Antora
Crowned Republic of Antora Republica Coronada de Antora | |
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Motto:
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Location of Antora within Novaris | |
Capital | Eleçeron |
Largest city | Porta Tranquíla |
Official languages | Corric |
Recognised regional languages | Reóran, Arranzic |
Ethnic groups (2021) | Corric (73%) Reóran (9%) Arranzic (8%) Other (10%) |
Demonym(s) | Antoran |
Government | Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy |
• Rége | Sebastián II de Naranza |
• Primer Ministro | Francisco Javier de Ferreira |
• Segundo Ministro | Matias Goméz |
Legislature | Ministro de Asamblea Popular |
Cámara de la Nobleza | |
Cámara de la Población | |
Creation of the Antoran Kingdoms | |
• Founding of Casilló and Réal | 1200s |
• Kingdom of Corrí | 1628 |
• First Constitution of the Kingdom of Corrí | 1659 |
• Second Constitution | 1710 |
• Corric Kingdom of Casilló y Réal | 1783 |
• Crowned Republic of Antora | 2022 |
Population | |
• 2021 estimate | 42,112,000 |
• 2018 census | 40,482,331 |
GDP (nominal) | estimate |
• Total | $981.04 billion |
• Per capita | $24,233 |
Gini (2016) | 32.1 medium |
SDI (2016) | 0.873 very high |
Currency | Regnes (REG (ℜ) |
Date format | dd-mm-yyyy |
Driving side | right |
Calling code | +161 |
ISO 3166 code | AT,ATR |
Internet TLD | .cyr |
The Crowned Republic of Antora (Corric: Republica Coronada de Antora), known colloquially as Antora, is a country located on the south-eastern portion of Novaris. It is bordered to the east by the Concordian Ocean, by Thøn to the northeast across the Strait of Catrás, by Thalor to the north and west, Costalan to the west, and across the Straits of Liti, Dvalheim to the southeast and Ostrethia to the south. Antora is a post-feudal parliamentary monarchy, founded 433 years ago from the union of the Kingdom of Casilló and the Kingdom of Réal. With a rich history going back almost 1800 years, Antora is a cultural and vacation destination for many around the world.
The first inhabitants were the Antora people, settlers of Impelantic descent. They settled the region of Novaris that now bears their name, and many towns and cities in modern Antora can trace their origins to these first settlements. The Antora eventually split into the Arranzic and Reóran ethnic groups. These groups inhabited neighboring territories and feuded for nearly 600 years for dominance. Conflicts during this period include the Invasion of Valle de María, the War of the Red River, and the Sieges of Eleçeron.
In 1584, the Kingdom of Réal was conquered after the Thirty-Years’ Bloodshed, also known as the Conquísta. A brutal war instigated by King Felipé I ‘the Bloody’ of Casilló, the Conquísta resulted in the deaths of Réal's royal dynasty, the House of Carrateó, and the House of Naranza becoming the rulers of most of Antora. Tensions remained high and the economy of the region suffered as rural populations became prey for mercenaries and bandits. The Réoran people refused to acknowledge the conquerors as their legitimate rulers. A rebellion was narrowly avoided when King Felipé II worked with Réoran leaders to personally address their concerns.
King Felipé III of the House of Naranza married Alícia II 'the Younger,' last daughter of the House of Carreteó, after years without a wife. Their marriage secured the support of the Réoran people. Felipé III continued his father's conciliatory policies and ruled over a united country of both Arranzic and Reóran cultures for the first time in history. With the combination of the two states after several years of legal work and persuasion of the nobility, the Kingdom of Corrí was officially founded in 1628. The astronomic talents of Reóran scholars were combined with the nautical capabilities of Arranzic sailors, producing a thriving and wide-ranging trade fleet. Corric merchants traded the mineral and agricultural wealth of their nation in exchange for foreign crops and scientific knowledge.
Most of the profit generated from trade went to the already-wealthy merchants, nobles, and royals. The wealth inequality led to discontent culminating in the common populace rising up in 1658 in the Procession Revolution. The people demanded a constitution that provided checks on the Monarchs' power, diminished the legal authority of the nobility, and codified values such as the concept of citizenship, civil rights, taxation, and elective governance. King Juan Téo agreed to reform the government against the advice of the nobility, while his successor King Luca IV reorganized the territory of the kingdom into nine districts to ensure that locals had adequate governance and to streamline the census. The legal and economic reforms of this period saw the Kingdom emerge stronger. A larger tax revenue and more patriotic populace lent themselves to an increase in infrastructure projects, military growth, and industry expansion.
In 1783, the Kingdom of Corrí was renamed to Casilló y Réal by Queen Alejandra. Throughout the Nineteenth Century, the country transitioned from a primarily agricultural economy to a mixed economy. Modern methods of resource extraction and manufacturing allowed fallow areas of the nation to begin producing exportable goods. The impact of fossil fuels on the natural environment was researched heavily as coal and oil use rose; as a legal article within the constitution prohibits excessive destruction or harm of the nations' land. Petroleum use became strictly regulated by the state. Antora is a middle power militarily, economically, and industrially, but it remains a prosperous nation with good marks in human development, GDP per capita, democracy, press freedoms, and social and environmental progress. The nation is currently a member of the League of Novaris, as well as a founding member of the Conference for Amity and Cooperation and the Inter-Novaran Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance.
Etymology
The origins of the names Casilló and Réal are directly related to the words casa and réal, meaning "home" and "royal". The modern spellings have evolved from the traditional, but the pronunciation has stayed the same: the two kingdoms were referred to as Caziyho and Rayal. Several accounts and histories detail the origins, primarily from recovered documents.
Réal
Réal's name was chosen by Queen Maria Platia de Carratéo, its first monarch. The historian and scholar Escobo de la Noncerivero (1241 - 1280) wrote in his memoirs of traveling the region and staying in the courts of nobles. He had a long conversation with Queen Maria Platia on the matter:
‘I enquired to her [Grace] the thought that planted in her head the name of her fair and mountainous heredad, cut through with rivers and bedecked with so many orchards. Her response was accompanied with a laugh, so charming as did I nearly mishear; “Good sir, the valleys and hills and mountains that I rule by the providence of these good and noble gentlemen have been always a prize, worthy of royal stewardship. It is only right and fair to the people that live here I give it a name to reflect this."’
de la Noncerivero details that the original name of Réal was Valey di Rayal, meaning ‘valleys of Royalty.’ The modern name would first start to be used approximately 250 years later.
The demonym of Reóran, referring to peoples of ethnicity and culture native to Réal, can be found in the same work, related to the now-disused word reon, meaning "defender." Queen Maria Platia was a strong military mind, and instilled in her nobles and by extension peasantry that defense of their homeland was of paramount importance.
Casilló
Casilló's name was similarly chosen by its first monarch, King Arturo Gael Andres de Naranza. When the various petty-kings of the region were defeated and their lands united under King Arturo, his court scribe recorded him saying:
‘...And further my friends, let me declare now the formation and consecration under God the Father the Kingdom of Caziyho, for now, we have thrown down the tyrants of the little castle and large cruelty, and our purview extends from our silver coasts to the azure rivers and black mountains. We have brought peace and God to these lands; made a home for our sons and their sons to grow oranges and wheat, and raise cows and horses.’
Caziyho’s name roughly means "house of rest," reflecting the idea of the people being able to recuperate from banditry and tyranny. The coastal regions that made up historical Casilló were constantly plagued by lords abusing their vassals and raids from coastal pirates. Similar to Réal, the name of Caziyho would evolve over centuries to Casilló.
The Arranzic culture takes its name from the House of Naranza, the ruling family since the foundation of the nation. Thanks to the stability, and lower taxes, brought by King Arturo, the many towns and villages in his lands traded and blended ideals into the modern-day Arranzic people.
Modern
When Réal was conquered by Casilló, the ethnic and cultural makeups of the two began to blend. Modern Antora has a majority population of Corric people, a mixture of Reóran and Arranzic traits. This demonym comes from the Kingdom of Corrí, which was established after the two kingdoms were legally consolidated.
The name Corrí has no definite known origin, as any thoughts on the matter remain in King Felipé III’s or Queen Alícia II’s memoirs, which are locked by royal decree. Some scholars believe it has roots in the words correr, to move, shift, pass by, get a move on, corregir, to correct or make right, or corazón, heart. Theories point to certain public speeches and decrees by both her and her husband the King as to the origin of the name being corazón, though other theories point to other speeches and corregir instead.
After the national restructuring in 2022, the Popular Assembly voted alongside a national referendum to rename the former kingdom of Casilló y Réal to Antora to reflect the rejection of past connotations and to display a united national identity on an official level. As the name Antora was already used mostly interchangeably with Casilló y Réal, the populace had no issue with the change, voting 78% in favor.
History
Early History (300 BCE - 1000 CE)
Antora, the nation, is situated contiguously with the goegraphic region also known as Antora. The region takes its name from a group of Impalenzans that settled the area before 303 BCE. Many towns, fortifications, and cities today were constructed in this period, of note Porta Armada. Small city-states were the norm for much of the Antora region from 303 BCE to 309 CE. The people made their livings through either simple agriculture, textiles, or fishing. The Antoran people eventually moved inland, forming the Réoran people. Those that continued to occupy the coasts became the Arranzic ethnic group.
After 309 CE, written and archeological records detail that the varied people of Antora began to cooperate and form larger polities, resulting in the period between 348 CE and 1215 CE being referred to as the Principality Era. The region was broken up into many petty kingdoms and other feudal states.
The largest and most powerful Antoran states were Avantana, Cartavedra, Elvuros, Grejona, Imodé, Liti, Málama, Marsalvano, and Pinoa. These polities are reflected in the modern-day, with the nine administrative divisions of Casilló y Réal roughly mirroring their borders. Cities such as Iravala and Covielés were founded during the Principality era. Increased urbanization also brought a stratification of the populace, more advanced metallurgy, and more organized navies for trade and warfare.
The Antora region was often in conflict. The Nine Brothers, as more contemporary sources name them, warred with each other and sometimes themselves. Disputes were common over land rights, resources, and familial animosity, though a notable exception would be the Orange War of 1032 between Liti and Grejona. This conflict had roots in an argument over which state began processing and exporting orange fruit preserves first.
Feudal Conquests (1000 - 1260)
After 1015 CE, the small feudal states of Antora began to form into the larger nation-states that later became Casilló and Réal. In the coastal regions, Avantana, Grejona, Liti, Málama, and Pinoa were forcibly integrated into one state by the Avantanan warlord and king Arturo Gael Andres de Naranza. The Arranzic Conquests of 1149 were instigated by de Naranza to consolidate his rule over areas he viewed as economically important to the region, with a secondary goal of imposing the Avantanan Cult of Votivity. The King of Lit was integrated into the Avantan hierarchy as a Duke. Grejona, Málama, and Pinoa still practiced Tunseism, resulting in harsher conquests. de Naranza utilized novel tactics against his enemies, including launching grappling chains with mangonels and digging ditches against cavalry.
Culminating in the Battle of Pinoa, the Avantan forces proved better trained and skilled than their adversaries when they trapped the Pinoan army against the city walls and decimated them. The new nation that de Naranza carved out would become known as Caza de Caziyho, and his line would rule over it as it transitioned to simply Caziyho, and by the modern-day, Casilló.
The states of Cartaverde, Elvuros, Imodé, and Mársalvano, making up much of the inland mountains and arid plains of the Antora region, would base a large part of their wars around the control of the fertile river valleys in the area. These conflicts became violent enough to render much of the civil and agricultural infrastructure of Réal useless. Nobility from the five states met in secret in 1257, planning to acclaim a single king to stop the constant fighting. After months of deliberation, Condessa Maria Platia de Carrateó was elevated to the Queen of the Mountains, Rivers, and Valleys.
Maria’s grasp of military tactics and the support of many powerful families ensured she met little resistance as she consolidated Cartaverde, Elvuros, Imodé, and Málama into a single kingdom. Most nobles were pacified through hard diplomacy and the threat of war, and those that did not submit were quickly destroyed. By 1260, Maria would rule over the Kingdom of Valey di Rayal. This name would appear on official documentation until 1388, when it simply became Rayal, later spelled Réal.
Middle Ages (1260 - 1550)
Casilló and Réal had little contact in their first century. The natural barriers of the Nevadres mountains made travel restricted between the states, so it was in 1310 that official exchanges began to take place. Initial cordial relations soured quickly. Casilló was between Réal and the ocean, restricting trade opportunities, and Réal had large mineral deposits Casilló required for metalworking and shipbuilding.
