Artorigan Empire
The Artorigan Empire is the largest and most powerul state in the known world. Occupying the northern half of the Vespertian continent, the empire has access to arguably the largest and best-trained military on the planet in the form of the Knights of Zenith, as well as the era-defining Airship technology, allowing the ability to tame even the very skies themselves.
The empire is incredibly nationalistic, militarised and convinced of their own righteousness as the "Liberators of the world", willing to uproot the whole western continent, maybe even entire world to achieve what they believe to be a moral imperative.
Culture
Artorigan citizens at all levels of society have a strong sense of nationalism that borders on xenophobia ingrained into their worldview, in part due to the highly revisionist "patriotic education" that's given to most citizens. They are utterly convinced of their nation's own righteousness and superiority, and of their status as the "liberators" of the world, and are openly hostile to those who don't believe the same, especially within the empire itself.
History
While the nation of Artoriga has existed for centuries, the declaration of The Artorigan Empire was a recent development on the geopolitical level, occuring only 20 years ago with the annexation of the Principality of Dannan. Before such a time, the once-named "Kingdom of Artoriga", beginning from what was once a collection of warrior-monks in the "Holy City of Albion", was a land founded on the virtues of chivalry and devotion to Zenith, with their first king: Artorigus I supposedly being granted Divine Right to rule by Zenith themself.
As time went on however, power was increasingly consolidated by each successive king and queen, taking power further out of the hands of lower-ranked regional nobles, and eventually even various dukes and duchesses. This process came to an end however, when King Gustave XIII passed the so-called "Articles of Federalism", granting more autonomy to the clergy, rich merchant families and lower-ranking lords through a new legislative body known as the Magisters' Council. This was done not only to make closer allies out of both the Church of Zenith and the emerging merchant class, but to galvinise support for war with both the neighbouring Principality of Dannan and the various city-states on the island of Benada: an utterly one-sided war in their favour that ended in mere months, in part due to their new Airship technology supplanting traditional logistics. The result of the war saw them completely annexing Dannan and installing a loyal vassal government in Benada.
With the subjugation of Dannan & Benada, Gustave declared an end to the old Kingdom of Artoriga, and in its place now stood the Artorigan Empire: a hyper-militarised industrial power set with the goal of "liberating" the entire western continent under their rule, maybe even the entire world. This also marked the beginnings of the so-called "Artorigan Golden Age", with the empire experiencing unprecidented prosperity. But until the drums of war begin to beat once again, few know if or when the Red Lion of the West will roar once again.
Territories
Artoriga is a nation that occupies the northern half of the western continent of Vespertia, bordering only their greatest rivals: The Kingdom of Saryonne, seperated by the Empire's Fort Mark & Fort Angus, and Saryonne's Fort Picard & Fort Jean. The land is heavily forested, though also contains a fairly-sized mountain range to the north, and many rolling hills and verdant fields throughout the middle and the south.
The northern mountains among the largest deposits of copper, tin, iron and coal in the world, which the Empire has used to its fullest extent via construction of great industrialised machines, such as the various Airship models Artoriga has become famous (or infamous) for.
In their possession is the famous Hindford Lighthouse, one of the handful of navigational landmarks for sailors in the western sea. Their hold on it essentially allows them to set up a naval blockade around the majority of Vespertia and shut down inter-continental trade.
About a third of their territory down south is conquered territory is the Dannan region, which was once the neighbouring Principality of Dannan. Now a conquered people, the Dannanese are resentful of their new rulers and resist the occupation at every turn, which has in turn led to their reputation as an "ungovernable people".
Their acquisition of the Dominion of Benada and the installation of their new puppet government has given the empire access to their entire island as a naval and airship base.
Military
The Artorigan military is among the largest, best-trained and best-equipped armies in the world. The very founding of what would become the Kingdom of Artoriga arguably began because of a group of warrior-monks that evolved into the group now known as the Knights of Zenith. Once, the knights were an elite group of soldiers made up of priests and nobles who served as an intermediary between the two estates, who's loyalty laid solely with the empire and to Zenith themself. Though nowadays, the knights serve as little more than mere bureaucrats, as their role has been slowly rendered obselete by a more modern army.
