Commonwealth of Reld

A union of several regions to the north-west of the Nidari Reach .
Bilingual with Seaspeak near The coast.
Questions:

• Retinol religion?
• what was the reldan capital's original name

Structure

Each state is broken up into multiple regions with their own regional governments. These each use agreed methods (usually whatever method already existed) to determine who rules locally; these local rulers then appoint some number of delegates that are their representatives at the Grand Chamber. Some local methods used:

• Union of mayors (in Sarlim– where the city-states are partly modelled off of Nidari practices)
• Votes by wealth/amount of land owned (Felletoum, among others)
• Theocracy – if this is gyrist, that's very circular (where?)

there are 3-7 regions per territory (though the edges don't always line up totally), meaning 42 total. Each nominates 10-20 delegates. Total delegate numbers: 600-650. Around 450 of these are from the old, core territories, as these are divided into smaller regions and tend to nominate more delegates.
Delegates select 3 from among their number to be Chamberlains, the head of state. they serve for 10-years stints. Started as an administrative role but gradually accrued executive power. Typically selected from the same few hereditary families and then just rubber-stamped by the chamber. The main role of the Chamberlains is to propose nominations for military, church and orders. They are required to nominate some number each (varies complexly). At times when the chamberlains are in agreement, however, the votes by the delegates is more of a rubber-stamping process. they also control what business is raised, discussed, and voted upon in the Chamber.
Various Caucuses - semi-formal gatherings of delegates who vote together - divide the Grand Chamber. in the modern era, these caucuses mainly fall along two lines - the Lavender and the Bay - but there are several notable outliers.
The delegates also appoint other powerful individuals:

• Generals for the armies
• High Clerics for the conclaves of the state Gyrist church - closely tied to the state enough that non-Gyrists, and even Gyrists of proscribed groups, are not allowed to hold political power (though they are allowed to continue to practise their faith).
• Grand Masters of various Orders.

The orders occupy the same space as government departments and guilds, some being pre-existing powerful orgs that were wrapped into the commonwealth at foundation. Their overlapping remits partly dates back to this era, and are more rational in the outer regions. The orders are still guilds/unions in that they have membership - the fees for which contribute considerably to the funding of the commonwealth - and use this to regulate the functioning of the activities within their domain. Membership does come with benefits and some level of say, however. Delegates are required to give up memberships when commencing their terms, though they either use cronies in the orders, or are themselves beholden to their orders, so the separation is mostly symbolic rather than effectual. The system can be seen as private industry or worker unions infiltrating the state, or the state monopolising business and private activity. Notably, land-ownership/agriculture, military, and religion are all separate from the Order system. Law is also partly separated, though the judicial branch is effectively an Order and the details and enforcement of laws related to their domain fall to the Orders' discretion.
Non-exhaustive list of Orders:

• Mappers, surveyors and census-takers – possibly trained Tasmis?
• Clothiers and haberdashers – what is their relationship with Teytonol?
• Revenues and levies
• Messengers and wayfarers - reduced in power after their separation from The Ennant.
• Order of Calcomancy - in charge of essence-flow forecasting, as well as overseeing training and deployment of Calcomancers. A rogue group called the confounding factor opposes them.
• Record-keepers and historians
• Mason, stonewrights and architects
• Lawyers and justices
• Miners, quarriors and Jewellers
• Foresters, hunters and trappers
• Nightsoil-workers and scrap-merchants - a relatively minor guild, though one with a secret purpose - it acts as the hub for the various espionage operations of the Chamberlains, communicating and co-ordinating between cells in the military, orders, church, and other power centres - especially within the borders of the Commonwealth. As such, its Grandmaster is always a close ally of the Chamberlains - though, both to allay suspicion and to test/ensure the loyalty of the Grandmaster, there is always the appearance of being nominated to the position after a scandal, and the reputation of the Order is such that running it is traditionally seen as a disreputable position.
• Hosts and Inn-keepers - established and enforces the naming convention for taverns in the Commonwealth - they are all of the form "The [number] [verb]". upmarket examples: the One ascends, the Three Divide, the Forty-Five Attest. humbler examples: the Seven Plough, the Four Dance, the One Gossips. the number is often demarked using the appropriate quantity of four-pointed stars, organised into sub-groups for larger numbers, in order to aid illiterate travellers. the four-armed cross has become a sort of folk-persona, representing a non-specific or specific individual in numerous settings, as well as the soul. It appears on paperwork and in various other places. there is also a derived symbol, similar to 中, that evolved from a cross with a lid above it - this symbol means "not for people" and is a general warning, marking variously "no entry", "dangerous/Poisonous" and the like.

