Aplos
A dismissed nation of a forsaken race, without the prestige of Astria - nor its palpable menace. The place seems far from lawless or disorderly, simply lacking the 'traditional' human approach of total, dismal control. The people are free alongside the markets and commerce flourishes within Aplos, especially with the help of Tough Bay and the expeditions into the Keylsa Jungle to find valuable flora and beasts - though elves often attack those marauding bands.
Aplos is bifurcated by water from the south west up to the north east. Tough Bay reaches up to the country's heart and The River Quiet extends past that all the way up to its source in Astria. Many work within Tough Bay to harvest the unique aquatic creatures, a vast majority of them being harmless and a virtuous number being invaluable. Any trade from the bay can then be easily transported to Amberwich via The River Quiet.
Unfortunately, freedom has brought the burdens of crime and corruption, reaching the desperate and gentry alike: Slavers of all assortments find good pay with seldom consequences at best, felonious brothels pop up and fail to disappear, and the innocent live with constant rumours of local depravities. Most can't stomach what goes on at the nadirs of society. They avert their eyes and refuse to speculate on any perverse events unearthed to them, because they know life in Aplos can be relatively splendid with a few eyes closed.
Structure
Flimsy arrangements author Aplos' politics between three factions: The royal family, the noble houses, and the criminal conglomerates. Royals cannot sanitise nobles without losing their people and authority, the nobles cannot and do not attempt to suppress large syndicates, and the lawless know how to stay where they cannot be pursued. The result is constant infighting between the royals and nobles while the criminals are never brought closer to justice.
Public Agenda
The royalty of Aplos wish to overhaul the nobility from deep corruption, and from there purge all the crime. Alas, it is not so easy. Prince and Princess Bluemaw despise the venal nobles almost as much as the crime lords they appease, but their father swears by the current system being better than any other they could have. Perhaps he is tainted by his animosity towards Astria and its own systems. He yearns for his nation to one day prosper as that malformed Kingdom to the east does - without its dearth of freedom.
Assets
Local towns harbour their own militias owned by nobles, filled with well-meaning folk in an unscrupulous system. Nobles can lend their forces to the crown, yet they never do so due to their distaste for the royals and their fears of drawing Astria’s attention. Moreover, any army of Aplos would have no sting internationally, when so much wealth has been redistributed to the felonry.
Demography and Population
Nobody tends to migrate to Aplos, even the other humans. The average lifespan is low because there is no care for the pursuit of knowledge and development Astria prides itself on, and the only Life put into the land is that stolen from The Keylsa Jungle. To see a Behemon, elf, sprite, or thalassi tells that they banished, truly desperate, or drawn to crime - often times all three.
Foreign Relations
Nobody gets along with Aplos and nobody bothers to invade it either, because its only value, azuresteel, is useless to the neighbouring nations. The verdict is that it's best to have Aplos be its own self-contained cesspool. As such: Aplians that migrate to Oceanfront are seen as the scum, those that go to Astria are imprisoned, and any that go to Flutterhum are unlikely to survive for no other reason than being human.
Agriculture & Industry
Farmland in Aplos, though mediocre, is serviceable, and citizens that settle away from Tough Bay can live on the soil. However thanks to shoal, Tough Bay is Aplos' one unique value. Gold can be sold off as jewellery, iron can be made useful, and azuresteel is the best Ocean Object material on the planet. There is only one other trade inside Aplos to rival the wealth of azuresteel, and that is selling the winnings of the extremely few successful excursions into Keylsa.
Fairness in everything.
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Capital
Demonym
Aplian
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Market economy
Currency
Ferns are the lowest currency of Aplos, with their copper engraved to show bloodthirsty creatures from The Keylsa Jungle, flora and fauna alike. At fifty times the value, Reefs are silver coins with a picture of a majestic shoal etched into them. Their value is high to display how prized shoal of rare metals are.
Official State Religion
Neighboring Nations
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