Prazinia
01-10-2008, 21:56
"When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you."
Deuteronomy 18:10-14
Name: Sviashchennaia Imperija Prazinia
Race: Humans
Government:
The result of a civilization from another realm warped through a strange rift into the fabric of reality, Prazinia has been the result of a Peasants' War to overthrow their former lords and establish a society without rich and poor, noble and peasant, a society where all were equal to the eyes of the Lord and shared their wealth to everyone, guided by religious principles of anabaptism, governed wisely by an empire moved by faith. Equality is sometimes enforced, with men ambitious and bold enough to attempt to for a new nobility or upper class ending in the gallows or lynched to death by mobs of peasants. Likewise, religious conformity is enforced, and although differences in interpreting the Bible are tolerated, the worship of false pagan gods or practice of occult arts is not. By decree of the emperor Vladimir Mikanovich, in Earth year 1567, the Inquisition was established, to hunt the true witches, delvers of the occult and worshipers of Satan.
Such legacy was inherited by those who came to the new world, although much has also changed. Realizing that magic was no longer only a religious ritual to pagan gods with no real effect in the world of flesh, the few people of Prazinia who arrived feared that such was one last realm before the depths of Hell itself. With the sweet lies of Satan being able to heal incurable diseases, the temptation to betray God became greater than ever, and the worship of Pagan gods exploded in secret coves, hidden woods and groves, leading to the formation of traitors and heretics, souls lost to temptation of some of the Prazinians, now siding with the devilry of magic, in a world even closer to the core of Satan's power, heart of all magical power in their beliefs.
Not only they had to face the internal conflict against the weak of will turning into occult and dark arts, but also with the realization that such new world spanned through hordes of heathen and pagan kingdoms. The arrivals of the Holy Empire of Prazinia, formerly known as the Kingdom of God and as the New Kingdom of Jerusalem, new that there was only one answer to be given: a new holy crusade against the heathens, corrupt and vile witches and pagans, and the exponential growth of the Inquisition in its task, for any laxity could threaten the very survival of their Christian civilization in this new, dark world, where demons self-proclaimed gods gave cursed gifts to their soulless minions, also worshipers of Mammon and enemies of the peasants cause and rebellion against the corrupt.
War would be inevitable. Thus their empire, now under the rule of the new Emperor Filatov Medved, became more militaristic than it has ever been in Earth, and its witch hunts intensified, giving much more power to the Inquisition to achieve its goals, and to perhaps fight against the very physical manifestation of evil itself. Another important figure is that of the head of the Inquisition, Josef Vasilyi, a rough, harsh man, believing vehemently in the righteousness of his cause and of whatever must be necessary to achieve it, under a great stress to find a permanent solution to the darkness of their new world, challenged with the spawn of paganism and magic.
Filatov Medved, Holy Emperor and Autocrat of Prazinia (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/IvanV.jpg/200px-IvanV.jpg)
Holy Inkvizitor Josef Vasilyi (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/Ivan_the_Terrible_(cropped).JPG/250px-Ivan_the_Terrible_(cropped).JPG)
Banner of the Holy Empire (http://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/uploads/prazinia.jpg)
Population: 4,319,719
The Now Mostly Blessed Morhaut
- Map of Morhaut -
Formerly a land devoid of any settlements, Morhaut is benefited by a climate similar to that of the Kingdoms of Spain and Portugal in the old Earth, proper for the production of many specialty goods that were unreachable for them in Earth, and features an extension of the mountainous region of the Eldricsbad Hills to the North, being an uneven terrain, featured by two primary chains of hills which serve as strategic points. One of them crosses diagonally to the south, forming a partial barrier to advancement, although still leaving a relatively easy to cross path from it, while the other lies in the isthmus between Morhaut and the Eldricsbad Hills, a powerful geographic barrier to the threats of the North. Built with the old Slavic style, the towns of Prazinia are featured by churches which took much of their architecture from the former Orthodox Church, and as expected, are similar to the towns of the late Dark Ages and early Renaissance transition they came from, with eight cities being of greater strategical importance.
The city of Novaya Peterburg, capital of the the Holy Empire of Prazinia, in the heart of the subcontinent, featured as an entirely walled off city.
The fortress-town of Tsaritsyn, bathed by the Novaya Volga river, a major agricultural center and part of a semi-natural second line of defense in the north of Morhaut.
