Zorakin
Structure
Zorakin is a absolut monarchy ruled by a King to whom all lesser nobles have sworn fealty. The power structure is feudalism with Dukes, Counts and Barons whom all have sworn loyalty to their lord and also the king. Most of the land of Zorakin are own by a baron which pays taxes to their superiors. The higher ranking nobles live of small pieces of land, having a part in mines, windmills and other expensive operations and of course taxes from those beneath them.
The King apart from getting taxes from Zorakin also holds his own pieces of land all through the kingdom. They are considered his personal holdings and are often administrated by payed servants. The administrator of the land is usually from the lesser noble class. The size of the piece of land varies and in some part they are as big as a barony. The King also holds share or fully own mines and other important businesses. One of these pieces of land the King holds is Pendonne, the capital of Zorakin.
To aid the king ruling the kingdom he has a council called "The kings council" made up of fourteen members and the king. Each member of the council are responsible for a certain part of the kingdom. The amount of power the council has depends on the kings personality. A weak or uninterested king allows the council to have much power and a strong and forceful king won´t let the council wield any power. The king are absolute and do not have to abide by the councils votes, but a smart king at least pretends to listen to them. Originally all the powerful noblemen of the kingdom where a part of the kings counsil, but when Zorakin became a absolute kingdom they lost that right. The council members titles are:
- "drots" whom are responsible for the handling of the land owned by the king.
- "chancellor" whom are responsible for the kingdoms finances
- The Kings marshal, whom are responsible for the kingdoms army.
- The Kings admiral, whom are responsible for the kingdoms navy.
- Saittlebeux - (Slättebo)
- Draviouxe - (Dreverike)
- Amittefeux - (Amtefjärd)
- Litherinne - (Likermark)
- Pharynx
- Inbeaux - (Inberg)
- Indarri
- Salamora
- Solei-Font - (Yttersol)
- Gredelmaux - Gredelmark
Culture
As Zorakin are made up of several ethnicities there is a difference in culture depending on where you are in the country. But the most influental culture is the Penner as the King and most of the nobility are from the Penner ethnicity.
The people of Zorakin are very religious and they follow the learnings of the Shining Path. The religious holidays and daily routines have heavily influented the culture of Zorakin and all significant dogmas are a natural part of the Zoraki daily life.
In Zorakin the guild system is strong and almost all craftsmen are organised in one. Of each guild system there is only one organisation, with several bransches based on cities and towns. Almost all guilds have their main chapter in Pendonne, but there are exceptions. As only humans are obliged to belong to a guild in order to make their craft, there is often some conflict with non humans as they can make their trade without having to donate some of their earnings to the local guild.
Family (noble): The family is important for noble zorakis. They will give you shelter if you need it and they will have your back if possible. Your cousin will probably not go to war against you without a really good reason, but the sagas of old where the family went to war together is but a myth today.
Family (peasants): The family is the only persons that will be there for you. The family is very important as your children will care for you when you are old and can´t work any more.
Public Agenda
Zorakins main priority is to maintain its role as the dominant country on the Aidne peninsula. In order to achieve this goal Zorakin works together with the church to spread and strenghten their version of The shining path. They are also supports Erebos in its trade war against Zorakins age old enemy, Caddo.
Assets
Due to the fertility of the land, the low cost of labour and the warm climate Zorakin is a strong producer of grain and other agricultural produce. It is also produces more timber and iron than it uses internally which makes it a prime exporter to the seafaring nations of the Coppersea.
Zorakin is famous for its horses and the land is filled with horse breeders. In some areas of Zorakin there are large herds of wild hoses roaming the wilderness as well. Most breeds of horses from Zorakin is bred to carry heavy weight as they are used for work and warfare.
In Zorakin there are many small scale tar productions who poduces an ecxess of tar which is sold to the more seafaring nations in the Copper sea.
The land of Zorakin are filled with castles. In every barony the baron have built a castle. And the counts and dukes as well. There are also knightly orders which owns castles spread out in the country.
