Azumethronnia [Factbook]

[Jenrak]

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The Holy Cailene Empire of Azura
A reference guide to the Azuran Empire

The Holy Cailene Empire of Azura, colloquially referred to as New Azura or the Azuran Empire, is a loose confederation of Commonwealths, known as Prefectures, which have come together to form a long-lasting political union called Métropolitain Azura. Created during the Unification Trials of April 23rd, 123 C.E., Métropolitain Azura incorporated seven different kingdoms into one vast Empire—Anentum, Austravora, Cathanthini, Estica, Hibanthas, Marsitra, and Tirandica. The Métropolitain remained at seven until 1970, when Tosmaldevo was forcibly annexed into becoming the eighth Prefecture of Azura.

Operating under a constitutional charter known as the Articles of Accordance, Azura is governed principally by the individual Prefectures. Each state in the Métropolitain is largely free to govern themselves as they see fit, with minimal restrictions. Therefore, no two Prefectures are identical in their manner of governance (Anentum, for instance, maintains a hereditary lineage for its Prefects, while Estica elects their Prefects democratically). The only common element between the eight Prefectures is the national parliament of Azura, called the Saeculum. The Saeculum is a representative bicameral legislature featuring an equal number of representatives from every Prefecture. Among its limited roles, the Saeculum exists to mediate disputes between Prefectures, ensure peaceful and open commerce between the various states, mint a unified currency for all Prefectures and territorial possessions, and collect levies for the creation and maintenance of a standing military, which defends the Prefectures and the incorporated territories.

The government of Métropolitain Azura is headed by a largely symbolic figurehead, called the Achæon. The Achæon is the constitutionally recognized leader of all Prefectures, though his only political power over the states is to ensure that they are defended (for he serves as the acting commander-in-chief of the Azuran Military), and to preserve the Core Tenets of Azura; the universal human rights that are guaranteed to all Azurans regardless of their Prefecture of birth or residence, namely the right to life and the criminalization of kidnapping, murder, rape, slavery, theft, and treason. Unlike in the Métropolitain, the Achæon does maintain acting power over the twenty-four colonial possessions of Azura, called Cosmopolite Azura, where he rules as a virtual Autocrat.

Prior to the unification of the seven Cailene Kingdoms in 123 C.E., Azura was inhabited by indigenous tribes of natives who first appeared around 10,000 B.C.E. By the second century B.C.E., the indigenous population (known today as First Azura) had grouped into twelve distinct tribes, which warred with one another for centuries, with each carrying its own tribal language, faith, and customs. Eventually, the entirety of Azura and all tribal nations were conquered by Cailene invaders, beginning in the first century C.E. and lasting until the third century. Seven Kingdoms, themselves offshoots of the Empire of Caileania in Asavona, began to form by the turn of the second century C.E., with tensions between the various groups threatening to trigger an all-out war for control of Azura. However, the great General Cailean Achæus (93 - 147 C.E.) managed to unify the seven kingdoms into one Confederation of states, becoming the first Achæon in the process.

Azura is defined numerous cultural and religious ideologies, dependent largely on the region of the country. Though various faiths, languages, and customs are maintained by the colonies of Cosmopolite Azura, the eight Prefectures do share a common currency, the Azuran Rank, and a language, Cailene. Christianity is the national religion of Azura, owing to the arrival of Axidonal missionaries in the third century C.E., though other faiths such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and the Sanctum Tribal Faiths are also prevalent. There are five recognized racial groups in Azura, each with their own traditions and customs that blend together to form the larger Azuran culture.

Along with the majority race in Azura, the Cailenes and the individual indigenous tribes that comprise First Azura, other major races include the Articans, the Axidonals, and the Britannicans. The Articans are the second largest components of the Azuran population, having taken control of Azura for a period of almost seven hundred years during the second millennium C.E. Largely based in the mountainous regions of Eastern Azura, the Articans imported their French language into the country, which remains spoken throughout the Empire. The Britannicans, a Celtic group that made in-roads into the Cailene Empire throughout the first millennium of its existence, established English-speaking trade centers which helped lead to the flourishing of Britannic English culture in Azura. The Axidonals, largely Christian missionaries from Judea, brought their faith and philosophical teachings to Azuran shores, further adding to the overall culture of the nation as a whole.

Location

The majority of Métropolitain Azura resides in the region of Nova, sandwiched on a large continental island shelf between the Coralaia Ocean to the north and the Southern Sea to the west. The original seven Prefectures share land-borders with two other nations; Goldaron to the south and Vetaka to the east. The lone exception in Métropolitain Azura is Tosmaldevo Prefecture, which is located on a series of small islands and atolls north of Neravian in Guanxi.

Despite its imperialistic and capitalistic tendencies throughout the centuries, Azura has cultivated a diverse and abundant range of geographical features and climates which have helped turn the country (including its colonial possessions) into a megadiverse geographical area. Large areas of woodland (both tropical, sub-tropical, and even deciduous temperate) exist in various swathes of the country, while Tosmaldevo's island chains breed further coastal layouts. More than twenty thousand distinct species of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles are indigenous to Métropolitain Azura, including several hundred distinct species which exist only in Azura.

The bountiful natural resources of Azura are exploited for the good of the Empire over time, causing some conflict within the internal governmental apparatuses on how to best preserve the wildlife and topography of the land without restricting vibrant economic growth. The desire to extend Azura's financial and military wealth was a precipitating factor in the acquisition of Cosmopolite Azura, bringing fresh new lands to exploit economically. Because of the preeminence of the Métropolitain's health and security, colonial territories of Azura often fare far worse in the field of wildlife conservation.

Azura's many cities and townships are located throughout the various geographical regions of the country, though the cultural identity of each city depends largely on the founding cultural group that established the villages. The rampant factionalism that created the broad cultural makeup of Azura throughout its history has led to the rise of cultural-centric metropolitan areas, each with unusual names. Though the cities of Nor'Calais, Cheltenham, Xarana, Maua Poa, and Capodimonte all bear a uniqueness that would imply their residence in different countries, all five cities are fixtures of Métropolitain Azura.

Because of Azura's unique position alongside Vetaka and Goldaron, the nation is highly dependent on a series of major rivers, whose primary tributaries form broad-reaching watersheds that serve as the main aquifer for the country. The five largest rivers—the Anagonia, Gauda, Kinjana, Messaline, and Thrace—all run from the Kalaya Range in the east to the Southern Sea in the west. The three largest lakes in Azura—Lake Legnica, Lake Mira, and Nyrruh High Lake—serve as the primary sources for those rivers.


Climate
Azura maintains a diverse climate, even in the relative isolation of the original seven Prefectures of the Métropolitain. Tosmaldevo, owing to its own isolated location in Guanxi, maintains a semi-tropical climate across its relatively germane territories. The climate of the Novan Prefectures largely depend on the sub-region. The mountainous, heavily forested eastern regions of Berchtesgarden and Draconia maintain temperate climates, with warm, moist summers and cold, drier winters. The central region of Tarsius maintains a mixed climate, with temperate climate in the eastern areas and a decidedly more sub-tropical climate west. The northern region of Enlandia is almost entirely tropical, with short dry seasons in the fall and spring buffeted by heavy rainy seasons in the summer and winter because of its proximity to the equator. The Belannia region in the south maintains a sub-tropical climate, with grasslands and forests contributing to warm summers and cooler winters.

Weather patterns, like the various climates, are often influenced by the geographical region in which each sub-region is located. The western shores of Azura, including the lengthy Therra Coast, is often the target of tropical cyclones during the late summer and early fall months, though most storm systems often clip the northwestern portion of the Novan Prefectures before continuing on into the Coralaia Ocean. Severe weather is prevalent in both Enlandia, Tarsius, and Belannia throughout the spring and summer months, as the relative flat plains and moist air spur severe thunderstorms and tornadic cells. Though close in proximity to the equator, the mountainous regions of Azura can still see bitterly cold winters in the highest elevations. Several feet of snow can fall in the highest passes, and the tallest peaks in the Kalaya Range maintain snowcaps year round.


Terrain
Azura's terrain varies like its climate. The Novan Prefectures are situated in the northwest of a continental island shelf, with a large mountain chain—the aforementioned Kalaya Range—serving as a natural boundary between Vetaka and Azura. Further to the west, the mountains gradually shift towards rolling foothills and forested areas, with swaths of land in the larger southern and northern ends of the country maintaining fertile grasslands and plains. The two largest of these areas, the Marpesia Flatlands and the Scotia Plains, serve as the northern and southern terminus of the Novan Prefectures, respectively. The terrain of Tosmaldevo is largely flat, with coastal plains encompassing the entirety of the island chains.

