Trevult Imperium
The Trevult Imperium is a country in Colmaris. Its primary formation is the large continent of Trevult and a small collection of a dozen sizable accessory islands, all of which are strongly tidally united. By total land mass as well as viable land surface area, it is the geographically largest of all the countries of Colmaris.
The primary culture within Trevult is that of the Trevultine peoples, who are effectively native to the continent of Trevult and have lived on that continent since the Ancient Breaking. They've embraced this heritage readily, and though significant time has passed since the Breaking (along with all the cultural evolution that implies), they attribute their oldest traditions to "before the skies were tarnished". This ancient heritage is a source of pride for both the ruling and working classes, between which there is a strong divide. Trevult has a proud military history as well, and by the time of The Age of Rediscovery they were considered the pre-emanant naval force on Colmaris; among their most famous victories is the First Skies War, during which they repulsed an invasion by the Feng Empire then imposed peace terms upon them by means of counter-invasion.
The Trevult Imperium is a constitutional monarchy backed by a strong military governorship; in practice the political power of the parliament is so limited that the Throne's power is more or less absolute. The head of government, the Prime Minister (Trevult Imperium), is therefore seen as something of a figurehead, and most authority seems to remain with the head of state, the Trevultine Emperor, Joachim of House Volta.
Trevult can be considered a highly developed country in terms of its economic and industrial capacity, having fully embraced an industrial revolution made possible through the exploitation of Lundesite and the colonization of unaffiliated lands, as well as lands held by the Greatwind, a culture which most Trevultines do not consider to be a nation. The benefits of this economic explosion have only served to widen the gap between the noble and common classes in terms of wealth, comfort, safety, and general satisfaction with life. In The Age of Rediscovery, much of the benefit of this economic prowess had been heavily diverted into the Grand Navy of the Trevult Imperium.
Etymology
The term "Trevult" is a temporal corruption of the pre-Breaking Trevultine phrase "treya voltar", literally "three vaults". This term refers to the Three Strongholds of Trevultum, ancient structures in which ancestors of many noble class families in Trevult survived the Ancient Breaking, long since re-excavated and used for various purposes.
History
See Also: History of Trevult
Pre-Breaking
The pre-Breaking Trevultines were a culture famous for their exploratory and scientific prowess, and most scholars agree based on their writings that the ancestral Trevultines had come up with a unified theory of science and magic, with some even ascribing the creation of the legendary Stellarchiac Jewels to these people. It is also believed by many that the ancestral Trevultines had foreknowledge of the Ancient Breaking given the construction of the Three Strongholds of Trevultum which allowed some portion of their population to escape the chaos of the event mostly unscathed; in point of fact some within the Feng Empire accuse the ancestral Trevultines of having caused the disaster.
Most solid records and true historical sources of the pre-Breaking Trevultines are considered to be lost. The government of the Imperium hold that the Three Strongholds of Trevultum were used for safeguarding lives rather than knowledge, and in the absence of anything other than those occupants' own accounts and writings and centuries of scholarship built upon that information, historical knowledge of the ancestral Trevultines is largely lost, including the original name of the people.
Trevultum
Post-breaking, the earliest history of the Trevult Imperium can be traced back to the emergence and resettlement of the city of Trevultum, a central valley city proximal to the Three Strongholds of Trevultum on the continent of the same name. The city was established at a coordinated rendevous point of the survivors in the Three Strongholds, with the legendary history of the foundation of the city placing Zodiac significance on both the location and the date of foundation - this foundation date can be observed in various Horoscopic Graphs embedded in city public works.
Originally, Trevultum was a city founded by what eventually became the Noble Class (Trevultine). Eventually, as an exploration and recharting of the continent of Trevult continued, the city began to welcome a Commoner Class (Trevultine) contingent into their ranks.
Kingdom of Trevult
As the civilization developing on Trevult grew, so to did its needs in terms of government, which eventually lead to the foundation of a Kingdom with its seat in Trevultum. This kingdom was ruled through a succession of adequate and inadequate markers, with the crown changing hands between the noble houses through a series of rebellions, wars of succession, and intreagues; this is largely credited with having both stimied the evolution of equality between the noble and commoner classes as well as with enforcing the military traditions of Trevult.
