So, a while ago I did one of these for Pantheons and it seemed to go down quite well. So this time, bring out your fictional countries! With Sci-fi being a thing I'm mostly using the word country in it's roughest form, that being a group of people roughly bound together either by culture or government. Name, brief history, what they value, maybe a map if you have artistic talent. Just try to keep it somewhat short to prevent reader burnout, and I'm going to ask that each person after the first asks the previous person one question about their country.
Ardean Empire people: Ardeans (Latins), Atrebates (Celts), Elisi (Greeks) language: Latin spoken languages: Latin, Greek, Welsh Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic area: 1 289 618 km2 50 * 53 / 2 + 119 * 15 + 119 * 59 / 2 + 134 * 54 / 2 + 134 * 82 + 110 * 82 / 2 + 134 * 36 + 107 * 91 / 2 + 91 * 67 + 52 * 26 / 2 + 43 * 10 = 42 632 px2 = 1 289 618 km2 = 498 137 sq mi population density: 30 people per sq mi (11,59 people per sq km) 11,68 people per km2 Ottoman Empire in 1451 9,38 – 14,06 (avg. 11,72) people per km2 Hungary in 1500 13,1 people per km2 England in 1450 (1,9 million, 145 000 km2) too high – Ardea is under constant attack – use Hungary estimate population: 14 944 000 9,7% urbanization rate = 1 444 000 city dwellers large cities: 150 000 total (1%) (2 cities – 100 000 capital, 50 000 second city) medium cities: 374 000 total (2,5%) (17 cities, 22 000 average per city) small cities: 270 000 total (1,8%) (22 cities, 12 000 average per city) towns: 650 000 total (4,4%) (92 towns, 7 000 average per town) army model: professional + semi-professional (thematic troops) army equipment: heavy cavalry: full plate armour + 5 meter lance + mace + sword light cavalry: helmet + no armour / mail shirt + shield + 4 meter lance + sword mounted crossbowman: partial plate armor + crossbow + sword heavy infantry: partial plate armour + poleaxe + sword light infantry: helmet + gambeson + shield + spear + sword pavis carrier: pavis + helmet + 4 meter pike crossbowman: helmet + partial plate armour + crossbow + sword + pavis army personnel: 298 800 fleet personnel: 36 000 (64 large dromonds, 130 medium dromonds) military total: 334 800 (2,24% of populace) note: same proportion of military in populace as 11th century Roman Empire (250 000 army + 34 200 navy, 12 000 000 populace – military 2,37% of populace)
@Aldarion When was this Empire founded? And are they the equivalent to a world power today or are they less developed? My country is a bleak, yet socially advanced future of the United States, though they're no longer united. Throughout the story, the state of the country alters multiple times. For example, at the start, it's under Junta rule after a presidential representative for a newly founded political party, the Cabal of American Accord, is elected and they usurp the current government. The states are turned into districts, each named after a member of the Cabal, ten in total. Each district is appointed its own militia but keeps an emergency service force. The militias are meant for district protection while the police and all that is meant for the cities. It is very isolated from the rest of the world, ignoring the third world war as they suffer from an internal conflict that is a second civil war. Then, after that first half of the story, the Junta collapses and the country is in a confused state as the three protagonists fight each other, each trying to achieve their own version of government envisioned for the nation. So, in conclusion, my country is a chaotic, progressive dystopian, if you will, visualization of the United States.
I have not yet created a full timeline, but idea is basically "fantasy equivalent of Western Roman Empire if it had survived to 15th century". They are a major regional power - one of several major powers in my world, in fact - but they also happen to be neighbours to my version of Ottoman Empire, so yeah...
I am starting on creating a colony in the Xanite galaxy for my story. One slight issue is that there is this group of vampiric like beings who like to consider that planet like so many in the galaxy as a great hunting zone. I also created the Styx Dimension which is the home of Lady Death. Still working out the details other than there is a palace for Lady Death.