Elevation Extremes
Lowest Point: Southern Sea / Coralaia Ocean - 0 Meters
Highest Point: McAden Terrace (Mountain) – 5,797 Meters (roughly 19,000 feet)

[Jenrak]

Poinsettia
The Sentinels of the Empire,
by Colonel Eh'ren Raine,

There didn't use to be a formal holding for the Sentinels. We had to claw and scratch and bleed for our right to exist in the vast Empire of the Poinsettia. Most people don't even recognize the name anymore, beyond a few tips of the fettered cap and the sly acknowledgment of the generations from yesteryear. But we still remember who we are, and we will always remember those that came before us—those who helped ensure that this nation never perished in the long nights.

I am a Sentinel. It's what I was born to do, and it's what I'll hopefully die doing. We exist in the Empire as the Old Guard, sworn to protect the life of the Achæon at all costs. Yet we're capable of so much more. So very much more... Do you remember the Serpent War, when the mighty Expedition took place against the vicious swine that had pushed us too far? When Albrante fell, the Sentinels were there. We fought alongside the Leathernecks and the pampered Army rats. And we were good, too. We were damned good, but you wont ever hear that.

We lead a different sort of life in the Sentinels. You don't join up with the Poinsettia's finest for the recognition, or the honor. We're the soldiers that time forgot, passing us by in due course to keep the true guard of the Empire in the shadows. We're known throughout the country by our public face, yet the role we carry shapes the lives of every single man, woman, and child walking on free soil. This is our charge: to carry the blood-stained banner, no matter the cost to ourselves.

Some may ask why we fight without recognition. The answer is as clear as it is poignant: there comes a time when the Empire's best must make sacrifices in order to ensure that the great and noble monolith remains prevalent in the world community. And for the Sentinels to do what they do best, no one can see us coming. We have to remain ever cautious of advertising our true nature before the world, lest we destroy the most vital element of surprise the Azuran people have left in such a cold, cruel world.

If we must sacrifice our honor for the good of the country, then so be it. For it is a small price to pay to lose out on glory, if the glory of our great nation waxes brilliantly for years to come. And that is why we do what we do! If the Empire I leave behind is stronger than the Empire in which I was raised, then I have done my duty. For a Sentinel, this is the glory we seek. Not for ourselves, but for those that shall rise up, to remember we, the ones left behind.

Does a Sentinel ever mourn his silent role in the country? Well, have you ever asked yourself why we use the skull emblem for our very own? You'd think such a prestigious and noble institution as the Poinsettia Sentinels, Grand Defenders of the Achæon would use something a bit more prestigious and, dare I say, classy than a skull emblem. Maybe a poinsettia design would be more apropos for the Poinsettia Sentinels, right?

Well, no one is exactly sure where the design came from, but we've all discovered through our service in the Sentinels what the design means. That skull was held by the very first of us, way back in the ancient days. When his life was waning, and his spirit was yearning for the glory that he had so openly sought, and failed to find, that he took hold of the skull of the final enemy he had vanquished from this dear Earth.

He took hold of this skull, mind you, and he wept bitterly over it. And he wept so bitterly, because he knew that when he left this world, he would once again find himself in service to his country, fighting those same enemies in the afterlife forever, and forever. And when he had let loose the last of his tears, he took hold of that skull and carried it with him in death, as a reminder that no matter how vicious, or how cruel the enemies had been... he had prevailed.

The Sentinels will always prevail. And if no one else shall, the Sentinels will never forget.

[Jenrak]

Sanctum
The League of Honor
by Cha'risa Lynah

I have no pity, nor remorse for any man or woman who would deprive themselves of glory in combat. Our people fought the Cailene invaders for so long, and never forsook for themselves the honor that defined us as a people. Even today, in the throes of great tribulations, we stand fast as beacons of honor where the courage of others fail. We're not ashamed of our adopted brothers, but merely an oppositional force to their lack of strength in claiming what belongs to them. For the natives of First Azura, there is nothing else.

The Sanctum was formed over seventeen hundred years ago, in the days when the sun still set in the Cailene's Empire. We were forced to acknowledge them as our overlords for a time, but we never forgot the customs and the ways of our ancestors. Even so, the loss of our freedom as a people and as a nation drove us to accept difficult choices for the sake of our honor. If we were to be subjugated, we would not sacrifice our heart, and our soul, and our mind without at least trying to free the captive spirits within us.

There were twelve nations that called the ancient Azura home. The Cailenes and the Articans, the Axidonals and the Britannicans... they can use their fancy terms and their other-worldly monikers and titles. But this... this land is Azura, whether the cretins and the vagabonds like it or not. This land belonged to us, and we were determined to keep it at all costs. That's why we made peace with our enemies, and forged a new Sanctum amongst the many tribes of this land.

What? Did you think that our nations always coexisted in harmony and peace? Verily, such is the yarns of fairy tales and storybooks. Twelve nations, no matter how great and vast in scope and glory, are still twelve nations. Twelve different cultures, twelve different histories, and twelve different claims to immortality in this land. We fought bloody wars, for so many years. Twelve peoples, trying to engender their way of life onto the others.

Fate, it would seem, is not without a sense of irony.

For as we tried in vain to subjugate one another, a greater foe arrived on our shores, and subjugated us one and all. Our people were put in chains when resistance arose. Our people were enslaved for a pittance of bread when our foodstuffs were destroyed. And still, our people would not break. Not a man alive, nor any great force of antiquity could ever, nor will ever erase the memory of our people from this land. We have blotted out from our own memories the sadness of the fall, but the fall was merely a prelude for the Glorious Rising.

When twelve nations came together, all those generations ago, we made a pact with one another. Born of blood and tears, our peoples came into agreement—in one mind, and in one accord—to stand together, not as enemies past, but as brothers and sisters of the Azura we once knew. Our fight against the Cailenes had been waged, and we lost. It is dishonorable to continue fighting when that which you are fighting for is no more. Only a fool carries on in vain when the homeland has been razed from existence. There is no honor in his actions.

But while our homes, and our way of life was tempered in great severity, the land in which we cultivated our identities was still very much alive, and in need of our protection. The Cailenes, and those that followed them, could only destroy our physical bodies. But our Spirits were inseparable from the Azuran Earth. The lands we loved were tied to us, just as were tied to them. And that is where our honor carries on.

We are the last of our kind, defending the land we love whilst preserving the cultures that time has tried to leave behind. I, nor anyone like me, can claim any great love of country. At least, the country that has taken the place of our own. Bitterness is not dishonorable, if it is tempered with great care and vigilance. Yet I hold no object grudge, nor do I desire the return of our way of life to the mainstream.

We had our chance, and the fates charted a different course for us. And so we have existed, this Sanctum, this League of Honor, throughout the generations. We will always be here, whether in presence physical or in spirit eternally. Would we join with the new Azurans in their quest for territorial claims and grandeur? Not if the cause was dishonorable, which our grafted family as often sought to undertake.

But if our lands are endangered, and the threat of destruction falls upon us like a dark shadow, then Sanctum rises once more to protect that which we lost so many years ago... and yet, that which we have never truly left behind.

[Jenrak]

Nera Strega
Those That Bring Death
by Wraith-Five

You don't know me. You will never know me, nor what I stand for, or who I stand with. That is your great regret, and my one truth. I know nothing of the world outside my own four walls, and that is the way I shall be kept. I am a slave to the system, and yet I was never truly apart of the system. If that's too cryptic for you, then I beg of you: turn back now, because I only delve deeper from here.

I don't have any political affiliations, nor do I have any physical desires. When you "volunteer" for Nera Strega, you're actually physically dying. What you see, which you never speak of, for your dead if you do see us, is the shell of a broken spirit that has fallen from Heaven, and been recast in the flames of Hell. We are fine-tempered with brimstone and sulfur, and it's where we're at home at. I don't need a woman to shack up with, or a good steak to fill my belly. Physical desire are alien to me, and they're not germane to my cause.

Do any of us truly have a cause? Someone might suggest that we serve a "greater purpose", but that someone is in need of having their throat slit in the most unceremonious way possible. I could rattle off "statistics" of our team, but our team isn't truly a team. This "Nera Strega" bullshit that they threw at the wall, it's all for show. The real Nera Strega has no name. It has no face, just like us. We're the shadows you think you see, and pray to whomever may still be above that you never have to see again.

What, did you think that there was some glorious honor to behold here? Did you expect us to weep for our fallen brothers? There is no such thing as emotion in my life, for there is no such thing as my life, period. I'm an instrument of destruction, stripped of all things human for the whims of those who we never see, nor desire to see. Truthfully, I may have been human at one point, but any remorse or feelings of regret were raped, burned, and buried along with all other sensations.

Why do we do it? Why are questions necessary in this day and age? Why must anything be given a higher meaning, or allotted some grand, glorious purpose? Existence, as this body sees it, has no greater existential meaning than that which is less than twenty feet in front of me. For it's within that twenty feet that I do my greatest work as a weapon. The only thing I feel when I take a human life is the recoil of my rifle. You point, you pull, boom.

