Kingdom of Adavia

The Kingdom of Adavia (also known as Adavir) is a mostly autonomous nation in the Empire of Astyllea. It is a nation of several divergent cultures and build styles, united under the common goal of rejuvenating a region of Rathnir which was historically neglected by the larger powers that occupied it.

Adavia's Predecessors
The majority of the land claimed by Adavia is part of the former nation of Shirakaba, which itself was a reformed version of the once-great Hinokuko, a nation birthed from the Japanese-inspired Najo culture of Plagatea. After being sold to Sironia by its leader, Hinokuko entered a long period of decline during which it came dangerously close to complete abandonment. At its lowest point, Hinokuko’s active population was less than 10.

The situation improved only slightly after Hinokuko changed hands once again, this time becoming an autonomous region of Yimmu-Audal, as well as reforming into the nation of Shirakaba. It was also around this time that the cities of Kuclela, Aglax, and Revaria were founded. Initially, these cities were disapproved of by the people of Shirakaba, who considered them hostile squatters invading Shirakaba territory.

Formation of Adavia
On July 29th, 2021, Intant, the leader of Numachi, and Tonglutong, the consul of Revaria at that time, first proposed the idea of a union between the five cities of Numachi, Hiyokudo, Kuclela, Aglax, and Revaria. Numachi and Hiyokudo were part of Shirakaba. The other three cities did not belong to any nation, but had been settled on the land of Shirakaba and Sironia.

Initially, the other leaders of Shirakaba were cautious about joining Adavia, but soon they realized that joining forces would be the best way to restore life to the region, and the leaders of all five cities began to cooperate with one another. Initially, the nation formed between them was known as the Adavian Union.

On August 2nd, Shirakaba was unexpectedly granted full independence by Yimmu-Audal for the purpose of joining the Aldovir League, a military alliance led by Cobbleworks. Unfortunately, Shirakaba’s independence was short lived as the League almost immediately morphed into the Aldovir Empire, a fully-fledged nation that swallowed Shirakaba without its consent. Fortunately, Adavia was able to strike a deal with the Aldovir Emperor, gaining them recognition as an autonomous state.

The only remaining issue was the leader of Shirakaba, Countess Subica, who was still reluctant to give up control of Shirakaba. The solution to this was a (mostly) political marriage between Subica and Target, the Anrem of Adavir, which would effectively unite Shirakaba and Adavia into a single political entity. Today, the County of Shirakaba is allowed to exist as a lesser political entity within the Kingdom of Adavia.

Under Archon Ythar II's leadership, Adavia would need to purchase the Sironian panhandle, the region containing Kuclela and Aglax, if they wanted to retain that land should the Empire ever disband. However, following the Archon's exile in October 2021, that land is now finally in Adavia's rightful possession.

Early Era
Following the creation of Adavia, the founding towns of Revaria, Kuclela, Aglax, Numachi and Hiyokudo all began focusing on building up and gaining population. While the towns of Hiyokudo and Numachi were far ahead population wise, this era would see the some of the cities catch up, with some, namely Revaria, surpassing them. The first tour occurred when player tonglutong recruited several players into Hiyokudo, which would become the starting point for majority of the tours afterwards. It was on these tours where Adavia gained a running inside joke, claiming that a bandit raid trailed after each tour. The early attacks on the still undeveloped and under prepared cities were devastating, with players losing gear and food in the process.

It was also during this era where the first meetings were held, and in turn when the first government positions were decided. The first meeting of Adavia, held on July 29th, saw the first Anrem of Adavia, Target1405, decided as well as the formation of several Ministries and the appointment of Ministers of their respective Ministries. The Ministries and Ministers were later renamed Orders and Grandmasters, respectively.

Adavia's introduction into the empire marked the beginning of a new era, now filled with capable players and having secured their lands, Adavia began plans to struct the government and expand the cities, with the notable additions of Sakura, Hichi and eventually Mimir's Pride. As of September 26th 2021, the population of the Kingdom of Adavia is well above 100.

Era of Expansion
On September 18th 2021, the newly reformed Pirate Dominion of Tortuga began selling some of its former territories to its ally nations, include the Aldovir Empire. Because of its status as the fastest growing state in Aldovir, Adavia was permitted to hold a colony on the Empire's behalf. It was decided that Intant would lead Adavia's first colony of Kronesia (formerly known as Osteria), which contains several historically significant sites. With this deal, Adavia would begin to spread its influence into other parts of the world for the first time.

