Princedom of the Platinum Strait

== History ==
This region was once a part of the short-lived nation of Greater Elanxa, and after that, a part of the smaller Arkadiya Empire, of which it was one of three Princedoms. After Arkadiya fell, the region took on the name “The Princedom of Platinum” to reference both an heir to Arkadiya, as well as a part of the Zemylander nations, most of which were named after metals, though unlike Gold, Silver, and Copper, it isn’t a reference to the old poem. Despite being a princedom instead of a kingdom, Platinum is the largest, most populated, and most powerful of the Zemylander nations by a wide margin. 
Unlike the other Zemylander nations, it has a reputation for skilled empire building and realpolitik. Following the collapse of Arkadiya, Platinum expanded in all directions, gaining the allegiance of new areas via a mix of exploiting regional rivalries and corrupt rulers, or making generous ultimatums for surrender, then gradually and carefully assimilating its new vassals.
At one point, it even had a strong grip on New Hyperborea and Shelkvidur, but it has largely abandoned these regions to focus on the more profitable coastal regions. In particular, they have developed a strong fleet which allows them to dominate the Platinum Strait and gather high taxes on the high value goods being shipped in from the far west. 
Lately Platinum has found itself under pressure from all sides, with Avangar gearing up for a new war, Aine Saevherne waiting for an opportunity to cause trouble, and New Hyperborea doing...something. But Platinum also has a long list of allies and potential allies.
== Government ==
Much like the other Zemylander nations, Platinum is a monarchy, backed by regional governors, voivodes, and boyars, who are in turn supported by bureaucrats, spies, and soldiers. Although its government system is fairly top-down, they aren’t afraid to make allowances for useful allies, and as a result, it contains several small “special territories” led by allied fey, dwarf-gnomes, or non-Zemylander humans.
Platinum has had a long string of highly capable rulers, and even the weaker ones are balanced out by strong advisors. Supporting this is a strong bureaucracy that actually gets things done, a strong diplomatic core who ensure Platinum has access to a long list of open allies, hidden allies, and enemies of enemies, and a loyal church who help keep the population firmly united.
The current Prince is Sila Maksimin. As fine a prince as any Platinum has had, he is a skilled diplomat and strategist, though the antics of Sofia, Morozova, Meda, and Tamara has caused him to become a tinge misogynist in his old age. 
== Provincial Administration of the Princedom of Platinum ==
The history of the Princedom of Platinum has been marked by a long history of skillful diplomacy. While most of the zemylander kingdoms are relatively straight-forward absolute monarchies, the princedom has managed to both keep the political authority of the prince while coordinating local power and administration with the nobility and aristocracy of the nation. Back during the days of the original Greater Elanxan arrival to Zemyland, the zemylander nobility was formed out of a mix of generals, aristocrats and powerful individuals in the Elanxan Senate. As such, the high nobility was often very adept at politics, as many had participated in greater elanxan politics, and these characteristics were maintained over time to some extent. The singing of the Treaty of the Three Brothers in 2.796 ABE led the Princedom of Platinum as an independent nation, and Miladiya Arkadiya, the youngest daughter of Zefalovich Arkadiya, had the task of reorganizing a nation after her father had beaten the council of the old Zemylander Empire into submission, something many nobles still resented the Arkadiyans for. However, Miladiya was an adept politician, and was able to calm her local nobility’s ambitions and tensions, giving them a great deal of local power and guaranteeing lost privileges, while also punishing the most ambitious and openly hostile of them, replacing them by loyal followers, and even ascending some promising commoners and lowborn nobles to higher nobility ranks. During her reign, Miladiya prioritized stable government over expansion, and she laid the groundworks for a competent administration, controlled from the capital, a system that was expanded over the years. 
The original provincial division by Miladiya established four types of provinces: First, the imperial capital of Platina, which held the Princedom’s capital and the lands around it, ruled and administered directly by the prince. The prince is surrounded by skilled bureaucrats and aids, often coming from the low nobility and the common folk, ascended due to proven merit, and given power and privileges so long as their council stays loyal and accurate. Miladiya also organized many academies of science, economy and military, and entrance and graduation in either of those means guaranteed work, at least in the local governments. Miladiya also organized these academies to send scouts to the cities and towns, seeking commoners with potential. This gave the princes a great deal of good publicity, and it is something that commoners will fight fiercely for, as entering means an immediate rise of status. Of course, these individuals’ powers and privileges are there so long as the prince considers them useful, keeping a balance between the high nobility, low nobility and ascended commoners within the principality’s court. 