The town Arkhangelsk, another major agricultural center, source of the best forges of Prazinia, religious capital with many of their most beautiful monuments and buildings and host of the central building of the Zakaz Inkvizitorstva, where Inkvizitor Josef resides, located a hundred miles northwest of Novaya Peterburg, center of studies for exorcism and anti-magic.
The border town-fortress of Okhrana Sud'by, the gateway to Prazinia, bordering the Eldricsbad Hills, and home of permanent bombardiers and culverins
The harbor town of Vladivostok, to the far eastern tip of Morhaut and bathed by the Inland Seas, where most of the Inner fleet is based amidst shipyards, coastal fortresses with its cannons pointed to the seas and bases.
Its twin harbor town of Sevastopol, to the far western tip of Morhaut and bathed by the Middle Sea, where most of the Meridian fleet is based and constructed, and also center of the Sevastopol School of Navigation, molded after the Iberian schools of navigation from this new Renaissance, serving as a point of importance to expand their influence through the northwest.
The city of Treblinka, in the west of the southern border with Cannae, serving as a base of operations for securing the advantageous terrain offered by the chain of hills that cover part of the border between both lands, and packing the greatest olive oil production manufacture of the empire, together with experimental attempts on mutual manufacture warehouses intended to offer a superior performance to individual workmanship.
The fortress town of Igarka, serving as an important core for the line of defenses to the east of their southern borders, more plain and susceptible to be the primary staging point of any invasion of the heathens.
The population is concentrated through the coastal areas and borders, with the center of the continent being less populous, but still important for the host of most of their culture and theological studies. Farms still are predominant over cities, as expected for no matter how far the agrarian revolution improved productivity, many men are still needed to plow, sow and reap the fruits for their continued survival, although most farms are built close, or even inside the walls of a city due to worries about the dangers of this new world, and those who aren't tend to be build next to military outposts and fortresses.
Forests are primary sources of paganism and heathens, being weekly scouted by Inquisitors in search of those who betrayed the Covenant to demons proclaimed gods in exchange of magical powers, and isolated towns tend to become major sources of such heresies and perditions, where hid and secret, witches and wizards perform their ungodly actions and blasphemies against the Lord, until the time of their last judgment comes. Reports of demonic sightings have been given in a forest to the Southwest of Morhaut, between Treblinka and Sevastopol, where a powerful demon is believed to reside, but occupied with many troubles, they cannot amass the necessary forces to defeat such threat.
Economy
The Holy Empire economy is communitarian, and lacks any glint of stratas or social classes like the economies of many kingdoms of the world it originated from. All the production, wealth and work in Prazinia is a collective property of everyone. Other than basic personal possessions, private property is virtually nonexistent, and the Holy Empire is tasked to provide major plans to supply all the needs of everyone and ensure nobody shall starve, and to also direct the hard work and dedication of its people for greater goals of the group. Individual ambition is frowned upon, and although collectives of towns and cities are free to decide their fate, their economy is mostly centralized, and inevitably less efficient than that controlled by individual ambitions over a greater collective cause.
Nonetheless, they have a much greater capability to direct their efforts, and as no time is wasted with frivolities like luxuries, their capability although less efficient, is much more effective to achieve a given goal. The foundation of their economy lies with agriculture, logically, with smithing being the next, and perhaps their greatest strength. With magic as nonexistent in their first and as a taboo in this new world, Prazinians has always focused their developments over the non-arcane, predictable works of science, divinely rather than satanically inspired to craft new ways for their glory, victory and prosperity.
With primitive abilities in manufacture and group production of goods, the Prazinian economy is very strong industrially, with the production of firearms and cannons being a common activity, for now still coexisting with the crafting of polearms, swords, longbows and armors, as part of their force in transition to the gunpowder Age, as their guns are far from sufficiently effective to make the former arms completely obsolete, although in a matter of decades, such reality may change. Their agriculture has a significant role in producing olive oil, which is not only used as a specialty good, but as something to oil their aquebuses and cannons. And then, wheat and other cereals come as important sources of their production. Cattle is rarely made, with all their meat acquired from hunt and being a scarce commodity, only sufficient for a meal with meat per week for everyone.
However, in shipwright, gunpowder has made the old ballista fully obsolete, and as many of their sail ships are still armed with ancient and obsolete guns, this an important sector of activity to upgrade the same, specially as they realize how they must find a way to counter the gifts of the devils to their potential enemies. Xebecs and Carracks make for much of what is usually scheduled for crafting in this effort of modernization, with a few Galeasses and Men-of-War also being usually requested.
