The Calidonian Empire

The Golden Empire

The Golden Empire, The Stilted Three, Calidor, whatever you call it, welcome to the Empire of the Sun. This empire is one of capatalistic and colonialist hell, build upon the blood of those deemed unworthy or different. However not all within this domain of light are wronging these peoples, in fact most of the people within this empire of gold are simply blinded by the light. So lets dive in, and explore this culture of appropreation and greed.

Structure

At the top lies the Triumvirate, a group of 3 elected officialls known as Triumvir. One is elected from within the governments of The Great Plains, Kaa'aath, and Calidor proper. The one from Calidor holds the most power, however this is never explicity stated. Below them are a council choosen by the Triumvir individually of about 5-10 advisors and trusted allies. These hold far less power over government than the Triumvirs, however they have the power to veto certain actions taken the Triumvirate, along with the ability to whisper in the ear of their Triumvir. From there we move down to the city level juristiction, with mayors and their council making smaller judgements on the wellfare of their city or town.

Culture

The culture of calidonians is one of perceved rightful justice. The people of Calidor will usually lean on the government, almost worshiping the system as a perfect system capable of gifting perfect justice to all who seek it. They also possess a sort of phobia of those who have been deemed incorrect by the system, such as those of Ra'akar or the "barbaric" peoples of the Great North. However those they deem as "worthy" are met with begrudging acceptence into the system, however these peoples usually end up at the bottom of the system, and left there to rot. This is because the people at the top of the calidonian food chain deem those unable to reach the top are un-justified for not truelly trying to master the system they have woven, and the people in the middle accepting that judgment as objective truth.

Public Agenda

"To advance the progress of Magic and spread the Light and Justice of the Triumvirate"

Assets

Magical objects of all kinds, lots of physical riches/money, the most efficient and practiced military in the world, technially the most land of any country in the world, the most extencive trade route in the world.

History

History of Calidor In summary, Calidor began as a small group of likeminded people living in what would become Loft, who decided that the best thing they could do for the scattered villages of the Calidonian plateau was to create a central government. Thus Calidor was born, and the calendar centralized around this pivital moment. 240 years would pass in relative peace, until the Calidonian/Ra'akaran conflict hit, and severely weakened Ra'akar after a crippling defeat. This allowed Calidor to officially take control of the peoples of the Great Plains and beguin the process of moving their infuence into their domain, and after about 50 years most people of the Great Plains could say they are part of Calidor confidently. A hundred years pass in relative peace, and as the knowlage of the existance of the Great North becomes more well known, the Calidonian government implements a series of policies to incentivice people to migrate to the Tail. They specifically provide finacial support to formar criminals looking to move, as a ploy to lower the crime rates present in Calidor at the time. However those who moved soon realized that they had been manipulated by the Triumvirate, and attempted an uprising. However, upon not mustering up the forces and will within the people of the Tail, they instead choose to take the non-violent option and immigrated to what would become the Illusory Isles, formally seperating from Calidor. 100 more peaceful years pass without conflict, but tensions still rise to this day between Calidor and those who have declaired themselves enemies of the state, with the time of peace slowly creating clear boundries, pulled taut by the opposing forces bulging into one another. Welcome to modern day

Demography and Population

While most laws and enforcement of said laws originate within the Calidonian plateau, 70% of all Calidonians live within the Great Plains. However this is mostly because of the sheer size of that region, with the actual population desity of the areas being mostly the same. However Kaa'aath possesses very little of the total population of Calidor, with them only composing about 15% of all Calidonian.

Territories

Calidor is segmented into three seprate territories, with the Calidonian Plateau being where the golden fist of the empire is strongest, then Ra'akar, then The Great Plains. The Calidonian Plateau is the only land held by Calidor that they originate from, with The Great Plains being historically a mix of Ra'akaran and Calidonian peoples, with the culture reflecting this fact. Kaa'aath is a land once inhabited by the tribes of the great north, with specifically the peoples of Helkemt frequting it. However that time has passed, as settlers have pushed back the native population into the wilderness, seeing them as barbarians. In historical terms, Kaa'aath is a very new nation, and thus has not split very far from Calidonian culture.