I apologize for nothing, for I don't remember how to, or why I would ever want to. Your existence, and every disgusting trace of symbolism you throw behind it, can only hamper my ability to do whatever I'm told to do. Am I a glutton for subservience? There's no overlord pulling my strings, yet I choose to do so anyways! What is choice? Does choice extend beyond who lives, and who dies? If you are freed from this mortal coil, there is nothing left but an eternity of emptiness inside. Therefore, I choose whether I allow this empty shell to fall, or whether it is someone else's time to fall into the chasms.

The Abyss of Oblivion... that's where we're all going, you know. Some get there faster than others, yet I hold no fear of that which rests beyond the veil. I've already served my time in Hell, and Hell hatebanged my former person until that person bled from every cavity and died in misery and agony. This unchained monster is yearning for blood, and only the blood of humans can do.

Pity me? No, I pity those who have yet to understand what horror actually is. Some may "deploy" us on "missions" for the glory of the Empire. But I have no thought of glory, or political conquest, or superiority in mind.

You don't know what's in my mind. I don't know what's in my mind. You're merely the next in line, and the line has to keep moving.

[Jenrak]

The Tsellian Core of Greater Methronnia
An overview on the Amalgamate

The Tsellian Core of Greater Methronnia, Generally known as the Amalgamate, is a large assortment of like-minded states under the original banner of the label of ‘Tsellian’ states. Originally, the Amalgamate consisted of the states that were either conquered, subdued, or forced into servitude through the Methronnian Imperiate, but later became integral players into the newly formed Phishilphuun Amarcite. However, after the fall of the Imperiate, major players within the Amalgamate soon began forming internal leagues of their own, intent on carving out major sections of the former Methronnian empire to fashion their own. It is from these smaller empires that the Sentiauhkan league, Greater Methronnia, the Sandurian Empire, the Krejei empire, and the Sershenan States become very powerful, influential players in Amalgamate politics.

The uniting aspect of the Amalgamate is to the subscription to Tsellian faith. ‘Sar Tsellia’, as it is known, is the idea and consideration that all states within the Amalgamate have subscribed or carry a Tempestra that has afforded interest and legitimacy to a ruling Nakros. Adoption of that Nakros becomes, thereby, the legitimization of each member of the Amalgamate’s inclusion to the Council of Lords, or the Azhujurius. The Azhujurius, under the legitimisation of the Sar Tsellia, act as a united group on matters that pertain to the outwards Amalgamate. It is therefore, under consideration of the internal politics of the Amalgamate, that a multitude of powers may exist at the same time, and many times, legitimacy may not be uniform.

Therefore, the term ‘Amalgamate’ does not simply entitle itself to the 94 states that follow its banner. Rather, the term is tied to the myriad of other players, such as the Core Culture, the Tsellian Church, and the multitude of personal Lords that capture and may be assimilated or conquered into the Amalgamate. Indeed, the prospect of a network of smaller nations and empires within a larger one is what defines the Amalgamate’s major political body, its hardiness, and also its tendency to slip into uncertain, and sometimes destructive, bouts of instability.

Therefore, when considering the labelling and the knowledge of the Amalgamate as a whole, it is both notable and confusing among scholars, even understanding the distinctly brash and extremely difficult changes between the native Methronnian languages and the more accepted Base languages within the empire, that differences in sentiment and foreign policy vary by area. Of course, the position of such an empire is to be viewed more as a multi-ethnic continental force rather than a single nation, despite the singular capital.

Afforded its power and legitimacy through dominant royal families, each called a ‘Throne’, the Amalgamate is governed by the prospect of ‘Mihil Autohk’rai’, or more known as a governing by inclusion. Nakros states are included and placed into the Amalgamate and derive their legitimacy by giving support for a unified, standing army, with strength invested into the strongest Nakros state. Therefore, under that knowledge, it is more notable to consider that the myriad military might of the Amalgamate is to be considered as unequal and location-based, if not sporadic and conditionally formidable.

From its home in Ascherach, and stretching insofar as to the vestiges of Old York, Sentalia, and Khaifriz, the Amalgamate is a far-spanning, trade imbued and hierarchical empire of a variety of societies that sentiments that form the multi-coloured head that is its capacity.

Of the major names, however, the central plains – north of the Viraigius river on the Ascheran continent and south of the Sandurian mountains – is more known among international players. Labelled frequently and most bluntly as ‘Greater Methronnia’, the area is phonetically translated from Ascheran script of the area as ‘Jenrak’, and thus creates the misleading translation from Ascheran to Karbul.

Greater Methronnia, the home of the largest concentration of Amalgamate royal families, is also one of the least populated areas due to its harsh climates and extremely pressure-unstable weather, yet commands a significant amount of influence and value as a ‘central’ location for many of the major actors: the Tsellian Zakakorn, the Core Capital, and the Karwand Naval Yards all call Greater Methronnia home.

Therefore, the denomination of ‘Jenrakian’ for most people from the Amalgamate is both misleading and overarching and simplistic, though not necessarily incorrect in some aspects. Indeed, ‘Greater Methronnia’, as the Amalgamate is frequently called, tends to be indicative of the Methronnians and their willingness to remain at the top of the Amalgamate chain of command.

Location

The location of Jenrak was unknown except for a save few during it’s darkest times, when the country was plunged into many civil wars and great natural disasters swept across the lands of the country. Wastelands and heavy deserts with giant seas of sand lie across the sunset of the city, and people are placed in city junctions, instead of living spread out into the country. However, the nation itself is located South of the Golden Sea, a large body of water that was once thought to be a fertile breeding ground for many popular and succulent fish types, but now is has become a barren sea, without any life surviving in it’s salty depths.

The sea has been aptly named so for it’s shining beaches of gold, where literally mounds of gold were once protruding like rocks form it’s ends, and at it’s bottom laid steam vents of hot water, fuelled by oil. Once such a great place for economic strength, constant harvesting of the Golden Sea has made it nearly dry of resources, as gold in the sea is now sparse and oil dried up.

To the east of Jenrak, lie the Wastelands, the great defences to the realms of Ascherach. It has steamed off many geysers flooding with chemicals, all vital to the creation of many infamous biological weaponry employed by the Jenrakian military. Thought to be unbearable, recent satellite photography has revealed a pathway that seemed to be built through the wastelands. It is assumed that this pathway is the gateway to Ascherach’s heart itself.

The cities of the Jenrakian Amalgamate largely exist along the coastline, as the barren dunes are a difficult climate to withstand, even to the most hardy of troops and civilians within their territories. The Viragius, the main feeding river, lies in the center of the continent as it feeds out to the Jenrakian Sea, which feeds into the Golden Sea in the north. The Lake of Nahm, a large and Carbon Dioxide-heavy lake, feeds the Viragius, as the large number of algae growing on the shallow bottoms give it a soft green hue. As a result, the Viragius is labelled ‘The Emerald River’, and can be mistaken as highly poisonous.

Climate
Jenrak is a hostile environment, even for sturdy humans such as the Jenrakians. It has many different kinds of places, but tropical forestry is something that will never survive in a place as harsh as Jenrak. Daily, rain pours down in the cities of Haasdra down the Viraigius river, where the little water is used to harvest the grains for the food of the people. However, food is still needed to be shipped from more grain rich countries, and Jenrakian rye is quite harsh, and sometimes rots easily. The islands of Jenrak, few in number, as constantly warm all year around, and it’s location close to the equator make it a sun scorched desert with no winter in site, save for Sandurians mountains far up in the north.

Geological searches and experiments have stated it to be once a lush and humid area of the world, but something unprecedented happened, causing the giant forests to slowly die off, leaving behind a barren wasteland. Thunderstorms ravage the beaches during the summer, and the further off from the coastland somebody goes, the more violent and unstable the weather becomes. Giant tsunamis bash themselves constantly in the eastern sectors, where they are washed slowly into the Viraigius river, feeding the giant long necked feature until it reaches the lake of Nahm in Ascherach, or moves to the Jenrakian Sea in the west.

Oxygen is a sparse element in the wastelands, and mountains nearby cause proverbial rain shadow effects, making only the thickest and heaviest of clouds able to reach Jenrak, resulting in massive down streams in the upper provinces and frequent flooding of lower powers. Westward winds blow clouds also close towards the larger islands, creating a somewhat ‘lighthouse’ effect that makes useful for Jenrakian ships to mobilize when during heavy storms and violent waters. This is particularly frequent amongst the Arguns, which are a heavy port city in themselves.

