Union
| Union | |
|---|---|
| Ethnicity | Threnodite |
| Capital | Union |
| Ruled by | Cinder King |
| World | Canticle |
| Universe | Cosmere |
“Your planet shouldn’t have different countries. You should have conquered and unified it all. ”
Nation[edit]
Union is a nation on Canticle. It was created, and led, by the Cinder King. During its height it stretched almost the entire world, the only regions out of its control being the poles, where life is almost impossible. All major cities were conquered by the Cinder King.[2][citation needed]
Military[edit]
Union’s military has two large branches, the regular soldiers and the Charred.[citation needed]
The regular soldiers are equipped with guns powered by sunhearts and fly a wide variety of ships. They make up the larger part of Union’s military.[citation needed]
The Charred are a more special kind of soldier, they were once ordinary people, but the Cinder King inserted Cinderhearts into their chests, burning away their memories and establishing a connection to him, as well as investing them. Because of this connection the Charred can sense what he wants, and will blindly follow his orders. The Charred regularly use weapons that require up close combat, such as batons and machetes, they have also been known to use bombs, acting like a suicide bomber.[3][4]
The Cinder King has the ability to call upon his subjects to lend him ships.[citation needed]
Politics[edit]
The nation is an autocracy, with all the power being in the hands of the Cinder King. He uses a lot of propaganda to make people think he is immortal and the rightful ruler, as well as stronger than he actually is. An example of this is when he fights Nomad in hand to hand combat, but actually has a scadrian weight device attached to Nomad, making it nearly impossible for Nomad to fight back. Some people know about this however, so it’s unclear to what extent this works.[5]
The true way he keeps his power is using his Charred, which only he can create and which only listen to him. Because of them any rebelling cities would easily be slaughtered.[citation needed]
While all major cities were merged with the capital city called Union, there were still many small towns which remained separate. He controlled these via a couple of officials, as well as some Charred.[2]
The Cinder King influences all of the corridors, but there are some that he doesn’t care about, as they are almost inhospitable.[2]
Economy[edit]
Union has access to many prisoners and captives, and these are sacrificed to make sunhearts, which power their cities. They also have many prospectors just behind the great Maelstrom to find and collect these sunhearts.[2][citation needed]
Their cities rely on agriculture for food, they sow and harvest every day, just before dawn, with the reflected sunlight. They also have hunters.[citation needed]
They harvest metal from iron fields, places on the planet where molten metal coats the surface.[6]
City[edit]
The capital city of Union goes by the same name[2]. The Cinder King planned for everyone to join and live in the city[2]. Almost all major cities have been added to Union, although there are still some small towns which roam the planet. Union consists of thousands of ships and contains a small arena.[7]
In the lower levels of the ship that makes up the heart of Union there is an unornamented metal staircase that leads to a large hallway with hundreds of sunhearts. This room is guarded by a single charred. At the end of this hallway is the room where new charred are made.[4]
The Cinder king has the ability to put the city on lockdown for a period of time, this way, without the password, no one can leave the city until the time is over.[4][citation needed]
Corridor[edit]
Union flies along the equator, although it has at times left this position.[citation needed]