Slane Theocracy

Slane Theocracy (スレイン法国) is a human nation of the New World and one of the three major human nations neighboring Nazarick. It is a religious nation that worships the Six Great Gods and is considered to be the strongest human nation in the region.

Background
Being one of the oldest established human nations, the Slane Theocracy has a history of six hundred years based on fierce adherence to their country's religion. The doctrine of the Slane Theocracy revolves around the Six Great Gods, who appeared six hundred years ago. While so, the country is divided into six different religious sects, each with its own specialized intelligence agency focusing on one expertise they're skillfully good at. Each sect are devoted to one of the Six Great Gods by the Scripture group's color.

However, despite being split into different factions, the groups will still cooperate when necessary. They all acknowledge the threat of demons and other races in the world. Additionally, Slane Theocracy's civilization was said to be more advanced in technology than any of the neighboring countries that surround it. The Slane Theocracy also has an institutionalized divine magic training system that is comparably on par with the Baharuth Empire arcane magic one. One in which they possess a magic school that focuses on training faith based magic casters.

Humanocentrism
Although the Theocracy promotes the discrimination of non-humans and the supremacy of humanity, it only serves to be a tactic from the higher ups in order to unify all the humans with a common goal and increase their national power. Unlike the common folk, the high officials aren't blinded by xenophobic beliefs and prioritize the survival of humanity. In order to protect humans from the threat of other races, they wanted to bind people together with faith in the Six Great Gods. It was to the point where they tried to keep all God-Kin within their country's borders, even going as far as to detain their wives/potential mother.

At the same time, the Cardinals recognized on the fact that their nation's philosophy has a flaw to it. They feared that their nation's ideology might lead them in a dangerous direction if the Theocracy ever ends up being bordered next to a powerful non-human nation like the Argland Council State. The Cardinals believed that it could play a major factor of radicalizing the citizens to come together and form a militant movement against that nation. As far as this event being the worse case scenario, the common folk would possibly shout for war with the Argland Council State in order to destroy the enemies of mankind.

War with the Elves
Despite their prejudice towards non-humans, the Slane Theocracy once had a friendly relationship with the neighboring Elf Country. That was until the Elf King abducted and raped the woman who was known as the ace of the Theocracy's Black Scripture. Fortunately, the Theocracy managed to rescue her. In addition, the child she was impregnated with grew up to become the Theocracy's strongest god-kin.

Afterwards, at the urging of the child, a war of retribution was waged against the Elves. However, despite the Theocracy's superior military strength, progress is slow since the Elf Country is mostly hard to traverse woodland. Thus, the war continues to this day. Elves have also become favored products in the Theocracy's slave-trade.

Conspiracies
In order to achieve their goal of allowing humanity to survive in the face of the demi-humans, the Theocracy began to secretly manipulate the affairs of other human nations for what they saw as the greater good.

One of their actions was to shepherd the Re-Estize Kingdom, a human nation completely protected from the demi-human nations by its neighbors and natural barriers. They believed that this would allow the Kingdom to safely raise powerful individuals who could save mankind. However, its life of peace caused many nobles to become arrogant and delusional, resulting in the Kingdom to becoming a cesspool of corruption.

Deeming the Kingdom to be a failure, the Theocracy shifted their focus to the Baharuth Empire. Since the Theocracy couldn't directly take control the Kingdom lest they share a border with the Argland Council State, which would inevitably lead to war, they instead planned on letting the Empire conquer the Kingdom. During the Kingdom and Empire's annual wars at the Katze Plains, the Theocracy would usually send an envoy with a message stating their disappointment in both nations, yet never acting on their self-righteous claim.

The Undead King Arc
The Slane Theocracy, was requested by some corrupt nobles from the Re-Estize Kingdom to assassinate Gazef Stronoff. To accomplish this task, the Sunlight Scripture was dispatched. During the operation, the Theocracy had the Sunlight Scripture under observation. However, for some reason, they lost the whereabouts of the entire force.

The Bloody Valkyrie Arc
Another disaster struck the Theocracy, when the Black Scripture encountered an abnormally strong vampire. While the Black Scripture succeeded in partially brainwashing the creature, it lost two of their own members in the confrontation along with Lady Kaire, holder of one of their gods' relics; the Downfall of Castle and Country.