Public Agenda

create a peaceful and united state for the Pan-Reldan ethnicity.

Individual Caucuses:

• Lavender Caucuses: traditionally wore sprigs of lavender, now represented by purple brooches. Their stances are pro-Religious, expansionist, conformist, and centralising.
• Bay Caucuses: traditionally wore sprigs of bay, now represented by yellow-and-green brooches. Their stances are decentralising, pro-independence, an in favour of business and trade.
• Outer Regions Caucus: a minor caucus, representing the less-privileged outer regions.
• Elector's Caucus: a minor caucus, calling for the expansion of the voting model (though not universal franchise).

History

Timeline:

• 822 LF : long period of continual petty wars ended by the formation of the commonwealth. among the many contentious issues, it was agreed there would be no official state religion, as no specific branch of Gyrism could be agreed. official calendar starts at this date.
• 821-433LF: internal stabilisation, consolidation, and peace. Chamberlains accrue power, but the whole organisation is still relatively decentralised. The Chamber gathers in a rotation of different locations during this period.
• 433-430LF: First Crisis. the Navigators, Architects, Spies and Revenue-takers Orders, seeing a mutual benefit in expanding the commonwealth, bring expansionist delegates to power with their influence. this scheme was led by the Grandmaster of the Navigator's Order, Lodnod. when the Chamberlains objected to this, they were dismissed by the chamber in an exceptional vote. the "Crisis" as referred to by historians refers specifically to the skirmishes that happened next, as a counter-coup by pro-chamber military elements was put down by "Loyalist" forces. these troops then marched into what is now the Capital, fixed in place since that date. with armed soldiers in the Chamber, an amended constitution was signed. following this, the appointment of Grandmasters by the Chamber were, in effect, rubber-stamps. true power now lay with the Orders.
• 430-207LF: Rapid expansion. first Felletoum, then Molomet, Ulthoc and Sarlim join the commonwealth, and the Lacrestan church comes under Chamber appointment. neutered Chamber develops the Caususes, especially Lavender and Bay.
• 207LF: Second crisis begins with the Lunatic Spring; heavy snowfall in the Benguyar Mountains the preceding winter melts, flooding parts of Zanarrol, Felletoum, Tharm and Lerinim, damaging harvests. on top of this, the contaminated water causes widespread unthinking murderous rage in the populace, both in these regions and in many areas downstream. this puts an end to the aggressive expansion of the Commonwealth, and though the centre holds, hundreds of thousands die and military and economic power is blunted.
• 206-188LF: period of recovery, historically considered still part of the Second Crisis.
• 188-178LF: the final phase of the Second Crisis was triggered when the Chamber appointed the "wrong" Grandmaster of the Architect's Order, the "true" candidate ignored the decision and simply took charge regardless. after this worked - and the rival was killed off - the precedent was set, and many Grandmaster appointments were disputed, occasionally to the point of military force. at this point, The Ennant splits off and flees. with social structure teetering and the orders divided without and within, public opinion, as well as military and aristocratic sympathy, aligned behind a Trifecta of powerful new Lavender Caucus Chamberlains who assassinated the major Grandmasters and their senior underlings in a single night in late 179LF. more biddable Grandmasters were installed in their place, and the power of the Orders was broken. the Trifecta dominated for many years, but once one resigned, a Bay Caucus representative was appointed to the third position. though bitter enemies, they maintained and established new governmental protocol that survives largely unchanged to the present day. they also established the power of the 2 largest caucuses as balancing forces.
• 178-10LF: period of consolidation. stabilisation, gamesmanship; more gradual and delicate use of power abroad.
• 10-5LF: Teyton-Pangol war occurs, ends with Teytonol joining the Commonwealth.

Demography and Population

Majority of the population are serfs. Indentured servitude is common throughout the Commonwealth.

Territories

Core regions:

