Weccanfeld
09-10-2008, 22:04
Name: The Hefon Empire
Race(s): Reptilian (97%), Elf/Dark Elf (2%), Others (1%)
Government:
Ruling with varying degrees of tyranny from their capital at Khefas, the Emperors of Hefon are rulers subservient only to the gods, wielding absolute power over their dominion, and often claiming it over others. In practice, while under certain leaders in the past this could have been said to be true, the Emperor will find his powers limited by the priests, and particularly weak ones may even find their powers limited by the nobles.
Said nobles are often from families that held chiefdom over the various villages of the Jungle that the Empire now inhabits, and are responsible for the governance of these lands – however, the Emperor will often intervene, and set targets that the nobles must adhere to, with penalties differing over the years from mere fines to execution.
Succession is not necessarily hereditary, as the Emperor will ideally designate a heir before death – however, if the Emperor fails to designate before his death (or outright refuses to do so, as has been the case in the past), the position shall default to the eldest son – which itself can cause problems considering the Reptilian birth process.
Besides the Emperor, others such as the High Priests, Generals, some of the higher Palace Staff, some of the more prestigious nobles and perhaps in the near future, the richer merchants can and do hold political influence as well.
Society and Culture
Centuries of an infamously rigid social structure have been showing signs of liberalising with the present dynasty, due the growth of the merchant class – however, as always, the only effective way for a commoner to ascend effectively through the social ranks consist of a magical ability and getting into the clergy. With the absence of cheap education, a commoner is almost guaranteed to die a commoner. However, it is not rare for Nobles, particularly those who have committed crimes or are poor with money, to die slaves.
Hefon society, with the mass movement of people through the empire, is increasingly moving away from a settlement based system, to a clan based system resembling that of the Ssek Empire of the south, although one’s clan will often be based upon where one came from. However, clan or origin is considered as, if not more than important as Ssek considers it.
In Sexual matters, Hefon mirrors Ssek – pleasure takes a small part in breeding, with instinct, social security, extra labour and the prestige of fathering a large amount of children providing the majority of the stimulus for procreation. ‘Marriage’ is not as it is viewed in ‘Warmblood’ states – rather than a permanent union between two persons, it is more a confirmation that the parents are indeed the parents, and thus a way to guarantee social security (it is a social stigma to deny one’s parents this without good reason). These are by no means the only unions both parents will form, as the Hefons are a polygamous race, and indeed the partners a Hefon finds, the more highly regarded he will be.
Another value the Hefon share with their reptilian cousins to the south is their disdainful view of the aforementioned ‘Warmbloods’ - potential enemies, potential slaves, potential food. The Empire has been caused much grief by the barbarians to the south, as infantry tactics are not on par with the Ssek, the quantity over quality ethos dominating – yet years of war have given Hefon generals a near mastery of Jungle warfare.
However, perhaps one of the biggest areas in which the two reptilian cultures differ is in colour – unlike their Colourblind cousins, the Hefon race has a taste for colourful things, often leaning toward excess. Visual art can be found all over Khefas, and some of the other cities will have architecture that at times can be considered art. However, the Hefon Empire can be said to lack in more literary arts at times, due to the lack of education and thus denizens that can read or write.
As the majority of Imperial expansion has been done by Cultural integration rather than military expansion, one can find limitless amounts of petty gods in the Jungle; Good, Bad, and outright Evil. Many of the former two may find a place in the national pantheon, endorsed by the high priests. The latter, however, is limited to small communities of outcasts who live solely in the Jungle. Followers of all gods put a good deal of trust in them – but it is not unknown for the clergy to manipulate this for their own gain.
Economy
While Hefon trading efforts seem small in comparison to their southern neighbours, it is in Agarian matters that they really excel – the mangroves and shores of the great river are home to countless raised farms, in the high hills above the rainforest terraced farms dot the landscape, and twice yearly the great river hosts a three-way war between fisherman and fisherman who race up the river to plunder the schools of fish who make their great journey up the river to their mating grounds.
The forest, when it is not host to either slash and burn or standard farming, will be a place where Cassowaries and Crocodiles roam, raised by Hefon farmers for the meat and the leather. Also found in the rainforest are numerous gold mines – a massive industry in Hefon, but one that sees surprisingly little exportation abroad, due to the extravagant desires of the rich. Another large industry that sees little use abroad is in the numerous herbs of the jungle, which besides providing medicine to the Empire, also has a more malicious aspect, in the form of the numerous hallucinogenic substances that can be found in the jungle.
The only other respectable mining industry in Hefon is the Obsidian one, and besides that and Lumber, there is much more to the Hefon economy – especially in Metallurgy beyond precious metals.
