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|area_rank=|GDP_PPP=|GDP_PPP_year=|HDI=|HDI_year=|today=|established_event2=|established_date2=}}'''Aikthudr'zhur''' officially the '''Kingdom of Aikthudr'zhur''' is a minor nation in northeast [[Novaris]]. It's neighbors are [[Gräntierik]], [[Endertopias]] and the [[Varentine League]]. It has a population of 9.5 million people of a wide variety of different languages, species and ethnic groups. It's largest city and capital is Highdrilian, which also acts a important religious center for [[Akuanism|Akuanists]] in [[Novaris]].
== History ==
=== Early Settlement and Pre-Kingdom Era (1000 B.C. - 399 AD) ===
Based on historical evidence, it is estimated to that exiled Vhydaszi converts to Akuanism settle in the Atiovha Mountains in 1000 B.C. According to the evidence, it is believed they lived a mostly pastoral agricultural lifestyle on the mountains, raising goats and sheep. It is estimated that in the 800s B.C. that Shatlo Elves was pushed out of their homeland on the Oshombrani Peninsula under Taragai and Talveri pressure and move east to the land they dubbed as Aikthudr'zhur. They convert to Akuanism but maintain many of their hierarchical cultural traditions. The new elven arrivals rapidly integrate into leadership roles thanks to their long lifespans, and many modern day political dynasties in Aikthudr'zhur can trace their way back to these original settlers.
=== Foundation of the Kingdom, Migrations, the Enshrinement and the Century plus a quarter of Troubles ===
According to the written record, in 400 AD, the Royal Family unites the Kingdom and takes the nation's name for their dynasty. They are enshrined in the Akuan tradition, supported by four powerful Shatlo elves families which in return were granted a form of “trusted” status to manage areas of the kingdom. This created a division between Akuan traditionalists and Akuan monarchists, as while a majority of the kingdom was traditionalists many seats of power were held by monarchists. Traditionalists cited the Akuan traditions and religious stories of non-hierarchical methods of government, while monarchists cited the need for a centralized and organized government to resist external influence.
The monarchists had an unexpected political ally in the local Ny'Sænuri clans within the kingdom. Ny'Sænuri history of wishing for a more hierarchical system came to fruition and universally supported the enshirement. As a result they gain influence and become the enforcement arm of the monarchy.
While the troubles never turned into a violent uprising, they led to passive resistance and general discontent against the monarchy. The new Royal Family utilized divisions between traditionalist factions and their own centralized powers to win popular favor and stabilize their reign.
==== Dwarven migrations ====
In 539 the initial dwarven migrations are welcomed into the kingdom in exchange for their support of the Royal Family’s enshrinement. The small dwarven communities are settled along the mountains which tended to be a Akuan traditionalist strongholds. The dwarven migrations ultimately ended the troubles, and only a handful of traditionalist holdouts continued to reject royal authority.
Again in 1558, another wave of dwarven migrations occur in the face of repression from foreign governments. Royal decrees require that new arrivals convert to Akuanism, something which angers traditionalist factions who oppose forced conversions.
==== Government Reform ====
The formation of the modern Aikkian state started in 1643, with the writing of the constitution, creation of a formal parliament and land reform. Then in 1643, the monarchists faction and traditionalists faction came to a formal agreement to create a constitution to define the monarchy and the ‘elected’ nobility’s powers. The creation of a parliament helped legitimize the monarchy in the eyes of the Akuan traditionalists and resolved many of the country’s long running cultural disputes.
=== Plague and Cryrian Imperialism ===
Älemsi Plague sweeps through the country, killing rich and poor alike in 1767. Aikthudr'zhur enters a period of isolation. The plague ripped through the country, killing several members of the royal family and left the King bedridden for the rest of his life. His heir, luckily, was spared.
1773 AD
A still-recovering Aikthudr'zhur comes under pressure from rising Cryrian power in the region. The First Treaty of Highdrilian forces the Kingdom to open up its economy and cede concessions in its ports to Cryrian control. Cryrian interference in Aikthudr'zhur only intensifies as Leidenstad begins to increasingly monopolize its mining and logging industries over the following decades. Aikthudr'zhur also became an important base for Cryrian naval projection into the Norsian Sea.
