Genoa

Foreword: To be clear, the Genoan tribesmen have only allowed another Old Blood such as myself to enter their society temporarily on the account of Temple-Genoan treatise warrant. Do not expect your experience, should you attempt to enter without official reason, to be any better than my own.

Structure

In the past, there have been many attempts to hold other kinds of government, although each one has lasted a century at longest among Genoan society. Instead, for the last three hundred years they have instead held to a democratic society, if one could call it that. Here, among each clan the common folk gather once every two years to vote for the representative of their clan. Each of the twelve clan have said representative then stay at the the town now known as the Elder's Heart. From here, the twelve representatives, known as Envoys, vote on matters related to Genoa in general. Meanwhile, in domestic matters for each tribe, the entirety of the clan votes at the ruling settlement whenever a new issue is brought to light.

Assets

• Manalith capabilities.
• Several other Blooded kinds.
• The Great Wall.

History

The following Early History, Post Banishment, Year of Blood and Post Year of Blood is taken from a Temple priory teaching manuscript, created in 1031 P.B.

Early History

Before the Banishment, Genoans, then called the Patricians, ruled primarily within the Sun Basin for hundreds of yearss subjecting the other Bloods to their wills. The Patricians were the natural occult enemy of the Sleeping Ones, who at the time lived alongside the Titans in the outer lands. As the Titans rebelled against the Sleeping Ones, the Patricians sided with the Titans. In response, the Sleeping Ones created the Eternals. With the aid of the other Bloods and the Eternals, the Patrician capital of Ueland was ransacked and destroyed. Following this, the remaining Patricians were driven to the northern lands of Highsun, up the frozen coast of Hyborea. As the Titan's were Banished to Cevaria and Hek, the Eternals called upon the Blooded to spare the 'Genoans', which in Divine stands for 'spared'.

Post Banishment

Shortly after being spared by the Blooded and Eternals, the Patricians, now known as Genoans, settled around the north western most of Hyborea. The frigid environment proved to be problematic, reducing their initial numbers further. However, by the 2 P.B., they organized into what is now known as Genoa. Though much smaller at the time, the country was divided into fourteen surviving noble families and their Genoan affiliated survivors. These twelve families are now the twelve clans that rule the Genoan area.

The first major task Genoa set itself on was the first manalith in 18 P.B., an object that would soon determine it to be a powerful heretical power. The objects were built using what is now believed to be Patrician technology and rituals. Built in 20 P.B., the object's purpose was to disable all types of magic, including creature based magics, killing within hours all creatures that were not of pure Patrician descent that contained large amounts of magical and divine energies. Several of these objects have been built in the years since.

After the creation of this first object, Saint Dylun in 31 P.B. upheld a negotiation between Genoa and the collective Realms. The negotatians were held between the Temple, representatives from each Realm and Genoan leaders. After several weeks, all parties agreed that every dozen years, a parcel of land would be granted to Genoa so that it would expand further. However, Genoans could never leave the land and only Genoa-chosen Temple affiliates could enter. In addition to this, Genoan manaliths would not affect areas outside given Genoa land and there would never be any considerably sized conflicts held against, for or with Genoa and other nations or the Temple. This treaty became known as the Armistice of Ages. Since then, all Genoan and Patrician records have been kept within each clan leader's keeping and as of now somewhere within the Elder's Heart.

Most records outside of Genoa do not tell much of what has happened in the nearly one thousand years since its founding. Those that do are far and few in between and not liable to be true. What is known is that several conflicts have happened within its grounds, and several times the Armistice has suddenly almost broken, but those events were minor in retrospect. Not since the Blood Year has much news come to or from this most northwestern land.

