Aurora

Aurora, officially the Kingdom of Aurora is a kingdom on the continent of Haven, and a member state of the Crownlands Of Ashai. Aurora was founded by the Escharian rebels known as the Order of the Aurora in late 2020. The kingdom is currently ruled over by Queen Maryden.

Exodus from Escharia
The exile from Escharia left the remnants of the Order of the Aurora without a home and welcome nowhere. The scouting party, Aurelian (Canine14), WhiskeyHusky, Red_Devil0141, and Crackdown9000, made the two hour long trip from Tessel to the mountain in Haven which now holds the city of Fornost. After this mountain was found, an encampment was set up and soon the rest of the Aurorans fled west to their new home in the continent of Haven. This would soon after found the Kingdom of Aurora

The Founding of a Kingdom


After a few days of getting homes set up and the start of a mine, WhiskeyHusky was sent to Uldarash to talk with them about their situation and the negotiation of a deal for becoming a protectorate under their banner to help prevent banditry from occurring or Escharia to hunt the Aurorans down. During these negotiations, GinKinght was possessed by a god and began placing signs atop a mountain that were comical in nature. Following this "Funny Mountain" was deemed the site of the signing since they were already there.A day or two after, Aurora found out about a land called "Selkrauvarr" in their mines and none of the Aurorans enjoyed the thought of fighting for their land immediately once they got here. Soon after the land in the mine was discovered, the above ground skeleton stable with skeleton horses tied up inside with dogs on leashes. The Aurorans immediately contacted Uldarash and built a wall on the exposed opening in the valley of the mountain, deeming this fortification in this frosty mountain, "Fornost."

Assimilation of Tefsil
Tefsil, a nation that appeared to Aurora's east not too long after arriving, had obstructed Aurora's expansion plans. Tefsil and Aurora were immediately at odds, as vampires were strictly not allowed anywhere in the Auroran handbook. Tefsil then kidnapped a council member by the name of WhiskeyHusky. Tensions rose, both nations prepared for war. WhiskeyHusky, however, was soon returned peacefully thanks to bettering relations between the countries. The nation of Tefsil then agreed to assimilation into The Kingdom of Aurora.

The Second Empire of Uldarash
Main Article: The Second Empire of Uldarash After the fall of Uldarash, an event caused predominantly by the Sewor mafia and Viodoxa, the continent of Haven was left changed forever. Viodoxa had taken most of the lands in the north, including the capital of Hapatmitas, and created a new puppet state, Aruna. However shortly before the fall of Uldarash the many states of Haven formed an alliance known as the Golden Ring of Haven. After the fall, the remaining members of the Ring began considering plans to stop Haven from collapsing into chaos. As they reached out to the many successor states of Uldarash, it became clear that the Havenites wished to see Haven once again united. All the countries of Haven, excluding Trafalgar and a rogue group known as the Khanate of Haven, joined together to form the Second Empire of Uldarash in the spring of 40 T.E (March 5, 2021), with the primary goal of keeping Haven under the control of Haven, and barring foreign influence. Aker Aurelian was voted by all Havenite states apart from Trafalgar and the Viodoxan client state of Aruna to become the Emperor, marking the start of the Aurorii dynasty's rule of Uldarash, which would persist for the entire lifetime of the Second Empire.

Throughout the Second Empire's lifespan, Aurora played a dominant role within domestic and foreign affairs. The Order of the Aurora, at the time being one of, if not the largest and most capable fighting force in Rathnir was key in nearly every battle the Second Empire was involved in. Furthermore, Aurora's large population, and position on the throne of Uldarash made the kingdom heavily influential in most decisions made by the Uldarashi government. As a result of the position Aurora held, there was often resentment and disagreements with the other states of the Empire, as many felt Aurora held far too influential position within Uldarash. These tensions reached a boiling point with the Uldarashi Civil War. The civil war, which began as a result of a government-coup against Empress Caterina of Montroig, furthered isolated Aurora from the eastern Havenites, as both Aurorans and Eastern Havenites viewed the other unfavorably. Tensions between the two groups continue to this day, although on a lesser scale. In the midst of the civil war, The Imperial Uldarashi government, primarily Aurora was engaged in a conflict with the Eldham Entente. This became the Eldham Entente Intervention in the Uldarash Civil War. The conflict resulted in The Battle of Fornost, which was the largest battle in Rathnir's history at the time. The battle, being in Aurora's largest and capital city, was arguably the most important war effort Aurora had ever undertaken.

Soon after the Battle of Fornost, Aurora entered a period of peace within Uldarash that lasted until the Empire's dissolution.

