"Slava v gorizontakh." (Слава в горизонтах)
—Lunar motto, translating to "Glory in the Horizons."

The Lunar Collective (Лунарийская Коллектива), also known as Lunaria (Лунария), is a group of twelve royal houses who came together to form one cohesive oligarchic nation to gain independence from the Crimson Empire in the Great Aurian War. Each house oversees a particular sector, such as defense, worship, science, industry, finance, information and propaganda, foreign affairs, and internal security.

The economy is centrally planned and controlled by the state, with the major industries essentially run by the lunar houses. This ensures that wealth and power remain concentrated in their hands. Each house is led by a leader known as the "Bolt". The Collective itself is led by a "Silverin" (Серебрянин), who picks a head bolt amongst the other houses in the politburo.

While their aesthetics and much of their ideology resemble that of communism and equality, the nation is all but totalitarian, and the 'abolished' top nobility continues as the twelve lunar houses, each having a near-monopoly on their specialized industries.

Lunar citizens are considered to be equal in a merit-based society with rewards for those who excel in ways that benefit the state. However, true power and privilege are reserved for those with connections to the ruling houses. While the state promotes the idea of a classless society, the reality is starkly different. The old feudal classes have been abolished in name, but a new ranking exists based on loyalty to the state and the ruling houses.

In practice, rallies, force, and propaganda are used by the rulers to control the populace. A facade of democracy is maintained through many elected representatives from the general population. However, their power is severely limited, and they primarily serve to advise and implement the decisions of the twelve lunar houses.

Most citizens work in state-assigned jobs within the sectors controlled by the royal houses, where productivity quotas and efficiency standards are strictly enforced. The lives of citizens are closely monitored by the state, with pervasive arcane surveillance and scyring.

Dissent is swiftly and harshly dealt with by internal security forces, and citizens are indoctrinated from a young age with the ideology of the state through a tightly controlled education system. Words like "The State" and "Comrade" have become common, as have sayings such as "Slava Lunarii".

Personal freedoms are highly restricted, and propaganda is a constant presence in media and public spaces. The populace is kept in a state of loyalty mixed with fear. Public rallies and demonstrations of loyalty are common, and citizens are encouraged to report any signs of dissent. However, the nation sees itself as 'mortals-first' and chooses to pursue science, technology, and early industrialization to combat the magical prowess of its neighboring nations. A bayonet can be the great equalizer for a regular human, giving them a chance to kill a spell-caster who can throw a fire bolt at them.

In addition, the Collective is less tolerant of most beast-folk. The animalistic races such as Leonin, Saurians, Aven, and the rest suffer quite a bit of racism especially on the Lunar mainland. This divide mostly stems from the fact that most of the beastborn reside in the Lunar Protectorates instead of the mainland, and are considered to be 'savage' natives by the mainlanders.

Lunaria is expansionist, constantly trying to expand its borders into nearby lands and islands without caring much for locals. They control much of the Ashfall Isles after a brutal takeover some decades ago, and control much of Western Edeni in Eqos through various colonies. These colonies and cities are referred to as ‘Lunar Protectorates’. The Lunars also hold the colony of Gematirsk on the far-off northern continent of Skion, a city devoted to science.

The Lunar Protectorates across the world are:

• Lunar Îles Protectorate in the Lunar Sea

• Lunar Zolá Protectorate in the Ashfall Isles

• Lunar Kazarin Protectorate in Eqos

• Lunar Iron Territory in Skion

Their control over the Kazarin Strait gives the Collective a major say in almost all trade conducted between the two hemispheres of Abmarah, as they can easily force a blockade and stop trading ships from passing the chokepoint that separates Eqos from Aurial. They have rarely done so, however.

The usage of magic is banned without a license, as well as various necromantic spells such as Animate Dead. Only three gods are allowed to be worshiped under Goldenism: Arryestria, Aetaos, and Aethys. It is from the goddess Arryestria that the Lunar Collective derives its name, as she is a goddess of the moon.

Much of the mainland receives ashfall from Kazarin Peak throughout the year, increasing fertility but also damaging to the lungs of people and animals alike. In addition to Common and existing D&D languages, they speak a unique language called Lunarian- An equivalent to Russian in Abmarah.

