Ione
The Ancient Bastion
“They say that time claims all, weathers everything back to the dust from which it came, but Ione, Ione alone has truly withstood the test of time.”Ione is a tiny independent nation state that resides in the center of the Fanvinir continent, lying at the western edge of the Irios region. Ione is the oldest extant nation on Fanvinir, having existed independently for almost 1,750 years. In addition to being the oldest, Ione is also the smallest, having 27,843 individuals in an area of just 440 km2 that has remained almost unchanged since its inception during the Time of Trials. Ione is significantly inland and does not border any large bodies of water and thus is considered landlocked, and though the massive rivers that surround a large portion of the country do connect to the inner bay of Fanvinir, they are controlled by other nations. Controlling two of the Jewel Lake offshoot rivers, the Jhio River to the West and the Silent River to the East, does generate a significant amount of traffic to some of the riverside cities of Ione, which creates a reasonable amount of trade with other nations existing upstream. Its largest city, Fortuna, is also its capital holding over a third the nation's total population. Ione’s economy is primarily based on being an independent trade hub within the Irios region and those that surround it due to the rivers that allow for numerous trade ships to supply goods to groups that exist further inland. Smaller industries are present in Ione and are based around farming, processing farmed goods, exporting stone such as marble, and artwork in the form of sculptures or alchemical stained glass. The government of Ione is a theocracy with it's national Religion Fortunism being directly incorporated into the government strcuture. Those holding government positions first need to have been “marked” by the Patron Deity of Fortunism, Cionecic, and then pass the subsequent trial that occurs every year. Moving up the governmental structure also requires being chosen through Cionecic's Divine Selection for available positions in a ceremony that occurs on an as needed basis. As only humans can obtain these Marks of Fortune, only the human population is considered by the government to be official citizens of Ione. Other species do exist within the borders, but they are few and far between, usually only staying for a few months or years to conduct trade missions or other various forms of business. As a result the true population of Ione is likely to be slightly higher than officially recorded. Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Structure
The government structure of Ione is unique being Theocracy in which the assignment of roles is limited to only a select few individuals that display unique bioluminescent markings. These unique markings appear on a few seemingly random individuals in during the first week of the Ionean new year. Currently it is unknown what traits these individuals possess that result in these markings, but they are known to only appear on humans, usually from ages 17 to 25, from within the region currently controlled by Ione. Individuals possessing these markings are called Initiates and only about ten to fifteen initiates are selected every year. Once initiates have their marks, they are collected by government officials and trained at the Grand Cathedral in for nine months and then sent into Sanctum Forest for the final month of the year as their initiation trial. This trial is not without danger, in fact many initiates go into the forest and do not return. The danger of the forest has resulted in a fairly intense generalized training, as well as specific training pertaining to the specialization of the individual that has been marked.
Ranks within the Order
Regardless of the role an individual may hold it is common to refer to an individual by their rank and then their full name. If intimate with the individual being addressed only the rank and first name need to be used. If in private with an individual who you are intimately familiar with you may use only the first name, though often out of respect it is common to still use the title depending on the rank, such as Alarch, Exarch, Eparch, Grand Elder or Elder.- Alarch - The national leader of Ione, thought to be the mortal representative of Cionecic.
- Exarch - The provincial leaders who report directly to the Alarch.
- Eparch - The municipal leaders who report to their respective Exarchs.
- Holy Sentinel - The watchful eyes of the Alarch.
- Grand Elder - Retired Exarch or Eparchs who no longer have political power.
- Elder - Other retired ranks below that of Eparch.
- Acolyte - Those that have successfully passed their trial.
- Initiate - Those that are in training for their trial.
