Holy Kingdom of Athejia

Territory

The arrangement of the islands in the Athejian Archipelago made setting up a nation spanning magic circle easily achievable, as such a network of spires maintains the effect of the Blessing. Previously these islands were far too cold for crop growth and ill-suited for habitation, however, with the spell blocking most of the chilling air from the north, dispersing heavy cloud cover, and providing just the slightest amount of heat, it transformed the islands to become a veritable paradise. Warm ocean currents looping back up north from further south also plays a major part in climate stabilization.

Victoris, Fortuna, Adventa

These three large islands are the coldest in the archipelago and used to cultivate trees, crops, and animals which fare better in cold environments. Temperatures range anywhere from 40-60 degrees Fahrenheit and the hilly landscape is dominated by evergreen trees.

Aurorum, Harmona

Two temperate islands in the center of the nation, carrying a larger portion of the population than any of the other islands. Nearly all of the country's hardwood is grown here.

Arcadia

Owing to its strategic position located directly in the middle of the archipelago, this serves as the primary industrial, commercial, and military center for the Kingdom. A massive dormant volcano dominates the island, a large freshwater lake fills its caldera and the rivers which originate from it brings minerals and fertile volcanic ash to the farms below. Most of the mined and quarried resources in Athejia are also found here along the slopes of the volcano in abundance.
Large underwater tunnels, a busy system of ferries and cargo ships, and airships are used to transfer goods and people between the other islands.

Regarding the Walls (1)

Regarding the Walls (2)

Tranquila
The agricultural heart of the Kingdom, these three islands were lumped together after floating platforms used for farming and water oxidation extended across the water ways. A majority of the fish, shellfish, and other oceanic products in Athejia are also sourced here in carefully controlled aquatic farms, hatcheries, and fisheries. Together these three islands are the largest landmass in the nation, however, they also have the lowest population density with most of the population living in small towns and villages.

People and Population

The nation of Athejia is inhabited by two species which work in close cooperation, the human-like Valkyria and the divine Archangels. The Valkyria make up the vast majority of the population and therefore are seen in every facet of the civilization, meanwhile the Archangels are limited in number mostly due to their slow reproductive cycles and are commonly found in positions of power and authority due to their even-handed and unbiased judgement. These Archangels also serve as an integral part of the Athejian "Airforce" which is comprised of the Angelic Legions and the Valkyrian Aerofleet, both of which are utterly different from any other contemporary airforce.

The people of Athejia rely on a combination of mechanical and magical means to go about their daily lives, which in comparison to other more technologically advanced nations, are quite humble.

Valkyria

Valkyrian Soldier

+ Blessed - Posses great reflexes, eyesight, and agility

+ Ballistic Intuition - Are able to exhibit great accuracy while aiming by sight

* Consecrated - Subjected to enormous amounts of holy energy the people have golden hair and eyes which emit a faint glow at all times, while certainly impressive to behold, it does pose an issue on the modern battlefield. This abundance of holy energy also has a side effect on reproduction and lifespan, with a far greater chance for females to be born than males and most individuals being able to live well over a century or two.

* Enchanted - The people themselves have a propensity for magic and its subsequent uses, however, the overabundance of holy energy causes advanced electronics to go haywire when they attempt to use it. Researchers are unsure if this is due to some sort of strange interaction between electricity and magic or if some sort of limitation was imposed long ago on the people in exchange for magic. In practice, this means that while mechanical or analog objects such as automobiles, piston-powered aircraft, and firearms work perfectly fine, things such as RADAR, computer assisted aiming systems, guided missiles, or anything that relies on circuits and computers will be rendered useless.

- Strict Aesthetics - More of a cultural effect than anything genetic, they are utterly unable to use any weapons, tools, strategies, etc. that violates the nation's industrial fantasy aesthetics.

- Anachronistic Sensibilities - Long standing isolation has brought to bear many eccentric and peculiar choices in technological, societal, and cultural history of the nation which greatly differ from the rest of the world. This has led to certain aspects being undoubtedly superior to our foreign counterparts while others hopelessly obsolete and backwards. Changing such sentiments would be next to impossible.

Archangels

+ Immortal - These creature do not age and possess an unlimited lifespan, however, their numbers are severely limited by reproduction

+ Speaking in Tongues - Able to speak every language

+ Flight - Capable of flying fast and for sustained periods of time. Upwards of 500mph and a cruising speed of 60mph.

+ Raptor-like - Posses great reflexes, eyesight, and agility in order to stop themselves from slamming into trees.

* Other-worldy - Their biological make-up is greatly different from other creatures, pathogens find difficulty infecting them. However, this works both ways, treatments and medicines for normal creatures do not work on them either.

- Unnerving - Despite actually being quite beautiful, something about them sets the nerves on edge.

- Glowing - Emits a faint glow from their skin and possessing a bright golden halo, impressive on normal occasions but not exactly subtle on the battlefield. The light goes away when they sleep for convenience, its hard to sleep when you're a light bulb.