Terrain
Terrain is a massive problem for most travelers, as the mountains, great and beautiful attractions, are set near the wastelands, a place of almost certain suicide. Dust fills the giant cavernous holes in the ground of the Jenrakian desert (the Haruim, as properly pronounced), making natural traps for people to fall into. It is for that reason that there is no city, town nor village that lasts in the Wasteland. How Ascherach maintained itself was one of its mysteries.

In the north, giant cliffs face south, like a massive fortress. The cliffs were in fact used by Ciranaar the Cunning during his reign to defend the capital cities of Argak and Nanmirt, although both cities crumbled during his death anyways. It was originally meant to repel rebellious or barbaric invasions, and also was meant to be the great stronghold for Ciranaar’s throne, but once again, that changed ever more so. Toxic geysers regularly spew out acid and poison, both valuable and fatal, in the east.

Further down the country lay the Golden Ravine, a great fjord-like entity that literally choked the entrance from the Viraigius River into the Lake of Nahm, a lake with thousands of unidentified species. The Ravine, thought to actually be the cause of the Wasteland, was once the target for opening so the climate could clear, until it was found out that Jenrak’s Golden Ravine held the Tower of Herminyam. Once past the vicious Ravine, the trees begin to lower in number, and not even desert bushes could survive in such a hot and futile environment. The only plants capable of bearing the southern most tip of Jenrak’s boundaries are a special lichen-moss hybrid, called the ‘Tree Leeches’, or Sheddesth.

Elevation Extremes
Lowest point: Ocean - 0 m
Highest point: Kelirha’s Throne (mountain) – 6,411 m

[Jenrak]

The Vizith Jaq'kaar,
the Core Police,
by Avox Sazauraum

Allow me to be forthright - I despise the mediocre excuse of a police force we have right here and now in the Amalgamate. Crime is checked in some places, but runs rampant in others. The Temsplaces, in their meandering and mindless tirades, act however they want and do whatever they want with nothing more than a pardon from an easily intimidated Zakakorn to pardon them of every crime. One night coming down on patrol, I found a woman brutally beaten and assaulted in the middle of an alley without nothing but the red marks of choking hands upon her neck, the grooves indicated by the House of a Grand Silver Serpent - a Temsplace House.

Frankly, the culprit was found, though he pleaded to drunkenness and solemnly vowed to do what he would to set things right. It was has four years so far since that incident, and of those four years, he served none in jail and was still given a complete pardon by the Zakakorn. Continuously, he leeches off the taxes of the taxpayers and consistently when the call for war comes the Temsplaces go about gallivanting like rabid, oversexed schoolboys to rape and pillage whatever they want in the name of that backwards institution they call a 'religion.'

Now, let me be even more forthright - I do not hate the Tsellian. I go to Church every Saturday, I pray, I drink the water, I donate, I help the needy, and very often I reach my quota of helping a person a day. In my busy schedule, that's pretty damn impressive. That said, I support it because Enkur is our grand brother and it is in my respect for him, as well as my willingness to help my fellow Tsellian in times of aid. I did not do it because an oversized crown somewhere with a skull made of gold and eyes made of diamonds tells me to donate when the head may choose to do none such thing.

I don't care that the Zakakorn is easily intimidated - my job is to prevent that from happening again, and that isn't simply just the Temsplace: Zadikistra, Sirens, Mumrenms, Viziths, Behemens - I don't care. I am trained to combat, defeat, and (if necessary) kill anyone who seeks to corrode the stability of my homeland. I don't give a flying fuck if it's a Freek or a Kravenite or a fucking Viking on rocket packs - my job is to ensure that they kiss Amalgamate soil in reverence, or go home. It isn't my job to tolerate any idiocy of this kind.

With the recent reforms by the Nirandu House, we have been given more power, mostly speaking to combat the Temsplaces and their increasingly threatening position of Sentarums. Sentarums, being their excuse to wave their god-glazed penises across the world in the argument of a 'holy war', are mechanics the Church uses to keep everyone in the Amalgamate under control - the threat of a Sentarum usually keeps rowdy states at bay, but sometimes it goes too far.

I don't want to hear a Temsplace act like a five year and throw around a Sentarum because he's in full-blown temper tantrum mood. I don't want to see people die because a single Tempestra can't get up without seeing people die. Are these people truly the people of God, to represent us as we march to the Silver Gates?

You have to be fucking kidding me.

But then again, maybe that's the shit they want me to do, so I do it. It's my job. It's my income. It's my way of life, and frankly, it has been becoming more and more my obsession. Killing Temsplaces who get too cocky has never felt so good, and sometimes when they get corrupt, a single boot to the face sends them back into full piety territory. It makes me smile sometimes, seeing how they beg and plead for help and mercy when they showed none to their captives and victims.

That's what I'm here for - I am a Core. The Core is a part of a group called the Vizith Jaq'kaar, which is the academy that spends its time on training prospectives who are meant to kill their own kind - like I said, other castes (including my own) are at our mercy. That said, we do go through rigorous control and training, so it's not an entirely lost cause, nor am I intent on completely disregarding my ideologies. No, the Core is simply an instrument that allows us to keep the powers that be in check and make sure they have a second to think about their doing.

Think of it more as a Senate - a sober second thought.

With guns. Lots and lots of guns. Oh god, it makes me excited just thinking about it.

Of course, people may call me cruel, callous and outright psychotic, but I find that far from the truth - many Core members are well disciplined, well-maintained and have strong families and good relations. I've never seen a news clipping of a Core member kiling a human being outside the job, but for Temsplaces? You can bet your ass they sure do - they literally bleed their victims' blood, the brutes.

It's because of this we have the Primeskaus, a protocol that gives us legal right to kill any Temsplace that proves to be a threat to the state should they put the Amalgamate in a state of Sentarum Hahrab - the number of immature Temsplaces threatening to throw around religion like a weapon after that? None.

Not a single one is willing to test it, and they know. They know we know their weaknesses, and they're not willing to put it to the test. We have, frankly, and we know their tricks. They can keep trying to get better, stronger, faster, more agile, more adaptable, more appropriately trained, but it's not going to do anything - we'll always be there.

Which is ironic, because for all this physical training, I ain't never seen a single damn Temsplace do any formal training. Perhaps they're all morally inert or something. I wouldn't be surprised.

[Jenrak]

Temsplaces
Arm of the Faithful,
by Therax Ithilrethromm Merkangzka

If the entire world was Tsellia, we'd be living in a better place. Of course, we'd all be living in a place where we could arguably be united under the conception of a single set of Gods, and not simply the foolish notion that there is simply one God. I cannot, for the life of me, fathom how there can be one God and simply keep things as the fallible constructs that the rest of the world enjoys living within right now. It's utterly ridiculous. Frankly, I don't care what some foolish Doomani Catholics believe in or what some idiot Marshite is fighting for, but there is something that I earnestly – honestly and truly – believe in: if the world were nothing but a Tsellian sphere, we would be living in a much better world.

You see, there’s always this odd, ignorant notion that no matter what happens, no matter what goes down, there’s always going to be radical, crazy factions in the bush, brusquely conquering some backwater nation and setting themselves up as crazy deities, but not us. Not the Tsellians, and do you know why? It’s fairly simple: the ability to emancipate our brethren. While within the world there are people under significant oppression and harmed by the world’s wildest idiots, not the Tsellians, and that’s precisely why I believe in the faith of Enkur. It is not through some magical creation story where some omnipotent sky-father decides to create the world in a span of finite days, no, but rather that I have invested my faith in the Church, whom most wholesomely believes that Gods are our brothers and that they have lifted us from the backwardness of our true father, the first Deity.

Lack of foresight. Something we can agree with to happen at times when you are dealing with the infinite cosmos.

Rebellion. What evidently sets the whole thing apart and brings the gears of life flowing forwards.

But really, what makes the world tick? The protection of our own kind, and the willingness to defend those that are simply not just your blood, but the blood of your people, and your nation. We Tsellians, thankfully, are a nation of our own, and I believe it’s high time that some crazy dictator somewhere believe and understand that. People don’t most of the time, so they get all uppity and start declaring the Church as if it’s some crazy and militant arm of some backwater breach branch. That’s not us.

Not at all.

I don’t run around raping and pillaging like some sort of vicious barbarian, nor do I stick people into tubes and have them pump out babies like it’s some sort of Kravenite slave state. No, I’m a civilized human being who believes in one very simple, easy philosophy: my kin should be given the respect and dignity they deserve, no matter what it is, and if it means preparing the battleships of the Holiest Arm of the Zakakorn to wage war against country A, I’ll be more than willing to damn well do it.

Why? Because it’s the right thing to do. If I need to drop into some random country because a higher-up told me to, well, frankly, I’ll do it. I know that sometimes they’re not exactly honest, but really, at this stage, the major thing I want to note is that ultimately we’re helping our own kind.

