Westmarch

The Aldan Kingdom of Westmarch is one of the successor states of the Kingdom of Alda, located in Southern Syltör. Westmarch was originally one of the largest provinces in Alda, before the nation's dissolution. The province was established in 73 AH (9th February 2022) when the first Duke, Perry Saxon, discussed with the then King of Alda, Uneasy Dusksworn, to create a province following the events of the West Sanctuary Immigration.

In 91 AH (11th October 2022), it was announced that the Kingdom of Alda was to dissolve into three successor states, Westmarch being one of them. The first leaders were decided; Kunze Ravirac, the last Duke of Westmarch, and a mystical ghost, speculated to be the one of Ciprilu Saxon, the last King of Alda as well as the second Duke of Westmarch. The Aldan Kingdom of Westmarch remained as one of the states forming the Imperial Federation of Uldarash, until its collapse.

Since then, Ciprilu's missing daughter, Fumiko Saxon, returned to take up the throne. During her reign, she resolved the DUTY-Alda Crisis. After this, she didn't feel that the throne was the right place for her, so Dum took Fumiko's place. In 96 AH (23rd December 2022), Dum and Kunze discussed and decided to reform the nation into the Aldan Commonwealth, ending Westmarch.

Kala
The capital of Westmarch, Kala is an island city flowing with incredible Mediterranean-themed architecture and houses the Westmarch Government Building. Kala is often referred as 'Alda's Market' due to its many stalls, shops and even the grand Exchange. As well as being a trading hub, the city is known for it's intriguing history as well as its luscious beaches and bustling ports.

Zerith
Zerith was the ancient capital of Dreondor, being the biggest city by far in Westmarch, and is one of the biggest towns throughout all of Alda. It is a fortress of a city, being mainly built of stone. It has many grand monuments scattered around its vicinity, such as a Colosseum. Zerith is also very big in the dragon hunting and taming business, with its Governor having a dragon himself.

Goldburg
A town formerly under the control of both Alda and Aurlûnor Velande, but now solely under control of Alda. Near the edge of the world, Goldburg is a desert covered city, mainly being built of Sandstone. Due to the harsh conditions of the town, the citizens of Goldburg migrated to Kala and Zerith until no one remained. The second Duke, Ciprilu Saxon, spoke with Governor Schwarzer Wolf and they concluded that Goldburg was to be turned into a fortress, in case of future conflict.

Government
Currently, the Westmarch leadership is creating a new constitution, however the nation's government when it was an Aldan province is displayed below. As with the majority of provinces, Westmarch had a group of elected individuals making up the Westmarch Council.

= History =

The Founding
Before it was a province, the territories of Westmarch were held by the capital province of Aldalor (modern day Amaterra), where the Capital city of Alda is located. Following the events of the West Sanctuary Immigration, two ex-Dukes of the Kingdom of Sanctuary who had resigned just before, Perry Saxon and Ciprilu Saxon, discussed with Uneasy Dusksworn, to create a new province in his Kingdom of Alda. The trio got along due to their similar experiences as Uldarashi refugees. The talks were a success, Westmarch was born and the city of Kala was constructed.

The War of Deception
After the rapid increase of aggression from the Serene Republic of Dreondor, the first assaults on the city of Kala, Westmarch's Capital, were conducted, known as the Kala Attacks. The raids were apparently not supported by the Dreondorian government, but after many lives were lost in the 19 total raids, Dreondor finally declared war on Alda thus commencing the Aldan-Dreondorian War on the 20th March 2022. A few weeks later, Dreondor's government was in a complete mess, causing the nation to dissolve and the conflict only to be fought against Agnarian. Then, on the 12th April 2022, the Battle of Zerith was fought. The fight was a complete Aldan victory and Agnarian finally unconditionally surrendered. As Westmarch was the only Aldan province that bordered Agnarian, all of the nation's land was given to the Duchy including the town of Zerith.