In the crest, the crescent moon symbolizes House Serebro, the supreme leader of the collective. The star represents the Bolts of the twelve houses. The four larger spokes represent the main backbones- Houses Vanadiyin, Merkuriyev, Titanov and Zhalizoskyy, with the smaller spokes representing all the other houses. The crest itself appears like an eye, symbolizing how the Collective is always watching. Thus, it is called the Eye of the Collective.

The twelve houses of the Lunar Collective are:

House Serebrov. House Serebrov isn't really a house, but an individual, and said individual's guards and personal team. Whoever is the ’Silverin’, leads the Collective. They are the supreme leader, and all houses and citizens are to follow them. They generally appoint a Head-Bolt to serve as their second-in-command. The Serebryanin represents the interests of the Collective as a whole, and settles any disputes between the other houses. They is elected by the twelve bolts for life. The houses often do not come to a consensus, and there can be long periods of time in between leaders. The current leader is Serebryanitsa Strela, originally of House Vanadiyin.

House Titanov. House Titanov is the overseeing house of the Collective. They oversee all other houses to make sure all of the Collective is coordinated, as well as the citizens. The primary authority under the Silverin, they work closely with House Carbon. They are one of the four main Houses, and are currently led by Bolt Storozh Titanov.

House Vanadiyin. House Vanadiyin has the primary military of the Collective, comprising eighty percent of its forces. The force of war, they comprise the single greatest centralized military in the world. Troopers are given individual numbers and standing orders, as everyone is a part of the system. More often than not, the Silverin is from House Vanadiyin as a military ruler. They are one of the four main Houses, and are currently led by Bolt Temno Vanadiyin.

House Zhalizoskyy. House Zhalizoskyy is the research and development house of the Collective. They create all of the technologies that the Collective uses, and conduct arcane experiments in their scientific laboratories in Skion Labs on the far away continent of Skion, in the area now known as the Lunar Iron Territory. House Zhalizoskyy has been credited for creating the musket firearms currently deployed in the army, along with many advancements in arcane constructs. They are one of the four main Houses, and are currently led by Bolt Nozh.

House Merkuriyev. House Merkuriyev, often called House Mercury by outsiders, is the strategic side of the Collective, and have the second strongest military after Vanadiyin. Their soldiers are highly trained personnel, trained in assassination and covert operations. Historically they’ve been opposed to House Vanadiyin, but the two houses have found common ground in the Collective. They are one of the four main Houses, and are currently led by Bolt Strakh Kinzhalovna Merkuriyeva.

House Kriptonskyi. House Kriptonskyi is the manufacturing powerhouse of the Collective. They create nearly everything, from ships to buildings. They run the largest commercial store in southern Aurial in the form of the Kripton Goods Center. They are currently led by Bolt Sozdatel Kriptonska.

House Neonenko. House Neonenko is the external affairs house of the Collective. They handle communication and diplomacy with other nations, immigration, emigration, international relations, public relations, and so on. House Neon is also in charge of the governance of most of the Protectorates, and have a large mining operation. They are currently led by Bolt Yarkiy Neonenko.

House Ksenov. House Ksenov is the financial house of the Collective. They control most of the nation's finances and economic development by operating the largest bank in the western hemisphere of Abmarah, influencing even Eqos. Most of the other houses do not like their influence, and try to keep their personal incomes out of the Ksenov State Bank. They are currently led by Bolt Yad Ksenov.

House Platinak. House Platinak is the internal affairs house of the Collective. They handle most of the Collective’s internals, such as recruitment, law, and judiciary. They also create most of the propaganda widespread across the mainland and their territories. Arguably one of the most important houses, even if they are not in the 'main four'. The Silverin generally keeps them on their good side, as their soft power is necessary to the Silverin's success. They are currently led by Bolt Fayl Platinak.

House Koporev. House Koporev, often called House Copper by outsiders, is the exploration house of the Collective. Much of Abmarah is uncharted and has undiscovered paradises, resources, artifacts, ruins, and much more to be discovered. House Copper explores and discovers new lands for the Collective, charting out the unknown and bringing anything of note back to the mainland. Their true power and value to the state relies on their intense mining operations on the mainland. They are currently led by Bolt Matros Koporeva.

House Karboniv. House Karboniv is the intelligence house of the Collective. They handle the organization of spies and secrets, and keep a check on the Collective’s citizens, enemies, and topics of interest. With an overlap with House Titanov, many describe them as House Titanov’s sword. Feared and dreaded across the world, Karboniv agents permeate much of Abmari society. They are currently led by Bolt Ottenki Karboniv.

