Dotskish Empire

Culture

It is very similar to Scandinavian culture, and it has a great warrior tradition, and the people are zealots of their Gods, though their traditional Gods were abandoned long ago. One of the things the Wetsnkish rebellion is pushing for is the restoration of the old gods. Kord was the primary deity, as he rules over their afterlife realm of Ysgard, where he sits in the Hall of Valor. The Dotskish people refer to him as Ysmir. Tempus is another one of these gods and is often referred to as the Champion of Ysmir.

History

Originally colonized 7500 years ago, the Dotskish Empire is the oldest Eastern nation. It slowly expanded from the new town of Dotsk and into the surrounding areas, and spread from the Goliath river to the Fae ocean, and the Goliath Mountains and the Southern Mountains, as a series of small trading villages. After 900 years of colonization, Dotsk broke free and became a confederation of Jarls, who convened at a moot and elected 1 of them to be a High King. This governance led to many civil wars throughout the years, and they slowly expanded throughout the Western regions of Vaplall. 5000 years of slow expansion leads to almost modern-day borders.  Contact is established with the neighboring nations, the Mirian Empire and the Khallidian Empire. After 600 years, the great war breaks out over Halfling's enslavement in the Mirian Empire. The Khallidian Empire and the Halflings join a coalition to help the Dotskish Empire defeat them, and fighting was mostly in the Dotskish Empire, and during a battle, the High-King was slain. This plunged the Jarls into chaos, as the region was too unstable to form a moot, and the realm fell to civil war, during which the Mirians invaded most of the East, and began to threaten the capital. Then the Jarl of Dotsk died, and his successor was a military genius. With his smaller force, he broke the siege of the city and routed the Mirians at the battle of Dotsk, and swiftly conquered the other jarls. He undid the historic system of a confederation and reduced the jarls power to that of a governor. He commanded his armies personally and defeated the Mirians decisively at the battle of Kosj, forcing them to retreat through the swamp, where many guerilla fighters that he had bought were waiting, who devastated the Mirian forces, and the Mirians sued for peace. The halfling slaves were liberated, and the gnomes and halfling settlements in their lands were given freedom. After this war, a system was set up where the High-King, now Fuhrer of Dotsk would rule absolutely. When he died, his general would replace him as Fuhrer. This system lasted for 900 years, until the jarl of Wetnsk rose up against the Fuhrer, and most of the jarls sided with him. He raised his armies and began the Dotskish Civil War.

Demography and Population

In the east, though 70% of the population is human, the other 30% is divided like this: 15% Halfling, 10% gnome, 2% firbolg, 1% goliath, 2% other assorted races. In the western half of the empire, 70% of the population is still human. However a few dwarves sailed over from the east, so 5% of the population is dwarvish, and they even have their own district in the capital. Another 5% is goliaths who decided to move into more civilized lands, instead of the savagery of their home in the north. The other 20% is a large assortment of different races. In Dotsk and the other loyalist settlements, most other races are discriminated against. The most prominent victims of this discrimination are the Elves, who are distrusted as conquerers because their nations are generally more powerful than human nations, the Dragonfolk, who are seen as disgusting animalistic beasts who don't deserve rights, and the Tabaxi, who are seen as distrustful conmen.

Territories

They own the western parts of Vaplall. They own about a third of the coast of the fae sea, and to the south they control part of the Khalidian bay. Their central lands have the great Kosjish Hills, and also the sea of Wetsk, as well as the Goliath river, which gets its name for 2 reasons. First because it is so large, you cannot see across it in some places, and also because it flows from the goliath mountains in the north, and ends in the Khalliarian Mountains, draining into the bay of Pasha. They control land up to the Lighfoot forest, where they lose control. In the northwest, they control 1 part of the Goliath mountains, the Goliath Pass, which is the spot where the Goliath River cuts through the Goliath pass. They also control a small colony up there, on the inland sea of Shemor.

Military

At the bottom: untrained volunteers, typically from the smaller villages. In total, only about 40 of these exist in the empire.  At the middle: Highly skilled warriors levied from cities. The Dotskish empire has about 2500 highly trained warriors.  At the top: Commanders. These leaders hail from military colleges. They were educated in the ways of combat and tactics. They lead the armies and train the troops. Though there are very few of them. There are only 4 commanders in total.  (note the empire can levy a much higher number of troops by using the draft, drafting 1 in every 5 citizens, to levy a total army size of about 10400 people.)

Religion

Mostly human gods, as that is the primary population. To be specific, they follow only one dualistic religion called the Church of Dotsk. It has 2 gods. Bane, representing all that is evil in the world, though he is not condemned, as he is the one who keeps the church and the nation in order. Paladine is all that is good, and she is what unites their people and protects them. Clerics hailing from Dotsk should pick either the War or Order domains. Paladins could be oath of the Crown, Devotion, Conquest or Vengeance. All other religions are forbidden to be publicly worshipped. The only place halflings, dwarves, firbolgs and goliaths can honor their gods is in private districts that are dedicated to their people. They are represented with extreme power. The leader of the clergy, and the most prominent cleric of Mares is given a seat on the council, and even has a say in what laws are passed and who gets jobs.