Military

The Calidonian military (known as the Legion) is the strongest in modern Elmeron, being a highly trained, efficient force possessing the most modern understanding of magic in Elmeron. Within the Legion there are two divisions, the Stone and Water infantries. These are effectively land and ocean troops. Within these forces lie 4 different types of troops, those being Infantry, Support troops, Legion Mages, and Leadership. All infantry possess 2-3 infusable melee weapons (usually a dagger and a longsword), 1 Air infused bow and quiver, and 1 Stone infused tunic. Support troops are the Legions healers, navigators, scouts, and other supporting roles outside of combat. This role is usually saved for those with a will to join the Legion but some physical or mental disability is preventing them from playing a combative role. Next come the Legion Mages, or LM units. These are people who have trained their magical potential to become a weapon by itself, unaided by physical weapons. They usually arise from Infantry as they gain more control over their magic, but it is not too uncommon for someone to join the Legion capable of being an LM unit. These troops usually are about 10-20 people per Regiment, and are trained along side of the other LM units in their Regiment in order to incentivise effective teamwork in battle. These units are the most likely to rise to the ranks of The Guardians once their time in the military has passed. The Leadership of the military is usually filled in by those who choose to hone their mind rather than their magic or physical strength. In order to rise to the ranks of the Leadership one will most likely require a connection within the existing or past Leadership. One must also pass rigorous testing to determine whether or not one's strategic mind is strong enough to be in a position of power.

Technological Level

While the people of the Calidonian Empire possess the normal medieval technological advancements, they also possess the most mastery over the magic of Elmeron. This is thanks to the extencive trade network and resourses aquired by the size and population of the country allowing for some of the most advanced magical experiments known in the world, and allowing the people of Calidor to see the world beyond tradition, at the cost of the blood required to collect the resources for this research.

Religion

The Holy Church of Calidor is the number one religion within Calidor proper, with around 70% of the Calidonain Plateau practicing this sect of Haelionic worship. Usually outside religions are unwelcome within Calidor, especially those of Calidors major enemies, like Ra'akaran Solkhar worship or The Illusory Isles worship of Veilis. However those particular sects of distaste is more of an extenction of the general hatred and de-humanization of those cultures. In the Great Plains, a sect of Haelionic/Solkharian worship is practiced, known as the Church of the Twin Gods. However this sect of worship is practeced in equal if not lesser commonality than that of The Holy Church of Calidor, because of the relation to the hatred of Ra'akarans. The peoples of Kaa'aath practice that of The Holy Church of Calidor, however they have adaped their methods of worship to be slightly different than that of Calidor proper.

Foreign Relations

Calidor considers most political powers as either with or against them, with this balancing out to about this: Kaa'aath and The Great Plains being considered on their side, and Ra'akar and the Illusory Isles being against them. The government actively tries to futher this notion to allow for the de-humanization of their enemys, while hiding behind systemic appropriation.

Laws

Laws beguin their life in the Tower of the Triumvirate, where the Triumvir formulate new laws, before they get passed down to the 3 councils and are interprited into readable law or veto-ed by a unanimous vote. It is then passed down to the Guardians, who will enact whatever they are given, so long as money isnt involved. Punishments can vary anywhere from a fine to torture and execution depending on the perceved severity of the crime. While the guardians are not many, they hold power, power over both the law and magic itself, making it very difficult to hide from these forces if they are set on your downfall.

Agriculture & Industry

The main industries within the Calidonian Plateau are as such, in descending order:

1. Magical Technology
2. Animal Byproducts and Meat
3. Mining
4. Blacksmithing
5. Fishing

The Great Plains' industries:

1. Grain and Foodstuffs
2. Clay
3. Sand
4. Glass

Kaa'aath's industries:

1. Magical Ingredients
2. Mining
3. Magical Technology
4. Masonry
5. Leatherworking
6. Blacksmithing

Trade & Transport

The Calidonian government sponsors the production of all roads and trade routes under Calidonian rule. Due to the hostility and lack of need, most trade is preformed between the Calidonian provinces themselves rather than with outside forces, especially Ra'akar and the Illusory Isles. These roads usually consist of simple packed earth, with regular maintance preformed both by the people of Calidor and the government itself on occasion. The major passes of renewal come yearly, however the maintanence of these roads fall to the locals all other times of the year. Meanwhile, the passage between that of the Calidonian Plateau and Kaa'aath is a well practiced route, with around a ship a week passing between Calidor and Kaa'aath at any given point in time, however this number has been known to fluxuate to as much as a ship a day for months in time of prosperous bounties.

Education

The education system of Calidor is extremely dependent of region, with those of the Great Plains and Kaa'aath being left in the dust, and while the government does provide resourses to these schools, they are ultimatly left behind in both educational and financial aid compaired to Calidor proper, with most people being left to be taught by their parental figures. Meanwhile, the closer you get to the capital of Loft, the more lush the provisions provided for all things, including Educational services. As such, the quality of education can range from a full understanding of magic and technology up to this point in full schoolhouses, all the way down to a basic understanding of how to stay alive and farm, taught by people who were taught the same things by their parents.

Infrastructure

Similar to education, depending on the proximity to the capital city of Loft, infrastructer can range from the sewer system and advanced aquaducts of Loft all the way down to town wells and unsanitized outhouses.

