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The Nikopol Empire and Archoncy of
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The Nikopolian Empire and Archoncy of Thama

The Nikopolian Empire and Archoncy of Thama
Des Nikopolsraik ed Arkoncy of Thama



Flag ("Sol Nikopol")

Emblem ("Black Hole Sun")

Motto:
Do Not Speak Against the Sun
Speak Notst Gaingst Saya
Adversus Solem ne Loquitor


Link*Naitark* (*Night King*, Placeholder Nat. Anthem)

LinkErstmarsh (First March, Imperial Anthem)

LinkAtgar (Original Spear, War Song)

LinkOde dan Jove (Ode to Joy, Victory Anthem)



Location
Spiral Ocean
Nikopol and the Mat Islands
The Dazel Islands
The Nisivasil Archipelago
The Shiramor Archipelago
Thesas and the Kratesian Islands


Population: 234,240,000
-Density: 38.37/km²


Capital: Capital District Territory/Kapitaldistriktsteritorium (CDT)
Largest City: Roanoke (Part of CDT)


Official Language: Ostspeak


Demonym: Thaman, Nikopolian


Government:
Archoncy
Federal Parliamentary Monarchy
Feders Kongresarkoncy
- Archon/Arkon: Cedric I
- Imperial Chancellor/Raikskansler: Adrianne Minami
- Supreme Judge/Overrikter: Vivian Tem
- Triumvir/Trymvir (Military Command): Tyko Drach
Triumvir relates to the three branches of the military, not an office of three persons


Legislature:
Imperial Congress/Raikskongres
- Imperial Senate/Raiksenat (State Governorns)
- Federal Diet/Federstag (Elected Representatives)


Establishment:
Establishment of the states of Nikopol from the Spiral
Empire in 0 PA
(The Pax Arkigia)

Thaman annexation of the Kingdom of Nikopol and the
foundation of the Thaman Nikopolian Empire in 813 PA
(Mountain War)

Proclamation of the Archoncy of Thama and the Nikopolian
Empire in 1722 PA
(Establishment of the Imperial Congress)


Area:
6,103,670 km²
2,356,640 mi²


Elevation
Highest Point: 6706m, Killamor
Lowest Point: -220m, Hanseye


GDP (nominal): 8,450,488,710,000.00 TBD
GDP (nominal) per capita: 36,076.20 TBD


Human Development Index: 0.93


Currency: Thaman Blade (TBD)
- 100 TBD = 164 NSD


Time Zone: from UAT -6 (Forkastel Time) to UAT +3 (Lag Oberon Time)


Drives on the: Right


Calling code: +9


Elknet Domain (Internet TLD): .ta

Thama is a Federal Monarchy located primarily on the island of Nikopol, but stretching across countless smaller islands. It has marine borders with many of the states of the Asnean Coalition. Thama covers 7,903,670 square kilometers and has has a population of circa 230 Million. Thama comprises of twenty-six federal subjects: twenty-three states and three territories.

Etymology

The Thamans were a tribe of Nikopolian people from the Wesst Coast of the island, the area which is now the Northern Territory. The origin of their name is disputed but theorised to mean "Dam-builders" due to their customs of building mill dams on rivers, as evidenced from archaeological excavations uncovering wood and wrought iron water wheels in their origin lands. The Thaman Kingdom was the most powerful of the Nikopolian Kingdoms and had unified the island by 1047.

History

Asnean dates are different from Terran ones. The current year is 1850 PA. The Asnean Year is 384 days long, with the days being a few minutes longer than Terran days, making the year 105.42% the length of the Terran year. Humans have been on Asnea for 2990 Asnean years or 3152 Terran years - Having colonised it roughly in 1140 BPA or 12280 HE. This makes the current year 15432 HE (5432 CE/AD) on Terra

The Island of Nikopol holds one of the two original Ark Temples, signifying it as one of the two ancient origins of humanity. The Swifter Landing Ark Temple, located in the Imperial City, is the second landing site of the ancient human "seeder ships", the first one being in the Arkigian mountains, in modern day Bythesas. Translated data from the Ark Temple computers revealed extremely detailed astronomical charts calculated to correspond to either early 1139 BPA or early 1140 BPA, placing the colonisation of Asnea, as well as the first humans in what is now Thama, at that time.

