Who Rules: Empress Zin
Population: 900,000
Capital: Shining Cascades (pop. 24,000)
Demihumans: 48,000 elves, 13,000 dwarves
Humanoids: 85,000 troglodytes
Resources: Food, dairy products,
Major Cities: Arystal (pop. 12,600), Coralbeach (pop.
6,700), Farbay (pop 5,900), Longshore (pop. 5,400),
Pearlport (pop. 7,000), Roostdrop (pop. 3,400), Wild
Shoal (pop. 8,600).
National Flag: Bright yellow sun over a black field,
surrounded by a circle of five small, golden stars.
In the sphere known as Twilitespace, the Sunflow Republic is the premier human spelljamming power. It is an ancient empire, with origins reaching back a thousand years. Its ships are feared across the whole sphere, even though they rarely leave the Sun's Girdle. Its people are respected for their skill as warriors and craftsmen. Among the star lanes, the Republic is well-known for its impressive war fleet, terrible magi, and excellent wares.
The Republic consists of a chain of five islands in the Ribbon section of the Girdle and a fair number of asteroids besides. The islands are fairly consistent with the other islands of the Ribbon, but the lowlands are heavily farmed by Republic plantations and homesteads. Much of the islands is rocky wilderness, dominated by vast rainforests and jungles, with civilization clinging to the river valleys and coast. Mountain chains are not uncommon, filled with lush forests and vibrant wildlife. Cities dot the rivers and coasts, with hundreds of tiny towns and villages filling in the gaps.
Each of the five major islands is fairly average for the Ribbon. The largest is roughly 90 miles across, while the smallest is about 65 miles across. The chain of islands arc over one million miles of space, barely under 1% of the entire Girdle. Despite this great distance, trade ships regularly ply the Ribbon Ocean, exploiting the ocean's natural property of distance distortion to make the trip in days instead of years.
The surrounding asteroids that have been claimed by the Republic are rich in mineral wealth. Gemstones and metals of all kinds are extracted, providing the Republic with enough wealth to support itself and even prosper. Most of the asteroids are little more than great rocks in space, with minimal atmospheres and virtually no water. Some of the richest asteroids have been marginally terra-formed by the mages of the Republic to make mining efforts easier. Those asteroids deemed rich enough to warrant the effort sport small lakes, thicker atmospheres, and even grass and small bushes. All asteroids sport a docking facility, where a spelljammer can land, load and unload cargo, and depart. Warships owned by the noble houses of the Republic patrol the asteroids, turning away the curious and hunting those few pirates bold enough to raid a Republic ship or mining facility.
Spelljammers from other nations and spheres are welcomed in the Republic and encouraged to trade in its ports. Despite this open door policy, the Republic is not a common stopover for spelljammers; it is simply too distant and remote to make a popular space port. However, given the Republic's history of constant growth and its nearly uncontested dominance over the Girdle, it is likely to become well known to spacefairers in spheres both near and distant.
