Grand Kingdom of Severesh

The Grand Kingdom of Severesh is the holy kingdom of Dakavari Halikvar, the heirs to Lily of Red who rule from their rose-grown throne over Eastern Samvara. Many know this kingdom as the land of holy warriors, knights of the Scarlet Flower and zealots of druidic law who command the faithful from which the sacred legal pronouncements are made. People here the name and the imagine stone tablets of God-given commandments, red poppies and opium wrapped in sacred cloth, scarlet blades sanctified in faithless blood, the moon-marks of Horoscopes emblazoned on tunics and the gilded laurels of druidic masters. This is Severesh, to some. But, naturally, people do live here; there is more to the Red Empire than that.
What foreigners often are not told is that Severesh is the kingdom of pious pragmatism. It is a pluralistic society of many climates and cultures, that revels in a diverse array of opinions, styles, and attitudes. Diversity of the faith is encouraged if it is loyal to the Red Empress, and that includes theological interpretations - as long as you bow before the Dawara clan and the Crimson God, you are allowed to have whatever opinion of the holy texts and Kifa (religious law) that you want. A patchwork of regional compromises mean that if you serve the state faithfully, you can easily relocate to some place in the kingdom that will allow you to do what you want - if you want to eat lamb, or wear unusual pretty clothes, or act in a different way, you can eventually work your way to going somewhere in the kingdom where that's allowed. Severesh seeks to be all of Halikvar in one country, and it knows that it needs to be accommodating to live up to that.

Structure

Severesh is a theocratic monarchy with three major pillars of power: the government-military bureaucracy, the priesthood, and the semi-feudal great houses who govern the countryside. In reality, all three have a lot of cross-pollination and could be considered one, but elements of all three are unique to their branches and act as counterweights to any local elites gaining too much power. 
At the top sit the dual autocrats of Severesh: the Red Empress, the heir of Lily of Red chosen from among the ruling Dawara clan by the Goddess herself; and the Archdruid of Halikvar, who leads the religion and is chosen from among the Su-Alkoa (or leading priests). The Red Empress typically manages the affairs of state, but major policy changes are expected to include the Archdruid's approval. The Royal Court, which orbits the Red Empress, tends to manage the bureaucracy. All land grants are given at royal discretion and can be revoked at any time, but tend to be reliably given to people of certain major families that are dominant in that region. The most important of these grants are the 19 duchies, which are paired with local municipal bureaucracies. 
The current Red Empress is Andala Dawara, a woman known for her compassion, mercy, patience, and caution. She is a capable administrator and skilled diplomat, able to convince even the most violent souls of peace with enough time and a very capable judge of character. She isn't the most skilled at intrigue, but she makes up for it by surrounding herself with many loyal allies. As a legalist and theologian, she is respected; as a military commander, she is competent. When it comes to druidism and personal fighting, however, she is unusually unskilled for a woman of her status; time spent sick as a child deprived her of martial training, and while she has been healed she can never regain those years of experience. She has also been dealing with some publicity problems recently, as embezzlement scandals, rumors surrounding her inferior horoscope, and lingering scandals from the prior monarch hang around her head. Nonetheless, she will surely weather this storm - she has kept a cool head and the blessing of heaven. 
The current Archdruid is Jamat Karlusa, a lesser noble who has risen as a powerhouse of magical ability. Said by many to be the greatest land druid alive, Jamat is a genius of magic, theology, and law. He is also a paranoid, stubborn, and hierarchical man who has internalized his bad experiences in the political world to a fierce degree - he will accept no challenge to his authority or his faith, and he has little space in his heart for nuance. He allows Andala to do most of the regional ruling.