Ooh, tell us more about Lady Death! She sounds fascinating! Cavallia is a small strip of land between France and Italy. It was made a country in 1072 by a French knight called Sieur Antoine de Babineaux, who travelled there with his wife Aalis and her sister Cateline, whose husband had just died. In honour of them, Antoine has remained the most popular name for Cavallian boys, and Alice, the more modern form of Aalis (typically pronounced the French way), has pretty much always been in the top ten most popular names. He was joined by a group of French and Italian nobles, and built Le Palais Grand and Cavallia's capital city, Saint-Gosse. There, he declared himself King. It is hard to pinpoint exactly when Cavallia became a country, but at some point the 27th July was fixed upon as a national holiday, Le Jour de la Fondation. Celebrations have become less elaborate over the centuries, dwindling from tradition-filled Mayday-type festivals to street parties, to simply a day off school or work. France wanted the land back, of course, but Antoine held out, and eventually they gave up (haven't figured out why yet). Due to Antoine's French heritage, Cavallia has largely French traditions, such as adopting the Catholic religion, and celebrating festivals the same way. The national language of Cavallia is French, but close to the Italian border, Italian is more commonly spoken. Somewhere between the two, it has never been uncommon to find even peasants who speak both languages fluently. It was difficult for Cavallia to establish themselves on the world stage, being essentially reliant on the French for protection, so members of the royal family found it difficult to find royal marriages, and so often married foreign nobility. These nobles would often bring relatives and servants with them, so Cavallia soon became a very pan-European country. This meant that they had to relax their rules about Protestantism, eventually reaching a grudging toleration in the 16th century, since almost half the country were Protestants and they couldn't afford to wipe them all out. One thing I think it would be cool to include but couldn't feasibly justify, is legal polygamy, because I think it's an interesting concept and it would be fun to explore the different dynamics that would create. It would probably necessitate a break from Rome, but not a change into Protestantism like the English. Some kings had multiple wives, which meant they had huge amounts of children. Most notably, King Michel in the 19th century had three wives and twenty-nine children. That's all just a fun little tangent, though, and I don't think it could be justified in any actual books. The current royal family are descended from Antoine, but they are now called Babineaux-Vauquelin. This is because of a civil war between the royal family and a rival house, the Vauquelin, in the 13th century. King Jean II ended it by marrying Marguerite de Vauquelin and changing the name of the family as a mark of unity. There is a rule that anyone marrying a sister, daughter, granddaughter, or niece of the King must change their surname instead of the bride changing hers, in order to protect the family name. This is how it has survived for so long. Any children and grandchildren of the King or Queen are given the title Prince or Princesse, and nephews and nieces are called Duc or Duchesse, although they do not have a duchy. Their children are Seigneur or Dame (Lord and Lady), and their children are Honourables. Their children do not have titles. The flag of Cavallia depicts a white horse on its hind legs in front of a royal blue background and a white and gold diagonal cross. I can't think of anything else to say, which is probably just as well, considering the length of this post.
@EstherMayRose Do the people consider themselves culturally French, or their own distinct group? And how did France react to the founding of an entirely new kingdom on their borders? Legal polygamy would likely to be pretty hard to add in with the strong Catholic/protestant ties, however, you could look into noble courts and practice of taking Mistresses. Ironically the more affairs a king had the more power was available to women because there were more positions that granted them power. I'll do my own thing tomorrow.
So, the Divine Ysanti Patronage is a country that formed after the gods either left the world or get shanked, and the demigods surrounding them started trying to work out what to do and what level of authority they had. After a few days of debating, followed by a few week of fighting, those remaining came to a rough agreement, decided that they were effectively Regents, and then tried to get the rest of the world to recognise them, which failed somewhat as other countries had taken the time to start trying to conquer each other and didn't want to stop. The demigods decided the best way to have people stop the conquering was to conquer them so the demigods were in charge. Three hundred years later and they've effectively made their own empire that is in something of a cold war with a purely human empire that believes divine right of kings supersedes any claims the demi-gods might have. For the government, I actually think it's going to akin to historical China, with a large bureaucracy doing much of the day to day running (likely forming a priesthood as well), and the demigods serving as a nobility. Instead of a single emperor though, they're ruled by a council of demigods, with one descendant of each god serving as a representative for the rest of them. Not got much of the culture down yet, but religion is going to play a big role obviously.
IDK, mine seem to be more Planet(s) sized, which is far bigger in scope than a chunk of land on a planet, so not sure if it would apply in context.
"With Sci-fi being a thing I'm mostly using the word country in it's roughest form, that being a group of people roughly bound together either by culture or government." Doooooooo it.
