Shalasia is among the largest and most prosperous nations in the world known to Black Steel, and (perhaps not coincidentally) one of the greatest naval powers as well. Bounded by the Sharna and Trevesh rivers (and a perpetually disputed line between them through the mountains) to the north and the northern foothills of the Hammer Mountains and Tornbring Vale to the south, Shalasia proper is geographically centered in the vast reaches of the Shalasa desert, but its centers of population and political power are centered along the rivers and mountains to the north. (See regional map.) The Sultanate's holdings also include a number of islands in the Broken Sea region, the largest of which is East Shalasia, the large and mountainous island -- itself the size of a small country -- that lies directly east of the city of Shalaton. One of these islands also harbors Shalasia's most important naval port outside of Shalaton and Sarema themselves, the military base of Port Alseyn, which commands the entire western Broken Sea.
Citizenship and class in Shalasia determine one's rights under the law, and are mostly based upon personal wealth and political influence -- both of which are normally, though not exclusively, acquired via inheritance. Slavery is entirely legal in Shalasia, and slaves have no rights at all except as the property of their masters, but any citizen of Shalasia or an allied country is accorded enormous freedoms of action ... so long as it does not cross the interests of higher-ranking members of the Shalasian class structure. While the wealthy and powerful in Shalasia do not have specific rights or legal recourse to enforce their will outside of their own properties and estates, there is little or no meaningful legal recourse for a citizen threatened or mistreated by order of a powerful entity like a church leader or Pasha, even when the mistreatment is theoretically against the law. Nevertheless, by working within one's own class and keeping one's head down until one can gain power of one's own or the assistance of powerful friends, it is possible to thrive and even rise in power in Shalasia from any level of society. Even slaves have been known to rise to positions of power after winning the sympathy of a free citizen and being purchased out of slavery.
Government: Absolute power in Shalasia supposedly rests in the hands of the Sultan, but of course the reality is far more complex; the Sultan and his advisors regularly consult with key members of innumerable power groups on every subject before formulating so much as a statement from the Imperial Seat, to ensure the nation's political framework continues to forward the larger goals of the Sultanate, and that the international situation continues to favor them. In addition to (and often overlapping with) powerful merchant companies, great wizards, and church authorities, many of Shalasia's interests are controlled by the nation's vast aristocracy, from the powerful Pashas among whom most of the country's usable land is divided to the lesser nobles of Shalaton who might own no more land than the grounds of their personal villas. As well, diplomats from far-flung lands, such as Black Steel's foreign minister and ambassador to the Sultanate, occupy positions of importance in the Sultan's court, as the impact of the Sultan's decisions upon Shalasia's relations with her present and potential allies is necessarily an important consideration in the plans of the nation.
History: The rise of the Shalasian Pashas and the original Sultanate are matters more of legend than of history, and some of the current Pashas can trace their ancestry for dozens of generations, all the way to records of their family heritage that are counted among the earliest historical records of the region -- some even including perhaps-fanciful linneages dating back through many generations of oral history or invention to legendary names or deities. The present Sultan is among these, and his linneage does arise from the Shalasian Sultans who ruled the region for centuries before the Al-Samir revolution, but it is only in recent times that the name of Sultan was revived by Sultan Thoshmon III, who was previously known -- like the last twenty-seven of his predecessors on the throne -- as the High Pasha, a sort of "first among equals" at least in name.
