Salian Empire

Salian Empire
Tihaksasaluat
Salian Empire Tihaksasaluat
	Flag
	Salia on latelen (marked in blue)
Capital; (and largest city)	Valias Ilas
Official language(s)	Sala
Recognised regional languages	Nezaulodh, Nithalos
Ethnic groups	Salians, Nithalosians
Demonym	Salian
Government	Unified Regionalism
Currency	Salian Credits, Zagnan Zara (SAC, ZZR)
Date format	yy..mm,dd - era
Drives on the	n/a (one-way traffic only)
Internet TLD	SE

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History

Etymology

tihak = to build, to be constructed, to be created, to manufacture, etc.

sa = to become, present state of an object, to stay, stasis

sala = to be, to exist, a thing, an entity

emphasis is always on the first syllable so:

tíhak-sa sála - that which is created

Prehistory

The Salians were originally a people that lived in the arctic regions. They moved to a mountainous region that was slightly inland on a lower continent. They decided this area would be optimal as it would allow them to maintain their arctic lifestyle but still be near the resources they would need to survive and continue their biological research (which was still fairly primitive at the time).

However, when they arrived at the top of the mountain, they found that it wasn't yet steep or cold enough to fit their lifestyle. Because of this, they traveled eastward from the mountains and shoveled out land from below, thus creating a basin region far below sea level. They had little interest in this region, but since they took the trouble to create this basin, they decided to make this the edge of their country.

Some time after the basin had been built, travelers from regions to the east sought refuge to the west. Since nobody was yet living in the basin region they believed it to be unclaimed and thus claimed it for themselves, only to find out that it was indeed already claimed by the Salian Empire.

These new inhabitants brought with them their original language but after discovering they were now living within the territory of another country, and in order to better disguise their discussions, they used the native language of the country as a model and modified their own native language so that it would not be mutually intelligible with that of the other Nixalosians.

Government and politics

The state rules the country. All contributions of the citizens go towards the betterment of the state. Although for the most part the laws are fairly lax and most people shouldn't have too much difficulty following them, Salia reserves the right to deal with offenders as they see fit if they're within Salian land, even if they're not citizens of Salia.

Salian Elite

Those wishing to overthrow the ones above them in power usually challenge them to gladiator matches in order to contend for their position. In order to post a challenge request, the challenger must already have a high enough rank to take that position. If the challenge is non-lethal, then the business owner can't refuse. Whoever wins takes the position. If the business owner wins, their term is renewed. If the challenge is lethal, the winner not only gets the business but is automatically initiated into the military and is a member of the salian elite, in which case they will receive special amenities given only to the elite classes.

Citizen Classes

There are six citizen classes in salia which have the following protections, permissions, and/or restrictions:

Warrior Elite
- bonuses on all credit types
- lifetime military membership
- elite class amenities (see amenities page)
Scientist 1337
- bonuses on all credit types
- elite class amenities
- access permissions for restricted areas
Standard citizens
- normal amenities
- allowed to work in any type of non gov't job
- job-specific credit bonuses
Prisoners/National slaves
- a slave of the state
- limited amenities
- may be rented to the elite classes as part of sentence
Slaughter slaves
- life imprisonment in national military prison camps
- limited amenities
- front line of battle
- may be rented to the elite classes
War slaves
- imprisonment in torture camps
- will be used as weapons during war
- may be rented to the elite classes

Slave classes

The slave classes have certain features that are set on their sentence and can sometimes be optional. Each feature affects the duration of their sentence. Once the slave has reached a certain number of points as designated by the term of their sentence, they may once again regain their freedom. At any time an owner can auction a slave along with however many points that slave has remaining. If war slaves or slaughter slaves are sold, they're often equipped with one of the harshness features. Anybody can offer themselves as volunteer slaves and auction themselves off.

