Antyran Protectorate

The Rocky hills, ancient forests, frigid islands and mountain slopes of the Antyran Protectorate are a center of trade and excess. Built on the foundations of the many Mythril and Spiritstone veins that thread the mountains, it is a valuable trading partner to everyone around them, and as such has a long history of being invaded. Eventually becoming a vassal of Rivairra, and later, the Empire, Antyra has long cowered behind the protection of greater powers, while exerting their influence in back rooms and through secret deals. Antyra has long been a land of strange magic and mysterious spies. It's merchant princes ever vie for control over the many city-states, scheming, backstabbing and spying on each other in an everlasting dance of intrigue. Known for its more "interesting" ideas, Antyra is the home of many free-thinkers and philosophers, and greatly respects its rich and varied heritage, shrouded in mystery though it may be. With a strong dwarven minority and ever an influx of those seeking riches, Antyra is as great a mixing pot of culture and ideas as it is of trade goods and gold.

Structure

In theory, the Antyran Protectorate is ruled by the Gran Duca or Duchessa, appointed by House Caelum of Rivairra, put in place to oversee the Ducas and Duchessas (Duke/Duchess) beneath them, and the Marcheses and Marchesas (Marquis/Marquess) beneath them. In practise, they are little more than figureheads, tending to run the administration and household of a family, and hold titles, but have very little control overall. Most of the day-to-day business of the Houses is done by the many Princes and Princesses, who hold all-powerful trade contracts in much higher esteem than most nobles their titles. It is said that nowhere has as much blood been shed over pieces of paper as in Antyra, and that everybody is owned by and owes somebody.

Public Agenda

Antyrans have always clamored for their freedom - from Rivairra, from the Empire, from religious institutions and magical oversight. Being that they are known as an individualistic, scheming people in general, this has resulted in several rebellions, coups and wars over the many ages. Currently, Antyra is a Protectorate, a status it has had for several centuries, but which has had to be forcibly "restored" by Imperial hand more than a few times. While the Gran Duca is one of a Rivairran family, Antyra acts as an independant entity, more like a very loyal trade partner than a part of the Empire proper. No religious orders make its home in Antyra, and it has no Inquisition or Imperial Army; these institutions have no power in the land of spies. More open about spiritual matters, though not so far as to be heretical, Antyra is overall seen as a necessary evil, an integral part of the Empire, a cog that cannot be removed or reshaped without the entire machine breaking down.

Assets

With huge amounts of rare metals, vast quantities of imported dwarven luxuries flowing through, fish, teas, specialty crops, and being a main source of many of the required materials for gunpowder, Antyra is deceptively valuable to the Empire for its size. Being a main source of Mythril and Spiritstone makes them a valuable trading partner to virtually any nation. The Merchant Princes control the vast majority of trade routes across the Empire, and hold the strongest ties to Dwarves of all, making Antyra as politically valuable as it is economically. Unsurprisingly, the Protectorate's fleets are powerful and advanced, while its ground forces are few and far between, though renowned for their resolve, and often more than enough to hold the mountain passes and islands of Antyra.

Mages in Antyra

The Seers of Antyra use spirit-based magic that defies all classification. Requiring concentration and training, but also spirituality and faith, the Seers function much like mages, but, like Clerics, they draw on the powers of living entities - the Spirits of the Earth. Enjoying perhaps the largest amount of freedom from government interference in the Empire, the Seers are treated not unlike scientists; they are free people, with no special or specific oversight places over them other than that of their own organizations - the Lodges have had to take care of a Daemonic possession or two in their time. They enjoy a moderate amount of influence at Antyran Court, and freedom from the interference of Templars, Inquisitors or the Colleges of Magic.

Lodge of Death

The Lodge of Death is as feared as it is renowned. Starting out as magical crypt-keepers, the Death Seers have become an integral part of Antyran Culture and customs surrounding death and birth. Sometimes more accurately referred to as "Biomancers", they are as skilled at healing as they are the destruction of living creatures. Many rumors of resurrection surround them, as does any order of healers, but in truth all they can do is what the Spirits they call upon allow them to. The most powerful among them can animate corpses with the energy of Spirits, or kill with a touch, and are known to cause pain simply by looking upon them. They tend to wear masks to fix this issue - though many question if they really have to be skull masks.

Lodge of Time

The Timeseers are complicated and often misunderstood. While having the power to affect space and time, their powers are much more limited than wild rumours of travelling to the future would suggest. Masters of clairvoyance, their greatest ability is to see over great distances and into the past. Generally they manifest a minor amount of precognition, a seventh sense that lets them see things coming unconsciously. But the greatest among them, known as "Oracles", receive true visions, flashes of possible futures, and they are the most closely guarded of all.

Lodge of the Void

Continuing the trend of mystery and rumor are the Voidseers, who draw on power from the Great Beyond, which some simply call, "space". Masters of gravity and pressure, many mistake their outward abilities for a type of telekinesis, and their seeming ability to ignore the strikes of weapons and walk through walls as teleportation. In truth, the abilities of the Voidseers can be quite useful in the hands of a creative individual, and makes them the most feared magical melee combatants in Antyra by a large margin, but they are as limited as any other mage.

The Heraldry of House Alacrán, of Altis, Antyra

Type

Geopolitical, Duchy

Parent Organization

Rivairran Union