The second type of province was the Voivodeship. The territory was ruled by a noble, given the title of “voivode”. That voivode rules in the name of the prince, though voivodes have a great deal of political autonomy, so long as they do not break the rules set up by the princes. Voivodes rule following sets of local laws, keeping them from grabbing more authority than they should, while also keeping the commoners feel a sense of justice. Abuses of power can be denounced to the princes themselves, though the only ones who often can afford it are the low nobility or the richer commoners. The voivodes have at their side a “principal aide”, an individual loyal to the princes and that watches over the rule of the voivode, making sure they are good rulers and administrators. These watches are rotated every five years, to avoid corruption to settle in. However, voivodes have little power over military matters, needing the aid of the imperial armies in case of crisis. This is the main difference between the voivodeship and the boyarship: the provinces under boyars have the same administrative structure, but unlike the voivodes, boyards are given command over a portion of the imperial army. Boyardships are often granted to provinces at the edge of the princedom, since a quick defensive response needs troops stationed at the border. Boyardships are often given to favored nobles, those whose loyalties are beyond question. Even so, they have to accept the presence of multiple principal aides, rotated every three years instead of five. 
It would not be after the end of the Great Hyperborean War when the Princedom of Platinum decided to expand south and become a strong power in the region. After the highly destructive war, the economy of the princedom was exhausted, with many agricultural and urban areas needing extensive repair, many let homeless after the hyperborean raids, and an oversized army that needed pay after all these years. The suggested solution was to expand southwards, taking over the cities south of the strait, which would not only grant them their riches, but also full control over the Platinum Strait. As they had an army already trained and armed, the conquest was assumed to be easy, which would allow the princedom to occupy most of the lands across Eastern Littlestep. This hunch turned out to be correct for the most part, as the cities saw the arrival of Platinum as a net positive. Helping matters was the fact that the princedom promised to maintain their self-rule, which led to the creation of the senatorial provinces. Most of these cities had developed over time into big trading aristocracies, imitating the political model of the Greater Elanxan Senate. Thus, the princedom quickly gained their trust, promising protection from the swamp tribes, as well as access to the zemylander market (and the occasional bribe here and there). Over the years, the territories occupied by the platinum were organized in cohesive provinces, keeping most of their customs, laws and traditions, so long as they fall within the princedom’s law and they swear allegiance to the prince. Despite the swift advance, the surprise appearance of the elyrians as a reinvigorated force made the Princedom of Platinum give some of the cities military privileges to defend the borders. While the war resulted in the Platinum Princedom having to abandon the cities in the east, the full assimilation of the cities in the Coast of Red Stones was more than enough of a prize for the nation, since control of the strait quickly made the nation’s economy recover. 
The Princedom of Platinum is not just composed of humans. Some areas of the princedom were given a “special status” due to the concentration of non-humans, since apply regular human law to them caused severe friction. In the end, they are left to self-rule in exchange for the obedience and loyalty to the prince.
== Economy ==
The Princedom of Platinum has substantial mineral wealth, including gold, silver, gems, iron, and of course platinum.
Another major source of wealth is taxing the high value goods coming from the far west. Ships are expected to pay high taxes before entering Strait. Merchant vessels will inevitably be stopped at least once for paperwork by the Platinum Navy, who are notoriously hard to bribe. Many vessels simply offload their goods rather than pay to travel through the Strait. Zemylander vessels (mostly from Silver, some from Platinum) pay much lower taxes, and thus have an unfair advantage, though many don’t mind as they already travelled very far to get to the Strait anyways, and all sorts of goods are available for sale in Platinum’s markets for the trip back.
Farms tend to be small and hardy, producing grains, potatoes, cheese, apples, vegetables, and meat from reindeer, cattle, and pigs. Food also comes from the Strait itself via fishing, whaling, and seal hunting.
Fur trapping, timber harvesting, and stone quarrying, ship building, and fortress building are also important sources of employment, though these are mostly for domestic use. Like the Kingdom of Silver, an unusually large percentage of the population are well off, due to their involvement in trade, crafting, the military, or the bureaucracy.
== Foreign Relations ==
=== Avangar ===
Platinum and Avangar have been gearing up for another war for a while now. For its part, Platinum has been building fortresses, hiring/allying with spell casters, building up its army, funding resistance groups and criminals like Quamona Tong, the Gryphons, and the Neragian pirates, and encouraging/paying foreign wizards in Avangar to steal secrets and assassinate local wizards
=== Kingdoms of Gold, Copper, Crimson, Silver, and Rust ===
Platinum can generally count on their Zemylanders to have their back, but it goes both ways. Some of the other kingdoms resent Platinum’s de facto dominance of the Zemylander nations, but Platinum has helped them all out at least once.
=== New Hyperborea, Shelkvidur, and the Ashen Shore ===
Platinum has largely pulled out of these regions over the past century or two, feeling policing Hyperborean nomads is not worth their time. Although Shelkvidur and the Ashen Shore have become monster infested unclaimed land, the nomads have concentrated themselves north of Platinum’s territory, and have shown signs of wanting to become a sedentary people again. Although there is much bad blood between the two, Platinum hopes Aine Saevherne’s recent aggression towards the nomads will allow them to find a common cause, though so far the new Hyperborean King’s goals remain a mystery.
=== Corteau Canyon/Nerim/Nemir Tribals ===
Platinum is the main employer of Nemir mercenaries, which have come in handy in several past wars. 
