Achitar
Economy of Achitar
Founded on the rich deposites of iron and zephyrite in the mountains, the Kingdom of Achitar still heavily relies on those minerals for its industries. To support the export-based economy, the three major cities of Achitar manage distinct industries and work together to maintain continuous export. Starting with the city of Cryll. It hosts the critically important mining industry. Serving as the hub that all the mines in the Scalespike Mountain Range send their deposits to, Cryll hosts the majority of Achitar's smiths, masons, jewelers, cobblers, and other professions dependent on the mines and quarries of the Scalespike Mining Company, which holds the royal charter to the Scalespike Mountain Rage and the surrounding areas. The great wealth the company has raked in has allowed Cryll to develop considerably, with many solid two and three story buildings dominating the paved streets. The population of Cryll primarily consists of the descendents of the original miners, prisoners, and indentured servants that survived the early mines, so the commonfolk of Cryll are often characterized as gruff and hardworking individuals who care little for manners but throw the best drinking parties. The governor and marquis of Cryll is Forgemaster Hjolden Invar, a massive, stoic dwarf who stands as tall as a human. His father, Graldaror Invar, was the man first granted mining rights in Achitar by King Virreau I himself, and Hjolden himself has lived long enough to swear fealty to all three kings personally. As head of the Invar Clan of smiths and the Scalespike Mining Company that holds the royal charter to Cryll and all of the Scalespike Mountain Range, the Forgemaster commands great power and respect. But Cryll would starve without the produce it buys from Fenfield, the city and region that hosts the agricultural industry that feeds the kingdom. Blessed with the nearby Lake Vallis, a stable bubble lake that keeps the region safe from flooding, the small villages in the nearby plains grow and harvest wheat, vegetables, and other produce to give to the lords of the land, who then bring it to the city of Fenfield for sale, where it is then distributed all across the kingdom by virtue of roads and rivers. The bulk of the kingdom's rural population resides in these villages, and even the city of Fenfield itself has a more homely atmosphere to it than the other cities. However, the rural aspect of Fenfields villages does make them particularly vulnerable to savage raiders, which leads to a xenophobic culture. the city of Fenfield is not free from the fear of raiders either, being in the easiest position of the three cities for invasion by inland forces. As a result, Fenfield is a relatively warm and welcome place for common races, but uncommon and rarer races are typically shunned and blamed for issues. Marquis Jesken Hanholm, a princely and jovial human with a flair for hosting, is the noble in charge of Fenfield. Because the Hanholm family is the only one of the three marquis families of the kingdom to have had one of its members be apart of King Virreau I's initial expedition to find the continent, the Hanholm family shares an especially close relatonship with the royal family. Jesken Hanholm is proud of this fact, utilizing his status and pretty landscape to frequently host visiting nobles and dignitaries, showing them the "best" side of the kingdom. With Cryll and Fenfield providing the resources for the Kingdom of Achitar to be successful, it is up to the harbor and capital city of Port Prine to connect the kingdom to the rest of the world. Port Prine is the first stop for anyone visiting the kingdom, as all sky ships from the old continent arrive in the sky docks of Port Prine, and all leave from it as well. Port Prine is also an actual port, putting the rivers to great use by using them to access Cryll and Fenfield without the need for expensive sky docks. The fishing industry in Port Prine is necessary for feeding its massive population, which dwarfs even that of Cryll and Fenfield proper. Port Prine is the most urbanized of the three cities of the kingdom, as well as the one hosting the largest population of immigrants from abroad. Because Port Prine is a center of trade in addition to all of this, it is a place of great opportunity for aspiring merchants, and thus also a hive of crime and villainy that would prey on other's success. The aging King Virreau III himself lives in a castle next to Port Prine, where he manages the kingdom affairs from. However, Port Prine itself is more directly managed by Marquis Razadin Sunstone, a brisk and calculating human with a presence that immediately sets expectations of success on those around him. The Sunstone family head during the time of King Virreau I was a shrewd merchant that brought life into the export industry and proved to be a key negotiator during the Tirynthis-Virreau treaty, earning his family a reputation for reliability that has only grown in repute since. Razadin handles Port Prine's several factions aptly and in a delicate balance that keeps the city running. The three cities share a triangle of dependency upon one another. Fenfield supplies Cryll with food supplies and people, Cryll supplies Fenfield with finished products of iron and Port Prine with processed iron and zephyrite for exports, and Port Prine provides both Cryll and Fenfield with fish and imports from foreign countries such as textiles and spices. Were any one of these cities to fall, the other two would follow with the kingdom in suite.History
Formation of Achitar:
