St James

**St James**, officially the **Holy Templedom of Saint James**, is a founding city-state of the Union of Espaeria, constituting the capital city of James City, as well as the port and city of Magnapol. There are multiple smaller towns and villages throughout the state, such as the Northeast Village, across six regions of Magnapol, the Belmorn Islands (who are autonomous), Solomon State, Wildshire, North Stephengrad, and James City. The state has an elected Senate, led by Prime Minister Martin Li. The head of state is Grand Master Templar Luke James, and the official title for the head of state is Grand Master Templar. The main religion is Christianity, but before 40 AD, the state was mainly Jewish, and many principles of Jewish culture have echoed down into modern Jamesian society. The main sport is rugby union, and St James is hosting the 2022 Espaeria Cup.

## Politics

The Holy Templedom of Saint James has an elected leader of its parliament, known as the Senate, and has the unelected head of state, Grand Master Templar James. The elected leader of the Senate is the leader of the largest party in St James, and currently is Prime Minister Martin Li. The Prime Minister resides in the Palace of the Martyr, a luxurious palace situated next to the Palace of the Templars in James City and neighbours the Jamesian State Parliament.

Decisions and policy is made by the Senate, whilst the head of state approves these policies. It is convention that the head of state always approves Senate legislation. The head of state is able to introduce legislation, that the Senate then debates and by convention will approve it.

The Prime Minister proposes a cabinet to the head of state, who then approves and announces it. Any cabinet changes are made with the head of state's consent. The head of state is the Grand Master Templar, a figurehead role after Grand Master Templar James decided to make the role advisory rather than holding complete power.

The Senate is made up of 100 representatives who are elected from their constituencies using the First Past the Post System. Constituencies consist of 60,000 to 75,000 people and have varying sizes, with the smallest being in the heart of James City (known as James Row), and the largest being in the farming community around the Northeast Village and Dapperville (known as Northeast and Dapper). All registered citizens of St James have the right to vote.

All political parties are allowed in St James as long as they do not put forward hateful policies. Extreme parties have very little support, and socialist parties have lost support further after the Socialist Uprisings. Separatist parties have lost support since the creation of the St James Senate, but the parties still exist and hold 2 of the 100 seats.

The ruling party is the Espaerian Prosperity Party, who are also deeply involved in national Espaerian politics. Their leader is Prime Minister Martin Li, and other important members include the Grand Master Templar, who has retired from politics. The party is pro-capitalism and holds 90 of the 100 seats in the Senate. The party just introduced the Jamesian Reform Act in order to improve the lives of the citizens of the state.

### St James Realm

The Holy Templedom of St James is a unitary state which comprises, in addition to the mainland, one autonomous region: the Belmorn Islands.

St James has six regions:

* James City
* Magnapol
* North Stephengrad
* Wildshire
* Solomon State
* The Belmorn Islands (which are autonomous)

## Sports

### Rugby Union

Rugby union is the most popular sport in St James. The state prides itself on its rugby history, such as its 70 Espaeria Cup wins. There are 15 official club teams in St James, including two Espaeria Premiership Rugby teams (Sharks and Belmorn Knights). The state's Espaeria Cup squad is as follows:

Formed: 1474 AD

Head Coach: Fabien Galthié

Reserves

24 Bobby Warwick (Sharks) (Hooker)

25 Randy Wango (Belmorn Knights) (Prop)

26 Orion Wesler (Magnapol Moon-eyes) (Prop)

27 Eben Ezebeth (Sharks) (Lock)

28 Joros Lastchild (Magnapol Moon-eyes) (Lock)

29 Samuel Kitchener (Sharks) (Loose Forward)

30 Joseph Froll (Belmorn Knights) (Loose Forward)

31 Inan Manassus (Magnapol Moon-eyes) (Number 8)

32 Mitchell Webb (Sharks) (Scrum Half)

33 Stephen Mizrak (Magnapol Moon-eyes) (Fly Half)

34 Warren Torren (Belmorn Knights) (Winger)

35 Finn Bret (Belmorn Knights) (Centre)

36 Emmett Harbronze (Belmorn Knights) (Centre)

37 Aaron Jones (Sharks) (Winger / Fly Half)

38 Tristan Mallik (Belmorn Knights) (Fullback)

39 James Markes (Belmorn Knights) (Hooker)

40 James Ashford (Sharks) (Prop)

41 Tadgh O’Connell (Sharks) (Prop)

42 Jeremy Gillett (Sharks) (Lock)

43 Toby Charles (Sharks) (Loose Forward)

44 Tommen Wheelright (Magnapol Moon-eyes) (Scrum Half)

45 Anthony Tor (Magnapol Moon-eyes) (Fly Half)

46 Oscar Jude (Belmorn Knights) (Fullback)

## Military and Honours

St James has a proud military history, especially in both land and naval combat. The state has been involved in multiple wars throughout its history and increases the defence spending annually. The head of the armed forces is the Lord Commander, who is usually a member of the cabinet, or the head of state. It is currently President Emeritus Emperor Lord Commander Matthew, who also has full authority over the deployment of the Special Forces unit known as the "Templars".

Key military awards (ranked by importance):

James Cross, known as the JC

Knight of the Jamesian Empire, known as the KJE

Templar's Cross, known as the TC

Distinguished Jamesian Medal, known as the DJM

Jamesian Medal, known as the JM

Emperor's Cross, known as the EC (introduced in 1897 after the St James-Valomattan merger)

Emperor's Medal, known as the EM (introduced in 1897 after the St James-Valomattan merger)