Encyclopaedia of Aquila: Siluria

Encyclopaedia of Aquila
Volume III: Siluria
For acandemic pursuit, Reed O'Shea
Albion, the King's Writers
Lowharveste, 1st dawn, 4852
"Knowledge for Knowledge"
presented by the
South Aquilan Anthropological Society & affiliates
with gratitude and respect for
the Caer Lyon Forever Institute, et al
Siluria (East Sivistys)
founded 4817 after desynchronization
"One Sivistys, One Aquila"
Siluria immediately began plotting its retribution against the treacherous Tolstaag-Jotenburg after the Aether War ended, leaving the pariah kingdom in a state of political isolation and total economic implosion. The embittered House Siluria and its peasant subjects went to great lengths to repair vital infrastructure and begin rebuilding its shattered military in preparation for the inevitable final confrontation with its western nemesis with little success until the discovery of the Abyss, a massive crater formed by the explosive death of a void tunnel formed during the Aether War. Nearby communes were aware of its existence but had hitherto avoided it for fear they would awaken dark spirits entombed within the newly exposed underworld which stretched down to bedrock level at certain points; when an alpaca-mounted expeditionary force of the East Sivistys Army discovered the impressive formation, word was immediately sent to the leaders of House Siluria in Carson.
Thus, the desperate Silurians embarked upon the greatest project in Sivisean history: The renovation of the Abyss, filled to the brim with unearthed mineral riches and a massive cavern of redstone gas, into the grand city of Caer Lyon, the new capital of the outcast nation. The project was dismissed as insane by much of the citizenry at first, but under threat of starvation, the country’s peasantry did all they could to lay the groundwork for their new home. The process was daunting, but oddly simple; the wealth of exposed minerals provided a practically limitless supply of excavation tools, and the massive mushroom colonies were a reliable source of food. By 4827, construction was approximately halfway completed. 10 years prior, half the population were on the brink of starvation and jobless, and now the Abyss provided stable and well-paying work to any who needed it; new technological innovations were employed to keep up with monthly quotas and slowly diffused throughout the rest of the country, vastly improving national infrastructure and bringing Siluria into the modern era; their fortune was about to increase even further.
Simultaneously, the neighboring Tolstaag-Jotenburg were undergoing their own industrial revolution, having heard reports of massive innovations in military technology across the border and entering a state of panic at the prospect of invasion. They soon embarked upon ambitious public works projects of their own; however, infighting between the two noble houses, as well as the dismal failures of their ventures into Olexia in search of redstone, made construction efforts unproductive to say the least. There was a glimmer of hope, however, in the ruins of New Detroit, where survivors of the former capital were making serious progress in re-establishing a permanent settlement there as a symbol of national resilience. The project was headed by the legendary General Pluton, a hero of the Aether War and now military-governor of the Detroit region. The beloved General was able to inspire a population of desperate and starving survivors to hope for a brighter future freed from the shackles of their past transgressions; the government in Oberon, however, were more interested in garrisoning their half of Mount Augusta and studying the prospects of experimental war zeppelins than developing Detroit, leaving Pluton and his desperate followers forced to fend for themselves. Outraged by this betrayal, the General went so far as to declare Detroit independent from the Union, forcing a response from the nobility. The ensuing conflict, Pluton’s Rebellion, claimed over 1,000 lives and even further devastated the desolate province. In a stunning move, Pluton rallied his remaining supporters and embarked upon an exodus across the border to defect to the Silurians, if only for the chance to crush Tolstaag and Jotenburg.
Pluton and his fellow defectors, the so-called Sons of Detroit, were welcomed with open arms and quickly gained an almost mythic status as heroic saviors who would help usher in the final defeat of the aristocrats in Oberon. The General was initially quite ambivalent towards the Silurians, but upon taking up residence in the rapidly growing Caer Lyon for some years, he developed a great respect for their race and eventually saw them as his own kin. Siluria was not immune to the corruption which had prompted the General’s rebellion against his home, however; over the course of Caer Lyon’s construction, a new underclass of poor workers working for merely subsistence had developed in the Abyss, accompanied by ever-dwindling support for struggling farmers in the countryside, while House Siluria and its puppets sat comfortably in Carson, growing exponentially richer by the month. Pluton decided it was time to act, fearing that an anarchist insurrection similar to the one which destroyed Sivella would soon grip his new home if he could not usher in change quickly enough. He spontaneously declared himself temporary military dictator of Caer Lyon and its million residents until House Siluria stepped aside and allowed a new democratic government to form. The East Sivistys Army was mobilized to put down the rebellion, but a majority of the soldiers defected to Pluton upon arrival at the Abyss, not willing to fire upon their own desperate people. In 4830, Pluton’s army of peasants tore down the gates of Carson and captured the elders of House Siluria. The General, seeking to unite the nation, agreed to let the nobles live as the symbolic head of state as long as a legitimate Senate was formed to serve as the new government for the masses, to be based in Caer Lyon. His demands were met, and the disgraced House Siluria sit within their dilapidated mansion in Carson to this day, practically under “house” arrest.