This kingdom lasted from mere decades after the breaking all the way through to the Age of Rediscovery, ending on the day of the coronation of Joachim of House Volta. Three centuries prior to the era of the Age of Rediscovery, an abortive revolution by the commoner class ended with the Certora Magnifica being signed, creating constitutional limits on the powers of the Throne and placing a proverbial sword of damocles above the monarch in the form of a parliament and a military council. However, these institutions were so stacked with members drawn from the noble class that the improvement in quality of life for the commoner class was marginal at best.
Imperialism
With the support of the Military Council (Trevult), Emperor Joachim conspired to enact changes to the coronation ceremony that finalized his accession to the crown, coordinating to have the church annoint him as "Emperor of the Trevultines" instead of "King in Trevultum". This was matched with twin promulgations on the same day, shortly after the ceremony, which removed the authority to enforce laws and oversee military affairs from the civilian parliament, handing those powers instead to the Military Council. This was largely seen by historians as the "death" of the Kingdom of Trevult and the birth of the Trevult Imperium, but in truth, the Kingdom had been dying for as much as a century prior.
Trevultum has always had an imperialist history; having been founded by a small handful of surviving pre-Breaking families, the city then proceeded to pacify, even by conquest, the rest of the continent Trevult. Following the events of the First Skies War, Trevult's use of naval power has been as much about economics, trade, and dialogue as it has been about conquest.
Joachim's best supporters say that history will remember him as the man who brought Trevult into its full glory. His detractors argue that he was simply the final nail in a coffin long forming around Trevult; a manifestation of the actual reality of Trevult as it had existed since the dawn of the Age of Rediscovery.
Geography
Whether computing by land mass or by viable land surface area, Trevult is the largest geographic entity on Colmaris. The country itself is comprised largely of the Trevult and a dozen or so small islands, all of which are locked into one skytide formation through tidal locking. The Trevult Imperium also claims dominion over dozens of additional overskies territories, usually in the form of large reefs or islands, many of which have been carved away from Greatwinds control.
Skytides
The Imperium claims dominion over one major skytide, the Trevultine Skytide, which links the continent of Trevult to its accessory islands. They also divide their empire into "resonant territories" based on proximity to the mainland and similarity in the relevant Skytide.
Climate
With a broad geographic spread, the weather of the Trevultine Empire is diverse. For the most part, in the common eye, thunderstorms and thick fogs are associated with Trevult due to their tendency to bedevil the continent.
Biodiversity
"It's said the ancients knew a thing or two about this, but I certainly don't."
- Anonymous Guild Cartographer
This article or section contains information that is not yet fully fleshed out.
Government and Politics
Under the Certora Magnifica, authority in Trevult flows to the Parliament in Trevultum and the Military Council through the Throne, which itself is granted authority and legitimacy "by the Stars since times forgotten", symbolized by the Cabochon of the Judge, one of the Stellarchiac Jewels, which was kept in the Three Strongholds of Trevultum and has become part of the imperial regalia, now held by House Volta.
Throughout much of the time since the signing of the Certora Magnifica, the Military Council and the Throne have worked together to undermine the authority of Parliament, so much so that the institution is now seen as a vestigial state organ even by those who serve within it.
Law
Laws are introduced to Parliament at the request of the Throne, after which they are debated by the legislative assembly and amended in terms of their exact legal language, prior to being passed. Such passed laws are then promulgated and given the force of law by Royal (and later, Imperial) decree.
The Enforcement of laws has been stripped away from Parliament in recent years. While the existing local police organizations remain in force, they now report through the Military Council. For the most part, the constabulary have actually welcomed this change, as being attached to the more powerful Military Council has solved many of their financial concerns and given them greater latitude in terms of the acceptable means by which they can conduct the business of keeping the peace.
Foreign Relations and Military
Foreign relations within the Imperium are fraught. On the one hand, the Imperium by and large brings a reliable partner in terms of honouring its trade commitments and providing military support in wartime. In practice, however, with so few nations on Colmaris, no shortage of wars are instigated by the militaristic Trevultines, and the Trevultines at one time or another have warred with all the other nations in Colmaris.
By the time of the Age of Rediscovery, the Trevultines are thought to be at peace with the Feng Empire, the Sultanate of Gerb, and the New Coldmaris republics, and can be seen as at war with the Greatwinds, though this matter is somewhat more complicated as the Imperium does not see the Greatwinds as a united nation at all, but as renegades, outlaws, and uncivilized colonies on individual islands not claimed by most of the other nations. However, military tensions remain high; the industrial and military machines of Trevultum must be fed, and there are limits to what trade will support.
