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Tavaris

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The Kingdom of Tavaris

Eredan Tavarís (Tavari)
Tavaris riik (Rodokan)
The Great Seal of the Kingdom of Tavaris.
Great Seal
Motto: "Ítan Erevat, Ítan Eredan!" (Tavari)
"For the King, For the Empire!"
Anthem: Tavarís Brõnavi (Tavari)
"Beautiful Tavaris"
A map indicating the location of Tavaris (dark green) on the continents of Gondwana and Novaris (grey).
Capital
and largest city
Nuvrenon
Official languagesTavari
Rodokan
Ethnic groups
(2022)
Tavari Orc 84%
Other Orc 5%
Human 3.1%
Elf 2.7%
Tiefling 1.8%
All Other Species 4%
Demonym(s)Tavari
GovernmentUnitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Emperor of the Tavari
Otan IV
• Prime Minister
Žarís Nevran Alandar
LegislatureNational Diet
Establishment
• Tavari settlement
c. 500-300 BCE
• Wars of Unification
c. 1150-1300 CE
• Kingdom of Tavaris unified
22 April 1304 CE
• Instruments of Governance ratified
20 February 1793
• Ranat Accords ratified
6 June 2022
Area
• Total
547,125.07 km2 (211,246.17 sq mi)
Population
• 2023 estimate
36,171,069
• 2021 census
66,582,007
• Density
66.11/km2 (171.2/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)2023 estimate
• Total
$1,292,899,554,983 SHD
• Per capita
$35,744 SHD
CurrencyTavari Našdat (ŋ) (TAN)
Time zoneTavari Standard Time
(UTC -8)
Rodoka Standard Time (UTC -9)
Driving sideright
Calling code+42
Internet TLD.ta

The Kingdom of Tavaris, known colloquially as Tavaris, is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy located on Urth. It is a member of the Tavari Union and the Union of Commonwealth Alliances, a founding member and co-chair of the Council of Gondwana, and an Associated State of the League of Novaris. Tavaris was a founding member of the International Forum and served on the International Forum Security Council in the Spring 2021 and Spring 2022 sessions.

On 27 February 2022, a referendum was held in which three provinces and two territories of Tavaris voted to secede from the country and form the People's Communion of Acronis, an Akronist state led by the Church of Akrona. The referendum was plagued by several bombings and other instances of violence, as well as technical issues at polling places that caused the results to be disputed. After a brief period of civil unrest and inter-sectarian violence, a comprehensive peace agreement and political settlement known as the Ranat Accords formalized the secession and formation of Acronis, Elatana, and Rodoka and the Isles, and transferred responsibility for the former Tavari territories of Metrati Anar and the Tavari East Cerenerian Isles to the Tavari Union, an international organization of Tavari-speaking countries also established by the Accords. The Tavari Union also assumed control over each member's Exclusive Economic Zones, airspace, territorial waters, and other assets held in common among the membership—including the Tavari Našdat currency and "intangible common assets" such as the Tavari language. In recognition of Tavaris as the homeland of the Tavari language and culture, the King of Tavaris is the Emperor of the Tavari, who holds the ceremonial position of Chair of the Council of the Tavari Union.

History

While orcish settlement on the island of Avnatra is documented as early as 200,000 years ago, the orcs known as the pre-Tavari immigrated to Tavaris between approximately 500 BCE and 300 BCE. From where, exactly, the pre-Tavari moved was until recently a matter of debate. An "up from Nuvo" theory was commonplace for most of the 20th century, but new archaeological evidence uncovered in the 2000s began to indicate potential immigration from the northeast. In 2022, after former Tavari Prime Minister Shano Tuvria was revealed to have been abducted by his own wife and illegally held in the Danvreas for months, the Violet Court of the Danvreas released records indicating that the predecessors of the Tavari people—known to them as tapar, meaning "cast out for ritual impurity"—had in fact been exiled by an order of the Emperor in 504 BCE. The typically identified transition point from "pre-Tavari" to "Tavari" is when that group reached and settled what is now Acronis around the third century CE. The proto-Tavari became the Tavari upon the adoption of written language, which occurred independently in the 9th century CE. By that time, while society had developed into a tribal society based on relatively small bands of extended family groups, the notion of a broader "Tavari" identity to which all the tribes of southern Avnatra belonged, and orcs from other places did not, was already in place. The name "Tavarís" to describe the greater area of southern Avnatra inhabited by Tavari orcs appears in the written record as early as 810 CE. While the word "Tavarís" translates to "Place of the Tavari," the etymology of the word "Tavari" itself was until recently unknown, but is know understood to mean "exiles." The Tavari language is a language isolate that is not confirmed to be related to any other language spoken on Urth.

