Alkaliye

**Alkaliye**, officially the **Kingdom of Alkaliye**, is an expansive nation in the North West of Hermetica. Though smaller than the Western League or Nike, it has a denser population.

Alkaliye's Earthen analogue is the Frankish Kingdom/Holy Roman Empire.

## Geography

Alkaliye rests in the North West of the known continent, its North coastline connected to the Ulkan Sea. Two rivers run through Alkaliye: the Rhine, and the Donan River which marks part of the border between Alkaliye and Calcinaia. Alkaliye shares a border with the Western League, Calcinaia, Palladion, and Nike.

Along the Donan River is a large forest, and a low volcanic region South of Mainz. There is plenty of fertile land, and Alkaliye has a self-sufficient ecology of fish and vegetable crops.

## Government and Politics

Alkaliye is a Feudal Monarchy. The king resides in Aachen, the capital of Alkaliye. Alkaliye's current dynasty has lasted nearly three hundred years, and in that time has expanded its borders across the Rhine and East, and South West of Donan. Mainz and Hamburg, for instance, were once neighbouring kingdoms before Aachen's king conquered them.

With the formation of the Western League and a lack of success in taking Nike's West lands, the military spirit subsided to a degree in Alkaliye. But a new king sets his sights on Calcinaia, and a desire for monopolistic control of the Donan River moving into Palladion.

Alkaliye's Dukes share highly variable opinions on the king and his interest in land-grabbing. Some of the smaller Duchies in particular seek to curry favour and expand their own domains. However, the Duke of Mainz, given his proximity to Calcinaia's border, is a vocal opposer to military action.

## Economy

Alkaliye's main trade routes are through Palladion and the Western League. Alkaliye has a largely self-sufficient economy, with mineral deposits found along its steep coastlines and inactive volcanoes, plenty of lumber, and food grown throughout the kingdom. Alkaliye frequently trades with Palladion lumber in exchange for gold and copper.

Alkaliye also boasts a technological advantage, with forging techniques reverse engineered from Nike and its own eminent research in Alchemy and the Arcane.

## Demographics

Humans, Orcs, and Grassland Elves are all common in Alkaliye. Goblins also are frequent in Mainz and South of the Duchy. There are Nikean immigrants in the East as well, mainly disaffected Dragonborn whose clan was destroyed or were themselves exiled.

Alkaliye's official language in Aachen is Common, but officials in Mainz frequently speak Orc, and in Hamburg Elven and Goblin are as frequent as Common.

## Culture

### **Kings and Conquerors**

Alkaliye and its nobles fight with both sword, magic, and intrigue. The monarchy sees itself as true inheritors of the West, and aim to control the Donan River to acquire a significant trade route and financial leverage against Calcinaia and the Western League. But as much as there are philosopher warriors, there are peace seekers even amongst Alkaliye's nobility. Mainz in particular embodies an opposing ideology to Aachen, satisfied with sharing the river's geopolitical importance with a like-minded nation.

It also heavily depends on who sits on the throne of Aachen. These days, most of Alkaliye's kings are merely interested in keeping up the appearance of warmongering. Others, the more zealous of the family, wish to drive out anyone who opposed their family or their religion.

### **Society**

Social norms are significantly different in Alkaliye than much of the rest of Hermetica. Polygamy is forbidden even among the nobility, and slavery is heavily limited and only permitted with prisoners of war. Even so, one is expected to release their slaves after peace is brokered with the warring nation.

Alkaliye has limited social mobility, however. Feudalism is strong in Alkaliye, and one born as a vassal will likely remain a vassal. Most adventurers or explorers of Alkaliye come from nobility or upper middle-class merchants.

Women also cannot be a head of a household, thus there is no political power for women throughout Alkaliye. The exceptions are merchants and clergy, where women have equal opportunity as men to succeed should they overcome the disadvantages of their social upbringing. Education is also available to women, including in alchemy and the arcane, but it is expensive and generally limited to the upper class.

It's uncommon, but there are also cases of lower class women running to West Palladion to join a noble's harem, in order to access similar education through such a relationship. The plan isn't quite as effective as it is romanticized to be, but there are a few successful cases.

### **Religion**

Alkaliye's monarchy has a close relationship with the Church of Hansus, formed by the prophet Hansus of Coraleigne. Hansus' Sect is the official religion in Alkaliye, and all other sects are essentially discouraged or even stamped out should they pose trouble. Hansus of Coraleigne himself is an old and deceased prophet, born some thousand years ago and dying during his pilgrimage across the Western grasslands.

Alkaliye's kings have frequently attempted to prosthelytize their sect through the sword, invading Palladion and a formerly 'heathen' Calcinaia in the name of Hansus' teachings and influence. But those times were many centuries ago - Palladion had regained its territory and then some. Calcinaia, particularly in the North, now reveres Hansus as the prophet of Mithras.

### **Magic**

Alkaliye rivals Palladion in alchemic advancement and achievement. Its University in Hamburg is one of the premier academies for both teaching and arcane research. Artillery and militarized magic developped in Alkaliye independent of Cadmia's discoveries, along with advanced architecture and agricultural management. However, many of these same advancements are limited to the major cities of Alkaliye. Its rural communities are often little different from anywhere else.