By the 900s BPA various tribes and primitive nations of humans established themselves across Nikopol, with some instances of fairly advanced technology such as watermills and rudimentary chemical batteries for electroplating jewellery dating to this period. This is period is commonly hypothesised to be that of the emergence of the Dam-builder culture, or the tribes being the predecessors of the founders of the Thaman Kingdom, however no mention of the Thaman people is found in any documents until the fifth century BPA, likely as a result of the many conflicts that took place at this time.

In the 400's BPA many Kingdoms rose on Nikopol, warring between each other for many years. This period has the first definite mentions of the existence of the Thaman Kingdom in north-west Nikopol. In the year 177 BPA, the Spiral Empire spread to the island, conquering the kingdoms as it went. By 168 BPA, the entire island except for the city of Nirra had been absorbed into the Spiral Empire. The city of Nirra would remain politically independent from the Empire until the last decade of the Great Arkigian War. After the Pax Arkigia, the island of Nikopol was partitioned into 44 nations and city states, the most powerful of which were the city-state of Nirra and the kingdoms of Nikopol, Thama, and Kastelsas.

The various states of the island of Nikopol would spend the next millennium in various wars and alliances. In the year 813, the Kingdom of Thama annexed the Kingdom of Nikopol which comprised of the city of Swifter Landing and its surrounding areas, moving its capital to the city and proclaiming it the Imperial City and itself The "Thamas Nikopolsraik", the Thaman Nikopolian Empire. By the year 1046 the only remaining powers on Nikopol were Thama, Kastelsas, and the city of Nirra. In the summer of 1047, Nirra was absorbed into the Kingdom of Kastelsas. In Autumn 1047, the Kingdom of Thama had pushed the forces of Kastelsas to its capital and to its recently conquered city of Nirra. The Kingdom of Kastelsas was forced to surrender both cities to Thama and the island of Nikopol was united under the Thaman Nikopolian Empire.

Over the next few hundred years, Thama would conquer islands across the sea, and have conflicts with many other nations. In the mid 16th century, the Thaman Empire at its greatest extent consisted of colonies on mainland Arkigia, many of the islands of the Kratesian sea, and even settlements on the shores of Pagidia and Hirosia. By the 1620's, due to war and revolutions, the mainland colonies were ceded to other nations and to their own people. In 1695 the Hirosian colonies were officially abandoned, and the Pagidian colonies followed suit, with only a few remaining as scientific research stations and expedition bases.
By 1711, the east Kratesian islands were lost in various conflicts, and the Empire was reduced to its current extent - Nikopol, Skylar, the Shiramor and Nisivasil Archipelagos, most of the Dazel islands, the Mat Islands, the Bone Islands, Thesas in the middle of the Kratesian sea, and the western Kratesian islands.

In 1722 a Revolution swept across the nation. The Thaman people demanded a limitation to the powers of the Imperial family, and the Thaman Lords founded the Raikskongres, the Imperial Congress. The Lords Magnate limited the Imperial family's power and stripped them of the Imperial title, reducing them to standard nobility. The new Empire worked somewhat democratically - the people of Thama elected one of the lords every four years to be the leader of the Raikskongres, the Raikskansler (Imperial Chancellor), and also elected a lower chamber of non-nobility every four years halfway into the Chancellor's term. This was the government until 1788 when the upper Parliament was disbanded, and all noble families were stripped of their titles and power, with Lord now meaning simply a member of the Parliament.

