Kingdom of Astrakhan

'''NOTE: Anything referring to the Scots, Ires, or Walsh has been retconned. The religion has also been retconned until further notice.'''

History
The Kingdom was established near the beginning of history for the Astrakhanians, and it has gone through numerous changes until today. It has survived many rebellions and wars, until today. Until today, it was a constitutional monarchy. However, it was disbanded after Republican forces captured Queen Grune II in the Battle for the Catacombs. It was re-established after the monarchist revolts.

After the monarchy was re-established, the Kingdom of Astrakhan was absorbed into the Corrundian Empire.

Military
NOTE: NEEDS MAJOR OVERHAUL

Before the war, the Royal Infantry and it's divisions of the Royal Navy, Airforce, Marines, and King's Guard numbered in all around 16,000,000. It re-gained this after the war, but organized differently.

Royal Infantry
The Royal Infantry is broken into three regiments.

First Regiment of Foot - 1,000,000 men.

Second Regiment of Foot - 1,000,000 men.

Third Regiment of Foot - 1,000,000 men.

Fourth Regiment of Foot - 1,000,000 men.

Fifth Regiment of Foot - 1,000,000 men.

Sixth Regiment of Foot - 1,000,000 men.

Seventh Regiment of Foot - 1,000,000 men.

Eight Regiment of Foot - 1,000,000 men.

Ninth Regiment of Foot - 1,000,000 men. First Royal Armoured Regiment - 250,000 men, 20,000 tanks, 1,000 artillery pieces.

Second Royal Armoured Regiment - 250,000 men, 20,000 tanks, 1,000 artillery pieces.

Third Royal Armoured Regiment - 250,000 men, 20,000 tanks, 1,000 artillery pieces.

Fourth Royal Armoured Regiment - 250,000 men, 20,000 tanks, 1,000 artillery pieces.

Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is officially apart of the military but hasn't been used since the Kingdom was established, and has since has had barely any men in service.

His/Her Majesty's First Fleet - 250,000 men and 5 ships.

His/Her Majesty's Second Fleet - 250,000 men and 5 ships.

Royal Airforce
Royal Airforce is broken into two squadrons.

Squadron Alpha - 250,000 men and 250 strikecraft.

Squadron Beta - 250,000 men and 250 strikecraft.

Squadron Charlie - 250,000 men and 250 strikecraft.

Squadron Delta - 250,000 men and 250 strikecraft.

Squadron Echelon - 250,000 men and 250 strikecraft.

Squadron Foxtrot - 250,000 men and 250 strikecraft.

Royal Marines
Royal Marines have not been in use along with the Royal Navy. They are however, trained to be elites.

First Marines Regiment - 250,000 men

Second Marines Regiment - 250,000 men.

Third Marines Regiment - 250,000 men.

Fourth Marines Regiment - 250,000 men.

Royal King/Queen's Guard
Royal King/Queen's Guard are loyal to the King/Queen, and are the elite of the elite.

First Regiment of Guard - 50,000 men.

Second Regiment of Guard - 50,000 men.

Third Regiment of Guard - 50,000 men.

Fourth Regiment of Guard - 50,000 men.

Fifth Regiment of Guard - 50,000 men.

Sixth Regiment of Guard - 50,000 men.

His/Her Majesty's Own Guard Regiment - ,100,000 men.

Specialist Regiments
First Scots Highlander Regiment - 50,000 men.

Second Scots Highlander Regiment - 50,000 men.

Third Scots Highlander Regiment - 50,000 men.

Fourth Scots Highlander Regiment - 50,000 men.

Scots Guard Regiment - 100,000 men.

First Ires Regiment of Foot - 25,000 men.

Second Ires Regiment of Foot - 25,000 men.

Third Ires Regiment of Foot - 25,000 men.

Ires Guard Regiment - 50,000 men.

First Walsh Regiment of Foot - 75,000 men.

Second Walsh Regiment of Foot - 75,000 men.

Walsh Guard Regiment - 150,000 men.

Uniforms
The following are the uniforms of the different military branches.

Royal Infantry Uniform
The Royal Infantry don red coats and white pants, their coats having golden buttons. They also wear black boots and sometimes white gloves. Their hats are black in color.

Royal Navy Uniform
The Royal Navy wears a navy blue coat, with white pants. Their coats have white buttons. They wear white boots and white gloves. Their hats are brown in color.

Royal Airforce Uniform
The Royal Airforce wear sky-blue coats, and white pants. Their coats have white buttons. They wear black boots and white gloves. Their hats are sky-blue in color.

