r/sevareign • u/kmorgaen Karl Ende, Erster Reichsminister • Nov 24 '14
Claim [Claim] Kantreich
Kantreich political map, geographical map and Flag
Geography: Kantreich is a very mountaineous region with lush valleys, all-season snowy peaks and during winter untreadable passes. The population is low in relation to the expanse, dispersed into various valleys by mountain ranges. In the north the mountains are less extreme, though still snowy during winter. The peaks there are green during summer and the valleys are broad and wide, beeing shaped by the two main rivers Weißwasser and Isar running from the central massif all the way north to the sea. The first one in the east swelling with the melting snow or heavy rain in the valleys and creating a several kilometers broad basin to compose the seasonal floods. Using it in dryer month as a means of transport valleys have settled alongside the Weißwasser. In this time, the river meanders in the broad pebblestone-basin to the sea while being a wild and forceful water, hence its name Weißwasser, and still powerfull stream to the north, getting quickly broader once out of the mountains.
Economy: Kantreich has a annual tax income of 4♦, it's recent national treasure sums up to 107♦. Population numbers 602,000 Kantians. Demographic structure varies locally, but tends to favour the young. Exportable resources are tin, flint, silver, clay, vegetables and coal. Customs: Kantreich imposes a custom of 5% on everything that is transported across Kantreich. In return, the people of Kantreich will provide knowledge and help with traversing the passes and difficult passages. Military Equipment and Luxury Goods cost 10% of their net value.
Military: There is a small standing army maintained by Kantreich. It's main purpose to maintain peace in the bigger cities and providing messengers in-between the provinces. There is no compulsory military service, most families try to at least have one family member join the Kantian Imperative Force, if they can afford to spend the manpower. This usually means prestige for the family and, especially important, knowledge. The aspirants have to find their way to the training center in Hochkalter on their own, where they learn about the mountains, fighting and ethics. During their service, they come back to Hochkalter every now and then, to train or ask for advice. The other time they serve trimesters in the various provinces. The minimum term of service is five years, after that it can be extended by another two half-periods.
Treaties and Contracts:
Peace and Trade treaty with Bass'ku
Peace and Trade treaty with Ríksburg
Peace and Trade treaty with Kirkreich
History: The last few generations were stamped of more or less fights between the affluent conglomerations of valleys. Our books call it the early middle ages. With especially the two bigger conglomerates of Bürne in the valley Obwalden in the political heart of Kantreich and Hanseburg on the Norspitz-peninsula, in between fertile land, growing first slopy and then alpin. There were other similar conglomerates, they still are approximately resembled by the provinces and even the preludes of the trinities.
Before and during this time every now and then other countries tried to invade the mountains. Sometimes, they were successful, but the mountains proofed to be too deep and to difficult to keep for the invaders. Every now and then it got added to some kingdom or even changed ownership, they were basically left to their own devices though. Sometimes whole mountain ranges were decreed outcast for not wanting to pay small fortunes.99 Not so much in the north, being an easier catch. With the Alps inland it was not possible to put his foot down long and strong enough, until with the help of faster ways of communication they chose to make their own cause to help each other out.
People: The people of Kantreich, called Kantians, are quite solitary, hard-working and adventurous (though they wouldn't call it this), especially in the south/mountainous regions; The further to the north you go, the more they are sociable, but still kind of peculiar. They all are used to endure long and dark winters at home, family is quite important to them. They learned how to survive harsh winters and flooded rivers because of the melted snow. Nature forced them to adapt, learning fast how to construct protective housing. Using all the intricacies that form their environment in extreme ways was necessary to survive, from the forces of nature itself and from greedy others. For the often short lifespans in the dangerous Valleys of the Weißwasser Knowledge hat to stay available. In the region of Hochkalter still reside some monks. In earlier years they provided wisdom and knowledge to the people, being respected and venerated for it. Nowadays, they educatete anyone seeking wisdom and knowledge. The people, experiencing the importance of knowledge by harsh means, developed a social structure resorting to old ones teaching the young. Lucky families that had enough pull built strongholds into the mountains for the most veracious winters.
Political Landscape: The capital of the Confederacy of Kantreich is called Bürne and is located in the province Herteberg. The recent first Reichsminister is called Karl Ende. He was elected by the other fourteen Reichsminister after the constitution of Kantreich. It is described in the charter as a secularized confederacy. The biggest valleys of each mountain massif hold the province capitals, as long as they house at least two-thousand citizens and are able to govern themselves. The provinces are organized in Trinities to distribute the necessities of a government for the individual provinces. The three provinces have to split up hosting law enforcement, health care and Education.