Because of their relatively recent arrival, construction is also a very important field of their economy, which basically encompass the development of their infrastructure and of larger roads, for a proper infrastructure is as important as a proper army and economy for their survival.
As for the human side, likewise mentioned, although people live relatively simple lives, there is practically no poverty or starvation, and even the Emperor, as part of his duty and as his need to maintain a good image, does not show on any wealth other than the utilitarian fortress that is the heart of his rule.
The Military of the Holy Empire
Coastal Defense Army: 4th to 7th Infantry Regiments (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regiment#Historical_origin) (6,000), 1st to 8th Cavalry Regiments(2,000), 6th to 12th Artillery Regiments (700 artillery units)
Northern Army: 1st to 3rd and 8th to 12th Infantry Regiments (15,000), 9th to 21st Cavalry Regiments, except for the 13th (2,500), 14th to 26th Artillery Regiments (1,400)
Southern Army: 14th to 25th Infantry Regiments (22,000), 22nd to 30th Cavalry Regiments (2,000), 27th to 47th Artillery Regiments (2,300)
Inner Fleet: 100 Men-of-war, 250 Carracks and 300 Xebecs divided into 50 flotillas
Meridian Navy: 80 Men-of-war, 160 Galeasses and 200 Carracks divided into 40 flotillas
The military forces of Prazinia are among one of the first to have professionalized in history, following with the destruction of the nobility as a social class, both abstractly and literally, and thus packs a very distinct mood from that of armies where ranks are determined by social standing rather than merit. Their primary focus lie with their ground army, shaped like a whole as a shock troop, intended to wreak havoc and attrition over the enemy, and due to their religious conviction, they march into battle with a nearly fanatical resolve, which also, due to their extreme faith, reduces the effectiveness of both offensive and healing magic used on them.
The Infantry, the backbone of their Army, has as its defensive staple the pikemen, usually armed with long warhammers, the very symbol of their force, that also serve as pikes, and can break through even full plate armor being powerful weapons if properly employed, specially against cavalry and enemies protected by chain mail. Swords on the other hand are rarely used by infantry, being usually only short swords used as side arms to be employed in situations where the war hammers, crossbows, longbows or firearms would be at a disadvantage. Their pikemen, in response to the development of hand cannons and firearms, are armored with the best, steel plates built of their time, tempered and continually developed together with the advance of gunpowder, and also have flintlock pistols as side arms, and designed based on the mirror armors (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_armour) of the Earthly East.
Whereas heavily armored pikemen stand as a staple of their defense against fast attack forces, lightly armored arquebusiers and musketmen, usually coupled with the faster-loading crossbowmen, are equally employed from behind lines of pikemen to provoke attrition over the enemy forces moving close to them and wear them down with their firearms, and at last, as the final layer of support, whereas firearms are extremely slow to be loaded and relatively short ranged in their lethality, longbowmen would offer a more constant hail of arrows against the enemy, with a superior range to that of the firearms available for Prazinia, although requiring much more training than the operation of firearms, they continue to pose an effective force, sometimes employed in complete substitution of arquebuses depending on the situation at hand, composing their pike and shot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pike_and_shot) formations.
Cannons, culverins, bombardiers and other larger gunpower artillery are also a strong staple of the Prazinian army, with artillery having a significant participation in their forces, which are much more focused on firepower and sheer shock and awe than on mobility, although they still pack a significant cavalry, with much of it armed with firearms, but still having, as a part of their focus of in shock and awe, a significant force of knights with steel lances, supported by a few cuirassiers regiments armed with swords and guns, ready to march together in battle to cripple enemy lines of defense, while scouts armed with only light lances use gunpowder fireworks to signal enemy positions to the allied artillery.
The most interesting artillery device of the Holy Empire, discovered from one of the Crusades they have performed to the Far East of their former world, is the Hwacha, a powerful but still rare device, used only in the most critical fortresses of the Holy Republic, that is based on fire arrows attached to gunpowder loads capable of propelling them through the air, in a large hail of multiple arrows firing simultaneously. As it's a sensitive device, it is not proper for an offensive war, and requires the infrastructure of a fortress and its craftsmen to remain in working conditions, being essentially defensive.
Specially when the use of unholy magic or of demons themselves is expected, inkvizitors tend to lead the armies, and with their knowledge of the occult, focus them into using their scientific progress to quickly eliminate the greatest threats among the heathens who resort to such demonic power, and their faith to collectively wear down its might.
