Míyenxin

Nyaristios, formerly the Republic of Nyaristios is an archduchy within the Imperial Archonate of Sylvania, with its de-facto capital being situated in Pompaelo, also known for its culture of catfolks and its political system of "Nyaoism".

Nyaristios is a Semi-Constitutional Unitary Republic with a 9 member strong "Nine Lives Council" serving as both the leadership and legislature. The capital of Nyaristios is Nosteria, although de-facto it is Pompaelo. There are a few other major cities, such as Yaika, Narayako, Otter, and Lakial. Nyaristios is made up of three provinces, Castellum, Astillia, and Ameria. Nyaristios prides itself on its unique culture, and seeks to protect both its own culture, as well as its cities.

Background
Before written history, there are only trace amounts of information from modern day Castellum (Kasitai) and Astillia, although what is known is that the region was largely dominated by the predecessors of the Catfolk, mostly various species of cats who inhabited the region before human habitation. Evidence shows that these early inhabitants spread their influence as far as Southern Astillia and into Redoriv, although have declined in their range significantly up until recently.

During this period, there is significant evidence that by 1 TE, the Catfolk had acquired somewhat advanced methods of agricultural cultivation, and advanced building methods seen in old village sites. However, the region was not unified; and was instead under a series of small chiefdoms and communities; which led later to a decentralized civilization, which would be key in later events. However, by 25-50 TE, outside actors and powers had gradually began to establish a foothold in the region, with large swathes of territory coming under the control of Volcaria-Transardacia, here, many of the native Catfolk found themselves becoming assimilated and gradually conform to the traditions of Voclarism, leading to a decline of Catfolkism in Astillia, although the Catfolk in Kasitai were able to persist for a little longer, thanks to their distance.

However, even that wouldn't last; as Voclaria-Transardacia was annexed by the Empire of Aristios, a new round of assimilation and repression began, with the remaining Catfolk across Astillia and Castellum being forced underground, with many of the ancient names and traditions almost being lost forever; this also led to an underground movement which would serve as the later basis for the development of the Nyaoist Movement. Irregardless, this domination would continue up until the Republican era.

Way before the existence of Nyaristios, the region changed hands several times, including the Republic of Aristios (and its variants), as well as the long-gone Imperial Aristios had their fair share of time of control over the region. However, what is important was the Commonwealth Coup and the subsequent formation of the Republic of Aristios, which set the foundation for the current Nyaristios that is present today. During this time before the Second Republic, some of the earlier prominent figures such as Logui Fielinya-Olmero, Ani Fielinya, Tia and EmperorUnknown first made their steps, and later, Fusionia and a few others.

Late Republic
During the late Republic, Aristios was in a sharp decline as many of its politicians fought amongst themselves, with the gap between Governor then King Azriel of Bel-Ismer and the central government of Aristios growing rapidly. Eastern provinces became distant from the strongly republican West. During this period, there were attempts to create titles of nobility in Bel-Ismer which received constant push-back from those who led a coup against a crown in order to establish their nation. Despite said push-back, Azriel eventually got what he wanted and became "King" of Bel-Ismer. Irregardless, a defined split between East and West Aristios reared its head, and this gap would only widen in the coming months. Despite this, the demographic gap between West and East Aristios heavily favored the West, (ie. Castellum, Astillia, and Ameria), with anti-monarchist candidates receiving majorities and having the most amount of positions within the Aristii Government.

Integration Into Sylvania
This, eventually all came to a head in late June as the Republic seemingly began to fall apart on itself. Castellum through a vote, seceded from the Republic of Aristios to join the Imperial Archonate of Sylvania, which had previously been a vassal of Aristios. Ultimately, this would be the final deathblow to what remained of the Republic of Aristios, as it gradually fell apart in what provinces remained.

The transition into adapting to Sylvanian politics wasnt as rough as ancipated. Castellum stabilized quickly and was relatively unified under Governor Logui, the same couldnt be said for West Aristios (ie. Astillia & Ameria). The territory remained in the rump Republic of Aristios for a brief time before eventually joining Sylvania under EmperorUnknown.

