Rohane Alista
The Constitutional Empire of Rohane Alista and the Kingdom of Arasdal | |
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Flag | |
| Motto: "Progress Is Salvation." | |
| Anthem: The Grand Ride Of The Colors | |
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| Capital | Calihain |
| Official languages | Rohirric, Alistinian, Common |
| Religion | None 82%, Camille Worship (Silver Harmonism) 16%, Other 2% |
| Demonym(s) | Rohanian |
| Government | Constitutional Monarchy |
• His/Her Eminence | Her Eminence Jasmine Sasha Turak |
| Unification of three kingdoms | |
| Area | |
• Total | 9,145,355 km2 (3,531,041 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• -.02% per year estimate | 445,387,192 |
• 2020 census | Rohanian Federal Census |
| Currency | Nami (N$) |
| Date format | dd-mm-yyyy |
| Driving side | vehicles drive on the right side of the road |
| Calling code | +007 |
| Internet TLD | .rai |
The Constitutional Empire of Rohane Alista and Kingdom of Arasdal is a federal constitutional monarchy that has an elected legislature, appointed judiciary, and inherited executive. Each branch of the government oversees its own role in the running of the state, with the legislature creating law and apportioning funds, the executive enforcing law and defending the nation, and the judiciary interpreting laws as well as determining punishment for violations of said laws.
Rohane Alista was unified by the First Emperor Jacobi Turak in the year 1421, as part of his decree after winning the Alistinian Civil War. The capital was made Calihain, previously a small city closer to the geographic center of the continent, and the Kingdom of Arasdal had its crown permanently bound to that of Alista.
Etymology
The name of Rohane Alista is a combination of its major constituent kingdoms, in a deliberate effort to ensure that both kingdoms would remain equally valued. Rohane comes from a minor corruption of Rohan, the ancient and long lost homeland of the Rohirrim who founded the nation. Alista comes from the city state of Alistara, the capital of the kingdom.
Geography
Landscape
Rohane Alista is a large land with varied terrain, but it has five large ecological area that can roughly be considered the important geographical areas. The first of these is the temperate western coast, the second is the vast central plains, the third is the mountains of Morhale, the fourth is the large Alistinian Desert, and the final area is the Arasdali Jungle, which covers most of the eastern third of the continent.
Climate
The climate of Rohane Alista varies depending on which area is being referenced, but a few things are generally true across the board. The country as a whole is generally warm to hot, with only Morhale recording temperatures below 0 during winter months. The country is generally dry, as well, with little in the way of average rainfall outside the regions of Morhale and Arasdal. Alista is believed to have the hottest recorded surface temperature in Mystria, with the highest temperature recorded being 60.7 Celsius.
Political Geography
Rohane Alista is internally split into the three kingdoms of Rohane, Alista, and Arasdal. Within these kingdoms, the nation is further divided into provinces, of which there are ten, which are then split further into old duchies, of which there are 60.
The governments of the provinces are fully elected, and while the title of duke or duchess still exists, they have been stripped of both privilege and responsibility.
Armed Forces
The armed forces of Rohane Alista represent the nation's main defense and power projection capabilities. Any citizen is allowed to join any branch, regardless of species, race, or gender, though there are some restrictions based on age.
The armed forces are split into four distinct branches, each of which has its own specialties and tactics. The first of these is the Grand Imperial Army, though it is usually simply referred to as the Imperial or Rohanian Army. The Imperial Army is responsible for land based combat, logistics, engineering, and security measures undertaken by Rohane Alista in non-civil circumstances, and is the second largest branch of the Rohanian military.
The second of these it Imperial Rohanian Navy, which assumes responsibility for water based combat, defense, and security, whether that be brown or blue water theaters, with the capability of functioning in both. It also handles the majority of the military’s logistics needs, and provides support to the other branches as needed. Due to being an island nation with only one neighbor, the Navy is an important focus for Rohane Alista’s military, and its largest single branch.
