Kingdom of Inara
The Kingdom if Inara sits at the Southern point of continental Desmia. It is a launching pad for every Southward crusade, master of the central seas, trading hub, and infamous black sheep of Southern Desmia. Rival powers (notably The Holy Republic of Pakray ) have long painted Inara as a nigh-heretical greedy mercenary kingdom obsessed with the wealth of their decadent nobles. Inara has only doubled down on its patriotism in response, glorifying its founding ancestors at every turn and picking fights with other Desmian kingdoms.
But in recent years, the kingdom has fallen on hard times. For the past decade, no monarch has worn the dual crowns on Inara in earnest. Instead, a queen rules in the Northern region of Arkeen, a king rules in the South, and petty pretenders infest the fringes. Each candidate craves the freedom to attack the others, but threats from their neighbors prevent full military action. The civil war that never happened has become a festering false peace, which eats at the land. While the major coastal ports remain rich and glorious centers of the crusade Southward, heresy and banditry grow everywhere else.
Structure
At the top of the Inaran government is the monarch and royal family, which use traditional primogeniture succession. Under the monarch are the three Apellas (modeled after those of Pakray ), the Noble Apella, the Common Apella, and the Holy Apella.
The Noble Apella is the most important, as it serves as a deputy lawmaking body for the monarch and the source for many small advisory bodies of significant importance. Seats on the noble apella are reserved for those of noble blood, and are given based on land-holding titles. These land-holding titles are Prince, Duke, Count, and Baron.
The Common Apella may be less visible but it holds critical financial powers as well as powers of veto and emergency lawmaking powers. The Common Apella is elected by all landholding citizens of Inara, either through the local temple, school, or court, and each seat represents a municipality.
The Holy Apella has extremely limited powers and primarily functions as the high judiciary. The Holy Apella remains counted as one of the three law-making bodies because of its unique ability to put laws themselves on trial. As priests trained in civic law, Holy Apellates can holy any government action accountable for any restriction of 'freedom' as they see it.
History
Before the Republic
In the early days of Inara, it was a constant battleground. In the earliest of days, when Halycon evacuated Dryads from Desmia, the Southernmost dryads were evacuated South across the sea to modern-day Adava. These dryads encouraged their neighboring humans to raid their old homeland. Even after the Adavan humans attacked and sold these dryads as sacrifices, they continued raiding Inara by sea relentlessly. To make matters worse for the coastal population, plains nomads to the North frequently conducted their own raiding campaigns. When Hadaran tribes migrated Southward in the 100s ME, the local Inaran towns welcomed them as comrades and protectors. Hadarans and Inarans built the earliest cities of South Inara together in early 200s, slowly forging their own peace. Paranoid and militaristic, they welcomed the neighboring warrior monks of the radical School of Vigilance into their cities- painting themselves a target for early anti-heresy campaigns. From 265 - 270, the legendary Avanan emperor Kaydren the Hammer conquered the coast of Inara. Kaydren purged Inara of its heresy but promised something better: imperial protection. It was good while it lasted, but Kaydren's death in 300 left the empire in civil war, and the raids returned.
The Holy Republic
After decades of chaos, in 450 a victor emerged in the South: The Holy Republic of Pakray. The Holy Republic chased out the petty monarchs of Inara and integrated the coastal cities as full members of the republic. This began a long period of Pakrayan domination, all the way until 1080. Bit by bit, the Republic expanded its borders to end the pestering raids- slowly pushing inland, bringing the tribes and kingdoms to heel. In 660, a cat named Shadekeeper used raids from Adava as a pretense to seize emergency powers, end the ongoing civil war, and seize Adava for the Republic. But even as Inara was increasingly protected from raids, it found itself less and less represented by the Republic. The military regime Shadekeeper introduced centralized power in the Pakrayan heartlands, and Inara was left largely ignored by the government and governed by large landed aristocrats. Whenever enough time would pass and the landowners would grumble about their exclusion from the Pakrayan government, there would be another war of conquest and yet more land fed to their families. For this purpose, the Eastern peninsula-kingdom of Iluka was invaded and integrated in 810, and the Northern valley-kingdoms of Arkeen were invaded and integrated in 905.