In the year 4843, construction of the fortress-city of Caer Lyon was declared complete by the Senate. Its ultradeep bedrock quarries and almost fully automated production factories, all powered by the barely tapped redstone gas deposit, fed thousands of Silurians and armed the newly formed East Sivistys Liberation Army, 100,000 strong, with state of the art crossbows and other experimental military technology. With the death of Supreme Commander Pluton, his quiet, military-minded, and unconventionally charismatic daughter Marjorie assumed his titles, vowing to continue his legacy as chief of the Liberation Army and President of the Senate from the Glass Castle in lower Caer Lyon. She had little to time to adjust to her duties before the sudden outbreak of the War of the Sunflower in 4845, beginning with the reclusive empire of Khotan landing on the northern coast of Kilran with the intent to occupy the continent. Per the Treaty of Apollyon, the military might of the Alliance was rallied, forcing the Kilranian warlord states, the crumbling Union of Audax, and, by technicality, Tolstaag-Jotenburg into the war on Aquila’s side. Siluria declared its neutrality, wanting no part in this world war in favor of continuing to further develop its own prosperous interior.
Circumstances changed, however, in 4848, when Khotanese diplomats surreptitiously arrived in Caer Lyon by airship, politely asking to speak to Commander Marjorie. When the imperial emissaries emerged from the Glass Castle, Siluria had signed a defense pact with their Emperor, drawing them into the escalating War of the Sunflower on the side of the Eternal Empire, to the shock of the world. The Liberation Army immediately launched a surprise attack on West Mount Augusta, easily taking the poorly defended city. The next afternoon, the War Assembly of the Senate approved Siluria’s alliance with Khotan, formally bringing them into the war. Marjorie and her soldiers continued the long march into western Sivistys, easily crushing all opposition sent by the overwhelmed Tolstaag-Jotenburg, most of whose “United Sivistys Military” were bogged down in the Dagon mountains defending against imperial warriors advancing from Olexia. They were nearly within sight of the walls of Oberon when news broke that Dreitonian marines had landed on the southern coast of Siluria and begun to disrupt Liberation supply lines. The invasion force immediately fell back and opened a new front with the Councilguard infantry, intending to buy Khotan enough time to launch their firebombing attack on Oberon. That attack never came, as in 4851, after years of fighting and countless hundreds of thousands of casualties, the Alliance and the Khotan-Siluria axis signed the Xiantung Armistice which formally ended the War of the Sunflower. As a stipulation of the treaty, pre-war borders in Sivistys were restored and Siluria were forbidden from crossing the line of demarcation in Mount Augusta lest they incur the wrath of the Alliance.
Now the Silurians and their cunning leader stalk their border with Tolstaag-Jotenburg, waiting for that glorious day when they may continue their invasion and finally unite all Sivistys.
 
Geography
The east has generally been regarded as the less hospitable region of Sivistys and not without cause. Its winter is even longer and colder than the west’s, and the vast majority of its soil is totally infertile, even on the coastal regions. Thus, virtually every historical settlement of Siluria has been built around the country’s ubiquitous geysers and hot springs, providing year-long warmth and hunting opportunities due to the congregation of wildlife around the springs as well. Agriculture, where it exists, is typically done underground in subterranean oases where life thrives due to naturally occurring blue glowstone. Despite the brutal conditions in the frozen north at the Olexian border, some small towns and tribal communities still exist in intricately built igloos and within the bones of gargantuan pre-historic monsters.
People and Society
The population of Siluria is estimated at near 2.5 million, placing it near the bottom of the developed nations numerically, though its extremely high birth rate in recent years has led to predictions that it could overtake neighboring Tolstaag-Jotenburg’s 3 million figure by the 60s. Siviseans as a whole have garnered something of a reputation as a brutish and humorless people, with the Silurians being the “coldest” and least jovial of the bunch, probably due too poor geographical conditions and a history of defeat. On the whole, they are regarded as a particularly vindictive and hawkish people, instilled with a sense of unbridled rage for their enemies across the border and willing to sacrifice much for the cause of a liberated Sivistys.
Most Silurians are only fluent in their native Old Olexian, but interestingly Khotanese is on the rise due to an influx of imperial merchants and even immigrants, who tend to get along well enough with the less than loquacious natives. Aquilan standard speakers can generally only be found in eastern Mount Augusta and lower Caer Lyon, the metropolitan centers of the country.
