Axdel

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The Federation of Axdel
Flag Seal
Motto: "Land of Renaissance"
Anthem: "Axdelia the Peaceful"
(from left to right) The Kolstream islands, Axdel, and the Indigo islands
Location	Aurora
Capital and largest city	Andel
Official languages	Axdelian
Recognised regional languages	Staynish Language
Ethnic groups (2020 Census)	79.1% Human 20.3% Lupine 0.6% Other Species 44.7% Korstazian 41.1% Lyrevalian 5.7% Morstaybishlian 4.2% Quartz fernian 3.7 % Emberitian 1.0% Other
Demonym(s)	Axdel, Axdels, Axdelian
Government	Federal Semi-presidential Republic
• President	Diego Corbinn
• Vice President	Marcos Aviolo
Legislature	National Assembly
Area
• Total	2,371,460 km2 (915,630 sq mi)
Population
• 2021 estimate	125,985,309
• 2020 census	125,732,844
• Density	53/km2 (137.3/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	2021 estimate
• Total	♅4,122,779,955,487
• Per capita	♅32,790
Gini (2020)	23.1 low
SDI (2016)	0.909 very high
Currency	Kirib (♅)
Date format	DD/MM/YYYY
Driving side	the left
ISO 3166 code	AXD
Internet TLD	.axd

Axdel (Axdan: Axdelia), officially known as The Federation of Axdel, is a sovereign federal state which unites the three countries of Korstazia, Lyrevale and Quartz Fern Coast. It is situated on the Axdelian peninsula of South-West Aurora bordering the nations of Emberwood Coast, Great Morstaybishlia, and Oceansend, as well as having a maritime border with Valerica to the south. It is the second largest by land area on the continent. The largest and capital city of Andel is a megacity with 11 million people, followed by Fenrir with 9 million.

Since the iron age, the region was dominated by the Kormistazic empire and its satellite states. The Norvians invaded the area in the 4th century and established many kingdoms in the north, though were ultimately reabsorbed. The Kormistazic Empire also established and administered colonial territories on Arcturia for several centuries. After a five decade long series of invasions by Morstaybishlia in the 16th century, the area was incorporated into the empire and was known as Korstazia, later becoming a principality. The Auroran Imperial War saw Korstazia gain independence as Norograd, before Axdel was founded after the Norograd Civil War in 1996. The majority of Quartz Fern Coast was incorporated in 2003 in a referendum following the collapse of its government in the years prior.

Axdel is a developed nation and is considered a regional power with the 2rd largest GDP and miltary budget on Aurora. It is also one of the largest countries by surface area on Urth, possessing the the 5th largest territory on land and having the 10th largest population as of early 2021. It also ranks highly in metrics of civil rights, education rates, income equality, and general quality of life.

Axdel is a largely temperate nation with significant deciduous forest coverage and fertile land which has been extensively used for agriculture. The climate ranges from humid subtropical along the north coast, humid continental in the interior regions and temperate oceanic along the southern coast. The nation is very mountainous, with the Zycannes range terminating along the Eastern border, the expansive Teba Mountains dominating the interior and forming the nation's backbone, and the Auric mountains flanking the west coast. Axdel has a highly diverse economy and generates income from various sources, the largest sectors being energy, manufacturing, mining, and agricultural exports. Other notable contributors are international education, tourism, and information technology.

Axdel is a member state of the United Nations of the Auroran Continent (also being the seat of the Auroran Court of Justice), and the Intercontinental Regional Security Accords, and uses the multinational Kirib(♅) as its currency alongside many other Auroran Nations.

History

Precivilisation

It has been hypothesised that the Axdelian peninsula and several other areas of Aurora were inhabited by a now-extinct sapient species before the first migration of anatomically modern Elves and Humans into aurora. The theory emerged as a response to the complete absence of elves and early human species in multiple regions up until the beginning of the last interglacial period, with biologist Varen Buzela hypothesising in 1886 that it could be due to competition with an undiscovered race. His idea was somewhat popular, however due no such competitor species being found it was dismissed by many of his contemporaries, though the underlying issue persisted. In 1899, the palaeontologist Felip Smith claimed to have discovered leg bones belonging to an extinct species of sentient, upright-standing avians at a site in the Molvian Corridor. He named it Cava Man, and produced a paper theorising that the species went extinct after the arrival of modern humans. The scientific community at the time was divided until the Morstaybishlian royal society purchased the remains in 1902 and dubiously classified them as belonging to an extinct species of ratites. Smith's theories were rejected and replaced with the dominant theory of heavy, persistent glaciation fuelled by Sempiternan ocean currents preventing habitation instead.

