Ruler: King Varus the Bold and head of the Alchemian Christian Church
Type: Hereditary Monarchy
Population: 9 million
Capital: The Holy City of Prai
Official Religion: Alchemian Christian
Religion Ratio: 65% Alchemian Christian, 25% Pagan, 10% Other Christian
Government:
Succession to the thrown is hereditary with the ruler responsible for choosing his or her next heir. King Varus has been grooming his twenty-one year old son Prince Arvan to be his successor after the tragic loss of Queen Adrienne five years ago. The Kingdom is divided into several territories, each governed by various monarchs. Although most of the governing is delegated to advisers. The only exception to this rule are the 'Lost Lands' in the south-west. The Lost Lands are self-governed by the woodsmen militia.
Monarchy:
King Varus (age 63 | condition: frail | traits: compassionate, strong ruler)
Queen Adrienne (age 37 | condition: deceased | traits: compassionate, spiritual)
Prince Arvan (age 23 | condition: healthy and combat ready | traits: brave, strong leadership)
Princess Ria (age 19 | condition: healthy | traits: friendly, compassionate, resourceful)
Princess Nori (age 15 | condition: long-term illness | traits: unfriendly, deceptive)
...There are additional monarchs but they are not that important.
Climate:
Warm and wet with cold winters (especially in the mountains).
Geography:
The coast of the Amber Kingdom is dominated by high snow capped mountain ranges, which stretch across the eastern coast around the northern sea and down along the Dravkany border. These treacherous peaks encourage rainfall and protect the kingdom from any large invading forces. King Varus split the Kingdom into territories to be controlled by the monarchs and the Woodsman Militia. The fertile farmlands around the capital Prai and the Nethermoor plains bordering Dercon are under the direct authority of the King. The scenic lakes of Bismar in the north-east are under the control of Prince Arvan and his Royal Javelin Cavalry. Elgon Forest in the west of the country is under the watchful gaze of Princess Ria, who maintains a calm peace in this region and has close ties with the nearby Woodsman. The Lost Lands are a inhospitable region in the south-west; these lands border both Dravkany and Dercon, but the swamps make travel almost impossible. The tree covered mountains surrounding the swamps are inhabited by the hardy and resourceful tribe of woodsman.
Click on the above thumbnail to see an enlarged picture.
Religion:
After the civil war twenty years ago between the Catholic and Pagan population, a new religious order arose headed by the late Queen Adrienne. The kingdom grew resentful of the oppressive nature of the incumbent christain religion, which was blamed for starting the civil war and so cast out most of the non-alchemian christian population. The more philosophical and scientifically (namely alchemy) orientated christianity evolved into a fully fledged religion in its own right. The Alchemian Christian religion headed now by King Varus, focuses on understanding the world humans live in and the role each individual can play in 'bettering' the world. Alchemian Christianity accepts science because it has the potential to bring us closer to God. The ultimate aim of the alchemists is to create the philosopher's stone, which can be used to create an elixir of life and would allow a person to achieve immortality.
This has caused tension with other christain states and although alchemianism respects the freedom to worship god how an individual sees fit... However conflict with traditional christian orientated states may become unavoidable.
Culture and Society:
The people of the Amber Kingdom are compassionate, deeply patriotic and loyal to the monarchy. Citizens respect the rights of others to chose their own destiny. However, they are willing to fight to retain their way of life and that of their allies. Unlike many other cultures, spirituality and science are closely bound. A mix of cultures and paganism still exist today within the kingdom, especially around the two coastal settlements. Invention and new ideas are welcomed, providing they do not challenge the rule of law, which is imposed by the Royal Knights. All citizens can aspire to highly dignified positions within the Royal Military, however most are content in their simple lives of farming, sewing, fletching, carpentry, mining and blacksmithing.
Military:
I'm not sure about the size of my military, so I've described the balance of my forces in regiments. Regiments could be 500-5000 strong, depending on what is sensible for the world.
Land Forces
Town Guards
Under the authority of noblemen. However the crown has the authority to take control at their discretion.
Size: 8 regiments
Briefly trained by Royal Knights, fairly disciplined but prone to fleeing without leadership.
They are armed with only shortswords and wear leather studded armour.
Royal Infantry
Directly under the control of the crown. Consists of drafted Town Guards in times of war.
Size: None Standing
Royal Knights
Under direct authority of King Varus
Size: 4 regiments
Loyal and sworn to chivalry they are the protectors of the kingdom and of the rule of law.
They wear plate or chainmail armour and are armed with either a claymore or a longsword with a shield.
Royal Pikemen
Under the direct authority of King Varus
Size: 1 regiment
A small but extensively trained regiment is employed to halt cavalry attacks and to break lines of heavily armoured infantry. They wear chainmail armour and are armed with long pikes.
Royal Javelin Cavalry
Under direct authority of Prince Arvan
Size: 1 regiment
A single highly trained regiment are dedicated to their leader Prince Arvan. They are heavily armoured with either chainmail or plate and armed with a longsword, javelin and shield. However because of their weight they are only capable are short assaults and are extremely difficult to replace.
Royal Cavalry Archers
Under direct authority of Princess Ria
Size: 1 regiment
Princess Ria commands a lightly armoured regiment of mounted archers. With their high mobility they are able to act as scouts and to quickly move into position to assault enemies with their shortbows. They are poorly equipped for close quarter combat. In addition to their shortbows they have leather armour and longswords.
Bowmen of the Woodsmen Militia (Woodspeople)
Friendly to Princess Ria
Size: Two small contingents
Size: 8 small contingents (10 contingents = 1 regiment)
The bowmen of the milita are cunning opponents who use their knowledge of the land and hunting skills to outwit their opponents. Although they are independent from the military, they are grateful to Queen Addrienne for protecting their settlements during the civil war and have a strong friendship with Princess Ria. They are equipped with little armour, but are highly specialised with their hunting weapons: the shortbow and longbow. Given time to arm and organise they are lethal fighting force.
High Magisty's Knights of the Realm
Under the direct authority of the royalty.
Size: 12 Knights
They are the twelve most respected and skilled knights of the realm. The highest ranking being the 1st knight of the realm. They all have personally engraved armour and weapons. Each knight is skilled in multiple weapons and has his/her own favourite. More to follow.
Royal Alchemists (Special)
Under direct authority of King Varus and answerable to the Alchemian Christian Church
Size: 2 small contingents (10 contingents = 1 regiment)
The elite contingents of the Royal Alchemists are intelligent, highly trained and are loyal to the monarchy and to the church. They are used for assassination, espionage and indirect support during battles.
Alchemist use vials containing pre-made concoctions. These can be flammable/explosive(oil/alcohol based), poisonous, incapacitating, medical (no magical elixirs of life will exist), diversionary (smoke/blinding/disorientating) and corrosive (acid flasks, etc). They wear leather or no armour and are armed only with daggers or fist weapons.
Navy
A tiny contingent of hired merchant vessels protect the coastal commerce towns from piracy. However the kingdom does not have any ability to conduct naval warfare. Transport ships can be hired in times of need from the large merchant navy, in order to move land forces, such as bowmen and knights.