From time to time throughout history, various Tavari chiefdoms would unite under a single leader to gain strength and control over other chiefdoms. In 1304 CE, they were all united in a loose confederation under the banner of a single King. The first King of All Tavaris was Utor I, the Chief of Nuvo, who completed a campaign begun some hundred and fifty years earlier by his predecessors to bring all of Tavaris under a single ruler. Many chiefdoms chose to swear fealty to the Chief of Nuvo rather than fight, though there were several various military conflicts across the country between approximately 1150 CE and 1300 CE that are collectively known as the "Wars of Unification." On April 22nd, 1304 CE, a gathering of all 1,152 chiefs in Tavaris at the city of Nuvrenon known as "the College of Chiefs" formally elevated the Chiefdom of Nuvo to the position of King of All Tavaris, a title the Tavari monarch would hold until 2022 when it was formally abandoned as part of the Ranat Accords.

Beginning in the 1470s, a religious movement known as Akronism after a deity known as Akrona, arose in the northwest regions of the country, particularly near the Crystal Coast. Archaeologists believe that Akronism arose from ancient Tavari folk traditions around the moon, though Akronist theologists strictly deny that Akrona is a moon goddess, although they acknowledge the moon is an important symbol of the goddess. Akronism teaches to express gratefulness and respect for all living things. Brief violence between Akronists and non-Akronists erupted in the last years of the 15th century, but were quelled by the forces of the King.

Much of Tavari history has been influenced by Akronism, especially as the proportion of Akronists among the population grew larger over time. Most of Tavaris’ overseas territories were originally established by Akronists seeking to spread their faith to the outside world. Both at Metrati Anar beginning in 1501 and the Tavari East Pacific Isles beginning in 1655, the Church of Akrona was the leading force and financier of the initial settlements. Rodoka was also settled initially by Akronists, though its population has diversified since. Metradan was initially settled as a formal Tavari government-sponsored operation in 1650, though Akronists would eventually become the majority there as well. At Elatana, beginning in 1699, and Ilarís in what is now the Union of Free Cities, settlement was officially undertaken under the auspices of the Tavari state, primarily through a program of convict labor, but the Church of Akrona contributed significant funding and resources. Only Racatrazi, a port in southern Concord purchased from Norgsveldet, was never home to an Akronist majority, though it was long considered to be the least successful Tavari colony.

In the 17th and early 18th century, Tavaris fought several wars with Bana, its neighbor to the east, as they competed for influence in the region. When Tavaris attempted to establish a colony, known as the Emerald Coast, in what is now North Ni-Rao in 1668, a major war erupted between Tavaris on one side and both Bana and Ni-Rao on the other. The area had been part of Ni-Rao previously, but had been effectively abandoned after a series of pandemics and military defeats caused the Raonites to withdraw from the region. Bana saw the Emerald Coast as a major provocation, as it amounted to Tavari territory directly bordering theirs, and the Raonites treated the colony as an invasion of their own territory despite having withdrawn. The Emerald Coast War was fought between 1670-1683. Eastern Tavaris was occupied by Bana for several years, but Tavaris was able to outlast its opponents and, after a major mobilization in which all able-bodied adult citizens were conscripted into the military, Tavaris was victorious. Tavaris would later cede the Emerald Coast back to Ni-Rao in 1803 under a treaty agreement that mandated Ni-Rao to continue to allow Akronist missionary activity in the country and to guarantee religious freedom.

