Lanreath
| League of Lanreath | |||||||||||||
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| Politics and Religion | |||||||||||||
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| Population and Economy | |||||||||||||
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Domains: 280 SP
Race: 5 SP (Beastfolk- Celerity)
Military: 28,727/ 28,750 gold.
History
The race of beastfolk known as Pliunis settled the area now known as the League of Lanreath concurrently with the Alfar expansion into Lemuria. Formerly a nomadic plains folk, the Alfar campaign against their raiding lifestyle and the increasingly tight Imperial grip over the Western plains of Lemuria drove the Pliunis eastwards, until they encountered the Canavan River and the future inhabitants of the Canavan Heptarchy, who proved too tough to displace. By the time the Alfar conquered the area, the Pliunis had settled themselves into the start of three major cities, and were aggressively trading with the inhabitants of the peninsular to the south east. Occasionally aggressive to the point of burning coastal towns and selling the inhabitants as slaves, something that made the conquest of considerable relief to the Pliuni 'trade partners'.
The Imperial Period was a time of prosperity; the dyes, spices, ivory and other exotic goods traded through Lanreath, Cilwan and Fallo were in high demand amongst the upper tiers of Alfar society, and the province was remote enough that the Imperial touch was never strongly felt. Consequently, when the edges of the Empire began to slip away, no armies arrived to reassert control of the province, possibly something to do with Imperial eyes being fixed on the Andrynian Empire to the East. Unfortunately, the Pliunis made up for the lack of fighting provided by the Alfar by fighting amongst themselves.
Although the three city states Imperial Lanreath split into squabbled amongst themselves almost nonstop from the dissolution of the Imperial Province until the area was first raided during the Necromantic War, the actual scale of destruction was not as great as elsewhere in the succession war. The fighting was over trade routes, tolls and which state owned which road. A significant percentage of the fighting took place in the wild lands over the sky to the south east, trying to oust one city's traders from this town or that, boot out non-Pliuni merchants or skirmish with Andrynian expeditions.
Only as the Necromantic War moved into full swing did it become obvious that none of the city states could stand alone. None of the three were delighted with the prospect of playing host to a necromancer overlord, nor of becoming part of any of the surrounding nations during the chaos of the conflict. The result was the League of Lanreath, a union of the three city states initially intended simply to keep the necromancers out, then to drive them from their trade routes, and finally, in large part at the behest of the anti-necromancy Death Cult, providing troops to armies fighting under the banner of the Alliance of Light. Although suffering somewhat in the war, the League avoided the devastation that befell realms like Carinthia, and succeeded in maintaining it's lucrative trade routes.
Inevitably, the concerns of the League in the present are similar to those of the city states that preceded it; chiefly, to ensure that the League secures dominance over trade in the region.
Politics
Lanreath is ruled by an elected monarch who reigns for life, and from whom all power ultimately devolves. The franchise is far from universal; there is a strict property qualification, and no individual below that boundary may vote. It is, however, 'universal' in that gender, race or social background play no part- the only deciding factor is wealth. Likewise, anybody able to vote may stand for election upon the death of a monarch.
Assisting the king is a Chamber of Competencies, a group of advisors and specialists appointed by their respective guilds and political organisation, whose task it is to ensure that the policies formulated by the king and his immediate advisors are based upon sound knowledge and principles. In many cases, this entails results in rather more than simple advice, and various members of the Chamber possess important government posts; the Banker's Guild representative, for example, also holds the post of First Lord of the Treasury. Except on the occasion of the death of a monarch, the Chamber has no formal power beyond being able to force an audience with the king at any point in time in order to be heard. When a new election is required, however, it is the Competencies that assume responsibility for organising a new election and directing the country until a new king can be crowned.
Below the Competencies is a second Chamber, the Chamber of Pays, the function of which is to present grievances held by those without suffrage to the king. Generally summoned three times a year, it has even less formal power than the Competencies, in that the monarch is not required to assemble a session of the Pays at all, and may chose not to be present when grievances are aired. However, the Pays are a useful tool for raising tax revenue from the lower classes, and thus are not usually ignored. Indeed, some argue that, while a king can rule (probably badly) without heeding the advice of the Competencies, he can't rule without assistance from the Pays.
