Joyful Kingdom

The Joyful kingdom is a country of other races which embraces magic to its fullest extent. 
== History ==
=== The Prides ===
Before the Joyful kingdom, the area was the domain of intelligent animals, and the leaders of the land were the Apex predators, lions and Hyenas. The magic in the land soon gives them powers such as control over the weather and rain, the ability to roar with unrelenting force, and the power to gain an impenetrable skin. With their power the Lions made the pridelands their home, at the center of which was a formidable mountain, from which a forgotten race of men lived.
A war between the lions and hyena's years prior left the lions severely weakened. The herbivores rebelled and went to war with the lions to break their so called “Circle of Life”. They lose, and they then submitted to the newborn prince. 
The Circle of Life is the unregulated hunting the lions are allowed on the herbivore races. They exact this right as the price for their protection of the herbivores from Hyenas, who eat corpses which renders them unable to give the deceased their last rites. This caused the herbivores to enact their religion for the price of some of their lives. 
The herbivores do not require the circle of life, and if they had won, a winning scenario for them would be carnivores gone. But they can't, because if they scared off the lions the hyenas would move in, and the situation would be worse. In a way, the herbivores enlist the lions to guard them in exchange for the meat of their dead and dying.
They pledge themselves into the lion’s protection, with the understanding that they will be hunted in smaller numbers in the pridelands than they would should they leave. The pridelands become a relative safe haven for herbivores but there’s no war. Not between herbivores and carnivores and not immediately prior to the start of the lion king. 
After the newborn prince is exiled by his uncle, the newly crowned lion king does the opposite of this arrangement. He makes the two alpha predators unite forces. He does this is to counter an imagined herbivore uprising. This coalition wrecks the ecosystem - especially one with limited resources and prone to drought. Because he does not keep his contract with the hyenas, the king gets thrown over a cliff. 
Much later, the exiled prince returns and introduces grub eating as a temporary solution to ensure the herbivores do not revolt after his uncles deposition. But with limited resources, competition can help keep the circle of life. This happens soon as unregulated numbers prove that the herbivores very much require the circle of life because without it, they overpopulate and cause mass epidemics of disease and widespread starvation. Disappointed, the exiled prince eventually abolished grub eating. 
The ecological collapse didn't subside and where there were previously savannahs became deserts. The lions and hyenas left the lands, and from the central mountain came an other race, the Sorcerors. 
=== The Mountain ===
The Holy mountain was a site of religious significance to the Lions, one night it “sparked the stars in the sky”. The sun sparked from the mountain after the stars, but stuck, permanently in place. The stars made music, which became the air, water, birds and crops. then, from the light came the beings, the Sorcerors. 
The mountain entrusted a ball of light to the beings at the summit. When they came down from the mountain, the ball became cloth. The cloth was magical, creating bridges for the people, and magic cloaks that could fly, allowing them to explore beyond the canyons that surrounded the mountains deserts. The being built mighty towers to connect the cloth, to build a great bridge that connected all the beings.
Before long the sorcerors had lost their way, unable to return to the mountain to complete the bridge. The beings had gone so far from the mountain, they forgot their mission and sought to create their own perfect society. But the cloth ran out, and the being could no longer harness the power of the star lights, and fought over cloth and light. 
The beings devolved into tribes that warred with each other using cloth sentinels (that the mountain had given them for protection) which they clad in stone armor, to protect their interests. Before long the blasted sands became a mass graveyard devoid of the beings.
The mountain used its light to send messengers to the lost world, to build bridges back to it.
In reality the “mountain” was the site where a demon god was perched, possibly a Chernabog or Luminescent biomass, sending its minions unto the world for its bidding, being a classical god of epicness (grants its gifts to those who obey the rule of cool/cruel). Eventually the demon god sent a messenger, the Sorceror King. 
