Political Overview
The land that is now known as Arthea has been forged through a thousand years of conflict over scant resources and an almost religious zeal about the dangers of magic. These two themes feature in all the political, social and religious influences the lands of the humans since The Great Disaster.
And it is this single event, this world-destroying Disaster that casts a shadow over the history of all races since those days.
It is the Disaster that is responsible for a land that was barely fertile enough to grow food for the hungry people. It was the Disaster that set the minds of common people dead against magic, as that had been its cause.
And so the effects of this Disaster can be traced through history, and shown to be the root cause of the conflicts that brought together the kingdoms that became a single nation. The unification has brought about peace in the lands of the humans, and a time of prosperity of a kind not seen before.
The political situation does not please all people. Prosperity is not universal and there are many folk, particularly in the southern lands, who resent their distant rulers from the north. Political structures are far from perfect, there is a mix of laws from Imperial days and laws based on traditions of the north. And the incumbent powers use fear and intimidation to maintain control, to push peasants and freemen down and keep them there.
The Kingdoms
There are eight distinct nations making up Arthea, each of whom have their own identity and traditions, despite the uneasy political unity. Ticetia and Caldonacia are the two large countries of the north, while the south has six smaller states (Antaurus, Jorlinum, Cerlain, Tholain, Hebria and Limia) which were previously joined by conquest into an economically powerful Empire.
It was this Empire's desire to acquire and control the resources of the north that drove the conflicts that brought about political unification. This was a series of wars that could be won easily by Imperial military might, but took no account of the deviousness of the conquered nations.
Ticetia
In financial terms, Ticetia has become the business capital of Arthea. A land which started as a loose group of neighbouring kingdoms has seized the crown of the unified kingdom, and in doing so has grown beyond all recognition. It now has a financial base almost as large as any three of the southern kingdoms, and half as big again as Caldonacia. The focus of this money is in Arthea's capital city, Cellam.
The nation sees itself as a growing hub of industry and commerce, yet its biggest industry (and by some way) is farming. While its industrial base has grown markedly since the 1360's, food production growth has been even more dramatic, easily keeping pace with the growth in the size of the population. Since the turn of the 1400's there has been an expansion of farming throughout the kingdom. More land than ever seems fertile enough for farming.
The people see themselves as a cosmopolitan and welcoming, but filled with straightforward, plain talking and often brutally honest people. This view is shared by many visitors who have met the commoners who live here, but as a nation Ticetia also has a reputation for being manipulative and scheming, and is well versed in cloak and dagger politics.
Their relationship with Caldonacia is fairly straightforward and simple. Caldonacia, their reputation suggests, is a well trodden servant, beaten by both Ticetia and the Empire in the wars of unification. Ticetians see the peasants and commoners of Caldonacia as rural bumpkins, their feudal lords as stylish and well heeled but toothless when it came to real power, and their traders are held withh distrust because of their commercial reputation. Among some sectors of Ticetian society there is also a new resentment over recent technological advances the Caldonacians have made - some feel that the Ticetians should be advancing just as quickly.
Their relationship with the former Imperial countries is far more complex. The old Empire is mistrusted, indeed many Ticetians view the Imperial nations in the same way others view Ticetia. And many see it as an enemy, there is still a suspicion (and some guilt among the more liberal feudal lords in Ticetia) that there may have been foul play in the way succession was passed to a Ticetian king rather than an Imperial one which most Ticetians would hope to deny. It is suspected that the people of the former Empire are up to no good - that there is a movement actively seeking the heir to the last Imperial Empress who, if found, may spark another civil war.
Yet also, especially among the artisans and middle classes of Ticetia, there is a veiled admiration for the achievements of the south. Stories of architecture, poetry, scientific advancement, even the heart of their civilisation have their impact on lives of Ticetians. There is a fashion to emulate this, to become more Imperial, to reflect that majesty and glory right back at them. This shines through in the architecture and lifestyles of the well off, especially across the Ticetian south.
The biggest fear for ordinary peasants in Ticetia is the association of Tholain with magic - Ticetians have the most distrust of magic users among the countries, and the way the Empire was founded by wizards is a constant source of irrational fear for them. The imperial houses of Antaurus are seen, at least among the poor, in Ticetia as especially arrogant and overly flamboyant, despite their own nobility behaving in the same way.
Caldonacia
A largely rural and agrarian land, Caldonacia struggles to compete financially with the other countries that form the kingdom of Arthea. This is related to the battered psyche of a nation that has often been on the losing side in the series of wars that brought about unification. Even when they've done well in conflict, they've been double-crossed by their allies.