Culture

Hierarchy, Horoscopes, Morality

Severesh is a very religious society. Performative Halikvar is a critical part of citizenship and belonging, but those who can perform religiosity are acknowledged as fundamentally, spiritually equal to all other believers - there is no biological difference between the rulers and the ruled, only a behavioral one (according to the popular culture). In a little cultural twist, birth can preference people towards behaviors - those of higher birth suffer less temptation and have stronger innate moral compasses, it is said. Birth also matters in terms of one's Samvaran Horoscope, which determines one's temperaments and moral callings. A person can overcome their horoscope, just as they can rise above their birth, but it is important that horoscope is always presented via badge of worn symbol (or else one's horoscope is not only assumed to be low, but that the person is hiding something). Low horoscopes can be downright dangerous to have as a peripheral person during times of social crisis - a shira hermit or unpopular person at the edge of town during a crisis can be blamed for sickness or crop death, and publicly tortured as punishment.
Just as the edges of society suffer more from the public order, those who master the performance of religion tend to be held to the lowest actual standards. There is a romanticization of the down-to-earth warrior or laborer over the legalistic priest; someone who breaks a rule but follows the emotional logic of Halikvar and presents accordingly will be praised as someone who 'did what needed to be done' and 'wasn't afraid of sin, so was their love of virtue'. If a good person spills blood, the common logic says "so does the warrior of Lily; who are we to judge what they need?"; if an unloved person does the same act, then "the act is simply unholy, the Kifa is unbending". Legalists call it hypocrisy, but the emotional logic is the key element that they are missing - it is about what feels right. Unsurprisingly, an 'ends justify the means' mentality is seen as healthy and right. There are limits to when the ends no longer justify those means (such as whatever the Kingdom of Siashi is doing) but the line is flexible and highly dependent on vibes.
A final note worth mentioning is the idea of freedom and mobility in Severesh. Freedom means the ability to move anywhere; total restriction of movement is strictly forbidden among the non-criminal faithful. This right is limited by one's duties to the faith - if farming benefits God, to abandon the farm mid-harvest is to betray God, which means that one is not truly of the Faith, which means one loses one's freedoms and needs to go back to the farm. Winter and the lulls between agricultural work tend to be the time of greatest movement; temples offer free food and rest of pious travelers, people roam seeking more profitable work or to visit family or to visit sacred relics or to seek entertainment in the towns. This attitude of limited freedom is applied across the definitions of "mobility": you can court whomever, as long as your courtship is within your general social class or otherwise supports God. You can switch trades, so long as you do not seek work beyond your allocated duties. Sacred callings are a way to escape a lot in life that you dislike: holy war, pilgrimages, and devoting oneself to a sacred quest for Lily is a great way to relocate physically or within society. 

Lived Culture

It culturally expected to be more direct here (especially compared to neighboring states), but not aggressive or offensive - it can be a hard line to walk for those unfamiliar Severeshi culture, but the key is a controlled tone and phrasing. Adult behavior is based around the ideal holy warrior, disciplined, direct, and pious. A good Severeshi courtship should start with a statement of intent, where the initiating party subtly declares their goals (and intended seriousness of relationship) and offers the other party a chance to respond before flirtation begins. Friendships similarly require regular affirmations, and tend to include a lot of close physical contact. 
Food in Severesh includes curries (mostly vegetarian, but also chicken and lobster curries), bhurta (lightly mashed vegetables, often potatoes, onions, and chilis), split lentils, and sandesh sweets (sweet cottage cheese pastries). There is a lot of internal food diversity in this kingdom, and the attitude towards new foods is very welcoming: every Halikvar culture has brought new styles of cooking, and all are welcome here. Kiaman pilaw, Siashan crab and noodles, Sebikahdan banana rice pudding, Lurelen gumbo, Aynevan tachin rice cakes; its all here. This culinary openness appeals to an aspect of Severeshi identity: they are servants of the heirs of Lily as a primary identifier; the idea of them being "Severeshi" only really refers to a place of birth, not a distinct cultural community. Any Dakavari Halikvar person can instantly be accepted here as a native, even if their cultural quirks are considered unusual. 
Art here is aspirational more than descriptive - realism is shunned for 'devotional art', and excessively realistic imagery is often considered vain. Devotional art prefers vivid colors and "good intent" through sacred symbols and messaging; art must encourage public virtue or serve a purpose to be truly good in the Severeshi imaginary.

