The Crystal Empire
Government:
The Empire and it's the government is a complicated affair, despite being the former capital of Alicornia the region has long since ceased to be the paradise it once was with the city of Crysnel being either missing or diminished throughout most of history. During its time as a protectorate, the city of Whitecliffe created a council to help run the ruined region after the Shadow Wars and the Civil War. As time went Democratic process was normalized as The Cadenza Bloodline was absent from the region and unable to retake their ancestral home in Crystal Haven. After the return of Crysnel, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza (Cadence) was installed as the rightful Ruler of the Empire at the side of Shining Armour or royally named Rilius Duskrise (sounds better than Prince Armour). Despite the rightful house ruling, the land, deep turmoil is felt within the nation, and one of the fronts of this trouble is political. What was once rulership of consent became rulership of the decree. Cadence was raised with a very northern, very Equestrian mind and sensibilities. This was especially troublesome as the culture of Whitecliffe was drawing ever closer to the Lexan Model of Government, culture and military. This was fuelled by a deep resentment of Northern Equestria's ruling class so even though Cadence did not rule with an iron fist and had barely any time for her court to become notably corrupt. Open rebellion was growing across the Empire against Crysnel with ever louder calls for Democracy specifically to the slogan "The Eagle of Whitecliffe rises!".Economy:
The frozen region was once the lush seat of a vast empire. Now it has frozen over due to the natural workings of the climate causing the region to become very difficult to grow crops in. Primarily the region trades with crystals and other materials to the 3 Equestria for a large and worthy profit. Before Cadence's reign, there was a second reign the Reign of Queen Amore before the Shadow Wars, in this period the economy was more robust and projects to finally rebuild the lost sections of the city were underway. After Amore's Fall and Sombra's fall, the majority of the region lies in ruins. The biggest growth in the region is Industrial production, a company by the name of Flim and Flam's Incorporated is making major headway in creating new jobs in the Empire and raising many out of total poverty.Culture:
The Empire is geographically located in an awkward place, to say the least. The Griffin Kingdoms and Equestria both border the small region meaning that many Equines and Griffins live within the borders. Many serpents fleeing Konja have also taken refuge in the mountain ranges preferring to keep to themselves. Culturally Crysnel post-reappearance is very close to Northern Equestria pre-civil war while Whitecliffe and its allies resemble a very Northern lexer. Some racial integration is underway even in the old-school Crysnel mostly due to the fact that the region shares borders with the two most major countries on this side of the continent meaning many griffins move in and out but also do business within the region. It also has a very minor population of Thestrals and Huskites. Perhaps the most distinct holiday from Equestria is the Crystal fair, a fair centred around celebrating positive things such as love or family or just general friendship and connections. Before the Crystal Spire was restored, the holiday did nothing to quell the corruption of the area stemming from the Umbral Depths. It also often ended with a siege by Shadow demons and other monsters meaning it was traditional for Guardians to visit Whitecliffe and other settlements during the holiday but after the Spire was restored, the Crystal's heart was able to feed on the positivity of the ritual and dramatically reduce the corruption in the region as well as instantly destroying any monsters not inside the umbral wastelands and depths upon the completion of the rituals.Military:
The Empire has a few military subgroups that broadly make up the Empire's forces, despite being very small compared to Equestria, the Empire has a comparable density of population to Zintamia. Settlements like Whitecliffe, Shinehallow, Ashfire and Cintral are all incredibly dense cities with highly sophisticated defences. Fortifications are seen only in Alicornian cities as many architects in the days of Alicornia far surpassed all current-day architects though few can understand how, perhaps it had to do with their extremely long lives. The Whitecliffe Military: This military is among the most seasoned armies in the world, rivalling Western Equestria's forces in terms of fighting demons. Having had many guardians come and go to train their forces and share critical knowledge for their tasks. It is also incredibly specialized as there is no such thing as a conventical army. All of the forces contained within this sub-group are specialized forces dedicated to certain tasks with incredibly complicated and well-regimented training that can last for years. This does mean that Whitecliffe has a far smaller military compared to the other Equestria's but their