Author Topic: Helgaran Factbook  (Read 3670 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Helgara

  • Microstate
  • *
  • Posts: 15
    • View Profile
  • Your Nation: Helgara Collective
Helgaran Factbook
« on: August 19, 2018, 12:41:57 PM »
Overview

Spoiler: Flags of the Dominion • show

Dominion National Flag


God-Emperor's Standard


Council of Avatar's Standard


Official Name: The Hallowed Dominion of Helgara
Alternative Names: Helgara, Dominion
Demonym: Helgaran
Current Capital: The Court of Blades
Historical Capital: Guardian's Rest
Largest City: Hamantra
Currency: Khronema
Exchange Rate: 1 Khronema = .71 USD
Languages: Aelven and English
State Religion: The Church of Crissaar
Government: Theocratic Aristocracy
Leadership:
- God-Emperor Hira
- Council of 13 (The Ascedent Avatars of Crissaar)
-Duke Marcus Thaine
Time Zone: East Ardia
Population: 28 Million
GDP: 1.7 Trillion USD
GDP per Capita: 58,000 USD
Main Industries: crude oil production, petroleum refining, industrial gases, rare minerals mining
Drives on the Left
Internet TLD: .hel
Calling Code: +13
« Last Edit: August 19, 2018, 05:36:32 PM by Helgara »

Offline Helgara

  • Microstate
  • *
  • Posts: 15
    • View Profile
  • Your Nation: Helgara Collective
Re: Helgaran Factbook
« Reply #1 on: August 19, 2018, 01:26:02 PM »
The Church of Crissaar

The Black Prison, where Crissaar's immortal remains are said to be buried

The Church of Crissaar is the most dominate institution in Helgara. The entire government is formed around the Church's hierarchy. The leader of the Church, once known as the Hierarch, is the God-Emperor (or God-Empress). The God-Emperor is the 13th and deciding vote of the Council of 13. The Council is the absolute leadership of the Church, and thus the state. Their word is law and unquestionable. The God-Emperor's duty is to maintain central leadership and direct the Council. The Council itself is made from the Avatars, each one representing what is known as an Ascendant Face of Crissaar. The Ascendant Faces are manifestations of important social ideas or groups of people. For example some Avatars are the Warrior or the Widow, while the current God-Emperor is Rage Eternal.

The founding of the Church is shrouded in mystery and legend. The Church has existed since before recorded history, or so the Church says. Historical evidence seems to suggest this is true, although the structure of the Church has changed over time. The Church worships Crissaar, a god and a pantheon all in one. Crissaar is said to have infinite "faces" or identities and as thus is all-encompassing. Thus Crissaar is many and one. The belief is that Crissaar once walked among Mundus, living among humans. There are thousands of legends and stories of Crissaar's exploits and adventures, each one is said to contain a lesson.

Eventually Crissaar was killed, murdered by an official of the Old Khronema Kingdom. Fearing that Crissaar may rise again the Khronemans entombed Crissaar within the Black Prison, believing the God's powers would be weakened within. Still Crissaar is said to be able to influence outside events from within the Prison.

Depictions of Crissaar tend to fall into one of two categories, what is called The White and The Black. The White is perhaps the more straight-forward and normal image of a god. The White Crissaar is just, merciful, and loving. This Crissaar is a great general, a fair judge, and heroic adventurer. The Black Crissaar is more of a mockery. This side of Crissaar seems to view human life as a joke and often times uses and manipulates people for entertainment. Crissaar is often a tyrant or murderer. Sometimes the Black Crissaar even seems to make a mockery of the White Crissaar. Acolytes of Crissaar, the lowest rank of church officials, choose to either walk the Path of Shadows or the Path of Light, learning from one of the two forms of Crissaar. A few Acolytes eventually get the honor to join a faction within the Church known as Crissaar Undivided, which is a combination of both Paths. Despite this, most people walk both Paths, although unevenly.
« Last Edit: August 19, 2018, 02:59:13 PM by Helgara »