History
Demography and Population
Approximatly 9,5M individuals. (France around 1200 a.d. had 12 M)
- 90% Humans
- 5 % Halflings
- 5 % Other
Territories
Recently the duke of Salamora invaded the Freestate and occupies it.
Military
The army of Zorakin are founded around its knights and their retinues. They have all sworn loyalty to their lord and have received land for it. The knights are heavily equipped and well trained but there will always be a lack of formal military discipline within the nobility. The low and middle class are expected to form a militia to defend their homes.
Most knights in Zorakin rides a warhorse but there are knights who through gifts or by capturing one, rides upon a Hippogriff. They are all part of the Order of the Hippogriff. To become one is a great honour and most likely the only way for someone born outside noble blood to become their equal.
The Kings guard is a proffessional military formation of approximatly 200 well trained men and women. 100 of them guard the king and his family, and the castle of Pendonne. The rest of the kings guard patrol the Kings road to supplement the local lords. The soldiers of the kings guard wear a long chainmail with a helmet. They adorn themself and their warhorse with the Zoraki coat of arms. They are armed with lance, sword and shield.
The infantry of the Zoraki forces are not considered very important and as such they are made up of lightly armed and lowly trained lower class people. The commanders understands the use of the infantry and how to wield them, but the focus is almost always the knights. The main long range weapon is the crossbow in the Zoraki armed forces, but there are units of archers.
The navy is absymal and weak, since it got destroyed hundreds of years ago. But even before that it was not considered a strong fleet. As there is little glory or honour to be gained in the fleet the nobles eschew it totally. Therefore it is ill funded and out of date. But on the positive side it means that all officers are promoted based on merit rather than birth, which have made the structure and discipline within it strong. On paper the fleet is led by the Lord Marquis Etienne La Folle. But he spends his time on parties and hunting trips with his friends. It is not known if he even reads the updates that are regulary sent to him. In all reality the fleet are managed by Harald Grymtand. Harald comes from Jorduashur and have spent most of his life as a seaman. The navy have a few old Cogs who mostly patrol the water around Pendonne and give the impression of might. But mostly the fleet use smaller and sleeker ships which are mostly intended for hunting pirates.
In Zorakin there are very few academies for military training, rather the soldiers and their officers learn their trade within their unit. If a peasant join an nobles armed retinues he will get constant training with his weapons and armour as a part of his duty. He will also learn how to march and if shown as the years pass by he will get an understanding of tactics.
Technological Level
A knight is often equipped in a long chainmail armour with chainmail hoses. He/ she also have a full helmet to protect the head. The richer knights usually wear supporting steel leg and arms, and perhaps a breastplate.
Religion
The shining path is the only religion for human citizens of Zorakin which is accepted and allowed to be worshipped openly, and there is a temple found in every village. As most people are very religious the church is very influental in the politics and everyday life of Zorakin.
The Kerigass of Zorakin is Lord Ambrie PeVerienne who is considered an intricate webweaver. It is well known that he wants to have a seat in the Curia of the church of the shining path. Therefore he is often found either in the Kardian capital or on traveling foot. Ambrie have made sure he has a Cog on which he have installed his office. He always travel with several messengers and as one rushes away with depesches, another one arrives with new information and takes the empty spot.
Humans are allowed to be of other religions, but are expected to worship in the confines of their homes and very discreetly. They are not allowed to openly display their religious symbols. All Gods whom are considered evil gods are considered illegal to worship or carrying symbols.
Other races gods are given more leniancy and they are allowed to worship and carry the symbols, but should be aware of the scorn they might face if they do. They are allowed to build temples as long as they are small and modest.
Foreign Relations
Kardien and Zorakin is in a loose alliance as they share a long and friendly history and the likeness in their system of rule. The fact that they also share the same religion and the same enemies strenghtens their relations
Caddo is an old enemy of Zorakin and although there is no war, there is no friendship either. As of now the political line is to have as little contact as possible with each other, but the trade between the lands are flourishing. As trade between Caddo and Kardien is against the law in both countries, the traders often do their trade on Zoraki soil, with a Zoraki trader as a middleman.