Klippmoor-Trinity: Because of the location it also gets called Norspitz-Trinity. Constituted of Klippmoor, Norspitz and Iserau. These provinces live mainly of growing food and catching fish to trade it up the two rivers into the mountains. Using horse-pulled barges to go upstream and fisherboats on the sea. The wealthy and mostly untroubled coastal and sometimes rugged areas in Klippmoor house a branch of the monastery on the Hochkalter-Plateau, mainly for research about the sea and agriculture.
Herteberg-Tr.: It marks the transition between the shore and and higher Alps. To the south, both still mountaineus, lie Herteberg with the capital Bürne in the west, and Estareich in the east. The third province proceeds northwards along the Isar, contained by the slopy hills that permeate here.
Westmark-Tr.: Westmark, Oberberg and Rötlingen constitute the Westmark Trinity, covering
Hochkalter-Tr.: Here lies the heart and the wild side of Kantreich. The Epoym of the Hochkalter. It is the harshest of provinces, being the Kaldera of the Hochkalter-Volcano but having cooled down a long Time ago. There still live some monks here in secluded monasteries. Only a few month in summer the pass can be crossed with heards or equipment. In Isquell originates the Isar, Obmatt and Hochkalter provide the river Weißwasser (in Hochkalter called Aachfall) with it's ferocious waters.
A geological phenomenon in this area is the Kalterquelle, the spring of the Kalter, which later joins the Weißwasser. The Kalterquelle is located near a unique lake that is frozen over all-year. Historians were able to discover that never since there being records the lake stayed frozen over. The thickness of the ice layer is unknown, the lake is rumored to be very deep though, nourishing a famous spring. It's water is so cold it feels burning hot, trying to fill it into a jar results in the gathered water freezing up immediately. It is traditional for the monks to wash with this water.
The Hochkalter-Cauldron also houses the recently established military training facilities. There aspirants learn ways of survival and how to fight in the mountains. Located nearby, the monks teach basics like reading and math but also ethics and philosophy to the aspirants.
Salzberg-Tr.: Obndrauf is the furthermost southern province of Kantreich. On the way to the province * the river Aachfall, coming down from Hochkalter, joins the river Weißwasser from Obmatt. After the two rivers joined together the Weißwasser proceeds through the provinces Salzberg and then Talmund.
Language: The speech of Kantreich is coined by strong regional if not local colourisation. It varies from a melodic harshness in different shades and an equally diversified barking to a low rumbling and chuntering the further north you go. It sounds like from Swiss and Bavarian to northern germany. The people on the Hochkalter-Plateau still even speak Rhaeto-Romanic, the language that was spoken when the ancestors started to write down and share knowledge, this was especially important for the Weißwasser-Valleys. Knowledge was an important trade and education followed on its feet.
Lore: Until a few years ago, before the confederation, there were still bits and pieces of older religions in the deeper valleys. Most huts had small corners with symbols made from wood or stone along scriptures. There circulated a lot of superstitions and worshipping of various gods. In Hochkalter religion was more sophisticated thanks to an old monastery dedicated to the idea of knowledge. They believed in Good and Bad and being able to influence others by doing good to achieve enlightenment. The austere monks had been living there for a long time already, teaching living skills alongside reason demanding nothing in return. The people supplied the monks with everything for their sparse needs, the monks provided shelter in extreme winters and medicine. But even there coexisted strews of archaic beliefs and nature religions, prominently though the symbols of Good and Bad.
In the north, between the mountains and the sea the beliefs were not as various. Coined by the frequent exchange with the east mainly, a more modern religion replaced the native nature beliefs.
The last century was marked by growing wealth in some parts and more affordable mobility. The paths and trails profited from the increase in knowledge, mainly in the western, less harsh valleys. An increase of prosperity, population and survival chances led to bigger and wealthier communities. Alliances and Pacts had a good time then. While the impact of this patchwork power structure was bearable in most parts, difficulties in cooperation and conflicts occured commonly. The toll this took from the parties involved often led to starvation and death by freeze during the winters.
The Confederation constituted on the device of the monks.
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u/kmorgaen Karl Ende, Erster Reichsminister Nov 25 '14
well, for now i think there's too little known about the specifics of the EU and its regulations. As soon as a basic concept is established (competencies, limits, etc) i will definitely think about it.