Republic of Erkas

The Republic is divided into seven heptarchies, each run by a democratically elected Senate with a heptarch as their executor. Each heptarchy is then subdivided into various prefectures, each with its own democratically elected Assembly and prefect serving as executor.   The national government is centered around the Mússar, the national parliament. Every prefecture has a democratically elected Speaker to represent it. Speakers are directly elected by their constituent citizens for a term of five years. Once per year, the speakers elect an executor to serve as the head of the government. The executor has executive powers whereas the Speakers only have legislative power. The Mússar is allowed one week to discuss issues before voting on them. The Sormai Reforms introduced measures to penalize obstructionism during these debates and any sort of campaigning by candidates.   The Federal Capital is Meryl, located in the First Heptarchy, but classified as a special, federal district.   The Seven Heptarchies are:

1. The area formerly corresponding to Desei and part of Sargosia. The Capital is Amerar, formerly part of Sargosia.
2. The area formerly corresponding to Zaroa. The capital is Soruna.
3. The area formerly corresponding to Ameia. The capital is Ameia City.
4. The area formerly corresponding to Tila. The capital city is Kesiana.
5. The area formerly corresponding to Isar and parts of Sargosia. The capital is Heiparia.
6. The area formerly corresponding to Laien and parts of Sargosia. The capital is Berynia
7. The area formerly corresponding to Kenairen and parts of Sargosia. The capital is Forsalan.

Birth of the Republic   Tirsei IV was long part of the Irresi Empire. The war with the Turunai caused fractures to emerge that eventually led to the dissolution of the Empire with the Dyn Accords in 1116. For the next few centuries Belera was divided between several rival kingdoms that regularly warred with each other. The planet's unification under the Republic began in 1691 when Countess Ilo Rysia of Nesrath was imprisoned on trumped up political charges as part of the machinations of the Deseian court. The countess's husband, Ilo Erkas returned to Nesrath, his wife's county in the mountains. There he declared independence from the Kingdom of Desei and initiated wide ranging reforms, founding a democratically elected assembly called the Mússar (“meeting” in Old-Tongue) and granting it the power to appoint an Executor as the new head of state and government. The new nation was named the Republic of Nesrath (It would later change its name to the Republic of Erkas in honor of its founder).   The Queen of Desei responded by sending in her military to stamp out the secessionists. Although the Deseian forces managed to capture Meryl, the capital of Nesrath, they soon found themselves fighting a guerrilla war led by the determined Ilo Erkas himself. The mountainous terrain favored the guerrillas who used their knowledge of the local geography to avoid capture while constantly harrying the invaders with hit and run attacks.   After months of war, the Deseians seemed no closer to ending the Erkasian rebellion. Zaroa, taking advantage of the war between Desei and its breakaway province, invaded Desei and captured the counties along its border. Faced with the invasion from the west, Desei abandoned Nesrath and turned its attention to the Zaroan invasion. The two nations warred on and off for years as Desei attempted to retake its lost provinces.   In 1699, after a seven year leave, Ilo Erkas was appointed Executor a second time. His first act was to launch a surprise attack on Deseina, the capital of the Kingdom of Desei. With Zaroa's best forces concentrated along the border with Belera, Erkas was able blitz through to capture Queen Telys, the Deseian head of state. The queen was then forced to sign over control of Desei's remaining territory to the Republic. Ilo Rysia, still imprisoned, had been using her connections to gather support for the change of power, and due to her machinations, those who did try to rebel were easily defeated and their lands divided up among the collaborators.   After the surrender of queen Telys, the Republic set about developing and strengthening its government institutions and fostering a culture of loyalty to the office for all bureaucrats.   The country was forced to return to war in 1711 when Kenairen invaded from the south east. After heavy fighting, the invasion was repelled and the two nations signed a treaty of non-aggression.   The End of the Aristocracy and the Beginning of Industry   In the ensuing decades, anti noble sentiment continued to grow in the republic. While the nobles of Nesrath had been deposed, the nobles who had collaborated with Ilo Rysia remained in positions of power. In 1762, Anti-noble sentiment reached a tipping point and civil war seemed imminent. Amid this turmoil, the Mússar elected Diadys Alysei, a respected noble with a reputation for fairness and honesty, to be 1762's Executor. Against all odds, she managed to convince the other nobles to renounce their titles in exchange for government assistance in launching various electrotech companies, something the Republic had not previously had. Despite some discontent over using public funds to help the elite, the new companies offered employment for large numbers of commoners and the diversified economy proved strong, averting the impending civil war. Many of the tech corporations founded by the former nobles went on to become successful, enduring businesses that turned the republic into a technological powerhouse.   Expansion   Beginning in 1791, on the hundredth anniversary of the Republic, the Liberation Movement gained a majority voice in the Mussar. This party, dedicated to spreading democracy to the surrounding regions, began using republican spies to foment and fund rebellions in other kingdoms.   In 1794 Erkasian spies had become sufficiently embedded in Zaroa to foment. A peasant uprising ensued (with arms and military instructors secretly supplied by Erkas). The Zaroan nobles were taken by surprise and captured easily. Zaroa's new government promptly voted to join the Republic. The deposed nobles were tried and those found guilty of severe abuses of power imprisoned. Those found guilty of only minor abuses were given the choice of life as commoners or exile.   In 1795 Erkasian spies attempted the same strategy in The Kingdom of Sargosia, but the Sargosian nobility, alarmed by the events in Zaroa, were prepared and the peasant uprising met brutal resistance. Instead of the quick coup realized in Zaroa, Sargosia became a battleground as the oppressed commoners, bolstered by the promise of freedom, fought on against an increasingly vicious government.   Soon, the neighboring kingdoms of Isar, Laien, and Kenairen began to lend their support to the Sargosian nobles, eager to prevent another democratic takeover. In 1797 Sargosia convinced Ameia and Tila to invade the Republic, heavily diminishing support for the rebels as Erkas focused its energies on its own defense. The technological developments in the decades since the founding of the Erkasian tech industry, combined with the poor coordination and internecine rivalry endemic to the aristocratic armies, lead to a Republic victory and the retreat of the invaders.   In 1803, the Sargosian rebels finally proved victorious. The captured nobles and their supporters were put to death without trial in mass, public executions. The rebels declared a new, Democratic Sargosia and chose to remain independent of Erkas, as the vast majority of the incredibly bloody war had been fought on their own without Republican help.   The Sargosian government lacked the strong institutions and traditions that kept Erkas stable, and the country was plagued by sectarian skirmishes between militia groups and chronic in-fighting among the politicians.   In 1807, the five remaining kingdoms (Isar, Kenairen, Laien, Ameia, and Tila) invaded Sargosia and divided its provinces between themselves.   In 1816, a feud between Tila and Ameia devolved into war. Erkas took advantage of the chaos to invade the Sargosian territory occupied by the warring kingdoms. These territories agreed to join the Republic so as to not be reconquered.   Unification   1826, the five kingdoms launched an allied invasion of Erkas. Despite their numerical superiority, the aristocracy again suffered from poor coordination among its forces, a lack of training and equipment among its levied peasant soldiers, internal rivalries among its nobles, and technological inferiority. By 1829, Erkas had annexed Kenairen, made peace with Isar, and seen Tila and Ameia withdraw from the war to shore up their border fortifications as relations between the two kingdoms deteriorated.   Laien, the only remaining combatant, sued for peace, but their entreaty was declined as Erkas pushed into the kingdom, swiftly conquering it.   In 1840, using the subjugation of the conquered Sargosians as a pretext, Erkas invades Isar, conquering it and its Sargosian territory.   During this period, Erkasian agents continued to foment rebellion in Tila and Ameia, and when rebellions broke out in Tila in 1846 and Ameia in 1847, the Republic used that as an excuse to conquer the two kingdoms and free the rebellious peasants.   Reorganization   Having unified Belera, the Republic set about on a thorough reorganization of the Republic. The nation was divided into seven Heptarchies, each identified by an ordinal number. Each Heptarchy was subdivided into several prefectures, again identified by ordinal numbers.   To the Stars   When the Edge softened, the Republic began exploring the galaxy. It soon established the colony of Raikani Major and constructed Abyn station.

