Ildernia

The Ilders (Ildernian: D'Ilders or De Ilders), officially the Græssiate of the Ilders (Ildernian: Græssiates ou d'Ilders) and more commonly known as Ildernia (Ildernian: Ildernie), is a vassal state of Sylvania in southern Onthukhan that shares a border with Atlechia (Orithia).

The Ilders were first settled by Litans in the 1700s during the Baykonian migration, where they founded the town of Ilderburg on Enthof. The Ilder would eventually fall under the control of the Honsiates in Ilderburg and both would later form the Ilders part of Ildernia until its dissolution in 1822, when it was the sole remaining part of Ildernia. It remains under honsiate control ever since and is regarded as the current Ildernian state.

The Ilders is a unitary semi-constitutional monarchy ruled by the de Honse family, with Chárlobert Víslo de Honse as its current Græz.

Etymology
The name "Ildernia" comes from the Litan word for Eldham, Ilderna. The term "Ilderna" comes from "Ensle Derna", which means "Last Island", which is likely what the crew of the expedition referred to the land they discovered, believing it to be the end of the world. According to legend, this was then corrupted as the people who listened to the crews' tales of their discoveries thought they said "Ens Ilderna" meaning "Over in Ilderna". As such, when the Litans migrated with the Baykonians to Eldham, they referred to the new land as "Ilderna", which later would become the Litan name for all of Eldham. Following the establishment of Ilderburg, the Ilder started to refer to the larger island south of it and its plural form would eventually give name to the two islands.

Pre-migration
Little is known about the history of the Ilders prior to the Baykonian Migration and the subsequent settlement of the islands by Litans and Baykons. There is a theory that the islands were settled by Litan colonists as early as the 1570s and formed a thriving colony until the Litan Collapse, however this has been largely discredited by Baykonians and remains unlikely.

Prince-Barony of Ilderburg and the County of the Ilder
Enthof Island, the island on which Ilderburg currently lies, was discovered in 1705 during an attempted expedition to Litania by Seved Driets de Honse. According to legend, the expedition got caught in a storm which put them off course and would lead them to discover what would eventually become Neubaykonia. Upon realising this error, the expedition returned to Birkenport, where King Peg of Baykonia got word of the discovery and initiated the Baykonian Migration to the newly discovered lands.

Ilderburg would be established shortly after in 1706 and quickly became one of the more prominent towns of Baykonia as the residence of the powerful Honsiate House, who wielded great political influence in Baykonia until the Baykonian Collapse. In 1734, shortly following the death of Seved, a group of Litan refugees led by the son of Seved Driets de Honse, Áletsánder Svintersbrœick de Honse, settled in Ilderburg. During Áletsánder's short reign he renamed Ilderburg to "Litansburg" and enacted policies aimed at turning Ilderburg into a new Litania. Most of his policies would be reversed following his death by his son Hubertus Perrier de Honse in 1737.

Hubert pursued reintegration with the rest of Baykonia and established the Ilderburg Company with the aim of providing resources for a future manufacturing sector in Ilderburg. Although the Company successfully acquired a colony on the southern tip of Zamotz named "New Birkenport", the venture failed and the colony was subsequently abandoned. In a bid to restore the standing and prestige of House de Honse, Hubert successfully acquired the Milland after a dispute following the death of its Count Joseph Richardson. Hubert also launched a successful expedition to Salameberg in Rathnir in 1759 with the intent of restoring Baykonian control over the town. He was joined by the Duke of Sunovia, Josep Thorne, with whom he became friends.

In 1751, Hubert promulgated a constitution for Ilderburg, establishing the Public Assembly as a legislature for the town. However, due to Ilderburg's low population, the experiment failed and thus ended with Hubert's self-coup in 1770, following which he unified his lands into Ilder Litany. Two years later, in 1772, Ilderburg would merge with New Salameberg to form Baykonford. The merger lasted until the Baykonian Collapse, when both towns became separate again due to them now being in separate nations. Josephsburg would be established shortly after the merger.

Græssiate and Kesriate of Ildernia
The Græssiate of Ildernia was established in 1780 as a province without its own Deputy, instead sharing a Deputy with nearby province. It rejected Biglrab's dissolution of the constitution in 1786 and with that became de facto independent, with Revreia joining Ildernia two years later. Attempts to reconsile King Biglrab of Baykonia and Græz Hubert of Ildernia were initially successful until Hubert's death in 1790. Reconciliation broke down following the Ilderburg Incident of 1791 between Biglrab and the new Græz, Hugo Ildernestes de Honse. Ildernia gained formal independence later that year and became a Kesriate.

In the late 1780s, tensions flared between the Ildernian region of Bímont and the Thorovian region of Kuzina when citizens of the latter alledgedly stole equipment and materials from the former. These tensions would further escalate when Kuzina built a cathedral on Ildernian territory, mistaking the land for being within their jurisdiction. Ildernia informed Thorovia, its ally, of the event and negotiations were held between Ildernia, Kuzina and Thorovia, which ultimately failed. Kuzina subsequently declared independence from Thorovia in 1793, leading to Thorovia and Ildernia declaring war on Kuzina. Thorovia would however collapse mere months after the outbreak of the war and the only fighting during the war was a skirmish between Kuzinans and a Bimont militiaman that was won by the latter. Kuzina would join Scylding shortly thereafter, with the latter demanding Ildernia to sell the territory with the threat of war. Ildernia agreed to sell the land but would never receive any payment from Scylding despite giving up the land to Kuzina.

