United Kingdoms

United Kingdoms
The history of the alliance of the united kingdoms begins with the formation of the United Kingdom of Astria and Leito, when two long-time rivals, facing the threat of invasion from Lunaria, agreed to an indefinite truce and the formation of a military-trade union for protection against an external opponent. Subsequently, other peoples of the south joined them, either by their own will or against it.

Structure
Each member of the alliance possesses full control over its internal affairs but is obliged to respond to the demands of the council of united kingdoms in external matters. The Council consists of representatives from each region (with the exception of the Minnean Islands) and is headed by a High King, who is elected from among the current rulers of the kingdoms. According to the treaty between the kingdoms, the law allows for the election of a person of lower status to this position, but in the history of the alliance, such a thing has not yet happened. Despite the fact that the High King possesses only one vote in the council, a certain number of privileges are in his hands. For example, the discussion of new plans, ideas, and issues at council meetings is possible only after his approval, not to mention that the official meeting itself can take place only with his consent. In addition, the High King is the face of the alliance and represents it in international relations.
Religion
Under pressure from the ikigaiists, all current members of the alliance except for the Minnean Islands and the Donar tribes were forced to renounce their beliefs and convert to ikigaiism.

	Astria The aristocrats of Astria have always placed a person's origin above all else and evaluated them primarily based on which dynasty they belonged to. Talents, achievements, attractiveness — all these remain secondary to this day. Of course, many representatives of the aristocracy follow such beliefs only "in public," while in the circle of trusted persons, they may disregard them. The current king of the country is a good example — women of non-noble blood often found themselves in his bedroom, which in itself should be considered improper behavior for an aristocrat. Astria is a kingdom with a high level of employment and high taxes. Skills in bargaining and making necessary acquaintances are very useful here. Capital: Laitria King: Emufrep "The Amorous" Age: 44 Reign: 23 years Origin +4 to etiquette; Additional profession; Trade efficiency is 50% higher.
	Leito "We, people of noble origin, must do everything possible so that those who are not as privileged can live in peace and joy. And if war comes to our land, we must be the first to take up arms!" — Rian Alisheim, previous king of Leito. Leito society is based on strong traditions, honor, trust, politeness, and certain duties people have toward one another. And although much is not backed by law, all this is perceived as a given, and therefore elements foreign to this culture rarely take root in the territory of this country. Capital: Alisgard Queen: Ceres Alisheim Age: 20 Reign: 6 months Origin +2 to charisma, +2 to charm; Parrying melee attacks when using a Leito sword; Use of plate armor together with the archer profession.
	Menas Menas is the economic giant of the alliance, responsible for the production of 35% of all goods that enter the internal market of the United Kingdoms. Menas produces everything from nails and grain to weapons, paintings, and jewelry. This became possible thanks to the creation of an effective educational system and the exploitation of the common population. There are many schools in the territory of Menas, the purpose of which is to raise craftsmen of one profession or another who are loyal to the state. Depending on their displayed talents, children are sent to a highly specialized school where they are taught only the knowledge and skills that will be necessary for the profession chosen by their curators. For approximately 5% of the population, such specialization becomes the military craft. The aristocracy of this country is represented by large merchants and enterprise owners. Capital: Tirpitz King: Mtirilop III Weisspeit (High King of the United Kingdoms) Age: 66 Reign: 29 years Origin Cost of learning professions is twice as low; Ability to unlock an additional level for combat specializations (choice of: +4 to accuracy, +4 to evasion, +10% to crit damage chance, +2 to accuracy and +2 to evasion, paralysis (20%), +10 to damage, double damage (25%), triple damage (10%), ignore 15 defense units).
	Liatria Liatria occupies a small territory in the southeast of the alliance, as well as a large archipelago to its east. This kingdom has always been characterized by mercantilism and a dislike of war: they preferred to negotiate with their opponents and maintain mutually beneficial relations with friends. Despite this, Liatrians always had to maintain a strong fleet to protect their shores and trade routes from attacks by pirates and ships of southern countries. Currently, the ships of Liatria represent 80% of the total number of all alliance ships. The capital of Liatria, which once transformed from a small port into a huge metropolis, is the largest center of maritime trade in this region and, as a result, represents a place where various cultures and ethnicities intertwine. Capital: Port Art-Rias King: Tiil Gambodge Age: 32 Reign: 6 years Origin +3 to speed, +6 to accuracy and +6 to evasion at sea and on coasts; Additional attack for one-handed weapons; +1 to strength, +1 to agility, +1 to perception.