Instead of reaching a trade agreement, the kingdoms decided it would be less costly to strongarm each other. These shows of martial force quickly made it apparent that neither would be willing to give in to demands. Different religious practices exacerbated tensions; many Arranzic nobles were Antoran Tunseists, while most Reórans were Votive practitioners, including the king at the time, Marius Alejandro I.
The period between 1335 and 1587 is known in Antora as the Horrible Two-Hundred. The Kingdoms of Casilló and Réal were at war for about 163 out of these 252 years. Starting in 1335 with the Battle of Cúnla, the Antoran states devoted most of their resources to overcoming each other through military might. The conflicts ranged from lesser nobles raiding rival territories to full-regalia field engagements with artillery and cavalry charges. The extent of the bloodshed is such that the red lilies that grow in Reóran valleys are said to be colored by the blood of dead soldiers.
Casilló is ideal for raising warhorses due to its wide coastal plains and gently rolling hills. This afforded them an excellent breed of destrier, the Avantana horse. Réal in contrast has much more rugged terrain, and breeds of horses bred there are more suited for work. They made up for this in the quality of their crossbows and heavy infantry.
The differences between their military preferences - Casilló with heavy wedges of armored horse supported by pike, and Réal with squares of swordsmen and halberdiers flanking crossbows - meant neither side could maintain an advantage when the time came to push into enemy territory. Arranzic charges were difficult in narrow valleys and on rocky slopes in Réal, and the heavy Reóran crossbows could pick off disoriented horses. In open spaces, the Reórans would be outranged by Arranzic bows, and the cavalry of Casilló had the maneuvering room to sweep up and envelop the enemy foot.
Notable conflicts of the Horrible Two-Hundred include the Invasion of Valle de Maria; an occupation and massacre of an economically important Reóran valley, the War of the Red River; a twelve-year conflict over much of the territory of Grejona which was the furthest Reóran territory ever expanded east, the Sieges of Eleçeron; a successive series of assaults and counter-assaults against the Réoran capital, and the Infanticides; a blood feud that extinguished the Arranzic house of Deguerde and the Reóran house of Lavanesse.
Though the period of warfare lasted two and a half centuries, it was not a stalemate. The Arranzic territories had direct access to the Concordian Ocean, while the Réorans were limited to overland trade routes, of which there were few. Casilló was thus able to slowly grind down the resources and manpower of Réal and offset their losses via imports. By the mid-sixteenth century, Réal was regrouping their professional soldiers and levied militia. The Réoran nobility was restricted to raiding and small-scale skirmishes.
Conquísta (1557 - 1584)
In 1557, King Felipé I of Casilló began the largest conflict of the Horrible Two-Hundred. The king had been born a second son, which allowed him to pursue more dangerous activities. He grew up as a squire in service to one of the Royal Captains tasked with keeping the peace outside of the main population centers. These experiences of seeing much of the west in poverty from centuries of conflict made Prince Felipé resolve to remove the threat Réal posed to his people.
When King Alejandro III and Crown Prince Teodore died in a shipwreck in 1550, Felipé ascended to the throne. He quickly gathered like-minded supporters from the nobility and upper classes, including prominent generals from the Royal Arranzic Armed Legions. These individuals and their power bases would form the backbone of Felipé I’s fight against Réal. The king spent seven years training troops, funding military research, and acquiring some black-powder weapons that were new to Antora at the time.
On 12 March 1557, Felipé I invaded the Réoran province of Marsabale, part of the Duchy of Palda, with an army of almost 14,000 troops. This set off the Thirty Years’ Bloodshed, also known as the Conquísta. The use of firearms and cannons allowed the Arranzic forces to further conquer Camplata and L'vontre provinces. The Duke of Palda was able to marshal his army and engage Felipé I while the king was consolidating the loot gained from Camplata. The king won the battle, but it proved costly and slowed progress. This stall allowed the rest of Réal to prepare for war, and the Conquísta changed from a swift professional conquest to a general war of sieges, raids, and pitched battles.
Raids and Knights
A large portion of the Thirty Years Bloodshed was raiding and counter-raiding. Akin to the earlier skirmishes of Antoran conflict, frontier territories between the belligerents would often be assaulted by mobile bands of soldiers and mercenaries. These raids were part of a larger strategic goal of depriving the opposition of food, manpower, fortifications, and supply lines. Certain enterprising raid captains would take their forces deep into hostile territory to strike at less-defended towns and outposts, catching their garrisons unaware. As a consequence, more and more towns on both sides of the war began to build up their militia and defenses. The need for capable soldiers to manage and command these defenses became serious; most knights and high-quality mercenaries were already committed to important garrisons or expeditions. This situation led to the creation of three Orders of Chivalry. These Orders differ from the two already-established Antora Orders, the Order of the Eagle and the Order of the Sepulchre, in that they can be joined rather than membership being a bestowed honor.
In Réal, King Marius Sancho created the Chivalric Order of Eleçeron in 1563. This Order was open to all who displayed good bearing, love of the Kingdom, and skill at arms. The smaller population of Réal and their history of warrior queens meant that membership was not restricted by gender. Many notable knights of this Order throughout the Conquísta, including Jaquelin of Santo Juan and the Blue Knight, were women. In Casilló, King Felipé created the Chivalric Order of Málama and the Chivalric Order of Santa Claudia. The Order of Málama was founded as a way to ennoble commoners who displayed the means to equip and maintain the lifestyle of a knight, to have competent commanders for frontier and conquered garrisons. The knights who joined this order are referred to as 'Knight-Mayors,' or more derogatorily as 'Muddy Knights.' This Order did prove effective despite its detractors, with several successful defenses of Arranzic territory credited to Knight-Mayors. The Order of Santa Claudia was established as an all-women order of knights with the authority to marshal small militias in their home territories. Primarily founded as a means of rear-line defense against raids, the women of the Order gained a reputation as fierce fighters and authority figures. The Militia of Conzelaña, for example, was officially made the Twenty-Ninth Royal Irregulars Company for their skill and bravery under the command of Marta Lilía of Conzelaña.
Mercenaries
The conflict saw involvement from large numbers of mercenaries hired by both nations. Réal retained several large pike companies from the areas of what is today Celannica, and hired coastal raiders from several coastal Novaris states. Casilló hired large numbers of Cryrian sell-sails, which operated on raids up the major rivers into Réoran territory and helped defend the coast. The cultural impacts of these companies can be seen across Antora. The shipbuilding techniques of the Cryrians heavily influenced later Antoran ship designs. Some mercenaries decided to settle in the Antora region after their contracts concluded. Today, significant populations of Antoran people can trace some ancestry back to Cryria and Celannica.
In 1571, Casilló finally gained the upper hand in the conflict. Felipé I had started a river campaign using Cryrian mercenaries to destabilize the Réoran interior. Squadrons of ships would be sent up the largest rivers into Réal's territory to raid the countryside and destroy any fortifications guarding the waterways. Although not initially very successful, the continued expeditions drew troops and attention away from other areas while also incrementally accomplishing their objectives. Since Réal had no large shipbuilding industry or heritage, they were constrained to building more castles and forts along the rivers. This further diverted labor and supplies that could have been used to fortify the frontier regions. The mercenary ships did not have to destroy every castle; they were there to hold the focus of the Réoran military response.
Escalation and Conquest
After four years of continuous river raids and small land skirmishes, Felipé I began the next phase of the strategy. The lands between the provinces of Cartavedra and Liti had always been the least-rugged terrain between the two kingdoms, with few mountains to impede travel. Both sides had fortified their sections accordingly. Réal had diminished their defenses in this area to focus on the river attacks to the south, and Casilló took advantage of this. Coastal garrisons had long served as the reserves for the Arranzic lords, but the king had them training while not fighting. This left them hardened and very fit for duty. The majority of coastal troops, nearly 40,000 were marched north to Liti and then west to the border of Cartavedra to siege the weakened forts. These Northern Sieges lasted three weeks, and by the time that word had reached the strengthened river garrisons, the Arranzic cannons had already broken through the defenses.
These Sieges coincided with the largest naval action of the Conquísta. Cryrian ships alongside significant portions of the river-capable Arranzic fleet were sent up each major river at dawn the day the Sieges were to commence. This hamstrung the Réoran troops; with no way to counterattack the riverine forces directly, nor take advantage of the weakened garrisons of the coastal Arranzic territories, they were forced to sit as static defenses and engage their enemy in place. The frontier defenses, meanwhile, were still largely independent and separated from the overall command structure. They had been formed to defend their territory, not attack the enemy en masse. This, combined with contemporary travel time, meant they were unable to be used as a reactionary attack force.
The northern Arranzic forces, which had been bolstered at the front by all but one regiment of the King's Own royal troops, began a rolling encirclement tactic. This method was deployed on a strategic level as well. The leading edge of the front would be maneuvered south to wrap around an enemy position, be it a fortification, town, or group of soldiers. The forces further back in the lines would act as a reserve in case of enemy counter-maneuvers, but would otherwise move past the encirclement to become the front of the next encirclement. The forces that had previously encircled the enemy would pacify the opposition and then rejoin the front to become the reserve. Working on both a micro and macro level, this wave-like motion allowed the forces of Casilló to occupy much of northern Réal. This was made easier by the nature of the Réoran mountain ranges, which would obscure troop movements between valleys. Réoran troops, uninformed as of yet about the tactic, would move in a straight line to engage hostile troops encircling a town, only to be attacked in the flank or the rear by more troops emerging from a neighboring valley.
By the time that the Arranzic advance had reached the Ourá River, they had occupied the entirety of Cartavedra. The river fleet on the Ourá had been stymied by the twin castles of Otia, near present-day Vizos, which mounted a chain between them and heavy artillery. The Arranzic troops successfully demolished the northern tower and allowed the fleet to take the southern bank stretch unopposed. Thus controlling the bridge at Vizos, the army was able to cross the Ourá and continue the campaign. Felipé I, however, decided to consolidate his gains. He sent half the Ourá fleet east, to head up the Azuré River. A sixth of the army was sent back to occupy Cartavedra, while the rest was allowed to rest and recuperate on the north bank of the river.
This gave the lord of Otia, Count Burgí who had not committed his cavalry to the river defense, to attack the bridge. Felipé I, not wanting to lose the largest river crossing in a hundred miles, led his cavalry to stop the Réoran's demolition attempts. The Battle at Vizos Bridge was the largest single cavalry engagement of the Conquísta, with 400 medium and light Réoran horsemen engaging 700 heavy and medium horsemen from the Arranzic army. After several complex flanking maneuvers and counter-maneuvers across the plateau, the Réoran horse managed to separate their opponents' line into three. The Arranzic riders took losses from crossbow fire and javelins and were unable to fully utilize their massed charge capabilities in the small and uneven field on the southern end of the bridge. Count Burgí, a respected military mind and fighter, personally engaged Felipé I in mounted combat. The Arranzic king took several significant blows but held himself long enough to sever the saddle straps of his opponent with his sword. Count Burgí fell and was subsequently trampled. The remaining Réoran horse quit the field soon after.
Incensed by his wounds and the possibility of the advance being stymied, Felipé sent the bulk of the army ahead after a week of rest, while he and a detachment of royal troops remained at Otia to recuperate. The Arranzic forces faced less resistance as they moved south along the western half of Réal, as soldiers were garrisoned mostly in the east. By 1577, they had endured losses of estimated 4,000 troops, and in turn, captured 20,000 and killed 18,000 more. Advancing deeper into the Réoran heartlands proved more difficult. The mountains became harsher and the defenders more trained and fanatical. The Sieges of Descarai and Vazara were the longest and bloodiest battles of the whole Conquísta; they lasted 2 and 3 years respectively with a total loss of life of around 40,000 military and civilian casualties. A significant obstacle the Arranzic forces needed to overcome was the terrain being unsuited for large-scale cannon bombardment. Locations with lines of sight on fortifications and flat, even terrain to transport and deploy cannons were scarce. Sieges that should have taken weeks or months stretched on and on and gave time for defending armies to rally.
The provincial lords of Elvuros stripped garrisons of trained soldiers and conscripted most able-bodied men to meet the army that had flanked them in the rear. Historians posit that if the terrain was not so difficult for both sides at the Sally at Vazara, when the Duke of Elvuros and half the province's lords descended on Felipé I and his army, who by this time had reconsolidated, then the Arranzic troops would have routed. The battle ended with a loss of 3,000 men on the Arranzic side, 8,000 Réorans, and the surrender of the city. This battle froze the army in place for another year as their numbers had been diminished through battle and garrisoning occupation troops they no longer held a numerical advantage. The river fleets, which had been mostly destroying infrastructure and bogging down troops up to this point, began ferrying seasoned front-line troops further into Réoran territory to launch small sieges and bolster the king's army.
