The United Kingdoms of Daemonika
The Banner of the United Kingdoms of Daemonika (Under House Daemonicai)
Ruler: High King Lucien Daemonicai
Government Type: Oligarchical Totalitarian Monarchy (High-King rules over a council of Patriarchs from the Great Houses)
Capital: Atrumlokus
Population: 7.8 million
How the Government Works
The Red Parliament is made up of barons and dukes that belong to the various Great Houses. There are numerous Houses, with the most powerful being the Daemonicais, the Demions, the Turetos, the Utovisks, the Aeroriks, the Lichensteins, the Solarises, the Hannons and the Penntrons. They advise the High King on various matters and govern their local constituencies and duchies. The High King's position is hereditry, with him able to decide who to pass it down to. He usually does it to his offspring or close-relatives.
Royal Family
High King Lucien Daemonicai
Prince Richard Daemonicai
Climate & Geography
Daemonika is a mild place in terms of the weather. Its maritime climate contributes to erratic weather and quite a bit of rain. In the summer, the sun comes out often, but can also dip back into the clouds and rain again. This contributes to the fertility of the land. It is an archipelago of islands to the left of the 'Mainland', the largest island of the group. Many tiny islands are to the left, acting as numerous forts, castles, docks and port-towns. Grassland and moors are common, with highlands to the north of the mainland. Expansive, dense forests are also common. Basically, it's like England. It has much moorland and heathland, with much grassland, fields and forests.
Daemonikan Countryside
Religion
The Daemonikans are monotheistic. Their religion came about from They believe in the Creator of All Things. This God is said to appear mostly in the form of a great dragon. As such, many of their religious paintings depict God as a mighty dragon. God is also said to be quite promiscuous, like Zeus of the ancient Greek myths. As such, he has made many Demigods, those of whose bloodlines are said to have led to the creation of the Great Houses. The Great Dragon is depicted promoting the fields of science and warfare.
The Great Dragon
Culture & Economy
The Daemonikan culture is built around warfare and science, but mostly science. They are hell-bent on creating smart, tough men and women. They have a small amount of universities that work towards bettering their society. Most of their artwork and symbology are of dragons, being the creatures of God in their legends. They train many boys from seven years of age to become warriors. After that, they are sent back to their families to work on the farms or crafts. They have a fierce allegiance to their monarch and the Houses.
The Universities
The Universities were set up after the army was disbanded by Drikarik Demion the Wise. He wanted the populace to be the most intelligent and advanced in the world, sending every adult and child to the schools to be taught. This massive education plan meant that teachers had to be imported from other countries. The universities are still going on today, but unlike the Demion Dynasty, most people do not receive an education. Women and other men that are deemed to not be eligible for combat, but rather for the thinking arts, are trained under the sciences and universities, under the scholars and teachers of the Order of the White Parchment. These schools issue certain classes and groups for certain trains of thought. Alchemy is a popular science, with all sorts of substances and chemicals being collected and studied. Politics and Philosophy is also a popular field of study, with the children of the Great Houses attending these classes. These schools produce many so-called 'wizards' and 'sorcerers' by foreign nations, but are known as just having a great grasp of the sciences. One such man was Bellos of Ifilheim, who developed a substance that could be set alight, hurled at the enemy, and the flame would grow when water was thrown onto it. The substance was named Bellos' Flaming Water-Eater.
Language
Upon arrival to the Continent, the Daemonikans brought their language with them. It is called Draetarik, and has a runic alphabet. The alphabet can be seen below.
Exports
Ores & Metals: The ground beneath the feet of the Daemonikans is absolutely riddled with all sorts of metals, especially in the Highlands. They often export metal and ores, such as iron, lead, tin and copper (Therefore bronze) and steel. An abundance of metal ore can be found on the archipelago.
Stone: In the highlands this is extremely common, with sandstone, limestone, granite, chalk, clay, slate and marble being some of the many rocks embedded around the islands.
People: The scientists and scholars that are produced from the universities are exceptionally intelligent. With hundreds of years of seclusion, the Daemonikans did not need to worry about attacks from invaders and so they set time down to study and cultivate, especially in the times of House Demion. Often such men hire themselves out, pretending to be sorcerers and supernatural beings.