Shia LaBeouf it. I did find an article that argued for polygamy being justified in the Bible (which I can't find now, which is a pity because I've forgotten most of what it said), but I found several more arguing against it, and since it's something that's something of a taboo even now, I don't think I'll be able to have Cavallia so deviate from the norm just because of something I find interesting. Another thing that was rather odd was that I had the idea that, rather than one man marrying several women or one woman marrying several men (less common), it was a group of people all marrying each other (no more than seven). I'm going to stop talking about it now because, while it's an interesting idea, and it would make Cavallia unique, I can't use it. Mistresses aren't quite the same thing. Illegitimate children didn't have the same rights and neither did a mistress have the same status as a wife. I totally agree that it could be a great way to become powerful, though. I've looked up some of Charles II's mistresses and they all lived such interesting lives. I might go that route. While Cavallian culture is very similar to French, it does have Italian influences as well as having elements of its own. I'm still working out details, but they have their own festivals, like the aforementioned Jour de la Fondation, and one of the most notable differences is that they kept their monarchy. They have always been exporters of cured meats and their own cheeses, although the industry has not been as successful as France's. They also have their own alcoholic drink, miella (name will probably change), which is rather like fruity mead. They are also notable for their embroidery, and they have a strong industry in embroidered silk. They also make beautiful lace. In the eighteenth century, which is when the book I'm currently working on is set, they have their own style of dress, the robe a la Cavallienne, which is rather like a robe a la Francaise or l'Anglaise, but with a classical-inspired train. I was kind of unclear when I talked about the land being French. It was neither France nor Italy when Antoine pitched up, but Philip I of France thought that, as one of his knights, Antoine should have claimed the land for him, rather than established his own country. I'm still working out the details, but France did send troops to claim the land. I think someone probably sent troops of their own to bail the Cavallians out, but I'm not sure who would do that. Europe seemed to be rather united in the 11th century, mostly focusing on the Crusades. One thing that would have helped them out was that France itself was very fractured at the time, and was run largely by nobility, with the King overseeing them all. Later on, they managed to get an alliance with France, and although Cavallia has never fought a war of its own, they have often sent troops to help France. When France was victorious, the Cavallian soldiers would bring home plundered goods. This helped boost the economy all the way up to the twentieth century. (But the image of them as being in France's pocket has hurt their credibility on the world stage.) So what do your demigods do if they aren't involved in the day-to-day running of the empire?
I wrote this ‘little’ intro for my pleasure, and as a way to explore the general history of this “nation”. I do plan to finish this one day but certainly don’t expect anyone will be interested in reading it. Even this snippet sparked several ideas - and problems - within the world building process. Enjoy (if you can): The Tawndom of Gnostrum spans the breadth and depth of the great Black Desert (aka. to humans as the Night/Nightmare Sands.) The sands and lands across the huge region are black due a cataclysm of eons past where two great forces of nature met in a fiery and violent clash. Inhospitable the lands remained uninhabited for millennia due to the fallout of that enigmatic, ancient event. Eventually flora and fauna encroached on the blasted, ashen landscape and life begin to flourish there once more upon the funerary shroud of blackened earth; the rivers from the northern edges of the region having slowly fed nourishment back into the deathly rock strewn scape; laying down enriching sediments of detritus in which life could rouse the land from its bleak slumber to an urgent fecundity. It will pay us to know something of the lands surrounding this unique region. To the north, as touched upon, a mountainous area marks out a distinct natural boundary. It is here that the black sands of the cataclysm fade being on the fringes of that ancient event. The peaks of this mountain range outline the northernmost extent of Gnostrum and possess lush pine forests and snow capped peaks which taper down into valleys. Beyond these mountains, further north, lie deep, dark forests, mist-strewn and tainted by some unknown effects from the cataclysm. In the regions immediately over the mountains the forests possess blackened bark and red leaves that look stained by human blood of a merriment of wines. These patches are more prevalent further to the northwest where the city of Kalos lies (but that is not the topic of this document.) The important detail historically, in regards to Gnostrum, is that these regions used to flourish with pef-pefgar; some still do. Also, in this region humans found a home and also populated the valleys seeding the Gnostran race with their stock - here there is much speculation as to the extent of influence the humans had upon my race due to the obvious difference observed in some humanlike tribes discovered in fairly recent times; it seems to me, and other scholars, that the cataclysm’s effects somewhat altered the “humans” in this region and led to interbreeding with the alkari. Here is