Kingdom of Arkadia

 Kingdom of Arkadia 

The Arkadian Kingdom is a current-day Kingdom that is known for it's trade-oriented society and anti-darkness policies.

 History 

EARLY HISTORY

3000 years prior to this day, the Kingdom of Nosogov had aspirations to expand. King Charles the second lead Nosogov at the time, and was a popular leader in the Northern regions. This, in contrast to the King of Bursk, who was seen as lousy and barbaric at times. That King, named Balyov, had centralized his powers enormously in the past few years. He was disgusted by the rich nobles, and never gave them any power or voice in the leadership. Unlike the Bursk upper-class, the Nosgov Nobles held power and privileges. Charles II saw this as a great opportunity to extend his Kingdom, and made secret deals and alliances with Burk's unrecognized Nobles. In a well planned and executed coup, King Balyov was assassinated, and his followers were murdered. Swiftly after, the Kingdoms merged and former Bursk nobles were granted the same privileges as the Nosgovs. But that wasn't all. In the nearby Duchy of Wythover, Barbarian tribes held control over vast mining areas and fruitful lands. Once Burks merged with Nosogov, the armies moved in to Wythomer, and triggered a civil war within the Duchy. The barbarians fought bravely, but suffered heavy casualties and lost strategicly important locations. The tribe leader, Lekyion, demanded a fair duel with King Charles II to determine who wins this war. Charles accepted, and they both met at the Larbodian mountains. Surrounded by warriors of both sides, they began dueling. Despite a fierce duel, Charles lost, and was injured by Lekyion. Instead of fulfilling the deal, Charles ordered his men to open fire at Lekyion. The Tribe leader was barraged with arrows, 9 of which hitting him. Charles' army had surrounded the mountain, and any tribe warior would be slaughtered.

Charles insured that this tale would never reach the day of light, and even went as far to kill his own men to make sure it remained undiscovered. Until now, the truth of the event is still not known to the public. After winning the civil war, Wythomer merged with Nosogov aswell. As a sign of a new Empire, the three signed a treaty where in they proclaim the new Arkadian Kingdom, under leadership of the Numerius dynasty and the Noble/Aristocrat families.

DEVELOPED HISTORY

Eversince the official formation of the Arkadian Kingdom, not all citizens and inhabitants were pleased. The new laws and systems of order punished Barbarians and crimelords severely. Because of the new changes, former crime barons lost all their power and were forced to withdraw. The small amount of tribe warriors that survived the slaughter hid, and swore revenge on the Arkadian Kingdom. As centuries passed, Arkadia grew in prosperity population. But not only the good and kind ones did. Criminal cartels had been banding together, forging alliances with bordering Barbarian tribes aswell. While time passed on, Arkadia would have to face yet another threat. In 100 BBA (600 AAWE), Lord Raedion invaded the northern regions of Arkadia with armies of the darkness. The undead, skeletons and tainted Humans alike scoured through the north, crushing the unprepared armies they faced. This two year conflict, named the First Invasion of the Darkness, ended when Arkadian armies under King Charles IV defeated Lord Raedion and his forces in one of his last strongholds in the Larbodian Mountains. Despite the victory, the loss of life had been great, and fears of this invasion serving as an inspiration for the next generations dominated. In an attempt to wipe this event out of Arkadian history, most books with this knowledge were either destroyed or restricted to the highest levels of Arkadian society only.

Due to the costly war and mass destruction, the forgotten Barbarian tribes of Wythover succeeded in accumulating even more influence in the now weakened Kingdom. With the bribing of State officals and entire baronies, they were slowly but surely infiltrating in the Arkadian leadership structure. At 1 BBA, The Wythower tribe publicly announced it's return, claiming to have brought Lekyion back from the dead. What followed was known as the 'Eternal fury' war. Out of nowhere, regions, baronies and counties all declared their independence from the Arkadian Kingdom. All of them rallied to the newly formed Wythower Empire, with the so proclaimed 'Lekyion' in command. The King at the time, Marco Numerius, and his government were everything but prepared for this. Barbarian armies were swooping in from the North, taking out town after town. The unorganized Arkadian Military lost battle after battle as they retreated back to the south.(gewijzigd) Despite these defeats and the astounding speed the Barbarian armies moved in, Arkadia was far from surrendering. Arkadia's strong economy and liberalism made sure that it had allies and the necessary funds to fuel the war effort. Mercenaries from Thuria, Tammarand and Brune all rushed to Arkadia, to help defend it. Meanwhile, Osmis had declared it's allegiance to the newly formed Wythower Empire, which is a result of the political intrigue of many years.

The Mercenaries and Elite troops from Valyria were all integrated into the army, and fought hard for the next year. The Barbarian's advance has been slowed down significantly, which they didn't expect at all. The barbarians realized that they wouldn't be able to outlast Arkadia, neither economically or militarily. If they wanted to win, now would be the only time.

