The United Provinces of the Hinterlands
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| Location | The Hinterlands | |
| Races | The Hinterlander Humans | |
| Primary Religions | Makerism | |
| Political System | Republic | |
| Current Stadhouder | Arnoud van Leuveren | |
| Raadspensionaris: | ||
| Preceded by: | ||
This section is currently under construction. Please be patient!
Introduction
Freedom is the right to decide your own faith, voice your concerns and rise up against the tyrants of Eden. The bastion of freedom and civil rights is an experimental state at the heart of Eden. They call it a Republic, and this has worked for them. Through all of Eden trade caravans of the United Provinces travel around and the markets of Wakkerdam are flowing with exotic goods from all corners of the world. In the halls of the Staten Generaal the citizens debate and raise questions and even have to right to vote on the future of the state. At the core of every person in the United Provinces is a yearning to be free.
Through the centuries it is the Hinterlanders that have always inhabited the center of Eden, spawning no great empires but instead a great people. They have raised scholars, engineers, theologians and philosophers. They pride themselves in their stubbornness and bluntness and so they have characterized themselves predominately as merchants, artists and hagglers as well.
In recent times the United Provinces was established in the city formerly known as Prezza L’Aquila now renamed as Wakkerdam. The nation was formed after the collapse of the Kingdom of Hadriana and have since formed a counterweight against the Kingdom of Veronia, in the delicate affairs between the three successor nations.
Culture and Society
To describe the Hinterlanders terms such as tolerant, organized and cordial come to mind. Vise Versa the Hitch are also known to be quite blunt or direct. This has lead many Hinterlander to pursue a mercantile approach to the world Eden. The riches of this world are theirs to be taken and the pursuit of may portray them as greedy. Yet the handshake of a Hinterlander to signify any deal or agreement is regarded most of all as honest.
City Life
The city of Wakkerdam lies directly at the heart of Eden. The city has positioned itself as the trade capital of Eden. Where all markets combine. The city has an active night life and lively streets. Most people spend their days at the public tavern or in the halls of the Staten Generaal discussing politics. The church at the centre of town actively draws in people on the daily to think about their connection with the Maker. As the United Provinces is an independent nation, city officials decide what monks or clerks to allow inside its walls. The city also invests a lot in its agricultural sector, being quote the regional bread basket and researching new irrigation methods to boost their harvest. The city still seeks to extend to a port in addition they want to draw in scholars to open a university. The city is also home to a guild of monster hunters.
Festivals & Celibrations:
- Verlatinghedag – the day the United Provinces seceded from the Kingdom of Hadriana due to the coup that happened there is regarded as a day of national celebration held on Rainswraith 12th.
- Saint’s Day : At every change of the seasons on a Saints Day, the last day of the week, requires every Hadric citizen to attend local church sessions and pray to their sentinel of choice or The Maker in general.
- Saint Nillias day : Day originates from the priest Saint Nillias who performed multiple miracles and pilgrimages in order to become so famous. He gifted children who behaved presents, those who did wrong were given a piece of charcoal, symbolizing an unhealthy future and bad luck. A sign of disobedience. On this day, children are told to behave even better by their parents. A priest from the local church will visit them, judge the children and perform the same tasks as Saint Nillias. The children have to sing for the priest at home or outside in little choirs. Even visit other homes to sing in front of their doors.
Marriage & Romance:
Marriages are a bit more free in Wakkerdam. As usual a party is thrown and the ceremony has to take place in the church and the one that leads the church should give their blessing to the marriage. Often the head of the family has to give permission for the bride to be married. In this way arranged marriages are still part of the United Provinces, usually for economic gain. But on the altar itself the bride is allowed to end the marriage at the clergyman’s final offer. When married the bride and groom make a holy vow on a Dictus to support each other in times of hardship and wellbeing.