Being dealt this harsh hand by fate has created a proud and often belligerent people. Self-deprecating, and cutting in their humour about themselves, they seem to specialise in sarcasm and fatalism. Caldonacians are famed for their dark sense of humour. But this, coupled with their close association with the dwarves living near their land, seems to have also fostered a society that prizes and encourages technical innovation - a mind set of individuality, of not being afraid to stand alone against the tide of chance or ill luck. A loneliness that gives time for inner contemplation and thinking, to plan and devise, and finally to build.
The negative mind-set of the whole nation has hampered their political progress. They've not kept up with the growth in people or economy of the other parts of Arthea, but despite that they've still seen growth in agriculture and, more recently, in industry where their innovation is beginning to pay off.
Being the lesser partners in the unified kingdom, Caldonacia often struggled in negotiations. In the earliest days of the new Kingdom this did affect the nation's dealings with her neighbours, but slowly they learned a new skill - that of negotiation and trade. In recent times, the Caldonacian reputation for shrewd negotiation and cunning diplomacy has become something of a legend.
The Caldonacian view of Ticetia is of a land of arrogant and untrustworthy lords but a pleasant and welcoming population. There is a strong undercurrent of distrust of Ticetian political rule, it is the Ticetians who are blamed for oppressive rule and there is strong mistrust of political laws and rules imposed from Cellam - all such impositions are never made, it is said, with the good of Caldonacia in mind. This feeling is widely believed to be shared by the Ticetian people too.
Their view of the former imperial lands to the south is different to that of Ticetia. The Empire dealt in magic, this makes them feared, and the much heralded 'liberation' of Caldonacia from Ticetian control before unification is only seen as another conquest. The Imperials are blamed for the abandoning of the lands south of Loudman and Saltley, which were once part of the bustling rural life of the nation. The Golsandra Peninsula and some of the lands west of Golsandra Bay once formed a part of the Caldonacian realm, but the habitable lands became the staging post for wars between the Empire in the south and Caldonacians to the north. The area was abandoned during that fighting between 1215 and 1217, it had been harmed in all conflicts. It may be a Caldonacian ideal to move south once again and reclaim those lands, but the population seem reluctant to move in the face of political uncertainty and the unrest in both the south and the in their own nation at the imposition of Ticetian rule. For the time being, those lands are abandoned and empty, save for the trade caravans passing between Hebria and the south of Caldonacia.
While the all the imperial nations are often grouped in the minds of peasants as 'lands who use magic', it is recognised that the main core of this is in Tholain, who is especially distrusted. Despite this fear, there is a degree of common friendship with the Hebrian people, whose political position in the Empire was much like the position of Caldonacia in Arthea today.
The Former Empire
There are six nations that made up the Antaurus Empire, and through political upheaval this was later replaced by the Carrodian Empire. As the Empire grew and changed the relations between its nations developed. The Empire flourished strongly under the control of the royal house of Antaurus, and the influence of Antaurus has coloured all the political relationships between these countries for seven hundred years.
Antaurus
Although they did not form the first Empire, Antaurus lead it for many years. The royal house of Antaurus became the controlling Imperial House and gave rise to generations of political stresses. The other nations in the Empire have grown a grudging respect for the political and administrative control exerted by Antaurus that kept the Empire together and well organised. In reality this was burden and took huge amounts of planning - this has become ingrained into the culture of the nation, and in recent times is seen as a bit of a joke. The stereotypical view of an Antauran among other nations of the former Empire is of an ordered, rules-oriented official. This is unfair, but the general population of Antaurus are genuinely more dour and more straight-laced than many of their neighbours.
Antaurus has strong ties with Cerlain, without whom, it is felt among the country's rulers, it could not have held the Empire together as long as it did. The people of Cerlain were actually responsible for much of the day to day organisation and administration of the Empire, and were more inclined to carry out some of the dirty tasks needed to keep the taxes flowing.
Tholain
The feeling among all the other nations is one of heavy distrust of the magical powers of the political elite of this land. While it is many long years since the leaders of this nation were involved in this to a great degree, the reputation has persisted. This makes the people of Tholain into a proud and independent-minded folk. There is also a feeling that the Empire, which was forged through Tholain magical might, has been stolen and twisted into something that benefits Tholain far less. Thus the broken Empire fell, and has been replaced by a kingdom much worse.
There is still a long tradition among the magic users in Tholain. Unlike the other lands, they have little genuine fear of magic, but certainly prefer it to not be 'showy', or used for overt display. Such feelings have given rise to a separate 'non magic' form of conjuring, involving the use of trickery not magic to perform astonishing feats, and these really are for show - they are becoming a big entertainment industry. These people are known professionally as 'Charlatans', and are a quite a phenomenon.