Acquisition of Goldburg
During the time of the War of Deception, the Dreondorian province of Goldburg declared independence. After the conflict, the Kingdom of Goldburg became an Aldan vassal for protection. Then, on the 8th July 2022, the King of Goldburg Lorajnz passed away. It was his last decree that Goldburg was to fully integrate into the Kingdom of Alda. As an old Dreondorian territory, the lands of Goldburg, including the town of Goldburg, were given to the Duchy of Westmarch.

A New Duke
It had been quite a few long years since Perry had been made Duke of Westmarch, but that was about to change. During the talks among the Royal Council of Alda, it had been decided that Perry Saxon was to retire from his position. He was getting old and wanted to spend more time with his family and friends rather than in an office. But with Perry stepping down, someone had to be put in charge of Westmarch. So, the Royal Council elected Ciprilu Saxon, the Vice-Duke, as the new Duke of Westmarch. Perry had agreed to this as well, which meant no bad blood between the brothers.

As soon as Ciprilu Saxon was made Duke, he got to work quickly. He had quickly attended to things previously ignored by Perry, which had already put him in the right direction. He had also elected the new Vice-Duke to be Taven Saxon-Johan, who was also very good at his job, making Ciprilu an already very excellent Duke of Westmarch.

Tragedy
Shortly after the election of the second Duke, while going out from the port of Kala in his boat, Perry hadn't taken into account the severity of the wind that day, and it had knocked his boat into a group of rock onto his side. Since he was taking some time of for himself, he hadn't told anyone he was going out, so while the ship sank, no one noticed, as it was early in the morning and he was too far our to be heard.

As the boat filled up with water, another strong gust of wind blowed again, and this time, the mast of his small sail cracked, due to it being an old boat and unused for so long, coupled with the strong winds, and trapped Perry under it. As he sank he could only see in the distance his hometown of Kala.

Promotion
During the Aldan-DUTY Crisis, the Queen of Alda, Maria Dusksworn, was assassinated. Of course, this led to multiple discussions in the Royal Council chambers concerning who should become the new Monarch. It was decided that the Duke of Westmarch, Ciprilu Saxon, along with the Duchess of Darinakua, Seo-Yeon Amakiir, would become the Diarchs of Alda. This meant that a new Duke of Westmarch was to decided, so, Ciprilu, elected Kunze Ravirac, the then Governor of Zerith, as the new Duke.

New Progress
Under Duke Kunze, a new Westmarch Council was brought about, hiring the likes of Minister Brsph as the Ambassador for the province. Due to their great partnership as well as management by the Vice-Duke, Taven Saxon-Johan, Kunze and Brsph were able to create vast amounts of progress. The population of Westmarch almost doubled in size thanks to Ambassador's Brsph new recruitment programme while Kunze orchestrated multiple building projects throughout Zerith. It was during this time that the tragedy of King Ciprilu Saxon's assassination occurred in the Westmarch Castle in 91 AH.

Dissolution of Alda
After several disagreements with other Royal Councillors, Queen Seo-Yeon Amakiir resigned and took the Varllarian Islands with her, forming the Serenissima of Laetrinia. Hours later, Duchess Alamu Avaros of Vanyr also decided to break her province away from Alda along with Duke East of Kharak, creating the Lukkawa-Kharakesestan Union. This only left the provinces of Westmarch and Amaterra as part of the Kingdom. Duke Kunze, after speaking to a mysterious being, speculated to be the ghost of the late King Ciprilu Saxon, decided that he too wanted Westmarch to become an independent state of Uldarash.

After discussing with Altara Dusksworn, the last Duchess of Amaterra, and Helena Amakiir, the caretaker of Sil'rae, Kunze and the ghost came to an agreement. Westmarch was to take in the Northern half of Amaterra, which included Haleos, Verde and Brynmor, while Sil'rae was given to Ashura. All land further South of Sil'rae was given to Laetrinia in exchange for Miritarth. So, these territories combined to create the Aldan Kingdom of Westmarch.