Ralgon
| The Holy Ralgon Empire | |||
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| Motto: Strength and Honor | |||
| Anthem: WIP | |||
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| Map versions | ??? | ||
| Capital | Stormhold (executive) Drag'nor (administrative) | ||
| Largest city | Glaur'on City
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| Official language(s) | Draconian (official) Standard (most common) | ||
| Official religion(s) | Draconic (revolves around a pantheon consisting of eleven gods) | ||
| Demonym | Ralgon | ||
| - Adjective | Ralgon | ||
| Government | Constitutional Elective Monarchy | ||
| - King | Nobunag'an Ral IV | ||
| - Crown Prince | Draeg'ar Ral | ||
| - Legislature | Imperial Senate | ||
| Establishment | Winter, 228 AN October 23rd, 2018 (est. in Micras) | ||
| Area | NA | ||
| Population | 124,254,005 | ||
| Active population | NA | ||
| Currency | Guilder (£)
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| National animal | hydra | ||
| National food | crocodile meat | ||
| National drink | black wine | ||
| National tree | giant durian tree | ||
| Abbreviation | HRE | ||
The Holy Ralgon Empire, or simply Ralgon is a quasi-feudal empire that has existed since 228 AN and remained closed to the world until recently. The Ralgon Empire has heavily influenced and/or governed the entire island of Dragos (known to the wider world as "El Dorado") for the last 168 years, the present nation been unified by the year 1270 AN. Having consolidated diplomatic control of most of the island, the Ralgon Empire has developed scientifically and medically to a point where they are confident of securing their place in the world order and bringing the rest of Dragos under a single government for the first time ever in recorded history. The Ralgons, being bordered by a vast inland swamp inhabited by extremely hostile native life, have found conquest of the inland to be a slow and painful process. They also find themselves beset with overcrowding issues in the south and west of the country, and so their current long-time king (Nobunag'an IV) has seen fit in his old age to begin slowly opening the country to the rest of the world instead, before he dies.
Outside of liturgy, the Holy Ralgon Empire relies on the same system many other nations of Micras use: the Norton system. Years on the Norton Calendar are equivalent to almost exactly a single Earth month. Although the Ralgon religious calendar begins on 228 AN (also their official founding date, 120 Earth years ago), they recently adopted the international standard because, out of sheer coincidence, it aligned almost exactly to their current system. Since time moves much differently on Micras than it does on Earth, this span of time is truly significant to the people of that world.
The nation has very little actual history outside of Micras, having been established on October 23rd, 2018. It takes inspiration from a now-defunct micronational entity known as Zenrax (2014-2018) and its predecessors (1999-2009). It also derives heavily from the founder's past creative projects, and then blends this and other elements to take on a life of its own. Beginning in late November, Ralgon started to open to the rest of the world of Micras solely as a creative endeavor rather than a physical micronational project. Outside of this, the nation has had a very slow start. Although it is known to certain other entities on Micras, the Ralgon Empire made almost no real impact outside of its own borders during its first few months of existence.
Government
The King
The Ralgons did not have a title for a monarch until the first explorers voyaged far enough to find a country that had a proper non-name title for their royalty. Wishing to emulate the world during the burgeoning nation's nascent years, the Ralgons in the country of Stormhold decided to call their monarch a "king," in line with much of what they saw in the wider world. This change began during the reign of Bael'an VI during the year 1260, supposedly in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the first Ralgon king's adoption of the current national religion of Draconic. In reality, this action on part of their royal family firmly cemented both their religious and political power in this rising kingdom. Because of this move, the royal family bought enough early prestige for the highly religious Ral clan to consolidate their spreading power over the island's south-east portion. Eventually, the title of King became synonymous with any of the rulers of the large island's strongest kingdoms. Because of this religious influence, the island has been renamed Dragos, after one of their gods.
The Ralgon Kings, in the very earliest days of the nation, worshipped an odd pantheon of various gods. This practice persisted unabated until around 800, when the mainstream religion of Draconic began to take a foothold in Ralgon lands, located on the western mountainous region of the island. Having been founded in a collapsing nearby state, the disorganized religion's clerics got the chance to spread their faith into Ralite territory far to the east of the island. After the religion became immensely popular following the arrival of a charismatic prophet in the Nixtorm region, the royal family of Stormhold took advantage of the situation to establish a major holy site there and subsequently adopted the religion. At around the same time, their neighbors in Nixtorm similarly converted.