The Lizard Man Heroes Arc
According to Captain of the Black Scripture, due to the incomplete mind control, the vampire attacked anyone who entered its area indiscriminately and ordered the Black Scripture to withdraw. After participating in a conference held by the Cardinals, he told Zesshi Zetsumei that they decided to place a standard observation team to monitor the vampire for the sake of maintaining the status quo.

In conclusion, the Cardinals figured that instead of suffering major losses from attacking the unknown vampire, it was better to let the monster be before gathering their forces. This was due to their idea that no other nations out there except the Slane Theocracy's God-Kins and Dragon Lords as the only two potential candidates who could stand a chance against that undead and defeating it.

Nevertheless, they speculated that if someone like that were to turn up, that meant someone they had to be wary of appeared, and they had to tighten their national defense first in response to the potential threat. However, it's unclear if they have really follow through with the idea of strengthening their national defense, since learning of the fact that it was Momon who killed the vampire.

The Magic Caster of Destroy Arc
The Slane Theocracy once again send an envoy with a message to the Kingdom and Baharuth Empire during their annual war at the Katze Plains. However, time year the Empire had allied itself with the newly founded Sorcerer Kingdom to take the city of E-Rantel. The Theocracy thus sent a different message from usual, accepting the Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown, as E-Rantel's rightful ruler and declaring neutrality in the conflict.

The Ruler of Conspiracy Arc
The Slane Theocracy had the Thousand Leagues Astrologer observe the massacre at the Katze Plains to ascertain the extent Ainz Ooal Gown's power. However, she was left traumatized by what she witnessed.

The highest authority in the Slane Theocracy, the Supreme Council, gathered for their usual meeting with their main topic being the founding of the Sorcerer Kingdom. While initially debating whether they should have intervened after all, the Cardinals concluded that remaining neutral was the right decision upon receiving the report on the extent of the Sorcerer Kingdom's military strength. Their despair only increased up learning that Ainz Ooal Gown wiped out most of the Kingdom's Army with a single spell. This caused the Council to consider the possibility that the Sorcerer King might be one of the entities known as "Players". They were futher shocked upon learning that E-Rantel was at peace despite being ruled by an undead.

Weighing their options, the Council decided how to proceed after learning about this report. The Theocracy would continue to focus on their war with the Elf Country while sending the Clearwater Scripture to E-Rantel to collect information. An envoy would be send to the Empire to check if Emperor Jircniv is still loyal to humanity. They also wanted to bring former Black Scripture members out of retirement to have them aid the Dragon Kingdom against the Beastman Country.

Later, the envoy sent by the Council planned a secret meeting with the Emperor with the assistance of the Empire's high priests. However, the Sorcerer King accidentally stumbled upon the meeting, causing the emissaries to assume that the Emperor had betrayed humanity. They thus angrily left before talks could initiate.

The Craftsman of Dwarf Arc
In order to speed up the invasion of the Elf Country, the Slane Theocracy deployed the Holocaust Scripture to the battlefield. With the Holocaust Scripture on the front lines, it's expected that the Theocracy will overtake the elves in a matter of a few years.

Culture
The Theocracy preaches human supremacy and the persecution of other "lesser" races. With its religion revolving around the Six Gods and their descendants, the Theocracy is effectively divided into six different religious sects, each with its own unique culture and practices. One factor all groups share is that the names of the people in the Slane Theocracy consist of a given name, a baptized name and a family name.

Religion
In addition to worshiping the Six Great Gods, the citizens of the Slane Theocracy hold their descendants in veneration. The preservation of their gods' bloodline is of utmost priority and they make an effort to ensure their legacy carries on to the next generation. To achieve this, the Theocracy practices polygamy. Not only does such practice considered to be a rare occurrence, the husband is also restricted to have two wives at most.

Another central part of the Slane Theocracy's religion are the Miko Princesses, who by description are the nation's religious figures vital in performing some of their important rituals. So far, there seems to be Six Miko Princesses, which are related to the elements of the Six Great Gods. Though seemingly an esteemed position of power, in contrast it appears that the Shaman Princesses are effectively living sacrifices. They are chosen from the population with great care and scrutiny, due to the items they are given from their pedestals, which pose many risks to the user.

In the Web Novel, the Six Miko Princesses comprises of: Miko Princess of Water, Miko Princess of Fire, Miko Princess of Wind, Miko Princess of Earth, Miko Princess of Light and Miko Princess of Darkness. Likewise, all of them are users of priest-type 5th tier magic, but this is a secret.