The War of Independence and the Legacy of the Lawgiver
As time passed, the Holy Republic became more factionalized, corrupt, and bogged down. Other Orthodox kingdoms on the mainland began banding together to oppose their expansion on the continent, and crusading efforts across the sea had become more of a liability than a source of new land. But as the aristocratic families of Arkeen, Inara, Adava, and Iluka had fused with those of Pakray, the periodic civil conflicts did not permanently remove Inara from the empire- but a slow wedge between the heartlands and Inara began to form. In 1080, the connection finally snapped. A crusading warrior-noble named Arvak the Philosopher (a strange character that was half Feywild mercenary and received education across the continent) called a meeting of nobles in his estate in Iluka. He had long theorized that states had a moral behavior beyond the moral behavior of its component citizens. Given this, he argued that the Republic was an immoral state for its failure to respect "moral rights" to property by its unusual methods of land confiscation. At this meeting, he worked with his peers to draft a letter of demands for the Republic to respect this "invisible constitution of rights". When Pakray inevitably refused to stop land redistribution and declared Arvak a heretic, war began.
Arvak initially found himself losing, forced to flee Inara. He was welcomed by the Grand Duchess of Arkeen, Surona the Golden- a famously shrewd and ambitious aristocrat and crusader. Surona harbored Arvak, the two married, and rallied the aristocrats of the South in rebellion. As the war dragged on, Adava continued to fall under attack by Ishkibite forces- and Pakray's military abandoned Inara entirely to go off crusading. Surona and Arvak were able to launch an offense into Pakray's heartland, and peace was negotiated- the twin crowns of Inara and Arkeen would be able to secede, as long as they took over protection for Adava. Arvak and Surona began creating their own system, one that would combine the representation of Pakray's Republic with a guiding monarchy and a structure to preserve the civic rights of the landed citizenry.
The Young Kingdom Struggles
In 1100, Inara was free. It began eclipsing even Pakray in influence, standing as masters of Southern Desmia. But in the East, a rival was rising: the Koshikari dynasty. The Koshikari had united two of the largest kingdoms in the East and had become the largest mercantile power in Southern Desmia. For some time, Inara and the Koshikari kept at a distance and even experimented with friendship. In 1240, the Koshikari broke that friendship with an "anti piracy, anti banditry" campaign in the region between their empires: Hadara. This turned into a Cold War as the two empires looked to outmaneuver each other without spilling Orthodox blood. In 1360, the peace finally broke. A long, bloody war began between the two empires- one that Inara could not afford to fight. As troops withdrew to defend the continent, Ishkibites surged into Adava. The Crusader March began to ignore Inaran orders, and in 1380 declared its independence. Inara's attempts to put down this revolt failed miserably, and in 1390 it was all over: Koshikari troops had seized the royal family. Avana and Pakray interceded, demanding the Koshikari not annex Inaran land- instead, the Koshikari simply divided it in 4. The kingdoms of Inara, Arkeen, Adava, and Iluka were made, each led by a local noble.
Out of raw spite, Inara and Arkeen immediately began reforming, and in 1400 the Dual Monarchy reunited the North and South. The Crown of Iluka was invited as an equal partner, but had already married a Koshikari princess and joined their empire instead. Adava, desperate for allies, offered to join whichever faction would throw more money and manpower its way- and tentatively rejoined Inara when Inara promised more. Inara would promise anything to restore its former empire, but it promised what it did not have. When it failed to deliver, Adava again revolted in 1450. Inaran troops sent to put this down joined the rebels instead as crusaders, and the civil war ended bloodlessly with Adavan victory.
Alone, bankrupt, and facing an unstoppable Koshikari onslaught, Inara was spared by Avanan intervention alone. Inara became an imperial satellite state, but its humiliation brought instability. Bursts of civil war wracked the kingdom from 1470 to 1592. But as the world burned around them, the Inarans awoke from their internal disputes. The unstoppable Koshikari empire had begun to collapse under a century of foreignKivishta invasions; Kobold raiders had begun to strike Inaran cities. In 1592, a new regime took over- Arkeen dominated, but externally focused. The internal dissent was channeled into a crusading frenzy.
Modern Inara
From 1592 to 1810, the Arkeen faction led Inara to victory abroad and stability at home. But as the outside threat passed, people began to notice that the internal stability masked growing corruption. The regime had begun to manipulate the system, overrepresenting Arkeen to such an extent that no other regions had a say in government. All three Apellas had become stacked so aggressively in the favor of the royal family that the monarchs seemed poised to disband the Inaran system altogether to rule as Avanan emperors.
The 1810 coup and civil war ended that. The Tarana dynasty, based in the Southern coast, seized power and began restoring old Apellate rights. The ensuing prosperity and excitement has been referred to as the Inaran Spring. Investment in the Southern coastline has allowed for expanded crusading capacity and trade, and merchant guilds have wielded increasing power abroad. In 1900, Inara funded and equipped the Octoperson Magician-Adventurer Sogara and won its greatest new prize: a close partnership with the new undersea Empire of Vikatha, dominant aquatic power in the central sea. This close partnership has given Inara naval and trade dominance, as well as glory and gold.