In 1818 the Chancellor Angela Stargard lead a coup against the rest of the parliament to reinstate the Monarchy. She did this via issuing an Emergency declaration which amended the Thaman constitution, proclaiming herself as the Archon Angela II (In honour of Empress Angela, the last Empress) - a position that used to mean ruler of the Thaman kingdoms before the Nikopolian Empire was founded - and granting her powers to veto any decision the Congress made as well as pass laws without the input of the Congress. She did however, take care not to give herself absolute power, and granted the Imperial Congress the power to Veto her propositions on a 3/4 vote, but only after she rewrote the entire Constitution to cement her power.

In 1846, at the age of 65, Angela II abdicated the throne in favour of her then 25 year old son, Cedric Stargard. He was crowned as Cedric I on the 23rd of Hexember 1846, and has ruled ever since.

Geography

Thama is split into twenty-three states and three territories.

Nikopol is a large island at the end of the Spiral Island Chain. It is the largest of all the Spiral Islands. In the centre of the island is a great collapsed caldera known today as the Oriole mountains, which harbour a unique climate and various ecosystems. The valleys and low creater plateau of the central Orioles are full of humid sub-tropical forests and rolling plains with great lakes which contrast the colder Evergreen forests and meadows of the high outer rim mountains. The coasts of Nikopol vary from the hot northern Tropical forests to massive temperate Redwood labyrinths of the south. The outer slopes of the Orioles are mainly covered in dry grasses and sandy dunes separated by the lush valleys of rivers which spring up out of the mountains, their sources undeground rivers flowing from the lakes within the caldera.

Matansas is a state and Archipelago located in the Northern Bight off the North East coast of Nikopol. They are mainly grassy plains. Their capital is Aryos on the island of the same name.

The Dazel Islands, which contain the states of Dazel and South Dazel, are similar to the Mat Isles, being warm grassy plains. The southern islands have scattered Redwood forests. The capital of Dazel is Dazelsas, and the capital of South Dazel is Welton.

Nisivasil is a state and Archipelago comprised of three large islands and various smaller ones. It has a hot tropical climate and plenty of poisonous blue flora more characteristic of the Northern hemisphere, many species of which are not found anywhere else in the Southern hemisphere. The exotic environment attracts tourists from across the world, on which the islanders survive and thrive, as the major lack of green flora means that there is very little food available on the islands and the vast majority is imported from Nikopol or the nearby nations. Its capital is Varmkastel on the isle of Vavasil, which is the largest island.

Thesas is a city and island in the middle of the Kratesian sea. It is the central peak of the giant crater which makes up the basin of the Kratesian sea. The rocky island is completely built over, and is a trading port and tourism hub, famous for its hotels and casinos, as well as its ports. Several small islands in the Kratesian sea fall under its jurisdiction as the State of Thesas and Kratesia.

Shiramor is a state and Archipelago off the North-east coast of mainland Arkigia. It is a cool, rocky Archipelago with grassy fields and high cliffs. Its capital is Forkastel on the isle of Lanskot, and its largest settlement is Klasfort on Lewis Island.

States and their Capitals

The twenty-three states, three territories and their capitals (as well as any agglomeration they are part of) are as follow:

  1. SA Shiramor, Forkastel, New Boston (Boston) bestating castle of love, fort castle, boston

  2. NV Nisivasil, Varmkastel land of rumbling noises, warm castle

  3. DA Dazel, Dazelsas glittering rocks, glittering-rocks-on-the-sea

  4. SD South Dazel, Welton, Rosekastel b. southern glittering rocks, Wel's town, rose castle

  5. RA Randen, Vythernklif <randen>, cliff of wyverns

  6. MB Matonbukh, Liberty <matonbukh>, liberty

  7. OB Okbal, Bauki eyeball, Bauki (name of a monarch)

  8. MS Matansas, Aryos sea of the corals, Aryos (name of a monarch)

  9. RO New Rojava (Rozhava), Raayon new rojava (new west), peace

  10. ŞE Thesped Erk, Elvdraken realm of grass, high dragon

  11. SE Sirius and Everett, Nulberk, New Washington (Washyngton) b. Sirius and Everett (regions named after historical figures), empty mountain, new washington