The decisive Tavari victory in the Emerald Coast War established Tavaris as the predominant power in the region. However, it also caused severe economic and infrastructural damage, and Tavari colonial efforts slowed as a result. The attempt to expand Tavari influence in southern Gondwana in the Gondwana Straits War, while somewhat successful on the naval front in the liberation of Reijia, was largely disastrous for the country—the Tavari military was ruthlessly under-supported and outmatched on land, and the long, expensive war was a massive drain on the economy. It also destabilized the Tavari political system, bringing down a Prime Minister and leading to the removal of essentially all of the Tavari monarch's independent authority. Beginning in the late 19th century, Tavaris began a focused effort to “modernize” the country so it was closer in technological and economic power to the leading countries of the world while focusing less on expansion of territory.

Modern History

Tavari troops moving supplies through muddy conditions during the Siege of Idalan by Vaklorian and Asendavian troops in the Great War.

In 1895, Tavaris hosted the The Worldwide Exposition, an international cultural festival. Previous hosts had been such large nations as Packilvania, Salovia, and Great Morstaybishlia. Tavaris hosted the 1895 Expo as an attempt to introduce itself to the world as an international cultural and tourist destination, as well as an advanced country with all the amenities of modern civilization such as streetcars, high-rise buildings, electricity and telegraph systems. By all accounts the Expo was popular, and Tavaris earned a reputation as an environmentally pristine destination to visit.

In 1904, the Great War began. Tavaris found itself on a frontier between two opposing colonial powers: Morstopackia, who controlled island regions to Tavaris' west, and Asendavia, who controlled Tavaris' only neighbor by land, Vaklori. While Tavaris had maintained a friendly trading relationship with the Morst and had somewhat less interaction with Asendavia - mainly due to the fact that it was easier and less expensive to trade by sea than traverse the land crossing to Vaklori that was in most places undeveloped wilderness - Tavaris declared that it would be neutral in the war. However, on May 10th of 1908, in what is known as the Anarís Incident, a group of Morst ships moved through Tavari-controlled waters off the coast of Metrati Anar to attack a group of Asendavian ships from behind. While Tavaris formally summoned the Morst ambassador for an explanation and sent a demand to the Morst government that its ships respect Tavari neutrality, Asendavia held the incident to be an Tavari violation of neutrality and declared war on Tavaris. Tavaris would then join the war on the Morst side.

The Great War caused significant loss in Tavari lives and property, due in large part to its disadvantageous position between Morst and Asendavian colonial holdings. With Asendavia's larger colonial presence in northwestern Gondwana, it had better supply lines, and was able to position military assets in the area at less expense than Tavaris' allies. Additionally, when Tavaris joined the war on the Morst side, neighboring Bana joined on the Asendavian side. Bana invaded and occupied Metrati Anar for the duration of the war and conducted a bombing campaign along the east coast of the country from Nuvrenon to Good Harbor. In 1915, newly independent Ekvatora claimed portions of what was then Metrati Anar and joined the war, forcing Tavari forces out in a grueling island-hopping war. While Tavaris regained most of Metrati Anar in 1919, its Northern Four islands were held by Ekvatora. The islands remained legally disputed until 2020, and saw a dust up of conflict in the mid-1960s after the Ekvatori Revolutionary War established the Socialist Federal Republic of Ekvatora.

After the Great War, Tavaris entered into a period of isolationism as it became politically unpopular for policies to involve other nations. Tavari neutrality had been a resounding failure and it had ended up attacked on multiple fronts because, as the political wisdom of the time said, it had become "entangled" in the affairs of foreign powers. Tavari politics shifted heavily towards isolationism and anti-imperialism, with Tavari foreign relations largely reduced to denouncing the involvement of foreign powers in Gondwana. This period of isolationism lasted for nearly the entire 20th century, although towards the latter half of the century there was a gradual period of re-engaging with foreign affairs - especially as it came to communications technology and military equipment. In the 1980s, Tavaris began purchasing tanks and other modern military equipment from Morstaybishlia, and entered into defense and trade agreements with Aivintis that would eventually lead to the creation of the Council of Gondwana. In 1984, Tavaris became an observer-state in the Union of Commonwealth Alliances. In 2004, Tavaris joined the Arkian Civil War on the side of the West Arkian Republic in an effort to negotiate and enforce a cease-fire. The West would later lose to the imperialists who would install the Arkian Empire. In 2008, in a further attempt to counteract global dominance by the two major powers of Morstaybishlia and Asendavia, Tavaris acceded to full member-state status in the UCA.