There also exists a special temple dedicated to the God of Water. Within this temple is a special chamber filled with water called "Eye of the Water God."

Politics
As a Theocracy, the Slane is governed by a Pontifex Maximus with a position similar to that of an Emperor, elected in a conclave by the Six Cardinals.

The Pontifex Maximus is assisted by a board of advisers from the highest executive authorities in the Slane Theocracy, the council. It consist of the representatives of the Six Great Gods, the Cardinals, and from the government the heads of Executive, Legislature and Judiciary plus the head of the Research Institute in charge of magic affairs and the Grand Marshal as the highest appointment-holder in the military. The council sits on a round table within a sacred room where everyone is equal. There are no superiors or inferiors on the table, everyone is a collaborator and a comrade including the Pontifex Maximus.

Cardinals are the highest appointment holders of the six sects that are devoted to the Six Gods. The position of a Cardinal is higher then that of a representative of governmental affairs; the demerit is that they get no wages so that people aspiring to become Cardinals would not be motivated to rise through the ranks by greed. Hence, there were many individuals who took high office with the intention of serving their nation. The current Cardinals are:
 * Berenice Nagua Santini, the Cardinal of Fire.
 * Ginedine Delan Guelfi, the Cardinal of Water.
 * Dominic Ihre Partouche, the Cardinal of Wind.
 * Raymond Zarg Lauransan, the Cardinal of Earth and commander of the Six Scriptures.
 * Yvon Jasna Dracrowa, the Cardinal of Light.
 * Maximilian Oreio Lagier, the Cardinal of Darkness.

Military Strength
The knights from the Slane Theocracy are said to be far stronger than those of the Baharuth Empire.

Additionally, there are also Godkins among them with great influence over the country as demigods left behind by their ancestors known as "players". When compared to the Kingdom or Empire's clerics, the Theocracy faith-based magic casters (clerics) are usually more skilled than any of them. The average skill levels in the Theocracy are also generally quite high. Also, Theocracy has at least five artifacts left behind by the Six Great Gods.

In the Web Novel, if compared with purely human countries, the Theocracy possesses the strongest national power of them all due to its powerful military presence. Let alone their national power, the Theocracy also have the top fighting ability on the continent than any other human countries. For instance, they conducted military operations within the nations bordering the Theocracy with the intention of suppressing demi-humans and other races.

There are Six Scriptures, who are deeply rooted into separate branches of the Theocracy: After losing the entire Sunlight Scripture, several Black Scripture members, Kaire, and one of the Miko Princesses alongside her Crown of Wisdom, one of the Six Cardinals estimated that it will take at least ten years for the Theocracy to fully recover their military strength.
 * Sunlight Scripture: The anti-demi-human response unit.
 * Black Scripture: The special black operations military unit.
 * Windflower Scripture: The intelligence and espionage unit.
 * Clearwater Scripture: The infiltration and undercover unit.
 * Holocaust Scripture: The assassination and counter-terrorism unit.

Foreign Relations
The Slane Theocracy is feared as one of the strongest human nations in its corner of the world. While there exists various political and cultural issues with the other neighboring nations, many people see the Theocracy as a necessary evil. In an ironic twist of fate, the actions of the Theocracy have allowed the neighboring human nations time to advance into their own strong societies as they would have disappeared from history, in the face of encroachment from the more populous demi-human nations.

Re-Estize Kingdom
In the past, the Slane Theocracy secretly shepherd the Kingdom in the hopes this would allow humanity to grow and thrive as well as produce strong individuals. However, this backfired as their safer and more comfortable lifestyle caused them to fall and become nothing but than a cesspool of corruption that even the Theocracy wished to eradicate. They would even go so far as to allow the Empire to conquer the nation in hopes they would make better use of its resources and the only reason why they didn't bother declaring war on the Kingdom themselves was because this might lead to retaliation by the Argland Council State.

Currently, religious tensions exist between the Kingdom and the Theocracy, though the nations do not appear to be openly aggressive. Conflicts exist behind the scenes in cases such as espionage and small clashes between different parties among the Kingdom. In addition, adventurer parties such as Blue Roses have been known to interfere in the Sunlight Scripture's demi-human purges.

Baharuth Empire
The Empire has made many appeals to the Theocracy for its assistance in sharing their teachings on divine magic. However, the Theocracy has yet to make any response back to the Empire's request on the issue.