Casilló secured the capitulation of Elvuros in this advance and took significant defensive forts in Imodé. Simultaneous assaults on towns from land and river led to more surrenders and what is estimated to be a fourth of Réal's total military strength laying down their arms. By 1581 the kingdom of Réal had been reduced in territory to Marsalvano and the western portions of Imodé King Marius Sancho had by this time summoned all available lords to defend Marsalvano and the capital city, though only a third of those available joined him. The rest either did not reply or cited threats to their lands. At this point in the war, Felipé I was able to call upon an estimated 45,000 professional soldiers with a further 120,000 conscripted infantry and 25,000 mercenary troops, with the rest of the Royal Arranzic Armed Legions serving as defensive or occupational troops. He also had the various mercenary sailors and fleet marines making up another 10,000 troops. In contrast, Marius Sancho had approximately 20,000 professional soldiers across his remaining territory with 9,000 available for maneuvers, and around 40,000 conscripts and 8,000 mercenaries, mostly pikemen from Celannica. The defenses of the capital territories of Réal were formidable but never battle-tested.
The city of Eleçeron did not have sufficient defensive works to repel an assault from the river, which posed a significant risk. Construction was begun on a river wall with an enormous gate in 1582, as the Arranzic army marched closer to the city. The strategy, however, was not to take the capital immediately. Felipé I instead directed his lords and generals to capture all remaining territory under Réoran control. He and the royal troops began an encirclement of the eastern portion of the city, and soldiers from the Duchy of Giroruña were disembarked on the western bank several miles downriver to begin the encirclement of the other half. Facing limited resistance due to almost two-thirds of the remaining Réoran soldiers occupying Eleçeron, the Arranzic army was able to conquer the rest of Marsalvano and Imodé by late 1583.
Marius Sancho ordered the continuation of the work on the river walls. With no outside resources and no quarries within the city, this involved demolishing buildings within the walls and dumping the stone into the river. The populace was incensed by this and the rapidly dwindling food stores being monopolized by the thousands of soldiers. When the Arranzic army began shelling the fortifications with cannons on board ships in the river, the laborers stopped work and refused to return, leaving the river walls half-finished. Felipé I sent heralds repeatedly to the city asking for surrender, but they returned each time with ruder and ruder replies. Felipé I attempted to personally negotiate the surrender and brought his sons Arturo and Felipé with him to the walls. Marius Sancho outright refused to surrender or entertain the thought of a settlement, despite the protests of his son Enriqué. A Réoran crossbowman, apparently intending to kill Felipé I, instead shot Arturo. Marius Sancho killed the archer on the spot, audibly shouting about how the death of the Arranzic crown prince had doomed the city. Felipé returned to his camp and ordered a continuous bombardment of the city walls until all cannons had run out of either ammunition or powder.
The Thunderstorm Siege lasted for four weeks and involved an around-the-clock artillery barrage that remains the longest single artillery engagement in Antoran history. Felipé I had brought nearly 300 guns of varying sizes, with a further 34 onboard ships in the river. Eleçeron was attacked from nearly all directions. Fortifications, earthworks, and siege platforms were erected to give cannons better firing angles on the city walls as well as buildings within. It is estimated that over 80,000 cannonballs, grapeshot, and mortars were fired onto the city. Care was taken to avoid damaging civilian homes, with royal observers being assigned to each battery and the authority to execute any crew that hit a non-military target intentionally. The East and West Royal Gates were recorded to have been hit 4,000 times combined, and the Réoran Guard Barracks almost 1,000. Neither structure survived into the modern-day, and only 12% of the city walls of Eleçeron exist currently. The barrage was so powerful and so loud that soldiers were rotated to the encampment lines, 2 miles distant, after only 3-hour shifts. Contemporary Réoran accounts describe a never-ending lightning storm, with earthquake-like impacts being able to be felt everywhere in the city and the constant roar of thunder permeating even the cellars of the Royal Palace.
After all ammunition had been exhausted, the Arranzic armies were ordered to advance. Felipé I had issued orders that no enemy soldier was to remain alive at the end of the day. They encountered little resistance, with most of the still-surviving Réoran soldiers surrendering on the spot. All were simply killed immediately. The civilian population was ignored for the most part; those that confronted the Arranzic troops were imprisoned. The Royal Palace of Eleçeron was stormed by Felipé I himself, along with his household troops. 657 of the two-thousand strong Royal Arranzic Guard were killed in the fighting, facing the Carratéo Royal Bodyguard, a force of five hundred men as well as nearly seven hundred soldiers. All those living in the Palace were killed either in the fighting or afterward. This included all members of the House of Carratéo, save for the sole child, Princess Alícia, making the family functionally extinct in the male line.
Reconciliation Period (1584 - 1660)
After Réal was fully conquered by Casilló, the Arranzic kings devoted themselves to integrating the territory and people of both kingdoms. Felipé I worked with his vassals and advisors to remove troublesome lords from Réoran lands and award the new heredados to loyal nobles and soldiers. Between 1586 and 1590, the armies of Casilló put down revolutions by Réoran nobility and traitorous Knight-Mayors who did not want to relinquish their lands. Many new castles were commissioned in the central provinces to ward against peasant rebellions and robber barons. After ensuring that the security of the Antora region was taken care of, Felipé I spent the remainder of his life combining the legal and feudal systems of Casilló and Réal before passing away in 1599 at age 66.
Felipé II ascended the throne in 1600 and continued his father's work on integration. Many issues with taxes arose during his reign. The common citizens did not want to provide the fruits of their labors to a foreign king, and many small conflicts between Arranzic knights and Réoran citizens broke out. Since the Arranzic court was already de facto located in Eleçeron, Felipé II made the controversial decision to permanently relocate. The capital and royal court of the Naranza family would be permanently located in the Réoran city, though the Palace of Porta Tranquíla would remain their largest and most-frequented residence. Felipé II also made many trips through the region to learn and listen to the people, often holding informal audiences in taverns, castles, and fields with the local communities. Despite the dangers, which included assassination attempts and poisonings, his fair judgments and even temper helped endear him to the populace. The king proved himself an able administrator despite many detractors, and after ten years of work had fully combined all the archives, laws, noble lineages, and institutions of Casilló and Réal.
Reign of Felipé III
The success of Felipé II would be short-lived. In 1610, only a year after the integration of the kingdom, he passed away from typhoid at the age of 43. This thrust his son, Felipé III, onto the throne. Only 17 at his coronation, Felipé had few advisors considered trustworthy. To combat the ambitions of his court, he appointed Alícia of the House of Carratéo to be his principal counselor. The House of Naranza had proven able administrators and fair rulers, but significant portions of Réorans still held faith in their old dynasty. Alícia was also, by this point, a capable scholar and a childhood friend of Felipé III. Her presence on the royal council provided legitimacy and skill for Felipé III to rely on when other courtiers concerned themselves with manipulating the king. The Paladins of the Royal Body were created by Felipé III as a special detachment of guards to defend the monarch. Between 1611 and 1617, twelve conspiracies to control, kill, or incapacitate the king were uncovered, with the conspirators executed or exiled. Meanwhile, the insight into Réoran culture via Alícia allowed the king to address Réoran issues more capably. These years cemented Felipé III as a shrewd monarch, with the general support of both the people and the nobles. The strength of his rule eventually dissuaded further attempts to control him, yet it was not permanent.
After years of failed engagements to various noblewomen, it began to be believed that Felipé III would never have an heir of his own. At 27, he had gone through eight broken engagements. Many nobles felt that his intelligence and the support of the people were not enough if he could not commit to a relationship for the good of the monarchy. Distant cousins from various minor Naranza branches began to form factions to take the throne. The Naranza-Juniares princes issued Felipé III an ultimatum in 1622: he must be married to a proper lady within a year, and stay married, or they would force him to abdicate. While the king had the leading princes arrested and imprisoned for threatening the sanctity of the monarch, their opposition emboldened many other dissatisfied parties. Enough vassals and extended family were potentially against him that by 1623 the king found he could not reasonably win a civil war if one broke out.
Felipé III's decision to marry his advisor Alícia, by then Chamberlain of the Court, was a shock to many Antoran nobles. The friendship between the two was well-known, but it was believed if the king had affection for Alícia, he would have proposed to her many years ago. The personal records of both are sealed to this day on the Crown's authority, so no definitive insights into the situation can be gleaned. What is known is that on the 20th of March, 1625, Felipé III married Alícia of the House of Carratéo in the Porta Tranquíla Cathedral, creating her as Alícia II. As a show of respect and unity between their peoples, Felipé III declared that their House would be known going forwards as Naranza-Carratéo. The couple had two children; a daughter, Margaríte, born in 1626, and a son, Juan Téo, born in 1628. Margaríte would die of a fever when she was just three years old, leaving Juan Téo as the heir to the throne.
The royal couple would break tradition and begin a new one by jointly ruling the kingdom. While queens had as much authority in Antora as kings, no Antoran monarch had ever co-ruled with their spouse before. Felipé III agreed to handle economic and military matters, while Alícia II took charge of social and feudal issues. The both of them passed judgment on petitions together and often consulted each other for major decisions. While the Arranzic nobility was opposed to dealing with a Réoran monarch, the Queen proved a fair, personable, and extremely intelligent ruler. Combined with the King's good-natured refusal to deal with the issues of vassals unless necessary, Alícia II was able to eventually convince the lords of Antora of her capabilities.
In 1628, after long negotiations started by his father, Felipé III was able to convince the clergy and nobles that full integration of nations would be in everyone's best interests. Since the Conquísta, the kingdoms had simply been jointly referred to as "Casilló." This completely ignored the Réoran parts of Antora, leaving many dissatisfied. Alícia II was ironically instrumental in convincing the Arranzic lords of the need for a name change. With both monarchs' consent, and the support of the common people, religious community, and noble Houses, Casilló and Réal were discarded as names in favor of a unified Kingdom of Corrí.
The prosperity and community that this change brought about enriched the Antoran peoples immensely. After years of separation, the Arranzic and Réoran populations were finally equal people in one nation. Difficulties between prejudiced members of both cultures persisted, but most were happy to have an excuse to put rivalries aside. In particular, the shipbuilding industry in the coastal provinces received a large boost in productivity with formerly-Réoran lumber merchants and mining guilds willing to negotiate better deals. The mountaintop Réoran monks kept great records of astronomical information, which provided another boon to the Corric economy. Newly-imported printing presses allowed these astronomy charts to be copied and sold in large numbers to sailors. The sailors then used these charts to navigate across Urth and establish a trade network that outshone even the historical fleets of Antora. The success of Corric merchants brought great wealth to the guilds, noble sponsors, and monarchy.
Procession Revolution
Very little of the resources and coins made their way into the hands of the sailors, craftspeople, and dock workers that supported these trade expeditions. For every one silver Regné that was earned by a sailor, five-hundred were earned by the captain, a thousand by the owner of the vessel, and upwards of ten-thousand by investors. Weavers and farmers were hit the hardest; their goods sold for their weight in gold overseas, yet many were reimbursed by merchants at a hundredth of the true value. The lords who controlled the docks and rented space to the guilds received massive kickbacks to keep the process going, as well. The constant refusal of the nobility to more fairly guarantee wages and compensation for Corric goods being exported meant many citizens saw negative returns on their labor. This climate of exploitation and ignorance saw the populace become progressively more radicalized.
After the death of Felipé III in 1655 and Alícia II in 1657, the citizens of Corrí saw the perfect opportunity to fix the issues of their society. Prominent community leaders in major cities held meetings and rallies to acquire support for a general strike and revolution. Ismael Halconero of Porta Tranquíla, Pau Márquez of Iravala, and Salma Vélez of Eleçeron were instrumental in convincing many people to abandon their work and march together on the coronation of Juan Téo. Printing presses were also utilized to create fliers and news sheets about the inherent rights of the populace. On the 8th of September, 1658, Juan Téo began the traditional procession from Porta Tranquíla to Eleçeron for his coronation. Instead of cheering crowds, he was greeted with armed civilian militias blocking the exits from the Palace. It is estimated that over 300,000 people rose up and blockaded the castles, barracks, gates, and docks of the major Corric cities that day. Certain lords found themselves sympathizing with the people and acted to secure the Palace from the inside along with their personal guards. With the situation in their control, the community leaders and their sympathizers presented Juan Téo with a choice: either accept a provision of government that allowed the common people a voice or never reach Eleçeron to become king.