The third branch is the Imperial Aerial Navy, though it is sometimes referred to by its original name, the Imperial Air Patrol. The Aerial Navy is responsible for establishing control of the skies wherever the Rohanian military deploys, working closely with the other branches in coordinated strikes and integrated arms, as well as providing quick fulfillment logistics and rapid reaction capability. The Aerial Navy has a longer history than many air forces, descending from pre-mechanical flight wings riding wyverns. It is the third largest branch.
The fourth and final recognized branch of the Rohanian Military are the Meagher Knights. They are a highly specialized branch, consisting largely of foreign soldiers in the service of the Rohanian crown, and are generally deployed to the most dangerous areas of a campaign. Survivors of their three year deployment with the Knights are granted citizenship and a pension in return for their service. This is the smallest branch, consisting almost entirely of specialists.
History
- Main article: History of Rohane Alista
Age of the Ancients
The Age of the Ancients covers a period of time from pre-history until the consensus date of establishment of Alistara on the Calihain River. Most of the details of this period are lost, or heavily questioned, as very few documents or monuments of any kind have survived. However, there have been minor finds during expeditions into Rohane Alista’s tunnel network that have revealed signs of previous civilizations that either fell or otherwise disappeared.
Some parts of the later Age of Ancients, including events such as the founding of the city of al’ Meriatt and the first known trans-desert trade route, have enough historical record remaining to be fairly well understood.
Age of Blooded Sands
The Age of Blooded Sands stretches from the establishment of Alistara to the end of the Daristian Wars. The early parts of this age featured increasing violence between clans and tribes that began to establish permanent settlements, often around oases, and clans and tribes that held strong to nomadic roots. In these early conflicts, nomadic forces tended to have the advantage, and many small settlements were razed, though usually these were rebuild in short order, either by survivors or new settlers.
As more settlements were established, monopolizing water sources and making nomadic life more difficult, permanent city states began to take ahold of the resources hidden in the desert, including bronze, copper, and eventually iron, as well as what fertile lands existed there. During this period, a population boom is known to have occurred, causing sedentary populaces to begin to explore outwards, looking for more resources, most especially more water or food. This led to the first recorded settlements outside the desert, largely along the southern and eastern grasslands of what would later be Rohane Alista.
Some of these new city states banded together, either for protection, or by force, forming the first multi-polity groups in Rohane Alista’s known history. The first recorded group to succeed at forming a complex state of this nature was the Morasti, which according to surviving records were bloodrinking, cannibalistic warriors. In quick succession, several other minor kingdoms rose throughout the desert, the most notable being the Daristians, a theocratic warrior sext that seized power throughout multiple cities in an area known as the Narist Desert, and al’ Merriatto, a settler civilization in the western reaches of the Alistinian Desert.
An invasion by Morasti forces into Daristian territory was the first significant, wide scaled war known to have occurred in Alistinian history. Early in the war, Morasti forces seemed to encounter no well organized resistance, taking and razing four cities in rapid succession, before a particularly hot summer forced a pause in the campaign. This gave the Daristians in the city of Fresta a chance to organize and strike back, leading to the first Morasti defeat at the Slaughter of Elden’s Lake.
Over the next two years, the Morasti suffered continued setbacks as the Daristians reorganized their fighting forces into nomadic bands, built for raids and rapid attacks, using mounted forces that it was difficult to pursue into the desert. The imbalance in power between settlements and the warbands only continued to grow with time, and almost as soon as the Morasti were defeated, most of the Daristian city states underwent rebellions, which saw their rulers overthrown and their temples destroyed.
After a decade which is noted to have been relatively peaceful, mostly disturbed only by surviving warbands raiding caravans and poorly defended settlements, the Settlement Wars began when several Daristian Warbands, working together, invaded multiple city states, reinstating Daristian control of them. Over approximately a century, the Daristians would conquer every city state in the Narist Desert and eastern Alistinian Desert, except for Alistara, which grew in size and influence with repeated successful defenses against Daristian warbands.