House Zolotov. House Zolotov is the religious house of the Collective. Regulating the worship of the three permitted goddess as well as the ‘Pure Light’, it is run by an organization known as the twelve Ballistas led by Bolt Kol-Han Zolotov. The Golden Church isn't given much importance in the affairs of the state, but is incredibly important in keeping order among the citizens through religion.

House Giranenko. Shrouded in secrecy, little is known about House Giranenko. They regulate the usage of magic across the nation and issue the magic licenses within the mainland. The Collective focuses more on science and technology through House Zhalizoskyy, but House Giranenko is the key to understanding the arcane, and runs one of the only academies of magic in the nation, the Giranyy Mahichnyy Akademiya (GMA / Gima). They are currently led by Bolt Itila Giranenko.

Goals

The Lunar Collective heralds itself on a ‘mortals-first’ mentality. Despite the thought that the Silver is descended from goddess Arrus, for the most part the Collective distances itself from the divine and the magics, and aims to create a space for humanity in this world. Using bayonet rifles as compared to spellcasters in the field, they employ Zhalizoskyy artificers and scientists in the field.

Some hypocrisy is present though, as they believe that they are ordained by fate to take over the lands ‘promised to them’ by the moons, a philosophy not dissimilar to manifest destiny. They colonize lands around them, sending Koporev fleets to explore followed by Vanadiyin and Merkuriyev troops to conquer. Sowing internal turmoil and weakening city states before taking them over, the Lunar Collective continues to grow throughout the centuries, and is the largest nation by landmass on Abmarah.

With an ideology not dissimilar to modern day oligarchic communism, they stand as one of the most modern nations in Abmarah, in the process of arcane industrialization. They aim to take over all of Eqos, and are ready to see the Dynasty and the Covenant destroy themselves before they move in.

Relationships

In Aurial and the Blood Sea, the Lunars have a large foothold in much of the territories. They are allied with the underwater Aethian Dominion, and have held a long-lasting peace with the Great Kingdom of Terros to the north following the Great Aurialian War. Within Terros, they are most closely linked to House Kopprska of the Queendom of Fioska.

Their biggest rival continues to be the Crimson Empire, and they seem to be building towards inevitable war in the Blood Sea. The two nations are engaged in effectively an arms race, with the Lunars building better and better firearms to combat the magic of the Crimsons.

In Eqos, the Lunar Collective has had historically bad relations with almost all of the city states and nations of Eqos, save for the Swarna Authority that they’ve only had trade relations with. Through a history of conquest and colonization, much of Eqos has banded against them time and time again.

In the present day, however, they are maintaining neutrality in these war-like circumstances between the Dynasty and Covenant, working and helping both of them. It is in their best interests that they weaken each other, leaving Eqos up for grabs.

The Lunars employ the services of the Blackreyne Brotherhood officially these days.

Military

The Lunar Military structure is as follows:

History

The Lunar houses were scattered and fought against each other throughout the second era. Eventually, a moon elf named Arryestria brought peace to the land and unified the houses for the first time. For this, she was deified, and ascended to become a goddess as a great sacrifice of her mortalhood.

Under the Crimson thumb, the Lunar Houses were unified in their hate of their oppressors. During the Great Aurian War, they began to be led by a revolutionary figure whose name is now lost to time. They are now known simply as "St. Arbal", as that was their weapon of choice, a crossbow. The great leaders of the houses became the "Bolts" of their crossbow. This figure lost more and more of themselves through the years of the war, and House Zhalizoskyy replaced their body and limbs with metal and prosthetics. Eventually, they only wore a helmet. Crossbow looked more like the warforged they fought than one of them, and people began to think that they were a rebirth or avatar of Arryestria herself, mirroring her journey.

Following the rapid industrialization of the masses and the visions of equality imposed upon the people by Crimson ideas, after the revolution twelve lunar 'houses' took control of the state. Many of these were the strongest and wealthiest of the old noble families, while some were wealthy commoners. All other forms of nobiility and most minor houses were abolished, from counts to dukes. Most of the nobility abolished as the twelve remaining houses pulled the ladder up behind them, these minor houses either accepted their new equal status or escaped to other lands.

Rulers:

Des

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