Current Political Tension

The who’s who of political struggles in the 4th Epoch

Recently the Aropria has enjoyed relative peace and prosperity. Agriculture, industry and trade have never been stronger. The current political powers seem to understand, for the most part, that their individual survival depends on the survival of their neighbors. If one nation descends into chaos then any other nations that depend on that nation for commerce would suffer greatly.

But make no mistake, this current peace is far from stable. Behind the scenes there is a constant political struggle. A dance of intrigue and subterfuge, with all sides vying to gain an advantage. And if one of the parties thought they could gain a significant upperhand through military conquest, they wouldn’t hesitate to take it.

Curath:

The nation of Curath was once a conquering nation. They became one of the more dominant forces on the Aropria by forcebly expanding their borders. Since their civil war they’ve changed their military doctrine to a more defensive stance. They are more concerned with maintaining the status quo within their borders than they are in conquering new territories. This doctrine has been reinforced by their neighbors’ rise to power. The nations of Rowlem, Nashriam and Caliharah are now advanced enough both militarily and politically to make any invasion both extremely difficult and prohibitively expensive.

Curath has not been content to allow the other nations to freely expand however. Curath greatly relies on the lucrative trade agreements that they have with the other nations for their continued financial prosperity, therefore they are never bold enough to openly oppose them. They have found other creative ways to undermine their political opponents. It has been rumored that Curath uses third parties to fund pirates and bandits to harass the other powers; it's said they’ve even gone so far as to send mercenaries to assist rebellions in other nations.

The houses of Curath rely heavily on the Slaver’s Syndicate for its supply of labor. The Royal house of Curath has spent a great deal of time and money on making sure the Syndicate can continue to operate legally in as many places as possible.

The Guardian and Curath have butted heads more than once. Ultimately, Curath would like nothing more than to ban the Guild outright but fears doing so would harm their trade agreement with Caliharah and Nashriam.

The Merchant’s Guild operate’s heavily in Curath. Often the guild acts as a third party when Curath wants to secretly fund illicit operations.

Nashriam:

Nashriam generally likes to think of itself as the most advanced of the major powers and in many ways it is. None come close to it in terms of technological knowhow of mastery of congruence. They were also the first nation to implement something resembling a Democratic Republic.

Overall, Nashriam maintains good relations with the other powers and relies on trade for its wealth. The great bazaars of Rikjosom and Moijavera are sought after by merchants across the continent. The great harbor of Rikjosom at the mouth of the Storjot River connects the rich fields, forests, and mines of Thelinis to the Alvanian trade routes.

Nashriam does not trust Curath, remembering Curath’s militaristic past and culture.

Nashriam has openly denounced Rowlem and The Faith.

Nashriam has an interesting relationship with Karg. Politically they are more similar than the other nations but Nashriam seems to take this as a threat to its identity more than anything else. Many prominent figures in Nashriam have denounced Karg’s political system as a perverted version of their own. So far Nashriam has done nothing to openly move against Karg.

All of the Guilds operate openly in Nashriam. Nashriam limits slavery to non-humans, justifying itself as more humane than Curath. Nashriam has failed to see how, in doing so, it draws parallels between itself and the principles of The Faith in Rowlem.

Caliharah:

Like the others, Caliharah relies on trade with the other major powers, however it maintains a healthy level of skepticism of its neighbors. Most Caliharan’s would prefer that they closed their borders to all outsiders, but their leaders understand that their survival requires them to maintain somewhat decent relations.

Caliharah is subject to attacks from Garshallan raiders and bandits more frequently than the other nations, and they have focused their defensive efforts on combating this. They do maintain a substantial standing army in the western part of the country to defend the capital and trade routes. Some in Caliharah have forwarded the idea of invading Garshalla to eliminate them as a threat but most feel that the risks in this venture would outway the rewards.

All guilds operate in Caliharah, other than the Slaver’s Syndicate, which is outlawed. The Syndicate still operates illegally in the country, sometimes with indirect assistance from Curath hoping to undermine Caliharah.

Rowlem:

Rowlem is the epitome of an isolationist state. They have broken off all diplomacy and trade with other nations and will openly attack any party who attempts to violate their borders.

Their economy has suffered from this lack of trade and the state relies on using its population as slave labor to maintain any sort of production. They also make ample use of the Slaver’s Syndicate to supply new workers.

The Merchant’s Guild and the Slaver’s Syndicate do business with Rowlem The The Ion’cavar maintain a minimal presence; members generally have to be commanded to assume posts in Rowlem..

The Faith has attempted to spread its human-first dogma to the other nations but their priests have met a great deal of resistance. Only a select handful are swayed but their xenophobic prattlings.

Over the last several years their high priest have turned to subterfuge and sometimes outright terrorism to “get thier point across”. These actions don’t appear to have any actual success in spreading The Faith’s ideologies. Nevertheless, today there is almost always at least one cell of Rowlem agents in any major city.

Garshallan raiders pester Rowlem’s northern shores. Their border is defended to the south by a congruence based wall that makes invasion impossible (or at least prohibitively difficult). This alone has kept Rowlem protected. Without it they would long ago have likely been crushed by Curath.

Alvania:

The wealthiest per capita of the nations, Alvania relies exclusively on the trade of luxury items. They have a monopoly on the trade routes through the northern and southern seas. The Alvanian navy and merchant fleet is the envy of the continent.

The Alvanians have a vested interest in maintaining good relationships with the other nations, other than Rowlem, to maintain its livelihood. They have no enemies to speak of other than the Garshallans and pirates who harass their shipping lanes.

All guilds operate in Alvania.

Other Nations:

Vas’tek is mainly concerned with the goings on within its own borders. They do maintain good relations with Nashriam who frequently send expeditions into the Thundering Sands. Vas’n diplomats are welcomed as most courts and are treated as exotic interests, however conniving nobles find the Vas’n frustrating to connect with or crack.

Karg is currently too small and weak to be considered a major political player by most nations. They engage in some trade with Alvania. They are mainly concerned with defending its borders from bandits and monsters. Karg does not reciprocate Nashriam’s arrogant animosity, though if Karg can survive its “frontier days,” a certain sense of smugness could generate out of being more “evolved” than its “parent” nation.

Garshalla is not a nation but more a collection of tribes. They have no diplomatic weight. Their raids are considered annoying to Alvania and Rowlem. Caliharah considers them a legitimate threat and some have pushed to invade the Grashallan island to eliminate this threat. Curath is satisfied to have Rowlem act as a buffer against the Garshallan nuisance.

Kende, the Alium nation located on the northern part of Zingare, does its best to stay out of the larger political landscape. They do most of their dealings with the Garshallan tribes who they have a tacit trade arrangement with. They are mainly concerned with their own affairs and outside nations often view them with suspicion.