Kingdom of Monarchia

[Osseo]

Kingdom of Monarchia is a small, yet resource-rich island ruled with an iron fist by a militaristic tyranny. The king, Wynn IX of Monarchia, is obsessed with his own safety, the prime example of his paranoia being the incredible central fortress-keep. Larger than many cities, it includes four identical castle-like wings, the king constantly switching between all of them as a protection from assasination. The fighting force is made out of forcibly conscripted peasants, mercenaries and armored giants - enough to easily stop the advances of most armies in the region - and a special general, said to be one of the Seven Warlords of the sea, a person who counts as an army by himself. The enormous amount of money required to cover the maintenance costs of this come from extremely high tax rates and destructive exploitation of natural wealth sources - highly valued iron ore, gold and wood.

Influencing Group: ----

Table of Contents

1. Geography
   
2. King Wynn IX
   
3. Trade Information
   

[Osseo]

Geography
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Where Is It Located?

Monarchia is a place in the Grand Line, on the other side known as the New World. It's a big island, made up mostly of rocky hills and rare plains, housing farmlands that support the population. The climate is temperate and stable, but the magnetic field of the island is one of the most intense, causing a strong reaction from any Log Pose that finds itself in its vicinity. It's caused by the huge deposits of iron ore making up most of the hills - making the island one of the biggest sources of iron and steel in the world. Surprisingly, that wealth didn't end up with the island falling under influence of any pirate crew or even the World Goverment, mostly due to the well-equipped and experienced army stationed in the central fortress, the Heart of Wynn, though the state of affairs is changing due to the civil war that has occured.

If I Were To Visit, What Would I See?
Due to the cruel rule of the former king, the island is bereft of any real touristic attractions, but there's at least a few places that are worthy of a visit... or at least a glance, in case of the tightly protected Heart. The current Queen, daughter of Wynn Letitia is trying her best to change that view by being a fair and caring ruler.

• Rodia - a large port city, the main center of Monarchia's trade, the main source of its [diminishing] wealth. Doesn't differ too much from other port cities, except many decorative sculptures of the former king placed almost everywhere, most of them defaced and destroyed. The people here seem more open and friendly than in other parts of the kingdom, though the backlash of civil war is still visible.
  
• Heart of Wynn - the greatest fortress of New World, housing one of the biggest armies in the Grand Line and King Wynn himself; due to the paranoia caused by his people's negative opinion on his rule he ordered the creation of the Heart, then locked himself inside and filled it with elite force of mercenaries, while using the rest of the force to control the island with an terror, constantly fearful of rebellion. Obviously, it's a self-fulfiling prophecy, since the harder he oppresses the people, the more opposed they are to his presence at the throne. Thus, more and more reports of recent uprisings and creation of rebel cells pushed him into recruiting one of the Seven Warlords [see: Wolfgang Delasangre] as his General in an ambitious plan of quelling all such notions once and for all. All that failed due to the efforts of Expedition and Souless crews, and currently the fortress is being dismantled on orders of Letitia to provide valuable raw materials for the other parts of the kingdom.
  
• Iron Mines - the true source of Monarchia's wealth, the iron mines and smelters take over a half of the island's surface, producing and exporting steel to the majority of the territories in this part of New World; due to the importance of this part of the industry, miners can enjoy greater privaledges and earnings than most common folk - being one of the few groups supporting Wynn in result. During the civil war it caused a huge and hostile reaction of the poor folk and the mines were devastaded, but they're quickly being put back into use to support the budget of the recovering country.
  
• Villages - the villages were the complete opposite of the mines and Rodia: impoverished, reaped with ridiculous taxes and terrorized by band of soldiers, they appear almost like struck by war or plague - the result of Wynn's policies; under new rule the situation is getting steadily better, but they still struggle with shortage of food.
  

[Osseo]

King Wynn IX
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So who's the guy responsible for this mess, anyway?

King Wynn IX of Monarchia, son of Tybald III, a man cursed by an incredible sense of paranoia after he killed his father to take over the throne. Since then, Wynn is obsessively convinced someone will take the rule from him by force, either one of the powers of the New World or his own people, causing him to invest completely unimaginable sums of money into hiring mercenaries and equipping them with prime quality gear to protect his ultimate fortress: the Heart of Wynn, a self-sustaining castle-city, a place he didn't leave for over a decade.

Wynn is too insane to notice his own actions are pushing the events in the direction he fears the most. He cut himself away from loyal advisors, trusting only those he could buy, ending up surrounded by people who will sell their morality to the highest bidder. His army is no longer made up from people of Monarchia driven to protect their country, but mercilles mercenaries and thrill seekers that will turn on him the moment the cash stops flowing. The castle he made to be almost completely inaccesible, void of any secret paths and confusing to navigate - will become the ultimate trap in case he needs to run.

Now, after Wynn's capture and Letitia's rise to power, the situation is getting steadily better, though the young Queen is very idealistic and naive. Most of her ideas have sources in romance sagas of old days and her own fantasies, so they tend to be rather nonsensical when looked at long-term. On the other hand, she doesn't exert her authority too much, so most of her current 'subjects' just tend to do their jobs and ignoring whatever advice that comes from the top.

[Osseo]

Trade Information
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So, how can they afford an army this big and well outfitted?

The answer is simple: One of the biggest steel and gold exports in this part of the New World, combned with one of the most cruel and thuggish tax rates. The people of Monarchia that do not work for one of its flourishing industries: trade and metalwork, live on the edge of poverty and sometimes even starvation, though their situation is steadily improving under new rule. The army doesn't care much for the fate of the common folk, being composed mostly of mercenaries and not natives of the island. Part of the island population was forced to perform slave labor in the Heart of Wynn to assure the highest effectivness of the army, but since the civil war said system was completely abolished.

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