  12. MO Mosaigan, Burnhart <mosaigan>, burning heart

  13. KO New Columbia (Kolumbia), New Vancouver (Vankuver) new columbia, new vancouver

  14. KS Kastelsas, Valberg castle-on-the-sea, mountain of valleys

  15. BD Bardugoss, New Amsterdam (Amstelşam), Danheim b. Bardugoss (name of a monarch), new amsterdam, dan's home

  16. LA Laans, Nirra lance, city of Nir (legendary hero)

  17. AO Ada and Oskaaris, The Wilds, Arenhil b. Ada (ancient writer) and Oscar's Land (also ancient writer), wild place (still an ancient writer), Hill of Aren (this should be obvious by now)

  18. ME Mitterk, Hartogor, New Argos (Argos) b. middle realm, heart fortress, new argos

  19. VE Vossegen, Aristo the river Segen, at Risto's (owner of tavern at a cross roads 1,000 years ago)

  20. DR The Rhyle (Des Rhyle), Yule etymology unknown, ancient festival

  21. ON Onviksas, Avalon Onvik's (ancient monarch) land by the sea, avalon

  22. SH Skyhart, Skyhart Heart of the sky ×2

  23. ŞK Thesas and Kratesia, Thesas sea of death and the land of craters, sea of death

  1. (CT) Capital District Territory, the Capital District Territory Urban Agglomeration (Kapitaldistriktsteritorium bestating) special administrative territory acting as collective imperial capital, etc.

  2. (ST) Southern Territory, Lag Oberon special administrative territory in the south, oberon's lake >>note: South is at the top of all Nikopolian maps<<

  3. (NT) Northern Territory, New Dublin (Duvlin) special administrative territory in the north, new dublin

In English, placenames which share the names of ancient Terran ones are prefixed with "New," however in Ostspeak they are simply called the same name as on Terra (in Ostspeak orthography of course). For instance, the New Boston Agglomeration is actually called the Boston Bestating, the New Washington Agglomeration is actually called the Washyngton Bestating and the city of New Vancouver in the state of New Columbia is actually called Vankuver in Kolumbia.


Demographics

Population
The Nikopolian Empire is inhabited by over 234 million people, 207 million of who live in Thama proper, (on the island of Nikopol, the Mat islands, and the Nikopolian Barriers) and almost a quarter of which (a little less than 47.5 million) are inhabitants of the Capital District Metropolitan Area.

Language

The official language of Thama is Ostspeak - literally "Eastern Speech" (despite Nikopol being the westernmost part of the Arkigian continental shelf) - which is one of the four human languages spoken on Asnea. Like the other three, Ostspeak is descended from 22nd Century English, and is the most similar of the three to their ancestor. It is noticeably more in line with the germanic origins of English due to early influence from settlers of central European descent, as well as having much of the remaining romance part shift from french to spanish due to influence from settlers of American descent.

Ostspeak, while here written out in standard Latin script, is normally written in the Sudmark script, which was invented in the 1st century BPA. Before Sudmark, ancient Terran Latin and Tengwar scripts were used throughout all of Arkigia but Sudmark became the mandatory writing system in the Spiral Empire and after the Empire's collapse it was adopted universally by the whole world as one of the standardization clauses in the treaty that brought the peace.

22nd century English, known as Alder Angspeak (Ancient English) is spoken conversationally by about 30% of Thamans, and fluently by about 10%. It is considered the language of science and history, as all Ark archive data is in English. It is a mandatory subject in all primary and secondary schools, and in many tertiary (university-level) fields of study - especially scientific ones. It is still considered a dead language, but there are efforts underway to revive it outside of academic circles, and the recent decryption of the libraries from the Ark archives has made english literature and cinema popular.
Many anthropologists are recommending that the government focuses on reviving English as much as possible to allow its use as a lingua franca when the search for the other lost human colonies begins.

