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 Black Hallow, which is located in Aurora Novum, 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.

Konushum and Skjoldbrodir
On August 22, 2021, a request was made of Zemlya, by the city of Konushum. If Zemlya converted their religion to Castellan, they would be in a tight military alliance. 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 and there was a military alliance between them. Then later that day, Skjoldbrodir sent a non-aggression pact to Zemlya. After the senate looking over it, it was signed and there was peace between Zemlya and Skjoldbrodir.

Zemlyan Republic
Zemlya is a republic. The leader will be the Supreme Chancellor. The Supreme Chancellor's term lasts thirty days and must be re-elected by the Zemlyan public to continue to rule the nation. The Supreme Chancellor is also in charge of the Zemlyan Army and Militia, and can assign individuals to be generals of those units. If the current general is absent, the next highest rank will assume command. This also goes for if the Supreme Chancellor is absent. The Supreme Chancellor will be a part of the senate, which consists of the Supreme Chancellor, and six senators. When voting in the senate, majority rules. The senators will be elected freely and fairly by the Zemlyan public. Each senators term lasts fourteen days, and must get re-elected to continue serving the senate. If another running candidate outvotes another senator, that senator will be kindly removed from office and replaced by his successor. The senate has the right to impeach the Supreme Chancellor if he does not fulfill his or her duty of protecting, serving, and directing the Zemlyan people. To impeach the Supreme Chancellor, at least two-thirds of the Zemlyan senate must be present in order to keep the vote fair and just. There will also be diplomats that communicate with others nations, improve relations, make non-aggression pacts and alliances, etc.

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 and prosperous agriculture. The pride of its people reside in its military victories and industrial capacity.

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. The other Zemlyans have been working on making plots for houses on the already established land.