Civilised

The Civilised, or Mannis are a race of Humans who inhabit The Kalsean Desert, now called the Civilised Lands by most.

Arrival
The Civilised migrated from the land of Northmannis after being nearly wiped out. Their ships docked in the Kalsean Desert and quickly set up a dock, which they called Riparios Bay. Migrating inland, they set up many outposts, eventually founding the capital city of Ingenion.

The First Expansion
After establishing a civilisation in the Kalsean Desert, The Civilised sent their armies east, in an attempt to settle in the more fertile Barbarus lands. However they encountered heavy resistance from the native Barbarian clans. While their forces in Barbarus fought desperately against the Barbarians, the Civilised started a mass conscription, recruiting everyone who could fight into the army. They also began setting up a series of small towns along the Barbarus/Kalsean border that their troops could fall back to and resupply. The Civilised fought the Barbarians for 4 years. By this time there resources were running low. A Civilised noble called Sentian Kreat, who was commander of the Barbarus/Kalsean border outposts, made a deal with many Barbarian clan leaders, promising them a way past the outposts in return for the protection of his town. The Barbarians agreed and Sentian allowed them past. However the Barbarians broke the deal, attacking the outposts and murdering Sentian. After this, the Civilised pulled most of their armies back to Igenion, using the desert to their advantage. Although the Barbarians were unable to cross the desert seperating them from Ingenion, many of the forward outposts the Civilised had set up were left to fend for themselves, putting them under threat from raids and attack. Many of these outposts broke off from the main Civilised faction and became various rebel factions.

Rebellion
Although the Civilised had stopped the Barbarians from advancing any further into their lands, the war had left them low on resources. This, combined with attacks from rebels who had revolted during The First Expansion, spread chaos throughout Civilised lands. Ilium Kreat, the son of Sentian, blamed the Civilised emperor, Beastior Solarius, for his fathers death and the loss of the war. He convinced many of the Civilised nobles to rebel against the emperor, and amassed a huge force. These rebels battled the Civilised army all the way to Ingenion, where they besieged it for 9 months. The Emperor, desperate to save his life, authorised the creation of the Equiestrians dar Fuerza or "Equites" for short. These elite cavalry units were to be used as a peacekeeping force and as the emperors royal guard. When the rebels broke into Ingenion, they found the Equites waiting for them. The rebels and the Equites fought throughout Ingenion, culminating in a fight in the emperors throne room. The Equites managed to rout the rebels but the Emperor was killed.The Senate, now in control of the city, quickly and efficently brought the city states back under their control. When the rebels returned to their individual cities they were imprisoned and executed for their crimes.

The Second Expansion
Although the Equites stopped the rebellions, they left the Civilised low of food. The desert climate they lived in was unfit for the plants they tried to grow. The Civilised planned a second Expansion to try and conquer the rich Barbarian lands.However, instead of trying to directly invade the Barbarians the Civilised sent spies into Barbarus to try and intergrate themselves with the clans. This ploy succeeded and most of the far western clans, such as the Viper and Scorpion clans adopted many civilised traditions and beliefs. This time, when the Civilised invaded, the western clans allowed them to pass, allowing the civilised to set up in central Barbarus. Other Barbarian clans attacked the Civilised, but were unable to wipe them out due to their advanced technology and their rapidly increasing number. However a disadvantage to the rich lands of Barbarus was that the stone their was useless for building the grand Stone buildings they were used to, and any attempts to import stone were thwarted due to Barbarian raids. The civilised were forced to live in small towns, much like the Barbarians. In the central plains of Barbarus, the Civilised discovered Olives, a fruit able to grow in some areas of the Kalsean desert. Olives were transported back to Ingenion in huge amounts and huge olive plantations began springing up. The Olive trees made the ground more fertile, allowing other plants to be set up, including Grapes. After the set up of the plantations, most of the Civilised were called back to Ingenion, leaving many abandoned towns and people behind. These stragglers eventually merged with various Barbarian clans or became mercenaries or bandits.