=== Aine Saevherne ===
Platinum and Aine Saevherne are old enemies, though peace treaties between the two are lasting longer and longer. However, despite their concerns about Avangar, it seems more likely they would harass Platinum if fighting with Avangar got intense enough. 
=== Elanxa ===
Platinum has had on and off discussions with Elanxa to coordinate an attack on Avangar, but these haven’t really gone anywhere lately. Some in the Prince’s court fear Elanxa may end up being even more dangerous than Avangar if they ever got a competent leader.
=== Zapalovah, Mossovoy, and the Laurentian Crusade ===
Platinum is a major supporter of the Laurentian Crusade against Mossovoy, and a major trading partner of Zapalovah.
=== Orange Marquisates, Leng, Luden, Drunigzar, and Seagard ===
Are all major trading partners of Platinum. 
=== Woodcutter Cities ===
Platinum spends a lot of money keeping their allies here loyal and encouraging Avangar’s vassals to rebel.
=== Kingdom of Tarot ===
Platinum has been encouraging them to shake off Avangar’s influence.
=== Astromancers, Azan, Biblion, and the Isle of Wizards ===
These factions believe that the Elyrians are playing with forces beyond their comprehension that are a great threat to the continent, on par with the demonic breaches. They discretely supply much magical knowledge and defensive enchantments to Platinum.
=== Florinth ===
Platinum has been making secret deals with them to help drive Avangar’s influence out of Tarot.
=== Kunt ===
Platinum has been playing on Kunt’s increasing paranoia about Avangar to encourage them to undermine Avangar where they can.
=== Pondlings ===
Much of Uska Island is a series of “Special Territories”, where colonists from Zemyland and the Woodcutter Realms are expected to put up with Pondling antics. In return, an old, almost forgotten though extremely powerful hag on the island leaves Platinum’s coastal fortresses alone. 
== Geography ==
Much of Platinum’s territory north of the Strait is pine forest, with plentiful lakes and swamps. Small farms can be found here and there where the soil is good enough. Along the northern edge of the Princedom are cold barren foothills and small mountains. South of the Strait is also pine forest, but it becomes more grassy and open further south, aside from some large swamps. 
== Demographics ==
Humans – Make up most of the population. The majority are Zemylanders, but some are Hyperboreans or Plains folk who are to varying degrees assimilated into Zemylander culture. Nerim mercenaries are not uncommon either. The Zemylanders of Platinum have a reputation for being fairly conservative, religious, and devouted to their nation. Humans with fey blood are less common than in Gold, Crimson, or Rust, but more common than in Copper or Silver. Hag and vodyanoi blood are most common, rusalka somewhat less so. 
Fey – The Platinum Princedom has a reasonable number of fey, including hags, rusalka, vodyanoi, sirins, pondlings, balachko (distant cousin of ettins), chorts (horned troll-like creatures, but smarter), and arctic merfolk. The more powerful ones are granted their own mini-territories that answer to the Prince in return for occasional assistance on military or occult matters.
Trolls – Wild trolls are fairly rare compared to other parts of Zemyland, but Platinum has found ways to enchant them to be guards and shock troops, thus they are not uncommon in forts and military encampments.
Snow Elves – Are a bit more welcome here than in the Kingdom of Silver, but that isn’t saying much. Mostly merchants, mercenaries, exiles, prisoners of war, or the odd diplomat. 
Gnome-Dwarves – Are fairly rare here, and are mostly miners and craftsmen from other Zemylander nations attracted by high pay. 
== Religion ==
Platinum follows the Zemylander Pantheon, with Vursid (War), Legoluboy (Oceans), Zolovara (Wealth), Mirslava (Winter and Death), Soshotnik (Hunters, Foresters), Zverukitel (Beasts), and Aoghm (Scholars) being the most popular.
The fey, gnome-dwarves, snow elves, Nerim, and some of the Hyperboreans and Plains Folk still follow their own gods, though the Hyperboreans and Plains Folk sometimes mix and match, and some fey follow Mirslava or Soshotnik. 
== Military ==
Platinum has a large professional military, navy, and assorted pseudo-military formations like bureaucrats, engineers, magic users, militant priests, and fey “specialists”.
Like the Kingdom of Silver, their soldiers are infamously stubborn against superior foes, and like the Kingdom of Gold, they have a knack for taming dangerous beasts like trolls, giant spiders, giant bears, tigers, mammoths, woolly rhino, and moose.
Mercenary formations are fairly common, usually Nerim, but sometimes Hyperborean tribes, Rogarey, or Alltaf.
Magic users are fairly common. The Isle of Wizards, Biblion, Azan, and the Astromancers have thrown significant resources into improving the knowledge and ability of Platinum’s magic users. Some allied fey magic users are also quite powerful (and unconventional).
Platinum is very fond of fortifications and castles, and has built many along its borders. It is one of the few nations in the area to use gunpowder weapons, but mostly on ships, in fortresses, during sieges, or in large pitched battles. Bows, melee weapons, and magic are preferred for dealing with the fast-moving elite skirmishers that Platinum often faces.
Category:Nations
Category:Zemyland
Category:Littlestep