Admin Contest/Ob's Entry

Level One Entry
Name: Atalante

World: Eidyn, a continent in an otherwise unexplored world. It has magic, other races like Elves and Dwarves among others like Dragonmen and Harbingers, and is thought of by the people of Eidyn to be flat when in reality it isn't. There is also a pantheon of gods, along with other deity-like creatures.

1. History: In order to talk about the history of Atalante, one must first talk about the Sorviin. During the early days of Eidyn's birth of civilization, three main groups of people formed and lived off the land. The Haradinoi lived in the eastern lands, though the northern lands were unpopulated due to them being frozen wastelands. The Mediuso were a group that lived among the central mountains of Eidyn. Finally; in the west were the Erebnyx, living principally among the northern mountains called the Ascensore Reaches, though they lived in the lands around it as well.

However; during a three year gathering of these great tribes (it's unknown to this day why this gathering was so long, though speculations fly around this a lot), a fourth was born. A mix between the three originals, the Sorviin were a tribe of fused cultures and traditions. Unfortunately; the Sorviin were not accepted by the other three tribes, and were forced to migrate to the one place no one had been before: the Teleios Peninsula. The tribes there, the Atallaeci, were shattered and many and had killed many of the other tribes' men when they tried to conquer it.

The Sorviin had a different plan from the rest of tribes. Instead of fight them, they tried to ally with the Atallaeci for the better good. Though at first the natives were suspicious at this new tribe, once they finally realized there wasn't any chance of conquest they easily accepted the Sorviin.

After many years and many more generations, most of the natives and the Sorviin became one people. Soon; many nation-states began to form, hundreds of them. After a few more generations, these city-states began conquering one another for resources and power. When all the wars finally ended, three kingdoms were left standing. One was the Navarre Confederation, an empire located on the edge of the Catalonin Mountains, to Navarre Lake, and along the Unbroken Coast. It consisted of three separate fiefdoms that had united in order for their protection and shared resources. It consisted of the rival Serpent lands, Ashrei and Felrei, and of Oulobann.

On the Ivory Plains and the Moitoskawa in the southeast, the kingdom of Orioa stood. Unlike the other two kingdoms, Orioa was very militaristic. The only reason they hadn't conquered the other two kingdoms was because they were too powerful and the smallest in terms of land, besides the fact that Orioa did not want to be invaded from two fronts (As an attack on one of the kingdoms would be seen by the neutral other as a precursor to their eventual invasion). Orioa, therefore, was extremely defensive and many of Atalante's current defensive techniques and strategies owe this kingdom for them.

Finally there was Nippona, the oldest of the three. The Nipponans were descended from the natives living in the part of Atalante known today as the Nipponan Heartlands, having little contact with the Sorviin and as a result claimed they were the rightful owners of the land. However; their population was much more spread out and separated, and as a result were smart enough not to call war for the same reasons as Orioa.

After a period of relatively tense peace between the three kingdoms, Felrei and Ashrei began arguing once again, which soon lead to a stand-off on the border line separating the two fiefdoms (the river Altaranda). Oulobann, knowing that weakness between the three nations could be a sign to the other kingdoms to invade, intervened and calmed relations before any more trouble could take place. This caused many people from all three fiefdoms to feel that Felrei and Ashrei's leaders would only bring down the Navarre Confederation. Two months after the standoff at the Gando, a coup of both countries rulers was successfully made. Once the leaders were kicked out, the new ones quickly had both of their nations become protectorates of Oulobann. Thus the old Navarre Confederation died, and the Imperial Oulobann rose. Once Imperial Oulobann formed, both Nippona and Orioa knew this was not a good sign. In both kingdoms border guards and patrols were tripled within the year of the Confederation's fall. Though it was thought to be silly precautions, it was not for naught, for the rulers of Oulobann had always wished to wrestle control of the peninsula for themselves. It was after this, using the excuse as a response to the border patrol, that Oulobann put up the Great Barricade, a line of forts, soldiers, ships, and any other military they could muster to strengthen the border between Oulobann and the it's enemies. For the time, until the Wall of Courage, this was the greatest blockade and barricade ever known to exist in Atalante history.

