Sylvania

Sylvania, officially the Imperial Archonate of Sylvania, is a transregional nation comprised of two main parts: East Sylvania in eastern Leifmyrr and West Sylvania in northern Astios, and southern Katsura.

Sylvania is a semi-constitutional monarchy and senatorial democracy. The capital and largest city is Noxwind, the first city built by the founders of Sylvania. Other major cities are Nosteria, Lyriatell and Luxwind. Archduchies and vassal states have their own governments, with varying powers. Sylvania has evolved from a dominion of Aristios, to a large nation through annexation and treaties of union, such as between West Aristios and Sylvania. Sylvania remains a militaristic nation, with it's army able to express it's authority all over the world.

Etymology
Sylvania takes it's name from Sylvania's national goddess, Sylvia, the goddess of balance, symbolising the balance between the original Nox and Lux provinces of Sylvania.

The title of "Archon", is derived from Sylvania's Aristii heritage, as the leader of Sylvania was in theory subordinate to the Emperor of Aristios, and as such could not be a claimant to such a title. The Senators of Sylvania also derive their title from the Aristii Senate.

Citizens of Sylvania are widely referred to as Sylvanians.

Beginnings
The Grand Archonate of Sylvania was born on late October 2021, when an expedition of Aristii Sailors got lost in the waters of the continent of Leifmyrr, they crashed in the Western Frozen Coast, hungry, tired, and lost, this proved an excellent opportunity for Sir. Lad to manipulate the minds of the sailors.

The Sailors lost their minds. In the cold tundra, few things gave them hope. Their families were far away back in Aristios, their friends were in a similar state, and the only person who seemed to have kept the rhythm, was Sir. Lad, so they followed his word. The Sailors slowly but surely forgot about their families, friends, faith, or who they once were in their past life, they became servants of the Dark Gods, with Sir. Lad as the flesh representing their will in Eldham, and the first Archon of Sylvania.

Foundation of Noxwind
The foundation of Noxwind was a surprisingly fast process considering the conditions of the Sailors. Some think forbidden magic was used, but these rumors lack from any reliable sources other than the few whispers of people who left the dark Heartlands of Noxwind. The city grew to become the largest metropolis in South Eastern Eldham and Aristios, the inhabitants grew stronger and wiser as time went on, the armies grew larger, and the inhabitants were richer than they had ever been in their previous home.

The Gods gave a blessing to Sylvania and the people that lived inside. After months of darkness, the light for the first time had risen as an almost equal force in Sylvania.

Reformation of the Archonate
Noxwind reigned supreme in Sylvania for years, the Darkness had a complete hold over the Sylvanian Heartlands and Sir. Lad was a being made of pure power-driven madness and an obsession for perfection and efficiency. However, as the time went on, it was clear that the Dark Gods were not the only influence in the lands of Sylvania.

The Light was shown to the people of Noxwind for the first time since the creation of Noxwind Keep. At the very top of the tower, a very slim beam of sunlight could be seen penetrating the dark clouds and ever falling snow, which gave the first signs of wealth in the land. Now power was not the only drive: prosperity, happiness, success, and glory, were back on the table. The Gods of the Light officially made an appearance, and swiftly defeated the Dark Archon SirLad, whose blindness from the energy of Light made him an easy target for the ever wise Light Gods.

They gave him wisdom, and knowledge, for him and his people to see who they really were. They were not beings of mere darkness, but complex sentients who also had a light inside their darkness. From there on, the Archon of Sylvania was no more a dark being, but the perfect equilibrium between the two, Dark and Light Gods alike would exist in the sacred lands.

The Eternal Conflict of Sylvania
Although Sylvanians had seemingly found new wisdom that would bring eternal prosperity and unity to the Nation, this could not be further from the truth. Now the Light and Dark stood more divided than ever, with the Archon having the task of bringing a balance for both forces to feel equally relevant to the Argent Blood (Now Nox Lucis), the official cult of Sylvania. However, the Light Sylvanians were vastly outnumbered. Around 95% of the population of Sylvania was Dark Sylvanian, which made the Light Sylvanians feel like a second class.