Royal Marine Uniform
The Royal Marines wear white coats, and white pants. Their coats have black buttons. They wear black boots and black gloves. Their hats are white in color.

Royal Guard Uniform
The Royal Guards wear scarlet coats, and black pants with white stripes on the side. Their coats have golden buttons. They wear black boots and black gloves. They wear black hats. They also wear golden epaulettes, and golden aiguillettes on their right side. On the left side, they wear golden fourragères.

Astrakhanian Navy
The navy has 10 official ships at the moment. 6 Royale Class Frigates, 3 Grenadier Class Destroyers, and 1 Majestic Class Cruiser. This does not include any constructor craft.

Royale Class Frigates
HMS Royale

HMS Bovington

HMS Charlie

HMS King's Pride

HMS Glory

HMS Victory

Grenadier Class Destroyers
HMS Grenadier

HMS Musketeer

HMS Rider

Majestic Class Cruisers
HMS Majestic

Formation
This is a crude diagram of how the whole fleet forms. The five-point star represents a cruiser. The four-point star represents a destroyer. The square represents a frigate. The fleet has a 'line of battle'. The 'line of battle' is more a way of a command structure instead of anything having to do with tactics, although in battle some Admirals may choose to address ships by their number rather than their designation. The 'line of battle' goes as follows.

# 1: HMS Majestic

# 2: HMS Grenadier

# 3: HMS Musketeer

# 4: HMS Rider

# 5: HMS Royale

# 6: HMS Bovington

# 7: HMS Charlie

# 8: HMS King's Pride

# 9: HMS Glory

# 10: HMS Victory

Races in the Kingdom
Astrakhanians - The founding, leading, and main race of the Kingdom. Humanoid | Averaging 1.67m Height | Pale Skin | 4 Fingered/Toed Hands & Feet | Lack Of Nails | Lack Of Hair | Average Weight 65Kg | Fused Rib Cage | Double Rowed Teeth, Front Row Sharp, Second Row Flat | 2 Hearts | 3 Kidneys | 3 Lungs | Black Sub-Dermal Torso Carapace | Pale Grey Eyes | Waxy Substance Covering Skin |

Culture
Most culture of the Kingdom is a mix between Astrakhanian culture, Scots culture, Ires culture, and Walsh culture. Food from Astrakhan that is common among the common folk include fu'cha stew, and chu'fe milk. More richer foods include the sweet known as 'Bark' and a more richer, creamier version of chu'fe milk called yule milk.

Foods
Here is a small list of common food items found in almost every household.

Fu'Cha Stew
Fu'Cha stew is the Astrakhanian equal to hot dogs and mac & cheese. It is a very common, quick, and easy way to make a food. Traditional stews include cooked onions, cooked celery, water, grease, and pinches of salt and pepper. More modern stews leave out the grease and just add more water.

Bark
Bark is a candy-sweet found in many upper-class households. It is a mixture of white and dark chocolate to create a camo-like style, topped with candy-cane crumbs to give it a spice. It is very popular among children and also a favorite of the rich.

Beverages
Here is a small list of common beverages found in almost every household.

Chu'Fe Milk
Chu'Fe milk is a milk from the Fe cow. It is very bubbly and thick, although the thickness is dumbed down by the water that is put into the milk to make it lighter and less fatty. It is the equal to regular milk.

Yule Milk
Yule milk is Chu'Fe milk but without the milk added. It is very fat, and usual only available to the rich. It is creamy, rich, and thick.

Games
There are many different games in the Astrakhanian culture, however, one is the most popular. It is a sport called handiball.

Sports
There are a number of sports in Astrakhanian culture, noticeable ones like handiball are listed here.

Handiball
It is pronounced handy-ball and properly so because the game includes you having to carry the ball most of the time. It is a completely round ball, usually with small indents on it, and is popular throughout the empire.

Rules
Rules of the game are as follows.

There are 10 men on each team. One kicker, three defenders, three attackers, two runbacks, and one goalie. The ball is kicked by the kicker, into the middle of the field usually. The ball is then fought over hand-to-hand by the attackers. Once the attackers have the ball, they pass it by hand to the runbacks, who run across the field to try and kick it into the enemy goal, defended by the goalie.

If anyone is injured, they are out of the game for the rest of the game, and they are not replaced. If they are faking an injury or fail to report one, they are out of the team for two full games. They must also play the current game for the rest of it. Games run for 30 minutes in two halves. In the middle is a break time for 15 minutes in where the teams can switch out players, and rest.