Within four months of the formation of the Great Barricade, Oulobanno ships and soldiers that were originally guarding the Great Barricade landed on both Nipponan and Orioan soil and attacked. Thus, the Oulobanno Conquista began.

For two years Oulobann battled Orioa and Nippona, stuck in a stalemate that they could not afford to keep up for much longer. Orioa's defenses proved to be extremely hard to crack, and in Nippona guerrilla warfare was used against Oulobanno armies to great effect. However; the tides finally turned at the Battles of Anakaido Bay and Dagorlatt River. There Oulobann ships finally broke through the cadre of Nipponan ships preventing them from sailing farther down the coast, while at Dagorlatt Oulobanno fleets broke through a tenuous alliance of Orioan and Nipponan ships. Once the country had broken through Anakaido Bay and won the battle, Nippona was lost. Within weeks their lands were overrun by Oulobanno soldiers, who used their exact same guerrilla tactics against them. Nippona finally surrendered when their capital, Kyotu, was taken.

Thus, Orioa was left standing. With the new resources from the conquered Nippona and being attacked from all sides after the Battle of Dagorlatt River, it seemed Orioa would fall within a few weeks. However; the Orioan's refused to surrender and fought on. It took a total of sixteen months to finally subdue Orioa, six of those months just battling it out for Orioa's capital city Oriosan. However; once Oriosan fell, Orioa was forced to surrender too.

After the Conquista, there was much to be done. Many cities and countrysides in both Orioa and Nippona were heavily damaged, many people were still arguing and fighting against Oulobanno laws and soldiers in some cases, and Oulobanno funds had mostly been spent in the war. At first, the current king at the time, named Uther Peldrag, was unable to fix these problems. He was a warrior, someone who could win war after war after war. However; when it came to rebuilding an economy and managing subjects, Uther was a disaster. As a result, he was forcibly abdicated from his throne by his top general Vortigern Bercilak and replaced as king.

Vortigern proved to be the right man for the job. Within a year rebuilding projects has skyrocketed, and Vortigern was quick to make dozens of trade networks with the surrounding nation and city-states so that taxes would not raise so high. He also focused on the integration of the three former countries peoples, as they were quite hostile to each other. Having community programs that forced people to be together, they eventually began to intermingle. He also proposed tax breaks and property rights to unions of mixed heritage, which helped the intermingling process tremendously. Unfortunately; Vortigern was not immortal, and eventually died of old age. However, his acts saved the young Oulobanno empire from fracturing or completely destroying itself. Not only that, but it launched the kingdom into a golden age. Trade was at its highest point ever, the military was the most powerful one on the west coast of Eidyn, and it also started an expansionist movement within the proud Oulobanno empire.

With the Golden Age of the Oulobanno empire, the kings after Vortigern were just as smart and tenacious as Vortigern. Though some kings did rule with an iron fist at times, especially those right before the Expansionist Age, they weren't cruel nor evil, just very strict. These strict kings, known as the Steelfinger Kings, were the instigators of the expansionist movement known as the Conquering Age. They, along with much of the populace, believed that Atalante could not sustain the people of the kingdom with the current lands they owned alone. Because of this, they began conquering lands outside the Teleios peninsula. At first, the conquest went slow. Atalanteo armies were made for defense, not conquering, and as a result were often out-maneuvered and ambushed by enemy armies. Because of this, the Steelfinger Kings were forced to revamp their armies completely. As a result, the Atalaneo army became the modernized powerhouse it is today. With the army finally renovated and reinvented, they were able to progress their conquest significantly. By the time of the reign of King Augonna, Atalante's borders had expanded significantly past the Catalonin Mountains and Anakaido Bay.

It was then that the West Orioa Trade Company, or the Orioan Traders for short, rose to recognition. A powerful trading company, it helped the government pay for the costs of expansion with the goal of increasing its own profit with more Atalanteo lands. However, as the company began garnering admiration and popularity from the populace, their goals began to become more greedy and lofty. With ever-expanding popularity, especially among the new territories garnered from recent conquests, they began openly opposing the king's rule as tyrannical and suggested a direct democracy. Many people joined in this revolution, and a small series of skirmishes called the Merchant Revolts broke out. These Revolts would halt Oulobanno production and trade and marked the end of the Golden Age.