On January 31st, 2017, the election of Shano Tuvria on a platform of increasing global trade and diplomatic relations is widely considered to have completely ended the isolationist era of Tavari politics. A major part of his platform was establishing a regional free trade agreement, the Alliance of Northwest Gondwana, which was negotiated in 2017 and took effect a year later. In 2020, Tavaris and Bana normalized relations by appointing ambassadors and announcing the opening of embassies for the first time in almost 50 years. Also in 2020, Tavaris became an observer-state of the League of Novaris, after having been denied full membership. In 2021, Tavaris announced that it had become a nuclear weapons state through developing its own nuclear warheads as well as purchasing warheads from Vistaraland.

Culture

Tavari civilization on the island of Avnatra dates back to the first century CE. Especially after a surge of interest in archaeology in the 19th century, Tavari interest in and promotion of "Tavari culture" have risen to high levels. The Tavari government aggressively markets Tavaris as a cultural destination for global tourism, and maintains and promotes thousands of Protected Cultural Sites across the country. Both the traditional Tavari sites as well as Akronist historical sites are featured in the Protected Cultural Sites, as the Tavari government promotes the idea that there are two traditions that arose from Tavari civilization: Akronism and the ancestral veneration belief system of the Tavat Avati. (See "Ancestral Veneration" below.)

The Line System

A Tavari passport, issued to citizens under the authority of the monarch. Those who become Tavari citizens must select a Line Name or one will be assigned to them by the Bureau of Immigration.

Historically, Tavari society was divided into kinship groups called (variously throughout history) "Tribes," "Chiefdoms," and in the modern era, "Lines." These are a type of clan. Originally, these groups were the foundation for Tavari governance, with the Chief of one's Line being in charge of governing the people in the line and the territory the line controlled. In 1304, the Chief of Nuvo was made King of All Tavaris, placing that Line at the pinnacle of the system.

After unification, Lines started to lose prominence as the responsibility of governance gradually shifted to the national government under the King. This was process was accelerated in particular by the spread of Akronism. Among the religious teachings in Akronism was the belief that all people were equal before Akrona, the deity of Akronism considered to be present as the life-force in all living things. Akronism discouraged dividing people by "station" or class, which led many people to identify less with their particular line and more with their religious identity as Akronists. As Akronists began to have less regard for the Line system, it began to lose political power - and this caused it to have less impact even on the lives of non-Akronists.

In 1793, the system was formalized into the modern Line System as exists today. Under the Instruments of Governance, the Tavari constitution ratified in that year, the clans were formally given the name "Lines," and in all but one of the Lines, the hereditary position of "Chief" was replaced by the elected position of "Delegate [of the Line] to the Diet." With no other power granted to the Lines under the law, they effectively became a system of electoral districts determined by heredity. The one line to retain a Chief was Line Nuvo, because the Chief of Nuvo is the Monarch.

There are 1,152 distinct Lines in the Kingdom of Tavaris, equivalent to the number of Chiefs who were present at the College of Chiefs that formally unified Tavaris in 1304. While the Monarch does have the authority to change the number of Lines, no Monarch has ever done so. An individual's Line is determined at birth by the Line of their parents. If the parents are unmarried, a child takes the Line of the elder parent. When a Tavari marries, the younger spouse will take the Line of the elder spouse. Upon marriage, the younger spouse may decide to adopt the elder spouse's family name (the third name in the Tavari naming system), or the couple may decide to invent a new one. Traditionally, only the eldest child had the right to continue using the family name of their parents after marriage, though in modern times this convention is increasingly disregarded. Since a reform to the law in 2009, an elder spouse may decide to take the Line name of the younger spouse. Once adopted, a Line name is permanent unless the person remarries, or (theoretically) if the Monarch changes the Line by decree.

