Nation Name*
Grand Duchy of Suyava-Alin (Suyava-Alin, Monteouro)
National Language(s)*
Nimha(Manchu), Zenzovian, Vanholdan, Xihae, British English, Fulgi(Romance-ified Manchu)
Capital City*
The capital of Grand Duchy is Mangwhe, situated at the cliff-filled southern coast of Dulimbania province. The city was founded in the early 17th Century by the Argid clan after its expansion down south to coastal regions of Monteouro as their personal refuge and trading outpost due to more hospitable climate, suitable geographical position and bountiful waters full of fish, food being an ever-wanted commodity in the mountainous wildlands, all of the factors being reasons for its relatively fast growth which was part of the greater Central Nimha migration which has reached as far as the modern northwestern border with Xihae Union. Due to its rise in prominence, in the mid 18th Century, the court of the newly formed Grand Duchy of Suyava-Alin led by the united Tumens and the Argids was moved from Fujurige Susu to the town. This choice was dictated by the Tumen-Argi’s desire for direct access to trade income as well as prestige reasons, as the old mountainous fort complex was seen as no longer suitable enough for the newly established dynasty.
The city hosts legislative and executive branches of the government, along with being the location of the Grand Ducal palace. As of the 1946 census, the city had a population of 792 500. Mangwhe is home to many national monuments and other cultural sites, as well as to a small port, many vendors and several industrial plants owned by various corporations, whether they’d be of domestic or foreign capital. The city is divided into Old Town and New City, with the Old Town being a cliffside district which has remained virtually unchanged from the 18th and 19th Century and has the most culturally important sites in the entire city, with its architecture being a mix of traditional highlander pagodas, modern chalet-style houses and Revivalist, predominantly Neo-Baroque, architecture, all towering over tiny cobbled streets and equally small businesses like restaurants, cafes, shops, etc. In Old Town one can visit the historic Heavenly Grand Ducal Shrine, a traditional round Nimha pagoda temple which used to be Grand Ducal shrine for ancestor worship. Here one can also spot in the distance, but cannot enter, the Grand Ducal palace, which had been rebuilt to be a mix of Neo-Baroque and traditional Nimha architectures.
The New City is in comparison modern with all the implications, its landscape filled with Art Nouveau or Art Deco-styled buildings, shops’ entrances are emblazoned with neon lights, trams and cars are clogging up the large asphalt roads, horizon is filled with the view of old and new factories and its said that the day never ends downtown. All the while poor workers based in slums are working nine hours each day in large factories, toiling in them for meager pay and praying for a better day while also thanking whatever deity they believe in that their now-adult child had received an education good enough to get a well-paying job.
National Population*
The towns, dales and plains that lay beneath the Suyava-Alin mountains are home to about 21 million citizens of vastly different backgrounds. Most people in the country are Nimha, the native population of the region. The most populous ethnic minorities with rights are Zenzovians and Cihaej peoples. The third largest minority in the country are Fulgi, a cultural group closely related to Nimha albeit they’d been under significant Zenzovian, Pratian and Zenetian cultural influence for a few centuries under which they had developed a distinct identity based on religion, language and tradition. Unlike the other minorities in the region, the Fulghjiasi as they call themselves are a target of discrimination in public life despite claims of Mangwhe to the contrary. They have a terrible reputation extending a few centuries back mostly as a result of enmities between two groups, with their nationality’s name used as a slur or an offensive insult synonymous with the words ‘thief’ or ‘trickster’. Naturally, the opposite is also true and ‘Nijmaho’/’Nijmeha’ (m./f.) is used interchangeably with words that doubt one’s mental faculties or when stating their primitive, ape-like even, nature. Naturally, the less than ideal relations between two groups had caused ethnic strife in the past and is still a source of many grievances in 1947. It can be considered no wonder that Fulgi separatist sentiments are on the rise and there’s an increasing amount of demonstrations in the south, most of them way more moderate and calling for finally granting Fulgi equal representation in the government, much to the chagrin of riot-prepared police which swiftly and brutally stamps on any attempt of Fulgi dissent, the favour then is soon returned from radical Fulgi activists who go full medieval on symbols of Mangwhe control in the south, using petrol or explosive bombs to cause trouble for law enforcement in the Fulginan province especially but also outside of it.
Government Type/Structure*
Grand Duchy is a constitutional monarchy with a hereditary Grand Duke of Tumen-Argi dynasty as the head of state and a Minister-President as the chosen head of government who chairs the Cabinet and selects all the other ministers. The Minister-President has executive powers.
The office of Minister-President is appointed by the Grand Duke and is, in practice, a leader of the party which holds majority in the parliament. The country’s legislature is bicameral with the Lesser Culgan as the lower chamber and the Great Culgan as the upper chamber. The lower chamber houses 160 members from lower strata of society, while the upper has 40 members from nobility and bourgeoisie. While the constitution of the Grand Duchy promises equal representation in the government, upon closer reading the constitution grants Great Culgan way greater competences than the Lesser Culgan and it can overrule the lower chamber, as Minister-President is responsible to the former not the latter. The judiciary is an independent authority members of which are appointed directly by the Monarch and its competence outlined in the constitution are interpreting and reviewing law enacted by the Assembled Houses. As a rule, all courts of law may adjudicate disputes in legal areas such as civil, labour, administrative and constitutional law, as well as criminal justice.
Economic System*
The Grand Duchy’s economic system is best described as a free market economy with significant state involvement in its function, with not uncommon being the sight of government officials having shares in most companies. Under the policy of ‘guided market’, as it was self-described by one of former Minister-Presidents, from the 1890s onwards all domestic companies’ actions have been directed towards the export, with all financial gains made from trade redirected back into the industrial sector. Under this system, it wasn’t unusual to see parliamentarians also be representatives of various companies or in fact owners of the companies in question, and the state itself promoted the phenomena of cartels which soon coalesced few years before the war into now defunct Monteouran Resource Extraction Corporation (so-called “Moresc Group''), profits of which had made up nearly 50% of GDP in 1936 and effectively served as a state-sanctioned money launderer for then-oligarchs and politicians in their pockets. These policies however had negative impact once the war came to Aritsia, causing a recession unlike any other in Suyava-Alin’s history and the ultimate downfall of Moresc Group, with now unprofitable mining companies being commanded to send their resources to other industries which were now seen as strategic branches of industry by the policymakers and thus were prioritised over previous goal of just exporting mineral wealth to other countries for quick profit. After the war, a new reformist government came into power and enacted anti-trust laws which prevented a repeat of the Moresc fiasco and began subsidizing small private businesses. However, under the new government several domestic corporations like Miguilla and Toholon had seen restructuration and have become state-owned enterprises.
Government Centralization
Suyava-Alin is a decentralised unitary state with local governments that have a tad greater amount of autonomy than usual due to peculiarities of living in a land where mountains actively prevent from establishing or running any sort of a large state centrally. The provincial governors are elected for four years along with the provincial councils and function as both heads of the province and heads of the government institutions therein, representing the central government’s authority over the region, but their election has to be approved by the Minister-President. If not, then the other candidate is chosen. The provincial council acts as legislatures and their size is dependent on province’s size, the larger the greater, and can debate on and either adopt or pass statutes on matters concerning the province where the responsibilities aren’t already reserved for the central administration. The sole exception to this rule is Fulginan where the governor is directly appointed by the Minister-President and instead of the legislature there’s instead an advisory body with vastly lesser competences than actual provincial legislature. They are tasked with coordinating actions in the field of public safety, upholding the law in the province they serve in, overseeing the function of local government and ensuring the legality of their actions, management of government institutions, and exercising special powers in emergency. Governors also have the right to oversee the state contracts, granting state contracts to firms with prior approval of the Ministerial Council, and management of the provincial finances, with a caveat that their actions are supposed to be moderated by the provincial council and local courts.
