Aquila (ə-ˈkwi-lə/A-KWIL-AH), officially known the Kingdom of Aquila, is a playable nation in Centaura. It is bordered by Columba to the north, Cetus to the west, Vega to the east and Antares to the south.
Etymology[]
The name "Aquila" arrived early during the Libran conquest of the region. Legionnaires reported to have spot a giant bird like creature, some dubbed it "Kreofaia". The regional name "Aquila" would be adopted by the Silvas based in the northern basin corresponding their realm with Astranism.
History[]
More lore can be found on the official lore document and the Aquila Extensive Lore Document.
The Kingdom of Aquila is a well-developed nation mostly covered in forests and flat grasslands. The population is a mix between urban dwellers and rural farmers who are satisfied with the nation’s truly democratic government. The royal family of Aquila has been separated from the state, becoming purely ceremonial while the actual democratic government oversees the country.
The lumber industry of Aquila is one of the largest, with many buildings and homes built almost completely out of wood and resembling large lodges and cabins. The main urban centers, however, are built of bricks and concrete.
Since Aquila is mostly landlocked, the main fighting branch is the army, nicknamed the "Iron Army" by South Centauran countries. They have the reputation of being a stubborn force, unwilling to give up any piece of their land. The soldiers are trained to endure tough conditions, unlike conscripts from foreign armies.
Emerging from the dust of the fallen Libran Empire were a cluster of young, ambitious nations, wanting to expand and take advantage of the wide resources the south-east Centauran lands offered them. After centuries of conflict, the nation that emerged as the dominant power in the region was the Aquilan Kingdom. The kingdom would continue to grow and expand, conquering smaller nations until it had reached the borders of 3 other mighty nations; Antares, Cetus, and Grusa.
After a brief scuffle between the two, Cetus opted to sign the Persean Treaty, establishing a recognized border between the two kingdoms. Antares and Grusa, however, had different ideas. The 3 nations would wage wars over each other's territories for the next few centuries. In the late 1700s, Aquila won a decisive victory over Vega (who had split from Grusa) and Antares, gaining territory up to the Murus Plateau, and capturing a portion of Antarean land that gave Aquila access to the Libran Ocean.
Aquila would stop its expansion at that point, and instead focus on building its own market now that it had access to sea trade. Vega would never attempt an incursion into Aquilan territory again, and neither did Antares as it had taken too many losses. In the late 1800s, Aquila underwent a mostly peaceful revolution, taking away political power from the monarchy and giving it to the people.
Due to the royal family's mostly positive historical past, they were allowed to retain their status as royalty, but had no say in the government, serving a purely ceremonial role as the nation's representatives. Antares, believing democracy had weakened Aquila, launched an offensive to retake land they had lost centuries ago. The invasion ended in a resounding Antarean loss, giving Aquila's military the moniker of an "Iron Army."
Aquilan Campaign[]
See more in: Aquilan Campaign
Before the defeat of Cetus at the hands of Antares and Corvus, a stream of Cetan refuges flooding into Aquila prompted the army to reinforce their borders. Unsure of what the Antareans were planning next, the western and southern borders where Antares could invade from were guarded. These defenses were aided by the "Ring of Fire", a series of trenches and artillery batteries. When the actual Antarean invasion came in 1912, the Ring of Fire held out well initially, but the newer Antarean technology wore it down and eventually they were breached entirely.
After this came "The Scorch", where the Antarean Army burnt various forests to demoralize the Aquilans and weaken the army. Though increased resistance grew as a result of the Scorch, the Aquilans were unable to stop the Antareans from advancing with the devastation of the forests, with the Antareans eventually reaching the northeastern portion of Aquila by 1914.
This period of the campaign likely saw intense fighting in urban cities and centers, with Talona being one such example. Despite hard fighting, the Aquilan cities quickly fell to the Antareans and with this, came a total Aquilan defeat and conquest, with Aquila being directly incorporated into Antares. After the campaign, it is presumed that the Aquilan lands were rebuilt and resettled, with life largely remaining normal thereafter (albeit under close surveillance and guarding), though the immense damage from The Scorch would remain visible in the country. Resistance movements would also grow in Aquila against the Antarean occupiers.