Heroic Titles
Individuals that have performed heroic feats in protecting Ione or in the name of Cionecic may be granted a heroic title by the sitting Alarch. This title will always preface the rank of the individual. Usually these titles describe the event that the individual took part in to make them famous, such as the title granted to Exalted Eye Grand Elder Aelfrith Siege, in which Aelfrith killed an enemy commander in a single shot of his bow, ending a decisive battle with only a single casualty. People believed that Aelfirth Siege was chosen by Cionecic to save Ione with superior sight indicated by his mark appearing on his right eye, the one he used to aim his bow, thus he was given the title of Exalted Eye. It is very common for heroic titles to be given posthumously as many heroes have sacrificed themselves for Ione, in battle or otherwise.Culture
Food
As Ione controls a very small area of land far from the coasts, the typical Ionean diet leans very heavily vegetarian, as making the most of agricultural land is a priority. Some animal products like milk and cheese are used primarily in celebrations and are heavily regulated compared to plant based agriculture. Some settlements such as Ornamen, Anderselt, Newbridge, and Vane also consume significant amounts of river fish, such as the Gem Trout due to their proximity to the Jhio and Silent rivers. Fish is also consumed inland, but is less common especially in bordering towns like Ardarre or Principa where transporting fresh meat may impose some challenges.Art
Ione’s artwork is largely sculptures made from granite, marble, and stiberite that are often incorporated directly into many of the nation’s government and holy buildings, namely the Grand Cathedral Cathedral which incorporates both functions and the Towering Gatehouses which also have sculptures incorporated throughout their designs. As Ione is almost entirely flat, mines and quarries are few and far between and are usually quite small. Majority of the marble used in construction and artwork is mined from within Ione’s borders from Basin Quarry on the outskirts of Arnsrath. Granite and stiberite are imported from western mountain range. Additionally precious metals, and very rarely gemstones, used for finishing many art pieces are also imported from this region. Less prominent but still well known are the alchemical stained glass pieces produced by Ionean alchemists and artists that populate many of the religious sites throughout Irios, though some pieces have been known to make it as far as Montagne and Atiris. The Grand Cathedral stands out among the locations of stained glass artwork as each Alarach’s portrait is done in stained glass rather than the paint utilized by other nations. Some heroes of Ione’s past, such as the Voice of Gold, Elder Wara Wenberg and the Exalted Eye, Grand Elder Aelfrith Siege also have scenes of their heroics captured in stained glass.Time Keeping
Like much of Ione, the Ionean calendar has remained much the same for hundreds of years. The calendar has six days a week, and six weeks a month, with an extra day on alternating months which is often taken as a holiday. This calendar timing is based on the phases of the planets two moons, Moroc and Mephostopheles with a full cycle of Mephostopheles indicating a month and a full cycle of Phaust indicating a year.History
The Time of Trials (4-1271)
The Time of Trials was tumultuous as many powerful entities fought each other for dominance leading to the destruction of numerous settlements, populations, and cultures. Irios was one the areas that was subjected to a significant amount of devastation due to it’s fairly flat and easy to navigate terrain which allowed armies to traverse it quickly. Many historical documents and accounts of the past were lost to the conflicts of the time and it is assumed that much of the early history of the people Ione and much of Irios met the same fate. From the documents that did survive, historians have pieced together theories on the origins of Ione. Such theories include a group of refugees using the forest as a haven from the surrounding conflicts, or a group of soldiers attempting to use the forest as an ambush point and getting lost within. However, one commonality between all stories is that the group stayed within the forest long enough to become “marked” with small, blue, bioluminescent symbols, which came to be known as the Marks of Fortune. Based on the yearly frequency, the group stayed within the forest for at least a year. The forest was not a hospitable place, but it was objectively better than being on the battlefield, being hunted down by enemy soldiers or smote by an angry deity. In 251, a short time after exiting the safety of the forest the small settlement of Fortuna was founded, named after the good fortune that the forest provided. The group that founded this settlement would become known as The Fortenes. The settlement was established a short distance away from the now named Sanctum Forest which was quickly marked as a holy site. As combat on the many battlefields continued and the warring fronts continued to shift towards the east, the settlement attempted to become more permanent hoping that the warring fronts would not reverse direction. During the initial establishment of the settlement it also became tradition for those who were marked to spend an extended period of time in the forest as a trial to show that they were worthy of providing leadership to the group as the original founders had done. This time in the forest was also to ensure that the marked individuals had the time to form a bond and trust in their currently unknown deity. This tradition became the basis of the Ionean government and culture through the formation of the Trials of the Fortunate. By 265, two other settlements had been created. Vane was a scouting outpost at the tip of the Silent River that was established to provide early detection if the warring fronts began to approach the established settlements, and Absolus which was established at the edge of Sanctum Forest to support Initiates preparing to enter the forest for their trials and to prevent those without marks from desecrating the forest. These settlements remained significantly smaller than Fortuna as they were meant to provide specific function to the Fortenes and individuals were often sent their on rotation for a period of time rather than attempting to establish a life there. Despite previous beliefs, individuals residing in these settlements were also obtaining Marks of Fortune which prompted Fortuna to begin mapping