Arcadia

Arcadia is an island-nation that lies to the southwest of Naea. It is one of the oldest human-settled islands known to historians, though some argue that Voldrym rivals it for that title. Though wars and diseases have shaped the country into what it is today, it still holds many of the ancient traditions it once had thousands of years ago. While a sizable amount of the island-nation's denizens are ley-mute, there are those who are not that are looked upon as having the blessing of the world upon them, and are often given more important roles in society, and even potential worship.

Structure

An elder council of "makkir", or ley-users (often being Psycoronal or Stormborn), dictates much of the commonplace events that would normally befall someone like a monarch or president. This council can be any number of people, from as few as three to as many as twenty.
From there, other makkir (generally the remaining Vex identities, though Psys and Stormborn can be in this as well) are delegated to a higher social standing than others, yet not in a segregated way, often being involved in things like law keeping, judicial activity, organization of societies, education and so on.
Ley-mute individuals will take a wide range of jobs, especially ones that uphold the infrastructure of the nation, such as; farming, mining, fishing, and occasionally education.

Public Agenda

The public agenda of the nation has always been "to spread the influence of the makers and uphold their ideals." What this means, is that they wish to preserve a more natural lifestyle told to them by their religious leaders thousands of years ago. Surprisingly, this has worked very well for them, despite three major wars and a few widespread plagues.

History

In ancient times, Arcald the White, a human ley-user, gathered all that he knew lived on the island and gave a proclimation: "We must preserve this land for the time when the makers return." While many interpreted this as a "nature first" sort of mentality, others interpreted it as meaning leaving the island for their maker/s to return and make the island a throne of sorts. Fewer interpreted it to mean "live like our primal ancestors", and live with no clothing, hunt with crude weaponry, and so on. These people, though socially looked down upon, died out very quickly through natural causes.
Arcald himself was revered as a sort of incarnation of the maker, being one of the first known ley users in written history. While many interpret him to be a Psycoronal, some signs also point to him possibly being a Stormborn, or perhaps even both. Both is actually quite possible, as he lived during a time before the solidification of any Vex-identities, or the Vexes themselves.
After the death of Arcald twenty years after his proclamation, the region split into three smaller subgroups - Malkir, Vakir, and Diir. Malkir is most similar to the current style of of modern Arcadia, and has only changed slightly in the two thousand years since. Vakir was a much more aggressive society that took differences personally, inciting the three major aforementioned wars, each time losing horribly to Malkir, which had the magical prowess that they lacked. Diir was a strange, short-lived society that took the teachings to a new level, and were isolationists. Most similarly to a colony of hermits, the Diir kept to themselves, even to an individual basis. Because of this, there is not much known about their society other than that.
After a millennia of war and isolation, with the dawn of the age of the Vex and the spread of information that ley users were not exactly deities, they were still regarded to be more important than the average person. The nation still holds it's "nature first" viewpoint, though this has mostly changed to be a sort of mentality of "don't take more than we can grow back" meaning.

Territories

The entire island of Arcadia is under the guidance of the elder council. While this may be the case, there are some areas that do not follow their dictates as harshly or zealously as other regions. One area that especially shows this is the village of Cae Adull, which has adopted much of the modern technology that has arisen from The Arlyian Research Institution for Developmental Sciences(ARIDS) & Arlyia-Thyr. Because of this, Cae Adull has become the topic of scrutiny amongst the nation, some believing that they shouldn't even be a part of it any more.

Military

While no exact military exists, some townships and villages have a rough "plowshares to swords" militia that can be formed.

Technological Level

Overall, the technological level of Arcadia is very low (excluding Cae Adull). Despite this, they have developed many naturalistic medicines, fertilizers, and water purification methods that have proven to be just as effective as the more synthetic ones from ARIDS.

Religion

The ancient teachings of Arcald the White are considered the definite religion of the nation. His teachings were that of "druidism", or to give all you have to the land first, then to the yourself. These teachings have changed depending on the region, with some regions becoming a bit zealous over the interpretations of this basic mentality.
There are other small villages and townships however that follow the religious texts of the The Keepers of the Three, and are often considered to be outcasts by some.

Agriculture & Industry

Arcadia is largely an agricultural nation, with a lot of farmland. These farms grow a wide range of foods that are either kept solely to the island, or shipped throughout the western hemisphere.

"Our lives are ephemeral. What we do for this world is eternal."

Founding Date

While the society has changed over the course of history, no exact founding date has yet to be precicely found. The generally believed date is somewhere around 1500 DA.

Type

Religious, Druidic Circle

Alternative Names

Hands of the Worldmother

Training Level

Untrained

Demonym

Arcadian

Government System

Magocracy

Power Structure

Thalassocracy

Economic System

Mixed economy

Currency

In recent times, most of the island has adopted the Caleran system of currency. Other parts use a series of stamped "tokens" made of bone, stones, and metals.

Major Exports

The island exports a lot of produce and raw plant materials like Silkweed , lumber, and cotton.

Major Imports

Much of the island shuns any kind of importation, with the exception of Cae Adull, which imports a lot of technology.

Legislative Body

There is a council of elder makkir that update, transcribe, or otherwise, create or abolish laws viewed throughout the nation.

Judicial Body

Other makkir are appointed to be judges or form a trial-council. Ley-mute, educated individuals are often employed to be executioners, jailers, etc.