Uniquely, like Cetus and Columba, but unlike the rest of the nations conquered in Centaura (which were turned into puppet states - the Skorpii states of Grusii, Corvus, and Riaa), Aquila was directly integrated into Antares, possibly indicating that there was some sort of value to the country that influenced this decision or that it was integrated simply because it was close to Antares and could be managed easier compared to the Skorpii states.
Firefighter's Strike of 1929[]
Volucris, Aquila
On the afternoon of January 12, 1929, the fire precincts of Volucris organized a strike in protest of unfair pay. On top of normal fire calls, they had often dealt with fires from resistance attacks, some of which were extremely dangerous as unexploded ordnance could be present. The servicemen were not being paid enough to deal with these near-daily hazards.
Firefighters marched in the streets of Aquila's once-capital, facing against the Territorial Police, a branch of the Antares law enforcement program in occupied territories. What began as a non-violent protest turned into a riot throughout the day, with some buildings being purposely set alight by the firefighters. Water hoses were used against the police, who had donned riot shields by nightfall. A few buildings continued to burn throughout the night, and none of the firefighters would help extinguish them.
"YOU BURN US, WE BURN YOU!" they chanted, referencing the Scorch which had occurred more than a decade prior.
The riots continued into the next two days, with Antarean Army troops from a nearby garrison deploying to quell the commotion. Firemen were forced to extinguish the fires under the threat of execution, and by January 16, the strike had ended. The riots had caught the attention of the mayor; in order to prevent such a strike from happening again, he signed a bill increasing the hazard pay for the city's fire department.
A rare success— the firefighters got what they wanted, but only time would tell whether they would continue to serve the Antareans. Most believed they should continue doing their job for the sake of all the Aquilans living under the Scorpion's banner.
Military[]
See more in: Aquila/Military
The Aquilan Army was a small but well-trained and reliable force that held the distinction of dominating the Antarean Army in the 1800s. Adopting the policy of national redoubt
, the military as a whole was compelled not to innovate militarily or tactically, causing them to fall to the Antareans who innovated technology and strategies during the Aquilan Campaign of the Centauran Wars.
Culture[]
National Identity[]
Aquilans have the reputation of being polite, friendly and helpful. This belief was further reinforced in the later years of the Centauran Wars, mostly in the Northern nations as many Aquilans have fled their occupied home in fear of their lives and freedom. Most Aquilans appear approachable to strangers, and usually showcase a welcoming demeanor. While nowadays, a good portion are jaded, they are hard workers and usually lend a hand to help out, provided one is not seen as an “enemy” in the national eyes. Aquilans that stayed behind in their country of origin-turned-integrated Antares state are, at least partially, seen in somewhat matching light.
That said, Aquilans are not without pride. Many Aquilans are truly proud of their origin, and they will make sure you know it. Long before the beginning of South Corvus War, the Kingdom had beaten the Antares Imperium not once, but twice. They have also handed a humiliating defeat to their neighbor, that being the Dominion of Vega. All this, as well as the victories they have experienced while forming into the nation they are now in the medieval times, caused Aquilans to have a great sense of national pride, to the point where they mock those who oppose them. Before the end of the Aquilan Campaign, many Aquilans viewed their nations as unconquerable, and mocked Antares for even attempting to invade them a third time. This time however, they were the one that lost. Those who escaped their invaded country are still as prideful as ever about their origins, and many will praise their culture, art, and nation as a whole.
While compared to the Rooks of Columba, the Aquilan resistance fighters were not as organized or big in numbers, they still managed to be a good obstacle in the path of Antares. The biggest example is the assassination of the Aquila Overseer, which was a result of an explosive planted in their office by a resistance fighter. The culprits were never found, and the event lives on in the minds of all sorts of people as a symbol of Aquilan’s desire for freedom.
Not everyone was as bold to join the resistance fighters. Many instead opt to participate in “passive resistance”, such as refusing to work, not complying with Antarean instructions, or very rarely, uniting with others to protest. Most methods would usually end up in being fired, receiving a fine or being jailed for not following enforced law, or by demonstrations being dispersed. As time went on, less and less passive resistance was shown as Aquila was being integrated into the Antares Imperium.
