National Flag
Leader
Ascendant Khalet VII
Capital
Tartesso City
Major Cities
Cinnabar
Zamosh
Towns
Dellanos
Safera
Brin Kala
Uqesh
Heresh
Dominion of Tartesso
Overview
The Dominion of Tartesso is a powerful coastal oligarchy located on the northwest coast of the Merdia continent. Tartesso is defined by its arid coastlines, desert frontiers, fortified cities, and maritime ambition. The society is rigidly stratified, with immense wealth and authority concentrated in the hands of a ruling elite. It maintains aggressive control over its population through state-controlled commerce, restricted currencies, and a powerful internal security apparatus.
Geography
North: Bordered by the West Meridian Sea, with major port cities and naval bases.
South: The Roughbounds, a rugged region of hills and broken mountains, form a natural barrier between the Dominion and the Shugath Gol Desert beyond.
East: Shares a tense but active border with the State of Haaret, featuring trade outposts and fortified checkpoints.
West: Open coastal territory along the Meridian Sea and merchant sea lanes.
Government and Leadership
Tartesso is governed as a plutocratic oligarchy, ruled by a council of powerful merchant-nobles called the Electors.
The head of state is the Ascendent, selected from among the Electors. The Ascendent serves as the symbolic and executive authority, presiding over military, foreign, and religious policy.
The Electors control the Dominion’s land, trade, labor contracts, and religious institutions. Wealth and influence are inherited or accumulated through strategic marriage, conquest, or commerce.
All government functions exist to serve and preserve oligarchic control, including law enforcement, currency regulation, and military deployment.
Society and Class Structure
Tartessan society is strictly divided into tiers:
The Electors "Exalted" - The ruling class of oligarchs. They own vast plantations, internal trade routes, banking and private security.
Esteemed Class - Government officers, scribes, accountants, engineers and doctors
Warders / Military - usually sons of merchant class and laborers
Merchant Class - Merchants, Traders, Craftsmen
Laborers: Unskilled laborers, field workers, rowers, porters, and household servants - Legally barred from using Crown currency. Instead, they are issued Trade Tokens, a state-controlled currency whose form and redemption value can change without warning. The Electors run the economy this way to shed the capital and other large cities of unwanted labor. This shifts the population to other areas where the trade tokens that have are required.
Debt-bound "Muted" - labor in harsh conditions on plantation and mines run by the "Exalted" until their debt is paid. The average servitude is 5-7 years.
Currency System
Tartesso Crown: Silver or copper coinage used by Electors, Esteemed, Military and Merchant Classes; legal tender throughout the Dominion and in foreign trade.
Trade Tokens: Made of stamped tin, dyed in different colors. Tokens are regionally limited and may be invalidated at any time. Changes in token design (color, size, material) are a means of economic control and class enforcement.
Trade Token use is enforced by law; possession of Crown coin by the Labor Class or Debt-bound is punishable by labor conscription or death.
Commerce
Primary Economic Sectors
Agriculture: Dates, olives, millet, barley, and saltbush, produced on Elector-owned plantations.
Fishing and Kelp-Harvesting: Especially along coastal towns like Safera.
Salt and Dye Production: Towns like Uqesh specialize in salt extraction and pigment manufacturing.
Metalwork and Shipbuilding: Thaldran produces chain, copperwork, and shallow-draft patrol ships.
Debt-Labor Contracts: Debt-bound contracts are traded like commodities, particularly in interior markets.
Ceramics and Ritual Goods: Tokens, temple items, and decorative pottery are exported.
Trade Infrastructure
Caravan Trails: Link cities like Zamosh and Brin’Kaleth to the interior and the border with Haaret.
Naval Shipping: Merchant fleets operate under strict state licenses. Smuggling is common but brutally punished.
Guilds and Unions are illegal.
Religion
Dominant Faith: The Sajol Religion. Temples serve both spiritual and administrative functions.
The Holy Covenant Church has been able to establish a foothold with the approval of the government. However, most Tartessos are agnostic or atheists.
The Daisonite faithful have sent missionaries. However there are no established Steeples.
Internal Security
The Warders are the Dominion’s primary internal security force.
Uniformed and undercover agents function as police, informants, judges, and enforcers.
Report directly to the Ascendent and/or designated Electors.
Provide personal security for Electors and guard their compounds and villas.
Maintain networks of surveillance and loyalty registrars in every settlement.
Border Guard Division:
Stationed in the Roughbounds, tasked with monitoring passes, stopping smugglers, and recovering runaway Debt-bound.
Desert Patrols:
Elite desert scouts perform long-range missions into the Shugath Gol Desert, facing extreme heat, rebel enclaves, and nomadic threats.
Political Map
Geographic Map
