Seilurid Empire

Demography and Population

The Seilurid Empire's population is in absolute numbers the highest of any nation in the known land. However, given the vastness of Seilurid territory, this population is spread out across a very large amount of land and of much lower average density than that of other nations. The overwhelming majority of Seilurid population is rural and lives in small towns or hamlets across the great expanses of the Empire's land. Though a decent number of cities exist, they are on average lower in population than that of other industrialized nations, and even the capital of Elfame is relatively small compared to the capitals of other nations. This major disparity is in no small part due to the lifestyle of the average Seilurid citizen whom tend to value agrarian life or simply a connection to nature over the chaos of urban life. Families in the Seilurid Empire tend to be of large size in the Rural areas where households can sustain many children - and require many hands for farm work - but more modest in Urban areas where the cost of living is higher, pollution is more of a concern and accommodations are more scarce. Mortality rate is somewhat higher in urban environments despite the presence of modern medicine, as Rural people have access to fairly effective Folk medicine and somewhat higher standards of living. These facts ensure that the majority of the population remains in Rural area despite the massive urban exodus seen abroad. An urban exodus is also present within the Seilurid Empire, but it is not as pronounced as in other nations. There are four main constituent cultures within the Empire. Several other smaller, local cultures also exist, but are not represented enough to warrant studying. First among them is the Seelie culture, which is primarily located in the central heartlands of the Seilurid Empire. The Seelie are a traditionally nomadic and pastoral people who combine a love of arts and entertainment with a strong martial tradition as warriors and horsemen. In the past, the Seelie have been aggressive conquerors who acquired most of the land now currently owned by the Empire in the past, which contrasts rather jarringly with their jovial and friendly nature. The Seelie people have always allowed freedom of religion and culture amidst their conquered people, which has helped solidify the Empire and let it endure to this day, though their dominant faith of Unam-Animism has nonetheless organically spread to other cultures over time. The Bourgignon are the second major culture within the Seilurid Empire, and they have been at war with the Seelie for a few hundreds of years between the 11th and 14th centuries. Bourgignon people are the engineers and the architect of the Empire. They are the ones who created the most grand works and buildings and the ones who constructed complex siege engines and began exploiting gunpowder the earliest in ancient history of the Empire. Though they are fascinated by sciences in all fields, the Bourgignon are also appreciative of fine arts, especially wines, silks and music. These shared tastes have allowed them to get along with the Seelie relatively well despite their historical belligerence. The Bourgignons' ancestral homes are the south-western territories of the Empire. The Norman are the third major culture within the Seilurid Empire. Like the Bourgignon, they have been at war with the Seelie between the 10th and 12th centuries. Like the Seelie, they are a natural warrior people who fought fiercely and to the bitter end, though they were outmatched and outmaneuvered by the highly mobile and cunning Seelie Cavalry. Besides being warriors, the Normans are a people of maritime tradition, and they provide a disproportionately high amount of sailors and naval experts to the modern Seilurid Empire. Normans are natural explorers, and it is Norman crews and captains who are credited with just about the entirety of Seilurid naval exploration and the establishment of the Empire's colonies. The Normans' ancestral homes are the northenr territories of the Empire Finally, the last major culture within the Seilurid Empire are the Sibir. Unlike the others, the Sibir are largely isolationism and prefer to be left alone, lacking much in the way of any central government or authority. Although their culture occupied vast swathes of lands in the Eastern territories of the current Empire, they were never unified in any true capacity. Seelie explorers venturing out in the vast expanses called the Landes des Titans integrated countless Sibir tribes into the Empire relatively peacefully, in no small part thanks to their share belief in Unam-Animism, throughout the 15th to 18th centuries. Despite their isolationism, the Sibir are a hardy people with skilled - if small - cossack hosts, and their people often make willing volunteers for the Seilurid armed forces due to their belief that any foreign invader would trample on their lifestyle, which the Seelie have largely protected.