The Church of the Risen is ostensibly the dominant faith in Siluria, but the nation has been observed to be increasingly secular, probably due to a desire to separate themselves from their western nemeses. In its place, a return to the traditional Sivisean folk religions has been noted throughout the countryside, reviving the veneration of the continent’s founding triumvirate as mortal gods. Interestingly, some communes have even reported the incorporation of the Khotani faith into their religious practices. The Old Ways have little presence in the east, creating a much less superstitious populace than much of outer Aquila; it has been noted that there are no clauses prohibiting magick in the Senate’s constitution.
Government
The Supreme Commander is the chief of the armed forces and dominant figurehead of the state. Nominally, they also possess the title of Senate President, entitling them to the high privilege of forcing agendae or even dissolving the government, though this is mostly seen as a ceremonial position as neither of the Commanders to date have used it, respecting the decisions of the Senate and focusing upon matters of national security. The Senate is comprised of two delegates from every commune, serving unlimited terms until dismissal by the President or plebiscite by their constituents. Within the Senate, assemblies for major policy areas are formed to make decisions for their respective areas, ie the War, Agriculture, and Science assemblies. The individual communes are allowed to more or less govern themselves, keeping what they grow and build for themselves, with crop or equipment tithes collected by the Liberation Army on a monthly basis.
Of course, ostensibly, the House of Siluria in Carson are still the "legitimate" rulers of the country, but to suggest so would be to commit treason.
Economy
The Silurian economy is heavily dependent upon mining and manufacturing, with few other industrial sectors not practical in such a harsh environment. Economic activity is centered in Caer Lyon, where thousands of tons of ore are excavated monthly, exported to the redstone factories, manually shaped into armor, weapons, tools, automata, and etc and then distributed to the communes as needed, usually transported by electric carriages, the continental railway, or, increasingly, airships. Siluria presides over a rapidly expanding war economy with no signs of stopping, leading to concerns that agricultural output may suffer if neglected in the coming years.
Khotan is the state’s only trading partner by way of the quiet port of Carson, where arms and armor are exchanged.
Technology
The success of the Caer Lyon project has opened up countless scientific opportunities for Siluria, allowing them to quite sufficiently modernize their armies to rival even Dreiton. It has heavily invested in zeppelin technology, foregoing the effort to built a standard navy in favor of jumping straight to an array of airships fitted with weapons of war. Though not up to the world standards of Dreiton, Caer Lyon is now one of the more technologically advanced cities of Aquila despite its remoteness and small population, boasting a full speedrail system and even sophisticated automata, though their current explorations into artificial intelligence are far behind those of nearby Audax. Many of these innovations stem from shared blueprints from Khotan, suggesting the far-off Empire possesses even greater, yet unknown technological capabilities.
Military and Security
The East Sivistys Liberation Army is Siluria’s formal military, boasting an impressive 100,000 active soldiers which pits it close to the likes of Bobyrujsk and Nova Aquila in terms of manpower. Due to Caer Lyon’s outrageous military production, every warrior is sufficiently equipped with modern dark iron armor reinforced with Silurian leather, known to have fire-resistant properties. The Liberators favor diamond pikes as their weapon of choice, but have been known to carry dark iron swords and redstone-aided longbows as well. There are reports of small, elite shocktroop divisions intended for invasion sporting full diamond armor and equipment.
Despite their impressively outfitted soldiers, the army is plagued by ineffective supply lines and inexperienced officers, leaving their squadrons disorganized and without any coherent battle strategy. There have been sightings of Khotanese military advisors assisting Liberation officers in disciplining their ranks.
Foreign and Domestic issues
Siluria has been described as a rogue state – a pariah which has shut itself off from the rest of Aquila and abandoned its historical ties to the outside. They have one single trade and military ally in the Empire of Khotan, who keep the Silurians well-armed and supplied on account of them being their only ally south of Hamamitsu as well. Internally, the quasi-stratocratic government has been described as quite stable and productive, but whispers of anarchist movements in the countryside has left the leadership nervous. Though no suspected insurrectionary movements have played their hands yet, Marjorie is confident that her Siluria is rife with domestic traitors – sympathizers to the West who would like to see Caer Lyon reduced to ashes. She has indicated that the Senate will soon be made to take a firmer stance towards these supposed rebels.
Military allies
Khotan (mutual guarantee of independence)
Trade allies
Khotan
Hostile powers
Tolstaag-Jotenburg
Nova Aquila
Dreiton
Bobyrujsk
Karisha
Rurik
Category:Invidere