It is rumoured that the tendency of the Hefon regency to hoard precious metals and other valuable objects makes them worth a massive amount of money – but over the years, there have been several Emperors (and a few Empresses) who have been known to be ones to spend money rather than keep it, which casts this theory into doubt.
Military
The Hefon Empire does not maintain an army beyond the Palace and Temple Guards in peace time, and when war does call a large force of militia experienced in the art of jungle warfare will be formed from the tribes of the Empire – although it is merely a disorganised militia, and when out of the rainforest will be on relatively equal terms with the barbarian tribes, and at a severe disadvantage against the organised Ssek infantry.
As has been mentioned, a Hefon warrior will find himself most at home in the jungle – what little wooden and leather armour he wears will do little to impede his work, and will have a knowledge of where to hide, and a proficiency with bow, spear and club. The army will often draw the enemy into the jungle, and lead guerrilla attacks against the force, waiting for disease to begin to take its toll, before ambushing the enemy in its sleep. Siege tactics on the other hand, are just that – Siege, with a healthy dose of diseases that the Hefons have long become immune to.
The aforementioned guards are different, however – blessed with often looted metal armour and weapons of the enemy, the Palace Guard form the heavy infantry of the Empire, providing an all round soldier able in many weapons. The temple guard however takes a much different approach – they will often supplement the jungle’s diseases, and poison the enemy using magic and alchemy. When battle is fought, however, the Temple reveals it most powerful asset – warrior priests who often charge into battle spurred on by numerous drugs, their screaming often sending many an enemy force into panic. Besides this role, the Temple will provide the medical and magical services to the army.
The navy is formed up of a sizeable portion of the Hefon fishing and trading fleet – all boats bigger than a large canoe are eligible to be conscripted into the navy at times of need, however, many merchants and fishermen have found ways of dodging the draft. These are intended to supplement the government-owned larger vessels that often trade in the Dolthaic Ocean.
Magic
<INSERT INFORMATION ON MAGIC HERE>
Foreign Relations
<INSERT INFORMATION ON FOREIGN RELATIONS HERE>
OOC Notes:
A request.
Now, Ssek has a population of 5 million, and we are meant to be rival nations. He has organised infantry and relatively widespread education. Hefon does not. Therefore, I’m after a large population to make up for that problem. What ‘large’ means is up to Thrashia.
Race(s): Reptilian (97%), Elf/Dark Elf (2%), Others (1%)
Government:
Ruling with varying degrees of tyranny from their capital at Khefas, the Emperors of Hefon are rulers subservient only to the gods, wielding absolute power over their dominion, and often claiming it over others. In practice, while under certain leaders in the past this could have been said to be true, the Emperor will find his powers limited by the priests, and particularly weak ones may even find their powers limited by the nobles.
Said nobles are often from families that held chiefdom over the various villages of the Jungle that the Empire now inhabits, and are responsible for the governance of these lands – however, the Emperor will often intervene, and set targets that the nobles must adhere to, with penalties differing over the years from mere fines to execution.
Succession is not necessarily hereditary, as the Emperor will ideally designate a heir before death – however, if the Emperor fails to designate before his death (or outright refuses to do so, as has been the case in the past), the position shall default to the eldest son – which itself can cause problems considering the Reptilian birth process.
Besides the Emperor, others such as the High Priests, Generals, some of the higher Palace Staff, some of the more prestigious nobles and perhaps in the near future, the richer merchants can and do hold political influence as well.
Society and Culture
Centuries of an infamously rigid social structure have been showing signs of liberalising with the present dynasty, due the growth of the merchant class – however, as always, the only effective way for a commoner to ascend effectively through the social ranks consist of a magical ability and getting into the clergy. With the absence of cheap education, a commoner is almost guaranteed to die a commoner. However, it is not rare for Nobles, particularly those who have committed crimes or are poor with money, to die slaves.
Hefon society, with the mass movement of people through the empire, is increasingly moving away from a settlement based system, to a clan based system resembling that of the Ssek Empire of the south, although one’s clan will often be based upon where one came from. However, clan or origin is considered as, if not more than important as Ssek considers it.
In Sexual matters, Hefon mirrors Ssek – pleasure takes a small part in breeding, with instinct, social security, extra labour and the prestige of fathering a large amount of children providing the majority of the stimulus for procreation. ‘Marriage’ is not as it is viewed in ‘Warmblood’ states – rather than a permanent union between two persons, it is more a confirmation that the parents are indeed the parents, and thus a way to guarantee social security (it is a social stigma to deny one’s parents this without good reason). These are by no means the only unions both parents will form, as the Hefons are a polygamous race, and indeed the partners a Hefon finds, the more highly regarded he will be.