Mythology & Lore

Most all of the Calidonian empire holds the main idea of creation being thus: Haelion created the world out of pure sunlight, however in the process he descovered that in the act of creating a world of Light, Dark had seperated itself and rooted itself at the bottom of the world, and eternally attempts to rise back up and usurp the Sun in the form of the Moon. Those of the Church of the Twin gods believe in the same myth, but rather replace Haelion with their Twin Gods.
Most of the people loyal to the Empire within Calidor also possess the myth that Haelion is the manifestation of Calidor, and all that which lies under the sun belongs to the Empire, and those who resist are of the Dark, trying to aid in the Darks reclaimal of the world.
It is usually known amoung this group also that within Calidor that Loft was the place where the Light of the Sun first touched the Stone, and upon that spot now rises that of the Triumvirates Tower, the source of both law and order within Calidor.
Outside of these myths, most other mythos is fragmented and entirelly depends upon the province, town, or even family the story originates from. Amoung these fragmented myths include various explinations for the creation of life, extra deities within the sects of Haelionic worship (aka the existance of minor gods), and infinitly many myths of Adventurures and Heros traveling the world, slaying great beasts and evil kings in the name of Haelion.

Divine Origins

The first of the two major sects of Haelionic worship, The Holy Church of Calidor, originated within that of the Calidonian Plateau, which itself is originated from the tribal practices of those who once wandered the area where loft now lays, that area being naturally infused with the magics of the Sun, specifically the warm, fertile, and bright aspects of it rather than Fire and Heat. Meanwhile that of The Church of the Twin Gods was the result of the merging of the cultures of Ra'akar and Calidor merging over thousands of years of nomadic travel, slowly solidified into a complete religion.

Cosmological Views

According to both the peoples of The Holy Church of Calidor and The Church of the Twin Gods, the world was birthed by Haelion, who's origins are unknown, and he wove the world into a world of light, warmth, and fertility. However in commiting the act of binding the world to Light, he also created Dark, and from said dark was birthed Nyxian, who took root underneath the world of light created by Haelion. However Nyxian was not content to simply sit at the bottom of creation, and she soon began to manifest that of the moon, an oppisite of the Sun, with the two eternally chasing each other around the world in order to kill the other and claim dominion over the world. About 70% of variations on this myth say that from the two gods were birthed peoples meant to aid in the war between Light and Dark, with Calidor being the Light and all enemies of the Empire being that of the Dark. Note that this is a variation introduced into the mythos after the war with Ra'akar in order to justify any atrocities commited by the Empire to the peoples they wage war against.

Tenets of Faith

1. Trust in yourself and your neighbors, and always do your best to do good by others
2. Hold the light in your Soul close to your Heart, for it is always one step away from falling into the Darkness
3. Never trust one of the Dark
4. You will always find safety in that of the Church

Ethics

Good Deeds:

• Exposing someone of the Dark
• Helping someone in need who is of the Light
• Fighting and dieing for Calidor

Sins (aka Acts of the Dark):

• Crimes against Calidor
• Helping one of the Dark
• Desicrating holy ground

Worship

Those who worship these religions mostly worship in the form of visiting the always open churches. These churches are filled with Light and people silently praying to Haelion or the Twin Gods, and there are many backrooms for one on one confessions with priests.

Priesthood

Because of the nature of Deities within Elmeron, gods can only make physical apperences in etherial manners, never able to bind themselves to a physical form. However a side effect of this is that whenever a god does make themselves known to the peoples of the world, it is a monumental occasion. It is stated in the history of Calidor that about 25 years before the founding of Calidor one Quinton Loft was blessed by Haelion from atop what would become the base of the Triumvirates Tower with visions of the Holy Light of Calidor spreading throughout the world in a holy crucade. He would later go on to be one of the founders of Calidor, and found the Holy Church of Calidor a few years later. His desendents would also become the Priests of this new church, with the family of Loft being one of the most well documented family trees in the entire world.

Granted Divine Powers

For this particular religion, most members of the religion have not learned how to imbue their belief into their magic, however some have mastered this art, and with it one can enhance their powers of the Sun many times over if they are truelly dedicated to their faith.

Political Influence & Intrigue

This religion have formulated what has become Calidor, with most if not all of the founders having been of one denomination or the other, and the government is just as engrained within the Religion as it is with the land itself. The concept of Light and Dark is also extremely benificial to the government of Calidor, since it can allow for very efficient dehumanization of the nations enemies.

