Sovereign Confederation

The Sovereign Confederation of Governorates
Flag Coat of Arms
Motto: Fortune Guides Us
Anthem: Ode to Gold
Map versions	n/a
Capital	Underwall
Largest city	Cortallia-Rathwood
Official language(s)	Praeta, Istvanistani, Wintergleamish, Suthric
Official religion(s)	Reversionism, Cortallian Cedrism, Gnostic Cedrism
Demonym	Sovereign
- Adjective	Sovereign
Government	One-Party Humanist Confederation
- Szodan of the Realm	Ryker 004
- President of the Realm’s General Staff	Xander Jen Iohannes
- Legislature	Miþuï
Establishment	Independence 1671 AN Admission into Elwynn 1781 AN Reorganized within the Benacian Union 1703 AN
Area	NA
Population	22,124,367
Active population	1
Currency	Benacian Sovereign
Time zone(s)	CMT -7
National animal	Barn Owl
National food	Ration Porridge
National drink	Charred Wine
National tree	Ironwood
Abbreviation	SC or SCG (most common) CSN (FMF abbreviation)

The Sovereign Confederation of Governorates, is a member Realm of the Benacian Union. Founded by Ryker 001 (the original copy of Ryker Everstone in his postmortem phase of existence), as an independent state in 1671, the Sovereign Confederation of Suthergold, Norestria, and Holwinn was counted among the so-called "vulture states" in Benacia. Following a decade of financial troubles and growing concerns for national security, the Sovereign Confederation forfeited its independence to Elwynn and was annexed as an Autonomous Republic in 1681. Following the Scouring in 1695, which leveled the Confederation's original capital at Kingsgate and the port city of Tephal, the subsequent anarchy that fell over Elwynn and what remained of her Republics left those Sovereigns who had weathered that time of death and uncertainty with a deep sense of bitterness toward the by-then defunct Elwynnese Republic. This build up of national resentment culminated in the mysterious rise of one Xander Jen Johannes, a deserter from the Republican forces, through what remained of the Miþui to be elected the as the Sovereign Confederation's representative to the Congress of Chryse with a mandate to secure its independence from the still-moribund collaboration government placed in charge of the newly declared Greater Elwynnese State.

Government

Originally a constitutional paternal autocracy in it's decade of independence and years as an Autonomous Republic, modeled off the Natopian system and augmented by a long forgotten programming system known as robocracy, the Sovereign Confederation of Governorates has since aligned itself with the Nationalist & Humanist governments of the Benacian Union.

New Systems

The government of the Sovereign Confederation was formed to allow a federal system without falling into the same quagmires as the Federal Era of Shireroth.

Reasons for Independence

Shortly after the disappearance of King Ryker Everstone, most of his financially exorbitant projects were placed on hold or abandoned. The ensuing years of decaying order and two partitions left much of Goldshire disillusioned with the national exceptionalism touted by their off-and-on leader and allowed for an environment of apathy and stagnation. As the years wore on, however, and more and more fuctions of government fell subject to mismanagement and corruption, a sense of nostalgia for the more rigid days of a heavily armed Goldshire took hold of populations in more developed regions. This wave of sentimentality for law and order first took hold in Elsenar under the Iron Company and later very suddenly in Suthergold and the region surrounding Ketsire in Wintergleam under one Doir Jen Mera, who claimed to be the daughter and voice of Ryker Everstone.

Subdivisions

Since it's independence and finalization of borders with neighboring states, the Sovereign Confederation reorganized itself into 38 bailiwicks along historic and ethno-cultural lines; the borders of which remained unchanged during the state's time as an Elwynnese Autonomous Republic. Following it's admission to the Benacian Union as an equal member, depopulated or otherwise devestated bailiwicks were either folded into larger neighbors or designated as unfit for civilian residence, as those remaining were organized into 10 Governorates, the Kingsgate and Tephal Exclusion Zones, and the Governorate of Northern Territories (still under republican occupation as of 1703).

