Tutregna Ĉiaro is an Esperanto-speaking nation and analog to pre-WWI Imperial Germany. It is a hereditary constitutional Empire formed approximately 100 years ago from the unification of five predecessor kingdoms and two Free Cities, with the dominant partner being Fortica (the Prussia analog). The nation is defined by its official philosophy of Memregismo, the constitutional prohibition of religion and magic, and a deeply hierarchical society that officially preaches meritocracy.

The name breaks down as tut- (total/all-encompassing) + regna (of the realm/sovereign) + Ĉiaro (from ĉio — everything/all things). The full implication: the total sovereign realm of everything.

The national language is Esperanto. All laws, official proceedings, treaties, and instruments of governance are in Esperanto. All naming conventions, philosophical terminology, and official vocabulary follow Esperanto phonology and grammar.

Key linguistic notes:

Aldro, Emilo, Karlo, Vilhelmo, Edvaro, Renato, Ĝuro, Ludviko, Ĉeslo, Otavio, Franko, Helmuto, Vladko, Osvaldo, Bertilo

Marta, Sonja, Katrina, Elsa, Mirja, Hedva, Irena, Klara, Valdina, Liselota, Bruna, Agatja, Frieda, Helga, Rozina

Ferforta, Ŝtonkampo, Hofmano, Mülero, Brakforta, Novdomo, Kampverde, Grizmano, Lernejano, Fervojo

Ŝtonkampo, Altmonto, Goldrivero, Kriegsmano, Bordflugo, Nordvalo, Ferkorto, Nigraboski, Dumarko

Tutregna Ĉiaro is officially atheist. Gods demonstrably exist in this world but are classified by the state not as divine beings worthy of worship, but as Praestoj — a racial category of ancient, powerful beings analogous to elves or dwarves. They are subjects of academic study, not reverence. The gods themselves are indifferent to this classification.

The rejection of magic preceded and informed the rejection of religion. Both are understood as expressions of the same fundamental error — eksterismo. Both religion and magic are constitutionally banned and criminally prosecuted, applying to citizens, residents, and visitors alike.

Memregismo ("self-rule-ism," from mem + regi) is the official philosophy of Tutregna Ĉiaro. It holds that surrendering one's rational agency to any external authority — gods, magic, kings, priests — is the fundamental moral and cognitive failure.

Memregismo preaches rational self-determination but legitimizes an aristocratic hierarchy in practice. The official reconciliation — that hierarchy represents the rational organization of society — is widely recognized as convenient reasoning. A philosophy that consistently concludes the current arrangement is the rational one attracts skepticism, particularly from the lower classes and academic dissidents.

The Emperor himself represents Memregismo's sharpest contradiction: a hereditary monarch at the apex of a philosophy that holds no authority legitimate merely by virtue of existing. The official defenses (the Constitutional Argument, the Stability Argument, the Systems Argument) are more comfortable than rigorous. The honest answer — that Memregismo was developed by thinkers whose patrons were the Emperor's ancestors — is not given officially.

A weak, unorganized undercurrent of folk belief persists among the lower classes — strongest in Altregno and regions outside Fortica, where Memregismo was imposed from outside rather than developing organically. No organization, no clergy, no doctrine — just memory. Private rituals, lucky charms, euphemistic references to "the old ways." As much about class resentment as genuine belief.

Edvaro II el Altmonto — the reigning Emperor of Tutregna Ĉiaro. Member of the House of Altmonto, the imperial dynasty. Altmonto meaning "high mountain."

Oto el Dumarko — Imperial Chancellor of Tutregna Ĉiaro; appointed by Edvaro II. The House of Dumarko takes its name from du (two) + marko (border march) — implying a lineage defined by frontier governance, though the origin is not officially elaborated.

Oto is in the prime of his career — a man at the height of his powers, not yet slowed by age, still building. He is physically commanding but the real force is intellectual: he gives the impression of having already thought through every position his counterpart is about to take. In negotiation he is warm, unhurried, and genuinely attentive. This is not performance. He finds most people interesting enough to listen to closely, which makes him effective and occasionally genuinely liked by those he is preparing to outmaneuver.

