Necia

Government

The Necian League is a Democratic Republic, comprised of sixty city-states of seafaring Men and Glauca, who have come together to work the seas in mutual cooperation. Each city-state is run with limited autonomy by a tribe who draws lots in their town forum every year to determine who will be their Chieftain. The Chieftain is a city-state's leader, but he also represents his tribe's interests when all Chieftains gather in the Beacon City of Demos, capital of the Necian League. Though usually lacking a strong central power, the Chieftains of the League may cast lots in times of duress to appoint one Chieftain with powers of Dictator, enabling quick decisions needed to defeat grave enemies.

Landmarks

• The Oratorium
• The Gatekeepers of the East
• The Beacon of Demos

Military

The Necian League is defended by a professional army and navy, scouted for ability at young ages and apprenticed to war heroes and veterans. The Men of Necia comprise the army, and the Glauca comprise the navy. It is common to have war expeditions in which the Navy escorts the Army to wage war on Necia's enemies. There is a saying that if you sway where you stand, a Glaucan's word is law, but if you stand on solid earth, you obey a Man. This synergy of force has made the military a brutally effective projector of Necia's power. While not particuarly savage nor bloodthirsty, Necia wages war with regional parties on a consistent basis, to keep the nation enriched with resources, spoils, and slaves.

Affinity War

Relying less on the awesome power of magical affinity mages and more on conventional warfare augmented with limited affinity magic, both the Army and the Navy have created numerous war weapons to take advantage of the occasional gifted affinity soldier:

• Trireme: A fast, light attack warship of the Necian Navy. It is powered either by oar or by sail, and is ideal for fast pursuit, especially at the hands of the Glauca's water affinity magic. It has a light hull of timbers, but a prow that is cunningly designed to function as a ram, able to absorb an impact when colliding with an enemy ship's broadside with ease. Glaucan steel supports the prow and keel, further giving rigidity and armor piercing ability.

• Leviathan: A true partnership of Men and Glauca, this is the heaviest warship in the League. Slow and conspicuous, it is a great ironclad husk, powered by a steam paddle which is fueled by a fire mage and a furnace, giving the ship a great and terrible plume of black smoke in its wake. Several kill ports dot the metal skin of the beast, which can be drawn tight by iron shutters. From inside, Men and Glauca alike can unleash hell on the open sea at their enemy, with little fear of counterattack.

• Scytus: An affinity soldier's weapon, this is a heavy war spear with a double diamond tip, open and hollow on the inside of the spearhead, leaving a crevace. This space is filled with pitch, Necian Ether, or some other foul ignitable, and the spear is hurled with great force. With its heavy steel point, it is an excellent armor piercing missile, and when it's fuel is ignited, it is even deadlier to whatever has the misfortune of being pierced. In addition, a soldier with affinity in metal can "compress" the scytus's shaft for space-saving, thus allowing the most elite Soldiers to be able to carry bandoliers of the deadly spears.

• Gonne: At once thought a curio and plaything of a mischevious fire affinity adept, the pipe-shaped gonne ended up finding a special niche as a siege weapon. Heavy and utterly cumbersome, it takes days to transport and to aim, but this weapon can hurl boulders far beyond the range of a catapult or trebuchet, demolishing entire castle ramparts in one shot. The secret to the Gonne's power is a strange grainy substance, the secret of which is held by the inner circle of Fire mages, on pain of horrible horrible death.

• Necian Ether: The strange and unnatural result of synergy between Fire and Water alchemists, the actual composition of the Ether is known only to a handful of mages. When contained in a jar, it appears to be a viscous clear liquid, just noticably thicker than water. But when exposed to air, the ether burns with a stubborn flame that only water affinity magic can douse. The Navy has used the Ether to great success on the open sea, but it is a risky weapon, nearly as dangerous to the wielder as the target themselves.