The Cytaari League
The Cytaari League is made up primarily of the Empire of Nippon and the Principality of Aldyrax, both staunch monarchist countries with heavy religious influence. The Cytaari league has significant influence throughout the native american population, as well as others who oppose european influence in their home countries. Several protectorates are included in the Cytaari league, either to Aldyrax, or under joint control of both Nippon and Aldyrax.
The Cytaari League is one of the oldest alliances, formed during the early modern period between the Hyakuya Shogunate in nippon, and the early Principality of Aldyrax while it was still fighting against european invaders of the americas and subjugating its more distant relatives.
The Principality of Aldyrax
Background
The Principality of Aldyrax is a monarchistic, religious nation in northwestern america. Despite being monarchist, Aldyrax has no noble class or hereditary rulership, and in fact, no system of inheritance at all. Everything in Aldyraxian society is extremely meritocratic, including the selection of the heir to the throne. The Phoenix Prince of Aldyrax can only be one of the Divine Avengers, who have already proven not only their valor and skill, but also their moral integrity through selflessness and heroism.
Aldyrax is very peculiar to outsiders, having little in common with most other developed civilizations. The citizens of Aldyrax are not even human, the nation having left behind its humanity in the 21st century with the advent of advanced genetic engineering. However, there are still many human subjects of the Principality outside of the central regions. The citizens of Aldyrax are of the species known as the Lexta, an androgynous race grown in bioreactors and spawning pools inside the densely-populated Citadels. The form of Lexta is inspired by ancient myths and legends, and includes traits of various animals and creatures that were regarded with reverence in the past, including triangular ears like a fox or cat's, retractile claws, fangs, avian eyes, and other enhancements based on various animals.
Little of Aldyrax is used for farming, the majority of food coming from hunting, fishing, pastoralism, and gathering. As might be expected, this has strongly limited the population growth of the nation, however, careful management of resources as well as active efforts to adjust the environment of the nation to be more optimal has permitted an unprecedented yield from the wilderness. Every Lexta goes hunting as a child, and most continue throughout their life, the endless expanse of north america controlled by Aldyrax providing a large sustainable supply of prey.
The heart of Aldyrax is in the rocky mountains, in a series of densely fortified and well-planned settlements known as the Citadels. Each Citadel is situated at some strategic location and built from the ground-up, carefully planned, and with enduring architecture of cyclopean stonework or rammed earth. Use of concrete, drywall, and other fast methods of construction are unheard of in Aldyrax, and many buildings are centuries old due to the enduring, if costly and time-consuming, methods used in their construction.
The Aldyraxian religion is called Cytaari, which developed over the centuries from earlier animistic and sun-worshipping cults. Many regional variations exist, commonly with animistic elements, but the main tenants of the Cytaari faith regards their beliefs about divinity, reincarnation, and the converse of divinity, sometimes considered "anti-divinity", "Unholy", or "negative divinity". The word used has no direct translation to most other languages.
According to Cytaari belief, Divinity is the highest ideal that anyone can aspire to, and emulating it is the highest calling. Divine beings are pure and untainted by the ravages of age and corruption, with hearts composed of Light. According to Cytaari tradition, divinity is associated with asexuality, youth, and immortality, while the negative divinity or unholy is associated with decay, perversion, and corruption. Unholy beings are thought to decay to nothing as they die, while pure beings spirits will endure and become reincarnated.
As a result, Aldyraxian policy includes thinking of the far future, and has created eugenics programs and long-term constructions, so that one might become more pure and closer to divine over the course of their reincarnations.
Due to this religion causing increased interest in genetic engineering, biological technology is widespread in Aldyrax. Many creatures are designed as sacred entities, rather than utilitarian tools. Aldyraxian craftsmanship, architecture, and even weaponry is all crafted to be elegant as well as functional. It is partially for this reason that directed energy weapons are so preffered, the brilliance and fury of searing plasma or directed light being considered in its own way an expression of Divinity.
Aldyraxian philosophy has always been tied closely to rationality and science, and part of their beliefs included the supposition that their understanding of the universe is imperfect and can be improved through the use of reason- a development of neo-confucian ideas. This has shaped the way Aldyraxian science is approached, and philosophy and science both are regarded with a great deal of respect.
History
The people who make up modern Aldyrax arose from a disparate group of tribes from tibet, which crossed the land bridge in the tenth millenium B.C. These tribes settled across california, the pacific northwest, canada, alaska, and some splinter groups traveled further south, to the isthmus, andes, or patagonia.
By the first millenia B.C., three main culture and religion groups had arisen: The Kodiak Animists, the Mortis, and the Cytaari. Conflict between these religious groups largely defined the Cytaari religion, while later influence from the Orient also affected its philosophy.
The Principality of Aldyrax itself was first formed in the eleventh century A.D. as a small regional power centered around the then-newly-founded city of Aedurazil. Many city-states and regional petty kingdoms existed in the area at the time, of various cultures, languages, and religious beliefs. Aldyrax was part of the group of nations in the western rockies, in modern british columbia, which formed the Cytaari religion.