The Sorceror King comes to fight a seven headed dragon, a serpent, a leviathan, disasters, wars, plagues and famines, as prophets claim his arrival. Two prophets of the other sorcerers opposed his, and arrived on horseback to defeat his with their armies. Asteroids came to earth and water became blood.
The ground was fertile from the bodies of this epic battle, but as bells rung across the lands, the Sorceror King retreated to its mountain top to sleep until it could bestow its gifts again. When no one came, it created two things, witches and the vaults in the land around it.
The land was unoccupied for a long time save by a few witch covens who regrouped mostly around the mountain for Hexensabbats. This changed with the arrival of Joan. Joan was a minor noblewoman cast out from Rend, who arrived at the base of the mountain when the Sorceror king was purging a Hexensabbat. The Sorceror was cursed to its armor and Joan was sealed within, gaining powers over steam in the process.
Joan became Queen Sorceress and sired the minor nobility of the time, all with a measure of power. It was later discovered that she shared the trait with many other nobles of the 13 kingdoms. The end of her life is somewhat hazy as is the history of the region ,and begins again with the establishment of the kingdoms capital of Letaris by a descendent of Joan, the sorceror king. 
== Geography ==
The Joyful kingdom is in the Goggurum territory. The Joyful kingdom is located in a land where magic is plentiful. The particularity of the kingdom is in its overall intelligent use of magic to effectively govern its people. The area of land is highly contentious and border violence is frequent, as 13 kingdoms all fight each other for dominance in the area.
An important feature of the kingdom is its access to the Goggurum coast, where most of its trade takes place, in the center of the land are great forests and plains. Perhaps the most important feature of the kingdom is its large forests where magical objects seemingly appear, which is the core of the kingdom's economy. 
=== Neighbouring countries ===
Neighbouring lands include Mirantibus (a spoof of Wonderland), Ounce (a spoof of Oz), Scuzar (a spoof of Agrabah), Croan, Farad (stereotypical fairy tale lands), Rend (a spoof of scandinavian countries).  
Off the coasts of the kingdom are several island nations such as Numquam  (a spoof of neverland) and Insulam, an island dominion (islands of Greek influence). There is a strong seafaring culture in the islands and an age of sail is in full swing there. 
=== Relationships ===
The King of Rend and Queen of Croan are brother and sister, both share Joan as a common ancestor. 
==== Rend ====
Rend shares an interesting relationship with the Joyful kingdom. Joan fled from the pyre she was condemned to in Rend. Since this fact Rend reveres Joan as their patron guardian, where Joan is thought to have stopped the flame with steam powers, hinting at her steam powers borne from fire resistance or water powers. 
The Snow Queen is the contemporary leader of rend who is also an ancestor of Joan. Her reign is noted for its violence as she fought with other contenders to the throne. The snow queen fought against her nieces in the War of Mirrors. When she lost, she shattered the mirror to cause strife and sociopathy amongst the contenders. 
The period of strife was ended when the Joyful Kingdom backed Nathan of Rend, a contender with the ability to summon swords. He was accompanied by Samma Ha Mashhit and Hagridden the Red. 
==== Croan ====
Croan or Crone is a historic ally of the joyful kingdom, having fought as allies against the four clans territory. Many lines of minor nobility in the joyful kingdom can trace their origins to the kingdom of Crone. The joyful kingdom is proud of these minior nobles on its territory and often gift them border territories.
Croan is noted for being besieged from barbarian tribes of Grendel. Grendel is mythological figure to the Grendel tribes. They believe Grendel was a descendant of Cain (an alleged man from the moon) and Modor (the curse bearer). Cain had a clan of children who carried his stance on barbarity. When Cain was wrongly killed by Beowulf and Modor kidnapped by Beowulf this caused Grendel's enmity towards mankind. 
Grendel's mother then bore a child with Beowulf, a Crone King, which led her to be outcast by Beowulf. The child was a dragon who was gifted to Grendel for his mothers return to the tribe. Grendel went to war against Beowulf who killed both grendel and the dragon. Beowulf died of disease and Modor took the throne for herself. Modor reaped her revenge by taking the left arms of all of beowulf's men. She was much crueler to the woman of Croan, she pactized with the Worridden in order to create Ay. A subspecies of witch which harassed pregnant women. 