That, I would believe, to be the most important thing of all. We need to watch out for each other, otherwise we’ll be lost within the seas and fall prey to the myriad host of other religious organizations and problems. I cannot let my brethren such a way, and I will never my brethren suffer in such a way.

Make no mistake, I love the Amalgamate and its many...eccentricities. But I don’t love it enough to disregard the well-being of my fellow Tsellians. I don’t care if people think of me as a religious warmonger, but if a Tsellian out there is being treated unfairly and without cause for his or her own personal dignity, then I will act. I must act.

It is the righteous way.

[Jenrak]

Ahn Ssiren
Children of the Jackboot
by Miriana Treyuko

Allow me to be frank: I grew up around the Ahn Ssiren. They were, and are, the best and most effective military unit that I have seen thus far, and even that is including the much lauded and appraised ‘Temsplace Elite’ and the feared ‘Core Culture’ (which, unfortunately, seems to be spreading like a plague among the upper echelon of Azumethronnia). The Ahn Ssirens, noting that distinction, are also very, very underwhelmed and underappreciated by the standards of their capacity. I find that fact a mix of insulting, saddening, and unfortunately, extremely pitiable. Why?

Because when Arcarum marched upon the last vestiges of the old Methronnian Imperiate to combat the Slivais threat, it was the Ahn Ssirens that supported him.

When Krejei made its first of three massive invasions into the Methronnian south among the Viraigius, it was the Ssirens, not the Temsplaces, that made the decisive stand to defend against the Christian horde.

When Gelectriax kidnapped Alledrias, it was the Ssirens that launched the greatest manhunt within Amalgamate history, effectively bringing her back.

When the Sershenan states were willing to rebel, it was the Ssirens that brought them back into line.

And I hope, that you knowing this, we would understand precisely why I am irked at the least, and outright angry at the most as to why there is so little support for the Ahn Ssirens, after all they had given us and all they had done for us.

Yes, I know that they’re under the command of individual Viziths, and that they’re determined by the particulars of their own legions and armies, but who isn’t? The Core themselves are split up into segments of lesser Core Lords who commander personal armies of Core Contingencies commanded by fickle Core Commanders who only seem to unite when it looks like a veritable threat to their power is emerging.

Yes, I know that the Ssirens have done as much damage as they have done good, but they’re so far the only major military force to not have gotten their hands on the Amalgamate’s nuclear codes. I think that counts for alot, don’t you think, sir Temsplace?

And yes, I know that they have a multitude of subset militaries such as the Zadikistra, who have records of varying levels of efficacy and purpose, but to marginalize the role that these men and women play in the outcomes of the world when pitting them against the rest of the Amalgamate, especially the Core and the Temsplaces, who I should add, are not part of the greater Amalgamate body, seems unfair. It seems like an insult to the ones who are essentially relegated to the position of a work mule while the smaller and less active stallions seem to steal the spotlight.

When Cores declare their Primeskaus, who cleans up their garbage? The Ssirens.

When Temsplaces declare their Sentarums, who supports them? The Ssirens.

And when lords go to war, who rallies to the defence? The Ssirens.

I could go on, and I know – perhaps it’s a deep-down feeling, but I know – that you’d be unwilling anyhow to change or adopt new policy for my suggestions to have people treat the Ahn Ssiren more seriously. I mean it. It is best to give them the space they deserve before they take it.

They’re growing, lord Therax. If you cannot contain them, then involve them. Give them the credit where credit is due, before the wave of the jackboots take up against the truncheon.

I have seen the waves of Ouridna break against the Karwands, lord Therax. I know what the Ssirens are capable of, and if they are not given their due value, then it’s only a matter of time before we face a civil war that fights for the recognition of it. Without them there, we’d have never gotten this far, and yet, we still don’t seem to have come to a consensus on that. Do not make the mistake your predecessor made, lord Therax.

Know who helped you, and give them the right they deserve, lest the world hear the whirl of lancers and see those masks once again.

[Jenrak]

A General Review of New Azura
The following questions were derived from the "National Standards Questionnaire". The purpose of answering these questions is to better provide an insight into the cultural norms and practices of Azura.

#1 - What is the legal drinking age?
Answer... The legal drinking age in Azura is set at 20 years of age for all citizens. However, enlisted personnel and non-commissioned officers of the Imperial Armed Forces are forbidden from consuming alcohol until their discharge from active service.

#2 - Driving Age?
Answer... The legal driving age in Azura is sixteen years of age for every male and female teenager. To obtain a vehicle operator's license, a person must undergo a physical examination, pass both a written and oral examination detailing traffic procedures, then must complete a driving test with a qualified instructor before being granted an operator's license.

#3 - Age of Sexual Consent?
Answer... The current age of sexual consent in Azura is eighteen years of age for every male and female teenager. Emancipated minors—children who have been granted as early as age sixteen the right to live on their own—are not excluded from this legal precedent. All sexual acts, including but not limited to physical intercourse with a person under the age of eighteen is considered "statutory rape" by the Empire.

#4 - Voting Age?
Answer... All citizens of Azura obtain the right to vote at the age of eighteen. Said voting privileges may only be taken away if a citizen is incarcerated in an Imperial penitentiary for more than one calendar year, or if said citizen has become expatriated from the Empire.

#5 - At what age would someone become an adult (free from parental control)?
Answer... All citizens of Azura become emancipated from adult supervision at the age of eighteen. A child may apply (in extreme cases) for early emancipation as early as the age of sixteen; however, emancipated minors are not permitted to obtain their operator's permit or engage in sexual activity early.

#6 - What types of recreational drugs (if any) are legal?
Answer... Most common recreational drugs are deemed illegal by the General Assembly of Azura, called the Saeculum. A sweeping overhaul of the country's policy on recreation drugs took effect in the 1980s, when the abuse of designer drugs such as crack cocaine became problematic for the country. Possession, distribution, or consumption of illegal narcotics are all punishable by prison time.

- Pot - Marijuana is deemed an illegal narcotic under the Thompson-McCullough Act of the 1986 General Assembly. As such, the possession, distribution, or usage/consumption of the drug is punishable by heavy fines and potential jail time, dependent on the nature of the offense.

- Tobacco - The use of tobacco is legal in Azura, though the possession and usage of tobacco products is generally viewed as a dishonorable habit. Cigarette Manufacturers must pay annual levies for the right to advertise and produce their product, though no such levies exist (as of yet) on tobacco manufacturers. Because of its dishonorable aura, most tobacco manufacturing comes from non-native Azurans who have moved to the country for its fertile soil and pleasing climate for the growth of certain cash crops, including tobacco. The legal age to use tobacco products is eighteen.

- Cocaine - Cocaine is deemed an illegal narcotic under the Thompson-McCullough Act of the 1986 General Assembly. As such, the possession, distribution, or usage/consumption of the drug is punishable by heavy fines and potential jail time, dependent on the nature of the offense.

- Alcohol - The distribution, possession and consumption of alcohol is legal in Azura.

- LSD - LSD is deemed an illegal narcotic under the Thompson-McCullough Act of the 1986 General Assembly. As such, the possession, distribution, or usage/consumption of the drug is punishable by heavy fines and potential jail time, dependent on the nature of the offense.

- Caffeine - Caffeine is not classified as an illegal drug or a narcotic, and is readily available in soft drinks around the country.

- Heroin - Heroin is deemed an illegal narcotic under the Thompson-McCullough Act of the 1986 General Assembly. As such, the possession, distribution, or usage/consumption of the drug is punishable by heavy fines and potential jail time, dependent on the nature of the offense.

#7 - Can people have guns?
Answer... No, private gun ownership is strictly forbidden amongst the general population of Azura. Only active members of the military and law enforcement are allowed to even discharge a weapon, let alone own one. Special hunting enterprises are given temporary licenses to operate firearms in controlled settings, such as joint-hunts.

#8 - What is the official full name of your country? What is the informal name? What are people of your nation called?
Answer... The official full name of our country is the Holy Cailene Empire of Azura. The informal name is a colloquialism amongst native inhabitants, simply calling the country “Azura”. The people of Azura are correctly deemed as “Azurans”. Other terms include the "Azuran Empire", the "Poinsettia Confederacy", and the "Empire of the Poinsettia".

#9 - Do you have the death penalty?
Answer... Yes, Azura maintains the usage of capital punishment for the most serious of offenses. Typically, the usage of Capital Punishment is viewed with dishonor, and is therefore rarely used. However, exceptional crimes against the state (espionage and high treason) and against humanity (such as murder) are punishable by death.

#10 - What is the speed limit?
Answer... The national speed limit on all primary surface roads is sixty kilometers per hour, unless otherwise posted in specific municipalities. On the National Expressways, motorists are bound to keep a speed limit of around one hundred and five kilometers an hour in urban and suburban zones, and to maintain a “safe and reasonable speed” outside of these exclusion zones.