The features are as follows:

Volunteer - 0pts (0 duration)
- Typical of persons wanting to work in a role of servitude
- Paid wages by owner
- Offered upon completion of sentence
General - 1pt
- Basic unskilled housework and tasks
Fetch - 2pts
- Move and retrieve items
- Perform travel errands
- Rickshaw service
Outdoor - 2pts
- Perform outdoor tasks
- Landscaping
- Gardening
Sex - 3pts
- Perform sexual favors
- Bathe and clothe owner
Full Service - 0pts (half duration)
- Live in owner's residence
- 16-hour shift
Harshness - 0pts (4pts if volunteered)
- Owner is allowed to punish slave at own discretion
- Owner is not allowed to kill or seriously injure slave
Extreme Harshness - 0pts (8pts if volunteered)
- Owner is allowed to kill or seriously injure slave at own discretion
Doppelgänger - 4pts
- Do work directly for owner
- Attend owner's unwanted events

Masters

The heads of the different state departments are called masters. Masters are voted in by high-ranking people in the departments they serve. Essentially there is a hierarchy of ranks in business all the way up to the state departments. The higher your status, the closer you are to being more generalized. In order to get more generalized, however, you have to work in each of the different businesses that are listed under that department. Once you have gained status in each of them, you have become generalized and are a worthy candidate for mastery.

Masters' Guild

Once you become a master, you join the Masters' Guild. This is a group of elected officials in the same departments from around the nation. In each department a head master is chosen to lead meetings. This person is voted in by other masters in the department. Each of these head masters then meet after discussing with the other masters in their department to decide what would be best for each of their departments. They state their department's needs and its contribution to the state. These meetings are presided over by the Grand Master. The Grand Master is the one who makes the ultimate decision on what happens with the state and everybody in it.

The Grand Master

The Grand Master is the head of state. The GM makes the final decision as far as what goes and what doesn't after all is said and done with all the lower masters and their meetings. In order to be qualified to be a Grand Master, one must be familiarized with all departments. This means that person must be at least master status in each department. The departments this person has head master status in, the more qualified the person is to be a Grand Master. Ultimately a combination of qualification and vote by the Head Masters and the regular Masters will decide who is the next Grand Master when the last Grand Master either retires or is up for renomination.

Terms and Qualifications

A person has attained master status once they've become generalized in a department. They are not officially a master, however, until they are voted in. If no other candidate can be found (and the current master either retires or decides not to run again) then that person wins by default for their district. If no candidate is available, that district will receive no representation thus no changes will be made until a candidate is found. If, however a candidate is found and one is not available currently, even if it is not election day they will be placed immediately into mastery.

Master
- elected by high ranking persons in the industry
- must be high ranking in each industry in that department
- term of 4 years
Head Master
- elected by masters
- term of 6 years
Grand Master
- elected by head masters and masters
- must be at least master status in each department, preferably head master status
- term of 8 years or 8 + 4n years if another suitable candidate is not found after the term expiration

Economy

Everybody that is a Salian citizen works for the country. Everybody that makes a contribution is cared for by the state. The amount of credits each person is given depends on their level of contribution and in what areas they contributed. Money is indefinite in Salia. Everybody receives credit, not money. Therefore, every purchase is a loan from the state. The more one contributes, the more likely one is to receive a loan. This high level of free contribution is what allows Salia to maintain its economy. Since all land and all products are owned by the state, there is no charge to the state for any lands or services of Salia. Therefore there is no internal economic exchange. All extra worth is gained from export of goods and services from Salia and Salian citizens. The more the citizens contribute as a whole, the greater the economy of the state, therefore the greater the goods and amenities the citizens will be allowed. This creates a high morale for the workers of Salia and thus most citizens, especially those of higher status, live very comfortably and happily.

Salian Credit System

Salian credits are given solely to Salian citizens. All others use the nezaulodhian money system which is the same as the nixalosian one. It is split up into a number of different types of credits based on the purpose. Different jobs will give you different bonuses based on what sector of the market the job is in. You can also apply for extras in certain types of credits. Everybody receives a certain amount of general credits no matter what type of job it is.

General Credits ;:
- general use
Life Credits L:
- water
- medicine
- hospitals/doctors
- education
- fine arts
- life-enriching performances
Food Credits F:
- food
- drinks
- snacks
- beers/wines (but not liquor)
Recreational Credits R:
- beers/wines
- tobacco
- liquors
- controlled substances
- electronic goods and services
- toys
- books
- movies
- music
Clothing and Home Supply Credits C:
- clothing
- furniture
- kitchen utensils
- home upgrades
- repairs of any kind
Business and Industry Credits B:
- business transactions
- raw materials
- international trade
- costs of operation and administration
- machinery
Chaos Credits X:
- beers/wines
- tobacco
- liquors
- controlled substances
- prostitutes
- weapons
- black market goods
- gambling/betting
- auctions
- slave trade
- prizes
- bribes
- fines

Business

Business in Salia is conducted in a way generally very different from most countries.