	Iass The Kingdom of Iass was founded as a magocracy — a social and state system headed by powerful wizards. Talent for magic determined everything — status, wealth, opportunities, while people who had no abilities for magic remained rightless beings and could rely only on the mercy of their masters. Quite expectedly, life for common people was very hard, but since sorcerers possessed great personal power and had undead, various monsters, elementals, and other magical creatures under their command, a rebellion against them seemed impossible. Nevertheless, they were not destined to rule forever: Iass fell in the war against the United Kingdoms and the inquisitors of Astromeria. Territorial disputes between the victors were resolved as follows: Iass joins the United Kingdoms, but only as a separate state with a vote in the council and is managed under the close supervision of the church. A new royal dynasty was chosen from among common people, and soon the conversion of the population to ikigaiism began. This process passed without any resistance since yesterday's slaves were glad for their liberation and agreed to everything that the liberators demanded of them. Capital: Kreuz Queen: Irma Dolent Age: 18 Reign: 6 years Origin +3 to will or +3 to intelligence; Access to advanced faith features or +1 to the available number of spells for each opponent defeated in battle.
	Eilia The history of this country, its culture, and the features of its social structure are closely linked to the personality of the revolutionary and current king of Eilia — Monard "the Liberator". This man has acquired the image of a physically weak writer but a merciful ruler who strongly dislikes women. In the past, Eilia was an ordinary kingdom with a privileged class of aristocrats and oppressed commoners. Monard, born into the family of a simple miller, had few prospects in life. He, like many other fellow countrymen, was to inherit his father's craft and work in the interests of Eilia's ruling class. A meeting with a traveler who stayed at their house allowed him to avoid this fate. In exchange for food and a roof over his head, the stranger taught the boy literacy. Over time, new knowledge allowed young Monard to choose another career path, and a love for reading shaped his personality and attitude toward life. He was prone to dreaminess, idealized people and life, looked optimistically into the future, and worked diligently toward achieving his goals. At 22, the baron of the city in which he lived appointed him as his assistant, and in that same year Monard married. This event became the most important in his life — he had always dreamed of love and a person who would share his life, who would support and motivate him, for whom he would want to dedicate himself entirely. The next three years were blissful; the couple had a son. But then the baron died, and his successor had no need for Monard's services, and that is when everything went downhill. After losing his profitable job, Monard and his family had to return to a more modest way of life. Soon cracks began to appear in his relationship with his spouse. First — nervousness and neglect, then — scandals and hysterics. All this was unbearable for his fragile soul, but Monard endured everything and tried to earn more, hoping that he would succeed in restoring the family idyll. Unfortunately, this did not happen — coming home from work early once, Monard caught his wife in bed with the city blacksmith and in a rage threw himself at him. The fight ended for Monard with broken ribs and a mass of bruises — he was unable to do anything to the stronger opponent. Lying on the floor and writhing in pain, he received a spit in the face from his wife; "weakling" — she said to him as a parting word before leaving the house and his life forever. After separating from his wife, Monard lost his last strength, and if not for the responsibility toward his young son, he probably would have committed suicide. This, however, was not the end of his series of sufferings — a few years later, famine struck the country, claiming many lives. Monard's son, to whom he became even more attached after separating from his wife, happened to be among them, even though he gave him most of the available food and kept only what was necessary for himself to continue working. A few days later, Monard tried to drown himself in a river but was saved by local lumberjacks. In the process of his recovery, Monard became very close with his saviors and found new strength to move forward. He returned to the city and resumed his education, and after a few years managed to become the treasurer for the king himself. What he learned at his new workplace set fire to his veins. As he discovered, several years ago a foreign woman of dazzling beauty appeared in Lockhart — a guest from Lunaria who captured the king's heart. The fool, wishing to win her over, went to any expense and presented her with only the most expensive gifts — jewelry made of the rarest materials, ornaments created by the most talented craftsmen, dresses of overseas fabrics, and much, much more. Naturally, great money was needed for all this, and the kingdom's treasury was not infinite, and that is why the crown had to raise taxes, which led to famine among the common population. Eventually, the foreigner returned to her homeland, and the king was left with nothing. Monard swore to himself that he would either change the country for the better or give his life trying to achieve this. Using his position, he began preparing a revolution, and in the winter of 285, with the support of commoners oppressed by the state, he carried it out, becoming the new ruler of Eilia. The first thing he did after achieving his goal was to get rid of class inequality and direct all efforts toward improving the economic opportunities of the kingdom's residents. He conducted his further policy based on his belief that the main problems of society arise from ignorance, greed, arrogance, and women. Monard promoted in every way the necessity of obtaining an education and the idea of male friendship, actively fought corruption, and countered crime by transforming public consciousness, instilling a sense of shame, etc. In the first years of his reign, he built schools where both children and adults could learn literacy, and it was the former aristocrats who possessed this knowledge that worked there as teachers. After several generations, a full education could be obtained in these schools, and most of the population already knew how to read and write. And although the general standard of living and personal freedoms under Monard's leadership grew noticeably, the status of women in Eilia became even lower than before. Capital: Lockhart King: Monard "the Liberator" Age: 88 Reign: 42 years Origin +4 to skill points; The character can teach others what he knows himself (equivalent to 1 SP per month).