The religion of Draconic was officially taken over in the year 1178, when the chieftain Tormund converted to the religion late into his reign. Taking the name of Bael'ar in honor of the god of light and valor, he took the role of the head of the religion and used this to seize absolute authority from the nobility within Stormhold. During subsequent years, the country expanded and the chieftains of the Ral Clan were forced to cede authority, covering it in guises of delegation of responsibility, until the monarchs held naught but spiritual authority in the country. This changed by the year 1178 when the country fell into a series of bitter wars with the swamp peoples to the north that saw most of the nobility destroyed. During this same time, the country of Stormhold subsequently formed a union with Nixtorm through several generations of royal intermarriage. Subsequently, the merchants guilds ruling the country of Scarterra from Drag'nor unified with
Since the year 1400, the Ralgon monarchs have enjoyed a balance of power between themselves and the nobility by using a Senate as proxy for their debates and struggles. In using the Senate as an effective puppet, the ruling classes of the country also effectively maintain a status quo while putting on a republican front to enfranchise wealthy merchants and major cities' political groups. The current king has ruled the country since 1595, and has reigned for just over 70 years, the longest in Ralgon history. The King himself is almost 90 years old, and many of the Group of Eleven chosen as his heirs have died and been replaced by sons, grandsons, and in some cases even great-grandsons. It is expected that the King will soon abdicate to speed the succession process, which tends to be long, brutal, and frequently destabilizing for the country.
The Senate
The Senate consists of a group of nobles and other powerful people appointed from various parties. Having been founded as an arm of a king's government several centuries ago, this organization evolved to become the Ralgon Empire's primary legislature. The Senate has the power to pass laws, but only with the approval of the Prime Minister (always appointed by Scarterra's government at Drag'nor) and the King. The Senate is currently composed of twenty-five people (including the Prime Minister) that represent the following groups: Provincial Senators and Popular Senators.
Fifteen Senators represent the Provinces: Five from each of the Provinces serve for ten years, with one always being appointed by their provincial government every two years. No Provincial Senator is allowed more than two terms in the chamber during their lifetime. Nine Senators (three from each province) represent the Provinces by popular vote. These Senators are elected freely every two years. Their term limits them to no more than ten years of service during their lifetime. No Senator may ever serve as an appointed (provincial) Senator during their lifetime if they have previously been in the Senate on appointment. These Senators are then joined by a Prime Minister appointed to a life-term by the government at Scarterra.
All Senators must be old enough to reach 30 years of age at the time of inauguration if they wish to be appointed, or 25 years of age to stand for popular election. Senators may not be appointed or stand for election if they are 60 years of age or older. Vacancies in appointed seats are only filled for the remainder of the term. Vacancies in elected seats are left empty until the next election unless more than half of their two-year term remains. Any Senator wishing to stand for appointment must seek the King's approval before submitting their candidacy. Elected Senators may run independently of provincial or royal approval, although the lack of at least cursory endorsement by the King or their local government/Grand Duke is generally seen as a bad sign.
For a law to pass, the Senate must first vote with at majority vote (at least 13 votes). The First Minister, who sits in the Senate, does not cast a conventional vote; instead, they must either approve or veto a bill outright. A Prime Minister's veto may be overridden by another Senate vote with at least 16 in favor (2/3 of the vote). If the law passes the Prime Minister, it then goes to the King, who has the unconditional power to pass either a block or a veto on a bill before it enters into an enforceable state of law. A block allows the King to strike down portions of the bill, then send the remainder back to the Senate to re-pass after any necessary amendments. (Prime Ministers can be fired upon a 3/4th majority of the 24 Senators present, upon which the administration at Drag'nor must immediately appoint a different Prime Minister. This event tends to happen once every five years or so, and always makes national headlines due to the rancorous nature of how it all tends to happen -- usually after a PM's crushing defeat on the Senate floor.)
The Nobility
The Nobility of the Ralgon Empire differ from province to province, according to local laws, customs, and traditions. Each province has its own unique way of appointing or electing members of its aristocratic classes as well as their rulers, and for a time even had widely disparate titles for these people. Since the Great Reformation that took place post-Unification, however, these customs have been, for the most part, streamlined over the years. Notably, the naming standards and conventions of the Empire's upper-tier nobility have been fully standardized and brought into line with much of the rest of Micras.