Government Cohesion
The Lesser and Great Culgan as of 1947 is split into three major parties and several minor electoral clubs that are often allied with major ones to solve issues that both parties in particular share. The trinity of the major parties is composed of the current ruling party that is the Civic Reformist Union, a social liberal party that defines its stance as anti-trust and pro-change, the conservative and openly pro-corporate Liberal Party and the Social Action, a leftist socially conservative party that founds its ally in the Reformists due to similar stance on many issues, but often had criticised its ‘intemperance in social matters’ due to more liberal outlook on society. Minor parties are the corporatist Syndicalists, the openly socialist Labour Unitary Party, the agrarian Peasant Cooperative, a thinly-veiled Liberal Party’s satellite that is the Freedom Party and the progressivist Progressive Party.
The Civic Reformists, Social Action and the Progressives are in a coalition whose main general goal is to stop the downward spiral the Grand Duchy had found itself in since the tail end of the 19th Century by enacting reform, with the main platform being breaking the monopolies like the of now defunct Moresc Group which had used threats, government cronyism, mergers, acquisitions and under the table deals to crush any sort of serious competition not in the pockets of clans and companies which were part of the Moresc Group and had allowed the mining companies to dominate the domestic market for many decades. The second most important issue shared by all the members of the ruling coalition is the introduction of income tax with tax brackets that’d favour working class and small entrepreneurs over the large concerns, with additional incentive to establish new companies, a fact made easier due to the already introduced and mentioned competitive laws, being the small business grants. The third angle all parties also agree upon is the expansion of the national welfare system, but the exact details of it are murky and constantly debated over by the coalition partners, with Progressives being the most radical and with Reformists being considerably much more moderate than either the Progressives or the Social Action. Similar such social issues are also hotly debated upon due to Social Action being itself quite contradictory on what it wants to do and Progressives are constantly trying to push through proposals that the other coalition partners aren’t positive about. However, despite all of these issues, the ruling coalition is quite stable and amicable with each other.
The primary opposition of the current government is the Liberal-Freedom alliance that’s less ‘democratic’ than its more leftist counterpart, with Freedomites being mere puppets that do anything the Liberals say while also giving the corporate interests plausible deniability in obstructing reforms without endangering the already quite low reputation of the Liberal Party. The common goals of Liberals and Freedomites are simple and not as ambitious nor good as those of the Centre-Left coalition: acquisition of power and money (which is honestly what also Centre-Left does but doesn’t make it clear that’s what they’re in for) under the guise of ‘stability’, ‘respecting the social contract’ and ‘tradition and law’. All of these just so happen to be the previous tycoon-steered status quo. They occasionally find allies in the Syndicalists who normally espouse fascist and way more nationalistic rhetoric than the Liberal-Freedom coalition but do find common ground on keeping the system as it is, however the Syndicalists opt instead for more overt integration of corporate and state interests rather than cartel-filled free market which conservatives from Liberals and Freedomites want.
The Peasant Cooperative gives representation for Ulaacan, Dolnijard, Norvale and Abanat farmers but also highlander people in general and as such, the party finds itself agreeing with Reformist-Social-Progressive centre-left coalition upon issues like small business grants and tax reform, but does oppose them on social matters due to their conservatism. However, despite this, they often vote against the conservative Liberal-Freedom alliance simply because the previous administration for all of its talk of ‘keeping the social contract alive’ had disregarded the voice of the peasantry.
Labourists are the black sheep of the entire parliament and no one wants to associate with them at all due to the immediate obvious connotations of supporting the corruption of the Grand Duchy and destroying the society as it is. Combined with their radical outlook, electoral manipulation and society’s opinion being greatly against them, Labour finds itself always with the least amount of seats, probably only being kept there so corporate-funded media can scare the people that socialists want to destroy the nation by… advocating for way greater expansion of social programs and worker rights than even the ruling coalition wants. Plus, there’s also one more reason for opposition against them which is that Labour’s strife against the establishment resonates with the Fulgi and as such they’re also often called out for being Fulgi backdoor into destroying the Suyava-Alin on top of being just radical socialists, not helping the matters being the fact that ‘Fulgiyan’ means ‘red’ in Nimha and the association for your average Nimha highlander becomes itself quite clear: red-waving socialists are dirty Fulgi who want to rob us of our livelihoods.
The post-War parliament under the new management is in a state of deadlock, with quarrels, shouting, podium obstruction and brawls occurring from time to time. It’s considered a miracle that anti-monopoly laws were even passed, and that’s not all the new government wants to implement.
Terrain & Climate
The Grand Duchy is located in a near-equatorial dry highland mountainous region with highly irregular terrain and climate-wise differs wildly from region to region, ranging from northern equatorial rainforests, central montane grasslands to temperate lands in the south. The northern territories have an equatorial climate, with heavy rainfalls all day long, and the temperatures there are unbearably hot regardless if minimum or maximum, with a more bearable climate near the central lake. The central temperate highlands that the total rain reaches 1200mm per annum with the most intense rains being in the summer, and the temperatures here range from 12 C to 23 C. The southern provinces have a humid subtropical climate, with hot and humid summers and cool to mild winters and the temperatures there are in 8-22 degrees C ballpark. The lack of arable soil combined with generally poor quality of it and very poor climate in most of the country translates into a state highly dependent on food imports to sustain a vast amount of its population. The region as a whole lacks any distinctive landforms due to its very unvaried terrain across the board. The sole exception is the highest mountain in the Suyava-Alin territory which is nearly 6000 metre tall Mount Urunidjak, which is located in the Amarcha region. It’s easily distinguishable from the surrounding tan mountain ranges due to its characteristic white peak. While the Nimha themselves hadn’t really given the mountain any significance in their beliefs beyond just being where most mountain spirits live, the native Amarchans believe that on top of the mountain resides Danri, ruler of the divine and the god of fire in traditional faith that’s similar to, but also distinct from Xihae and Nimha shamanism, resembling more traditional polytheistic religions on the other continents.
Due to the climate conditions that are predominant in the country, any advanced monoculture intensive farming aimed at commercial purposes is not viable and most farmsteads are small to mid-sized grow potatoes, legumes and root vegetables and have to employ crop rotation and fertilizers as to not ruin the already poor soil of which the farmers don’t have many, and that’s on top of the extremely sunny and hot climate which puts a drain on resources needed to upkeep farming. This is one of the main reasons why pastoralism is still commonly and widely practiced in the country, as the ground is just good enough to grow grass, tiny flowers and small plants for sheep or goats to graze on.
Major Cities*
Luogong
Approximate population: 2,000,000 including the suburbia
Luogong is an old port city founded in the 1300s by Archelios settlers of Xihae ethnicity. Located between Xihae and southern lands on Luodao island, Luogong grew through many centuries to a cosmopolitan mercantile city due to its location and opportunities, with Luogong de facto expanding inland in the former half of the 16th Century thanks to ever-increasing presence of now Archelios rule over western lands. This state of affairs lasted till the early 19th Century as the Archelios Empire was forced to defend its southern boundaries from the Monteourans. The first of many Xihae-Monteouran wars lasted from 1811 to 1816 and its result was a close Suyava-Alin victory, with Archelios ceding parts of modern day Dungdenia and the entirety of Dongaian, including the port city of Luogong. Under the Grand Ducal rule, the province as a whole was given great autonomy as long as people there remained obedient to the monarchy, but many had not accepted being ruled by ‘upstart barbarians’ and fled northward toward Xihae. Despite all these setbacks, the city had become the most important city for the Grand Duchy from economical, naval and cultural standpoint, and later on also from an academic standpoint as in 1836 the College of Commerce, one of the three most prestigious universities in Suyava-Alin, was established and began teaching aspiring teenagers from merchant families the art of trade and finances. Present day Luogong is a thriving, modern, large yet cramped port city, with tram lines, neon-adorned businesses and traditionally-styled apartment blocks littered all over the place, and one can notice the great docks in the distance and skyscrapers looking down at the city from above. The most famous building that’s immediately associated with Luogong is the Island Hotel, a grand structure dating all the way back to 1898 founded by the local prominent Xihae family built in the mix of Xihae traditional architectural style, Revivalist architecture and early 1900s futurism that is more of a full complex than a mere hotel, a true monument to prosperity and history of the Luogong city itself, from a mere merchant to a proud metropolis.
