Zemlya

Zemlya is a nation that joined the Stoneworks Minecraft Server on July 16th, 2021 as a small town in The Magisterium. Since then, they have become a small nation in northeastern Rathnir.

The Original Zemlyan Towns
As mentioned above, Zemlya was part of The Magisterium upon joining the server. The Zemlyans started to build their capital city shortly after joining. The capital became bigger and bigger, with the help of Zemlya's esteemed builders. Many businesses were built including The Drunken Slav Tavern, La Petite Boulangerie Bakery, and The Star Blox Café.

Soon, The leaders of Zemlya decided they were going to establish a colony on a peninsula close to the capital. Some explorers were sent to the peninsula and from then on, or so they thought, was going to be known as New Zemlya. But very soon thereafter, the leader of Grandia, and their new colony, Grogonia claimed that the land the Zemlyans were planning on expanding into was theirs. So after some negotiating, the borders were drawn and there was peace between the two towns, and an alliance was even formed between Zemlya and Grogonia. Later, more players joined the colony of New Zemlya, and started building there. The colony started looking great. The residents proved to be hard workers as they were observed while building their houses, and other structures and fortifications such as the wall around the colony, the watchtower, and the windmill located there.

The Republic Reform
On August 7th, 2021, the government of Zemlya decided they would go from a Tzardom-style government to a Republic. The leader would be the Supreme Chancellor and there would be a senate that made decisions for the nation. Read about this in greater detail in the "Zemlyan Republic" subheading below.

The Great Exodus to Baronov
After becoming a republic, the people of Zemlya decided they wanted to ask the leader of The Magisterium for independence from their nation. They sent a letter requesting this, but unfortunately, The Magisterium declined and those who had said they would support Zemlya's independence, backed down, because they thought the odds were against us. So on August 9th, 2021, the Zemlyans decided they were going to venture out and find new territory to build on, not within The Magisterium. They ended up settling near the nation of Baronov and being a vassal, but having a mutual friendship. They agreed to help each other whenever needed. The Zemlyans started joining the new area, and expanding the borders of the the island so they could fit more people. The Zemlyans once again proved to be hard workers as they worked on the island, plots, and houses that are located there.

The Battle of Donfuer
The Battle of Donfuer was a coalition war that took place between a city called Donfuer, which is located in Nova Regna, and the Empire of Plagatéa. The coalition consisted of Zemlya, Aurora Novum, Baronov, The Magisterium, even though reports say that they didn't participate in the battle, Astoria, Myrtana, Daelyria, and Lunaris, according to the records. The war was supposed to be declared on August 12th, 2021 at 2:00pm EDT, so that the war could take place on August 13th, 2021 at 2:00pm EDT, but the admin from Plagatéa that gave his word that he would be on for the war declaration, didn't show. So after a while the Empire of Plagatéa surrendered, but a battle was held anyway. For a while, it seemed like the coalition was winning, but on the side of Plagatéa was bandits and mercenaries, most familiar of which to all of Rathnir, was a player known as Welpish. The battle raged on but the ultimate result was that the coalition lost. But what really mattered was the diplomatic win that the coalition gained by the surrender of Plagatéa to them.

The Three Crown War
The Three Crown War was a war fought between Kastollia and Baykonia. Kastollia was fighting for independence from Baykonia, and called in other nations to help them fight against Baykonia, such as Baronov and Konushum. And at the last minute, Baronov called in Zemlya. Because of it being short notice, only three Zemlyans participated in the war. But they proudly fought to the end, even though the end result was that Baykonia succeeded.

The First Relations
On August 22, 2021, a request was made of Zemlya, by the city of Konushum. They wanted Zemlya to convert their religion to Castellan. But as mentioned in the religion subheading, in Zemlya there is freedom of religion, and each citizen is able to decide what religion or faith they want to practice. So two senators of Zemlya explained that if they converted, it could destabilize the nation and cause confusion and even chaos, and converting would also mean breaking their own policy. So the senators presented a counteroffer that the citizens of Zemlya are welcome to practice the Castellan religion but they were not going force it on them. Konushum agreed. Then later that day, Skjoldrbróðir sent a non-aggression pact to Zemlya with basic terms such as, no attacking each other, no citizen or bandit can raid the other nation, and you can't assist the opposite nation's enemy in a war. After the senate looked over the document, it was approved, and the non-aggression pact was put in place. Shortly after the discussion with Skjoldrbróðir, a Zemlyan diplomat was sent to try and get a non-aggression pact with a larger nation in the surrounding area. After discussing the terms with the leader of a nation known as Alamayn. Their council voted on the non-aggression pact, and it was passed, so there was peace for the foreseeable future between Zemlya and Alamayn.

