Cresce

Known by those who respect and depend upon it as "The Great Mother," and by those who revile and fear it as "The Great Tyrant," **Cresce** /kreɪʃ/ stands on par with Alderode as one of the most powerful countries in Kasslyne. Westernmost on the continent, **Cresce** enjoys a stable, educated society that places supreme emphasis on material equality. It is the first and only country in Kasslyne with a "moneyless" economy, exercising rigid state control and social pressure to declare "Greed" as great a crime as murder.

The county's seal is a grebber atop of a crown, below a Gefendur symbol.

## History

Cresce was founded by the ancient Queen Crescia. The country has a long contentious history with its northern neighbor Alderode, with one of Cresce's ruling queens dying in battle with Alderode. The countries further south view Cresce as a bulwark against Aldish warmongering, but don't always appreciate Crescian interference in their own dealings. There was once a Crescian language endemic to Cresce but it is all but dead, replaced by "Continental". Animal and place names still reflect this language with Vliegeng in particular being a loanword in Alderode that took precedence over the Tainish name for the flying creatures.

## Government

Cresce's political system involves a matrilineal monarchy held by a succession of Queens, and a cabinet of advisers, industrial masters, and ambassadors. Below the monarchy, an expansive but rigidly controlled web of state offices control Cresce's seventeen districts. These districts are in turn split into democratically self-governing cities that plan, manage, and maintain themselves, with the state acting as intermediary for resource distribution from group to group, and as a larger governing force to manage a higher judiciary, the military, and international trade.

The current queen of Cresce is Maharaishala Sonorie, whose family has governed Cresce for approximately 400 years. With a cultural emphasis on the Mother Goddess of the Gefendur religion, and a history that began one-thousand years earlier when the country was won in battle by the warrior-queen Crescia, it's perhaps no surprise that Cresce's royal family is matriarchal, though crown is not inherited by the queen's own offspring but by an adopted princess chosen for qualities the queen approves of in a successor.

Most major decisions in Cresce are made by the Council of Four, consisting of the current Queen, current top General, High Priestess and the Chancellor representing the nobles. As of *Unsounded* Book I the Queen is Maharaishala Sonorie, the General Kima Bell, the High Priestess is as of yet unnamed and the Chancellor is Ufal. "Almost every Crescian family has a rank among the “Tiers of the Unborn”. These tiers are maintained by the high priestess of the Gefendur church. The higher your family ranks, the nearer you are [considered] to escaping [reincarnation in] Kasslyne and “being born” into the Twin Gods’ kingdom, to dwell in their court, and perhaps become a Victori[.] The top eight Crescian families are referred to as the Crescian nobility.
These nobles have cool privileges like fancy housing, servants, an LP stipend, the ear of the Chancellor (whose job it is to serve as liaison between throne and nobility) and council access, so they can make personal requests to her Majesty." Known families within this eight are the Toma and Geig families. A Lady and Lord Amar have also been mentioned.

## Economy

Cresce's is a largely planned and closed economy that is managed in equal parts from the bottom-up and the top-down. The country is split into 17 districts and myriad cities. Each city is led by a democratically elected ruling council that, with citizen cooperation, determine its wants and needs. Because all cities require teachers, doctors, police officers, wrights, and certain others, cities will bid each other for the best, offering beautiful houses, office facilities, and special privileges to the best candidates to convince them to relocate.

Every city that is capable of it produces its own food. Cities that require state assistance must justify their resource requirement by production of its own resources (mining cities produce ore, university towns must graduate a quota of students, factory towns must produce goods, etc.) which can be traded to the state or to other cities for food, building resources, additional military protection, and so on. When a city becomes insolvent the state steps in and "retires" it, relocating families to other cities and occupations around the country.

Each citizen is expected to work a certain number of hours a week depending on their age and health. As compensation for this, they are guaranteed housing, food, and a certain number of Labor Points, or LP. LP is a small steel coin that serves as a programmed token of an individual's labour and the time they spent performing it. Every LP is assigned to a single individual at the time of issuance, cannot be spent by anyone else, and can only be redeemed at nationally or municipally licensed businesses. Once spent, the token is returned to Cresce's Labour Office to be reprogrammed and redistributed. LP require the Breath System to operate, a pymarically-backed national network.

Cresce stresses small and functional over huge and unwieldy. By ensuring its citizens are fed, educated, and entertained, it's maintained a relatively stable - if unorthodox - society that takes pride in taking care of its own. However it is not run by idealists. Royal Peaceguard along with other police and military forces are a constant presence, and deviance, corruption, theft, and "treason" are all treated harshly and definitively.

## Concepts

"Cresce is a mix of ideas. The central government is a matrilineal monarchy that rules by Divine Right and maintains a selection of noble families legitimized by the Gefendur church’s declaration of where they fall on a spectrum of divine favour. The power of these nobles is predominately societal, though they do hold sway in a few other key ways. The monarchy oversees a command economy on a national level, controlling a specialized military that every citizen is commanded to serve at least two years in after school.

Scaling down, Cresce is split into myriad city-states which each serve a national purpose and which must each meet national production expectations in order to remain solvent. There are farms and farm towns, mining towns, university towns, factory towns, fishing towns, and so on. Each is self-governing, with local democratically elected governors, councils, and constabulary, with posted Peaceguard occasionally serving as reps from the palace.

City-states - provided they meet their production requirements - are given quite a bit of freedom under Cresce’s system. They are left to sort out their own urban maintenance and labour divisions, food production, local law enforcement, and so on, with the palace always available to swoop in and settle disputes, offer resource grants for tech innovation, supplement food production, and oversee trade between cities.