Due to the nation's recent industrial revolution, the adoption of firearms into the armed forces and the advent of the Airship, the imperial army has since adopted a stance of technological supremacy in order to stay ahead of their enemies, leading to a Combined Arms approach in warfare and supplanting their old cavalry focus for which they were once famous. The new bulk of the nation's military is now the Imperial Infantry Corps: a large, versatile and well-equipped unit of musketmen that can be quickly mobilised and deployed. This regiment of the army however isn't as well-trained as the other branched, on account of its lack of specialisation and its lower requirements for joining. Many of the Infantry Corps' number are peasants who joined to gain a degree of social mobility.
However, the Infantry Corps is often supplimented by the Imperial Cavalry Corps: mostly a unit of fast-moving shock troops meant to destabilise the enemy army, the Imperial Lancer Corps: a melee attack force that utilises pikemen and halberdiers, the Imperial Artillery Corps: a regiment of cannons and other larger guns to launch covering fire and act as support, and the Imperial Arcanist Corps: another support role comprised of mages who specialise in both attacking with offensive magic, as well as healing & augmenting their allies' capabilites. There used to be an Imperial Archer Corps, but it was since disbanded due to bows being considered obselete.
The Imperial Naval Corps is the name given to Artoriga's navy, which was once feared throughout the world as the mightiest navy to sail the seas and their crucial role in leading the invasion of Benada. The emphasis on their navy however has significantly lessened in favour of airship development, and thus the Naval Corps, while still formidable in its own right, is now a shell of its former self. Nowadays, they mostly serve to patrol the Benadan coastline against any inevitable invasion.
However, the new cornerstone of the empire's military might are undoubtedly the Imperial Airship Corps, who have essentially negated the consideration for traditional logistics with their ability to soar over fortifications and cities with ease and unleash fire & fury upon a target. However, the corps is the most expensive to maintain, with many economists suggesting they be considerably downscaled or even abolished to prevent an economic crisis
Despite the Artorigan war machine seeming nigh-invincible to the outside world, there exists a plethora of inter-service rivalry and competition for resources within the ranks. The Infantry and Airship Corps in particular draw the ire of all the others; the former due to the stigma of being seen as an unprofessional and lower-class army, and the latter for the favouritism and disproportionate funding they receive from the Magister's Council. The Knights of Zenith in particular are resentful of being relegated to the role of pencil-pushers and removed of their percieved role as the sacred protectors of Artoriga and the Emperor. These tensions have been kept to a minimum for now, though some fear the rifts between the various corps may spill over in a destructive way.
Technological Level
The Empire is ahead of the world technologically in many ways. Through the mining of coal and the creation of steam-powered machines, Artoriga has entered an age of technology and industrialism. Breakthroughs in medical technologies have lead to the lifespans of Artorigan citizens expanded greatly, and their energy reserves can power the more affluent cities.
That said, the majority of research and development is put towards the military for experimental weapons. This has lead to the creation, and later mass-production of firearms to such a degree that they have for the most part supplanted swords, spears and lances as the primary weapon for their elite soldiers.
However, the undeniable symbol of the Empire's technological advancement is easily the Airship. Airships are aerial vehicles marking mortals' first step to overcoming the impossible, ranging from mere skybound cargo and passenger ships to veritable flying fortresses equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry to fire on their targets. The very sight of the iron behemoths in the sky has now become synonymous with the Artorigan Empire as a whole, and a symbol of national pride for imperial citizens.
Religion
The Artorigan Empire is arguably the birthplace of the modern Zenithian faith, as the city of Albion was built on one of the first holy sites to Zenith ever built outside of Aurelis. Centuries on, and Zenithism has not left the hearts or minds of the Artorigan people. The Church of Zenith holds some sway in the Magisters' Council as one of the three estates represented, and holds significant social power regardless of legistlation.
Members of other faiths, particularly Adventists, are actively persecuted within the empire as witches, heretics, false prophets and enemies of the state by the Scarlet Inquisition, and are actively reviled within imperial society.
Foreign Relations
The Artorigan Empire has essentially burned its bridges with the entire world not only with its hyper-militaristic foreign policy, but its unprovoked war against both the Principality of Dannan and the Benadan city-states, as well as their bold declaration to the world that their people shall be "liberated from foreign tyranny".
