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| Key Info | |
|---|---|
| Government Type: | Theocratic Oligarchy |
| Capital City: | Lyall |
| Symbol: | A purple circle with two feathers on it, one black and one white |
| Primary Religion: | Church of Light |
| Hallmarks: | Oynx Stone Churches, Stain glass windows, clean and pitious people, military ready to crusade |
Eraia is located in the south western section of of Aeldun. Their northern border is between the southern Cahyrst Mountains and the the northern tip of the Llanfyll Mountains. They’re bordered in the west by the sea and on the east by the Llanfyll range. Their southern border is the Ramure Bay. Eraia has also expanded across the Ramure Bay, Eraia currently occupied the Island of Verrel and the Kouneli that live there and has a pair of towns forming a trade route with Theanovene on the southern peninsula. Eraia’s proximity to the Tafre Desert keeps Eraia from having very cold winters. Stuck between the sea and desert, Eraia has a very moderate climate.
Eraia has the privilege of being the oldest nation on Aurii. At the beginning of the Era of Humanity, the survivors of the chaos brought by Lylalel and Lyarlel’s fighting began to rebuild the world they saw ruined around them. This effort took place in what is now known as Eraia. The original group split over time, forming different nations over time, but those who stayed finally became the kingdom of Eraia. Gauwyn Folke was the first person to refer to the nation as Eraia, after those who would form Dreca left the now city of Lyall.
Eraia is the birthplace of the Church of Light as well, which defined the nation’s growth. The history of the Church is tied to the history of Eraia. Everyone in Eraia worships Lylalel in the Church of Light, the Church is part of Eraian life all the way from birth. No other religion is accepted in Eraia and to worship another religion is heretical to the Church. Visitors of other nations who speak openly of their own religions (or having no religion) run the risk of being arrested by the Church. Subtle notes, such as a clasp with the mark of Ylthar are generally ignored by the Church upon guests, but any kind of marking or even association with the Cult of Lyarlel will involve immediate arrest.
Naissankari are rare in Eraia. Eraia and Wynne were on opposite sides of the battlefield during the crusades, and the Naissankari culture is heretical to the church. Those that have made homes in Eraia have forsaken their ancestoral beliefs for one reason or another. Kissaelain laguz have been oppressed by the Eraians during the Crusades and long after. Those from the territories harbor a strong resentment for the theocratic nation, ingrained in them by their parents and grand parents. Kouneli laguz are seen as members of Eraia’s holy nation, but only because the Church has decreed it so. Despite this, Kouneli are rarely seen off of their island of Ferre so the Eraian public has had little exposure to them.
In short, no matter the sub race of Laguz, Eraians treat them with little respect. There is no open aggression, but a laguz in Eraia can expect to be looked down own constantly.
Eraia is run by the Church of Light. The Church papacy has the ultimate say in any governmental issue and while members of the Church don’t usually manage the day to day operations of the government, the Papacy can come in at any time to do so. Below the Papacy there are various appointed Ministers that handle different sections of the government, such as finance and war. Each Minister has an office of staff to support them and a building in Lyall. While being Minister is a respect public office, they do not hold much clout with the public as the Church is what is truly respected. The Church does work behind the scenes to hold their position in this sense, as they truly believe kingdoms without the Church to guide them are doomed to fall to the temptations of Lyarlel.
Eraia pulls two particular building materials from the Tafre Desert, glass made from the endless dunes of sand and onyx stone is mined from Llanfyll Mountains. The onyx stone is considered a sacred material by the Church and the Church must approve it’s use in construction. All Church buildings are made from this material, as it is said when Lylalel returns to the world, the onyx stone will regain it’s color, as it is tied to her presence and magic.
Glass is used heavily in Eraian infrastructure, with stained glass windows adoring even the homes of the middle class. It is common to see a custom stain glass window with the family crest used in most homes instead of a name plate. Many decorations and statues make use of the abundance of glass and glass workers Eraia has to offer as well.
Eraia is a very cleanly nation, due to the tenants of the Church. Streets and people are never dirty and there are people dedicated to cleaning anything messes that might occur, as well as servants of the Church who will enforce the cleanliness standards on people who do not meet them. Everything in Eraia calls back to Lylalel and the Church in some way or another. Things such as designs from the Book of Light make their way to engravings, traditional Church adornments are used in architecture, and other references back to the Church make the architecture of Eraia quite uniform.
Eraian towns are often bustling but have their own uniqueness to them. Anytime Church services are held the city grinds to a halt, and crowds can be predicted based on when services let out. Servants of the Church cause large parts in crowds when they walk on the street (a show of respect in the Church) which is usual to outsiders. Eraians can be quite friendly to even outsiders if one respects traditional Eraian customs. Eraia is known for them and entire books have been written in Theanovene attempting to explain them. There are unique greetings, verbal exchanges, and gestures that come from Eraia and the Church’s shared history that are hallmarks of an Eraia citizen. Any diplomat worth their salt will spend ample time preparing before visiting Eraia as those who don’t perform (or worse, incorrectly perform) these customs are quickly ignored by traditional Eraians.
The church of Lylalel uses white, purple and black as their colors of choice and this makes it way into Eraian fashion. While clothing is varied and often of a higher quality make than other nations, colors outside of the Church’s are harder to find. Robes are common in Eraia, which are made of a relatively lightweight material due to the moderate climate. These robes are usually white with purple trim, and only high level members of the Church may wear purple with black trim robes.
