M'Chek
M'Chek
As a nation, M'Chek is large, but not large enough. There is severe overcrowding, and in some places, starvation. Most of the inhabitants in this case are the humans who are native to the place. Other races from the outside come in occasionally, but usually only for religious or commercial reasons. They tend not to settle there very often, because it is so difficult to find someplace to settle.
The mainland area of M'Chek is dotted with hundreds of villages, each one full to the brim. Over the last fifty years, this population explosion has begun to take a toll on the environment in the area, leaving the once lush forests nearly bare in some places, and causing droughts in others.
The solution, as the government sees it, is to find more land for people to live on. The problem is there is no more land available, unless the citizens of M'Chek are allowed by other nations to live within their borders. Some deals have been worked out with the other major human power on the map, The Kurathene Empire. However, dealing with this entity is difficult because it is not really an empire any longer, but a collection of independent fiefdoms, many of which are at war. Still, some nobles of M'Chek have been able to secure settlement deals and even unions through marriage. But the number of places where this is happening is not large enough to even make a dent in the overall population of the country.
Where else can they go? The answer: North. M'Chek is the southernmost nation on the continent, and they are cornered into their niche by the elven nation of T'Nanshi. The land of T'Nanshi is pristine and beautiful, and by human standards, empty. Long ago, the humans beseeched the elves to let some of their families move there, but the elves refused, citing the M'Chekians' mistreatment of land they already live on. The elves did not want hordes of men and women coming to live on their land and potentially destroy it, or at least grow to outnumber the elves and destroy their nation through attrition.
This argument got uglier and uglier over time, and eventually in the present day, it has become a full-scale war. The M'Chekians have nothing to lose, and any gains they make into elven territory are celebrated joyfully. For the elves, it is a different story. They are not interested in making gains into M'Chek's territory. (Why would they wish to compress the already squished humans any further?) However, sometimes strategic conquests are needed to secure their holdings, and they have been known to take land from M'Chek. But for the most part they are interested in keeping the humans contained.
About fifty years ago, there was an odd occurrence where one of the evil gods attempted to break his way onto the Prime Material Plane and wreak havoc, but his plans were thwarted by a number of adventurers. One of them went on to found a holy order of warriors loyal to the god Mikon. They are known as the Equalizers.
The Equalizers fight for balance, and will go to wherever they are needed to right any extremes. They feel that the elves are misguided and should give up some of their lands to the severely taxed humans, so in the southern portion of the continent, they have thrown in their lot with M'Chek. Since that time they have taken over control of the M'Chekian Special Forces and begun to infiltrate the elven nation both on the front and behind enemy lines.
Some of the allies they have acquired are the fairy races of Titania. The fairies created by the goddess Titania are always in conflict with the fairy races of O'Ma, for reasons to be discussed elsewhere. In T'Nanshi there exists huge populations of both fairy types, constantly on the brink of plunging into another Fairy War.
The Equalizers have capitalized on this and promised that if the Titanian fairies aid the humans in their struggle against the elves, the Equalizers and the Nation of M'Chek will be sure to help the Titanians wipe out the O'Ma fairies once the war is over. Thus the battle rages on.
Mikona
Location: Southernmost coast of the main continent.
Name Derivation: The City of Mikona is named after the god Mikon, who created the human race on Avlis with the help and advice of the god Ptah.
Predominant Race in City: Human
Predominant Alignment: None, neutral tendencies
Government: Noble Democracy.
The City of Mikona is the capital of the nation of M'chek. The ones who rule the city are actually the rulers of the entire country although in practice it is not as clear. There are two Houses of Government in the City of Mikona. The Noble House and the Common House. The Common House picks its representatives from among the commoners of the nation, although rarely do any of these commoners come from outside the city. Thus most of the concerns of the Common House deal with city matters. Rarely do they interfere in matters of national action or policy, although they do have the power to do so.
The Noble House is made up of representatives from two places: the Noble families of M'Chek, and the various large Temples represented in Mikona, namely the temples of Mikon, Dagath, Ptah, and Valok.
This house deals mainly with foreign policy issues and affairs. Although each individual Noble family has total control over their own estate, they are expected to represent a portion of their nation's interest. For instance, all of the major Noble families have personal armies and troops, but there is also a standing national army of M'Chek to which each noble is expected to contribute a certain percentage of its force.
The two houses of government are presided over by a Minister who executes decisions and carries out the task of administration, although they are limited in their actions by the legislators. In addition to the Minister there is a War Commissioner who is the commander and chief of the standing army. This is a hotly contested position that has been filled by either Nobles or reputable warrior generals.
Mikona Districts
The City of Mikona is divided into six major districts. They are: The Garrison/Gate District, The Temple Grounds, The Market, The Noble District, The Residential Area, and The Docks District. Each of these districts interrelates with all the others in some way.
Garrison/Gate District: This district holds the only public way in or out of the city without coming in by ship. Thus, it acts as a flow control for traffic to any other part of the city. A sign at the entrance directs people with various business to the correct place.
Government District: The center of government for the city and the entire nation rests here. It holds the two major meeting halls for both houses of government, and the joint session meeting hall, which also acts as the executive base. Some of the traffic to this place comes from the Temple Grounds to the east, where the clerical representatives in government go back and forth to solicit their cases and agendas.
The majority of the temples do not play a very active role in the government. They simply vote their conscience when needed. However, the Temple of Valok seems to take a keen interest in city and national affairs. This religion has taken off in the city sometime within the last hundred years. Its charismatic leaders instill a lot of self-confidence in the common public, as well as the rich and powerful. Its precepts of maximizing your individual potential through any lawful means, and some non-lawful means, really appeal to many in the government arena.
The Temple Grounds: All business within and between churches takes place here. The Temple Grounds has about five major temples in it. The most influential of these five are the temples of Mikon (the largest), Dagath, and Valok. Near these temples are shrines to a large number of other gods worshipped in the area. Usually these shrines have only one or two clerics tending to them. All gods and religions are accepted in Mikona, so the range of deities found there goes from Gorethar, the goodly god of the dwarves, to Maleki, the evil malevolent god of giant-kin and murder.
The Residential Area: This is where many of the Common folk of Mikona live. Housing conditions are poor, and the crowding has incited a lot of gang activity in the area. Many residents are too afraid to go out even in the daytime, and often times the City Guards them selves neglect to walk their rounds there. Common folk refer to these areas as The Slums, because that's what they are. The Common House is continually concerned about this area, but until there are some serious territorial gains made in the war against the elves, there is not much they can do about it.
The Market: This is the center of commerce in the city. It is located almost midway between the entrance of the city and the docks for easy access. Merchants of all kinds peddle their wares here. Both Nobles and Commoners can be found shopping, for this is one of the only places where the two castes will be seen in the same place.
The Noble District: This is where the major nobles of the city and nation keep their homes. Some of them also have keeps outside the city as well. All in all there is not much activity here in the daytime, although lucky rogues sometimes press their luck in these areas at night.
The Docks: This is the secondary area of commerce for the city. Most of the merchants live here and collect their wares here to sell. Emigrants who leave for other areas of the continent depart from here as well.