The Arnastian Grand Alliance
T
he reason for the creation of the Grand Alliance system, the Queendom of Arnast holds a regimented caste culture known across the planes for its fearsome warrior mentality. Led by Atue Runtoyek, a Dying Queen held in stasis to stave off her death, this matriarchal people has regularly terrorized the world with a constant state of war since the Age of Six.
The Principalities
Unifed under the red and gold banner of the Queendom of Arnast in 903QE following the eleven-year-long Great Dunewar, the five principalities have long-since merged into a single monolith of culture. Nevertheless, each is known for its own unique additions to the mother state.
Afithis. At the center of Arnast lies the High Mesa, and atop it lies Afithis, the capital principality. It hosts the sea trading towns of Tawe and Sede in the east, the religious center of Woyram in its heart, and Runtoyek, the capital of Arnast named for its eponymous Dying Queen of the same name. Its eight Chis, or "forts" in Primordial, protect this mesa's inner desert, culture, and peoples.
Celiph. Located to the west of Afithis is the principality of Celiph. Its capital of Nespusto houses the largest Genasi population on Enos, and has grown rich off trade with The Ring of Elements. The barren, scorched desert of Cak Besewa lies at the interior, and regularly feasts on unprepared travelers and merchants lost in the area's frequent flash sandstorms. Those trapped in these storms often seek shelter in the vast cave networks made by rock-chewing worms, which are home to many different species of exotic and deadly fungi and creatures known the world over. Sea trade and fishing along the coast thrives, and Celiph's markets are known to supply Arnast with over half of its food. Its outposts on the island of Rels It and Rels Keps fish for more exotic species native to the Boiling Sea, and are staffed almost entirely by races more able to stand the intense heat.
Magdin. Mostly comprised of uninhabitable and impossible to traverse deserts, Magdin lies to the south of Afithis. Its twin deserts of Cak Tasa and Cak Istmechout flank what is known as the Dune Sea, a shifting space of desert that occasionally vibrates in such a way as to consume anything atop it. Its capital of Malma on the eastern coast receives what little trade the Queendom does with the other Grand Alliances, and its western cities of Tasa and Rur'pente serve as a university city and farming community, respectively. Its fort at Chis Gafa sports the Looming Towers, a familiar sight for any Centuri Security stationed at Oberfell Watch to the south.
Pran. Situated to the southeast, Pran is the only of the principalities to not be directly connected to Afithis. It is bordered by Ephistius to the south and Avaritia to the west. Its capital of Avarsed is the logistical hub and training ground for most of Arnast's military, the Atue Candid (aside from its ruling-class officers, which are usually trained in the Queendom's capital.) Its central city of Admav located in the desert of the same name is known as the "Desert's Thought," and is a fortress-city containing most of the Queendom's secret and closely-held knowledge.
Kedia. Located to the north of Afithis, Kedia's port capital of Retep receives the majority of the Queendom's limited trade with Bestia and Draxus to the far east. Its outpost of Zlarays on Rels Wared is responsible for the collection and indexing of the flotsem ejected from Animatus' raw creation. The principality is known for its intensely spiced foods, rich and colorful silks, and equally colorful characters that inhabit it.
The Soulstone Castes
Society in Arnast is strictly-regimented according to a ritual performed on a child's first birthday. Known as the Arnastian Revelation, this ritual reveals the caste in which that person will live their life. It causes a gem to appear on either the back of their left hand or the center of the forehead, and destines them for wildly-different lives.
| Gem | Makeup | Caste Makeup |
|---|---|---|
| Diamond | 0.5% | Noblility, the ruling class, high-ranking generals. |
| Sapphire | 3% | Ambassadors, scholars, local governors, historians, mages. |
| Ruby | 32% | Soldiers, wardens, hunters, trackers. |
| Emerald | 20% | Sailors, traders, explorers, craftsmen, skilled labor. |
| Topaz | 7.5% | Priests, healers, theologians, scribes. |
| Amethyst | 37% | Slaves, servants, farmers, unskilled labor. |
Seal of Arnast
Diplomatic Relations
Trading Partners
Occasional Partners
Tenuous Peace
Tenuous Peace
Enemy
At War
Amethyst. The majority of the Queendom is amethyst-born. Known pejoratively as achours slator more widely just achslatt , those marked in such a way are destined to have short, hard lives. Those particularly unlucky may serve as kelk gran, which are used as cannon fodder, human shields, or sent on suicidal front-line missions.
Diamond. The ruling elite of Arnast all sport these gems (with the exception of the Queen-in-Stasis Atue Runyotek herself). Said to be "marked by the sands," these chalared are trained at exclusive schools in the Queendom's capital and are made fit to rule by a strictly regimented and harsh program known as the bramaks ibdaran ecked. This program is notorious for how it strips empathy from those that undergo it, leaving that perceived weakness for those that bear a topaz.
Emerald. Known as outscrik, those bearing an emerald live life as tradesmen and other mercantile-centric professions. They form the middle-class of the Queendom, supporting it as a backbone of commerce and trade.
Ruby. The iprash that bear a ruby are by far the most-common sight for those not native to Arnast, as they make up the rank-and-file of the Queendom's military, along with any other who kill as a profession.
Sapphire. Those trained to be skilled in diplomacy, magic, history, or any form of academics bear a sapphire. These emed guide the collective thought of the nation, and are held in high-regard.
Topaz. Held in low esteem, those bearing a topaz make up the ranks of clergy, nurses, and note-takers. Called tracmerk aned, these citizens of Arnast are the lowest caste still recognized as such. The Queendom has much on its mind and many ambitions, but religion is simply not one of them.
The Atue Candid
Meaning "Queen's Peace" in Primordial, the Atue Candid is the umbrella term for the entirety of the Arnastian military. The branch concerned with traditional ground-based warfare is the Ash Candid, naval campaigns are handled by the Saths Candid, and the formidable air-based wing of the Arnastian military might is the Irks Candid. The rank structure perfectly parallels that of the Centuri Security, and both armies insist their naming convention was original.
| Ash Candid Rank | Abbreviation | Irks/Saths Candid Rank | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private | PRI | Junior Air/Seaman | JSE |
| Second Lieutenant | SEL | Air/Seaman | SEA |
| First Lieutenant | FIL | Leading Air/Seaman | LSE |
| Lance Corporal | LAC | Petty Officer | POF |
| Master Lance Corporal | MLC | Officer | OFF |
| Captain | CPT | Lieutenant Commander | LCM |
| Major | MAJ | Commander | CMD |
| Lieutenant Colonel | LCO | Senior Commander | SCO |
| Colonel | COL | Vice Commodore | VCO |
| Brigadier | BGE | Commodore | COM |
| Major General | MGE | Vice Admiral | VAD |
| General | GEN | Admiral | ADM |