History

Early History (-800 to 750)

The warm plains and riverlands of Severesh have been full of people since long before the Architects. Agriculture thrived here since its introduction in the Divine Era, but Severesh took a long while to become fully agrarian - the massive herds of game, bountiful wild fruit, and massive river-fish all made full-time agricultural states a little unnecessary. The arrival of the Halikvar from the far West, with their magicians and iron weapons and written language, did cause some movement towards settled states; so did the first Corpseblight epidemic. But the result was less settled kingdoms based out of urban centers and more mixed agricultural river sprawls ruled by large tribal networks based increasingly in the plains.
Halikvar religion influenced local practices, but didn't start to make formal exclusive religious communities until the rise of the First Dawaran Empire in Kiami in 100 ME. The First Empire sent missionaries into Severeshi lands and sent military expeditions to support successful conversion projects. A number of ambitious warlords used conversion as an excuse to centralize their tribal networks around themselves, and decentralized tribal kingdoms popped into existence across Eastern and central Severesh. Other, non-Halikvar warlords emerged to challenge them, and the region was swept into many small wars as countless actors struggled for local power. In 320 ME, the Fourth Dawaran Empire outright conquered Northern Severesh, and gathered the most pious Halikvar warlords into a grand religious alliance. The strongest of the Dawaran allies was the Kingdom of Telesi in the Southeastern lakes region, which quietly competed with Kiami for control over the religious alliance. Having risen as the leader of the forest and swamp tribes of the Southeast, the Telesi exploited Dawaran evangelism and unity projects to push up the riverlands and into the plains; in 395, the Telesi had assimilated or vassalized most of the Severeshi heartlands. But the Telesi were wildly unpopular among the plains hunters and their clan feudalism was extremely unstable. In 402, the overexended Telesi kingdom collapsed, and eight smaller Halikvar kingdoms emerged from the wreckage.
While the 400s and 500s lacked any major imperial expansions, with the Telesi gone and the Dawarans focused on the North, they were centuries of rapid religious expansion and agricultural settlement. The post-Telesi world saw new missionary projects that didn't favor farming over herding or hunting, and were willing to tolerate non-vegan diets among converted humans. Halikvar plains tribes were able to use imported warhorses and riding technology to rapidly subjugate their neighbors, and with plains allies the river kingdoms were able to expand rapidly inland. Over time, one plains tribe was able to conquer most of the North-central plains and intermarry strategically with the Eastern riverlands dynasties: the Seniwara. The Seniwara were loyal Halikvar, but also aggressive pragmatists who were keen on accumulating and keeping power. The Seniwara leveraged war and diplomacy carefully to unite much of the South-central plains and former Telesi lands, and when the Dawara returned to the South to expand Halikvar's borders through holy war in the late 600s, the Seniwara became their primary ally. From 680 to 750, Seniwara marched with an army of Halikvar adventurers at their backs and pushed aggressively Westward, Southward, and along the Eastern coast. While various druids and warriors from other parts of the Halikvar world would occasionally install themselves as local lords, broader administration went to the Seniwara. The first united Kingdom of Severesh had begun.

The Seniwara Ascendancy (750 to 954)

