Editing Landsoftheblacksea:Main Page/realms/athervon (section)

= Government =
Athervon is a Kingdom.  The King wields absolute power within the realm, subject only to maintaining the loyalty of his vassals and nobles, who provide him with the military forces and financing required to keep the kingdom functioning.
The Kingdom is divided into five Ducal Estates – ''Est'', ''Oest'', ''Centre'', ''Sud'', and the Northern Protectorate.  The King’s five ''Ducs'' are his primary military vassals, who oversee the operations within their areas of responsibility, collecting the King’s taxes, enforcing the King’s justice, and mustering the military forces that are required by the King.  

Each Ducal Estates are further subdivided into Provinces, each of which is supervised by a ''comte'', and in some cases also a ''Viscompte'' if the province is large, wealthy, or is otherwise challenging to manage.  The Comptes, supported by their Viscomptes, are responsible for military musters and tax collection within their provinces, as well as administering the King’s justice for such matters as are within their delegated authority by the Duc.  

Finally, Provinces that form the border of the Kingdom with neighboring realms or wilderness areas that pose a particular threat also will be placed within a ''Marche''; the Marches are strictly military in nature, and are overseen by ''Marquis''.  The Marquis are, collectively, charged by the King himself with the defense of the realm from external forces, and have no role in taxation or the enforcement of laws, with the exception of crimes committed by the soldiers under their command, where their authority is second only to that of the King himself.  Their forces are an additional levy from across the Provinces within their Marche beyond what is required by the Duc.  This construct provides for additional forces with direct loyalty to the crown within provinces that are most likely to be subject to attack and/or subversion by hostile forces.

Larger Provinces may further be divided into Baronies, with the ''Barons'' fulfilling the obligations to the Comptes as the Comptes to the Ducs.

The lowest unit of nobility within the Kingdom that are permitted to hold land are the ''Chevalieres'', who provide military service in return for their estates rather than taxes.  The estates of Chevalieres are generally small for this reason, but still valuable due to the fact that the resources need only support the local lord.  A Province or Barony will generally have a number of Chevaliere estates within it, who serve as the military leaders for the local forces mustered within the regions as needed.  Chevaliere can also be called into other forms of military service – for example, to serve as a member of the King’s guard in Avis Inia, or to serve as diplomatic agents.

Below Chevalieres are the ''Ecuyer'' – members of the noble class who do not posses land.  Ecuyer will typically be found living within the seats of the landed gentry (Ducs, Comptes, Vicomptes, and Chevalieres), in some cases as blood relations, othertimes to augment the military power of the lords forces.  Ecuyer are also common in metropolitan areas, where the title and status are sometimes conferred on wealthy merchants, traders, or craftsmen who support the King’s objectives with gold, but do not necessarily need an estate as a source of wealth.

Comptes, Viscomptes, Barons, and even sometimes even Chevalieres will employ one or more ''Shérif'' as their law enforcement agents, depending on the size of their estates.  The Shérifs travel throughout the lands of their lord, collecting the taxes, administering justice for matters within their authority on behalf of the lord, and bringing crimes beyond their authority before the lord for dispensation.   Shérif will generally travel with a small band of militia – generally ''Armati'' (see Military, below) – who provide intimidation or force when such measures are needed, and who protect the lord’s taxes and guard criminals in transit. 

Athervon mints its own coinage for use in trade; the coins are known by the motif stamped in each, in order of increasing value: copper ''scythes''; silver ''crosses''; electrum ''stallions''; gold ''crowns''; and platinum ''lions''.

== Military ==

=== Armies ===
Athervon’s land forces are organized as noted in the Government section above.  

Individual units will be of a uniform social stratum with the possible exception of their leader.  For example, there are elite units of heavily armed and armored Chevalieres cavalry, led by a prominent Chevalieres or a land-lord (Baron, comte, etc.).  Another unit might be similarly equipped mounted Ecuyer, who will be led by one of their own, or possibly a Chevaliere.  But the bulk of Athervonian forces will be drawn from the ''Serf'' classes, on foot with very few exceptions, including archers, pavasiers, pikemen, swordsmen, crossbowmen, and the like.  These units are described by the general term ''Armati''.  Armati units may be led by one of their own, or an Ecuyer.  Only rarely will a Chevaliere lead a unit of Armati.

