Name:
Albion
Territory:
The small island city-state of Albion
Cities:
The "Lost City" of Albion
History:
The self styled "Echidna Babylon" that is Albion has its origins in the first Echidna migrations believed to have occurred between the sixth and fifth centuries before the Mobian Common Calendar (BMC). During this time, the echidna native to the hostile territory of Mobius Minor lived a semi-pastoral existence, under the constant depredations of their more aggressive and less settled neighbors. While a significant number of echidna left the continent entirely, making their way south and west before reaching Downunda, the remaining population continued to decline. Within two centuries, the only surviving population of echidna on the continent lived in the land of Mercia.
Traditional Albionian history holds that the city of Albion, located off the coast of Mercia proper, was founded before the construction of the first Echidna settlements in Downunda, but this has yet to be proven, and remains contested by many Echidnapolis scholars. What is known, to a select few academics and leaders within the "Lost City," is that parts of it are far older than the rest. When the local people discovered the method of carbon dating, it revealed that some of the oldest city structures and artifacts (ostensibly of echidna manufacture) were in excess of eleven millennia old! Making them three times as old as the recorded history of the city, whose written documents only go back to around 100 BMC.
A leading (if unpopular) theory proposed by one Professor Landi-Re holds that Albion was founded on the ruins of a much older civilization, predating both the earliest echidna and Mogulian societies by several thousand years. The most commonly accepted theories (within Albion), however, maintain that the city was built by echidna, and that it was the first civilization on the planet, with a history at least four centuries older than that of the First Mogulian Republic. Discrepancies are generally explained as a result of some sort of undocumented 'dark age' during which the city lost its ancient written and oral heritage. The recent discovery of an ancient and highly developed phonographic script, as yet un-translated, but indisputably unrelated to any known modern tongue, does not support this supposition.
Regardless of its somewhat mysterious origins, what is known is that the city of Albion quickly developed a high level of technology and social organization as early as 500 MC. Remaining in isolation, by choice and by design, the city grew only marginally over the next two millennium. Similarly, despite a dramatic head start (Albionian hydroculture, architecture, and other civil sciences remained unsurpassed for well over a thousand years), the population hardly increased, and never really improved upon the past. After a brief Golden Age, typically identified as occurring between 600 and 800 MC, the city entered into a period of relative decline. Never becoming involved in "the outside affairs of savage races," the governing council of Albion ruled against intervention during the darkest days of the Carnivore War, the Downunda Crisis, the Plight of the Forgotten Tribe of Arakkis, and the Fallout of 3050.
Nonetheless, it gradually dawned on the ruling castes of Albion that contact with the outside world could not be avoided forever. Records recovered from the Third Mogulian Republic indicate knowledge of the city of Albion, as well as its general location in the realm of Mercia. The Kingdom of Acorn, under Charon the Great (MC 2456 to 2492) and Melchoir the Mighty (MC 3070 to 3132), investigated the presence of an entity known as 'Albion' without success, in their campaigns through Mercia. On several occasions, the Dukes or Kings of Mercia have also sent expeditions to find a lost city, though they generally searched inland, and not off shore. Several times, the city was almost found by overlanders. In one instance, during the Second Overlander War (MC 3188 to 3193), only a freak storm disrupted a formation of ships that would have found the hidden city, even with the City Cloak operational.
Furthermore, the very limited gene pool of Albion was becoming dangerously isolated from that of the healthier off-island echidna population. When the 'Forgotten Tribe,' a group of echidna who opted not to take to the Floating Island in 2814, began their trek for a new echidna homeland, the decision was made to guide them towards Albion. That the first Mitre of the Tribe already knew of Albion (allegedly given a vision of it by the Ancient Walkers), made the task of guiding him in its general direction easier. With access to some ancient Mogulian records confiscated by the Dingo after the fall of the Third Republic, Arrakis led his people on the long journey towards Albion. Their four hundred year expedition, despite nearly being wiped out numerous times, eventually reached Albion in late 3234.