After the holy wars of the 700s, the Seniwara were left with a large, decentralized, and diverse kingdom - not only were the local peoples diverse in how they lived, the local conquering elites were a mix of Seniwarans, Telesi, Kiamans, Ashakahdans, and Kokalans. All were Halikvar, but many interpreted that faith extremely differently than one another; those from Ashakahd and Kokaal carried traditions that would become known as "Asivari", while the Kiamans saw their faith and their empire as a singular entity. The Seniwaran monarchs walked a difficult line keeping everyone together, and created an elaborate mixture of religious bureaucracies and feudal contracts to maintain power. They dubbed their new kingdom "Severesh" from the phrase used to describe the holy war effort (Sevar-Emikesh, or the land of every black/rich tree) - a phrase from ancient Halikvar poetry used to describe promised futures of coexistence and wealth. Early Severesh was more of an alliance of vassal states at times, rather than a united kingdom, but as the Seniwara married into the dominant power of Kiami and integrated themselves with the sacred Dawara family, they were able to exercise more and more power over the majority of their realm. The Dawara are the family of Lily of Red and a major institution among the 'Dakavari' sect that ruled out of neighboring Kiami - intermarriage with them meant ascension into the Halikvar elite. The Asivari (who did not recognize the supremacy of the Dawara), which ruled under Severesh in the West, were a problem, but were able to prove their usefulness by expanding ever-Westward in the monarch's name.
By 900 ME, Severesh had centralized (outside of the West), was mostly settled agricultural land, and was thoroughly entangled with the Dawara clan. The kingdom was a mess internally, a tangled knot of different legal structures inherited from prior eras that resisted being undone, but it was functional. The problems really began in the 910s, when Kiami began to fall into periodic civil war, inter-sect fighting broke out among the Halikvar, and the Dawara clan had a crisis of legitimacy. The chaos spread from the North into Severesh, sowing discord across the overcomplicated internal legal systems and disrupting the pluralistic harmony of the realm. Severesh fell into civil war in 915 after local sectarian infighting triggered a series of rebellions; in 917, the Queen, Sumita II, was killed by disloyal aristocrats, and a succession crisis joined the existing roster of problems. Two important figures rose up to capitalize on the chaos: a powerful druid and legalist by the name of Biraka Veshija, and a half-Dawaran member of the royal family by the name of Princess Okila, who had been sent into a Halikvar holy order to remove her from family politics. Okila and Biraka, paladin and druid, met prior to the war and had accumulated allies for some time. Both had been blocked from advancement by the existing system; both had Lily's blessing and a hunger for power. And so they leapt into the fray and, through great cunning and luck, were able to seize control of Severesh in 919. They were immediately dragged into the second Kiaman civil war, which further disrupted their new country but also gave them new contacts in the North. Okila and Biraka were just about done with Kiami's antics, and began playing with the idea of themselves as the leaders of the Halikvar. As the decades went on and Kiami continued struggling internally, the pair acted on their ambition - in 950, they captured/rescued the majority of the 'legitimate' Dawara from Kiami and transported them back to Severesh, along with Kiami's holiest artifacts and greatest druids. In 954, Severesh basically conquered Kiami entirely and placed it under Okila's cousin as a vassal state.
The Grand Kingdom of Severesh was formally anointed and legally reformed in 954 as the center of the Halikvar world. The country was further centralized and stripped of its competing archaic systems - now it would be a streamlined mixture of bureaucracy and mild feudalism under the watchful eye of absolute religious monarchs.

The Red Empire (954 to 1600)