Dongbao
Approximate population: 400,000
The capital of Dungdenia province, Dongbao is a small historic city that lies on a hill, surrounded by forests and grand walls dating all the way back to the early 14th Century. In the medieval and early modern times, it used to be an outpost of the Archelios Empire and seat of the military governor of present day western Monteouro, however, it was conquered during the First Xihae-Monteouro War that lasted from 1811 to 1816, after which the town’s native Xihae sought out refuge in their homeland, almost completely depopulating it. Due to its relative proximity to the border with Archelios Empire, and from 1852 the Xihae Union, and it's good defensive position it became the primary garrison of the Grand Ducal army in the West. Under Nimha rule, the town’s population slowly grew back to its previous size not only thanks to the rapid industrialization of the country as a whole and the widespread deposits of various minerals and ores, but also thanks to the conscripts eventually settling there with their families, soon displacing the local Xihae to such an extent that from a majority Xihae region the Dungdenia had become majority Nimha. Dungdenia’s western boundaries were the result of many border wars over the course of the 19th and 20th Centuries and thus the region as a whole is quite ethnically and culturally diverse on the borderlands thanks to quite fluid borders. Modern day Dongbao is a relatively unimportant city in the grand scale of things, still reminiscent of its old medieval days, with this being most easily seen in its antique architecture and largely unchanged layout… and the only thing keeping it from completely being abandoned is the arms industry.
Fujurige Susu
Approximate population: 300,000
Fujurige Susu is an old, proud Nimha town built in late 14th Century by Saha clan, the first ever clan to ever call themselves khagans, lords of the Nimha lands, as a mountain fortress easily defensible from lightly-armed rivals of Saha clan and as a centre of Saha rule over nearby lands. In the early 1500s, their dominion over central valleys was challenged by a rising clan who had blood feud going generations past with the Saha, the Argids. They, unlike the other pretenders to the central highland dominion, were better prepared for full-scale warfare rather than usual for the region skirmishes between two lightly armed forces. The war between Saha and Argids was a long and bloody affair which culminated in the unusual for mere highlanders siege of Fujurige Susu which took place in 1520, a battle which had been recounted in all tales from this period and has been supported by the archeological evidence like the rest of the war. The siege was a showcase of improvisation and trickery for both sides which were unused to fighting like kingdoms outside the great mountains of Suyava-Alin. Ultimately, despite the valiant defence of Saha warriors, the Fujurige Susu was conquered with a bloody sword in hand by the Argids and moved in like nothing ever happened, had claimed it as their own and made it the seat of power for their dynasty. Soon, other daring conquests followed and by the 17th Century more or less most of the modern Dulimbania was under Argid control, all hailing allegiance to khagan sitting in Fujurige Susu. By the 18th Century the mountain fortress had been expanded and its great walls rebuilt in the style of foreign star forts as a sign of strength and prestige of the old clan. However, when Tumens and Argids united under one black-white-gold-blue banner, they, much to the dismay of traditionalists, had made Mangwhe the capital city of the newly formed Grand Duchy. This slight, in a true Nimha fashion, has never been forgotten for the generations to come as Fuju, as city is colloquially called in the present day by everyone beside the Fujurigans themselves, began gradually losing its old splendor and by late 19th Century have become a city only known for its old monuments, museums and prideful elders stuck in days gone by. However, this common opinion contrasts the actual development of the city, as many railways passing through the city and large steelworks were built over the course of the 19th Century due to its ideal central location and proximity to mines which brought in the mineral wealth beneath the great peaks. Thanks to all these factors Fuju is a city of contrast, between great furnaces and traditional pagoda chalets, between rail stations and grand shrines from times immemorial, between prideful elitist locals and the oncoming peasants looking for work. Beyond all this contrast however, the most famous buildings are definitely ancient, and the most prominent of these is The Grand Hall, a spacious palace complex dating all the way back to the late 16th Century, which was opened to the public in 1863 as the national museum. The second institution of prominence in the city is Academy of Mining and Technology which opened its gates in 1857, a university that has been the key to producing many experts, all of which had fueled the rapid industrialization of the country, and is one of few research universities in the country.
Yacinhada
Approximate population: 1,500,000
Yacinhada was founded in 1831 by copper miners working in modern day southern Amarcha as a small mining town. The town had grown exponentially due to rapid industrialization of the region over the course of the 19th century, its expansion fueled by the influx of investments, machines and poor peasants looking for jobs. During this economic boom, the expanding bourgeoisie clans were either establishing new mining towns or were taking over already established ones, thus, it had became a de facto company town which was one of many sources of income for its new owners, the clan, which had reinvested the profits earned from trade back into its holdings. By 1878, the city was home to 180,000 people in it and was seen as large and important enough to be seen as a viable seat of the local government that had several rail lines and telegraph lines connecting it to the rest of the nation. By the mid 1890s, Zhang Fu, then owner of Zhang Copper Company and one who paved the way for the future Moresc Group, had ambition for his name to be written down in annals of history, and his plan was a daring one. By the turn of century, the small mining city was actually in risk of overpopulation due to limited space and large oncoming workforce which began gaining early tickets to the afterlife thanks to the scorching heat of the Sun above. Thus, in a case of great hubris, Zhang Fu conceived an underground urban vanity project that entailed basically replacing the old mining town with a vast and modern complex built in a cavern. The project lasted from 1896 to 1923 and was funded by MCC, other private investors and the government, with its opening being publicised worldwide to show the technological prowess of the Grand Duchy and also to divert away any attention on deep rotted flaws of the Nimha government. Nowadays, Yacinhada is a bleak, multi-level, brutalistic grid plan automotive city located in a cavern that is laid out into three levels, with the ground level being the slums and industrial district at the same time, the middle level being the noisy, highway galore financial centre of the town and the ceiling level being the residential zone for the wealthy. The characteristic eight ‘pillars’, the outer roof scrapers, are brutalistic complexes that house both residential floors at the lowest and the highest levels and offices on the middle floors, albeit it’s not a rule and there are entire floors near ceiling or near ground that house corporate offices. These ‘pillars’ on top of housing people and corporations are also designed to provide structural support to the cavern which is further supported by outermost concrete beams on the cave's walls. Centrally placed is the Zhang Tower, a fancy Streamline Moderne office complex designed to show off the power of Moresc Group. Despite all the exterior image of roaring cars, active ever-lasting nightlife and industry all around, the truth is immediately obvious: it’s not a very pleasant place to live for those without cash, with gangs beginning to form after the Great War and violence and pathology in the slums becoming merely just another facet of life there, with poor increasingly desperate to get scraps of now-expensive local nutritious “mystery meat” to live another day. All this going on while the law enforcement is mostly unable to respond to well-hidden chaos beneath due to corporate interference which extends into every corner of life in the city, with the corporations which previously made up the Moresc Group continuously rigging the local elections to retain their control over Yacinhada through puppets put on mayor and governor seats. It’s little wonder why this city is widely mocked, feared and criticised, all equally, by the entire country, outweighing even the disdain towards Mangwhe and has been used as the textbook example of widespread corruption in the Grand Duchy’s political system. Yacinhada also is the center of automobile manufacturing due to its unique nature and has substantial chemical and metallurgical industry located in its vicinity. If there’s anything worth noting about the city, is that Yacinhada is the most cosmopolitan one in the country as the corporations aren’t be too picky about their workers, and as such, one can find Fulgians, Vanholdans, Xihae and Zenetians living in the same neighbourhood, and a district away there’s a pub owned by an Amarchan, one of many living in the city. Mentioning Amarchans, they’re the native people of Amarcha, who are easily recognised by their short and stout stature, that had been assimilated a long time ago into the Xihae and Nimha culture. Known not only for their cunning, greedy and jolly nature, but also their superb precision and above average strength, the Amarchans have been finding their calling in all things technical, with pilot, engineer and mechanic being popular career choices among them due to their fine motor skills and hardy bodies that allow them to take greater risks than of average human.