Members of other ethnic groups who become Tavari citizens must adopt one of the 1,152 Lines upon their naturalization. Immigrants who are married to a Tavari always take their line, regardless of age. Unmarried immigrants, though, may choose any Line they wish, without restriction. Those who do not choose a Line have one assigned by the Bureau of Immigration, who by law must select a line at random. In the past, immigrants were assigned in various ways, including being assigned to Line Nuvo (as "the state's Line"), being assigned to the Line of the judge administering the oath of citizenship, or being assigned to the Line with the fewest members. When assigning a Line, the Bureau of Immigration is acting on authority directly delegated by the King, who is the legal pinnacle of the Line system. This authorization must be re-issued each time a new Monarch takes office, because it is a personal power of the Monarch, not a power of state.

Ancestral Veneration

While some archaeological evidence exists of a polytheistic religion among the earliest Tavari on Avnatra, that faith was succeeded by an animist belief system in which living souls inhabited all things in nature, and that the souls of deceased ancestors remain in the world after death to observe and influence affairs of the living. By the time of the Wars of Unification, the belief in spirits in nature had largely faded away, but the veneration of the dead remained as a strong factor in the Tavari philosophy. The tradition was formalized in the early 14th century, as the Kingdom of Tavaris sought to standardize across the entire country, in a codex called Tavat Avati, which transliterates to "Way of the Elders" or "Way of the Ancestors." Following the newly codified rituals was marketed to be a show of patriotism for the motherland.

According to the Tavat Avati, individual families should keep a shrine where they dedicate part of their home to their ancestors and leave them offerings. It also established six sacred festivals to be observed each year, in which entire towns should gather for a collective offering to that town's established shrine. While animal sacrifice had once been part of each festival, by the 14th century the practice had faded and switched to offering dry goods. It also set out rules by which to live so that the spirits would show you favor. The Tavat Avati recommends, for example, that people should always keep as clean as possible, they should exercise moderation in food and drink, and they should never chew coca leaves.

In the modern day, most of these traditions remain in some form. The six festival days are still observed as holidays and people do gather at local shrines. Most homes will have a shrine or some sort, often just a table with photographs of deceased family members and a burning candle. Tavat Avat social mores have largely given way to the modern conception of good manners, which largely reach the same result regardless. Chewing coca is illegal in Tavaris, and chewing it anyway is considered to be "bad luck." In the modern tradition, various superstitions from the Tavat Avati continue as things that cause bad luck, and the idea of "spirits" is increasingly interpreted specifically in regards to luck. The idea advocated by the Tavat Avati is that those who die without the favor of the spirits are cast into a sea of fire; in the modern day few retain the literal belief but continue to follow the superstitions and observe festival days to prevent bad luck.

Government

For the makeup of the current Tavari government, see: Cabinet of Tavaris

The current Tavari Diet, as of the elections on 31 May 2022. The parties are, from left to right:

Government:
Irínavi Voi!: 559 seats

Confidence and Supply:
Tavari National Party: 17 seats
Republican Alternative: 6 seats

Other Opposition:
Coalition Right: 60 seats
The Liberals: 72 seats

Official Opposition:
Socialist Green Party for Democracy: 438 seats

The Kingdom of Tavaris is a constitutional monarchy in which the monarch has theoretically broad reserve powers, but in actual practice is a figurehead who takes no part in the day-to-day administration of the country. The King, currently Otan IV, is expected to remain politically neutral, and does not use his reserve powers unless advised to do so by the Council of State, a body similar to the Privy Council in other monarchies.

In 1793, a document known as the Instruments of Governance was ratified, which became the Tavari constitution. It has been amended several times. The Instruments placed significant restrictions on the power of the Monarch and instituted a legislature called the Diet. Under the Instruments, executive power is formally vested in the Cabinet, which is headed by the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister leads the government and holds the positions of President of the Council of State and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. A Prime Minister must maintain the confidence of the Diet, and is therefore typically the leader of the largest party or coalition of parties in the Diet. The current Prime Minister, Žarís Nevran Alandar, took office on 18 February 2021 after her predecessor Shano Tuvria stepped down to become International Forum Secretary-General. While her new political party, Irínavi Voi! (Tavari for, roughly, "Onward Together!") won the largest share of the vote, Nevran Alandar was unable to attain a majority in the Diet and as such is relying on confidence and supply from two parties, the right-wing Tavari National Party and the center-right republican party Republican Alternative. While minority governments were common in early Tavari history, they have been rare in the modern era as coalition governments have become more common.