operational capacity rivals the North and South in addition to that some of the toughest soldiers you can come across, shaking off raids from Elkhiem, Konja, and Griffin Kingdoms, demonic forces and much else. The Navy of Whitecliffe is far smaller than its neighbours but has some of the fastest stealthiest ships in the world, preferring quietly deploy their special forces and allow them to wreak havoc. In cases of artillery, almost all of the artillery work is done by the navy, possessing almost no ground-based artillery as it is too rigid of a unit type for their type of hit-and-run warfare. In the days leading up to the 2nd civil war, it is said that Crystal Aeronautics is working on the first Aeroplanes with the plan to revolutionize the air forces and enable a far more powerful navy for way less of cost. The Crysnel Legions: This subgroup is built to emulate the Northern Legions, possessing around 52 separate legions the force is quite formidable but very old school and very conventical something that generals worry about and were proven right to worry about in the 2nd civil war when Witecliffe declared war against Crysnel. Much like their Northern Counterparts, the Legion employs a high amount of guns and artillery, with huge loud fleets that carry a heavy-handed punch and while smaller the Crystal navy is famed for its ability to make up for that in sheer firepower. The legion deploys much like Northern Equestria through the use of airships following a similar model of mobility but perhaps where the legion deviates the most is the use of Aura Blasters, the special Aura crystals that tend to grow in this region have allowed aura efficient aura blasters to return to the market. Crystal Sages also keep the legion running on a near-constant supply of Aura crystals preventing the need for Yorta's Aura extractors. Much like Whitecliffe the Crysnel legions prefer efficiency over everything else, famed for some of the highest quality weapons and armour across all 52 legions which is something none of the other Equestria's can legitimately claim. Crynel decided that there would be no use for a supposed Aeroplane and thus had zero prototypes or models to use against Whitecliffes eventual air force.Demographics:
It is estimated that the crystal Empire has roughly 467-678 million people living within it. It has a fairly even balance between the Young, the Middle-aged and the Elderly meaning that the economy has a fairly even projection of growth. It is also fairly multi-racial, here is the breakdown: Equines -56% Griffins - 39% Thestrals- 5% Many models project that both Equines and Griffins will continue to have steady growth but Thestrals by the time the 2nd Civil War hits is projected to lose roughly 1.7% of its share of the population due to harsh living conditions and inability to enter cities as well as Griffin's can.Religion:
There isn't much to say about religion in the Empire, there is one religion in the nation but there are three specific subgroups within the empire that is present elsewhere in Equestria to varying degrees. The Sect of Celestia: This Sect follows the Celestial church but mainly focuses on Celestia and praising the sun, this is the most widely worshipped sect of the religion within the Empire. The Sect of Solus: This sect follows the Celestial church but exempts Celestia and Lunar and instead focuses on the Actual Moon and the Actual Sun, believing Idol worship to be heretical though the followers here in the empire are far more moderate. The Sect of Luna: This also follows the Celestial Church but focuses mainly on Luna, worshipping her and her protection from the night. it originates from the Thestrals though has long transcended their demographic and has spread to many other Equines and Griffins, it is also the smallest sect within the Crystal Empire.
GDP
621 Million Bits
98 Million
621 Million Bits
98 Million
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Parent Organization
Location
Related Traditions
Related Professions
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
Related Species
Allies
Both have worked together quite well after Whitecliffe loses it's autonomy to Crysnel. Western Equestria is quite committed to keeping the royals in power.
Trading Partners
Both Kingdoms trade regularly but Whitecliffe is less than pleased with the Tsar's performance and counteracts Crysnel later in 4495 in supporting the Azure Front which tanks the relationship between the two parties.
Friends?
Due to the complicated relationship between Crysnel and Whitecliffe it's hard to define the relations between Lexer and the Crystal Empire.
Insurgency
The Crystal Empire deems Underground as insurgent terrorists who must be wiped out.
Life long Enemies
There has never been time where these two nations are not hostile to each other.
Ideological Enemies
The Colonies wishes for Whitecliffe to become a free and independent Republic from Crysnel. But Crysnel does not appreciate this and has done much to harm the Republics operations within their borders. Colony officials are contemplating the possibility of Regime change as a result.
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