The players play on a 100 meter long field by 50 meters. The only people who can kick the ball are the goalie, the kicker, and the runbacks. The goalie to defend, the kickers to start each play, and the runbacks to score. You cannot score by throwing. You pass by throwing, however. Every player must be in proper pads and body armour or else they cannot play in a professional game.

Each time a goal is scored is one point. If the goalie dives for the ball or touches the ball somehow when defending it, and it still goes in, 3 points are awarded instead. Defenders can only tackle runbacks, and attackers can tackle anyone besides the kicker and the goalie. If a play is not completed in 5 minutes, it is restarted with the other team besides the first kicking.

Teams and Leagues
Each race has it's own two teams, which results in eight teams in all. There are 2 leagues, the Astrakhans and Scots, and the Ires and Walsh. They play each team once, and then the top 2 teams with the best wins/losses ratio play in the championship.

Board-Games
There are a few board games in Astrakhanian culture. A noticeable one is Imperial.

Imperial
Imperial is essentially chess, but with differences. Pawns are Footmen, Rooks are Guards, Knights are Knights, Bishops are Nobles, and the King and Queen are the King and Queen. Special moves like An Passant and Castling are gone completely. Knights may not jump over pieces, however, Nobles, Kings, and Queens may. The Queen may only move five moves in any direction, instead of an infinite number. Nobles may only move five as well. Footmen move two moves each time, and may attack in front as well as diagonal. A move called 'Jinking' is introduced. Nobles can change direction mid-move to finish it's 5 space move. Footmen can also do this move if another footman passes to the side of it. This footman who jinks, must, however, only go backwards from then on. A footman whom reaches the end of the board may be converted into any lost piece.

The Knight piece is instead a square on a pedestal, instead of a horse. The guard is the pawn with three heads in a circle. The cross on the king is replaced with a circle. Nobles have a crown on them.

Government
The Head of State is the ruling monarch. Other nobles hold small state power as well. Head of Government is the Prime Minister. The current King and Prime Minister are King Whiteshield I and Prime Minister Lutzow.

Upper House
The Parliamentary Upper House or "House of Lords" is made up of 100 lords appointed by the monarch. Blue - Monarchists - 100 Seats

Lower House
The Parliamentary Lower House or "House of Commons" is made up of 2,000 elected citizens from across the Kingdom.

For ease of organization, the arch diagram will be used to represent the House of Commons, although this is not how they sit in the chamber.

Blue - Monarchists - 798 Seats

Red - Republicans - 577 Seats

Yellow - Unified Independent Front - 290 Seats

Orange - Labour Party - 104 Seats

Green - Georgic Party - 96 Seats

Purple - United Colonial Block - 50 Seats

Black - Fascist Party - 50 Seats

Grey - Independents - 35 Seats

Parties
There are various different parties in the government. The upper house is almost always the same party, however. The lower house on the other hand has many different parties. This shall go over the parties.

Monarchist Party
Color: Blue

Platform: Majority | Conservatism, Economic Liberalism, Fiscal Conservatism, Social Conservatism, Pro-Monarchy, Colonialism | Factions | Right-Wing Populism, Right-Libertarianism, Neoconservatism

History: Founded at the beginning of the monarchy. Has held power for most of the time the monarchy has been in power. As of late, their numbers in parliament are beginning to decline. Their support draws mostly from voters of the majority in society, as well as the wealthy and powerful. They enjoy a very large following in the capital province of Astra on Astrakhan. A majority of other Astrakhaners also support the Monarchists, but their support is slipping and slipping fast recently.

Slogan: "God save the King!"

Republican Party
Color: Red

Platform: Majority | Modern Liberalism, Social Liberalism, Progressivism, Anti-Monarchy, Anti-Colonialism | Factions | Social Democracy, Centrism

History: Founded a short while ago, and has caught on with a lot of the general public. Only held power once, and in that time, the monarchy was abolished, and a republic was declared after a civil war. The party suffered after the war, when they were banned from parliament for a few months, before being allowed back. Since this time, their numbers have never reached the same they once had. However, as of late, their numbers are growing rapidly. Their support draws mostly from the poor and minorities in society. They enjoy a very large following in the province of Âglan on Astrakhan.

Slogan: "Republicans everywhere, unite!"