His long-term project is the unification of the human nations of the Old World under Ĉiaro's rational governance — not as a fantasy of conquest, but as a considered conviction that fragmented human civilization is inefficient and dangerous, and that Memregismo provides the only viable organizing principle for a durable order. He frames this always in the language of reason and utility. The teleological drive underneath — the sense that history is moving toward something and that Ĉiaro is its instrument — he does not examine closely, and does not discuss.

Regarding non-human nations, Oto holds a private view he does not publicly articulate: that non-human civilizations are structurally incompatible with Memregismo, being too deeply organized around magic and the gods to make the transition Ĉiaro made. This is not contempt — he respects individual non-humans and deals with non-human leaders as genuine equals. It is a civilizational assessment, held quietly, occasionally informing long-term strategic thinking. On Anci specifically: he favors a stable, cooperative relationship — a permanent treaty partner on Ĉiaro's southern border, useful and not hostile. He has at times considered whether a formal vassal arrangement might be workable.

His relationship with Edvaro II is one of genuine mutual respect and productive disagreement. Oto is the long-game strategist willing to work with ambiguity. The Emperor is the ideological anchor. Neither is wrong exactly — they weight different risks differently, and the tension between them keeps Ĉiaro's policy more honest than either man alone would produce.

Tutregna Ĉiaro is governed by a written constitution — the supreme law of the Empire. Its unamendable core includes the prohibition on religion and magic, the protection of rational discourse, and the bicameral legislative structure. All officers are bound by oath to uphold it.

The upper house; originates all legislation. 40 members appointed by constituent states:

The Federal Council maintains standing committees for military affairs, finance, commerce, justice, and foreign affairs.

400 members elected by universal male suffrage. Can approve or reject Federal Council legislation but cannot originate, amend, or substitute it. Proceedings are public. No dual membership with the Federal Council. No Imperial salary for members alone. After dissolution, elections must be called within 60 days and the new Council convened within 90 days.

Supreme appellate body. Overseen by the High Councillor of Justice. Three specialized Senates of seven Councillors each: Civil, Criminal, and Special (constitutional matters). Non-judicial interstate disputes go to the Federal Council.

La Provo ("The Test") is the Imperial War College's formal certification of memrega forteco — self-governing strength. It descends from older academic dueling traditions in the predecessor states, redesigned from first principles and stripped of mysticism. Formally adopted in the 32nd year of the Empire.

Phase I — Kirurgia Trankvilo (Surgical Calm): A minor surgical procedure without anaesthetic. Tests baseline composure under pain.

Phase II — La Trancxo (The Cut): A close-quarters blade bout at fixed distance. Cheeks and forehead unprotected. Judged on three criteria simultaneously: Standfesteco (composure), Precizeco (precision), and Racieco (rational engagement — thinking, not merely reacting).

Phase III — Juĝa Intervjuo (Assessment Interview): Immediately following Phase II while still elevated from the bout, a structured interview in the candidate's professional domain. Tests recovery of rational function under stress.

Passing candidates receive a Pruvilo de Memrega Forteco — Certificate of Self-Governing Strength — recorded in the Imperial Registry. Not legally required for any office, but expected in practice at most levels of the military officer corps, senior civil service, and Imperial academic appointments.

Formally open to any citizen meeting institutional prerequisites. In practice dominated by el families through educational access. La Provo is officially administered only by War College-certified practitioners; unsanctioned conduct is prohibited under Imperial law.

Tutregna Ĉiaro waged La Mara Milito against the Sirenoj (Sirens/Mermaids), who enforced absolute dominion over open waters by sinking any surface vessel that crossed them. The war produced the Profundaĵobombo (Depth Charge) — developed by the Imperial Academy of Science, Division of Applied Ordnance — a sealed gunpowder device detonating at depth via hydrostatic pressure fuse.

Following the war, Ĉiaro distributed the complete Profundaĵobombo Mk. I specifications to all known sovereign nations via the Deklaracio de Komuna Mara Defendado (Declaration of Shared Maritime Defense), issued under the seal of Edvaro II. The strategic logic: a deterrent protecting only Ĉiaro's ships can be circumvented by redirecting Siren aggression elsewhere. All ships must be harder to sink.