Bujange Ala
Approximate population: 350,000
Bujange Ala is an inland city and capital of Abanat province. Located in the northern Abanat on a hill, Bujange Ala arose in the early 17th Century around the Tumen clan’s southern wood trading outposts. In 1752 the khagan of Tumenids had granted the settlement a town charter. The city was growing thanks to a somewhat profitable timber industry and agriculture on which the Bujangans could easily profit off their own brethren thanks to poor conditions up north, making thus Ulaacan and Abanat the most important regions in the first years of the Grand Duchy before the industrial era. The prestige of both provinces had grown weaker over the next decades as the government and businessmen of various origin all have focused on the vast mines of the north, all the while leaving scraps for farmers. Whilst the railroads, power grid and telegraph lines were laid out, it was pretty obvious it was more due to land trade and investments coming into places like Cuwanboo, Selesantijn or Farhaven rather than particular care for either Bujange Ala or Aisinboo. Currently, Bujange Ala is a small town coming back to life after the harsh days of the Great War. During the war years, its sole contribution to the war effort were the crops as the furniture industry disappeared overnight. Whilst the subsidies from the government had revitalised the shops and workshops of the town, the floodgates had been opened a long time ago and the town depopulated during the war. Now, the diminutive chalet and workshop-filled town struggles to remain relevant in the modern day where its sole contributions to the global economy are the well-developed furniture industry and small mechanised farmlands. While it’s expected that the new economic policy may revive this town thanks to investments in the light industry and service sector, it’s doubtful Bujange Ala will ever return to its past prominence.
Farhaven
Approximate population: 500,000
Farhaven is a southern port city and is the seat of Norvale province. A thoroughly Zenetian city which had kept its unique charm after decades of Nimha rule, Farhaven was founded in the 13th Century by Zenetian sailors coming up north to trade with the Archelians. The town’s growth was stable and by the 15th Century had become a major town in the area and a good stop for merchants trading with Archelians. Farhaven thus had become and still is the largest city of Norvale. It was conquered in 1778 during a series of several border conflicts between the Grand Duchy and Zenetia which had culminated in the annexation of Norvale and the Principality of Fulginan. Under the new leadership the Norvale province had continued to live on as they were guaranteed rights, autonomy and freedoms like all people in the Grand Duchy, all the while also noticing the fearful Fulgi villages going up in flames, with Fulgians being forced into the territory of what used to be the Principality. In the 19th Century, Farhaven grew in importance as the Grand Duchy had to close the naval gap with their neighbours even if it only meant scaring them away with frigates, thus bringing investment and industrialization to this then middle-sized town. Docks, shipyards and workshops were built in this mercantile town and by the mid 19th Century Farhaven had become the second largest Western port in the nation. However, Farhaven’s role diminished over the years as the Great Duchy had expanded a small fishing village called Cuwanboo into a small port, and the result was that by 1920s the traffic coming through Farhaven is only three-quarters of what it used to be. Nowadays Farhaven is a busy commercial port town with the second largest shipbuilding industry on the Western coastline of Monteouro, but it’s clear that Farhaven, as far as anyone is concerned, is living on borrowed time as less and less sea traffic with each year arrives to the shores of Farhaven and it’s expected that by the early 1960s the town will become destitute and may depopulate unless the government does something about it.
Selesantijn
Approximate population: 600,000
Selesantijn is a city located in the south Suyava-Alin and the seat of the Fulginan province. The city sits near the coast on a relatively fertile lowland. Selesantijn was founded in the 15th Century as a fortified harbour by a local Fulgi duke who had then used it as his court from which he ruled his lands. From there, Selesantjin grew over time to become a small town that brought attention of farmers, merchants and aristocrats alike. This peaceful existence intermixed with petty fights with Nimha had however ended in 1781, when the now-created Grand Duchy steamrolled the Principality of Fulginan thanks to a large, modernised gun-heavy army which wasn’t threatened by rubble of a mustered soldiery and noblemen heavy cavalry. After a short two years war, the Fulginan as a whole was subjugated by the Nimha and subjected to a harsh tyrannical rule of petty nobility using the grudges from days long forgotten as an excuse to amass the wealth of the relatively wealthy land. As for Selesantjin itself, its previous identity was steadily replaced by Nimha one, with schools, shrines and garrison built in the city to exercise as much control over it as possible. Because of this, the majority Fulgi city had been fully transformed into a majority Nimha city by the early 20th Century when the long and arduous denationalisation of Fulgi had borne fruit for Suyava-Alin, with the symbol of historic independent Fulginan gone the monarchy had expected the continuous Fulgi resistance to end but no such thing ever happened and thus, the Fulgi separatism by 1910s became a true threat to Nimha rule over the region. Action, reaction, counter-reaction. A cycle of escalation and downward spiral of violence are the best ways to describe the modern Selesantijn and Fulginan as a whole, and when the War was entering its most dire years, the “reformed” Grand Duchy has predominantly conscripted Fulgi townsmen and sent them into the meat grinder and caused further escalation of the already dire situation. Present day Selesantijn can be best described as a mess with good visage, as while the city certainly looks quite regal and even somewhat embraced the Fulgian aesthetics to a degree, making it look more like an eclectic amalgamation of Zenetian, Zenzovian and Nimha cultures more than anything. The most obvious sign of this is the carefully preserved Selenijo Cathedral amongst the brick-and-earthen terraced houses and opulent revivalist mansions, this 16th Century church had become the symbol of Fulginan distinct cultural identity and, much to dismay to Nimha nobles, had been purported to bring a great tragedy everytime the Suyava-Alin rulers tried to demolish it, thus obviously also making it a symbol of their eternal defiance. Beyond the tiny shops, fancy buildings and azure coast, the truth could not be further from the image the local elites carefully craft, as every so often the local Fulgian poor and oncoming Fulgian workers strike against their bumpkin overlords only to face a swift retaliation from the military police whose posting will next week be nearly burned down by the terrorists. There are rumors of change, of reformists caring about everyone and not just their pockets, but by 1947, any sort of trust towards Mangwhe has long since had vanished among the people living there and all they want are tangible results and not lofty promises of a better tomorrow.
Azureport
Approximate population: 900,000
Azureport is a coastal city situated on a peninsula in the south Suyava-Alin near the Zenetian coast. Its origins are dated to the 12th Century when Pratian and Zenetian began greatly expanding their reach beyond their native tropics. It quickly grew to a large port city and was the premier centre of commerce of the eastern sea, and, by the 16th Century had two hundred thousands souls living in it, and the white walls of Zeneto-Pratian houses and fortifications stood above the nearby vineyards and lowlands. Its prosperity had lasted until 1794 when the Second Zeneto-Moneoutran War had broken out. The war was short but devastating for the Grand Duchy as the professional army of Zenetia had been able to hold off the Nimha highlanders for a long time before Suyava-Alin finally broke through their lines and conquered the peninsula. From the on, Azureport lived on like nothing ever happened and continued to prosper, albeit less due to the classic Nimha subpar administration and policies, and soon became one of the two most important ports for the Grand Duchy, the trade coming through this ever-growing white-and-blue city fueling the Tumen-Argi coffers. By the turn of the century, Azureport had become one of the largest and prosperous cities of Monteouro, its Mediterranean revival buildings towering over small busy tram-filled streets and in the distance the great cranes and docks full of liners and freighters. Its beauty then was tarnished during the Great War when Donubarans had struck with great strength against the shipping in the region, even launching a daring raid against Azureport itself, blowing up the outdated coastal fortifications and modern harbor with ease as there was no way the little Monteouran Navy could resist their attack. As for right now, the silver city is still recovering from the raid, yet despite this the life continues on and ships are still docking here and still generating profit for the mountainous nation. Its current prosperity is built upon the shipbuilding industry, viticulture, tourism, trade and services. The most popular sights in the city are the Bell Tower of Dawn, a truly enormous port-based bell tower that also functions as a lighthouse, and the Crux Chateau, a sprawling classical palatial complex which used to be the resort of old monarchs that had ruled these lands before the Tumen-Argids brought them to their knees.