Aldyrax's rise to prominence began in the thirteenth century A.D., when the animistic, tribal clans in Kodiak discovered Kamchatka. Aldyrax was notable for its naval influence, and quickly charted a route through aleutia down to kamchatka and beyond, making contact with japan and mongolian china. Monopolizing trade with the Orient, Aldyrax was exposed not only to the devastating smallpox plague first, but also in the years that followed, advanced technology from the orient.
Over the course of the next two-hundred years, Aldyrax came to control most of the rockies, with only the Kodiak Animists in the north, the adventurous hunter clans in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and the Mortis kingdoms in california and oregon outside of their control. Aldyrax continued to fight its neighbors until the spaniards arrived, which halted its expansion for a long period, while they fought against the european invaders.
The Cytaari religion began to take on its defining characteristics during this period, particularly with the advancement of the Priesthood in government. Priests were selected from the seemingly "purest" of the youth, and castrated from a young age, in accordance with Cytaari doctrine that divine entities are asexual, and that the highest calling is emulation of Divinity. This priesthood guided the development of society- not just religiously, but also acting as teachers and guides for children, who were raised communally rather than by their biological parents. The Phoenix Prince of Aldyrax was traditionally selected from among the priesthood.
When the Principality of Aldyrax came into contact with the spanish explorers in the late fifteenth century, the spaniards sent missionaries to the Prince of Aldyrax. According to tradition, the Phoenix Prince demanded the bible be translated to them. After listening to it for an hour, they declared the europeans to be desecrators, with almost every aspect of their religion sacrilege. The missionary was executed, and the Phoenix Prince of Aldyrax pledged an eternal war against the blasphemers.
Using exotic weapons based on earlier chinese designs, including rocket-propelled arrows and flamethrowers, Aldyrax fought against the europeans throughout not just north america, but south america as well, forming an alliance with the Mortis, Animists, and Inca against the european invaders. Eventually, the various european powers came to control much of the eastern americas, but Aldyrax remained well defended, the Mortis had formed a temporary alliance with aldyrax to ensure their independance, and the Incas became a vassal of Aldyrax by the seventeenth century following a bloody campaign in which Aldyraxian forces liberated them from spanish occupation.
Over the centuries, Aldyrax has remained xenophobic. Conquered subjects are treated well, but Aldyraxian policies on child-rearing causes great friction, as the children are taken from the parents at birth, and raised communally, being taught Aldyraxian language, culture, and ideals. Aspects of other religions are usually permitted to exist, and outside of beliefs actively considered sacrilegious, Aldyraxian treatment of other religions is typically relatively peaceful. The abrahamic religions in particular, however, are considered abhorrent by Aldyraxian standards, and there has been an endless conflict with abrahamic powers since the arrival of europeans in the fifteenth century.
Beginning in the eighteenth century, in accordance with Cytaari religious beliefs, Aldyrax began a systematic eugenics program of selective breeding, carefully ensuring continous advancement towards Divinity. Due to Cytaari belief in reincarnation, this is viewed as a method of self advancement, ensuring that every generation is closer to the Cytaari ideal of Divinity than the last, and thus, every time that an individual is reincarnated they become closer to Divinity. By the mid-twentieth century, these primitive selective breeding methods were largely supplanted by advanced genetic engineering, which Aldyrax has always lead the development of. Even before genetic engineering, the population had changed significantly in appearance, acquiring generally brighter and fiercer-looking hair colors such as gold or red, and a strong tendency towards androgynous appearance.
Trade between Aldyrax and the Orient has caused significant cultural and technological interchange between them. Neo-confucianism has affected Aldyraxian philosophy and particularly the sciences, and much of Aldyraxian weaponry was based on chinese designs. Similarly, Aldyraxian mysticism has affected the development of Esotericism in Hyakuyan Nippon, eventually culminating in a close alliance between the two nations. Historically on good terms with the older imperial dynasty of China, the modern communist rulers of China are on poor terms diplomatically with the monarchistic Aldyraxians.
Current advancement in genetics, administration, and culture has significantly altered the structure of Aldyraxian government. The priesthood as it existed before is gone, as it is no longer necessary to only select priests from a young age due to advances in genetic and biological sciences rendering the supposedly corruptive influences of age moot. Some divisions are still named priests, but are more specialized: One order is responsible for the raising of children, for example. However, the true inheritors of the traditional priesthood is the Divine Avengers, who rose to prominence in the 21st century as new genetic enhancement methods came to the forefront. The Divine Avengers, contrary to the earlier priesthood, are heavily militarized, primarily because their purity no longer comes at the price of physical abilities.
The Empire of Nippon
Monarchist
The Protectorate of the Incas
Protectorate
The Protectorate of the Rising Sun
Protectorate
The Protectorate of the South Seas
Protectorate
The Cerberus Alliance
Scandinavia
The Varangian Union
China
Holy Zion
Theocracy
The Hydra Coalition
Royal Brittania
Noble Republic and Constitutional Monarchy
Revolutionary Empire of France
Republican dictatorship
The Republic of Korea
Republican
The United States of America
Republican
Alfheim
