Illyria is a dark, brooding country, now hidden away amidst trees, hills and valleys. It was once the greatest of countries, the founding of the Carpathian Empire that now has vanished.
Amidst the ever-green trees of cold and wet Illyria remnants of a distant past can still be found. Their roads are not the dirt roads of country-side Thracia, or the pebble-strewn paths of Macedonia, but paths of laid marble and concrete - flat and smooth, twisting away under the shade of heavy trees. Statues of the old gods line the paths, crumbled, missing limbs or heads. Here and there amongst the hills and valleys are glimpsed broken pillars of white, and ruins of ancient temples. These things are not touched, not rebuilt - for they are monuments to a glorious past, where Illyria bent the entire known continent to its rule.
The Carpathian Empire had numerous gods, and as it conquered the Thracian and Macedonian lands, collected yet more. Eventually the Church of the One in Carpathia, the capital of the Empire, decrees that there is only one god, and in doing so, reduced all other gods of ‘aspects’ of the greater divinity. The Church kept a form of pagan worship for the Thracian and Macedonian people, and reduced the ‘aspects’ of the one god to seven forms - called the ‘Saints’. The only things was that one of those seven was not part of the pagan cultures of Thracia and Macedonia - this was meant to be the great ‘Mystery’, the one part of the One God that people will never really truly understand. Being more that seven thousand years since the fall of the Carpathian Empire, this seventh divinity has become something much darker. In the modern Church of Six, this entity is called the ‘Other’ as is viewed as the bringer of evil and chaos. Though the Maesian Church accepts that evils is a necessary part of life, and the Church of the One say that ‘evil’ is truly a being but something that happens when one turns from the One God, the modern Church of Six state that the ‘Other’ is to blame for all of this - the Great Tempter, the Night-bringer, the Breath Stealer.
Because of the decline of Carpathian ideals the Church of the One has also declined, and much of Illyria have churches of the Church of Six. As part of the declaration of the Church of Six banning the use of the seven-pointed star as part of heraldry or symbolism, great parts of the temples are heavily damaged as such symbols were hastily removed.
Still, across Illyria many-pillared temples and official houses stand testament to the power that was once the powerful empire. Whilst a great number of the old buildings are not touched, those that are still structurally sound are re-used by the government or the nobles - and great many of newly built houses echo the designs of the past. It is not entirely unusual to see a village or city with parts of it being decaying ruins, out of bounds and not touched. This mind-set about the glorious past has leant itself to a particular approach to life for modern Illyrians. They have an arrogant approach to many of the others, and even if on the back-foot of an argument can be extremely stubborn.
With their pride comes a hidden shame. Illyrians prefer the dense forests, the dark trees to the plains of Thracia or the ravines of Macedonia - and some would say that they’re hiding away from the world. In a sense, they are for pride comes before a fall - something Illyrians are far too aware of. They tend not to boast and be quiet and thoughtful - living in such places tend to make one introspective. As such, some of the best scouts and snipers come from the forests of Illyria, as well as some of the world’s greatest thinkers. From moral philosophers, artists and philanthropists to archaeologists, geologists and social scientists, Illyria is always the first to ponder the next question. Debate is common in Illyria, and a great many are academics in one field or another - the College of Battle and Arms in Illyria is more likely to teach tactics than technique.
Illyria does not have much of a community spirit - as each village and town is more-or-less isolated from all the others. Instead villages and towns communicate constantly to one another within a given area known as a province or ‘Eparchy’. Each province is governed by an Eparch who decides the spending and taxation for his area, and is also responsible for the enforcement of law. Unlike the Macedonians or Thracians political system, an Eparch is chosen every four years by vote of the people within his province. Anyone may stand for Eparch, and to ensure that this is the case, many are backed or supported by the rich in return for sanctions on their particular trade interests. Thus vast regions of Illyria can change their trade values more or less overnight. Eparchs, in turn vote for a number of them to represent the interests of Illyria in Parliament - though only long-standing Eparchs are chosen to progress onto the Senate.
Family is also governed like this. Family Law in Illyria is almost non-existent as each family has its codes and laws created by its leader. Whilst all must obey the laws, individuals are beholden to family law on a more day-to-day business, which is decided by a voted family member. This family member governs the family until death and all members of the blood-line take up that member’s name. This means it is possible to change family name endings many times within a life-time.