Aside from appointed (typically governmental) positions, all jobs are open for grabs and are available on a first-come first-served basis based on the individual's qualifications.
Every business has a set of required qualifications, if an individual meets those qualifications, they can submit a request for whatever schedule they want, or they can be open and select for any set of schedules.
One need not work at the same place every month, or even every week or every day.
One could work at a different place every day of the year if they wanted, provided they have the necessary qualifications.
Every job has a certain contribution level to the community, they also have bonuses depending on the type of job it is.
Every building is assigned a particular type of business.
Every month, each building undergoes an inventory and hours voting by the citizens local to that business, so even though the building keeps the same business, they could sell completely different items from month to month.
Each year, there is a regional voting to reassign the statuses of all of the non-office business buildings.
As long as you keep a certain status as a worker, you are entitled to a residence and all citizen services.
The better your status as a worker, the better the payoff for you as a citizen.

Business Codes

In order to assign business types to buildings in an orderly fashion, a set of special business codes has been established:

Business type:
- 0 - Office/Government/Special
- 1 - Food Service/Preparation
- 2 - Food Stocking
- 3 - General Stocking
- 4 - Specialized Interests
- 5 - Contracted Services
Customer admittance:
- 0 - N/A or special
- 1 - In-store purchasing
- 2 - Window/Express service
- 3 - Delivery
- 4 - 1 & 2
- 5 - 1 & 3
- 6 - 2 & 3
Operating hours:
- A - all (always open)
- B - night
- C - day
- D - some night
- E - some day
- F - by appointment only

Salian Underworld

In Salia there are two major types of activity centres that conduct business in a way contrary to most normal businesses. These are bars/casinos and the black market.

Bars/Casinos

There are a number of different specialty bars distributed throughout each county. There is also one casino that encompasses every specialty of all the bars and is always open. The casino is always in the capital city of every county. Any special event hosted by a bar requires a 10% cut unless the house participates.

The different types of specialties are as follows:

Brothel Bars
- Hard liquor and controlled substances
- Prostitutes
Betting Bars
- Betting of all types
Tabletop Bars
- Typical casino-style games
- Hobbyist tabletop tournaments
- Ability to submit new games
Auction Bars
- Auctions of all types
Performance Bars
- Performances of all types
- Performance competitions
Arcade Bars
- Slot machines
- Arcade-style games
- Video games

The black market

Anything that can't normally be sold at a store or in an auction bar can typically be found here. Since it is in a lawless zone, most items are stolen or otherwise obtained illegally and since there is no enforcement there is no guarantee that you will be able to obtain your item even after paying for it. The government often participates in black market auctions because they can offer and obtain things otherwise not easily obtainable. In addition, they can often make a good profit off of things by selling that are purposely made illegal for this purpose. The difference between something obtained by a random person in the black market and something sold by the government is that the latter is not considered contraband, it's just not available for purchase at a government-approved store. In this way they can sell quality rare (often purposely) items for a major profit to willing buyers.

Geography

In Salia, there is one central mountain range where the majority of ethnic Salians live. This is the core and capital of the Salian Empire. The region to the east of the Salian mountains is the home to the Nezaulodhians who, although they are ethnically nixalosian, live within the Salian borders so they are subject to a special set of laws and rules governed by agreements and treaties with the rulers of Nixalosia.

To the west and all other surrounding regions of Salia that remains left over (about 10% of the country or so) have stragglers that have come from surrounding regions or have come down from the Salian mountains.

The Salians have created an artificially high mountain range by increasing the size of the mountains by adding land from surrounding regions, causing the western portion, as well as Nezaulodhia to be well below sea level.

Towers

Ecosystems

Flora and Fauna

In Salia, all creatures have evolved to adapt to the highland/tundra conditions created by the Salian Empire. As such, they have each evolved some, if not all, of the following features:

The ability to breath with less oxygen
The ability to breath through the skin (many are amphibious)
The ability to absorb water from snow (plant and fungal species)
The ability to scale walls vertically (via claws, etc.)
The ability to hide/camouflage in snow
The ability to create snow/ice dwellings (snow beavers, etc.)
A thick hide or other resistance to cold
Dark shading/tinting on eyelids to reduce glare/snowblindness
The ability to absorb moisture through the skin either from snow or clouds
The ability to sense smells or movement through snow or clouds

Climate

In the Salian mountain region, the climate is an artificially-created tundra region. The land is so high up that those living within the Salian region cannot see the land below as they are surrounded by a layer of cloud covering. In Upper Nezauloðia, the climate is moderate and similar to that in Nithalosia. Inside the Salian Towers (a.k.a. Inner Salia) the climate is artificial and can be changed much like the climate can be changed inside any other building.

