Novayan Military Governorate

The Novayan Military Governorate, also known as the Military Governorate of Novaya, Military Governorate of the Novayan Islands and the Novayan Empire after the collapse of the Avarasian Empire, is a military governorial empire and previously an autonomous military governorate consisting of the Novayan archipelago. Once formed by the Avarasian Empire, it became independent after the Fall of Avarasia, and has since then reorganized from a bureaucratic military governorate.
==History==
==Organization and society==
===Administration===
The governorate is formed and administered upon Eastern Aizegeran feudal principles, incorporating some of the Imperial Avarasian bureaucracy. The Governor-Militant is the de facto leader and is assisted by a council, composed of the various military commanders, the Potestate of Morales and their six-member council. This council had a major voice in the governance of the realm, especially in the regency periods where the Regent is/was dependent on their consent to rule granted to them by the Governor-Militant. This council mainly consisted of military commanders who were delegated some or most of the Governor's powers; some or most of these military commanders were of aristocratic origins.
The potestate was previously an extremely influential member, being practically independent of the Governor-Militant's authority and exercised their own authority over the Avarasian quarters and the Avarasian dominions within the governorate, assisted by a separate set of officials who made up their own council. Due to the ongoing Avarasian civil war and with the advent of governorial reforms, however, the Potestate of Morales had began losing influence over the governorial council before the collapse and balkanization of Avarasia into independent kingdoms, rump states and even governorates eliminated whatever influence they have. Despite this, the Potestate was kept due to their influence and currently served as the ambassador and spokesperson for the Governor-Militant.
As elements of the old Imperial bureaucracy was maintained after the reforms or even reformed, the military governorate of the Novayan islands has since become an empire in its own right. It has done away with the Imperial succession system in favor of a more hereditary succession system, albeit the heir/heiress is elected either by the Governor-Militant or the various military officers. However, the retaining or reform of the old Imperial bureaucracy as well as its incorporation into the feudal administration meant that the empire had become a sort of a military governorial empire.
Prior to its reformation the governorial bureaucracy was blatantly infamous for the fact it is too complex, designed to put the lower classes and sometimes the common folk, gentry and even the petty nobility at a severe disadvantage and put the upper classes and their lap dogs at a hideous advantage. The Novayan bureaucracy after the reforms had did away with the lineages, bloodlines and ancestries in favor of the skills, talents, abilities and experiences of all the people.
As part of the organization reforms, the Novayan Military Governorate's administrative personnel consisted of the following:
*Governor-Militant: De facto leader of the military governorate
*Spouse: Participates in court activities, manages domain, espouses patronage or chivalry, and assists the ruler, to whom they were married
*Regent: Handles the day-to-day governance should the Governor-Militant be away, dead, recovering and/or too young
*Potestate: The chief minister of the military governorate
*Marshal: The chief marshal of the governorial military
*Treasurer: Handles the economy of the military governorate
*Spymaster: Handles the intrigue
*High Priest/High Priestess: Serves as the governorate's realm priest
*Captain-Major: Tasked with administering regions
*Captain: Tasked with administering provinces
*Lieutenant: Tasked with administering castles
*Magistrate: Tasked with administering regions
*Prefect: Tasked with administering provinces
*Judge: Tasked with administering cities
*High Priest: Tasked with administering regions
*Priest: Tasked with administering provinces
*Bishop: Tasked with administering temples
This administration's organization and structure is hierarchical, as seen below.
