A Brief Encyclopedia of the Chronicles of Sacrifice

Abwärtspfeil

Abwärtspfeil is a fascinating and varied continent of many cultures, groups, and systems. While predominantly occupied by elves, evident from several of the countries' names, there are many humans and dragons. Abwärtspfeil is the only region to have two countries where a majority of the population is dragons; Svyatilishche Drakona and Cychwyntan. These nations experience a great deal of peace due to ancient fears, and often act as neutral mediators in armed or economic conflicts. They are less economically connected themselves, though, as these societies often have dragons simply occupying an area, having built up less infrastructure than most nations.

The rest of the nations follow the usual protocols and systems of governance. Abwärtspfeil hosts several monarchies, republics, and federations, with variances between each in how they function. Their relations to each other can often be strained, though they attempt to work things out for the betterment of everyone, just with themselves getting the best. Their relations to the rest of the world are almost always concerned with markets, expanding influence, and making connections.

Below, we list the nations in the map above and describe their governments, economies, relations, and cultures.

-Südsula: A nation that takes up the entirety of the south peninsula of the continent, and one of the few whose capital shares a name with the nation as a whole, it sees a great deal of shipping traffic from smaller nations that cannot afford the cost of the canal in the Qana Federation. This is a major stopping point, creating heavy support economy for the small nation and resulting in them having a strong international connection. Their economy is based heavily on transport and export, and the government is heavily involved in stoking the economy thanks to the docking fees it charges foreign vessels. In effect, the economy is driven by the Südsula government selling assistance to other governments. 

As a result of this, government employment dependence is commonplace, and if one part in the machine breaks, everyone suffers. The people have an invested interest in keeping things running smoothly across the board. While no single person is able to truly become independently wealthy and worry less about self-sustainment, necessary redundancies have been put in place to prevent a terrible economic collapse. 

While they are a relatively stable-but-stagnant economy, it is only possible so long as their neighbors and anyone they deal with does not take issue with them. Some nations have been known to attempt to back out of paying the fees, resulting in seizure of vessels and threats of war. Because the population is fairly caste-based, the military suffers in capability, and Südsula relies a great deal on Gothis for defense aid which is paid for directly. As a general rule, Südsula is a peaceful nation of traders and support services, and does its best to stay out of conflicts.

-Gothis: A nation of formerly tribal elves, believed to be the origin of modern Elvish that spread and mutated around the world. Gothis is a powerful, industrial nation, with an extremely strong production economy, exporting finished goods around the world. The nation has many lush forests and beautiful mountain ranges, with diverse landscapes capable of supporting agriculture and boasting a healthy environment.

While it was once a monarchy, it moved onto a federalist system with the royal family acting more as a cultural phenomenon than anything else. Over time, this royal family dissipated and grew too large, blending in with the populace, leaving behind only ancient reminders of the nation's early days. They are culturally mobile, very open to gradual change, and celebrate often, as their history deserves.

Their relationship to Südsula has already been identified, and their only neighbor besides is the Republic of Adaira. These two nations share trade and products, but besides this, the natural border between them in the form of mountains has kept them from ever really entering any dispute. Gothis generally stays out of the Republic of Adaira's business, and vice versa.