From this period of strife rose Samma Ha Mashhit, who broke the Ay in Croan before fleeing to the Joyful kingdom. His daughter, would be made judge and queen of croan after his fathers wishes. Which made both of Samma Ha Masshhit's children the modern day rulers of the kingdoms of Crone and Rend. 
==== Farad ====
Farad is a kingdom who used to be ruled by the dwarf witchking but has recently been invaded by batracien ogres and their government has exiled itself to the Joyful Kingdom.
==== The Joyful Kingdom and the Dalmer Empire ====
The Joyful kingdom is the greatest enemy the Empire has ever faced, as it is incredibly creative with the advantages and limitations of its magic. Its powerful sorcerers and mass production of magical objects and servants would make it a difficult country to defeat. The Joyful kingdom is one of the rare territories where there are no Dalmer forward bases.
== Population ==
The population is very diverse but is comically overshadowed by the sheer number of its enchanted citizenry, with 87% of the registered population being enchanted citizens. The enchanted citizenry are sentient magical everyday items that are sapient and work for the non enchanted citizens. These can range from the enchanted suits of armor that serve as cannon fodder or the Pinoch, enchanted wooden puppets that serve as civil servants. The enchanted citizenry represents 
The non enchanted or unenchanted are composed of the usual fantasy races such as Trolls (bridge and rock), Dwarves, Deities, Fairies, Ogres, Tree Nymphs, Mer, Giants, Gnomes, and humans. Humanoids and Dwarves represent 8% of the population, the rest only compose 5% of the remaining population. 
Werewolves, Witches, Undead and other classical states of fantasy are classified according to their original race. This means that there are for example werewolf communities where one can find giants and mermaids. It is entirely possible to accumulate different derivatives such as the undead werewolf witch mermaid (named Betty), though this is probably very hard to manage. 
== Government ==
The JK is a centralized monarchy with a caste system underneath. 
=== Sorceror King ===
The head of state is the mysterious Sorcerer King, notable for his incredibly tolerant nature towards magic and its usage in public works. 
==== Sorcerers' Greatsword ====
The Sorcerer King of the Joyful kingdom wields a greatsword upon which all the names of elected officials and council members are inscribed magically, making them subservient to him while he holds the sword.
=== Joyful Kingdom Council ===
The JK has a policy of dispersion and deconcentration of magical power, by producing Daggers of office (magical wands) and distributing them to the citizenry, dispersing litteral power in the process. Underneath the sorcerer king is his council. 
==== Daggers of Office ====
Council members are given dark one powers via magical daggers of office. The magical daggers are held by council members and nobles as it is a typical sign of power and nobility. The members of the elected officials council are given wands as symbols of office, to aid them in their tasks as council members. 
==== Transmission ====
The position of council member is a permanent one and does not end with retirement. Disobedience or abuse of the magical daggers leads to intervention from other wand wielders, and in a worst case scenario, the sorcerer king himself brings the offender back in line. Disputes are settled via dueling, the dagger is then retrieved by anyone brave enough to take on the role of council.
=== Forces of Order ===
Underneath the council is the magical military elite composed of sorcerers and wand wielders who command the three branches of the “Forces of Order” known colloquially as the Foo, which they typically scream when entering combat. 
== Military ==
The JK military is split into three branches, the Flying Marines, the Borderwatch and the Sheriff's office. These three branches deal with respectively external, internal security and police work.
=== Flying Marine Corps ===
The flying marine corps is the fast response team that the Joyful Kingdom uses in its abroad conflicts. The corps uses flying ships and submarines. The sails of their ships are enchanted, some have pegasus feathers or are imbued with shadow demon in order for the ships to fly. The hulls of their ships are coated with fairy dust in order to help them fly, pirates also use this method. 
