Cardinal Authority

The flag of the Authority

### Leader

 AlderanoZenith Edel Weiss (de facto)Adele Aresfield (de facto)Tristian Estarossa (de facto)

### Allies

State of ReuniState of SkodvaJin EunosSaelm

### Opponents

Shirosuna ResistanceErodis Shogunate (Defeated)Tanish Empire (Cold War)

### Geography

The Cardinal Authority is a totalitarian regime that resides on the South-Eastern plains of Solus. It goes through the standard seasonal cycle with longer monsoon seasons. It currently shares a border with Tanish occupied Erodis as well as Erodian Remnants. The lands are mainly flat fields with the occasional hills and forests. A good chunk of the nation’s land is contaminated with ERF, a highly radioactive ore that can easily lead to death. This contaminated land cuts the nation off from the ocean.

### Nation's Culture and Norms

The nation follows an altered version of the chivalric code, where the prestige of being a knight is still there but many restrictions have been lifted, such as having to duel fairly in a real fight. They possess knight competitions where people fight each other in simulated combat, no restrictions. The winner tends to get a chance at joining the military. The nation attempts a system of autarky and limits trade with other nations. Essentials are covered in this system but stuff like consumer goods and artistic objects tend to be imported. The nation was originally an oligarchy, but numerous blunders by the previous ministers caused a general uprising by the population, along with a military coup’d’teat soon after.The system was absorbed into a totalitarian state, placing the military at the very top and the ministry serving as an advisor of sorts.

The nation is plagued with discrimination and injustices, as immigrants are viewed with hostility and tend to be shunned to lower class districts. The notorious reputation of the Tanish Empire keeps them at odds while the Erodians are seen as a lesser human by a good majority of the people. This was due to the anti-Erodis propaganda fed to the people by the former government. The new government has attempted to cleanse these feelings of prejudice by introducing new laws such as the Resettlement Act and the Refugee Immigration Law. Both aim to open up the nation to more ethnicities but this has been met with mixed feelings. Non-Cardins are not allowed to hold seats of authority and civil jobs with few exceptions. Their artistic culture is severely under-developed as such things are seen as inefficient use of time and waste of the nation’s resources. Social Classes are commonly divided into separate districts or even entire cities. For example, Dostreal has a majority working class population with small groups of middle class and next to no upper class citizens due to its land mainly being made up of heavy industries and naval yards. In stark contrast would be the capital city of Altar, where few working class citizens live and majority of the upper class reside. Upper class citizens tend to live deeper in the city; it's safer than the outskirts, vice versa for the working class.

### Selection Process

The government is a totalitarian military run state, keeping most authority with the army. Its executive branch was absorbed into the standard army and the judiciary was given to the Blaze Guards. Only the legislative was left to the civilian administration but is under watch by the Purge Corps. At the very head of the nation is the Head Commandant, who has absolute authority over everything and can easily veto any decision made. Next are the Upper Commandants, who lead the three branches respectively as well as their assigned districts and administration. Then are the Lesser Commandants, who sometimes serve the same role but tend to be more involved with actual fighting rather than administration. The Head Commandant has to designate a successor before stepping down, if this isn’t done, the remaining Commandants choose one Upper Commandant to take over. The process is similar for the succession of  both Upper and Lesser Commandants as well, except that the Head Commandant can directly introduce a new Commandant.

### Nation's industries and Technologies

The nation is an industrialized power, with its heavy industries and energy production being its main source of income. They also grow a sizable amount of their own food and mine their own raw materials, but as a good chunk of its lands are contaminated, they are forced to purchase from other nations to fill the gaps. Their crucial weakness are consumer goods, with quality of life items being uncommon. Hence, most of their consumer items come from the Siberi Union and Tanish Empire.

Its technology is mostly comparable to the modern day. With some advancements in medicine and military hardware while declining in entertainment and public welfare. Due to the massive energy that Etherium can provide, mega projects and structures are a lot more common, and the lands used for energy production have been significantly scaled down.

### Education System

The education system is fairly limited for the government-funded education, mainly concentrating on getting students ready for the industrial world, be it a machine operator, mechanic or communications officer. For private institutes,requiring payment from attendees, the education system is entirely different from the standard one. As long as the funds are given, anyone of any age can attend the school. The courses there are focused more for complex jobs, such as an administration officer, researchers, doctors and Government Architects. Academies are a full educational course that can start from as young as 10, and are the ones with the highest requirements. There are also local academies and normal institutes in each city.

### Alliances and Enemies

The Cardinal Authority is not in any alliance nor pact, limiting itself to trade operations. They have a large mining contract with the State of Skodva, trading much needed infrastructure materials and heavy machinery for mining rights in the Rostva Mountains.Thier relations with the Tanish Empire is a sour one, with many diplomatic disputes between them as well as the occasional border disruptions. The Cardinal Authority’s racial segregation is directed to Erodians and Tanishies, hence causing further tensions. They are actively at war with the Erodis Shogunate, or its remnants anyways. Many Erodians refused to surrender to both the Tanish and Cardinal Authority, fleeing to the Eastern Islands and forming the Shirosuna Resistance. They have been locked in a stalemate for around 2 years now as the Cardinal Authority, despite being overwhelmingly superior in terms of technology and numbers, cannot concentrate enough forces due to the ever present threat provided from the contaminated ‘Barrenlands’. These lands are the home to demonic entities that aggressively attack anything alive, and thus tie up their military forces.

The Cardinal Authority shares a massive land border with the Tanish-Annexed Erodis as well as their homeland as well. Its only other border is with the Shirosuna Resistance, who are fortified on their islands in the east.

### History

Holy Constructs are items of worship within the nation, and anyone who can wield them is said to have been selected by the God who saved the nation a millennia ago. This story has remained the same throughout the years, despite the nation changing hands multiple times. Even today, if you are able to wield a Holy Construct, your life is basically guaranteed to be fruitful. Wakeneds, who are superpowered humans, are seen as descendants or reincarnations of past heroes as they are the ones who commonly end up using said constructs.

### Naming Culture

The naming system within the Cardinal Authority is fairly simple. A child is allowed any first name, and their last name is one of either parents.  Their middle name isn’t chosen, but given by the Government as an honor. Anyone who has a middle name are given privileges that normal people don’t have, such as free education for their children no matter the school, subsidies on housing and transportation and exemption from military service. Ironically, middle names are normally earnt through feats on the battlefield, although breakthroughs in science and technology are also another way. Their names tend to sound German with some having English names as well

As for the arts and aesthetics of the nation, the most common color is gray. Large gray concrete structures, gray roads and pavement, gray smoke from vehicles. It’s a very monotone nation, with some exceptions being Altar, where more colors are used or Dostreal, where a festival is held annually where people decorate the city with paint