Political Overview
The history of Arthea has been forged by conflict over scant resources and an almost religious fervour about the dangers of magic. These two themes have have featured in all the political change to influence the lands of the humans since ["The Great Disaster"]. And it is this single event that casts a shadow over all recent history.
It is the Disaster that is responsible for a land that was poorly equipped to produce food for the hungry people, and the Disaster that oulawed magic in the minds of the common people. And so it is this Disaster that is the root cause of the conflicts that have unified the lands. The unification has brought about a lasting peace, and a time of prosperity of a kind never seen before for the humans who inhabit the world
This political situation does not, however, please all people. Prosperity is not universal, and there are many, particularly in the southern lands, who resent their rulers. Political structures are far from perfect, and the incumbent powers use fear and intimidation to maintain control.
The Kingdoms
There are eight distinct nations making up Arthea. ["Ticetia"] and ["Caldonacia"] are the two large countries of the north, while the south has six smaller lands (["Amastus"], ["Jorlinum"], ["Cerlain"], ["Tholain"], ["Hebria"] and ["Limia"]) which were previously joined in a powerful Empire.
It was this Empire's desire to acquire and control the resources of the north that sparked 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 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 Arthea's capital city, ["Cellam"].
The nation sees itself as a growing powerhouse of industry and commerce, yet its biggest industry by far is farming. While its industrial base has grown markedly since 1360, food production growth has been even more dramatic, easily keeping pace with the growth in the size of the population.
The people see themselves as a cosmopolitan, welcoming land, 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 strong reputation for being Machiavellian, well versed in cloak and dagger politics, and as a scheming untrustworthy ally.
Their relationship with Caldonacia is relatively simple. They 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 met with distrust because of their commercial reputation. Among some sectors of Ticetian society there is also a new resentment over the 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; many see it as an enemy, and 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. It is suspected that there is a movement in the former Empire that is actively seeking the heir to the last Amastan Empress, and this is another source of friction between the powers. The biggest issue 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 Amastus are seen in Ticetia as especially arrogant and overly flamboyant (a feeling that is, of course, mutual).
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.
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.
Caldonacia 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 all political laws and rules imposed from Cellam - all such impositions are never made with the good of Caldonacia in mind.
The view of the former imperial lands to the south is little 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 seen as another conquest. The Imperials, it would seem, 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.
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, 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 Amastus 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 Amastus, and the influence of Amastus has coloured all the political relationships between these countries for seven hundred years.
Amastus
Although they did not form the first Empire, Amastus lead it for many years. The royal house of Amastus 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 Amastus 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 Amastan among other nations of the former Empire is of an ordered, rules-oriented official. This is unfair, but the general population of Amastus are genuinely more dour and more straight-laced than many of their neighbours.
Amastus 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 responsible for much of the organisation and administration of the Empire.
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.
Jorlinum
Separated from the other nations of the Empire, Jorlinum always had a frontier feeling during the earliest years of the Empire, although many of the population felt that Jorlinum surrendered too easily. 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 Amastus. The importance of Jorlinum grew with the 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 Amastus. Its people stood strongly with the Amastus 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. 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.
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.
Hebria
The Hebrian have a reputation of being the hardiest and strongest stock of the Empire. Their place on the front-line of many wars between the Caldonacians and the Empire has earned this for them, but also their reputation is based on the coldness of the lands here during the earliest of post-disaster years, and the struggles the people overcame to establish their land.
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 well, 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 exploit this. 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.