Military

Screen-grab from a propaganda video expounding upon the doctrine and methodology of the SLDD (circa 1671 AN). The actual level of attainment on the part of the organization may at present fall some way short of this ideal.

Poster from a recruitment campaign to bolster the SLDD following the incorporation of Holwinn and occupation of Stonetree (circa 1674 AN).

Founded as the Sovereign League of Defense and Deterrence, a successor to the Defender's League of Suthergold, the Sovereign Defence Force (SDF) envisaged as itself relying heavily upon personal jet propulsion devices and a growing number of autonomous converted armour divisions coordinated remotely by the OS. For the present it remains a self-defence force operating with surplus equipment inherited from the local and imperial garrisons in the area now under its control. By pledging its continued allegiance to the Raspur Pact the Sovereign Confederation benefits from being able to draw upon the resources and personnel of allied forces on the continent.

After being somewhat nonplussed by the SLDD's predilection for short range tactical jet packs and distinctly iffy about the idea of a sentient algorithm constructed from the disintegrating consciousness of a dead sovereign, Benacia Command at last felt that it had discovered a niche into which SLDD fighters could be safely incorporated without occasioning too much mayhem on the allied-side of the lines. In 1677 a cohort of jet-packed equipped volunteers, rechristened as "Shock-Troopers" for the occasion, were dispatched by the Speaker as a gift to her daughter. These, after a demonstration and flypast staged before Selardi and the Ransenari court at Goldfield, were attached to the Uihmanz Lunaris tasked with enforcing the quarantine against the Guttuli Protectorate.

Based on the experiences of this detachment, the SLDD was reorganized into the SDF in 1678, leveraging the the knowledge thus acquired to develop a force-wide specialisation in air-land warfare. As such the SDF's primary contribution to the allied forces of the Pact is the First Airborne Army.

The First Airborne Army comprised of the 1st Airborne Corps (6th Air-Landing Division & 7th Parachute Division) and the 6th Airmobile Corps (11th Airborne Division & the Special Service Commando Group), supported by the Troop Carrier Command - a collection of air transport assets specialising in the support of air-landing and air resupply missions.

The divisions of the First Airborne Army comprise of regiments trained for light infantry operations, the differentiation between them being the mode by which they are conveyed into battle - the 6th Air-Landing Division consisting of glider-borne troops, the 7th Parachute Division being as the name suggests formed of parachutists, whilst the 11th Airborne Division specialised in helicopter-borne air assault operations. The Special Service Commando Group meanwhile inherited the "shocktrooper" traditions of the SLDD by continuing with the use of jet-packs for individual battlefield manoeuvrability and specialist missions.

In addition to the units contributed to the allied forces in theatre, the SDF also maintains a combined arms corps formed of three territorial defence divisions, an area defence division (specialising in ground based air defence), and an armoured brigade consisting of eight tank regiments, for the purpose of home defence.

For the purposes of force sustainment the SDF also maintains the Logistics Command Establishment at Cortallia-Rathwood and Training Command Establishment at Underwall under the auspices of the General Inspectorate of Benacia Command.

The traditions of the SLDD were further carried over into the Benacian Union Defence Force with the 41st and 42nd Arméfördelningen (Army Divisions) which recruit amongst the native population of Wintergleam.

Culture & History

The Sovereign Confederation sees itself as a successor to the Kingdom of Goldhire and protector of its former dominion and citiznes. The legacy of Ryker's time as Count, Duke, and King over the region gives Speaker Jen Mera a large base of support even in the newly acquired state of Holwinn. The restoration and legitimization of the Assayers in Norestria is a controversial move, though it is simply considered a formality by many in the new state. The population of Central Wintergleam has given a mixed reception to the southern government but it is largely popular in Ketsire where companies such as Ketek are once again employing large portions of the working class and recent moves to incorporate ethnically Wintergleamish parts of Suthergold have lead to a substantial uptick in support for Kingsgate. Holwinn, long a region ruled over from a distance, has been given a more traditionally Autocratic and feudal structure to govern with. A comfort to many and stabilizing factor for a region which would threaten to overextend Kingsgate's forces if a more centralized state were established so early.