Offline Helgara

  • Microstate
  • *
  • Posts: 15
    • View Profile
  • Your Nation: Helgara Collective
Re: Helgaran Factbook
« Reply #2 on: August 19, 2018, 06:22:45 PM »
People of Note

Spoiler: God-Emperor Hira • show


Rage Eternal

Hira is the new God-Emperor, supreme ruler of Helgara. He is one of the youngest Emperors in the nation's history. He has little care for things he deems useless and strongly dislikes politics and pleasantry. Before becoming an Avatar he trained as Blade Master, and elite group of Monks that seeks to study the art of swordcraft in order to clench the anger and aggression within their spirits. Hira never succeeded, thus he became the Avatar of Rage.


Spoiler: The Widow • show


The Widow

The Widow's name has been lost and most simply call her Mea, Mother. She is the longest to serve on the Council of 13, and is an extremely well connected individual. The sheer power of her influence is astonishing, and she is often able to create situations and events that benefit her or her goals. She use this to keep her involvement hidden most of the time, preferring not to take centerstage. Despite all this, she is aging and very aware of this. She is looking to create a new generation of leaders for the Dominion.


Spoiler: Keylo • show


The Talented

Keylo spent her entire life training and perfecting herself for one purpose- to kill. She joined the Night Sisters, an infamous group of church assassins. It's what she was bred for, she quickly became the most skilled of her sisters. This won her favor with a number of influential figures. As Keylo grew older her future became uncertain. She was too good to leave the Night Sisters for a less youthful position within the church, but an heir to the Night Mother had already been chosen. When it came time for a new Avatar to be chosen, the Night Mother used the goodwill towards Keylo to ensure she became Avatar, against Keylo's wishes. She despises her place on the Council of 13 and longs for the simplicity of the life of an assassin.


Spoiler: Octavia • show


The Kind

Octavia spent most of her early years as part of the Matriarchal Order of Black. At a very young age she became promised to the Siren sect. After she passed her trials, she joined the Sirens and became a missionary. Despite the Church of Crissaar taking little interest in the outside world, Octavia spent a number of years traveling Mundus and doing some missionary work. She became a star within the Church and beloved by the people of Helgara. When the position of Avatar opened up, she was a safe and easy choice. She is generally well-liked by the other Avatars and tends to lean towards policy aimed at benefiting others.


Spoiler: Xia • show


The Radical

Despite his charming and youthful appearance, Xia was once the most wanted man in the Dominion. He created the religious movement known as the Nir'Shado, named after the once extremely revered Ionian religious order. At first the Church was willing to work with the Nir'Shado in reforming the government. But when the reforms were slow going, Xia personally lead the Nir'Shado in a number of terrorist attacks aimed at spreading dissent. Eventually God-Emperor Valik seeing no chose, offered Xia a vacant position of Avatar in exchange for an end to the Nir'Shado reign of terror. Xia agreed to become the Avatar of Terror, alienating and angering many Nir'Shado hardliners.


Spoiler: Harper • show


WIP

WIP


Spoiler: Marcus Thaine • show


Duke Marcus Thaine, Viceroy of Ionia

The eldest son of the Thaine family, Marcus inherited the position of Viceroy of Ionia when his father died. Marcus has proven himself to be loyal to the church, despite a the more liberal nature of his father. There are a number of rumors that Marcus in his youth belonged to a heretical cult, although none of these have been proven.
« Last Edit: August 23, 2018, 10:09:37 AM by Helgara »

Offline Helgara

  • Microstate
  • *
  • Posts: 15
    • View Profile
  • Your Nation: Helgara Collective
Re: Helgaran Factbook
« Reply #3 on: August 23, 2018, 02:33:08 AM »

The Church of Crissaar is divided into 8 (originally 9 before the Nir'Shado were disbanded) Blocs. The Blocs act as independent factions with their own sovereignty. The Blocs are only answerable to the Council of 13 and the God-Emperor. Both the God-Emperor and Council of 13 also settle disputes between Blocs. The Blocs sometimes have sub-factions within them known as Sects. Most of the time, Sects are militant or elite warriors.