In truth, the Theocracy has long been monitoring its activities and political movements and considered it to be the more successful nation compared to its neighbor, the Re-Estize Kingdom, which they considered a failure. Because of this, they planned to permit its conquest of the Kingdom.

After massacre at the Katze Plains and the founding of the Sorcerer Kingdom, the Theocracy became wary of the Empire, as they allied themselves with an undead. The Theocracy thus send an envoy to the Empire to confirm if Emperor Jircniv was still on the side of humanity. However, when the Sorcerer King walked in on their meeting, the envoys assumed the Emperor had sold them out and left. Afterwards, the Theocracy severed all ties with the Empire.

Argland Council State
Slane Theocracy's doctrine promotes discrimination and eradication of all demi-humans and non-humans. The formation and existence of a nation of demi-humans is seen as a grave threat to the supremacy of humanity. The Slane Theocracy's military has been known to wipe out entire villages of demi-humans in zealous fervor to their doctrine.

Despite the Theocray's obvious hatred of all non-humans, the nation knows its military limits, as the Cardinals were reluctant to wage a direct war against the Argland Council State. This reluctance has also prevented them from expanding and conquering the Re-Estize Kingdom, whose nation lies at the doorstep of the Argland Council State.

Sorcerer Kingdom
So far, no official contact has been established between the Slane Theocracy and the Sorcerer Kingdom besides two small skirmishes during Nazarick's first emergence into the New World and Shalltear's clash with the Black Scripture.

If the Theocracy learned of the existence of Nazarick being a potential power base for unholy creatures who live there, it would mean great calamity for the human race. When Nazarick did reveal its existence to the world, claiming the large swathe of the Re-Estize Kingdom, the Slane Theocracy chose to remain neutral.

After E-Rantel was annexed by the newly arisen nation of non-humans, the benevolent actions of the Sorcerer King and relative peace of E-Rantel confused the higher-ups on how to proceed. Due to the reports about the power of its army, lack of reliable information and ongoing war with the Elf Country, they decided not to proceed any further on establishing an official conflict with that country for the time being. Instead however, the nation have decided to sent its own spies to infiltrate the capital of the Sorcerer Kingdom to acquire more information about their situation.

Dragon Kingdom
Dragon Kingdom pays tribute to the Slane Theocracy each year in order for the Theocracy to dispatch troops against the beastmen harassing the Dragon Kingdom.

Currently, the Theocracy decided to honor its agreement by sending the former retired Black Scripture members to their aid as their current forces have been severely depleted due to the unexpected loss of the Sunlight Scripture and weakening of several current Black Scripture members.

Elf Country
Originally, the Theocracy and the elves had a cooperative relationship. That ended when its reigning monarch kidnapped and violated one of the Slane Theocracy's Godkin. Presently, the Elf Country and the Slane Theocracy are engaged in a war.

Roble Holy Kingdom
Relations between the two nations is a bit volatile due to religious differences between them. However, they still share a common enemy that are the demi-human tribes that live in the Abelion Hills. The Holy Kingdom still acknowledges its great power and even considered forming an alliance with the Slane Theocracy to defeat the Sorcerer Kingdom who they saw as a common threat.

Known Characters

 * Zesshi Zetsumei
 * Cedran
 * Beaumarchais
 * Kaire
 * Clementine
 * Nigun Grid Luin
 * Belius
 * Londes Di Clamp
 * Captain of the Black Scripture

Trivia

 * The banner of the Slane Theocracy resembles the seven branch menorah, or candelabrum, one of the oldest symbols of Judaism.
 * The Slane Theocracy is the only nation with a population register so as to aid in finding proper candidates for the positions of the Miko Princesses.
 * The Rubik's Cube was introduced by the Six Great Gods and is a popular toy in the Theocracy.
 * Slaves are a popular and expensive commodity in the Slane Theocracy, especially elves. The elves themselves are psychologically broken and their ears are mutilated. Elves who have skills and are good looking are worth a huge sum, about the same as a magical weapon.
 * There is a slim possibility that the Slane Theocracy's banner is actually the Six Great Gods' guild flag.
 * Ainz believes that most players are willing to support the Slane Theocracy as any of them in the New World would want to help out humanity. That was the reason why Ainz was on guard against players and kept his distance from the Slane Theocracy until now.
 * According to Maruyama, if the Slane Theocracy collapses, so will the Kingdom, Empire, and the Holy Kingdom that will fall to monsters soon after.

Gallery
Teokracja Slane