Calaria

The Most Sublime Republics of Calaria (Calarian: Ⴑⴓⴁⴊⴈⴑⴑⴈⴋⴄ Ⴐⴄⴔⴓⴁⴁⴊⴈⴙⴄ ⴃⴈ Ⴉⴀⴊⴀⴐⴀ, Sublimissime Repubbliche di Calaria), also known as the Seiarchonian Republics (Ⴐⴄⴔⴓⴁⴁⴊⴈⴙⴄ Ⴑⴄⴈⴀⴐⴉⴍⴌⴇⴀⴐⴄ, Repubbliche Seiarcontiare) or as the Seiarchy (Ⴑⴄⴈⴀⴐⴙⴈⴀ, Seiarchia), is the jewel of the south, the republic of the glorious cities of the sea. It claims to be the sublime republic of the people, with no equal in this world or any other. A place of pride and sin, courage and treachery, of faith and mistrust, of honor and money. Born through rebellion against the Empire of Thorns, Calaria owns the most powerful fleet in the known realms and dominates trade on the surrounding seas. Famous for its democracy, and infamous for being the center of the slave trade, Calaria’s coast is where the world’s gold flows towards. The men and women of the tridents defended their freedom against Duivene to the north several times in their history, and always fight at sea against the Kartaran pirates and their Anselmian rivals.

While the War of the Deceitful Flame nearly caused their collapse in front of Achysia’s forces, they have endured. The end of the war forced all of the coastal cities in what was once Achysia to pay tribute to the six Archons, Calarian mercenaries and merchants walk freely through the falling realm of Morizia. But Calaria will never forget the backstabbing League of the Kraken, and the day when all will be settled draws near.

Calaria is described by scholars as an oligarchic republic, and it lacks a single capital, this function being instead held by its six jewels, the cities of Artiglia, Corfosi, Ledonia, Thegio, Sychiko and Arelano, each of them being the residence of one of the Six Archons, while the Grand College changes its position every year.

Government
The supreme republic. The sublime realm of the people, where power means sacrifice. That is what Calaria claims to be. The nation is led by the wisdom of the Most Superb Anziana, a group of councils and leaders that lead the republic. And at the top of the Anziana stand the Six Archons. The protectors of Calaria, the wielders of the Tridents, the wearers of the crowns of thorns. While  the old Crown of Thorns was a symbol of the oppression and of the power of Thirnaria, these crowns represent their sacrifice to the people. Together, of equal power, stand the Archon of the Seas, the Archon of the Lands, the Archon of the Rivers, the Archon of the Skies, the Archon of the Depths and the Archon of the Abyss. They rule alternatively and consecutively, with their duties detailed in the Codice, the constitution of Calaria. In theory, they must act as the day to day leaders of the republic and as the safeguards of law, but in practice, their decisions can not clash against the desires of the Grand College - the Archons can do nothing without the College, and the College can do nothing without the Archons.

The true identity of the Archons remains unknown for the duration of their term. They have to wear enchanted masks of velvet at all times, old artifacts. For that year, they have no names but their titles, no family but the other Archons, and no life but the Archonate. At the end of their reign, they unveil their masks in a ceremony in front of the Grand College and the people, and together, the people and their representatives decide their fate. They pass judgment on the actions of each Archon with the thumb gestures of the old Thyria. If the Archon has pleased the people, he or she survives, but if while under the cover of the mask, the Archon has angered the people, he or she is ceremonially sacrifice to please the Gods through a ritual of drowning in the sea.

They are elected once a year by the Grand College through the use of the Spheres. Ancient mechanisms of knowledge and magic, the Spheres hold within them the names of all potential Archons, registered in secret since birth. The Spheres are maintained by a monk-like group of mute mages known as the Tenetii. Each year, the Spheres chose twelve candidates. Each of them is assigned a color, and then, on the day of the election, each of the members of the Grand College votes for the candidate they desire.

This, of course, means that  the Grand College is the living embodiment of the will of the people. Six Councils form its ranks. The Council of the Chosen, the Council of the Blessed, the Council of the Invited, the Council of the Wise, the Council of the Benevolent and the Council of the Enlightened. The members of the Grand College are elected by the people once every two years, but since laws must be protected, not everyone can vote and be voted. The destiny of the republic can not be entrusted to those who can not defend it.