Ranks 	Ranks 	Ranks 	Ranks
Tier 	Military Captaincy 	Bureaucratic Governorate 	Governorial Theocracy
Empire 	Governor-Militant of the Novayan Archipelago	Governor-Militant of the Novayan Archipelago	Governor-Militant of the Novayan Archipelago
Kingdom 	Captain-General 	Governor-General 	High Priest/Priestess
Duchy 	Captain-Major 	Magistrate 	Priest/Priestess
County 	Captain 	Prefect 	Deacon
Barony 	Lieutenant 	Judge 	Bishop
Divisions	Divisions 	Divisions 	Divisions
Empire 	Military Governorate 	Military Governorate 	Military Governorate
Kingdom 	Captaincy-General/General Captaincy 	Governorate-General/General Governorate 	High Priesthood
Duchy 	Major Captaincy 	Magistracy/Comarca 	Priesthood
County 	Captaincy 	Prefecture 	Diocese
Barony 	Junta 	Jurisdiction 	Bishopric
===Economy===
Prior to the Fall of Avarasia and the subsequent governorial reforms, the Avarasians had installed a poorly-planned, ill-equipped and disgustingly incompetent and unprofessional economic administration in areas they controlled due to the fact said economic administration is focused more on supplying the motherland's nobility, common folk and clergy with an abundance of items from Novaya. Economic reforms were made but utterly token, and it was only prior to or during the early days of the Avarasian civil war that extensive reforms were made to the economic administration, replacing the elite-administered bureaucracy in favor of a professional meritocratic bureaucracy. It is due to this reason that the current economic administration is designed to be very egalitarian as possible.
===Society===
Prior to the subsequent reforms before or during the Avarasian civil war and eventual collapse, the elite of the governorate were the Avarasian nobility, led by the Governor-Militant, the barons and the lower-ranking vassals and liege lords, including many former Aversarian and foreign aristocrats. However, reforms had stripped away the powers and authorities of the Avarasian nobility and clergy in favor of the local nobility, some of those serving as military officers.
The bulk of the governorate's people were Novayans, divided according to the Avarasian system in income classes based on land ownership. During and after the reforms, however, the Avarasian system that kept the poor poor and the rich rich became utterly fragmented and completely washed away or in some/most cases reformed to be as meritocratic and unbiased as possible. The newly-established Novayan system in income classes had been specifically designed to allow the poor to sign-up for poverty and social welfare relief.
Various local native tribes were also victims to abuses by the Avarasians, and only some tribes were forced to accept the Imperials' ridiculous demands to the point they became the Imperial lapdogs. The reforms that brought down the hated Imperial nobility and clergy had lifted the misery off of the shoulders of the numerous natives (though most were distrustful), and the new policies on making deals with the native tribes show that the locals now have more say on their negotiations.
===Religions===
Like the other governorates, the Imperial Avarasian Church had dismantled the native religions in favor of prelates, bishops and priests who hold secular control over areas they would come to dominate. Some of the religions were modified to serve Avarasian interests, while others were prohibited, forgotten or even destroyed.
In doing so, however, this led to the native tribes and even disgruntled Imperials to discover an eldritch god (and reportedly a few or several other gods) that were willing to take their side and free them from Imperial domination; while expecting worse, the eldritch god (and the few or several gods) only require that they worship them, no more and no less, without the worst of any war-like religions being used. In Morales and Nova Constantinople, the establishment of the Novayanas Aagiokratia and Nova Konstantinopolis Aagiokratia had upset the Imperial religious status quo and began acquiring new followers. To make the Imperial Church's day worse, the various pagan tribes gathered to combine and then reform their religions to better combat the Imperial aggressions.
Currently, the Novayanas Aagiokratian Conclave and Nova Konstantinopolis Aagiokratian Conclave were two of several dominant religions, with the first dominant religion being the Novayan pagan religions that had been reformed. While technically the de jure successors of the fallen Imperial Avarasian Church in the Novayan archipelago due to retaining the organization structure and rites and practices used by the Imperials, both Aagiokratian conclaves had taken their own approaches: the Novayanas Aagiokratia is organized as and led by an autocephalous hierarchy of loosely-connected high priests called Potentates while the Nova Konstantinopolis Aagiokratia is organized as and led by a strict hierarchy with an official religious head called the High Priest/High Priestess Sovereign. Both religions, however, have checks and balances which prevent abuse and corruption.