Flying ships are frequently used by the JK. Ship captains are given unique swords that give the wielder power over the ships rigging, meaning one person alone can pilot the ship, adjust the sails, fire the cannons etc. Their usage is the subject of a course at the Joyful military academy school of aeronautics. Some ships have the ability to summon krakens. The usage of the kraken summoning equipment and the ability of a ship to dive requires the captain to undergo the heart in chest procedure. Ships are transported via bottle, a ship in a bottle can be returned to its original size with extract of Numquam mushroom. Magic beans to open portals in deep waters to transport ships to faraway lands are standard equipment in ships.
=== Borderwatch ===
The Borderwatch is the joyful security agency. It is charged with counter-espionage, counter-terrorism, and surveillance of potentially threatening groups, organisations, social phenomena and other internal security issues of the kingdom.
The body is dedicated to the control and stability of magic to ensure that it is used only for beneficial ways. The agency monitors any illegal black magic, most everyday magical items and potions are registered with the department.
Go around on bikes, carriages and hot air balloons. Make use of magic mirrors to survey the population.
=== Sheriffs office ===
The Joyful sheriff is the police force in charge of maintaining the status quo. They 
== Other orders ==
Then there’s the peasantry divided into laborers working in the industrial sector (dwarves mostly) and the administration as civil servants (Pinochs), the merchant class and the diplomatic corps dedicated to finding and retrieving magical objects within and without the JK’s borders. 
== Policies ==
The most interesting aspect of the Joyful Kingdom is its usage of magical items in its policies.
=== Magic and industry ===
The kingdom is notable for its full acceptance of magical beings and users, and their incorporation into its economy. Most of the industry in the kingdom is based around magical items. Under the Sorcerer king the JK went from a backwater kingdom to a booming economy insistent on the discovery, research, development and mass production of magical goods.
The kingdom spends an enormous quantity of gold in research and development of magical abilities and technology, as well as the education and teaching of magic. It is a center for magical learning and inscribing, and tries its best to attract scholars to its laboratories. A more controversial tone to this is the employment of noted “dark” magic users for its projects, even though these positions are generally uninteresting for the average aspiring dark lord (self sweeping brooms for instance is an example of fully funded project the kingdom is fond of) but pay extremely well and are gratifying professions within the JK. 
=== Border control ===
The JK protects its border using many strategies. These strategies include the installation of dragon keeps to attract the herpetons inside them using gold hoards.
=== Imprisonment ===
Wrongdoers, notably tricksters who strike deals without proper information of the second party, are entrapped in magic cancelling prisons. These prisoners are often kept because they cannot be transformed into enchanted servants. This is mostly because they are either too magically powerful, or for reasons pertaining to their status (diplomats, foreign visitors/demons).
=== Recognition of nobility in transfigured individuals ===
After the (3) Frog princes, and other related episodes episodes and the amount of grief caused by said episodes, who it must be said was completely capable of speech and intelligent elocution, it was recognized by the JK that royalty, no matter the form of the sovereign is recognized. Therefore, the JK recognizes kings in disguises and transmogrified nobles.
For transparence, these are the relevant episodes
* The Frog Prince of New Orleans/Maldonia Naveen Hunter Drew  
* The Frog King of Far far away Harold Cleese Pendragon
* The Frog King of World’s End Well Iron Henry
=== Town Bursar ===
The financing of communities is managed by the towns bursar, who wields the pursestrings of a bottomless coin bag.
=== Nannies and Housekeeping guild ===
The guild is managed by the corporate leader of the guild, Mary Poppins, and exceptional powers are granted to the nannies. 
Among the powers granted to them are Teleportation and Levitation, as well as cleaning and weather (cloud and wind) magic. Their signature tool of office is a bird headed umbrella. 