Shalasia's existence as a united country stretches back beyond the horizon of history, though the extent and reality of its unity has varied from century to century, and even from generation to generation. It was long ruled from the Holy Imperial City of Aphera, which lay on the river Sharna near its northernmost extreme, until "barbarians" from the north -- the ancestors of the present-day people of Espava -- possibly in response to Shalasian designs upon their land and people, crossed the Sharna and laid waste to the city. No reliable contemporary account of the battle has as yet been found intact, and modern historians still debate what actually occurred, but either the defeat of Shalasia's military force in the region was so complete or the sack and burning of Aphera (according to some, by surprise or subterfuge) was so dispiriting or Shalasia was so divided for other reasons that Shalasian forces were forced to withdraw from the northern Sharna region, and would not regain lasting control there for centuries. The ruins of Aphera can still be seen, much ravaged by time, war, weather, squatters (particularly in the periods of Espavan control) and occasional floods, but with rubble cleared and other ruins dug up or cleaned and polished in recent times thanks to an active restoration effort by Shalasia. The ruins are now a popular site for visits by historians, the curious and wealthy, and certain desert nomad tribes who seem to regard the journey as something in the nature of a religious pilgrimage.
The sack of Aphera resulted in a major shift in the Shalasian political landscape. The capital was moved to the nation's most important commercial port -- and a location far from the "barbarian" front -- in spite of its location near the extreme eastern edge of the lands and population centers controlled at that time by the Sultanate. While the new capital, then called Ge'ar Sultanri, exerted enormous influence over its near vicinity, sheer distance -- in a period when long-distance travel and communication were difficult in the extreme -- limited its effectiveness as a true center of national rule, to the extent that the Pashas of western Shalasia became rulers of close-knit but independent fiefdoms in all but name, paying only token fealty and tribute to the distant Sultan.
Some centuries after the establishment of Ge'ar Sultanri, it appears that the arts of sorcery in the region had developed to the point of permitting effective long-distance communication. Most Shalasian historical records from this period have unfortunately been destroyed, and the remainder are mostly cryptic, unreliable, or both, but inference from later documents seems to suggest that Shalasia functioned in practice as a truly united nation again for something over two centuries leading up to the Al-Samir revolution. For reasons that remain unclear due to the sketchy historical record from that period, communication between the eastern and western portions of the Sultanate appear to have broken down somewhere in the neighborhood of a half-millenium ago, with the Pashas of western Shalasia again drawing away from the Sultan's influence. This trend appears to have gone largely unresisted until the reign of Sultan Omiran IV, sometimes called the Sorceror-Sultan, though whether he in fact wielded magical power or relied on that of others remains in doubt. He managed through a combination of magical power and military might to project his rule and influence across all of present-day Shalasia, and even into large portions of present-day Espava. His new Sultanate was short-lived, as the Pashas of western Shalasia led a revolt of the powerful Shalasian aristocracy. Now known as the Al-Samir revolution, it ended in the death of Sultan Omiran IV and most of his near family, and the ascension of a distant cousin to the throne as the first High Pasha -- a title held by the nominal rulers of Shalasia until Thoshmon III, after years (and perhaps generations, as previous High Pashas may have prepared the ground) of careful planning, scheming, and political maneuvering, reclaimed the title of Sultan in the wake of the Fall of Isiyes.
Key government figures: (extremely incomplete list)
His Imperial Majesty, Sultan Thoshmon III: The Imperial Sultanate of Shalasia is ruled by an extremely temperamental and unpredictable monarch, seemingly led more by his emotions than by policy. Nevertheless -- and perhaps in part for that very reason -- he is a beloved by the common people of Shalasia, and has had a strikingly successful reign, to the point of crushing a would-be rebellion and Espavan invasion and re-establishing the institution of the Sultanate in his own name. This success may well derive in part from the ground laid by his predecessors, and it may even be that he is a shrewder man than he chooses to appear, but most astute political observers give most of the credit to his two most-trusted advisors: Pashas Richella and Zavalier.
Pasha Richella, Radiance of Athoth: The highest religious authority for the church of Athoth in all of Shalasia -- and by that token, the Pasha of vast and rich estates -- is also the chief advisor of Sultan Thoshmon III, and arguably the most powerful man in Shalaton, or perhaps all the Broken Sea region. Though famed for his ruthless political cunning, Shalasia's Radiance is one of the best-loved figures among the people of the country, in part no doubt because of his religious position -- the population is predominantly Athothian, and though many other faiths are tolerated, Shalasia is officially an Athothian nation -- but also perhaps because his ruthlessness is so thoroughly employed in the service of Shalasia itself.
