Novaya, Military Governorate

## MA/LA Novaya, Military Governorate

### Lore

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, the latter of 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 towards THE final bosses.

Unlike others, Novaya has a different reason for conquering the world: due to the chaos surrounding the Pantokrator Wars as well as their true natures, the Novayans realized that things will not get better if they just sit and wait even after sitting in the sidelines for far too long. It was only after the discovery of a flying city of a far more ancient and far more bygone time and their leaders' meeting with the sole inhabitant did they realize the truth, and the knowledge they gained gave them the edge they need to not conquer the world and place it under its boot, but to save it, lead those with an even hand, and liberate the world from the machinations of the first Pantokrator who made sure the world remain in such a state of perpetual war.

### National Features

	+ 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
* 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 3) in Forts
* Holy 2 in Cities and Tribes
* 1 in Foreign Recruitment
* Free Magic Weapons (4) bless
* Standard Forts (citadel/fortress)
* Mystical off-fort commanders

#### Capital Special Sites

* Enables Recruitment of Lord Knights of Avalon, Magister Militum
* Produces 3 Astra Pearls
* 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.

#### 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.

### 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.

**Paths:**
Water 3, Fire 2, Air 2, Earth 2, Astral 2, Nature 2
 **Babylon** - Ally
**Paths:**
4 Earth, 4 Air, 2 Astral, 2 Nature
 **Na'Ba** - Vassal
**Paths:**
4 Fire, 2 Air, 2 Earth, 2 Astral, 1 Blood, 1 Nature
 **Hagia** - Vassal
**Paths:**
4 Water, 4 Death, 3 Earth, 2 Nature
 **Heijou** - Ally
**Paths:**
4 Water, 4 Nature, 2-3 Astral, 2-3 Death, 2-3 Air, 1 Fire
 **Yavana** - Ally/Vassal
**Paths:**
3 Nature, 2 Earth, 2 Astral, 2 Water

#### Units

##### Pretenders

The pretenders function very similarly to commanders, but unlike them these pretenders are immortal and can return within five turns.