Unified Independent Front
Color: Yellow

Platform: Various

History: After the civil war, many citizens did not want to be caught between the major feuding of the Republicans and Monarchists. Realizing that in order to actually have a chance of being a force in parliament, or even have a chance at election, a great many of independent politicians came together to form the UIF. The UIF has no official platform, and does not enforce any ideology on any of it's candidates. They often put up multiple candidates for election in a single district. They do not hold primaries, as to not enforce any one set of ideals. The UIF has had steady numbers as of late. Their support draws mostly from the middle class, and from worlds outside of Astrakhan.

Slogan: "An alternative."

Labour Party
Color: Orange

Platform: Majority | Social Democracy, Democratic Socialism | Factions | Socialism

History: Founded very recently as an alternative to the Republicans and Georgic Party. They are seen as a more left-wing approach to the party. They are slowly gaining members as the farther left factions in the Republican party move to the Labour Party. They enjoy support from industrial workers and farmers in the colonies.

Slogan: "Labourers everywhere, unite!"

Georgic Party
Color: Green

Platform: Scientific Socialism, Marxist-Leninism, Communism

History: Founded a long time ago, originally to fight against the monarchy. At one point in time, they were a major rival to the Monarchist Party. However, a lot of their support waned after the centrist faction within them split to form the Republicans. Even then, though, their support was large in number. Then, everyone but the farthest left in the party left to form the Labour Party after internal disputes. Their numbers have decreased in every election after the forming of the Republican party. They have support of a minority of workers and farmers in the colonies.

Slogan: "Workers everywhere, unite!"

United Colonial Block
Color: Purple

Platform: Colonialism, Right-Wing Populism, Economic Liberalism, Nationalism, Pro-Monarchy, Social Conservatism

History: Split from the Monarchist party a short while ago. A majority of the further right-wing politicians in the party switched to the UCB. Their numbers have stayed somewhat steady, as some of them have lost seats recently. They enjoy support from a lot of the further right-wing citizens in the Kingdom.

Slogan: "We fight for Astrakhan."

Fascist Party
Color: Black

Platform: Fascism, Ultra-Social Conservatism, Pan-Astrakhanianism, Nazism

History: Founded around the same time as the Georgic Party. Never saw the success the Georgic Party did, but was at one point a large enough party to actually matter in parliament. Has lost seats in many of the recent elections.

Slogan: "Believe, Obey, Fight" or sometimes "One People, One Nation, One Leader"

Independents
Color: Grey

Platform: Various

History: The independents are not an actual political party, but a lack thereof. The independent movement largely went with the UIF instead of remaining all separated. The remaining truly independent independents have lost many of their seats since the rise of UIF, and many have just chosen to go with the UIF for better chances of election. However, those that remain are fiercely doing so.

Slogan: None officially, but many choose "The only true independent choice"

Others
There are multiple other parties that exist, but do not have representation in parliament. Due to their lack of importance or power, they are not listed here.

His/Her Majesty's Intelligence Service
His/Her Majesty's Intelligence Service, or HMIS, is the intelligence agency of the Kingdom. They operate completely without standard Astrakhanian law jurisdiction, and are only governed by the Director of the HMIS, which happens to be either the monarch or the Prime Minister. But only the Prime Minister if the monarch declines. (This has only happened once in history).

Sectors
The HMIS have 'Sectors' which essentially act as bases of operations for them. There are 40 Sectors across the Kingdom, and over half of them are on Astrakhan itself. Some Sectors are publicly open, while others are under heavy surveillance and classified. Some public sectors include Sector 1 and Sector 25. (Head Sector and Produce Sector respectively.) While classified sectors include Sector 37 and Sector 8. (Both are classified though it is widely known by now that Sector 37 handles interrogations and executions and Sector 8 deals with weaponry.)

Sector 1 - Head Sector

Sector 2 - Classified

Sector 3 - Classifed

Sector 4 - Classified

Sector 5 - Surveillance

Sector 6 - Classifed

Sector 7 - Classifed

Sector 8 - Classified (Weaponry)

Sector 9 - Classifed

Sector 10 - Classifed

Sector 11 - Classifed

Sector 12 - Classifed

Sector 13 - Classifed

Sector 14 - Classifed

Sector 15 - Classifed

Sector 16 - Classifed

Sector 17 - Classifed

Sector 18 - Classifed

Sector 19 - Biology

Sector 20 - Classifed

Sector 21 - Classifed

Sector 22 - Waste Disposal

Sector 23 - Classifed

Sector 24 - Classifed

Sector 25 - Produce

Sector 26 - Classifed

Sector 27 - Classifed

Sector 28 - Classifed

Sector 29 - Classifed

Sector 30 - Classifed

Sector 31 - Classifed

Sector 32 - Classifed

Sector 33 - Classifed

Sector 34 - Classifed

Sector 35 - Classifed

Sector 36 - Classifed

Sector 37 - Classifed (Interrogation and Execution)

Sector 38 - Classified

Sector 39 - Classified

Sector 40 - Classified

Codes
There are codes for everything in the HMIS, from the tiniest, most insignificant thing to the biggest, important thing. From small talk to commands. Here are some known ones.