	Donar Tribes A long-time neighbor of Menas, Eilia, and Iass, with whom the alliance kingdoms had to conflict for a very long time. The warrior nature of the Donars and the features of their culture did not contribute to establishing trade or even peaceful relations: the Donars regularly plundered the settlements of their neighbors, to which the kingdoms repeatedly had to respond with fruitless war. Such relations brought no benefit to the alliance and only drained resources from its participants. Fortunately, such a situation was resolved in the summer of 306 after Emufrep became the new king of Astria. Under his competent leadership, thoughtful strategies, and charismatic leadership, the alliance forces managed to conquer the tribes. But despite the crushing defeat, the inhabitants of this region managed to preserve autonomy within the alliance and even obtain a vote in the council. This was because representatives of the kingdoms wanted to avoid resistance, sabotage, and guerrilla warfare. Instead of all that, they gained an ally in future wars and a new market for their goods. Significant cities: Donari (center of trade and politics, where representatives of all settlements gather to solve pressing issues), Ealtal (religious center, place of various festivals, rites, and other events of pagan culture), Zedheim (the largest military city protected by huge walls, which is a rarity for the Donar people). Origin +3 to strength; +1 to defense for each unit of strength; When crafting weapons, a smith can engrave runes to improve their characteristics (85% chance for one rune, 10% chance for two runes, 5% chance for three runes; each is determined randomly): Eal: +5 to accuracy; Vex: +15% to crit chance; Sol: burn (15 fire damage at the end of the turn for three turns, stacks); Zo: paralysis (50%); Ur: ignore 25 defense units; Rem: +3 to charisma; Im: add. attack.
	Minnean Islands Islands located to the southwest of Liatria, which have long interested the southern members of the alliance due to the unusual culture and appearance of their inhabitants. The islanders have dark skin, slightly different facial features, paint their bodies with dye, and draw various symbols with them. They have no rulers, only village chiefs and shamans. People live freely, hunting by day and indulging in carnal pleasures by evening. "You Northerners are strange. I throw a spear once to slay my prey. I do this — and I will be full. In the village, the warmth of a woman and alcohol will await me, and in the morning — another wonderful day. But what you call 'work' is as if I spent all day throwing a spear while standing in one place without any specific goal; and then, returning to the village, I would fall from exhaustion and reluctantly wake up the next morning. If this is what you call 'civilization' — we do not need it". — A Minnean hunter after his journey through the kingdoms. In 284, during a short war, the Minnean Islands were annexed to the United Kingdoms without a vote in the council. Origin +2 to agility, +2 to perception; When crafting bladed weapons, a smith can use obsidian instead of traditional materials. Such weapons deal more damage but break quickly (+25 to damage, breaks after 10 contacts, twice as fast if the opponent is in plate armor); A hunter can choose one additional type for their profession (humans, elves, undead, demons, Ashians, monsters).
	Shion A tiny kingdom located to the east of Astria. It has always been characterized by a high standard of living, rich culture, strong traditions, and mutual love and respect between the royal family and its subjects. In 312, Shion was under threat of invasion by the troops of Emufrep "the Amorous" (contrary to the wishes of the alliance council), but thanks to the intervention of Rian Alisheim, previous king of Leito, this did not happen. Instead, Shion had to join the United Kingdoms as a full member, allow foreigners into its internal market, and officially accept a foreign faith. Capital: Asagao Queen: Anniona Lichnis Age: 34 Reign: 7 years Origin Production and training speed are twice as fast.