Kesh (empire)

The Kesh empire is the oldest of the Core Empires, and home to the Church, the last official bastion of the Old Empire.

History
3,000 years ago the Old Empire began to partition itself into sections, in order to streamline governance. Some of these early sections were ruled by members of the Kesh family, creating a de-facto empire almost immediately.

Blessed by a lack of familial infighting and abundance of friendly neighbors (unlike all other partitions,) over the 1,000 years of the Old Empire's decline, the lands of the Kesh dynasty prospered.

Kesh reached its apex 1,000 years ago at around half the size of the Old Empire. Since then, it has lost via war and rebillion or sold off a great deal of its territory to neighboring empires. However, it is still the largest of the Core Empires.

Dynasty
The Kesh family has governed for so long that their name has become synonymous with the rulers, the land, and the people- all are simply referred to as "Kesh."

Sargon Kesh is the current Primarch (locally, "Czar") of Kesh.

Government and Structure
The fuedal structure of Kesh is similar to that of the Old Empire pre-partition, with minor nobility holding a great deal of power and influence over internal politics. The common people pay taxes to mayors, who pay tribute to governors, who pay tithes directly to the Czar.

While the Czar can appoint governors and mayors, he rarely does so to avoid political backlash, preferring royal progeny to take care of itself.

Military
Drawing from a population of 180,000,000 the Kesh army is the largest in the world, currently fielding 12,000,000 troops. Kesh citizens are conscripted by the nobility and put through the basics of warfare. Those that volunteer to continue their service after their conscription expires become Regulars and recieve additional training. Talented Regulars are, if they are brave enough, offered the opportunity to join the elite Strelets and serve the Kesh family directly.

Kesh soldiers are outfitted by Kesh Armory, in the city of Kesh.

Generals are reccomended by Kesh nobility and appointed by the Czar. Each commands from one of Kesh's famous War Trains.

Economy
Major exports include industrial ore, livestock, fish, and oil. Local economies rely heavily on agriculture and labor. Kesh is home to the largest railroad network in the world.

Although the largest in size, Kesh is badly hampered by its ancient feudal system, and is easily the poorest of the Core Empires.

Average salary is ~600g per month.

Diplomatic Relations
Kesh enjoys warm relations with its allies, the Barony and the Celestine Empire, despite frequent verbal jabs.

The city of Tanis, while partially administered by the Church, is within Kesh and borders the Alfaxmos Imperium. Very basic relations between the two empires are tolerated out of necessity.

The Kingdom of Dumat is the historical enemy of Kesh. The two empires openly and unabashedly feud over borders, railways, and trade. Border skirmishes are an everyday occurrence.

Post-Coalition War
Kesh, having been an ally of the Celestine Empire in the Coalition war, interestingly enough, did not entirely view its ending in a negative light. Despite the suffering of its people during the war, the nobility made out like bandits as they mostly battled Dumat and won, and consider that a personal victory. They got a lot of territory, most of which being the much contested and coveted city of Vladmir and other concessions.

The newly crowned Czarista, Collette Kesh, has been tirelessly at work, pushing the country, seemingly kicking and screaming, into the modern era. She's been struggling with the delicate balance of maintaining long-held traditions while renovating the ancient skeleton of its governing system. Meanwhile, her husband and Czar Bratsk has been touring their nation, fielding a great many disgruntled nobles that grow tired of his meddlesome wife. Despite the growing troubles, their actions have earned the Kesh family the renewed adoration of their people.

Collette has put a heavy focus on education, and with the help of Veronika Zechshelm, has formed Kesh's own very Imperial College of Magic.

Major Cities
Kesh

Koval Bay

Volinhya

Tanis

Gorovkits

Daresh Arat

Characters
Sargon Kesh

Prince Bratsk

Bargain Bin Bobby