After a few months, the Merchant Revolts were finally stopped with the Moor Treaty. Signed by the then-reigning King Esperandai, it called for a democratic monarchy with a council to balance power, called the People-King and Senate respectively. However, the senate and People-King often argued and fought with each other. As a result, constant fighting between factions loyal to the senate and king was commonplace (the factions were the king's Loyalists and the senates Mercs respectively), and many times the government was abolished or abandoned for long periods of time before being replaced by new leaders who would eventually lead to the same thing. This period was known as the Teleios Wars, or the Years of Agony. It was during this age that the incredible event known as the Night of the Dragon. During one night, two towns, one for each faction, attacked each other in a massive battle. Civilians, soldiers, even two generals were in the mix as the people rushed at each other. It was then that a massive grey dragon named Meljangern attacked the armies, completely taking them by surprise. It started killing indiscriminately, and soon both armies and towns were faced with possible death at the claws of this powerful and huge dragon. It was then that a large Atalanteo airship named the Nautilus, crewed by both Loyalists and Mercs, attacked the dragon head on. When they couldn't hold it off anymore, they charged into it and caused the ship to explode. Both the dragon and the crew fell. In honor of their dead, both populaces put aside their differences and payed respects for their fallen comrades and agreeing to peace between them. This act would have far-reaching implications.

The Night of the Dragon would cause many people to rethink their reasons for fighting and the very government itself. A man named Breoghan, the nephew of the captain of the Nautilus, began a campaign with those fit to fight from the towns to defeat both the People-King and Senate and rebuild the country. This small force quickly spread to almost 70% of the nation's populace pledging themselves under Breoghan's banner, the Free Armies of Atalante. With that powerful force against them, the King and Senate united to save themselves. However; they were only delaying the inevitable. Even with their forces combined, they could only match the number of soldiers, and unlike the Free Armies they couldn't restock on troops. Eventually the Free Armies conquered almost every inch of Atalante except for the area now known as Pratogen and the capital itself. It was here that the greatest blockade formed in Atalante history, the Wall of Courage. It was a massive blockade of soldiers, ships of both sea and air, siege weapons, and whats even more amazing was the fact that barely any soldier there was foreign. Almost 100% of the men there were Atalanteo, unlike the government which had hired almost all mercenaries for their armies. Once the Wall was formed, it started closing in on A Coruna, getting smaller and farther in the more battles they won in Pratogen.

It was once they finally conquered Pratogen that the legendary siege of the city occurred, called the Siege of the Mare Bastion as that was A Coruna's original name. The siege was one of the longest in Eidyn history, lasting up to six and a half years before the King and Senate finally gave up in the Battle of Lleviathann. After the King and Senate were forced to abdicate their positions of power, Breoghan had a vote for the best government. The result, due to the Atalanteo's history as traders, decided on a corporatocracy so that not only all could have rights but the best traders would make the decisions. Breoghan was then named the representative of the newly-formed People's Merchant Association of Atalante. With Breoghan's leadership and ideas the country was able to pull itself out of the massive wreck it had caused itself and become a powerful nation again. Though Breoghan and the original Masestres eventually did die, those that followed were great in their own ways. It was during this time that the Imago and Indoia archipelagos were found, giving Atalante much more land and control in the Western Sea. Today, Atalante is a powerful nation thanks to these revolutionaries and their descendants, who reformed Atalante into what it is today.

2. Leaders: Considered the world's largest "company" in a sense, the Atalante People's Council, also unofficially known as the Merchant Senate, has been the form of government of Atalante since the Common Man's Revolution. Although it is a "company", its goal is to increase the profits of the country and ensure the welfare of the people entrusted to it. Therefore, the Council works in a similar manner to a normal trade council, except for the fact that anyone with any financial pull can buy stake in the company and participate in the government. Typically, all people with minimum shareholdings are able to vote. However; the greater the shareholding, the greater the weight of the vote. Many feel that the system is dangerous because of the ease of corruption, which in the low positions has happened before, but for most of the people in their positions, their performance has always been impeccable.