The Archon being an equilibrium did not make the Light Sylvanians any happier, as the resemblance of the Dark past of the Archon stood in the eyes of Sir. Lad to this day, which makes them feel threatened by an Archon that is not truly balance, but merely a Dark Archon in all but name. However, as bad as the situation is among Light and Dark Sylvanians, the Nation seems to be performing well on the global stage, that the conflicts usually end in a celebration sacrificing heretics from other nations, as a reminder of who the true enemies of the Argent Blood are.

The Foundation of Luxwind
The situation in the Sylvanian Heartlands worsened by the day, the Light Sylvanians were in an eternal crusade against the tyranny of Dark Sylvanians, so the Archon arrived to an unthinkable conclusion. The Light Sylvanians would claim the arid lands of The South, way beyond the Dark Sands of the province of Naar'um, and found a new city, a new metropolis of Sylvania. However, this time around, they would not sit in a dark frozen wasteland, but in the place where the light shines the most, South Leifmyrr, in the Southernmost point of Sylvania, Luxwind was colonized by Light Sylvanians. The divide between provinces considering themselves either light or dark concerns some Sylvanians that fear the divide could lead to a power struggle in the future.

The Sylvanian Spring
While the system seemed to work decently enough, and with the recent integration of Riverheim as consequence of the Uraki coalition war threatening its existence giving confidence in the government to handle foreign affairs, its internal affairs cracks started to show during late Q1 2022, when prominent friend of Sir. Lad von Praestigia and former leader of Takavia, Khan, showed up and successfully became a Senator thanks to his revolutionary and innovative ideas. Khan got the favor of the Archon for a considerable period of time, creating a gap between the old guard of leaders that had been in Sylvania since day one that mostly opposed Khan's reforms that pushed the nation further into centralist totalitarianism and theocracy, while the old guard was split between status quo centrists and federalists that wanted democratization and decentralization, most popular of these being who would end up becoming the leader of a prominent pro-democracy group within Sylvania, Louis von Rothenburg, alongside Redicity, the then Duke of Nox Heartlands.

For a short period of time things were tense, and at the darkest time in Sylvania's history, the old guard of Sylvania resigned and threatened to leave the nation without most of its leadership. Disillusioned with the seeming failure of Sylvanian new leadership to tackle the issues that they were presenting, while seemingly only focusing on Khan's new agenda going forward, which was only worsened by Sir. Lad's appointment of Khan as right hand man to deal with the Sylvanian spring reforms.

However, this was solved within the following 24 hours. News of discontent had reached Sir. Lad, whom promptly organized an emergency meeting to discuss the details of what the Sylvanian Spring really was. Revealing that it was not as radical of a reform as initially imagined by the Old Guard, and quite contrary was very welcoming to ideas presented by them, yet just inovative enough to satisfy the new wave of government officials. This led Sylvania into a newly sparkled golden age in an age where Eldham was about to sparkle into total war.

The Lunaris Coalition war
The Eldham Imperium, and later Eldham Union, was an expansionist and imperialist power. They were not ashamed or tried to hide this fact however, but proudly displayed its achievements to the public during its earlier days. Though, this rhetoric would change for denial and deflection once the news of a rapidly anti-Imperium coalition reached Imperial leadership.

Lunaris had amassed a mighty coalition including but not limited to the then great powers of Aristios, Sylvania, Arktania, Yaszria, Helsia, Oceanum and various separatist groups inside the Imperium to end its existence once and for all. Sylvania was tasked with the takeover of the USSE, which led to Sylvania dissolving its long standing MDP with the U.S.S.E, which led to a considerable diplomatic backlash between the two states. Though it would be partially amended by the friendship between the previous U.S.S.E Leader Chelovek Cerebra and the Sir. Lad after the conflict was solved.