The Kuldberg and Strife Incursions
The senate strted to prepare themselves for a third invasion of Barbarus. However the new emperor, Cyano Solarius went against the senate and ordered forces to explore the lands north of Ingenion. The Civilised amries venture north into the lands of Kuldberg, which seemed to be deserted. The Civilised set up small outposts there. However in the winter huge blizzards engulfed the Civilised forces, freezing them in their hundreds. Ice scavengers prowling the blizzards also killed many Civilised and in the end, they retreated.

Cyano decided to turn his gaze south and sent his remaining troops there. They found a penninsula with an island chain leading to a rocky wasteland. Cyano ordered great bridges built to bridge the gap between The Kalsean Desert and these new lands. The building took 53 years, with Cyano dying seven years before its completion.

Cyano's son, Casimiro Solarius, oversaw the finishing of the Great Bridges. When they were done he sent his forces across the bridge into The Sands of Strife. There he met the great sultan Cyn Rami Salesh. He held long negotiations with the sultan, which ended with a truce and trade routes between the two nations.

The Provinces
As time went on, the Civilised began to encounter problems trying to manage their empire all from Ingenion. Ingenion was forced to rapidly expand in order to hold the vast amounts of citizens living there, leading to large slums surrounding the city. The Civilised empire eventually fell into disarray as management of their resources and armies became disorganised. Eventually the south eastern part of the empire split off from the main empire, choosing to independantly manage its trade and forces rather than rely on Ingenion. This relieved some of the burden on Ingenion and gave the senate an idea. They split the Civilised empire into four provinces. Each province contained six duchies and a province capital, with the exception of Ingenion, which was large enough to be a province by itself.

Society and Culture
The Civilised Empire is split into Ingenion and three provinces. Each of the three provinces is made up of six duchies and a seperate province capital. The three province capitals are Riparios, Cultio and Aridiark. Each province has it's own resources and specialities.

Trade
Each province in the Civilised empire specialises in the production and trade of it's own goods. Trade between duchies in a province is free and unregulated, allowing goods to be freely transported within a province. Trade between provinces is regulated by numerous trade officials, who often charge highly for trade between provinces.

Ingenion specialises in the production and trade of luxury goods, such as jewelry, expensive clothes and house decorations. Raw goods are imported in from the other provinces and converted into luxury goods by master artisans and craftsmen in the city, after which it is imported back to the other provinces, and the Sands of strife, at a high cost. Ingenion also harvests the large grape and olive plantations outside the city, although the majority of that goes towards feeding the civilised empire, rather than into making a profit.

Riparios specialises in trade relating to military. metals such as iron and ingenium are mined from large coastal mines and sent to various duchies and Riparios bay, where smiths convert it into weapons, armour and artillery for the Civilised armies. Riparios also boasts the best trained troops in the Civilised empire, with the possible exception of the Equites, and many military training academies are found there.

Cultio specialises in resources relating to animals. Leather, fur, milk and meat are all produced there, and much of the land is taken up by large livestock farms and plantations used to grow feed for the animals. Other crop related goods are also produced there, such as rum from sugar cane and cotton for clothing. It supplies the majority of the Civilised empire, with meat, and supplies the armies of the Civilised with horses to be used as mounts. It also produces paper for the Civilised, and a lot of the Civilised's libraries and records stores are found in this province.

Aridiark specialises in trade between the Sands of strife. It is less affected by the high price of trade as the majority of its trade is with the Sands of strife, and the resources it does buy and trade with the Civilised, such as Strife fire, are often rare and highly sought after.

Currency
The Civilised use gold as their currency, it being fairly useless after the discovery of ingenium, which is just as pretty and much more durable. The use of a single currency has allowed the Civilised economy to furish, and many barbarian clans hav also adopted this currency.

Politics
The Civilised empire is run by two council; the council of economics and the council of inquiries, and an emperor. The council of economics is made up of leaders of all the major state guilds in the civlised empire, as well as numerous finacial officers. They regulate trade and empire wide issues. The emperor of the Civilised are all members a single family; the Solarius family, with the title being passed down through the family to the first heir, whether they are a man or a woman. The emperor has the final say in any decisions and passes nearly all laws in the empire. To help him with this the emperor has two imperial advisors. One of these sit in at each council meeting and relay important news to the emperor for him to decide on.