as good a time as any to segue into the ancestry of the Gnostran peoples. We are of mixed stock and almost certainly seeded from a combination of human tribes living on the fringes of the cataclysmic area who become tainted bu the effects. The main uniting force though was certainly the arrival from afar of the alkari peoples (Al-Asha), of whom a splinter colony lies far off to the southeast and of whom Gnostrans have little contact with - they now being a vassal state to the Clef (a race of adept seafaring creatures.) The historical accounts tell us that far, far off to the east the alkari race held great sway over large regions. One group of peoples among the alkari were/are the Al-Asha. The Al-Asha were a nation who were driven by a mandate of exploration and discovery which was further invigorated by the apparent collapse of the greater part of the alkari race’s influence due to internal wars and external clashes with other species (mainly the Zeechir - not a topic this document will cover). During this shift of power the nation of Al-Asha was fractured and fleets set out across the oceans and seas to seek out new lands to colonize on a scale unprecedented, even by their traditional standards. Most seem to have perished for reasons unknown, and the only remnants we know of today are the afore mentioned Al-Asha vassal state and, as you can likely guess, the peoples who came to this black deserted land now known as Gnostrum. It is here that our Al-Asha ancestors carved out a life and proceeded to create permanent settlements; and across time how they interbred with the local populations of humans to create the Gnostran peoples. What is a curious is that no human can breed with any Gnostran we are incompatible, which we must logically conclude from - bolster by other evidences - that humans were plastic and altered enough by the cataclysm that a new subspecies of humans then integrated with the alkari peoples of Al-Asha. We are essentially now a distinct race of peoples, we are now gnostran neither human nor alkari; although there were some speculative reports of people from Al-Asha being able to impregnate gnostrans, but no mention of gnostrans being able to impregnate Al-Asha. From this it is generally accepted that although these three races possess a history of interbreeding for what ever reason the people of Gnostrum are now utterly distinct from humans and alkari. This now allows us to shift to the lands to the east of Gnostrum. Directly to the upper eastern area of Gnostrum the area of catalysm extends somewhat further out before the desert rocks and sands shift in hue from black to tan. Not a great outside the reach of the black sands the parched climate still has a hold and it is here that the bulk of the torg race resides in two distinct nations with their subterranean cities scattered across the landscape like islands in a featureless sea of tan rock and sandstones. Futher to the northwest from there the most northeasterly reaches of the Gnostrum lands ends in the high rain-drenched peaks and valleys which then stretch further and further to the east into the vast mountain ranges and plateaus of an area known as The Mataps. To complete the sketch of the northern extremities of Gnostrum we shall now shift to the other adjacent corner in the northwest. Here the lands end in a huge forested valley that extends to the north, and toward Kalos, whilst directly westward another mountain range climbs to the sky. This most northwesterly region is oft quite overrun by a race of creatures called minskin who are primative and violent for the most part, although some civil behavior does breakout among them from time to time (a very curious species of which I shall engage with later on in this document as they are, or at least have been, a significant force in the shaping of the Gnostrum Tawnhood). Beyond this mountain range and further west lie the kingdoms and nations of humans; not a great deal is known of their history as they are not inclined to record much about their past. What we do know is that to the west a large stretch of territory is dominated by their presence and stretches across a distance rumoured to be several times larger than that of the Gnostrum Tawnhood. The four key nations are The Gurlic Empire to the north (of which the pef-pefgar have provided great intelligence about), Polderand, not far beyond the western mountains, a collection of city-states with no particular ruling body, Xentia (previously The Xentan City States) a region of warmer climes otherwise much like Polderand in political structure, and beyond Xentia the evasive and enigmatic lands of Ansemic (a region that has certainly had some effects upon it similar to that of Gnostrum - being a region of madness and death for most humans who venture into or out of those lands). This brings me to mention the main reason why Gnostrum is never invaded by human tribes; or rather, extremely rarely. This is because humans cannot last for long in the tainting effects of the cataclysmic region - they suffer from madness and eventual death more often than not. Some humans can survive for a few years in Gnostrum, but none remain completely sane and able beyond a few months due to the onset of the Gloaming season. Yet many human corpses can be found strewn around the desert as greed is a primal driving force for humans it seems. They thirst for gold, gems and knowledge; ironically it seems they truly seek the later yet confuse the former two as the later - a curiously deluded set of creatures, as I guess all species of people’s are to one extent or another. Now we have covered the lands off beyond northern half of Gnostrum let us cast our gaze to the southern limits and the regions beyond. This area is