It was also around this time that Adavia officially changed its name from the Adavian Union to the Kingdom of Adavia, as Target wanted the nation's name to reflect a cohesive whole, rather than a collection of different parts that could fall apart on a whim.

On November 7th, Anrem Target and Countess Subica finally had their wedding, after being engaged for over three months.

Astyllean Era
In January 2022, the Empires of Aldovir and Yimmu-Audal combined to form the Empire of Astyllea. As a former state of Aldovir, Adavia became one of Astyllea's ten constituent states.

Government
The Kingdom of Adavia is a constitutional monarchy with a system of checks and balances in place throughout three major branches.

Anrem
The Anrem is Adavia's monarch and is in charge of creating and enforcing legislation. Among other duties, the Anrem is head of the armed forces and can appoint and remove court officials. The first Anrem was elected by the Council, and subsequent monarchs will either be elected by the Council or inherit the title through the royal bloodline.

Council
The Council  votes on laws proposed to them by the monarch. They also have the power to remove the monarch with a 3/4 majority vote. The Council is composed of the Archivates and the Grandmasters.

Archivates
The Archivates are city leaders who are in charge of creating and enforcing the laws for their respective cities. Each city has at least two Archivates, although that number varies depending on the city. Typically, one is the city's founder, while the others are elected by the people of the city. However, in the case of a city founder leaving office, their replacement would be an elected position as well.

Grandmasters
The Grandmasters are the heads of Adavia's Orders, departments representing specific administrative sectors, and are periodically elected by all citizens of Adavia. The current Orders are the Order of the Rose (formerly the Ministry of Defense), Order of the Honeybee (formerly the Ministry of Infrastructure), Order of the Orchid (formerly the Ministry of the Interior), and Order of the Raven (formerly the Ministry of Economics). The positions of Gradnmaster and Archivate are not mutually exclusive, as a person can hold both positions at once.

Courts
The Courts process all civil and criminal disputes within Adavia. There are three Justices in Adavia, one of which being the Grand Justice, who leads the Courts. The three Justices can remove council members with a unanimous vote.

Cities
The cities of Numachi and Hiyokudo are the oldest continuously active cities in Adavia, and are Japanese themed. The cities of Revaria and Aglax are European themed, with Revaria having an extensive subterranean portion and Aglax being composed partially of reclaimed ruins. Sakura, a developing city, is Japanese themed, while Hichi, another Japanese themed city and the former capital of Hinokuko, is currently being revamped. Thornwail, a very old and historically significant city formerly known as Mimir's Pride, is also part of Adavia. Kuclela, which was later renamed Atenla, now lays abandoned.

Regions that were historically part of Adavia but are no longer include the city of Royland (previously known as Bogdanic), as well as the region known as Omsk, which contains the city of Krioplis. Both of these areas now belong to Cobbleworks.

Culture and Religion
Adavia is a multicultural society, with the majority of citizens identifying as some form of Najo, particularly in the cities of Numachi, Hiyokudo, Sakura, and Hichi. Aglax has a notable Sagaviri influence, making it the most similar to a typical Aldoviri city. Thornwail and Revaria have cultures fairly unique to Adavia.

Several religions are practiced within Adavia. Sakrelism, the religion practiced by Adavia's royal family, is also the most prevalent religion in the Aldovir Empire as a whole, but is a minority religion in Adavia. Birch Cubism (Not to be confused with Cubism, which is actually younger but more well-known) is centered around a mysterious birch cube in Revaria that appeared one day without any explanation, and is considered a "meme religion".

Deus Helios, a sun-based religion, was popular in Revaria prior to the departure of Arch_Xngel, but is now functionally extinct. Mizunosei and San-Hei are two Najo religions practiced in Adavia, with the former primarily in Numachi and Sakura and the latter primarily in Hichi and Hiyokudo. Mizunosei focuses on water spirits, while San-Hei has a pantheon of several deities.

Other cultural ideals that are universal in Adavia include brotherhood, strength through unity, and overcoming adversity through cooperation. Unsurprisingly, these are the ideals that brought the Kingdom together in the first place and helps it to thrive to this day.