This, however, did not come as a guarantee, for Sylvania was forced into a negotiation table with Imperium leadership, alongside a delegation from the Morladron Mysterlu, then enemies of the Archonate of Sylvania. The terms agreed upon gave as a result the Treaty of Kazkaya, in which Sylvania would be forced to pay 1.000.000$ in reparations to the Eldham Imperium, split 50% each between the U.S.S.E and Eleanor, and a 6 months long Non-aggression pact. Though it would be broken later on during the Second Valorant War and even during the Eldham Alliance, of which both Sylvania and the successor to the Imperium, the Eldham Union. However, for the time being, the international community was presented an image of friendly peace held in the U.S.S.E capital of Kazkaya, with then General Secretary Urabon shaking hands with Sir. Lad after signing the treaty.

The fall of the Republic of Aristios
The Republic of Aristios was a sister state to Sylvania, previously being its overlord, naturally both states were the closest they could be without being one, through an entity called the Iris Confederation, both nations shared military, citizens, supranational law and in some instances, government officials or positions were shared or interchanged between both states. By all means, Aristios and Sylvania were one country with two governments.

However, for as good as the relationship between both states were, things were not so bright for the internal politics of Aristios. Having recently ended a Union with the since fallen state of the Zamotz Union, which was named "Federal Union of Zarissia", in which the Republican system was used as baseline, things were unstable at best. The bridge between West and East had increasingly expanded since the February 2022 bill "Crown of the East", in which Zarissia, being a Republic, officially had legal precedent of recognizing a Monarchy, albeit limited in power and scope, inside its territories. This led to unrest and discontent within the ranks of the Western provinces of Castellum, Astillia and Ameria, alongside Katolis, which combined had about 2/3rds of the Aristii population at the time. Of which except for Katolis, had the closest bond with Sylvania, as the original settlers of Sylvania came from Castellum and Ameria predominantly, with Sir. Lad himself being a primary resident of the capital city of Oleapolis and then Nosteria during both the Imperial times, Commonwealth of Aristios and early Republic, being one of the oldest Aristii alive, or at least half-alive at that point.

At some point during May 2022, Azriel Myrilay, King of Bel-Ismer and one of the most prominent figures of the pro-Monarchy movement of east Aristios, published a bill in which the Kingdom of Bel-Ismer and the Republic of Sanctus asked the Senate of Aristios for independence from the West. This was, initially, a joke bill, which Azriel published merely to test the waters and have a quick laugh, though the timing could not have been worse considering the rising tensions. This sparked a quick reaction by Western democratic coalition. However, sensing the impending doom, the Sylvanian embassy in Aristios all but left, with the occasional mail sent by Sir. Lad through sea, Sylvania seemed to have given up on the dream of a stable Aristii Republic.

Tensions would mildly increase over one of Sir. Lad's visits to Aristios, in which due to the recent government meetings spending too long on bills discussing tree rights, Sir. Lad annihilated most of the tree life in Sanctus, the province in which most of the Dryads and tree rights activists lived, minus for the natural park reserves north of Akirashalam. The population of Sanctus was outraged and demanded justice, but the then prosecution refused to continue, with an agreement for Sir. Lad to apologize and help Sanctus with timber much needed for its development.

Though this incident seemed to have been solved, it also reminded West and East of their growing differences and seemingly irreconcilable values.

This led to the leaders of Sanctus and Bel-Ismer, actually declaring independence from Aristios in late June 2022. The Republic had initially planned to crush the Eastern separatists and regarding them as nothing more than agitators and monarchists trying to hold onto their power at any means necessary, though as time progressed, morale within western ranks fell more and more, which ultimately led to Castellum seceding from the Republic as well and joining Sylvania as an Archduchy, in similar fashion to Riverheim, though keeping its democratic elements intact. After this, the Aristii Republic would officially dissolve.