Fearing further loss of territory, Ildernia became a vassal of Velerin in 1796. Ildernia had great autonomy as a vassal, which included the right to reject laws that might otherwise have applied in the entire empire, a right that was exercised a few times. It remained neutral during the Velerin Civil War and remained a part Velerin until its dissolution in 1817. Tensions with Kuzina would flare up in 1801, due to a border dispute, where Kuzina claimed that the Mayor of Bimont was claiming Kuzinan territory. Disagreements on where the border ran would be settled between Ildernia and Kuzina in 1803 with the Treaty of Kuzina, though the treaty was rendered useless as the Mayor of Bimont, who was not consulted during the process, refused to abide by the treaty. These tensions, along with the Mayor's intention to resign and the Kesr's failure to find a replacement, led to the expulsion of Bimont in 1805 and the subsequent sale of Revreia, which had become regarded as untenable, to Baykonia.

Tensions with Kuzina came of a definite end with the Treaty of Kuzina in 1813, where Ildernia and Kuzina agreed to a Non-Aggression Pact. At the same time tensions flared up between Ildernia and Baykonia, with the latter demanding an apology from the former. Following the dissolution of Velerin, Ildernia, which found itself diplomatically isolated, formed an alliance with the Razuni Sultanate. Kesr Hugo would unknowingly and out of desperation appoint a Baykonian spy as the Mayor of the Milland, and thus also the de facto governor of the Milland. The Baykonian spy would claim Baykonian territory, igniting a crisis between Ildernia and Baykonia with their Atlechian overlords. Baykonia offered to allow the Kesr to retain control over the Milland on the condition that Ildernia became a part of Baykonia. This was rejected by the Kesr who instead opted to give up the Milland to Baykonia, which made up roughly 70% of Ildernia's territory and had widely been regarded by the Kesr as crucial for Ildernia's future. Following the cessation of the Milland to Baykonia, the Kesr declared the end of the Ildernian Union and subsequently the dissolution of the Ildernian Kesriate, with the remaining Ilders becoming the Græssiate of the Ilders.

Græssiate of the Ilders
Following the loss of the Milland and facing the looming threat of an Atlechian invasion, the Græssiate became a vassal of Sylvania in 1822. In 1823, a group of Cadets from the Ildernian Guard demanded an end to absolutism and the establishment of a constitutional system, which the Græz agreed to; though some may claim that this was staged by the Græz himself who never showed interest in governance. The provisional constitutions were replaced by the Férágoste Constitution of 1825, which would serve as Ildernia's constitution for the next three decades. Despite that, Ildernia still functioned as a semi-constitutional monarchy, with butlers of the Græz taking prominence in the light of his increasing informal withdrawal from duties.

As Græz of the Ilders, Hugo focused mostly on domestic reforms. He supported efforts to standardise the Ildernian language, including the adoption of the Hugic Alphabet, and the establishment of educational institutions with the enactment of the Basic School Reform Act in 1841. Græz Hugo also decreed the abolition of the "Ilder Doctrine" and pursued a southward expansion of Ilderburg into the Ilder, allowing Ildernian power to be exerted into the long-neglected island. Other actions taken include the definition of the Ildernian Cabinet, steps towards rapprochement with Baykonia and the implementation of the Ildernian Architectural Code. Græz Hugo held Residential Bœrgientsas in his final years to discuss policy and matters with this residents of the Ilders.

Geography
The Ilders is situated in southern Onthukhan, separated from Atlechia by the Ilder Channel to its west, south and east with a coast facing the Sea of Zamotz to its north. The country is made up of two islands: the larger Ilder Island to the south and the smaller Enthof Island to the north. Both are natural islands however the Enthof has been expanded to the extent that it has completely lost any resemblance of its former natural shape and is often mistaken for being an artificial island. To the north of Ildernia lies its capital and sole settlement, Ilderburg, which encompasses all of Enthof and a part of the Ilder, while the remainder of the country is divided between a desert to the west and grasslands to the east.

Politics and Government
The Ilders is a semi-direct democratic semi-constitutional parliamentary monarchy, governed by a cabinet headed by the Græz. The members of the cabinet are elected by the Bœrgientsa of the Ilders, an assembly that any Ildernian citizen may partake in. The Bœrgientsa of the Ilders is also the legislature of the Ilders, possessing the sole power to legislate laws and taxes, though such require the signature of the Græz to enter effect.

The ruling family of the Ilders, House de Honse, has a long tradition of Liberalism, which under the Baykonian era took the form of Tulipanism. Honsiate Liberalism has their roots in Tulipanism and the first Prince-Baron of Ilderburg, Seved Driets de Honse, who founded the Tulipanist ideology. Although the Liberalism employed by the Honsiates has varied greatly over time, it usually carries the same principles and ideas such as a preference for strong institutions rather than a strong leadership, individualism, personal autonomy and liberty, popular sovereignty, freedom of public discourse and press as well as the notion that the primary objective of government is not to lead people but to support them and uphold their rights.