#11 - What types of religions are permitted or restricted?
Answer... There are very few restrictions on the observance of organized religion, though there is only one religion recognized as an “official religion of the state”: Christianity. Religious institutions of all faiths and denominations are permitted to practice freely in Azura, provided said religious group follows a strict code of moral acceptance. If any religious group threatens the human rights of another (such as radical Islam, militant Christianity, or Satanism), said faith is deemed illegal by the Empire.

Breakdown of Religious Faiths in Azura, By Percentage of Population:

Christianity
Judaism
Islam
Agnostic/Atheist/Secular
Hinduism
Buddhism
Shinto
Sikhism
Baha'i
Cao Dai
Zoroastrianism
Rastafarianism
Scientology
Neo-Paganism
OTHER

... 50.3%, or 4.527 Billion Adherents
... 12.6%, or 1.134 Billion Adherents
... 10.1%, or 0.909 Billion Adherents
... 09.5%, or 855 Million People
... 04.1%, or 369 Million Adherents
... 02.3%, or 207 Million Adherents
... 01.4%, or 126 Million Adherents
... 01.3%, or 117 Million Adherents
... 01.1%, or 99 Million Adherents
... 00.8%, or 72 Million Adherents
... 00.5%, or 45 Million Adherents
... 00.3%, or 27 Million Adherents
... 00.2%, or 18 Million Adherents
... 00.1%, or 09 Million Adherents
... 05.4%, or 486 Million People

Which of the following are be legal?

#12 - Pornography?
Answer... Pornography is illegal in Azura under the auspices of the Harden-Sault Act of the 1973 General Assembly. As such, the possession, distribution, or viewing of pornographic materials is punishable by heavy fines and potential jail time, dependent on the nature of the offense.

#13 - Prostitution?
Answer... Prostitution is controlled by the Government of Azura, with strict health guidelines and policies forced on harems and brothels. The running of illegal prostitution is considered a felony offense in Azura.

#14 - Polygamy/ Polyandry/ Polyamory?
Answer... Only heterosexual marriages between one man and one woman are recognized by the Azura. As such, all other forms of marriage are deemed illegal, and may be punishable by heavy fines or even jail time.

#15 - Homosexuality?
Answer... While homosexuality is not considered a crime punishable by law, its prevalence within Azura is a hot-button source of controversy. As of March 2011, four separate proposals have been made to legalize gay marriage, but all have failed in committee. The issue is likely to remain contentious for some time to come.

#16 - Stem Cell Research?
Answer... The research into the potential applications and engineering of Somatic Stem Cells and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells is widely encouraged and accepted within the Azuran medical community and by society at large. The use of Embryonic Stem Cells (hESCs), those which are acquired through the termination of a fetus, is highly restricted and illegal under the law in Azura. Because of the illegality of abortion, the usage of Embryonic Stem Cells is a minuscule issue at best.

#17 - Human Cloning?
Answer... No current law in Azura specifies a definitive stance held by the country’s governance on the issue of Human Cloning. Several pieces of legislation are currently being discussed in the General Assembly as of 2010 to determine the legality of the procedure. No Government funding is currently made to proponents or advocates of human cloning.

#18 - Cock Fighting?
Answer... Cock Fighting, and all other forms of combat violence using trained animals, is strictly prohibited by law. Participating in the institution, possessing paraphernalia or animals used in the institution, or even being caught in attendance (or in possession of multimedia pertaining to) cock fighting and its sibling institutions is punishable by heavy fines and potential jail time, depending on the severity of the offense.

#19 - Slavery?
Answer... The Holy Cailene Empire of Azura does not support, nor participate in the human slave trade. However, owing to our own sordid past in the human chattel trade, Azura does not actively condemn the practice, either, to avoid hypocrisy. We do, however, provide sanctuary to escaped slaves, and have engaged in the act of negotiating with slaver states to procure the freedom of their slave populations.

#20 - Hunting?
Answer... Hunting is a relatively insignificant institution in New Azura. Because of the unavailability of firearms, most forms of hunting are restricted to the usage of hunting bows, though this practice is also heavily regulated, or even restricted outright depending on the location.

#21 - Fishing?
Answer... Fishing, unlike hunting, is widely accepted in Azuran culture. Fishing is a popular pastime for various social castes. The General Assembly has passed a series of laws helping regulate the various spawning pools to help maintain a healthy ecosystem; otherwise, there are few restrictions on to where or when a person can fish.

#22 - Eating meat?
Answer... The consumption of meat in Azura is not considered unusual, taboo, or dishonorable. Meat comprises a large portion of a typical Azuran’s daily diet.

#23 - Littering?
Answer... Littering is a registered crime according to the General Assembly, circa the Livingston Preservation Act of the 1887 General Assembly. The punishment for the crime varies depending on the locality. The most severe punishments include jail time in some locations.

#24 - Unisex Bathrooms?
Answer... Because of a lack of importance in Azura, most public bathrooms are Unisex. However, locations have the prerogative to maintain separate bathroom facilities for men and women should they so choose.

#25 - Suicide?
Answer... Suicide is strictly illegal in all its forms within the spectrum of law in New Azura. The country’s culture views on suicide (including assisted suicide and euthanasia) is highly dishonorable. A person caught attempting suicide is typically committed to a psychiatric facility for psychological evaluation and rehabilitation. Repeat attempts at committing suicide may be punishable by permanent imprisonment.

#26 - Gay marriage?
Answer... Gay Marriage is illegal in Azura, per the passage of the McAllen-Forsyth Marriage Preservation Act of the 1979 General Assembly. While homosexuality is not criminalized, homosexual unions are not currently recognized by the rule of law.

#27 - Abortion?
Answer... Abortion is strictly illegal in Azura. Any physician who is caught performing an abortion is liable to be charged with murder, which may be punishable by death. Women who have abortions are liable to be charged with accessory to murder. Azuran culture dictates that all unborn children, regardless of when life truly begins, must be allowed to live for the sake of the Azuran way of life. Special care is provided to the victims of rape or incest at the Government's expense.

#28 - What types of sexual activity (if any) are illegal?
Answer... Beyond the restrictions placed on the various institutions of marriage and the illegality of pornography, there are no true restrictions on the sexual preferences and practices of the Azuran citizen. However, because of the lack of emphasis on concepts like lustful sexuality, most forms of sexual activity beyond traditional monogamy between a married man and woman are deemed dishonorable by society, and are highly frowned upon. The violation of obscenity laws in place regarding the public display of certain forms of sexual activity may be cause enough for the perpetrators to be criminally charged with indecency in the confines of their municipality.

#29 - Is your country's/culture clothing optional or mandatory?
Answer... Clothing is mandatory in all municipalities and prefectures of Azura. Nudity in all its forms is considered by dishonorable and illegal by the rule of the law.

#30 - Do you have obscenity laws? If so - how would you define "obscene"?
Answer... Yes, Azura maintains several obscenity laws. The obscenity laws of Azura typically deal with the maintenance of personal decency at all costs, which typically lends itself to various laws instituted by various municipalities and locations. The display of overtly sexual activity in public is strictly prohibited, for instance. Many locations make the use of vulgarities punishable by a levy. The possession of obscene materials that are not overtly pornographic in nature is also prohibited in some locations, though the definition of “obscene material” may vary by location.

#31 - What system do you have for taxes? Income Tax?
Answer... Azura has a simple flat tax of 4% on all citizens who make at least $30,000.00 Ranks in a calendar year. The current commercial tax of 1% on all businesses who make an end-of-year profit greater than $500,000 has been in place since 1992.

31A - Sales tax?
Answer... There are various levies instituted on certain non-essential items. A 5% luxury tax is levied on non-essential items that are used for entertainment or recreation, such as televisions, electronics, computers, video games, et cetera. Taxes are levied on the purchase of tobacco and alcohol as well. However, the purchases of essential items (such as furniture, clothing, food, and toiletries) are not taxed.

31B - Import/Export Tax?
Answer... There exists no export tax in New Azura. However, protective tariffs are currently in place to help protect the domestic businesses and corporations of New Azura.

32 - What is the criterion for someone to pass to become a citizen?
Answer... As of today, anyone who was not born in Azura cannot become a naturalized citizen. However, the benefits of citizenship are commiserate with the benefits of being a lawful resident alien of the country. Therefore, the need to obtain citizenship is of no real importance. Anyone born in Azura, regardless of the citizenship status of their parents become naturalized Azuran citizens from birth. Only the privilege to vote is withheld from non-citizens.

#33 - What types of people do you allow (or not allow) into your country?
Answer... There are no general restrictions on the type of people allowed into the country on a temporary basis, though international no-fly lists are closely monitored to prevent the incursion of terrorists into Azura. Notwithstanding, only prospective immigrants with a discernible criminal record are denied entrance into Azura outright. All other immigrants are welcomed into the country, though there are no protective benefits for immigrants once they arrive.

