Alsbach

Alsbach was a nation created in 11 T.A by the survivors of The Great Purge. It was a nation forged from a desolated national identity but a persistent will to proceed. This pragmatism helped Alsbach thrive and has reserved it a seat on the international stage.

History
The history of the Alsbacha people began before the 11th century with the Five. However, following the Declaration of the Hammer, these people had known only two homes: Hcalem and Alsbach.

Hcalem was a great and holy city in the west that prospered for 700 years until an ignored barbarian group purged the city and slaughtered its population. From the sacked ruins of Hcalem, 282 Alsbacha survivors crossed the Sunset Sea and arrived on Stresse. This they declared to be their new home, which they named Alsbach, after the river they first had come from.

Borders
Alsbach's borders were vast. To the north it bordered a river that swept between Autumnelm and Alsbach. In the east was the Argon Sea. To the south there was a vast swathe of forest and in the west that forest continued.

Geographic Features
Alsbach was dominated by its large woodland, but it also it had some of the most fertile soil in the area. A river divided the Stresse from the mainland which ran all the way west into the distance. To the north-east, Alsbach was faced with a mighty ocean teeming with sea-life that fed the people and provided them with a base for trade.

Alsbach also laid on the Alsbach Tectonic Plate, an oceanic plate. It rested mere minutes away from the diverging Great Plains Rift, Nalore Rift or Alsbacha Rift Valley where this plate moved away from the opposing Sandran Wastes. This exposed the surrounding territory, on rare occurrences, to mild earthquakes that caused little damage and infrequently rose above 4 on the Richter scale.

Climate
Alsbach had a temperate climate with a dry season. It had hot summers and mild winters.

Regions
There were three regions; Stresse, which stretches over the island sharing the name, the mainland containing most of the housing and Kobble Farm which contained the industry and agriculture.

Settlements
Alsbach was the capital and chief settlement in the county. Nortpust was situated far to the north in the Vale, on the coast of the Wilder Sea.

Government
Alsbach had a count to lead its people. That count was elected following one of two scenarios: the death of the previous count; or the calling of an election by the current count. Once a count was elected, they would serve for life.

The legislative branch of government consisted of a parliament where ten members, elected by the public, discussed legislation. Once a bill was proposed, one member of the ten was made chair of all proceeding debates; they could not have a say in the legislative process of this bill. Once all debates had been completed, this parliament would vote on the matter: if the legislation passed unanimously, it would become a law following the signature of the chair. If it did not pass unanimously, it was up to the Count to have the final say, and therefore under threat from veto. If the count decided to pass the bill, it would be enacted following the application of his signature. However, if the decision was made by the count to veto, the bill would return to Parliament where it was voted on again. If it passed unanimously, it would be enacted into law; If not, the bill had failed; it had to be proposed again by Parliament. As a result, making a bill 'count' became a popular phrase used by members of the legislature (coined by Representative Arius in 65 T.A): this referred to deliberate amendments or additions made to a bill purely in order to please the count and therefore allow it to pass smoothly and be enacted into law.

Military
Alsbach did not preserve a standing army. However, in times of warfare, all able citizens over the age of 21 would be called to arms, thus raising a strong militia.

Alliance with Velincant
An alliance with Velincant was once maintained.

Etymology
Alsbach was the name issued by settlers to a river that fed the floodplain that these 5 settlements grew upon. Alsbach means "Flows in Spring" in the lost native tongue of the Alsbacha people. The river was named Alsbach as it had a tendency to freeze over in winter. It comes from the word Als, meaning "flows" and bach, meaning "Spring".