- Aerodynamics - What they can carry while flying is limited by bulk and by weight. If a person has trouble carrying something on foot to the point where they have difficulty walking (ie: a large box) they cannot fly with it either.

- Hard to Miss - They posses a rather large wingspan due to their body size, this allows for easier flights and greater lift but combined with their glowing aura they are rather noticeable.

- Haughty - Sees themselves above man, are unwilling to use any aircraft with the exception of airships for long-range travel.

Government and Political Structure

The Holy Kingdom is ruled by the Queen according to the matriarchal society, and possess absolute power over the legislation, executive decisions, and the military. Currently Her Majesty Seraphim Alessandra de Caldirini rules from the capital city of Austera.

Regarding the Seraphim (1)

Regarding the Seraphim (2)

Each island is then overseen by a Duke or Duchess who act on the Queen's behalf and enact laws and regulations according to their situation due to the varied nature of the Athejian Archipelago. Barons and Baronesses then manage the various counties within each island, with a Baronet and Barontess governing single cities, their farms, and the villages around them.

History and Religion

Long ago the citizens of Athejia previously dwelt in a realm separate from this one, a realm in which souls, energy, magic, and all the other unseen forces which keep the universe in motion are found. Paradiso, land of the gods. The Valkyria were born of souls who fell in battle and comprised the lowest "heavenly choir" or in other words, they were the least powerful and most numerous. They filled the ranks of Paradiso's defensive forces, performed maintenance, and served as a general labor force. The Archangels were one of the most powerful beings in the realm, they were tasked with going out to the world below and carrying out the will of their god as well as driving back the vile forces of the universe.

The Athejians answered to Jubileus the Goddess of Purifying Light who ruled the lands of Paradiso which bordered Infierno, the land of daemons. For eternity Paradiso fought an endless war against the denizens of Infierno, legions of angels and daemons alike fell in droves with neither side being able to gain the upperhand. However, one day without warning, the war came to a savage and brutal crescendo. The armies of Paradiso awaited the hellish swarms that

Military Overview

The military is divided according to the following ranks:

Seraphim (Commander in Chief)

Sword Saint (General)

Paladin (Major)
Chevaliers, Royal Scouts, Named Mages, Named Alchemist

Knight (Captain)
Cataphracts, Legionnaires, Rangers, Imperial Mages, State Alchemists

Esquire (Sergeant)
Dragoons, Rooks, Rangers, Imperial Mages, State Alchemists

Foot Soldier (Private)
Alchemists, Battlemage, Infantry

Due to various choices in doctrine, effects from isolation, and redundancies, the Athejian military has several curiosities in its structure.

The Athejian military does not have any of the following:

- Field Artillery - Due to the prominence of magic in society, the use of mages in the military made the notion of field artillery a far gone idea. That is, there is no point in creating new doctrine to encompass howitzers on the battlefield when infantry are able to utilize powerful magic on their own accord. Instead of calling upon fire support from several miles out, the soldiers instead rely on dedicated battle mages to provide the firepower needed for bombardment, suppression, or any other purpose that field artillery would serve.

- Armored Vehicles/Mechanized Infantry - With Athejia being peaceful for the vast majority of its history and the fact that the nation is surrounded on all sides by water, there was little need to ever develop armored vehicles. The closest equivalent would be found in the Rooks (Heavy Infantry), with no equivalent for mechanized units.

- Direct Combat Aircraft - Due to Archangels given their ability to fly, and of course the utter lack of conflict on the archipelago, the Leadership saw little need to pursue specialized vehicles for the common person to pilot into battle. Instead the Angelic Legions are flying infantry which replaces and serves as the fighters, helicopters, interceptors, and bombers, of the military. On the other side of the spectrum, long voyages and sustained operations were of course foreseen and thus gave rise to the Aerofleets. The Valkyrian Aerofleet consists of heavily armored flying ships which functions much in the same way as their waterborne contemporaries. Ornithopters serve as short-range, general use aircraft for the flightless Valkyria.

- Guided Munitions - Due to the Valkyrian disruption field and the Archangel's attitude towards technology, guided munitions such as smart bombs and missiles are utterly alien to the Athejian people. Instead ballistic weapons enhanced by magic and of course magic itself is used, unfortunately these measures result in a large amount of collateral damage.

- RADAR and Aiming Systems - Again related to why there are no guided munitions in the military, conventional detection and electrical aiming systems (ie: laser-guided, radar-guided, infrared etc.) do not exist. Magical equivalents are present but are mostly inferior to their typical counterparts in regards to detection, but are superior in terms of ballistics.

- Electricity, Computers, and Conventional Communications - You would have gotten the jist of it by now so without further ado: Computation Jewels serve as the replacement for computers but are only used for calculations and managing automatic processes. For soldiers, these help aiming in spells and weapons. Communications crystals enchanted with scrying magic replace other communications.