Meanwhile, the Novayan pagan faiths were reformed and reorganized in a variety of forms, shapes and sizes. Led by an autocephalous hierarchy of loosely-connected high priests and high priestesses, the reformed Novayan pagans were instrumental in resurrecting long-gone pagan religions that had been squashed in the archipelago by the Imperials.
===Military===
Even before and after the reforms and the subsequent fall of Avarasia, the Novayan Military Governorate contain an outstandingly professional military force, consisting of regular levies, highly-trained legions, small but fast and powerful fleets and even allied native forces. Due to its military-oriented nature, the Novayan archipelago is home to elite forces chosen from the best of the best and administered by a military bureaucracy. Due to the distance between individual Novayan islands, it saw fit that each island's tribes, temples and cities be allowed to have their own militias, while each island's castles will be home to highly-trained and highly-equipped troops.
The Novayan Military Governorate had inherited from the Avarasian Imperium the legion system. It is home to a number of legions that were based around castles and castras, though only some existed since most stood down and had settled. These legions still existed technically in the form of the reserve legions, which were the legions that had been disbanded but allowed to retain their military equipment and can be summoned. While the Novayan legionaries were similar to their Avarasian counterparts, the former is distinguished from the latter by the fact they were called Novayan Armored Legionaries due to the fact they are covered in chainmail and armor that cover their limbs, head and body.
==Novaya, Military Governorate==
===Lore===
Novaya is roughly/loosely based on the Northern Captaincy (a military governorate) from the Crusader Kings 2 mod After the End: A Post-Apocalyptic America, as well as the Emerald Empire of Pythium and the Celestial Empire of T'ien Ch'i from the game Dominions 5: Warriors of the Faith and the Aversarinas Aautokrata from the Crusader Kings 3 mod Godherja: The Dying World. The clergy (especially priests and thaumaturges) and their ceremonial magic are based on the lavish liturgy of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches and the Protestant churches. Similar to how the Roman Empire adopted Christianity and the Aversarinas Aautokrata the Aversarinas Aagiokratia, the Novayan Military Governorate had adopted the Cult of the Loop, a duotheistic religion centered around worship of the Worm-in-Waiting and the Elder One, with liturgical practices matching those of the Christian churches, especially the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. While it did suffer a schism, the Novayanas Aagiokratia and Nova Konstantinopolis Aagiokratia were formed after both sides agreed to split the religion into two as a result of their differences in leadership.
The Novayan Military Governorate is one of several splinter empires of the Avarasian Empire. As dark arts were practiced in the heart of the great Empire of old, the resulting cataclysm brought about the disastrous end of the Avarasian nation and its subsequent collapse into multiple kingdoms, rump states and remnants, among them the Ashen Empire of its namesake, the Emerald Empire of Sazarlia, and the Reformed Empire of Sceledaria. The Governorates of Novaya, Babylonia, Kalaidis and Yavana were far away when the fall of Avarasia occurred, thereby avoiding the fall. When news of its fall reached them, all four governorates went different paths, with the Novayan Military Governorate retaining its political, social and military structures but otherwise adapting them to be more inclusive, thereby allowing mystery cults and foreign beliefs to flood in; Blood Magic, however, is exempted from both public and private practices due to its inhumane sacrifices.
Reborn from the ashes of the fallen empire and the old ancient tribes, the Novayans had seen the rise of multiple mystery cults and foreign beliefs, most terrible even to behold as well as the deteriorating chaos brought upon by the fall of Avarasia and the fall of the star that birthed R'lyeh; such is the case that these events, among all others, had developed a cynical attitude, a departure from the normally friendly attitude. Now, however, the rise of the Communion of the Loop had influenced Novayan society towards a path that lifted their spirits, and two new Gods - the patron gods of the Communion of the Loop, the Elder One and the Worm-in-Waiting - promising to help put an end to the eternal cycles of the Pantokrator Wars that brought greater hope will reveal themselves, resulting in the governor-militant and their council adopting the Cult of the Loop, now split in two. Novaya uses a reformed legionary/combined arms army. Cities defended by so-called "Citizen Guard" militias and tribes by tribal warriors slow enemy advances while the governorial reserves of professional elite troops help fight off enemy invaders who made it past the first defense lines. In offensive campaigns the Novayan Legions were at the forefront of the battle, supported by archers and cavalry as well as hosts of tribal warriors and citizen guard militiamen sent as volunteers.