Code 1 - Hi

Code 5 - Stop transmitting

Code 20 - Location (?)

Code 89 - Interrogation

Code 100 - His/Her Majesty

Code 112 - Execution

Code 333 - God/Supreme Being

Code 666 - Devil/Evil One

Code 1987 - Bite

Code 2000 - Parent/Guardian

Religion
The Astrakhanians have quite a interesting religion. It is monotheistic, with some cults being polytheistic. It is a vast religion with many concepts and a long history, so this collection of religious items is very, very insufficient if you wish to learn all about it. Here are just the basics.

Beliefs
The belief in the religion is that a God amongst us was unknown until a few years before the creation of the Kingdom, almost 3 thousand years ago. Then, he revealed himself to the Astrakhanians, believing them ready to have his blessing. His followers and himself led a glorious and righteous series of crusades against all those who denied the God. The God was immortal, and all powerful, making those who he faced die at the sight of him. He was bound in golden armor, with a golden sword wrapped in holy fire. He had a golden glow about him, with a gold halo hovering above his head, as described by scholars at the time. As the crusades came to a close, he had united all of Astrakhan under him, and the Kingdom of Astrakhan. He then created a son of his out of the earth of Astrakhan, bounding him with his own DNA, and named him Mari'A, meaning "Blessed Son of God" in ancient Astrakhanian.

God then ascended into the heavens, and his son was crowned new ruler of Astrakhan. His holy bloodline then descended through the generations, until now, where Grune II is the leader of the Church of Astrakhan, as well as the Kingdom of Astrakhan. Every monarch that ever lived has had this 'holy blood' within them. Amongst their beliefs are: Astrakhanian life is blessed, all heretics are cursed, Crusades must be done in order to convert those to the religion otherwise a conversion is not sacred or holy without the spilling of heretical blood, the 25 truths, an afterlife with God, spirits, and the holy bloodline of God within the monarchs. God also had a special pet while he was on Astrakhan, an Aquila (Two headed bird). This makes Aquilas very blessed, along with other bird races. The 25 truths include rules of the religion, along with morals and other sacred teachings:

25 Truths/The Rosarius
''' 1. All Astrakhanian life is holy. '''

''' 2. All other life is unholy. '''

''' 3. War is necessary for peace. '''

''' 4. Crusading is the highest honour of an Astrakhanian warrior. '''

''' 5. All heretics must convert or be purged, there is no other way. '''

''' 6. The holy bird of Aquila is to never be slain, or else your bloodline will receive the lowest of curses. '''

''' 7. God is great and mighty. '''

''' 8. The monarchy is sacred. '''

''' 10. Mari'A's legacy is great. '''

''' 11. All crosses must be bowed before or be slain by it. '''

''' 12. The galaxy was created by God. '''

''' 13. The galaxy is Astrakhanian birthright to behold. '''

''' 14. Any heretical Astrakhanian is to die of natural causes, and not a crusade. '''

''' 15. All Astrakhanian-on-Astrakhanian crusades are finished with. '''

''' 16. Sex before marriage is the lowest sin. '''

''' 17. The ground of Astrakhan is sacred. '''

''' 18. Urinating or defacating on the ground of Astrakhan is one of the lowest sins. '''

''' 19. Questioning the Church's authority must have the questioner in question hung. '''

''' 20. 4:44 PM is the sacred time. '''

''' 21. The resources of Astrakhan are to be used for the good of all Astrakhanians. '''

''' 22. Life is good. '''

''' 23. There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt. '''

''' 24. Knowledge is unsacred power. Unsacred power is evil. '''

''' 25. God protects. '''

These 25 Truths are compacted into a necklace called the Rosarius. You must say each truth everyday of your life or be cursed. Crosses are also blessed among the Astrakhanians, as the four points of a cross represent the 4 Lifelong Guidelines: Tradition, Honor, Discipline, Excellence. Thankfully, only 4% of Astrakhanians still adhere to the religion, and those who do are most likely jailed.