Language[]
Aquila is one of the very few countries which are officially monolinguistic where they only recognize the Librae language as their official one. Aquilans also can learn to speak Vego or Grusi, in part due to their proximity to the Vegans and Grusans, as an optional language when dealing with them.
Whilst Librae is the official language of Aquila, remnants of one extinct language are used.
- Librae: The official language of Aquila. Everyone in the country speaks it in some capacity, and it's used for documentation and all sorts of other things.
- Old Librae: Its only used in ‘official’ capacity, mostly for naming cities, lakes or other geographical regions. It’s also not all that uncommon to see it used during religious events, mostly by priests.
Religion[]
Aquila’s biggest religion is Astranism - They believe in the eagle Aquila, their symbol for forests, farms, soil fertility or in other words - Nature. There are other religious figures, but the most important one is the Aquila, followed by others, such as Erasmia and Saint Ephemera, amongst other Aquila Angels. For example, despite the fact that many weather phenomena are explained scientifically, it does not discourage astranists from assigning a specific message to things such as thunderstorms, rain, floods or even tornadoes. The most common explanation for certain weather are things such as Aquila listening to prayers and sending down rain during cultivation periods, or a lighting striking a forest and causing a small fire, because older plants had run their course and it was time for new plants to take their place. Even natural disasters have their own explanations in the astranist belief. Things such as tornadoes appearing on open fields or hurricanes sweeping in are seen as Aquila taking what they claim as theirs. life to calamity. People whose lives are claimed by the act of Aquila are considered to be taken to them, where he keeps them safe until the day of Itermundae comes, to take them with the rest of their followers to the next planet.
During medieval times, sacrifices towards Aquila were common and usually consisted of farm animals or harvested crops such as wheat. The portion that was to be sacrificed would be placed in a grass-weaved basket, before being placed on a stone with religious scribbling, and then burned to allow the smoke to reach the skies, and the ashes to spread around. In modern times, such practices have been left behind, and people instead opt to honor nature by preserving it and simply offer their prayers. With the end of the Aquilan Campaign, many Aquilans were led to the belief that their god was “injured” and began losing dominance over their land. As the process of integration began taking place, worship towards Aquila was tolerated under the Antarean rule, although Aquila was now considered a “minor” god compared to Skorpius - the god of Antares. After the end of the Forman War and the liberation of Aquila, religion returned to its previous state, with Aquila claiming the rule of their land once more.
Rain Day[]
Rain Day is an Aquilan holiday which happens every few years in the event of abundant rainfall over the course of a couple days. After the rainy weather concludes, Aquilans gather in a “Pluvia Punctum”, which is appointed by a priest. There, the priest reads off several short religious texts, after which the people get on their knees and begin praying, while the priest brings out collected rain water which is considered “holy”, and a small besom, before wetting the besom and spraying the blessed rain water onto the praying crowd.
Cuisine[]
Aquila consists mostly of flatlands and very few lakes and hills, the soil itself is very fertile as it is made up of wetlands and alluvial soil. As such, many hearty, tough as well as delicate fruits and vegetables grow all across Aquila. Cuisine consisting of meat and vegetables is more popular in the west, where there aren’t many lakes, and seafood amongst many things is popular in the east, where the access to bigger lakes and the ocean is.
Modern times bring new types of dishes. With the working class not having a lot of time to make their own food because of work, many opt to order in restaurants that are able to make food in a short time, so that they can return to work.