In 2021 the discovery of multiple nearly complete skeletons in the Teba mountains brought the idea back to the mainstream. The skeletons possess hollow bone structure, upright bipedal stature and large volume craniums. Several tools were found alongside them indicating a level of technological advancement consistent with that of a Neolithic society. As the remains have been dated to approximately 25000 BCE, this would have made them considerably more advanced than any other species on Urth at the time which would have still been hunter gatherers. Early hypothesis' suggest that by this time their population was very small and highly dependant on agriculture, and that either climate change, the eruption of nearby Mount Koriba, or competition from hunter-gatherers combined with a lack of crop diversity led to their final demise. Little is known about their society, culture or their history in the region, and thus locating other remains has become an important area of study. Further analysis has since confirmed a link to the far older cava man remains, and thus the species has unofficially been named 'Cava' by those working on it.

Prehistory and early history

Archaeological evidence suggests that human hunter gatherers originating from lake Lamberta arrived in the region in approximately 30,000BCE, and is the the first undisputed evidence of habitation. In 25,000BCE the Chomlec culture emerged on the North coast of the Axdelian peninsula of interconnected tribes and families. Chomlec society flourished for a while, however it soon fractured due to increasing migration across the rest of the peninsula. The Neolithic era began in approximately 8,000BCE after the (re)emergence of agriculture and spurred the establishment of the first permanent settlements. Metallurgy was independently developed in the foothills of the Auric Mountains in 4000BCE, with copper, silver and gold metalworking spreading rapidly across the region and driving a period of productivity increases and urbanisation. Bronze working would later be introduced into the region, likely from the far east where the first advanced Auroran civilisations were developing, namely the Nelokhvi Empire, or by proxy through nomads roaming the Staynish region who regularly interacted with them.

Partially restored walls of Aeqa, a small Lapytian city abandoned in the 1300's BCE

The first advanced civilisation in the region was Lapytia, which was established in 2230 BCE on the upper course of the Ueclid River. The region there was well suited for agriculture, thanks to its drier summers, relatively meek springtime flooding, and the ease with which the alluvial floodplains could be irrigated. The capital of Lapyta was the largest and most influential city in the region, and established close links with many other towns and cities along the valley. Multiple systems of writing had used intermittently, with several periods of use, collapse and redevelopment for a number of reasons. Most notably was an extended drought in 1530 BCE which caused Lapyta to become almost abandoned for several decades before the population returned. Other collapses may have been due to soil depletion or extreme geologic activity. Despite this, the Lapytian cities had a rich culture of artistry and oral tradition which persisted throughout their history. Widescale urban planning is also evident alongside competent architectural ability, as seen in the Lapya palace complex in modern day Montza. Whilst no cities were built in the lower Ueclid, trade routes existed along the river with local communities, and several satellite kingdoms emerged due to the prosperity it brought. During its peak, the states influence had spread across the entire peninsula, as evidenced by Lapytian coinage and artefacts being found all the way to the west cape and even beyond the Zycannes in the east.

By the 15th and 14th centuries BCE, however, Lapytia began a stage of rapidly decline. Records from the time indicate that a series of natural disasters occurred in the space of a single year, including a flood which caused a minor diversion of the Ueclid river. Subsequently, fears of a famine lead to an exodus of people from many of the outlying cities who depended on trade with the agricultural core. Some time after this, the city of Lapyta experienced widespread fire and looting, causing much of the city to be burned to the ground. The cause of this is debated, with the two dominant theories being either civil disturbance due to the population loss in the years prior, or an invasion by nomadic cultures from the north taking advantage of the defensive outlying towns and cities becoming mostly abandoned. Several other cities were burned in similar fashion and Lapytia collapsed, leading to its near entire abandoned. The Lapytian people migrated primarily north down to the lower Ueclid, south past the Teba Mountains and towards the numerous floodplains and the coast, and even beyond the Auric mountains to the site of modern Emberwood Coast, whilst others went south, eventually ending up in the Lyr valley or the southern coast.