During this period, Castellum remained both politically and demographically united, and although the population was in a slow decline, Logui was extremely popular and remained Governor for months, in one of the last elections for Castellum, Logui won the election for Archduke with a 85.7% majority as opposed to Revi's 14.3%. Also around this time, the first growth spurts of both Yaika and Narayako were noticed, two towns which had been created in the mid to late Republican era.

The Governorship of Fusionia & A Change in the winds
By the Logui had begun to grow more and more inactive, and eventually, the newly promoted Fusionia, who now was the Lieutenant-General for Castellum was seen by many as a "potential" successor to Logui. Despite this, for the longest of time, Fusionia refused to usurp Logui. With the health of the Archduchy in mind, aswell as the increasing inactvity of Logui, Fusionia eventually announced that he would be restarting the electoral cycle for Castellum briefly, however; nobody else ran in this election, giving Fusionia an automatic win, with him being made Governor of Castellum not long after.

His Governorship wasn't marked by significant change, instead it laid the foundations for future events to come.

Independent Second Republic
In April 2023, EmperorUnknown began secret talks with Tia, mayor of Oxxo at the time, and Fusionia, who had just recently taken the mantle as Governor of Castellum. Emperorunknown talked of a proposal, one to restore the Republic of Aristios, with Castellum & West Aristios being merged to form this new state, and eventually; Fusionia agreed to this, and on eve of a cold day on the, EmperorUnknown, after having talks with Matthjis of Sylvania, announced the restoration of the Republic of Aristios (technically announced by Tia), with it encompassing the territories of Castellum & West Aristios (which was later divided back into Ameria & Astillia). Emperorunknown did not officially take power within the Republic, and instead gave official Chancellorship to Tia, while keeping Fusionia as the Governor of Castellum & Minister of Culture.

This new state wasnt without its drawbacks, however as a newly resurgent Imperial Provinces of Aristios saught to influence, and potentially get the ROA to "merge" with them to form a "greater" Aristios. As much of the government were old-age Republicans, they were generally less inclined about the idea. This was indeed a point of contention between those who generally supported cooperation with the IPA, and those who supported EmperorUnknown & Tia.

Chancellor Election of
By the time of the elections, things West Aristios began to heat up, with several political parties emerging out of the woodwork for a shot at having their own government in power, these were; The All-Narayakan Revolutionary Front (ANRF), Nu'vellan Political Clergy (NPC), Royal Nationalist Legion (RYL), Aristii Conservative Coalition (ACC), and the Natural Conservative Party of Aristios (NCPA). Many of these party would be forced to enter into a coalition if they had any proper chance at beating the incumbent government. Eventually, after a series of mergers and the establishment of a conservative and a pragmatic/"progressive" camp, the election itself was announced by Chief Censor Ani not long later during the.

For all intensive purposes, the entire election process was heated, with calls of fraudulent voting due to a sudden influx of Sylvanians into the nation, aswell as a back and forth between the ACC and the Government, with the two debating over how the country should be ran, generally; this were their policies:

 Government (ANRF, NPC) 


 * Retaining of Aristii Independence
 * Cordial relations with the IPA, nothing more
 * Re-election of Tia as Chancellor

 Opposition (ACC Only) 

Opposition (Nuvenos Only)
 * Cooperate with the Imperial Provinces
 * Emplacement of Piketoneer as Chancellor (Disputed?)


 * Empower & Promote Nuvenos religion
 * Emplacement of Piketoneer as Chancellor

Election Results & Late Second Republic
Now comes a very controversial point in the Republic’s history, as many who participated claim there were signs of “electoral fraud” by the Tia administration, this has always been denied by the Tia administration and subsequent heads of state(s). Around this time, Echo decided to wholly support Piketoneer, resulting in a unified coalition against Tia’s incumbent Government. When the results came out- Piketoneer lost to Tia by a ⅕ margin. One of the more minor candidates was Ironfin, who ran as an independent candidate, separate from both Tia Fielinya and Piketoneer.

Following the Chancellor elections, the old order in Aristios was maintained, however, the calls of fraud in the electoral province definitely undermined the Republic's legitimacy as a proper political institution. This would also mark the slow decline and later partial dissolution of the Republic of Aristios (for the SECOND time!)

The next few months were uneventful, Tia’s second term as Chancellor saw an increasingly restrictive electoral province, with the requirements for becoming a registered voter being adjusted to prevent “outside interference” in the electoral province, the opposition claimed this was targeted against the Imperial Provinces of Aristios, but like other allegations; was denied by administration.