Military

The military of the Seilurid Empire has a very long history and has been feared throughout much of known history, though the advent of the modern battlefield has negated many of their ancestral advantages and put them on the decline somewhat. The Empire's military has always been fairly large, and due to the long history of martial tradition and bellicose wars, it has a considerable amount of volunteers making up its forces. Indeed, most families see military service as not a frightening obligation, but rather a duty that brings honor, strength and prestige to the individual. Due to this nature, the Seilurid does not employ conscription unless in times of extreme needs. This means that the Seilurid armed forces benefit from high morale, but have lost their ancient numerical advantage over smaller nations who have introduced and enforced conscription. Historically, the Seilurid Empire - but especially the Seelie and later on the Sibir cultures within it - have always been known for their horsemanship and their army has always featured a disproportionally high amount of cavalry compared to its foes and rivals. The massive cavalry of the Seilurid Empire has allowed it to utterly dominate the battlefields of the middle ages with a mix of light raiders with composite shortbows and heavily armored shock forces with lances and war axes, which allowed them to alternate between highly mobile harassment strikes and devastating shock charges. The advent of gunpowder has not changed this, with many semi-modern cavalry tactics being pioneered by the Seilurid. Nowadays, the Seilurid cavalry has lost a significant amount of its ancestral edge due to the apparition of the machinegun and the spread of artillery, but it remains a force to be reckoned with. Seilurid cavalry is highly mobile, highly flexible, and always supported by horse-drawn light artillery of its own. Infantry forces have taken a bit of a supporting row throughout much of the Seilurid Empire's history, but due to the aforementioned shifts in war paradigms, they are increasing in importance. Largely made up of Bourgignon and Norman soldiers, the Seilurid infantry is a master of fortifications - be it building them or destroying them with sappers or all sorts of creative stratagems - and makes copious use of artillery. They are far more static than their cavalry brethren and are often said to lack initiative as Seilurid infantry commanders are very reluctant to abandon their well dug-in defensive positions. Nonetheless, they present an inexorable, if slow and inflexible force which makes up the anvil to the hammer of the Seilurid cavalry. The naval history of the Seilurid Empire is significantly more complex, as the Seelie and Sibir have little to no naval tradition to speak of. The overwhelming majority of naval thinking within the Empire comes from the Norman, although modern shipyards are located in Seelie territory for administrative and strategic reasons. Initially, the Seilurid were largely focused on land warfare, but after the conquest of the Normans and Bourgignon in the 12th and 14th centuries, they realized that it was necessary to change their thinking, because the world around them had changed. The philosophy of the navy of the Seilurid Empire has always been a reflection of its land-based horsemanship focus, as mobility and speed have always been a priority. Still, the relatively modest size of the Seilurid navy means it cannot simply crush its opponents as it would on land, and must be cautious and crafty to earn its victories.