• Zanarrol: land of talking mammals (the smaller, furrier variety). Home to Northern Sphinxes .
• Retinol: Onyx lands. sombre, dark, muted, serious, death-obsessed. curving spine of mountains separates the land into two regions - the west, bordering the ocean and a Blackpowder Coast Exclave, is colder and a little dryer, a relatively treeless subpolar-coastal landscape; the east, leading onto Omboluc, is dense and rainy conifer forest. both halves are perpetually overcast, and rifted with many canyons - the west as precipitous plunges, the east as steeply-hillsided valleys. in spots throughout the land, onyx spires poke through the landscape, and are often carved into chapels and sepulcres. Inspiration from various death-obsessed cultures - ancient Egypt, Victorian, obelisks and lace. the inhabitants are fairly lightly-infused, though they do tend to have either extremely dark or pale skin. religion is important to this land, with the east half being the centre of Reldan Gyrism (is it? seems likely to be non-conforming??) and the west being dedicated to the original religion of the area. this difference is reflected in the Caucuses that control each region; East is staunchly Lavender, West dedicated to Bay (perhaps the whole thing is dedicated Bay as it is religion non-conforming). mourning is heavily ritualised, with specified practices and periods for different relationships to the deceased. even things like objects, places, years, and organisations/relationships are ritually mourned. Some exaggerate their mourning for social cache, pretending to be closer to an individual than they really are; more than just gauche, this can be a matter for legal action. Floral displays with extremely specific meanings (possibly flavouring the local Tzetutch variants), and extremely prescriptive mourning requirements depending on relationship with the deceased and manner of death. lace drapes, veils, and obelisks are also used as part of mourning/remembrance. Funerals are a key part of life - how your funeral goes is the culmination and summary of your life, and major factor in what sort of afterlife (within without Gyrism) you receive. Funerals are based around a procession, to be buried or interred as near to a holy or significant site as possible. various rituals are allowed or required to be included depending on the events of your life - some of these are good and some bad, though which is which is not always clear to the casual observer. the pallbearers carrying the body barefoot over coals, for instance, is seen as a high honour. Many crimes, on the other hand, are punished only by certain rituals at funerals. the encasement of the body - from simple cloth wraps to elaborate sarcophagi - is similarly dependent on status, actions in life, and esteem. as described above, the status of various mourners and their parts in the ritual is extremely important - pallbearers being among the most esteemed, all the way through to socially-approved disruptors that are allowed to attempt to interfere with the progress at certain points. just below the pallbearers are those allowed to wear mourning crowns, three-sided pointed hats shaped like half a cube, with etched onyx faces in the 3 square sides, which are then kept in the home of the mourner on stands as reminders. the worst fate of all, of course, is no funeral occurring at all - in the case where no body can be recovered, a facsimile is used. large nuclear families (associated with broader families) and young weddings (ages 16-20) are the norm - lots of children to mourn and be mourned by.
• Omboluc lagoon: brine, crabs, electricity.
• Tharm: ant-infused, many parts are miniature. Humans are very industrious here, and use human-sized mechs called war-chassis. Tharmites can subsume their individuality for a short period of time to act as a single hive-mind – used for manufacturing and to pilot war-chassis (with large crews working pulleys and the like - no gears or cogs). Holds the capital of the Commonwealth.
• Lerinim: chalk, slate, sheep.

Outer regions:

• Felletoum: fruit & produce land, Extremely valuable. Many fruits have magical infusions. Allium-rich region near Tharm is the home of Tuveek and her family. Possibly citrus-infused people in this land – produced by trees? Fashion (for women) are matching shorts and sleeveless doublets. Giant native goats are sources of cornucopia. Still has a sizable congregation for a variant of the old farming religion. Also has giant caterpillars covered in horrible hairs.
• Molomet jungle: volcanic forest. Lava and sulphur infused trees, pretty deadly and sparsely inhabited (tribes live in the interior). Has sites of industry/manufacturing, especially near the edge along the shire Ritual cannibalism practiced here. Steel manufactured here varies greatly in quality from foundry to foundry. Acts as a barrier to east-west trade.
• Sarlim: marble land
• Teytonol (most recent joiner): cloth land
• Lacrestand (sort of):- the expanding Gyrist church there is reldan, but the Church of the Third Realm that rules is opposed.

Unaffiliated Enclaves

• Xikung: Existing in the border lands between Lerinim and Zanarrol is a vast network of limestone caves. These caves, as well as the land around the openings, are the domain of the bat-infused humans of the Xikung, or "All-song".

Specific Locations

• The Capital: a grand city in Tharm, which holds the Grand Chamber and is adapted for the many diverse shapes of sentient life that live there. Holds Trifecta Plaza, and is overlooked by a large hill named Lodnod's Head after the famed Grandmaster and Chamberlain.

Military

Notable/specific units:

Lerin pseudocavalry - in medium or heavy armour, not as fast as full cavalry but more disciplined and maneuverable. Especially effective against light or heavy infantry. sometimes supported by light archers.

Tharmite war-walkers

Omboluc brine-channellers

Retinol foremourned. an elite military force, membership of which is often taken up as part of the obligations of mourning - sometimes in the case of the "real" death of another foremourned. they are borne to the Foremourned's base of operations in a mock-funeral with its own highly specific rituals. as a fighting force, high variance is found between the different units, with cavalry, armoured infantry, archers, artillerymen and more all existing. drab metal armour and black fabric, "a sort of reverse pageantry".

