Faction overview: Victoria
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Administration and politics
Royal court and Parliament
The King/Queen of Victoria is the head of state of Victoria who represents the nation's absolute authority, but in practice, Victoria is actually a constitutional monarchy that has the Parliament retaining the monarch's power. According to the laws, the King has absolute control over the government, the aristocrats, and the military; he owns the whole nation who distributes his land to his aristocrats and serves as the speaker of the Parliament.[1]
The Parliament of Victoria is the legislative body that balances the absolute power of the King. Members of Parliament are made up of the Lords, and they are to both assist the King in decision-making and influence him in the process.[1] The Parliament consists of several committees and departments running the government appointed by the MPs. The committees are run by government ministers while the departments are run by civil servants. Owing to the Parliament's culture that influenced its power negotiation, similar practice could also be found in county councils which are made up of the Lords, the Vassals, and influential commoners.[2] And because of its similar power with the King, the Parliament has been running the country on behalf of the royal house since the execution of King Henry Alistair which maintains the nation's stability for two decades.
The royal house of Victoria is a complicated matter as it was influenced by three forces. Theoretically and officially, both the houses of the Dracos and the Aslans share common claim over the throne; the Dracos symbolizes symbolizes "unquenchable thirst for conquest," while the Aslans symbolizes "power through order."[3] But by the modern era, the Dracos were completely purged into non-existence, while the Aslans were severely devastated after the execution of the last Aslan king, leaving only a handful of them out of its complicating branches daring to claim the throne.
The Eight Grand Dukes
The Eight Grand Dukes are akin to Prime Ministers who share equal, if not higher, power with the King of Victoria and the Victorian Parliament. There are many Dukes in Victoria, but the Eight Grand Dukes are those who rose into prominence through their de facto control over a large swarm of land following the execution of King Henry. They are often seen as contestants who could claim the vacant throne through political sabotages despite never officially announcing their desire.[4] As a consequence, the Grand Dukes are forbidden to enter Londinium without proper permission to eliminate political contenders and avoid escalating the situation.[5]
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- Duke of Normandy: Said to have detested the Leithanians.[5] After the Starpod was torn apart following the Trimounts Arc incident of 1099, a certain Victorian count ordered his intelligence officers and spies in Columbia to gather information about the subject, so they could bring him an official answer.[6]
- Duke of Abercorn
- Duke of Fife
- Duke of Ashworth
Victorian peerages
The Victorian nobility was born from the old feudal system when the King distributed his land to his most trusted subordinates in exchange for their loyalty. Over time, they became the noble class who is the ruling body of Victoria and the founding stone of its society.[7]
The Victorian noble class is divided into two classes: the Lords and the Vassals. The Lords are classical upper-class nobles who possess hereditary fiefs and peerage titles, and traditionally, only the Lords could become Members of Parliament. The Vassals emerged later in history following the formation of the Lords, and their title is more so symbolic. They do not possess a hereditary fief, yet they can obtain rewards from the King and the Lords through contracts of services. The Vassal's title is a lifetime title but cannot be hereditary unlike the Lords'. Some forms of vassalage include becoming a knight who offers military services.[4]
Currently, Victoria implements a five-rank peerage system with a degree of political power:[4]
- Dukes: The highest rank of the peerage system that promotes them to become the King's right-hand men, and they are the ones who control most of Victoria's land. The current Eight Grand Duke rose among all the Dukes after political struggles since King Henry's execution.
- Marquesses: The peerage that is mainly given to military leaders who are tasked to protect Victoria's military bases and colonies. This peerage rank is actually meant to diverge these generals from Victoria's political center and restrict their power.
- Earls: The peerage rank given to vassals directly obeying the Dukes. Earls are responsible to govern multiple counties and boroughs and oversee other lesser vassals such as barons and knight bannerets.
- Viscounts: The rank given to a county governor. This rank was much newer as it incorporated former Gaulish vicomte.
- Barons: The lowest peerage rank who is more so a subordinate of an earl; they only govern a small area of settlement such as villages, nomadic city districts, or a smaller county.
Judiciary
Victoria has a constitution that ensures the balance of powers between the royal house and the aristocrats of the Parliament. Rather than being a single entity, it is a compilation of several historical documents that molds its judiciary throughout history. The Parliament is both the legislative and judiciary bodies, and it possesses the right to both amend the constitution and execute it. The judiciary department is then led by a permanent chief justice as the final court of appeal (supreme court).[2] Law enforcement departments include the Royal Police that directly obeys the royal house and the Mounted Police.