The council of inquiries are a group of duchy managers. There are 22 senators, one from each duchy. Each senator is responsible for discussing and resolving matters in their duchy, at which point the other members of the council will decide whether to support or refuse the option proposed. If denied, another option is decided upon or the information is passed on to the emperor for him to decide.. Although merely advisors to the emperor, there have been multiple times in history when the councils have taken over the running of the Civilised empire, normally during the small temporary absence between when an emperor dies, and the next emperor is appointed.

Army
The Civilised military is split into two main forces; the Legionary Militia, and the Mannis Contingency. When a Civilised citizen wishes to join the army, their duchy provides them with basic equipment for free. From this point, the citizen is known as a Militiaman, and is part of the Legionary Militia. The Militiaman must do tasks for various groups and people, most often their own duchy. The Militiaman will use the money they earn to purchase better equipment, which they can then use to do more difficult jobs for more money. This will continue until the Militiaman has the wealth to pay to join the Mannis Contingency. Once a Miltiaman joins the Mannis Contingency, they are given better equipment and serve full-time as a soldier. Soldiers in the Mannis Contingency are paid regularly, which they can use to continue to buy better equipment. In times of emergency, the whole Legionary Militia and the Mannis Contingency can be rallied into a single fighting force. In these events, citizens are also conscripted into the Legionary Militia.

The Mannis Contingency is made up of 22 legions, one for each duchy and province capital, and one for Ingenion. A legion is led by a legate. Each legion is made up of 10 cohorts of 200 men, with the exception of the Ingenion legion, which has 20 cohorts. A cohort is led by a captain and is made up of 10 platoons of 20 men. A platoon is led by a sergeant.

The Civilised's heavy troops are the Equites. Originally made up of cavalry soldiers, the Equites have expanded to contain elite troops of all kinds. Equites are normally either military trainers, or Mannis Contingency officers. They can also form special platoons known as Equite platoons. To train as an Equite, a citizen has to join the Equite academy in Ingenion at a very young age, graduating at 20 as a junior Equite. After a junior Equite has proved himself enough times in battle, they are promoted to a full Equite. Since the only Equite academy is in Ingenion, all Equites are in the Ingenion legion.

Navy
The Civilised naval forces are known as the Mannis navy, and are managed from Riparios bay. Civilised ships are split into three main types; battleships, troop ships and raiding ships. Battleships are large ships created to destroy enemy ships and forces. They are normally armed with heavy ballistae and catapults, although some ships custom made for beseiging towns carry trebuchet. Troop ships are ships made to carry and unload Civilised ground forces onto enemy shores. They are armed with light ballistae, often tipped with Strife fire for defense against enemy ships. Raiding ships are the most diverse of the three types of ship, being used for everything from scouting to enemy ship capture. They can be outfitted with a variety of weaponry including, ballistae, grapples to tow in enemy ships, and even rams with which to charge enemy ships. Nearly all Civilised ships use both sails and oars for movement, enabling them to reach great speeds.

The Civilised naval forces are led by Riparios veterans. Unlike the Equites, Riparios veterans have no special training, instead being veterans of naval warfare. They are reknowned for their strategic thinking and powerful custom ships.

Training
The civilised Empire provides basic training and equipment for all professions. Once this training is complete, the person then acts as a freelance of that profession, earning money to go to academies for better training and buying better equipment. Eventually when they reach a high enough skill level, they are invited to join a state guild and become an employed member of the civilised empire. Any person who refuses this invitation is subject to a heavy tax.

Notable members

 * Lucius Randall
 * Damian Randall
 * Retribushus
 * Hyrek Regimus
 * Shorus Harrier
 * Sentian Kreat
 * Ilium Kreat
 * Beastior Solarius
 * Cyano Solarius
 * Casimiro Solarius
 * Tydarious Nero Velon