#34 - What type of government are you?
Answer... Azura’s government is a Constitutional Monarchy, headed by a Parlliamentarian Democracy and ruled by a sovereign Regent, the Achæon, who controls the military. In the Azuran Colonial Empire, the Achaeon is the sole authority of government, and acts as an autocrat.

#35 - To what degree is your government allowed to censor or restrict the media?
Answer... The Governance of Azura is allowed to monitor multimedia for obscene material (such as vulgarity or pornography), but is otherwise not permitted to censor the media or restrict the free transmission of ideas and opinions in the media.

[Jenrak]

The Historical Documents and Timeline of the Azhujurius,
with focus on Pre-Methronnian Eras and the factors of Formation to the Amalgamate,
prologue by Sephilia Tezekilth

Prologue

When I was an undergraduate my Professor of History of Ascheran Spheres of Power once asked me, 'What do you believe to be the single most important event in Methronnian History?' Looking back at the question, I found that it was vague, inconclusive, indeterminate and without significant detail to specifics, thereby making it a purposely misleading and difficult question. Infact, I would even go insofar as to say it is a 'bad' question, though that carries lines of biases the tone and projection.

That said, as someone who has studied extensive tomes on Ascheran, Methronnian and Jenrakian History, I would say that the most important and well-known incident is the repulsion of Krejei forces by General Enkur. While the Church disagrees with the claim, it is definitely very likely that Enkur was never a god, and that he was a general who served to rebel against the Krejei that were overpowering the (then) weak city states of a beleaguered skeleton for the Methronnian Imperiate.

Therefore, April 8th, 152 BCE is considered the quintessential 'easy answer' to the question of 'most important date?' by most historians, because it marks the end of the warring states and domination era by foreign powers and marks the beginning of Methronnian - and subsequently Tsellian - domination across the continent. Without the victory of Enkur against the Krejei General Celdebomn Aurthehk, there would have never been so many works and romanticised portrayals of the young hero, and more importantly, there would have been no solidified and grass-roots Tsellian Church. The Amalgamate may have never ceased to exist if April 8th, 152 BCE was a failure and the battle was lost.

Regardless, while I make this claim, the fact is that the Church is steadfastly against the argument that Enkur was nothing but a man, and even as the Ascheran scripts prescribe the Void Years as a strong case of building of Ascheran base and the tales of the Karbulians, it is not historically canonical as far as research has proven - digs and excavations have found little, if any evidence, to prove that the Ascheran scripts were accurate records of the lost time period. In fact, it is more likely that they were a group of sensationalised book-keepings that only loosely described the era upon which we Methronnians have so earnestly lusted for knowledge.

Regardless, it is not out of the question perhaps even if we did figure it out and our history was revealed, we may not be growing up wondering about the fantastic battles of Enkur against Ciranaar on Sephut Ahkaj, or the grand defense of Ifet against Zarazego's hounds or the romantic and tragic tale of Azserim as he walks through the deeps of the Black Chaos to retrieve his wife.

Perhaps we'd never believe history and live and cling onto our own ideas growing up, because they serve to provide a moral compass and image for a simpler time in this erratic and uneasy world. Of course, there is no lack of incentive to try, but I find that Tsellian Historians are more well-met outside the Methronnian mainland, and while Xzaerom has been fortunate to protect us from the Church, it cannot nor will not hide all of our kind.

Because of that, I feel that our noble tradition may be lost among fairy tales.

- Sephilia Tezekilth, University of Haasdra

The Timeline

• 3000 BCE: The first records of settled human activity found on the Nahm basin, suggesting development and civilized development of the Ascheran mainland from the Eastern plains.

• 2300 BCE: The first villages begin to develop, with local chiefs taking up positions of shaman under pagan deities. The development of paganism begins to flourish in what is generally isolated communities.

• 2282 BCE: Isolated communities begin to come into contact with each other, and soon differing deities leading to differing clans cause a rise in military aggression. This is known as the Messa Vizjaaq, or the First Inclusion.

• 1540 BCE: Clans begin to develop into larger cities, and overharvesting of resources lead to focus on development of woodworking, iron-working and gold-mining. The first cities open up amidst the conflict as peasantry begin to conglomerate towards major trading hubs.

• 1533 BCE: The highly influential play, Mehera Sel Tathrum, marks the beginning of caste-based thinking and begins the idea of specialisation in the Ascheran continent.

• 1200 BCE: Local city leaders turn into Warlords as the cities begin to attract private military powers, as feudal clans turn into larger federations of vying Lords by fiefdom – Viziths – leading to increased uneasiness between Ascherans.

• 870 BCE: Oldest records show of the cult of Emnekria emerge, which become the foundational precursor to the Enkur movement, start showing up around this era.

• 862 BCE: The first Krejei city states develop south of the Viraigius River.

• 820 BCE: The Sephek Tsrianm, or Great Famine, occurs during this timeframe, leading to forced migration to the north.

• 818 BCE: The first Sandurian records, the Ophik Shabbakruum, or the Ballad of the Plains, date to this era, showing significant Ascheran influence.

• 800 BCE: The first Sandurian city states emerge, with the city of Odokera as its center.

• 755 BCE: Ascherans move westward, eventually reaching the Golden Coast.

• 752 BCE: The first oceanic city state, Sel Mekros, is founded.

• 748 BCE: Following Sel Mekros’ example, other clans form cities of their own as populations begin to grow along the Golden Coast.

• 700 BCE: Nakroses – city states – along the Golden Coast begin to form alliances for protection from older, more aggressive inland Nakroses. The Melkrebruun Aurmaun is founded.

• 640 BCE: The Melkrebruun Aurmaun begins extensive trade with the Sandurian city states in the north, growing in power. In response, a coalition of inland states form, known as the Melkrebuun Duriau, with the Nakros of Zakkazon at its heart.

• 600 BCE: The assassination of the Lord of Horsingra in Northern Sanduras causes political strife in the city, and Sandurian city states close off trade and relations from the rest of the Ascheran continent. Trade with the Aurmaun grinds to a halt.

• 558 BCE: Unable to maintain trade without Sandurian assistance, the Melkrebruun Aurmaun presses for reopening of trade for the Sandurian city states. Horsingra does not reply.

• 557 BCE: Pressed and unable to act otherwise, the Melkrebruun Aurmaun issue the Siphilum Merknem, the Immediate Proposal, which details that Sandurian cities must open their borders immediately for trade or face consequences. Horsingra, still without a central leader, does not reply. Two months after the Siphilum Merknem, the Melkrebruun Aurmaun launch a combined naval force, invading and sacking the Sandurian city of Pheso. The Sandurians, without a proper united and cohesive response, eventually ask Zakkazon and the Melkrebruun Duriau for assistance. Zakkazon answers in response, under the condition that it can choose a Sandurian candidate to place on the Horsingra throne. Sandurian city states accept.

• 556 BCE: Duriau forces attack, invade and sack the Nakros of Krekkazalbuun, which immediately notifies the Aurmaun. Refugees from Krekkazalbuun are intercepted on their passages north, thereby forcing them south to the Krejei lands. The Nakros system is introduced to the Krejei plains.

• 552 BCE: Aurmaun forces hold out against the combine force of a growing Sandurian army and the Duriau, before calling for an alliance with the southern Krejei states. In response, the Krejei invade the Aurmaun cities. The Melkrebruun Aurmaun was defeated at the Battle of Semterra. Duriau places General Aldoret Veldarum, a Melkrebruun Duriau sympathiser, as the Lord of Horsingra.

• 450 BCE: Veldarum’s great grandson, Ithilboleth, creates a unified Sandurian army and consolidates and amalgamates the warring Sandurian states. It is named Sanduras, meaning ‘The Progenitor’.

• 448 BCE: Sanduras experiences a cultural renaissance, developing unique and highly individualistic ideologies, philosophies, and arts. Horsingra becomes the hub for political and cultural activity on the Ascheran continent.

• 433 BCE: Ithilboleth’s son and heir to the Sandurian Throne, Issek, begins to rally bickering nobles together for invasion of the Golden Coast.

• 432 BCE: The Nakros of Ouridna is founded by priests off an old Sandurian army encampment.

• 408 BCE: By this time, The Sandurian Empire spans from the tips of northernmost Ascherach to a few kilometres south of the Viraigius, before it defeated the last old Aurmaun Nakros, Suriga, at the Battle of Sasz Eren.

• 389 BCE: Zakkazon adopts Emnekria as its official religion, and its head leader becomes known as the Zakakorn.

• 340 BCE: Again, the Sandurians begin to consolidate power along their Empire, and move south into the Krejei lands to invade.