Faced with this decision, and earnestly unaware of how bad certain groups had been treated, Juan Téo immediately accepted the fact that better representation of the people was necessary. There were members of the nobility that violently objected to this, specifically those that had become grossly enriched by the status quo. When members of this faction attempted to attack the community leaders and Juan Téo, they were detained and executed. These nobles and their families were subsequently stripped of their titles and lands as part of the First Constitution of the Kingdom of Corrí, which was drafted over the rest of the year. With the rights of the people guaranteed, the establishment of an Assembly and electoral system, and a codification of law, King Juan Téo was crowned King of Corrí and Sovereign of Antora on the 16th of March, 1659, with the support of the nobility and the permission of the general populace.
Reformist Period (1660 - 1740)
The Reformist Period was marked by increased democratization of both government and religion. Following the death of King Juan Téo in 1709, his daughter Queen Natalía Romero convened the Conference of the Second Constitution the following year. The Queen's desired changes to the Constitution were so extensive that the government refused her and instead formulated a Second, complimentary Constitution to expand on the first. One of the central pieces of this Second Constitution was the detailed description of all the functions of government, from a postal service to what situations are naval war is permissible. Another central theme of the Second Constitution was chivalry, honor, and its inclusion into government practices and societal ideals. Chivalry, traditionally viewed as a code of ethics and military values used by the landed nobility and wealthy professional soldiers, was included within the Second Constitution to act as a reference to which the government should conduct itself.
A great number of statesmen and nobility also espouses chivalry as a way to tie the nation together with a set of positive moral values. It was thought that if the common voting populace and the upper classes could positively relate by a shared social contract founded in chivalric code, the divisions and violence of the First Constitution era could be avoided. Royal knights and common people worked together to create the Chivalric Caucus, the first political party in the country. The Chivalric Caucus was followed by the Feudalist Front and the Honorable Action Caucus, competing parties that sought similar influence. The Assembly passed several laws detailing the rights and limitations of political parties as a reaction to the brinksman-like rivalries that emerged between these new organizations.
Archbishop Hernandéz II of Giroruña was acclaimed and sanctified in 1730 by the Righteous Votive Conclave. Formerly a philosopher and Votive spiritual leader in his home city, Hernandéz II was sanctified after giving a lecture to the Conclave during annual charlas de jardín on the values of humility and service towards community instead of the established class hierarchy. He remains to this day the only Saint acclaimed during his lifetime. He is also the only Saint acclaimed with a unanimous decision by the Conclave, and the only Archbishop to not have sat on the Conclave. It is described in several histories that the Conclave was so moved by his speech that they agreed to postpone the charlas de jardín and hold a special session to sanctify Hernandéz II. The Votive Way underwent a series of changes in subsequent years that many scholars credit to many modern aspects of the spiritual system.
This page (or section) is a work in progress by its author(s) and should not be considered final. |
Rennaissance of the Mind (1740-1835)
Colonial Abstenation (1835-1880)
Stagnation (1880-1912)
20th Century Priorities (1912-1982)
Succession Crisis (1982-1987)
Current Day (1987-Present)
Geography
Antora is situated on the south-eastern coast of Novaris, covering most of the geo-social region known also as Antora. This region is characterized by large mountains and narrow river valleys in the west and north, which slowly give way to high-elevation hills and escarpments closer to the coast. In the south and east, the terrain is much flatter, with no mountain chains but the occasional high-elevation peak. There are several large bays and inlets, notably the Bahía de Cátras and the Bahía de Ostras.
The nation is bordered to the west by Costalan, and the northwest by Thalor. It shares a maritime border with Dvalheim and Ostrethia to the south, and Thøn to the north.
The highest point is Montabuelo in the Vizedora District, at 2,189 meters above sea level.
Antora lies between 39° and 46° North and 68° and 75° West.
Mountains and Rivers
Much of Antora is dominated by mountains: surveys note that approximately 32% of the land area is either a plateau or a mountain 1,000 meters or higher above sea level. The Nevadres Mountains and their sub-chains, the Julocieres and the Rezores, comprise the largest mountain ranges in the nation. The highest peak in the nation is the mountain of Montabuelo, while the largest is Tiuñolo, at the height of 1,879 meters and an estimated size of 230 square kilometers.
Rivers play an important part in the geology of Antora. Much of the Nevadres are divided between rivers and streams, which have eroded between the peaks. The longest river, the Azuré, is 871 kilometers long and 4 kilometers across at its widest point. Several other significant rivers are the Ourá, Dorada, Rojó, Azuré, Amaríllo, Truca, Buviele, and Seripente. With relatively few lakes, 72% of surface freshwater is contained in these rivers. Large deltas and alluvial plains exist along much of the Antoran coastline, where the rivers meet the ocean.
Climate
The climate classifications of Antora are largely segregated by terrain and water availability, as well as proximity to the ocean and equator.
The semi-arid steppe (Bsh) occupies most of the districts in the south. The majority of Maláma, Castijara, and Julinazo lands are semi-arid, though some parts of Elvacedo, Marsalvano, and Salasca also possess this climate. It is characterized by hot, dry summers and cool winters with limited precipitation, and is usually found inland some distance from the ocean.
The dry temperate climate (Csa,) otherwise known as the Coastal climate, is the most widespread climate type in Antora. It covers over 80% of the Avantana and Tomaras districts, 40% of Julinazo, 32% of Castijara, and 20% of Maláma. It also is present in moderate amounts in Cartavedra, Marsalvano, Salasca, and Vizedora. It is characterized by dry summers that are warm-to-hot, and cold winters with moderate precipitation, though it remains something of an intermediate climate zone. It exists across multiple regions with differing elevations, temperatures, and precipitation averages, and thus is difficult to quantify as a comprehensive climate.
The wet temperate climate (Cfa) occupies most of central Cartevedra, as well as all but the most eastern regions of Vizedora and south-eastern regions of Elvacedo. It is also present in northern Marsalvano. This climate occurs at higher altitudes with plentiful rainfall and water systems, resulting in lush vegetation and no true dry season, although precipitation remains comparatively low.
The cold continental climate (Dfa) occurs only within portions of Cfa regions at very high altitudes and is characterized by dry, cool summers and cold, wet winters. The high mountain passes of the Nevadres range are considered Dfa climates.
Several other minor climate regions include a small desert (Bwk) region in western Elvacedo, the oceanic climate (Cfb) on the extreme northern coast of Tomaras and the outlying islands, and the warm continental climate (Dfb) on the coasts of the large lakes in Vizedora and Cartavedra.
Flora and Fauna
The Antoran region shares many species of plants and animals with the surrounding lands, including the golden eagle, the national animal of Antora. The different sub-regions have distinct soil profiles, precipitation, air quality, and ease of emigration, which defines the plant types that grow there and thus also the animals. Some unique species to the region are the Antoran brush wolf, the Doradan ox, the Carteñe sheep, and the Violet-fletched woodpecker. Plant subspecies found in Antora are the Avantanan orange and the Julociere olive, which are staple crops. The most common type of tree is teak, followed by elm, olive, and cedar. The oceans within Antoran territory are highly diverse but are mostly devoid of interesting oceanographic features such as reefs, major currents, or seamounts.
Biodiversity is significant, and the government maintains programs to keep habitat destruction and species persecution to a minimum. Hunting of nearly any kind is banned except by government officials for population control or risk management. The nation is ranked as one of the highest in Novaris regarding the most negligible impact on existing environments. Parks and preserves are dedicated to keeping local endangered species alive in the wild; as of 2020 there were nearly 840 facilities of this kind in operation.
Politics
The history of democracy in Antora traces its roots to the First Constitution of 1659. This provided the basis for popular representation and codified law based on the people’s will instead of the feudal absolute monarchy before it. In 1710, a Second Constitution was drafted under Prime Minister Carlos Sánchez. This document drew heavily on the first but laid out the basis of the Antoran state and government much more accurately. Both documents are considered as legal authority in Antora; the First Constitution lays out a framework that the Second expands upon.
Antora is divided into eleven districts; ten Administrative Districts, one Special District, and the Maritime District.
The tradition of noble titles and lands associated with them remains active in Antora. However, the Second Constitution clearly outlines that the expanse of these traditions is limited compared to the nation's governance. There also exists a culture of nobleza obliga, also known as noblesse oblige or ‘nobility obliges’ which requires those of noble descent, but generally anyone with authority, to conduct themselves with good character and to use their position to benefit others who are less fortunate.
There is no official state religion in Antora; though much of the nation practices some form of Votive activies, the government is avowedly secular and encourages religious freedom. The Constitutions technically ensures a secular state, but large portions of royal and chivalric ceremony are couched in centuries-old Votive tradition. This can be seen in the official language used in government communiques, the origins of the Chivalric Antoran Orders, and the coronation proceedings of monarchs.
Antora has 42.1% of its government made up of women and a further 4.7% made up of individuals outside of a gender binary, while the remaining 53.2% is men. The Popular Assembly passed the Intersectionality and Inclusivity Edict in 2009 to further equality between different lifestyles and genders in social, economic, and political spheres.
Administrative Divisions
Antora consists of ten Administrative Districts, each with a limited authority to elect their own governments, legislatures, and administrators and organize their budgets and resources: Avantana, Cartevedra, Castijara, Cátras, Elvacedo, Julinazo, Marsalvano, Málama, Tomaras, and Vizedora. There is also one Special Administrative District which is smaller than the others, Salasca, containing the capital city of Eleçeron, and the Maritime District, which contains the various small islands inside the nation's maritime borders. Districts are represented in the Popular Assembly by electing Representatives from their municipalities. There are 185 Representatives from the Administrative Districts, twenty from Salasca, and fifteen from the Maritime District.
Each District is subordinate to the central government instead of a confederation or united state system. While maintained by Ministries, health and education are generally left up to district governments based on their own needs and priorities. The smallest division of land is the Municipality, going up to the Province, Region, and finally District. The Royal Antoran Guard functions as national police in each district.
Feudalism in Antora
Feudalism is still practiced to a limited degree in Antora. The system has been described as post-feudal, semi-feudal, and pseudo-feudal, though it is academically described as a "hereditary peerage bureaucracy." There exists a list of eighty-two family lines codified within the First Constitution as being ‘Noble Blood.’ These Houses, as they are known, retain certain rights and privileges carried over from their lineage as the most prominent noble lines of the Antoran kingdoms. These families retain noble titles, from Viscount (Vizcondé) to Margrave (Marquí), Baron (Barón), Count (Condé), and Duke (Dúque). The rank of Grand Duke (Dúque Majór) exists in the traditions of Cátras but has not been used since the territory was annexed in the 1980s.
Members of the Noble Blood Houses are afforded limited control over the real estate historically associated with their titles. The nine districts of the nation were designed for the dual purpose of streamlining regional governance and maintaining the Noble Blood land borders. These expanses of land controlled are known as heredados. Heredados range in size from several acres to metropolitan areas, reflected by the rank of the Noble House that manages them. Local governments must get the approval of their lords to build or rezone sections of the lord's heredad, but may overrule the lords' decision with a supermajority vote. Lords have a responsibility to ensure the upkeep of their heredados public works and that the tax revenue collected is being used responsibly. The lords may appoint officials to positions in public works or taxation, but these appointments must be cross-examined and approved by local governments.
Lords may participate actively in the governance of their heredad, but are prohibited from appointing or being appointed to specific positions by other members of the nobility. Instead, they must be nominated and confirmed by members of their territorial populace. Lords further have the right to retain one percent of the revenue of their heredad as nontaxable income. This right is provided in exchange for the lord using their privileges to improve the lives of their populace.
Legally speaking, all members of Noble Blood are considered employees of the national government once they reach their majority. While they are free to pursue careers and lifestyles independent of it, the government reserves the right to require service of them at any time. This may be the nomination to a position in the popular assembly by members of their heredados populace, but also includes appointments to posts in Ministries or the courts. Often, certain families will fulfill certain roles throughout several generations, which is why the system is considered a hereditary bureaucracy. Members of Houses will train younger members in their duties for a seamless transition upon retirement. Several generations of prominent Houses have served in the same ambassadorial positions for three to four generations.
The King may give individuals or families titles that count them as Noble Blood. This process is not unilateral; the King must get the approval of the Popular Assembly to do so and pass a declaration through the Courts to make it legally recognized. Certain titles come with lands, and certain ones cannot be inherited. Likewise the King may rescind titles from individuals or their entire families. This may involve stripping them of the lands associated with the title, the rights, and privileges of the title, or the entire title itself. The King must go through the same process for granting titles. Certain legal statutes mean people may have their Noble Blood status removed if they are convicted of certain crimes.
