Coatlan

Capitol: Michcan

Population: 2.9 million

Nationality: Coate(s)

Primary internal business/trade: Farm goods, horses (considered best horse breeders/trainers on the continent), masonry, fish, imported spice/material, information networks, spies, colleges of espionage

Primary external business/trade: Information, intelligence, blackmail, espionage & counter espionage, hired spies and information brokers, bards, horse husbandry and sales, farm goods, rangers

Population breakdown

Current total population accounted for---100%

Consider other sectors available to population and revise

50% farmers, primarily horse breeders and trainers.

30% spies, information brokers, dealers, bards, informants, rangers, or other agents of espeionage.

15% mages, collegiate, or religious workers.

5% royalty mostly comprised of jarls and Reach families.

National drinking age: 14

History

What we know today as Coatlan was originally founded by refugees of The Eternal War from both Onlta and The Old Kingdom. Perhaps foolishly, they sought a peaceful existence beyond what is today known as The Divine Fields. How they made the pilgrimage safely is secret. (Perhaps forgotten? Would aid reconnaissance efforts across continent if agents were taught to traverse it safely.)

Though it was discovered and almost totally settled in (Year -359) many historians argue that Coatlan never truly existed until (Year -203). This is because until that date it was little more than massive swathes of claimed land owned by anyone with the forces or sway to hold them. The disparate conglomerate of people that formed the basis of the country were at war with each other for the better part of two centuries.

These “Reaches” were named for the men or women who controlled them. Borders would shift and warp monthly, the population was under constant flux due to the fighting, and despite fertile farmland being practically everywhere each plot was considered precious and defended savagely.

Large roving herds of horses were discovered not long after the settling began. So numerous that many surveyors simply gave up counting them altogether and simply invented a word for uncountable amounts (linguistic root of "innumerable"). They were rapidly domesticated, bred for favorable traits, and mastered by the people of the steppe. The rest of the Reaches weren’t far behind and soon horses were being traded and bartered more frequently than any currency previously tried. Better bred horses were worth more so it became popular practice to keep a full genealogy of one’s entire herd as proof of each horse’s parentage. They also became skilled at training these horses in numerous areas such as physical labor and showmanship.

This quickly evolved from trading simple pack or work horses into bartering for prize stallions or mares as status symbols, and is the reason that today’s Coatlan is home to the finest horses in the known world both in breeding and in training.

In (Year -209) Onlta discovered the Reaches and the immense fertile land beyond, and despite being largely unable to reach it they leaned heavily on the descendants of the Onltan refugees to become a vassal state. The Old Kingdom discovered the Reaches somewhat later in (Year -207) and began leveraging as much political weight as it could into trying to stir the area into a war state.

By (Year -204) it had been decided in nearly every Reach that such distant political powers had no right to rule or govern the Reaches and they convened the first Gathering Fire so that the leaders of the largest Reaches could meet peacefully to discuss the matter. A great fire was built on the edge of a lake and each Holder spoke their part.

These talks went on for nearly a year, every leader in agreement over the lack of authority from either distant country, but each one trying to use this as an opportunity to vie for greater land or power.

This was put to an end by Anaway, a man of no real standing who had, in truth, been invited to the meeting by mistake but kept in the meeting when his skills as a mediator became invaluable.

There are no records of him before that day aside from a census once taken across the Reach he lived in at the time that said he was a travelling minstrel with some considerable skill.

Regardless, he made a name for himself by going before the collected power of the Reaches and simply saying, “If each of you thinks this is about his own standing, may I humbly suggest you each return to Onlta or The Old Kingdom and explain to them how much land you hold?”

Five days later, the Reaches were officially united under an admittedly false pretence that they would soon be invaded by either of the greater warring powers. They declared themselves an independent nation named Coatlan, a word chosen specifically because it had no real meaning.

In (Year -128) Coatlan disbanded its public military, reasoning that holding a standing military was wholly against their neutral stance.

By (Year -116) the Agents of Coatlan had become a national resource, the information provided by spies proving invaluable in both governing the country itself and warding off potential threats from outside sources. Subterfuge began to become the weapon of Coatlan.

In (Year -4) Coatlan ratified the version of its constitution we know today and reaffirmed its absolute neutrality.

Geography

The country of Coatlan is as deceptively plain as the inhabitants. Travelling west from the major ports of Teolat, Tloncala, or Cucal one finds themselves rapidly exiting the rolling hills and quickly descending into seemingly endless flatland broken only by the occasional hill or city.