Cresce tries to have it both ways: transparent integrity through smallness and accountability via the communal city-states, and strength and efficiency through the strong arm of an overarching state. It’s worked fairly well for quite a while, but the government has a lot of factors on its side: a pious populace that heeds the Statist decrees of the Gefendur church. Unfriendly foreign powers to stoke xenophobic fear and Nationalism. Social liberalism to sate restlessness. Fertile farmland, abundant resources, and competent management to keep bellies full and productivity high."

## Cuisine

"Crescian fare is known for being an exquisite balance of sweet and savoury, but Cresce also has more regions than many other countries, so a lot more variation within it. Bread pockets stuffed with spicy-sweet stewed greens and goat is something [that would be served along the River Jarla] but over on the coast you’d see grilled seafood flavoured with citrus peel, bitter root vegetable salads, and in the south, which is nearly tropical, it’s all rich coconut milk-inspired stews and sickly sweet fruit compotes and marmalade-slathered game meats."

"The state has nonperishable rations that it will send if a town has difficulties filling out its citizens’ diets, but what you eat depends on where you live. Each town is responsible for planning its own menus and feeding its own citizens, with the state stepping in if it receives complaints that this is being done poorly or unfairly. Keeping the menu at the local level incentivizes the local farmers, local kitchen, and local authorities and also encourages everyone to keep a garden and livestock to supplement and diversify their diet. [E]veryone has their Labor Points [for luxuries], and can spend them on niceties beyond their rations[, like sausages and cake]."

## Locales

* Ethelmik
	+ Deadly Nevergreen
* Earlstradt
* Fluirstadt
	+ Sonorie Palace
* Grenzlan
* Litton
* Litriya Shrine
* Lurick
* Port Morstorben
* Sheer

## Locals

* Emil Sava-Toma
* Elka
* Jivi Flask
* Maharaishala Sonorie (Queen)
* Rilursa Sonorie (Heir)
* Kima Bell (Lord High General)
* Ephilasia Sonorie (former Queen)
* Ufal (Chancellor)
* Regina Flask
* Roger Foi-Hellick (formerly of Alderode)
* Anadyne Frummagem (formerly of Sharteshane)
* Knock-Me-Down Frummagem (formerly of Sharteshane)
* Stockyard Frummagem (formerly of Sharteshane)
* Tobias Hogshead (formerly of Sharteshane)
* Moss Sonorie
* Tesa Moli (Retired Archwright)
* Elan Aled
* Hart Hetr
* Clar Litriya
* Ilia Litriya
* Sara Litriya
* Siya Litriya
* Nora Pris (Chief Engineer)
* Lori Ripa
* Iori Ripa
* Rahm Ripa
* Emne Toma
* Chea Toma
* Karl Toma
* Rion Keon
* Abby Colt
* Dawn
* Jana
* Luci
* Petr
* Siwl

## Notes

* Some content on this page is sourced from [the corresponding page] of the supplemental author curated wiki.

### Q & A answers on Crescian culture

* https://unsoundedcomic.tumblr.com/post/122945213775/are-there-any-legal-or-cultural-standards-when-it
* https://unsoundedcomic.tumblr.com/post/181480842875/does-everyone-get-to-eat-equally-tasty-food-in
* https://unsoundedcomic.tumblr.com/post/184365938595/youve-mentioned-before-that-the-adoption-of-plod
* https://unsoundedcomic.tumblr.com/post/184545168320/does-alderode-allow-men-to-be-conscientious
* https://unsoundedcomic.tumblr.com/post/187936160900/two-questions-if-you-would-one-how-did-cresce
* https://unsoundedcomic.tumblr.com/post/630606582847275008/does-ssaelism-have-any-underground-attraction-in
* https://unsoundedcomic.tumblr.com/post/627737785007325184/how-is-divorce-seen-across-kasslyne
* https://unsoundedcomic.tumblr.com/post/625566203718647808/does-cresce-have-any-sub-nationalities-and
* https://unsoundedcomic.tumblr.com/post/684969595475542017/how-much-wiggle-room-does-the-average-crescisan (on job placement for citizens)

1. ↑ https://unsoundedcomic.tumblr.com/post/628161456098164736/while-i-was-re-reading-chapter-8-i-was-curious
2. ↑ https://unsoundedcomic.tumblr.com/post/611153329958076416/i-dont-think-i-get-crescian-upper-crust-yet-was
3. ↑ https://unsoundedcomic.tumblr.com/post/176105740050/the-high-priestess-seems-a-little-too-young-for
4. ↑ https://www.casualvillain.com/Unsounded/comic/ch17/ch17\_30.html
5. ↑ https://unsoundedcomic.tumblr.com/post/135113235400/so-cresce-confuses-me-they-seem-to-be-kind-of
6. ↑ https://unsoundedcomic.tumblr.com/post/182564383145/whats-the-teriyaki-to-honey-ratio-tho-also-are
7. ↑ https://unsoundedcomic.tumblr.com/post/181480842875/does-everyone-get-to-eat-equally-tasty-food-in
8. ↑ https://www.casualvillain.com/Unsounded/comic/ch12/ch12\_05.html
9. ↑ https://www.casualvillain.com/Unsounded/comic/ch12/ch12\_44.html
10. ↑ https://www.casualvillain.com/Unsounded/comic/ch12/ch12\_07.html
11. ↑ https://unsoundedcomic.tumblr.com/post/654943234773090304/glasses-lady-sure-seems-intent-on-wearing-the
12. ↑ https://www.casualvillain.com/Unsounded/comic/ch12/ch12\_03.html
13. ↑ https://www.casualvillain.com/Unsounded/comic/ch12/ch12\_10.html