=== Baxtak ===
A class of demons that appears during sleep paralysis, these creatures often have hoards of treasure or knowledge of treasure. This causes the joyful kingdom to employ people with sleep paralysis to attract the Baxtak and capture it to learn of treasure locations, most often magical objects. They capture the Baxtak by teaching the sleepers to wiggle their toes during an attack to break the paralysis and to catch the creatures nose; the capture of the creatures sensitive nose forces it to reveal its knowledge of treasure. This is how the kingdom finds new magical objects in its forests. 
=== Sailors and Seafarers Guild ===
The guild is in charge of ship regulations and exploration charters. Led by Moana, but the position is hotly contested given the seafaring inclination of the JK. 
=== Extraordinary gentlemen leagues ===
These guilds are plentiful, and are but loosely related to the “original” league composed of Quartermain, Jekyll/Hyde, Nemo, Murray, Gray and Skinner. 
These leagues are given magic for their own needs and missions without much oversight besides reporting to a military intelligence officer. These leagues are superhero leagues of sorts.
One such league is composed of Poppins, Pan, Moana and Rapunzel.
=== Prophecies ===
Despite overwhelming cultural and social backlash, it it the JK’s policy to ignore prophecies due to concerns about child safety. To ease tensions, an interpreter service was created to find practical solutions to prophecies. 
=== Graveyard vault reliquaries ===
While the JK makes use of a great many vaults and reliquaries to store their weaponized magical items, they are generally against family graveyard vaults as the people of the JK tend to bury their dead with their magical objects. Despite incentives to the contrary by the government, such as warning of grave robbery and its implications, the citizenry continue to bury family members with magical objects. 
=== Locust Plaguebringers ===
Bringers of plague in the form of locust swarms are welcome in the JK due to the food source they bring. However they have stricter immigration restrictions and must go through appropriate channels away from agricultural sectors. Some locust gain sentience through magical association, these can apply for jobs as consciences’ for the enchanted servant class. 
=== Contract Law ===
Due to the cost of magic in the JK’s, all its citizens have a mandatory contract law class that they must obtain in order to obtain citizenship. This is to avoid the many loopholes that magical dealers set for the unwary. 
=== The Five Pains ===
The five pains are the JK’s beacon magicians, that serve as examples of positive integration of black or dark magic users into the kingdoms infrastructure. These are known as the Queen, the Fairy, the Confectionner, the Heart taker and the Dealer. The list got a lot longer as the JK faced new challenges related to magic, but these five are a testament to the JK’s policies of integration. 
Today the Dealer is the Sorcerer King’s Goto. The Heart Taker is a master interrogator, while the queen, fairy, and confectionner have all joined the industrial sector, producing the myriad magical products the kingdom enjoys for everyday usage.
=== R the Witchking ===
The Witchking is a dwarf warlord who commands a legion of witches, similar to the Dealer for his affection for making deals. The witchking's actions led to the bactracian ogres creating an alliance that led to his overthrowing and their control of Farad. The witchking has ever since been a king in exile in the Joyful Kingdom along with his government, including the wicked west witch and baba yaga who are part of his council. The ousting of the Witchking by batracien ogres caused tensions and clashes between populations of orgres and witches in the joyful kingdom 
The Witchking brought with him the knowledge of his people, notably hunter witches were incorporated into the kingdoms FOO units, and giant golden geese husbandry. The Witchking’s steed is an infertile golden goose. 
Hunter Witches are servants of the Witchking, their standard issue equipment is a broom, lantern, apple smoke bombs, pumpkin bombs, and skull grapple chains. 
=== Archimedes ===
Another example of the integration is of non magic user Archimedes. Archimedes was saved from an invasion in his home kingdom when his skill as a civilian as well as a military engineer absolutely baffled the Sorcerer King. He was subsequently offered the position of Polymath, a rare honor in the JK and revamped the kingdoms non magical naval defense systems. He was later turned into an owl.
=== Woodworkers Guild ===
In charge of building furniture and the Pinochs, the Woodworkers Guild is led by Marco Gepp. They also deal with shipbuilding in the JK, though it is a separate division led by Archimedes. 
