Ameros

A sprawling nation scarred by memories of The Wild Hunt and The Draconic Exodus into becoming the incredible military and industrial force it is today, Ameros refuses to be made a victim to the threat of invading draconic or fey folk—or any folk for that matter—again. As such, the nominally republican government represents only specific races, is almost completely centralized by the military, and the majority of government positions are occupied by those best fit to not only nullify any danger but also strike back twice as hard. Appearances are not as they seem, though, for while Ameros is unbelievably mighty and wealthy, their entire existence rests upon the disenfranchisement of fey races and the bloodied backs of slaves. Moreover, their economy recently has shown signs of strain to maintain itself on the state's current territory.

Structure

As a stratocratic society where government and military are essentially one and the same, the hierarchy of power and status in Ameros is highly regimented. Despite pretenses of republican fairness and equality, the distinctions between social strata are palpable for all members of Amerosian society. Below is the ranking system which defines dominance, authority, responsibility, and respect in the hierarchy of Ameros in order of most powerful and significant to least. This ranking system incorporates the principles of exercising power and authority into a chain of command which constructs an important component for organized collective action and the maintenance of the status quo. Notice the prioritization of commissioned military officers and the entangling of industrial and economic powers into the military-state hierarchy:
1. Councilor - A senior commissioned officer of the Amerosian military who sits on The Iron Council and governs the nation. Currently, there are six councilors in Ameros with one overseeing a particular aspect of society. They are as follows:

• Councilor of the Ground Forces
• Councilor of the Naval Forces
• Councilor of the Battle Mages
• Councilor of Industry
• Councilor of Agriculture
• Councilor of Progress

2. Commander - A senior commissioned officer of the Amerosian military who leads a team of five to 10 lieutenants and provides counsel to the councilor to whom they are assigned. The commander's purview of five to 10 lieutenants and each of their individual platoons is called a company.
3.a. Lieutenant - The most senior of the two junior commissioned officer rankings in the Amerosian military who leads a team of five to 10 sergeants. The Lieutenant's purview of five to 10 sergeants and each of their individual teams is called a platoon.
3.b. Planter - Though they are not active duty members of the Amerosian military, planters were at some point in their lives. Rather than pursuing commissioned ranking or continued military service, they have chosen to honorably retire from military service in favor of owning farmland and slaves to produce for the state.
3.c. Industrialist - Like planters, industrialists used to be but are no longer members of the Amerosian military, having honorably retired from service to own factories and oversee the industry of the state.

4. Sergeant - A junior commissioned officer of the Amerosian military who leads a team of four soldiers.
5. Private - A non-commissioned member of the Amerosian military under direct command of a sergeant. Because enlistment into the Amerosian military is mandatory for all citizens, most citizens of the nation are or were privates during their service.

6.a. Overseer- A former member of the Amerosian military who has honorably retired from service and who likely came from the lower socioeconomic classes who are not affluent enough to own their own plantation but have no other option to work on another's plantation to ward off poverty and homelessness. On the plantation, they act as the planter's eyes and ears in the fields, overseeing the work and progress of the slaves as well as working alongside them. When it is deemed necessary, they also dole out disciplinary action.
6.b. Laborer - Like the overseer of the plantation, the laborer is a former Amerosian military member who is no longer actively in the armed forces and who comes from a background too poor to own their own factory or industrial workplace. Instead, they work in vast faceless masses for the industrialists of Ameros, putting in grueling work in the name of technological progress and economic growth, but the real question is for whom does their work benefit? Certainly not their own.