Ladneria
Approximate population: 500,000
Ladneria is a city and the capital of Dolnijard province that was founded in the 17th Century amidst the Zenzovian expansion which had occurred after the collapse of the old empires, a period not too dissimilar from the early Nimha expansion beyond their heartland. It has continued steadily over the time, serving a role of a trading outpost with the West and as a greatest fortress shielding the Zenzovian homeland from any foreign invasion from the West. However, the prosperity of the NZG ended in the early and mid 19th Century when a series of terrible plagues had spread across the eastern realm, Dolnijard included. The ever-opportunistic Nimha, hungry for wealth and power, had taken their chance and began invading their fellow yet unrelated highlander, thus starting a series of wars that lasted from 1860s to 1890s, a period which was post factum termed ‘The Years of Lead’. The outcome of one of these was cession of most of the Dolnijard and the city of Ladneria to the Suyava-Alin in late 1872 after their victory in the Third Monteouran-Zenzovian War. Despite this decisive victory, the hostilities would continue up to 1890s when the eastern border would finally stabilise as the Nimha forces were unable to past the modern NZG-Monteouro boundary due to fortifications and tenacity of the Zenzovian defenders, causing a stalemate that brought about a peace that cemented the current frontier. Ladneria nowadays is a prosperous town that, from its buildings to the culture and religion, has remained firmly Zenzovian even after many years of Nimha governance. The layout of the city is not that much different from other southern NZG towns, as it has a core district where all the government buildings are located, a scattering of residential and industrial areas throughout the city and the countryside-like suburbia where plantations and private businesses are located. The skyline is low and typical for a Zenzovian town, that is full of curved roofs and bright tiled walls on the outskirts, and the concrete bland buildings in the town itself with the sole exception being the richly decorated centre.
Major Ports/Harbors*
Major civilian ports:
Port of Luogong
Port of Luogong is a seaport located on the eastern coast of Luodao island in Luogong and is an integral part of the city and has a well-developed infrastructure with purpose-built rail lines and asphalt roads that allow it to handle a large amount of material. It has large storage depots that can store and also has twelve berths for freight. It has extensive facilities for repair, maintenance and slipping of all types of vessels and overall the bunch of drydocks can service up to 100,000 tonnes deadweight, and the port itself operates 28 quays suitable for ships up to 150 meters in length. It handles both bulk and packaged/container freight along with having a grand passenger terminal. The port has been one of the most important ones in the entire nation of Suyava-Alin, as it was the key to Luogong’s prosperity for many centuries and will continue to be this way into the future.
Port of Azureport
Port of Azureport is a seaport located on the peninsula in Azurepot and it's just a few kilometres away from the city centre. It’s directly connected to the cross-country railway network with a dedicated train station for handling freight and a middle-sized passenger terminal that has been recently renovated making Azureport a more attractive place for tourism on top of the city itself having truly pleasant sights. It has eight berths for freight, and the docks can service up to 80,000 tonnes deadweight. Azureport has 21 quays for ships up to 140 meters in length.
Port of Farhaven
Port of Farhaven is a seaport located in the city of Farhaven. This ancient port has been the source of the city's success till 1920s when Cuwanboo had outgrown it in importance but still sees liners and merchantmen to this day. The port has a railway and road connection along with small storage depots, cranes and a small passenger terminal. Its shipping facilities can handle up to 60,000 tonnes deadweight of steel and bronze, plus it also has 10 quays for ships up to 140 meters in length.
Port of Cuwanboo
Port of Cuwanboo is a seaport located in the city of Cuwanboo in Abanat province, being a key part of the town’s layout. It has a direct connection to the national railway along with two roads connecting it to Bujange Ala and also has many cargo-processing and storage facilities. It has ten berths for freight which in total can handle ships up to 120,000 tonnes deadweight and it has 20 quays for ships up to 150 meters in length. Cuwanboo used to be a small fishing village until 1912 when the construction of the Cuwanboo port began and after its opening in 1920 it quickly became the favoured port by the government and the businesses due to its relatively proximity and modernity in comparison to outdated Farhaven’s port and Mangwhe’s truly miniscule harbor that wasn’t fit for 20th Century maritime shipping. In the present day this port is an integral part of the Grand Duchy’s export-dependent economy due to its expansive shipment handling and storage facilities allowing large freighters to drop or load heavy loads in a short duration of time. This, however, came at the cost of passenger services as it has no marine passenger terminals at all, thus making it slightly less attractive of an option than should have been.
Major military ports:
Naval Base in Lougong
Military port of Luogong is a military navy base located on the eastern coast of Bao island in Luogong. It’s home to a squadron consisting of a single coastal defense battleship, four light cruisers and six destroyers.
Naval Base in Cuwanboo
Military port of Cuwanboo is a military dockyard located several hundred kilometres west of Bujange Ala on the coast and is located a distance away from the town of Cuwanboo itself. It’s a base of modern and utilitarian design, one that lacks the historical significance of the other bases and is instead a way to increase power projection in the western waters. It’s home to a single small squadron that consists of a single heavy cruiser, two light cruisers and six destroyers.
Naval Base in Azureport
Military port of Azureport is a military navy base located several dozen kilometres to the east of the southern peninsular port city. The base was constructed near a massive star fortress that had been built in the 17th Century and the nearby coastline is filled with additional coastal fortifications that were built in the 19th Century. It houses a squadron made up of a single heavy cruiser, four light cruisers and four destroyers.
National Resources & Economic Produce*
The Golden Mountains, after which the land the Nimha people live in was named after, hold vast amounts of natural resources like copper, coal, iron and aluminium, with quartz and amethysts being the most common minerals found in the rock of the mountain range covering most of the country. However, this vast mineral wealth comes at a cost, as the arable land in the Monteouro is few in between and even then is mostly rocky or somewhat barren, with most fertile soil located in the southern parts of the country, thus, making the resource trade the only viable way of gaining capital in the region, a fact which remains true to this day and won’t likely never make up a large portion of Suyava-Alin’s GDP. The most popular produce grown in Monteouro are plants that can be grown on such soil such as potatoes and root vegetables, and the most produced animal-derived products are, naturally, white dairy products and mutton. There’s a large number of rivers and waterfalls in the region, giving some potential for hydroelectric dams in the country. Due to most of its territory being rocky and in various amounts contaminated with metals, there’s a significant presence of Montire flower fields in the interior highlands which are used in production of Aritazol, a steroid-like medicine which had just recently entered the market and is expected to sell quite well.
Economic Boons*
Suyava-Alin’s industry is seeing a rapid shift towards a diverse economy built upon process industry and services, replacing the extraction-focused economy which used to make up the vast amount of market share in the nation, which was a natural result for a country with little else to its name other than large deposits of ores and minerals beneath. Under the new course taken by the reform movement, industries such as aeronautical, pharmaceutical and chemical industries are experiencing massive growth due to government support and short-term tax breaks for such companies. This move has been dictated by the realities of an export-dependent economy forced to become self-reliant during the war, with contested waters and powerless navy barely able to ward off the coastal raids from Donubara, the Grand Duchy had to use its ore to build the tanks and aircraft, while the usually avoided caves had begun to be excavated for minerals useful in creating explosives or antibiotics. There’s also a noticeable comeback of small enterprises like shops from before the war thanks to subsidies and changes in the policy which grant small businesses a better chance of standing next to large corporations which are often unofficially state-owned or at least owned by a politician and carrying on their venture, with changes in the tax law and introduction of anti-trust act being the most significant ones.
National Economic Struggles*
Monteouro was built on and will die by the mining industry. This mountainous land had little else to offer other than the vast amounts of rock and ore dug from every mountain, its arable soil too poor and too small to feed the growing population of the industrial era and its service sector still too small for it to form any substantial percent of government’s revenue. The alarming predictions of the Nimha economists who expected an eventual recession of the country due to an export-dependent economy with very little diversification, the well-being of which being intrinsically tied to global situation and ever-changing markets, had been eventually proven by the outbreak of the Great War, which while profitable at first soon faced the same issues as any other aligned power unprepared for a total war, an issue only exacerbated by a lackluster navy too weak to protect the ore shipments to other Allied powers. Once the peace was announced the large mining corporations had expected the situation to improve drastically - it did not. Many workers once hired in the mining sector either now lying six feet deep or relocated to more war-critical industries which flourished during the war like automotive, armaments, chemical or automotive industries, with mines now being relegated to mere suppliers of the resources rather than the main driving force behind the country's prosperity, had caused these companies to be quite distrustful towards the government for their apparent slight against the rich mine-owning clans. On the other hand, the nascent service sector also took a hit, especially tiny shops, many businesses unable to continue operation under the austerity measures, causing a sudden rise in unemployment. The only sector unaffected by the changes caused by the war was the agricultural sector which remained as it was, meager and unable to sustain the population on its own in any shape or form, forcing the country to import a lot of food, a problem that was made only more apparent mid war when the food became significantly more expensive, some foodstuffs like fruits even had seen an increase up to 400%. This state of affairs, rather obviously, has become the new norm and is expected to continue up to the mid 1950s.