Dissolution of Uldarash and Auroran Independence
In the autumn of 135 T.E (March 22, 2022), Uldarash formally dissolved itself. This took place following a vote by the Uldarashi High Council to dissolve the nation. The Kingdom of Aurora became a fully independent nation as a result. Aurora maintained all of its former state territories.

Following the dissolution of Uldarash, Aurora began to move towards a less involved role in world politics, especially on interventions and conflicts. This was mostly maintained until tensions with Rakia Ganeffs and the New Dorasterrock Alliance began heightening.

The Northport War
Main Article: Northport War Rakia Ganeffs, a former Regent Emperor of Uldarash, advisor to the Auroran Throne, and officer in the Order of Aurora had been isolated from Aurora ever since the dissolution of Uldarash. Ganeffs had long running issues with many members of the Auroran government, which led to Ganeffs eventually laying claim to Northport, an Auroran city which he had founded and formerly owned. Ganeff's current nation, Ganeffstan, was a member of the N.D.A, leading to the N.D.A backing Ganeffs' claims. This became the Northport War.

At the outbreak of the Northport War, the Auroran populace rallied to contribute to the defense of the nation, to an extent never seen before. The defenses around Northport were constructed at an extremely fast rate, as large moats were built around the city within just over one day. Furthermore, the Auroran government hosted frequent war supply drives, encouraging the population to donate whatever supplies they had on hand to contribute to the war effort. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were raised, along with a considerable amount of diamonds, experience bottles, and other varied war supplies.

Despite the civilian and military war preparation effort, the N.D.A still seemingly had a considerable advantage, having more money, manpower, and supplies on hand. These advantages did not end up securing a victory for the N.D.A, as the first Siege of Northport saw the clashing armies forced into a stalemate, and the second a decisive Auroran victory with considerable casualties from the N.D.A, and a successful Auroran counter-offensive at the N.D.A city of Savras.

After two failures to take Northport, infighting within the N.D.A, as well as domestic instability in many of the key nations within the Alliance broke out. This led to the N.D.A making no more attempts to seize Northport, and the alliance later collapsing.

Auroran annexation of Savernia
In February of 2023, the south Havenite nation of Savernia had found itself in dire straits. To it's east the Vinovian Horde had expanded rapidly and rumors had begun spreading about potential Vinovian war planning to attempt a second invasion of Savernia, after their first had failed in 2022. Simultaneously, the Vorakh Khanate, a new and rising nation in South and central Haven sought to expand into Savernia, and had even convinced two Savernian towns to secede and join the Khanate. Savernia, was known for lacking it's own standing army and was unprepared to face against either of these threats, and instead opted to integrate completely into Aurora to avoid conflict. Savernia and Aurora had maintained good relations prior to this move, and held similar cultural and ideological values. The integration was received well by the majority of both populations. The region where the former nation occupied is now referred to as the Duchy of Savernia within Aurora.

Participation in the Coalition against the Horde
The Vinovian Horde, established in the months following the fall of Uldarash saw a period of rapid expansion throughout 2022 and into early 2023. This peaked when the Horde controlled a third of Rathnir, and a small territory within Eldham. In particular, the Horde had established total dominance over eastern and central Haven. Combined with the involvement of Aurora in the Avium War, Auroran relations with the Horde were never on good terms.

During the summer of 2022, Ashai and allied states declared a coalition against the Horde, in order to push back the expanding force which threatened Ashai and multiple of it's allies. Aurora, close allies with Ashai since Ashai's founding accepted to join the coalition when invited by Hasufel Takanori. This would mark the second time Aurora was engaged in war against Vinovia. The coalition formed against the Horde almost immediately saw decisive victories achieved across Rathnir, as the Vinovian's territories began to quickly shrink within a matter of weeks. Coalition armies regularly outnumbered Horde forces by substantial margins, and local support amongst Horde member nations was low. Multiple major member nations left out of fear of being engaged in a war against the coalition, leading to the nearly complete collapse of the Horde by April of 2023. The conflict was the first major conflict Aurora had been involved in since the Northport War.

Rum SpiritKnight's Ascension
Following King Aurelian's second reign, Rum The Spiritknight, then King's Hand to Aurelian was chosen to succeed Aurelian to the throne. This would mark the first time the Auroran throne would be held by someone rather than an Aurorii. Rum's ascension to the throne was received well by the Auroran population regardless. As Rum's historical experience across Rathnir and Haven specifically proved him qualified to hold the position. Rum's Coronation was hosted in the Fornost Cathedral on September 23, 2023.

