The Protectorate-Commonwealth

History and Government

"Long live the Emperor - he of the immortal union, he of Al-Merak's blood, he of nine electors, of two kingdoms, of five dukes and the sevent counts! Long live the Commonwealth over which he rules!"
So go the platitudes. In truth, there are as many who'd wish the emperor a swift death as those who would wish him a long life. There are just as many who'd see the union's dissolution, or the holy order of The Crimson Aphorites purged and eradicated, or the usurpation of the titles of their neighboring lands. The Commonwealth is stained in blood, and not the blood of the Thalgor it unified to oppose, but the blood of its fellow men and women, and it is slowly being drained of its last breaths.
Emperor Karsten VI, of Howyth, rules a battered land. The third-generation emperor hailing from his homeland, his father and grandfather greatly increased the centralization of the Commonwealth, bringing about necessary reforms and industrialization which had strengthened its position in the world. But this centralization was at the cost of some protectorates' disdain, as they had grown to value their autonomy and independence within the empire - it is, after all, a commonwealth first and foremost! The current emperor was elected after significant deadlock, and was immediately thrown into a civil struggle between his two most prominent contestors.
The governmental system of the Protectorate-Commonwealth is deeply outdated and in need of revision. It involves the election of a monarch, who rules until his death or abdication. Formally, the Protectorates include nine electors, two kingdoms, five duchies, and seven counties. In an election, the electors vote first, and, if they come to a majority, decide on the emperor on their own. Should they fail to come to a consensus on the second round of votes, the five duchies are included in the process, and voting iterates again. If a consensus again fails to be reached after a single ballot-cast, the counties enter the vote, and the process repeats. If, yet again, a consensus fails, the kingdoms get their say. In this round of voting, the candidate who gets a plurality of votes is declared the winner if no majority is reached, but the Commonwealth enters a state of contest, which provides the new emperor a wide array of tools to reorganize the electorates, but also grants all Protectorates expanded say in this process.
Such was the case with Karsten - at final count, he attained only 9 of the 23 votes. Dietmar III von Clausen received 8, and the now-deceased Rostag von Helvetia attained 4, with a single vote going to Phraxavaria, and The Crimson Aphorites abstaining. The results led to a state of civil war, which culminated in the assassination of Rostag by the Order Silencio, and the support of his electors transferring to Karsten (with the exception of Nordhausen, which pledged to Dietmar). Unofficially, this gave Karsten a post-electoral majority, and led to an armistice between the two sides; however, tensions still remain.
The Commonwealth was not always in such dire straits. It was once a prosperous union, carved out of necessity due to the West March Wars, especially after the Western Exodus. Always, the southern regions of the Kcalsbury Continent had faced raids by the Thalgor of the West Marches, which sometimes culminated into massive warpaths that wrought destruction to their lands; the notion of the union allowed tangible resistance to this threat, and thus the regional nobles unified into a commonwealth of protectorates, which would be coordinated by an elected leader, while civil governance would remain the domain of the nobles in their respective regions.
Since its beginnings, however, the Commonwealth has been in a power struggle between the leaders elected and the feudal lords. The lines drawn between defense coordination and civil governance blurred with the introduction of taxes to fund the joint military, and some lords actually viewed central coordination of economy and governance as preferable. This view grew throughout the Age of Enlightenment - as the Commonwealth grew to be one of the Kcalsbury Continent's most stable lands, some came to expect it to project its power, and, in order to do so, the nation's pseudo-federalism could not endure. The Crimson Aphorites, the Commonwealth's most prominent religious and military order, were especially favorable towards this centralization, and nobles who favored their faith and patronage were pushed to adopt the line.
Other nobles, however, have not reacted so positively, especially those who have their origins outside of the Gults, who are the dominant peoples of the Commonwealth. These nobles did not view the aphorites so positively, and viewed centralization of power - with or without the aphorites' favor - to be a trespass upon their historical agreements to join the union. Until the Howyth line arose and made significant reforms, a stable push-and-pull had been the standard in the Commonwealth, and the compromises which resulted were agreeable to all sides. Crises did arise from time to time, but none as severe as the rise of Karsten, where a full-scale civil war could be said to exist. While the war has ended, the Commonwealth still remains on the brink of fracture, with talks of secession and division spoken of openly; and, outside of the nobles' halls, the voices of the serfs grow increasingly louder, complaining of their conditions and the brutal industrialization of the state beneath the Howyth line. What is in the Commonwealth's future? No one can know for certain, but tumult is a guarantee.

