Kingdom of El Brazo
Structure
At the top sits La Corona del Brazo, the monarch, either king or queen, selected by primogeniture. They have the final say on all secular laws and nominal say in religious matters. They are responsible for issuing titles of nobility and the land grants that go with them.
Just are below them are the supposedly equal La Casa Del Todopoderoso and Los Compañeros del Soberano.
Los Companeros are a parliament, consisting of representatives of the noble houses. They meet in the middle of the week, fifty times a year, and legislate new laws to be proposed to La Corona. A place amongst Los Companeros must be bought, with the current going rate being around 500 tolares, and then maintained with an additional yearly fee of 100 tolares.
La Casa is responsible for the immortal souls of the Brazoso. They also maintain the Inquisidores to defend against those that would corrupt the minds of the people.
Outside of the court, the nobles are given free reign to maintain their estates. Peasants sign contracts for up to ten years at a time, working for and with these nobles in return for more land and protection.
History
It begins as so many things do, with a mad warlock. Brujo Montiberria had left his home nation of Vraecur to escape prejudice and wound up involved with the local politics of Elombro. He settled the warlords with his legendary flair for violence and settled into rule the island in relative peace for the ten years. By then, his head was full of shadows and he decided one island wasn't big enough for his ambitions. He stormed into Losmusculos and Ante, becoming the first king of a united Brazo. While his reign was awful, Brujo laid the groundwork for his defeat, establishing a feudal system for day to day management of his new empire. These nobles conspired against their master, eventually rallying behind Ezequiel del Cuchillo who led the combined armies against Brujo. Legend even states that he struck the final blow with his knife after his sword was shattered by Brujo's shield.
Their freedom earned, the three islands promptly went their separate ways. Each set up a new government, unconsciously falling in behind nobles propped up by Brujo. Things were relatively peaceful, each island keeping their politics internal, with the occasional trade dispute arising, precipitating war. It was one of these minor trade wars, that brought on the next stage of Brazo history, the Aslihat invasion.
Incidentally, it begins with another warlock. Genoveva de Terrasa was born seventh in line to the throne of Antes. She gained her gifts the same day she was pushed to the front of the line. Genoveva the First would internalize the trauma of what came to be known as the Burning Baptism, and she became obsessed with her nation's greatness. She began building up her army, making alliances with foreign nations, and constructing a spy network that would serve as the basis for the Inquisition. She even went against her religion, practicing with her warlock powers. When she was ready, she launched an assault on the other two islands. Nearly everything went according to plan. The first round of fighting had wrapped up within a year with Genoveva in control. But she had made a mistake.
The Aslihat Qawia,were the foremost military power of their day. They already had an empire that stretched from their home peninsula, across the ruins of ancient Kardia, to modern day Kakiatas. Genoveva wanted to take advantage of this power and struck a deal with the caliph, Ruwaid al-Vorah. At least she thought she had a deal. While her attention was focused on Losmusculos and Elombro, Vorahid forces landed on Antes. The ten year conflict ended with the capture of Genoveva at the Battle of Joroba. She was burned at the stake and uneasy truce was called. The Vorahid were left in control of much of the southern parts of the islands. Many Brazoso were forced into slavery, and shipped south, where they would eventually become the Izquierdana people.
The collapse of Vorahid rule was brought about two hundred years later, when the kingdoms united behind Alejandro de la Costa. He was born Alejandro Seco, son of a small time farmer. After deciding the life wasn't for him, he left and joined a mercenary company. Revealing a natural talent for the craft, he soon left to form his own company, the famous Blue Backs. Eschewing the honorable sword and light armor style, the Blue Backs wore polished metal plate would soften up their opponents with a barrage of longbow fire. After pushing the Vorahids off Losmuculos, Alejandro was given the noble name, de la Costa and married a princess. His wife, Estrella the First, was said to be the only match for him. As her husband led her armies to victory, she reorganized the government, establishing the three branches still in use today. The mercenary crew that had given de la Costa so much fame was reformed into the Coastal Knights, who have successfully defended the nation from outside invasion for the last seven hundred years.
The Vorahid collapse precipitated the Brazoso Renaissance. Free of the constant oversight of a hostile navy, the merchant fleet was built almost overnight, sailing to every corner of Elcadaver. They brought back art and literature, spices and gold. The people devoured all of it. Hungry for more, they began to experiment. The Brazoso style of painting took the most attention, it's bold, slightly abstract, slightly exaggerated style sweeping the known world. Spices unique to El Brazo, like sugar cane and chile pepper were exported to as far away as Okiashi and Vae. Life was good in the islands.
Naturally, somebody had to piss in that pot. Shortly after the printing press was brought to El Brazo, a pamphlet went around. It wasn't long, maybe five hundred words, but it contained a reprinting of Das Eiche's letter to the Archbishop, and noted how the many of the problems The Oak had with Die Worter were easily applicable to Las Palabras. An anonymously published rebuttal went out, claiming to refute all the arguments made in the original pamphlet. Then another pamphlet was released, this one claiming both were wrong, and that the Aslihats were right to ban any and all religious iconography. The war of words grew in scope and vitriol from there. Eventually four distinct positions popped up, Reformers, Iconoclasts, Henotheists, and Esoterics. Los Companeros began to pick sides. La Corona claimed to be above it all. La Casa seemed powerless to assert their view.
Nobody is certain who fired the first shot, but soon everybody was shooting. The islands devolved into chaos. With Los Companeros fighting tearing the nation apart, Queen Estrella the Fourth met with the Padre Mas Alto. She ordered him to create a compromise orthodoxy, and gave him the funds to enforce it militarily. The Padre co-opted Her Majesty's spy service and forged the Inquisidores. Royalist and Inquisidores forces would go on to win, crushing the last Iconoclast resistance at The Battle of La Pluma.
Things were mostly calm for the next couple of centuries, as La Casa gained influence and Los Companeros competed with themselves. Then, Alzilzal. The quake sent tsunamis racing across the gulf and slamming into the southern coast. The Brazoso predilection for well engineered sea walls kept many of the larger cities intact, many smaller ports were destroyed entirely. Refugees from the former peninsula began to flood in. To say were treated poorly would be facetious. Forced into shanty towns, harrassed by the inquisidores, hated by the locals. Lynchings of Izquierdana who stray too far from their designated zones grew to be a large enough problem to invoke a royal decree against it. At the time of this writing, sixty years after the quake, it isn't clear is the situation will ever improve for these poor people.
Territories
The Brazos Islands of course. All three islands are presently peaceful and content. They recently begun founding colonies in the New Izquierda Islands, but those are hotly contested by the Kardians, the Inkazimuloans, and the Pirates.
Nuestra voluntad es fuerte y verdadera.
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Alternative Names
The Islands, Derecha
Demonym
Brazoso
Government System
Monarchy, Constitutional
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Mixed economy
Currency
The Brazoso Tolare
Legislative Body
Los Companeros propose laws, and La Corona decides.
Judicial Body
Local judges are appointed by the nobility and often ride a circuit of small towns.
Official State Religion
Location
Official Languages
Neighboring Nations
Related Ethnicities
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