Near the end of the Settlement Wars, the Daristians and the al’ Meriatto had their first encounter. For the next several decades, Daristian raiders would target al’ Meriatto settlements, until the city of Nazgo managed to repel a significantly sized raiding force for the first time. The situation escalated into a full blown war, which eventually saw the destruction of Daristian society, ending the Age of Blooded Sands.
Age of the Grand Kingdom
The Age of the Grand Kingdom lasted from the end of the Daristian Wars until the Landing of the Rohirrim. In the wake of the collapsing Daristian civilization, the city state of Alistara began to rapidly expand, taking cities and towns formerly under the control of the Daristians under their control. In this way, the eastern Alistinian Desert quickly found itself with a new overlord, one which played nice with al’ Merriatto for a time.
Over time, this peace threatened to break down, leading to a binding marriage that brought Alistara and al’ Merriatto under a single royal family, starting the Amanras dynasty. An extended period of relative peace would occur, the Kingdom of Alista expanding beyond the desert and near plains slowly, at their height controlling almost half the continent. Eventually, their power waned, causing the more remote colonies of the kingdom to break away and form their own governments, especially in the north and west. Soon after, the Rohirric refugees arrived.
Age of Arrival
The Age of Arrival lasted from the Landing of the Rohirrim until the first meeting between Rohirrim and Alistinians at Altisan. The Rohirrim arrived in what would become Rohane Alista at the end of The Grand Exodus from Thalassian slavery. They quickly went about establishing a city state in the bay where they had landed, naming it Berabil. The Rohirrim had a difficult time on their initial landing, having been able to bring over only a small amount of livestock, and finding the soil was not suitable for extensive agriculture, forcing them to turn to the sea for sustenance.
As Berabil grew and expanded, the political situation within was especially volatile. At first, a council government was attempted, but after a riot that burnt down a quarter of Berabil and resulted in at least three hundred dead, the council was dissolved. Searching for a new leader and form of government, several successive willing rulers were chosen by the people, but each failed in turn, leading to the people pressing into service the son of the captain who had led the exodus fleet, appointing him as King Harold Turak I.
King Harold was the first leader who managed to bring stability to the tumultuous Rohirrim, leading to steady but cautious expansion of their territory and innovations in how to survive in the northern plains of the continent. His successors reformed society to make laws more straightforward and the military more organized, as well as brining in a noble system to help administrate ever growing holdings. This led to a tense situation with the Alistinian breakaway state of Altisan in 102 AL (After Landing), otherwise known as 337AD.
During this time, violence in Alista itself led to the overthrow of the Amanras dynasty, and the start of the Abrenid Dynasty, after they successfully won the Revolt of the Tajiri. The revolt had brought significant devastation to Alista, causing it to turn inwards for several generations as it rebuilt and the Abrenids asserted their authority.
The Age of the Horselords
The Age of the Horselords lasted from the coronation of King Ælfric Turak I until the coronation of King Colrick Turak I. The Age opened with a crisis, with King Ælfric taking the throne shortly before a war with Altisan broke out. The result was a conclusive win for the Rohirrim, and the annexation of the city into the kingdom, which now controlled the entire western coast.
From there, several generations spread east, founding cities or conquering territories. During this period, the Kings of Alista mostly turned eastward as well, waging successive wars against Arasdali groups, slowly conquering the jungle at great cost.
During this time, The Kingdom of Rohane was formally established. Rohane and Alista would formally encounter each other for the first time in 378 AL (613 AD). Initially, suspicion and uneasy peace reigned, but eventually Alista decided to attempt to retake Altisan, among former colonies of their own. After this initial spark of war, conflict raged off and on between Rohane and Alista for many generations, seeing their borderlands turn into places of conflict as the Alistinian desert slowly expanded.
In 1146 AL (1381 AD), Colrick I Turak was born, heir to the throne of Rohane. The Shanassah of Alista, Malik III Abrenid, had only one child, a daughter named Ashaya Abrenid, who became the heir to the throne by default. Colrick and Ashaya would be married in 1162 AL (1397 AD), securing an alliance between Rohane and Alista. Colrick would ascend the throne of Rohane shortly after.