Behind the scene, issues continued to brew. When Aristios originally regained its Independence, one of clauses in the treaty stated if the “Republic of Aristios” faced an existential threat it couldn’t deal with, it was to rejoin Sylvania; there was also another, which stated if the “Leader” of Aristios had to leave the server within a 2 month period, the same process would occur.

This would later be extremely important in future events to come, with Tia and EmperorUnknown seemingly showing signs of quitting.

The World's Worst Birthday Gift, Reintegration into Sylvania
Some had predicted it, but not so soon, EmperorUnknown made a fateful announcement during the, which stated he was not only quitting the server, but activated the treaty with the Imperial Archonate of Sylvania, thereby, disbanding the Republic of Aristios and having all three provinces, Castellum, Ameria, and Astillia rejoin Sylvania all as archduchies.

To some, it was no mistake that it had happened on the second anniversary of Aristios. Initially planned to be a joint celebration between the IPA and ROA, now discard, it was seen as a slap in the face. The IPA wasn't the only one in confusion, on the other side of the Voclarian sea, the Republican Government, while expecting something like this to happen one day, didn't expect it so soon; and thus, the Republic of Aristios ceased to exist as an independent entity, but it, as a nation; did not.

Eventually, a few major figures were able to put the pieces that had been shattered by this sudden event back together, at least; to an extent, these figures were Fusionia, Ani, Matt, and Botilov. The four agreed on a common consensus, and after a day or two of debate, they all came to a single conclusion; the Republic of Aristios would be restored partially, but only as an Archduchy of Sylvania, its political institutions would be left intact, and it would have pretty much the exact same amount of autonomy as any other Archduchy did at the time.

Not long after, Sirlad, the previous founder of Sylvania & later its Imperial Archon was nominated as a temporary "interim" leader of Aristios. Unfortunately, no amount of appointing competent people could save what was next for Aristios; unpreventable decline.

Post-integration Decline
Despite Sirlad having been historically being a competent leader, she was far too busy elsewhere to focus properly on Aristios, with Fusionia, Ani, Mungo, and Beatrice calling the shots, and even then; Beatrice and Mungo would later retire, leaving Ani and Fusionia as the two remaining active government members that lived in Aristios or were even present. Eventually, seeking to deal with this period of inactivity, Fusionia & Ani got together to make an announcement on some of the issues that the Republic was facing, and addressing certain controversies, especially those regarding the May Chancellor Election of.

Around this time, there was also conspiracy growing across the Sylvanian Government regarding the Republic of Aristios existing at all, with some putting up the idea of re-splitting the archduchy into its respective provinces (again), this was made even worse by another proposal at the time to dissolve Archduchies as a political entity entirely within Sylvania, this; would become a reoccurring issue.

Throughout the next few months, Aristios (around this time the name change occured) continued to limp forward under Fusionia's chancellorship, and even his chancellorship wouldn't last for much longer. Around this period, the political environment in the Sylvanian Government began to rapidly change, and Fusionia felt increasingly isolated amongst his fellow government members, feeling cornered and unsupported (or unwelcomed); Fusionia resigned his post as both Archduke and Chancellor. The position was handed over to Winteke, who had from behind the scenes, promised that he would "continue" the path that Nyaristios had been taking under his chancellorship.

Nya'ristii Renaissance
When Winteke became Chancellor of Nyaristios after Fusionia's resignation, Nyaristios underwent a series of cultural, political, and even demographic changes during this period, with Yaika's population increasing from about 5 to about 10-15 by, with it having become one of the biggest towns in Nyaristios, besides Pompaelo and Laikal. Similarly, Catgirlism, in particular, its polticial wing; Nyaoism saw an increased spike in influence across Nyaristios, as by this point it had solidifed itself as the main political faction within Nyaristios.

In addition, the political status of the Republic of Nyaristios was changing, with an increased distaste and pressure to retire the old "Republic" name, Winteke, alongside Fusionia and Ani began to slowly move away from the old republic name, and began moving towards reforming and restructuring Nyaristios, with the so called "Nine Lives Council" being formed in the, acting as both the executive, and legislative body of Nyaristios.