Actual governance of the League is carried out through Royal Governors, who are responsible for administrative tasks inside their area of control, appoint local judges, collect taxes, command the local milita- although not League Army units, which remain under the direct command of the king- maintain roads and harbours, enforce laws and generally keep the country functioning,
Traditionally, the League has been politically isolationist after the end of the Necromantic Wars; the landed nobility were worse than decimated in the Thule campaign, and unwilling to support another costly adventure in which they would pay most of the costs, and the merchants would receive most of any profits that might result. Historically, the landed nobility has voted as a single bloc, while the various guilds and independant traders formed their own smaller factions, allowing the Noble Faction to dictate who the next rule of the League might be. The recent emergence of a unified bloc of guild-sanctioned voters- a 'Guild Facton'- however, allowed the election of a Guild Faction aligned monarch, one Sofi Gannarion, and could well indicate the start of a more assertive foreign policy in support of Lanreathan trade interests.
Religion and Magic
Pliuni religion is, effectively, a blend of Soreism and the worship of the Old Gods. According to Pliuni teachings, the physical world is governed by a complex hierarchy of gods that have dominion over various aspects of the natural world, from Camwyn, the God of the Sun, to Alyanya, the Goddess of the Harvests and Torre, the Mistress of Winds. Although offerings are made to many of these gods and goddesses, the prevailing view is that most of them are uninterested in most worldly affairs, or rather, pay no specific attention to Pliunis (or Humans, Elves or anybody else) over other life.
The major exception to this rule is the God of Death, Sennet, and his three daughters, Effa, Canna and Fennet. Sennet himself is responsible for organising the reincarnation of every soul that enters his domain- although, it should be said, that he is not responsible for said entry- and his assistants for watching over and protecting the souls as they await their next chance at life. Inevitably, the four deities come into prolonged and constant exposure to spirits who are still interested in the goings on in the land of the living, and are thus considerably more interested in mortal goings on than most gods. They tend to be rather more sympathetic as well; indeed, the most common portrayal of Sennet in Pliuni religious art is as a kindly old man providing shelter in his own home to lost travelers, and he is usually referred to as 'Grandfather Sennet'.
Like other void magic, Pliuni 'spells' rely on allowing possession of the caster's body by a spirit or spirits that have the ability to do what the summoner asks them to. In this case, the most common spirit summoned is that of an ancestor or ancestors; something that requires the consent of Grandfather Sennet or, for smaller workings, one of his daughters. As a result, most Pliuni mages are members of the Death Cult, something that can be rather disturbing to those not familiar with Pliuni religious practices. Extremely high level spells in contrast, usually involve possession by a powerful nature spirit, or even a god, and are considerably more dangerous; a man possessed by the God of the Sun might well have his soul seared clean in the process, being reduced to a drooling vegetable. This is a risk inherent to all spells, and as a result, Pliuni mages are generally adorned with paper wards and prayer beads designed to protect them against accidental damage caused by enthusiastic spirits... or to banish a spirit that turns out to be hostile or rampages out of control. Many of these are effective against other implementations of mana, and it is not uncommon to see a Pliuni adept carrying sacks full of wards into battle to counter enemy magic users without having to put themselves through the stress of possession to counter every spell.
Military
The Lanreathan military is heavily based upon the martial traditions and lessons learned from the city state period following the withdrawal of the Alfar Empire, and later the Necromantic Wars. With limited access to high quality horses or large adamantium deposits, Lanreath is forced to rely on high quality infantry, rather than expensive magical equipment or a powerful cavalry arm. Membership in the League's standing army is voluntary, with a minimum service time of ten years, after which most soldiers are pensioned off with either land or a lump sum of cash with which to start off a buisness; something that guarantees recruits. In addition to providing a motivated body of troops, pensioned off soldiers are liable to be recalled to service at any time up to thirty years after 'leaving' the army, ensuring the maintainance of a pool of capable manpower to draw on in times of need.