As for a Navy, the Holy Empire packs it for only defense as of now, unaware on whether enemies loom overseas that would require its expansion or not, but it is far from their greatest and most significant force, having a clear focus on coastal defense from packing fast sailing vessels, most armed with culverins and demi-culverins, intended to quickly react to any threat, and lure enemies into the traps laid by the men-of-war. Some of the older, obsolete vessels were converted into fireships, loaded with gunpowder and explosives to serve as crippling floating bombs against an enemy navy.
And finally, reserves trained to use long pikes are also prepared to be formed away from the front lines to hold off for enough time for reinforcements to arrive, and usually encompass the very civilian population of the towns and cities of the Holy Empire, having at best studded leather armor and usually nothing besides their own clothes. Crossbows are also very commonly used by reserves.
On the whole, the Prazinian military is bold, nearly fanatical, and although slow in their advance, they can wreck much havoc to those in their path, and where technically, their taboo over the practice of magic is in part offset by their scientific advances, making of them a different force from that of other nearby kingdoms and empires.
Religion
- The Holy Cross of Seven Stars (http://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/uploads/prazinia.jpg) -
The Prazinian Anabaptism is a Christian denomination originated from Earth focused on communitarian ideals, believing literally that one "cannot serve both God and Mammon", and on the belief that baptism upon birth is wrong, for only by one's free will the word of Christ can be truly embraced, in their views. They consider poverty, inequality, social classes and the very Catholic Church of their time to be the workings of Satan, and are sworn enemies of the Vatican. On their views Jesus Christ attempted to create a classless society among his apostles, which was the primary reason why he was persecuted, instead of the faith he professed.
Another primary difference is that they do not belief in an eternal hell or in the purgatory, but instead, that the heathens simply die into the Sheol and cease to exist as sentiences, while the faithful are graced with eternal life. For them, other than existing in another realm, demons roam through the world, but in most case cannot be seen. They believe also, like the Lutherans, in the free interpretation of the Bible to an extent, and have published the first version of their own Holy Bible translated from Latin to Russian.
With certain details of the word of their Lord however, they agree with the Catholics, particularly regarding those related with the practice of witchcraft and magic, and with the source of such unnatural powers. And thus, the Inquisition was formed to attempt to first convert, and if in vain, then kill the worshipers of demons. Their belief that all the gods of this world are demons in disguise or without disguise is very definite, and they consider their God to be the true one.
Although far from being as ruthless and brutal than the Catholic Inquisition, and although not persecuting people based on shallow accusations or on different views of the Bible, the Prazinian Inquisition has no qualms to kill on sight all the truly pagan individuals who refuse to repent, and no matter how the practice of torture is extremely rare, it's known to happen sometimes, specially to acquire the knowledge on the whereabouts of the covens of real witches and sorcerers.
As their faith addresses only the creation of humanity, it's not a certainty how exactly they will react to other races, although it's a surety that they will not be friend to what they could interpret as "Nephilim" or half-demons based on their conceptions of existence.
Images
Warhammer of the Holy Empire (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Bec_de_Corbin.jpg)
Imperial Cuirassiers and Knights battling against Catholic forces. (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b9/Boro1.jpg)
Inquisitors in Procession (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Nevsky2.jpg)
Reservist Pikemen holding off by their own in a modern pike square (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Bad-war.jpg)
The Peasants' War, basis for the formation of reserves and militia units (http://www.folger.edu/html/exhibitions/tolerance/images/6.jpg)
A typically humble Prazinian Church (http://www.rastko.org.yu/rastko-bl/umetnost/likovne/srakic-ikone/img/002.jpg)
Archangel Michael, protector of Arkhangelsk (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Archangel_Michael_and_City_of_Archangel.jpg/477px-Archangel_Michael_and_City_of_Archangel.jpg)
Hwacha (http://www.hwacha.net/img/hwacha/hwacha_firing_photo.jpg)
Star Fortress in the southeast (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Fortbourtange.jpg)
Fortress next to Okhrana Sud'by eastern shores (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Edinpain.JPG)
Inkvisitor Scribe (http://fc67.deviantart.com/fs22/i/2007/315/3/1/Inquisitor_by_BleakLead.jpg)
Knight of the Inquisition (http://fc56.deviantart.com/fs28/f/2008/122/0/b/cRUSADER_by_ricos.jpg)
Exorcist of the Inquisition (http://fc48.deviantart.com/fs10/i/2006/082/3/7/Templar_Work_In_Progress_by_FiveMiles.jpg)
Deuteronomy 18:10-14
Name: Sviashchennaia Imperija Prazinia
Race: Humans
Government:
The result of a civilization from another realm warped through a strange rift into the fabric of reality, Prazinia has been the result of a Peasants' War to overthrow their former lords and establish a society without rich and poor, noble and peasant, a society where all were equal to the eyes of the Lord and shared their wealth to everyone, guided by religious principles of anabaptism, governed wisely by an empire moved by faith. Equality is sometimes enforced, with men ambitious and bold enough to attempt to for a new nobility or upper class ending in the gallows or lynched to death by mobs of peasants. Likewise, religious conformity is enforced, and although differences in interpreting the Bible are tolerated, the worship of false pagan gods or practice of occult arts is not. By decree of the emperor Vladimir Mikanovich, in Earth year 1567, the Inquisition was established, to hunt the true witches, delvers of the occult and worshipers of Satan.