Cities

Howenburg

Howenburg is the capital of Howyth, and of the Commonwealth, so long as the Howyth bloodline rules as emperor. It is a city of a hundred-thousand, a growing metropolis that has only gained significance as a result of three generations of emperors. It is, however, a prosperous city, with all railroads beginning within it, and the bulk of the nation's factories surrounding the crownlands. Emperor Karsten continues to emphasize its growth, seeing a central capital city as the lifeblood of his rule's continuation, and thus the stability of the empire.

Clausenstadt

Clausenstadt is the capital of Clausen, and the home-city of Dietmar III, the strongest contestor against Karsten in the last imperial election. The Clausen family has historically ruled the Commonwealth through many of its most prosperous periods, and Clausenstadt stands as a reminder of that fact. It is a city of three-hundred thousand, with neatly organized districts and architecture, as well as plentiful art galleries and gardens. Clausenstadt is a gem in a wasteland of industry, farms, and blood-stained rivers, and even Karsten did not dare to launch a siege against the historical city, despite his challenger's taunting and his supporters' encouragements.

Esshauer

Esshauer is a minor center of trade and the capital of Essen, directing trade goods to the frontlines of Borden. It sits on the Vellis River, which is a thousand yards broad at the city's point. Esshauer houses about fifteen-thousand people, and has been growing due to the urbanization efforts of the Emperor, whom it turned its support towards in the late stages of the civil war.

Sholstag

Sholstag is a minor town with just over one thousand residents. It lies at the convergence of Essen, Nev, and Helvetia, which has resulted in its importance long being overblown, as the three protectorates have always battled over their claims to its titles. In the Age of Enlightenment, Sholstag became a free city, and was guaranteed by the Emperor to have rights to independence from any of its neighbors. During the civil war, Sholstag supported the claims of Rostag von Helvetia, and it never pledged its allegiance to the Emperor even after peace was declared. This has brought the ruling governor, August del Reto, into open conflict with the crown, once again bringing undue importance to the Sholstag township.

Geography

The geography of the Commonwealth is greatly varied. For the most part, it is a combination of plains and sparse woodlands, with clusters of dense forests still standing dotted throughout. Many rivers feed the various Protectorates' peoples and agriculture, but the Vellis Major and the Vellis Minor are the most important of the state's waterways, providing enough fresh water to feed the internal farmlands. In the northwest, the Niverac River and the Hayes River are of similar import, but farming wanes in these parts, and is primarily for the purpose of subsistence.
In the nation's east, the aptly-named Lumber Woods and the Thorn Woods provide a significant logging site, while the southern Fae Woods are superstitiously regarded as off-limits for extraction. The Wightwoods, further south, are less-accurately named, with the haunting label stemming from long-discredited myth.
Several mountain ranges dot the Commonwealth's western border, including the Bastion Peaks, which hold back the undead masses of Decia and house the Dwarven Protectorate-Kingdom of Gal Xarihm - the Green Mountain. These mountains break in the Engelsmarch, where constantly military forces occupy the marshlands to prevent the undead tide. Further south lie the Thurest Heights, a prime location for iron and other important ores, while the Grunsfeldt Range provides rarer earth metals, as well as gems and crystals, though it is only accessible through licenses with the Fyrans who claim control over it.
The Sea of Waves lies to the Commonwealth's east, and is used often for trade, under the protection of the fleets of Barisea, with which the empire has extensively-detailed treaties. The southern Sea of Tears is a far more dangerous place, though it does house the island of Eltondorf, which serves as a prison colony for the feudal lords.