Military
The national army of Victoria is the Victorian Army. In the classical era, the Victorian Army solely obeyed the aristocrats and was formed by the King's royal guards, the noble's private armies, and recruited militia and mercenaries during war time. But entering the modern era, the feudal army system no longer fits the ever-changing geopolitics. It was King Frederick III who initiated reformation of the military by turning these private armies and militia into full-time regular soldiers under the direct command of both the King and the Parliament.[8]
The Victorian Army is now composed of professional soldiers that make up its standing army, and the Army takes in new blood through either graduates from military schools or a complete recruitment system, laying a solid foundation of its junior officers. They practice strict military rules and possess advanced weaponry which allow them to be flexible whenever they need to split for operation. As a result, the modern Victorian Army has been able to withstand multiple tough situations such as the Battle of the Four Emperors.[9]
The Exemplars
- Main article: The Exemplars
Steam Knights
- Main article: Steam Knights
Tower Knights
- Main article: Tower Knights
Administrative divisions
Victorian land is divided into several counties. A county is further divided into cities, towns, and villages. Cities are settlements that are on nomadic platforms, whereas towns and villages are often sedentary. A county varies in size and even its definition; sometimes, a nomadic city with well-built infrastructure can be categorized as a county.[2] Settlements are divided into boroughs, and they are governed by a municipal government led by a county council.
The Victoria Empire is a unitary state that is a union of three countries: the Kingdom of Victoria, the Kingdom of Tara, and the Kingdom of Basse-Gaule (former Lower Gaulish region), but by law, the land of Victoria is the entire property of the King, making him the de facto king of the other two countries. The King of Victoria has the power to anoint the aristocrats of the respective countries, and most of the time it is him who has the final say over them.[1]
Owing to its classical feudal system, the land of Victoria is distributed by the King to his aristocrats as territories of the Dukes, the Marquesses, and the Earls. A Duke's territory is further divided as territories of Viscounts which is further divided as territories of the Barons.[2]
Geography
Victoria occupies the fertile Terran heartland bordering the Sea of Clariside, a giant inland sea encompassing the southern coast of the Terran supercontinent. Its northeastern area is mainly made up of forested plateaus and highlands; its middleland is filled with fertile valleys; its southwestern area is covered by knolls and grasslands. Hence, it forms a gradual change in topography from the highlands of the north to the plains of the south. And because of its proxy to the Sea of Clariside, most of Victoria is of a temperate, oceanic climate that experiences moderate variation in temperature and an equal amount of annual rainfall. Northern Victoria has a more obvious season change such as a mild winter and a warm summer; whereas southern Victoria in the former Taran territory is more humid that forms its wetland biome.[10]
Economy
Being the leader of the Terran industrial revolution since the Crystallization Age, Victoria's economy is solely based on its heavy industries from mass production, weaponry, machinery, to industrial agriculture. Even though the Victorians heavily rely on machines, they have been neglecting the newly risen science of electronics for decades. As a consequence, Victoria greatly lags behind on home electronics.[11]
Victoria's active economy also makes way to its mercantilism which in turn led to the formation of the earliest modern corporations. Victoria's mercantile tradition nourishes its rich financial industry through its banks, insurance companies, and broker-dealer firms.[12] On the other hand, its old-fashioned financial management also makes them incompetent with the rising capitalists of Columbia and Kazimierz.[13]
Despite lagging behind in various fields, Victoria's economy has remained relatively stable. Except during the War of the Four Nations and in its rebuilding era, The average APR of all of Victoria's commercial banks remains a miraculous 5% in the past century.[12]
Demographics
Victoria has a total population of 40,000,000, and half of its population dwells in nomadic cities. However, due to social inequality, only those who receive proper education and possess better social status have a more patriotic spirit; most of the populace do not care much of it.[12]
Besides the ruling Aslan house and the Elder house of Dracos, Victoria is predominated by the Feline race, many of whom are descendants of both the loyalists of the Aslan house back in Sargon and the native inhabitants following the two Draco houses; hence, it has been a common case for a Victorian Feline having a distant relative back in Sargon.[14] Other races inhabiting Victoria are those who come from nearby regions such as Caprinae from Leithanien, Kuranta from Kazimierz, and Liberi from former Gaulish territory.
Culture
Victorian culture is known for its admiration of liberty, moral, and logic. Even a usual teatime can become a heated discussion. Not only does such culture nourish its education system and pursue science, but also it encourages them for practical implementation such as a combination of arts and science. As a result, cinematography was born in Victoria under such liberal academia.[12]
While the Victorians admire logic and philosophy, they are also known for its romantic classicism. Literature and arts still play a role in Victorian society, and they are greatly influenced by their philosophy that encourages individual self-confidence along with admiration of the aristocrats' lavish customs.
Social hierarchy
Owing to its classical era, the Victorian society is traditionally divided into three classes: the nobles, the commoners, and the sages. The nobles are those serving the government such as the Members of Parliament and aristocrats of the five peerage ranks, and sometimes it includes lesser nobles such as knights and gentries. Commoners are ordinary citizens and farmers. On the other hand, a "sage" is one who possesses knowledge, one that is often mystic, and utilizes it for the benefits of the people. Entering the modern era, the class of sages gradually enters into history as education becomes more widespread to both the nobles and the commoners.[12]
The Infected of Victoria has been treated as the lowest of the social class, and to make this matter worse, Victoria's abundant industrial activities also results in a sudden surge of Infected populace due to Originium pollution. In most areas, the Infected are segregated from the society by being forced to live in quarantines, and sheltering them is considered a heavy crime. Though in recent years, new regulations are implemented to improve their living conditions and end social segregation, the benefits they receive is far less than the usual ones.[13]
References
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