In the process, the location of Albion became more and more well known. The Royal Family of the Kingdom of Acorn became aware of it by 3235, after the city was visited by several of its Freedom Fighters. The High Council of Echidnapolis knew as early as 3236, and from those parties, knowledge of the Lost City has become more and more widespread. In late 3237, a delegation from the city of Casino Night approached the city of Albion, hoping to broker some sort of trade agreement. Around that same time, the first scouting party of Felines, from nearby Cat Country, launched a daring raid against the Hidden City, capturing several echidna and looting an entire apartment complex.
A militia force was hastily assembled following the incident.
The island's leaders, now aware that their "Splendid Isolation" has come to an end, have adopted a position of reconciliation and reunification with the remaining Floating Island born echidna. Delegates from Echidnapolis entered the city in 3237, and likewise the Albionian Prolocutor; Gala-Na visited Echidnapolis two months later. The issue of unification is not so much one of principle, but one of political organization. The Albionian government maintains that Albion was the birthplace of the echidna race, and thus the proper seat of government, even if moving every echidna there is impractical. Just the same, the Echidnapolis High Council maintains that the majority of echidna live on the Floating Island, and have fought endlessly to live there, and that they are the legitimate governing authority for the majority of the echidna people. To date, the different views between Albion and Echidnapolis on the topic of unification have not been addressed, however the EDF (Echidna Self Defense Forces) have been given jurisdiction to patrol the areas around Albion, if not the city itself, in a gesture of support against hostile neighbors.
Albion is ruled by a small group of echidna with hereditary lineage privileges called the Albion City Council. Twelve families rule the city, and each family contributes two members to the Council. Of the twenty-four members, one is elected as Prolocutor. The Prolocutor (elected annually) publicly speaks for the Council in all matters, and has three votes instead of one. The current Prolocutor is Gala-Na, of the Na Family.
Advantages and Disadvantages:
Albion has a high level of technology, most of it very old. The vast majority of technological advancement occurred centuries ago, and it is a sad fact that most Albionian residents have no idea how their technology works, much less how to improve on it. Complacent in their isolation, they have hardly improved in any field over the last five centuries, and have no experience in fighting or conflict.
So: while Albion can, on paper, wield an impressive array of technological sophistication, almost on par with that of the Angel Island echidna, in reality they are highly limited in its use. A very small cadre of 'Technologists' run virtually the entire city, while most of Albion's population lounges around, being fed by automated farms, and producing little if anything either for themselves or for export. The inclusion of the Forgotten Tribe, however, has stretched Albion's resources greatly (more of them survived than the Council had anticipated), and no one in the city is really sure about what to do about it. For the first time, there has been a persistent reoccurrence of brownouts and food shortages.
In essence, Albion is both very strong and very weak. What technology it has is formidable, but barely functional. No new building has been constructed in four centuries, and most essential skills have been lost by the population. Demographically, half the population is over fifty years old, and no longer productive even if Albion had any industrial or agricultural base to speak of.
Other Notes:
Characters:
Gala-Na
Others
Details on Characters:
Military:
The Albionian military exists only on paper. In practice, it has not had an active means of self-defense in over a thousand years. In theory, every male between the ages of fifteen and forty can be drafted into a citizen militia for the defense of the city, following a Citizen Code written over two thousand years ago. However, such a thing has never been tried. The average Albionian male echidna has never held a gun, never been in a fight, and never even had to work. Many have only a minimal state education in the superiority of the echidna race, and the near holy status of their city. Just as bad: the city has no stockpiles of modern weapons (like artillery, surface to air or surface to surface missiles, or heavy weapons of any sort), beyond a handful of antiques.
The Albion Militia is thus a paper tiger. The average militiaman, hastily brought up into service after the 3237 Cat Country Raid, is poorly trained, motivated, and undisciplined. Efforts at instituting a drill (ironically enough by the recent Forgotten Tribe arrivals) have, in general, resulted in failures, and attempts at manufacturing a robot security force have been disastrous. Wielding an old and poorly designed, if powerful, energy weapon the Albion militia could theoretically be a capable force when deployed in sufficient numbers, and when firing in unison. However, in the entire city, only the volunteer force of Forgotten Tribe echidna (Called the 'Arrakis Brigade,' or 'Red Coats') have the discipline or drill to make use of the Albion equipment.