Unfortunately, Inara has never had the luck to savor its victories. In 1950, Inara was caught funding a conspiracy of aristocrats in Iluka that would have brought the East back to Inara. After these conspirators were executed in 1952, Inara attempted a botched expedition that only gathered international scorn. The bungled intervention spiralled into a war that Inara, despite every advantage, failed to win before surrounding powers enforced peace in 1954. The former royal house of Arkeen took advantage of this incompetence to begin building a faction to reinstall their dynasty. To make matters worse, the mysterious death of the crown prince in 1995 opened up a succession crisis as well as internal bickering as to the culprit. The old queen hung onto life, desperate to solidify the legitimacy of her new choice in heir, but the damage never fully healed. In 2010, the old queen finally died. After a flurry of assassinations and intrigue, a series of new elections took place at the same time as the ascension of the crown prince. A pretender in the North, a princess married into the Arkeen line, marched with an army to assert her own claim. War was imminent- and then the land of Kenahai to the South began collapsing.
With internal problems plaguing the Ishkibites of Heretic's Throne, the Orthodox Perpetual Conclave jumped into action to renew the Silver Crusade. Inara was the crucial jumping-off point for these efforts, and the Perpetual Conclave would not tolerate a civil war that could imperil crusading efforts. Both candidates for Inara's throne were threatened with excommunication unless they put down arms and focused on crusading. The crusade has dragged on for the past decade, both sides stuck in limbo unable to negotiate a peace either can agree to. To their horror, the Conclave has even begun to propose cutting the kingdom in half- leading to dozens of pretenders leaping into ever minor territory considering secession. State unity has disintegrated, bandits have infested the interior, and heresy has begun infesting the kingdom.Demography and Population
3,500,000 humanoids and 60,000 cats; 92% of humanoids are human; 4% is Vesper; 2% is Haltia; 2% is Kobold. There are also several ports containing a significant number of Selkies.
1.5 million of these humanoids are in the Northern reaches of the kingdom in the region of Arkeen. 1 million are clustered around the Southern coast. The majority of the remaining population lives in either if Northeast or Southwest- the central plains are not densely populated.
Territories
The Kingdom of Inara is trisected by the Sakoja mountains trisect into three distinct parts: the arid lands of Inara to the South, the subtropical regions of South Hadara to the North (most notably the region of Arkeen), and the Pakrayan fringe to the West.
The heartlands of Inara connect all three regions. The interior is arid and unwelcoming- dry, shrubby plains dotted with hills, sometimes interrupted by small forests or patches of near-desert. The open plains can be a harsh place to live, and difficult to farm. The southern coastline of Inara is a different story- lakes, inlets, rivers, arable land, forests. 2 large rivers- the 90 mile Giruda river in the East and the 40-mile Kito river in the West- are centers of life here.
The West and North are substantially more humid and forested. Arkeen in the North- centered around 11 by 11 mile Lake Arkeen and its 6 surrounding lakes- is particularly arable. Sheltered on all sides by the Sakoja mountains, it is over 17,000 square miles of heavily populated arable flatlands. Arkeen is almost cut in half by hills, with a slightly less prosperous adjacent valley connected to the East.
Military
Inara's military is very aristocratic-focused, with large noble estates in the interior set aside for hunting and martial training. The archers of Arkeen and Inara were both separately famous before their unification, and an aristocrat's ability to fire a bow on horseback is seen as a measure of skill and good education. Inaran light cavalry is greatly feared for their versatility, accuracy, and skill on the battlefield- infamous for peppering enemies with arrows and exhausting them before descending upon them with lances for the kill. Even among commoners, the bow and the shortsword are part of Orthodox education for all Inaran children, and farmers in the interior are no worse riders than their noble counterparts.
Equally fearsome are Inara's merchant marines. Inara sits at the Southernmost tip of the Desmian continent, as a natural staging point for foreign expeditions - crusading and commercial. Orthodox adventurers often come to Inara to hire crews and warriors for their Southern expeditions, and merchants to transport them. It has become traditional for ambitious young warriors to join these mercantile or religious (often both) adventures- and local temples and merchants pool their money to arm and supply these young adventurers. In exchange for this support, the young warriors of Inara are expected to return when called on as elite shock troops.
Religion
The kingdom of Inara is devoutly Orthodox, piously assisting crusaders all along its coastline. Inara even has its own ancestor- Ardak the Lawgiver, an Inaran aristocrat known for their theological-political treatises and involvement in Inaran independence from Pakray. Not worshipped beyond Inara, Arvak is a symbol of Inaran pride and freedom for those within the kingdom.