=== Tower Law (the Rapunzel Case) ===
The Rapunzel case, which saw the kidnapping and restraining of a young person in a tower is seen as backwards and stops the person from having access to what is considered basic decency and education, as such was deemed illegal. The practice is still done today however, for individuals with particular powers (see the Rapunzel case). Given the inherent value the hoarding behavior deprives the JK, it is considered acceptable by most courts that any member of the citizenry deliver said kidnapped person. 
=== Flower of the Sun law ===
Given the use of FOTS for rejuvenation and foetal disturbance magics, their private harvest is illegal until sufficient stocks are available for mass distribution. Until then, the few samples are jealously guarded and the theft of such items is harshly reprimanded by enchanted servitude. 
For reference, when the kingdom of Corona stole a flower, the JK sent a demon to collect the flower, in the form of black shards that sprouted around the kingdom. As a message to not steal again, the demon destroyed the city’s outer walls. 
=== Flower of the sun distribution ===
The flower of the sun is distributed via magical transfer to rejuvenate the entirety of the population of the JK, however coverage is spotty. The JK encourages the elderly and the ancient to carefully research the coverage of their travel destinations to ensure their viability. Shortages are not uncommon however, and the JK routinely declines responsibility for the deaths caused by a FOTS shortage. 
=== Hexensabbat ===
Hexensabbats, or witches sabbath, are naturally authorized by the JK in areas appropriate for the ritual. Sources of power such as Bald Mountain or other demon burial sites often have dedicated temples or castles to execute the ceremonies in safety for the inducted and soon to be inducted witches. The cost of course is applying for the appropriate licences and registration to the competent Witch king. 
=== Lightning strike witch ===
Lightning strikes being random and not necessarily correlated to voluntary action to become a witch, if an individual is struck by lightning and given witch powers involuntarily, said person is granted a months time to register to the competent Witch King. 
=== Cattle Warlord ===
Cattle ranchers are permitted the usage of magical hooks to better control their flocks, the cost of acquiring the hook is service as tax collectors for the kingdom in a given jurisdiction. The competence of cattle warlords is complementary to the Merry men, as the Merry men rarely share territory with grazing fields. 
=== Typhoons ===
Typhoons are individuals with talents for killing so pronounced they are considered weapons of mass destruction in their own right. Given their immortality, they are kept under lock and key by the JK and deployed sparingly in situations where casualties are acceptable. In peace times, they are kept alone in fortresses where they live alone, accompanied by enchanted servants so that no harm would come to the citizenry. Most of the Typhoons are related, and share the seemingly genetic trait of indestructibility while in a destructive rage. 
Typhoons include
* Heracles
* Samson (Heracles’ son)
* Adam (Beast)
* Hyde
=== Minor Nobility ===
The foremost characteristic of nobility is their magical power. Beyond the generic magic trait, lesser nobles exhibit power over elements or a single superhuman trait. 
These minor nobles include
* Elsa of Arendelle (Ice)
* Anna of Arendelle (Strength)
* Hans Westegaard Stabbington (Steam/Bound sword)
*Rapunzel (Capilokinesis)
* Joan of Arc (Steam or Water)
* Moana (Ocean water)
* Mary Poppins (Clouds, Wind) misnomer, is in reality a demon
* Big bad wolf (Wind)
* Peter Pan (Flight)
* Blanchette Goldenhood (Feralism/Lupanthropy)
*Elinor (Feralism/Ursanthropy), related to Rapunzel
* Quasimodo (Stoneshaping)
* Gothel (Herbomancy)
* Helga (Ice)
* Emma (Rain, fireworks, force, electricity, northern lights) misnomer, has had formal magical training
* Cruella (Telekinesis)
* Mr Hyde (Magical absorption)
* Siren (control of sea plant life, rain)
* Zelena (Storms, Telekinesis)
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