Albion
Territory:
The small island city-state of Albion
Cities:
The "Lost City" of Albion
History:
The self styled "Echidna Babylon" that is Albion has its origins in the first Echidna migrations believed to have occurred between the sixth and fifth centuries before the Mobian Common Calendar (BMC). During this time, the echidna native to the hostile territory of Mobius Minor lived a semi-pastoral existence, under the constant depredations of their more aggressive and less settled neighbors. While a significant number of echidna left the continent entirely, making their way south and west before reaching Downunda, the remaining population continued to decline. Within two centuries, the only surviving population of echidna on the continent lived in the land of Mercia.
Traditional Albionian history holds that the city of Albion, located off the coast of Mercia proper, was founded before the construction of the first Echidna settlements in Downunda, but this has yet to be proven, and remains contested by many Echidnapolis scholars. What is known, to a select few academics and leaders within the "Lost City," is that parts of it are far older than the rest. When the local people discovered the method of carbon dating, it revealed that some of the oldest city structures and artifacts (ostensibly of echidna manufacture) were in excess of eleven millennia old! Making them three times as old as the recorded history of the city, whose written documents only go back to around 100 BMC.
A leading (if unpopular) theory proposed by one Professor Landi-Re holds that Albion was founded on the ruins of a much older civilization, predating both the earliest echidna and Mogulian societies by several thousand years. The most commonly accepted theories (within Albion), however, maintain that the city was built by echidna, and that it was the first civilization on the planet, with a history at least four centuries older than that of the First Mogulian Republic. Discrepancies are generally explained as a result of some sort of undocumented 'dark age' during which the city lost its ancient written and oral heritage. The recent discovery of an ancient and highly developed phonographic script, as yet un-translated, but indisputably unrelated to any known modern tongue, does not support this supposition.
Regardless of its somewhat mysterious origins, what is known is that the city of Albion quickly developed a high level of technology and social organization as early as 500 MC. Remaining in isolation, by choice and by design, the city grew only marginally over the next two millennium. Similarly, despite a dramatic head start (Albionian hydroculture, architecture, and other civil sciences remained unsurpassed for well over a thousand years), the population hardly increased, and never really improved upon the past. After a brief Golden Age, typically identified as occurring between 600 and 800 MC, the city entered into a period of relative decline. Never becoming involved in "the outside affairs of savage races," the governing council of Albion ruled against intervention during the darkest days of the Carnivore War, the Downunda Crisis, the Plight of the Forgotten Tribe of Arakkis, and the Fallout of 3050.
Nonetheless, it gradually dawned on the ruling castes of Albion that contact with the outside world could not be avoided forever. Records recovered from the Third Mogulian Republic indicate knowledge of the city of Albion, as well as its general location in the realm of Mercia. The Kingdom of Acorn, under Charon the Great (MC 2456 to 2492) and Melchoir the Mighty (MC 3070 to 3132), investigated the presence of an entity known as 'Albion' without success, in their campaigns through Mercia. On several occasions, the Dukes or Kings of Mercia have also sent expeditions to find a lost city, though they generally searched inland, and not off shore. Several times, the city was almost found by overlanders. In one instance, during the Second Overlander War (MC 3188 to 3193), only a freak storm disrupted a formation of ships that would have found the hidden city, even with the City Cloak operational.
Furthermore, the very limited gene pool of Albion was becoming dangerously isolated from that of the healthier off-island echidna population. When the 'Forgotten Tribe,' a group of echidna who opted not to take to the Floating Island in 2814, began their trek for a new echidna homeland, the decision was made to guide them towards Albion. That the first Mitre of the Tribe already knew of Albion (allegedly given a vision of it by the Ancient Walkers), made the task of guiding him in its general direction easier. With access to some ancient Mogulian records confiscated by the Dingo after the fall of the Third Republic, Arrakis led his people on the long journey towards Albion. Their four hundred year expedition, despite nearly being wiped out numerous times, eventually reached Albion in late 3234.
