The Free Skies of Auria
As its name suggests, Auria as a whole lacks any centralized leadership. The Great Caliph is by far the most powerful of the Realm's many freeholders, but he does not hold sway over the various sheiks, sheriffs, and maliks who control pockets of territory throughout the Realm. Similarly, the nation's military, the Teeth of the Wind, are not sworn to the loyalty of any one freeholder, but to the freedom and safety of the Realm as a whole.
In inter-Realm affairs, messengers are obligated to invite every freeholder who may have a stake in the affair. This makes involving Auria in inter-Realm affairs politically complicated, since overlooking even a single freeholder is a grave insult.
Culture
Aurian national identity emphasizes freedom. One of many reasons for the Realm's hostile relations with the Realm of Fire is Ignia's ongoing slave trade. Servants in Auria are always well-compensated, and free to leave their position at any time. Domination magic is especially frowned upon, as well.
Wanderlust is also normalized and even honored in Aurian culture. Like the winds that define their realms, Aurians seldom stay in one place for long.
Demography and Population
Djinn and their Air Genasi and Jann descendants are native to this realm, and make up most of the humanoid population. Silver dragons, being long-distance fliers resilient to the cold winds, also have a significant presence here, as well as a number of winged celestials such as aasimar and devas.
Air elementals, while they do not participate in humanoid societies, are integral to the realm and are largely agreed to hold a sort of quasi-citizenship in terms of the dignities afforded their treatment.
Territories
Aurians and the wind elementals consider the entire sky to be their home, culturally speaking, but for the purposes of Realm Airspace rules, Auria extends over the The Misty Sea and the northwest peaks of the Ironspine Mountains, and its landform neighbours have airspace borders paralell with their sea borders - about 12 nautical miles from their coastlines.
Military
The Teeth of the Wind are a military guild sworn to the security of Auria, her people, and her values of freedom and self-determination. They have a hierarchy of ranks, but are not loyal to any particular freeholder, and upper ranks are held for limited terms.
Foreign Relations
The Free Skies of Auria are united in their war with The Grand Sultanate of Ignia. The point of contention is Ignia's rampant slave trade, an industry supported by their buyers in The Infernal Beurocracy of Baator and allegedly in The Exalted Khanate of Terra and opposed by Auria, The Seven Mounting Heavens of Celestia, the Grand Padishate of Oceanus, and many Nations of Primus.
The Teeth of the Wind patrol the borderlands near the The Great Conflagration to protect Aurian citizens and visitors alike from Ignian slavers. They also launch strikes within Ignian territory to attack and disrupt powerful figures in the industry, to free captives, and cause disorder within the Ignian military.
Despite the outspoken support for this cause by her allies, Aurian forces are locked in a stalemate in this enterprise. In many cases, an ally's moral support has been significantly greater than their material support, and so Auria finds herself outgunned by the more brutal and organized Ignian legions, whose armories benefit from friendships with infernal mechanics in Baator.
Moreover, it is suspected that Ignia's list of customers is much longer than can be proven, and that said customers are reluctant to annoy their patron beyond what can be waved off as a false front to keep up appearances.
Trade & Transport
The Labyrinth Wind is a network of powerful and persistent wind currents that winds throughout Auria over the Misty Sea. Citizens of Auria are generally versed in the wind's directions and temperaments, and know how to follow its currents to cover great distances between locations.
Over most of Auria, the Labyrinth Wind acts like roads in a settled land region. It dissipates near the The Great Conflagration due to the influx of hot winds, and over the Frostfell due to the loss of humidity and increase in cold. It is less dense over the outer Realms, becoming more like a rural highway system.
Trade Partners
Auria has a thriving trade relationship with Bytopia, Arcadia, and Primus, and less frequently with other Realms. This trade is conducted almost exclusively by airship, due to the unreliability of portals and the cargo limitations of domesticated flying beasts. Bytopia is the primary manufacterer of Airships, and while local manufacturing has begun to take off, Auria still imports most of its fleet from the Bytopian protectorate, as well as much of its mineral needs. A great deal of its agricultural and textile needs are imported from Arcadia and Primus, and the The Waterspout provides limited trade of smaller goods with Oceanus.Maps
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Auria Map
Though the Realm of Air is officially in the northwest quadrant of the Inner Realms, excluding Primus, it technically occupies the upper atmosphere of the entire Realms. A few locations reach high enough to be culturally - if not officially - Aurian airspace.
Type
Geopolitical, State
Demonym
Aurian
Government System
Anarchy
Economic System
Barter system
Subsidiary Organizations
Location
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Related Species
Related Plots