Year of Blood

Only within the last nearly fifty years has Genoa opened itself up to outsiders, and not by choice. The entry of demons into nearly all parts of all Realms except for Genoa drew many suspicions. Not only this, but tens of thousands tried to enter the walled country, many of which, if not found and escorted out soon, fell into a comatose state and died on Genoan soil. The literal inability to accept foreigners into its fold without destroying monuments integral to their heretical beliefs and traditions drew an incredible amount of tension between the Temple, other nations and Genoa. For this first time in over a century, the Armistice of Ages was on the verge of breaking. However, a dozen Ranger lodges were moved to the Hyborean/Verdentia and Hyborean/Lanavar borders as well as to Corolis itself. Accordingly, this movement of arms to these integral locations as well as the demonic inability to tolerate cold weather and the closing of the Year of Blood are the main points as to why the Armistice held.

Post Year of Blood

The numbers are still unclear on how many died due to the Genoan inability to let other Bloods in. Tensions are still incredibly uneasy between Genoans and outsiders, especially those within neighboring countries, such as New Yothane, which was reformed and founded largely in part of the Genoan unwillingness to destroy their manaliths. However, despite their inability and unwillingness to accept those that are now referred to as Old Bloods, the country has been known to allow some False Bloods and New Bloods past their borders.

Demography and Population

At one point there were fourteen clans of Patricians within Genoa. However, due to lost records the exact happenings of the thirteenth and fourteenth clans are not known to outsiders. However, old tales that have since spread from Genoans to New Bloods and then to outsiders, it goes that the thirteenth clan was assimilated into another due to plague and famine sometime around 200 P.B.. The fourteenth clan, as it goes, rebelled against the then twelve other clans and a short conflict ensued, which in turn left the fourteenth either assimilated, imprisoned or dead. According to Temple statistics, for every twenty five Genoans there is one other kind of Blood living within the Genoan territory. According to statistics taken in 1024 P.B., the Genoan populace is above 3,000 with nearly 450 other Blooded individuals living within Genoa.

Technological Level

As it appears, most of Genoa, contrary to their initial use of magic over a thousand years ago, has reverted to a kind of tribalism. While they can still forge decent metal items and even steel, Genoans still use relatively ancient boats and systems of obtaining food. Items created using metal are often no larger than short swords, meaning their armors border on riveted metal. Infrastructure relies largely on mud bricks, thatch and log cabins if not fortified tents. Because of these factors and more, Genoa still remains after a thousand years, perhaps the most willingly ancient society within Highsun.

Agriculture & Industry

Agriculture and Trade

It is well known to nearby states that Genoa's primary food source are its hunting and fishing grounds. A part of the Armistice concluded that Genoa could not trade with other official countries, but made no mention of merchants or noble families. Because of this, the majority of trade that goes on between Genoa and other parties is that of fishermen and farmers along the Genoan border.

Industry

Industry within Genoa as of recently has boiled down to what it has always been; survival. Most of the tools produced are on a local scale and the general unwillingness to use magic and being bound to the corner of the world makes it so that surviving on the fringe is a struggle. Because of this, most items produced are tools, textiles and other similar items that either used day to day or that of which is used to support infrastructure. What Genoa cannot achieve through their own means however is likely to come from merchants granted passage just beyond the border, allowing for quick trade with societal leaders and those who wish to meet them at the edge of their own society.

As seen above, Genoa can be found as the most northwestern rectangular (perhaps unintentionally phallic shaped) red color coded country on this particular map. In relation to it, New Yothane is the light blue nation directly east of it, Kol'Einith as the orange nation south east of Genoa and the Empire as purple, west of it.

Founding Date

2 P.B.

Type

Geopolitical, Country

Capital

Elder's Heart

Training Level

Levy

Veterancy Level

Trained

Demonym

Genoan

Government System

Democracy, Representative

Power Structure

Federation

Economic System

Market economy

Currency

Accordingly, of the last one thousand years Genoans have had a mixture of bartering and metal coins officially known as 'gripa'. These small items are about the size of a thumbnail each, with the face of their own pagan gods on each coin on one side, and the symbol of the clan from whence the coin was minted on the other side. Gripa itself is made of copper. For when one lacks gripa but has other items of worth, as many Genoan commoners do as gripa is largely held by more wealthy parties, they instead may barter one item for another.

Location

Elder's Heart

Official Languages

• Old Tongue

Neighboring Nations

• Empyrean Empire
• Kol'Einith
• New Yothane