Antivassos
Borders Weswyn, Verretos, and Norhorn Dale to the west, the Howling Steppe to the southeast.
Geography
Antivassos is largely characterized by the lowlands of the Khelebor Peninsula, surrounding the Orei Highlands, the fertile wooded Daskoi Valley to the east, which is bordered by both the Dragon's Teeth and the Howling Steppe, and by the many islands of the Sea of Shallows. Much of Antivassos is rocky and unsuitable for farming, with most of its food either being important from Weswyn and Verretos or being grown in the Daskoi Valley.Political climate
Antivassos is split between those who support the Consula Democrata, the ruling body of the representative indirect democratic government, and those who support the Neoauticratica, the faction who believe Antivassos was better off in the old days and wish to rekindle the Empire and reinstitute an auticratic, imperial government. The Consula Democrata enjoys the support of the majority of the liberal Patricioi and the Scholasticoi. The democratic process and the bureaucracy of the Consula is easily influenced by the politically powerful and the wealthy, though it ostensibly serves the people. The Neoauticratica, on the other hand, enjoys the support of the majority of the citizens. The group have gone to great lengths to gain the hearts and minds of the lay citizenry of Antivassos, especially in Kheleboros, where the past six hundred years have resulted in a wealth gap between the haves and the have-nots. The Neoauticratica go out of their way to use extraexecutive means to create food banks, homeless shelters, houses of healing, and other services that benefit the poor at no profit to their patrons. The general consensus among the Patricioi and the Scholasticoi is that the Consula Democrata is an important element in preventing the war and bloodshed that was so common in the old Empire, and that a peaceful and non-aggressive Antivassos is more important than an egalitarian Antivassos, and wealth through trade is preferable to wealth through conquest. However, there is a significant amount of disagreement among the poorer populations of Antivassos, who are generally more concerned with where their next hot meal can be found than they are with diplomatic relations with countries they've never visited and wars they have only read about in history texts.Historical flag of the Antivassan Empire
Emblem of the Neoauticratica
Social strata
Antivassos has eschewed formal social strata, instead generally being a land of high social mobility - ostensibly, anyway. As with most nations, wealth is the primary factor in improving your lot in life, and many geniuses and talented individuals end up living out their days in relative poverty. However, there are still ways to move up in the world, and as such, the nation is still divided into four main classes. Patricioi are wealthy property-owners, socialites, and politicians. Most Patricioi are either born into their position or buy their way in. Patrons of arts rather than artists, funders of research rather than scholars, and directors of merchants rather than tradesmen, this social class is seen as those below it as being largely superficial and not particularly necessary to the workings of Antivassan society. Nevertheless, the Patricioi have held political power for centuries, dating back to the heyday of the Antivassan Empire. Patricioi make up about five percent of Antivassan society. Scholasticoi are the learned "mage" class. Practitioners of arcane arts, researchers of lost knowledge, and engineers of technological wonders, Scholasticoi generally enjoy the benefits of their position at the behest of Patricioi patrons or university funding - be it the Logos Historia, the Logos Arcanica, or the Logos Mechanica. It is exceedingly difficult, though not impossible, to make your way into the Scholasticoi without being a student at one of these three universities. However, private scholars and mages working on behalf of wealthy patrons absolutely exist. Scholasticoi make up about ten percent of Antivassan society. Citizens are defined as "residents of Antivassos born to at least one native Antivassan citizen." Citizenship can be earned or bought, but is most commonly conferred as a function of where you were born. Citizens include everything from farmers, to tradesmen, to merchants. This class is the catch-all for anyone who is neither a Patricios nor a Scholasticos. Citizens of Antivassos are protected by the Constitution that was ratified during the Restructuring. The Antivassan government recognizes an act of aggression against any Antivassan citizen as an act of war against Antivassos itself. Ergatei, literally translating as "workers," are individuals who live in Antivassos but do not enjoy Antivassan citizenship. These are mostly Warforged left over from the Antivassan military who have been given their freedom, such as it is. Warforged do not qualify for Antivassan citizenship based solely on the "born to at least one native Antivassan citizen" clause of the Antivassan Constitution. Since Warforged are made, not born, they technically are not citizens.Demography and Population
Estimated population 17 million
Estimated 60% human, 18% elven or half-elven, 10% warforged, 8% dwarven, 4% all others
Technological Level
Relatively advanced. Firearms technology was developed during the height of the Empire, as well as advanced techniques in medicine, sanitation, irrigation, and transport. Much of the technology of Nadmir was conceived in Antivassos.
Religion
The official religion of Antivassos is the worship of the New Gods.
No official or patron deity presides over any major city of Antivassos - most cities have temples to all of the New Gods.
Foreign Relations
Antivassos is currently a trade partner of Isambard, Verretos, Aethwellyn, the Dragon's Teeth, the Sylvad, Tzud, Halzek, Karalev, and Kaza'ir.
Antivassos currently trades with Norhorn Dale, though not through any formal trade agreement.
A heightened state of security currently exists between Antivassos and Weswyn, disagreements over the ownership of the Giavos Islands have arisen again and the Neoautikratika, who have the support of much of the Antivassan military, have made aggressive moves to fortify them with legionnaires.
Antivassos is technically currently at war with Nordmark, as no peace agreement was ever signed, though aggressive actions have not been taken in the last 17 years since King Hemming’s ascension to the throne.
Antivassos is currently at war with most of the orc warlords of the Howling Steppe.
The flag of Antivassos.
The black stripe represents the darkness of the Sajati imperial past, the red stripe the bloodshed of Antivassan independence and rise to prominence, and the purple the heraldic color of the Antivassan Empire.
Thus, from darkness, through bloodshed, into the Imperial/modern era.
The laurels, having replaced the traditional Imperial eagle, represents the new democratic Antivassos triumphing over the dark authoritarian days of the Empire.
Comments