Early Antiquity (13th - 8th century BCE)

With the the end of the 14th century BCE, many small kingdoms and chiefdoms had been founded along the length of the Ueclid river as a result of the power vacuum left by the sudden collapse of Lapytia. This era has become known as the first dark age, as texts from the time are infrequent and some remain unreadable due to writing in several undeciphered scripts. Additionally, a significant amount of the written material from the Lapytian period was lost in civil wars which razed remnant cities and towns across its former territory. The political landscape at the time is difficult to reconstruct and is frequently debated, but all evidence suggests it was extremely tumultuous and fraught with war.

In the 12th century BCE, the walled city state of Quen exited a long period of social unrest, and began a highly successful conquest under Kind Eida which saw the entire Upper Ueclid come under his dominion. The Soltic confederacy, a naval coastal state east of the Ueclids mouth, began its own simultaneous campaign to control the kingdoms of the fertile floodplains in the area. The powers came into conflict in the middle of the century provoked war with Eida's Ueclidian Empire sending warships up the river to raid towns and constrict trade. Taking advantage of their weak land forces, Eida pushed down the valley and sieged their holdings on the river and the coast. However, many areas were able to hold out thanks to supplies brought in by their navy. Eida was succeeded by his son Eida II, who launched a campaign into Soltic territory which eventually succeeded, putting the entire Ueclid valley and the Northern coast under his dominion by the 11th century BCE. The unified Ueclidian empire remained the status quo for approximately a century and a half as the regions dominant power. In this time, a standardised system of writing and booms in trade leading to increased record-keeping signifies the end of the first dark age.

The Ueclid empire did not persist for long, as rebellions were commonplace and growing competition from other regions outside the Ueclid valley threatened their trading hegemony, primarily the Zycannian Mirazii Kingdom and the southern Kassyr Chiefdom. The Kormistazic Confederacy was also founded on the southern coast during this time, deriving from the descendants of those who migrated south when Lapytia fell, and was based around the city state of Sekan-Aruqa. The Ueclid empire finally fell following the twin revolts of the Soltics in the North and the Teba in the South. The two formed rival empires on their respective halves of the river, The Neo-Soltic Kingdom and the Teba empire, and fought for land in the middle regions before coming to a peace agreement in 935 BCE. After this the Soltics expanded along the northern coast whilst the Teba strengthened cross-mountain trade routes with the Kassyr, Kormistazics and the Lyr valley. For the next two centuries the peninsula remained divided between dozens of small, mostly fledgling kingdoms and was marred by frequent skirmishes whilst the larger empires benefited from their trade networks.

Classical Antiquity (748 BCE - 723 CE)

Koriba Catastrophe

In 748 BCE, the Koriba volcano in the eastern Lyr valley experienced its most powerful eruption in recorded history, rating on the upper end of 6 on the volcanic explosivity index. This caused devastating local effects, causing widespread crop failures due to the ash clouds and acid rain. Whilst all civilisations west of the Zycannes were impacted by the eruption, the nearby Teba empire was among those who suffered the most. In an attempt to recover quickly, the empire cut off most of its trade ties with surrounding states, many of which forged alliances with the Neo-Soltic Kingdom in order to force the Teba to continue trading. After continuing to refuse, the allied states began raiding Teban settlements, sparking a century long war which ravaged both sides and caused more damage than the effects of the volcano.

The Kormistazics, who had many trade links with the Teba, entered a period of infighting and civil wars as various members of trading nobility attempted to seize control of Sekan-Aruqa. As trade with the North would continue to decline over the years the instability in the region would remain, however, resulting in the confederacies political structure collapsing and beginning a trend of power being consolidated by an increasingly small number of oligarchs. The wars often spilled out into surrounding unincorporated settlements, often leading to subjugation and incorporation under the banner of the outlying cities.

Other civilisations such as the Kassyr and Mirazii, who were also dependant on trade, suffered greatly in the years after, however without many nearby competitors and natural defences on their side, managed to remain stable. It was at this time, within the vast Zycannian trade routes in the between these two empires, that a group of prophets known as the four oracles began teaching the Kozam faith to travellers and passers by, many of which chronicles the writings and began founding temples in many major cities. The oracles are known to have travelled to many of these early temples, however many written records of their movements have been lost due to contemporary censorship and later iconoclastic and revisionist periods. One place known to have been visited was Sekan-Aruqa, where the religion became noticeably popular with the citizenry and several noble families, generally coexisting with the other religions present in the region.