The largest organ of the Trevultine Military is the Grand Navy of the Trevult Imperium, and all but two members of the Military Council during the reign of Emperor Joachim were Grand Admirals; the others being the Captain General of the Trevultine Marine and the head of Naval Intelligence. Trevultines in general were extremely proud of their military, which was considered to be the most technically advanced, best equipped, and well-funded navy in the world during most eras of world history, and the proud naval traditions of the Grand Navy were thought to go back to before the Ancient Breaking, in the days when ships went by sea. A career within the military was seen by noble and commoner alike as a path toward personal advancement and the betterment of ones circumstances, and was the primary mode of social and economic mobility available during the Age of Rediscovery.
Provinces and Territories
"It's said the ancients knew a thing or two about this, but I certainly don't."
- Anonymous Guild Cartographer
This article or section contains information that is not yet fully fleshed out.
Economy
In spite of their extensive use of both, Trevult was not to be considered materially rich in either Lundesite nor Colmaris Lodestone, both vital mineral resources. Though they do have some native production capacity for these materials through their colonial holdings, the Trevultines are also heavily dependant on trade, especially for the former, in particular through the Sultanate of Gerb.
Additionally, the harsh environment and geography of the Trevultine continent makes food shortages common beyond the bare caloric essentials. Most of the "best" foods used by the Trevultine are imported from other lands.
Fortunately for the Trevultines, however, they are materially rich in a variety of precious and nonprecious minerals and metals. They are the world's leading exporter of a number of technological and arcane artifices.
Science and Technology
The Trevultines have ample and ready access to both examples of pre-Breaking technologies and to mineral resources, both of which together have by and large spearheaded their economic and technological advancement. Since the invention of the Lundesite Pile early in the Age of Rediscovery, they have been able to produce electricity and steam power to degrees orders of magnitude higher than any other nation, and rely heavily on both for their industry. They routinely make use of machinery decades ahead of their competitor powers, both militarily and economically.
Use of Magic
The Trevultines are thought to have codified the Zodiac and most other systems of magic in Colmaris, either through their own discovery or, as seems more likely, through direct survival of the relevant knowledge during the Ancient Breaking. The trappings of this magic feature heavily in state functions and rituals, and the University of Trevultum teaches on such matters. However, the influence of magic as anything more than a trapping for state religion within the Trevultine Imperium is on the wane. The influence of the Lundesite Pile is such that magic has become deeply unreliable in the city of Trevultum and many other major population centers in the empire. Many mages, facing the potential loss of the power they have worked their whole lives to establish, take roles within the Grand Navy of the Trevult Imperium or travel to the colonies to continue their work. A few have become prominent voices for the abandonment of the Lundesite Pile technology, proposing instead the use of a greater number of Lundesite Boilers or even magical solutions to the same problem. Among such voices during the reign of Emperor Joachim was Grand Admiral Juan Louis Esparza, a prominent member of the Military Council who was both a practicing mage himself and a proponent of the use of mages during shipboard operations.
Culture
The Trevultine culture is rooted in the traditions preserved from the pre-Breaking era by its nobility, most of whom trace their ancestry back to families that survived the Ancient Breaking by being resident in the Three Strongholds of Trevultum. This culture places a premium on chivalry, upright conduct, and service to "king and country". Emotional restraint is praised to a degree that more open cultures would consider unhealthy, with public displays of anger, sorrow, and fear largely out of fashion. What this means differs strongly between the noble and commoner classes - the primary economic and social divide in the country. Nobility exhibiting the best understanding of the Trevultine way of life see themselves as selfless, noble, and all-bearing - capable of stoicism under great pressure. Commoners, on the other hand, live the nobility's example by keeping their mouths shut when they aught to, and constantly working to climb over each other and the upper classes to better themselves, personally, whenever at all possible.