In the process, the location of Albion became more and more well known. The Royal Family of the Kingdom of Acorn became aware of it by 3235, after the city was visited by several of its Freedom Fighters. The High Council of Echidnapolis knew as early as 3236, and from those parties, knowledge of the Lost City has become more and more widespread. In late 3237, a delegation from the city of Casino Night approached the city of Albion, hoping to broker some sort of trade agreement. Around that same time, the first scouting party of Felines, from nearby Cat Country, launched a daring raid against the Hidden City, capturing several echidna and looting an entire apartment complex.
A militia force was hastily assembled following the incident.
The island's leaders, now aware that their "Splendid Isolation" has come to an end, have adopted a position of reconciliation and reunification with the remaining Floating Island born echidna. Delegates from Echidnapolis entered the city in 3237, and likewise the Albionian Prolocutor; Gala-Na visited Echidnapolis two months later. The issue of unification is not so much one of principle, but one of political organization. The Albionian government maintains that Albion was the birthplace of the echidna race, and thus the proper seat of government, even if moving every echidna there is impractical. Just the same, the Echidnapolis High Council maintains that the majority of echidna live on the Floating Island, and have fought endlessly to live there, and that they are the legitimate governing authority for the majority of the echidna people. To date, the different views between Albion and Echidnapolis on the topic of unification have not been addressed, however the EDF (Echidna Self Defense Forces) have been given jurisdiction to patrol the areas around Albion, if not the city itself, in a gesture of support against hostile neighbors.
Albion is ruled by a small group of echidna with hereditary lineage privileges called the Albion City Council. Twelve families rule the city, and each family contributes two members to the Council. Of the twenty-four members, one is elected as Prolocutor. The Prolocutor (elected annually) publicly speaks for the Council in all matters, and has three votes instead of one. The current Prolocutor is Gala-Na, of the Na Family.
Advantages and Disadvantages:
Albion has a high level of technology, most of it very old. The vast majority of technological advancement occurred centuries ago, and it is a sad fact that most Albionian residents have no idea how their technology works, much less how to improve on it. Complacent in their isolation, they have hardly improved in any field over the last five centuries, and have no experience in fighting or conflict.
So: while Albion can, on paper, wield an impressive array of technological sophistication, almost on par with that of the Angel Island echidna, in reality they are highly limited in its use. A very small cadre of 'Technologists' run virtually the entire city, while most of Albion's population lounges around, being fed by automated farms, and producing little if anything either for themselves or for export. The inclusion of the Forgotten Tribe, however, has stretched Albion's resources greatly (more of them survived than the Council had anticipated), and no one in the city is really sure about what to do about it. For the first time, there has been a persistent reoccurrence of brownouts and food shortages.
In essence, Albion is both very strong and very weak. What technology it has is formidable, but barely functional. No new building has been constructed in four centuries, and most essential skills have been lost by the population. Demographically, half the population is over fifty years old, and no longer productive even if Albion had any industrial or agricultural base to speak of.
Other Notes:
Characters:
Gala-Na
Others
Details on Characters:
Military:
The Albionian military exists only on paper. In practice, it has not had an active means of self-defense in over a thousand years. In theory, every male between the ages of fifteen and forty can be drafted into a citizen militia for the defense of the city, following a Citizen Code written over two thousand years ago. However, such a thing has never been tried. The average Albionian male echidna has never held a gun, never been in a fight, and never even had to work. Many have only a minimal state education in the superiority of the echidna race, and the near holy status of their city. Just as bad: the city has no stockpiles of modern weapons (like artillery, surface to air or surface to surface missiles, or heavy weapons of any sort), beyond a handful of antiques.
The Albion Militia is thus a paper tiger. The average militiaman, hastily brought up into service after the 3237 Cat Country Raid, is poorly trained, motivated, and undisciplined. Efforts at instituting a drill (ironically enough by the recent Forgotten Tribe arrivals) have, in general, resulted in failures, and attempts at manufacturing a robot security force have been disastrous. Wielding an old and poorly designed, if powerful, energy weapon the Albion militia could theoretically be a capable force when deployed in sufficient numbers, and when firing in unison. However, in the entire city, only the volunteer force of Forgotten Tribe echidna (Called the 'Arrakis Brigade,' or 'Red Coats') have the discipline or drill to make use of the Albion equipment.
