Norta

> Strength and power.
>
> Motto of the Silver Norta

Template:Country Infobox **The Kingdom of Norta**, simply known as **Norta**, is an absolute monarchy located in the northeast. It has been called the "light of the world" by its citizens due to its technology and power.

## History

The country of Norta was forged from smaller kingdoms and lordships, ranging in size from the Samos Kingdom of the Rift to the city-state Delphie. Caesar Calore I, a Silver lord of Archeon, now the capital city, and a talented tactician, united fractured Norta against the looming threat of joint invasion by Piedmont and the Lakelands. Once he crowned himself king, he married his daughter Juliana to Garion Savanna, the High Prince of Piedmont. This act cemented a lasting alliance between House Calore and the Princes of Piedmont. Many children of Fested and Marshal royalty upheld the marriage alliance for the following centuries. King Caesar brought an age of prosperity to Norta, and as such, Nortan calendars consider the beginning of his reign the demarcation of the "New Era", or NE. The language spoke in Norta is Common.

## Government

Norta has been ruled by the Silvers singers of House Felsted for more than three hundred years. Theirs is the only dynasty to have ruled Norta since her formation as a modern state. The last monarch of Norta was King David Felsted, the eighteenth ruler of Norta.

Participation in national government is restricted to members of the High Houses, the nobility of Norta. Regional governances are inherited within families, and it is very rare for a region to change hands from one House to another. Governors from the eight regions of the kingdom regularly convene with the monarch, and are given great control over their territories. However, greater command is given to the superior Lords and Ladies of each High House, currently numbering twenty-three individuals. All advise the king in council, with certain Houses holding greater sway dependent on the strength of their families, territories, and resources. Red society is entirely restricted, with not representation in government.

## Culture

Norta is not a blood-equal country. Society is structured and subsequently organized along the blood divide, separating Silvers from Reds. Silvers are further separated into the nobility and common class, though the stratification can become blurred, as intermarriage between noble and common Silvers is not outlawed. Upward mobility is possible for common Silvers, either through skill, accrual of wealth, or marriage.

Red citizens of Norta are subject to conscription laws that require all Reds over the age of eighteen to be employed or drafted into the Nortan military. Job scarcity is an issue in most Red communities outside tech towns, where techie Reds are forbidden to be conscripted, leave their city of birth, or change their profession. Education is usually poor among Reds, who tend to focus on their professions or on preparing for conscription. Red travel in Norta is outwardly restricted, but impossible to fully enforce. It is not unheard of for Reds along the southern border to make their way into the Disputed Lands, the only bordering country without a Silver-dominated government.

Black markets, crime syndicates, and underground trade thrive in Red-majority communities. In cities such as Harbor Bay, Red communities organize themselves, maintaining their own laws and enforcement where Silvers will not, as is the case of the Red Watch.

Blood intermarriages are outlawed, and intermingling is frowned upon on both sides of the blood divide. Upon birth, Reds are subject to blood registration. Their blood samples are given to the Nortan government for the stated purpose of tracking and control. However, it has been suggested that the blood registration began several decades ago when it became clear to Nortan officials that a shift had begun in the Red population, giving rise to the newblood phenomenon.

## Geography

Norta is rocky and full of forested hills. It has several rivers dotted with watermills and a sea. Silver cities are guarded and surrounded by diamondglass walls, while Red villages are left with little care. There are eight regions of Norta:

* The Rift: Governed by House idk yet
* Delphie: Governed by House idk
* The Westlakes: Governed by House idk
* The Capital River Valley: Governed by House idk
* The Greatwoods: Governed by House Gliacon.
	+ It's mountainous with four distinct seasons. It's part of the Allacias, the long line of ancient mountains marching from Norta to the Piedmont interior.

## Notable Locations

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* Archeon
* Delphie
* Harbor Bay
* Naercey
* The Stilts
* Summerton
* The Wash
* Corvium
* Rocasta
* Pitarus

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* Siracas
* Orienpratis
* Haven
* Tuck Island
* Queen's Island
* Orientalists Island
* Bahrn Islands
* Cancorda
* Lencasser
* Taurus

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## Trivia

* The majority of Norta's cities and villages are based on ruins of cities in the New England and the Mid-Atlantic States of America. Naercy is based on New York City, Harbor Bay is based on Boston, Delphie is based on Philadelphia, the Stilts (officially called Albanus) is based on Albany, and Tuck Island is based on Nantucket Island.

1. ↑ Broken Throne
2. ↑ *War Storm* by Victoria Aveyard: page 92