Motrein
The largest and most Southern of the Five Realms is the empire of Motrein. Originally founded by a nomadic tribe from what is now the Motreini Wasteland, the empire quickly spread across both the lands of their ancestors and the Badlands, and then into the East as a need for food and other resources grew and grew.
Ruled over by an Emperor with almost supreme power, and supported by a Senate of nobles descended from the original tribe of Motrein known as The Blood, they view themselves as a more enlightened culture than the others of the Realms. Whilst not quite going so far as to believe they have a moral imperative to subjugate the rest of the world, it would be wrong to suggest that there aren’t factions pushing for exactly that.
Their society is heavily stratified and runs on slave labour, despite being generally very accepting of outsiders and the ideas they bring with them - whether they be technological or religious. Despite this outward show of open mindedness, marriage outside of one’s class is highly looked down on and any relationship with a foreigner is almost seen as a criminal act.
Structure
As with most sprawling empires, the structure of the hierarchy is somewhat bloated near the top and the bottom, whilst being a little sparse in the middle. At the very top there is the Emperor of course, supported by his Grand Princes and the members of the Motreini Senate who in turn make up the Five Pillars of Motrein - the cavalry, the infantry, the skirmisher force, water and grain. If any one of these were to crumble the empire might follow soon after.
Beneath them are the standard nobles not of The Blood, who generally laze around while their servants and salves do the hard work on their behalf. Most are involved in trade of some sort, or speculation into the mountains and forests of the North of the realm near Torrender. Smaller towns tend to governed by a minor noble of this sort, or of one of the upper classes of commoner depending on size and importance.
Culture
Motreini culture is very different to that of any of its neighbours as it shares no kind of common ancestry with them. Where the others focus on venerating their gods, or at least pacifying them, the Motreini people focus instead on survival and proving themselves the masters of their domain whether that be through hunting, through games of athletic prowess or through trade. From the outside looking in at the vast power this empire commands it seems strange that they have yet to try to sweep north or west and take the rest of the mainland for themselves. The simple reason for why they have not, of course, being that they have exactly as much as they need where they are.
If they were ever to run out of supply, though, that could change very quickly.
Horse hair totems and fetishes, as well as eagle feathers, are worn by almost every Motreini and at almost every level of society as good luck charms or tokens of protection and as symbols of their twin gods Mamshun and Karnuk. It is customary for all Motreini at any level of society to grow their hair long and wear it in braids to better house these tokens, with the degree of further ornamentation of these braids - and their arrangement and length - indicating one's social class.
While they are generally a satisfied people, they are very distrusting of the Other - whether that be foreign or religious. Some say it is a cultural reflection of their humble beginnings as nomadic tribesmen, where the Other was most often your death sentence. This thought has carried over into the arena of public life with marriages outside of one's social class being extremely looked down upon.
History
The people that became the first Motreini were originally a tribe wandering the wastelands that surround the city of Motrein. Due to the nature of this wasteland and the fact that it was almost hostile towards agricultural development, the tribes that lived there became very reliant on their horses. Part of that reliance meant always giving them their measure of water before the rider - after all, without a horse no-one was going to be going anywhere.
Over time, one tribe had had enough of their wandering and settled a spot of land near a river and relatively close to the sea. They thought to use the more fertile soil along the banks to grow crops and perhaps to even send fishing expeditions down the river and out to sea. The other tribes, though, had other ideas and saw their settling down as a betrayal of their faith and culture, and war was declared. For many years the Motreini fought off the menaces of the other tribes of the wasteland, using their walls and spears to great effect against the cavalry charges of their fellow tribesmen.
Eventually peace was declared, and all the tribes settled the land along the river. With this, though, came fresh problems - there was no longer enough farmland to supply the burgeoning state of Motrein. Thus, the first round of many territorial expansions was set in motion, fully claiming the river as theirs from the mountains to the sea, and the town of Alama was founded to provide more farmland and a more regular supply of fish and other fruits of the sea.
This pattern has repeated itself many, many times over the years until the empire reached the size that it is today.
