Karse

Karse neighbors include Valdemar and Hardorn in the north, Rethwellan in the west, and Seejay and Jkatha in the south. The capital is Sunhame. Although it has a royal family, it is mainly ruled by the Sunpriests.
Karse is considered a tough country, with rocky soil and dangerous terrain. The kingdom is plagued by demons summoned by the Sunpriests at night.

Structure

Although there is a King of Karse, the King is described as being a person who is little more than an impotent figure who does not rule so much as preside over a do-nothing court of wealthy aristocrats and would-be aristocrats who had nothing better to do than vie for positioning amongst themselves. The Royal Court is described as being "little better than an elaborate social club."
The true rule of Karse is a theocracy, the Son of the Sun is the ranking theological official of the followers of V’kandis Sunlord, which is the state religion in Karse, and all of the powers of government belong to the Son of the Sun and their Sunpriests.
The Son of the Sun is chosen out of the ranks of the upper echelon of the current priesthood, and the new Son of the Sun is allegedly selected by the hand of the deity Vkandis Sunlord, himself. The priesthood is also one of the only high-ranking positions that women of Karse are able to aspire to, though it is still uncommon in the patriarchal society.

Demography and Population

The population of Karse is exclusively a mix of humans and tieflings.
Once the power structure became corrupt, those of other races who could escape the kingdom did so and those who were unable to were eventually culled from the population.

Military

The Karsite army is called the Sunsguard.
The life of an officer of the Karsite military is spent half in defeating the enemies of Karse, and half in watching his own back, and it is clarified that officers in the Karsite military are chosen by a Voice of Vkandis Sunlord, these being Sunpriests part of whose duty is to find suitable officers. It is believed that one must be trained to be an officer to ever be allowed the rank of an officer, and as such, the Voices look for exclusively-male children who are “quick of mind” and “strong of body,” to be schooled into officers.
It is believed that the average conscript is unable to be trusted, and as such officers are never drawn from the ranks of the conscripted men, because the belief is that they would abuse the authority of an officer’s rank, if they were given to the opportunity to do so. It is also specified that an even half of chosen officers are legally required to be lowborn, so that they would be “appropriately grateful” to the Voices for the opportunity to rise in rank and station.
Military law strictly forbids any ordinary fighter from marriage on the grounds it would constitute a distraction, though they are permitted to make use of prostitutes; conversely, only Karsite officers may be legally married. In the period when Karse is ruled by corrupt priesthood, pairings of two of similar gender are described as “not to be thought of,” but far commoner than the Sunpriests of the time admitted. Prostitution is preached against strictly, but is still permitted.
Furthermore, in Karsite society, the roles of females in Karse are very clearly defined and those roles do not include fighters, under any circumstances.

Foreign Relations

Karse is a land plagued by hatred--especially towards magic and those who use it. It has been a long practiced tradition that those wielding any sort of magic, including Gifts, were burned by the Sunpriests in the name of their deity, Vkandis. Subsequently, it has been at war on and off with Valdemar since King Randale's time.

Type

Geopolitical, Kingdom

Capital

Sunhame

Demonym

Karsite

Ruling Organization

Sunpriests

Leader Title

Son of the Sun

Government System

Theocracy

Power Structure

Feudal state

Economic System

Traditional