The Age of Unification
The Age of Unification is one of the shortest of the Ages of Rohanian history, starting with Colrick I’s coronation and ending with the death of Colrick II Marrondies Turak, The Dragon Emperor. However, it is considered to be perhaps the most important of the Ages for both Rohane Alista and Mystria as a whole.
In 1165 AL (1400 AD), Jacobi Turak I was born. He would be the only progeny of Colrick and Ashaya. This set an intense game of politics in motion, both in Rohane and Alista; whichever family was able to betroth a daughter to him would instantly become the most important noble family in the continent. However, Ashaya refused any betrothals until her death in early 1178 AL (1413 AD), insisting Jacobi be allowed to make his own choice.
During the early period of this age, the Imperial War raged between Dyste and Grand Corneria, which Colrick I decided to intervene in, acknowledging that if Dyste fell to Corneria, Rohane was a likely next target. The Rohanian navy was the most significant contribution to the efforts of those allied against Corneria, establishing a long lasting naval tradition that is still felt to this day. This conflict also sowed the seeds of a proto-Dragon Sea Alliance, bringing many of its early members into cooperation.
Colrick I would pass shortly after Ashaya, supposedly of a broken heart, dying in the late months of 1178 AL (1413 AD). Rohane and Alista entered into a regency under Duke Corrine Diego of Finral, who had been Colrick’s closest friend, for the next several years. In 1181 AL (1416 AD), Jacobi reached majority, having attended an exclusive academy for the children of nobility, the Grand Academy of Leadership in Calihain. It was here he first met Gerand Moculsie, his right hand man and future Count of Turlia.
Upon reaching majority, Jacobi became king proper of Rohane and Alista, the first time the entire continent had been under the rulership of a single person. At first, things seemed to be running well enough, Jacobi being notably sharp, diligent, and determined, as well as having the aid of his parent’s most trusted advisors, including Duke Corrine Diego, Duchess Safi Karimi of al’ Meriatt, and Countess Moira Moculsie of Turlia. However, discontent began to grow as the years passed and Jacobi seemed no more inclined to pick a wife than Ashaya had been to allow one to be picked for him.
As this situation continued to increase in tension, a diplomatic meeting was called in Dyste, in which the predecessor of what would later become the Dragon Sea Alliance was formed to deal with threats from pirate attacks to monster uprisings throughout member states. At a ball hosted in Calihain, in honor of one of these joint missions, an assassination attempt was made on Jacobi, which was foiled and revealed a conspiracy in Alista.
Jacobi, with Dragon Sea Allies in tow, went to Alista to end the conspiracy. Instead, the Alistinian Civil War broke out in 1187 AL (1422 AD), the nation split nearly in half between support for Jacobi and support for the claimant, Ra’essah Amanras. Initial moves by both sides became based around consolidating their holdings into a defendable territory, with the early phase of the war ending with the Battle of al’ Meriatt, where Jacobi and Elwin Karimi, heir to the Duchy of al’ Meriatt routed the last remaining rebellious force in western Alista, setting the battle lines. The war would then become a back and forth for the next several months as both sides fought over small oases in an attempt to establish supply lines, with Jacobi’s forces slowly taking the advantage over Ra’essah’s.
In 1189 AL (1424 AD), Jacobi’s forces would reach Alistara, but would find themselves unable to efficiently siege the city, due to an inability to cut it off from support from the sea. Facing a siege that could last years, or a bloody assault, the Dragon Sea forces chose to launch an assault, initiating the Battle of Alistara, a multi-day assault of the city. The battle is largely considered to have been the end of the civil war, as Ra’essah perished in the fighting. At the conclusion of the battle, records show that Jacobi Turak proposed to his wives, Marron Snowtear Turak, Queen of Rohane, and Mythra Turak, Queen of Alista.
This event directly led to Diego’s Rebellion, an attempt by Duke Corrine Diego to seize the thrones of Rohane and Alista for himself. Some historians consider this the real end of the Alistinian Civil War, as the rebellion was inspired by Jacobi’s decision to marry two foreigners, one of which was lowborn, as well as the weak state of both Rohane and Alista due to the fighting. However, Jacobi won against Diego when Diego’s daughter, Lady Lyre Diego, turned against her father and fought for the crown.