Government
Antora is a constitutional monarchy with a hereditary Monarch and a bicameral parliament, the Ministry of Popular Assembly (Ministro de Asamblea Popular.) It possesses a national judiciary, the Courts of Honor, and an executive branch ceremonially headed by the Monarch and run by the Royal Cabinet and Ministries.
Ministry of Popular Assembly
The Ministry of Popular Assembly (Ministro de Asamblea Popular) is the legislative branch of the Antoran government. It is separated into the upper House of the Nobility and the lower House of the Populace. There are 220 Representatives in the House of the Populace, one for every Province and major (above 100,000 residents) Municipality. The House of the Nobility, meanwhile, elects 20 Bailiffs, two from each District save Salasca, and the remaining 180 Lords are hereditary positions. However, both Bailiffs and Lords are peerage members and have the same privileges. The Representatives serve for three-year terms, Bailiffs for eight, and Lords for life. The Popular Assembly is headed by the Minister of the Popular Assembly, who nominates one Representative and one Bailiff to serve as the Mediator of their respective Houses for the duration of their terms. The Minister of the Popular Assembly has a seat on the Royal Cabinet. However, their role is mainly ceremonial as they have no administrative control over the happenings of the Assembly.
The Popular Assembly votes on laws and acts proposed by its members and holds control over prioritizing the national budget. The House of the Populace vote on proposed actions of the Royal Cabinet if such measures are budgetary. The House of the Nobility votes on actions if they are military or foreign policy related. In return, the laws and acts passed by the Assembly must receive Royal Assent to become legal, though refusal of Royal Assent on a given document can be circumvented by a four-fifths majority vote of both Houses. The House of the Nobility may override a vote made by the House of the Populace with a three-fifths majority and vice versa. Extant in both Houses are Boards that are responsible for areas of government mirroring that of the Royal Ministries, and work together with them on policy. Committees may also be formed by the Mediators of the Houses to investigate and address specific issues.
The Popular Assembly confirms executive appointments, including judges and First Ministers. The Prime Minister is elected from the House of the Populace, and all First Ministers must have served in either house to qualify for the position. The Assembly also has the power to dismiss any Prime or First Minister with a unanimous vote of no confidence. Similarly, with a unanimous vote of both Houses and the Royal Cabinet, the Monarch may be deposed in favor of another member of the Royal Family.
The major parties of the Assembly are the Chivalric Caucus (CC,) the Antora Progress Party (APP,) and the Environmental Stewards (ES.) These three parties are broadly liberal-leaning and always form a coalition together, which is known as the Antoran Liberal Pact. The CLP has controlled the House of the Populace for the past forty years, receiving the majority of seats each election. The Honorable Action Caucus (HAC,) the largest party in the 1900s, has recovered from its decline over the past 40 years in the 2022 election, winning 29 seats to become the second largest individual party in the Assembly. Many credit this with the reforms brought on by Astolfo de Naranza-Carratéo and Francisco Javier de Ferreira in exposing a Royalist coup plot. Another party to benefit from these events was the Feudalist Front (FF) which gained two seats and a large deal of public support for their centralist and militarist views against treason. Less important minor parties include the communist National Unity Party (NUP,) the economically-driven Coastal Prosperity Front (CPF,) the secessionist Island Freedom Caucus (IFC,) the culturally-focused Antoran Heritage Party (AHP,) the Anti-Monarchists (AM,) and the local-interest Reformed Cátras Party (RCP.)
Royal Cabinet
The executive branch consists of a twelve-member Royal Cabinet of Ministers, presided over by the Prime Minister and reigning Monarch. The Prime Minister is elected from the members of the Popular Assembly, nominated by their peers and approved by the Monarch. Approved candidates compete against each other in a popular election. The Prime Minister serve a six-year term and can be re-elected at the end of their term once. They appoint ambassadors, members of the Royal Cabinet, and a Second Minister as their deputy, again requisite to the approval of the Monarch and Popular Assembly.
The First Ministers serve as executive heads of government departments, exercising administrative control over their portfolios. First Ministers are required to have competency in their portfolio, and to dispense the functions of exercising their regulatory powers relating to their Ministry, countersigning the Monarch in matters within their portfolio, exercising their Ministry's lawful powers to enact the Laws passed by the Assembly, enforcing the Laws passed by the Assembly relating to their portfolio, developing their Ministry to reflect the changing national and international situations, and to communicate to the rest of the Royal Cabinet, the Prime Minister, and the Monarch when issues within their portfolio are poised to become more extensive in scope. To manage day-to-day control over the individual Ministries within their portfolios, First Ministers are permitted to appoint subordinate Ministers.
Certain Ministries originated in the First Constitution, while some were created more recently according to developing sciences, technologies, and ideas.
Monarch | ||||
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Portrait | Name | Style | Titles | Reign |
Sebastián II | Sovereign of Casilló y Réal Steward of Cátras Duke of Costa Tranquíla Count of Tranha, Zamocante, and Sojara Grand Master of the Chivalric Antoran Orders |
Royal Cabinet of Ministers | |||||
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Portrait | Minister | Portfolio | Department | Constituency | Term |
Francisco Javier de Ferreira | Duke of Sevitoria |
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Matias Goméz | |||||
Astolfo de Naranza-Carratéo | Prince of Antora |
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Marco Ruíz | |||||
Moses Guevara | Democratic Policy, and Public Security |
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Santiago Monte | Foreign Affairs, and Interconnectivity |
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Oscar Balderas | Taxation, and Coin |
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Beatriz Ávila | Technology, and Research |
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Raquel Alameda | Sovereign Protection, and War Doctrine |
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Aida Sahagún | Public Trust, and Mail Delivery |
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Miguel Angel Gálvez | Legal Enforcement, and Investigation |
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Unai Abarquero | Civil Works, and Transportation |
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Agustin Zaragoza | Medicine, and Public Saftey |
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Teo Bailén | History, and Culture |
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Hector Aragonés | Workers, and Unions |
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Xabier Riba | Fishing, and Foods |
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Iria Martín | Sustainability, and Pollution Elimination |
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Miguel Guerrero | Broadcasting, and Digital Technology |
Royal Powers of the Crown
The Monarch has some governmental power, though most of it is a formality and must be countersigned by appropriate parties such as the Prime Minister or Minister of the Assembly. Such powers are called the Royal Prerogative, Assent, Intent, and Action.
- The power to appoint the Prime Minister and to dismiss them. This power is reserved solely by the Monarch, and though they must appoint a candidate as nominated by the Popular Assembly, the Monarch may choose to appoint no candidate if none meets their approval. A unanimous vote of the Assembly can override the dismissal of the Prime Minister.
- The power to approve ministerial appointments made by the Prime Minister. The Popular Assembly votes on whether the appointees will act in the best interests of the Antoran people, but the Monarch has the final say over whether they are allowed on the Royal Cabinet. There is no mechanism to countermand this, and the Prime Minister must choose a new appointee if they do not get Royal Assent.
- The power to give assent to bills passed by the Popular Assembly, formally makeing the bills into law. The Monarch further directs the Prime Minister on enacting the law via the Royal Cabinet. The Monarch may refuse to give assent to a bill passed, but a supermajority of the Assembly may override them.
- The power to create and enact standards of lower importance than laws, such as Acts, Edicts, and Proclamations. These standards hold legal weight but may not remain in place after certain lengths of time. This power must be countersigned by a government party appropriate to the context.
- The power to designate a successor to the position of Monarch and to change or dismiss the succession. This authority is entirely the Monarch's and cannot be countermanded. However, the Popular Assembly can choose not to recognize the heir as legitimate upon the Monarch's abdication or death. At this point, the matter is taken over by the judiciary or put to a referendum.
- The power to create a referendum upon a particular issue. This power must be countersigned by the Prime Minister or at least half of the Royal Cabinet.
- The power to grant positions in the government, be they civil or military. The appropriate minister must countersign this power.
- The power to grant, create, rescind, and destroy honors, including knighthood, noble titles, lands, privileges, and merit awards.
- The power of creation, patronage, and destruction of Royal Institutions.
- The power to command the Royal Antoran Defense Forces. This power is usually delegated to the First Minister of the Armed Services and Prime Minister. However, the Monarch holds the official hereditary rank of Generalissimo-Rége, the highest military office in the nation, making decisions on national defense directly. Decisions that are suspect by the Royal Cabinet can be countermanded by a vote of at least half, or by a joint decision of the First Minister of the Armed Services and the Prime Minister.
- The power to appoint and dismiss members of the Royal Household.
- The power to use the budget of the Royal Household freely.
- The power to grant royal pardons, known as the Graceful Mercy of the Crown. The Monarch may only pardon persons as submitted by the First Minister of the Justice and reserves the right to pardon no one.
- The power to direct the Royal Cabinet to take certain actions. This requires a written Statement of Intent, which details the course of action the Monarch requires the Cabinet to take. The Cabinet reserves the right not to act on these Statements.
- The power to grant the Royal (Réal) title to establishments such as universities, sports teams, and infrastructure.
Foreign Policy
The foreign policy stance of Antora is to expand the nations' trade opportunities and close ties with regional powers. The nation does not have a specific ideological stance it promotes or adheres to, aside from abhorring absolute-rule governing styles such as communal authoritarianism or fascism. Many people of Antoran citizenship feel that there is no one correct way to run a nation, resulting in a very diverse caucus of governmental representatives, all along the political spectrum. This has led to Antora having regular relations with communist states, theocracies, and monarchies. Extensive military buildups, international interventionalist, and imperialist foreign policy stances are anathema to the Antoran government resulting in worse relations with certain countries. The strength of the Antoran economy and military, while sufficient for a nation of its size, are not enough to allow it to stand as a preeminent regional player, nor to deter foreign powers from attempting to interfere in Antoran matters. Therefore, the current diplomatic mandate of the government is to form bonds with other nations, develop close cultural, economic, and personal ties with those nations, and insert the Antoran state into organizations and alliances based around mutual benefit.
Antora achieved membership status in the League of Novaris on 11 November 2021, achieving one major long-term goal of foreign policy. The nation is represented on the Council by Sir Júlio Ezekiel de Zanpaí. Attempts were made to join various regional cooperatives during the 1900s, but ideological equilibrium only stabilized in the late 2010s for the Antoran government to consider pursuing membership seriously. Antora has contributed support in the condemnation of the unrecognized rebel Xaethos state in Alksearia, the condemnation and sanctioning of Biramura, and provides a significant portion of its foreign aid budget to the Novaris Aid and Development Office.
The country is a member of several League sub-organizations. The Novaris Transportation Commission, managing the Novaris Transportation Network, counts Antora as a member. The Antoran government has expressed interest in further integrating the continent via rail. This would allow the limited rail networks in western Antora to export more mineral resources to partners across Novaris. Additionally, the NTC has been pushed to implement standard road signs and gas station systems by Antoran diplomats.
The Conference for Amity and Cooperation was created as a joint venture between Antora, Cryria, Mexregiona, the Varentine League, and Älemsi Negdel to promote industrial, defense, and intelligence coordination between the participants. The CAC does not constitute a military alliance, but the intelligence services of each nation commonly collaborate, and several training and equipment agreements are in place.
Antora is a founding member of the Inter-Novaran Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, which includes Mirhaime, Sarvimaa, and Volscina. This alliance operates as a mutual defensive pact, and is considered by some as a de-facto rival to the Tolinsk Accords. Antora and the other INTRA members maintain the organization is strictly in place for mutual protection and security in the face of increased international terrorism and political tensions. Prince-Emeritus Astolfo de Naranza-Carratéo serves as the alliance's Vice Commander.
A strong sentiment exists in Antora that the nation should pursue a special relationship status with other countries of Impelantic descent, such as New Leganes and South Peragen. Many scholars argue that the shared linguistic and cultural heritage make an Impelantic community a foregone conclusion. Detractors have pointed out that these nations have vastly different priorities and foreign policy stances as the Antoran Kingdom thus such an initiative would be counterproductive in developing more equal relations with worthy partners.
In late 2021, the Antoran government condemned Norgsveldet and the Union of Commonwealth Alliances for their continued military interventions and excessive force. This has resulted in worsening diplomatic relations with several UCA states, including Aivintis, and garnered support from like-minded nations. The hardened stance against the UCA's activities has led to tensions with aligned nations like Tretrid and the temporary suspension of official embassies.
Military
The military of Antora is the Royal Antoran Defense Forces (Fuerza de Defensa de Antora Réal.) The commander-in-chief is the Monarch, currently Sebastián II. Next in line is the Prime Minister, and then the First Minister of the Armed Services. The FDAR is administrated by the General Staff Offices, with the bureaus of the Ministry of the Armed Services serving auxiliary roles, including developing the capabilities and doctrine to defend the nation against more powerful militaries. This has led to investments in advanced missile interception systems, interceptor aircraft, capable multirole warships, and hardened artillery networks. The FDAR are integrated on a strategic level with the militaries of Mirhaime, Sarvimaa, and Volscina as part of the INTRA defense pact, and maintains nuclear strike capability via Volscine-owned warheads.
