Azaan
| Azaan | |
|---|---|
| File:Azaan.jpg | |
| Country Information | |
| Motto: | 'Videmus omnia.' |
| Language: | Azaani |
| Ethnic Group: | Human |
| Religion: | None |
| Government: | Technocracy |
| Current Ruler: | High Directorate |
| Population: | 150,000 |
| Currency: | Solari |
Azaan is the name of the isolated technocratic city-state far to the southwest of the Kingdom of Arangoth. It is the most technologically developed country on the planet, its citizens enjoying a remarkably high quality of life as a result. Azaani technicians study a strange blend of naturalist and arcane philosophy, creating some of the most spectacular works in the world, including their massive arcane siphon towers and their legendary, fearsome airships.
History
Azaan was dominated by a magical empire many centuries ago. With their monarchic style of government, the previous Azaani empire gradually grew more and more corrupt, increasing the standard of living for the aristocracy at the expense of the technically skilled (but socially powerless) working class. Revolution was staved off for many long years until one fateful day. Over the course of several weeks, the Azaani empire crumbled, its aristocracy killed or exiled, and its arcanists put to work in collaboration with the engineers of the era to produce new and fantastic technologies for the benefit of its entire people, as managed by the High Directorate.
Geographical Features
Azaan is a relatively small island city state, the island no more than 75 kilometers at its widest point, and perhaps 200 kilometers long. It is surrounded on all sides by sheer cliffs with dubious staircases leading up in ill-maintained switchbacks at strategic locations. The landscape is generally dominated by shallow, rolling hills and plains, with few dramatic changes in elevation to speak of.
Azaan's relatively high elevation over the surrounding ocean affords it excellent visibility, and potential incursions into their territory are easily thwarted by their coastal defense networks and the quick deployment of their airships, a few of which are always kept in a state of combat readiness.
Government and Politics
Azaan is governed by the High Directorate, an elite team of experts in the fields of arcane science, naturalism, civil engineering, etc. The High Directorate is generally limited to a cadre of 12 individuals, selected based upon their merits by the Symposium, a meeting of over 200 individuals, all experts in their various fields from across the Azaani empire.
Military
While Azaan has traditionally kept a low number of standing armed forces personnel, these numbers are usually supplemented by the various automata developed by private firms with defense contracts. The backbone of the Azaani empire's military might comes from its legendary airships, which represent the pinnacle of arcane and technical engineering. A single cruiser-class airship is capable of burning a small fleet of traditional seafaring vessels to the ground.
The airships of Azaan are built around specially constructed arcane batteries of rare, specially modified crystals. These power the majority of the airship, including the elemental bindings that comprise the weapons and navigation systems. Each airship includes its own command and control module in the form of sentient automata rigged directly into the ship itself. The ship's automata is responsible for the management of the batteries and the balancing of the various forces required to bind the lesser elementals to the vessel.
While each ship will field a battery of traditional gunpowder munitions, the majority of the ship's destructive force comes from the arcane-powered weapons, generally centered around the manipulation and combination of various elemental energies.
Society and Peoples
Azaan is a wealthy nation, due in no small part to their monopoly on their particular brand of magic and technology. Such technologies are never traded for, but the products of their technology are highly sought after. Medical and agricultural technology is especially prized.
Azaan's people are generally happy due to the high standard of living, with plenty of time for leisure. The Azaani workforce centers around the four day work week.
While the earliest advent of automata within the city saw no small amount of strife, cultural attitudes have since shifted. The automata, in all of their forms, are met with grudging acceptance at the worst, and enthusiasm at the best.
Language
Azaani is the official language of Azaan, though all citizens receive a formal education in Common and various other languages, as desired.