Antora: Difference between revisions

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|leader_name1 = [[Sebastián II de Naranza]]
|leader_title2 = Primer Ministro
|leader_name2 = [[GabriellaFrancisco Javier de Ferreira Orellana]]
|leader_title3 = Segundo Ministro
|leader_name3 = DiegoMatias EscuerdoGoméz
|legislature = Ministro de Asamblea Popular
|upper_house = Cámara de la Nobleza
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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 lags behind other Novaran nations as 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|League of Novaris]], as well as a founding member of the [[Conference for Amity and Cooperation]] and the [[Inter-Novaran Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance]].
 
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== Etymology ==
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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 a member of the Popular Assembly nominated by their peers and approved by the Monarch. A mixed popular-and-parliamentary voting system elects them. 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 specific government departments, exercising administrative day-to-day control over their portfolios. First Ministers are required to have a 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.
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[[File:Edifici amb torre al port de València.JPG|thumb|200x200px|The [[Volkia|Volkian]] Embassy in the Casa de Rojó, [[Porta Tranquíla]]|alt=The Volkian Embassy in the Casa de Rojó, Porta Tranquíla. A building next to a park in a city. It is five stories tall and made of red brick, with a stepped red flat roof. A belltower made of smooth marble rises from the back left corner.]]The foreign policy stance of Antora is to expand the nations' trade opportunities and close ties with [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_power 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. 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 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_sanctions condemnation] of the unrecognized rebel Xaethos state in [[Alksearia]], the condemnation and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_sanctions sanctioning] of [[BaykaliaBiramura]], and provides a significant portion of its [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aid foreign aid] budget to the Novaris Aid and Development Office. The nation is represented on the Council by Sir [[Júlio Ezekiel de Zanpaí]].
 
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.
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=== 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, 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 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment 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 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropology 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.
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The Antoran culture places heavy importance on celebrating. It is seen as an acceptance of the events of life and a celebration of achievement when people gather for holidays and festivals. 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 maintains its secular policymaking stance but allows work holidays for religious groups that make up at least 1% of the population.
 
Many Antoran festivals are timessimple whenoccaisons wherein private family gathersgatherings are observed, but major eventsholidays can drawgenerate crowdsevents upwardsthat ofdraw tenenourmous thousandcrowds. There are several renowned Antoran festivals that are celebrated worldwide by the Antoran diaspora.
 
==== La Fiesta de Santo Abrosius ====
TheLa Fiesta de Santo Abrosius is the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendar_of_saints 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. The first day involves small family gatherings and sharing stories and traditional Antoran peasant food. The second sees families travel around their neighborhoods and towns exchanging stories and handmade gifts. The third is a national celebration, with large crowds, music, communal cooking, and events held by churches. The fourth and last day is less active, a somber day dedicated to absent or dead family.
[[File:Badge of the Order of Alcantara.svg|thumb|200x200px|The Cross of Saint Abrosius]]
 
The Fiesta de Santo Abrosius is the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendar_of_saints 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. The first day involves small family gatherings and sharing stories and traditional Antoran peasant food. The second sees families travel around their neighborhoods and towns exchanging stories and handmade gifts. The third is a national celebration, with large crowds, music, communal cooking, and events held by churches. The fourth and last day is less active, a somber day dedicated to absent or dead family.
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.
[[File:Badge of the Order of Alcantara.svg|thumb|200x200px|The Cross of Saint Abrosius]]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 ''errante.''
 
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.
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In the mid-1400s, the Tax Feast became a mixture of political, social, and religious celebration and would soon be renamed Harvestide by the Church. Due to donations, the Righteous Antoran 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 the holiday became 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 grand procession called a ''monstrado'' to the nearest Churchchurch or holycommunity sitecenter 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, as well. Once completed, thisthe ''monstrado'' will disperse back to homes to catch 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 internationaldeeds eventsand 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.
 
==== 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.
 
==== Corric Tax Day ====
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