Nordica
the sprawling merchant empire that lies on the Eastern coast of the Northerlands. a bustling hub of trade exotic goods and more money than the average northerner could ever dream about. led by the merchant princes who manipulate the merchants of the country and who run monopolies on all the most important goods in the region. a land of sea bound vessels and massive shipping empires that hunt the dangerous leviathans in the eastern sea. a kingdom that is comprised of the ultra rich and flamboyant, the money lenders, the merchants, the traders and savvy businessmen of the world determined to spread their monopolies and business all across the world until the world runs on money and trade. and the merchants are its rulers.
Structure
Nordica works off of a basic merchant and trade network, with the richer merchants and traders with the finance to afford guards and infrastructure running the population. they are referred to as merchant princes and with their wealth and influence they can control the networks of trades and merchantmen castes. all cities in Nordica function as trade hubs and centers of commerce. the Merchant princes do not directly control the people but instead manipulate the economy and the commerce to incite the people to do what they want. currently there are three big merchant princes that dictate the actions of the country. with a focus on overseas trade and shipping lanes to Helsreach and the southern kingdoms.
- Yasmina Volse, the merchant prince that controls the lanes of spice and salt to all coastal towns of the northerlands with a near monopoly on all forms of culinary spices and fresh ingredients.
- Talsin Gallic, the Merchant Prince who controls trade of technology from the old world from Helsreach to the mainland and from the mainland to the workshops of the mechanicus. he deals in weapons vehicles and any real technologically advanced resources.
- Kass Ulgorn: the Merchant prince who deals in all things slavery. Ulgorn is the biggest shipper of slaves and imprisoned exotic animals as well as exotic catches from other regions. his wares are highly sought after by almost all individuals in the northerlands.
Culture
Nordica's culture hinges on the ideals that every person is able to rise to greatness, their are no official kings or rulers, the most prosperous and wealthy people in the country are those who have earned their status through trade and hard work. it is a land or freedom of trade and societal advancement for the common people. a land of opportunity in the eyes of many downtrodden people in the world. The culture hangs in the grasp of extreme capitalism and money makes right, if you have the wealth and the friends needed to take a certain action, then you are justified to take that action merely because you have the ability to do so.
Public Agenda
the agenda of Nordica is to make as much coins as possible as fast as possible. Nordica is all about the money and the product and bargaining and being friends with everyone so everyone will buy their wares as it is the largest conglomeration of merchants in the entire region. the only thing on the mind of any good Nordican is profit, and profit for oneself and oneself alone. they want to grow and expand their trade networks and their contacts and their friends for more money. and in the grand scheme of things the goal is to expand to a point where the monopoly covers the world. when everything is owned and everything runs on money and the corporations run the entire planet.
Assets
Nordica has the largest Merchant and warship fleet in the entire region, they have larger more advanced ships than the Fjordlanders and a much larger navy than any other force. Nordica has seven large port cities which each house a sea fortress and a leviathan bastion. nordica would have the most money out of all the nation however all of the money in nordica is privately owned leaving the highest amount of money owned being 850,058 GP by Merchant prince Yasmina. in terms of ground forces there are no standing armies for the land but all wealthy merchants have substantial guard forces and they have the money to purchase the service of large mercenary companies and also pay of the Various Thieves guilds that will come to the aid of the Nordicans for money. in terms of weapons the nordicans have medium quality close range weapons such as scimitars and whips. but in terms of ranged weapons the Nordicans enjoy the use of advanced crossbows and magical bows as well as ballistae.
History
first started in P.C. 265 Nordica was started by captain Hooligan of the merchant fleet Ghaladrus when he crashed his ship into the coast of the Northerland, he and his crew of orcs had to build a small port. soon they were joined by the rest of their fleet who decided to set up a permanent settlement with captain Hooligan as its leader. the capital city DepthsGrave was established as a shanty town of salvaged ships and scavenged driftwood. slowly the population began to grow gaining more orcs as well as some water genasi and Triton from the leviathan sea. Depths Grave quickly grew into a large port city filled with inns grog houses and a vast array of merchantile houses and shipping companies. soon the nordican cities began spreading down the coast like wildfire. their caravans spread the trade throughout the Northerlands quickly spreading the name of the Nordican Trading empire. with the trading empire in full swing other industries started to blossom. Falsiin Kay a local fisher woman would be the first orc to start the tradition of leviathan hunting in P.C. 300 catching the first devourer class leviathan and sold its blood to the city, this event started the tradition of Leviathan hunting as a rite of passage for the more hardened fishermen in the country. in P.C. 345 with the start of the plains war Nordica provided the monetary funds for the Grey Watch to purchase advanced weapons and armor to give them the edge over the forces of chaos. since then Nordica has been known as the place to go to lease money and to buy any rare goods that come from overseas.
