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The flag of the Empire's frontier regions. Its colors symbolically represent Houses Caladius, Zhao, and Strelitz in addition to the Empire itself.

Located within the Alatyr System, the Imperial Mandate of Novi Jadran stands as a testament to the colonial legacy of the modern Empire of Dominia. A cold, icy, and predominantly rural world which was originally colonized by the Solarian Alliance during its golden age, Novi Jadran is one of the Empire’s oldest non-Morozian colonies and straddles the border between the Imperial Core and Imperial Frontier. Famed for its loyalty to the Empire, Novi Jadran is known as the “Model Colony” and provides many of the Imperial Army’s troops. It is dominated by a powerful local nobility, many of whom neglect their charges — the villages and rural citizenry under their control — in exchange for personal enrichment. In recent years, as the current Emperor has grown more ill, many of its citizens have begun to call for the Empire to reign these nobles in and establish an administration which holds the good of the Mandate above their own interests. Only time will tell if Crown Princess Priscilla Keeser will honor these demands when she ascends to the throne, or squash the dissent.

History

The Solarian Republic of Novi Jadran (2184 - 2302)

“It’s a harsh planet, yes, but rich in mineral resources. I don’t doubt it’ll be productive, Prime Minister,” - Martin Clemson (2119 - 2230), Solarian Secretary of Colonization, 2178.

Despite the loss of a colonial expedition in the Baltian Frontier Sector — now the Sparring Sea — in the early 22nd century, the Solarian Alliance was interested in continued exploration, colonization, and exploitation of the southern Orion Spur throughout the 22nd century, ultimately dispatching many colonial expeditions to a region outside of the control of any major interstellar power. One of these was the Adriatic Expedition — a colonial venture founded by multiple nations on the Adriatic Sea for the purpose of establishing a colony in the broader Alliance. In the late 22nd century the Adriatic Expedition was officially launched with the Alliance’s support in the hope that the sole inhabitable world in the Alatyr System — Novi Jadran — would become a jumping-off point for further exploration of the region, and an industrial base to support the nearby colony of Sun Reach — then in the planning stage.

The first colonists of Novi Jadran arrived in 2184, discovering a planet which was — ironically — not dissimilar to the nearby Moroz. These early colonists, who were mostly from Yugoslavia and the Veneto region of Italy, were more prepared for the environment they faced than the settlers of Moroz and quickly set about establishing the planetary capital: Nova Rijeka. Expansion on the planet was far slower than the Alliance had originally planned due to a combination of the harsh environment and Novi Jadran’s distance from the Solarian Core. The planet’s second major city, Belluno, was founded in 2215, but a railroad — the main form of inter-city transportation in the harsh tundra environment of the planet — from it to Nova Rijeka took until 2219 to be fully operational. A third major settlement, Durres, was established in 2237 and connected to the growing rail infrastructure by 2239.

Despite being envisioned as an industrial colony much of the planet’s industry was concentrated in its four major cities, and settlements outside of these were not nearly as developed. Much of the planet’s infrastructure was dependent on advanced equipment its industrial base did not have the capacity to manufacture, and the entire world relied on high-end imports from the broader Alliance to remain functional. In the countryside Solarian bureaucrats began to gain more and more power through their ability to issue advanced technological equipment to less developed communities, and this power only increased over time. At the start of the Second Great Depression Novi Jadran was regarded as an underperforming Solarian world highly dependent on the broader Alliance for economic support, and was viewed by many colonial administrators as less successful than the nearby Solarian colony of Sun Reach.

As the Interstellar War raged, Novi Jadran’s economic support fell to the wayside as the Alliance shifted resources from the frontier regions to the War itself. Economic support ground to a halt and complex infrastructure began to break down, first in more remote regions and eventually in major cities. Bureaucrats and other important officials began to hoard functional technology, some to sell it and others to see if it could somehow be produced locally. By 2302 the Solarian Republic of Novi Jadran was dominated by these officials and their families, particularly in the countryside, and remained an underdeveloped and underperforming planet. When the Elyran Revolution occurred, the planet was simply written off by the Alliance and abandoned to its fate without any effort to evacuate it.

Independent Novi Jadran (2302 - 2389)

“The true end of the Solarian hegemonic era came not with the Treaty of Xanan, but with the Elyran Revolution and the collapse of the Southern Frontier. The abandonment of dozens of colonies to their fates is a stain upon our nation which haunts us to this day,” - Excerpt from Ingrid von Varnhagen und Langenburg’s doctoral thesis, The Collapse of Hegemony and Rise of Elyra and Dominia.

Known by modern Jadraners as the “Decades of Deprivation,” the near-century Novi Jadran spent between Solarian and Dominian rule is regarded by most contemporary residents of the planet as a time of darkness and suffering, where advanced equipment failed and less effective solutions were developed to replace them and prevent worse failures. While the planet’s four major cities maintained some of their equipment, smaller settlements often had all of their infrastructure fail over the decades. Some of these villages and small towns were reduced to pre-space era standards of living, and the relative prosperity of the Solarian hegemonic era became a distant memory for the planet. Fusion reactors were replaced by coal plants and rail lines became the primary source of transportation and commerce for much of the world. Those who had control over the limited advanced equipment in rural areas of the planet quickly established themselves as the rulers of their areas and would, by 2389, become the noble families which now rule over much of the planet. In the urban areas where advanced technology was more easily available, patrician families with control over significant amounts of this equipment began to emerge. While no noble or patrician families ever declared outright war on one another, competition for limited technological resources led to shadow conflicts between them and rivalries which — in some cases — have lasted into the 25th century.

As the 24th century began to draw to a close, Novi Jadran continued to limp along. In 2380 a new threat emerged from the nearby world of Sun Reach: raids on Jadranic vessels — limited in number as they were — and some of its settlements by the Pirate Lords of Sun Reach for the purpose of gathering loot. Most engagements were won by the Reachers, who had an orbital industrial base to support their pirate fleet — even if their planet’s surface population was even more neglected than Novi Jadran’s — and the experience needed to outmaneuver their Jadranic counterparts. Eventually, this escalated into extortion and tithes paid by the Jadranic nobility to Sun Reach’s piratical rulers, and this would continue until 2389. A catastrophic crop failure left Novi Jadran unable to pay its tithe and the Pirate Lords threatened a punitive invasion which would have assuredly resulted in mass starvation for the planet’s population.

To save their world, the Jadranic nobility and its wealthy urban patricians looked to a nearby rising power to aid them: the young Empire of Dominia, then in the early period of its expansion. The Empire and Novi Jadran had been in contact with one another prior to this point and Tribunalism had started to establish itself as a major planetary faith by the late 2300s, with many Jadraners finding common ground in the Morozian’s struggle to overcome the challenges of their cold world. Desperate to save their lives and fortunes, the nobles and patricians of the planet allowed themselves to be willingly annexed by the young Empire on 18 June, 2389. The era of Novi Jadran’s independence — the Decades of Deprivation — had ended, and the era of the Imperial Mandate of Novi Jadran had begun.

The Imperial Mandate of Novi Jadran (2389 - Present)

“Jadraners have, time and time again, proved their loyalty to the Empire for little in return. They are a truly remarkable people, and a fine population to pull colonial bureaucrats from in the near future as their society embraces our values,” - Gerhard-Manfred Strelitz, then-High Lord General of His Majesty's Imperial Army, in a missive to then-Emperor Godwin Keeser (2405).

For many rural Jadraners, life barely changed during the first years of the Imperial Mandate. In the cities, changes were more immediately apparent. Morozian engineers, nobles, clergy, and specialists of all kinds began to appear in Jadranic urban centers. Technology which dated back to the Solarian era began to come back online, or be recreated, as Houses Zhao and Caladius poured Imperial Pounds into Jadranic cities in an effort to create prosperous urban industrial centers — though often these facilities were far, far less safe than their Morozian counterparts. Jadraners were after all, regardless of their loyalty, not Morozian. In the countryside these changes were less apparent as many noble families — now officially part of the Dominian system of peerage — opted to enrich themselves at the expense of their populations. Those who did hope to acquire these rebuilt wonders or the goods of the broader Empire would first have to prove themselves loyal to their local noble, rather than to the broader Empire. This is viewed by some as the origin of the Jadranic veneration of Imperial nobility.

After slightly over a decade of Imperial rule, Novi Jadran appeared to be on the mend. Industry — even if it was less safe than Moroz’s — was on the rise in its urban centers, and its cities had become more wealthy — and another, the coastal settlement of Nuova Vicenza, was founded in cooperation between House Zhao, House Caladius, and local patricians. Outside of the cities, however, many rural communities were deprived of access to this development by powerful noble families who wished to keep it for themselves and the communities loyal to them, favoring the wealth of themselves over the whole world. These rural populations were loyal, but had little concept of the broader Empire they were now a part of. To change this, many Imperial Army recruiters visited these communities as part of recruitment drives and propaganda efforts. Many rural families were larger than their urban counterparts, and House Strelitz-aligned recruiting groups promised material and fiscal benefits far beyond what these rural Jadraners would receive from a decade of work on a farm. Dozens of regiments were raised from Novi Jadran and many were stationed on the planet itself, with Moroz — and Fisanduh — viewed as too secure to justify sending large numbers Ma’zal troops there.

In 2402 the Empire’s illusion of Morozian security was shattered by the unprecedented Navy Day Uprising of the Fisanduh Freedom Front. With only limited forces present on Moroz and almost all of them engaged in fighting against the 3F, Imperial Army High Command made the decision to call upon its Jadranic troops to push the insurgents back and reclaim strategically vital areas of Fisansuh. Jadraners did much of the fighting and dying on the Imperial side during the Uprising and, through their dogged fighting, both defeated the insurgents in the open field and pushed them out of important positions throughout Fisanduh. Novi Jadran, through its actions, had cemented itself as the model colony willing to defend Moroz from its greatest threat in decades. Jadraners themselves had been cemented through spilled blood as the elite of the Ma’zals, and the commoner Jadraner as nearly equal to their Morozian counterparts.

In the following decades Novi Jadran has continued to serve as the model colony, frequently entertaining noble guests and colonial bureaucrats from across the Empire. It remains an important world for the Imperial Army, with many of its enlisted personnel and some of its officers coming from it, but much of its rural population remains neglected and impoverished compared to the broader Empire and the Mandate’s urban centers. As the Mandate approaches eighty years of Dominian rule, and the prospect of new absolute leadership appears to be more likely with each passing year, many in the Mandate have continued their calls for a new administration which will benefit the entire world rather than simply the nobles and their loyalists. Despite its status as the model colony, Novi Jadran may be the first challenge a successor to Emperor Keeser faces — it is a planet simply too important to lose, but what awaits the person who challenges noble authority?

Environment

A map of the Imperial Mandate showing its major cities and the rail system which links them together. Unlabeled dots represent outlying rural communities disconnected from the rail network.

“If the Goddess wanted you to wake up after sunrise, she’d have made you a Primary girlie! Keep your whining mouth shut and help me untie the boat — fish wait for no vessel,” - A Jadranic fisherman to his daughter in mid-summer. Recorded by the Imperial News Network in 2455.

Novi Jadran is a tundra world similar to Moroz in terms of its climate. Summers, and the growing season, are short and relatively warm while winters are long and harsh. The planet’s spring and early summer is a time of flooding in many rural areas as snowmelt and spring rains combine to create muddy, treacherous conditions which render travel on the unpaved roads which are common throughout rural areas difficult and potentially hazardous. This condition is repeated in the early autumn, which is a season of intense rains as the growing season draws to a close. During winter most regions of the planet have several months of consecutive below freezing average temperatures, and much of Novi Jadran’s surface outside of its equatorial region is covered in permafrost. During the peak of winter, some blizzards can last for over a week and deposit meters of snow on the ground.

The planet's surface is mostly water, with a large ocean, known as Pontean Ocean, surrounding its only continent: Patria, which is covered in multiple lakes and crisscrossed by several major rivers. One of these, the Iri River, is home to the four major cities of Novi Jadran and stretches from the equatorial west to the equatorial east of Patria. The Iri River is deep and wide, supporting much of the piscine diet which dominates the planet and serving as an important economic vein for the planet. In recent years it has become increasingly polluted by industrial runoff, hfueling more dissent against Governor-Marchioness Anastazija Glavan due to her refusal to halt industrial development or confront the great houses for their impact on Jadranic fishing. Smaller rivers, such as the Iri’s tributaries, suffer from pollution to a lesser extent. The majority of Patria is dominated by thick forests and tundras, with every region of the supercontinent seeing snow during the winter.

The Pontean Ocean, which covers the majority of Novi Jadran’s surface, is a freshwater ocean home to large icebergs which threaten shipping and have kept explorations — and exploitations — of it limited. Coastal Jadranic communities acquire much of their foot from its icy waters and the ocean produces devastating storms during winter which can wreck even steel-hulled vessels — often designed to endure conditions of the wide Iri River, inland lakes, or the coastal ocean — if they are caught far from land. On the coast, Pontean “Sea-Storms” are frequent events during winter which can leave communities trapped in meters of snow and wash away poorly-prepared residences and piers, taking them out into its waters — never to be seen again. Oceanographers hired by House Caladius and brought to the Empire from planets as distant as Silversun and Europa claim the Pontean Ocean’s deeper regions are home to extensive natural gas reserves, but exploitation of these deposits has been limited due to the ocean’s harsh conditions and the unwillingness of many Jadranic sailors to venture beyond the sight of land.

Culture

“When commanding troops of the Imperial Mandate one must recall a main value of its people: loyalty. Much like a dog, a Jadraner will obey their masters — we Morozians — without question if they are shown respect and given sensible orders, particularly by fellow Jadraners under your command. Treat them well and you will have a loyal unit ready to die for the Empire. Mistreat them, and you will find they hold more influence over our House than the typical Ma’zal,” - Excerpt from A Guide to Jadranic Command for Strelitz Officers (3rd Edition).

Jadranic culture has been heavily influenced by Imperial rule of the planet, particularly in its urban areas, but differences are present between the culture of urban Jadraners and their rural counterparts. Historical cleavages in development, with the four major cities of Novi Jadran receiving far more investment than the countryside, have exacerbated these differences and created two cultural subgroups with similar, though slightly different, cultural beliefs and views of the broader Empire and Novi Jadran’s role in it. There are even physical differences between the two groups, with rural Jadraners typically being shorter and thinner than their urban counterparts due to their weaker diets and higher levels of malnutrition. Amongst both groups, however, loyalty to the Empire and their local nobility is viewed as socially desirable, though for divergent reasons.

In both Jadranic populations the ideal of loyalty is a key element of society believed to be rooted in the struggle to survive and establish themselves on the planet’s harsh, unforgiving surface where failed or faltering harvests could be lethal for entire communities. In the pre-Imperial and post-Solarian Decades of Deprivation loyalty became more prized as survival became harder. Rural communities pledged themselves to regional leaders who would later go on to become the Jadranic noble families in the anticipation these nobles would assist them when they went hungry, while urban Jadraners placed their faith in patrician families who advocated for their interests to local nobles. In the Imperial era this dedication to loyalty had been used, and exploited, by the Imperial government to endear itself to the Jadranic population. In rural and urban environments it takes on the role of a benevolent savior and overlord, and rewards the loyal Jadranic population — particularly its nobles and urban communities — with rewards unlike any given to other Ma’zal communities.

Rural Jadraners

The majority of Novi Jadran’s population lives in small, rural communities which are often underdeveloped due to corruption and graft from their noble overlords. Rural Jadraners are, on average, shorter and thinner than their urban counterparts due to poorer diets and a greater level of early childhood malnutrition. Rural communities are often impoverished and lack modern technology, with many villages having poor or nonexistent infrastructure such as electrical grids and modern roads. The Jadranic office of the Department of Colonial Affairs turns a blind eye to corruption of local nobles in exchange for their patronage and the lavish hospitality they provide visiting Primaries, including the Chief Commissioner for Colonial Affairs. These visits, and their associated celebrations, are major events for the rural Jadraner’s of a noble’s domain, and those who are able to make an offering to catch a visiting Primary’s eye will do so. Catching the attention of a Primary is a quick way to receive boons ranging from small gifts to the taking-on of the Jadraner’s family as wards to enrolling the Jadraner’s family in advanced schooling such as the Royal Engineering Institute or Valentina Caladius School for Gifted Ma’zals. Those who do not acquire this patronage may simply try again next time, never try again, or try their luck in the industrial, urban centers of the planet.

Rural Jadranic life can be quite harsh, particularly during the long winter months of the planet. Fishing is a vital skill for many communities as crops are often impractical to grow without greenhouses, and rural communities along the Iri River and equatorial Pontean Ocean have historically been the most prosperous of the planet’s non-urban settlements. With the growing industrialization of Novi Jadran since 2389 and the increasing level of pollution in the Iri River, many of these once-prosperous riverine communities have emptied out as fishing has become non-viable due to the hazardous nature of the Iri’s waters. Coastal communities have fared better, and many send much of their catch to urban markets where they make large profits, and are home to some of the most developed infrastructure outside of the urban settlements. Life in these settlements, however, is harsh: the Pontean ocean is wracked by violent storms throughout the winter and fishing on the open Ocean requires long, demanding hours on all days of the week. Not every boat which goes out will make it back, particularly during the winter. Coastal rural communities are regarded as more superstitious and Goddess-fearing than their inland counterparts, and many feature shrines to the Goddess where She is clad in the traditional yellow rain slicker and hat of Jadranic fishers.

In every rural community there is a cadre of individuals who have been deemed loyal by the region’s noble overlord. Typically, these notables serve as the leaders of a community and receive advanced equipment and training in exchange for continued loyalty to the noble family which rules over them. They often distribute this equipment to individuals loyal to them, thus ensuring a system of patronage which allows them to maintain their power over a community. While they are not nobles, these notables have a degree of political influence which allows them to ask favors of their overlords and are often the people who determine where the extensive rail lines of Novi Jadran will expand to next.

Rural Jadraners and the Imperial Army

“Generally enlisted personnel, rural Jadraners will be the bulk of your command. Do not be fooled by their slighter frames and smaller builds compared to Morozians: they are as reliable and loyal as any Secondary,” - Excerpt from A Guide to Jadranic Command for Strelitz Officers (3rd Edition).

The dark red standard of House Strelitz, the great house which dominates the Imperial Army.

With limited economic opportunities, harsh living conditions, and the Jadranic tradition of loyalty, the rural areas of Novi Jadran are a frequent target for Imperial Army recruitment drives. These recruiters, who are often Morozians or urban Jadraners who have expressed a high level of patriotism for the Empire, arrive by train at the end of the summer harvest — when many families wonder if they’ll have enough food to last through the winter — and present the benefits of enlistment: higher wages compared to farm or fishery work, training in valuable skills, a chance to lift the entire family’s Mo’ri’zal, and other benefits. Many recruiters will offer cash bounties for enlistment, or provide advanced equipment such as an electrical grid to villages able to consistently provide recruits. Parents eager to see their sons and daughters succeed in life, or worried they will not last through the winter, or simply motivated by greed, push their children to volunteer and serve both Goddess and Jadran in the Imperial military. Most willingly enlist, while some are forced or coerced by their parents or guardians.

Rural Jadraners who enlist into the Imperial Army — or more rarely the Imperial Fleet, which does much of its recruitment in urban areas — must often be sent through an adjustment period at their billet as many experience profound culture shock upon arriving in the major cities of the planet. They have exchanged a life of manual labor for one of military training, and traded the muddy, unpaved streets of their rural villages for the paved roads of the four major cities and the insulated, heated barracks of the many Imperial Army bases on the planet. Over a period of weeks they are molded into “modern” Integrated Ma’zals suitable for Army service and able to interact with even Morozian officers. These Jadranic soldiers often send much of their salary back to their villages, but rarely move back into them for extended periods after their service ends. Life in the Imperial Army is often difficult, and one can always die in service, but many rural Jadraners view it as the best way to achieve a better life. However, rural Jadraners form a smaller portion of the Imperial Army’s officer corps when compared to their urban, or Morozian, counterparts. Primarily they serve as enlisted troops, sometimes rising to junior officer ranks. There has never been a rural-originating Jadranic general officer.

In the villages where troops are recruited from, the departure of their sons and daughters to the Imperial Army is viewed with a mixture of pride, sorrow, jealousy, and worry. Those who remain view the departing as representing their village, and their parents are regarded as good people and model Imperial citizens for committing their children to the military — sacrificing a spare hand on the farm in the process. Some who remain, such as the siblings of recruits, view them with a degree of envy and jealousy as the recruits are free from the burdens of rural manual labor, the cold winters of the Jadranic countryside, and the simple boredom of rural life. Many who feel this way are destined to become Army recruits themselves, particularly once the soldier begins sending money back to their village. Due to the expense associated with portraits and the rarity of professional photographers in the countryside, rural households will often have a sketch of their relative in uniform in their house rather than a painting or professional portrait. Due to the poor conditions of rural infrastructure the parents of soldiers often have difficulty communicating with their children, with their telephones — which not all villages possess — or computers being unable to reach beyond Novi Jadran, and instead having to rely upon the Imperial Dominian Mail Service to communicate via letters. Sometimes, of course, despite the prayers of their family and a village’s clergy, the letters stop coming.

To receive official confirmation of an immediate relative’s death in the line of duty a resident of the Jadranic countryside must undertake the Journey of Sorrow, the colloquial name for the trip one must take from their village to one of the four major cities to confirm the death with the Imperial Army’s records department. The journey starts when one is advised, generally by letter, of a relative’s death and summoned to the nearest major city to receive the body, official death certificate, and associated Mo’ri’zal adjustments that come from a death in service of the Imperial military. For a rural Jadraner this is an expensive, time-consuming process which will take them away from their village and job for weeks on end, if not months, as they journey to the city and acquire their relative’s body, then travel back to make funeral arrangements. Often only two to three members of a family will go, and their missing spots in the family’s jobs will be covered by younger relatives or trusted neighbors. The sight of weeping peasants with black armbands — commonly worn by Tribunalists in mourning — is common enough in major urban centers to be a point of discussion in urban Jadranic circles.

Rural to Urban Migration

Rural Jadraners do, like many people across the Orion Spur, move to urban centers in search of greater employment opportunities for their families. On Novi Jadran itself these migrants are often found in the poorer sections of urban areas and in lower-paying industrial or service sector jobs — such as armaments workers or household servant work — as they lack the technical skills and generational wealth of the urbanite counterparts. Over time these rural Jadraners typically adapt to their environment and many do establish themselves in more profitable, and prestigious, careers such as white collar work and blue collar management, but this often takes years if not entire generations. As they speak a slightly different dialect of Vulgar Morozi when compared to their urban counterparts, many will attempt to suppress their accent in an effort to appear more urbanized, and thus more skilled and desirable for promotions. As migrants often live in urban communities with other rural Jadraners referred to as “Vilagjet” — a combination of the Jadranic words for “village” and “neighborhood” — by urban Jadraners, immersion into urban culture can be difficult for new arrivals.

Urban Jadraners

A minority of Novi Jadran’s population lives in its four major cities — Nova Rijeka, Belluno, and Durres — and their outlying neighborhoods where the majority of Imperial development has been concentrated. Urbanite Jadraners are the wealthiest non-Morozian group in the Empire of Dominia and are generally taller and often bulkier than their rural counterparts due to a better diet. This wealth, which has been quickly amassed since 2389, has transformed many urban Jadranic families from impoverished working-class families into middle or upper middle class bureaucrats and Integrated Ma’zals with money to spend on luxury goods, education, and the latest Morozian cultural imports. Cities which once were covered in decaying, half-abandoned Solarian-era industrial parks have been transformed into lavish industrial centers of the Empire where imported Morozian luxury cars carrying visiting Morozian tourists travel next to the ubiquitous urban rail lines of the four cities.

But beneath the surface of newfound wealth and prosperity lies an inconvenient truth: the money which has created the urban Jadranic renaissance comes from the colonial empire of Moroz. Despite being Ma’zals — though valuable, trusted Ma’zals — the urban Jadraners have readily, even gleefully, embraced their role in the colonial system as its bureaucrats, mid-ranking military officers, and technical professionals. While there is no widespread effort to move away from this system which has brought them such wealth, some younger urbanites have begun to question the Department of Colonial Affairs’ role in continuous rural poverty. Many of these young Jadranic urbanites have taken to joining counterculture movements which call for a new approach to government in the style of famed pro-Imperial reformist Edvard Posavec — a close ally of Crown Princess Priscilla, the heir apparent, who has called for an adjustment of the system of rural governance. Some go even beyond this, calling for the rural nobles to be entirely disenfranchised and removed from power — but this is a radical opinion rarely heard in the coffee shops which dissident youths and intellectuals favor.

Urban Jadranic life is less impacted by the changing seasons as the typical urban resident works in either an industrial area, white-collar office, or service industry and acquired their foot from a local store rather than catching it or growing it themselves. Novi Jadran’s four major cities are known throughout the Empire as productive industrial centers which produce many of the perishable foodstuffs and equipment consumed throughout the Imperial Frontier, and Imperial Army equipment commonly bears the Jadranic industrial seal of quality somewhere in its steel. Jadranic heavy industry, however, is poorly regulated compared to elsewhere in the Spur: workers are expected to put in long hours at their jobs with few breaks, factories are far more dirty than elsewhere in the Spur (though Svarog, in the Federal Technocracy of Galatea, still outpaces the planet), and industrial accidents and deaths are frightening common. Attempts to regulate Jadranic factories have been prevented by the government, fueling further anti-Glavan and pro-Posavec dissent.

When urban Jadraners join the military, which they often do, they typically serve as officers or specialized personnel such as engineers and medical professionals due to their higher levels of education than rural Jadraners. Urban Jadraners serve in all three branches of the Imperial military and have risen highest in the Imperial Army, where several have become members of Imperial Army High Command (HCAI), the central decision-making body overseen by the High Lord General. In the more Morozian-centered Fleet and Flying Corps, Jadraners have found less success. Jadraners in the Fleet often do not rise beyond junior flag officer ranks and few Flying Corps fighter pilots are Secondaries, let alone Jadraners. Having at least one child in the Imperial military — generally the Army — is seen as a desirable trait for urban families, with many viewing it as their way of showing continued loyalty to the Empire. Photos or paintings of current or historical relatives in uniform feature prominently in many urban residences, and these officers are easily able to remain in touch with their families due to the greater level of technology in cities.

Urban Counterculture

“That we even have these ‘movements’ is an insult to everything our government stands for, and a slap to the face of our Empire!” - Governor-Marchioness Anastazija Glavan in a meeting with the constabulary in Nova Rijeka, 2465.

The counterculture, or dissident, movement of Novi Jadran’s four major cities is concentrated amongst the young and educated urban population of the cities, and has its origins in the classrooms of the Royal Engineering Institute of Nova Rijeka. There, in the early 2300s, the educated Jadranic classes began to emerge and were tasked with improving their Mandate for the broader Empire’s glory and continued prosperity. But as Novi Jadran has changed, so too has its counterculture movements, which have become three distinct groups: the established, urban Jadranists, the youth-centered Mjenjači, and the more radical Posavacists.

Jadranists (Jadranism)

The central pillar of the Jadranist movement is the neglect of the countryside by the nobles who are, according to the Mandate’s government and the broader Empire, meant to develop it and bring prosperity to all of Novi Jadran. But they have not, and many rural nobles have opted to enrich themselves with funds meant for rural development. Furthermore, they have interfered and meddled with efforts by urban professionals to create projects in the countryside such as railroads, mines, and electrical grids, forcing development to cater to their systems of patronage rather than the empirical studies of the Royal Institute. Frustrated and unable to formally act against the rural nobles due to their status as “just” commoner Ma’zals, these professionals began to debate what could be done about the sorry state of rural life on Novi Jadran in classrooms, middle-class living rooms, coffee shops, and other places the Jadranic intelligentsia frequented. By the 2410s this movement, still concentrated in the university-educated classes of urban Novi Jadran, was known as Jadranism.

Jadranists advocate for a lessening of rural noble privileges and more oversight of rural development, with many calling for the Empire to replace the current governor and begin anti-corruption investigations into the colonial administration of the planet. They hold a patronizing attitude towards rural Jadraners and view themselves — the educated, urban elite — as more able to make decisions than their uneducated, rural counterparts. This stance — and the poor working conditions of many rural industrial facilities — has won them few friends amongst rural community leaders, but their connections to urban patricians have ensured their continued relevance. The Jadranist faction is closely aligned to Edvard Posavac’s movement, but is viewed poorly by youth dissident groups. It is a common joke amongst the Mjenjači the quickest way to ensure change is to have a Jadranist speak to a rural noble — they’ll quickly die from boredom.

Mjenjači

Literally translating from Jadranic Morozi as “Gearboxes,” the Mjenjači (also rendered Mjenjachi) are a counterculture — arguably, a dissident — group primarily made up of the descendants of rural Jadranic immigrants to urban centers during the early Imperial period. A cross-class movement which includes everyone from the children of factory workers to those of white collar professionals, many Mjenjači are university or primary school students and their political influence is the smallest of the three major counterculture groups. The Mjenjači first emerged in the 2430s and their name is a reference to the common employment of first-generation rural immigrants: factory work.

Unlike the Jadranists and Posavacists, which are political in nature, the Mjenjači are a cultural movement which has grown out of the experience of rural life and urban migration, and the resulting discontent with the colonial administration. Mjenjači clubs are frequent sights in university districts and in Vilagjet communities, and their fashion trends — which favor dark, earthen tones reminiscent of the clothes worn by poor urban Jadraners but influenced by Jintarian “punk” trends — have become popular amongst young urbanites in the 2460s. While their political pull is limited, the Mjenjači broadly support more autonomy for rural communities and more resources for their development. As a youth movement, they are often found on campuses and many recent graduates still subscribe to some of its cultural practices, such as its mode of dress.

While it lacks true political influence the Mjenjači movement is viewed with suspicion by the Royal Jadranic Constabulary for its skepticism of the government and distaste for military service, which many Mjenjači view as exploiting the rural population. It is not uncommon for constables to break up Mjenjači gatherings at the orders of bureaucrats and local notables, and the movement has a reputation for petty hooliganism throughout much of urban Novi Jadran as a result — a reputation the Mjenjači view as undeserved.

Posavacists

Formed by Imperial diplomat Edvard Posavec in the latter years of the 2440s, the Posavacists are a young and shockingly influential counterculture movement which calls for the establishment of an oversight system for the rural nobility to prevent their excesses. Some radicals, whom the movement seems to publicize more than their mainstream peers, call for a total replacement of the traditional nobles with, “more qualified Morozians,” instead. Like Posavec himself much of his movement is made up of educated urban commoners, particularly those in the Imperial bureaucracy, and it has limited support outside of this group — though its deep pockets allow for many to be hired on as demonstrators.

The Posavecists are viewed as a dangerous group by the current Governor due to their deep connections in the bureaucracy and Posavec’s most important ally: the crown princess, Priscilla Keeser herself. Her influence shield the movement from much of the harassment others face and she is rumored to be a major funder of its goals due to the long-rumored distaste Priscilla and Governor-Marchioness Glavan hold for one another. As long as her influence holds, they will remain untouched — and perhaps even be swept into power after Empress Priscillla is crowned.

Government

“The existence of Novi Jadran — a colonized society used to colonize others — is proof of the Empire’s depravity, and how far they have strayed from the Goddess’ light,” - Anonymous Xanan of Fisanduhian descent interviewed by the Xanu News Network’s Liao Qi in early 2465.

The Imperial Mandate of Novi Jadran is a subject of the Empire of Dominia which is ruled by Governor-Marchioness Anastazija Glavan, a Jadranic noblewoman from Nova Rijeka and retired Imperial Army officer who has held the position since 2455 and is widely unpopular amongst the common Jadranic population for her unwillingness — or perhaps her inability — to contest the opinions of nobles and fight for the rights many Jadraners believe they have earned by their blood spilled in the Empire’s service. Compounding her issues, Glavan must answer to the whims of Novi Jadran’s nobility. Though not Morozian Primaries, these nobles dominate much of the Jadranic countryside and hold significant political influence in its cities and government. Without their cooperation, life in the planet’s urban centers would grind to a halt as food and raw materials stopped arriving at the necessary rates.

The colonial bureaucracy of Novi Jadran is de jure entirely under the control of the Department of Colonial Affairs, as it is an Imperial Mandate of the broader Empire. De facto, the Department has a hands-off approach where Novi Jadran is left to manage its own internal affairs due to its proven loyalty, and Morozian Primary bureaucrats — with their Secondary colleagues — are treated lavishly on the planet when they arrive. The Imperial Mandate’s bureaucracy is itself divided between the rural and urban zones, with the rural areas dominated by the Jadranic nobility and the urban areas dominated by the more meritocratic bureaucracy of the urban patrician classes, who must ensure profits continue to flow into their urban holdings. In the countryside, graft and corruption by rural nobles — with Morozian Primaries of the Department of Colonial Affairs often receiving kickbacks — ensures the administration is inefficient and benefits nobles first, with commoners second.

Non-Tribunalist criminal enforcement on Novi Jadran is handled by the local branch of His Imperial Majesty’s Constabulary Service: the Imperial Jadranic Colonial Constabulary (IJCC), which is further divided into rural and urban sections. The IJCC has a reputation for excellence in the broader Empire and across Novi Jadran, with low rates of corruption and high rates of solving cases — particularly in urban areas. Urban constables are common sights in most city districts, with their peaked caps and uniform intentionally designed to evoke the appearance of an Imperial Army officer. Rural constables are less frequent, with many villages only having a single constable for their region. Despite their low numbers, rural constables have a reputation for doggedly tracking fugitives for dozens — sometimes — hundreds of kilometers, often with the assistance of Imperial Lyodii seconded to the IJCX from the Lyodic Rifles, until they bring their suspect to justice.

Major Rural Noble Families

While not Morozian Primaries, the rural nobility of Novi Jadran are still viewed as the social elite of the planet and are de facto equal to their Morozian counterparts, though de jure they are subordinated to Moroz’s will. Noble houses on the model colony are much smaller than their Morozian great house counterparts, often only a few dozen relatives and their retainers, and hold sway over the vast majority of the planet’s countryside. Many rural Jadraners are more loyal to their local noble family than the central government of the planet, which these nobles use as leverage against the cities and their patricians.

Duke Dragan Glavan, father to the current Governor-Marchioness, is a towering figure in the political environment of the Imperial Mandate due to the Glavan family’s dominance of the fertile countryside near Lake Glavan and Nova Rijeka, which remains outside of the Duke’s control — much to his continued frustration. Duke Glavan is a military-minded man who ensures the rural population under his control provides more recruits to the Imperial Army than any other noble-controlled region, and he is famous for his valor during the Dominian conquest of Sun Reach — where he served as an officer. Dragan typically invites members of House Strelitz to his domain and organizes elaborate hunting parties and celebrations for him, maintaining large, private hunting forests where trespassing commoners are given the choice of execution or service in the Imperial Army if caught. A harsh, militant individual, Dragan is disliked by many in Nova Rijeka for his domineering attitude towards the city and constant meddling with its railroad networks. He is a frequent object of satire in the Novi Rijeka Gazette, the Mandate’s most widely-read newspaper. The Duke has attempted many times to shut the Gazette down, only to be frustrated by the mysterious — and unknown — Morozian noble who bankrolls it. Rumor has it the crown princess herself is the Gazette’s patron, and it is funded to frustrate the Galvans.

Duchess Filomena di Falerio, second of her name, controls large, mostly barren swathes of land in northern Patria near the Godwin Sea, having inherited it from her father upon his passing in 2431. Over the intervening thirty years Filomena, an engineer by training, has opened up the di Falerio holdings to investment by the great houses, megacorporations, and urban Jadranic businesses after a village discovered large mineral veins in the foothills where they tended their groves. The rural villagers were shortly forced off their land by Eridani mercenaries hired by Filomena and mineral rights were sold off to the highest bidders, even if they were offworld, with the expectation the family would receive a cut of the profits. Filomena frequently invites engineers from House Zhao to her domain, and frequently entertains Admiral-Governor Lanying Zhao of Zhurong. The wealthiest of all rural nobles, Filomena is regarded as by far the most cruel. Her gaunt, commanding visage is frequently seen in anti-noble literature distributed by the Posavecists’ radical faction, and some whisper that she is only kept in power through her use of mercenaries, the amount of kickbacks she provides to the government, and the sheer volume of raw materials she provides to the urban factories of the planet. Even if the methods to gather them are cruel, some say, does it truly matter when we do not see them?

Duke Ludovico di Brignole controls a stretch of fertile coastal land south of Durres along the Pontean coast. Not as wealthy as the di Falerios nor as militant as House Glavan Ludovico is, in many ways, the archetypal rural noble. His holdings are poor, yes, but they are local and faithful to the Empire and the Goddess alike. Money which should go to them instead goes to excessive celebrations for Morozian Primaries which benefit House di Brignole, yes, but he provides the rural citizenry with enough to make a living — even if barely any villages have electricity and some must walk for days to reach the nearest rail line. The Duke himself is a pious, somewhat dull man who seeks the patronage of any Morozian who visits his holdings. The territory he controls is regarded by many Jadraners as a breadbasket for its bountiful fishing grounds, and more temperate weather due to the Pontean Ocean ’s currents. The warm temperatures have, in recent decades, made the coastal villages popular vacation spots for urban Jadraners — a process which has, ironically, seen these villages quickly transformed into wonders of rural infrastructure. Many Jadraners — both rural residents of the duchy and urban visitors — have noted the only reason for this modernization was the promise of Imperial Pounds, shedding much light on Ludovico’s true character.

Economics

“From Moroz to Sun Reach we provide what you need, when you need it, however you need it,” - Motto of Jadranic firm Belluno Interstellar Logistics (BLI).

Novi Jadran’s urban settlements, despite the poverty of much of its countryside, are productive industrial areas which provide much of the weaponry and equipment used by the Imperial military — though Zhurong still outpaces it — and produce consumer goods used throughout the Empire such as foodstuffs, with Jadranic canneries producing much of the food commonly available on the Imperial Frontier. While many of these factories are owned by the great houses, particularly Zhao and Caladius, a slim majority are owned by native Jadranic firms run by urban patricians. Safety standards in Jadranic factories are lower than in the Imperial Core and injuries occur at a higher rate as a result. Jadranic workers — and some factory owners — have protested for higher standards, but the government — at the behest of the great houses — has always denied these motions. In recent years, with Emperor Boleslaw growing older, this has become a greater and greater point of discontent with Governor-Marchioness Glavan’s regime, and many factory workers eagerly await the day she is sacked by the crown princess. In contrast to the factories, Jadranic clockmakers are widely seen as some of the best in the Spur and have retained their traditional style of production in small workshops. With their craft dating back to the pre-Imperial era, some clockmaking workshops have centuries of experience and their products are highly valued throughout the Spur — some have been purchased by customers as far away as Earth.

The four cities of Novi Jadran are connected by large, well-developed freight and commercial rail networks which many urban Jadraners view as the pride of the Imperial Mandate. Jadraners are some of the most adept rail engineers in the modern Orion Spur, and the planet is now crisscrossed by thousands of kilometers of rail lines which move everything from food to tourists to the raw materials which its factories will turn into the lifeblood of the Imperial Frontier. Due to the harsh winters Jadranic trains are often larger than their foreign counterparts and feature large snowplows to toss aside even post-blizzard snowfalls. Visiting Morozian Primaries often travel across the planet by rail in luxury cars, favoring it over often poorly-maintained rural roads.

The rural Jadranic economy is smaller and less profitable than its urban counterpart due to neglect and the simple fact that foodstuffs are much cheaper when compared to the finished goods produced in urban environments. Primarily revolving around fishing and farming, the rural economy demands long hours for little pay and few opportunities. Some instead work in mining industries under the employ of rural nobles, Morozians, or urban Jadraners. Here the pay is much higher, but harsh working conditions and poor safety standards take a physical toll on the workers. Many Jadranic miners will ultimately suffer from chronic health conditions or be left unable to work due to workplace injuries, leaving their surviving family members to pick up their medical expenses and provide for the family itself. With such prospects it is easy to see why many rural Jadraners instead migrate to the cities or choose a life of military service.

Major Cities

“Second only to Moroz,” - Unofficial motto of the Imperial Mandate.

Even decades after its entry into the Empire of Dominia, Novi Jadran remains a primarily rural world with few major settlements beyond its four major cities: Nova Rijeka, Durres, Belluno, and Nuova Vicenza. The four major cities of Novi Jadran are dominated by different political forces and their residents have lives totally unlike their rural counterparts, both of which are discussed in the culture section above.

Nova Rijeka: The first settlement on Novi Jadran, Nova Rijeka is the largest and most important city in the Imperial Mandate. It is the center of the Empire’s administration on the planet and an important center for the colonial administration of the wider Imperial Frontier. Located on the western shores of the Glavan Sea, one of Patria’s largest bodies of water, the capital city of the Imperial Mandate is a testament to the prosperity Dominian colonialism has brought the model colony. Following a major fire in the late 2380s the historical center of the city was rebuilt in a modernist, Morozian style favoring wide boulevards and frequent green spaces to attract tourists and please its residents. As one leaves the government center and moves into the middle and working-class neighborhoods the level of opulence decreases, but the city remains pleasant to inhabit. Its municipal tram system is held by Rijekans as the most efficient in the entire Empire, and they are known to frequently brag about this even when abroad.

Due to its position on the Glavan Sea, Nova Rijeka has a significant maritime industry centered around shipping and fishing. The coastal regions of the city, where these industries are found, are home to the majority of the capital’s rural immigrant population. As the Iri River has grown more polluted from industrial runoff from its factory districts, Rijekan trawlers have begun to fish further away from the city — bringing them into conflict with coastal villages and Duke Glavan. The city, always influential, seems set to win any political conflict. Originally settled by Croatian colonists, Nova Rijeka has since heavily diversified and is home to the majority of the planet’s “off-world” Dominian population – immigrants such as Morozian Secondaries, Imperial Frontiersmen, and Lyodii who have come to the planet to make a living in its growing industries.

Durres: On the shores of western Patria near the mouth of the Iri river lies the industrial city of Durres. The beating heart of Novi Jadran’s industry, it is an incredibly dirty city where factories belch acrid smoke in its industrial districts and the Iri River is so filled with pollutants almost no fish can be found within it. Runoff from its industrial districts has turned areas of the Pontean Ocean around an unusual copper-brown tone, and the city is covered in industrial smog on days when winds from the ocean do not blow it inland. If Nova Rijeka is a testament to the wealth Dominia has brought the Imperial Mandate, Durres is a monument to how the Empire has changed its client state: initially a middling industrial town in the 2380s, it has become – alongside Jinxiang on Moroz and Hongse Chengbao on Zhurong – one of the most productive cities in the Empire. Products made here are used across the Empire and its Imperial Frontier, furthering the conquest of the free frontier worlds surrounding it.

Durres is home to the largest population of rural immigrants – and their descendants – on Novi Jadran and is the birthplace of the Mjenjači movement. The poor living conditions in the city and in the surrounding countryside have freed Durres from the attention of the rural nobility, who want nothing to do with the ash-covered and polluted areas tainted by industrial runoff which surround much of the city, particularly the former mining areas on the Iri’s southern bank. This, ironically, has made Durres the de facto largest city on Novi Jadran by land mass – though much of it is technically still owned by rural nobles, prospectors and surveyors from Durres operate freely within these polluted lands, searching for the materials which allow the city to continue producing its industrial wealth.

Belluno: Nestled between the administrative center of Nova Rijeka and the industrial hub of Durres, Belluno serves as the main transit hub of Novi Jadran for on-world and offworld travel. A moderately important rail hub before the founding of the Imperial Mandate, the city has grown massively over the past decades and is now home to the largest single rail hub – the Belluno Central Rail Yard – in the Empire outside of Moroz. Outside of the city, shuttles and freighters from across the Empire and beyond land in massive dockyards designed by House Zhao engineers and built by Jadranic hands. Less modernized than Nova Rijeka but cleaner than Durres, Belluno serves as the best example of pre-Imperial Jadranic architecture on the planet and is home to many buildings dating back to the Solarian colonial era.

Residents of Belluno are often stereotyped on Novi Jadran as numbers-focused technocrats due to the city’s massive transit industry. Outside of the Empire it is known as the birthplace of the witchfinder stories genre, with famed author Andrija Jurina living in an apartment in downtown Belluno she has refused to move out of despite her newfound wealth. Belluno was originally settled by Italian colonists primarily from Veneto and has retained cultural and culinary influence from this era – many Dominian tour books advise that while Nova Rijeka may be the most important city in the Imperial Mandate, Belluno is the one with the best food and wine.

Nuova Vicenza: Located on the eastern coast of Patria, near the Godwin Sea, is the only major city established after the Imperial Mandate was founded. Nuova Vicenza prior to the Empire’s arrival was a series of small, mostly unincorporated fishing villages nestled along the coast which made their livings from the fresh catch of the Pontean Ocean. House Zhao prospectors found massive fuel deposits off of the coast near these villages and quickly convinced the local noble — an impoverished man who has since faded into history — to sell them the land, which they then sold off to patrician families from the planet’s three cities. An oil boom followed and the city was transformed into a major urban center by the end of the 2300s, though one much more hastily constructed than the other three cities.

Decades later the city remains a major center of fuel production for Novi Jadran, and its fuel tankers are a frequent sight on the Iri River and the rail lines of the planet. The city itself has seen oil production fall since the 2440s as older wells closer to the shore have dried up and drilling further into the ocean has proven to be difficult and unprofitable. This has caused the city’s population to decrease over the past quarter-century and many of its patricians worry its relevance will fade away as fusion power — already widely used in the Imperial Core — spreads to the Imperial Mandate, eliminating the need for the natural gas and coal that fuel much of the planet’s industrial production and power its cities.