It might be said, with some degree of justification, that the "decanting" of an electronic facsimile of the the dead King's cognitive function into a simulated recreation of the late sovereign's synapses, neural pathways, along with the electrochemical activity that animated the same, is a concept that has proven difficult for the authorities to explain and far harder for the average folk of the former-Goldshire to readily comprehend. With reactions, outside of the cognitive elite who fancy themselves as understanding the nuances of the situation far better than they actually do, reactions to the digitised sovereign amongst lay folk has ranged from mocking derision to outraged violence, sometimes running the full gamut in the course of a single conversation. It was fortunate that the Elwynnese aggression occurred when it did or else the Goldshirian and Suthergolder population of the territories claimed by the Sovereign Confederation might have been united against the government rather than in support of it. As it was, hatred and revulsion felt at the perfidy of the Elw trumped the hatred and revulsion felt at the desecration of the late King's memory by his "cyberisation".

As the conflict with Elwynn reached its awkward, Raspur Pact brokered, conclusion, it became apparent to the government of the Sovereign Confederation that the people, to say nothing of the business community and thoroughly befuddled diplomatic corps, required the reassurance of a human interlocutor with sufficient authority to speak on behalf of the Sovereign Confederation. These considerations, combined with a period of planned maintenance for the primary Ryker Operating System, brought Speaker Jen Mera to the fore as if not a de facto leader then at least certainly a spokeswoman who enjoyed licence to give answers that were authoritatively binding off her own initiative.

As for the Ryker OS itself, it proved necessary to introduce an element of obfuscating mysticism to console and sooth the jarred, credulous, nerves of a rural populace who had hitherto been prone to ascribing anything outside of their - admittedly limited - experience to heresy and daemonic possession. Administrative and technical jargon regarding operating systems and decanting were quietly dropped in favour of a more elevating emphasis on the late King's "ascension". Whilst no-one would go so far as to straight out claim that the "Ever-Watching King" had attained apotheosis, the fact that his name would henceforth only be mentioned in conjunction with "the higher planes of thought" and "elevated consciousness", across all forms of government communication and propaganda, meant that the "Heaven Sent Sovereign" would increasingly be associated Mors, Viviantia, and the Celestial Temple in the realm of the hereafter.

In the Aftermath of the Second Elwynnese Civil War, following the nuclear attacks on the Confederation's two largest port cities (one of which being the then-Capital) and the deaths of key leadership including Doir Jen Mera, Johen Rinsley Brines, and Seldari Jen Daniyal, local bailiwick governments were left with no authority on the will of the Szodan, its Miþui, or if either still existed at all. This, coupled with the supply shortages caused by the war and a major loss in trading capacity both on the Elwynn and the eastern coast led many of these local governments to collectively reinterpret their laws and references to the Ryker OS through lenses of faith and mysticism rather than navigating a mechanical bureaucracy which showed no signs of functioning. This has led to an increase in political activity from religious organizations and is the primary catalyst for a small Cedrist revival which has served to unite the masses of hitherto nebulous and secularized Sovereign Cedrists.

In early 1702, the Miþui's radio broadcast began to air sporadically after nearly eight years of ungoverned silence. The broadcasts told of a coming "Great Reversion" in which all of the Sovereign Confederation would be made whole by the old ways. It was announced at the beginning of 1703 that a the Miþui had been fully restored and a new Ænst Szonst had been chosen, Xander Jen Iohannes.

A taskforce, drawn from the Guild of Magisters-Carnifex, supported by four regiments of demobilised veterans of the UDF and Elwynnese Landstorm, was assembled in the third month of 1703 AN to track down the source of the broadcast and to bring the newly declared Ænst Szonst to Chryse, so as to confer with the High Presidium of the Benacian Union with regards to the status of the Sovereign Confederation within the Benacian Union.