The seven heptarchies of Tirsei IV form the core of the Republic. Since the resumption of interstellar travel, however, numerous colonies have been founded beyond the Tirsei system. These provinces currently lack representation in the Mussar.

One of the wealthiest and most technologically advanced nations, Erkas has the largest and most developed mechatech industry in the galaxy. There are a number of bio and animatech firms as well, but strong regulations designed to prevent unethical research have left them behind the Aggosians. Erkas has the second largest economy in the galaxy, and its trade deals are spreading its language and culture across much of civilized space.   Erkas has instituted strong laws limiting the biotech industry along ethical lines. As such, the kinds of living vehicles and devices common in Aggos are generally outlawed in Erkas due to slavery prohibitions. Consequently, purely mechanical technologies are the norm, and Erkasian research firms are the best in the galaxy in this area. The lack of biotech navigators means that Erkasian pilots must use their own Xa'an techniques to navigate Second Space.  

Major Companies

  Terosam Ltd: A weapons manufacturer. Their Spatha are the standard sidearm for the Erkasian Army.   Resinir Tesa: A major tech developer of military vehicles, Resinir Tesa (or RT) designs vehicles for a wide variety of environments.  

• Sphinx Class patrol cruiser: a small capital ship. Max speed—FTL 1.9, Force 850 km/s. Births—two fighters or one assault shuttle
• Roc Class bomber: Max speed—Force 800 km/s
• Djinn Class Fighter: Max speed—Force 950 km/s
• Efriit Class Superfighter: Max speed—FTL 0.5 Force 850 km/s
• Redoubt Class Battlestation
• Leviathan Class Super Carrier: Max speed—FTL 1.5, Force 700 km/s. Births—200 fighters, 50 bombers, 25 assault shuttles, 300 marines
• Griffin Class assault shuttle: Max speed—Force 900 km/s. Births—12 marines, one pilot, one Chimera Class assault walker.
• Chimera Class assault walker: detaches from Griffin, carries 12 marines. Force drive allows hovering 1-2 meters over land or sea. Four legs can be deployed to climb rough and vertical terrain (such as buildings and walls). Max Speed—Force 200 km/h, Legs 25 km/h

  Erasa Ketare Robotics: A manufacturer of robots.

• Arachnoid: a three meter spider like robot that can climb vertical and inverted surfaces. Can use its sharpened limbs as weapons. Can travel quickly in low gravity by leaping.
• Camo-black ops android

  Nuvaia Industries: A starship manufacturer. Its ships are famous for their speed.   Sarakan: A weapons manufacturer

The Republic has no official religion, and its constitution guarantees freedom of religion. The majority religion remains the Divine Path, but Erkasian Pilgrims tend to be quite liberal in their faith. Be'al has been sending missionaries to guide the faithful towards its puritanical interpretation of the religion, and while this has led to a small increase in conservative ideology, most Erkasians have retained their relaxed attitude towards their faith.   The Republic also has a large atheist population, and alternative faiths such as Ailarriti Kerrena are growing.