The Carta Monda (World Map) is the first comprehensive survey of the known world, completed by the Imperial Academy of Science in cooperation with sovereign nations across the continent. Copies were distributed to cooperating nations with accompanying letters of thanks from Edvaro II.

Tutregna Ĉiaro has a formal diplomatic relationship with Anci, a prosperous confederation of Orc Hordes and other races to the south, governed by a system in which political power is determined by an erotic endurance contest (Successive Erotic Stratocracy). Current ruler: Vespera Lioba Cline, High Tusk, age 31 — a pragmatic modernizer considered the most rational leader Anci is likely to produce.

Anci cooperated with the Carta Monda survey.

Kingdom of Fortica (14 Federal Council seats) — The dominant founding state and Prussia analog. Mountainous interior, strong military culture, ideological heartland of Memregismo. Fortica heritage is associated with purity, martial virtue, and being "true" Ĉiaroj.

Kingdom of Grenmarko (7 seats) — The southern plains state, agricultural heartland lying below Fortica's mountains. Memregismo took hold here early due to proximity to Fortica. The Empire's breadbasket.

Kingdom of Kaboregno (6 seats) — The peninsula kingdom. Coastal and maritime in character, distinct geographic identity shaped by the sea on multiple sides.

Kingdom of Sudmarko (5 seats) — The southwestern border kingdom, commercially oriented and pragmatic. Home of Fortikajo Stel — "the Star Fortress" (fortikajo = fortified place, stel = star) — an ancient fortified city grown into the Empire's primary trading hub on the Anci border. The most culturally mixed city in Ĉiaro.

Kingdom of Altregno (3 seats) — The northern mountain kingdom, the least influential of the five states. Remote, proudly distinct, with the strongest malnovajxoj traditions of any kingdom. Borders a neighboring power to the north (identity TBD — determined by other players in the collaborative worldbuilding project).

Free City of Marpordego (2 seats) — "The Great Sea Gate" (mar = sea, pordego = great gate). Sits at the northern mouth of Ĉesapiko bay where it opens to open water. The Empire's primary deep-water port. Heavily commercial, ethnically mixed, pragmatic. Memregismo observed with genuine intellectual conviction by the merchant and banking classes.

Free City of Kultivejo (2 seats) — "The Place of Cultivation" (kultivi = to cultivate, -ejo = place). Sits on the western shore of Ĉesapiko, more sheltered and inland than Marpordego. Home to one of the Empire's most respected universities. Reputation for producing philosophers, lawyers, and physicians. Memregismo arguably finds its most genuine expression here.

The Dwarven empire to the west; former suzerain power over the predecessor states. The experience of vassalage under Meregginell is the crucible in which Memregismo was forged — "no external power has the right to rule us" is a living cultural memory, not abstract principle. Current status, power, and posture toward Ĉiaro remain a source of geopolitical tension. Whether Meregginell views the Dwarven minority within Ĉiaro as a diaspora to be protected is an open question.

Deeply hierarchical despite official Memregismo doctrine. The el families — hereditary nobility — hold disproportionate political, economic, and social power. La Provo is the primary formal mechanism through which the nobility reproduces its social dominance, ostensibly on meritocratic grounds.

A small Dwarven minority descended from populations present during the Meregginell vassalage period.

Among the nobility: Dwarven craftsmen — particularly smiths and metallurgists — are held in high regard and given patronage and protection. This regard is transactional rather than egalitarian; the Dwarves are generally aware of the distinction.

Among the common classes: Looked down upon and resented. Sources of resentment include xenophobia, economic competition for skilled trades, and residual Meregginell association — "these are the people who used to own us."

Under Memregismo: Overt discrimination is ideologically awkward but practiced. Enforcement of the religion ban against Dwarven communities — who almost certainly maintain traditions tied to Meregginell — is less rigorous than enforcement against human malnovajxoj practitioners. This double standard is not officially acknowledged.

Politically: No Federal Council seats, no member state representation. Resident aliens in all but name, dependent on noble patronage.