Resources

The Commonwealth has varied and extensive resources, though it has only recently begun to tap into them beyond its own needs. Today, its primary export is agricultural products, which are sent all around the world, and fund the nation's industrialization efforts. Rosemary, feverfew, dill, mustard, sunflower and hazelnuts are the Commonwealth's primary luxury exports. Textiles, machine parts, railroad components, steam engines, and guns are increasingly crafted, but are primarily used internally, rather than sent abroad.
Some Protectorates - especially Howyth and Nordhausen - ship significant amounts of lumber to Barisea, where such resources are more scarce. This lumber is also traded to neighboring protectorates, who need it increasingly for the central government's expanding construction projects. Western protectorates rely more on ore, gold and silver reserves, and the gem trade, often pawning off such goods to merchants in Fyra or Barisea at market price, before they are upsold in parts of the world where such materials are rarer. Fyra profits especially from this transaction, as the mines of the Grunsfeldt Range may only be used with their permission and license.

Ethnicities

Various ethnicities make up the native tribes of the Commonwealth, with each being associated to a particular protectorate. The Gults are a supergroup which make up the majority of subcultures, though some lands are considered to come from distinct tribes, including the Howyrds of Howyth, the Norskolt of Norenth and Nordhausen, the Helvetyakans of Helvetia, and the Altergrissen of Dachstadt, including the lands of Alhesdaf and Eltondorf.
Those who maintain tribal and nomadic traditions, as well as some more rural folk, are often considered divergent from the cosmopolitan turn that these cultures have taken. They are instead referred to as the Sygultaz, a conglomeration of the old cultures which is varied, but shares its divergence from the dominant norm.
Additionally, the Green Mountain is native to Dwarves, and the people of Phraxavaria are referred to as the Ziva-Phrastrana. Other peoples of the Border Kingdoms are minorities within Phraxavaria, and may be referred to by their names (i.e., the Ziva-Cadir, Ziva-Adaxa, and Ziva-Orthsco) within its borders, but within the broader Commonwealth they typically fall under the Sygultaz.

Diplomacy

Related Articles

Locations

Cultures

Factions

Regiments

All

"Under All, United"

Adjectives: Gultic (colloquial), Commonwealth (official)
National Animal: Arnbrite
National Instrument: Trumpet

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Ethnicities: Gults, Sygultaz, Norskolt, Ziva-Phrastrana, Green Dwarves
Languages: Human Common (Modern Gultic), Sygultic, Phraxish, Galvi

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Capital: Varies based on Emperor; currently Howenburg
Ruler: Emperor Karsten VI von Howyth (Contested)
Government: Electoral Monarchy

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Hallmarks: The Crimson Aphorites, factionalism, fraught industrialization, banditry
Characteristics: Self-interested, devout, politically-aware, superstitious

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Related Historical Events

• 1504
  The Karsten Crisis
• 1368
  The Dead War
• 1350
  The Rotspur Ravage
• 1342
  The Culling Wars
• 1238
  End of the West March Wars
• 1228
  The Forswar
• 1226
  Confederation of the Protectorates
• 1128
  The Karaval War
• 1102
  Birth of the Sisters
• 1047
  Declaration of the Fyran Republic
• 924
  The War for Imperial Withdrawal
• 914
  The Wars of Dual Statehood
• 831
  The Western Exodus
• 829
  The First West March War
• 828
  Beginning of the West March Wars
• 741
  The Herd Brays Westward
• 591
  The War of the Sword
• 288
  The Strand Jingles
• 62
  The Gultic Conflicts
• 54
  The Brothers War
• 0
  Emergence of Gultic Writings
• -4
  Rise of Al-Merak

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Electors

• The Electorate of Howyth
• The Electorate of Waldenberg
• The Electorate of Weinswald
• The Electorate of Reinsfeld
• The Electorate of Hosterwitz
• The Electorate of Attenhausen
• The Electorate of Westerweyhe
• The Seat of the Crimson Aphorites
• The Seat of the Regent-Emperor

Kingdoms

• The Kingdom of Phraxavaria
• The Kingdom of Green Mountain

Duchies

• The Duchy of Dachstadt
• The Duchy of Gransdorf
• The Duchy of Clausen
• The Duchy of Engelsweidt
• The Duchy of Horsmar

Counties

• The County of Essen
• The County of Nev
• The County of Weitersborn
• The County of Helvetia
• The County of Steinen
• The County of Nordhausen
• The County of Norenth

Eashavar

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