The only ones who can vote are the citizens who can pay the indice, a special tax. This means that in order to take part in the politics of the republic, one must pay two taxes - the civilta, in order to become a citizen, and the indice, in order to vote. Those who pay this second tax are grouped into the Comizi, one Comizia for each of the Councils, based on their wealth and position.

Through all of this, the republic continues to be protected by its supreme laws.

Calessio
Wherever water flows, the power of Calaria flows with it. The Republic is the Queen of the Seas, the Sovereign of the Rivers, so there is no wonder that the Calessio, the Navy of Calaria, is the most powerful naval force in the known world.

The strength of the Calessio lies in its galleys. While all the ships that sail under the banner of Calaria can fight, the galleys of the Calessio are on an entirely different level. The most advanced in the world. Calaria builds the fastest and most resistant galleys, which despite their size, are armed with mechanical ballistae and catapults. Under the administration of the Governor of the Condemned Ones, the Calessio also constantly receives a stream of slaves for rowing, and the Calarians are infamous for not even applying magical crests to their slaves - the brutal life on board of a galley is more than enough to ensure that the slaves to their job until they die.

The Calessio also seemingly possesses unlimited numbers, due to the Favergi. The Favergi are the great workshops of Calaria, where through a combination of magic, skill, and knowledge, the Calarians build their galleys. Their process of manufacturing is secret, but as long as they have the resources, they can build a galley from the ground up in as little as six hours, or at least that is what the stories say.

The Calessio is in theory commanded by the Archon of the Seas and the Archon of the Rivers respectively, but in peacetime, they often entrust the administrative duties to the Superintendent Generals of the Seas and the Rivers. In times of war however, direct command of the naval forces is entrusted to the Captains General of the Seas and the Rivers, who may or may not be the Archons themselves. Once in Calaria’s history, an even more extraordinary office was created - the Captain Extraordinary of All Ships, but this is a rare occurrence.

In terms of lower offices, the commander of a fleet is known as a Captain of the Sailing Ships, the commander of a squadron is known as an Admiral, and the commander of an individual ship is known as a High Count. All of these officers are directly selected by the Grand College, and sometimes individual ships also have a Patrona on board. The Patrona is the man or woman who directly paid for the construction of a ship. Generally, the Patrona seeks to gain military experience before ascending to the position of Sopracomito themselves.

Cernida
Even if Calaria looks towards the sea, it does not mean that the proud Republic can ignore the continent on which its foundations are built. The Moriani mountains protect Calaria’s long border, and this allowed the Archons to focus on the seas while gold defends their cities and fortresses. As such, the realm lacks an organized army, besides from small numbers of city guards and the ceremonial Bastarii guards of the Archons, entrusting its defense to mercenaries, but not any mercenaries.

The Cerdida. They are a Calarian tradition, from the days of its wars of independence against Tharnria. The cities of Calaria fund captains known as Tribuni, through a special tax known as the difensione - the tax for the defense. The captains then gather their own companies. They go through the cities or the countryside, through slave markets or wander abroad, and find potential mercenaries, only choosing the best of them - from where the name of these companies originates: the verb “cernere”, to choose. This gives the Tribuni a mix of experienced fighters and men and women of great potential, who are then trained and equipped in order to be the best of the best. Some companies have a tradition of centuries, others are only created in times of war. During peace, they fight for whoever pays the most - but when Calaria is threatened, all the companies are bound by oath to return and defend the Republic. This sets them apart from the mercenaries of the rival Anselm.

The Cernida are generally perceived to be more honorable than the Anselmians, but from certain points of view, also less desirable to hire - since Calaria’s danger could mean the end of the contract, but at the same time - since the Cernida are known for never breaking their word, the companies always return to their old contracts after their duty to the republic is done, even if their contractor has perished. They also follow a strict code of conduct - which they refer to as the “Onore”, the honor. Not harming the innocent, taking prisoners instead of killing, and only selling them into slavery if their ransom can not be paid - these are some examples, which sets them apart from the Kraken’s mercenaries.

Regardless, few are able to resist the temptation of hiring a company of Cernida. Famous for their richly colored and decorated uniforms and for their extravagance, the members of these companies consider themselves to be closer to hired knights than to mere mercenaries. The core of the Cernida fights as companies of halberdiers and archers, but mages are just as likely to be found in their ranks.

The most famous Cernida are the Company of the Stars, the Company of the Drowned Thistles, and the Company of the Glowing Lances.