Valron

The Kingdom of Valron (Valroni: Chornum et Valrôna), is a nation-province of the Autokratoria Sirradra, situated in the continent of Cymru, south of the Cursen Sea. The national capital of Valron is Valron City and is also the biggest city of the nation.

Modern Valroni trace their origins back to the the cradle of civilization in the Valroni mountains. The Cuanin tribes was believed to be the one of the first people to settle in and around Valron, many Valroni magic and classical literature came from this period. The area would then be settled by the Rasennan and used as a trading hub. The Valdreach Imperial Republic would then take over the area, it was then succeed by the short lived Sørevein. After Sørevein's collapse, the Valmen Republic took its place ruling over the area. During the Imperial Archonate of Viodoxa, refugees escaping the Ferrymen War would end up establishing a settlement around modern day Valron City, as the settlement grew it became a province of the Archonate and gained its independence during the First Purple Insurrection.

Valron is currently governed as a Constitutional Monarchy with Sima Bakura as the head of state. Valron is also a highly developed nation, with one of the highest population density in Sirradra.

Etymology
The name "Valrôna" came from the Rasennan resistance group of the same name, which was a derivative of the surname of King Andronikos Valronov. Coincidentally "Valron" is a Hanzeizh word meaning noble. The word first appeared on the world map referring to the area of the now capital Valron City, as the city grew the word was used to describe the general area of modern day Valron. It would finally be adopted by the local government after it gained its independence after the the First Purple Insurrection. The official name of the modern Valroni state is the Kingdom of Valron (Valroni: Chornum et Valrôna).

Prehistory (6,000 BAR - 0 AAR)
Earliest known traces of human settlement around modern day Valron are dated by archaeologist to around 6,000 to 7,000 years ago. Archaeological investigation around Dragonsguard and Valron City have supported this claim; it reveal many clay pottery and knapped stone tools from the deposits from around the same period, but most importantly the archaeologist team was able to uncover a near intact bone of "the First Valroni", a humanoid that is presumed to have roamed the lands of Valron millennias ago and the ancestors of the Cuanin.

The area would later be settled by the Cuanin around 3,500 years ago. They were mostly coastal people living in tight knit communities known as "Cuen". Archaeological works also supported the theory that the Cuanin was introduced to wheat cultivation long before the Rasennan had arrived. The Cuanin were also noted as one of the earliest humans on Cymru to have discover magecraft, they possessed advanced knowledge on arcane and healing magic. To strengthen their spiritual bond with the land, they would often construct spiritual temples. Archaeological investigation have pointed out that the Cuanin mainly used magic for 3 main purposes: to increase crop yield, to create golems and to enchant items. However, around 1,000 years ago it is believed that the Cuanin had experienced in exceptionally harsh summers and winters; combining with the fact that the Cuanin have drained the mana that was commonly used in magic, many Cuanin died of starvation and malnutrition. Believing the land had been cursed, many remaining Cuanin would move to the Valroni mountain range to the west and the Cuvon forest down south.

Early Kingdoms (0 AAR - 559 AAR)
The Rasennan arrived near modern day Valron city around 0 AAR. They avidly traded with the local Cuanin population and introduced iron tools to them. However, the Rasennans had also brought in the common flu, which the Cuanin lacking the immunity of would soon die in droves, the last Cuanin community was contacted around 19 AAR, and are believed to have died out soon after. In 5 AAR, King Andronikos Valronov would establish one of the earliest Kingdom of Valron - the Kingdom of Eca.

The Kingdom of Eca thrived as it traded extensively with neighboring Rasennan cities such as Fortuna. Fortunan clothing were heavily sought after and are commonly traded with Valroni grains and gems. However, relations with Fortuna would turn sour during the Fortunan occupation by the Rasennan mad King Domitius, whom had decided to infringe on shared hunting grounds and killing any Valroni who decided to hunt there. War was only avoided when Domitius was killed by the Fortunan Hero of Tydides. The economy of the Kingdom would continue to thrive as Valroni gems became more and more popular. However, the kingdom would later enter a decline as many Kings, spoiled by wealth, hosted lavish parties in their palaces using the tax payer money. Most notably King Erastus the Terrible ordered the demolition of multiple ancient Cuanin spirit temples to allow space for the construction of his summer palace.