In hopes of gaining an advantage against in the endless war between the rival countries of the Empire of Joudan and Alqawa, the Kingdom of Esconti commissioned numerous adventerous sailors to scout the Eastern seas for islands with valuable resources. Though many sailors returned with nothing on hand and many more drowned in the trecherous Eastern Waters, one intrepid expedition chanced upon an entire continent that had never been explored before. Believed to be dead, the expedition crew shocked all of Esconti by proving the rumors wrong by returning home not by sailing ship, but by sky ship. The crew brought back stories of an incredible wealth of Iron and Zephyrite, a rare crystal imbued with elemental air that rises to the sky when charged with mana. With a wealth of the two, the Kingdom of Esconti could very well cow its rivals into submission. The captain of the expedition, Fourth Prince Virreau Masuvius, hoped to have earned his title as Crown Prince of Esconti by delivering such a powerful resource to his country. However, First Prince Bassellin Masuvius VI had already been set as Crown Prince by King Bassellin Masuvius V, and thus Virreau was instead awared the title of Duke, with the land he discovered as his Duchy. Understanding that his bid for the throne of Esconti was lost, Virreau accepted the honor, naming his new land the Duchy of Achitar in honor of a close friend who had perished when helping him return home. The Duke of Achitar was quick to gather his noble friends with the skills and funds to act on the ludicrous opportunity that was laid within the mountains of Achitar, offering them charters and land in his new Duchy if they would agree to help him secure the dangerous lands. Once he had prominent men swear oaths of loyalty to him, he succeeded in gathering some currently-strained military forces to help clear Achitar's mountains of the jealous young dragons and their kobold minions that jealously guarded them. From there, the Duke of Achitar began a massive campaign back in Esconti to get laborers and settlers for Achitar, promising wealth and new lives to those who came to work. Thus, many second and third born sons across Esconti who could not inherent their father's lands came to work, as did the impoverished in the cities seeking any chance at a good life. So great was the need for people that the Duke even promised to ship off many prisoners in Esconti's overfilled dungeons to Achitar, where they would work off their sentences and become free men if they behaved well. By just a dozen years later, the Duchy of Achitar had become a booming colony, pumping out resources for war that empowered Esconti to no end. However, the market flood was huge, and the endless consumption of Achitar goods contributed greatly to the rising cost of Escanti's wars. The situation was beginning to sour for the newly crowned King Bassellin Masuvius VI, who found that the royal treasury was starving from conflict. Thus, he levied taxes on the rich colony of the Duchy of Achitar in hopes of refilling the treasury to buy more goods from the Duchy of Achitar. The irony was not lost on the Duke of Achitar, who now laughed at the days he desired the cursed throne of Esconti. But it was when the Duke was looking out at his massively successful colony did it occur to him that Achitar was not dependent on Esconti, but that Esconti was dependent on Achitar. Now viewing the family that had moved him out of their political scene as needy relatives and his country of birth as a sinking ship, the Duke of Achitar discussed with the loyal landowners under him plans for the independence of the Duchy of Achitar; that the Kingdom of Esconti could not hope to overtake the Kingdom of Achitar if they staged the scene correctly. The Duke and his nobles took meticulous steps behind closed doors to slowly convince the public that Esconti wasn't doing so well in the war; that the people of Achitar were being used as external labor. When the time was right, the Duke made a rallying speech to his people, announcing that he would become King of the Kingdom of Achitar, and that all indentured servants would have their debt forgiven and all the new taxes would be lifted if the people would accept him and fight for their independence. Though the majority of the populace gladly accepted their ruler's declaration of a sovereign state, the Esconti General Grar Borken, leader of Esconti forces in the Duchy of Achitar, was immediately compelled to put down the rebellion in the name of the Esconti crown. However, on the day of the speech, General Borken and the majority of the key Esconti officers in Achitar were attending a banquet hosted by prominent Achitarian nobles, who had lured them into a trap where they would all be captured with little resistance. As a result, the Esconti forces in Achitar suffered from a crippling lack of leadership and were swiftly forced to surrender. As a sign of mercy and good will, the new King Virreau I of Achitar stripped the Esconti officers and their forces of their weaponry and exiled them all, forcing them on demilitarized Esconti Naval Ships back to the Kingdom of Esconti. King Masuvius VI was furious over his younger brother's treachery and betrayal in his time of need, but was in no position to pursue a formal invasion. As a punishment, King Masuvius VI enforced an embargo on the Kingdom of Achitar, announcing that any ship going to or from Achitar would be attacked by the Esconti Navy. The embargo succeeded in isolating Achitar for a short time, preventing Achitar's industry from exporting goods and raking in its primary income. The promise of freeing the indentured servants, which relied on having the newly liberated indentured servants use their newfound pay to buy housing and food and ultimately return it to the nobles, was endangered by the fact that the nobles would have to use their own funds to pay the workers while they waited for their overseas profits to start up anew, lest they risk an uprising of laborers. Tensions in Achitar rose greatly as King Virreau's secessionist movement was turning into a bad gamble. But King Masuvius VI folded before King Virreau did, for the former had harmed his own kingdom far more by enacting the embargo. King Virreau's gamble on Esconti being dependent on Achitar's resources paid out when the messenger of Queen Tirynthis of Lasal, the new monarch of the Kingdom of Esconti who had overthrown King Masuvius VI and usurped the throne amidst the chaos, wished to open up trade negotiations with the Kingdom of Achitar. King Virreau accepted, and the following negotiations would resume trade between the two Kingdoms under the key conditions that Esconti recognizes Achitar's independence and that neither kingdom would levy tariffs on military exports. Thus, with the Tirynthis-Virreau treaty, the Kingdom of Achitar was born.Maps
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Achitar
Founding Date
377
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Government System
Monarchy, Constitutional
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Market economy
Subsidiary Organizations
Location
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Comments