Prominent features include incredibly fertile farmland, expansive plains, and a substantial steppe region with small mountainous areas.

Roving herds are not uncommon in the steppe region. The vast majority of horse breeders own land there or at least stake yearly claims.

Politics:

The country is ruled by a group of four governors who oversee different parts of the country. Each one governs a part of the country interdependent on the others and answers to the central authority of The Jarl.

The Jarl is not the king of Coatlan, it’s a position from which one can be deposed immediately by a majority vote between the major houses (leftover from the Reaches).

Avoids conflict, remains neutral in all wars. Information to the highest bidder.

Exactly like the land, the plain appearance of the people belies the truth. Coatlan’s largest resource is information. Spies are conscripted from families the day they are born and spend their whole lives being taught espionage and subterfuge until the age of twenty when they are released into their regional outfit.

The structure of their organizations is typically military with lower ranks reporting to higher ones until the chain reaches the Jarl’s personal retinue which will then relay the information to them personally.

Bards are considered elite class spies. Once their training is complete they further their skills by learning to perform classically. They serve as international agents, typically mixed in with the target country’s own minstrels allowing them access to information on a more personal level than other spies might achieve, sometimes being hired into a kingdom’s court thus granting immediate high-level access. They are an asset to the country like no other spy could be, and are held in such high regard that in the event they are found or killed by accident their bodies are viciously fought for until recovered, and any overt or discovered action against them no matter how small is tried tantamount to treason.

Magic, though not frowned upon, is rarely taught beyond a basic level to most people in Coatlan. It is viewed more as a tool than a weapon or art form, and primarily used by spies, agents, and bards as a means to enhance their abilities.

There is only one magic college in the country, located in Yztac. It’s a prestigious institution, but hardly on par with the country’s more magical counterparts and rivals.

The Coates are a vibrant people once one takes the time to get to know them. They have very little art, they’re architecture is minimal and utilitarian, and they have little in the way of decorum. However as a nation they harbor a deep fascination with music and performance, every child is expected to compose at least one song, whether vocally or by instrument, before turning ten and it’s a rite of passage to perform that song before the rest of their family for judgement if the child isn’t conscripted. If the song is rejected the child is not considered an adult, and must compose a new song or revise the original until it is deemed of acceptable quality.

It’s very rare for a song to be judged unworthy, no child is expected to be perfect at all, it’s merely a ceremony to show appreciation for the one art shared by every Coate.

Patriotism and civil service:

Coates are not a militaristic people, they place no special emphasis on political or personal gains and while they are fiercely proud of what makes them who they are there is no unified sense of patriotism among them. What a horse breeder might claim to be the greatest trait of Coatlan will not be what a bard might say, the only unifying factor being that both will run you through if make claim that Coatlan is less than another state or country for any subjective reason. Indeed, most Coates take offense to a slight against their country faster than they do against themselves; a trait born of their country’s formation through fear of outside pressure.

Children conscripted by the Espionage Corps are taken to a training facility somewhere undisclosed to any member of the public short of the heads of each Reach House. They are taken between the ages of seven and ten and any child who has composed and performed an acceptable song before conscription is considered for advancement to the vocation of Bard.

Training facilities are designated by years of training and are located in:

Oanapan year 1 for initiation, nautical and land navigation, and basic a basic military training and fitness regime.

Yztac years 2-4 for basic spellcraft.

Tolotlan years 5-7 for foreign engagement, stealth and survival training, and advanced reconnaissance.

Michoapa year 8 for final exam in all field crafts: stealth, reconnaissance, navigation, survival, and spellcraft.

Michcan years 9-12 political espionage training and first assignments.

There is a facility in Michcan designed to take on the students designated for Bard vocational training. This particular facility is kept under the highest possible guard and its location is kept secret from all but the jarls themselves. It trains these student an additional five years, focusing on the traditional arts of performance as well as a more specialized form of spellcraft designed to enhance these arts.

Given that the work of rangers and agents is not a constant one most members of the Espionage Corps are allowed to maintain public personas with the understanding that if needed they are to drop everything and return to their duties. The result of this is that the vast majority of spies are actually well known or even liked public individuals and their marked absences from public life are merely ignored knowing they are doing their duty.

Though unspoken by nature working as a spy, agent, or bard is seen as a form of civil service. It is treated with its own respect among the few people trusted to know of it, and every member is given a military funeral upon death even if their family may never know what they did.

Non-canon/unconfirmed:

Nel Fera Magic Rival?