Demography and Population
With the exception of the areas of wasteland that are the Motreini Wasteland and the Badlands, the citizens of Motrein are fairly densely packed for the most part. In the Eastern portion of the empire, around the cities of Alzistela and Narcia, there is finally room to spread out and breathe, as it were, but that is something that is still relatively new to the Moretini people, having been used to needing to crowd around - and onto - whatever scraps of land could sustain going back hundreds of years. The lords of the Motreini have taken to this newfound space with glee, however, and their sprawling palaces in the East are a testament to that fact.
Territories
The empire spans the entire Southern portion of the continent, from Gares in the far West to Casia in the far East and everything in the middle. The empire in turn, though, is dominated by two stretches of plain that are inimical to life other than a type of poisonous grass, meaning that while the empire is powerful and large, it is also - somewhat ironically - mostly empty. To the North, the mountains and forests past Torrender provide lumber and ore for the empire, while the Plaguemarsh to the North-West acts as a natural barrier between the empire and the kingdom of Astril.
Military
The forces of Motrein are both professional and formidable. Split into multiple disciplines - cavalry, infantry and skirmishers - it is rare to see any one of the three Pillars that comprise the Motreini military fight alone, with the most common way of making war to take units from at least two of the Pillars to every engagement. Indeed, the Motreini have made an art form of combined arms warfare, and that's something else that makes them so dangerous.
Despite this, their first love and most powerful threat is the cavalry they can field. Both the horses and horsemen of Motrein are the envy of the Five Realms, and each man is trained with spear, sword and bow to be able to be the complete warrior from horseback. These cavalry units are the most likely to be seen fighting alone, and for good reason as they are often the only ones needed to solve any problem the military might run into.
The infantry is trained from a young age with spear, shield and sword to be a highly capable support unit for the cavalry, capable of screening their advances as well as locking an enemy battle line in place for a devastating charge from the cavalry. Famed for their discipline and ruthless efficiency, they one day wish to be viewed the same way as their companions in the cavalry.
Motreini skirmishers, though, are a strange breed indeed. Trained from a young age in tracking, hunting and survival skills, they excel with the bow and short swords. Most often working in groups of no more than three, outside of a pitched battle, it is these warriors the Motreini turn to for battlefield intelligence, scouting, espionage and assassination. They are feared and respected in equal measure for their skill and ability.
Religion
For the people of Motrein, their religious beliefs are tightly tied with the barren and desolate land that birthed their society. Rather than a distinct practice they instead follow a more spiritualist path that acknowledges the existence of the gods but does not offer them direct worship as the races that walk the earth came to exist as a result of a mistake and the gods, while not openly hostile, have no desire to see them flourish.
The Blue Sky was created first by Mamshun the Great Eagle. He spent epochs in solitary existence before creating the Brown Earth, which in turn came to be inhabited by Karnuk the Pale Horse. Enthralled by each other’s companionship, their time together spawned the races of the world as an accidental byproduct not unlike the waste materials produced in smelting ores.
As a result, believers hold the idea that the races were, essentially, created to die and return to one of the two realms - either by burial or cremation. Similarly, they believe that every living being has two souls - the waking soul and the dreaming soul.
Foreign Relations
To the North-West is the kingdom of Astril, and for the most part the two nations get on relatively well and enjoy a warm peace. With trade flowing from Copperburg or Dalry and into the West Sea and on to Gares - or the reverse - both nations profit greatly from an almost entirely unchallenged trading corridor that has seen both nations prosper from their combined riches.
To the North-East lies the nation of Ladren and a much less friendly peace. While the Emperors going back several generations have had no need or desire to expand in that direction and have been quite content to let them get up to whatever debauchery they've wanted to get involved in, they have always been wary of the thirsts and hunger of their dark and twisted gods and maintain the mighty citadel at Tolonia as both a deterrent and an early warning system just in case one is needed. For now, though, trade flows smoothly from Ostaria, through Vavile and on to Cemos, with Motrein taking a sizable cut.
To the East, finally, lies the island republic of Ostaria and arguably Motrein's greatest ally. Without their trade ships, it is unlikely that the nation would be able to feed itself - and Ostaria knows this. By controlling a large portion of Motrein's food supply, they essentially hold the fate of Ladren in their hands. So while Motrein counts Ostaria as its greatest ally, that alliance is far from friendly.
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Capital
Demonym
Motreini
Leader
Leader Title
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Palace economy
Legislative Body
Judicial Body
Official State Religion
Subsidiary Organizations
Location
Related Ranks & Titles
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
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