The Isles of the Golden Sun is a theocratic nation located in the North West of the continent. The Isles Government is a theocracy, ruled by the Primarch of the Sun Church. It’s capital is Sunnyvale.
It is highly geologically active archipelago, with numerous chains of volcanoes crossing the islands. This makes the isles rich in resources, but a dangerous place to live. With vast Sulfur and Nitre deposits, the Isles is one of the biggest gunpowder producers in the world.
Government
The Isles has an all pervasive, collectivist government, with one in every four people working in some form for the church. There is no separation of church and state in the Isles, and every person on the isles is expected to attend church during Sundays. No exceptions. It has an efficient civil service, all of whom are sworn in as acolytes of the church that record things meticulously on slates and clay tablets, which are then baked in the sun to ensure they are kept properly.
The law can be very strict, and transgressions are frequently punished in various ways. Dependant on the tier, the punishment can be as short as a day, or as long as ten years.
Punishment
Punishment involves a number of tiers, some will be enslaved and sent to work in the deep mines under the volcanos, where they are denied sunlight and run the risk of being consumed by lava, and this is where the majority of the Isles citizens will be punished for transgressions against the state.
The most creative, and horrifying, however is the dreaded mirror-ball at the centre of Sunnyvale. This great ball made of tens of thousands of tiny mirrors all focused to a point big enough for a person to be held.
The punished is restrained using numerous sugar canes bound and woven to ensure they cannot move, when the sun reaches its zenith at around midday, the prisoner is cooked alive. His flesh is then ceremonially eaten by the Primarch and honoured guests at a feast held the same afternoon.
Execution by mirror-ball is typically reserved for the worst transgressors of the law; rapists, murderers, adulterers and blasphemers will all share the fate of the ball.
Economy
The isles economy focuses on agriculture, mining and the production of explosives and fertilizers. Mining is handled by slaves and prisoners, while agriculture and the manufacturing of explosives is handled almost exclusively by church acolytes. Trade is open, but almost all money goes directly to the church, or is heavily taxed.
Weather
The weather on the isles is often sunny, with cloudy days generally treated with fear and suspicion. There is one exception, however. due to the high sulfur content of the isles, it can sometimes fall as a yellow rain. Often referred to as Golden Showers, they are seen as a blessing from the Sun itself, and work will often stop to enjoy them.
Military
The Isles military is staffed almost exclusively by fanatics, with all ships and military vehicles open topped to ensure the sunlight always reaches them.
Their elites are the Blessed. Crazed warriors who are inducted by standing within the mirror ball in set positions during an execution. If they survive, their skin is nearly permanently reddened, which they display proudly. They are fanatical berserkers to the core, and the Blessed are unlikely to live for very long, but their acts will often inspire the others around them.