Such legacy was inherited by those who came to the new world, although much has also changed. Realizing that magic was no longer only a religious ritual to pagan gods with no real effect in the world of flesh, the few people of Prazinia who arrived feared that such was one last realm before the depths of Hell itself. With the sweet lies of Satan being able to heal incurable diseases, the temptation to betray God became greater than ever, and the worship of Pagan gods exploded in secret coves, hidden woods and groves, leading to the formation of traitors and heretics, souls lost to temptation of some of the Prazinians, now siding with the devilry of magic, in a world even closer to the core of Satan's power, heart of all magical power in their beliefs.
Not only they had to face the internal conflict against the weak of will turning into occult and dark arts, but also with the realization that such new world spanned through hordes of heathen and pagan kingdoms. The arrivals of the Holy Empire of Prazinia, formerly known as the Kingdom of God and as the New Kingdom of Jerusalem, new that there was only one answer to be given: a new holy crusade against the heathens, corrupt and vile witches and pagans, and the exponential growth of the Inquisition in its task, for any laxity could threaten the very survival of their Christian civilization in this new, dark world, where demons self-proclaimed gods gave cursed gifts to their soulless minions, also worshipers of Mammon and enemies of the peasants cause and rebellion against the corrupt.
War would be inevitable. Thus their empire, now under the rule of the new Emperor Filatov Medved, became more militaristic than it has ever been in Earth, and its witch hunts intensified, giving much more power to the Inquisition to achieve its goals, and to perhaps fight against the very physical manifestation of evil itself. Another important figure is that of the head of the Inquisition, Josef Vasilyi, a rough, harsh man, believing vehemently in the righteousness of his cause and of whatever must be necessary to achieve it, under a great stress to find a permanent solution to the darkness of their new world, challenged with the spawn of paganism and magic.
Filatov Medved, Holy Emperor and Autocrat of Prazinia (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/IvanV.jpg/200px-IvanV.jpg)
Holy Inkvizitor Josef Vasilyi (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/Ivan_the_Terrible_(cropped).JPG/250px-Ivan_the_Terrible_(cropped).JPG)
Banner of the Holy Empire (http://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/uploads/prazinia.jpg)
Population: 4,319,719
The Now Mostly Blessed Morhaut
- Map of Morhaut -
Formerly a land devoid of any settlements, Morhaut is benefited by a climate similar to that of the Kingdoms of Spain and Portugal in the old Earth, proper for the production of many specialty goods that were unreachable for them in Earth, and features an extension of the mountainous region of the Eldricsbad Hills to the North, being an uneven terrain, featured by two primary chains of hills which serve as strategic points. One of them crosses diagonally to the south, forming a partial barrier to advancement, although still leaving a relatively easy to cross path from it, while the other lies in the isthmus between Morhaut and the Eldricsbad Hills, a powerful geographic barrier to the threats of the North. Built with the old Slavic style, the towns of Prazinia are featured by churches which took much of their architecture from the former Orthodox Church, and as expected, are similar to the towns of the late Dark Ages and early Renaissance transition they came from, with eight cities being of greater strategical importance.
The city of Novaya Peterburg, capital of the the Holy Empire of Prazinia, in the heart of the subcontinent, featured as an entirely walled off city.
The fortress-town of Tsaritsyn, bathed by the Novaya Volga river, a major agricultural center and part of a semi-natural second line of defense in the north of Morhaut.