The other great problem is wealth disparity, a problem so common it’s been encapsulated in a saying that you’re either an urbanite with boots to their name to spare or a barefoot shepherd with rakija in hand. This is also reflected in the presence of the power grid and amount of rail lines going through a region, with the richest core provinces being equal in terms of urbanisation and industrialisation to other countries (albeit still understandably somewhat limited due to peculiar geography) and the poor regions at most possessing single railway and a single large electrified town as their administrative center, with rest of the mentioned area being either untouched mountains or hidden villages full of quarrelsome highlanders that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a national epic about the birth of Tumen-Argi clan.
National Technology Level*
Monteouro, while mostly on par technologically with other nations in the region, has been struggling with development of the aircraft and their propulsion, a fact most exemplified in Ji.41 fighter, which has proven itself to be mediocre despite the best efforts to the contrary. This is related naturally to the mountainous geography of Suyava-Alin, which prevented any serious domestic automotive industry from cropping up. There’s an ongoing turbocharger research project of the Miguilla corporation, but the progress is slow and engineers outright recommend designing a hybrid motorjet-prop fighter since it’s predicted there won’t be a breakthrough in this area any time soon. There’s also ongoing radar and rocketry development programs. However, if there’s one field the Suyava-Alin truly excels at is chemistry. While the chemical industry and subsequent pharmaceutical one in the country is young, the interest behind creating these has been there since the 19th Century and was finally realised in early 20th Century with the establishment of Toholon Chemicals Corporation, the main manufacturer of fertilizers and explosives in the country and slightly before the war it has also extended its operations into pharmaceutical market and began producing drugs of various kind, the prime example being the mass production of morphine and sulfa powder during the War. The most recent inventions of theirs are hydralazine and Aritazol, a newfangled steroid-like drug which has proven itself to be helpful in treating muscle and bone loss, severe burns and has also been given to help with post-surgery recovery due to its superior muscle and bone growth properties. However, it has been noted that the company responsible for the latter, Toholon, has been very secretive about its composition, merely stating that its ingredients are “plant-derived”. Currently, Nimha scientists are working on isolating pure Aritazol from Montire flowers, a project which is meant to make Aritazol less destructive to a human organism than the current unsafe form.
National Education/Research Quality*
Education in Suyava-Alin is managed by the Ministry of Education and is compulsory at the elementary and lower secondary levels. The upper secondary and higher education are not and instead are in many cases private schools, which means that higher education past elementary may not be affordable to those of rural background. However, due to realities of Suyava-Alin being a mountainous country with subpar transportation and communications network, this isn’t exactly feasible and it’s not uncommon to see children of mountaineer background be illiterate, as highlander villages at most have only an elementary school and this isn’t even a given. As such, the literacy rate in Monteouro is only about 60%.
Elementary education begins typically at the age of six and lasts for five years, during which the children learn how to read, write and compute and the last year is finished with an exam. The lower secondary level lasts for three years during which children attend lectures held by different teachers majored in the subject they taught unlike in elementary school. The secondary level’s curriculum as a whole covers Nimha language, foreign language based on the region where the school is located, mathematics, sciences and social studies, with additional courses including physical education, music and art. The upper secondary education lasts for four years and is split into vocational schools, which focus their curriculum on providing technical skills required to complete the tasks of a particular job, and lyceums, which focus instead on more general education and are seen as an extension to the lower secondary education. No matter which path the students chose, the last grade ends with an exit exam which covers two compulsory subjects: Nimha language and literature and mathematics. Optional subjects are chemistry, physics, minority or foreign language, history, geography, biology and social sciences(for example economy, law, political science). Higher education is mostly private and is provided in universities, the choice between which is dependent on the student's decision and whether they scored high enough on subjects relevant to the faculty of a university of choice. Universities are focused on arts, science and engineering and follow the Humboldt model.
This model of education, one mainly focused on preparing students towards engineering or related topics, had greatly contributed to mineral extraction-fueled growth of the nation in the last few decades, as by providing the corporations with specialists with great expertise in fields of mechanics, geology, material science and more, had born fruit in the form of a mature, well-developed up-to-date industrial sector.
The most prominent universities are Mangwhe Academy of Fine Arts which provides high-level fine arts education and training, Lougong College of Commerce which offers economics and mathematics education and Fujurige-Susu Academy of Mining and Technology which is a research university whose profile includes engineering, geoscience and exact sciences.
Research since the early 1930s has been focused on chemistry and material science, a pragmatic choice dictated by the decision of the military to invest into better ballistic protection for its infantry and vehicles, which was soon followed by peaked interest in inventing new medicine and performance-enhancing drugs by the outbreak of the war, a result of which was the imperfect isolation of Aritazol, a steroid-like phytochemical, from Montire flowers, which was first tested as combat drug but had never adopted into active service due to unwanted side effects, instead finding a great interest in the domestic market due to its medical properties in smaller doses. Another boon gained by this research focus was the independent development of ballistic nylon which has found use in Air Corps and Ground Forces’ flak jackets.
Military Strength, Composition, & Focus*
The Grand Ducal Armed Forces are the military of Suyava-Alin and as of 1947 fields 761,985 troops in active service and its main role is homeland defence and insurance of the country’s security. Whilst the army is a professional force, the law requires citizens of age to perform compulsory military service for three years. Suyava-Alin’s defence concept is based on a flexible mobile professional rapid response force with great focus on air-ground coordination and defensive maneouver warfare, with the reservist force to be called upon to provide greater operational depth in the case of war. The Armed Forces consist of the Air Corps, the Army and the Navy. The doctrine emphasizes flexibility, adaptability in the face of the ever-changing battlefield and acceptance of the risks required to be undertaken mid-combat.
The Army’s personnel size on paper is 50% of the total personnel, the Air Corps’ 30% and the Navy has the least amount of personnel, only having 20% of the total available mustered manpower.
Military Struggles*
The Grand Ducal ground forces are a battle-hardened army that has seen a transformation over the entire length of the war, seeing a rapid shift from a positional army doctrinally stuck decades in the past to a mobile flexible force with readily available air and artillery support. However, while the doctrine and equipment shifted, the chief staff did not and the retention of outdated tactics and strategies is still a great problem. Another problem that Army has to regularly deal with is the simple fact that their firepower under their command isn’t enough and often are reliant on artillery and air support to assault positions due to lightweight of their overall frontline arsenal, with less powerful than average tanks and the odd case of flak vest-clad infantry that performs poorly at close quarters and has limited anti-tank capabilities that amount to low penetration recoilless rifles made for anti-bunker work and small HEAT rifle grenades.
Another branch with significant problems is the Navy, which has been completely neglected since its very foundation, being treated more like a heavily armed coast guard more than anything. Underfunded and with little power projection, the outdated Navy had to guard the coast against the modern Donubaran fleets raiding the seas and failed to do so, making each import and export convoy run a risky affair for sailors coming from or into Suyava-Alin.
National Welfare & Social Support
Social welfare system in the Monteouro is rudimentary with free education, social insurance and state pensions being written into the law, along with laws preventing child labour and also guaranteeing things like workplace safety regulations and basic workers’ rights like nine hour work days and a barely existing minimum wage. There’s free healthcare, albeit with an issue being that it’s not really worth waiting months or years to get a subpar treatment for your sickness, thus everyone prefers to spend cold hard cash in private hospitals to get a high quality solution at the moment’s notice or merely days away. These laws were enacted, curiously enough, before the Grand Ducal family had reduced its powers greatly and turned the country into a constitutional monarchy. While there was certainly opposition from old money, this decision mostly aimed at the improving view of the mountaineer duchy had won hearts and minds of the common people and also did indeed improve the image of the monarchy, making the Grand Duke look like a defender of his subjects’ rights rather than yet another nobleman who’s in for quick cash. Government’s spends 1.5% on social expenditures and 1% on public healthcare which somewhat expectedly shows that the government only really keeps those programs alive because of somewhat widespread support, a fact which is reflected in poor quality of free healthcare as described previously and very small pensions given to the pensioners plus practically non-existent compensation for getting your hand crushed while in work.
