Raitolïa
I'm back in. The Empire of Raitolïa (Raitoli'ri Olame) X-SAMPA Map Capital: Eresea Major cities: Iuvera, Zaira, Veirüa, Ekasira Provinces: Einura, Selazjira, Eliuruza, Sjïara, Isjitara, Verisa, Pozdromoda Language: Raitoliste National Adjective: Raitoli'ri (apostrophe does not affect pronunciation) Personal Adjective: Raitoli'le (apostrophe does not affect pronunciation) Statistics Mainland Area: 2,887,568 sq. km. Island Area: 55,847 sq. km. Total: 2,943,496 sq. km. Population: ~13,000,000 (densely packed in cities) Time Measurement 10 Raitoli'ri hours in 1 planetary rotation 100 Raitoli'ri minutes in 1 Raitoli'ri hour 100 Raitoli'ri seconds in 1 Raitoli'ri minute Translates to 0.992063492063492 Earth seconds in one Raitoli'ri second. A year by Raitoli'ri measure is actually 7 solar revolutions - 2501.31 days. Each month is 50 days, with a total of 50 months in a year, with one extra day (two extra days during every 3rd Raitoli'ri year) not counted in any specific month. Also, there are 5 10-day weeks in every month, each day of the week is numbered 0-9 (Uathii Ihane, Athii Ihane, Ithii Ihane, etc.). Months are referred to by number (Uathii Vuane, Athii Vuane, Ithii Vuane, etc., which translates to Zero-th Month, First Month, Second Month, etc.), the constant extra day is called Ruti Vuáneri Ihane (No Month's Day), and the added day every 3rd year is the Wthii Viáneri Ihane (Third Year's Day). Topography and Climate Climate: Warm to temperate, very wet Terrain: Rainforests in excess, arid mountains Government Current Ruler: Emperor Eidaro Sivero Government Type: Democratic Monarchy - the emperor is elected (every ten years, can be reelected indefinitely and/or impeached), but has most of the power other than that. Stable, as it has a good amount of compensation for instability. Economy Resources: Stone, metals, gems, wood, fish, fruit, wool, cotton Exports: Fish, metals, gems, fruit, boats (assembled), art/artisans Imports: Grains/bread, meat, vegetables in general Arable Land: ~11% Currency: 1 thake = 100 itathakø Culture The main source of Raitoli'ri pride comes from their complete obsession with elegance. Everything is rounded in some way, they greatly dislike angles - so much so that every single corner in the city of Eresea is a curve! They also love music (the main instrument is a flute), and love being near the sea for a similar reason. Sailing is the national pastime. Technology Raitoli'ri architecture and technology are designed for elegance. Rairoli'lø believe that everything worth using can be made elegantly. Architecturally, they avoid sharp edges and corners as much as possible, instead rounding them off (in later years, there is a company that sells nothing but round edge fittings). Raitoli'ri technology is slightly higher than the world average, due to their willingness to accept technological change. However, inelegant technology is not put in use until a way is found to make it elegant, and if no way is found, it is discarded. -Education is compulsory if available (and theoretically is so in any city large enough to be on a map). Education is labeled by years (year 1, year 2, etc), generally lasts ~20 GY, and is not divided by groups of years. Simply, the variety of available courses increases after year 5. -The people of Raitolïa have a system of standardized libraries, devised to significantly reduce the potential loss of information if a library caught fire and also increase the number of people with access to a particular bit of information. It works like this: Any sufficiently large library should have at least one copy of any book in any given library anyone else - thus, the number of different books in a library should be identical to the number in all other libraries within the nation. Libraries are to employ scribes to copy any books they have another library does not. Any library possessing the sole copy of a book for a period greater than the estimated time to copy that book will be fined per month the book is not in another library. Also, authors are greatly encouraged to keep more than one copy of works they are working on, and many libraries offer (paid) services which allow authors from different cities to store copies of unfinished works in the library's vaults. Many traveling merchants offer to transport manuscripts with them, though also for a price.