Arrival of the Kveshi

Early in their history, the seafaring Kveshi civilisation of South West Aurora began exploring much of the Azure sea and establishing numerous outposts to facilitate trade. One of their furthest western excursions saw them land in the area of modern day Oceansend, where they established a small colony. Contact with the Kormistazics is recorded to have occurred in the 720's BCE, during which the Kveshi introduced iron smelting technology and marking the beginning of the iron age in SW aurora.

Iron age

Kormistazic expansionism (532 BCE - 1st century CE)

(Think you can unify the Axdelian peninsular? Yep, said the Kormistazics)

Golden age of Kormistazm (1st - 4th century CE)

(lots of gold, engineering, mathematics, science, trade, quality of life, you name it)

Norvian invasions (4th - 7th century CE)

(lots of civil wars, fractured relations between the imperial government and local regions, and the backdrop of constant Norvian raids. Tnsert crop failures from Tore )

(After a faction of Norvians fractures from the mainland, they change strategy and begin a lot of settling, and whilst this utterly thrashes the imperial command structure this doesn,t work in the end)

Medieval Period (724 - 1101 CE)

tldr, massive reforms under new imperial dynasties. Going forwards this hardly resembles the empire of the last millenia

Neo-Kormistazic imperial revaunchism

(expansion westwards in Staynnica and Valeria, TBD)

War with Ethalria

(spoiler alert, Kormistazm mostly holds them up outside the peninsula. Pretty sweet battles though

Civil war of succession

(Empire is partitioned into multuple states for a century or so. The centralising reforms of the 700's coming to bite the empire in the ass.)

Colonial age (1102 - 1523)

(Woah, Arcturians are pretty gullible)

Neo-Kormistazic Golden age (~1200)

(trade with all the empires, big money)

Kormistazic Arcturian territory

(no more Mr nice mercantile empire, we have guns now)

(Insert imperial renaissance and wars with Arsal here)

Civil Schism Crisis

(Demands for local representation spring up. Honoluras makes some concessions)

Morstaybishlian invasion (1523 - 1575)

(certified oh shit moment)

Morstaybishlian rule (1575 - 1969)

Lousquarii Republic

(Trade.)

Granting of principality status

(After the first posolic war in response to a revolt or something.)

(also industrial age, a lot of cool science happens kinda like scotland. And Freidrik Noros)

Norograd (1970-1996)

(You know the drill)

Geography

Geology, topography and hydrography

A Topographic map of Axdel from an atlas

Politics

Government

See: Political parties and elections of Axdel

Military

Main article: Axdel Armed Forces

The Axdel Armed Forces are the military forces of Axdel, under the commander-in-chief president Diego Corbinn. It consists of the Axdelian army, the Axdelian Navy, the Axdelian air force. Military spending accounts for roughly 2% of the nations GDP, or around 82.4 billion Kiribs.

Economy

insert overview here, including paragraphs concerning industry and agriculture

Tourism

this is so sad, can we get icarly in soltan

Demographics

Axdel is a multispecies human-majority country with a multitude of other species form minority groups in the nation. This dates back to the 1500's when Lupine religious refugees from Volkia found safety with the Kormistazic empire in south west Aurora in exchange for aid fighting the Morstaybishlian Empire, later arriving in large numbers. After the conclusion of the Western Auroran Crusades, these lupines settled in Lyrevale and many parts of Korstazia, becoming an integral part of local cultures.

Whilst ethnic Axdelians compose the vast majority of the population, Axdel's history as a principality of the Morstaybishlian Empire and the contemporary free movement of workers held under the Auroran Continental Assembly and United Nations of the Auroran Continent mean that there is a large proportion of ethnic Staynish, Caltharusian, Emberitian and Lyrevalian peoples in the nation. The cultural diversity provided by such a mix of people is generally considered to be beneficial and has become a part of Axdelian identity in itself.

Major Urban Areas

Axdel is highly urbanised, with approximately 83.5% of the population residing within urban townships or cities. Andel is the nations only mega city, with a population of 11.4 million inhabitants.

Species and ethnic groups

Species Name	Percentage
Human	79.1%
Lupine	21.3%
Elves	0.3%
Other	0.3%

Ethnicity	Percentage
Korstazian	45.1%
Lyrevalian	41.2%
Morstaybishlian	5.4%
Quarz fern	2.8%
Emberitian	2.3%
Other	0.9%