National Cultural & Historical Background
The united Nimha state was established in 1756 as a result of a union between the two most dominant Nimha khaganates who coronated their friendly relations with a marriage which had created the Grand Duchy as it is known today - the Argids who were centered around the Fujurige Susu, a mountain fortress said to be built upon the ruins of the first Nimha settlement, and the eastern Tumen clan who were located in modern western Dergitala, northern Ulaacan and eastern Dulimbania. The newly established Tumen-Argi dynasty under its royal banner had warred for many decades with their neighbours. The first to go were Zenetians, Pratians and Fulgi soon after their founding, settling an old score to speak. Then followed the series of bloody border wars through the entire 19th Century, first with Archelians then with Xihae. The last ones to be struck by the Monteouran armies were the Zenzovians who had successfully repealed many previous small-scale invasions in the mid 19th Century, but in 1868 the province of Dolnijard had been finally annexed by the Grand Duchy. Since then, the borders stabilised but the border conflicts were still the norm till the Donubarans attacked. Through the 19th Century, amidst many wars, the Monteouro began to prosper and then became richer once industrialization had arrived, and the nobility and the monarchy had embraced it as fast as possible knowing fully well this was the only way that the de facto then-warlord state could survive for longer and stabilise, plus the industry also meant money from selling those valuable rocks beneath, and this money could fund their growing power from Amarcha to Dolnijard. This same industrial age however had also brought the bane of the Grand Duchy which has been plaguing the nation ever since: mining barons, tycoons, corporate interests. Due to their wealth and the entire state being slaves to their prosperity, the nobility and industrialists had been growing in power to the point that, by the next century, they were able to convince the Tumen-Argi dynasty to abandon the absolutist principles and reform Grand Duchy into a constitutional monarchy. Whilst the 19th Century was a wild time for Suyava-Alin marked by conquest and monarchy’s nigh-constant gymnastics to keep the Grand Duchy factioning, the Grand Duchy that had entered the 20th Century was one that began carefully crafting its image as a reasonable actor in the international politics rather than the previous dreadful visage of destiny manifester, although still finding some time to have a brawl over tiny scraps of land, whether they have resources or more ethnic Nimha, sometimes winning and sometimes losing. By the 30s and subsequently the Great War, the Grand Duchy fully embraced its new political course, seeing peace with its neighbours as more valuable than constant warring with NZG, Vanholdan or Xihae over truly meaningless pieces of land that no really cared for and only ate the money that could be better spend on modernising the country or funding the industry. One of signs of this was rapprochement with their neighbours, ceasefires and non-aggression pacts being signed with their fellow Aritsians plus many other initiatives to foster good relations. Then, as the Donubarans launched their invasion of Skulka, the usually competitive and war-hungry Monteouran government had realised the bigger threat on the horizon, perhaps seeing Donubarans competitors to their usual act of violating someone’s territorial integrity. During the early war, Suyava-Alin began exporting arms and ammunition to their fellow westerners for easy profit out of pragmatism. Then, as the Donubaran invasion began closing in at insane pace, Mangwhe got quite wary of the impending threat and began looking for allies, finding reluctant but otherwise trustworthy NZG as their first choice, the memories of border scuffles still fresh in minds of both parties. This, obviously, got them involved in the war as their material support soon escalated into a full military alliance and the previously off-duty tan-clad mountain infantry found themselves in the trenches and holding back the East Aritsian advance. Soon, treaties with Vanholda, Archelios and Xihae followed, but for the two former they could not find any way to support directly due to lack of any meaningful transport capability up north, restricting the Grand Duchy strictly to only arms, supplies and munitions for their northern allies. Then, Donubarans, seeing their chance and knowing fully well that the mountaineers could not survive without trade for long, had bombarded the Azureport and put the port there out of use and soon followed this up with raids on convoys. After the Vanholda had fallen, the Donubarans struck the northernmost parts of Amarcha, at first meeting little resistance only to soon encounter the old fortifications built into hills and mountains, all sprinkled with heavy artillery, machine guns and trenches stretched across the entire span of the defensive line. Afterwards, the allied nations launched a massive counteroffensive which first outlodged Donubarans from West Aritsia and then the allies struck the East Aritsia, burning away jungles and plains, shelling any sign of resistance from the Donubarans. The Allies had emerged victorious, streets of West Aritsia filled with joy and relief.
Modern National Culture & Society
Monteoran culture and society that has been shaped by its geography, nurtured by a great variety of traditions and cultures living inside beneath the Golden Peaks, but the culture commonly seen is predominantly ‘local’ and Nimha through and through despite many foreign influences and, strangely, one that hasn’t been really all that shaped by its religious beliefs which is not unreasonable as there was no one religion that the local highlanders could unify around. The society as a whole has a quite conservative outlook on social manners, with the clan and the extended family being an integral part of life in the family rather than people one can occasionally visit from time to time and reminisce about childhood. This is quite evident in that the male elders of the clan, and not the father, are the main deciding voice in traditional Nimha families and will often arrange marriages and pry into their children’s lives. However, this model of family is more prominent in the interior and countryside, whilst a more familiar, nuclear family model is much more preferred by young couples living in the cities, but the obedience to the elders is still there, just shifted a generation or two forward so to speak. Traditionalism also extends to the quite prudish attitude towards private life, but again this is much less present in more cosmopolitan urban families. Another tradition which is still alive is of ‘Ginfu’, the pledge of honour, a cultural precept that had shaped the Nimha culture to such a great extent, that the blood feuds between rivalrous shepherds and sworn alliances of brotherly clans had been codified in oral and written tradition of the days gone by and it is also said that many concepts in the current Constitution had their basis in centuries of customary Nimha law, with one such concept being the regional autonomy of the provinces and settlements. This also connects to the ideas that shame and dishonour are worse than death, honour and truth are the highest ideals and that revenge is a social obligation. The traditional half of the culture values hard work and loyalty, but also promotes vindictiveness and grudges. It’s grave and ceremonial, one unaccepting of change, a shrine to a deity or patron being a must in your humble abode lest the elders smite you for not praying to the divine for having your neighbour suffer from tuberculosis.
On the other side is the cosmopolitan aspect of Nimha culture, one that has long accepted living alongside their neighbours as long as they were not sworn enemies for that matter. As such, while distrustful of outsiders, they’re welcoming of their friends as rakija is said to remove all language barriers. Mentioning alcohol, it’s not an unusual sight to see a man of culture and great wealth to be a degustator of many drinks, and it is equally unusual to see a chestnut gatherer drink a rakija under a tree. With drinks in Monteouro also come parties and competitions. The mood of such parties depends on the context, from ballroom dances featuring restrained quickstep and ragtime, passing through more frugal dances in clubs where dynamic round dances and folk music are rocking the scene, to semi-serious urban couples swinging at nightclubs in the rhythm of pure jazz. Suyava-Alin’s national sport is archery, and international sports like football, cricket and rugby enjoy considerable popularity in modern Suyava-Alin. This other half is more welcoming and joyful instead, it’s more progressive, mindful and accepting of the differences.
Your average Monteouran of culture dresses fashionably, with men wearing darker suits with broad shoulders and women wearing long light tropical dresses. The same Monteouran also often goes to cinema and watches the foreign films (rarely domestic, those are too depressing for their liking, a sentiment much more prevalent since the War), reads the fresh prints of foreign and national magazines, listens to radio shows and enjoys the latest music trends but more often than not prefers slower and calmer pieces, plus probably had viewed an art piece once and has a few books in their apartment of various origin. However, this same average urbanite or rich citizen living in countryside probably looks at the emerging local art trends in quizzical or understanding, even appreciative look, as the young artists or old ones back to form creating literature, films, music and art much more philosophical, reflective of the troubling times during and after the War. The new art is truly international, late modernist or outright sacreligious in its influences and themes, full of various shades of rebellion, non-conformism, existentialism, questions, defeat and change - a complete opposite to the non-universal novel of manners that are afraid to be too critical of the present day, tycoon-approved dime novels or self-waxing national epics that have been the bane of many students in Suyava-Alin educational system. Whether this be a novel being a criticism of the ‘guided market’ policy under the guise of hardboiled fiction or biographies underlining the absurdity and horror of living in the trenches during the War, the message is always the same: something has to change, even if it means, in opinion of some more radical authors, burning the entire system down. Naturally, the fact that most of the intelligentsia is left-leaning isn’t lost on corporates or traditionalists who are in favour of keeping the illusion of prosperity for just a little bit longer. Oh, and don’t forget the classic still-extant 1920s trend of slandering Yacinhada in all ways a human mind can conceive.