Jorlinum
Separated from the other nations of the Empire by walls of mountain, Jorlinum had always seen itself as being on the Frontier during the earliest years of the Empire. When the Empire was originally formed, many of the population felt that Jorlinum surrendered too easily, and that they could hold out longer and perhaps even kept the Imperial forces out for ever. This feeling often runs as an undercurrent to society hundreds of years later.
As a result, the political structures of the country are not wholly in line with those of others in the Empire - even during its height they were often out of step with the political mainstream in Antaurus. Despite this, the importance of Jorlinum grew with the successive wars with Ticetia, as the west and north of the land became both a mustering point and a training ground for the Imperial army. This happened several times, and gave the nation more purpose and drew it closer to the heart of the Empire at the time.
In the early 13th Century Jorlinum has become the a hub of trade with Ticetia and is the centre for mining output of the former Imperial Kingdoms. The mountains to the east of the nation are rich with natural minerals, and there is the feeling among the political rulers that this is only lightly exploited. There is a desire to increase output of the mines here, something that will fuel further the industrialisation of all the Kingdoms.
Cerlain
Politically, Cerlain has always been tightly aligned with Antaurus. Its people stood strongly with the Antaurus Empire, and were influential in the organisation and administration of the huge political machine. The Empire stood, it is said, on the back of Cerlain and her ordered people.
The nation has traditionally been the bread basket of the Empire too. When the lands around struggled to produce food to feed the post-disaster world, Cerlain was positioned in the most fertile of lands, in shelter of the mountains to the north and in a moist, warm environment where crops and livestock flourished. Some historians have suggested that the expansion of Tholain that caused the first Empire to be formed was driven partly by a desire to control this resource.
As temperatures have continued to rise over recent decades, the lands are becoming hotter. This is causing a drop in food output, and more reliance is falling on vine crops and olives rather than barley and root vegetable foods. Farming has moved steadily northwards, and is being followed onto the low slopes of the Jorlinum mountains by the vineyards. This has raised some concerns, but the lands continue to thrive, and they continue to provide political organisation and drive for those that control the power in the south. With huge expansion of farming elsewhere, these lands have little to fear from the fall-off in food production.
Limia
Having been the smallest of the nations of the Empire for many years, Limia was little more than a smaller brother to the lands to the east until the 12th Century. The gradual rise in temperatures has made the lands much more fertile. The lands around Kenver and Jealbridge have become farming heartland and there are already farming settlements appearing north of Pulwarg Hills and Gannith.
This change in fortunes is slowly transforming Limia into a political power with some real influence. Population has risen, and there is now little reliance on the mining efforts to exploit the minerals of mountains between Eason Mines and Maddonfield Mines. With this expansion, however, has come political turmoil. The arrival of money and know-how from Ticetia and from Cerlain to make use of these new resources causes some concern among the rulers in Kenver.
Yet such concerns are one side of the coin - on the other is prosperity. Limia's imperial relationships have been to deal directly with Antaurus and to a lesser extent with Jorlinum. They struggled for many years to reach out further across the southern kingdoms, and ever was the poor man of the Imperial nest. For the first time in the nations history, it is becoming wealthy and populous. Some feel this growth and stature makes the meddling by Ticetia worth it, yet others feel it is a price too high to pay.
Hebria
The Hebrian have a reputation of being the hardiest and strongest stock of the Empire. In the days when the Empire was first formed, they were a cold land, frequently coated in snow during the winter, but those days have long moved on - the cold snows now land far further north, but the reputation remains. Their place on the front-line of many wars between the Caldonacians and the Empire has helped keep it alive for them.
The country has moved on somewhat since those times, though. They exploit the huge marshlands and peat bogs north-east of Toperus and east of Rebinia, and the Hebrian forest provides some of the finest oak to be found across the lands. The Hebrians have all the resources for shipbuilding, but have no deep water port available to make proper use of it. They have a thriving wood export industry, though. They seem to be supplying huge amounts of ship-wood to Caldonacia.
Like Caldonacia, the nation has experienced something of a contraction brought about by the periodic wars between the Empire and the Caldonaicans. Hebria used to encompass some of the lands to the north-west of Arbenfort, but these lands became the staging posts of the Imperial army, and a target for Caldonacian forces. The lands are now no longer occupied, and are away from the trade routes that run along the long road from Eben to Loudman and Fornan Bay to the north. This expansion in trade over recent decades seems to have fostered a strong relationship between the two nations. Perhaps their own status as underdogs for so many years also contributes to this.