Map of the New Armes Kingdom
The New Armes Kingdom (アーメス新王国, Amesu New Kingdom) is a moderately powerful country on the Southern Continent, boarded by the Falena Queendom to the west and sharing an ocean boundary with both Falena and the Island Nations Federation at the Strait of Scardi.
History[]
Flag of the New Armes Kingdom
140-154: Foundation
In SY 140, leader of the Ishvaak Clan, Halad raised troops in order to conquer and unite the tribes which lay to the east of the Falena Queendom. In order to aid in the establishment of stability, the Falena Queendom offer its support to Halad. By SY 154, Halad's crusade was finally complete and the New Armes Kingdom was established with Halad as its king. The name of the new kingdom, used in order to grant New Armes political and historical legitimacy based on the past of the Ancient Armes Dynasty was hotly contested by Falena, leading to tense relations between the two nations which would remain for over 300 years.
The nation's name stems from their claim as the succession state of the original Armes Dynasty. However, there is no evidence at all that the New Armes Kingdom shares any racial or cultural ties with the original Armes Dynasty, which has led many to conclude that the claim is merely one used for political and propaganda purposes.
441: Falena-New Armes War
Armes long held Falena as a traditional enemy, especially the Godwin faction which had never hid its intentions to invade and conquer Armes. This Falena/Armes tension resulted in the assassination of a prominent Darja Clan member by Nether Gate. In 441, when Falena was weakened by the death of Queen Falzrahm just two years after she took the throne following the Succession Conflict, Armes invaded Falena and devastated the eastern areas of the nation, mostly the lands belonging to the Barows faction, before being forced to retreat back to Armes by Queen Arshtat and the Falenan Army being led by Grand General Ferid Egan.
449-450: Involvement in the Falenan Civil War
In early 449, Armes was manipulated several times as Falena's power struggle continued to grow. Armes was first manipulated into infiltrating Stormfist to attempt an assassination on Queen Arshtat and then again when the Southern Mountain Corps agreed to an alliance with the Barows faction but were repelled by a joint Godwin-Loyalist Army advance once the Armes forces revealed themselves.
Politics[]
The nation of Armes is an alliance of five major clans each of which holds a number of different families. These clans govern the nation as the Grand Council of Chieftains. The Valya family, part of the Madra Clan, was head of the Armes Western Marine Corps and have always been known as a moderate Armes faction. The Darja Clan, of which the Sparna family is a prestigious member on the other hand is a hawkish faction and was in fact the clan that pushed for the alliance with the Godwin faction in Falena in 449. The Ishvaak Clan is another moderate faction and is in fact the clan of the current King of New Armes, King Jalat.
Later during the year 449, Armes forces allied with the Godwin faction of Falena during the Falenan Civil War, apparently in exchange of all Falenan lands east of Rainwall.
King Jalat was not enthusiastic about this idea, but much like Falena, faction politics meant that the monarch could not impose his will without taking into consideration the power of the Darja Clan and so he had little option but to agree to the alliance.
The Armes Southern Mountain Corps, commanded by Maha Sparna and assisted by Jidan Guisu, took Sable and Lordlake, as the Falenan Loyalist Army was hopelessly outnumbered in its battles. The Armes Western Marine Corps under the command of Shula Valya on the other hand, landed at Estrise but made no offensive moves whatsoever. In fact, it's said that the Western Marine Corps were only dispatched to keep an eye on the hard-line Southern Mountain Corps in order to prevent any attempts at genocide by the Armes troops.
Eventually, by 450, the Falenan Loyalist Army had repelled the Armes presence in Sable. Commander Maha Sparna, fled back to Armes, leaving her troops to be slaughtered as she destroyed the gate at the Sable-Armes border in order to avoid being followed.
Following the failure of this alliance, Maha Sparna was made a scapegoat by her clan and was blamed for the entire Armes defeat; she was eventually executed for her cowardice. This resulted in the weakening of the Darja Clan's position within Armes, allowing the more moderate Ishvaak and Madra Clans to gain more influence. In fact, it appears that for the foreseeable future, peaceful cooperation with Falena will be assured due to the shift in faction influence in Armes.
In the past, Armes has also had conflicts with the Island Nations Federation, mostly through its naval forces, the Armes Western Marine Corps. Although tensions had cooled over the years, the two nations are still wary of one another. In fact, 450 saw the Federation Fleet under Admiral Skald Egan bear down on the Western Marine Corps to hasten its departure from Estrise. However, this move was not authorised by the Obel Maritime Council, the body to which Skald answered.
Geography[]
The Armes landscape is quite diverse, ranging from temperate conditions to unreasonably cold temperatures, including heavy snowfall in some regions.
Military[]
The Armes military traditionally uses long spears in battle. Its tactics normally involve group spearmanship, carried out by teams of three spearmen. However, their effectiveness is curtailed by corruption, especially in the Southern Mountain Corps as its equipment is known to be very much below par due to high-ranking officers diverting funds for their own personal gain.
Trivia[]
- Armes is a French word and means "weapons".
- Armes is also a Welsh name, and the meaning is Prophetess.
- Armes also is a word related to war weapons.
- New Armes Kingdom, Ancient Armes Dynasty, Nagarea and Caleria are based on the civilizations of the Middle East.
- Due to a mistranslation, when Dinn tells Freyjadour about Armes, he refers to it as "le armate" (Italian for "the armies"), In the Italian version of the game, this is the only time that it happens, as most of the time the New Armes Kingdom is called "Nuovo Regno di Armes".