===General Overview===
Novaya is a nation of militarism, light and otherwise peace, a melting pot of races, though the majority consisted of humans. It has access to all but two magic types: Fire, Ice, Water, Earth, Astral, Divine and Nature magic were more commonplace, but Death magic is heavily regulated while Blood magic is looked down upon for the gruesome and inhumane spells it had; the only Blood spells used were Banish Demon and Purify Blood, which doesn't require a blood slave but instead requires the caster or a number of willing volunteers to spill a small amount of their blood. Astral and Divine magic both hold the first place, while Fire, Ice, Water and Earth magic holds second place, and Blood and Death magic third place.
This is also one of few nations (them being Kalaidis, Yavana and Babylonia) which uses diplomacy to either ally with or assimilate other nations, which would then be reorganized and appointed their own governors (whether military, religious, or social) as well as being imposed with Novayan policies. It is also the only nation that aligned itself with Kalaidis, Yavana, Babylonia, Ind, Heijou, and Hagia. As a result, in the late stage Novaya, alongside its allies or puppets, would become the final bosses.
===National Features===
Special Race Attributes	Military	Magic Access	Priests	Buildings
*Humans 	
*Combined Arms Infantry
**Light Infantry (Citizen Guard and Tribal Warriors)
**Medium Infantry (Citizen Guard, Tribal Warriors and Legionaries)
**Heavy Infantry (Citizen Guard, Legionaries and Phalangites)
*Tower Shields (Citizen Guard and Legionaries)
*Kite/Round Shields (Legionaries, Citizen Guard and Tribal Warriors)
*Human Cavalry	
*Astral 4 (rare 5)
*Fire 3 (rare 4)
*Earth 3 (rare 4)
*Water 3 (rare 4)
*Air 3 (rare 4)
*Blood 2 and 7 (Banish Demon and Purify Blood)
*Death 2	
*Average but costly (Holy 4) in Castles
*Average but costly (Holy 3) in Forts
*Holy 2 in Cities and Tribes
*1 in Foreign Recruitment
*Free Magic Weapons (4) bless	
*Advanced Forts (castle)
*Standard Forts (citadel/fortress)
*Mystical off-fort commanders
===Capital Special Sites===
The Governorial Capital	Hagia Sophia Cathedral	Temple of the Loop
*Enables Recruitment of Novayan Guard Cavalry, Governorial Legionary, Citizen Guard Volunteer, Tribal Warrior
*Enables Recruitment of Lord Knights of Avalon, Magister Militum	
*Enables Recruitment of Thaumaturges
*Produces 3 Astra Pearls	
*Enables Recruitment of Knight of the Loop
*Produces 1 Astra Pearl
===Unit Overview===
====Commanders====
Novaya as a whole drafts many of its units from literally anywhere, though it rely on those who were the best of the best - that is, above average. A large variety of mages is present, though Blood and Death Mages were usually rarer. It can recruit in and out of forts.
Unit Name	Special Attributes	Description 	Comments
Scout
*25 Gold
*4 Silver
*1 Recruitment Point	Stealthy (50) 	Scouts are trained to pass unseen through enemy territory and to travel efficiently even in mountainous and forested terrain. Their reports on enemy army movements and the resources in enemy territory are invaluable to the prudent warlord. 	
Letalagos/Centurion
*70 Gold
*22 Silver
*1 Recruitment Point	 	Centurions or letalagons are lesser commanders of the governorial armies. They wear steel plate cuirass for protection. 	
