Free state of Antartica
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[edit] The Free State
[edit] Antarctica
Antarctica, as you would imagine, is a vast frozen hell-hole that has six month long nights and is largely uninhabitable to most life forms. This barren land is the birth place of the Free State.
No wars of independence or declarations of nationhood dot the history of the Free State. It simply evolved throughout history (some people of a religious frame of mind would say like a cancer) slowly growing into the nation that now exists.
The Free State is made up of 13 necropolises, or spires as the inhabitants prefer to call them. The oldest is Black Tooth. Each spire is run by an elected Governor, that rules for a 15 year term before having to run for re-election. Any free willed undead, either corporeal or ethereal, can run for this post.
[edit] Government
Although the undisputed King (and Founder) of the Free State is the Lich King, his role these days is more or less honoury (mainly due to the fact that no one has seen him in the last few hundred years). The day-to-day running falls to the Council of 13. This is made up of the Governors of the 13 Spires. In theory this would seem a good system. But in actuality the day-to-day running of the cities is dead slow, lacking the swift responsiveness of living cities. Often even the simplest of problems can end up taking years to sort out.
[edit] The Spires
Looking at any of the spires as you fly into the Free State is a site to take your breath away (that is if you have any to take away). Although the exact style of architecture varies the end result is always a towering spire of dread and corruption that dominates the permafrost. These edifices always extend deep underground (in the case of the Black Tooth impossibly so) with one or two of the coastal spires having some section that pierce the frozen oceans to the dark waters below. Most of the spires have their own airports and all are connected to each other via underground tunnels though many of these are in a very poor state of repair. One of the biggest problems that dog the entire Free State is a lack of power. A long time ago they all decided to invest in renewable energy. This has resulted in an irregular electricity supply that is affected by the weather.
[edit] Black Tooth
Black Tooth is the oldest spire. Its exact age is unknown. What is known is that it started life as a necromancer's tower. His name is lost to history but he is now known universally as the Lich King, and his tower became a vast necropolis that claimed the lives of hundred of would-be adventurers. From the outside this city is a vast Gothic edifice of black granite with spires and towers growing from the city at an alarming array of strange angles. The largest tower is the chamber of the council of 13. This is the home of what the undead call democracy (the problem being that although all the Governers have to stand for re-election every 15 years many undead are creatures of habit and habitually re-elect the same Governors, often for hundred of years.). One strange fact about the Black Tooth is its catacombs. If the laws of physics applied to them the whole tower should have caved in on it's own Swiss cheese foundation of dark tunnels. It is said the lowest levels have never been mapped and are very rarely used in the modern age. Rumour has it that these lower catacombs are the resting place of the Lich King. If this is the case then most of the current occupants hope that he stays down there and no attempts have been made to find him.
[edit] The 13th Spire
The 13th spire often called the Atom Spire is the youngest spire but also one of the most internationally controversial as it home of the free state's nuclear projects.The Free State claim that all research is for domestic use only, a claim that most other nation look at sceptically. Atom spire is situated on the shifting coast line of Antarctica much to the a nuance of the mer folk because of the amount of dangerous waste that is produced by the free state research program.
Head of research is Dr Kluckcurak a former Kobold scientist until his atomic research got the better of him.
