Thaspier
Thaspier is a thriving nation on the Southeastern quadrant of the continent sharing a border with the Republic of
Soaring to the Northwest and Bostrum to the Northeast. The nation enjoys the benefits of a thriving magical community that is responsible for many of the advances in arcane the arcane sciences, most of which are developed in its Southernmost city, Vantam. Advances in arcane study have raised the average standard of living for citizens by making it possible to engineer magical solutions to common problems faced by other nations. It has also made them a military powerhouse in the region.
Structure
The country is ruled by a monarchist government and council of nobles. However, the crown is not inherited power. Regents are elected for lifetime leadership from among the noble houses. By law, anyone can be elected to the throne, but no one outside the nobility has ever worn the crown. Successors cannot be chosen from the family of the current regent, though families may nominate candidates for future terms. This discourages inter-family marriage among nobility and encourages them to bring up growing houses through marriage to keep themselves separated enough from one another to contend for the throne.
Assets
Mythricite makes up a vast amount of the nation's wealth, however, the nation is rich in iron, silver, and copper as well.
History
Throughout much of Thaspier’s history, surrounding nations paid it little mind. Most of the land was considered worthless wasteland. However, the country is now considered one of the most flourishing powers in the region. The main source of Thaspier’s changing fortunes are rich deposits of a rare, magically active ore called
Mythricite mined from the mountain range in the Southern region of the country. The royal army of Thaspier launched a long campaign known as The Draconic Purge to hunt and exterminate the huge drake population that infested the mountains. Once the area was tamed, mining operations began in earnest, and this changed life in Thaspier almost overnight. The nature of the ore was a closely guarded secret for much of Thaspier’s developing history, only in recent decades becoming de-classified knowledge. It has generated massive trading opportunities with neighboring states who were surprised to discover that Thaspier was not some expanse of worthless desert. Because Thaspier was careful to keep their wealth hidden long enough to develop superior defenses, anyone with their hearts set on obtaining the ore has found diplomacy and commerce to be far more palatable strategies than conquest.
Military
The Royal Army of Thaspier is small compared to some of those of neighboring nations, but they are backed by war-mages and magical weaponry that make them the most advanced fighting force in the region.
A modest navy patrols the
Gulf of Soldaan and keeps trade routes protected from pirates and dangerous creatures of the deep.
Religion
The most prominently worshipped gods are
Yamin'Ka and Serene.
Foreign Relations
Thaspier spent much of its history being ignored by surrounding nations with richer resources and more fertile territory. Though it was small and relatively weak, none of the neighboring states wanted the stretches of wasteland and so they let it alone.
Thaspier's relative anonymity served as a cloak, allowing the nation to develop quickly and quietly after the discovery of Mythricite. By the time anyone realized how valuable the small nation was, Thaspier had developed cutting edge magic weaponry and defenses that no one in the world knew how to counter.
Rather than wielding this newfound power like a club to expand in power and influence, Thaspier offered to trade mythricite to other nations in order to make up for its own lack of other valuable resources. By becoming a vital source of this material to many powerful nations equally, Thaspier has become a central part of the entire region's stability. No one nation would dare attack Thaspier, for all other nations would come to her aid in order to prevent a rival from taking over the only supply of Mythricite in the known world. So long as Thaspier keeps a balance of trade among her neighbors, she remains safe from invasion despite the extreme value of her resources.
Agriculture & Industry
The industry of Thaspier is magic. Mythricite refineries prepare the mineral for trade, and for use in the production of magical trade goods. Wands, scrolls, potions, magic weaponry, and other such items can be produced much more cheaply thanks to the abundance of mythricite and the cutting-edge arcane knowledge of Thaspierian spellcasters.
Large sections of Thaspierian territory have undergone a long and intense process of arcane terraformation to create fertile lands from barren wastes. This has made Thaspier largely self-sufficient for food, though they don't typically generate enough surplus to export produce.
The
Gulf of Soldaan on the Southern border provides a healthy salt-water fishing industry and a serves as a valuable port for trade vessels and naval development.
Education
Citizens of Thaspier are entitled to a basic education but it is not compulsory. It is common for urban populations to have nearly universal literacy rates.
Ours to Shape
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Demonym
Thaspierian
Leader
Head of State
Government System
Monarchy, Elective
Power Structure
Autonomous area
Economic System
Mixed economy
Currency
Gold Scales
Silver Talons
Major Exports
Mythricite, Granite, Iron, Fish, Salt
Major Imports
Grain, Copper, Wood, Fruits, Vegetables
Judicial Body
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
Comments