Slaves: Pale-skinned slaves of the RingrerFolk are popular with the Dashretis. The slave-people have been bred to serve and have obedience drilled into them.
Art: The dragon-themed art of the Daemonikans is bought usually by collectors.
Devices & Inventions: The inventions and discoveries of the highly-trained scientists of Daemonika are a fine addition to a private collector, a civilisation or as weapons for people's armies.
Wood: Both hardwood and softwood are found in Daemonika, with willows, oaks, yews and a variety of other trees widely available.
Cloth: Wool and fine-stitch clothes are available, along with leather and feathers.
Imports
Precious metals: Although platinum, gold and silver can be found in some parts of Daemonika, they are usually imported from places like Dashret.
Slaves: Exotic slaves of different hues fascinate the nobles, from olive-skinned consorts to the skilled acrobats of the Far-East
Animals: Exotic animals are kept as pets, although biologists have discovered through dead imports that they often need quite an effort to keep alive.
Cloth: Precious cloths like silk and linen are highly valued by the nobility and wealthy.
Markets
Markets are common in the cities and towns, with smaller ones sometimes cropping up in villages. Coinage is used, usually they are inscribed with the dragon symbol on one face and the king's likeliness on the other, but they often have well-known historical or mythological figures on them, like demi-gods. The markets and economy is strictly managed by the government, who try to monitor the flow of currency and trade. They place tariffs and taxes, which result in smuggling goods in from the coast.
One Daemonikos-Minor coin (= one penny)
One Daemonikos-Medius coin (= one pound0
One Daemonikos-Major (= twenty-five pounds)
One Daemonikos-Superior
Dragon Amulet
Military
The military was created in accordance with the Unified Armies of the Kingdoms Charter, back when Daemonika was first united, where all of the Great Houses were to contribute their armies towards the unified army. The army colours are black and red, with these painted on the armour, shields and crests. It relies on the strength, wits and skills of the induvidual man working with others as a unitary force. Although skilled, the army is not tactical or strategical, a category often too overlooked by the Houses. There are different types of units, listed below:
Footmen
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Footmen are the backbone of the Daemonikan army, acting as the frontline troops and the infrantry. They have full-body chainmail, strong wooden shields and metal helmets. They are armed with two short spears, a medium-sized sword and caltrops. They fight in groups of forty.
Swordsmen
Heavier troops than the Footmen, these guys come with hand-and-a-half swords and shields. They wear plate and chainmail armour and act as the shock troops of the Daemonikan Military.
Dark Templar of the Great Dragon (Elite)
Also known as the Fel Knights, the Black Horde and the Order of the Bloodied Thorn. These are the elite of the elite in Daemonika. They are an order that have devoted every hour of their entire lives studying the arts of war. They dress in intimidating armour, and are strong enough to hold a BlodenSvolk (type of large sword) with a metal shield. They have the best armourers in the known world hired to make their armour, with only the highest quality metals used. Their armour is not too heavy to ride on mounts and they can run in them, being trained to deal with their armour like a second skin.
Horsemen
Your basic cavalry. They use spears, longswords and axes. they have some plate armour, but mostly chainmail. They often use full helmets, with light leather robes for the added protection and to show the colours of the Daemonikan Army, red and black.
Bowmen
They come light with leather, shortswords and half-helmets with some chainmail underneath. They have longbows made out of the tough, flexible native trees. They are put into groups.
Horse-Bowmen
Essentially an archer mounted on a horse, they use hit-and-run tactics. They do, however, come not with a shortsword, but a longsword, so they can reach infantry. They have shorter bows than their infantry counterpart.
History
The Daemonikans originated from another continent, an exodus of people to other lands. The First Exodus arrived in the Continent around 1521 Years Ago, landing on the north-east coast of the Great Dashreti Empire. These migrants spent the next twenty four years as nomads, being hounded by the countries that occupied the lands on which they landed, primarily the Dashreti Empire. Upon entering Dashret, they concealed themselves in the harsh wastelands of western Dashret until they arrived at the delta. There, they bartered profusely for passage, offering the arts, goods and slaves they had. They reached the islands that are now under the control of Agririum, setting up what they thought would be permanent settlements, until they were preyed on by barbarians. They fought back ferociously for their land in the Defense Wars, until they were forced to leave after the pyrrhic victory at the Battle of the Fourth Island, sailing a great migrant fleet into the horizon of the Sea.
