Jesel
Jesel Jesel | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
| Motto: "'May the great sands guide you'" | |
| Anthem: "wikipedia:" "" | |
| Capital and largest city | New Babyl |
| Official languages | Sulbic |
| Ethnic groups |
|
| Demonym(s) | Jeseli |
| Government | Autocracy |
• Speaker | Kal'Sulan |
| Legislature | High Court of Jesel |
| Formation | |
• Establishment of Jesel | 11th March 2023 |
| Currency | Pieces |
Jesel is a country.
History
The Sul'Baal
Jesel's history is often difficult to interpret thanks to the complicated language and secretive nature of its ruling class, the Magistrate. Official records of events are often kept hidden deep in the underground libraries beneath the Speaker's palace, false records are also made that intentionally contradict other official documents should the grand library be compromised, leaving very few knowledgeable about the true history of Jesel. Though what history is known about Jesel states it to be an ancient civilization with recorded history dating back thousands of years.
The first official documents kept by the Magistrate begin at the first year of Jesel's official calendar, otherwise known as the "Sul'Baal" which roughly translates to "Sun List" or "List of Suns". The Sul'Baal was created by the Sun Council, an ancient predecessor to today's High Court of Jesel before even the first Speaker took power. The Sul'Baal was made to be a tool to document notable events and help farmers predict the seasons and when was the best time to cultivate crops. Each calendrer year is 365 days or "suns" long and divided into 13 months with 4 seasons. The accuracy of the calendrer is quite the marvel of ancient ingenuity, the Jeseli were able to reach this degree of accuracy through close observation of the sun and the stars, recording their position in the sky until noticing a pattern where after 365 days they'd return to their original position. After this observation was made the Sul'Baal was formed and it was decided that since now they had a reliable way of tracking time notable events and history would be written down and recorded for future generations to reference and learn from. And thus began the first official year of Jesel, 1 ES. The "ES" standing for "Entaal Sul'Baal" meaning "After Sul'Baal".
The Sul'Baal is still today the official calendar of Jesel, with the current year being 8324 ES.
The First Speaker
The earliest records of Jesel actually have no mention of any Speaker in power for over 2,000 years, with the official rulers of Jesel being recognized as the Sun Council, a group of 5 men and women tasked with the responsibility of maintaining the peace and settling discourse. Though in the year 2034 ES records state that the Sun Council were approached by a strange man who was recognized to be a hermit monk of The Sul'Setta, the religion followed by the Jeseli people. The man claimed to be from a temple in the far West of Jesel where he continued to live alone for decades after the rest of his congregation grew ill and died. He likely could've left but the monk refused to leave the sacred temple without worship as he saw it as a great disrespect to the building and its history. And so he'd continue to pray and worship each and every day, strengthening his bond and connection to the Sun through patience and devotion, until one day he felt a powerful spirit inside of him, the monk would channel this energy through prayer, loudly chanting his respects to the sun until a pillar of flame erupted from his mouth. Amazed the monk would leave the temple and walk to the shore to get even closer to the setting sun where he'd attempt to do the same again with great success. Within a few years of honing this new skill the monk knew this was the Sun rewarding him for his devotion and faith, channeling its power through his mortal body. Afterwards the monk would make a pilgrimage to the capital of Babyl where he could seek the wisdom of the Sun Council on what to do. The Sun Council were astonished after the monk had proven his ability with an amazing display at the center of town. The townspeople and the Sun Council believed the man to be the Sun's chosen vessel, a Human interpreter of their god's will. And thus the monk was given a new name, Sut'Sulan, and granted complete religious authority over Jesel so that he could mold the nation into the Sun's great image.
Sut'Sulan would use this newfound authority to establish more temples across Jesel and impart his knowledge of "Sun Bending" to the people of Jesel, though very few were able to achieve any success, but those who did would become the first of the Sun Guard, warrior priests tasked with the protection of Jeseli holy sites as well the instruction of future congregations on the ways of Sun Bending.
Though eventually Sut'Sulan in his elderly age would pass, but not before entrusting his most devout pupil, Tul'Kett, as the next Speaker, his name shortly being changed to Tul'Sulan in honor of his predecessor, a tradition that carries to this very day.
Geography
TODO
Government and politics
Jesel is an autocracy led by a supreme ruler known as the Speaker, a religious figure who interprets the will of their god and acts as their symbolic vessel. The Speaker has the legal and religious authority to instate or change any law they choose. The Speaker is also granted impunity from any punishment the law would normally deem appropriate for committing a crime. After a Speaker ends their rule they decide who the next Speaker will be, if the current Speaker dies or is otherwise unable to decide a successor the decision is left to the High Court of Jesel who will vet candidates as they see fit.
The High Court of Jesel is comprised of six judges who are responsible for creating and adjusting all legal rulings in Jesel, though any decision made by the High Court can be vetoed and changed by the current Speaker. Members of the High Court are chosen by the Speaker and may remain in power for however long they desire or are otherwise forced to step down by decree of the Speaker. If a vote or decision is left tied between the High Court's judges it will be broken by the Speaker.
Beneath the High Court are the various town councils left to conduct general administration of a town. Similar to the High Court of Jesel all town councils have the authority to create and adjust laws, though these laws cannot contradict any laws previously passed by the High Court. The High Court may also change or veto any law formed by a town council if deemed necessary.
Policing and enforcing of Jesel's laws is left to the Jesel Guard, the Jesel Guard is a blanket term used to describe any law enforcement organization within Jesel, such as the Town Guard, Sandstriders, and Sun Guard, though this is not a complete list.
Economy
Compared to most other nations the economy of Jesel could be viewed as fairly primitive. The official currency of Jesel are gold and silver pieces, circular pieces of refined ore that have been stamped with the mark of the sun, the same symbol as seen on Jesel's national flag. However, despite Jesel having an official currency the majority of transactions are done via bartering, this is due to Jesel's natural resource scarcity being a desert nation, and thus commodities such as clean water, wood, bread, and livestock are seen as much more valuable than simple metal pieces which the ore-rich country has an abundance of. For this reason tithings to the Magistrate are often payed in food, wood, and other natural resources instead of conventional currency.
Further driving up the price of natural resources is the labor involved in collecting them. Jesel lacks the technological prowess other nations have managed to develop out of the need to out preform competing nations, something the isolationist state of Jesel has never had to face. For this reason the growing and collection of crops and livestock is a time consuming and difficult process, though it has afforded farmers a comfortable life as their goods are always in high demand.
Beyond the scarcity of natural resources the value of gold and silver pieces has been further pushed out of favor due to the recent prevalence of counterfeit currency. Since gold and silver pieces are simple to forge criminal outposts have taken to making their own false currency and passing it off as real, plummeting their value through oversaturation. In other nations this wouldn't be as big of a problem due to more advanced methods of creating currency that Jesel simply doesn't have.
Demographics
TODO
Culture
TODO