Agriculture & Industry

In the modern, semi-globalized economy, the massive territory and largely rural and agrarian population of the Seilurid Empire make it largely a breadbasket nation. Production of foodstuff, forestry products and textiles are considerable and make up a significant bulk of the nation's exports, even if many of said exports are not the most profitable ones. Seilurid exports have on more than one occasion save minor nations from disastrous famines in the wake of crippled harvest seasons or droughts. The quantity of available foodstuff is not its only quality, as it is also quite varied. Rye-based products are of course dominant, from floor to bread to ale and liquor, but the Seilurid Empire also exports a wide variety of fruits, wines, salted meat, fish, mushrooms, nuts and spices, with its colonies providing small amounts of exotic crops such as chocolate or coffee. Outside of foodstuff, products of the earth remain an important sector of industry. Much like above, the textile industry of the Seilurid Empire is varied and strong, with vast fields of linen in Bourgignon and Norman lands, massive herds of sheep in Seelie territories for wool, a thriving fur-trapping industry in Sibir communities, and even carefully managed silk farms. With the addition of vibrant dyes of just about every color, Seilurid textiles and apparel make up a large market and cover just about every need, from simple but warm winter clothes from fur or wool to elaborate, refined silk or linen dresses. Likewise, the woodworking industry is just as well established, with several types of essence found across the Seilurid Empire's large territory. Seelie and Bourgignon craftsmen are known to create exquisite furniture and wood engraving which are respectable set pieces in any noble mansion. Also somewhat related is the sector of animal husbandry for non-commercial purposes. As a nation of traditional horse riders, the Seilurid Empire maintains vast stables and horse breeding programs, both to maintain its own army with fast, fearless horses, but also strong and plodding draft horses for civilian work or the transport of supplies and artillery. Lesser known is the Seilurid hound breeding programs. Wolfdogs are commonly bred within the Seilurid Empire and serve a variety of roles, ranging from livestock guardians, hunting companions, and security or even military patrols. Due to the unreliable and unpredictable nature of wolfdog breeding, however, this industry is not as reputable. The mineral sector is held back by the Unam-Animist majority's close relationship with nature, which makes large-scale - but ecologically damaging - exploitation of mineral resources much less accepted by the general populace of the Seilurid Empire. This has led to a somewhat stunted industry which makes use of inferior, less-efficient methods of extraction, which in turns leads to significant bottlenecks. Though the Iron industry has managed to reach a good size over the centuries in spite of these protest, the Steel industry remains largely handicapped and there is little support for expansion of the mining sector among the general population, leading to several complications and shortages in the modern economy and a reliance on imports. On the other hand, the Seilurid Empire is a pioneer in the field of oil exploitation, having discovered and tapped many oil fields in the Prés d'Or region fairly early on. Initial interest in oil was driven by a desire to avoid an expansion of the unpopular and ineffective coal industry and has since then blossomed into several sub-sectors, with the Empire now being a leading producer of not only crude oil, but also refined forms such as naphta and kerosene. The Seilurid Empire was also the first nation to find a use for natural gas, which was traditionally seen as an unwanted by-product of oil drilling only good to be burned at the wells.

Trade & Transport

The prime way of transit for goods and people inland is by railways. A significant network of railways link up nearly all major Seilurid cities, but given the enormous proportion of people who live in rural areas a significant amount of people are therefore not serviced by the primary network. The network is relatively old and made up of iron rails, which are less durable and can tolerate less weight than steel rails, though Seilurid locomotives and wagons are fairly modern and effective, with reliable construction and innovative engine models, frames and wheel arrangements. The network is however bottlenecked by the fact that most modern Seilurid locomotives are simply too strong for the capacity of iron rails and cannot function at their full potential until the primary network is modernized. For coastal areas, travel by sea is also a possibility, as many significant port cities can be found across the southern and northern borders of the Seilurid Empire, though it is worth noting that the far East lacks much in the way of such developed infrastructure. Much of international trade and shipping is done via maritime routes due to the relatively small market that can be reached via land routes. Much like the rail infrastructure, the Seilurid merchant marine is rather old and in overwhelming majority made up of iron-hulled vessels. There is a fair variety there, with most ships being coal-fired steamships, but there are also a few oil-fired ones and a number of hybrid sail-and-steam vessels are also present, prized for their speed and long-term endurance. Finally, for all areas not serviced by the previous two means - which is to say most of the very numerous rural communities - transit of people and goods by horse-drawn carriage and carts remains the dominant means of transportation. Indeed, it is the only mode of transportation that is readily available and reliable in such areas. Horse-drawn coaches and carts can also be found within urban environments, though they coexist with the more modern methods of transportation stated above in such places. Automobiles are extremely rare and mostly a novelty limited to a few wealthy individuals.

