Demosthene Ascendancy

The Demosthene Ascendancy is a fairly large territory among the human states of D'hennex. It is largely composed of a single province of the earlier kingdom of An-Yneaith, with some small changes in border due to incursions and conquest. It is governed by the Assembly, a parliamentary body composed of the aristocracy of the land -- power wielders. Personal honour and face are the two most important commodities, and political savvy is a necessary survival trait, among that aristocracy.

Sociopolitical Structure

The Ascendancy is, at its roots, a feudal land. Mortal peasantry exist at the whim of their powered overlords, held in psychic domination by psions and enthralled to the power of mages. These power wielders owe their allegiances to other lords, with the most powerful owing allegiance to no one except themselves. Whereas a king might rule in other places, the Assembly takes that place. Complex movements of political power occur in the Assembly, and even the most powerful lord cannot stand against the combined might of the Assembly, should he think to stand against its collective decisions. This serves to keep the nobility in check from running wild as they otherwise might -- although the internal affairs of their fief are largely up to them to decide upon.

Several unique factors exist, besides the feudal structure and the Assembly, to set the Ascendancy apart. First is the very low incidence of ki-wielding fighters. It is considered, among the people of the Ascendancy, that while possessing significant ki energy is not bad, to exercise it by expelling it (whether in combat, as blasts and aura explosions, or merely in peaceful flight) is a hideous crime. As ki energies are the energies of the soul, they believe that expending them outside the body is actually to deface your very soul. With that tradition binding them, ki wielders of the Ascendancy are at a significant disadvantage compared to those of other powers. Second, is the Demosthene Code Duello. This dictates the terms upon which the various members of the aristocracy can violently interact. It limits powered conflict within the borders of the Ascendancy to strictly-controlled duels. Internal conquest is only recognized as legitimate if performed using mortal troops to conquer the target's land. Honour dictates that they defend themselves using only mortal troops as well.

The Dictates of Honour

Among the people of note of the Ascendancy (that is to say, the aristocratic power wielders), honour is highly prized. While they also cherish cunning and deviousness, a violation of a person's given word tarnishes them forever. As rising into the Ascendancy's Assembly requires a highly ritualized (and very public) loyalty oath to the Ascendancy (and its laws and traditions, such as the Code Duello), if an aristocrat was to violate the basic principles of the Ascendancy, they would find themselves stripped of their power and fief overnight (and quite possibly their life, as well).

While this holds true within the boundaries of the Ascendancy, when dealing with outsiders, the rules are significantly more lax. For example, the Code Duello only holds true between persons of honour -- which is to say, aristocrats of the Ascendancy. When dealing with intrusive outsiders, their breadth of options is much wider. Nor do the laws of honour strictly require them to keep their given word to outsiders, albeit most would do so anyway, out of habit if nothing else.

Economic Capacity

The Ascendancy is a fairly large territory, with significant amounts of arable land, as well as rich mineral deposits. The mortal workforce is in the fairly unique position of being completely repressed and under the control of the power-wielding minority, and being forced to be productive. Unlike nominal slave labour, however, due to the unique processes of domination and enthrallment used by the power wielders, instead of resenting this, properly dominated and ensorcelled mortals actually love their overlords, and would cheerfully cut their own throats for them. In return, the aristocrats tend to take good care of their mortals, treating them as valuable assets. As such, the industries of the Ascendancy tend to be uniquely efficient and productive, enabling the feudal society to supply its needs as well as export significant amounts of goods to its neighbours in trade.

Internal Economic Activity

As the territory of the Ascendancy is divided up into semi-independent and independent fiefs, there is a significant degree of internal trade between them. Mineral-rich areas trade with fertile fiefs, exchanging metal ores for food, for instance. At the higher levels, there is also a degree of trade between the arisocrats, although this tends to take different forms. As they typically have sufficient wealth for their needs, and they do not need to pay their workforce, per se, the aristocracy tends to trade in other things of value. There are a few different things, but land and skilled servants tend to rank highly. The landmass controlled by an aristocrat tends to denote his or her influence, especially in the Assembly, and thus a gaining of even relatively small portions of land can be turned into significant political capital. And, while every aristocrat has many mortals under their command, a uniquely-skilled mortal can be a real prize. Beyond these, the typical favour-trading of the political elite occurs as well, of course, including military deal-making.

Geography

The geography of the Demosthene Ascendancy is variable, as the territory it claims as its own is quite significant. With the heartland of the Ascendancy existing in a valley-like depression, the vast majority of the Ascendancy possesses adequate arable land. Many of the bordering territories have significant mountainous terrain, forming both an impediment to conventional invasion and a rich source of important ores and minerals. As it is wholly contained within the landmass of D'hennex, the Ascendancy could be considered to be landlocked -- the only bodies of water it has contact with are lakes and rivers, some of which are significant in size, and provide a measure of waterlife to the local dietary staples.

Territories

The Ascendancy is divided up into numerous territories, which are in turn divided up into sub-territories by their masters for their lieutenants. Few true cities exist -- those that do are not vassal lands of a single power wielder, but rather, held in common by the Assembly (such as is the case for the capitol), or by a small group of power wielders. They are thus most commonly found at the intersections of territories, where the aristocrats can meet without becoming overly anxious about territorial intrusions.