Legate/Legon
*75 Gold
*30 Silver
*1 Recruitment Point	 	Legates or legons are commanders of the governorial legions. Chosen from the ranks of prominent centurions, they are skilled in battle and command great respect from the men and women. 	
Tribune
*80 Gold
*30 Silver
*1 Recruitment Point	 	The Archaes or Tribune is a commander of the Comitatensis, the designated field armies. Chosen from the ranks of prominent soldiers and officers, they are skilled in battle and command great respect from the men and women. 	
Magister Militum
*110 Gold
*22 Silver
*1 Recruitment Point	 	The Magister Militum is a high commander of any governorial army. Only the most able commanders are chosen for the task and only candidates with political backing, strong personalities and exceptional or brilliant skills can will receive the honor. 	
Battle Deacons
*65 Gold
*19 Silver
*1 Recruitment Point	 	Equipped with a mace and plate armor set, the Battle Deacons carry out the will of the Twin Eldritch Gods on the battlefield as well as those of their allies' gods. They often accompany and bless the field soldiers, and though their priestly authority is limited they do raise the troops' morale. They were blessed by the twin gods.	
Lord Knight of Avalon
*120 Gold
*56 Silver
*2 Recruitment Point
*Capital only	 	The Lord Knights were nobles of Logres who were trained to battle from birth, who ride the legendary unicorns and horses raised by the Witch Mothers from the land of Avalon. Clad in the brightest silver and enchanted by both the Mothers and the priests, the Lord Knights radiate confidence and resolve.
Once from the far-away land of Avalon where the Kingdom of Logres lay, several knights had left to wander the world as knights-errant after the devastation of Avarasia as well as the apparent chaos within the kingdom. Some would later end up in Novaya, where they saw service under the Governor-Militant as Lord Knights.	
Thaumaturge
*135 Gold
*2 Silver
*2 Recruitment Points
*Capital only	 	 	
====Troops====
Novaya's Middle-Age/Late-Age army is based on the organization of the Imperial-era and Late-era Roman and early Byzantine and Aversarian legions incorporating some or most elements of medieval-era Western European armies, with cheaper Citizen Guard Militia drawn from the cities and Tribal Warriors from tribal provinces, cheaper Limitanei from frontier provinces, and elite Legionary troops from forts. They are all pretty well-equipped by highly-trained; however, this comes with high Resource costs in terms of equipment quality.
Unit Name 	Special Attributes 	Description 	Comments
Milite
*8 Gold
*9 Silver
*5 Recruitment Points	 	The Milite is a quickly-levied soldier of the frontier armies. They lightly armed but lacked the military training to travel quickly. 	
Limitane
*8 Gold
*26 Silver
*5 Recruitment Points	Castle Defense Bonus (1) 	The Limitanei were frontier soldiers who guard the frontier from the enemies of the governorate. They use a variety of armor such as the spolas, linothorax, lorica segmentata, lorica hamata, and lorica squamata, and a variety of weapons, though round shields, tower shields and kite shields were the usually mainstay shields used. While slow to travel, they make up for it with drilling mainly in defense and defending forts.	
Limitane Primani 	Castle Defense Bonus (1) 	The Primani are the elite troops of the frontier armies. They don heavy plate armor and receive intense training. Chosen from the frontier troops, they are given all the comfort army life could offer, and they are generally less listless than other frontier troops on the Limes. 	
Citizen Guard 	 	 	
Tribal Warrior 	 	 	
Legionary
*8 Gold
*26 Silver
*21 Recruitment Points	Flexible Formation Fighter (3)	 	
Armored Legionary
*10 Gold
*30 Silver
*31 Recruitment Points	Flexible Formation Fighter (4)	The Legionaries are the field soldiers and the elite force of the Novayan armies. They receive rigorous exercise and training to be able to move quickly despite their heavy armament. 	