The period from 954 to 1150 was one of conflict and growth. Frequent wars were fought with the neighboring Asavari states of Ashakahd and Kokaal, as the Severeshi state sought to make itself synonymous with Halikvar authority. The population steadily grew as trade, pilgrims, and technologies were siphoned towards Severesh (despite blips from the various Northern Wars). In 990, the leadership of the Eastern District of the Healing Church was de-facto joined with the Severeshi court, and the kingdom gained significant power over the growing trade routes to the rest of Samvara and Izekra. Intensifying alchemical research between druids and alchemists in the 990s and 1000s led to a series of valuable discoveries: new subtropical and tropical alchemical recipes for one, but also the discovery of refined painkillers. Through poppy flowers and other local flora, various painkilling salves, potions, and pills of differing intensity were created. A Halikvar order was created in 1009 to act as the research and regulatory body for these painkillers, and it was paired with the Healing Church as a kind of companion organization. While basic opium products date back to the Divine Era, these new solutions were easier to preserve, more intense, and easier to infuse into Healing Potions or to smoke - superior trading items and luxury goods. The most concentrated of these medications were reserved for medical use, but their recreational appropriation has waxed and waned over the centuries anyways.
In 1150, the wars finally ended and Kiami was released from Severesh's control thanks to the Council of Avanam, in which Lily herself negotiated a lasting religious peace between the Halikvar. The faithful were encouraged to turn their destructive energies towards the wicked and heathenous instead, and invasions into distant Izekra began from Siashi. Severesh contributed heavily to these wars, while still growing its population and developing its landscape. Severesh became the military-industrial factory of the Halikvar, the most pragmatic of the warring states and the leaders of the main invasion fleets. Severesh brought back loot and trade connections in exchange. At the same time, Severesh invested in deeper relationships with the aquatic races, allowing them to project more trade and cultural power along the Samvaran coast. The period from 1200 to 1450 is considered the Golden Age of Severesh, where the system was the realm grew richer and functioned effectively. 
1450 to 1600 was more humble, difficult period. The Kiaman anti-military revolution of 1450 led to environmentalist dissent groups forming in Severesh as well as religious puritans who wanted stricter enforcement of religious law. The failures of the early 1400s Halikvar offensives into Izekra led to a growing disillusionment in the war effort as well - it marked the end of the Halikvar actually gaining ground in Izekra, and the beginning of them losing ground. Severesh began pivoting to areas closer to home; in the 1430s, they began exploiting Sebikahd to the South. Additionally, the system faced increasing corruption and factionalism as the errors and mistakes of regimes over generations built up. 

The Halikvar Crises (1600 to 1945)

Starting in the 1590s, sectarian tensions between Halikvar groups began to rise again. Kiami and the neighboring Asivar power of Ashakahd were fighting, and Kiami again drifted under Severesh's protection to survive. The arrival of Sumoxans at around this time didn't help matters. In 1598, a Sumoxan apostle by the name of Dinasha arrived through the Western mountains. She had a swarm of followers at her back, weary from war against the local Kima Cities. She preached Sumoxan doctrine along the fringes of Severesh, and spat in the face of the sacred state. She actively encouraged infighting amongst the Halikvar sects in Western Severesh, rallied peripheral groups and bandits to her banner, and did her best to try and carve out a Sumoxan homeland in Southwest Severesh. She failed, and was executed by the state in 1604, but it was a disturbance that caused some religious discord. 
Severesh tried to counter the Western discontent with internal reforms, but it had factionalism and corruption to deal with before it could grapple any such problems. This sparked a brief civil war in 1650, which ended with major centralizing reforms as well as stricter enforcement of religious law. The government was streamlined, but the dissent grew worse from below. All the while, the last efforts to attack Izekra were petering out; the failure of the last fleet in 1699 is often seen as a poetic harbinger of the profane chaos to come. In 1709, Kiami and Ashakahd went back to war, and that war spiralled into a full-fledged battle of the sects. Dakavari and Asavari Halikvar turned on one another across the region, and sent ripples of sectarian unrest across the Halikvar world. This fed into a Asavari unity movement in the late 1720s, which Severesh took as a direct threat: Western Severesh was still deeply Asavari, and these communities began to identify more with Ashakahd than their own rulers. Minor rebellions broke out across the 1730s, and the Asavari nobles and communities militarized. These communities rose in rebellion as Ashakahd and Severesh went to war in 1740. Sumoxans, Asavari, and other religious minorities continued to be problematic for Severesh as wars of religion blossomed across the region. In the 1830s, the Asavari of the West were driven into the hills and slaughtered in large numbers, and the Sumoxans were completely eradicated. Severesh was blood-mad, radicalizing against any signs of religious deviance. War after war broke out, each one driving the land deeper into violent mania. But mania is exhausting, and people slowly turned against these policies. A coup and a little divine intervention by Lily of Red replaced the ruling branch of the Severeshi Dawara and brought the wars to a close in 1945. 