Erebos is an rival of Caddo which makes them a potential ally in case of war. There is no love between Erebos and Zorakin but there is an understanding. There is a lot of trade between the two countries. Erebos is buying lot of timbre as they are strenghtening their navy and there are no large forests within their island country.
The elven country of Goiana is friendly but very little contact. When the Black Tower invaded Goiana, Zorakin did what they could to aid them. When the Black tower invaded Zorakin and Kardien, Goiana did what they could.
The Black Tower is an age old enemy of Zorakin and although there is peace at the time. there is no love lost between the two countries. Neither have any emissaries nor do they have any contact.
The blackblood tribes of the Aidne peninsula. There is no diplomatic contacts at all. Zorakin and the orcs are in a state of war.
Agriculture & Industry
In the northern part of the country the main livestock are sheeps and goats. The grain produced are hardly enough to feed the local population less giving an opulance to trade away. On the other hand there is a well developed wood industry, quarries and mines. The mines are seldom very large but the ore extracted is fine. Most larger operations such as mines will be owned by a wealthy noble, and several others have a share of it. The disparate ownership where several influental and powerful individuals demands regular payouts have a tendency to make the operations less effective.
Throughout the southern part of Zorakin on the other hand there are looming fields of very arable lands that easily produce two harvests each year. The dairy production are well developed and the abundance of grain and livestock have led to a thriving hide and leather production as well. In most baronies there is a wind- or watermill owned by the baron.
In Zorakin the majority of the land is owned by the barons, and they funnel taxes to their counts. The counts then take their portion of the taxes and hands the rest to the Duke they serve, whom then pays to the king. The higher nobility such as counts and dukes, often own a town or city from which they collect taxes, apart from taxes they get from the barons. They usually have small patches of land they own scattered amongst the baronies beneath them. There are also lords, ladies and knights who own land and swear fealty to the local baron. Unless they have land granted from the duke, in which case they swear fealty to the duke.
Just beacuse the baron owns the land does not mean they own the rights to use all of it. In one forest the baron might have the right to cut down the trees, while the Count have the hunting right of everything but deer, which belongs to the king. The duke on the other hand owns the right to have bee keepers in the forest.
Production facilities such as mines are costly to build which have led to most of them being co-owned by many nobles (and in some rare instanses commoners) where the baron often owns the majority. All the owners expect to get a share of the material or profit.
Trade & Transport
Zorakin is a rich country, but the trade is under developed meaning that the wealth is based on Zorakins internal production. In general only lords are allowed to own land, mills and mines et cetera, and as such merchants do the trade for them. They sell the produce of the lords land and buy what is needed for the lords. The lords of the land belive that trade is beneath them and scoffs at it. Therefore the road system are under developed as well as the ports. As the peasants seldom have much money but as they are the most common people in the country the trade are severly hampered.
The only road that is well kept is the Kings road whom tie all the major cities together. Most of the kings road is very old and built during the Jorpagna empire. The local lords whose territory it passes through are obliged to keep it safe for the travelers, and every traveler upon it are granted the kings peace. They are not to be taxed by anyone but the king. The kings road ends at a city gate, which means a traveler can be taxed when entering a city. No trade is allowed upon the kings road or close to it, and all who break it are risking death.
Zoraki traders and merchants usually make their trade within the kingdom and leave international trade to other nations. As such they do not suffer from loss of wealth from pirate attacks and other losses at sea. On the other hand other nations are not allowed to make their trade internal of Zorakin and must conlude their trade at the zoraki cities with seaports.
Education
Throughout the realm the level of education are in general very low, and superstition reign supreme. The peasant class is seldom literate as there is no need, time or even will to read. The middle class the level of education are more wide spread but most often than not their education are either heavily influenced by religion or formed against their job. The nobles of Zorakin are well educated but the education are heavily influenced by the religious views.
