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Democratic-Guild Etroa:
Craftsmen had always had an important part in society, Etroan society especially. Not only do they make the items we need to live our everyday lives, but they keep our economy rolling by making items for export, defend our nation by arming our soldiers, advance our culture by sponsoring artists, and advanced our scientific ability by investing in product development. It is only natural that craftsman should be at the helm of our great nation. Under this belief, Etroa has long been led by a series of powerful guilds based off our important industries. Which industry was important rise and fell with the time, and with it the guilds that had failed to change.
Originally the guilds would effectively rule over towns and villages. As the nation grew more complex, they would naturally have to work together in order to effectively govern a nation. This naturally lead to a conflict of opinion - especially where rival guilds where concerned. While force of arms had solved several issues early on, we soon realized it would be much cheaper to "Buy Support". Naturally the power of a guild is measured by its wealth. The more powerful and successful a guild was, the more money it would have. When two guilds came into conflict they would bring it before a council of all the major guilds in Etroa, whoever offered the larger bounty would typically be declared the winner in all but the most outrageous cases.
As technology and society developed over time, the "peasant class" had begun to advance to the point most had extra money to spend. This lead directly into them having more political power, given how directly wealth influenced Etroan politics. Thus emerged "The People's Guild", a collection of Etroan citizens from all professions and walks of life. It took donations from all its members and went before the Council to reform it. With few guilds able to match this newcomer's monetary firepower, it was able to force through new resolutions limiting how much one person or organization could spend to "Buy Support". In effect, any citizen could show up to the council and pay a "poll tax" maxing out at the price of a loaf of bread and have as much influence as a major guild. This had on paper turned Etroa into a direct democracy, though many of the more powerful corporations fought back by issuing company script instead of Etroan coinage that could be spent on the Polls. Those that lasted longer tend to attempt to influence their new source of power - the people- using the money that would have been spent Buying Support. Today the Guilds effectively act as political parties in other nations, while still maintaining their business ties (barring The People's Guild).
Ever hungry for resources, the Guilds decided to invade Askia to gobble up their magnetic powers as the world begins to enter the Age of Electricity. While Askian steampower can be used to develop a nearly endless source of energy, combining it with Askia's gas making supermagnets would allow Etroa to control the global energy grid far into the future. Sensing coin, the Guilds promised every Etroan a cut of the profits of our global energy domination leading to widespread support.
HAIL THE EMPRA - Etroa
With the discovery of the sunstone, Etroa had believed itself to be blessed by the heavens. We where designated to rule the world as the sun rules the sky. Our light would shine on the rest of the world, be it the pleasant glow of the afternoon or the fiery rays scorching a desert. Early Etroa was lead by tribal leaders and priests working together, often forming single blocks of power where they are essentially the same. Inter-tribal warfare would lead to the development of three Kingdoms, which would in turn be united under one Empire. The Sun Emperor's line enjoys an unbroken succession running back centuries. It includes many of the protectorate's former ruling class, integrated into our ruling family as conditions for their capitulation and cooperation.
Even the Sun does not rule the sky alone. Etroa's lesser nobles consist of Sky-priests, Craftsmasters, and Highborn. Sky-priests are (as one would assume) the priest class, ruling over the Sunstone and Skytear mines and acquisition. While the land under their direct control is minimal, they are powerful both for their stranglehold of the special resources needed to run the nation and their influence over the religious among the general population. Craftsmasters are often taken from the general population, though the position can be filled by skilled craftsman from higher positions. They rule over towns, cities, and villages as a sort of mayor, or council of mayors in larger areas. Essentially the greatest craftsmen are presumed to be the greatest men, and are presumed to be able to craft society as they craft other material. Thus accomplished Craftsmen become Craftsmasters after being approved by a Highborn. In addition to their leadership duties, they run most day-to-day operations of the government including education and police work. The Highborn are the hereditary leaders - related to either the three Kings or from the Emperor's line. They officially preside over large portions of the nation, and officially rule over the protectorates entirely. They often concern themselves with National law, military matters, and foreign diplomacy. The Sun Emperor has absolute authority over Etroa and its colonies, with the other Highborn having slightly-less-than-absolute authority over their Territories.