The town Arkhangelsk, another major agricultural center, source of the best forges of Prazinia, religious capital with many of their most beautiful monuments and buildings and host of the central building of the Zakaz Inkvizitorstva, where Inkvizitor Josef resides, located a hundred miles northwest of Novaya Peterburg, center of studies for exorcism and anti-magic.
The border town-fortress of Okhrana Sud'by, the gateway to Prazinia, bordering the Eldricsbad Hills, and home of permanent bombardiers and culverins
The harbor town of Vladivostok, to the far eastern tip of Morhaut and bathed by the Inland Seas, where most of the Inner fleet is based amidst shipyards, coastal fortresses with its cannons pointed to the seas and bases.
Its twin harbor town of Sevastopol, to the far western tip of Morhaut and bathed by the Middle Sea, where most of the Meridian fleet is based and constructed, and also center of the Sevastopol School of Navigation, molded after the Iberian schools of navigation from this new Renaissance, serving as a point of importance to expand their influence through the northwest.
The city of Treblinka, in the west of the southern border with Cannae, serving as a base of operations for securing the advantageous terrain offered by the chain of hills that cover part of the border between both lands, and packing the greatest olive oil production manufacture of the empire, together with experimental attempts on mutual manufacture warehouses intended to offer a superior performance to individual workmanship.
The fortress town of Igarka, serving as an important core for the line of defenses to the east of their southern borders, more plain and susceptible to be the primary staging point of any invasion of the heathens.
The population is concentrated through the coastal areas and borders, with the center of the continent being less populous, but still important for the host of most of their culture and theological studies. Farms still are predominant over cities, as expected for no matter how far the agrarian revolution improved productivity, many men are still needed to plow, sow and reap the fruits for their continued survival, although most farms are built close, or even inside the walls of a city due to worries about the dangers of this new world, and those who aren't tend to be build next to military outposts and fortresses.
Forests are primary sources of paganism and heathens, being weekly scouted by Inquisitors in search of those who betrayed the Covenant to demons proclaimed gods in exchange of magical powers, and isolated towns tend to become major sources of such heresies and perditions, where hid and secret, witches and wizards perform their ungodly actions and blasphemies against the Lord, until the time of their last judgment comes. Reports of demonic sightings have been given in a forest to the Southwest of Morhaut, between Treblinka and Sevastopol, where a powerful demon is believed to reside, but occupied with many troubles, they cannot amass the necessary forces to defeat such threat.
Economy
The Holy Empire economy is communitarian, and lacks any glint of stratas or social classes like the economies of many kingdoms of the world it originated from. All the production, wealth and work in Prazinia is a collective property of everyone. Other than basic personal possessions, private property is virtually nonexistent, and the Holy Empire is tasked to provide major plans to supply all the needs of everyone and ensure nobody shall starve, and to also direct the hard work and dedication of its people for greater goals of the group. Individual ambition is frowned upon, and although collectives of towns and cities are free to decide their fate, their economy is mostly centralized, and inevitably less efficient than that controlled by individual ambitions over a greater collective cause.
Nonetheless, they have a much greater capability to direct their efforts, and as no time is wasted with frivolities like luxuries, their capability although less efficient, is much more effective to achieve a given goal. The foundation of their economy lies with agriculture, logically, with smithing being the next, and perhaps their greatest strength. With magic as nonexistent in their first and as a taboo in this new world, Prazinians has always focused their developments over the non-arcane, predictable works of science, divinely rather than satanically inspired to craft new ways for their glory, victory and prosperity.
With primitive abilities in manufacture and group production of goods, the Prazinian economy is very strong industrially, with the production of firearms and cannons being a common activity, for now still coexisting with the crafting of polearms, swords, longbows and armors, as part of their force in transition to the gunpowder Age, as their guns are far from sufficiently effective to make the former arms completely obsolete, although in a matter of decades, such reality may change. Their agriculture has a significant role in producing olive oil, which is not only used as a specialty good, but as something to oil their aquebuses and cannons. And then, wheat and other cereals come as important sources of their production. Cattle is rarely made, with all their meat acquired from hunt and being a scarce commodity, only sufficient for a meal with meat per week for everyone.
However, in shipwright, gunpowder has made the old ballista fully obsolete, and as many of their sail ships are still armed with ancient and obsolete guns, this an important sector of activity to upgrade the same, specially as they realize how they must find a way to counter the gifts of the devils to their potential enemies. Xebecs and Carracks make for much of what is usually scheduled for crafting in this effort of modernization, with a few Galeasses and Men-of-War also being usually requested.