Apart from the Lyceeum of Pendonne the country of Zorakin are not known for its scholars.
Infrastructure
The roads of the kingdom are mostly dirt roads that follow old trails and adapts to the land they cross. They have been formed throughout time rather than constructed. In the more populous and well traveled areas there are inns along the road, but the further away from populous areas a travele comes, the more sparce they get.
The kings road are the roads that connects the kingdom together as it binds the capitals of the duchies together. These roads are old and actually built a long time ago. The foundation are strong and the roads are paved with stone. Traveling the roads by cart is not very comfortable, but the wagon most probably will not get stuck in a mire or a pot hole. The Kings road are patrolled by knights whom have sworned loyalty to the King, making it reasonably safe to traverse. There are also inns along the roads.
Priesthood
The Kerigass and religious leader of Zorakin is Lord Ambrie de Montfaucon . He is an intricate webweaver and is intriguing to become a part of the Curia of the Shining path, and are therefore spending much time in the Kardian capital.
Founding Date
55 B.O.
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Predecessor Organizations
Formation Type
Demonym
Zorakis
Leader
Leader Title
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Traditional
Currency
In Zorakin only the king are allowed to mint copper and silver coins. They are usully minted with the head of present king stamped on one side, and the Zoraki heraldry on the other.
Every one is allowed to mint coins but few does.
Koppardaler (copper)
Silverdaler (silver)
Guldriksdaler (gold)
10 koppardaler = 1 silverdaler, 10 silverdaler = 1 guldriksdaler.
Major Exports
As the level of industry are weak in Zorakin the majority of their export are raw produce such as grain, leather, stone and wood. Although the price range is low on the wares offered, Zorakin produce such an abundance of it.
Major Imports
As all trade are based on the nobles need and in produce Zorakin are self sustained, the majority of large scale import are luxury items, fur from exotic animals and jewellery.
Legislative Body
The King is the lawmaker of Zorakin, and both presents and institutes the laws of Zorakin. The laws of Zorakin are directed toward power distribution between the king and the nobles rather than theft, murder et cetera. Those kind of laws are instituted by local noblemen in their fiefs. The only law which is considered a law within all of Zorakin is what is considered treason against the king.
Each duke, count and baron may institute laws within their fief, as long as they do not break the Zorakin law.
The church may make laws within the churchs organisation, as long as they do not break the Zorakin law.
Judicial Body
Each lord hold total power within their fiefs. The church within their organisation.
Executive Body
In Zorakin each noble lord are responsible for enforcing the laws of Zorakin. Most have created sherrifs and executioners to handle the practicality of upholding the law.
Official State Religion
Subsidiary Organizations
Location
Official Languages
Related Ranks & Titles
Related Professions
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
Related Species
State religion
Strong ties
Berendien and Zorakin have a long tradition of alliances and trade deals together, which have formed a strong bond between the two nations. A bond strengthen by the many blood bands which have formed throughout the years through marriages, both on noble and lower levels.
Alliance
Kardien and Zorakin is in a loose alliance due to the long friendly history and the likeness in ruling system. The fact that they also share the same religion and the same enemies only strenghtens their relations.
They share a common enemy in Caddo, but that is the only thing they have in common.
No formal relations
There is no formal relations between the two nations. But Zorakin in general consider them uncivilised barbarians if they consider them at all.
Peace
Ransard considers Zorakin to be a unimportant land which is only good as a raiding target. But it is so far away it seldom is worth the trip. Amongst the more powerful Ransardians it is also known to be devoted to Etin and as such part of the same religion as its age old enemy Palinor.
Zoraki on the other hand mostly know Ransards through their Kardian noble cousins. They believe in the stories about Ransard being home to evil orc like humans, who bathe in the blood of their enemies. But as Ransard isn´t a real problem for Zorakin they mostly just don´t think about them.
Hostile
The witchmaster are a long standing enemy whom are always plotting against Zorakin. The last war where never concluded and in theory still rages. There is no diplomatic relationship between the two parts.