The Acolytes Dispute
After moving onto the Baronovian island in northeast Rathnir, the Zemlyans were expanding the island, as it was extremely small. After expanding farther out, the border of the island was very close to an island owned by a small nation known as The Acolytes. This was an honest mistake, and could’ve been easily fixed. However the leader of the Acolytes, St. Acol aggressively addressed the issue, sending a disrespectful message to a Zemlyan senator. So it was decided that Zemlya would not move their border, and grant the wishes of a disrespectful individual. But as time passed there was very little tension between Zemlya and the Acolytes. But then Acolyte spies were caught in Zemlyan territory on numerous occasions, including St. Acol himself. After that, Zemlya was fed up with the Acolytes, and decided to declare war. So after about a week of preparation, which entailed reinforcing armor, sharpening swords, and enchanting bows, Zemlya was ready to declare war. So on Friday, August 27th, 2021, the Zemlyan senate informed St. Acol there would be a war between the two nations on Sunday, August 29th, and if they had any honor, they would be on the day prior for the declaration. Shortly after, St. Acol sent a document in the Rathnir national announcements, denouncing Zemlya. So one of the senators of Zemlya sent a document in the Rathnir national announcements responding to St. Acol, and explaining to the citizens of Rathnir what really was happening, and telling the truth of the matter, unlike St. Acol, who was not sharing all the facts and cutting certain details out to make his nation’s case look more plausible. Then, the Zemlyans were informed that a lot of Acolytes were sick of St. Acol’s rule, and wanted to rebel against him. So after more diplomatic talks, it was agreed that St. Acol would transfer ownership to one of the diplomats that was disloyal to him, so they could transfer the leadership to a Zemlyan senator. Any Acolytes that were disloyal to St. Acol were welcome to settle in Zemlyan land. But some of the Acolytes were going to go to Eldham and build a settlement there. This was agreed upon, but when the diplomat from Zemlya went to collect leadership of the nation, St. Acol would not get on to transfer ownership. So it was decided there would be a roleplay war to decide who took control of the island. The peace accords and rules of war were agreed on and the war was to take place on Sunday, August 29th, 2021. So on Sunday, the war was set to take place at 4:00pm EDT. There were about fifteen Zemlyan soldiers that proudly participated in the war. So they loaded into the boats, and set off to St. Acol’s Fort, a city in the Acolytes territory. They rushed into the town, but found there was no one there. What happened was the Stoneworks queue was too long, and St. Acol and his people were at the back of it. So since they didn’t get in the queue earlier like anticipated, they handed the land over to Zemlya. That day, Zemlya gained a large area of land.

Government Positions
Zemlya is a republic. There are a number of important government positions in Zemlya.

Supreme Chancellor
The Supreme Chancellor is the leader of Zemlya. He is also the head of the senate. There will be regular elections for Supreme Chancellor, and any citizen is allowed to run for the position. There will be a few days to prepare and have campaigns, then an election will take place. If the vote doesn’t come out in favor of the current Chancellor, he will be kindly removed from office and transfer the position to the victor of the election.

Military Leader
The military leader is responsible for leading the Zemlyan army into battle, as well as organizing squads and regiments, and coming up with strategy for the battle.

Senator
The Zemlyan Senate consists of the Supreme Chancellor, and six senators. When voting in the senate, majority rules. Any senator can present an issue and discuss it with the other senators, and they will vote on it. There will not be regular elections for senators, but any citizen is allowed to run against a senator if they’d like. If the vote doesn’t come out in favor of the current senator, they will be kindly removed from office and they will transfer the position to the victor of the election.

Governor
Governors govern and lead the Zemlyan cities. Each city will have one governor. The governor will oversee the housing of the residents, economy of the city, and construction of structures within the city, with the assistance of a Zemlya certified architect.

Diplomat
Zemlyan diplomats handle the diplomatic relations of the nation. They can form alliances with other nations, non-aggression pacts with other nations, and economic alliances with other nations. Senators can also act as diplomats if they wish.

Architect
Zemlyan architects oversee the construction within the Zemlyan cities. They build a good majority of the structures within the cities and present ideas on what they should build to benefit the people. If a regular citizen would like to build a structure, they have to be overseen by a certified architect.

Legislation
The laws of Zemlya are the same standard laws that any nation or town should have, no trespassing, no stealing, things of that nature. If someone is caught breaking one of the rules, they will report it to an admin of the town, and a structured court case should be held. There will be a plaintiff, and his lawyer, the defendant and his lawyer, the chosen jury, the judge, and any who aren't involved in the court case and weren't chosen, are welcome to watch, but not to interrupt the case in any way. They will speak if they are addressed. If the defendant is found guilty by the jury, the judge will decide a fair and reasonable punishment. If the defendant isn't found guilty by the jury, the charges will be dropped and the case will close.

Culture
The Zemlyan people have a large history of combat and wars. Their culture revolves around high military quality, expansion, prosperous agriculture, and the wellbeing of the others residing in the nation, as well as helping out other nations. The pride of its people reside in its military victories and industrial capacity.

Etymology
Zemlya means “earth” or “land” which is appropriate because one of the Zemlyan people’s main values is expanding their territory and defending that territory, even if that means laying down their lives. Zemlyan people are also hard workers, and they build and put to good use the land that they possess to benefit the general population.

Religion
In Zemlya, there is freedom of religion. Citizens are free to practice whatever religion or faith they want, as long as they don't push others to practice that religion or faith.

Vexillology
The Zemlyan flag represents Zemlya’s resilience. The red represents conflict and war. When faced with the challenge of war, Zemlyans will fight to the end and defend their territory. The black represents the war cooling down. Just as lava, which is a warm, fiery color, such as red, cools down and turns into a black, hard rock. Similarly, after war, Zemlyans will become rock hard and stable again. And the yellow represents the sun, which has the ability to move Earth’s wind and water with such force that it could break rocks apart on the surface. Similarly, Zemlyans will be prepared for war, and with their fiery spirit, and their strong force they will break apart their enemies.

Clothing
In Zemlya, clothing is diverse and no specific style or type of clothing is required. However, Zemlya has a uniform that citizens can choose to wear. It is not forced upon the citizens as the skin equipped is the player’s choice. Votes can be held to change the uniform if the nation decides they want a change.

Zemlyan Island
The Zemlyan Island started off as a small island off the coast of the Baronovian Islands in northeast Rathnir. Since the island was small in the beginning, some Zemlyans started terraforming the land and making it bigger, so it could fit more houses for the citizens. Today, the island is massive, and Zemlya has over forty residents.