1887
As the new Albertine government in Cryria seeks to consolidate its sphere of influence in Northern Novaris, Aikthudr'zhur is pressured into ending restrictions on foreign agricultural imports. Almost immediately, cheap Cryrian agricultural goods flood into the Kingdom and force its many small farmers off their traditional lands and into the mines to sustain themselves. In 1887, Cryrian-owned docks increased their fees on local fishing vessels, causing an explosion of anti-Cryrian riots in Highdrilian. Cryrian forces react violently and the Royal Family is forced to flee to the interior mountains when the RCRN threatens to bombard the city. Cryrian troops briefly occupy the capital and sack the Royal Palace while unrest spreads around the Kingdom. The looting of the Royal Palace has been a long lasting scar on Aikkian history, and several artifacts was robbed out of the royal shrine. The most important of these were the three swords of the royal Aikkian house - The Sword of Generations, the Sword of the Ancestors Past and the Sword of the Crashing Moon. The blades have been in the royal family since the founding of the Kingdom, and each sword was wielded by the first monarch of the kingdom. They has been used in every enshrinement as a means of symbolically channeling ancestral spirits into a new monarch. The swords were now delivered to Leidenstad as a means of ensuring Cryrian control over the monarchy and the throne's future inheritance.
The loss of the swords serve to unite many different factions within the country and turn local bureaucrats against Cryrian influence, thus prolonging the conflict.
The situation is resolved in the Second Treaty of Highdrilian, which allows the monarchy to return to the capital and sees Cryrian military forces withdraw back to their concessions, while officers linked to the worst of the violence are recalled to Leidenstad. However, the Treaty also allowed for a Cryrian official to be appointed to the Royal Court and generally ceded further economic control to Leidenstad. Thus, Cryrian control over Aikthudr'zhur only expanded, while the root causes of the unrest remained unaddressed and continued to plague the Kingdom.
Smuggling and tax evasion became a patriotic symbol against Cryrian economic domination. Burning paintings and dolls made in King Albert's image became commonplace in front of the docks, which only increased the tension between the Cryrian military officials and the native population.
=== Modern Era (1900 - ongoing) ===
==== Great War and Removal of Cryrian Imperialism (1904-1924) ====
With the advent of the Great War, Queen Katharine forms an accord with the Aikkian government. In exchange for the Kingdom’s support, Cryria would remove itself from Court affairs and allow Aikthudr'zhur to once again set its own tariff and trade policies. Aikkian troops are primarily drawn from the impoverished interior and serve under the Cryrian banner across numerous fronts in the war, while Aikthudr'zhur itself remains an important naval base.
1923-1924
The end of the Great War sees the fulfillment of Katharine’s bargain with Aikthudr'zhur. However, the escalating Cryrian Anarchy offers the Kingdom a chance to fully eject foreign influence once and for all. In 1923, Cryrian military outposts in Aikthudr'zhur were closed, and the Kingdom reclaimed the coastal concessions as well as full control of its own affairs.
==== Green Deal, Environmentalism, Queen Halein and Return of the Three Swords ====
In 1960, under King Håkan and a new parliament, renewed interest in protecting the interior of the country’s natural resources led to a new constitutional amendment to keep at least 65% of the forest in the country intact. The push led to a trend of eco-friendly and environmentalism in both culture and government. The Kingdom sees a widespread push towards renewable energy, with its geography considered to be particularly suitable for hydroelectricity. The trend of green energy and environmentalism is still strong and on-going, with a ban on all non-electric personal cars enacted in 2011, and public transit switched over to renewable power sources in 2021, which was met with success. By 2022, virtually all cars, trains and cities are completely powered by renewable energies.
The three swords are returned to Aikthudr'zhur in 2020 by order of the newly crowned Queen Ulrika II as part of a new Cryrian diplomatic effort to re-engage with the Novaran mainland. The swords had by now resided in the House of Leidensen's possession for one-hundred-and-thirty-three years. The return of the blades was received with much fanfare and nationwide celebrations, and marked a new chapter in the still-strained Aikkian-Cryrian relations.
Only days after the return of the swords, King Håkan passes away in a boar hunt after reigning for one-hundred-and-ninety-four years. The monarch had been crowned at the age of six and legendarily refused to die until the blades were returned so that his heir could have a proper coronation.
Queen Halein now took the throne and was enshrined shortly after her father's coronation. As the first monarch to grow up in the post-colonial era, her reign now begins with a sense of optimism for the future.
== Economy ==
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