Tuesday, August 19, 2014

The Center Cannot Hold: Ith, Sorcerous Republic

The United Sorcerous Republic of Ith

"United In Sorcery."
Alignment N
Capital Athrid
Ruler President Adais Silverune
Government Confederated Magocracy
Demonym Ithan
Adjective Ithic
Languages Tomish, Salish, Malic, Othish, Borish
Religions The University, The Twins, The Machine, Shraxes, Singer of the Song, Lupa

Ith sits at the center of the world, considered one of the four great powers through its arcane and technological innovations.  It is a homeland for anyone who practices sorcery, where the prerequisite for citizenship is magical ability, not appearance or class.  Ith controls the Sleeping Straits, one of the most important trade routes on world of Orphos.

History

The name of Ith predates the Tomasi Empire, back to the earliest known history of the cities of Crux, Ithspan and Athrid.  The Archmage Ith protected these three cities, carving out a enlightened kingdom and taking it away from Ursyklon control.  Ith's enlightened kingdom lasted for about a thousand years until the Tomasi empire conquered it.  To the south, Ith the Archmage went to war against the cannibalistic city of Rruk, creating a vast dry waste that has remained ever since.  No power claims these wastes, not even Maliph tries to maintain control over them.  It has remained a safe southern buffer for Ith ever since.

In remembrance, the Republic of Ith took his name as inspiration when they began their war of independence.

Othebea, Salira and the Tomasi founded their own colonies around Ith's cities.  These city-states took advantage of the southern coasts of the Maru Sea.  Vibrant, for centuries these minor city-states maintained a strong trade economy.  The Tomasi took control of all of them.

What is modern Ith formed the economic centerpiece of the Tomasi Empire.  The Tomasi emperors took Crux as their capital, tying their influence and power to the ancient Ursyklon's empire that once used Crux as their own capital.  When the Tomasi fell to corruption, decay and Dragons, arcane spell casters took over each city state.

Unlike modern Ith, these city-states didn't cooperate together.  Instead they feuded and warred with one another.  Wizards, witches and others fought duels, keeping an ongoing conflict wedged between them.  When Othebea and the Church of the Twins declared their crusades against the Ithic states, there was no resistance to stop their conquest of the region.

These crusades aimed at the irresponsible magic of the arcane spell casters of Ith.  Othebea instituted strict laws on the use of magic.  This included divine magic.  Sorcery was restricted, to prevent further crises borne of wizard duels or witch curses.  The Sundered Star Cult fought a vicious fight to the end, drawing down alien powers against Othebea's Crusaders.  Inevitably Othebea won, taking advantage of how divided each city-state was from the others.  Upon the fall of Crux, the Ithic Crusades were already over.

For more than two hundred years Othebea ruled over Ith.  Ith came to adopt Othebean laws, and most common Ithans adopted the Church of the Twins as their main faith.  But the arcane traditions of Ith- its historic ties to wizardy, the estorium machina, witchcraft and others- stifled.  They were forced to either hide or submit to severe government limitations on arcane spellcraft.  The passing of the Sorcery Tax was the final straw.

Magi of all kinds began to openly protest Othebean rule.  In Crux, a group of protesting Diviners were slaughtered by Othebean Crusaders, in a incident remembered as the Cruxite Massacre.  The Ithic City-States bonded together, and started the Revolution Wars.

The Treaty of Lutetia ended the Revolution Wars for Ith about fifty years ago.  The city-states formalized their nation through their own constitution.  Thus established was the first nation founded on sorcerous principles above all others.

Government

As a representative republic, each Ithic city-state sends its own senators to the Ithic Senate to create and pass laws.  In order to elect senators of any kind, voting rights are restricted to only those who possess sorcerous ability.  Each city-state is represented by at least three senators, varying based on the population of the city-state in question.  Senators are elected once every three years, alternating from year to year to keep some form of continuity.

The senator comprises the legislative third of Ith's government.  There is the Presidency, the elected executive branch of Ith.  Ith severely limits the capacity of the executive.  Unlike Ainesia or Othebea, the presidency doesn't direct that much policy.  It shares more in common with Maliph in that regard.

The last part of the Ithic government are its courts, a secular mimicry of the same system that Othebea had used in Ith.  The courts counter and bicker points, never quite agreeing from one city-state to another on some cases, forcing those cases to be abitrated through the Senate in some cases.

Sidebar: Sorcery As Citizenship
Anyone with sorcerous powers can become a citizen of Ith.  Such citizenship can and often is awarded to monstrous individuals, including Aether-Blooded, Vampires, Dragons and others.  These individuals agree to abide by the terms of citizenship (accepting some forms of tax and agreeing to not prey on other citizens, etc) and in turn receive the same protections any citizen would get.  Ithic law protects them from predation, criminal activity against them, guarantees them the right to assemble, the right to worship as they please and the right of speech.

Othebea and Ainesia, both nations dealing with their own native monsters dislike Ith's choosing to award citizenship to what they regard as dangerous entities.  Maliph, whose own government has some monsters of its own, finds Ith's regard for only the sorcerous somewhat arrogant, although enlightened.

This does mean that sizable portion of the human, ursyklon and other populations in Ith have no citizenship.  Although Ith claims to have banned the slave trade (despite their treatment of Androids), the lower classes in Ith are those who lack some sorcerous ability.  In most places, this makes no significant difference.  In Crux, for example, most don't see much difference from citizenship and normal day-to-day activities.  Each City-State differs in its practice of Ithic Law, but most don't feel a serious need to try to reform or federalize it.

Geography

Ith is the the smallest of the Four Great Powers.  It controls most of the southern and western coasts of the Maru Sea, as well as the Sleeping Straits that control access to it.  To the south, Ith is bordered by the Gate Mountains and it is dominated with thick pine and redwood forests.  It separates Ith from the vast wastes that sit as a buffer between it and Maliph.  Most of northern Ith once was dominated by wetlands but now they have been drained and turned into acres of farmland.  Western Ith is often called the Storm Coast, its swamps struck repeatedly by hurricanes out of the Anuada Ocean.  Eastern Ith is dominated by scrubland, before hitting the Rose Canal that separates Ith from Othebea.

A part of Ith also controls the northern portion of the Sleeping Straits, a mountainous region dominated by still active volcanoes.  Throughout Ith are a variety of ruins of aware, especially Ursyklon and Tomasi.

Inhabitants

Considering the region once was home to the Tomasi Empire, Tomasi humans make up the majority of humans in Ith.  But humans of every ethnicity can be found in Ith- all are arcane spellcasters attracted to Ith, drawn to its open nature in regard to magic.  Ith is also home to large, vibrant Ursyklon communities, some of whom remember the Tomasi purges committed against them.  Its monstrous community also has attracted and created whole neighborhoods of Dhampir, Tieflings and Skinwalkers.  It is a diverse nation, drawing on a large different number of peoples.

Religion

At the center of the world, Ith is dominated by the worship of all the major faiths, but especially The Twins, The Machine and the Singer of the Song.  The age of its cities hide darker cults as well, many of which still hide their more secret ways.  Given Ith's allowance of all kidns of worship, many cults and heresies take root in Ith.  This has led to a sort of blending of some faiths, creating odder and stranger heresies where one least expects them.

No comments:

Post a Comment