Diet

The Diet is a unicameral legislature with 1,152 members, each of them to be considered a delegate of a Line in the Tavari clan system. Members of the Diet are elected not from delineated geographic constituencies, but are instead each elected by every other Tavari sharing their line name, which is the second name out of the three every Tavari has. These lines are clans - groupings of Tavari according to kinship and common descent. As an example: each Tavari who is a member of Line Nevran would therefore use Nevran as their second name, and each of them would have a vote for Delegate to the Diet for Line Nevran regardless of where they lived.

When Tavaris annexed Rodoka in 1634, the Queen ordered that the 20 Rodokan tribal chiefs be integrated into the Tavari clan system. In 1992, the Rodokan Native Tribal Administration was formed as a legal successor body to the hereditary chiefdom system, and they re-allocated their 20 seats into geographic districts. The Diet thus had 1,172 seats from 1634 until 2022, when the Native Rodokans became independent.

Members of the Diet, often referred to by the title Delegate, are elected through an instant-runoff vote system in which voters rank the candidates, who are typically nominated to run by political parties, in order of preference. If no candidate attains an actual majority of votes, meaning at least 50% plus one vote, the lowest performing candidate is removed from consideration and the votes that were given to that candidate are re-allocated according to the second choices on the ballots. The process repeats until one candidate attains a majority.

The Monarchy

Emperor Otan IV, in a 2021 portrait featured on a Tavari postage stamp.

The Tavari monarchy is based in absolute-primogeniture from among the descendants of King Utor I. The current King of Tavaris is His Esteemed Majesty Otan IV, Emperor of the Tavari, who assumed the throne on June 5th, 2022 upon the abdication of his father, King Zaram V. Otan is the only son of Zaram and the late Queen Torevar, who died during childbirth. While the Emperor still holds the title "King of Tavaris," and it is in this capacity that nearly all of his legal authority, formal and informal, resides, the Tavari government has recommended that, as "a degree of respect and deference, one should make reference to the higher title wherever possible."

The monarch, as Head of State, represents Tavaris to foreign countries and receives ambassadors from foreign countries. The monarch is also the pinnacle of the traditional Tavari clan system. It is by virtue of the monarch’s position as Head of Line Nuvo that they are the King or Queen of Tavaris, and one of the monarch’s titles is “Chief of Chiefs.” Other than Line Nuvo, no other extant clan has a “Chief,” with those offices replaced by Delegate to the Diet in 1793. (Non-royal members of Line Nuvo also elect a Delegate to the Diet.) By ancient custom, this means that the monarch has the absolute right to make any changes to the clan system - such as creating a new clan, or abolishing an extant one. The monarch may also declare particular individuals members to be a member of a clan. This power is most commonly used to assign lines to new Tavari citizens who decline to choose one upon naturalizing, which the Bureau of Immigration reports occurs "hundreds" of times each year. Outside of this, the monarch's powers related to the Line system are very seldom used. Separate from the Line system is the Tavari honors system, such as naming prominent individuals as Knights of the Amethyst Order, the country's highest honor.

The legal powers of the monarch are established in the Instruments of Governance as well as through historic convention. Officially, the monarch appoints and dismisses the Prime Minister, summons and dissolves the Diet, declares war and peace, imposes and repeals taxes, and promulgates laws. In reality, all of these powers are exercised only on the advice of the Prime Minister or upon passage of legislation by Diet. The monarchy does reserve the power to appoint or dismiss the Prime Minister, or dissolve the Diet, on its own initiative, but has never done so since the ratification of the Instruments of Governance. Notably, one legal power that is explicitly denied the monarchy is that of being Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The Instruments of Governance state that the Monarch "shall be held outside the functional military hierarchy and serve no role, informal or formal, in the commanding of troops," and explicitly define the position of Prime Minister as "by virtue of her or his position [as Prime Minister], she or he shall also hold the offices of President of the Council of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces."