Arts[]
Aquilan art has changed over the years in history, with art styles changing over the years and eras. However, many of them pre-dating Libranesque have been lost to time, and due to that reason the general progression of art forms and their eras are tracked by the following:
- Libranesque - It was mostly religion related. The style can be compared to the romanesque, with lack of perspective, lots of symbolism and abstract figures. This era began during the formation of Aquila — Around the year 968 and ended around the 1200’s
- Rebirth - The Rebirth era was characterized by humanism and naturalism. It aimed to replicate real life, emphasizing on human achievements using shadows and depth to replicate the realism on a canvas. The era lasted from 1200’s to 1400’s
- Unnatural Mannerism - In contrast to Rebirth, Mannerism focused on emotional intensity, drama and idealization. It lasted from 1400’s to 1600’s
- Plain Classism - Yet another contrast to the previous era, instead of drama and idealization, it focused on simplicity and used a muted and restrained color palette, while the main themes became that of heroism and religion once again. The era lasted from 1600’s to 1800’s
- Sentimentalism - From this point on, the sheer progression of technology began influencing the art, and as such the eras would start being shorter and shorter each time. It placed emphasis on individualism, emotion and imagination, but it turned to nature for inspiration. The era lasted from the early 1800’s to 1860’s
- Evocatism - It focuses on aspects such as lighting and atmosphere, with paintbrush strokes being left visible on purpose which only adds characteristic to this art era. It returns back into symbolism, while capturing key moments of life. It lasted from 1860’s to the very early 1900’s
- Oddism - It was the reaction against evocatism’s focus on light and color, and was characterized by an expressive and subjective approach, emphasizing distorted perspectives and geometric forms. It meant to distort reality to cause an emotional reaction, somewhat similarly to Evocatism. It lasted from 1900’s to 1912
During the war and the occupation, art style and eras took a drastic shift, leading to two different styles:
- Nostalgic Freedom - This era lasted throughout all of the occupation, and had several sub-styles, such as modernism, neo-sentimentalism and even historicism. Nostalgic Freedom wasn’t an art era by itself, and was more akin to a philosophical approach
- Young Aquila - This era began after the liberation of Centaura. It encompassed tragedy, but also embraced modernism and positivism.
When one thinks of art, they usually think of paintings. However, in the years nearing the end of the 1800's and the start of 1900’s, reaching up to the end of the Aquilan Campaign, a new art media surfaced. Posters. Advertisements, propaganda, news - All sorts of things that could be displayed via use of posters, but they too, had distinct styles. Most notable include:
- Productivism - Extensively used during the Aquilan Campaign, mostly for propaganda purposes. It had a very utilitarian style.
- Art Fantaisiste - Sometimes just shortened to “Art Fanta”, it is characterized by brilliant colors, bold and geometric lines. It was mostly used for advertisements, such as theatre play displays.
Literature[]
In addition to the Arts, Aquilan Literature developed alongside it in a similar matter.
- Libranesque - Following a similar trend to that of artstyle, literature mostly encompassed religious beliefs and focusing on history and symbolism of writing — essentially very extravagant writing pieces.
- Rebirth - Just like its art counterpart, rebirth literature focused on putting humanity in the spotlight and offered a multi-dimensional view of human beings, with the writings being highly intellectual.
- Unnatural Mannerism - In contrast to its previous era, Mannerism literature contained many hyperboles and metaphors, shifting focus onto idealization and drama, with writing pieces being more like theatrical scripts rather than books.
- Plain Classism - The writers of this time, similarly to other artists, shifted focus back onto religion and heroism, with many literary pieces adhering to simplicity.
- Sentimentalism - As it emphasized emotions and individualism, many literature pieces delved either into the exploration of the human psyche, or exploring humanity’s place in nature.
- Evocatism - The literature of this time focused on symbolism behind a character’s life, it mostly being in the form of their mentality during a journey — specifically their perception of events surrounding them.
- Oddism - Returning back into exploration of the human psyche, the literature of this time distorted reality, but not to the extent that the paintings did, and heavily focused on emotions and mental state of protagonists of stories.
Just like Art, the war also changed Aquilan Literature.
- Nostalgic Freedom - Many writers advocated to “exercise reason before emotion”, and the literature focused on solving the problems of society — a very modern outlook for its time. Similarly to art, it was more of a philosophy than an art era.
- Young Aquila - Similarly to Nostalgic Freedom, The “Young Aquila” era focused on tragedy that has hit the nation, but it remained focused on repairing itself while looking ahead to conquer more obstacles in the future
Vexillology[]
Equipment[]
 Kingdom of Aquila
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Weapons | Handguns | M4 | |
| Rifles | M99 | ||
| Submachine guns | M12 | ||
| Shotguns | M88 | ||
| Melee | Club • Southeastern Ensis | ||
| Special weapons | M12 Anti-Tank Rifle • Flamethrower • Mortar | ||
| Utilities | Grenades | Grenade • Smoke Grenade | |
| Support | Bandage | ||
| Miscellaneous | Uniforms | Aquilan Uniforms | |
Trivia[]
- Aquila's flag was made by a perspective of the night sky and the ground.[1]
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