The branches of the FDAR are:
- The Royal Antoran Armed Legions (Legiones Armas de Antora Réal)
- The Royal Antoran Armada (Armada de Antora Réal)
- The Royal Antoran Air Cavalry (Caballería Aérea de Antora Réal)
- The Royal Antoran Guard (Guarda de Antora Réal)
Previously, conscription was mandatory, but it was downgraded to universal basic training in 2005. All Antoran citizens upon reaching 17 years of age must report to the nearest Royal Antoran Guard office and sign up for Emergency Reserve Training, a seven-week course on basic military and survival skills. This training can be deferred up until citizens turn 30. There are three reserve groups: the Defense Reserve Guard, for semi-active and recently retired members of the military populace, the Emergency Wartime Reserve for those of good physical fitness and between 18 and 40 years of age, and the Emergency Support Reserve for those between 41 and 65 years of age.
Demographics
The population of Antora has grown steadily for the past century. In the Ministry of the Interior's 2018 Royal Corric Census, the number of citizens reached over 40 million. Most of the population is concentrated in the coastal regions and the central fertile valleys. Population density, therefore, is widely variable depending on the district. Avantana is the most heavily-populated district, while Julinazo is the least. The number of citizens doubled from 1920 to 1960, with an increase of 10 million thanks to the modernization of infrastructure and medicine. This boom is known as the Midcentury Miracle.
Antora’s citizens trend on the older side, with an average age of 38.8 years. The current birth rate is approximately 2.6 children per woman, above the required average replacement rate of 2.1 but significantly below the 4.4 children average in the 20th Century. Slowed birth rates are attributed to global trends such as interconnectivity, gender equity movements, and inflation.
Peoples
The Corric Second Constitution defines a people as "any group of individuals who, as a thinking species, share a cultural, national, or blood history." There are thirteen recognized sapient species under Antoran law; controversially, symphs and nekomimi are not explicitly classified as legal sapient individuals. Instead, symphs are considered nonsapient, and nekomimi are considered a sub-species of humans.
Antoran people make up 73% of the population. Defined as any individual who has either a genealogical ancestry to both Réoran and Arranzic ethnicities or is ethnically Antoran but does not identify as either Réoran or Arranzic, Antorans are the most-populous Impelantic ethnic group in Novaris. The other two Antoran Impelantic groups, Réorans are 9% of the population and 8% for Arranzics. These ethnicities include those who practice the historical traditions and culture of the groups and Antorans with majority ancestry in them.
The 10% of the population that is non-native is a mixture of different nationalities and races. The most significant of these groups is the Antoran Cava, a distinct pheontype that makes up around 4% of the Antoran population. These Cava are somewhat lighter-feathered than their Auroran cousins, with dark greys and blue feather pigmentations possible alongside black. After Cava are Antoran Aurians. Antoran Aurians are widely integrated into the larger society of Antora. Although genetically identical to their traditional Arcturian cousins, Aurians in Antora do not ascribe to the racial caste system and fill roles in society based on personal ability and interest rather than physiology. 2% of the population are Antoran Aurians.
After these two species, the remaining 4% of the population includes many different international ethnicities and species. This metropolitan mixture is concentrated in the coastal cities and the Salasca district. Prominent groups include Cryrians, Volkians, Tavari, Cukish, Peragan, Morst, Tretridian, Volscine, and Alkseari citizens. These groups include both legal citizens and visitors and have allowed other religions to practice in limited amounts. The most popular foreign religions are Thaerism, Ademarism, Akronism, and Tunseism.
International Citizens
The modern Antoran diaspora is estimated to be around 15 million individuals. This number has fallen from an estimated 20 million Antoran citizens living abroad in the 1980s, mainly due to political shifts and economic needs. The largest portion of the Diaspora is Corric. The Réoran and Arranzic diasporas are extremely small, estimated at less than 500 individuals. The largest international Antoran populations are in New Leganés and South Peragen, followed by Volscina and Tavaris. Antoran citizens live in significant numbers across Novaris and Yasteria, while their presence in Concord and Aurora is limited.
Urban Areas
Largest cities or towns in Antora
Royal Corric Census | |||||||||
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Rank | District | Pop. | |||||||
Porta Tranquíla Giroruña |
1 | Porta Tranquíla | District of Avantana | 3,802,922 | Eleçeron Tonderouca | ||||
2 | Giroruña | District of Tomaras | 2,256,349 | ||||||
3 | Eleçeron | Salasca Special District | 641,712 | ||||||
4 | Tonderouca | District of Málama | 606,579 | ||||||
5 | Porta Armada | District of Castijara | 472,099 | ||||||
6 | Iravala | Duchy of Irava, Málama | 470,828 | ||||||
7 | Descarai | District of Cartevedra | 470,623 | ||||||
8 | Covieles | District of Vizedora | 452,004 | ||||||
9 | Castevila | District of Elvacedo | 391,465 | ||||||
10 | Sevitoria | District of Marsalvano | 322,801 |
Languages
There are five officially recognized languages in Antora. The widest-spoken language is Corric, which is a dialect of Impelantic. Corric has not diverged much from the original language. It is spoken as a first language by approximately 83% of the population and as a second or third by another 14%. Staynish, while not a native language, is recognized as the global lingua franca and is spoken by around 36% of the population as a second language. The next-most spoken languages are Réoran and Arranzic. They are dialects of Impelantic that have evolved significantly further than Corric. They are spoken as a first language by around 6% of the population each, with a further 15% being able to speak them in a secondary or tertiary capacity. They are considered endangered languages, with fewer than 10,000 capable teachers.
The final official language is Petrovian. While spoken by less than 1% of the populace, it is the language used in . While spoken by less than 1% of the populace, it is the language used in Antora Votive scripture. Petrovian was enshrined into law as the Language of the Church in the First Consitution as a condition of the Righteous Antoran Church supporting the transition to democratic systems. It is currently only used during religious services or church leadership meetings.. Other languages that have small but significant populations of speakers are Cryrian, Ethalrian, Tretridian, and Volscine Norvian.
Economy
Antora’s economy, defined as mixed-capitalist for the significant role workers play in deciding employer policies, is the 55th largest on Urth and the 8th largest in Novaris.
Unemployment currently stands at 6.2% and is dropping, down from the 2010 unemployment rate of 12.7%. Weak points of the Antoran economy include a large informal economy, resistance to widespread fossil fuel use, a still-developing education system, and limited regular trade partners.
The 1960s and 70s saw a plateau in GDP growth. Certain sectors of the Antoran economy had become too specialized and had to restructure after the global shift towards manufacturing and service economies. As a result, GDP grew only 3.1% between 1965 and 1970, compared to the 12% growth between 1950 and 1955. Fishing, arms manufacture, and horse breeding, once staples of Antoran exports during the first decades of the 20th century, nearly vanished completely during this period. Each sector is healthy but contributes almost 40% less to GDP than before.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Antora invested heavily in renewable energy, green enterprises, and environmental action groups. Additional sources of significant private and government investment include the Dragonmont Corporation, the largest worker-owned cooperative in the nation, Heritage Inc., a decentralized community of traditional Antoran artisans, train manufacturers, textile companies, smart infrastructure, technology, and advanced agriculture.
Agriculture
Agriculture is the second-largest employer in the country and the largest single economic contributor, at 18.4% of GDP. Antora has an abundance of fertile soil at different elevations and acidities, making about 36% of the nation able to be used for agriculture. The practice of farming is deeply ingrained into Antoran culture. Many cities still possess farmland within their municipal limits, and often neighborhoods have communal gardens. Antora is the largest exporter of olive oil, citrus fruit, cereals, and tobacco in Novaris, with the production of these goods making up 28% of all agricultural output. 22% of farmland is used for animal husbandry, with 14% used as permanent pasture. Many animals are raised for their secondary products instead of their meat, with cheese, wool, milk, and manure contributing 7% of the agriculture exports. The nation is the largest breeder of horses in Novaris, with 200,000 head foaled in 2020.
Antoran farmers are adept at crop rotation. Due to little rain and lower soil quality, historical agriculture in Antora relied on several staple summer and winter crops. Many farms would have maize, fruit trees, wheat, and olives planted during the summer, and rotate in beets, cabbage, carrots, and pax fruits for the generally mild winter. This practice has grown to a point where most cultivated land harvests twice a year.
The government is currently expanding irrigation systems and modern sustainable farming. Most arable land relies on either a natural waterway or rainfall for irrigation, with around 17% using an irrigation system older than 50 years, while only 6% use a modern irrigation system. Areas in the western mountains are prone to high summer heat and limited rainfall, necessitating the growth of wheat, olives, grapes, and little else. The government's projections suggest that more up-to-date agriculture methods can boost the crop yield in this region by 320%, with an overall national boost of around 70%.
Antoran foodstuffs are also processed locally and shipped abroad. The largest processed export is juice, followed by vegetable oils, jams, wine, and baked goods.
Raw Materials
The raw materials industry in Antora is the third-largest single employer in the country and contributes 9.1% to the total GDP. The nation ranks among the highest for the variety of minerals extracted and produced.
In 2020, the mining and refining industries produced nearly 500 million tons of materials, with the most significant shares being zinc (5.21%,) gypsum (4.09%,) flourite (3.94%,) and copper (3.86%.) Antora does not produce large quantities of alloys and refined material. However, there is a moderate amount of domestic steel, gravel, and potash production and smaller localized production of other materials.
Antoran companies have invested $1.6 billion between 2015 and 2020 into various methods and equipment for mineral extraction. These initiatives include a $300 million contract developing carbon-neutral facilities for Anbareza Corporation mines and a $421 million investment by Kimaneó Holdings for carbon capture technology. As part of the 2022 Nystatiszna Conglomerate Scandal, the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of the Interior are working to nationalize three major Antoran mining companies including Anbareza and Kimaneó.
The lumber industry is also a significant part of the raw material sector, though much less developed than mining. Around 21% of Antora has forests, with 14% of that area again being zoned for lumber. Agroforestry and arboriculture contribute about 0.87% to GDP and produce between 450 thousand and 900 thousand planks and logs per year, depending on the harvestable product. Cedar is the most popular hardwood for harvest, followed by teak and elm. It is practice for farms growing olive trees to sell the rights to their dead trees to lumber firms.
Energy
The energy industry employs over 194,000 people and contributes 7.6% to GDP. Antora produces the majority of its energy (31.5%, or around 58,000 GWh,) from power sources that are generally renewable or else non-damaging to the environment. These include massive Tavari-built solar farms, wind turbines on land and offshore, noninvasive hydroelectric power, and some amounts of geothermal. While not the largest electricity producer in Novaris, the nation regularly exceeds its grid demand and can sell the excess to other nations. A further 28% of the energy produced is from biomass energy plants, while 20% is generated by coal plants and 14% by natural gas. The final 7% is made up of various other methods, including nuclear and petroleum.
The renewable energy industry in Antora is marked high for its scale and advancement. While importing material and labor, the infrastructure is mostly of Antoran design. Several patents on advanced wind and solar energy generation methods originate from Antoran inventors. Many cities and towns use miniaturized wind and water turbines and solar panels to power local infrastructure. Government grants and programs have enabled the green energy capabilities of Antora to grow 700% since 2000.
Tourism
Tourism in Antora sees around 22 million visitors a year, with most visiting the coastal regions. The industry provides 7.1% of the total GDP. The architecture, cuisine, beaches, and ocean ports remain the largest draw of the Antoran coast. Significant numbers also visit the Antoran interior, where the major attractions are outdoor activities, historical sites, architecture, and alcohol breweries. The capital of Eleçeron ranks seventh for tourism nationally, but first for destinations inland. The travel infrastructure, mainly centered around riverine and rail travel, provides visitors with many scenic views. Travel and transport companies have made strides to attract tourists by using more all-function trains and river cruises. A large portion of tourism comes from other "feudalistic" nations drawn by Antora's regional history of chivalry and nobility. This part of the industry has seen a notable increase since the spread of Antoran animated media during the 1980s.
Manufacturing
Antoran manufacturing is more limited than other nations but remains specialized enough to be a significant economic contributor. Factory and assembled goods make up 12.5% of the economy. This includes all industrial goods such as automobiles and the artisan goods like textiles, clothing, and furniture.
The manufacturing industry uses large portions of land that are not suitable for agriculture. Categories included are textiles, machines, transport, instruments, weapons, and arts.
