Lancea

Lancea is a country in the Windrose world. It is one of the largest nations in the world, with possibly only Papillon being larger in size. It is a regional superpower on the continent it lies on due to its large size and proximity to many other nations. It borders Windrose to the north, Falcata to the east, Sagaris to the south/southwest, Triquetra to the southeast, and Raoji to the south.

### History

At some point in history, Lancea, or at least some sort of group which would become the government of Lancea, was a part of the ancient nation of Lancata. Eventually, it split off from Falcata and what would become Windrose, establishing itself as its own empire.

Around 500 years ago, The Emperor of Lancea ascended to immortality, and has ruled the empire since then. At some point, the city of Harlo was incorporated into Lancea. At some point, a group of Ice Mages revolted in southern Lancea, and were suppressed by the empire. Instead of executing the insurgents, the Emperor exiled them to Phos, leading to a boom of ice mages in Phos. During the Second Squid Revolt, a Lancean operative named Mr. Grey participated in the Revolt as an Arm of the Squid God, although it's unknown if this was under the orders of Lancea itself. In 27 AT, a Lancean operative known as Yell was sent to the city of Indigo to complete an unknown objective.

In 1 AT, Lancea participated in the One Week War against Windrose and Falcata. It led a heavy bombing campaign against the Windrosi province of Notus, destroying much of the farmland and infrastructure of that region and leading to a mass exodus up to Central Windrose. Involved in the bombing campaign were mercurial mortar shells, which led to combatants and innocents on both sides of the war developing mercury poisoning. Lancea has since began an effort to supply child soldiers who fought in the One Week War and incurred this poisoning a cure.

### Political Structure

Very little is known about Lancea's government. It is headed by the Emperor, and has a Supreme Court, but the exact roles and restrictions of those titles systems are not yet understood. It has some manner of a class system which includes a noble class, although it takes on a much stranger form compared to more classical conceptions of a European aristocracy.

Administration in Lancea is divided among 17 provinces, known as Lands, of which only one is currently known: The Land of Puzzles.

### Culture

The cultural landscape of Lancea is also mostly an unknown at this point. Lanceans are known to have a robust and complicated system of etiquette, and are seen as somewhat "fancy" by non-Lanceans. Additionally, there are a handful of alluded schools of Magic indigenous to Lancea involving the manipulation of various sorts of construction materials, which could possibly imply a cultural focus on infrastructure, although nothing has been confirmed yet.

There is a city in Lancea known as Bouquet in which some of its soldiers use giant scissors in combat.

Lancea's size grants it a variety of notable bloodlines. Some of the confirmed bloodlines include elves, dwarves, orcs, halflings, dragonfolk, plantfolk, and unicorn people.

### Notable Magical Phenomena

Some aspects of Lancean Magic seem to work in cycles. The rate at which types of elemental mages are born seems to shift with time. For example, at the start of a century, fire mages might be very common, but by the end of the century, there might be a boom in wind mages being born. The origins of this cycle are not understood.

### Notable Lanceans

* The Emperor of Lancea
* Mr. Grey
* "Yell"
* Barachiel Gannon
* Zachariah