Arcadian Harmonium
Much like the physical location, the Kingdom of Arcadia is defined by peace and harmony. The government of Arcadia, known as the Harmonium, works within Arcadia's natural laws to structure and harmonize the life of those who live within it.
Structure
Ministers of the Harmonium operate independently from the Storm Kings, but cooperate with them on matters such as agricultural welfare.
Legislative Body
Ministers who deal specifically in lawmaking are called Legislators. They are responsible for creating the laws and rules of Arcadia, within the framework of the Realm's natural laws.Judicial Body
Any conflict, no matter how small, is adjudicated by the Harmonium, and once the Harmonium has ruled, there is no further conflict. Matters of judgment are handled by a branch of the Harmonium, who are pragmatically called Judges.Executive Body
The Harmonium's Executors who enforce the laws of Arcadia are simply called Executors. They are authorized to detain any person introducing chaos or disruption into the Peaceable Kingdom's harmonious existence.Culture
National identity revolves around order and harmony. To the Arcadian mind, peace and order are synonyms. Arcadians view sameness positively, and celebrate shared experience and the stability that order brings, but do not desire uniformity. Arcadian diversity is celebrated, and Arcadians understand the necessity of accommodating difference in order for harmony to thrive.
For more detail on Arcadian culture and national norms, see Arcadian(Ethnicity).
Public Agenda
The Harmonium's purpose is to maintain order within Arcadia. This involves inter-Realm negotiations with its neighbours as well as internal management. Any conflict introduces chaos and destruction into the Realm, and thus must be extinguished.
Demography and Population
Arcadia's population includes a high number of native Formians, but also Humans, Dwarves, and other species who can thrive in temperate, structured environments.
The population is distributed evenly through settlements of appropriate size for the surrounding resources. Because of the shared prosperity of the realm as a whole, Arcadians enjoy long lives and good health in general, living on average near the maximum of their species lifespan.
Territories
The Peaceable Kingdoms comprise the provinces of Abellio and Buxenus, and contest ownership of Nemausus which is currently controlled by the Hive Mind of Prime.
The Harmonium holds that Prime's drones manipulated the Realm Magic in order to separate Nemausus from the rest of Arcadia. Their official stance is that Nemausus was stolen, and that no expense will be spared in retaking it.
Military
The Harmonium's military forces boast a strong cavalry, drawing on the ease of raising and training herd animals. Arcadian griffon-riders are the most feared of these martial forces.
Arcadian war-wizards are known for their unparalleled precision and mental focus, able to maintain concentration on their cooperatively-cast spells even in the midst of battle. The Harmonium's incredible organization skills also make their forces as a whole incredibly efficient, making maximum use of all resources.
Religion
Arcadia welcomes most religious practices, except for those which would cause unmanageable disruption or harm to the Realm's wellbeing. The worship of Baal, who demands a regular quota of murder, for example, is forbidden.
In the interest of harmonious diversity, the Harmonium does not place a blanket ban on the worship of so-called Evil deities, only those whose mandated practices cannot be appropriately contained to the practitioner.
The presence of Mt. Celestia so nearby, however, is an effective deterrent despite this open policy.
Foreign Relations
The Kingdoms are at war with Mechanus, over the lost territory of Nemausus.
Laws
Arcadian law serves primarily to support the orderly and harmonious life within the Realm. These laws are incredibly dense and detailed, allowing for every imaginable possibility. They are drawn up by Legislators and enforced by Enforcers, and while this enforcement is strict, it is not as cruel as some other realms.
Punishment for breaking a law is usually carried out by having the convicted person make appropriate reparation. The most common infraction is that of Disruption - causing an upset in Arcadia's harmony. This misdemeanour is usually compensated by helping to repair the consequences of the disruption. In cases where equal compensation is impossible - as in loss-of-life, trauma-inducing, or permanent injury cases - compensatory fines may also be issued.
Arcadia's Detectives - a subdivision of its Judicial body - are responsible for determining who is to blame for a crime when one occurs. Because fairness and equality are imperative to the state, this group is supported with a good deal of divination and other reliable tools for discovering the truth.
Once the criminal or criminals are identified, Enforcers are empowered to find and apprehend the accused if they do not respond to calls to come forward. These Enforcers have nearly-unlimited power to locate and arrest their quarry, as resisting the justice of Arcadia is disruptive of itself, and is generally seen as indicating a dangerous threat to the Realm's harmony.
Arcadian trials are fair, and great pains are taken to make sure the Judges ruling over a case are reasonably free of bias. However, this makes selecting Judges, compiling evidence, weighing the crimes and agreeing over specific charges an exorbitantly lengthy process compared with simpler systems. Criminal cases often take years to resolve, causing distress to all involved the whole time. The Harmonium is aware of this issue, but presently judges this minor mental turmoil as the lesser evil when compared to a more hurried - and potentially unfair - judicial process.
Agriculture & Industry
The Arcadian government benefits from a highly profitable agricultural output, thanks to its highly stable and predictable growing conditions. Also thanks to this, it has reliable exports of wines, wools, and other by-products of its farming and ranching industries.
In order to sustain its balance of resources, Arcadia practices exclusively renewable industries. Forests are logged and re-grown in a healthy cycle, just as farming fields are harvested and left fallow. Fishing and hunting are balanced by the Storm Kings' precise control over population growth, and mechanized works typically rely on hydraulic, wind, or solar power. Non-renewable resources such as various metals are imported, mainly from Bytopia.
Education
Arcadia is a highly-educated realm, and has been practising mass organized education for much longer than any other Realm which offers it. Schooling is a national service, and is freely offered to visitors in order to help mitigate the disruption of travel on their normal lives.
Cultural and religious education is practiced in the home and at appropriate community locations, while Arcadian schools teach practical skills such as literacy, basic mathematics, and logic. After completing these basics, students may learn specialized and trade-specific education, including artistic pursuits, through apprenticeships.
Visitors and immigrants are sometimes surprised at the flexibility of Arcadian schooling. The variety of teaching and testing methods, semester schedules, and classroom formats appears in contrast to other aspects of Arcadian life. This contrast is an illusion, however, as the variety is based on the same principles as every other system in the realm: equity and sustainability. The goal of Arcadia's schedules, standards, and edicts has never been uniformity, but peaceable harmony for a diverse population.
Infrastructure
Arcadia's communities are well-connected by arrow-straight roads which support a variety of traffic. Some larger settlements such as Melodia can even accommodate airship traffic, which is the primary transit method of Auria. Land travel across more than a few miles is typically conducted through intra-realm portals. These portals resemble latticed archways, and their use is regulated by the Harmonium.
These tools support the steady transit of agricultural goods and other necessities between communities, and great aqueducts make sure that Arcadia's many freshwater rivers can be enjoyed equally throughout the Realms. Well-drilling is strictly forbidden, due to its irreparable impact on deep-dwelling fauna and sub-geographical water systems.
The coast of Arcadia has three docking ports to accommodate sea trade and transit. Once, the three provinces divided control over these docks evenly, but since the loss of Nemausus, Buxenus has inherited the third province's dock, and shares control over the second with Abellio.
Harmony Begets Prosperity
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Alternative Names
The Peaceable Kingdoms of Arcadia
Demonym
Arcadian
Government System
Kritarchy
Power Structure
Unitary state
Major Exports
Textiles, lumber, spices
Major Imports
Metals, precious gems, masonry
Location
Official Languages
Neighboring Nations
Related Ethnicities