As a nation, Galavia must have a government, a seat of power from which the people are controlled through enforced law. It must also have a religion, a seat of power from which they are controlled through their minds. Because I based it on Ancient Rome, I wanted it to have a base and style reminiscent, but not identical, to the world I'm pulling it from.
Because the Roman Empire ceased to exist at the dawn of the Byzantine, I have to project what it would be like if it existed to this day. The architecture is primarily Italian High Renaissance, since a lot of Greek and Roman work was revived by the masters of the period, but the more inland regions of the country could be confused with Spain. It used to be a senatorial empire, but slowly became a senatorial monarchy as the government decentralized. Around the time of Throne of Blood, it's kings have drawn more power back to the crown, with the current king having recently begun calling himself an emperor and granting himself power over a third of the military.
Besides the king there is a regent, a man who is granted the king's power if he dies before an heir comes of age. There are also two retainers, men who get the same power if the regent dies and are never allowed to be in the same place in case of emergency. The king's house also has seven cardinal generals, each over an army of the military, with three directly beneath the king's control. There are also a number of dukes, barons, and common lords who owe fealty to the crown in wartime and must pay a tribute tax annually in exchange for protection against foreign invaders.
At the provincial level, a greater lord lives in a fortified city with a huge tract of land around it that no one can use for anything (as per a "beautification" law). Surrounding him within his province are dozens of smaller fiefs, usually a few-hundred to a few-thousand acres in size and ruled by minor lords who rule over either land-bound workers or free men, depending on the ruling lord. At the bottom rung, the peasantry follows laws established by the landowner, who follows the laws of his lord and so on. The system of laws in Galavia is remarkably complicated and bureaucratic, and because of this great inefficiency a lot of people have been crying out against the government more and more.
On top of a mostly-ineffectual ruling class that uses a great deal of money, the people of Galavia adhere to a religion that is slowly dissolving in the face of recent advances in science. The official religion for over a thousand years has been a polytheistic one with a Pantheon of gods that controlled different aspects of nature and natural law. There are gods for things like storms, fruit trees, and gravity, and patron lesser gods for things like apples, clocks, and the left-hand turn. In light of learning heliocentric theory, such a pantheon seems utterly ridiculous to anyone who can read, which is a surprising number of people in the wealthy nation.
With the people losing faith in the system and becoming empowered through growing knowledge and the newly-invented printing press, the government and church both push back with fears of their influences waning. With both sides bent against each other in the middle of a growing global conflict, the sparks of revolution flicker brighter and brighter. It is in times like these that bonds are broken, heroes are born, and kings are made. I don't know about you guys, but I'm all kinds of excited for the Throne of Blood!
Thanks for reading. Here's to the future. :)
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