Education

Education in the Seilurid Empire is a very divided matter and creates a fairly visible class dichotomy. In its ancestral centers, the Empire boasts large and prestigious academies and college that cover a large breadth of sciences and fields with established history and relatively lavish funding. The capacity of these academies however are limited and are mostly attended to by the Nobility, which makes up the bulk of the most educated strata within Seilurid population. This is however not absolute as Commoners are also admitted to the Imperial academies on a regular basis, if albeit in fewer numbers than the nobles. Commoners admitted to such institutions are usually highly talented individuals whose potential has been noticed by either a noble or a wealthy bourgeois. In these instances, the noble or entrepreneur sponsor the commoner and pay for their education. It is a relatively frequent practice, though it is only done with the truly skilled. Those commoners usually continue to work for their patron after completing their studies and often acquire a fair amount of prestige in their own right. Among the masses and peasantry, formal education is somewhat rare. School exists in most cities and small towns, but a mixture of relative disinterest by the peasantry and staffing shortages means that a majority of the Seilurid population does not possess any formal education in schools. Most of the peasantry prefers to receive pastoral and spiritual education from their peers and the local shamans, where they will learn all sorts of technical skills from farm handling to animal husbandry to artisan craftsmanship. The average Seilurid peasant, while not formally educated or literate, tends to be quite good with their hands and traditional methods of production. It is common for agrarian families to artisannally produce small quantities of transformed goods such as cheeses, drinks, jams, pickled vegetables or smoked or salted meat or fish. The average rural Seilurid peasant also possesses many survival skills when it comes to living in the wilds, such as trapping, hunting, fire-starting and shelter building. Between those two extremes are the lower gentry and bourgeoisie. They make up much of the formally educated middle class as in most case. While they are still connected to the land like most Seilurid citizen, on average the middle class does not see formal education as an either frivolous or spiritually lesser thing. Standard education in the Seilurid Empire is a tricky thing because most regions have local dialects in addition to the official languages of the Empire. In proper formal education, both are taught, with Francien being the Common dialect and Seelie being the High dialect used in law, academia and among the nobility. In addition to reading and writing, formal education covers a wide range of mathematics and touches superficially to subjects of biology and physics. Technical education usually follows basic education where older students can specialize in a variety of mid-range vocational training or profession.

Infrastructure

In addition to the elements already covered under Transportation, there are two elements worth outlining which define Seilurid infrastructure and countryside. The first is the prevalence of walled town centers and castles. While no longer effective fortification by modern standards, ancient fortifications were built across much of the Seilurid Empire's territory, with the Bourgignon having built immensely numerous castles, the Sibir having built none that stood the test of time, and the Seelie and Norman being somewhere in the middle. A great many of these castles still stand and serve as headquarters of military formations, especially in Bourgignon lands, where railway stations have often been constructed just outside the walls. When it comes to cities, most historical cities have been walled, but have long since largely outgrown their initial fortifications. In many cases these old city walls still stand and are considered "the Old Town" of any given city. Of a more modern lean is the presence of pipelines. These pipelines originate from the vast oil fields exploited by the Seilurid Empire in the Prés d'Or region, and while they are still small and have been expensive to build, they form the nucleus of a burgeoning petroleum industry Pipelines pumping crude oil stretch from the oil fields to the capital of Elfame to the West and to the port cities of Havre Solitaire in the south and Charron in the north-east. At Charron, oil is pumped into tankers for export or transport where pipelines do not yet reach, while at Elfame and Havre Solitaire, oil refineries exist which crack and distillate crude into its various, more useful components. Natural Gas pipelines have also been constructed Westward more recently and reach Écarmine and Elfame, where the natural gas is being explored for use in power plants and steel mills. Overall, the state of the roads is highly variable depending on the seasons, location and use density. Most rural roads are earthen or gravel roads, while major roads around Elfame, La Hire and Tabris have been paved with bitumen and are regularly maintained. Aqueducts and sanitation infrastructure are also usually well maintained and industrial regulation exist to punish the dumping of industrial waste and contaminants in or near aquifers as well as most lakes and waterways.