Zanarrol attack-beasts (e.g. Sphinxes)

Molomet skirmishers

Sarlimite sappers

Felletoum Pit-troopers: from Runep, infused with the woody pits of the local peaches. they use heavy round wooden shields with spears and are famously hardy and resolute in combat.

Religion

Reldan Gyrism is intimately tied up with the state infrastructure of the Commonwealth of Reld. It is broadly analytic, mildly non-intrusional, and strongly influenced by Retinol religion; it is permissive of minor variations in theology and practice but strict about Conclaves remaining within what doctrinal bounds it does impose. Other religions are tolerated, though there is pressure to convert, especially to progress within the hierarchy of the Commonwealth. Nonetheless, it is a major source for pilgrimage, including state-sponsored expeditions.

Foreign Relations

Though the expansion of the Commonwealth has been slower in the previous century or so - with the recent exception of Teytonol - the philosophy of uniting all the Reldan peoples is still held - and who is defined as Reldan is often a matter of convenience. Neighbouring territories are encouraged to join using trade and other social pressures: espionage, destabilisation and propaganda in secret; promises of military defenses against enemies.
specific relationships with neighbours:

• Blackpowder Cartel: the Cartels have managed to hang onto the only land of the Western Reld Peninsula not under the Commonwealth's control, using their much-depleted but still-formidable resources. although polite and cordial on the surface, the Commonwealth always seeks to covertly destabilise the Cartel in the hopes of securing this land. they are aware, however, that the Isthmus heartland of the Coast is positioned to easily choke the connection to Felletoum and the rest of the Outer Regions, meaning they must tread carefully
• Lacrestand: the Archbishop is determined to remain independent, as they (rightly) fear that Gyrism would attempt to displace the Church of the Third Realm. The growing Gyrist population - small, but with an outsized representation among the secular landowners and nobility - is beholden to the Commonwealth, seeking to influence positions to be more open to union. This is causing some strife and tension.
• Nidari Reach: a fundamentally terrestrial organisation (for the most part), the Commonwealth has no designs (as yet) on the vast and nigh-unconquerable expanse of the Reach.
• Pangol Empire: though there is not currently open warfare between the two major powers north of the Reach, it seems to be only a matter of time. The Suppuration and the rebellion of Teytonol have halted the shown the weakness of the formerly-unopposable Empire, but the matter of securing and incorporating their newly-won territories, as well as fortifying their borders and coasts, has prevented the Commonwealth from seizing the opportunity to strike at their weakened foe.
• Sokani Crown: the Crown continues to attempt to play off opposing power-blocs. historically, it allied with the then-distant Commonwealth - including instigating the ill-fated War of Red Lakes with them in an attempt to drive the Pangol out of Emshol. However, with the weakening of the empire and the entry of Teytonol into the Commonwealth, the balance of power has shifted and relationships have cooled with the Archipelago.
• Errezo: Backing the forces allied against the expansionist city-state, it is sending supplies and aid but is not directly investing troops. Indeed, its main interest is in securing Lacrestand.
• The Jintvars: Hilly, uninhabited, and resource-poor, the Commonwealth operates semi-openly within the Jintvars (as do all its neighbours) but has no plans on securing sovereignty - at least, not until Archbishop of Lacrestand is secured.
• Lnrmng and north of the Benguyar Mountains: ???

Priesthood

Clerics of the Reldan branch of Gyrism mark their status with large fabric "visors" that flare upwards from the forehead, secured with a tied headband. the rim is reinforced with a thin, bent cane, and a symbol on the front denotes their rank. this symbol based on highly stylised Reldan caligraphy, and is added to over time as an individual rises in rank.

POPULATION approx. 25,000,000

Type

Geopolitical, State

Demonym

Reldan

Government System

Democracy, Representative

Power Structure

Federation

Currency

Commonwealth Marks, issued from a central mint and electroplated by Omboluc brine-channellers in a complex process that leaves the coins with intricate gold-and-silver line patterns on the surface.

Judicial Body

Judges are appointed by the Chamberlains, and make rulings on both laws passed by the chamber and pre-existing common laws, mostly inherited from the Etneshkan code of Emshol. their practices, similarly, follow the Etneshkan code, though with a more limited class of cases decided by trial-by-combat.

Official State Religion

Gyrism

Subsidiary Organizations

• The Ennant

Location

Reld

Controlled Territories

• Felletoum
• Lerinim
• Molomet jungle
• Omboluc lagoon
• Sarlim
• Teytonol
• Tharm
• Zanarrol

Neighboring Nations

• Lacrestand
• Sokani Crown

Related Ethnicities

• Lerin
• Patchworks
• Reldan
• Sphinxes