Zoning and Layout

Salian cities are set up on a grid shaped into squares like a waffle. Between buildings are streets the size of alleys made from cobblestone and brick and the like and are frozen over and/or are very slick most of the time. Streets in salia are so slick that most people wear ice skates rather than normal shoes to get around. Also, skiing and snowboarding and snowmobiling and the like are common means of transportation. Aside from these, an international rail system has been established to transport passengers both within Salia at specified intersections of the cities and to countries outside of Salia.

The Salian region has a special rail system designed for travel within the region that goes at specified intersections within the cities and from one city to another. Rail systems that connect to the Salian Central Rail system (SCR) are specially designed to climb peaks that at times may be almost vertical. In order to account for this, there are special sections of the track where devices are set in place so that once you go past them, you can't go back (much like the latch on a doorknob). As this can understandably be a horrifying experience for most riders (where at times they may be traveling vertically for several km and often won't level out until the clouds are behind them) Salia has instituted a special rail line that goes around the Salian range and allows passengers to travel on relatively level ground the whole journey, bypassing the Salian region altogether.

As with other things in the Nezaulodhian region, rail traffic in Nezaulodhia is regulated with assistance from the rulers of Nixalos and is modeled off of their system rather than that of the SCR.

Salian Zoning Principles

Salia is zoned into perfectly proportioned regions that are all connected by SCR following a specific pattern:

All cities are surrounded by a wall which contains the rail lines of the SCR
The wall surrounding each region indicates the border of that city
The outermost cities in a county are all 5km by 5km on the outer edges for a total of 25 sq km
Every county is four cities wide by four cities high with a capital city in the center
The capital city of every county forms a diamond shaped connected to the central line on each side
Cities between the capital city and the outer cities (the mid cities) form right triangle shapes
The capital city and inner cities have special inner-city shuttle lines that connect to the halfway points
States are formed like a fractal of counties (4 counties wide by 4 counties tall at 20km apiece for 6400 sq km)

Lawless zones

There are zones designated as being outside of the law of the country. All persons entering and exiting these lawless zones will be documented and searched for contraband. This is a prominent region for black market activities in which the Salian government sometimes participates. The only official currency in these regions are chaos credits which are the only Salian currency that can be redeemed in coins.

Building types

There are a number of different building types in Salia. The four primary types are residential, commercial, industrial, and special. There is a little bit of overlapping of these types. Each county has its own tartan of zone types that distinguishes one county from the other and establishes a sense of local pride in an otherwise similar cityscape.

The building types are as follows:

Residential
- Mixed
  - Residential-Commercial
  - Residential-Industrial
  - Governmental Residence (Residential-Special)
- Drift Housing
- Inns
Commercial
- Restaurants
- Grocery stores
- Department stores
- Specialty stores
- Bars/Casinos
Industrial
- Factories
- Crafthouses
- Refineries
Special
- Universities
- Hospitals
- Public Services
- Arenas
- Governmental buildings

SCR - The Salian Central Rail system

The SCR is a special rail system that has rail lines running in sets to optimize efficiency and speed. Each station has a number of lines running a specific distance to and from the station along with a central line that runs the length of the entire line, stopping at the edge of every county. The specific trains are as follows:

Main Lines
- Intercounty lines
  - Run across the entire length of the state
  - Make stops at the edge of every county
  - 60-min intervals
- Interstate lines
  - Run across the entire length of the country
  - Make stops at the edge of every state
  - 90-min intervals
Outer county lines
- Halfway Lines
  - Run half the distance of the county (10km)
  - Most frequent lines
  - 15-min intervals
- Quarter lines
  - Run the quarter-county (5km)
  - 45-min intervals
Inner county lines
- Central county connector
  - Connects inner county to outer county
  - 30-min intervals
  - Only does county-length loops
- Capital city shuttle
  - Runs in clockwise and counterclockwise loops
  - Connects to the halfway lines of the capital city
  - Makes stops at every halfway line
  - 30-min intervals
Mid county lines
- Triangle shuttle
  - Runs in clockwise and counterclockwise loops
  - Connects to one halfway line in the inner city and to one halfway line in two adjacent outer cities
  - 20-min intervals
State capital lines
- County spoke lines
  - Run from the state capital city across the capital county in straight lines in 8 directions to the edge of the capital county
  - 30-min intervals

Language

There are two main languages in use in the Salian Empire

Sala
Nezaulodh

These languages are not closely related. The grammar and syntax are somewhat similar between Sala, Nezaulodh, and Nixalos, but the vocabularies of Sala and those of the Nixalosian varieties (including Nezaulodh) bear no resemblance.