3. Culture: One thing that visitors give attention to when first arriving in Atalante is the strange and often wild customs of the people. There's the usual supernatural customs like throwing salt over their shoulder or avoiding to break glass, but then there's the customs of putting sheep's blood on the door to avoid demonic possession on the last day of the year, smashing or kicking small rocks if one trips, leaving plates of food outside (usually with the food placed to make certain symbols or shapes) at night when there is a full moon, among many others. This is because the people of Atalante have always been superstitious folk, respectful towards spirits and the like, while simultaneously trying to ward off any monsters or demons. This strange cultural superstition has had outsiders think that the Atalante people are a strange people unkindly towards outsiders; however, this is not true at all. Rather, the Atalanteo try to mimic the actions of good spirits and be an example to evil monsters or demons by their open-mindedness and hospitality. Atalante people are very tolerant of the ideas of others, and often embrace them and change their customs accordingly. When this was first observed, the visiting people were quite surprised. However; a High Representative of old named Gringzong explained this tolerance:

"Yes; we have our own customs and ways, but we are not perfect. We cannot dare call ourselves omnipotent, for that would be calling ourselves gods. We dare not even compare ourselves to the gracious and kindly spirits that live among us, let alone the divine one themselves. That is why we can understand and connect your ideas, your beliefs. If we believe them to be right, then unless some obvious fact is stated, who says they can be wrong?"

However; there is one philosophy that both the people and the government reject, if not officially. That is the partnership between the dragons and Dragonmen of the Ascensores Empire. Although some people believe that this comes from the fact that the Atalanteo are worried about the rising prosperity of the nation (which isn't totally false), the main reason why is because they can't understand the logic behind it. Never had Dragonmen and dragons united, and there has never been any gradual sign that this hatred was becoming less or weaker. The fact that their explanation for this union is because of the intervention of some god-like being they worship also leads them to believe that the Ascensores have been tricked by a demon of some considerable power.

Now this open-mindedness does have it's limits, a sort of "honor" system for the Atalante people (this system is based on a stricter version the Nippona people of the south had in ancient times). It's basically a sign of trust, they will trust you deeply unless you cross them and they discover it. Once they discover this treachery, it is very, VERY hard to be forgiven. A betrayal of their open trust is like slaying their loved one, a very serious offense that is looked down upon and hated. One who is known to have broken this trust is shunned and avoided, as well as often ridiculed or insulted. In fact; those who have broken this trust are marked (they are called the Pecamibito, the sinners), so that everyone knows of their treachery. This is not to say that everyone believes this is right, but most agree to make a point to show why someone should not cross the initial trust of the Atalante people. Again, this does not apply to everyone, and many people do tend to forgive those marked if what they did were not too serious.

4. Military: The Atalanteo Armed Forces is the army of the Atalanteo. One of the largest armies in Erudite, it is a powerful force to be reckoned with. Not only must enemies deal with Atalanteo soldiers, who themselves are formidable, but must also deal with ships with powerful defenses. People who wish to join the army are required to have first finished at least public school education and received the national diploma. However; those who went to a specialized school for military are favored, and usually are the first picked. Those who specialized in artillery and/or technological studies will also be favored as either war artillery or military scientists. Atalanteo strategy relies on endurance, misdirection, and power. Often they set up fake raids in order to position enemies into ambushes or flank attacks, or suddenly focus on attacking a certain part of a ship in order to to get attention on that part of the ship, and then obliterate an undefended section. Atalanteo ships are also extremely tough. They tend to be more on the defensive side when it comes to combat, and as a result most ships are heavily armored and attack power is more concentrated.

5. Terrain: Atalante is located on a peninsula off of the main continent. Once under the ocean before tectonic movements forced it upwards, numerous rivers and small wetlands dot the peninsula, as well as a massive lake. The prevalence of water gives the peninsula a maritime climate. The land is also mountainous along the line where the peninsula meets the main continent and at the bottleneck area of the peninsula where a large island had collided with the forming peninsula. A small island chain also exists off of the end of it.