Phalangite
*13 Gold
*20 Silver
*16 Recruitment Points	Formation Fighter (2) 	Phalangites are lightly-armed hoplites trained and equipped to march with speed. They carry long spears, shields, and light armor than normal hoplites. Few enemies can stand against a massive spear wall of a hoplite army, unless said few enemies happen to have armies that are more flexible and more maneuverable. 	
Hoplite
*13 Gold
*31 Silver
*16 Recruitment Points	Formation Fighter (2) 	Hoplites are the secondary corps of Novaya. They are equipped with long spears, shields and cumbersome plate hauberks. Hoplites are slow but very efficient. Few enemies can stand against a massive spear wall of a hoplite army, unless said few enemies happen to have armies that are more flexible and more maneuverable. 	
Logresian Knight 	 	 	
Novayan Guard Cavalry	 	 	
====Heroes====
Unit Name 	Description 	Magic	Abilities	Comments
Borealis III - Governor-Militant	Borealis Mir Norsoutha-Tomoshima III is the current Governor-Militant of the Novayan archipelago and one of two children of Diego and Maria Norsoutha. Hailing from a commoner family by marriage, Borealis III was trained by his predecessor Charles to become the next governor-militant. After becoming the new governor of Novaya, he becomes embroiled in the reforms of the governorate and would embroil his nation into the current war the world is suffering. 	 	
*Mountable Warrior (5)
*Summons in battle (Armored Legionaries 5x, Novayan Guard Cavalry 2x)	
Viviane - High Priestess 	Viviane is the current High Priestess of the Novayan Military Governorate and the lover of Governor-Militant Borealis III. Hailing from a poor commoner family who had her raised at a church, Viviane was trained to be a High Priestess to become the next realm priest of the governorate. Upon being selected as a candidate to fill the position of High Priest, she soon went into a relationship with Borealis III while performing her spiritual duties as High Priestess.	
*3 Astral
*21 Research	
*Sacred
*Mountable Priest	
Gawain - Lord Knight 	Gawain is one of the four Lord Knights in service to Governor-Militant Borealis III. Hailing from Avalon, she is one of several knights who saw their kingdom fall into chaos and wandered the world in search of a purpose. She would eventually arrive in Novaya alongside other knights, where she would become one of the four Lord Knights of Logres. 	 	
*Sacred
*Mountable Warrior	
Lanaselot - Lord Knight 	Lanaselot du Lac is one of the four Lord Knights in service to Governor-Militant Borealis III. Hailing from Avalon, she is one of several knights who saw their kingdom fall into chaos and wandered the world in search of a purpose. She would eventually arrive in Novaya alongside other knights, where she would become one of the four Lord Knights of Logres. 	 	
*Sacred
*Mountable Warrior	
Percival - Lord Knight 	Percival is one of the four Lord Knights in service to Governor-Militant Borealis III. Hailing from Avalon, she is one of several knights who saw their kingdom fall into chaos and wandered the world in search of a purpose. She would eventually arrive in Novaya alongside other knights, where she would become one of the four Lord Knights of Logres. 	 	
*Sacred
*Mountable Warrior	
Mordred - Lord Knight 	Mordred is one of the four Lord Knights in service to Governor-Militant Borealis III. Hailing from Avalon, she is one of several knights who saw their kingdom fall into chaos and wandered the world in search of a purpose. She would eventually arrive in Novaya alongside other knights, where she would become one of the four Lord Knights of Logres. 	 	
*Sacred
*Mountable Warrior	
===Vassals and Allies of Novaya===
While similar to Foreign Recruitment, Novaya has access to a diversity of troops belonging to T'ien Ch'i, Babylonia (aka Shinar), Yavana, Heijou, Yomi/Shinuyama/Jomon, Kalaidis, Outremer, Indus and a few/several others. Their units were recruited from non-capital forts, while heroes were recruited from the capital fort.
T'ien Ch'i - Ally
Paths:
Water 3, Fire 2, Air 2, Earth 2, Astral 2, Nature 2	The Tienchians can be recruited from forts in farms, forests and some mountains.
	
====WIP====