The Athervonian army includes specialized units such as miners and sappers, as well as logistics units, provisioning and supply elements, and numbers of weaponsmiths, fletchers, and armorers, all of whom will generally be drawn from the ''Guildhomme''.  But the numbers of skilled craftsmen in the military ranks is low, and they are generally integrated into the fighting units that they support when on the march, or housed in forts and castles during peacetime.  

During peacetime, Athervon’s military is generally able to maintain its numbers through volunteer forces; during wartime, the nobility are called to service via the levy, and conscription is used to swell the ranks of the Armati via Royal decree.

With the relatively recent annexation of the Northern Protectorate by Athervon, a significant number of the barbaric tribes and clans within that region have now either sworn loyalty to the King, or unknowingly live in areas under his control.  Athervon has recently been experimenting with the formation of military units comprised from these tribes, to be used as scouts within the region and bordering lands, or as shock troops when employed in the more civilized regions.  Only two such units have been created, and neither has yet been tested in battle under Athervonian command.

=== Naval Forces ===

Athervon possesses a large and formidable navy (Le Marine).  

Hailing back even before the First Line of Kings, the people of what is now Athervon has been a sea-faring nation, with goods that flow across the land bridge between Tras Veniri and Avis Inia being loaded onto ships, from there to make landfall at ports from Anida and the Isles of the Sea Lords to the more civilized city-states of the Forbidden Isles to the ancient and exotic lands of Issyria and Jhon and beyond.  This trade is a great source of wealth, and the realm learned early on that they needed to be able to protect it.

Athervon’s naval fleet builds on the ancient Athernian shipbuilding skills.  Their military vessels tend to be long and sleek, fit with broad sails, and armed with an array of heavy weaponry including ballistae and catapults on the larger vessels.  Athernian naval vessels are known throughout the Black Sea and the oceans beyond for their speed and stout construction, and one-to-one are a match for any of Athervon’s peers, with the possible exception of the Veniri – a contest that there is no record of due to the fact that the fleets ply such distinct waters.

The Athernian Marine is commanded by the ''Grand Amiral Royal'', who reports directly to the King, and who holds station equivalent to that of the Ducs and the Marquis.  Below the Grand Amiral Royal are the ''Seigneur Amirals'', each of whom commands a fleet and is assigned with the protection of a particular geographic region.  

Each vessel in these fleets will be commanded by a ''Capitaine'' and a group of officers.  

With very few historical exceptions, the Grand Amiral Royal and the Seigneur Amirals, are drawn from the landed nobility ranks.  Naval service is considered a highly honorable and sought-after profession for second sons within these circles, with the potential to expand the family estate through service or even spawn a second landed arm of the family.

Capitaines are more often than not also from the landed nobility, but there are a significant number that hail from the Ecuyer ranks.  Indeed, proving oneself via extraordinarily distinguished naval service as a Capitaine in the naval service is considered one of the more reliable ways to move from being an Ecuyer to a Chevaliere.

The bulk of the ship’s crew (''Equipage'') are either voluntarily enlisted, conscripts, indentured servants, debtors working off their balance sheets through service, or criminals serving their sentence.  Given this mix, one might expect that the discipline, experience, and skill of the Athernian navy would be poor.  But on the contrary, the naval tradition is held generally in high regard by the Kingdom, the vessels are run strictly but professionally (with a few notable historical exceptions), and there are enough voluntary crew on most vessels who view their service as a proper profession to more than balance out those who might otherwise have negative tendencies.  Indeed, it is not uncommon for conscripts, debtors, and criminals who have completed their appointed service terms to re-enlist, having found meaning, purpose, and stability in their lives.