Unfortunately, this period was not without its own controversy, as there were small conflicts and increasing unrest between Nyaristios and the wider Sylvanian world. With many in Sylvania hating the Workers Party of Aristios (or the Nyaoists) for their apparent "Anti-Sylvanian" ideals, as well as generally for being leftist. There were also some behind the scenes dispute between the Nyaristii and many ex-IPA officials, who still continuously pressured Winteke, Fusionia, and Ani to "help" them with restoring a greater Aristios. However, none have really shown interest in doing that to any extent.

Political System of Nyaristios
Nyaristios is a Unitary Semi-Constitutional Republic with a unicameral legislature which also functions as the executive branch. This legislature, the "Nine Lives Council" handles political, internal, and cultural affairs in Nyaristios, and is a non-elected position, instead, new members of the "Nine Lives Council" are voted in by the other 8 members. The Constitution of Nyaristios still guarantees the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of culture and expression. The main political party that dominates Nyaristios is the "Workers Party of Nyaristios", or WPN; it was created during Fusionia's chancellorship, and remains the sole political party to this day.

The "Archduke" (previously the Chancellor) has complete executive authority over the entire government, the Archduke can override all laws made by the Nine Lives Council, and has the ability to revoke any laws they wish. Although, generally, Archdukes still generally follow the rule of law, and generally refrains from abusing their autonomy.

Workers Party of Nyaristios
The Workers Party of Nyaristios, or the WPN is the successor to the "All-Narayakan Revolutionary Front" which had ran in the 237 TE Chancellor Election, it is the most influentical and is currently the ruling faction in charge of the state, it believes in the economic liberation as well as the "cultural" liberation of Nyaristios. Generally, it is split into three distinctive factions, some originate from within Nyaristios, some do not. The "Mainstream" wing, led by Fusionia, the "Anarchist" wing, led by Tia Fielinya, and the "Right-Wing" variant of Nyaoism, which instead of being within Nyaristios, is actually prevalent in Riverheim, another archduchy in Sylvania.

Other political parties in Nyaristios
Besides the WPN, there isn't actually any other proper political parties in Nyaristios, there are indeed factions who make their interests clear, but no organized political front besides the WPN exists. However, there are a few pressure groups outside of Nyaristios that wish to impose their ideals onto it. Nyaristios does have a history of political discourse. During the 237 TE Chancellor Elections, there were several centre-right political parties that existed during that time, this included the Aristii Conservative Coalition, the Aristii Liberal Party, and several others. The majority of these political parties went defunct or became inactive in the wake of the 237 TE election, and largely, have no influence in the modern Nyaristios.

Ameria
The first lands settled by the Yürki people of Rathnir who would go on to become the first Aristii, Ameria was the heart of the Empire of Aristios. Oleapolis, the Imperial capital, was founded in the rocky hills of Ameria after a series of conflicts and dealings with Eldham natives. The province would go on to be governed by the first two Emperors, who developed the walls of their city to be among the grandest in Eldham at the time.

Astillia
The land of Astillia at first belonged to settlers of a different nation, Voclaria-Transardacia. They were pilgrims who believed they had reached their holy land and worshiped the deity Voclari, their god of Hell. The newly declared Empire of Aristios laid claim to the lands of Voclaria-Transardacia and after negotiation and intimidation, they joined and became the second Aristii people. Their religion would go on to become popular among the Aristii nobility, and at one point was declared the official faith of the Empire.

Castellum
Castellum first started off as a relatively unsettled territory of Voclaria-Transardacia, however there are folktales of an ancient feline race that had lived there for centuries, worshiping their own gods such as "Pomelo" and "Luna", although due to intimidation, these early settlers, seeking to prevent their settlements from being destroyed, took on the appearance of "Catfolk" people who had largely a human appearance, save for the ears and the occasional tail. The area didnt become truly inhabited by foreign powers until the Empire of Aristios had taken Voclaria-Transardacia's territory, and a Yürki noble was sent to settle the area that was now Pompaelo; the influence of the native catfolk never truly wore off, and the Yürki-born nobles were graudally replaced with Catfolk, especially after the fall of the Empire.

