Chalion

The Royacy of Chalion is an old and well-respected nation, as well as a member of the Green Protection Agency. While nominally under the rule of the Royina Iselle IV, political power in Chalion resides in the able hands of Chanceller Ias dy Cazaril. His policy of maintaining international neutrality and promoting economic growth have served the nation well in recent times.

Basic Information
Chalion is a medium sized and well developed nation. Its citizens are primarily of Chalionese ethnicity, and follow a mix of Quintarian and Quadrene religions. Chalion is an advanced nation with first-rate technology. The citizens of Chalion pay high taxes, but universal healthcare and other social advancements keep them happy with the government. Its primary exports are raw gold and lead ore. Chalion's internal policies are generally moderate. Narcotics are banned in the nation, and the military of Chalion arrests all drug traffickers. Chalion allows government protests and encourages freedom of speech, though a strong police force monitors protests and arrests lawbreakers. Chalion's borders are open to all, but immigrants must become citizens in order to remain in the country.

As far as its foreign affairs, Chalion maintains a policy of strict neutrality in compliance with GPA Membership Law, and will attack other nations only in defense of itself or other GPA nations. Lacking a large supply of Uranium, Chalion does not research or develop nuclear weapons. The government gives foreign aid when it can, though the needs are Chalionese citizens are generally considered first and foremost. The Chalionese government discourages commerce with nations that mistreat their citizens.

History of Chalion
A brief history of the nation.

Tharsus
The earliest known ancestors of the Chalionese were the people of the ancient civilization of Tharsus. The land of the Tharsians was small and unadvanced, and regularly beset by raiders from neighboring nations. The Kings of Tharsus were as a rule paranoid and mistrustful, never entering into any sort of military agreement. Their last great leader, Guillyme ce Terrus, was eventually driven from his capital by the invaders, and he and his people wandered for some time before founding a new city at the junction of two rivers. He named the city Zangre.

Early History
Guillyme's city faced many of the same problems as the nation of Tharsus, and was soon attacked by a group of Ibran barbarians from the far mountains. The Ibrans sacked Zangre and renamed it Cardegoss. They adopted Tharsian technology and civilization, and settled in the surrounding countryside. They called their small nation Chalion, and the elders appointed their warlord Teidez to be the first Roya of the new nation. Teidez soon set about annexing nearby towns and villages. The Royacy of Chalion flourished under his just hand.

Teidez's son Fonsa came to power following his father's death. More concerned with wine and women than in running a small country, Roya Fonsa I appointed a Chancellor, Bergon dy Marez, to take executive control of Chalion. With a few exceptions, Fonsa's subsequent dynastic line became content to allow their Chancellors to rule. Provisions were also made for a democratically elected Parliament. The Parliament, however, soon became corrupted and controlled by the Quintarian church.

Modern Era
The current Chancellor of Chalion is Ias dy Cazaril. He was appointed on April 29, 2009, and has since earned his place in the history books as being the greatest ruler Chalion has ever seen. In his short time in office, dy Cazaril has raised Chalion from abject poverty to a position as a first-world nation. Much of this is due to the entrance of Chalion into the Green Protection Agency shortly after dy Cazaril's appointment. In a climate of peace and neutrality, Chalion's infrastructure and technology levels have both burgeoned, and the country's Gross Domestic Income has risen sharply. Dy Cazaril stimulated Chalion's economy by allowing other GPA nations to outsource their technological development cheaply in Chalion, and has since been able to turn this around and pay smaller GPA nations to research Chalion's stunning advances in technology. Factories, banks, schools, stadiums, hospitals, and other necessities were built with the profits of such ventures. His ambitious projects have also included the formation of a Stock Market, a system for Social Security, a National Research Laboratory, and an agency for Disaster Relief. His administration has also finished construction of an Interprovincial Highway System. Aggressive mining efforts have allowed Chalion to esport surplus gold and lead in return for coal, iron, oil, cattle, and other essential resources.

Another of dy Cazaril's acts has been to abolish Quintarianism as the state religion and allow religious freedom. Quadrenes and other sects may now worship freely in Chalion without government persecution from the Quintarian Church. This policy has been met with widespread approval by the Chalionese people. The policy also includes a clause officially outlawing demonic possession, which was previously permitted to licensed Quintarian clergy. Since the approval of the Religion Act, Quadrene churches have been established in many of Chalion's major cities, and a cathedral is currently under construction in Cardegoss.

Political System
Chalion's government has been formed through centuries of political evolution.

