Provinces of Stoneguard

The United Provinces of Stoneguard or Stoneguard is a federation with a semi-direct democratic government located in the region of Phoros, specifically Phoros Medianus, on the continent of Eldham. The United Provinces of Stoneguard's capital city retains the same name as the country itself, Stoneguard, and is located within the mountain range in the center of the main landmass occupied by The United Provinces of Stoneguard.

Etymology
The United Provinces of Stoneguard takes its name from the ancient city of Stoneguard that serves as the capital city of the nation. The origins of the city of Stoneguard are lost to history and thus only speculation can be made about the meaning of the name. Historians in the United Provinces of Stoneguard believe that the city of Stoneguard was named as such due to its naturally fortified location within a mountain range. Seeing as the city is surrounded by the stone walls of the mountain it resides in and is naturally very defensible, this speculation holds some strength.

Pre-History
Thousands of years before the discovery and colonization of Eldham, the second continent, a great underground city was built. The city of Stoneguard was built into the face of the mountains to protect the people who inhabited the land there against natural disasters. The city had great fortifications used to protect against other people in the nearby lands and had a just, legal system to protect the inhabitants of Stoneguard from themselves. Despite preceding even the Towny Period in the continents of Rathnir, for unknown reasons the grand city of Stoneguard fell.

Sometime after the fall of the city of Stoneguard, new settlements appeared in the lands surrounding the mountain range the Stoneguardians had called home. These settlers were peaceful and chose to live their lives quietly and unceremoniously, never venturing near the lost halls of Stoneguard. Many years passed and the peaceful, new inhabitants in the nearby lands grew their numbers and came to form Provinces with their many settlements. So much time passed from the fall of Stoneguard that the story of the fall was lost to all.

The first people to enter the lost halls of Stoneguard after the fall of the city were those same inhabitants of the nearby Provinces. Colonists from other young nations and from the long-settled and war-beaten continents of Rathnir had arrived in Phoros and had begun raiding and ransacking the settlements of those in the Provinces surrounding the old city of Stoneguard. This began the Period of Discovery in Rathnir and the Colonization Period in Eldham. Due to the appearance of these invading forces, the inhabitants of the nearby Provinces joined together in arms and began rebuilding the ruined Stoneguardian buildings and fortifications in an effort to defend themselves from invasion. These people became the new Stoneguardians and, after surviving the invading colonists, they began to live in the halls of Stoneguard as their predecessors once had.

In these halls, they created their own trading and currency system and formed their own government with the goal of bringing people from all of the Provinces together as one. The new Stoneguardian government included ministers who hailed from each of the Provinces and were placed in charge of different State aspects. These new Stoneguardians called themselves the United Provinces of Stoneguard.

Though they had settled in to the old halls of Stoneguard, one minister was still determined to learn how Stoneguard fell and so he traveled into the depths below the city and was never heard from again.

Server History and Timeline
28 May 2021 – The United Provinces of Stoneguard and the city of Stoneguard were both founded by Wilkotek and mat_gam3.

3 June 2021 – The city of Titan’s Landing was founded. Titan’s Landing, known as the Guardian of the Sacred Waters, is founded at the connection between the north of the Zunte Sea and the south of Leviathan's Gulf which is known as the Titania Pass.

8 June 2021 – The city of Stoneguard erected the first beacon in all of Eldham.

9 June 2021 – The United Provinces of Stoneguard integrated the land called Earrach into its territories after the Earrachian Tribes left their land when given an offer to join the United Provinces. The lands formerly known as Earrach became the city of Stoneport.

15 July 2021 – On this night, the Great Fire of Stoneguard occurred. This fire was an act of arson in the city of Stoneguard and perpetrated by Jamfrasco who left the server before he was caught and punished for his crimes. For their crimes, Jamfrasco has been banned.

18 July 2021 – Terra-forming and construction of the western expansion of Titan’s Landing into Canaan territory begins.

25 July 2021 -- Canaan officially joined United Provinces of Stoneguard after Canaan's leader Z-MOMO-R hands the territories of Cannan over before leaving Eldham.

6 August 2021 -- mat_gam3 announced to the citizens, "The past 3 months has been a wonderful adventure for me as i founded this nation alongside Wilkotek and formed a great community of people. Due to reasons, i will be stepping back as the High Minister of this great nation and pursuing other goals in my life. I now officially acknowledge the independence of the nation-state Titan's Landing in the newly formed Commonwealth of Titania under the leadership of Argonius I, or as he is more commonly known as Argo. This is the start of a new era for this nation and i hope it prospers more then it ever has, and lives long into the future. Your old Leader, mat_gam3." The citizens reacted to this news with noted sorrow and with his voluntary resignation from office, mat_gam3 ended his reign and the United Provinces of Stoneguard.

The United Provinces of Stoneguard is now the Commonwealth of Titania and led by ProjectArgo.

High Minister of the United Provinces of Stoneguard
28 July 2021 - 8 August 2021 -- mat_gam3

Minister of Recruitment
28 July 2021 -- Wilkotek

Minister of Construction
28 July 2021 -- Metrobard

Minister of Food
28 July 2021 -- Unesederas

Minister of Defense
28 July 2021-8 August 2021 -- Lidl_fanboii

Minister of Resources
28 July 2021 -- ProjectArgo

Diplomatic Location
United Provinces of Stoneguard was founded in the region of Phoros, specifically Phoros Medianus, on the continent of Eldham.

28 June 2021
At the time of its creation, the United Provinces of Stoneguard was bordered by Guarati and the Guarati Jungles to the north, Terrania to the east across the Leviathan's Gulf, Canaan to the central and south east across the Leviathan's Gulf, Titania Pass, and Zunte Sea, Injah to the south east, Aquatania Wolfinburg to the south west, and unclaimed land to the north west across the Sea of Jura and Strait of Antares.

16 June 2021
Irulan now borders The United Provinces of Stoneguard where there once was unclaimed land to the north west across the Sea of Jura and Strait of Antares.

19 June 2021
The Forge now borders The United Provinces of Stoneguard where Aquatania Wolfinburg once was to the south west.

6 July 2021
Alustante now borders the United Provinces of Stoneguard where Guarati once was to the north.

18 July 2021
Barbarossa now borders The United Provinces of Stoneguard where Alustante once was to the north.

30 July 2021
Uraka, a new nation, now shares the northern border of the United Provinces of Stoneguard with Barbarossa. Uraka is located on the north eastern portion of the northern border and Barbarossa shares the remainder of the northern border with Stoneguard.

The nation of Canaan has given its territory to the United Provinces of Stoneguard, and as such, Stoneguard is now additionally bordered on the north east by the nations of Rodinnbrok and Nova Zemja, the east by Tortuga and the Biomach Forest, and the south by Injah. Injah now nearly divides the whole of Stoneguard's territories except for the Zunte Sea and Titan's Pass.

T.R.F, a new nation, claimed territory in the south eastern part of Old Canaan. This territory is disputed with Stoneguard.