Sects

There are three major sects of this religion, however it is basically just two different religions, with two of them being very similar, with some key differences. First is the Holy Church of Calidor, the purest form of Calidonian Haelionic worship. Then comes the Kaa'aathian sect of this, which practices religion in many of the same ways as The Holy Church of Calidor, however they see Haelion as a much more forgiving God, with a focus on Light in the Dark and sunrises in their worship. Then comes The Church of the Twin Gods, which is a result of the mixed Ra'akaran/Calidonian influences within the region of The Great Plains. This sees Solkhar as a twin god of the sun to Haelion, with a very Kaa'aathian view on their Haelionic worship. They instead seperate all the warlike tendencies of Haelion into Solkhar, seeing his as a twin god of Fiery Passion, the other side of the Haelionic coin. However they practice this worship in many of the same methodologies as The Holy Church of Calidor, effectively making them twin denominations.

Lustitia pro Omnibus (Justice for All)

Founding Date

0 AR

Type

Geopolitical, Empire

Capital

The Calidonian Plateau

Alternative Names

The Great Empire, The Stilted Plateau, The Golden Empire

Training Level

Semi-professional

Veterancy Level

Veteran

Demonym

Calidonians

Ruling Organization

The Calidonian Triumvirate

Leader Title

Triumvir

Founders

• Quinton Loft

Government System

Democracy, Representative

Power Structure

Unitary state

Economic System

Market economy

Gazetteer

The Great Plains, The Tail, the eastern Teeth, the Great Divide, The Lush Valley

Currency

Gold, Silver, and Copper.

Major Imports

Simply because of the sheer size of all territories contained within the label "Calidor", most if not all basic materials can be obtained from within these borders, however the three provinces do need to preform regular trade in order to maintain basic resourses like varied types of food, ores, and magical materials. This usually plays out like this, mass amounts of grain and foodstuffs are produced, stored, and exported into Calidor, then Kaa'aath through Calidor. Calidor produces and researches different ways to utualize magic, before exporting this knowlage in the form of magical items, textbooks, spells, and all manner of magical means. Kaa'aath preforms exursions into the Great North, stealing from and taking resourses from the peoples who inhabit it, and import those unique magical resourses into Calidor propper, where they are adapted into new forms of magic. They also produce some of the most masterful metal and leather work in all of Calidor.

Legislative Body

The Triumvirate and Mayors are the main forces of law in Calidor. The Triumvirate handle laws relating to the nation as a whole, with them handeling declirations of war, trade negotiations, and country wide policies. Meanwhile city governments handle the individual problems an area might experience, like allocating resourses to where they need to be for that region, or managing local trade, and the flow of resourses through the city.

Judicial Body

The 3 councils are the people who take the decloration of law declaired by the Triumvirs and turn it into terms interpritable by the Guardians

Executive Body

The Guardians are a sect of the military saved for the most loyal of military members, those who rise through the ranks and possess massive magical prowess. They usually have one stronghold per major city, and contain anywhere from 5-50 Guardians depending upon the size of the city and the criminal activity within. They are very prone to corruption

Official State Religion

The Holy Church of Calidor

Deities

• Haelion

Location

The Calidonian Plateau

Related Traditions

• The Central Calidonian Calendar

Neighboring Nations

• Grrdrr
• Kaa'aath
• Ra'akar
• The Great Plains

Related Species

• The Sun Falcon

Related Ethnicities

• Calidonian
• Ra'akaran

Sibling Countries

The Calidonian Empire

75

The Great Plains

25

While techniqually both organizations are under Calidonian rule, they are effectively different countries. This combined with the history of Calidor waging their wars through the Great Plains has created somewhat strained relations, however there are multiple factions in regard to this relation, with about 60% of people in the Great Plains being complacent with the situations, and 90% in Calidor proper.

Empire/Colony

The Calidonian Empire

50

Kaa'aath

25

With most people holding grudges with Calidor being filtered out from Kaa'aath in the form of the Illusory Isles, Kaa'aath has been left in a generally positive relationship with Calidor, with only a bit of strain.

Neutral

The Calidonian Empire

50

The Sespa

50

Neutral

The Calidonian Empire

40

Yakala

-10

Little to no contact

The Calidonian Empire

10

Grrdrr

10

Little to no contact

The Calidonian Empire

-10

The Nelrin

-75

Secessionist

The Calidonian Empire

-25

The Illusory Isles

-90

After the seperation of the peoples of the Illusory Isles they were left unsatisfied with the result of their attempted revolt, never having their beef resolved, leaving it to fester. However Calidor is mostly blind to this, at least on an individual scale, seeing the conflict as resolved.

Enemies by Proxy

The Calidonian Empire

-50

The Verdant Isles

0

Tense Peace

The Calidonian Empire

-70

Ra'akar

-80

The result of a war wounding the nation of Ra'akar deeply, with tensions still rising from the unsatisfying resolution of the original conflict

Enemies

The Calidonian Empire

-75

The Helkemt

-50

Enemies

The Calidonian Empire

-75

The Nivéllum

-50