Around 500 AAR, the Kingdom of Eca began to decline. Noticing its weakened state he Valdreach Imperial Republic decided to conquer the kingdom. The Rasennans were pushed back to their capital city quickly as their army lacked funding, during the war a young peasant boy named Krigorian helped defeat the army besieging their capital by luring a portion of the enemies away from battle with the help of local volunteers, creating a hole within their lines and allowing the Rasennan army to counter encircle the besieging Valdreach, defeating them. The Republic would continue their attempt at conquering the Rasennan Kingdom four more times but failed as people rallied behind the young boy and fought vigorously against the invasions. However, the King fearing Krigorian's popularity might cause the people to rebel against him as soon as the war ended, decided to execute him. People immediately rebelled against the king for this action and stormed the Imperial Palace, burning it down. The king fled and taking advantage of the chaos, Valdreach would attempt one last conquest of the Kingdom of Eca, which fell soon after.

During Valdreach rule the area was in constant rebellion, a group of Rasennans called "Valrôna" would manage to raise an underground army over several years and waged guerrilla warfare against Valdreach until the end of the Republic. In the midst of the power vacuum left behind from the collapse of the republic, they declared the independence of the Kingdom of Valmen. The Kingdom was however not recognised by any other states, as such they continued to fight Valdreach successor states that attempts to reclaim the land by force alone. This caused the Rasennan population to dwindle from the constant fighting, along with it many Rasennan cities were lost. At this point the Rasennan was tired from constant fighting and wished to make peace. Around 558 AAR, Viodoxa would come in contact with the kingdom and offered it to integrate into the Archonate. Not wanting to fight anymore, the Rasennans accepted.

Classical Era (559 AAR - 634 AAR)
The Rasennans integrated into the Archonate with caution, afraid that their culture may be oppressed. However, they were wrong. a young Viodoxan politician named Numis McSpiegel would arrive in 559 AAR. He came to learn of the newly integrated Rasennans and in the mean time befriended them. Numis would help the Rasennan settle in modern day Valron City and grow. During the Ferrymen War, a lot of Viodoxan migrated southwards to seek refuge. Numis convinced the Rasennans to let them in to settle, as such Valron's population sky rocketed. Many Rasennans also began to warm up with the Viodoxans whom they were so cautious about previously. This created a multi-ethnic harmony and is the reason why many Viodoxans stayed even after the war had ended. This ideology lingered on when Valron allowed Ryzani refugees to settle. Seeing the growth of the city, Numis was appointed governor of the newly created province of Valron by the Archon Valen McSpiegel. However, drastic change would soon come.

Independence (573 AAR)
In 573 AAR the Archonate of Viodoxa was dissolved due to the on-going First Purple Insurrection. And as per the Archon's final decree, each province within the Archonate was given independence with Numis crowned as the King of Valron. To prevent any foreign powers from carving up the continent, diplomatic ties was immediately established with former Viodoxan allies such as Theios Essukdai and Niedea along with the newly independent Queendom of Preyllea and Kingdom of Shaloma. Valron also absorbed the area around Instanboulder and in agreement with Preyllea, carved up the unorganised territory. However, resistance within the unorganised territory soon sprung up as the long gone Isren Dracan came back and declared independence from both Preyllea and Valron. A series of peace talks were initiated but the Isren Dracans were not willing to compromise; therefore, on 21 June 2021 Valron alongside Preyllea, Niedea, Theios Essukdai and OPTC declared war on Isren Draca. Spies were sent into Isren Draca to lay the ground works for the invasion, but soon after the declaration of war Isren Draca would surrender and the land were returned to their separate country. During the ordeal, Valron faced international criticism as some international leaders believed it had been a mismanagement of the Valroni government and the Isren Dracans should have been granted independence.

Afterwards, a series of talks was held about reunifying the continent. The leaders of Preyllea and Valron had previously made talks with OPTC and Shaloman leaders about the reunification of the continent, however foreign leaders were adamant that if Viodoxa were to be reunited Adytum's leader Dimitri Yazov must be the Archon. After a long debate a compromise was made, allowing the leaders of Adytum and Valron to be the new Archons of the Second Archonate of Viodoxa. However, many Valronis wished it to stay as an independent Kingdom. These complaints are promptly ignored as Numis reassured the people of the freedom of Valronis would be kept after it integrated into Viodoxa.

Stagnation
After the reunification, Valron continued to grow initially. However, during this time some people grew jealous of Valron's growth and accused King Numis for stealing other province's population. Not long after, on 14 July 2021 King Numis died. With Valron's leading figure gone, many Valroni people left the nation. Loic dem Spheniscidae would become the representative for Valron until Automated Melancholy was crowned King on 12 August 2021. During his reign a group of Valroni citizens known as the State of Confusion would often sabotage Automated's attempts at improving the quality of life within the Kingdom.

