Editing Autia (section)

====Republic of Free Men ====
''Highly diverse nation made up of exiles, malcontents, and fugitives from other nations, particularly Afrozil and Sparticia. Was once a backwater province of Falconhead (itself a backwater) but eventually rebelled. Most of the leadership of this nation trace their roots back to the Amazon clans in some manner or another and seek to prove they are equal to Afrozil and Sparticia.''

The Republic of Free Men was founded by men from Afrozil and Sparticia Mountain Clans, they actually are good with their women quite well (much better than the amazons with their men) but have a strong rivalry with the two female-dominated nations and want to prove to them that men are the equals of women.

People:

A slight majority of inhabitants of the Republic are Nantic humans with deep roots in the area, but others are more recent arrivals, mostly escaped slaves and political malcontents from Afrozil, but also some from Sparticia, Westphallica, and Falconhead. Most escaped slaves who stay in the Republic are Shaobon humans from the Emerald Isles, since most other escaped slaves are from Autia and would rather migrate back to their homelands, but some stay for personal or political reasons. The political malcontents are more diverse, and include idealist Amazons and Westphallicans, disgruntled citizens from Falconhead, and ideological fringe players from around the globe.

One of the few true democracies, its government is infamously boisterous and argumentative. The current leading political faction is led by middle class Nantic humans (generally male) from Falconhead who left or rebelled due to Falconhead's long history of being overly friendly with Afrozil and Sparticia, though most of its voter base are former slaves looking for payback against Afrozil. There is also a large nativist faction of Nantic humans tired of competing for land and jobs with the endless stream of escaped slaves, and a progressive faction made up of political idealists from the Amazon tribes, Westphallica, and elsewhere, some of whom have ties to the Utopia movement, and/or the Church of Vanille, leading locals and former slaves who have been swayed by their politics. The leading faction is relying increasingly on the progressive faction to counterbalance the nativist faction.

Religion:

Nantic humans typically follow similar faiths to Falconhead and Westphallica depending on where they are from. Some former slaves keep their old faiths, while others convert to Neir, Vanille, or Grumm. Those who were born into slavery in Afrozil or Afrolia typically retain the agnostic worldview they grew up with.

Magic:
Very few mages are enslaved by Amazons, they are typically either killed off or bribed into a fairly loyal state of mind. However, local Nantic humans follow the magic traditions of Falconhead, or sometimes Westphallica.

Military:

Unable to fund a permanent military, the Republic relies heavily on the Free Men's Militia, who do a respectable job defending against slaver attacks, and who sometimes even launch anti-slavery raids against Afrozil, but whose small size and heavy reliance on infantry and small boats mean they will not last long against anyone other than Falconhead in a full scale invasion. Sometimes mercenaries and foreign volunteers are used to beef up raiding parties.

History:

Once known as Upper Falconhead, this hilly region was long ignored by the Nantic Empire, and later even by the small, insignificant Kingdom of Falconhead. It became a popular refuge for escaped slaves with nowhere else to go, as back then the lands were so sparsely inhabited, pretty much anyone could claim an unoccupied creek valley, and scrape by growing vegetables and sheep. It also became popular with the more assertive citizens of southern Falconhead who got tired of being constantly bullied by Afrozil and Sparticia.

During a particularly long period of occupation of Falconburg by the Sparticians, a coalition of disgruntled citizens, former slaves, and foreign activists set aside their differences and cobbled together a rebellion, and later a full fledged government. As a mountain dwelling tribal people, the Sparticians didn't really have the numbers to hold all of Falconhead anyways, and instead simply shrugged and focused their efforts on the more profitable region in the south surrounding Falconburg. However, a decade later, the assassination of a beloved Spartician clan leader by a rabid abolitionist led to generations of retaliatory raids by Sparticia. This rivalry is nothing compared to the deep hatred between Afrozil and the Republic however, as the majority of escaped slaves living in the Republic come from Afrozil rather than Sparticia.

However, in recent times, the Republic has been somewhat more reconciliatory with its neighbors. The determined efforts of the increasingly powerful progressive political faction has managed to improve relations with Falconhead and the Sparticia clans, though even the progressives dislike Afrozil and no attempts have been made to reconcile with them. Officially both Westphallica and Ercaenmedi ignore the Republic, but funding from followers of Vanille and/or Utopia have been increasing as they gain strength in Westphallica. Ercaenmedi also has some abolitionists, but the Ercaenmedian Government watches them closely due to fears that they will upset the fragile Alkor-brokered ban on Afrozilian pirates targeting Ercaenmedian ships.

Economy:

The Republic contains fairly marginal land, with much of it suited for little other than sustenance farming, though enough medium sized farms and mines exist to support the economy. However, despite the Republic being relatively sparsely populated, it is still has a large population in relation to available farmland and jobs, and constant immigration is a source of tension for lower class natives. Some people earn extra money doing seasonal work in the much more prosperous neighboring country of Westphallica, but former slaves generally refuse to do this as the poor work conditions for foreign laborers reminds them of slavery. The coastal region is almost empty, as the coastal mountain range is the Republic's main defense against piracy and slave raids. Most settlements on or near the coast are militia outposts used for defense and launching raids.