Sokani Crown
The ancient royal line of the Sokani Archipelago works to ensure their position within the politics of the Nidari Reach and its surrounds by constantly shifting alliances to ensure no party becomes dominant.
questions:
- Think about (even if power is quite centralised) how the nobility and the royalty interact! New dynasties, viceroys, and other elites must come from somewhere.
- Rethink sokani horses - they might not be a realistic magic bullet to shipping. Consider infrastructure! From Cindy: I want to point out that having horses that can walk on water sounds like it can make amphibious warfare a breeze. Maybe the horses can be used by bandits- they can pursue people from land onto the water without missing a beat, and it’s feasible for them because they’re not the one transporting the sluggish items. The image of seeing a group of menacingly dressed people on horseback rushing towards you from the waters as you’re desperately trying to take your items off the ships… terrifying
Structure
The crown holds a great deal of power in Sokani, the monarch's word being law. each island has an appointed Viceroy who oversees the rulership of that area, with the royal court moving frequently between its various castles and palaces with a vast train of servants, guards, and officials.
Each Viceroy has a Residence, and whether the Monarch comes to stay at their residence or not is a matter of great symbolic/diplomatic import. It's also expected that a viceroy's eldest child (or more rarely, the Viceroy's choice of candidate) becomes their successor, but the Monarch is strictly-speaking free to override this decision as they wish.
Culture
As nobility trace descent from the earliest dynasties, the validity of the calendar is a major lynchpin of their legitimacy. Precedent is a big thing in Sokani society.
History
The Crown claims its history extends back 100 dynasties, to the initial infusion of the islands with horse-essence nearly 12,000 years ago. In reality, the horse-infusion of Sokani took place during the Great Essence Shift some 4000 years ago, and the crown has likely only existed for 1500 years or less, broken in some cases by civil war and distress. the 11,000 year date seems to be connected to ancient Turf-Troll history in some way. Still, the crown is older than most of its neighbouring polities.
The Sokani Calendar, based on the infusion date and the coronation of the first Monarch, is widely used around the Nidari Reach, as it was carefully tracked and centrally controlled from the Archipelago. However, in recent decades it has fallen out of favour due to the confusion surrounding its veracity and consistency that has ensued since the Calendar War, a decade-long civil war that began and ended with a change of dynasty.
the Calendar War was precipitated by the employment of some Whiteflame Mages to verify the dates of the calendar by age-burning ancient artefacts. When they proved that the infusion was less than half the age expected, thus invalidating dozens of dynasties of august Sokani history, a civil war broke out around how to reform the calendar. a short-lived dynasty widely disseminated an updated, re-dated calendar; when a more traditionalist dynasty came in and denied the results of the age-burners, stability was restored. but the whole affair distracted Sokani from its external diplomacy and impacted confidence in their calendar, which combined with excitement and attention around year 0 of The Foreseeing approaching, led to its decline as a dating system.
Demography and Population
Total population@ 500,000
- 50% relatively uninfused Reldan
- 30% Turf-Troll
- 5% Centaur - some able to run on water, others not
- 5% Nidari
- 2% Angler-infused deep-dwellers
- 2% Giterikin
- 1% Bamboo Dowo
- 5% trace, mostly Reld and Isthmus countries.
Military
the amphibious cavalry of Sokani form the backbone of their military - their armies are built for speed across a great variety of terrain and obstacles. however, it does still have infantry and the associated baggage trains, which typically move more slowly under the protection of the cavalry.
Religion
The ruling Sokani and human population tend to be Gyrist, similar to the variety in the Commonwealth of Reld but not beholden to it.
The Turf-Trolls, in contrast, still cleave to the old Three-Roles Faiths.
Foreign Relations
formerly allies of the Commonwealth of Reld against the Pangol Empire, they now seek to restrict its expansion. however, they are also keen to disrupt the territorial ambitions of the Mercantile Board of Errezo.
relationship with the Western Giterikin - who became the monarchs with the start of the Good Years in 348 - were previously good; however, with the collapse of the fourteenth Blackpowder Cartel and the formation of the Trader's League and associated accord, the two factions found themselves on opposing sides. Sokani hoped to establish further trade dominance on the Nidari Reach, which the accords interfered with. As a result, the Crown helped the ambitious Kinma of Amicloi stage a coup in amicloi, releasing the rival claimant that they had harboured for centuries. this event ultimately resulted in the end of the Good Years and a re-igniting of the Giterikin Civil War, destabilising the entire region. In return, the new monarch of Amicloi constructed The Awl in the palace of Iero.
Agriculture & Industry
Sokani's rich soils provide good growing climates, happily feeding their local populations and exporting their surplus to passing Bells or on to the Barren Isles and beyond.
the main Sokani export is their excellent horses, which help make it a trading centre, along with its excellent placement in the currents and coasts of the Nidari Reach.
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Demonym
Sokani
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Official State Religion
Location
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Related Ethnicities
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