Grouce
Overview
The United Provinces of Grouce, commonly known as Grouce, is the country formed after the War of Unification . The country is made up of seven provinces: Amersham, Sherpburg, Veircourt, Romborn, Sherpmel, Granhan, and Vinmur. Grouce shares significant land borders with Torhuse to the North, the Forest of Rhofan to the East, and Cijera to the south. With a population of 2.6 million people, it is the most populous of all the surrounding countries. The national capital is the Royal City of Amersham in the province of Amersham.
Grouce is a Monarchy, ruled over by the Farlight family since the War of Unification, with the current High King Nollac Farlight. The sitting King and Queen are advised by the Council of Masters and give orders to the independently determined leaders of the other provinces. While diplomatic relations are maintained with the Forests of Rhofan, very little communication occurs between Grouce and Torhuse or Cijera. The nation is known for its compulsory education, religious freedom, easy access to medical care, and economic opportunities. However, the country has been criticized for provincial inequality, harsh magical regulations, and use of force to solve internal disputes.
History
Grouce was founded 436 years ago following the War of Unification. Amersham decided to share their knowledge and unify the peoples of several nations so that they may work together to go farther then any one nation could on its on. While there was a brief resistance movement with Prodricks Rebellion that lead to the reformation of Sherpmel, the country has been in a state of internal peace and economic growth ever since.
Grouce has partaken in several border is disputes and has allied itself in conflicts with other nations along the Effinigan Ocean, however they have chosen to not devote significant amounts of the nations standing military to these endeavors. The only current military disputes the country participates in is the Orcs of Granhan's ongoing efforts to expand into Cijera , and the occasional disputes between Vinmur and Torhuse. Grouce as a whole, however, has avoided major interactions in these conflicts as well.
The last major conflict occured in 431 AU when the late King and Queen Falright died of Bloodfire without an appointed heir. During the crisis a relative of the previous heirs was able to take the throne. Nollac Washilan took the throne and with it the surname Farlight. While some disputed the new kings claim as he was three generations removed from the previous family, his skill in magic and cunning politics shone through and he maintained his new position.
Geography
Grouce is made up of seven continuous provinces covering roughly 210,000 square miles of land. Major geographical divisions separate the borders of the country from its neighbors.
The Beresto Mountains lay to the north and separate Grouce from Torhuse. The mountain range lies in the provinces of Amersham and Vinmur, and is known for its dangerous terrain and creatures that inhabit it. Roughly 75% of the total area of the mountain range is controlled by Grouce, but the exact border is tenuous at best and often stirs conflict between the Vinmur and Torhuse. Rumors of grand ruins and lost treasure in the mountain range have lead it to be a popular, yet dangerous, destination for adventurers.
The Forest of Rhofan lies to the east and is home to a nation of elves by the same name. Its edges serve as a border between Grouce and the elven country. The same is true for the swamps of Cijera to the south, these serving as a natural border between Grouce and the Myconids.
The climate of Grouce is a mainly temperate. Varying little over the country as a whole, it experiences warm summers and very mild winters. The northern provinces such as Amersham and Vinmur experience snow fall due to their elevation and placement within the Beresto Mountains. While little snow falls during the winter time, the temperatures drop low enough to where most farming activities need to be halted until warmer weather returns. Extreme weather in the region is uncommon outside the month of Donner which marks the start of spring, in which heavy rains bordering on monsoons are common.
Biodiversity
The lands of Grouce are filled with huge variety of flora and fauna, with the highest amount of diversity concentrated around its borders. The exception to this being the wilderness of Sherpburg. The wilderness here attracts a myriad of dangerous creatures for reasons yet unknown to scholars. Over the last year there has been a notable increase in dangerous, exotic creatures encroaching along the edges of Grouce despite the best efforts of the adventuring guilds to repel them.
Government and Politics
Grouce is a monocracy presiding over seven provinces. Each province is allowed to choose their own form of local government (under consent of the current King), but all provincial lords and local governments still serve the King, who always has the final say.
The king is advised by two governmental bodies: The Council of Masters and The Council of the Populace. While neither have a direct vote in the decisions or laws made by the current ruler, their voices serve to represent the general populace and their concerns are seriously taken into account.
Political Divisions
The seven provinces are the principle political divisions in the country. Each province holds jurisdiction over a defined geographical territory, where it is allowed functional self-governance, though final sovreignty remains in the hands of the monarchy. Citizenship is automatically granted at birth in all provinces.
Succession
Succession is carried out under three possible conditions: The current king steps down and hands rule over to one of their descendants, the current King dies and a named heir takes their place, or the king is deemed unfit to rule by all members of both councils and is put into an early retirement. The Farlight family has ruled Grouce since well before the War of Unification and nearly all transfers of power have occurred by the current King voluntarily retiring to allow the next generation to take up the reins of rule. This has allowed power to transition slowly and smoothly throughout the country's history.