Eraia has a booming economy build around a number of industries. Mining and Construction do well as cities are always expanding in Eraia, as does glass production. Glass is also used heavily in the Eraian arts community which creates further jobs. Weapon and armor smithing is another trade that does quite well in Eraia, as the Eraian have been building up military power for decades.
Eraia is a self sufficient nation and does not technically need to trade with other nations, so most professions can be practiced in Eraia. Since the Crusades, Eraian naval trade has picked up, both between Ferre and the peninsula cities of Eraia. This trade has allowed for a supply line to Theanovene, which has grown significantly as citizens become more and more interested in foreign good.
The Church gives a single day off to Eraia, which is also a day of worship. Only the Church, the Minister’s offices and the Military are required to operate on the day of worship. No one asides from these groups can force employees to work, under penalty of heresy.
Eraia has many farms in it’s territory. A good portion of Eraia’s diet is grown, with supplement of fish. Red meat is less common tables than chicken or fish. Hunting is not a popular profession in Eraia. Some forms of meat aren’t eaten in Eraia, including deer, pigs, salmon, and duck. To eat one of these animals is heretical.
Much like their neighbor Dwyr, Eraia produces wine from grapes. Eraia wine is primarily made in Estad and is considered an art form. Competition between Eraian and Dwyr wine makers is common and there’s even a yearly joint event held either Estad or Anwood, depending on the year. This event is encouraged by both governments, as it fosters both peace between the Honoril Alliance nation and Eraia, and increases the quality of their wine.
Children are taken through a number of sacraments in the Church throughout early life. Their education is primarily religious in the formative years of their lives, only expanding to other educational topics around age ten. Children are required to work as helpers around the church before the reach age ten as well, to teach discipline and respect for the Church. From age ten to sixteen, students go through further schooling to prepare them as member of not only Eraian society, but worshippers in the Church of Light. Further education exists after age sixteen for certain fields, such as Light Magic usage or military service.
Eraia’s history is managed by the Church. The Church is not above writing events in ways that flatter themselves, so the records of the Church are considered biased by other nations in private.
Eraia was the first nation to make use of Light Magic. Decades of research on ancient texts from the Era of Lylalel gave Eraians the ability to cast Light Magic spells around the time of Crusades, and they have continued their research since. Trisp is a monastery that has been dedicated to the study of Light Magic, run by the Church of Light. Trisp has begun to study Anima magic as well, though it has been a slow adoption considering the Church’s stance is Light Magic is the blessing of Lylalel herself. The Church teaches Light Magic to those that which to use it as part of the military or clergy. Most high ranking members of the Clergy can cast at least a handful of spells.
The Church dictates what are crimes in Eraia. The Church also includes heretical actions against the teachings of the Church as if they were more universal crimes in Eraian lands, and will enforce them as well as others. Church officials can call out an action as heretical and call troops to arrest someone, as can the troops themselves. Criminals are taken before the presiding bishop in the area, who will make the judgement based on scripture and the situation. Eraia maintains prisons and prison sentences are common. Eraia believes one can be cured of heretical impulses via extended study of scripture and prisons make this happen.
Eraia has strict standards on cleanliness, which comes from the Church’s teachings. There are inns at entrances to every town and city where dusty travellers are expected to clean themselves. When doing a job where one must get dirty, workers are expected to clean themselves before they leave the site.
Family life is important to Eraia. It is expected to be married by twenty six, and if you aren’t the church will help you get hitched. Divorce is not allowed in the kingdom as well, it’s a crime against the sanctity of marriage in the Church of Light. It’s uncommon to see the woman in the marriage providing for the family. It’s not unheard of, particularly for soldiers with excellent records who the church would rather not see leave the battlefield, but it is unusual. There’s no stigma to a woman continuing her career past starting a family in the military. So as long as one parent stays, the other has no issues. However as the woman is the one to carry the child, that break tends to roll into dropping the military career.
Eraia has tempered unique ways of crafting blades over the years. Eraian weapons are lighter than weapons from other nations and require more finesse than strength to use. These elegant weapons are popular in other nations, though getting ahold of an Eraian export is difficult for most.
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| Unit | Skill Level | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Infantry: | 🔴🔴🔴🔴⭕ | |
| Cavalry: | 🔴🔴⭕⭕⭕ | |
| Magic Forces: | 🔴🔴🔴⭕⭕ | |
| Navy: | 🔴🔴🔴⭕⭕ | |
| Inquisitors: | 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 |
Eraia has the largest military on the continent. As part of the church, soldiers are on a holy crusade to spread the religion of Eraia around the globe. This and frequent motivating speeches from the church leaders makes them dedicated and enthusiastic about every engagement. Eraia has a fleet of ships and extensive infantry, their heavy armor troops are the best on the continent. Eraia’s calvary is it’s only lacking point, what horses they have are dedicated to mounted generals and paladins.
The Church of Light maintains an elite force that operates outside of the standard military called the Inquisitors. Inquisitors are elite specialists who strike at targets specifically ordered by the Church. Inquisitors outrank all other military members and operate independently. They frequently partner up with another Inquisitor.
No nation on Aurii has forgotten the Eraian Crusades and the actions of Eraia during the Crusades continue to paint expectations of the nation internationally to this day. Other countries consider Eraia to be a sort of powder keg, waiting for when they will resume their religious zealotry and advancing into the world. While the time since the Crusades has tempered this expectation some, as well as more open trade and communications between nations, that impression has yet to have been cleared.
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