The monarchy also reserves the right to veto legislation passed by the Diet. However, by law, the monarch may only do so on the advice of the Council of State. As the Council of State is composed almost entirely out of members of the Cabinet, no monarch has ever done so since the Instruments were ratified. However, the monarch may exercise a veto on their own initiative if the legislation in question concerns the direct prerogatives and interests of the monarchy and royal family. Additionally, a monarch always has the right to refer a bill to referendum, in which case the bill only takes effect if approved in a national referendum. Also, the monarch may refer a bill to the Constitutional Court if they believe the bill to be unconstitutional. These powers are granted to the monarch to exercise on their own initiative, with or without advice from the Council of State to do so.

Since the Tavari annexation of Rodoka in 1634, the monarch has also been the head of the Rodokan tribes, of which there were historically twenty, all of which are now part of the Rodokan Native Tribal Administration. Since then, the title “High Chief of the Tribes of Rodoka” has been part of the monarch’s title. This continued to be the case after Rodokan independence, when the position of High Chief became a separate constitutional monarchy. The title of the current monarch is, in full: "His Esteemed Majesty Otan IV, Emperor of the Tavari, King of Tavaris, High Chief of the United Tribes of Rodoka and the Isles, Chief of Nuvo, Chief-of-Chiefs, Lord-Patron of Ilarís, and Defender of the Faith." While the monarch does not use a line name or family name in day-to-day life, they do have them just the same as other Tavari. Emperor Otan’s name as recorded on his certificate of birth is Otan Nuvo Šolosar.

Political Parties

The official residence of the Prime Minister at 300 Zaram Avenue in Nuvrenon.

In the current day, Tavaris is a multi-party system in which coalition governments are common, especially since the dawn of the 21st century. The current governing party is Irínavi Voi!, self-described as a "big-tent coalition of the broad center." Its leader is Tavari Prime Minister Žarís Nevran Alandar, who established the party to house her movement in support of the peace agreement and political settlement she negotiated, the Ranat Accords, in the elections of 31 May 2022. It is primarily neoliberal and technocratic, but since the election it has been noted for supporting significantly more government spending—even increasing government debt, at historic lows after Acronis assumed a third of Tavari national debt upon independence—than Nevran Alandar had ever advocated for under her previous party, the now-dissolved Democratic National Party.

The Tavari political left is almost entirely housed in the Socialist Green Party for Democracy (SGPD), which formed in the 2022 merger of the Green Tavaris Party and the Socialist Party for Democracy, both of which had lost nearly half of their delegates in the Diet after Acronian secession. As the former Tavari Communist Party (now the Acronian Communist Party, in power in the elected Synod of Acronis) had failed to file even a single candidate in the election, SGPD became the only option on the ballot left of center in nearly every Line, and therefore exploded in support relative to previous years. This consolidation also almost entirely erases the traditionalist-Akronist political split in the major political parties, with both groups present in proportional amounts in every party, notable due to the fact that nearly 40% of the population of the new Tavaris is still Akronist.

The Tavari political right is similarly split. The Liberals are one of the oldest parties in the country but have struggled in recent elections, especially hemorrhaging in younger supporters. In September 2021, defecting members of the DNP formed Coalition Right, which members called "a big-tent party of the right," and who returned in 2022 with precisely as many seats as they had held in the previous Diet. Other parties on the right include the Tavari Nationalist Party, who are generally described as far-right, and Republican Alternative, which advocates for removing the monarchy but otherwise professes generally center-to-center-right policies. Both of these two are in separate confidence-and-supply agreements in support of Irínavi Voi's minority government.

Geography

Political geography

Main article: Provinces of Tavaris

A map of Tavari provinces as of the Province Reorganization Act of 2022, which abolished the pre-existing provincial governments and replaced them with fourteen new ones, some with the same names as previous provinces. Inset is to scale.