Foreign Relations

Though there are few other nations they interact with, 2 of them have an immense distrust with them. The Khalliarian Empire to the south do not like them. This is due to an alliance made between the Dotskish Empire and the small nation of Khalid, who felt threatened by The Khalliarian Empire and made an alliance with them. The other major nation is the eastern empire of the Milian Empire. They have had major conflicts in the past, when the Milian Empire controlled the entire northern part of the continent except the coasts, but the Dotskish Empire actually won the war and kicked them out. They have had many wars, where they fought all the way to the central sea. This is when the Dotskish empire freed the enslaved halflings, who now live as nomads and sometimes move into human cities. Since then, the Dotskish Empire is much less free. And finally they have their relations with the 2 halfling nations. Ghostwise and Yondalla. The Ghostwise like them but do not have a formal alliance, while Yondalla is neutral on them. And to the north there is gnomes but nobody actually knows they exist.

Agriculture & Industry

Agriculture is prominent in the southwest, in between the capital and the hills, and near the city of Wetsk, where they are on the river and can easily farm many crops. The crops are mostly grain, such as wheat, oats, and barley. In the hills in the East, there are many ranches that are dependent on crop harvest in The Western region. They raise pigs, cows, sheep, and goats. Some horses are bred, but they lack speed. However, these horses are unusually strong and have a lot of stamina.  Industry includes very prominent fur making in the southeast, which is why there is a village there, and in the northwest, in the colony, they mine marble. The smithing industry is also the best industry in this area, with many exceptional blacksmiths who are known for making heavy weapons but light armor, which is how most of the people fight. They also are skilled in the crafting of shields and light weapons, though these weapons are lower quality, and fewer elite warriors fight like this.

Trade & Transport

Trade routes are odd for the nation. The colony in the north exports marble down the goliath river, into the city of Wentsk, and there it is exported westwards, where it finds the capital, and is then exported south to Khalid, or far east to the Seldarin, and sometimes even farther east to the Anderranian Empire. To get supplies back to the colony, they must sail all the way around the peninsula it is on and deliver the supplies. In the south east, the village of Kosj exports its furs north, where the furs are made into luxury clothing. Some of this is purchased in the city, and some of it is again exported west to the capital where more of it is purchased, and some of it is traded away. Supplies to Kosj are easy, as Wentsk just sails supplies down the Goliath River.

Education

Most people are taught basic warfare and combat abilities, as well as basic arithmetic and sciences. Those seeking advanced education must attend one of the 2 military academies in the nation. In the capital is the University of Bane, which doubles as a religious college, and is the path to priesthood or the Advanced School of War Tactics and Combat in the city of Wetnsk. This one is primarily for combat.

Infrastructure

They have a basic road network to get from the two cities in their empire, otherwise there is little roads. Sewage from the non capital is mostly sent down the goliath river because they dont like Khalliarian empire. Though in the capital it is sent out to sea. There are 2 great fortresses in the 2 great cities, and a single palace in the hills. They have a bridge across the shorter parts of the Goliath River. There 2 cities are surrounded by walls, about 4 layers each. The villages only have palisades.

Type

Geopolitical, Empire

Government System

Dictatorship

Power Structure

Unitary state

Economic System

Market economy

Currency

Standard currency, although electrum is considered to be unusable

Major Imports

They trade gems from Khalid into the capital. It is usually already made into jewelry, where it is purchased or traded east, to Wetnsk, where more of it is purchased. They also import rare fruits from the Seldarin Jungle, in exchange for marbles and furs. These are then sent to the capital, and the same thing happens except some of the fruit sometimes is traded to villages as supplies. Rarely they import gold from the east, which is then minted in the capital into money.

Legislative Body

The single dictator(known as fuhrer) who seized control of the nation writes all the rules and has complete power. Although they do not have any direct control, he has a few ministers as well.  The minister of the state The minister of the treasury The minister of the Army, who typically takes power  Nobles from each of the official cities and towns, about 3 total. Though they are mostly figureheads who hold hereditary positions, they are important nonetheless. The jarls. the jarls lead their respective settlements, and there are 6 of these. In a jarls court, there is a Steward, who manages the finances of the city and the sale of properties. There is the court wizard, who is a scholar and stores the cities knowledge. There is the thane, who is a trusted member of the community who acts as a general of the jarl's army, and finally there is the Housecarl, who acts as the bodyguard of the jarl and is an elite warrior.

Judicial Body

The fuhrer appoints judges across the lands. He does involve himself in some high level cases, but mostly passes that off to other noblemen who usually pay to get the position, as is the case with many government jobs.

Executive Body

The guards

Controlled Territories

• Celestial Portal
• Goliath Mountains

Neighboring Nations

• Khalid
• Milian Empire