Skyrmin
The Sovereign City State of Skyrmin, commonly known simply as Skyrmin, was for the majority of its history a country consisting solely of the City of Skyrmin.
In the year 104, it expanded to also include the planned artificial settlement of Rorosh Pakh.
During the Great Peasants' War, it invaded the neighbouring country of Thythr to secure land and local workforce for its ever-expanding populace. However, the war resulted in their humiliating loss despite boasting clearly superior firepower; and together with the concurrent epidemic of Skyrmin Fever, circumstances led to a major political turnaround in which its regent, former Governor of Skyrmin Rei Mukh was replaced by Mantis sympathizer Alani Khapp. Since then, meeting a similar fate as their neighbour Thythr, its political landscape had tensed up significantly.
Generally, it is infamous for its venal politics, aggressive foreign policy, internal tensions and inequalities, and a colourfully diverse and ever expanding populace.
"If Eradin were a beautiful grove, the likes of those magnificent woodlands you commonly encountered in fairy tales and legends of old, Skyrmin would be an anthill in its centre. Needlessly stingy to visitors, densely overpopulated, an apt reminder of man's self-destructive potential; yet a beautiful force of nature to behold, if only to satisfy some morbid curiosity."
- Anonymous
Structure
As per law that was passed when Skyrmin was first founded, it is ruled by the Governor of Skyrmin who holds absolute power over all administrative and legal duties; merely the military is under command of the Supreme General of Skyrmin. However, even that position is appointed by the Governor.
Formally, the governor is elected by popular vote. In the city state's early years, that might have worked, however as it grew to such a massive size, the election process proved a big hassle and nepotism took over. As of the year 105, it is an open secret inside and outside Skyrmin that elections are rigged in favour of the current Governor's interests, where in some cases votes were not even counted before disposal.
Topic-specific ministries exist that hold limited power within their sphere of influence, however they, too, are directly appointed by the Governor.
Culture
Skyrmin culture is the opposite of homogeneous. Due to the city state's convenient location within a choke point between Aoado and Thythr, its population numbers increased exponentially with trade between the two superpowers blooming during Skyrmin's most prosperous phases. Its demographics were the most diverse of all Eradine powers without competition; here, native Skyrmin people are nearly always neighbours of Thythryn and Aoadon immigrants.
In addition to that, a strong economic and social inequality divided its populace. While friends and prominent supporters of the current Governor lavished in luxury and lived in separate communities, just as well as wealthy merchants and even some capital owners did, the vast majority of those living in Skyrmin borders were labourers and peasants who barely had anything to eat. While this might call for a rebellion elsewhere, the Skyrmin system continued to pride itself on its stability; mostly because a considerable number of those in poverty were themselves exiles from the neighbouring countries, and a strong guard and military force regularly suppressed any progressive glimpse.
Thus, a common emotion among Skyrmin proles was a sense of isolation from the rest of the city, and instead identification with and pride of their own class was ubiquitous. The rather wealthy and noble districts had a distinctly Skyrmin atmosphere and social culture to them: frequent feasts, luxurious homesteads, and clean streets were a given. That was in stark contrast to what the poorer neighbourhoods displayed: a culture of camaraderie, collectivism and cultural diversity unprecedented on the whole of Eradin.
Indeed, Skyrmin was severely socially divided: one could call the poor and wealthy districts entirely separate cultures and not even hit far from the truth with that assessment. Their food, customs, demographics, yes, even their languages differed; to the point where a citizen of a slum might not know as much as the name of a bourgeois part of town.
Public Agenda
When Skyrmin grew to population numbers far outside its capacity, it had gradually started adopting a more nationalist, imperialist rhetoric to justify military expansion. As it was placed snugly within a choke point between two major countries, it had no way of natural expansion and only room for its capital, the City of Skyrmin. This engineered, racialized conquest of conquering living space for its population had been official doctrine for a while, however it was an open secret what the true, economic motivations behind this course of action were.
Assets
Skyrmin boasted two major settlements: its incredibly expansive capital, the City of Skyrmin, and the still very young artificial city of Rorosh Pakh, built using the incredible powers of Divine Spirit. Next to Thythr, Skyrmin was the only major power to wield the technology of Divine Harvests, using them to generate massive amounts of Divine Spirit to power its military, industry and culture.
However, even before succumbing to the influence of the Mantis and the subsequent omni-Eradine Divine Harvest arms race, Skyrmin had been one of the strongest Eradine powers, economically and militarily.
"Monari olim im: dovikh, aremikh, sikh." ("As our values dictate: accumulate, defend, judge fairly.")
Founding Date
95 before 0
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Capital
Demonym
Skyrmin
Leader
Leader Title
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Dictatorship
Economic System
Market economy
Location
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments