Miln 

Pronunciation: MILN 

Adjective: Milanese (Mil-ah-KNEEZ)

Major Islands:

Miln Island: 64,367 sq mi (167,000 sq km) [Wisconsin]

Silverwald Island: 31,153 sq mi (93,636 sq km) [South Carolina]

Estergate Island: 13,866 sq mi (35,913 sq km) [Maryland]

Icefox Island: 25,137 sq mi (65,104 sq km) [West Virginia]

Population: 25 million

Government: Empire, ruled by a Kaiser

Economy: Miln's internal economy is the strongest of any in Litanaea, and supplemented primarily by duties and taxes on goods entering and leaving the empire, but they also have several key exports: wood, coal, and glass. Large forests of all varieties and an extremely progressive replanting program have kept the nation in raw materials for centuries and looks to continue doing so for just as long into the future. While Miln has not the relative proportions of coal to land area that Chō does, they do possess a quite sizable supply in absolute terms, a fair percentage of which is exported to the smaller eastern isle. FInally, Glasston's beaches produce the best lenses and windows in all of Litanaea and are exported all over the islands.

Politics: Miln has perfected the idea of bureaucracy, although with just enough autocratic leanings to keep things form getting too bloated. For some reason, knowing that the kaiser has absolutely no qualms (and no legal impediments) about ordering your death if he so much as strongly suspects you of aggrandizement or embezzlement has a constraining effect on those same activities, or at least drives one to more thoroughly cover up any evidence of those abuses. Miln does possess a definite aristocracy, as well, with landed nobles lording it over the common factory-men and work-weary peasants, with a social-climbing middle class squished in-between.

Religion: The Children of Iomei have made some serious in-roads into Miln, largely through conquered peoples. The 'true' Milanese have always worshipped their ancestors, specifically through architecture and building projects.

Culture: Miln is the largest political entity in Litanaea and, for the bulk of their history, the most successful. They have increased their original holdings ten-fold and have been doing so for the better part of six centuries. With such a history behind them, they build for the ages, and they often think that way, as well. Of all the nations, Miln is the most likely to sacrifice an advantage today to secure one for their children, as their parents inevitably sacrificed for them. Similarly, they are the most likely to stoop to unscrupulous behavior to ensure their children's future.

The Milanese military engine is probably the quantifiable best in all of LItanaea. The Chō may possess superior quality weaponry and an openness to new ideas and tactics, the Thevans have their advanced technology, the Afrennen can put forth pure numbers to compensate for any advantage, and the Süminth embody a ferocity and pertinaciousness that literally boggles the mind; but only Miln has nurtured a strong and lengthy military tradition, exploring the science of tactics and strategy, the razor edge of discipline, and the subtle strength of esprit de corps. What other nations consider to be an art, the genius of one tactician or the stoutness of a single noble sergeant, the Milanese can produce at will. Their military academy is unequaled in Litanaea and it helps to explain how they have managed to conquer their vast territory and, in the long run, triumph over quantitative or qualitative advantage an opponent may possess.

Social Systems: Milanese children are often segregated while growing up, rarely having close interactions with more than a double-handful of the opposite sex prior to adulthood. Kept within the household and then bustled off to boarding schools, experimentation between the sexes is honestly expected at all levels of society, but it is deemed uncooth to be public about it, or about any intimate relations. When children grow up, however, they are socially expected to put aside childish thing, marry a tolerable member of the opposite gender, settle down, and have some children of their own. Honor your parents and become an honored parent yourself are the watchwords of the day.

That said, many adults find themselves single for one reason or another: unsuitability as a mate, young window, or the fact that they're gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide. Whatever the reasons, a large number of 'boston marriages' have always existed in Milanese society. Although, only a very few ever bother to make the union 'official', as such an action says both, "we never grew out of our childish attraction to the same gender," and, "we're totally having sex," with all of the scandalous tittering that would ensue.

See Also: Miln Society

Climate: Miln possesses a large climate range, from a chilly temperate in some parts of the southern end of the Empire, to the storm-wracked Silverwald Island, to the downright gorgeously pleasant Estergate Island. The empire has consumed a fairly large chunk of the available landmass in Litanaea and it shows in the diversity of people and climates that one can encounter while traveling from one end of the nation to the other. 

History: The vast majority of Miln's territory didn't used to belong to it. One small village that sat where Jornholm does now birthed the Milanese people, who later went on to explore, trade with, and conquer their neighbors. Must of this conquest went rather smoothly after the first dozen or so villages were added to their growing empire. They hit their stride and began taking village after village like clockwork, pausing occasionally only to rebuild their strength and consolidate their holdings.

The attempt to jump south and take Afrene Island sparked the Litanaean Great War that raged back and forth across several islands before finally resulting in Miln securing its grip on Icefox Island and beating the Afrennen back onto their island. Things have calmed down a little since then, although there are still the occasional border disputes and internal rumblings.

Most recently, the Milanese Navy has been spreading out to patrol the edges of Sarantica, poking their noses into more than a few cargo holds and turning away as many merchants as they can with claims of rogue GodTouched in Sarantican waters.

GodTouched: All godtouched are required by law to report for registration and cleansing by Miln's magi. The vast majority are said to simply have their touch removed and sent back out into the population and everybody has a friend who has a friend who once knew somebody who had been de-touched. At least a dozen are retained for the government's use in various capacities, but they are never seen outside of their assigned duties (disaster relief, road building, etc.) and never talk to anybody.

     *Jornholm – Capital of the Milanese Empire, home to the Kaiser's Palace, and all around Place to Be for Everybody who is Anybody. A place of culture, haute couture, timeless history, and people who are certain (with every fiber of their being) that they are Better Than You. They aren't haughty or arrogant about it, mind you, because that would be uncouth. No, they are simply a superior breed of human being and they allow that knowledge to sustain them through any dealings with outsiders. Think Rome meets Paris and you're halfway there. It was, at one point, a quaint little village in the country that birthed the milanese people. That village still exists, in fact, as a pedestrian market in the center of the city. The rest of the veritable metropolis, however, has the distinct flavor of a city that has been planned, rather than grown.

     Aelcrest – Aelcrest is part of the triumvirate of major cities on Icefox Island, and it specializes in stoneworking. While it lacks some of the natural marble deposits of Whitestone, the southern half of Icefox Island contains large quantities of granite, and Aelcrest has focussed its strengths here, giving Litanaea generations of quarry workers and stonemasons to cut building blocks out of the living earth and ship them and their workers elsewhere to build monuments and structures.

     Blueden – Blueden used to be the home of a particularly ruthless afrennen Farmer Baron who was big on profits and short on compassion for those below his station, which was pretty much everybody else in the area. When the milanese army moved in and violently deposed him, the common folk welcomed them with open arms. Conquest by a foreign power was preferable to continued existence under their old master. A decade or so later, when the Great Litanaean War began in earnest, the citizens of Blueden and the surrounding countryside opted to remain neutral, finding it difficult to join their cultural brothers against the very empire that had rescued them from abject tyranny. Some still chose one side or the other, but most of the population remained aloof. This has led to some current day tensions between the port city and Afrene, but things seems to be slowly working themselves out. Slowly.

     Deepiron Bridge – The Viasa River marks the Miln/Afrene border to the west of the Deepiron Bridge. East, the border follows a bit of the river's upper reaches, but more often the contours of political expediency. The city is named after the large bridge that the milanese army assembled to facilitate their invasion south of the Viasa. It later became a rallying point against the Afrennen military machine's counter-push. These days, it serves as the central depot for the Milanese forces covering the border. Substantial infrastructure and support facilities exist, as well as facilities dealing with trade between the two nations, such as the significant rail yard that has built up over the years.

     Deepshore – Welcome to Jornholm's port and Miln's chief shipyard. A deep-water port in a protected bay it makes a wonderful place for new ship construction and all of the attendant industry: foundries, ropewalks, machinists, sailmakers, and dozens of associated shops and craftsmen. While not exactly right next door to the capital, it does manage to be the next best thing and a great deal of trade happens between the two. Deepshore also boasts a thriving culture in its own right, with many of Miln's prominent nobles maintaining estates around Deepshore Bay.

     Eagle's Gate – Eagle's Gate is primarily known for its massive airfield, airship factories, and hydrogen production facilities. It is truly the 'Eagle's Gate' that its name professes it to be: opening the very skies to mankind's presence. This is not to say that most major cities lack airfields. No, this one simply used to be the nexus of air-service for the Empire when it was just the main island, part of Afrene, and Silverwald Isle. It simply never released its position as the premiere airship nexus in western Litanaea. The port and rail facilities that the Kaiser invested in it don't hurt, either.