At the conclusion of the Battle of Alistara, Jacobi also issued the Unitary Decree, establishing the Empire of Rohane Alista, and binding both kingdoms to the empire in perpetuity. This is the source of Jacobi’s most popular cognomen, ‘The First Emperor’.
The next two years were spent rebuilding Rohane Alista, but the recovery period was interrupted by a call to arms from Silverdale, which was facing significant threat from the Shadow Plane. This would initiate the next war of the Dragon Sea Alliance, the War of Shadows. After these events, Jacobi returned home with his retainers and family, ruling in peace for the rest of his reign, until he passed of ‘Morhale Lung’ (Tuberculosis) at age 63 in 1229 AL (1464 AD).
After Jacobi’s death, Colrick II Marrondies Turak became His Eminence of Rohane Alista, as well as King of Rohane, while his younger brother Riad I Mythradies Turak became King of Alista. Colrick would reign in relative peace, the most notable event of his reign being the end of the Arasdali Rebellion, in which the final remaining rebels in Arasdal were defeated soundly.
The Age of Empire
The Age of Empire lasted from Colrick II’s death until the death of Jaciob I. There was little internal conflict during this period of Rohanian history, largely focused on internal expansion and security. For the most part, Rohane Alista took an isolationist stance beyond some basic trade during this period, becoming largely inactive on the international stage.
During this age, the primary house of Turak died out in the male line, the cadet branch Stephenson taking their place on the throne of Rohane Alista. With this change, the traditional marking of Marrondies and Mythradies also fell out of use, as there was no longer a need to designate which branch of the Turak line a member was from.
Near the end of this age, with the coronation of Jaciob I, Rohane Alista began to open up to the world again, investing in humanitarian aid in locales such as Crystal Spires and Malgrave. They also increasingly signed treaties with other nations, including having a hand in revitalizing the Dragon Sea Alliance in response to the formation of the Crown Alliance.
In 1783 AL (2018 AD), Jaciob I Stephenson was attacked in Calihain by extremist terrorists. After spending six months in a medical coma, he became unresponsive and was declared dead on June 30th, 1784 AL (2019 AD). His daughter, Jasmine I Stephenson, became Her Eminence, with the Queen Mother Genevieve II Stephenson becoming her regent.
The Age of Strife
The current age, the Age of Strife is only a brief period in, but has already been named on the large amount of conflict and suffering happening around the world during this period.
Politics
The Constitutional Empire is a monarchial democracy, with strict limitations on royal power set forth in the national constitution, as well as both explicit and implied rights of the people. The emperor or empress is the executive of the nation, and the position is inherited. The Joint Senates, one for Rohane and another for Alista, are the bicameral legislative branch, elected by popular ranked choice voting. The final branch is the judiciary, which is appointed by His or Her Eminence, and approved by the Senates.
The constitution lays out various checks and balances on each of the branches. The executive branch has the power of veto, which can be overridden by a two thirds majority of both Senates, as well as appointing judges and prosecutorial discretion. In addition, they are usually the outwards face of the Rohanian state to other nations, granting them some measure of control over the diplomatic stance of the nation.
The legislature has the ability to remove a sitting emperor or empress through an impeachment process requiring two thirds majority of both Senates. This clause is only able to be activated for "high crimes", usually defined as treason and tyranny. The clause has only been used once. The legislature also has right of approval on all appointments made by the executive branch, and control of the nation's funding.
The judicial branch has the right of interpretation on laws passed by the senates, as well immunity to political interference in the form of impeachment. However, federal judges have a term limit, which varies depending on the level of court they're appointed to, and may be dismissed for gross misconduct.
Foreign Relations
Rohane Alista maintains a large Ministry of State, focused on the mission of maintaining relations with foreign powers. It does this largely through established embassies and consulates, though it also participates in many conferences and other international events.