Under Seratov, independence for Valron was nearly achieved through a million dollar deal; Automated was to loan a million dollar from Tortuga with Valron paying back the debt on a later date. However, it was called off as Automated had a falling out with the group he was working with. As such Valron stayed under Seratov until the Third Imperial Archonate of Viodoxa.

Jennux Uprising (634 AAR)
During the Third Viodoxan Civil War, Mel Valronov along with a small army of Valroni exiles marched back into Valron from Aurlunor. A series of talks were made between the local leaders and Mel, in the end they agreed to stage an uprising against the Viodoxan government. On 26 January 2022, cups of Jennux Tea were placed on the door front of houses, marking the start of the uprising. Initially the rebels seized the Valroni mountains and Ibârestadt (modern day Aquis), the rebels proclaimed Ibârestadt as its capital and began a guerrilla warfare against the stationed Viodoxan garrisons nearby, disrupting any supply runs going towards Viodoxa City. The rebels would join the Archonal Union on 29 January 2022 as the Third Viodoxan Civil War ends.

Archonal Union
This paragraph is purely lore.

During the Archonal Union, Valron's status changed from a province to a nation-province and was under the rule of Mel Valronov. During this period Valron received a boom in population as Valron began to recover from years of stagnation. (634 AAR - 685 AAR)

Sirradra
Valron's recovery was soon plagued by the State of Confusion as it took around 20% of Valroni land, and the lack of management by Mel means Valron entered another age of stagnation. Mel realizing her own fault, abdicated, appointing the more competent Krigori Dyntoi - Alvara Tizoc O'Valmen as the new Queen of Valron on 20 September 2022. Under Alvara's rule Valron grew bigger than before. On 5 March 2023 Valron joined together with the Shogun of Yuria creating Valron-Yuria. (685 AAR - Present)

Geography
Valron lies in the Domudum Plateau to its west, which borders Shaloma; the Valroni Mountains to its east, which borders Fortunae and the Cush Forest to its South, which borders the State of Confusion. The Queendom's 3029 chunks of land (~3200 if the unclaimed chunks are included) consists of Valron City, Krigor, Dragonsguard, Kalai Bali, AweBriiss, Nara, Aquis and Dawnhold. The Queendom's highest point is the Cuanin Peak of the Valroni mountain range. Urban development of the Queendom is concentrated on the Domudum Plateau with most of the undeveloped terrain being in the Valroni Mountains.

Demographics
According to the latest Valroni Census estimated Valron's population at 43,520,400. The overwhelming majority (80%) is native Valroni, 13% are Viodoxan and the remaining 7% are non Valroni minorities primarily Ryzanis and Aurlunorens. Valron makes up majority of Cymru's middle class as its economy continues to grow steadily. Currently less than 2% of Valron's population lives in poverty, whilst unemployment rate in Valron have averaged about 6%.

Ethnic Groups
Valron comprises mainly of 3 cultures, the Valroni culture, Hanzeizh culture and the Ryzani culture. The Valroni culture is mainly found within Valron City and Krigor, it can also be found in some parts of Aurlunor Velande, Yimmu Addual and Tovarisha. Hanzeizh culture can be found within the Northern region of Valron whilst the Ryzani culture can be found in Valron City, originating from the Ryzani refugees escaping from the war during the early stages of Valron's history.

Languages
Valron mainly speaks a dialect of the Hanzeizh language. Though it might be called a dialect, a lot of the language and sentence structure have changed and differed from the original language.

Culture
Valroni culture refers to the culture of Valron, which is primarily a mix of Viodoxan culture and foreign influences, stemming from Viodoxan Hanzeizh roots and later fusing with other foreign cultures as people immigrated to the area, such as the Aurlunoren and Ryzani. It is rare to find a Valroni whose parents were born in Valron or heritage fully Valroni.

Cuisine
Food in Valron primarily consist of potato, rice, fish and varies meat dishes. Potato and rice is the staple food and is usually baked with seasoning before served, whilst the latter is usually served plain with other dishes. Valroni culture promotes a healthy lifestyle and believes the fresher the food is the healthier it is. Therefore, seafood are usually sold live in fish markets, and prepared as soon as it reaches the kitchen. The Valronis usually cook their food through steaming or stir fry believing those two being the healthiest way of cooking tho other cooking styles are observed, one of the most famous dishes in Valron is potato cake, which is usually made with mashed potato, minced meat of choice, garlic, spring onions and onions mixed together as a dough and pan fried, the resulting food is a savory snack that can fill a person's stomach up easily.