The God-Emperor is the 13th member of the Council of 13. The Emperor may weigh in on debates, but is bared from voting unless there is a tie. The God-Emperor has the power to issue decrees, which carry the weight of a decision made by the Council of 13. The Emperor traditionally uses their position to lead and direct the Council of 13, and is the symbolic figurehead ruler of Helgara. As such, the Emperor is often responsible for deciding foreign policy and leading the nation in times of crisis.

The Council of 13, when united, is the only group that wields power equivalent to the God-Emperor. Majority decisions are the bases for new laws and regulations within the nation. They also have the power to strike down an imperial decree. If conflict arises between two Blocs, the Council acts as arbitrators. Many Blocs and high ranking church officials appeal to various Avatars in order to curry favor. Any temple and official that does not belong to a specific Bloc answers directly to the Council, for example Guardian's Rest only allows monks who have not joined a Bloc to permanently stay. Avatars may chose Maars to serve as their personal eyes and ears, doing whatever is required by their Avatar.

The Holy Temple of Light is the oldest of the Blocs. The Holy Temple of Light was once a physical temple, but was destroyed during the War of Red. Since then the Temple has become a symbolic place. Members of the Temple all belong to the Path of Light and are devoted to the ideals of generosity and kindness. Because of this, the Temple holds great favor with the general citizens of Helgara, and its power base is in the Ionian mainland.

The Inquisition is a shadowy and infamous group. It is their duty to root out heresy and fight blasphemy. Often times Inquisitors will join other Blocs, and they are the only ones who can do so. Most Inquisitors are trained in the arts of persuasion and espionage, but lack combat training. Since the Mundus Convention on Universal Rights, the tactics of Inquisitors have slightly changed. They rely on physical torture and cruel punishments far less, and have shifted to more psychological versions. Inquisitors are said that, given enough time, they could break and reshape the mind of anyone.

Crissaar Undivided is famed for its legacy of taking members from both the Path of Light and Shadows and encouraging them to embrace both aspects of Crissaar. As a faction, they are extremely decentralized, its members free to act of their own volition. As such, members of Crissaar Undivided are known to randomly appear and offer their expertise in a number of situations.

Crissaar's Eyes is an extremely small Bloc. The Bloc's importance comes from its leaders- the Oracles. The Oracles partake in naturally occurring hallucinogens and their visions are said to be messages directly from Crissaar. In the past the Oracle's had extreme influence, but as society advanced, they gained a reputation as frauds. Despite this some still hold great reverence to the Oracles, and seek their advice in time of personal strife.   

The Nir'Shado were disbanded after some internal strife between the Helgara islands and the Ionia mainland.
« Last Edit: August 23, 2018, 10:45:11 AM by Helgara »

Offline Helgara

  • Microstate
  • *
  • Posts: 15
    • View Profile
  • Your Nation: Helgara Collective
Re: Helgaran Factbook
« Reply #4 on: August 27, 2018, 04:40:35 PM »
Helgaran Intelligence

The Headquarters of the SERAPHIM, the central intelligence agency of Helgara

Helgara lacks a standing military force of any kind. It instead relies on its extremely well-funded and highly trained intelligence agency, SERAPHIM, to deal with any and all threats, both domestic and foreign. Because of this, Helgara has one of the largest and most powerful covert bureaus in the Mundus. A number of the more militant members of the Church of Crissaar work alongside SERAPHIM, leading to a complicated power structure. Despite this, SERAPHIM is not official affiliated with the Church, making it one of the only non-religious institutions within the nation. Despite the fact that Helgara has chosen to remained isolated for much of the modern era, SERAPHIM still manages a massive network of spies and covert agents across Mundus. With the nation shifting to an increasing international presence, foreign intelligence has become a forefront of the Helgaran nation.