7. Dreg - The dreg is only nominally distinct from the slave ranked below them. Comprised of such Amerosian unmentionables as military deserters, service dodgers, state traitors, prisoners of war, criminals, wounded veterans, and sex workers, the dreg is given no second thought by anyone until they prove useful to the state. The government does not support them, they have virtually no rights, and they are hardly considered citizens. It is not uncommon for a dreg to find themself pulled into the fields like a slave or shuttled off to one of the state's research facilities to provide their body in service of the state's advancement.
8. Slave - The absolute lowest member of Amerosian society is the slave. Without social protections, rights, or autonomy, slaves can only be those who are of one of the fey races or are partially fey-blooded. Per Amerosian law, it takes but one single drop of fey blood to condemn a person to enslavement. While there is very little social mobility for those who do not already start out advantaged in Ameros, the opportunity to abandon slavery and claim one's freedom is the fantasy of dreamers yet to be ground under the heel of the state.

Public Agenda

Ameros is dedicated to being the foremost military and industrial powerhouse in all of Etheria. To accomplish this, the nation has sacrificed many personal liberties in the name of state security and has fused its military and government into one entity. Few citizens and even fewer outsiders are aware of this trade-off, though, for Ameros presents a facade of republican governance through the election of false representatives who hold no actual political power and are but puppets compared to the absolute authority of the Iron Council.

Demography and Population

Due to the geography of Ameros in which the Iron City, the island capital, is separated from the vast mainland, the nation's population is more or less split along socioeconomic lines regarding their location and distribution. While many of the nation's rich, intellectuals, and high-ranking military officials reside in the illustrious Iron City where freedom truly does seem to ring from the gilt-paved roads and hallowed halls, the middle and lower-class masses find themselves scattered about continental Ameros where resources are few and far between and liberty is but a thin illusion. This is not the case for the planting and industrial class, though, who often make their homes in the choicest locations of mainland Ameros, and it does not consider the military bases existing off the island capital city where wealth is more highly concentrated.
Because of Ameros's ancient code regarding slavery and which races constitute the slave population, Ameros has nearly as large of a a population of fey-blooded individuals as it does "pure-blooded" citizens who derive no fey ancestry. That being said, Humans are the predominant race of the land with Common being the only accepted tongue. Other races who are technically not fey-blooded may not technically be enslaved, but they and their languages can and are viewed with skepticism and mistrust as being alien in a land where humans reign supreme. While the population of fey-blooded races is high, there is a much larger Elf, Centaur, and Minotaur demographic than a Gnome one due to there being a higher demand for manual labor than the domestic labor gnomes are better suited for. Regardless, none of the races are allowed to speak their native tongues nor embrace their unique cultures as it is believed by slavers that such things could spark the flames of a insurrection.

Military

Ameros's military is renowned and feared across the continent of Etheria, far outstripping the armed forces of most other nations. Of course, this is largely because Ameros funnels much more money into their military spending than other nations do, they require all citizens to serve in the military for at least five years after having spent just as much time at the Badorth Academy of War, and they dedicate a vast majority of intellectual and academic resources to the constant improvement and advancement of the military. For instance, Amerosian scientists, scholars, and battle mages are now on the brink of creating the first aerial warship, a feat of technology and careful manipulation of The Will / Anima which could rain death and destruction down upon the land as swiftly as any adult dragon.
For the time being, though, the Amerosian military is divided into three distinct branches: the army, the navy, and the battle mage corps. Each branch is incredibly large in size, rich in resources, expertly trained in their specific field, and known for producing soldiers of the highest quality. So famous is the ability of Ameros to take almost any individual and, generation after generation, turn them into a well-trained warrior that a significant number of nobles across Etheria send their children to The Iron City to receive a military education and bring honor to the family name after they graduate from the Badorth Academy of War where all Amerosian citizens are required to learn before serving in the nation's military. Though the standard time spent at the Badorth Academy of War is five years for most individuals, Sources in attendance receive a much more extensive education to become battle mages in the service of Ameros, an education that can last upward of three decades but not so long that the military would be deprived of useful and highly powerful soldiers.