Entrance into Ashai
The Crownlands of Ashai, originally an Eldham based nation on the continent of Katsura, had since late 2022 began increasingly focusing it's efforts on the world of Rathnir. In particular, Hasufel Takanori, one of the three emperors of Ashai, who was also a long standing and high ranking government official within Aurora, had established a large holding of Havenite land under Ashai's control. Throughout 2023, Ashai's territories in Haven steadily expanded. After defeating the remaining Vinovian holdouts and the Vinovian-aligned Dara-Lumonde, Ashai achieved the unification of the entire continent of Haven. This accomplishment excluded only small foreign enclaves and Aurora.

External and internal pressure for Aurora to join Ashai and complete the unification of Havenite nations mounted as Ashai's territories expanded and former members of the Second Empire of Uldarash willingly joined Ashai. Auroran officials were hesitant however, as Auroran government officials were weary that the experience within Ashai would be similar to the final days of the Second Empire, which were filled with infighting and disunity.

On November 1, 2023, the Auroran council announced it's decision to enter into the Crownlands of Ashai as a full member state, following multiple days of intense discussion. Exact reasons for this decision have yet to be released by the Auroran government. This move was unexpected from most citizens of Ashai and Aurora alike, but was nonetheless welcomed by most.

Queen Maryden's Ascension
Following a relatively short reign by King Rum SpirtKnight, he would abdicate the throne in December of 2023. Rum would appoint Auroran Council Member, and long time adviser to the monarchs of Aurora, Maryden, to succeed him as Akeri of Aurora.

Mary's ascension to the throne was not particularly expected from most citizens of Aurora, regardless, with Mary's long standing reputation in the community, her ascension was received well by the general population.

Culture
Auroran Culture derives itself from many sources, initially drawing from Escharia, the Order of Aurora, and the teachings of Pavlovism. The foundation of the Kingdom brought in further influences from Uldarash and from the large numbers of people from all over Rathnir who migrated into Fornost. This mixture of influences create a modern Auroran culture which, while reminiscent of many other cultures, is unique in its own ways.

Values
Honour and Loyalty are two of the most important concepts to Aurorans today. Both the cultures of Escharia and Uldarash also hold such beliefs in high regard, and so this idea has been reinforced continually throughout Auroran history. Also reinforced from both "parent nations" of Aurora is the hatred of tyrants, and tyranny remains to this day one of the most universally reviled concepts in the Kingdom.

As a military order that eventually grew into its own kingdom, military prowess is obviously held in high regard, though the largely peaceful ways of Uldarash somewhat altered this concept, placing a heavy emphasis on violence only when necessary and of using ones military strength only as a measure to secure peace. This is especially true in the case of defending Haven, which the Aurora devotes itself almost entirely to nowadays. The Order's goal of destroying lycans and blighted as instructed by Pavlovich is still present, though it is much less common and a growing non-Pavlovist subculture of Aurora reject this duty entirely.

Hierarchy
The Kingdom of Aurora's hierarchy was largely influenced by the hierarchy of the Order of Aurora. The hierarchy of the Kingdom, is, of course, highly respected, in keeping with the key Auroran values of loyalty and honour. There is also, however, a surprising level of flexibility within the hierarchy, as a precedent from the early days of the order. Respect in Auroran culture is gained more through ones actions than one's positions, and Aurora has set a precedent in which individuals of high respect but low rank take charge of roles which are not necessarily available to them, mostly in a military sense.

Architecture
As with many aspects of Auroran culture, the building style of Aurora began similar to that of Escharia, before mutating into a more unique style over time. More specifically, old Auroran architecture mirrored that of Lileanen. Today, however, Auroran archictecture utilises many more unique facets such as the heavy use of blackstone in buildings such as the new walls of Northport, the fortress of Winterstone or the new citadel of Erain. Also present in the Auroran architectural style is the heavy use of greenery and nature, exemplified in Pebble Point, Blossom's Grove, and Kaori's Flower fields, located just outside of Fornost.

Cities
The capital city of Aurora is Fornost, the largest city on Rathnir. Fornost was originally planned as a fortress from which the Order would temporarily base themselves, but as their stay in Haven became more permanent houses began to develop around the citadel. The city is split up into 7 main districts, plus the university campus. At its peak, Fornost was home to around three hundred people, and to this day remains one of the most active and lively cities in Rathnir.

Northport, situated a short walking distance away from the Capital, is Aurora's primary port and fishing location. The town is the second oldest in Aurora, though it remained dormant and unchanged for many months. Overpopulation in Fornost caused a revival of the town to create more housing for Auroran citizens, and the town rapidly grew into Aurora's second city.

Heart's Bay, named after a bay on the isle of Tessel, is a resort for the wealthiest and most powerful in Aurora. The town is designed in the style of Lileanen, the now-abandoned Escharian capital city.

Pintrin is the newest Auroran town, also located in the extreme south of Aurora. The town is home to many skilled woodcarvers.

Winterstone is the primary fortress of the Order of the Aurora.