Life & Reproduction:
The average life expectancy in Wakkerdam is higher than in most of the peasant ridden villages of the former Kingdom of Hadriana. The cities are kept kept quite clean yet disease still occurs in the densely populated areas. Hence the people of Wakkerdam still seek someone to open a clinic in their town. Compared to other nations the family sizes in the United Provinces are quite large. This is because the children are expected to take care of the elderly and support their parents once they show up. Reproduction is normal for humans, what’s to add….. A story about the flowers and the bees?
Death and funerals:
In Wakkerdam the deceased are to be given a proper burial. Graveyards are not regarded as a scary or blighted place but as a place of refuge to try and connect with the recently deceased. Families pay and invest a lot in the decoration of tomb stones. At a proper burial a Makerist priest should be present. People that commit suicide are decapitated before entering the grave, as suicide is frowned upon by the Makerist church.
Commerce and work:
Wakkerdam drives on commerce, Hinterlanders are known as honest tradesmen and they often go into the pursuit of new products to sell cross the world. They often visit other nations instead of letting them go to themselves for trade. The markets of Wakkerdam are placed in a key spot that allows for a lot of international trade and commerce.
Languages
The people of the Hinterlands speak in their traditional tongue which is famous for its brutal pronunciation of the ‘g’ that often reminds people of demon sounds. The language known as Hitch does have some poetic phonations as it is often used in rhymes to explain fairy tales and morals. Other then Hitch the people of the Hinterlands are also fluent in common and some senior members of the clergy speak Ancient Attian when translating the Dictus.
Political beliefs
Through the centuries the Hinterlands had been home to a different set of tribes. Other than their Attian kin in the north the tribes of the Hinterlands stayed divided for a long time and a lot of infighting ensued. In this early phase of the Hinterlands was thereby born the idea of a general assembly of townsfolk to issue their demands to their local chieftains. The chiefs of the early Hitch tribes were replaced when they for instance did not function properly. It is said that in these town meetings the first general principle of the republic was formed. In the later years during 90 Years war against the Kingdom of Hadriana the chieftains briefly united under a common crown. During the Age of Kings the people of the Hinterlands copied the lordly system of the Hadrians and noble houses were formed like the Van Leuveren family.
In the aftermath of the collapse of the Hadrian kingdom the Hitch gathered in Wakkerdam and having been inspired by the ancient town meetings of the ancient Hitch and the ancient Attian consular system they set upon creating a General Assembly dubbed the Staten Generaal. This civil council gathers every month to decide upon the different executive orders presented by the Stadhouder, who also commands the military. They also elect a Raadspensionaris who appoints Administrators.
Military and law
All citizens of the United Provinces have the right to vote, in return the state has the right to call upon its citizens to defend the nation. Thusly in times of war all citizens are eligible for conscription. The military is divided in three different branches the main bulk of the army consists of the Gulden Garde/Guilder Guard. These are professionally trained troops who practice in different stances of combat but most famous for their tight formations on the battlefield. They wield power to arrest and expel individuals from Wakkerdam. Other branches of the military are the Nachtwacht who act as the personal guard of the Stadhouder, their business is relatively clouded. The last branche is the Vreemdenlegioen. This is a regiment of volunteers from other nations.
The law echoes that of the law ordered in the Kingdom of Hadriana:
The Hadrian law
Base Fundamentals
- Law article I. Thou shall not inflict acts of barbarism, violence, or other of the kind to those fellow citizens.
- Law article II. Thou shall not steal from others in the name of self lust or greed.
- Law article III. Thou shall not inflict destruction on other properties not owned by thou self.
- Law article IV. Thou shall always stay faithful to the Maker, never to follow false idols or gods.
- Law article V. Citizens shall not tolerate individual conversion or public praisings to false idols or gods.
- Law article VI. Thou shall not kill nor harm an individual.
- Law article VII. Citizens shall not tolerate any individual who denies the path of Makerism or His will.
- Law article VIII. Thou shall never deceive those of goodwill or cheat in marriage.
- Law article IX. Thou shall not take the word of the Maker and his Sentinels in vain.
- Law article X. Thou shall not use magic for wrongdoing or without jurisdiction of the clergy.