Religion

As with the majority of the Etherian nations, the religion which is most prevalent in Ameros is the worship of the Etherian Pantheon. While many nations equally revere each of the major gods of the Etherian Pantheon or at least make an attempt to honor each god, Ameros does not follow such a trend. Taught to be as utilitarian and straight-forward as possible, many Amerosians disregard gods whom they deem to be unimportant to their way of life. This can at times be quite the dangerous choice as nothing invokes a god's ire swifter than the swift dismissal of a god. Despite omens and retributions from slighted gods, Amerosians stick with what they know and worship the same: courage, honor, and strength; industry, innovation, and advancement; and justice, fairness, and retribution. On the mainland, agriculture and animal husbandry is of chief importance and also figures into religious devotion among the planting class and the enslaved alike. Along the battered coastlines and in the navy, survival and safety at sea and shelter from crashing waves becomes a desperate need as well. As a result, the gods Polemiroas the Battle-Wise, Amaphoron the Herald of Civilization, Helionax the Light-Crowned, Thanatimetra the Merciful Mother, and Thalassakles the Crashing Wave find themselves to be at the center of Amerosian religious life.
Members of the elite class of Ameros tend to ardently revere Tykheploutos the Silver-Tongued, the god of wealth, persuasion, and deceit, more so than any other deity to keep their control over the lower classes and maintain the precarious status quo they have established. It is not uncommon, though, for such people of the privileged classes to also devote themselves to and make deals with Demons in secret, for such infernal entities are far less fickle and opposed to the kind of dirty work required to sustain Ameros's way of life than the gods are.
Among the enslaved and dreg population, worship of Eleuthemene the Star-Dappled, the lunar god of beggars, serfs, and slaves as well as of liberation, is strictly prohibited. If instances of worship to Eleuthemene are discovered, worshipers are rapidly and brutally punished. In some unfortunate cases, devotees of Eleuthemene are executed, though this is a fairly rare occurrence as the last thing the Amerosian elites want is a slave revolt and intervention by the spurned moon god.

Foreign Relations

Of the nations of Etheria, Ameros is perhaps the one whose foreign policy is best described as being isolationist. Its continental border with Elaeus, after all, is distinguished by a massive iron wall manned by guards and with Napria by the Rudda, a mountain range so named after its distinctive rod-like shape. The Iron Sea and the Cauldron serve as additional natural barriers against foreign relations with the southern half of the continent. Moreover, Ameros' impressive military and industrial might stand as perhaps the nation's strongest deterrents against those who would seek to attempt to force foreign relations upon the country. As a result, Ameros and its citizens have gained a reputation for being reclusive, stubborn, and menacing, all of which is not aided in the least by the fact that Amerosian society also casts a wary and prejudicial eye on anyone that is not from Ameros and anyone that is not racially Human. That being said, Ameros depends upon trade relations with the other nations of Etheria and has therefore joined The Etherian League to promote such beneficial partnerships despite its solitary ways. Moreover, with the economy of Ameros straining to support its small yet nearly omnipotent upper class as well as meet the needs to mollify the ever-growing and ever-anxious middle and lower classes, Ameros is beginning to question its isolationism as imperialism seems more and more enticing.

Agriculture & Industry

With an industry incomparable and a carefully-planned agricultural system, Ameros has grown wealthy off the products it is capable of making in its own nation and selling to other lands that do not have the same means of production that it does. In the Iron City, the streets gleam and are largely free of the toil required to create wealth of the kind that Ameros possesses. On the mainland, though, advancements are constantly being made and industry thrives. Standard and mystical arms and armors are constantly being crafted, trademark Amerosian warships are built, technological devices made to simplify life are manufactured, and advanced alchemical creations are produced by highly-skilled state alchemists. Also on continental Ameros are the nation's innumerable plantations where cotton, sugarcane, and tobacco are grown across thousands of acres of land and are harvested by the enslaved population as well as the many meat farms where beef, pork, and poultry are raised by the thousands. However, such massive industrial and agricultural efforts over the years have seriously drained the natural resources of the earth, sea, and sky which used to exist in Ameros and have forced conversation of expanding the nation's borders to be had.