As Inara's system of government is descended from Pakrayan theocratic republicanism, the kingdom has some theocratic elements. The Holy Ecclesia of Inara nominates priests to sit on the Holy Apella- the supreme court of Inara that presides over controversial cases and has the unique ability to interpret "civic law". Inaran Civic Law is a unique regional heritage of Ardak, who argued that a state must have its own moral behavior and structure apart from individual morality- and that a moral state must respect certain individual rights, such as property. The Holy Apella can determine if a law or action goes against these principles, and censor or veto that law, edict, or action appropriately.
While the state remains devout, recent events have undermined the state's legitimacy and power. As the government has fallen apart and neighbor has turned on neighbor, heretic priests have sowed their seeds. Seruvian heretics of unknown origin have targeted the marginalized Southwest and Northeast and created vibrant heretical undergrounds. These underground movements have gained enough inertia that they are even cropping up in large urban centers in the South and North.
On top of those who the state has failed are those who the state has never truly reached. Inara has a long history of Ishkibite spy networks and religious purges, which have led to scattered communities of Ishkibites throughout the interior and the Sakoja mountains. Isolated and content, these Ishkibites have failed to move to evangelism as the Seruvians have.
Foreign Relations
Inara uses its crusading participation and alliance to Avana as shields against outside attack, allowing it to maintain controversial claims on neighboring countries. Just as The Holy Republic of Pakray claims Inara as its own, Inara claims the Souther lakes of Pakray as its rightful territory; similarly, it holds onto claims on the kingdom of Iluka to the East and the Kingdom of Adava to the South. While some say that some of Inara's claims are more for prestige than action, few question the kingdom's desire for Iluka. Iluka was the birthplace of Inara's patron ancestor and is a pretender to Inara's claims to the South. The only reason by Inara does not invade is because of the watchful eye of the Conclave.
Agriculture & Industry
Inara is primarily agricultural, like most places on the planet. That said, the economies of each region vary significantly.
The Southern Inaran coastline produces maize, millet, rice, lumber, pepper, Giant Lobster, and sugar in the countryside. The urban centers are hearts of trade and shipping, and include substantial manufacturing and financial sectors. Inland Inara is the mirror opposite of the coastline. Wheat, cattle, wool, and horses are virtually the only goods produced there- though they are produced in abundance.
In the northern region of Arkeen, stone, lumber, alcohol, wheat, rice, millet, and iron are all produced here, accompanied by a large manufacturing sector in the lakes area. To the East, in coastal Hadara, rice, millet, and spices are all grown in large estate farms. The cities, despite being in the lucrative area near Drinika, are largely just for storage and shipping for these grand estates, as the lands have been largely marginalized and dominated by Arkeen's noble families.
In the West, the Pakrayan fringe is similarly marginalized, but with a focus on cash crops- large sugar, cinnamon, and pepper plantations owned by Inaran aristocrats dominate the countryside.
Trade & Transport
Merchant guilds are extremely close with the Ecclesia and temples in Inara, as much of the coastal shipping is subsidized by crusading efforts. Many of these guilds also have ties to large temple-associated banks that offer generous loans for pious expeditions and help auction off Dryad captives from the Izedra to aristocrats across the continent for prestige-sacrifice. Also tied into this mess of commercial and religious connections are the artisan's guilds and military officers, who often share similar circles in the Mayoral Halls and Trade Associations of South Inara.
Education
Most of Inara's population receives normal, temple-based education. For those with means, though, the old Pakrayan style of higher education is possible both throughout and apart from the temple. Two priestly universities tied to the Pakrayan schools offer priests and priestly candidates chosen by regional conclave higher education. For those with money and titles, a uniquely Inaran opportunity awaits: The Four Universities of Arvak the Lawgiver, which provide education oriented towards merchants and aristocrats instead of priests. Law, business, natural science, politics, strategy, and magic are all taught to young sons and daughters of great houses with the aim of curating elite administrators and generals.
Infrastructure
While Arkeen and the coastal regions all have fairly standard infrastructure for Southern Desmia, Inara's greatest feats of infrastructure have been the inland highway systems that connect Arkeen to South Inara. While much of the land is disconnected from the highway system, the highways allow for messengers, trade caravans, and aristocrats to cross the empire quickly.
Founding Date
1100/1810 ME
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Demonym
Inaran
Government System
Monarchy, Constitutional
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Mixed economy
Currency
Asalayan Gold Dragons, Silver Eagles, Copper Bulls
Major Exports
Horses, bows, stone, lumber, food, spices, wool, cattle
Major Imports
Iron, tar, luxury goods
Legislative Body
The Noble Apella
Judicial Body
The Holy Apella
Official State Religion
Location
Official Languages
Neighboring Nations
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