Eventually, they met up with other Daemonikan immigrants from the Second Exodus, who followed them six years after they left their homeland, which had by then been utterly destroyed by a string of natural disasters. famines, civil wars and invasions from the Empire of Orthenia. The Second Exodus had landed on the eastern coast of what is now territory controlled by the Fiduses and Diuses tribes. They had travelled west along the island before departing for the mainland. There they were left alone, although about half of the populace decided to stay, becoming nomad clans, spreading around the continent. The two Exodus Fleets landed at a new, but inhabited land, an archipelago far out into the Sea. They named the place after their old homeland, Daemonika.
But soon, they were harassed by the natives, a collection of estranged Ortheni and Dashreti colonists. These people led a geurilla war against the invaders who had come and taken their towns. These people were crushed by the combined might of the Daemonikans, becoming slave peoples that are still existent today, now known as the Ringrerfolk, or the Lesser People. They officially conquered the archipelago in 1494 YA.
The next years saw the creation of many small Daemonikan kingdoms and city-states, with the Great Houses that led the exoduses fighting over land and power. This lasted until a Patriarch-King of the lands of House Daemonicai led a ruthless and bloody war to unite all of Daemonika, about 696 Years Ago. His name was Helman Daemonicai the Merciless. He was famed for slaughtering every man, woman and child in a settlement that caused him annoyance. They said that one could walk through his lands and always tread on soil that had soaked up blood.
He crushed the other Houses, taking every island in the archipelago and establishing his rule over the the country in what was called the First War of Unification. He set up his new dynasty and led the nation into a new Golden Age of peace and prosperity, enforced on the Daemonikans with an iron fist.
In 537 YA, there was a revolt by the leader of House Hannon, Duke Yeager Hannon, effectively taking the crown. This new High King abolished the practice of Drakonihilism and set up a Christian Church. This was unfavourable in all of the kingdom, and Yeager was deposed and executed in 535 YA.
The deposers, the Demions, took up the crown making the Demion Dynasty. Their leader, Drikarik the Wise, disbanded all armies and armed men, instead erecting many schools and universities and creating legions of teachers and scholars to better the people's understanding of the natural laws and sciences. This was followed by the the Tureto Dynasty, who had inherited the throne peacefully, started in 412 YA, who kept the tradition of education for all. Then the Aerorik Dynasty in 213 YA used the most knowledgeable alchemist, Bellos of Ifilheim, to subvert the throne by making the more superstitious of people and the priesthood think the Great Dragon wanted the Turetos off of the throne. The Aeroriks usurped the other Houses and took control of the kingdom. But, Bellos confessed to his crimes, he had used certain metals and chemicals to create fires of different colours and bright lights, making the more corrupt of the clergy (Archbishop Wilkom Aerorik) say that God had sent a sign of displeasure with the Turetos. Soon, after the Aeroriks lost control to the short-lived Pentron Dynasty; the Houses then began fighting for the crown in what was known as the Hundred Years War, starting in 111 YA and ending in 11 YA.
After that, House Daemonicai once again took over in 6 YA, establishing the Second Daemonicai Dynasty. This was led by Patriarch-Duke Lucien Daemonicai, who unleashed a bloody campaign similar to that of his ancestor 690 years ago. He gained control of the Order of the Bloodied Thorn and used them to take control of the Church. He then set about torturing and massacring anybody who stood in his way, using terrible frightening tactics like crucifixion and impalement. After he won the ensuing war, called the Second War of Unification, he set about ushering in the Second Golden Age, with peace forced on the people by a totalitarian government and massive propaganda campaigns (If you call spreading rumours propaganda). The new-found prosperity led to the population boom. The Second Daemonicai Dynasty is still going on, with High King Lucien Daemonicai still leading his people.
Map of the Great Daemonikan Exoduses
Orange- First Daemonikan Exodus
Red- Second Daemonikan Exodus
Crosses- Towns and Settlements set up (Long Stops)
More to come later. For those in the RP, please check this and pick out faults, Cheers!