The most important of Rohane Alista's foreign commitments is the Dragon Sea Alliance, a joint defense and cooperation organization whose other members are Dyste, Silverdale, Glaristant, and Rintyar. The alliance has expanded beyond a simple defense treaty, often being involved in wider diplomacy between member nations, via the Dragon Sea Alliance Council, which meets on the artificial island city of Cornucopia.
The official policy of Rohane Alista is one of containment and rapprochement. Efforts have recently been made to relieve tensions with the Great Civilization, as well as Imeriata, though some suspicion still remains. It is a public goal of Rohane Alista to prevent the increase of Crown Alliance influence and power in Mystria, though this goal has largely been dropped for the moment in the face of the momentous crises happening in the world.
Rohane Alista is a member of many free trade agreements. It is a net exporter of many valuable materials, like lithium or adamant, as well as manufactured products like hardwood furniture, electronics, and medicine. The nation is a large net importer of food, largely grains, as much of the soil in the nation isn't suitable for large scale agriculture and is instead used for ranching.
Economy
Rohane Alista's economy is varied, with many significant sectors depending on which part of the nation one is looking at. Tourism, Hospitality, and related sectors are the largest sector by Nami brought in annually, with Rohane Alista being an incredibly popular tourist spot. Fast Food also consistently brings in a large amount of Nami, partially on the international strength of the Mr. MooCow's brand.
Rohane Alista's most valuable agricultural related sector is ranching, with a large proportion of the nation's arable land unable to sustain large amounts of crops, making that land better suited to livestock. This has led to large industries in both leather working and meat packing. It has also allowed the maintenance of Rohane Alista's extensive historical horse breeding industry, a hallmark of the nation. Of what agriculture there is, much of it revolves around native fruits in Alista and Arasdal, or similar crops, such as coffee.
The agricultural sector is supplemented by a robust fishing sector. Of particular note is the Sea Dragon Fishing industry, which is competitive due to limited licenses and strict quotas. Sea Dragon meat is considered a delicacy in Rohane Alista.
The mining sector is most active in the provinces of Morhale, Northsand, and Arasdal, which are largely responsible for the mineral wealth of the nation. Commonly extracted minerals, ores, and gems include iron, titanium, adamant, sandstone, gold, sapphires, rubies, and emeralds. Of special note is the large lithium mining operations in Arasdal, the source of enough lithium that Rohane Alista is able to export it. Oil is also extracted in Alista, from where it is refined and shipped around the world.
In addition, Arasdal is home to a notable forestry industry, and Alista is home to a large glass industry, using the desert sand.
Many of these raw resources are processed in industrial centers within Rohane Alista, the largest of which is Sanirego. From these industrial centers, electronics, furniture, medicine, jewelry, and other manufactured products are produced, many of which are consumed in Rohane Alista itself, but a significant number are also exported.
Rohane Alista does import some things in significant quantities. The most important of these is food, largely in grain imports from Dyste and Silverdale. The second most important import is in freshwater, often from the same places, though the origin of water tends to be more varied. Various other imports are also made, largely of raw materials, such as mithril, cotton, or soft woods.
Demographics
Language
Rohane Alista has three officially recognized languages, these being Common, Rohirric, and Alistinian. Common is taught in all schools at all levels, in order to encourage competitiveness with foreign nations, while the primary language used in the home is often Rohirric or Alistinian, depending on whether one’s family originates from Rohane, Alista, or Arasdal.
Common is spoken and written to a usable level by almost 100% of Rohanians, while Rohirric is spoken as a primary language by approximately 60% of the nation, and a secondary language to fluency by a further 25%, with Alistinian spoken as a primary language by the remaining 40%, with about 40% of the nation speaking it to a fluent level as a secondary language.
Family Structure
The structure of families varies widely across Rohane Alista, but some generalizations can be made. Rohirrim trend more towards smaller family units, with two to three parents, children who are usually under the age of twenty five, and occasionally grandparents or grandchildren sharing a domicile or a social network.