Founding Date

917

Type

Geopolitical, Empire

Demonym

Seilurid

Government System

Monarchy, Elective

Power Structure

Unitary state

Economic System

Market economy

Currency

Scinti The currency of the Seilurid Empire is the Scinti. It is entirely made up of coinage without banknotes and its coins are hexagonal rather than circular. The Scinti is a double-back by fixed exchange rates for gold or silver in a Bimetallic Standard. This, added to the fairly high purchasing power of an individual Scinti and the stable, long-standing economy of the Seilurid make it a hard currency widely considered as safe and reliable. ¼ Scinti: Simple coin made of Muntz Metal (Brass) with a coiled serpent on the obverse and a 1/4 wreathed in roses on the reverse 1 Scinti: Simple coin made of Muntz Metal (Brass) with a swooping falcon on the obverse and a 1 wreathed in roses on the reverse 2 Scinti: Simple coin made of Muntz Metal (Brass) with the visage of a fox on the obverse and a 2 wreathed in roses on the reverse 5 Scinti: Simple coin made of Muntz Metal (Brass) with a galloping horse on the obverse and a 5 wreathed in roses on the reverse 10 Scinti: Bimetallic coin with an outer hex of Muntz Metal (Brass) and an inner hex of Silver, with an open flame on the obverse and a 10 at the center of a chrysanthemum on the reverse. 20 Scinti: Bimetallic coin with an outer hex of Muntz Metal (Brass) and an inner hex of Silver, with roiling waves on the obverse and a 20 at the center of a chrysanthemum on the reverse. 50 Scinti: Trimetallic coin with an outer hex of Silver, an inner hex of black-painted Muntz Metal (Brass) and gold-plated reliefs, with a golden sun on the obverse and a 50 at the center of a chrysanthemum on the reverse. 100 Scinti: Trimetallic coin with an outer hex of Silver, an inner hex of black-painted Muntz Metal (Brass) and gold-plated reliefs, with a golden moon on the obverse and a 100 at the center of a chrysanthemum on the reverse.

Legislative Body

The Legislative authority among the Seilurid Empire is the Imperial Cabinet, formed of the Ministers at the head of the various Ministries. They are usually experts in their fields nominated to their position by the ruling Emperor in recognition of their knowledge and skills. Each Minister - or a cabal of Ministers working together - may draft legislation at any time regarding their specific jurisdiction, or that of those involved in the case of multiple Ministers working together on a same project. Though their authority is recognized, the Emperor has a veto right and may unilaterally invalidates any legislation project at any time, for any reason. Because of that, it is customary for Ministers to inquire the approval of the Emperor before issuing a Decree. In this role, the Emperor ensures that the individual Ministries are not being obstructive or sabotaging to one another. Naturally, the Emperor also has the authority to issue Decrees on any issue, though it is customary that he or she will leave the details to the experts in the field.

Judicial Body

The Seilurid judicial system is based upon Civil Law and makes use of an Inquisitorial System. In layman's terms, the dominance of Civil Law means that the courts study every new case under the law in relative vacuum, with little care to precedents from other, previous cases so as to avoid becoming biased in their judgment of the current case. Every new case is judged per the given law, with its associated context and it alone. The Inquisitorial System means that the court is actively tasked with investigating the case brought before it. Unlike many other court systems, however, the investigation led by the court is not inherently prosecutorial in nature and does not seek to find evidence to explicitly convict the accused, but rather to investigate the facts neutrally. Though this is easier said than done especially with highly inflammatory cases where the accusation is particularly shocking or offensive, it is seen as a source of pride for Seilurid jurists and investigators to maintain their objectivity, no matter the outside pressure. Members of the judicial system who fail to maintain said objectivity are often fired, which means that the judicial system has a relatively significant turnover and that its constituents are, on average, relatively young. In court, Seilurid lawyers are known for prioritizing the Spirit of the Law rather than the Letter of the Law to a considerable degree, which directly translates to an exhaustive study of the circumstantial factors both for and against the accused in any given case. It also has the unfortunate side-effect of making Seilurid Law appear especially byzantine to the outside observer as it is very difficult to outline constant patterns and the decisions may seem arbitrary or incoherent with other, similar cases.

Official State Religion

Unam-Animism

Subsidiary Organizations