Trevultine culture has come to embrace a number of activities intended largely to act as pressure relief for the social pressures of the commoner class, and keep them just far enough on the complacent (if not truly content) side of the line to prevent a second revolution, which the Throne and the nobility suspect they would not necessarily survive. This has come in the form of circuses and games meant to divert the attention of the working class, a powerful state propaganda arm, and social mobility through military service. It is possible, to a somewhat limited extent, for a commoner to achieve nobility through a battlefield commission, but even more routine service is usually highly beneficial for the commoner-enlistee, who almost always comes out of the military wealthier to one degree or another than they went in, often with friends "on the other side" of the social divide.
Symbols
The scales of justice is a common Trevultine symbol representing the authority of the Throne as a vague approximation of the Cabochon of the Judge. Bulls are another common symbol, associated in particular with the Navy specifically or the military in general. The First Lord of the Skies has been, throughout the entire history of the Grand Navy of the Trevult Imperium, a member of House Bergeron, which is strongly associated with The Bull.
Cuisine
There are effectively two Trevultine Cuisines, referred to as High and Low Trevultine cuisine. In general, the first is the sort which has become popular abroad.
High Trevultine Cuisine is the cuisine of the Trevultine noble classes and is usually rich in flavor. In addition to gamebirds and skyfish, the cuisine tends to be rich in pork and seafoods, which are extremely rare. Olive oil is the primary cooking fat and the usual seasons are salt, black pepper, garlic, parsley, thyme, and oregano. Flavour profiles are rich, but considered mild so as not to overpower the delicate nuances of the high-quality protiens. Among the most iconic of all such dishes is Skyfish Paella.
Low Trevultine, on the other hand, is the food of the commoner class and the workers. For many, this consists of little more than bread and whatever beverages are available. For the working class who can afford to get their hands on a more rounded diet, it is common to heavily spice the meats and for food to be portable and easily eaten with the fewest additional tools. Since having made contact with the Greatwinds, Low Trevultine cuisine has become inundated with exotic spices like cumin, chili peppers, and cilantro. Most meats, when available, are usually heavily cured or the ground meats of less desirable cuts. The most iconic of all Low Trevultine dishes is the Trevultine Bocadillo, an entire subvariety of sandwhiches that can be thought of as a sub-cuisine in their own right.
Literature
Among the few powers left to the Parliament in Trevultum is the Imprimatur, and they therefore have censorship and approval of all literature published and printed within the Empire. For the most part, it is illegal to import any document without Imprimatur into the Empire, however this law has so many carveouts that it seems to apply only to mass media, and most nobles and even some wealthier commoner merchants have collections of "unapproved" literature, usually legally obtained under the exemption for "historical literary artefacts".
Most approved literature is relatively content-free; writings of the penny-dreadful variety consumed as a temporary escape from reality, without providing any motivations "too subversive".
Visual Arts
"It's said the ancients knew a thing or two about this, but I certainly don't."
- Anonymous Guild Cartographer
This article or section contains information that is not yet fully fleshed out.
Sports
"It's said the ancients knew a thing or two about this, but I certainly don't."
- Anonymous Guild Cartographer
This article or section contains information that is not yet fully fleshed out.
Several bloodsports are known to be legal (when conducted through the relevant bodies) in Trevult, by far the most popular of which is gladiatorial combat against captured monsters.
Heritage Traits (Tarnished Tale))
"Come on, gentlemen, lead your shots, this isn't hard. We have math for this!"
- Almost every Trevultine Gunnery Officer
This article or section alludes to information that is under active development and subject to change.
Primary Trait
All Trevultines have the Yellow Stars (Heritage Trait) property by default.
Secondary Trait Options
A Trevultine character may select any one of the following secondary heritage traits:
- Lundesite Heart (Heritage Trait) - you possess a natural aptitude for modern technologies and have one automatic boon on repair checks made to repair steam-powered or electrical equipment.
- Noble Bearing (Heritage Trait) - whether legitimate or illegitimate, you cannot deny the noble blood that runs in your veins, and others see this readily in you. You have one automatic boon on social skills checks made outside the heat of battle.
- Street Savvy (Heritage Trait) - regardless of your upbringing, the ancestral memory of the lowest of the commoner class is imprinted upon you. Based on a permanent selection made when you take this trait, you will recieve a permanent boon to one skill relevant to urban survival in the slums of Trevultum's poorest districts.
Additionally, a Trevultine player character may eschew any of the above heritage-unique traits to take the Sign's Minor Blessing (Heritage Trait) secondary heritage trait instead. This is a rare property and should not be assigned to NPCs except perhaps major plot-drivers.