RECENT HISTORY

At 928 ABA, Alexandros Numerius got to power. He had a very reserved opinion about the Wythower Empire, and was not afraid to show it. The plans that his family had been planning for decades were in his view, very close to execution. Alexandros' political and militarial ambitiousness made it so that tensions between the two reached sky-high and after 900 years, Arkadian troops entered the Ardéche, a region that was declared illegal for armies of both sides to occupy. The Wythower tribe leader was enfuriated, demanding the troops to withdraw. Unfortunately for the barbarians, the Arkadian army did not stop moving. In fact, they simply passed the Ardéche, heading straight to the barbarian capital. Bypassing all their defences, the Arkadian armies took the barbarians by surprise and the war had kicked off. With strategicly important captures and the encirclement of several main barbarian armies, the Wythower Empire collapsed in days. Alexandros proudly marched his army through the Wythower towns and cities, declaring complete victory and the unaison of the full Arkadian Empire. The most loyal Dukes were sent over the newly annexed land to govern and adjust, and set up the necssary programs to re-educate the citizens there. Using nationalism and glorification, loyalty to the Arkadian State is guaranteed.

 Geography 

The Kingdom of Arkadia lies in the north-west of New Gwyn, in the upper corner. The southern regions are flat, with only some hills and small mountains. The northern regions, unlike the rest of Arkadia, are mostly mountainous, and housevest the Larbodian Mountains.

Aldoria City, Arkadia's capital and former capital of the Kingdom of Nosogov, is one of the largest and most prosperous cities in all of New Gwyn. It is known for being swarmed with millions of merchants every day, and is the practical heart of Arkadia. In history, the City only grew and grew, absorbing neighboring towns and cities over time. On a nearby mountain, the Kalasian Fortress proudly stands next to it's capital.

Many other trade-cities are focused in the south, particularly close to the coast. The coastal city of Caladia, a sprawling city close to the Dragan border, is a prime example of this.

 Society 

Arkadian Society varies heavily from how well-being you are, just like any other medieval kingdom. The citizens can be divided into different classes (from high to low):
 * Royalty (Royal Family members)
 * Nobility (Dukes and Counts)
 * Aristocracy (Governors, Lords and Mayors)
 * Bourgeoisie (Wealthy Citizens, ex: Administrators, succesful Merchants, etc..)
 * City Folk (Blacksmiths, Soldiers, average Merchants, ..)
 * Peasants (Farmers, Miners)

The Peasants are good for the population of 70% of Arkadia's Northern regions, where small Villages and Towns are very common. These peasants provide raw materials for the Arkadian market, and sell their goods to traveling Merchants. The average peasant does not leave his home County for his entire life. Just like any other peasants, Arkadian lower-class citizens are often not educated, incapable of reading or writing, and unaware of Arkadian politics. Despite this however, they are almost all deeply religious, unlike members of the Bourgeoisie.

The 'City Folk' as they are called, are the average citizens who reside in large towns and cities, and make up for 75% of Arkadia's southern regions. Thanks to Arkadia's rather progressive stance on education, these citizens can recieve basic education for a low cost. The City Folk can thus almost all read and write, enabling them to take part in a great deal of professions and jobs. This class makes sure the raw materials are turned into actual items, or process them partly to sell them afterwards. The most of the City Folk are also religious, putting full faith in the class system, and basically standing behind the Monarch at all times.

The Bourgeoisie is a collection of wealthy citizens, which can range from non-aristocratic governmential positions, or simply citizens who have acquired considerable sums of wealth. They also enjoy a better education, which enables them to hold more advanced and higher positions. The Dance of Dynasties starts from this class. From here, some people are willing to give up their religous values and class restrictions for personal gain and power.

The Aristocracy are those who have rather high state-positions, such as Mayors, Magistrates or Governors. These titles and positions are generally not passed down to family members, however, some political families succeed in increasing their influence in a certain area, enabling them to technically be lower nobles. They too try and climb out their class, desiring a noble's title.

The Nobility are the Counts and Dukes of Arkadia. Their titles are attached to their blood-line, and are responsible of governing their respective counties and duchies. Their loyalty and devotion lies to the Numerius dynasty, but sometimes, members of the Nobility might try and grab the crown for themselves. An example of this is the Restoration Plot.

The Arkadian Royalty are members of the Numerius dynasty, either married or via blood. They enjoy the highest positions in the Kingdom, with the King being absolute ruler over almost all affairs. The Royalty's task is to insure the loyalty of the Nobility and Aristocracy, aswell as securing the Kingdom's interests on the outside. They pledge their allegiance to God, who gave them this holy power.

 Values 

Arkadia was founded on the core principles of the Feudal systems, but did evolve and develop some of it's values over time. For example, the open trade and Mercantile mindset basically put a restraint on the Church's influence in the Kingdom.

The reliance and important of trade with other Kingdoms also brought upon another principle: diplomacy. Since the beginning, Arkadia has tried to avoid war, especially with trade partners. This need of worldwide stability and peace also made them meditators; often trying to step up when tensions rose up. However, this strictly 'peaceful' policy was not drawn to a full extent. Arkadia was certain that all darkness was automatically evil, and caused all the harm on the world. The tales from the Allfather War brought them that thinking.

Because of that, Arkadia feels a responsability, for it's own interests and others, that it should intervene against all darkness. This had become a moral duty after the course of it's establishment, and was thus the Kingdom who fought the most darkness of all. This status of being a 'worldwide meditator' and a 'Beacon against Darkness', has caused most Arkadians to feel pride, often considering themselves better than the others since they were the ones who acted when others didn't.

Arkadian values are also strictly against war for the gains of mere land or riches, and thus frowns upon offensive wars for above goals. Arkadia's Military is also sizeable, but not heavily militarized, as they believe that might provoke other kingdoms.