Religion and Traditions of Catfolkism
Catfolkism, (also known as "Manuzhyui" in Narayako) is a syncretic faith with influences from many folk religions in Castellum, as well as some trace influences from other faiths such as Nox Lucism and the Nuvenos.

Worldview
At first, the inhabitants of what is now Castellum; then called "Kasitai" came to figure out that their world was dominated by spirits, with them ranging from nature spirits to spirits of the dead. They also came to realize that great “calamities” would occur seemingly at random, but those who were keen enough noticed a pattern, a great pattern, and there were some who claimed they had saw “greater” spirits channeling great oceans apart and back together again, who would wind rivers and mountains; many rebuffed these stories, telling their own fellows that this was “pure” nonsense, and that these had no basis, but these colluminations of stories gradually led to the Catgirlism as we know today.

Many believe there to be a series of gods, but generally, there are two gods that the majority of Catfolk believe in; The Summer God “Xiatian”, and the Winter God “Dongtian”, but there is also a much higher being, which would later be named the “Heavenly Emperor”, or “Tiandimao” who supervised and ruled over all spirits, both big and small, and he would be the one controlled most spirits in the lower world, with a level of "respect" and "loyalty" being expected, and one must go through many trials and tribulations to pay back for his protection of the lower world.

"Dazhan" (大战) Circa, 27 TE
An elder showed up to a small village in Kasitai, just northeast of what is now Pompaelo, and he told his people stories of “great battles” between what he called “Zhenshin” (Spirits) across his pastures, and how these spirits had the ability to move both land and water, with them seemingly in a great struggle for their survival against each other. He came to realise that two spirits in particular had more sway than the others, and he spoke of his encounter;

He painted a scene in the heads of those who listened to him, that of a great battle, the forests shook, the animals fled, and the currents of the rivers ran wild, and in the distance, he saw two monoliths standing, opposing each other; seemingly in a standoff, and it seemed like the very world around him was changing. The commotion came to an abrupt end as the two monoliths halted their struggle, and ceased immediately. Shortly after, he spoke of a loud disturbance in the distance, and these spirits immediately ceased their commotion, they seemed affray and suddenly left the area immediately, while thunder roared in the distance, a great storm was brewing.

It seemed that someone up in the great heavens was upset, said the elder; and that's all he could recall.

The Tiāndì (天帝)
There had been rumors of a “greater being” somewhere, as all spirits seemingly were being controlled or, even governed by something; and eventually, passed down through oracle tradition, old great men, called “Kedongwu” spoke of a heavenly being which watched over what they saw as a “lower world”, who seemingly commanded and even ordered all spirits of the world around; and if they acted out of place, would be recalled to the upper world, known as “貓的上層世界” or “Upper World of Cats”. There, a supposed “Heavenly Emperor” or “Tiandimao” would later bestow upon the cats the ability to transform into something greater, however, he needed to send one of his most trusted aides to be sent to the lower world to bestow them upon this, and thus; Goddess Tongqing, the embodiment of mercy and compassion, was sent down to the lower world to bestow this gift to the cats. What was this gift? The ability to transform into more of a human shape, allowing for the cats of Kasitai to advance and enrich themselves.

During this time the, Winter & Summer goddesses often came into conflict with each other as the Heavenly Emperor was unable to prevent this infighting, not long after, great calamities began to strike across the territory of Kasitai, which was around the time of the 27 TE episode.

Acquisition of Agriculture
""Historians have long since puzzled over the emergence of agriculture in this region, no one truly knows besides some bits of folktale passed through generations. Variations exists but generally, it is said that many moons ago, the land that is now Castellum went through a rough bout of drought. All the lakes and rivers dried up, and the feline inhabitants underwent a famine. One cat, unable to bear the sight of her family’s suffering; prayed to the skies above for some sort of relief. The following day when she woke, seeds carried by birds started to fall from the sky, and along with it, rain. The rain wasn’t enough to fill the rivers and lakes once again, but it allowed the seeds to grow in just mere minutes. Boiling the plants in water just as she would have done with fish and combining the fluffy grain with spices, a warm meal was made. The girl went to bed that night with a tummy well fed, and the cats of Castellum would never starve again.

