Astraya
Astraya is the easternmost kingdom in Koplesh. The government here is more of a Dictatorship or Militocracy than anything else. While not inherently hostile, they do not make allies easily and certainly come across as more than a little standoffish. Despite being a dictatorship, most citizens don’t fear or loathe their ruler, rather, many honestly see her as a benevolent ruler. Astraya is small, yet the most aggressive of the human kingdoms.
Structure
Astraya is a Dictatorial Militocracy ruled by a High Chancellor. Various structures of bureaucracy exist beneath the High Chancellor, each with their own limited authority, to carry out the governmental needs of the kingdom. While these structures may become bloated and occasionally inefficient or corrupt, as a whole the structure of Astraya is rather orderly.
Large cities are governed by a chancellor who oversees the entirety of the city. Even smaller villages will have a governor to oversee the village. These chancellors and governors act more as glorified secretaries with a modicum of power than as individual automatous units.
While theoretically Astraya's laws allow for certain bureaucratic councils to overrule and even overthrow the High Chancellor, in practice, the High Chancellor, being the ultimate militaristic authority, has supreme rule. In fact, no High Chancellor has been overthrown this way since the kingdom's inception.
Additionally, Astraya has two capitol cities, Reikard and Scorn. Scorn serves as the center of the kingdom's militaristic might, while Reikard serves as the more traditional cultural and economic capitol city of Astraya.
Major Settlements
- Prita
- Reikard
- Scorn
- Tey
Demography and Population
Astraya is made up almost entirely of humans, the vast majority of which are Astrayan, though other ethnicities of humans have full citizenship here as well. Dwarves make up the largest population of minority races within Astraya, and it's not terribly uncommon to see a few members of other races throughout the kingdom as well, especially in the larger cities. While no laws or official practices explicitly state that non-humans are inferior to humans, many non-humans may find themselves being somewhat looked down upon within Astraya. This isn't to say that all Astrayans are racist towards non-humans, but they typically view humans as supreme, with dwarves slightly below, followed by other races. That said, Astrayan citizens typically do not look down on orcs, drow, and other typically "violent" races the way other humans might.
Territories
The territory of Astraya stretches from Tey in the north down to Prita in the south, bordering the Kyfnor Wall. This makes Astraya the easternmost human kingdom in Koplesh, running along the eastern coast of the continent.
The majority of Astraya is fairly hilly, with a number of river jutting off. There is forested land here and there, but nothing so substantial as the Otravia forest in the west. The hills give way to massive mountains in the kingdom of Geldor to the north.
Finally, Astraya is notable for the Astraya Prison, a city-sized prison kept for criminals, both foreign and domestic. The prison was founded centuries ago when the then High Chancellor decided it would be best to have one central prison, rather than keeping prisoners in each city.
Military
Astraya's military might is surpassed by none. Unlike many other kingdoms, the High Chancellor herself serves as the highest ranking general, commanding the military herself. While her orders are carried out by various generals under her command, she is the top level commander for military action throughout the kingdom without any other sort of overarching military commander underneath her.
Astraya's military is usually among the first to adopt technological advances in the realm of waging war. Their siege equipment for both defense and assault are unparalleled, having been on the forefront of ballista, catapult, and trebuchet technologies, as well as among the first to adopt gunpowder and explosives for militaristic purposes. This innovation extends beyond technology and into military tactics as well. While many other kingdoms employ professional soldiers utilizing formations and strategies, the Astrayans have perfected certain militaristic techniques and strategies, such as flanking movements, phalanx type formations, etc. which give them the upper hand in most combat encounters.
Finally, the Astraya Prison doubles as the foremost military academy throughout Ebreon. Exclusive to Astrayan officers, the foremost techniques and strategies are developed, perfected, and instructed here. The never-ending supply of forced "volunteers" for experimental tactics in war games found within the prison makes it unparalleled in the realm of hands on development of advanced military strategies.
All this combined makes Astraya a force to be reckoned with. Throughout the hundreds of years of Astraya's history, they have never lost a war, and have slowly but steadily advanced their borders.
Religion
Astrayans worship the gambit of the human pantheon of gods, however, a few are more prominent throughout the kingdom than others. The most common deities whose temples and other places of worship can be found throughout Astraya are listed below.
Foreign Relations
Astraya's diplomatic language is that of militaristic might. While the smallest of the human kingdoms, only a fool would willingly engage in warfare with Astraya, especially on their home turf. For this reason, many other kingdoms have a negative view of Astraya, but the kingdom is still strong diplomatically due to being able to bully other nations around a bit.