• 339 BCE: Issek is killed by the Krejei General Assalthrung, at the Battle of Philthiessaun. The Sandurian Empire pulls out to determine a new heir.

• 334 BCE: Medothruul, Issek’s son, assumes the throne and attempts a second military campaign against the Krejei, leading to the Soremn Vizjaaq, or the Second Inclusion.

• 332 BCE: Medothruul dies and is replaced by his son, Sedurthan.

• 300 BCE: Sedurthan dies and is replaced by his son, Mekel.

• 264 BCE: Mekel dies and is replaced by his son, Abrahk.

• 244 BCE: Abrahk pulls out of Krejei after he had to station forces in Horsingra to consolidate power at his home base.

THE DECLINE OF ANCIENT SANDURAS

• 242 BCE: The Sandurians lose control over the Southern Viragius after the Krejei push up north.

• 200 BCE: Sandurians are defeated at the Battle Veningur, and forces are routed back to their empire on the Golden Coast.

• 199 BCE: Krejei forces push north, but mistook Nakros Felderum as Sandurian territory. Krejei forces sack Felderum, which alerts attention by the Duriau.

• 196 BCE: Duriau, led by Zakkazon, lead an invasion of the Krejei forces along the Golden Coast with Sandurian alliances.

• 194 BCE: The Krejei defeat the Duriau at the Battle of Omnkeh, and the Sandurians at the Battle of Sel Badahk in a span of two weeks between.

• 192 BCE: Zakkazon is sacked by the Krejei, as the Krejei empire begins to grow stronger as it moves north.

• 190 BCE: The Nakros Methronn, takes over as the head of the Melkrebruun Duriau. The Vizith for Methronn, Tesemdella, sends his general Serrim Ashkrom to hold against the Krejei forces.

• 154 BCE: Krejei forces are victorious at routing and defeating much of the Sandurian and Duriau forces until Tesemdella’s son, Mihilvalii, rallies for leadership under the Methronnian Vizith. The Solabrus Afetherm, or the Council of Unquestionables, is held. Mihilvalii is given full administrative power over the other Nakros states to combat the growing Krejei threat.

• 152 BCE: Krejei forces continue to be victorious until they are pushed back at the Battle of Sel Hehenna by a young religious resistance fighter named Niur Enkur.

• 151 BCE: Mihilvalii enlists Enkur as a General of his army, and effectively Enkur begins to rout Krejei forces with incredible success. Enkur receives the title of Tempestra, or Great Maul.

• 145 BCE: Krejei forces are defeated at the Battle of Sasz Kerenuk, where soon after Mihilvalii dies after appointing Enkur as the heir to the Methronnian title.

• 142 BCE: Enkur moves his forces north against a weakened Sandurian Empire and conquers its seat of power, defeating the last pure Sandurian King Rekkidraum at the Battle of Orderra.

• 128 BCE: Enkur then moves to a weakened Krejei and defeats the Krejei prince, Ciranaar, at the Battle of Pankreska.

• 122 BCE: Moving west, Enkur conquers the last remaining Coastal Nakroses, and names the empire that is founded Ascherach, with Methronn at its center.

• 121 BCE: Emnekria becomes the official religion, replacing the varied Methronnian religions.

• 120 BCE: The Primera Era begins. According to historians, archaeologists, sociologists and anthropologists, the Primera Era carried high levels of instability. The infamous Xonar Ultimatum, a behemoth 6440-page book detailing the events of the Primera Era, have yet to be deciphered. In these years, what is known as the ‘Vetheta Erhma’, or ‘Void Years’ have frustrated and confused historians and archaeologists in regards to the details of the Primera Era. Suffice to say, though the Tsellian bases its Manuscripts on its interpretation of the Xonar Ultimatum, academics cite inconsistencies between the cultural differences of previous eras and the tales of Enkur to really consider the Tsellian Manuscript as a legitimate source of accurate historical work.

THE METHRONNIAN REVITALISATION

• 1556 CE: Rising powerfully, Kneiur Sour takes over and reforms the system. Democracy for the first time in Methronn occurs. It is believed to be Methronn’s worst moments.

• 1558 CE: The Markurum Decisive, one of the foremost works on Methronnian sociology. This thereby paves the way for contemporary Jenrakian strata of society.

• 1561 CE: The murder of Kneiur Sour’s wife, Mellerai Sour, is recorded as being the catalyst to the Sour Totalitarian lockdown.

• 1588 CE: The Treatise of Haasdra, which splits up power among the conquering Methronnian states, places the Viraigius River as the main governing body and the borders of the Methronnian Imperiate.

• 1589 CE: Sour dies after a long and vicious reign, leading to his grandson Sospheth Sour to rule by right of the current Therax, Sembara Hahruhm.

• 1632 CE: Sospheth’s strong rule could not be strong enough, however, as he was murdered and finally replaced by his ambitious and totalitarian son, Armon. Armon, a powerful traditionalist, reenacted slavery and set the taxation rate to full.

• 1633 – 1783 CE: His short reign went by unnoticed, however, as his death incited another civil that engulfed the remaining surviving provinces. The Sandurians, coming from the northern invade northern Methronn but are repelled.

• 1783 CE: Salumeira Sa Saravorn, a famous Methronnian treatise on proper education, writing and literature interpretation of pre-Methronnian eras, is written during this time period by scholar Urusaum Idek.

• 1783 CE: Dura Mennmin becomes the new ruler of Methronn, and destroys the other provinces. Methronn expands slightly. Methronn was later named Jenrak.

• 1786 CE: The Vaazka Hierarchy, a massive network of citadels in northwest Jenrak, are presumed to have begun construction around this time.

• 1800 CE: Dura’s death was replaced by Renglessimon Ai, a political powerhouse.

• 1803 CE: Renglessimon Ai reintroduced a massive education base, creating and writing The Doctrine of Solidarity of the Caste, a 6 volume work detailing the rise and fall of Methronnian warlords and kings through the control of a populace’s literacy work. Renglessimon is titled by Professor Hezhoku Genkon as “one of the first of the class of economic generals – those individuals who fight with money, education, society and morality rather than swords and ships, and come out successful for it (Genkon 1:22).”

• 1810 CE: Renglessimon enacted the system of the mouthes, a group of advisors that carry emergency power in the case of the lack of an heir to the throne until the Therax chooses a new royal crown.

• 1824 CE: The first records of the first of the Prakkem Zivath, the Guard Families, date back to this time frame, with the recorded founding of the family Treyuko.

• 1860 CE: After his reign, Renglessimon noted in his will that his power will pass forwards to Hazmaht, his son.

• 1888 CE: Gunpowder is circulated through to the Southern Methronnian Imperiate by the Rithos Pseuronaders – elite warriors of Christian faith from the Rithos empire to the south – leading to the first developments of gunpowder weaponry in the Methronnian Imperiate.

• 1891 – 1894 CE: The War of the Destabilised, Mihrid Hashud, occurs during this period with the inception of gunpowder. The Methronnian for the first time begins to field mass armies.

• 1896 CE: The Methronnian Imperiate goes through a swift industrial revolution. The famous treatise on Imperialist economics, The Consideration of Parties in Relation to Power, written by Sorab Meldura, first surfaced copies around this time period. Historians speculate, however, that the book was written far beforehand, though it was not in widespread publication until the resources necessary were visible. The Methronnian Revolution, as a result, revealed the book to be of vital to Methronnian economic dialogue.

• 1912 CE: Hazmaht was killed in his sleep by his mouthes, the Rissefs. Power is shifted towards Teurlf Rissef, a cunning and devious ruler.

• 1932 CE: Teurlf’s handsome and charming brother, Miraclus Rissef, with the help of the people, overturns his wicked brother’s rule.

• 1936 – 1948 CE: The War of Teurlf Madness, a conflict that dragged on for twelve years, was waged as a result of increasing instability between Miraclus and his mouthes, who represented the 24 Old Families. Unwilling to lose power, Miraclus challenged Canon Law and thereby waged war on the Methronnian Imperiate.

• 1972 CE: Miraclus is poisoned by his son, Jerkan, where he was usurped. Economy collapses.

• 1973 CE: In the most recent print of new money, the Methronnian Imperiate is named ‘Jenrak’, making the naming official.

• 1981 CE: After thousands of years of hiding, the Serptine bloodline emerges, with Arborgard the Twelfth, destroying Jerkan’s rule, and taking Jenrak for himself once more.

• 2003 CE: Rashkta Nirandu introduces the Amalgamate System after the fall of the House of Dreskisk

• Present Day The Amalgamate of Jenrak is ruled by Sephilia Tezekilth, which governs Ebbuth to the north, the Rithos to the south, the Krejei to the southeast, and the Apek to the east.

[Jenrak]

First Version, finished. Base information uploaded - April 12, 2011