Afiligua

The cost of care is great, not just the financial cost on the empire for the upkeep and care for their vast army of peasants turned soldiers, but also the emotional cost. The cost of caring deeply and truthfully for the wellbeing of the soldier in front of you, hand still clenching his sword, while his guts spill out into the sand or snow. The mental cost of trying to clean them up, sew them in. And the magical cost of life force as you seal the wound, feel the tightness of a blade across your own belly, and you send him out to fight once more.   The continent of Afiligua is so named for the nation which occupies the greatest swathe of land on its vast stretches. Once an empire born from a powerful monarch, Afiligua no longer holds the northern reaches of the continent but still holds considerable sway over the central and southern portions of the landmass. To the southwest of the continent is an autonomous island nation called [place name] with favorable relations with the High Kings of Afiligua. To the North of the centrally located nation is the United Tribes of Kaivasa, a democratic nation born from a violent rebellion against the lesser kings of Afiligua decent who had been placed as lords over the region by the Dread King [name]. In Afiligua, the High King [name] son of [someone] and decedent of Dread King [whatever] rules entirely over a centrally located kingdom referred to as [place name], wherein he has three castles which he moves his retinue between throughout the season, when he is not abroad in his Lesser Kings' courts. High King is responsible for naming heirs for each of the Lesser Kingdoms, wherein each Lesser King is responsible for assigning dukes to each county. The dukes pay tributes to the Lesser Kings according to current law, a rate which is adjusted every three years according to the budgetary concerns of the High King. Aesthetics and art are highly prized in Afiligua, and besides the traditional Magic of Care which has been so adeptly mastered by the Kaivasa to the North, Afiligua nobility in the central kingdoms are also privy to certain aesthetic magical practices whose secrets are highly coveted for their ability to glamor the subject of their work. Including the Central Kingdom of [place name], there are 9 kingdoms in Afiligua.   In the UTK you can divide the peoples into ethnic groups hailing from various indigenous tribesman which lived in either nomadic communities or walled settlements at the time the Dread King [name] conquered the region. When they were subjects under the High King of Afiligua, Kaivasa was divided into five regions each ruled by a Lesser King of Afiligua decent, chosen initially for their exceptional loyalty. In later years, Lesser Kings of Kaivasa were assigned as punishment to highly regarded and well stationed nobility who would be unable to travel as freely to the more decadent courts south of the [MOUNTAINS]. In the contemporary setting, the tribes are intermingled heavily and it is socially considered a misstep to heavily identify oneself with any individual tribe, as the culture values the shared traits of the various tribes and their unity through historical oppression. There are a number of remaining non-Kaivasan members of the nation, who have sworn their loyalty to the Scion of the UTK or otherwise proven themselves during the time of rebellion. However, they are generally viewed with suspicion for fear that their ethnic loyalties may sway them when faced with the brutal war effort. Afiligua nobility and scholars who remained in the UTK during the collapse of the monarchy persisted primarily to provide technical educational services to the Kaivasan people, for variable personal reasons. Afiligua instructors also trained the first Kaivasan students in the now-renamed Greater Chamber of Care and established the Minor Chambers throughout the burgeoning nation. When it came time to select an Atrial Leader, an Afiligua instructor by the name of [name] was selected. When he died in [year] he was replaced by the Authoka born [name].