans who vie for control over the title of great
general, and the lowest class are the clanless, the peasants and workers of the
kalinese.
*author’s
note: with the ascension of Myo’gin, his first action was to devour both the
emperor and the current great general and claiming the control of the Kalinese
for himself. As he set about conquering Io, he also enslaved the Oni, a large
brutish people living in small villages along the western borders of the
Kalinese empire. The Kalinese had little problem to conquer the northern
lianese, but the southern lianese and the Gray proved far more resilient.
Niflheim
The sole
great city of Jotunheim, Niflheim was constructed by the minosans as a
fortification to protect themselves from the marauding centaurs. Essentially
being a single, enormous wall that runs as a gigantic maze through which once
you are trapped there is no escape. The city of Niflheim, in difference to all
other cities so far catalogued throughout the world, doesn’t reside within the
city’s walls, but instead on top of the walls and within the walls themselves.
The nation
of Niflheim is also the hub of commerce between the jotuns and the Minosans,
and is thus the only center of commerce where extra-national trade occurs on
the continent of jotunheim.
Niflheim
(as it is named by the Jotuns) is also known as “the great labyrinth” by the
minosans themselves is a massive construction work with walls that go up to a
hundred meters tall at some points, and up to thirty meters thick. It is also
considered impossible to navigate without a minosan guide. Even then, in recent
years the number of Jotun traders visiting the city has grown the Minosans have
taken to placing up maps of the city every few city blocks, in order to help
the lost Jotuns find their way.
Naga city states
Altough put
here beneath a single entry, the Naga city states are not a singular entity.
While they do show many similar traits amongst themselves, they are spread out
and have their own sense of politics and social order.
The naga
are a strictly caste-based society where an individual has virtually no chance
of changing their social standing in the society without taking drastic
measures.
The castes
that exist are the noble caste, which is a female-only caste, the uppermost
among the castes from which the regent queen rises. The regent queen is a hotly
contested title and one earned through duels within the noble caste. The next tier
is the priests and priestesses, a caste focused mostly on the spiritual nature
of the Naga people. Additionally, they are put in charge of keeping magical
lore and teaching the nobles in the arcane arts.
The tier
below the priests is the warriors, an exclusively male caste consisting of
specially able-bodied worker-born and slave-born individuals, as well as males
born from the noble caste, the warriors are trained from childhood to become
cold and efficient killing machines at their city-state’s queen’s command. It’s
the warriors’ duty to protect the queen, the order of the city state, and the
naga way of life.
The next
caste are the workers, farmers and craftsmen of the nations.
The last
caste is the slaves. Probably the largest of the castes, the slaves are the
possessions of other Naga, and are divided into three general categories. The
highest of the categories is the personal slave. Their roles vary from personal
servant, to lovers, to caretakers of the owner’s home and children, and they
are generally elevated in position depending on the owner’s own position. While
a personal slave of a farmer is just as insignificant as the farmer himself, a
personal slave of the queen can order around warriors and priests with ease.
The second tier of slave is the house-slave, the cooks, cleaners, gardeners and
maids of the Naga household. And the last tier, as well as the most common, is
the worker-slave. Usually seen as less worth than dirt, and treated as if
invisible to anyone except their owner.
Svaer and Danir
The two
jotun nations Jotunheim, the Svaer and Danir are hereditary enemies fighting
over causes long forgotten by both sides. The two nations are essentially the
same, they live in villages and towns along the coasts of Jotunheim, and
primary interaction between settlements is to perform trade or prepare for a
new war with the other nation.
The battles
between the Svaer and the Danir vary greatly in intensity, sometimes
manifesting as a bit-too-competitive sports, other times as full-blown warfare.
It is said that if a Svaer and a Danir jotun meet, and possess weapons they
will go on to battle one another, regardless of place.
One more
thing the two nations have in common is a common enemy, that is also the
primary reason that the two jotun nations aren’t really in the midst of a war
or have been for some years now.
The two
nations have a common enemy in the marauding centaurs, a force that causes both
sides a great deal of trouble, and has forced many smaller settlements to merge
into bigger ones and have made some jotuns have to leave their ancestral lands
in order to settle down in Niflheim.
*Author’s
note: It is my theory that one of the primary issues that stand between the
Svaer and the Danir is the fact that there are a lot of diminutive differences
in their languages that sound like something completely different to anyone
from the other nation listening to them, frequently leading to
misunderstandings.
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