Perferences

 * Fish of various types, (cooked, modern cat people may get salmonella from raw fish, similar to regular humans)
 * Narayakan & Yaikian cats prefer fish from the Voclarian Sea
 * Pompaelian & Southern cats prefer freshwater fish

Dishes

 * Yu’baofan (魚包飯) Wrapped fish w/ rice inside and wrapped in thin sheets of seaweed. Common in Pompaelo
 * Tiáowèiyú (調味魚) a kind of fish, often served with any type of rice, milk tea, or any other beverage. Common across Castellum
 * Yúdòufutāng (魚豆腐湯) a type of soup with baked or grilled fish, combined with various vegetables and tofu. Common in Pompaelo & Narayako
 * Xiārénchǎofàn (蝦仁炒飯) a type of stir-fried shrimp combined with fried rice and some vegetables. Common across Castellum
 * Jīròucāomǐ (雞肉糙米) a type of stir-fried or baked chicken, often served with brown, fried, or white rice depending on area. Common across Nyaristios
 * Kǎoyúpèi'miànbāo (烤魚配麵包) a type of baked/grilled fish, often served with any type of bread, common across Nyaristios
 * Niúnǎi'miànbāo (牛奶麵包) a type of bread often combined with milk, served with baked fish on special occasions, common in Pompaelo

Ingredients

 * Fish sauce from fermenting certain seawater fishes
 * Rice, sourced primarily from Narayako or Yaika
 * Various fruits, particularly fig
 * Various forms of Tofu in both sweet and savory dishes

Castellum (Kasitai)
Castellum is known for its agricultural and specialized manufacturing and the production of exotic goods, especially silk and porcelain, commonly made in Narayako or Yaika, who also make up the vast majority of production of rice in Castellum, which is then distributed across Nyaristios. Castellum also possesses a sizeable tourist industry, which largely is centered around Pompaelo, which advertises itself as "the Catgirl Captial of Eldham". Castellum also has the equipment needed to produce other goods, such as milk, tea, and other common goods. However, this production of goods is limited due to large portions of Castellum either being desert, or frigid wasteland.

Astillia (Astiliya)
Astillia is known for its production of raw materials and its sizeable maritime industry, having some of the largest mountain ranges in Nyaristios, which possess a plentiful amount of resources. Otter especially possess a rare deep-water port, which has allowed Nyaristios to export and import supplies from foreign nations with ease. Astillia also has a plentiful amount of woodland, especially in the south, although it has been somewhat exhausted.

Ameria
Ameria, despite its significant political history has unfortunately largely been abandoned, however; it was the main province which produced military goods, ranging from vast arrays of armor to a large brewery which is still in use to this day, mostly being used by the Sylvanian Army or various mercenary groups. Ameria also is known as the historical capital of Nyaristios and the wider Aristii world, although this has shifted to Pompaelo as Nosteria declined.

Flag of the Second Republic of Aristios (Independent)
The original flag of the Second Republic of Aristios was used between the to the. Before, it had been used to represent the First Republic in archival records kept after the collapse. It was replaced in favor of a redesigned flag around the year of 241 TE. Most notably, this flag would be the basis for all flags that would exist afterwards, with the same design principals still in use today.



Flag of the Second Republic of Aristios (Independent & Archduchy)
This "improved" design of the Republican flag was designed by Beatrice Ambrosia Ruuk with the goal of carving out a unique identity for the new government. The color scheme of the banner changed from a red-white to a red-wine color scheme. It was adopted via a vote in the senate and some of its design principles remain today.

Flag of the Republic of Nyaristios (Archduchy)
This is the current, and so far; final design for the flag of the Republic of Aristios (now "Nyaristios"), with it inheriting an earlier design from one of Beatrice's earlier flag designs which had more of a burgundy color instead of a wine color. It features a restyled laurel reef with the inscription (i forgot what it means the translation is off, cat revolution something something), and the addition of a tricolor banner on the laurel reef. It was installed as the flag of Nyaristios through popular, verbal vote of the government at the time.

Aristii Conservative Coalition Flag (Echo)
This variant of the flag was used by the Aristii Conservative Coalition during their campaign in the only Chancellor election of the Second Republic. Its color scheme is reminiscent of the Aristios-Zamotz Union's and Federal Republic's flags.



Left-Wing Aristii Flag Proposal (Beatrice)
This flag was initially designed by Beatrice, but was never made an actual proposal for the national banner.