Ostspeak is spoken fluently by the entire population of Thama. It is the first language to 92% of Thamans, a second to the rest.
The second most widely spoken (living) language is Western Speech (Argish/Westspeak). It is spoken by 28% of the population fluently, and is a second (living) language to 38% of Thamans. 6% of Thamans consider Argish to be their first language.

Religion

The major religion in Thama is Craftfaith, the veneration of the gods Alia and Kato. The goddess of Earth, Strength, and Wisdom, and the god of the Sky, Skill, and Art respectively.

67% of Thamans are Keepers of the Craft.
26% are Atheist or Irreligious.
The remaining 7% are of a multitude of other faiths.

Race

The human population of Asnea is by Terran ethnic standards completely homologous and raceless, as the original colonists were representatives of all the peoples of Earth and had bred more or less evenly together over the 3000 years of colonisation. While culturo-ethnic divisions exist, they are genetically indifferent, if simply for the reason of intermixing of Asnean humanity.

Culturally, the people of Thama are primarily Nikopolians (including "natives" of Nisivasil and Matansas), accounting for about two thirds of the population, followed by Dazelis (a sixth of the population), Bythesans (a seventh), and a remainder of about 2% others.

Largest Cities

Rank

City (Agglomeration)

Metro area population

State

1

Roanoke (KDTB)

[47,474,000]

CDT

2

Swifter Landing (KDTB)

[47,474,000]

CDT

3

Nulberk (New Washington)

8,220,000

Sirius and Everett

4

Valberg

7,388,000

Kastelsas

5

Forkastel (New Boston)

6,937,000

Shiramor

6

Massopyke (KDTB)

[47,474,000]

CDT

7

Thesas

5,100,000

Thesas and Kratesia

8

Aryos

4,773,000

Matansas

9

Kirin (KDTB)

[47,474,000]

CDT

10

Skylar

4,445,000

Skyhart

All CDT cities share a single Metropolitan Area with a population of 47,474,000 people and are ranked by their (unlisted) population within city limits - not all the cities and towns within CDT have enough population to be listed here, All besides those listed have populations below 500,000 inhabitants.


Government


TAoN - Technocratic Alliance of Nikopol: 425 seats
DPoT - Democratic Party of Thama: 251 seats
Greens - The Great Green Wave: 96 seats
E. Guilds - The Companies of the Eastern Imperial Charter: 58 seats
W. Guilds - The Companies of the Western Imperial Charter: 32 seats
Charterless (Independent Representatives): 113 seats
Thama is a Federal Parliamentary Monarchy. The Monarch (Archon) and head of state is Cedric Malcolm Stargard. There is an Imperial Congress made up of Erkers ("lords"), elected representatives from all the states, and the Staderkers ("city lords") of the capital cities of the Northern and Southern territories.

The Archon holds extensive executive power, being able to veto any propositions passed by the Congress, as well as forcibly passing any proposition of their own without its approval. The Archon reserves the right to modify the Thaman Constitution at any whim. The Constitution however has a special unmodifiable clause, stating that these powers will only be held by the Stargard Archons, and that their eventual successors will only hold the executive power of Parliamentary Veto, ceremonial powers, and the powers attached to the office of the Lord of the Capital District.

The Imperial Congress is made up of the Imperial Senate, Raiksenat, and the Federal Diet, Federstag. The Senate is made up of state governors (Landerkers) and the rulers of the Territories (Staderkers of New Dublin, Lag Oberon, and the CDT). It can, by unanimous decision, stop legislation from being passed by the Diet, or delay it by majority vote. The Diet is made up of elected representatives from the Congresses, Parliaments, and Assemblies of all the states. It votes on laws, bills, and acts proposed by its members and by Imperial Senators. If the votes are in favour of the propositions, they are passed, however they can still be Vetoed by the Archon. Any laws forcibly passed by the Archon can in turn be vetoed by the Imperial Congress if done by three quarters majority decision, or via referendum.