Foreign Relations
Grouce has an established relationship with the elves of the Forest of Rhofan. Begun by the Treaty of the First Hunt and managed by Sherpburg's Rhonin guild, this relationship has greatly benefitted the people of Grouce by allowing them to gain access to both the rare exports of the elves and providing an additional market for merchants. Proper vetting is needed before a citizen travels to Rhofan in order to maintain the tenuous neutral relationship Grouce has been able to maintain with the various courts of the Feywild. Any citizen of Grouce found violating these restrictions is exiled from the country.
Grouce has more tenuous relationships with the Myconids of Cijera and the Giants of Torhuse. Cijera has never been open to diplomatic relations or deals, with The Mind only wishing that the current borders of the countries be maintained and that isolation between them continue. The people of Granhan have attempted to push into the borders to gain access to the recourses of the swampland but have been met with immense resistance. Diplomatic relations with Torhuse remain neutral at best due to the seemingly eternal feud between the citizens of Torhuse and the citizens of Vinmur.
Law Enforcement and Crime
Law enforcement in Grouce is primarily the responsibility of local guard collations and militias appointed by the provincial governments. Federal crimes or cross-provincial issues are dealt with by coalitions jointly appointed by the Council of Masters and the King. In most provinces the guard spends more of their time dealing with dangerous beasts than prosecuting any crime more severe than a bar fight. Because of this, these organizations tend to be smaller then those in comparable countries. Grouce presents this fact as the country being "incredibly safe and in perpetual peace".
Criminal punishment is mostly carried out through either prison sentences or public service. Severe crimes are punished by exile, time dilation, or in the most extreme cases - execution. Exile is typically only issued as punishment for interacting with a Fey court without express permissions from the Council of Masters. This is done to avoid involving the nation with any side in the fey war and is widely supported by the populace. While time dilation and execution are both capital punishments, time dilation is the more feared of the two punishments and is very rarely carried out.
Economics
The economics of Grouce tend to be conducted intra-provincially instead of through international trade. This allows the nation to remain mostly self sufficient. Despite this, merchants of Grouce do ferry goods both across the Effinigan Ocean, to the Forest of Rhofan, and even occasionally to the outerplanar visitors that occasionally visit the realm.
Magic and Technology
Magic is central to society in Grouce and one of the main reasons that Grouce continues to interact with other countries outside of the occasional acquisition of exotic goods. Every person residing in Grouce does technically have the ability to interact with the weave and use basic magics with enough study, and many augment their jobs and lifestyles. A bartender might learn to animate a broom to take care of the bar for him, a farmer might begin to learn basic druidic incantations to better help her crops grow, or a merchant might learn how to magically amplify their voice to better attract customers to their shop.
Income, wealth, and poverty
Economic mobility is very high in Grouce, and even outside of that, general quality of life is good. With state sponsored education and cheap government backed healthcare, the majority of citizens enjoy a very high quality of life. There is a prevailing sentiment throughout Grouce, however, that one should always seek self improvement. This does mean that in places like Sherpmel and Veircourt, when people do begin to slip out of society and fall in on themselves, after a certain point they are left to their own devices. There has been some outcry for more support for these peoples, but as of now the government has not provided any true solution to this problem.
Culture
Grouce is home to many cultures and a wide variety of peoples. While the culture in the lands of Grouce has been influenced and controlled by a wide variety of powers over the centuries, modern culture in Grouce is mainly influenced by a homogenization of the provinces individual values. This homogenization was pushed by Amersham after the conclusion of the War of Unification in order to inspire national unity. For example, the calendar is now unified across the entire nation and is based around the traditional Heiligerian Calendar. Due to Grouce's positioning between isolationist neighbors and the ocean, immigration is low despite the leaders of Grouce attempting to attract immigrants with promises of economic mobility.
Religion
There are three officially recognized and widely practiced religions in Grouce: The Servants of Heiliger, The Followers of the Ode, and Providence. Outside of the fey courts, these are the only religions with clearly visible stars above the skies of Grouce. While there is technically not an official religion in the country, the majority of the populace follows The Servants of Heiliger which has lead to the nationalization of their calendar and holidays.
Grouce uses a portion of its tax income to provide stipends to recognized churches and temples across the country. The stipend system was created with the intent that the churches it is given to to would provide healing and medicine to the citizens of Grouce at a discounted rate (if not for free). This has lead to Grouce having a higher life expectancy then other similar countries. As such, many join the clergy to better their livelyhood without risking life and limb as an adventurer.
Education
Grouce mandates that all children receive at least five years of state education. This education focuses on national history, literacy, and basic arithmetic skills. These initial years of education are paid for by the capital, but province which desire continued education their citizenry beyond the mandatory period can apply for further grants which are approved on a basis of their cirriculum.
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