vast, harsh and mostly deserted desert. Beyond the territory of Gnostrum in this area roam many, many different warring bands and nomadic tribes. Two races scurry around these lands, the gan clans, mostly residing directly to the southerly regions made up of arid scrublands, and human clans, mostly residing to the southwesterly regions made up of grasslands and sporadic low hills. Off to the eastern portion of the southern borders lies the Sapphire Sea with sweeping dunes that wrap around its shores. A isthmus separates The Sapphire Sea from the Gulf, on the northern shore of which the Clef nations reside; and towards the midpoint of the Gulf where the vassal state of “Al-Asha” now sits within the vast deltas of the southern shore. Now this is outlined it is of import to mention the state of the region of Gnostrum after the arrival and settling of the Gnostrans. The birth of the Gnostrum Tawnhood grew from many different factious clans. Four made up the greater part of Gnostrum and shaped the Gnostrum Tawnhood into what it is today. Originally in the north and northwestern reaches, among the mountains and valleys the Cwdella clans held sway having to fight off a constant stream of minskin warbands, to the far northeastern other clans, the Gwettic and Lewtn mingled with torg and pef-pefgar in the wet and rain, to the far south a peoples, the Ur and the Gul, much akin in attitude to the current human tribes beyond their boarders, grew into a tough and warlike culture - life was, and is, desperately harsh in the baking heat of the desert and especially so with the roaming bands of savage gan (a race of creatures of brutal size and strength with hound-like features and rippling muscular bodies; oft over 7 heads high). Finally, the beating heart of the Gnostrum Tawnhood today was the area where the Nos tribes settled among the remnants of ancients ruins (the barely visible crumbling remains of previous torg and pefpefgar constructs) and along the Pwedwed river stemming from the northern mountains. Now to look at the principle regions of Gnostrum today. Firstly, in the early history of our civilization the pef-pefgar dominated the northeastern regions, and still to this day they are a prominent race in the political structuring of that region, as well as having some influence upon the Gnostrum Tawnhood. In effect the Gnostrum Tawnhood is not structured around Gnostrans only. Other races live as equals among Gnostrans helping build the civilization and develop it further. The region to the northeast is known as Gorn Vaul and is where the vast majority of Gnostrum’s pefpefgar reside (having a physiological need for forested regions and craving kinship among their own kind far beyond anything a Gnostran would feel - a pef-pefgar isolated from fellow pef-pefgar is a danger to themselves and all around them. It should be noted here that prior to the founding of Gnostrum proper there was a civil war among pef-pefgar and a conflict between some factions of pef-pefgar and the torg. A great distrust between these races is still felt today and the populations of these species has dramatically declined due to this friction as well as the adverse effects of the cataclysm (note: that is a subject matter which the reader can refer to among my other works including “The Betrayal: A History of the Pef-pefgar Civil War,” and “The Torg.” There are also works by other scholars that deal specifically with the relationship between the torg and the pef-pefgar of which “Friend & Foe: The Torg and The Pef-pefgar” is highly recommend). The important point to be taken into account here is the strong influence of the pef-pefgar within the current climate, and historical backbone, of Gorn Vaul and that the pef-pefgar of Gnostrum are loyal to the Gnostrum Tawnhood. Secondly, to the west of Gorn Vaul, lies the Tawndom of Talic. The Cwdella people are the ancestors of this region and occupy the mountains and valleys protecting from the minskin threats in the northwest. It is from the Talic region that many rivers flow and where the great river Pwedwed begins its journey to The Sapphire Sea carrying with it alluvial silt that enriches its banks and allowed the Gnostrans to settle more easily in the desert. Thirdly, to the far south the tribes of Ur and Gul united to create the semi-nomadic state Urgul which began to dominate regions far to its north across the harsh desert creating the Tawndom of Nostic bringing desert tribes into its fold and protecting them from the gan incursions - one particular instance of which swayed the tribes of the desert to unite with Urgul after suffering heavy losses. Finally, the seat of the current Tawnlord of all Gnostrum - the Tawnhood that cuts through most of these regions along the Pwedwed River - the Tawndom Nostra. Here lies Ardel Court, the seat of the Tawnlord of all Gnostrum, the Great fortress built by Dewl el Moui, and the extensive libraries of the Ordanae. Each of these Tawndoms has long running settlements, each city has its own Tawn and each region its own principle ruler (High Tawn); in Talic the main seat is Aprila with the satellite settlements being Rownon, Gaelon, Panowa and Dwylo, in Gorn Vaul the main seat is Dargul with the cities Celic Goch, Mordra, and Tem Goch to the north, in Nostic the main seat is Traed with Urgul, Memer and Enpallan stretched across the middle of the desert, and finally in Nostra the main seat being Gnostrum, the name sake of the nation, with the vassal cities Nornolost, Zalador and Gorgofell. The aim of this work is not to dwell on the current structure so I will now move back in time to the history and mythos surrounding the founding of the Tawnhood and the protagonists involved as best I can - speculation on my part will be duly noted.