Modern History

Severesh's current regime is still Dawaran blood, fashioned in the old style. It has even shifted back to some older models of governance, adapted to modern sensibilities: a more hands-off, flexible approach that mixes fuedalism and bureaucracy, styled after the Golden Era Red Empire. Severesh has primarily focused on recovery and Dakavari unity; while Kiami has veered towards legalism, Severesh has veered towards tolerant pragmatism. The focus has turned towards reclaiming Halikvari lands instead of fighting heretics - reclaiming West Sebikahd, Shenerem, Arvea, and West Izekra. It has quietly rebuilt its industries, its diplomatic ties, and its militaristic zeal, and any decade it will release this built tension like a spring at whichever unfortunate target it so chooses. It has also toyed with introducing foreign technologies and methods of control - things such as the corporations of Asalay - cautiously but with some ambition. Severesh hungers for change and reclaimed glory, the only question is what path it will take there.

Demography and Population

Around 32 million humanoids live in Shenerem. The population is 40% dryad, 35% human, 15% half dryad, 5% prism, and 5% Other.

Territories

Severesh is roughly 860 miles West-East and 420 miles North-South. Much of the realm is based around the large rivers, which join together to form the Devesha river that runs out to sea. Various mountain ranges contain the greater Severesh region: in the North, there are the Southern Rejvalas, in the South there are the Elbinevs, and in the West are the Gekrevs mountains (which contain a number of mountain and hill kingdoms that were once part of Severesh proper)

Severesh is varied internally between hot plains (occasionally savannah), subtropical forest, and hills. The riverlands tend towards subtropical, though they become plains quickly in the central regions. The forests become slightly more tropical (especially during spring) in the province of Malisana, and they are quite dense and lush in the lake-strewn province of Telima. The land gets rather hilly in parts of Poldina, Polmara, Gekra, Elbin, Ofka, and Dareja.

Military

The military is a standing army managed by the military bureaucracy of the imperial court and augmented with mercenaries. The Great houses also train their spare children and the children of their client families to fight as professional elite warriors (particularly in the cavalry). The navy is small but sufficient for ferrying troops where they are needed - escorts are typically Siashan mercenaries.
The actual fighting force of Severesh is fairly varied, with a focus on cavalry, infantry, and spellcasters. Severeshi cavalry is the greatest of the Halikvar world, across the board. This includes light cavalry, mounted skirmishers, and heavy cavalry - particularly the Crimson Cataphracts, heavily-armored cavalry known as expert lancers. Severeshi infantry tends towards the heavier side when they can afford it; armored dryads with morningstars and metal claw hooks are iconic here, and specialize in killing other unmounted troops. The greatest of these are the Gardenguard, elite mace-and-sword infantry who serve as the royal retinue. Spellcasters are a mix of druids and paladins, and include Lily's Chosen - the greatest paladins of Lily, who march not for the crown but as her personal warriors. Lastly, you've got your flashy showpieces: Giant Lobsters or elephants with archer-filled howdahs, or even carrying artillery
The preferred tactics of the Severeshi military are to win control of the field through cavalry dominance, allowing them to control when and how the battle is fought - and then carrying through with precision strikes with disciplined shock troops. These tactics are effective on their own, but work even better paired with the other Halikvar kingdom's warriors: Siashan archers, Kiaman specialists, Ashakahdan artillery, and Sebikahdan skirmishers.