In Alista, larger families are much more common. While they may not all share the same domicile, it’s typical to have great grandparents, grandparents, parents, children, and great grandchildren all living in the same neighborhood, within minutes of each other. Polygamy is much more common in Alista; it’s not unusual for a household to have three or more people serving in a parental role.
In Arasdal, the definition of family is a bit loose, and in smaller villages and towns, may even include every resident at once. In this society, your family isn’t only those related to you by blood, though it does include any and all who are, it also includes close friends, neighbors, and their own blood relatives. There is a heavy expectation to help your family in Arasdal, so any single domicile may have an eclectic mix of people living in it at a time.
Religion
Religion is very unpopular in Rohane Alista, with 82% of the population reporting as ‘Atheist’ in the latest census. However, this number is declining, with it having been at 90% in the 2015 census and 95% in the 2010 census.
Of the 18% of Rohanians who do report as religious, 94% report as worshiping Camille, of the Silver Harmonism pantheon, though they do not typically report as following any other deity of that pantheon. Of the remaining 6% of religious Rohanians, there is a wide breakdown, often of faiths brought in by immigrants, including Bahamut worship, the Ancestral Studies Group, and the Mystrian Pantheon.
The largest religious building in Rohane Alista is Alistara’s Grand Temple of Camille, which is the namesake of the city’s Temple District. This is also the only notable currently operated religious building in Rohane Alista.
Education
K-12 Education is mandatory in Rohane Alista, with tertiary schooling highly encouraged. To further encourage tertiary education and beyond, many roadblocks have been removed to access, including free tuition to any public university for all Rohanian citizens at any time, a reduction and streamlining of competency testing for introductory tertiary education, and tax benefits for those with a university degree, or studying in a university part or full time. Education at all levels is overseen by the Ministry of Education.
Healthcare
Healthcare is of vital importance to Rohane Alista, which lacks access to the magical healing of its neighbors. Because of this, the state invests heavily in medical research and encourages medical industries to grow with subsidies and targeted investments, even for more niche sectors. This has led to Rohane Alista being on of the region’s top competitors in medical sciences, producing many specialty products that require immense precision to manufacture, as well as scalable solutions like vaccine factories. Healthcare is overseen by the Ministry of Health and Technology.
Culture
Cuisine
Rohanian cuisine is available in much of Mystria and even beyond, via the widespread fast food chain Mr. MooCow’s. However, native Rohanian cuisine tends to be richer than Mr. MooCow’s, more heavily featuring spices grown in Arasdal or Alista. Many Rohanian foods are those easy to work while working, such as a sandwich, burger, or wrap, or take a long while to cook and can be left for some time without undue fear, such as long stews and roasts.
Rohanian food tends to be meat heavy, with beef and horse meat especially popular, but chickens and pork also quite common. It’s also very common to have dishes with a focus around fish, especially in coastal cities, though Sea Dragon tends to be a delicacy that is more difficult to obtain.
The evening meal is generally considered the most important of the day, and is the heaviest meal most Rohanians will eat. Industry data has shown that Rohanians eat breakfast at a lesser rate every year, and many will eat a moderate but simple lunch, in order to spend their time on something else, coming together as a family in the evening to have supper.
Music
The Rohanian music scene is large and varied. The most popular genres in terms of sales and streaming listens are, in order, Modern Rock, Country Western, Jazz, Dance Pop, and Silverdalean Pop. Other notable, though less popular, genres include M-Pop, Grunge, Heavy Metal, and House Dance.
Rohanians tend to favor innovation and individuality in their music, seeing it as a way for one to express themselves freely. Because of this, popular bands and musicians are regularly changing, with only a few acts, such as Atomic Blue, a female rock band formed form Glaristanti immigrants to Rohane Alista, managing to hold on to the top of the charts over multiple full length studio albums.
All public schools are required to offer musical education, with it often being mandatory until the start of secondary schooling. It is widely believed this will give future citizens a better ability to work with others, as well as a wider experience with which to approach the world.
Rohane Alista has several television shows focused on music, the most popular of which is Battle of the Bands, a television show that brings in amateur bands from around Rohane Alista to play and compete against each other with covers and their own original songs. The winning bands of the competition have often gone on to enjoy at least brief popularity, as with Study Cult, a hard rock group.