     Estergate – X

     Faircoast Crags – A seaport town, complete with mines in the nearby cliffs for which it is named, and serving as a gathering point for lumber deliveries from logging teams spread throughout the Silver Forest that occupies the northeastern two-thirds of the island. A rough town, filled with rough people, some of whom are always trying to push back the world's boundaries. The number of lives lost that set out from here in an attempt to cross the Western Gale are literally incalculable. Being the westernmost major city in Miln, the weather is notoriously poor, but the harbor stays decent enough through most of the year to keep the sea transports moving. Airships have a ridiculously difficult time with the unpredictable winds surrounding the cliffs, so few bother to make the journey and those that do, tend to moor several miles inland at a small village built for that purpose.

     Foxshore – X

     Glasston – Wide, sandy beaches, some dry lake beds, and limestone caves in the general vicinity led to the development of a significant glassmaking industry in the past. When Miln annexed the island, the Kaiser saw little point in changing the town's chief occupation. It has since expanded to include some modest port facilities and artisan shops, in addition to the raw glassworks. Despite the often extremely elegant and precisions pieces crafted in those shops, Glasston has remained very much a "working man's city". Pubs rather than cafés and taverns instead of upscale restaurants, or so goes the general rule.

     Greenrock – Miln's largest naval base and Marine Academy are located on Greenrock Island, as are a good half dozen port towns. Thousands of small vessels are in and out of the island's many ports every day, pulling fish from the ocean, tending aquaculture pens or kelp beds, or ferrying to and from the hundreds of tiny islands dotting the shallow sea between Greenrock and the mainland west of Icefox Hollow.

     Icefox Hollow – Lynnaus only knows where the name came from, but the city has been there from the very beginning in one form or another. They were unhappily annexed by Miln about a century or two back, but seems to have adapted nicely. The locals still happily natter on in their original dialect, although just about everybody speaks passable Milanese. The city is known for its woodwork, both structural and decorative. Hollow carpenters are in demand to furnish the most plush and well to-do houses in Litanaea. It is said that the Milanese Throne was commissioned by the Kaiser immediately after he conquered the city.

     Lighttown – Lighttown is another example of Miln's artificial cities. Artificial in the sense that it was purpose-built, rather than growing up naturally as people collected in an area, that is. Set squarely atop one of the island's larger hills, Lighttown is a nexus of rail, telegraph, and signal lamp lines, functioning as a research center and supply depot for those technologies. Far enough inland to control the number of prying eyes that can get to it, yet not so far from the shore and rail that supplies cannot easily be brought in. The Empire as a whole is dependent upon Lighttown's fruits to keep the empire's infrastructure properly greased and running smoothly.

     Shadowborough – X

     Silvermoor Point – X

     Silverwald – Far from the grind of saws and creaking of timber is an example of one of the most successful resistance movements to ever match wits with the Milanese Army. First, their coastal cutters used swarm tactics to mob any Milanese vessel to get too close to the island. Once Miln was ashore, they fought a vicious guerilla war against the invaders, using their superior knowledge of the land to brutal advantage. And finally, when the relentless military juggernaut began to close in on their largest city, they brokered what has to have been the single largest sell-out in the history of betrayals. In exchange for being appointed governors of their island in perpetuity, the resistance members personally led Milanese units into the heartlands of every single one of their allies. The Silverwald people wholeheartedly embraced Milanese culture and professed their loyalty louder than any other. It was a brilliant survival move on their part and an even more brilliant PR event for Miln. These days, the city serves as an administration center and woodland retreat for those looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of big city life.

     Starrypond – Named after a small mica-flecked lake and natural spring that the natives established a village around, Starrypond has grown into the epicurean center of the known world. Aspiring chefs from all over travel to Starrypond to hone their skills with some of the greatest culinary minds to ever pick up a sauté pan.

     Summeracre – Annexed a few dozen years ago, Summeracre Island sports a thriving naval base these days, although that's about the limit of what your average citizen knows. And that is pretty much exactly how the milanese government would like to keep it.

     Vertshore – X

     Whitestone – Located on the north end of Afrene Island, Whitestone is known for its marble quarries, the merchants who have made a tidy profit off of the same, and the high-rising homes on the hills leading to the ocean. It helps that Whitestone is also the major milanese port on Afrene Island, so a lot of imperial merchant traffic is funneled through their docks and to the rail lines leading to the milanese and afrennen interiors on the island.