Pasha Zavalier, Grand Wizard of Shalasia: A mysterious, shadowy figure to most of the people of Shalasia -- and indeed the world -- the Grand Wizard of the Sultanate is a powerful Pasha whose lands and title (like those of Shalasia's Radiance of Athoth) though life appointments, are conveyed by his office rather than by heredity. Of course, Pasha Zavalier has managed to parley these and certain holdings that he possessed prior to his appointment into sizable additional titles and estates that are his to bequeath, and has further transformed the position of Grand Wizard itself into one of the most influential and important posts in the Sultanate; if Pasha Richella is the Sultan's right hand, Pasha Zavalier is his left. The full extent of this influence is not known to many, but certain members of Black Steel have worked with him closely, and have some idea of his real power. As well, Theril had several opportunities of meeting him socially, and found him an affable, expansive, naturally well-mannered gentleman ... with perhaps just a streak of iconoclastic independence and anti-authoritarianism.
Her Majesty, Theora Arastani: The Sultan's officially wedded wife naturally has significant influence in the Shalasian court, as well as in Arasta, born and raised as she was into that nation's royal family. Shalasia is a decidedly misogynistic country by Black Steel's standards, and her power is not what perhaps it would be in a more enlightened country, but she knows what levers to pull to accomplish her political objectives, and does not hesitate to use them. She is accounted very beautiful, even by the standards of royalty (who can afford to take rather extensive liberties with their natural appearances) and this no doubt provides her some degree of additional influence in a court dominated by men, but the effect is small in comparison to her family connections and her relationship with the Sultan.
His Imperial Highness, Ad-Sultan Justinon: The Sultan's first son (and second-born child) stands to inherit the throne upon his father's death, although at present he is still in his early-mid-teens, several years from the age of majority. Reputedly more headstrong and unpredictable even than his father (but less temperamental and less emotionally driven in Black Steel's experience) the Ad-Sultan is a wild teen, habitually evading his minders and sneaking off into Shalaton, where he apparently has wide connections of his own among the aristocracy, and is supposedly at home even in the back ways of the tent city; he seems to delight in mixing with people below his station (a group which by Shalasian reckoning includes just about everybody). In spite of all this, he is regarded by most as extremely -- even dangerously -- intelligent, capable, and self-possessed. It is worth noting that, whatever mischief he may manage to get into outside the bounds established for him, he has always emerged intact and unruffled back into the world of the court. He is no doubt helped by his sheer popularity -- the Ad-Sultan is better loved among the people of Shalasia than probably anyone else in existence, including even his father the Sultan or Pasha Richella himself -- but Shalaton presumably harbors madmen, enemies of the state aware of his idiosyncrasies, and any number of dangerous characters who wouldn't recognize him in whatever disguises he wears in the streets. That he never yet has come to harm suggests that he's either been tremendously lucky, or that he has tremendous hidden resources to call upon at need.
Pasha Fokahre: The powerful and popular Pasha of extensive mountainous estates near the border with Espava -- estates that include some of the most important iron mines in the region -- and a long-time advisor to the Sultan, Pasha Fokahre does not play in the same league as the likes of Shalasia's Radiance of Athoth or the Grand Wizard of Shalasia, but is nevertheless an important political figure in his own right, and at court represents the interests of numerous other northern Pashas and Shalasian citizens with skill, diplomacy, and no little success. His political ties now also extend beyond Shalasia, as he was recently betrothed to the Honorable Matrix: The Foreign Minister of the Scabbard-Edge Confederation and its ambassador to Shalasia. The engagement is said to be a love-match, and though the Confederation's growing importance in regional politics makes it an appropriate diplomatic move as well, the attraction between the two is manifest to anyone who has seen them together; some old friends have sworn they can actually hear the Pasha's blood start to race whenever he sees Matrix step into the room.