Religion

Severesh is very much a Dakavari Halikvar kingdom; it is the seat of that sect's power, and is ruled by its leaders. The government is theocratic, the courts are religious, and loyalty to the faith is seen as essential for being considered a citizen - to not be Dakavari is to be a foreigner, even if that person was born here. Dakavari religion is necessary for owning land, gaining access to social safety nets, and being able to advance in society. Foreign religions are tolerated as long as they do not evangelize or threaten the mainstream order, but they are not accepted.
The actual enforcement of the 'Kifa' or religious law, is more pragmatic than strict. Foreigners are exempt from most demands, and enforcement among the faithful depends on who and where you are. The cities tend to be the centers of religious law enforcement, partially as a way to draw a clear line between foreigners and natives, but most common breaches of law are more of taxes than anything else - restricting someone's freedom through public work or monetary compensation is seen as sufficient, as long as the offender also wears a small badge on their person denoting their crime for a set period of time. 
In the countryside and towns, entire rules of the Kifa can be blanket-lifted from areas in exchange for slightly higher taxes and restrictions on labor movement; this is thanks to a controversial theological principle known as The Principle of Divine Adjustment. The idea is that minor sins can be tolerated in service of a greater good: environmental regulations can be ignored in service of fueling more righteous war, for example. So, rather than ban meat entirely, certain meats are banned and certain ones are regionally permitted. The meat rule adjustments are based on a principle that the sin of the blood can be reduced by killing a less intelligent animal in a more ethical way. So, lobster can be eaten as long as it is done quickly and with minimal suffering. Pigs (and in most places cows and goats) are off the table, but maybe chickens are acceptable. Similarly, useful people can be allowed to be vain as long as they remain useful.
Those who violate the laws among the elites (or violate the values through shows of wealth or spite) must perform purifying Sacrifices of Intent to show their sorrow and good-heartedness: acts of charity that benefit the temple and state. This can be through gold donations, infrastructure projects, or military expeditions.

Foreign Relations

Severesh is the sacred kingdom of Halikvar and sets its foreign policy accordingly: it leads with the faith in mind. In recent years, this has included heretical kingdoms as well, and Severesh has done its best to build connections to Asavari powers.

Agriculture & Industry

The countryside of Severesh is densely populated and densely farmed, a cornucopia of food production and cottage industries. Rice, maize, soy, wheat, squash, yams, potatoes, there's a place for every crop in Severesh. There is even ranching here, with captive populations of cattle, bison, horses, goats, and sheep. Giant Lobsters are herded along the river. Cash crops are also abundant: cotton, poppies, tobacco, and indigo.  
The towns and cities are manufacturing and trade hubs, which coordinate with the rural cottage industries to produce textiles, dyes, alchemical products, and other manufactured goods. It is only in towns with the right privileges and oversight that painkillers, healing potions, or medicines can be produced - and Severeshi painkillers are famous around the world, and the kingdom also produces a large quantity of herbs necessary for magical alchemy. These restrictions try to restrict an illicit industry that is also quite large here: the sale of opiates, as Severeshi painkillers and opium are the finest such drugs in the world. 
Mines and other extractive industries are more allowed here than in other countries - Severesh is perfectly willing to do whatever it takes to maximize productivity and profit.

Trade & Transport

Guilds organize most of Severesh's local artisanal production. All apothecaries and doctors must be officially licensed to practice here, making those guilds particularly important locally. Merchants, meanwhile, generally gather in small groups under the church to pool their resources and get juicy church-regulated contracts, commissions, subsidies, and permits. 
Most banking is done through the Kima cities to the West. These cities have even gone so far as to open outposts in major cities to better lend and store, and the last century has seen a major growth in their connections to the broader Halikvar merchant class (notably Siashans).

Education

Education is run by the temple and tends to be concentrated in local towns; children are typically sent to the local town for 4-5 years to meet kids from other villages and learn the basics of the faith, reading, writing, and math. Town schools also offer kids the ability to seek higher education and to select a trade of their preference beyond just their parents'.

"We Are the Heirs of God"

Founding Date

1945

Type

Geopolitical, Empire

Demonym

Severeshi

Government System

Monarchy, Theocratic

Power Structure

Feudal state

Currency

Ekedian Gold Suns, Silver Moons, and Copper Bats

Major Exports

Painkillers, tobacco, cotton, food

Major Imports

Precious metals, lumber, steel

Official State Religion

Halikvar

Location

Samvara

Controlled Territories

• Kolomin

Neighboring Nations

• Kingdom of Kiami