The textile industry is vast, making up 23% of all manufactured items. Popular exports include sports jerseys, overcoats, summer wear, hats, athletic and hiking shoes, sandals, watches, ponchos, and undergarments, but the largest textile products are wool, cotton, felt, rugs, drapes, and carpeting. Significant amounts of Antoran textiles are hand-made and are considered a cultural heritage.
Machines are often industrially manufactured and include large amounts of infrastructure and components for larger machines. Items included in this category are valves, insulated wire, transmissions, engines, air conditioners, gas turbines, and heat sinks. Machines accounted for 17% of manufactured exports in 2020.
Transport is a vitally important industry for Antora, contributing 20%. Trucks comprise the largest part of manufactured vehicles, followed by airplanes, cargo vessels, helicopters, cars, and fishing vessels. Antoran industry builds nearly 2 million trucks of various types annually. In addition, many airplanes built for military use have been so successful that they are in use worldwide in civilian and emergency services roles. While the nation does not have any canals itself, the river system offers conditions well-suited to smaller container ships. Antoran shipyards specialize in dry bulk and container vessels of less than 400 feet.
Instruments are a smaller industry, with the Antoran sciences on delicate systems being less sophisticated than other nations. At 12% of the manufacturing economy, the primary instruments exports are medical tools, orthopedic appliances, gyroscopes, thermostats, thermometers, chemical processing equipment, speedometers, and altimeters.
The Antoran arms industry supplies firearms, ammunition, aircraft, watercraft, and explosives to the domestic military. Specialties include helicopters, transport aircraft, small-scale warships, rifles, and artillery. Exports of these items reached an estimated $45 billion in 2020. Antora does import certain arms from foreign suppliers due to the lagging modernity of domestic manufacturers, which are attempting to develop designs on par with international standards. In total, arms made up 18% of manufactured exports.
Arts is the smallest manufactured industry, providing 10% of the market. The Antoran arts community is large but follows a more traditional and artisanal approach. Most implements and supplies are hand-made by the artist or a small business owner. Internationally, Antoran art supplies are highly prized for their durability, natural feel, higher quality, and environmental friendliness. Art also includes furniture, which is often carved rather than cut. The largest art products are prints and paintings, followed by chairs, tables, paintbrushes, bedframes, easels, pencils, dressers, charcoal, mirrors, erasers, pigments, cabinetry, sculptures, and clay.
Culture
Antora is a highly cultured nation with a heritage stretching back to the early 3rd Century BCE. It is an Enlightened Coast nation, defined by Antoran philosopher Erik Vael Hernandéz in 1799. Large portions of Antoran culture, like language, architecture, and agriculture, have derived from its start as an Impelanzan colony, providing its status as a significant Impelantic descendant state. Religion has also played a large part in Antoran development; Tunseism and the Votive Way, in particular, shaped many traditions and beliefs and are still practiced today across the country. Cuisine is one of the most prominent pillars of Antoran culture, influenced by the geographic region and the extensive trade network of the 17th and 18th centuries. This network allowed Antora to contact and absorb aspects of many international cultures. One of the largest collections of Antoran arts and culture is the Cultural Foundation for Antoran Peoples Center, a massive museum and archive in central Porta Tranquíla. Several cultural sites are included on the ICHO heritage rolls.
Global Heritage Sites
Antora possesses nine locations designated as Global Heritage Sites by the International Cultural Heritage Organization, including the majority of the Nevadres Mountains as the Nevadres National Park, the royal residence at the Palace of the Tranquil Coast, and the Eleçeron Riverfront. There are four more sites currently pending approval. Antora also holds two Global Intangible Heritages in its Chivalry and the Votive Way.
Architecture
Antoran architecture draws from many heritages and influences. The humans from southern Arcturia that settled the Antora region brought the Impelantic architectural style. Almost all Antoran buildings from the early 1st Millenium are variations of these styles. The city of Porta Armada is the most prominent surviving example of Impelantic architecture in Antora. A derivative style, known as Antoran Impelantic, developed over the 4th Century. This style informed much of the aesthetic and proportional languages of later Antoran architecture. Hallmarks of traditional Antoran styles such as Deseré include fired clay roofing, colorful window settings, and a washed stone exterior.
Some styles in the northern regions incorporated ideas from the Pax architectural styles. In the 6th Century, the Vedra style became popular, combining Tunseist, Impelantic, and Pax architectural languages. The Vedra style combined traditional mosaics and frescos with patterned structures and decorative stonework to create intricate designs and optical effects. The style eventually gave rise to the NeoVedra school in the 14th Century. Cathedrals, castles, and monuments built by NeoVedra architects are considered some of the most important architectural heritage sites of northern Antora.
Modern architecture and international standards blended with Antoran traditions to create the Corinteró style in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Important architectural schools such as the Ganuá Academy are responsible for many landmarks in modern sections of Antoran cities in the Corinteró style. An ultramodernist style currently expanding within the country is the Tranquíla school, named for its emergence in Porta Tranquíla.
Scripture
The Votive Way scripture first was published in the mid-12th Century. It has since expanded to include many works of theology and doctrine. These works include the widely-known compilation of Votive beliefs and aspects by King Gael in 1109, The Spirit of Love, Community, and the World: Votive Rituals and Practices, also known as Gael's Tome. This book is credited as being the first official compendium of Votive pracitces and is accepted as the work that brought the Votive belief system into the mainstream. Other religious literature includes Chacel's 1388 The Eyes of the People, Goyisoto's 1431 Ruminations on the Theology of Antora, and Lorca's 1695 All Things. Antoran scripture has influenced the legal sphere due to several archaic laws based on spritiual philosophy still being enforced. These include a prohibition on capital punishment and persecution of other religions and peoples, with quotations in the law directly lifted from Gael's Tome.
While not considered by some theologists and literary scholars as doctrine, the famous 1711 work The Mind and Soul in Cooperation with the Spheres written by Juan Gamonéna is commonly considered a piece of scripture. Its subjects include the practical anthropological relationships between belief systems and religions worldwide. In the second half of the book, Gamonéna posits that all people worship different aspects of the same deific force in theological terms, and all religions should therefore be treated as parts of a single spiritual whole. This argument has become a mainstream part of the Votive Way. Many practitioners have no exposure to the book but can detail most of its ideas.
Literature
Antoran literature is very diverse. The nation hosts many publishing houses and book vendors responsible for a large percentage of Impelantic translation prints and publishing in Novaris. Well-known genres of literature include fantasy, romance, and historical fiction, as well as intellectual subjects such as martial arts manuals, chivalric studies, and theology. There is a long history of the written word in Antora; the first scripts recorded are carvings and scrollwork from the Impelanzan colonists in the Fourth Century. These detail aspects of everyday life and more prosaic subjects such as love, architecture, and religion.
Antoran authors created many remarkable works on chivalry and feudalistic society during the middle ages. Philosophical works such as de Cartevija's To Become an Ideal Cavalier (Convertirse en un Perfecto Caballero), and de Vries' Holy Actions of the Noble Man (Acciones Santas del Hombre Noble) remain popular volumes for anthropologists and scholars. At the same time, the fictional stories within The Great Deeds (Las Estupenda Hazañas) and Fifteen Virtues (Quince Virtudes) are widely regarded as classic examples of chivalric court prose.
Various military anthologies were written between 1400 and 1700 by Antoran generals and admirals, and some remain standout texts used in formal strategic education. For example, the Total Sum of Warfare (Suma Total de la Guerra) by Generalissimo-Rege Victor is required reading at the Descarai Combat Academy.
During the Rennaisance of the Mind during the mid-1700s to mid-1800s, scholars produced a variety of works on geopolitics, society, philosophy, cognition, and theology. One important work from this period is Hernandéz's Nations Developing a Global Presence Through Waterborne Trade (Naciones que Desarrollan una Presencia Mundial a Través del Comercio Marítimo,) which popularized the idea of the Enlightened Coast.
Antora was the birthplace of several noteworthy authors during the Expression movement, including Jean Gabriel de la Crúz, writer of the Antoran Classic I, Myself, am Lost (Yo Mismo Estoy Perdido.) Other writers of this period include Xabier Valdovinos, Nahia Castillero, and Arlet Álvarez. Many works published by Expression authors are still sold today in many languages and form part of literature curriculums in Antoran schools.
The Antoran Union of Journalists handles most news publications and current events sources in Antora. Founded in 1871 with the popularization of broadsheet newspapers, the AUJ is a workers-rights, collective-bargaining, bias-prevention, and information distribution association that serves as an impartial publisher of Antoran news. The Union acts as a go-between for journalists and their editors and executives, as well as the publications and the Antoran government.
Music
Antoran music is varied and contains many elements and genres. Girogía is the most famous style of Antoran folk music. It is characterized by acoustic guitars and musical steps known as trestiempos, but artists commonly combine this with other genres like orchestral arrangements and electronic music. Girogía has evolved from traditional southern Antoran folk music and enjoys the most popularity in the south, but can be found throughout the nation. Folk music from other regions of the nation has been relatively uninfluenced by these traditions, especially in Réoran-majority areas. It is said each town has a unique music piece for each festival.
Antora has produced many highly-regarded musicians including the classical composers Brais Valverde, Youssef Domínguez, and Aida Ferreira, as well as contemporary orchestral artists Ana Belen Tarragona and Juan Carlos Gálvez. Antoran singers including Iago Criado, Ana Belen Morata, Maialen, and Alejandro Cueva are popular internationally and are prominent domestic celebrities. The Antoran music industry is vibrant, with genres such as metal, pop, hip hop, and rock professionally represented. The nation hosts the bi-annual musical festival Amor Electrico which showcases new and established artists in the techno and dance music scene.
There are more than twenty-five professional orchestras in the country. These include the Royal Antoran Armed Services Pageant Band, the Royal Orchestra of House Naranza-Carratéo, and the Costa Tranquíla Philharmonic Orchestra. Traditional musical entertainment such as opera and musical theater are popular, though they have diminished recently. Antora is credited to have popularized the technique of punctuacíon triple, in which a musical piece will be scored three times with traditional instruments, vocals, and electronic instruments to harmonize together.
Cinema
Antoran cinema is a small but thriving industry. Pictures that have achieved significant acclaim include The Fireflies and All Men of Honor. The Royal Antoran Cinema Society manages the promotion and advancement of the cinematic arts and sciences and presents the Mañue Awards annually to important contributors to these subjects. Directors and producers that are internationally known include Cristian Caballero, Brais Peña, Maria Del Mar Jiménez, Mario Santolaria, Yanira Rivera, and Juan Carlos Tarragona. The film industry in Antora is known for its wide use of practical effects and commitment to authenticity. A notable film that makes use of practical effects is Eighteen Souls and a Prayer, a war film that used functioning airplanes and live ammunition for several scenes.
Antoran actors often attend the Julinazo Film Academy to acquire method and language skills. Famous actors who have appeared in critically acclaimed and varied roles like Gema Ávila, Ian Batanero, Juan Antonio Coll, and Laia Valladares are alumni of the Film Academy. In 2011, King Sebastián II knighted actor Luis Miguel Herrera as a Knight-Sergeant of Antora for his 'critical service in bringing the vibrancy and chivalry of Antoran culture to the international community.' Herrera's roles in films based on Antoran folk tales and history are widely regarded as both engaging and historically accurate.
The animation industry in Antora is similarly small but considered a major cultural focus for younger generations. The largest studio, El Nuestro De Captivar, produces many of the most famous Impelantic-language animated shows and films. The studio's largest property, the space opera mech franchise Aventuras Entre Las Estrellas, has grossed over 4 billion Regnes since its creation in 1981.
Sports
Antora is a highly athletic state, though it does not have as many competitive sports teams as other nations. The most popular sport in the country is football, with practice ranging from national-level sponsored teams to neighborhood games between children. This sport originated from abroad and became popular in a primitive form in the late 1800s. Antoran football teams are respectable if average on the international field. Notably, no Antoran team has ever won the World Cup, and many years do not qualify. Regardless of this, it remains the most-participated and watched sport for its athletic benefits and entertainment value.
Native to the country is the Tournament of Saint Marta, the global championship for Historical Armoured Martial Arts. Antora is considered the birthplace of modern competitive HAMA, having kept the practice alive within the culture of knighthood and chivalry that still permeates the nation. Each Duchy, County, and Barony in the country has a HAMA team, called Companies, using the arms of their province as team colors. Antoran HAMA tournaments can consist of individual entrant events or team-based competitions. The competitions are known as hastiludes and include quintain, jousting, passes of arms, melee, mounted and foot archery, and wrestling. The stadiums for this sport, taking their name from the competitions, are called Hastilidiums. The Tournament of Saint Marta itself is a triathlon of jousting, wrestling, and melee. The Administrative Board of Armoured Martial Arts, the international oversight body for HAMA, is headquartered in Eleçeron.
