Merchant Republic of Arba

Human

The Republic's demographics are amongst the most diverse in all of the Continent of Arros, thanks to their numerous territories located on three continents. Within these territories, many different cultures and ethnicities live under the banner of the republic.

Mage

As luck would have it, or in their case, misfortune, neither Arba itself, nor any of their conquered territory holds a substantial population of mages, be they Elementals or Soulbounds. In fact, their most recent "acquisition" the City of A'anora and its surrounding territories in Mahador, had the least amount of mages in the whole region, which did make the Arbitian conquest easier.

Army

The republic, having a relatively low population, does not have a large land army. Nonetheless, each of its territory has its own local armed forces, professionally trained and overseen by local and arbitian captains and generals. Since the country's native mage population is critically low, the republic heavily relies on mage mercenaries to fill their ranks.

Navy

Both for the protection of their trade networks, and also to carry all of those traded goods, Arba possesses the largest and most well-equiped navy in not only Arros, but in Enaskia and Mahador as well. They have thousands of ships, which come in all kinds of forms, from small cog ships to large iron-clad war vessels, and even revolutionary Anchor Ships. No single country in the region can hope to win against them at sea. In times of peace, most of these ships are used to trade goods across the sea, but in times of war, many of them are instead used to either transport soldiers around or directly participate in naval battles.

Air force

While not as big as their navy, the republic's air force has been growing steadily in the past decades to catch up to the Kinvalian-Paxolian Commonwealth., a neighbouring country that boasts the largest air force of both Arros and Enaskia. The republic maintains around 100 Winged ships, less than a third of the commonwealth, and a bit less than the Kinvalian Empire. Most of those ships are neither military or civilian, but cargo, which can however be easily used during war time.

Government

Executive branch

The Baron Circle is a assembly made up of the 8 richest merchant families in the republic. All but one of them are from the City of Arbiro, or the Island of Arba. These individuals each monopolise some of the most lucrative aspects of trade in the country, such as metals, salt, textiles, spices etc. They also have the final say in what goes on in their colonies, and how colonies interact between each other.

Legislative branch

The Siqan is an assembly composed of elected representatives from both Arba and the colonies. All free and proprety-owning male or female residents may try to get elected, but usually only members of the richest families or candidates backed by them ever do, making the country act more like an oligarchy than a republic. Members of the Sinqan cannot be admitted into the Siqan if they are not first approved by the Council of 12, composed of 12 senior members of the Siqan who's job is to assure the long term viability of the Siqan.   The council of 12 is a assembly composed of 12 senior members of the Siqan who's job is to assure the long term viability of the Siqan. They used to be appointed by the Baron Circle, but they have since acquired the right to elect themselves from the Siqan. Their primary job is to oversee the election process and vet all candidates, as well as communicate the Siqan's requests and questions with the Baron circle.

Officially, the republic's government follows no fate. However, most in the government, and indeed on the Island of Arba itself are Choranians. The republics does allow complete freedom of religion in the territory of their dependencies, as long as the religions in questions are the "Mainstream" ones. What counts as mainstream is at the discretion of the local governor.

Allies

Thanks to their aggressive expansion, the republic doesn't have many allies, and the ones they do have, like the Kingdom of Gysia, the Kingdom of Asderaan and the Kingdom of Nhaggoria are only of convenience. Gysia is in fact no longer Arba's ally following the The Conquest of South-Shorai and Arba's betrail in that conflict. Their most solid ally is the kingdom of Nhaggoria, who they help against The Dragonknights insurgency in the Vechor Islands.

Neutral countries

Both the Confederation of Ru'mensh in northern Arros, and the Kingdom of Saramen in Eastern Enaskia are both important trading partners of Arba, but have have no involvement beyond that. In fact, the kingdom of Saramen remains wary of Arba's influence in their Valcorian duchy.

Enemies

In the last century, Arba has accumulated many enemies around the Mahadorian Ocean. In Enaskia, the Triarchy of the Free Cities remains their main adversary, as both countries compete for dominance over the western Mahadorian ocean and northern Mahador. The Kingdom of Khrona, allied to the Triarchy, has been in multiple wars against the republic, and remains an enemy seeking to reclaim the city of Vnera. For a few decades as well, relations with the Kavasian Empire have soured, first because of their alliance with the Kingdom of Gysia, but also because of their growing influence within the City of Vrahlis, crucial to the empire's economy. Finaly, the Ak'aaran Confederation is in an active war against the republic, after the later orchestrated a coup in the City of A'anora and rapidly took control of it and the surrounding land.

The main industry of the island of Arba is gold mining and shipbuilding. The economy of many of Arba's colonies is highly specialised and based on only one or two key local products. The island of Velcan is considered to be the republic's food basket, exporting the vast majority of its grain production to other dependencies and to the Island of Arba itself. The republic's newest colony, the Dependency of A'anora, exports rare and expensive Mahadorian products, like Vanilla and Emandine wood. The city of Arba also holds one of the most powerful financial institution in Hysal: The bank of Arba, which caters to merchants to which it issues loans and allow currency exchange. Their main competitor is the Bronze bank of Vrahlis

Trade is the backbone of Arba's immense wealth and growing power. They act as the middle-men for most trade transactions in and around the Mahadorian sea, allowing them to accumulate large amounts of wealth while also producing very little of their own products. A few of those items include: Textiles and tin metal from the Kingdom of Asderaan, Spices from Mahador, most notably Vanilla, as well as cane sugar, Rum, and Emandine wood.

Officlal Currency

The Hatti is the republic's official currency. A sign of Arba growing power, many merchants working in port cities along the Mahadorian sea only accept to be paid in Hatti, instead of the local currency. Many kingdoms have large reserves of Hatti coins as well, especially those who trade with the republic often.   Unlike other country's currency, the Hatti's production is very heavily scrutinized to ensure that its value remains constant. To do this, minters are required to use 3.5 grams of near-pure gold per coins, which ensures a stable value, a characteristic that made it the standard international currency around the Mahadorian Ocean.