Another value the Hefon share with their reptilian cousins to the south is their disdainful view of the aforementioned ‘Warmbloods’ - potential enemies, potential slaves, potential food. The Empire has been caused much grief by the barbarians to the south, as infantry tactics are not on par with the Ssek, the quantity over quality ethos dominating – yet years of war have given Hefon generals a near mastery of Jungle warfare.
However, perhaps one of the biggest areas in which the two reptilian cultures differ is in colour – unlike their Colourblind cousins, the Hefon race has a taste for colourful things, often leaning toward excess. Visual art can be found all over Khefas, and some of the other cities will have architecture that at times can be considered art. However, the Hefon Empire can be said to lack in more literary arts at times, due to the lack of education and thus denizens that can read or write.
As the majority of Imperial expansion has been done by Cultural integration rather than military expansion, one can find limitless amounts of petty gods in the Jungle; Good, Bad, and outright Evil. Many of the former two may find a place in the national pantheon, endorsed by the high priests. The latter, however, is limited to small communities of outcasts who live solely in the Jungle. Followers of all gods put a good deal of trust in them – but it is not unknown for the clergy to manipulate this for their own gain.
Economy
While Hefon trading efforts seem small in comparison to their southern neighbours, it is in Agarian matters that they really excel – the mangroves and shores of the great river are home to countless raised farms, in the high hills above the rainforest terraced farms dot the landscape, and twice yearly the great river hosts a three-way war between fisherman and fisherman who race up the river to plunder the schools of fish who make their great journey up the river to their mating grounds.
The forest, when it is not host to either slash and burn or standard farming, will be a place where Cassowaries and Crocodiles roam, raised by Hefon farmers for the meat and the leather. Also found in the rainforest are numerous gold mines – a massive industry in Hefon, but one that sees surprisingly little exportation abroad, due to the extravagant desires of the rich. Another large industry that sees little use abroad is in the numerous herbs of the jungle, which besides providing medicine to the Empire, also has a more malicious aspect, in the form of the numerous hallucinogenic substances that can be found in the jungle.
The only other respectable mining industry in Hefon is the Obsidian one, and besides that and Lumber, there is much more to the Hefon economy – especially in Metallurgy beyond precious metals.
It is rumoured that the tendency of the Hefon regency to hoard precious metals and other valuable objects makes them worth a massive amount of money – but over the years, there have been several Emperors (and a few Empresses) who have been known to be ones to spend money rather than keep it, which casts this theory into doubt.
Military
The Hefon Empire does not maintain an army beyond the Palace and Temple Guards in peace time, and when war does call a large force of militia experienced in the art of jungle warfare will be formed from the tribes of the Empire – although it is merely a disorganised militia, and when out of the rainforest will be on relatively equal terms with the barbarian tribes, and at a severe disadvantage against the organised Ssek infantry.
As has been mentioned, a Hefon warrior will find himself most at home in the jungle – what little wooden and leather armour he wears will do little to impede his work, and will have a knowledge of where to hide, and a proficiency with bow, spear and club. The army will often draw the enemy into the jungle, and lead guerrilla attacks against the force, waiting for disease to begin to take its toll, before ambushing the enemy in its sleep. Siege tactics on the other hand, are just that – Siege, with a healthy dose of diseases that the Hefons have long become immune to.
The aforementioned guards are different, however – blessed with often looted metal armour and weapons of the enemy, the Palace Guard form the heavy infantry of the Empire, providing an all round soldier able in many weapons. The temple guard however takes a much different approach – they will often supplement the jungle’s diseases, and poison the enemy using magic and alchemy. When battle is fought, however, the Temple reveals it most powerful asset – warrior priests who often charge into battle spurred on by numerous drugs, their screaming often sending many an enemy force into panic. Besides this role, the Temple will provide the medical and magical services to the army.
The navy is formed up of a sizeable portion of the Hefon fishing and trading fleet – all boats bigger than a large canoe are eligible to be conscripted into the navy at times of need, however, many merchants and fishermen have found ways of dodging the draft. These are intended to supplement the government-owned larger vessels that often trade in the Dolthaic Ocean.
Magic
<INSERT INFORMATION ON MAGIC HERE>
Foreign Relations
<INSERT INFORMATION ON FOREIGN RELATIONS HERE>
OOC Notes:
A request.
Now, Ssek has a population of 5 million, and we are meant to be rival nations. He has organised infantry and relatively widespread education. Hefon does not. Therefore, I’m after a large population to make up for that problem. What ‘large’ means is up to Thrashia.