The Roya
The Roya of Chalion (f. Royina) is mostly a monarchical figurehead position. The Roya presides over State Ceremonies, and is officially in charge of the Chalionese Armed Forces. They are also in charge of appointing Chancellors, and this is where most of the monarchy's actual power lies. The Royacy is hereditary, and is generally passed down through the male heir. Royina Iselle IV is currently acting as regent for her son Arvol II, following the assassination of her late husband Arvol I.

The Parliament
Originally a council of noblemen, the Chalionese Parliament now consists mainly of wealthy landowners who have bought their way into election. Corrupted by the power-hungry Quintarian church, the Parliament rarely accomplishes much at all. Their carefully engineered ineffectualness is largely responsible for the state of Chalion's miserable economy preceding the Cazaril Administration. They are the legislative branch of government, and also control the national budget.

The Chancellor
The Chancellor wields much of the political power in Chalion. Chancellors are elected by the reigning Roya, and serve a four-year term. They have executive control of the nation.

The current Chancellor, Ias dy Cazaril, was appointed by the Royina Iselle directly following the assassination of the Roya Arvol and his Chancellor. Urged by the Royina, Ias used this as a pretense to activate several Emergency Power clauses in the Constitution, giving him the power to effectively ignore the Parliament. Ruling as a benevolent dictator, Ias has been able to bring about sweeping social and economic changes that seemed impossible under Parliamentary control. The death of the Roya Arvol is yet unsolved, so dy Cazaril has yet to relinquish his political power.

Religion
The primary religion of Chalion is Quintarianism, and most other religions are some Quintarian heresy or other. In the Quintarian religion, the gods did not create the world: "The world was first, and the world was flame" is the first verse of The Fivefold Pathway of the Soul. The World-Soul proceeded from the world itself, but could not perceive itself. Thus, the World-Soul split in two so that it could see itself. This split created the Father and the Mother. In their love, they created the Daughter and the Son, and split the seasons up among themselves.

Father
The Father represents closure, justice, and "deaths in good season", as typically symbolized by the closing of the year. His associated color is grey, and he is associated with Winter and the ending of the year.

Mother
The Mother is regarded as the goddess of healing and health, and most clinics and hospitals in Chalion have adjoining chapels dedicated to her. The Mother's color is green, and her season is Summer.

Son
The Son is the patron of friendship, nature, and hunting. He is also associated with war. His colors are red and orange, and he is related to the Fall.

Daughter
The Daughter is goddess of birth and life, symbolized by the opening of the new year. Youthfulness and virginity are also within her domain. Her color is blue, and she is associated with the Spring.

Bastard
The Bastard is by the far the most interesting of the Five Gods. It is said that at the beginning of the world, a great demon-lord was granted a soul by a saint of the Mother, and then took up service in the Mother's name, to banish all other demons from the world of matter. He was finally slain, but the Bastard was born of his union with the Mother. From him, the Bastard inherited control of all the demons he had overcome. As the master of Hell, the Bastard maintains balance in the universe. He also accepts those souls that are rejected by the other gods.

Orders
Each of the gods has their own Order, which seeks to carry out their particular god's earthly duties. In ancient times the Son and Daughter both had military orders; the former was dedicated to the external security of the nation, and the latter was concerned with internal security. These Orders lost their military nature when the Chalionese government was officially secularized. The Mother's Order still exists mainly as a charity organization, though it once operated hospitals and clinics across the nation, and the Father's Order was secularized and turned into the Department of Justice.

The Bastard's Order was a corps of Sorcerors; people who possessed one of the Bastard's demons and had special powers. The Order was broken up by the Cazaril Administration, who perceive demon magic to be a threat to National Security.

Everyday Worship
The Sign of the Five is a small ritual performed whenever the Gods are invoked. The signs are usually made with the thumb, first, and second fingers of the right hand briefly touching the forehead, mouth, belly, and groin before spreading the opened hand over the heart.

Prayers to the gods are traditional before mealtimes and before sleep.

Quintarian churches have a four-lobed structure, with each lobe dedicated to a god. There is a small separate building behind the Mother's lobe dedicated to the Bastard.

The quarterly changes in season are accompanied by ceremonies honoring the god of the upcoming season. This is also typically when churches gather their quarterly donations from the local populace.

Quadrenism
Quadrenism is the most common Quintarian heresy, and turns on denying the divinity of the Bastard. Quadrenes say that the offspring of the Mother and the demon-lord was demonic, rather than godly. Thus, they omit the mouth when they sign the gods, and fold the thumb in rather than splaying it with the rest of the fingers. Until recently, Quadrenes were persecuted in Chalion by the theocratically-controlled Parliament.