All of this while the country- and mountainside is still stuck in the first decade of the 20th Century or even the 19th Century and the classic Nimha activity of clan brawls still considered there a fine bonding time.
National Religion
The Grand Duchy and Nimha people themselves don't have any sort of main religion due to the myriad of cultures and peoples living in the mountains, as it would be treated as favouring one ethnicity over another or those Nimha who were born into a foreign religion. Some follow Zenzovian faith, others follow Xihae folk beliefs or maybe are adherents to Zenetian and Pratian faith. Beyond all of that, the native belief system of the Nimha is Nimha shamanism, a faith which remains strong in the interior but is nowadays completely irrelevant in the more civilized regions. The Nimha folk religion is an animistic and polytheistic religion, believing in several gods and spirits, led by universal sky god called “Abka Ama”, the Sky Father, an abstract concept rather than a personified god one could expect. While the spirits or lesser gods differ from region to region and are often just mere ancestors who got elevated to the divine, the universal constant is belief in the sky god who is the personification of the universe, they’re the judge and lifegiver and don’t require following specific set rules, just living a vaguely defined “respectful” and “orderly” life which is regulated by non-formal customary Ginfu law of the region. Presiding over rituals are shamans, either specialists or the patriarchs of a clan, who are considered people of great wisdom, supernatural ability and sensitivity, able to perceive the ways of the gods. They’re given the role of communicating with the divine and because of this are respected in the communities, but also from day to day life are expected to ease the ills of sickness, settle the disputes, share their wisdom and help those in need.
Study of Nimha religion usually distinguishes two types of ritual, "white" and "dark". White shamanism primarily involves the reverence of the progenitors of the lineage or the ancestor-derived gods. Those ceremonies are more ‘egalitarian’ in that the kin are an integral part of this. The white rituals involve praying and giving sacrifices like food and other small gifts to the ancestors in order to learn ancient wisdom, gain protection over the homestead, bring good fortune, bless the birth of a child or marriage… or to appease the elders if the family is less morally upstanding than it's supposed to be. Dark shamanism practices are instead closer “to nature” and involve trances and sacrificing animals on bonfires to the gods of nature as a means of bringing fertility, averting bad weather and are associated with the rhythms of pastoral life, etc. The latter also has next to none involvement from the rest of the tribe, as only the leading shaman can connect with the spirits. However, both types of rituals make use of the spirits’ pole (somo) as a means of establishing connection between the morals and the Heavens and are considered ceremonies of great importance in kin that adhere to the traditional beliefs.
Major festivals in Nimha shamanistic religion are The Harvest Day, a festival celebrated on the first day of August when the first harvests are reaped and is the celebration of fertility, prosperity and the weather spirits (an aspect that is more focused on in traditionalistic Nimha kins), and The Forefathers’ Eve, a day of communion of the living kin with their dead ancestors, which is celebrated around the time of autumnal equinox, marking the beginning of a new year in Nimha folklore during which the living give offerings to dead elders’ spirits, asking them for guidance and for the dead to keep warding off the evil spirits.
While the religious native practices differ from region to region, thanks to the unifying effect of the Grand Duchy and the increased exchange of information that came with the Industrial Age the number of shared traditions among Nimha communities began increasing over time, with present day shamanistic rituals being quite similar in all corners of the country with only few minor differences here and there.
Civil Struggles*
Present day Grand Duchy faces many problems, many of which are the sad result of the dominant Nimha culture as it is. Indecisive corrupt government afraid of any reform due to fear of breaking the social contract between the upper classes and the lower classes, social inequality and low class mobility due to sheer wealth disparity and the corrupt system from top to bottom, rampant Fulginian nationalism that has grown increasingly extremist over the years due to constant repression of the Fulgian people in all aspects of life.
The government is corrupt and indecisive, parliamentary deadlock and filibustering being the norm and corporate meddling still present in the politics, albeit way less of a problem nowadays due to the anti-monopoly laws introduced by the ruling coalition after the War, which had reduced their power and size and thus had made old money’s wishes significantly less of factor on the country’s course.
Modern Fulginian separatism is the result of nearly a century of repression of Fulginan rights, tradition, language and culture by the Grand Ducal government. Unlike any other ethnic minority in the country, the Fulgi people get the short end of a stick due to particularly nasty enmities going centuries back to medieval times that one may call a blood feud. Despite the claims of the Nimha government to respect the rights of all citizens, it's quite obvious that Mangwhe is, unsurprisingly, very selective about who gets those rights and has continuously tried to assimilate Fulginan people in the name of national unity. This is countered by acts of terrorism and demonstrations, which in turn are answered by riot police battering away all opposition and imprisonment of political activists. This, unsurprisingly, warrants a lot of flak from both local and foreign commentators, publicly discrediting the Grand Duchy for human rights’ abuses and disregarding rule of law in favour of brutally ending a senseless quarrel, a fact the new administration had publicly acknowledged to be an issue and has declared that they’ll try to remedy the situation, but it’s yet unclear if the promise will be even kept.
Foreign Relations & Diplomacy*
The Grand Duchy of Suyava-Alin is allied and holds close ties with all the western Aritsian nations and is a member of Dario Economic Bloc and Pan-Aritsian Coalition. Suyava-Alin had spearheaded and was one of the founding nations of the PAC. Grand Duchy’s foreign diplomacy is greatly focused on the continental affairs, with the main focus being reconstruction and stability in the region through peaceful measures, preferring amicable partnerships over imposing its will over the others. However, due to corruption and political pragmatism, the government is not above striking shady deals with its preferred partners, both internal and external.
Border Statuses & Conflicts*
The borders of western Aritsia were shaped by conflict, migrations and rivalry, and the case of Suyava-Alin is no different from its neighbours, first conquering the territory of modern southern and northern provinces and then, once united, began fighting petty border wars over scraps of resource-rich territories under the pretense of nationalism. However, this tenuous approach to national boundaries was soon thrown away once the Donubara had invaded, forcing the usually amicable if cautious westerners to bond together to fight for their survival. The diplomatic ventures which being part of the alliance entailed agreeing upon the rules of territorial integrity and a bunch of non-aggression treaties, mostly as a way to ensure no one in the Western Aritsia got any ideas whilst the neighbours were toiling away at the battlefields. The distrust soon turned into collaboration, the good old rule of Aritsians hatred for outsiders outweighing the hatred for their own kin applying there and gained understanding of shared political goals of the Allied nations. Currently, the borders are stable and fairly open for passage if one has a passport and a visa, but the customs are still collected due to protectionist economic policy of the Grand Duchy. The Grand Duchy’s Frontier Corps patrols the border all day and all night, being always on the lookout for any sort of invasion or a cheeky smuggler with a cart full of opiates.
Additional Information/Lore*
Feel free to share additional information, lore, or interesting details about your nation that may not have been covered in the previous questions. Feel free to provide insights into your nations history, cultural traditions, folklore, notable figures, or any other unique aspects that contribute to its identity. You can also share anecdotes, stories, or significant events that have shaped your nation’s development. While this question is optional, it’s a great opportunity to add depth and richness to your nation’s narrative.
Flag / Roundels / Battle Flags of Country?
State flag.
It has been slated to be replaced by a more modern and simplistic design by the 1950s.
Square variant of the Grand Ducal flag. Used as standard by the Ducal Guards.
Roundel of the Grand Ducal Air Corps
Grand Ducal flag with motto of the Ducal family “Tradition and Law”.