The majority of Astraya's foreign relations deal with the kingdoms that border her lands. These players and their relationships are listed below. Geldor Despite being immediate neighbors, Astraya has rather favorable relations with Geldor, the dwarven kingdom to the north. Astraya heavily relies on Geldor's craftsmen and enchanters to keep their sizeable military well equipped. As such, it benefits neither side to weaken the other. The dwarves typically keep to themselves, which suits Astraya just fine. Kyfnor Like Geldor to the north, Kyfnor, the high elven kingdom to the south beyond the Kyfnor Wall, likes to keep to themselves, staying out of the affairs of the rest of the world, which suits Astraya just fine. As such, Astraya and Kyfnor usually get along just fine, in that they ignore each other most of the time. However, Astraya has perodically grown rather jealous of Kyfnor's accomplishments, and rather indignant that they can simply hide behind their wall. Astrayans secretly (or perhaps not so secretly) believe themselves to one day be the great people who breach the Kyfnor wall and subjugate those behind it. Otravia Otravia sadly struggles the most from being Astraya's neighbor. Unlike Geldor, Astraya has no interest in a strong Otravia. Nor does Otravia have the privilege of a massive wall as protection along the Astrayan border. As such, Otravia is the perfect natural outlet for Astraya's natural aggressiveness. While Astraya is rarely outright hostile, they are usually pressuring Otravia greatly, doing whatever they can to push back Otravia's borders and expand Astraya's. More often this takes the form of political posturing and threats of violence, but every few years these threats break out into armed conflict of one sort or another. Astraya has little dealings with the rest of Ebreon. Most other nations view Astraya negatively, and this view is reciprocated, though to be honest, Astraya generally has no interest in wasting time worrying about those far away from its borders.
Immediate Neighbors
The majority of Astraya's foreign relations deal with the kingdoms that border her lands. These players and their relationships are listed below. Geldor Despite being immediate neighbors, Astraya has rather favorable relations with Geldor, the dwarven kingdom to the north. Astraya heavily relies on Geldor's craftsmen and enchanters to keep their sizeable military well equipped. As such, it benefits neither side to weaken the other. The dwarves typically keep to themselves, which suits Astraya just fine. Kyfnor Like Geldor to the north, Kyfnor, the high elven kingdom to the south beyond the Kyfnor Wall, likes to keep to themselves, staying out of the affairs of the rest of the world, which suits Astraya just fine. As such, Astraya and Kyfnor usually get along just fine, in that they ignore each other most of the time. However, Astraya has perodically grown rather jealous of Kyfnor's accomplishments, and rather indignant that they can simply hide behind their wall. Astrayans secretly (or perhaps not so secretly) believe themselves to one day be the great people who breach the Kyfnor wall and subjugate those behind it. Otravia Otravia sadly struggles the most from being Astraya's neighbor. Unlike Geldor, Astraya has no interest in a strong Otravia. Nor does Otravia have the privilege of a massive wall as protection along the Astrayan border. As such, Otravia is the perfect natural outlet for Astraya's natural aggressiveness. While Astraya is rarely outright hostile, they are usually pressuring Otravia greatly, doing whatever they can to push back Otravia's borders and expand Astraya's. More often this takes the form of political posturing and threats of violence, but every few years these threats break out into armed conflict of one sort or another. Astraya has little dealings with the rest of Ebreon. Most other nations view Astraya negatively, and this view is reciprocated, though to be honest, Astraya generally has no interest in wasting time worrying about those far away from its borders.
Agriculture & Industry
As with most human kingdoms, the backbone of Astraya's economy is based in agriculture. Along the rivers in the heart of the kingdom, as well as the vast hilly plains in the west, farms and orchards and vineyards litter the landscape, providing all sorts of goods for stimulating trade. Unlike other human kingdoms, however, the Astrayans have embraced technological advancements and are among the foremost producers of siege equipment and industrial equipment, vehicles, and even sailing ships (despite their rather paltry navy). They are thought of as rather pronounced builders as well, though much of their architecture is functional rather than beautiful, it has certainly stood the test of time.
Magic
Magic is highly regulated throughout Astraya. While the open use of magic is not outright outlawed, any use that is deemed potentially harmful to the public, a loosely defined term which the government has been known to abuse at times, can be punishable by anything from a fine, imprisonment, or even death if the effect is extremely harmful. Generally, any magic which deals damage, creates a powerful elemental effect (such as creating fire), manipulates an Astrayan citizen, or allows oneself to teleport is deemed as harmful and illegal. Magic items cannot be sold within Astraya except by government licensed entities, as magic items are typically viewed as property of the state, more useful to Astraya's military than its citizens. For this same reason, any Astrayan in possession of magical items must register the items with the government. Non-citizens are permitted to keep any magical items they hold, though they officially must declare and register their items upon entering Astrayan territory as well. This is not always practical and many travelers are never even aware of this law, but particularly vengeful soldiers may use this law to entrap outsiders within Astrayan territory.Strength, Order, Unity
Founding Date
The winter of 182 in the Fourth Age
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Demonym
Astrayan
Leader
Leader Title
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Dictatorship
Economic System
Market economy
Currency
Astraya uses the traditional Gold, Silver, and Copper coin system that many civilized peoples use. They have no special names for the coins, simply referring to them by their metal.
Location
Related Ethnicities
Comments