Tszunare Yaszuma

The Kingdom of Yaszuma is a kingdom situated in the northwestern quadrant of Eldham. It was founded by Queen Szoko, General Secretary Onneszu and Lord Wertsze of Tetszo on June 5th, 2021. Since then it has grown to be an important part of regional politics and has grown substantially in both diplomatic and territorial prowess.

History
Yaszumatti history consists of two portions or halves. The Mythical period is fully comprised of lore and the Historical period is every event recorded since the settling of Eldham.

Mythical Period (? - 1 Y.C.)
The ethereal archipelago of Umakwa was created at an unknown time by unknown forces. The islands were considered a gift to the material world. Many clusters of islands in the sky were created, yet Umakwa was the largest. Prophecies stated that those who first conquered the Umakwa archipelago would be people of prosperity and strength.

The Sky Elves of Umakwa were already native to the islands by the time the settlement of Eldham began, though they created a bond with the Humans that would settle the area as well.

Near Umakwa, the dwarven Lord Wertsze would create the Tetszo Lordship and would begin integrating with Umakwa shortly after. After years of planning, the Kingdom of Yaszuma was created as a union of these two settlements with Queen Szoko as its monarch,

Warring States Period (1 Y.C. - Present Day)
The Kingdom of Yaszuma would grow immediately following its creation, eventually encompassing a sizeable chunk of the northwestern quadrant. This expansion proved to cause minor issues such as the overlap of Yaszuma's claim with the Uldarashi colony of Alokhrad that was situated on the island of Surii. This problem was thankfully eventually settled with the purchase of the island by Yaszuma and its rebranding into the territory of Szuri.

The kingdom quickly made allies with the nations of Varn Torum and Seeker's End, creating a trifecta that lasts to this day. Yaszuma catapulted itself onto the regional scene, not knowing of the turbulent times to come.

The first diplomatic challenge to face the nation was the settling of Valesco in the region, causing a crisis due to Seeker's End overlapping Valescan claims. War seemed inevitable but ultimately Valesco proved to be a friendly state and an agreement was quickly reached. Yaszuma had just dealt with its first challenge as a young kingdom, yet it didn't know about what the future had in store for the region.

The state of Iremith has since its founding been a band of conquerors and their next target seemed to be one of Valesco's member states. This crisis lead to the formation of the Northern Lights Alliance, of which Yaszuma was a central part of. The crisis would eventually end with Valesco's untimely surrender and the ceding of land to Iremith along with Valesco's abandoning of the entire region.

This crisis would cement the Northern Lights Alliance as the major alliance in the region and its tensions with Iremith wouldn't cease. The raid on Varn Torum's capital on June 30th by Iremith's army would skyrocket tensions again after a supposed peace, this along with the state of Verdenland's dissolution into the state of Valore would highlight this incredibly turbulent period in Yaszuma's diplomatic history.

Government
Yaszuma is a constitutional monarchy and a federation. While the queen operates as the state's highest ranking leader and has ultimate authority over the decisions getting made in the country, the government is still split up into three main sections based on the provincial divide of the country.

Core Provinces
The Central Government is the entity responsible over the governing of the entire country while also having direct control over the Core Provinces. The Core Provinces are defined as the state's most important provinces and the centers of Yaszumatti culture and religion. Other than these provinces, the Central Government also has power over the other two types of government in the country but usually leaves these local governments to their own devices, only choosing to act on their behalf when deemed important.

The General Secretary of the Central Government is the entity's highest ranking official and is responsible for the day-to-day governing of the Central Provinces and the administration of the country as a whole.

Core Cities
There's a distinction between Core Cities and Core Provinces which may be confusing to some. The Core Cities of Yaszuma are cities that are instrumental to the operation of the country and are its largest population and wealth hubs. A Core City doesn't have to be within a Core Province in order to be classified as one.

Autonomous Provinces
The provincial unit below the Central Government is the Autonomous Province, these provinces have their own local governments with the only requirement being that they must have a governor to represent the province to the Central Government.

Frontier Provinces
When the states acquires new land, the provinces carved in it are usually deemed Frontier Provinces, these provinces are usually too barren or are generally hard to sort out into either Core or Autonomous Provinces. They have no provincial government and have to wait until they are sorted into one of the two upper province types before getting representation within the country.

Culture
Yaszuma is a cultural melting pot, blending traditional state buildings with the old teachings of dwarven architects in Tetszo and the ancient blueprints of long lost temples in the rainforests of Osziro. The federation emphasizes the preservation of knowledge and beauty of every culture situated within the state's borders.

Yaszumatti Etherealism
The state religion of Yaszuma is Yaszumatti Etherealism. This religion worships one omnipotent entity simply known as The Sky. The religion preaches freedom of expression and isn't forceful when it comes to conversion.

Currently the only place of worship in Yaszuma is the Southern Temple just below Umakwa's housing district, though several shrines can be found throughout the country as well.