Little major changes had rocked Etroa over the centuries after the Empire had been established. While the head of state changed constantly, the power shifted between the classes, and occasionally a puppet sat on the throne, the overall Empire had found itself to be very stable. It was constantly growing and accepting the culture of its colonies and protectorates, with foreign goods being much loved among the Highborn (many of whom state their foreign ancestors just as proudly as the Etroan ones, even if they where technically in a lower position before the merger). These tend to have a superficial effect on the government, a Highborn might call himself a Jarl like his great-great-great-great-grandma did but he is in exactly the same position as the Highborn next door calling herself the Duchess.
As for cause of war, the current Sun Emperor has been rather peaceful. It came as a shock to the nation when the beloved prince had been captured by Askian bordergaurds and held for ransom, and an even greater shock when he was brutally executed despite having been paid. Askians have rejected this notion, spreading a conspiracy theory that it was Etroan Highborn who had murdered their own prince to spur the Sun Emperor into war against Askia. Depending on how it is being told, they either wanted resources, political power, or to pay back a grudge of some sort. In any case it is clearly nonsense - no one would have done such a horrible thing to our prince.
Lol we really don't have a government - Etroa
Etroa is in a rather paradoxical state as "the Anarchist Empire". Mainland Etroa has little official government. The Militia has long acted as a basic police force (mostly keeping people from shooting each other in the streets) and military unit defending the loosely-grouped "nation" from outside assaults. So why - and how- did we invade other nations and take protectorates? Simple. The Militia needs funding. With no 'government' to fund it and very little private funding during peace time, the one 'government' organization would essentially be non-existent if there was not an ongoing threat. So they took in protectorates - not only a source of funding and manpower during the off-times, but an excuse to keep the Militia well stocked and ready for action. This works better than expected all around. The Colonies and Protectorates have no oppressive rules or laws beyond providing funding and CAP forces, leaving them almost entirely free while still protected by Etroa's Militia and reputation. Etroans themselves remain free of government control without so much as having to pay taxes, so long as they keep enough protectorates and colonies around to keep the legacy of Etroa's militia alive.
Without any laws to govern the nation, Etroa is vastly different from location to location. In general people with the same opinions gather together to enjoy their own 'culture'. Those who prefer a more rigid lifestyle (such as foreigners immigrating in from more traditional nations) might live in a province to the North or a Port, where the people police themselves harshly - so that someone stealing would be beaten by a mob as punishment. Others may live in shared housing with no idea of "personal property" in the heart of the nation, taking what they want or need when they want or need it with nobody having any issue with this setup. Still others live in fringe towns at are near absolute chaos, often populated by foreign criminals attempting to use Etroa as a hideout. Gang culture tends to be strong in fringe towns - both foreign and Etroan protection gangs that often act as squads for the Militia. How rigid or flexible the local culture is depend on the location, some communes have been around for centuries without changing while another popped up last week and is gone today. The closest thing to a consistent change is that 'fringe towns' appear on the fringes, often settling down once foreign criminals begin to enter whatever the fringe is.
It was in one recently de-fringed town that this conflict started. The Militia had just driven out a gang from a city on an island near the border. You could call the local culture 'jumpy', slowly making the transition from a constant state of street warfare to a more peaceful life. Some kids of Askian's higher ups heard Etroa fringe towns where a good place to make trouble and made a bad choice. Without any real government, Askia couldn't demand any sort of satisfaction or even get a story on what happened to the Askian expat. They had sent their military in to gather up the inhabitants of the town in order to doll out their own punishment, leading the Militia to intervene with this clear violation of Etroan sovereignty. Some people got shot, and the situation has escalated from there.
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Topic: Commander Arms Race: Etroan R&D (Preliminary Turn 5 - Final Phase) (Read 20787 times)