Vice-Kingdom of Mikena (Mee-ken-nuh)

The Vice-Kingdom of Mikena is a vast Western region of the Empire of Zerua known for its size, diversity, and sad-but-plucky attitude. This is a realm of storm-weathered coastlines, vibrant marshes, and vast industry. Mikenans represent some of the best and worst of the empire, one might say - the open-mindedness and resourceful cooperation, and the inequality and destructiveness as well.

Structure

Mikena is a federated kingdom of the Empire of Zerua , and as such respects the authority of the Zeruan emperor and ministers above all. However, many affairs are left to the local viceroyal government.

• The Prince or Princess leads Mikena directly, managing the internal policy of the kingdom and executing the will of the imperial bureaucracy.
• The Twin Archdukes of Elorta and Kreniko are the heirs of the Prince, though no one has held either title for most of a century now.
• The Mikena Royal Cabinet manages the bureaucracy of Mikenaand enacts the monarch's will. Several major bureaucrats hold great power here, the most important of which are the Court Magician (the greatest sorcerer and arcane advisors), the Secretary of Trade (who sets trade policy and exemptions), and the Treasurer (who manages the budget). Also important are the Secretary of Balance (who manages Windweaving), the Secretary of Public Health (who manages issues of plague, poison, and public immorality), the Secretary of Movement (who manages the canal system and infrastructure), the Secretary of Agriculture (who manages farming, food prices, and tax collection), the Secretary of Justice (who manages legal certification and court operation), and the Secretary of War (who manages recruitment, arms manufacturing, and training)
• The Crown Priest of Mikena manages the religious hierarchy and holds their own court in parallel. They answer only to the monarch, though their power is not as grand as the other Crown Priests of Zerua
• The Provincial Governors manage the local affairs of the municipalities of Mikena

The current Prince of Mikena is Prince Mazaru Eramzir, an cynical old sorcerer who is as domineering as he is brilliant. A caster to rival the imperial arcanist, Prince Mazaru is a man too well-embedded and successful to remove but too widely hated to promote. The Prince's charisma is one too unrestrained by malice and a desire for power to truly shine in court politics; while Mazaru thrives in the world of blackmail and spies, he has a way of making other diplomats and elites despise him. A commoner by birth, Mazaru makes his insecurity and scars everyone's problems. Mazaru has weaponized the idea of meritocracy to justify crushing his political enemies as well as the innumerable commoners impacted by his desperate pursuit of economic growth.

Culture

Meritocracy and Inclusion

Mikena more than anywhere embraces the Zeruan mercantile ideal and imperial bureaucracy as an ideal of meritocracy. The idea of merit and skill being rewarded with status and power is cherished as the right way of the world in Mikena, though a socially pervasive cynicism tempers this attitude. 'Heaven sees value, but people are blind,' the phrase goes. Our material lives will never be just, though there is an implied divine reward in the cycle of existence for those who work hard and have their value go unrecognized. Education, personal restraint and discipline, and business smarts are all valued as true signifiers of value - the undeserving incompetent rich are openly mocked, while the "deserving poor" are valorized. Of course, this value structure legitimizes the "competent rich" and spits on the "undeserving poor"; middle-class shopkeeps, artisans, and established laborers are the main beneficiaries of Mikenan culture, while unemployed refugees or incoming laborers tend to be the most harmed.
While these attitudes tend to most favor middle-class established families, they are surprisingly welcoming of outsiders (most of the time). Mikena is known for being very accepting of outside religions and cultures, taking in many refugees and immigrants. While poorer and unrooted newcomers tend to be only tolerated if they are obedient and unobtrusive, displays of outside culture tend to be welcomed by more established folk. Most Mikenan cities have a variety of temples to different faiths, Kamadan religion is not mandated to hold local office, and foreign cultural traditions are more accepted. Mikena prides itself on its plurality, though one must be careful not to let the image overwhelm reality. For, while Mikena is generally more open-minded, the last century has seen a growing shift towards xenophobia and exclusion - the local economic collapse of the early 1900s, the expulsion of the Haru cult, and the ensuing foreign buyouts of Mikenan land and industries led to many people turning against more visible foreign communities in Mikena (even though the worst predations have been from other Zeruan kingdoms!). The veneer of openness remains in Mikena, but a sharpness has appeared underneath it that grows with every passing year.

