Alysur

Alysur is an island nation in the near center of the western Maraseri, located north of Deici and west of Matlisan. It functions chiefly as a city-state and occupies the totality of the island of the same name. The nation is ruled by a senate comprised of officials elected by the people of the land, who select from among themselves a single overall leader or chairman who oversees and directs policy for a four year term.
== Geography ==
Alysur, despite its small size, is a lush and fertile island. From the shore it rises towards a dramatic and hilly interior ringed with fertile land and warm forests. The hills are steep and extremely rocky, with gorges being a common feature through which roads pass. Small rivers collect the frequent rains from the hills and channel them down towards the coast. The roads that pass along the gorge floors are dangerous in the rainy winter, with flash floods and rockslides being common enough that small boats sailing along the coast become the preferred means of transportation. The coasts themselves are smooth and sandy, with the exception of parts of the extreme south where the shores become rocky.
The winters are mild and rainy, rarely seeing snow, while the summers are hot and dry. The fertile lands are not widespread, but produce excellently and tend to feed the land while leaving grains and fruit for export.
== Government ==
Alysur is governed by a high council--a senate. This body is comprised of thirty individuals who are elected by the population to eight year terms.The council is lead by one of its own, selected by the senators from their own ranks; this individual serves a four year term, and is elected two years before and after each senatorial election. The head of the senate has the power to set policy and make overall decisions, but the senate itself has veto over his policies and vice versa. This encourages a balanced approach between individual authority and that of the people.
Political parties are not a feature of Alysi government--individuals up for election do so on their own merits and ideas without owing particular allegiance to other politically or socially powerful individuals. 
== People ==
The Alysi people tend to be passionate, joyful, and a little more refined than the peoples of other lands, such as Akaryth or Keledon. There is a cultural love of learning, and while there is no system of public education, there is also no tradition of anti-intellectualism. 
There are two classes of people in the land--full citizens and the peasantry. 
Peasants tend to occupy the lower classes--farmers, laborers, and landless. Citizens are a smaller class but enjoy full rights as citizens, and can stand for election while the peasants cannot, although the latter has the right to vote. Full citizenry is a heritable matter, and is patrilinear--moving into the class of citizenry requires land ownership, fees to be paid, and a specific threshold of wealth or meritorious service, generally governmental or military in nature. 
Category:Kingdoms
Category:Maraseri