World Lore:
Magic Crystals possess a rich, deep purple hue reminiscent of amethyst, adorned with an orange iridescent vein and a delicate light silver streak. All firearms have components made from this ore.
In order to load a magic rifle, one must take a small chunk of Magic Crystal, split it half, insert the chunk into the breech, and then take the other half into the muzzle, then much like a regular musket the user then needs to use a ramrod to push the other chunk down.
The Black Mark is pictured as a shattered pedestal, which typically held an orb representing a Dungeon Core. 10,000 years ago the first ever Dungeon Core was shattered by a party of twelve, the Goddess of Dungeons upon hearing this was furious, so furious in fact that she descended from the heavens, an act that the deities hadn’t done since the Creation Era. The goddess smited the one responsible, and placed the remaining eleven with a permanent curse, the Black Mark on both of their shoulders. Those cursed with the Black Mark are ostracized everywhere one goes, and it is also see-through, meaning that no matter how many layers of clothing one puts on, the Black Mark is still visible and no amount of magical means can hide this curse. Since then the term ‘Shatter the Core’ has been used to describe any attempt, successful or not, at destroying the Dungeon Core, by any means.
Grand Council Directive No.3729 ‘Dungeon Protection’ was passed by the Grand Council of Kurz which grants the military the authority to protect Dungeon Cores from being shattered by individuals suspected to be plotting to shatter the Core, or those with the Black Mark. However due to the current embargoes and sanctions, the military is unable to enforce this directive, and thus the Grand Council amended the directive to allow local law enforcement and the Adventurers Guild the ability to enforce this directive.
Country Lore:
Union of Kurz: formed as a Union between Humans, Wood Elves and Dwarves after wining the 5 year long Kurzian War of Independence against the Laziran Empire. The country is run like a direct democracy with members of the three species receiving equal representation in the Grand Council.
The inhabitants of the Province of Kurz felt like they were neglected by the Laziran Empire, more specifically from their High Elf monarch who felt no need to develope the Province. This has resulted in rampant poverty, infrastructure decaying, and constantly being on the verge of famine, as such the people of the province banded together and declared independence against the empire.
Every city has their own local councils this ensures that the voices of the people are heard from directly. Everyone can and are encouraged to participate in their local council meetings at the end of each week. During these meetings each Local Council debate and vote for Local Agendas, then representatives from the Local Councils are sent to Kurz to vote for a Collective Agenda based upon the vote from the Local Council they represent, once a Collective Agenda has been decided it must then go through a vote at the Grand Council. Currently there are 14 local councils who have 1 vote each. In addition to this each of the fourteen councils have jurisdiction on nearby towns and villages.
Note Local Agendas are separate from Collective Agendas and must be voted by the Grand Council to be implemented.
Then there is the separate Grand Council ruling directly from Kurz, members of this council are voted in through public elections and decide on national matters, such as laws, diplomacy, etc. And lastly the Grand Court, which acts to enforce and interpret laws, as well as strike down laws deemed unconstitutional by the court, each judge are elected for life.
The number of councillors elected in the Grand Council is proportional to the population of each city with a Local Council, as in for every ten thousand there is one representative.
Each branch of the government have measures in place to prevent each other from gaining too much power. The Grand Council can order for the removal of a judge through a vote, and as previously stated The Grand Court can declare Grand Council directives/laws unconstitutional. The Local Councils can vote against implementing Grand Council directives/laws and the Grand Council in turn can vote down Local Council Collective Agendas. While the people elect judges the Local Councils also have the power to remove judges and the Grand Court can in turn declare Local and Collective Agendas unconstitutional.
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A vote passes based on majority. During Local Council votes on Collective Agendas, each council MUST have at minimum 100 participants for a vote to count.
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Republic of Ergon: Is a representative democracy run by Orcs, and is founded upon a set of 12 principles.
Representatives are elected from the 9 provinces of Ergon and meet at the Ergonese capital of Uzd. Each province has 3 representatives in the House of Representatives, which in total would have 27 provincial representatives. The Ergonese Senate has 2 Senators from the country's 25 cities totaling at 50 city Senators. Both seats are colloquially known as the Ergonese Parliament.
The President is decided through two separates votes, the city and provincial votes.
The President can choose their Vice President, if a candidate wins the city vote and the other the provincial vote, then the candidate who won the city vote is declared the president, and the other candidate who won the provincial is chosen as the vice president regardless of who the president chose.
There are three branches: Parliament, Presidential, and the Supreme Court. There are checks and balances to prevent one branch from gaining power.
Parliament must approve Presidential appointments either to the cabinet ministers or the Supreme Court, Parliament can impeach and remove the president from office, and lastly the Parliament can override presidential vetoes. In regards to the Supreme Court, Parliament can impeach judges and remove them, and Parliament can introduce amendments to the Ergonese Principles.
The President has the power to veto Parliamental laws and appoint judges.
The Supreme Court can declare certains acts of the President and Parliamental Laws unprincipled.
Basically the Republic of Egron is just the USA but with differences in presidential elections.
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Lazir Empire: The Laziran Empire or more commonly reffered to as the Laziran Empire is a elective triple monarchy between Orcs, Humans, High Elves. The empire has a small Arachne minority.
Each section of the empire divided into three sections based on where majorities of each race live, the western section is administered by an Orc monarch, the central section is administered by a Human monarch, the eastern section is administered by a High Elf monarch. All three monarchs answer to the current ruling Emperor or Empress. The election of the monarch and the ruler is conducted independently and is decided by the people, with nobles counting for two votes.
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Republic of Lazogh: The Republic of Lazogh is a Dark Elf nation, with a sizeable Wood Elf minority. Currently the RoL is a Sister Republic to the Union of Kurz.
Lazogh was once a part of the Laziran Empire like the UoK. Once UoK declared independence, the Dark Elves of Lazogh felt like they weren't represented fairly in the triple monarchy and followed Kurz's example and follwed suit. The revolutionary leaders of Lazogh knew that they didn't have the capacity to wage war and it's armies undersupplied so, the leaders of Lazogh, with approval from the people agreed to become a client state of the Union of Kurz.
The government of the RoL is the same as the UoK except they have a Prime Minister whose the chief of the army, and the one to conduct diplomacy.
Despite being a client state, the UoK leaves Lazogh alone, never meddling with the country's affairs. It is to the point where the RoL is it's own independent country rather a client state on paper.
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The Hoyashi Shogunate is a country ruled by 7 clans with the 8th being the Hoyashi Clan ruling as the Shogun from the capital of Hisomiya. The country itself is an island nation that's sandwiched between the Maryura continent to the left and the Varigny continent to the right. The island itself is named after the current ruling Shogun.
The Modernist Hoyashi clan ousted the ruling Magic Tradionalist Taizho clan after a grueling 20 year long civil war between the Modernist clans and the Magic Traditionalist clans.
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The Kingdom of Earthia is a country ruled by Animalkins, located on the smaller continent of Tamnis just below Hoyashi Island also sandwiched between the two aforementioned continents.
Ever since Earthia's declaration of independance 200 years ago from the Kingdom of Grire, they have been at war with their neighbor. Borders constantly shift to the point that map makers have given up on trying to keep up and have instead split the continent in half on maps, as of now the both kingdoms have agreed to a ceasefire, but it's unclear how long it will last. Currently Earthia is diplomatically isolated, save for trade relations with the UoK disregarding the combined Laziran and Ergonese embargoes.
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The Kingdom of Grire is a country ruled by Human supremacists who've for over 1,000 years the country have oppressed the Animalkin populations inhabiting the western portion of the continent.
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