Because of their relatively recent arrival, construction is also a very important field of their economy, which basically encompass the development of their infrastructure and of larger roads, for a proper infrastructure is as important as a proper army and economy for their survival.
As for the human side, likewise mentioned, although people live relatively simple lives, there is practically no poverty or starvation, and even the Emperor, as part of his duty and as his need to maintain a good image, does not show on any wealth other than the utilitarian fortress that is the heart of his rule.
The Military of the Holy Empire
Coastal Defense Army: 4th to 7th Infantry Regiments (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regiment#Historical_origin) (6,000), 1st to 8th Cavalry Regiments(2,000), 6th to 12th Artillery Regiments (700 artillery units)
Northern Army: 1st to 3rd and 8th to 12th Infantry Regiments (15,000), 9th to 21st Cavalry Regiments, except for the 13th (2,500), 14th to 26th Artillery Regiments (1,400)
Southern Army: 14th to 25th Infantry Regiments (22,000), 22nd to 30th Cavalry Regiments (2,000), 27th to 47th Artillery Regiments (2,300)
Inner Fleet: 100 Men-of-war, 250 Carracks and 300 Xebecs divided into 50 flotillas
Meridian Navy: 80 Men-of-war, 160 Galeasses and 200 Carracks divided into 40 flotillas
The military forces of Prazinia are among one of the first to have professionalized in history, following with the destruction of the nobility as a social class, both abstractly and literally, and thus packs a very distinct mood from that of armies where ranks are determined by social standing rather than merit. Their primary focus lie with their ground army, shaped like a whole as a shock troop, intended to wreak havoc and attrition over the enemy, and due to their religious conviction, they march into battle with a nearly fanatical resolve, which also, due to their extreme faith, reduces the effectiveness of both offensive and healing magic used on them.
The Infantry, the backbone of their Army, has as its defensive staple the pikemen, usually armed with long warhammers, the very symbol of their force, that also serve as pikes, and can break through even full plate armor being powerful weapons if properly employed, specially against cavalry and enemies protected by chain mail. Swords on the other hand are rarely used by infantry, being usually only short swords used as side arms to be employed in situations where the war hammers, crossbows, longbows or firearms would be at a disadvantage. Their pikemen, in response to the development of hand cannons and firearms, are armored with the best, steel plates built of their time, tempered and continually developed together with the advance of gunpowder, and also have flintlock pistols as side arms, and designed based on the mirror armors (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_armour) of the Earthly East.
Whereas heavily armored pikemen stand as a staple of their defense against fast attack forces, lightly armored arquebusiers and musketmen, usually coupled with the faster-loading crossbowmen, are equally employed from behind lines of pikemen to provoke attrition over the enemy forces moving close to them and wear them down with their firearms, and at last, as the final layer of support, whereas firearms are extremely slow to be loaded and relatively short ranged in their lethality, longbowmen would offer a more constant hail of arrows against the enemy, with a superior range to that of the firearms available for Prazinia, although requiring much more training than the operation of firearms, they continue to pose an effective force, sometimes employed in complete substitution of arquebuses depending on the situation at hand, composing their pike and shot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pike_and_shot) formations.
Cannons, culverins, bombardiers and other larger gunpower artillery are also a strong staple of the Prazinian army, with artillery having a significant participation in their forces, which are much more focused on firepower and sheer shock and awe than on mobility, although they still pack a significant cavalry, with much of it armed with firearms, but still having, as a part of their focus of in shock and awe, a significant force of knights with steel lances, supported by a few cuirassiers regiments armed with swords and guns, ready to march together in battle to cripple enemy lines of defense, while scouts armed with only light lances use gunpowder fireworks to signal enemy positions to the allied artillery.
The most interesting artillery device of the Holy Empire, discovered from one of the Crusades they have performed to the Far East of their former world, is the Hwacha, a powerful but still rare device, used only in the most critical fortresses of the Holy Republic, that is based on fire arrows attached to gunpowder loads capable of propelling them through the air, in a large hail of multiple arrows firing simultaneously. As it's a sensitive device, it is not proper for an offensive war, and requires the infrastructure of a fortress and its craftsmen to remain in working conditions, being essentially defensive.
Specially when the use of unholy magic or of demons themselves is expected, inkvizitors tend to lead the armies, and with their knowledge of the occult, focus them into using their scientific progress to quickly eliminate the greatest threats among the heathens who resort to such demonic power, and their faith to collectively wear down its might.