Though not without one last ditch attempt at keeping the Aristii dream alive, the remnants of Ameria, Katolis and Astillia, would establish contact with the separatist east to try and reform into the Aristii Confederacy, a country in which many states would follow one single common legislation, but would be an Aristocracy that would abandon democratic principles such as proportional representation, and would have 2 representatives of each state regardless of population. The member states of this Confederation would have been the Voclari Republic (Astillia, Ameria), Sanctus-Ismer (Sanctus, Bel-Ismer) and Katolis. A provisional government was formed, which invited Castellum to rejoin and Sylvania to sign a renewed Iris Confederation agreement with the newly formed state. Though its efficiency was such that the citizens of the nation thought the state was in total anarchy after only one week, which led to a people's revolution proclaiming the Aristios Anarchist Communes. This however would swiftly be put to rest by what remained of a central authority, though its situation did not improve.

After losing faith in the Confederacy, mainland Astillia approached Sir. Lad with a proposal that if their ultimatum to the Confederacy to act upon their promises was not listened, Sylvania would take mainland Astillia as the reformed province of Transardacia, the original name of the region. Sir. Lad on behalf of Sylvania accepted and waited.

As expected, the Confederacy paid lip service, while in practice everything was kept the way it was, with little to no progress and the government seeming all but extinct. This led to Transardacia seceding from Aristios and joining Sylvania unilaterally. Soon after, the Aristii Confederacy would collapse, followed with the Voclari Republic, of which its remainders joined Sylvania, with the exception of the island of Dulfika, Ryukostead declared full independence. Although later on it would join the Nuvenos Union, a vassal state of Sylvania that promises to keep the spirit of the Aristii cultures that would otherwise have been lost, to this day stays the entity with the most legitimate claim to an Aristii restoration next only to Sylvania itself having the ancient capital of Nosteria, former Oleapolis.

The Second Valorant War
The Sylvanian population would not get to enjoy this newly found brotherhood in the West for long however, as the Morladronian neighbors who had caused so much unprovoked pain and suffering to the locals of cities such as Luxwind and Vermilion so often, while repeatedly attempting to seize Sylvanian lands, finally decided to openly declare war on Sylvania, citing aggressions that were disregarded as either conspiracy theories, such as Sylvania taking over Morladron through Stickman Prime, or directly caused as consequence of Morladron aggression such as the occupation of Porthnegys which erupted thanks to the unprovoked murder of disarmed Sylvanian citizens visiting the area.

Sylvania quickly gathered funds and supplies, while calling all of its allies that had already been warned one week prior that Morladron was planning to invade. Sir. Lad had predicted what not even his government could believe to be true. But at the same time, everyone was expecting it to happen sooner or later, so the tension was looming closer and closer by the day, until it finally happened.

The 21st of July 2022, Morladron officially declared war on Sylvania, gathering support from Merkonis, Samora, Barbossa (although they would aid both sides), mercenaries of Paragon, BMW and the Hands, and other minor rogue groups, as well as funding and supplying from the Eldham Union (former Eldham Imperium) which broke the NAP signed with Sylvania less than 2 months prior to this declaration. This would not be forgotten by Sylvanian leadership.

Sylvania called on its allies and associates, Lunaris, Raiyuna (Former Yaszria), Varn Torum, Velerin (Would reform into Shirokaneza during the conflict), Helsia, Simulami, Aurea, Kush, Aurora, Vulperium, as well as hiring the army of Scylding, the mercenaries of Aragotha, Drackar and the Brotherhood of Ulfaeng, which brought Kartek/DUTY as reinforcements. Irulan was also called but refused to aid Sylvania, breaking the long-held MDP. Citing moral ambiguity in the conflict. Later on Irulan would fall to then get annexed by Eleanor.