The neighbouring Kingdom of Saryonne in particular is none too pleased with their new expansionist neighbour to the north, and has heavily fortified the border with anti-airship weaponry created from reverse-engineered Artorigan technology. Not exactly helping matters is the long-standing bad blood between the Artorigan imperial family and the Saryonnese royal family that stretches back centuries.
Agriculture & Industry
Artoriga is the undisputed industrial power of the world. Due to their natural reserves of copper, tin, steel and coal, the empire was able to enter an industrial revolution before the rest of the world, creating various steam-powered machines to power their cities and fuel the Empire's ever-growing war engine.
The majority of Artoriga's mainland agriculture is done around the centres of Overleigh, Westham & Ft. Langlea, where the harvests often bring in wheat, grain, lettuce, carrots, grapes, apples and the one-of-a-kind Flintfruit, named so for its black colouring and found only in Artoriga. Cattle and sheep are also common around the empire, and are the most commonly domesticated animals on farms.
That said, the empire has a thriving maritime industry. Their largest port city: Port Elizabeth has been given the unofficial title of "The Salmon Capital of the World" due to their almost constant influx of sea salmon.
The annexation of Dannan however granted Artoriga far more food to harvest, such as potatoes, cabbage and chickens. That said, the empire has had difficulty accessing a lot of these new crops on account of Dannanese rebels still causing issues with the occupation.
Trade & Transport
Most produce, items or equipment that are sold in the Empire (and all that are sold legally) are made, grown or produced locally, and are distributed to (or from) various urban centres from/to the capital via carriage, sea or sometimes cargo-class airship. They are then sent to local towns and villages via the many roads connecting the land.
Education
While the upper and middle classes often recieve a full education, most of the lower class are lucky to even be educated past basic literacy and arithmatic, particularly in villages, towns and smaller cities. A constant however, is that Artorigans are always given a so-called "patriotic education": a heavily censored and often contradictory version of the world's history that warps events to suit the empire's image and political ambitions.
All for Artoriga, Artoriga for all
Founding Date
50 HA (Holy City of Albion), 431 HA (Kingdom of Artoriga), 1227 HA (Artorigan Empire)
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Capital
Alternative Names
The Empire
Demonym
Artorigan
Leader
Leader Title
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Monarchy, Constitutional
Power Structure
Federation
Economic System
Traditional
Currency
Artoriga uses the globally-recognised Gold Standard coins. Each denomination descending from Platinum, to Gold, to Silver to Copper.
Major Imports
All foreign imports towards the Artorigan Empire have been prohibited without exception on account of Artoriga's aggressive stance on its foreign policy All this has done however has lead to a thriving black market of food and goods from distant lands in every major city. For the most part the authorities turn a blind eye, but occasionally intervene if they find anything that they feel threatens imperial rule.
Legislative Body
The official legislative body is a constitutional parliament known as the Magisters' Council: a collection of representatives known as Magisters from the three estates: the Nobility, the Clergy and the Merchantry where policies regarding the empire are voted on. Each Magister is required to own land in some capacity to be represented on the council. Leading the Council is the Lord-Protector: a role currently held by the influential, ambitious and ill-liked Duke Albus von Balaam.
Another facet of the Council is the role of the Inner Council, where important and confidential decisions are made behind closed doors between the Emperor, the Lord-Protector, the Lord-Commander of the Knights of Zenith, the chiefs of all the Imperial Corps, the Archbishop of the Church of Zenith, the imperial spymaster and the heads of some of the most esteemed merchant families. Few know of what occurs at their meetings, however.
Executive Body
The interpretors and executors of Artorigan law are the military police unit known as the Scarlet Inquisition. Identifyable by their signature red hats and capes, Inquisitors are all given the mission to track down and arrest notable criminals and enemies of the state alike, as well as the legal authority to sentence them on the spot without trial. In other less intense matters, the Inquisition handles legal cases and disutes in a longer proceeding, with the defendant guilty until proven innocent in most cases. Each group of Inquisitors is lead by a Chief Inquisitor, who is not only senior in rank, but often stronger and trained in some basic magic.
Official State Religion
Related Ranks & Titles
Controlled Territories
Notable Members
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