Education

Without failure, all citizens of Ameros are provided a free education in the Iron City at the Badorth Academy of War upon reaching the age of 16. Such an education will last for five years and will include extensive combat training, lessons in strategy, instruction on how to wield a vast array of weapons, and the instruction required to create a disciplined, loyal, and brave soldier. During this time, most students are placed into two academic tracks: ground force education and naval force education. Sources who attend the Badorth Academy of War receive an even more extensive education that, at minimum, lasts for 30 years to become Amerosian battle mages. For particularly gifted Sources who show promise in advanced and highly complicated utilizations of the Will / Anima, the schooling can range anywhere from 50 years to 100 years before they become part of the battle mage corps. After being educated at the Badorth Academy of War, all students are required to enter the Amerosian military to serve for as long as they received an education as a means of repaying the state for said education. After all, learning is not cheap. After serving in the military for a duration equivalent to their first education at the Badorth Academy of War, soldiers may appeal to return to the place of learning and receive approval based off of their former marks and their military records to receive an advanced education in science, rhetoric, agriculture, or warfare. Many, though, simply either honorably retire and begin their civilian lives or remain in the military to climb the ranks.
As much can be attested by the cost of education prior to mandatory enrollment at the Badorth Academy of War. It is quite the oddity for a member of the lowest socioeconomic classes to receive any formal non-military education during their life. As a result, most members of the lowest classes are illiterate. Education in the middle class is possible though expensive and of poor quality. Middle class families are often only able to have a single child receive a formal education as schooling is costly and only grows more expensive with each child after the first. Middle class children who are lucky enough to receive an education, typically boys or especially perspicacious girls, are taught to read, write, and do basic mathematics. With such a price tag placed upon education, it is not difficult to believe that the elites are the only individuals capable of affording and ensuring the education of their children who can receive early lessons in politics, strategy, and combat to facilitate promotion in the military later in life.

"Sic semper evello mortem tyrannis."

("Thus always I bring death to tyrants.")

Maps

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  Ameros

Type

Geopolitical, State

Alternative Names

• The Iron Nation

• The Land of Chains and Shackles (pejoratively)

Demonym

Amerosian

Head of Government

The Iron Council

Government System

Stratocracy

Power Structure

Unitary state

Economic System

Command/Planned economy

Currency

As part of The Etherian League, the official currency of Ameros is that of the majority of the continent to facilitate trade and international transactions; therefore, Ameros uses gold, silver, and copper coins commonly referred by their metallic type for shorthand. Ameros also engages in the continentally-approved barter system per the rules of the Etherian League.

Major Exports

• Grains
• Cattle, pork, and poultry
• Cotton
• Tobacco
• Sugarcane
• Weapons, armaments, and warships
• Slaves
• Advanced alchemical creations

Major Imports

• Textiles and fabrics
• Ore, metals, and minerals
• Lumber, pulp, and paper products
• Vegetables and fruits
• Slaves
• Advanced medicinal supplies

Legislative Body

The Iron Council is the chief governing body of Ameros. Composed of six pure-blooded, wealthy, and incredibly influential male citizens of the state, the Iron Council controls every facet of Amerosian life. In fact, the Iron Council even permits the popular election of representatives to defend the rights of the people and to convey the complaints of the citizenship to the Iron Council. What the populace does not realize, though, is this: their representatives hold no real political power and neither do they. Amerosian republicanism is a complex illusion maintained to distract the populace with fantasies of freedoms and rights which they do not and will likely never have while the Iron Council exists in the state it currently does. Any "rights" and "freedoms" held by the Amerosian people are granted directly by the Iron Council as a means of appeasing them and further concretizing the powerful illusion that the state is not truly an authoritarian stratocracy.

Neighboring Nations

• Elaeus
• Llychlyn
• Mondrona
• Napria

Notable Members

• The Iron Council