The first Battle of Vermilion then erupted, on the 31st of July 2022. It was a one-sided massacre, Morladron, for all the hype they had tried to convey behind their forces, stood no match and was quickly overwhelmed, and more than a battle, it was a massacre. With 150 Morladronian casualties to Sylvania's 31. Merkonis would be kept occupied with The Pale and would later on dissolve, while Samora approached Sylvania to discuss surrender terms, in which it was agreed Samora would pay 2 millions in war reparations to Sylvania and a 2 month NAP agreement. The peace has been kept ever since.

The second Battle of Vermilion was a draw, Sylvanians defended Vermilion again successfully, yet could not occupy the attacking city of Alzaria either. In spite of mercenaries switching sides over pure and unaltered boredom, though this caused heavy casualties for the Sylvanian side, with 47 dead on Sylvania's side and 41 on Morladron's side, this was the first battle fought while Sylvania was a member of the Eldham Alliance, and was also fought at the same time as the Eldham Alliance was preparing for a war against the Vulperium.

The third Battle of Vermilion then turned into the Battle of Alzaria, with a decisive Sylvanian victory which kicked the Morladronian occupation forces out of the recently invaded city of Alzaria, which they had taken from Nexus in a forceful agreement for which they had paid a symbolic 100 thousand to Nexus.

The fourth and last battle of the war was the Battle of Vallava, the first battle deep into Morladronian territory. The battle, while not as bloody as previous battles, was utterly destructive, and rendered the Morladronian cultural hub of Vallava as a husk of its former self, a destroyed wasteland with no recognizable buildings left and the city split in half.

After this, the Morladronian leadership could see the writing in the wall and realized that to avoid extinction, surrendering was the only way. Though the reception of the peace treaty was mixed in both sides, and particularly Sylvanians wanted to deal the final blow to end Morladron once and for all, the following peace agreement was reached in the Treaty of Vallava:

Morladron would renounce to all of its mainland Leifmyrr holdings and given to Sylvania, which caused mainland Sylvania to increase its size in 50% while it decreased Morladron's size by +90%.

Morladron would also pay 2 million dollars in reparations to Sylvania, and a peace period of 6 months would be reached. As well, Stickman Prime, Trelanganack and Tea would be trialed for war crimes, though this would not end up happening as Sylvanian leadership simply did not see the value in spending time in a nation that was left as a crippled husk of its former self, though Sylvania would later attempt to improve relations.

Ascension of the Eldham Alliance
The Eldham Alliance was a pact signed between Sylvania, Velerin (Shirokaneza), Scylding and the Eldham Union, in which they would end any and all other pacts and alliances signed in the world of Eldham (Rathnir pacts would be kept as usual) to form a single unified military bloc for both attacking and defending, taking a proactive role in Eldham politics and shaping it as they saw fit.

Sylvania was always the least expansionist of the members so while it did not actively engage in expansion, it would help other members in the process. Though the Vulperium war saw limited aid due to the more immediate crisis at its core, facing the Morladronian invasion.

The initial treaty would include Raiyuna, but it left the pact after the Eldham Union was invited as a signatory member. Though they would keep a close bond with Sylvania that would later manifest in the C.A.T.O agreement. Though the beginning was tense as Sylvania had fresh in memory the betrayal of the Eldham Union at breaking their previously signed peace deal which included a 6 month NAP by aiding Morladron, though the true extent of this aid would be later on discovered to have extended well past the signature of the Eldham Alliance treaty, which would cause its downfall during the Fall of the Eldham Union.

Thanks to the Eldham Alliance and particularly aid from the old-time allies of Sylvania, the returned Shirokanezan warriors, the war was a clean swipe that brought Sylvania a clean victory, though Sylvania needed to rebuild what was lost, as the population was exhausted from war and many had fled the country seeking peace.

Independence and reintegration of the Aristii Republic
Around the same time, there was discussion behind the scenes on a potential restoration of the Aristii Republic, notably; its main proponent was EmperorUnknown, who wished to restore the Republic, however he needed the support of the two remaining governors in Western Sylvania, Tia and Fusionia. Eventually, after some convincing, the two were on board. And after approval from the Sylvanian Government, and the signing of a treaty which guaranteed that the Republic would be alligned towards Sylvania, the Republic of Aristios was restored, with the provinces of Castellum and West Aristios being put under the Republic.