Pessimism and Folk Culture

Mikenans are not optimists, broadly speaking. The cultural norm is one of resigned pessimissm and acceptance; all things must end, good things are temporary, and disaster is inevitable. Storms, volcanic eruptions, cataclysms like these are unstoppable and will always arrive. It is considered suspicious or childish to be uncritically happy or optimistic about the future, and many outsiders tend to imagine that Mikena is a miserable culture after hearing them speak. But Mikenan pessimism has more to it beneath the surface. For one, the pessimism is a little performative - to speak of good things to come is to tempt fate into taking them away. For another, pessimism is not always misery or resignation; Mikenan clans and community groups have traditionally used pessimism as encouragement to savor good in the present, and to invest resources in the less fortunate when one is more fortunate. Of course, the clans and extended families of Mikena have been under intense stress and have lost their social prominence in the past century or two, and community networks have frayed - the systems of investment that turned pessimism into humble charity have faded. Nonetheless, Mikenan culture has retained its "savor the moment" attitude, even where community has faltered.
This kind of "don't speak of good tidings" attitude is one block in a quiet but pervasive Mikenan cultural structure: a highly syncretic regional folk culture that, more than religion, serves as the ultimate signifier of cultural integration. A Mikenan avoids tempting disaster with hubristic talk; a Mikenan never speaks ill of their parents or ancestors near a water source or grave; a Mikenan gives a small offering of food, alcohol, or money to the storm when it arrives; a Mikenan sprinkles salt over their head if they utter a curse against another person while the wind listens (to ward away the inevitable retribution). Hedge Magic is to be given respect. Warlocks are unusually welcome. This code of superstition-reinforced custom basically serves as the benchmark for acceptance and integration; while Mikena may be plural, only a fool and an outsider tempts Fate.

History

Ancient Mikena

Mikena has an immensely long history of sedentary agriculture, dating back far into the Divine Era. Mikenan urban traditions go back thousands of years, as some of the earliest cities in the continent of Ekraht. While the great rivers of Mikena lack the volcanic hyper-fertility of rivers to the East, they are still massive and rich veins of nutrient-and-fish rich freshwater. The ancient communities of Mikena have been less sedentary than their Eastern neighbors, traditionally - large extended clan networks coordinated many semi-nomadic communities, who migrated to and from urban trade and religious centers along the river seasonally. During the great volcanic crisis that saw the ancient hero Wimbo Aizitu and his followers enter the Northern floodplains to assist local communities, Mikena's cities came under the rulership of Southern dryad groups associated with Wimbo. Mikena became known for its more "foreign" culture compared to its neighbors, as the Southern religious and cultural norms came to dominate elite culture. When the Ibithi Miken (most likely "Meshklen" or "Meckhollin" in their own original language) arrived by boat and caravan along the coast in the late Divine Era looking for a new homeland, they settled here - whether it was a conquest or a peaceful series of elite marriages and resettlements is largely lost to time. The land became known as Mikena, after the new Ibithi elites (and the old name, Bibizaka, became lost to time).
During the early Modern Era, Mikena became dominated by an elite caste of Pearl Pangolins, whose scales served for superior weapons and armor. At the top of this class was a small cult of Pangolin druids, who kept the magical traditions of the distant Antarctic and inducted only fellow Pangolins. They became known as the Stormlords, for they claimed to be able to summon or weaken the terrible hurricanes that periodically devastated the Mikenan coast. The Stormlords' power was concentrated along the rivers and coastlines, and their power over the interior was weak, but they created a new cultural standard that unified the region in soft power. The Stormlords in the 200s began to unify under a single central authority, as druid-warlords tamed and armored the local elephants. Mikena in the late 200s had sharply changed from one of the most egalitarian and hospitable parts of modern Zerua to an extremely warlike authoritarian state; the palace guard of the Stormlords, the Sky-Heralds, were widely feared for their long-reaching raiding parties and berserk states of rage. The final ascendant Stormlord - Lonvu the Star-Scaled - was incinerated by the first Zeruan Emperor Makoi. The Stormlords, always few in number, were largely wiped out during the conquest period - and vengeful soldiers burned the Stormlord's temples and libraries as retribution for the Sky-Herald's attacks.
The early Zeruan empires did not trust Mikena, and avoided drawing soldiers or nobles from the region. As a result, Mikena was an early center of secessionist movements. The Stormlords, once perhaps a tyrannical force, became a legendary symbol of local regional empowerment - folk tales claimed that they lived under the ocean, in the Storm-God Isari's domain, in the lost aquatic realm of 'Esekwa'. After both apocalyptic eruptions of the ancient period (in 480 and 935 CE), Mikena exploded into revolt under the symbols of the Stormlords. A now-dead Leviathan, the Land-Breaker, supported such efforts by granting many rebels and chaotic personalities warlock powers. These "Storm Witches" tended to interpret volcanic eruptions as divine punishments, Storms from Below, for Zeruan decadence and false rule. At the same time, interior clans formed their own petty kingdoms that tried to assert their power whenever imperial power receded.