The core of the army consists of pike squares, the modern successor to the Succession War era pike/sword/shot Colonelcy. On paper, each square consists of three thousand men, divided roughly equally between pikes and arquebuses, plus a number of falconet batteries to ward off striders and large beasts that neither pike or arquebus can defeat. Due to the expense of maintaining a large number of active soldiers, squares are rarely maintained at full strength outside of war. Supporting this core are specialist troop types; harquebusier cavalry and a handful of cuirassier heavy cavalry, mages, heavier artillery and skirmshers. On top of that, militia units, fighting in the traditional Pliuni sword-and-javelin style, can be assembled to fill any gaps in numbers.
Total Military: 28,737
Upkeep: 1,209 (1,201) gold, 455 mana
Army
Squares
6x Half Strength pike squares.
Cost: 10,866
Upkeep: 546
Lanreathan pike square
Total Cost: 3,622 gold
Upkeep: 182 gold
8 coy Heavy Pikes: 896
Upkeep: 40 gold
Men at Arms: 400 G
Pikes: 96 G
Sideswords: 120
Partial Plate: 280 G
8 coy Pike: 696
Upkeep: 40 gold
Men at Arms: 400
Pikes: 96
Sideswords: 120
Mail: 80
14 coy Arquebusiers: 1,610
Upkeep: 70 gold
Men at Arms: 700
Arquebuses: 350
Sideswords: 490
Plated Coat: 70
4 Falconet batteries: 340
Upkeep: 32 gold
Small carriages: 40
Falconets: 300
4 Pack Trains: 80
Upkeep: -
Skirmishers
24 coy Skirmishers
Total Cost: 3,396
Upkeep: 168 gold, 18 mana
Lanreathan skirmishers: 129 gold, 15 mana
Upkeep: 7 gold, 1 mana
Men at Arms: 50
Leadcasters: 40 + 15
Broadsword: 25
Light Shield: 4
Skirmisher Armour: 10
Cavalry
6 coy Harquebsiers
Total Cost: 1,230
Upkeep: 66 gold, 6 mana
Lanreathan Harquebsiers: 190 + 15
Upkeep: 11 gold, 1 mana
Men at Arms: 50
Leadcasters: 40 + 15
Broadsword: 25
Partial Plate: 35
Coursers: 40
3 coy Cuirassiers
Total Cost: 1,350
Upkeep: 96 (72) gold, 6 mana
Lanreathan Cuirassiers: 430 + 20
Upkeep: 32 gold (24 when non-mobilised), 2 mana
Knights: 200
Longsword: 50
Hand Leadcaster x2: 40 + 20
Full Plate: 60
Destriers: 80
Artillery
5 Culverin Batteries
Total Cost: 1200
Upkeep: 100
Culverin Battery: 240
Upkeep: 20 gold
Culverin: 200
Medium Carriage: 20
Pack Train: 20
3 Bombard Batteries
Total Cost: 1,050
Upkeep: 90
Bombard Battery: 350
Upkeep30
Bombard: 300
Large Carriage: 30
Pack Train: 20
Mages
Arcolin, High Lord of the Death Cult
Total Cost: 750
Upkeep: 10 gold, 40 mana
Archmage
2 Deathlords
Total Cost: 600
Upkeep: 20 gold, 40 mana
Master
11 Servants of Death
Total Cost: 825
Upkeep: 33 gold, 69 mana
Adept
4 Frigate: 3500
Upkeep: 40 gold, 96 mana
Total Cost: 875
Upkeep: 10 gold, 24 mana
Skyship: 375
2x Culverin Battery: 400
Iron Cladding: 100
12 Armed Merchants
Total Cost: 3,660 gold
Upkeep: 60 gold, 180 mana
Armed Merchant: 305
Upkeep: 5 gold, 15 mana
Air Galley: 175
Falconets: 75
2x Increased cargo: 55
Geography
Domains
Lanreath
Countryside
Mana Seep
Lanreath (City)
Prealith
Countryside
Cilwan (City)
Fall
Countryside
Fallo (City)
Vonja
Countryside
Paddock
Immer
Terraced Hills
Gold Mine
Merinath
Terraced Hills
Gold Mine
Foss
Terraced Hills
Fintha
Demense
Levistone Quarry