Shortly after the restoration, the government immediately began to organize in preparation for the first Aristii elections on the 4th of May. However, not all was well; paranoia swept parts of the Aristii Government, still fearful of a takeover by Pro-IPA forces, which already had a partial political foothold. This resulted in the following elections being extremely tense, with the incumbent Tia winning out with a 60.6% majority compared to Piketoneers 33.3%. This election would mark the slow decline of the young republic.

This isn't to say nothing was done, most notably; Logui113, minister of Infrastructure had interconnected all of the Republic, with most of Castellum, Astilla, and even Ameria being connected by roads.

However across the world, and in Sylvania itself, not much better was going on. Despite the constitutional reform which had just happened not long prior, it failed to achieve much success; as many notable figures retired, or "took a break" during the period of the Republic of Aristios independence. Eventually, the situation called for drastic measures, and during this time, Botilov, a native Riverheim citizen was elected Imperial Chancellor.

Back across the world, the ROA seemingly hit a period of peace, and relative stability. With the government still mostly being held by ex-republic officials and so on. However, it was not to be. EmperorUnknown, seeing his days lowering by the day, decided to activate the Aristii-Sylvanian treaty on the 29th of May; without informing anyone. Not Sylvania, not the Imperial Archon, not even his own government. This was made even worse as it was on the day of the Aristii 2nd year anniversary, as it was viewed as a massive backstab by those within East Aristios. The Aristii Government was confused, and in disarray, everything had happened so fast, there was confusion and disunity.

During this time, the ROA sat in a state of limbo, with it having been split up into its three respective provinces; however, the Aristii Government, seeking to maintain its functions, and with support from both the Imperial Chancellor and the Supreme Judge of Sylvania, a better deal was made with Matthjis, the Imperial Archon.

The renewed treaty ensured that the Republican government survives and even maintained its functions as a single archduchy in the former territories of the Republic, and with this; the Republic survived its first major crisis, but in the process, lost diplomatic independence.

However, there was something else brewing elsewhere..

Third Defense of Sylvania, Crusade against Morladronian terrorist separatists

Transitions of the flag
The nation previously replaced the classic purple and white flag with a new black and white. The former purple-white flag being a symbol of Aristios representation upon the then vassal state, the black and white present flag representing Nox Lucis and symbolising Sylvanian independence. Sylvania use a new flag coloured purple, black, and white, with a flower reminiscent of the Aristii national symbol. The current flag draws on the history of the state as both a subsidiary of Aristios and its own nation. It was created by Sir. Lad as a way to cast away the old flag, which symbolized Sylvanian vassalhood to Aristios. This new flag represents Sylvanian independence, while paying homage to Sylvanian culture, history and national spirit.

Governmental Reforms
Throughout the nation's history, the government has gone through many changes. One of these changes that has had a significant effect on the government as a whole was the addition of ministries. There are currently several ministries, focused on things such as culture, finance, and defense. The Archon is the final voice in all decisions on matter of the government as the head of it giving them power over the ministries.

Provinces
Sylvania is currently divided in 8 different administrative regions known as provinces administered by individual Lords acting as governors of the region. Currently, there are 4 Dark Sylvanian provinces and 4 Light Sylvanian provinces, however cities inside these provinces may not follow the province culture to the fullest extent.

Nox Heartlands, Andrimar, Rosewald Glades and Riverheim are the dark regions, while Lux Heartlands, Aristios, Paloma and Kiurtrog are the light regions. More often than not, the allegiance of the provinces is defined by the biome. Light Sylvanians inhabiting mostly in the arid south, while Dark Sylvanians inhabit mostly in the cold North. Castellum is an outlier, inhabiting cold lands in the westernmost point of Eldham, but worshipping Deities of Light.