Television and Cinema
Berabil is home to several successful film and television production companies in the Starborn District. These companies turn out films and television shows in a variety of genres, aimed at a variety of ages.
Animation is a major section of the Rohanian cinematography industry, notably children’s animations such as Horsie Heroes, but also more adult oriented animated television shows, such as Sands of Despair.
The most popular genre in Rohane Alista tends to be historical fiction, both of the dramatic and comedic styles. Also exceedingly popular is romance, especially in film, where romantic comedies reliably do very well in the country.
The Ministry of Culture is known to invest in films and television shows either produced by, set in, or filmed in Rohane Alista. It is noted that their investments generally come with some requirements on the portrayal of the nation if the piece is modern in setting, or with some requirements on accuracy for historical settings.
Literature and Performing Arts
Rohanian literature and Performing Arts have a storied history, and may actually be its most significant cultural productions even into the modern day. Rohirric literature is known to include stories passed down for thousands of years, some set even in old Rohan, while the oldest Alistinian story still known is The Legend of Great Abri, a legend over four thousand years old about a man who fights the gods, eventually driving them away and replacing them with new ones.
Performing Arts are even more important to the Rohanian experience, with plays and dance shows of such wide cultural impact that it has been said there isn’t a single minute of a single day where every major city in the nation doesn’t have at least one stage show being performed. More than the written word, both Rohirrim and Alistinians have often traditionally passed down legends and stories through performing arts, leading to a strong inclination towards these mediums. Due to this, many significant theaters have been built, such as the Royal Alistara Performing Arts Madraj.
Of special note is Alistinian dancing, a style of dance invented and popularized in Alista. It is often used to tell stories, with women taking more major roles than men, especially the Diva, often the star of the show. Alistinian dancing is also often performed with no story, simply as a show of enticement or entertainment. The style has become incredibly popular across Mystria, spreading far beyond Rohane Alista’s borders, and often being one of the largest tourist draws in the nation for those who want to see the genuine article.
Sport
Rohane Alista is a land where sport is important and popular as a general concept, with several specific sports being especially notable. Due to the large swaths of empty space in the nation, sports which take up significant amounts of land don’t suffer, causing them to be more popular than in some smaller nations.
Sports of particular popularity and importance in Rohane Alista include various horse sports, such as mounted archery, mounted rifling, jousting, dressage, and tent poling; team sports, especially soccer, hoverball, which originated in Rohane Alista, beach volleyball, and baseball; precision sports, notably archery and shooting; combat sports, mostly melee and fencing; swimming and surfing; and track and field events, largely ones based around running or combination events, such as triathlon and the 400 meter. The only winter sport of any significant popularity in Rohane Alista is downhill ski-cross, but due to the climate of the nation, even this isn’t a major sport.
It is rare to encounter a Rohanian who hasn’t had some experience in at least one of these, and it is generally considered a good way to spend a day out to either go to an amateur or professional match in one of these sports, or participate yourself in an amateur level. However, most Rohanians do sports casually, with only the dedicated few taking the endeavor more seriously.
Museums, Galleries, and Fine Art
Museums and galleries are common across Rohane Alista, though Alistara and Berabil have a high proportion of such places even within Rohane Alista. Museums cover a wide range of subjects, from general history to focused examinations of specific subjects such as tankery, specific battles or wars, or scientific innovations in specific fields.
Galleries range from small to large, usually focusing on fine arts such as sculpting, painting, or art photography. Most public galleries are free to enter, though some services, such as guided audio tours may cost extra. Private galleries set their own prices, and may include other services as part of the entry fee.
Architecture
Various areas of Rohane Alista are home to widely varying styles and materials of building. However, across much of the nation, sandstone has been the most popular choice of material historically, being available in plentiful amounts from Alista, and often having a beautiful color. In more modern eras, sandstone has begun to be replaced with steel and glass in large buildings, in order to maximize the amount of height it’s possible to build.