The Federal government is located entirely within the Capital District Territory in central Nikopol. The CDT is made up of several cities, the largest of which is Roanoke, which is also the largest city in Thama. The Blue Palace, home of the Archon, is located in the Imperial City, part of the city of Swifter Landing. The Capitol, meeting place of the Imperial Congress, is also in Swifter Landing, but not in the Imperial City. The Military Command is located in the Glass Citadel, located in the Archoncy Gardens at the core of the Imperial City. The Supreme Court and the seat of the Overrikter is located in the city of Massopyke. The usual residence of the current Archon, the Imperial Penthouse of the Sun Spire, is located in Roanoke.

Foreign Relations and Military

The Archoncy of Thama is a belligerent state, protecting its interests aggressively on the international stage, though primarily via economic and diplomatic means. It does, however, boast an impressive military.
>DESCRIBE MILITARY<

Economy
>DESCRIBE ECONOMY<

Culture
>DESCRIBE CULTURE<

Infrastructure
The Island of Nikopol is criss crossed by a system of city-centered spiderweb-like highways and an intricate net of railways sorted into four categories: The regional "every-town-deserves-a-train-stop" Reban rail, The intercity Iceway railway that connects the major cities like county and state capitals across the island, The Interstate which connects the state and territory capitals to the CDT, And the Arkban which while being an International ultra-high speed railway, has both its termini in Nikopol - running from Forkastel in the New Boston Agglomeration (the Boston bestating) in the state of Shiramor, through continental Arkigian national capitals, to the Spiral island chain where it heads back into Nikopol on the island of Thesas, runs through two more countries, re-entering Nikopol once more in Dazelsas and continuing on through Nirra, Roanoke, Avalon, New Dublin, and finally ending in New Vancouver (Vankuver) in the state of New Columbia (Kolumbia)

Non-Nikopolian (that is, parts of Thama not on the island of Nikopol, as all of Thama is the Nikopolian Empire) states and territories are served by their own regional highways and Reban, with the exception of Thesas and Kratesia - Thesas being an Arkban stop and the Kratesian islands only possessing small roads and larger towns possessing tram lines.

Public transport in Thaman towns and cities is almost exclusively rail based, with all towns above 30,000 population (and some smaller ones) possessing tram lines, most cities above 300,000 population having Sban (Stadban - City Rail) light rail lines, and every city above a million population having Uban (Undergrundban - Underground Rail) subway lines. Intra-city bus lines are virtually nonexistent, present only as sight seeing routes in tourist rich cities. Intercity lines served by electric coach buses exist in very remote places where Reban line electrification isn't financially viable and neither is attaching passenger wagons to nuclear freight trains. Except for the Arkban, all passenger rail is state funded. Municipal travel is always and works on a hop-on hop-off basis, and free intercity travel is as simple as reserving a seat before departure and getting on the right train. Reban trains can be reserved on the day of travel, Iceway trains must be reserved at least the previous day, and Interstate trains must be reserved at least 3 days in advance. Intercity and Iceway trains offer paid fares same day for any urgent or emergency high-speed trips that cannot be reserved in time.

Energy
Thaman grids are powered by - in order of most to least generation - Hydrogen fusion, Thorium fission, Hydrokinetics, and solar and wind powered Hydrokinetic Reservoir Batteries (Aerokinetic and Photovoltaic power is used to pump water into high reservoirs which act as batteries by storing water to feed Hydrokinetic turbines.
The last operating combustion plant was closed in 1788, it was a gas plant powering a small town in Shiramor, and it was closed alongside every other power plant (most of which where sea windmills and uranium fission plants) in the state upon the opening of the Red Citadel Fusion Plant near Forkastel which (at the time) had the capacity to produce 50 times as much power as the entire archipelago consumed (today the islands consume 20% of the maximum output of the plant, so no new power plants will be needed for at least another 20 years).
The last operating uranium fission plant was converted to a thorium fission plant in 1830, it is located in Aryos in the Mat islands.

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