Old Mikena (940 - 1700)

The renewed empire of the 900s was generally weakened, but efforts to bring Mikena into the fold were more successful during this period. The death of the "Land-Breaker" Leviathan (devoured by the Elder Leviathan known as the Scarred One) certainly helped, but much more of Mikenan assimilation had to do with expanding bureaucratic reforms and the introduction of crops from distant Sonev, Izekra, and Samvara. New cash crops empowered new commercial elites and a mercantile boom overturned the social order. A failed revolt in the late 1000s CE led to the empire strengthening its group even further. As the land of Azalek to the East drifted away from the empire, Mikena was becoming more integrated into it.
Expanded local cash crop farming brought the empire into conflict with autonomous inland lords over the 1300s and 1400s, but Zerua found immense success subjugating these lands and expanding their power. Of course, the swelling lands of Mikena led to lessened imperial control in a new way - as the empire became overextended, the Vice-royal government grew in power. By the time the empire closed in 1530, Mikena had secured the interior and become a semi-autonomous (but loyal) region. 
During the closed period of 1530 to 1690, Mikena went through periods of bust, and then boom. First, Mikena was horrifically hurt by the change; the sudden collapse of trade networks led to local elites losing their fortunes and social networks collapsing. A kind of pseudo-feudalism took over for most of the 1500s and early 1600s, though this in turn ended when local reforms by the Vice-Prince overturned the feudal order and enriched Mikena through renewed domestic trade within the empire. 

Golden Age Mikena (1700 - 1900)

Not long after the empire re-opened, Mikena flourished; of all the imperial provinces, Mikena most welcomed foreign investors and inventions. Corporations were welcomed in from the Imperial center, and the entourage of Haru the Wandering God were welcomed by the Vice-Prince. Had the Healing Church of Samvara not been splintering at the time, Mikena would likely have succeeded in courting them as well. While this great multitude of relationships and trade connections did help Mikena surge in the short-term (especially for local elites), income inequality skyrocketed. Mikenan leadership only doubled down on this commercial approach over the 1700s and 1800s, fully embracing the corporate boom of the latter century and eroding many community institutions. For all the ills of the 1690 - 1900 period, it is remembered fondly to this day for its blossoming art, culture, and industry. Many religious refugees fleeing Esedeta in the mid-1700s fled to Mikena; Nafenan and Maradian refugees seeking asylum were welcomed here; monks of many obscure traditions found patronage in Mikena's eclectic halls. 
In the end, centuries of over-foresting, unsustainable farming, and increasing inequality hit Mikena hard; in the early 1900s, the land was struck by a series of horrific floods that, along the with normal hurricanes, killed many thousands of peasant communities and began a local famine. A region that had been prospering mere years ago suddenly fell like a house of cards - local corporations and merchants went bankrupt, plagues swept the starving urban masses, and local revolts began to form. And, in a horrific scandal, the solars of Haru were largely expelled from the land after involving themselves in palace intrigue (to reform the kingdom to help the people, they claimed). While some blamed the Vice-Prince for chasing away healers at a time of plague, others blamed the solars from playing politics during a crisis. Regardless, Mikena relied on emergency grain and support from the empire - and the empire dug its teeth into the land. Ibaishan merchants and capital courtiers seized power, lands, and wealth from Mikena. They looted the land as they saved it. Mikena was not driven to poverty, but it lost its prominent position in the empire.

Modern Mikena (1900 - Present)

From 1900 to 1940, Mikena suffered and struggled in a brutal local depression. Over time, the landscape began to recover, as did the economy - though both have still struggled along even after the end of the depression. Many of Mikena's foreign relationships vanished during this time as the money dried up, but the population remained very culturally diverse. And, during the 1970s, a new industry emerged that brought new money into the region: a series of wars with the Kingdom of Esedeta. At the same time, a new relationship was forming: that between Mikena and the sea. 
While Mikenans had always paid more attention to the undersea peoples, the deep sea had always been a mystical, magical realm tied to divinity and folk religion. Warlocks carried a divine spark, as did druids. So, while the cephalopeople were looked to for religious guidance and artistic inspiration, they were never really seen as a trading partner - until the 1900s. The Federation of Alasha, a powerful semi-nomadic commercial empire of Squiddles, used warlock intermediaries to establish a series of coastal trading stations with Mikena, and joint pearl-farming operations quickly began.
Since 1980, the new Vice-Prince, Prince Mazaru Eramzir, has sought to recapture the glory age of Mikena with new industries and new artistic achievements. Through ruthless corporate partnerships and a complex web of artistic and magical patronage, he has put Mikena back on the map - though at terrible cost to many small-time landowners. Yet, as a low-born magical upstart, the Prince has promised to make the Mikenan meritocracy a reality. His followers and detractors are many - and only time shall tell where the kingdom will turn.