Nixalosian is also a recognized minority language in the Salian empire, used mostly by ethnic Nezaulodhians and as a neutral language for discussions between Salia and Nixalosia

Demographics

The country is split up mainly into three races:

In the SCD and Lower Nezauloðia, the population is mainly Salian.
- This portion constitutes about 60% of the country.
In Upper Nezauloðia, the population is mainly Nixalosian.
- This portion constitutes about 30% of the country.
Along the lower edge of Salia near the border with Vercie there is a section of land received from Vercie as a gift for assisting them with a battle in the past. The region is filled with resort towns that form the heart of the southern rail infrastructure going through southern Salia.
- This portion constitutes about 10% of the country.

Culture

Salians are encouraged to engage in a more cultural experience involving fine arts and performances and the like. Cultural contributions have a powerful incentive because they are one of the few things that will give a person L:. L: are some of the most valuable credits because they can be used for some of the most fundamental and useful things such as personal education, art and culture, medicine, treatments, retirement, family unions, food and drink. Cultural contributions are measured based upon how well the contribution is received by others. Typically this means that other people would have to give up their own L: for a performer or somebody engaging in the arts to receive it.

Hobbies

The people of Salia enjoy the height of their land and the cold climate. Because of this, Salians greatly enjoy some of the following activities:

Snowmobiling
Snowboarding
Skiing
Wingsuiting
Hanggliding
Skydiving
Base jumping
Free running
Ice skating
Hockey

Religion

The Salian national religion is centered around expanding the consciousness. It is believed in Salia that in order to enter into the different shades of existence one must go through an astral door. These astral doors can vary from lucid dreams, to astral projection, to hallucinations. Therefore, the use of hallucinogens is not only allowed for religious purposes, it is recommended. This includes the use of marijuana. Most sermons start by having the group gather around a hookah or a bong and get thoroughly stoned before commencing with the various activities that usually start with a meditation session in which the spirit is projected, followed by a hallucination in the wilderness typically lasting for hours, and finishing with a lucid dream session.

Salians are very religious. They typically engage in these practices at least a few times a week. Some devout practitioners perform these rituals on a daily basis.

Technology and Science

Salia is well known for its vast interest in science. Salians are so interested in science that they've created three climate zones artificially to advance their research.

the Salian Central District (nasun tindi sumik tihak-sa sala : living zone of Salia (tihaksasala))
- Preservation of life in cold climates
- Aviation/Aerodynamics
- Electronics/Electricity
- Meteorology
Upper Nezauloðia
- Agriculture
- Solar and Wind power
- Automotive/Speed/Kinematics
- Foreign Affairs
Lower Nezauloðia
- Preservation of life in hot climates
- Thermal energy
- Pyrotechnics
- Steam power
- Mining
- Mycology
- Special Topics

Aviation

One of the core technologies of Salia is their aviation technology. Salians have found ways to fly ever since they were a nomadic people roaming the plains of Nezauloðia. There are numerous different means of aviation in Salia.

man-powered
- hang gliders
- hot air baloons
- streamjet suits
- wing suits
- helicycles
- jumblehoppers
- pump planes
machine-powered
- airplanes and jets
- zeppelins and blimps
- helicopters
- gyrocopters
- jetpacks
- gyropacks
pseudo avionic
- tower gliders
- ziplines
- springboards
- catapults
animals
- tarkans

There are different air traffic laws that prevent crashes and the like. Only smaller tools/vehicles may be used in public areas where there is likely to be heavy traffic. Larger ones are restricted to more open areas.

small
- wing suits
- streamjet suits
- jumblehoppers
- tarkans
large
- hang gliders
- hot air baloons
- helicycles
- pump planes
- gyrocopters
- gyropacks
- jetpacks
set track/route
- airplanes and jets
- zeppelins and blimps
- helicopters
- ziplines
- tower gliders
- catapults
- springboards