the area in which these marks would appear. This effort was completed sometime in 302. The Fortenes continued to expand and created the settlements of Kronbruck in 316 and Anderselt in 330, though by this point the cohesion of the settlements was beginning to waver the settlements were acting fairly independently of one another, though all were still adhering to the Trials of the Fortunate and did collaborate on a palisade to protect the forest in 361. The official founding of Ione can be traced back to a vision provided to a man named Haeferic Voss by Cionecic in 373. This vision was the first time that Cionecic revealed herself to the Ionean predecessors and also marked the point at which Fortunism shifted from it's tribal roots to it's organized form. Cionecic explained to Voss that the Sanctum Forest must be protected and that following her instructions would allow the people of survive the God Wars and flourish. With Cionecic's direction Haeferic Voss founded Ione as a nation with the Alarch as the mortal leader of the nation reporting only to Cionecic. All of the settlements established by the Fortenes in the area were quickly brought under the same banner. Cionecic also warned Voss not to make the nation a target as many powerful patrons were still battling for supremecy and in her weakened state should would not be able to defeat all the combatants that would come for them. The outpost of Vane was raided in 439 and out of a concern that Ione could potentially be discovered per Cionecic's warning Alarch Haeferic Voss insitituted the Clandestine Growth Directive in 440 which prevented the creation of any new settlements. Shortly after the directive was put in place, Voss also decided to raze the settlement of Ravenstadt , the most recent and furthest settlement from Sanctum Forest in an attempt to minimize the footprint of Ione to only directly along Sanctum Forest and the Jhio River. Almost all of the citizens of both Vane and Ravenstadt were moved into Fortuna. In the early 500's Ione's military had been formed and shortly after it experienced it's first military action when The Union Under Ashenkarle attempted to settle within the Ionean holy land. Due to Hethor Fiske's [Holy Sentinels Directive] the Ionean government was made immediately aware of the tresspassers. The Ionean government sent an envoy to ask the Ashenkaric settlers to move off of the holy land, but the envoy was executed prompting a war between the Union Under Ashenkarle and Ione. As Ione's military force had prepared to launch an assault on the first detection of a hostile force, they immediately retaliated and were able to quickly force the Union Under Ashenkarle out of their claimed territory. Despite winning their battles quickly and decisively Ionean troops were ordered to reinforce the Ionean border rather than follow the Ashenkaric. The Union Under Ashenkarle was defeated by a third party in 536 and Ionean troops were recalled back to Fortuna in 539. With the Holy Sentinels Directive still allowing Ione to have insight into the happenings within their borders, Alarch Edwen Dinwych made the decision to utilize the idle soldiers to begin a large construction project that he called the Grand Cathedral, a huge monument that would be used as the core place of worship, the centre of govnernment, and the home of the Alarch and his advisors though Alarch Edwen Dinwych would die before seeing it's completion. Shortly after the completion of the Grand Cathedral under Dinwych's successor, Alarch Ricmaer Guthler the Everlasting Commemoration DirectiveThe Second Era (1271-2042)
The Current Era (2042-Present)
In 2042 Cionecic announced her return in a vision to Alarch Amadeus Kothe, stating that she and her pantheon would be interacting with the Ionean on a more regular basis, though currently this has yet to be seen.Demography and Population
Ione has an official total of 27,843 individuals all of whom are humans, though unofficially the population is slightly larger if non-humans are accounted for. Majority of the population of Ione exists in the capital of Fortuna, which houses just over a third of the total population. The provincial capitals of Absolus, Principa, and Ornamen hold another third, with the final third being distributed among the smaller towns and countryside. Almost the entirety of the non-human population exists within the city of Ornamen working on trade missions or running caravansaries for notable trade caravans and usually do not stay longer than a few years.
Territories
Ione controls a total of 440 square kilometers of terriory.
Geography
The geography of Ione is split between two distinct regions. The city exists on a flat plain and to the North, a deciduous forest which is considered to be holy. The whole country exists on a fairly flat area between the Jhio & Silent Rivers that split from Jeweled Lake at the northern point of the forest. The forest and the plains are artificially separated by the Grand Wall that encircles Ione.Climate
Ione exists in the Warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csb) experiencing warm (but not hot) and dry summers with significant precipitation, specifically during the winter months. Ione rarely experiences snow and usually requires a particularly cold year for it to occur. Due to Ione’s small size, only one climate and the associated weather is experienced throughout the nation.Religion
See Fortunism
Trade & Transport
Economy
Ione’s economy is primarily based around the taxation of its citizens and the trade that is conducted within its borders, primarily in Ornamen. Outside of the high taxation, Ione’s primary generation of currency is through the export of its alcohol, cheese, river fish, herbs, and medicines. Ione is also known to have very talented stonemasons and artists, and it is not uncommon to find Ionean art in some of the palaces of other nations. All businesses that are owned and operated by Ioneans are technically owned by Cionecic through the theocratic government; however this is mostly a technicality that is not exercised by the governing authority except in extreme instances, such as significant rights abuses by the controllers of a business.Ione
Founding Date
375
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Capital
Predecessor Organization
Demonym
Ionean
Leader
Leader Title
Government System
Theocracy
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Palace economy
Official State Religion
Location
Related Traditions
Related Ranks & Titles
Controlled Territories
Related Species
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