Raitolïa's Military There are four main classes of soldier in the Raitoli'ri military - spearmen, crossbowmen, swordsmen, and cavalry. Spearmen Equipment A spearman's inventory consists of three things: a shield, a long spear, and a short sword (not counting armor - I need to think through armor a little bit more). The shield is 5 feet by 2 feet by 1 inche and surprisingly squarish. It has three holes in the right side for the spears of the spearman and the two behind him, and interlocking clips on each side (really, they're more like pockets). The shields can lock together to form an indefinitely long wall of solid metal. The spear is seven feet long, with a wooden shaft and leaf-shaped, metal tip. The sword is a short dirk (swords in general will be discussed under swordsmen). Tactics Before a battle, spearmen lock their shields together and crouch down behind them. The first three ranks stick their spears out horizontally and slightly up, while the next ranks behind them keep their spears up. Generally, only the first three ranks of spearmen lock their shields in a wall, the rest hold them above their heads to deflect arrows. Spearman battalions are generally arranged in a straight line in the front and slightly inward pointing on the flanks ( / ---- \ ). Their job is to break the initial charge, and protect the crossbowmen behind them. Crossbowmen Equipment A crossbowman has three things in his inventory as well: a repeating crossbow, a 'quiver', and a short sword like the spearman's. The crossbow they carry is similar in design to the real Chinese Zhuge Nu repeating crossbow (often mistranscribed chu-ko-nu). It is different from the Zhuge Nu in that its bolt magazine is designed to be removable and disposable, to minimize the amount of time between shots (though after victories, troops generally scour the battlefield for discarded magazine cases). Bolts may or may not be tipped in poison. The 'quiver' holds up to twelve magazines with fifteen bolts apiece. It is worn across the back, with the top available bolt magazine over the crossbowman's right shoulder. It has a spring at the bottom so that the newest magazine is always at the top. Tactics Crossbowmen stand immediately behind the spearmen at the beginning of battles. As soon as the enemy is within range, the crossbowmen open fire with the intent to send the grea-*test*-('") volume of fire into their ranks as possible before they hit the spearmen. Once contact has been made, the crossbowmen exchange places with the swordsmen while continuing to provide supporting fire. There is a variant of crossbowman equipped with a normal single-shot crossbow. They are used mainly for sniping enemy officers or for the initial volley of an ambush. Their numbers generally don't get above a ratio of 3:100 with those of normal soldiers (including spearmen and swordsmen). Swordsmen There are two variants of swordsmen, single-wielding and double-wielding. Equipment All swordsmen have only one or two swords as their weaponry. Single-wielding swordsmen have a single longsword as theirs. It is about four feet long (including the hilt), half of which is the grip. It does not have a cross-guard, and is generally single edged. It is held with hands about a foot apart on the grip. Double-wielding swordsmen have similar swords, except they are only about three feet in length and have proportionally shorter grips. Tactics Swordsmen are the main fighting force once battle is joined. They stay behind the crossbowmen until the enemy hits the spearmen, and then switch places with the crossbowmen. They do most of the fighting once the line of spearmen is broken. (I haven't thought too much about swordsman tactics.) Cavalry I really haven't given much thought to the cavalry. Normally, cavalry are used in surprise flank attacks. They are sent to one of the enemy's flanks before the battle begins, and charge the flank once the enemy makes contact with the front line of spearmen. Siege Equipment Siege equipment consists almost entirely of catapults or trebuchets. They are not only used in siege warfare, but supplement the crossbowmen in normal pitched battles. They are almost always surrounded by a dedicated group of spearmen to ward off cavalry attacks. Tactics Siege tactics normally involve smashing a hole through either the wall or the gate (or both) with artillery fire, preferably from out of range of enemy archers. If a source of stone is nearby, some normal troops may be redirected into making ammunition, and so Raitoli'ri artillery can bombard a city indefinitely.