Horse-racing is popular in Antora and exists in its unique practice. While the typical races of thoroughbreds exist, the Antoran style evolved from a tradition of evaluating warhorses. These competitions feature conditions more akin to motorbike races or cross-country rallies. Horses bred for Antoran horse-racing exemplify the qualities of destriers, being high of the shoulder, powerfully muscled, and thick-legged. Speed is not as valued as endurance and strength. It is common practice for champion racehorses to be retired after four wins, after which they become breeding studs or are bought by HAMA athletes for jousting.
Other popular sports in Antora are rugby, tennis, various forms of regional handball, golf, swimming, marathons, and stock and rally car racing. The nation's automotive industry is well-regarded for its ability to engineer rugged and powerful racecars that find use in many international competitions by native and foreign drivers.
Cuisine
Antoran cuisine draws heavily on the geography and culture of the Antora region and is known for heavy use of vegetable and fruit products and flavorings alongside traditional spices. Principal ingredients are influenced by availability, with seafood and fish being more common coastally and heavier meats available inland. Antoran people widely recognize four distinct categories of cuisine:
Northern cuisine is considered those traditional foods from the northern coast and northeast inland region. It makes heavy use of seafood, found in roasted and fried dishes, hot and cold soups, and eaten raw. It also uses fruit as a seasoning and complementary ingredient, such as pirta (lemon rice.) A traditional delicacy of Northern cuisine is atún con paxas (slow-grilled steak tuna on baby pax fruits fried in olive oil) on a bed of pirta with a side of asparagus, mushrooms, and figs.
Southern cuisine comes from the southern coast and parts of the southern inland region. While seafood is still an integral part of the dishes, baked goods, vegetables, and poultry are also prominent. In addition, Southern cuisine is known for its desserts, including pies, pastries, and honey-dipped candies. Dishes commonly considered Southern staples include pecuedé (salted fish with vegetables, usually spinach and tomato, and blue cheese on sour bread) and encuéras (thick pastries with a honey glaze and jellied fruit preserves inside.)
Valley cuisine developed in central Antora’s river valleys and farming communities and involves heavy use of milk, cheese, beef, and goat meat alongside vegetables and various rich spices. Valley regions produce foods with long shelf lives like jámon valé (smoked, salted, and spiced bacon) and curín cheese. A traditional peasant dish that has evolved into a fixture of Antoran culture, guinzio (creamy tomato soup with bacon, served with rye bread and olive oil) and its many variations are considered Valley cuisine.
Upland cuisine is a smaller but distinct category that comes from the western portions of inland Antora. Due to the dryer climate, Uplands food focuses heavily on ingredients such as wheat, olives, figs, maize, and mutton. Bread products, fig preserves, and dipping sauces from the western regions are well known for their use in communal events and sharable platters. Cordero con maízturo (roasted lamb legs with oregano and mustard, served on corn and crispbread) is an Upland delicacy.
Festivals
The Antoran culture places heavy importance on celebrating. People gather for holidays and festivals to show acceptance for the events of life and celebrate achievements in the community. Certain festivals are viewed as essential to good luck, and those that do not participate are seen with varying degrees of pity and suspicion. There are nearly 130 different national holidays, each with its customs and traditions, with 60 of those also having government-mandated moratoriums on working for most, and triple overtime for essential workers. The Monarch retains the power to, on the advice of the Royal Cabinet, declare certain days to be work-free holidays on a temporary or permanent basis. The government allows work holidays for religious groups that make up at least 1% of the population.
Many Antoran festivals are simple occaisons wherein private family gatherings are observed, but major holidays can generate events that draw enourmous crowds. There are several renowned Antoran festivals that are celebrated worldwide by the Antoran diaspora.
La Fiesta de Santo Abrosius
La Fiesta de Santo Abrosius is the feast day of the patron saint of Antora and the most prominent religious holiday in the country. The festivities begin the second Friday in May and typically last until the following Monday, though certain parts of the nation can see them end on Wednesday. The holiday traditions include paper decorations either chained together or pattern-cut from long reams, as well as ringed candles, the iconography of Saint Abrosius, and incense, if affordable. The colors of Saint Abrosius are green and white and permeate almost every decoration. This has earned the holiday the appellation "La Verde y Blanco." The Fiesta de Santo Abrosius follows a four-day pattern that mirrors the life of the Saint.
Friday will involve intimate family gatherings and the serving of typical Antoran peasant food such as pirta (lemon rice,) either guinzio (tomato and bacon soup with bread and olive oil) or pecuedé (salted fish with spinach, tomato, and blue cheese on sour bread) depending on the region, and paprer y yogur (a fruit pastry served with sweet dipping yogurt.) Older members of families will encourage children to share interesting experiences they have had in the past year and will in turn share life wisdom. This part of the festival, known as humilidad, evokes the simple upbringing of the Saint.
The Saturday events are much more communal, involving families traveling around and exchanging gifts and stories with each other. These gifts usually take the form of whatever the family can produce on its own, such as blankets or cheese or woodcarvings. While traditional for travel to take place within a single neighborhood or town, some choose to make day-long journeys to other municipalities and provinces in the spirit of the day. Saturday is a reflection of Saint Abrosius' travels as a young man spreading wisdom and facilitating exchanges of good-will and necessities between the people of Antora. It is thus known as the erranté.
Sunday is the most lively of the festival days, known as the ascensión. It celebrates the miracles and holy wisdom of Saint Abrosius as he, according to tradition, was empowered to heal the divisions between the nations of Antora through community and spirit. Public spaces, streets, and the outsides of houses will be decorated with colored streamers, ribbons, and flags. Churches and other religious establishments of the various Votive aspects will open their doors to the population and host celebrations in lieu of the traditional Sunday gatherings. All regardless of status or religion are welcome to these events, which often include free food, entertainment such as movies or puppet shows, and clergy reading scripture about Saint Abrosius. Varying importance on certain miracles can be seen across the country. Some communities will have celebrations in public squares with a large drinking fountain made to look like a cliff, to evoke the story of Saint Abrosius calling forth water from rock to help a town whose well dried up. Other areas place more importance upon the story of the Saint calling forth a wave that carried fish to starving coastal towns, and celebrate it by holding fishing competitions and communal seafood cooking. All festivities on Sunday involve large public dances, live music, and the singing of hymns at sunset.
Monday, in contrast, is known as the exilio, and is the most somber part of the festival. It is themed after death and loss, for the exile of Saint Abrosius by an irate lord and his death on the road trying to protect a woman from highwaymen. People will hold private family gatherings to rest and recuperate from the previous day, which are contemplative and usually without much celebratory energy. Some customs include the lighting of votive candles at a shrine for missing, dead, or absent family members. Exilio decorations tend towards minimal black textiles and clothing, though white headbands are included as a reminder that the Saint is still present spiritually. The traditional dinner for this day includes the same dishes as the humilidad with the addition of spiced orange rum and smoked ham, items with which the Saint offered to share with his killers in the spirit of brotherhood. Some families and communities continue the festival into Tuesday and Wednesday, although this falls outside of established tradition. These two days will involve la siesta, the rest period of the Saint as a spirit, and the continuación, which is a microcosm of the entire festival as a reflection of Saint Abrosius' influence on the living.
Elements of the Antoran diaspora also celebrate this holiday. Depending on community size, festivities can range from a floor of an apartment building, a street, or even entire sections of town. The largest Antoran community outside the nation is in Volscina, followed by Packilvania. These see moderately sized celebrations that are quite similar in scale and scope to their homeland. The Fiesta de Santo Abrosius' good cheer, inclusivity, and gift-giving contribute to the acceptance of Antoran immigrants in many nations.
Harvestide
Harvestide is an amalgamated holiday from the Votive Way, Tunseism, Antoran history, and international sources. The festivities fall on the 20th of November. Historically, this is when the summer harvest taxes were due in the Kingdom of Avantana. The king would give out rewards to his loyal lords by tradition, in acknowledgment of their fealty and the work of their people. These traditions evolved into more elaborate celebrations of the collective efforts of the common folk, and the cultural bonds of the Antoran people. Lords would invite their noble subjects to a feast on tax day, where they would provide gifts and entertainment in times of plenty and a meal and camaraderie in times of hardship. The first son of a lord would traditionally entertain his father's pledged nobles; his father would attend the feast of his liege. On the lowest rung of nobility, the sons of Viscounts would invite prominent members of the heredad to a feast, usually wealthy merchants and knights. All heredads would provide some generosity to the peasantry, usually in free drinks or meals at a local business. As the influences of Votive practice became more widespread, the clergy saw the celebration of community effort that the Tax Feast involved. The Righteous Antoran Church recognized the similarities in the holiday to their values on equality and acknowledging all contributions to society.
In the mid-1400s, the Tax Feast became a mixture of political, social, and spiritual celebration and would soon be named Harvestide by the Church. Thanks to donations, the Church subsidized the celebrations for the common people. Farmers and craftspeople received a wooden tally chit for their taxes, which had several uses. They could show it at inns and taverns for free meals, which the Church would reimburse for the establishment, or they could exchange it in return for being sent seed and supply for the winter harvest. The Church would also provide sermons and blessings at gatherings of the nobility, which often focused on thanks-giving and the appreciation of the efforts of the working class. In addition, more prominent religious institutes such as cathedrals and monasteries hosted "Street Feasts" for the impoverished. Harvestide also coincided with settling debts, the shipment of goods, and a rest period after a summer of work. These elements combined and made the holiday what it is in the modern period.
Modern Harvestide takes place from noon on the 20th of November to sunset on the 21st, beginning with the submission of tax forms in a pseudo-celebration of patriotism called la gran sumisión. The tradition of giving gifts and charity still survives, and it is common for employers to provide employees with raises, tokens of appreciation, and food. The nobility will still invite their most prominent taxpayers and subordinate lords to day-long parties. At or around sunset on the 20th, the traditional meal of Trabajo del Verano will be eaten. This meal consists of foods customarily associated with the Antoran summer harvest, such as fruit, olives, corn, chickens, and cows, made into various pies, stews, sauces, and baked dishes. Following the meal, a procession called a monstrado to the nearest church or community center will occur, where people will sign hymns of appreciation for the food and family they have. At the end of these hymns, the presiding clergy member will read aloud notable accomplishments by community members. People are encouraged to contribute things they are thankful for. Once completed, the monstrado will disperse back to homes for the Archbishop and Monarch broadcasts on radio and television at 9 pm. The Archbishop will read a list of extraordinary accomplishments over the summer and autumn by Corric citizens. The Monarch will read a list of deeds and accomplishments by Antoran citizens that contributed to national peace, moral righteousness, and cooperation. The festivities end with a light dessert, and the entire day of the 21st is free and unplanned so people can relax however they wish.
Corric Tax Day
An associated holiday to Harvestide is Corric Tax Day, on the 22nd of November. The government and Church will provide free meals and gifts to the Royal Antoran Ministry of Taxation workers, who have to sort through a backlog of millions of tax forms submitted two days prior. Employees can pull as much overtime as they want and are excused from work for at least two days once they complete their assigned docket of paperwork. In addition, specific neighborhoods near Royal Taxation Ministry offices will prepare meals and drinks to deliver to their local office.
Festival of Honor
The Festival of Honor is a Votive holiday that occurs every April 12th. It is derived from the aspecto de todos son uno (all are one,) which posits that exlusivity and impermeability between different nationalities, ethnicities, species, and other demographic identifiers is essentially impossible at a basic level. The Votive belief that all things in existence emenate from a singular cosmotheological source, and thus cannot be entirely seperate, has existed since at least the 10th century. First records of todos son uno are attributed to Señora Miriam de Lísse, a community elder and spiritual leader who lived and worked in modern-day Julinazo. She is venerated as a Santa for her work in exploring the principles and applications of todos son uno, including its use in relation to concepts such as nationality, gender, and commerce. Histories suggest that King Gael, author of the first definitive work on Votive practices and beliefs, met personally with Señora de Lísse in her final years during his writing of Gael's Tome. The Festival of Honor takes many ideas from these first-edition scriptures. In 1962, the festival was declared a work-free national holiday by King Benito Ares I, and sees celebrations by nearly 100% of the Antoran population, even those who do not practice any Votive customs.
See Also
- Antoran Chivalry
- Votive Way
- Descarai
- Porta Armada
- Porta Tranquíla
- Sebastián II
- The Company of the Quill