Presently, there are several standardized tiers to the Ralgon Empire's nobility. At the top of the social pyramid sits the King and the Imperial Family, who each have unique political and clerical powers within the nation. In addition to the King, the extended Royal family (consisting of the King's increasingly distaff relations) holds significant power in the country, and even rule half of Stormhold directly, having slowly usurped power over the years. Third on this social pyramid are the Grand Dukes, who collectively hold about as much power nationally as the Imperial Household (and are perpetually at odds with them). Fourth on the social stratum are active members of the Senate, as well as the Lords of Ralgon (themselves powerful provincial nobles).
Lesser nobles who (for the most part) answer to their own provincial governments fall on the lowest portions of the aristocratic pecking order within the Ralgon Empire. They are relatively common but proportionally powerless) in Nixtorm and eastern Stormhold. On the contrary, these lower-ranking, non-royal nobles are relatively scarce in Drag'nor and virtually nonexistent in western Stormhold, and thus influence great autonomy outside of restrictions placed upon them by their superiors.
Foreign Relations
Ralgon foreign relations have essentially been a non-issue for the last 1500 years. Up until Nobunag'an's reign, none of the world's great civilizations have had any sort of official contact with the Ralgon government. Instead, the Ralgon government was perpetually occupied with their attempt at consolidating rule over the island, especially inland, where the vast swamps have played host to savage and un-subjugated peoples. The recent inroads made by Draconic missionaries and by local diplomats have made progress, although wars are constantly fought against various tribes located on or near the Empire's inland borders.
Since King Nobunag'an IV took the throne in 1595, he has slowly taken steps during his seemingly endless 76-year reign to ensure that the Holy Ralgon Empire is capable of holding its own on the international scene. He began in 1610 by secretly sending missionaries out preaching the tenets of Draconic to lands beyond the great oceans that surround the island that most within the Empire consider to be their entire world. In 1655, he opened the massive port metropolis at Glacier City to both trade and open travel, in hopes of stemming the overpopulation crisis that has begun to affect the city's well-being during the last 50 years.
Beyond opening Glacier City and other key seaports and airports to trade and transit, tourism and business travel between the Ralgon Empire and the outside world still remains largely limited.
History
Current Events
Culture
Religion
Draconic is the primary religion practiced on the island of Dragos, the land upon which the Ralgon Empire situates itself. The religion is extremely widespread, being practiced by well over 90% of the island's population, with the exception of the vast, savage swamps in the vast island's interior. The Draconic religion is thought to have been founded in 228 AN, around the same time as the Ralgon Empire's predecessor state (the Kingdom of Stormhold) also first originated with a quasi-legendary warrior-chieftain. The religion espouses generally simplistic beliefs hinging upon living a virtuous life in pursuit of growing closer to the Gods, and upon death achieving reincarnation in a spiritual state closer to being divine than the previous life.
The religion is very highly organized, and is centered around the Draconic Church, which is currently based in a holy city in southern Nixtorm, on the border with eastern Stormhold. Draconic temples and clergy are everywhere, with dozens of full-sized Temples and thousands of consecrated shrines located throughout the island of Dragos, both in and out of the Ralgon Empire. Even the King of the Ralgons is a devout practicing member, and is officially considered to be the nominal head of the Draconic Church (although a council of elders exercises real ecumenical authority within the Church).
Language
The Ralgon people have an interesting way of naming important figures, gods, and other things throughout their nation. In their early days and contrary even to their surrounding tribes, the Ralgons denote the most important things in their society by using possessive suffixes, and use a hard syllabic stop to denote the importance of what is being mentioned. The -gon suffix is the primary exception, and denotes an absolute possession of something. Therefore, the name "Ralgon" means "Eternally belonging to [the] Ral [Clan]."
Their titles are also suffixes, and carry a peculiar duality within their society: for every title-suffix there are always two forms that may be used in a person's name, and these titles always consist of only two letters: a vowel followed by a consonant. (If a person's name ends with a vowel, the vowel is replaced with the suffix. If it ends in a consonant, the suffix is added as normal.) The mandatory dual nature of their titles makes identifying figures in the kingdom beyond gods, and royalty confusing. For this reason, title-suffixes fell out of actual practice after 800 CE, and stopped being used by non-royal nobility by time the island united c. 1172 CE. In modern times, Ralgon nobles and rulers have few suffixes to denote anything at all beyond their highest classes. Currently, the only suffixes in active use are as follows (listed in order of precedence):
Gods: 'on and 'os (No true equivalent; loosely translated as "god")
Goddesses: 'as and 'na (see above)
Kings: 'an and 'ar (No true equivalent; loosely translated as "supreme leader")
Queens: 'ai and 'ni (See above)