As for a Navy, the Holy Empire packs it for only defense as of now, unaware on whether enemies loom overseas that would require its expansion or not, but it is far from their greatest and most significant force, having a clear focus on coastal defense from packing fast sailing vessels, most armed with culverins and demi-culverins, intended to quickly react to any threat, and lure enemies into the traps laid by the men-of-war. Some of the older, obsolete vessels were converted into fireships, loaded with gunpowder and explosives to serve as crippling floating bombs against an enemy navy.
And finally, reserves trained to use long pikes are also prepared to be formed away from the front lines to hold off for enough time for reinforcements to arrive, and usually encompass the very civilian population of the towns and cities of the Holy Empire, having at best studded leather armor and usually nothing besides their own clothes. Crossbows are also very commonly used by reserves.
On the whole, the Prazinian military is bold, nearly fanatical, and although slow in their advance, they can wreck much havoc to those in their path, and where technically, their taboo over the practice of magic is in part offset by their scientific advances, making of them a different force from that of other nearby kingdoms and empires.
Religion
- The Holy Cross of Seven Stars (http://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/uploads/prazinia.jpg) -
The Prazinian Anabaptism is a Christian denomination originated from Earth focused on communitarian ideals, believing literally that one "cannot serve both God and Mammon", and on the belief that baptism upon birth is wrong, for only by one's free will the word of Christ can be truly embraced, in their views. They consider poverty, inequality, social classes and the very Catholic Church of their time to be the workings of Satan, and are sworn enemies of the Vatican. On their views Jesus Christ attempted to create a classless society among his apostles, which was the primary reason why he was persecuted, instead of the faith he professed.
Another primary difference is that they do not belief in an eternal hell or in the purgatory, but instead, that the heathens simply die into the Sheol and cease to exist as sentiences, while the faithful are graced with eternal life. For them, other than existing in another realm, demons roam through the world, but in most case cannot be seen. They believe also, like the Lutherans, in the free interpretation of the Bible to an extent, and have published the first version of their own Holy Bible translated from Latin to Russian.
With certain details of the word of their Lord however, they agree with the Catholics, particularly regarding those related with the practice of witchcraft and magic, and with the source of such unnatural powers. And thus, the Inquisition was formed to attempt to first convert, and if in vain, then kill the worshipers of demons. Their belief that all the gods of this world are demons in disguise or without disguise is very definite, and they consider their God to be the true one.
Although far from being as ruthless and brutal than the Catholic Inquisition, and although not persecuting people based on shallow accusations or on different views of the Bible, the Prazinian Inquisition has no qualms to kill on sight all the truly pagan individuals who refuse to repent, and no matter how the practice of torture is extremely rare, it's known to happen sometimes, specially to acquire the knowledge on the whereabouts of the covens of real witches and sorcerers.
As their faith addresses only the creation of humanity, it's not a certainty how exactly they will react to other races, although it's a surety that they will not be friend to what they could interpret as "Nephilim" or half-demons based on their conceptions of existence.
Images
Warhammer of the Holy Empire (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Bec_de_Corbin.jpg)
Imperial Cuirassiers and Knights battling against Catholic forces. (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b9/Boro1.jpg)
Inquisitors in Procession (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Nevsky2.jpg)
Reservist Pikemen holding off by their own in a modern pike square (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Bad-war.jpg)
The Peasants' War, basis for the formation of reserves and militia units (http://www.folger.edu/html/exhibitions/tolerance/images/6.jpg)
A typically humble Prazinian Church (http://www.rastko.org.yu/rastko-bl/umetnost/likovne/srakic-ikone/img/002.jpg)
Archangel Michael, protector of Arkhangelsk (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Archangel_Michael_and_City_of_Archangel.jpg/477px-Archangel_Michael_and_City_of_Archangel.jpg)
Hwacha (http://www.hwacha.net/img/hwacha/hwacha_firing_photo.jpg)
Star Fortress in the southeast (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Fortbourtange.jpg)
Fortress next to Okhrana Sud'by eastern shores (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Edinpain.JPG)
Inkvisitor Scribe (http://fc67.deviantart.com/fs22/i/2007/315/3/1/Inquisitor_by_BleakLead.jpg)
Knight of the Inquisition (http://fc56.deviantart.com/fs28/f/2008/122/0/b/cRUSADER_by_ricos.jpg)
Exorcist of the Inquisition (http://fc48.deviantart.com/fs10/i/2006/082/3/7/Templar_Work_In_Progress_by_FiveMiles.jpg)