Demography and Population
Nordica is primarily occupied by half orcs, Tabaxi and Genasi, with a sprinkling of humans. this is due to the fact that Nordica recieves warmer temperatures due to its placement near tropical currents on the coast of the Leviathan sea. because of these facts the country has become a haven for races that typically enjoy warmer climates
Territories
Nordica's territory lies on the east of the main continent of the Northerlands a swathe of land that borders both the Leviathan sea and the Skylos territory. the southern border runs up against the iron mountains and the dwarven kingdom. they have access to the sea and numerous trade routes in the sky and under the mountains because of their close proximity to both kingdoms. a good portion of the sea is also owned by the kingdom, claimed through the use of sea forts and their considerable naval presence.
Military
the military of Nordica is comprised of individual forces contributed by the respective noble merchant lords of the city. these run in different cohorts controlled by the merchant's lieutenants and led into their different missions usually on behest of their overlords. this system makes for poor cooperation between units and small elite forces are more commonly deployed by the kingdom in place of large number based deployments. The towns and cities of the kingdom are patrolled by an elite force of oathsworn guards known as Xeleso, these guards also man much of the kingdom's coast guard, but they are only deployed to the massive port cities in any sort of effective numbers. the outer towns are controlled by a volunteer militia recruited from the population of the town. the disjointed and segmented nature of the nations military forces means that they are unable to effectively wage war against any major civilization and must rely on dedicated attacks against strategic targets.
Religion
the prevailing religion in the kingdom is coin and the respective god. Luxon the god of wealth and prosperity is the predominant religion that the majority of successful people of the kingdom worship, whether or not their is a correlation is debatable. there is no state religion and people are allowed to worship the nonchaotic deities they wish, the culture merely drives the population to worship the affiliated deity.
Foreign Relations
Nordica is the North's major trade hub, and as such it has excellent relations with all other Northerland factions save the Fjordlanders who constantly raid and pillage the Nordican's trade routes. but for the most part no nation can afford to attack the assets or territory of Nordica because of economic repercussions that would arise from broken trade routes and agreements. As a policy the Nordican's make their services available to all non hostile agencies for the pure gains in profit, they will under no circumstances trade with representatives of Fjordlands and will even occasionally refuse to associate with Fjordlander locals entirely.
Agriculture & Industry
the industry and agriculture of Nordica is severely lacking as the nation receives all its goods and materials through trade. they have a small agricultural reserve that borders the edge of the iron mountains and a minuscule industrial district in Depthsgrave. but aside from the small amount of resources produced from these locations all materials must be imported.
May the Waves Guide the Way
Founding Date
P.C. 265
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Capital
Alternative Names
Wave Lords, Tides People, Cold Sea
Demonym
Nordicans
Leader
Head of State
Government System
Oligarchy
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Market economy
Currency
Being the only country to print an official currency Nordica uses Golden Dallions as its chosen currency.
Legislative Body
there are no laws in the common sense, but the merchant princes control the country through manipulation of the trade and currency. in this way they are able to warp the behaviors and tendencies of the people of Nordica to adhere to the different wants and needs of the civilization without the need for any formal written laws. (it is expected that there will be no stealing or piracy due to the market based country being solely reliant on trade and commerce to run the nation.)
Judicial Body
the judicial body is known as the Zelezo, a group of merchant guards that patrol the streets and seas of Nordica, they have a basic court to mainly be a show of force to the regular citizens to show the power of the regulatory system of the merchant princes. the Zelezo are entirely loyal to the merchant princes and if needed can crack down as loyal enforcers.
they serve as both the police and the judges of the city, anything that passes their knowledge or judiciary experience will be transferred up to the Princes direct attendants.
Location
Official Languages
Neighboring Nations
Related Ethnicities
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