Name: The Kingdom of Lotharine
The sea shows that Lotharine is a nation destined for Naval Glory, The Rising Sun a symbol of Lotharine's capability of growing and becoming "brighter", the Bird to show Lotharine's ability to soar past all obstacles.
Ruling Dynasty: The Joffer
Dynasty Members:
King Romain Joffer - 44 - King Romain assumed the throne at the young age of 20 following the death of his father, King Arthur. The King is highly ambitious, and the mighty Lotharingian Navy has been greatly expanded under his leadership. Diplomacy has been cast to the side in favor of expanding, but all expansion has been centered around the nearby islands.
Queen Alexandra Joffer- 40 - A Noble Queen who was the daughter of a powerful Aristocrat.
Married to Romain when she was just 15 in an arranged marriage but has come to appreciate her husband.
Prince Lucarn Joffer- 17 - A mirror of his father, truly. Studying the military arts since he was a young boy, Prince Lucarn knows about as much about the Seas as any Admiral in the
Lotharingian Navy. He aspires to be a great military leader.
Prince Tolin Joffer - 14 - A youth struggling to adhere to his Royal Lineage, Tolin has begun to feel badly for the poorest of the population within Lotharine.
Princess Amilia Joffer - 9 - Enjoys the finer things in life, few friends are the daughters of nobles.
Cousin to the King, High General Varran Aurrus - 40 - The strategic minded Varran is not afraid of losing lives in war if it furthers the cause of victory. He is a ruthless man who knows that sacrificing soldiers is a necessary move in the grand game of war. He has studied the great battles of history and understands tactics.
Other Significant Characters
Grand Admiral Oriton Cines - 55 - Grand Admiral Cines worked his way from simple sailor to the leader of the Lotharingian Navy. His word is, perhaps, the most highly respected in the Kingdom. It would be difficult to imagine even King Romain arguing with Cines. Still, Cines knows his place and will listen to any order from the King with unquestioned enthusiasm. For, as he sees it, if he shows signs of disobedience then the sailors will as well.
High Ambassador Vodus Maco - 36 - While well versed in the language of diplomacy, he lacks the experience of many other diplomats. Still, he believes that Lotharine is a powerful Kingdom and never negotiates from a position of weakness. Even if Lotharine were weak, Maco would make it seem strong. His youthfulness made his appointment somewhat controversial, but his love for the Kingdom is unquestioned.
Religion
Lotharine worships two chief deities: Artrius, the god of the Sea, and Trite, Lord of the Harvest.
There are a number of secondary deities including Parthion, god of Fertility; Micus, God of War; Tera, Goddess of the Forest; and many others that are worshiped more in certain areas of the Kingdom than in others.
Political System
The word of the King is the law of the land. The nobles own around 25% of all land within the Kingdom, an amount lower than in many others. As such, this causes the peasants to have more opportunities through most parts of the Kingdom. This attracts people from other nations to immigrate to Lotharine in order to seek out a less-oppressive life style. That being said, the Nobles still are capable of living quite a rich lifestyle and the poorest of peasants live in terrible conditions. All races are accepted, but humans are clearly considered dominant.
Territory Detail, e.g Terrain, Cities, Forts etc.
There are a number of forts along the border, in order to help defend the border in case of attack. The area around Orion consists of the Teran Forest which stretches from just east of Camdale down to Orion and to the border (basically the whole North-east). Camdale has a castle at the center of the city for defense.
Military Details
The Standing Army consists of only 12,000 soldiers.
Army of Varran Aurrus (5000)(stationed outside Tertium)
1st Lotharingian Infantry - 2,000
1st Archer Division - 1,500
King's Cavalry - 1,000
Royal Armsman - 500 - These men are the most elite force in all of Lotharine. They are fiercely loyal to the King, refuse to lose, heavily armed and even more heavily trained, and are drawn of veteran forces from all other divisions.
Army of Silian Cretius (4,000)(stationed in the Teran Forest near Orion)
2nd Lotharingian Infantry - 2000
2nd Archer Division - 1000
1st Lotharingian Specialist Brigade - Soldiers who are not superbly skilled in any area but are able to be good in a number. Some are soldiers who may fight melee or ranged, some are mages who show talent in non-Arcane arts.
Orion Woodsman - 500 - These men are natives of Orion and are masters of the Teran Forest. They may shoot arrows from a tree, or ambush foes if they are called for combat in the Forest. They are masters of survival, each man capable of surviving on his own. As such, they are called upon for reconnaissance in times of war.
Army of Ildoni Ratorious (3000) (stationed outside Torin)
1st Lotharingian Infantry Battalion - 1400
3rd Archer Division - 1000
Royal Knights - 500 - The plains near Torin are perfect for cavalry warfare, and as such the most elite cavalrymen of Lotharine are placed here.
1st Arcane Squadron - 100 - A strong group of Mages who have turned the mastery of the Arcane Arts into a weapon to be wielded against foes.
The Lotharingian Navy, the pride of Lotharine, consists of 100 warships and 45 trade ships. There are, at the least, four mages aboard each ship which means the Navy is capable of setting enemy ships ablaze with magic as well as other weaponry.
Wealth
Lotharine is a Kingdom of moderate wealth; certainly it could be one with much wealth if spending on the Navy were not so high.
Trade Status
Lotharine attempts to be as self-sufficient as possible, but maintains trade with many other lands. If anyone has something which could be of worth to Lotharine, then they are a trading interest.
Resources
Resources such as iron are rare within Lotharine and as such are traded for from various people. Forests, however, abound in the Kingdom thanks mostly to the heavily forested islands off of the mainland. These forests are what allows for the mighty Navy to be so powerful. In addition, the lands near Torin are extremely fertile and produce bountiful harvests of food almost every year. The years that they don't, fishermen are able to produce enough to prevent famine.
Political Stability
The stability of Lotharine is certainly not it's strongest aspect. The small Noble class has resulted in a very connected network of nobles, meaning that in any time of crisis the nobles could link together and lead a revolution. In addition, the varied races and immigrants cause a low amount of national unity.
Starting Stats
Large, powerful Navy. Small army. Accepting of all races, Accepting of mages. Stable growth with the ability to feed a growing population. Low iron and steel reserves but abundant timber. Moderate chance of revolution in time of crisis.
Extra Info
Population ~350,000, Slavery illegal.
Blessed City
"Oh what a joy it is to be
Among the True in this city
Where Artrius, fangs covered in rich battle's blood,
Met Trite, Arms covered with hard work's mud.
And the two of them agreed
To create a land to be called Lotharine"
~ Anonymous Author, dubbed The Poet.