Demography and Population

26 million people live in Mikena; most are Dryads, Half-Dryads, or Human. The largest Pearl Pangolin population in the empire is here in Mikena, though, as is a comparatively large Selkie population,

Territories

Mikena is 504 miles long and 304 miles wide, making it one of the larger Zeruan vice-kingdoms. Two great rivers serve as the centers of population and trade: the Movakoi river in the West and the Uzubili river in the East. Most of Mikena's Southern and Eastern borders are defined by mountains, extensions of the same volcanic range as the Great Volcano. These mountains largely separate Mikena from the neighboring realm of Esedeta, with two major routes (one to the West, one to the East) as exceptions. 
Aside from the two great green strips following the rivers, Mikena is a mess of lush forests, arid shrubby plains, and dense hills. It is a climate of extremes, where mass agriculture is highly dependent on a robust canal system. Unfortunately, massive monsoon storms (including regular hurricanes) tend to put immense stress on that system, and define the wet-dry cycle of Mikenan life.

Military

Mikena is a major province in the Empire's West-facing military machine; Zerua's Ministry of War draws heavily on Mikena's war ministers for supplies and garrison troops. While Mikena is not known for its martial culture, it does have a large population, significant resources, and close proximity to Zerua's major battlefields (both in Esedeta and in contested tributaries). In the last century of war, Mikena's poor and debtors have served as easy fodder for Zerua's spear walls and archer masses (as well as auxiliary workers) in the West.

Religion

Mikenan religion is, on the surface, a blend of classic imperial Kamada and many minor religions - Heavensent Daraka in particular, but also some Ishkibism and even the odd Sumoxan. Kamada is culturally dominant, though, with Kinetecist-aligned scholars dominated the elite sector (and Mysticism proving popular among many of the commoners). 
Isari the Stormlord/Storm-maiden and the Gods of Passage (Akarat the Laughing Specter and Zalta the Weeping Ferryman) are commonly beloved deities, whose worship ties into what might be called "folk religion" - a layered local cultural mythology in which the sea is a mystical and magical realm connected to both the Heavens and the afterlife. Undersea cities populated by spirits, the restless dead, and ancestral beings float in this powerful crossroads and emerge during intense oceanic storms. Warlocks are uniquely tied to this space, as are Aquatic peoples and ghosts.

Agriculture & Industry

Mikena has it all: rich forests, large urban centers with huge workshops, and elaborate canals for a large agricultural base. Rice is grown around the riverlands, as is sugar and Sonevan bamboo. Citrus is a common crop across Mikena, and barley is grown inland. Indigo is grown in spots across the land. In the towns and cities, textile work, ironworking, brewing, brickmaking, and carpentry are common industries. 
The material industries of Mikena may be robust, but they are also unstable. The arid zones of Mikena are reliant on centralized canal networks to supply more than subsistence farming, while the forests tend to be dotted with swampy wetlands. Both are prone to flooding during the wet season. Storms regularly test the system with intense winds and rainy downpours. Only through intense maintenance and coordination does Mikena function - and even then, bad seasons can throw the system off.  During prolonged droughts, the arid soil can turn into a dustbowl if Mikenan farmers don't scale back their intensity. And the water control that sustains both industry and agriculture has come at terrible cost; the local ecosystem has seen major damage with the draining of wetlands, leading to new diseases, crop blights, weakened forests, and agricultural instability. As a result of all this, Mikena's production has higher highs and lower lows than other parts of Zerua. 
Main industries aside, Mikena has some very prominent local specialties. Mikenan pearl and shellfish farming, done cooperating with the Undersea Federation of Alasha, is a major industry along the coast. Small Zeruan elephants, while increasingly rare in the wild, are a favored source of ivory, medicine, and pets. Dyes and paints are frequently produced here as well, both for export and use in the well-respected Mikenan art scene.

Trade & Transport

Mikenan trade is a constant push and pull between merchant companies from other parts of Zerua, and the local merchant-aristocracy. Outside corps include most of the Ibaishan major companies, while local merchants have special privileges with a Vice-Royal affiliated Company - GreenSpirit Stock Company, a food collection and sale business headed by the Vice-Prince.

"Prepare for the Storm, Savor the Rain"

Founding Date

1700

Type

Geopolitical, Vicekingdom

Demonym

Mikenan

Leader

Prince Mazaru Eramzir

Power Structure

Unitary state

Official State Religion

Kamada

Parent Organization

Empire of Zerua

Location

Ekraht

Official Languages

• Zeruan language

Controlled Territories

• Arnadba
• Elorta
• Kreniko

Neighboring Nations

• Vice-Kingdom of Arasha
• Vice-Kingdom of Azalek

Notable Members

• Prince Mazaru Eramzir

Related Plots

• City of Decay
• Eye of the Storm
• False Fronts
• Getting the Ball Rolling
• Sunk Cost
• The Prodigal Child Returns