Tavaris is divided into 14 provinces for the purpose of civil administration. The provinces are units of civil government established by the Diet, with the current system established by the Province Reorganization Act of 2022 having replaced a relatively unpopular system organized in 1961. While most power in civil government resides with the national government in Nuvrenon, the provinces have the power to set income taxes, regulate certain businesses and industries, and establish public school systems, among other responsibilities. Each province elects a unicameral Legislative Council, from which a government headed by a First Councillor is appointed. The 2022 changes did not significantly alter the powers held by the provincial governments, with one exception in the regulation of death services (such as funeral homes, crematoriums, and hospice care facilties), which was removed from provincial jurisdiction and reserved for the National Diet in response to renewed violence over inter-religious differences in death rituals that were part of the lead up to Acronian independence.

Under the previous system, there were some areas of the country that were "unprovinced" and thus administered directly by the national government. No areas are unprovinced as of 2022, though the law still allows for such a jurisdiction to exist "if so designated by the Cabinet." This designation was used for Tavari overseas territories, namely Elatana, Metrati Anar, the Isles of Kanor, and the Tavari East Pacific Isles, all of which now being independent from the Tavari national government. Unprovinced territories had an appointed Administrator who is responsible for the day-to-day governance of the territory. Residents of UPTs also elect an Assembly that acts as a legislature, though the Administrator had the power of veto.

The Province of Rodoka as it now exists does not have the same level of autonomy that its predecessor of the same name under the Treaty of Sinajärv signed in 1634 between the Tavari government and the Rodokan tribes. Because the areas of Rodoka reserved for Native Rodokans are now independent, that treaty no longer applies and therefore the provisions it contained granting the island of Rodoka autonomy in certain matters are no longer part of the law. Prior to 2022, the province of Rodoka covered the entire island, and certain areas of the island were reserved specifically for tribal use, including most of the northern “branch” of the island.

Officially, each province is divided into townships and cities. Cities are built-up population centers that have a certain degree of autonomy, whereas townships are largely subject to governance from the province of which they are a part. While under the law, cities have the power to establish municipal police departments, nearly all of them have not done so, leaving the Royal Tavari Marshals to serve as the police. The three cities with their own police departments are Nuvrenon, Dravai, and Lantaž.

Physical geography

Tavaris is composed of territory on two continents. The Gondwanan portions of Tavaris, known as "the mainland" despite their island location, are located on two islands in the Gulf of Northwest Gondwana. It is south and west of Vaklori and to the east of Ny'Natrotomi. The largest island, which contains most Tavari territory, is known to Tavaris as Avnatra, which is Tavari for "elder sister." (In comparison to the neighboring island to the west, which is Tanatra, "younger sister.") In addition to the southern and western portions of Avnatra, Tavaris controls the island known as King's Island to the south, upon which the capital of Nuvrenon is located. Two small islands immediately to the west of Avnatra known as the "Tears of the Moon" were historically part of Tavaris until they became part of Acronis in 2022. The islands are considered sacred ground by Akronists. Both of these islands, known individually as the Greater and Lesser Tear of the Moon respectively, are national parks where very little development is permitted, and have been for decades under both Tavari and Acronian administration. Among the most notable features on the Tears of the Moon are two large Akronist monasteries, including one at the site of a meteor impact in the year 1 CE whose impact is the epoch of the Common Era calendar.

The Novari portion of Tavaris consists of most of the southern "fork" of the island of Rodoka, which is located off the coast of West Novaris between Meagharia and the Lapinumbian island of Rhodos. Rodoka was initially settled by the Rodokan people, it is believed, in the 9th or 10th century CE. Tavari settlers reached the island in 1620. The Tavari and Rodokan people found much in common, both being largely clan-based societies with strong maritime traditions. In 1634, Tavaris and Rodoka signed the Treaty of Sinajärv, which annexed Rodoka into the Kingdom of Tavaris but established significant autonomy for the Native Rodokans. On August 18th 2020, Rodoka voted in a referendum to become the 12th Province of Tavaris. The capital and largest city of Rodoka is Lantaž, an Tavari word meaning "paradise." However, the Rodokan Native Tribal Administration still maintains the same level of autonomy, which has been described as making it basically a province in and of itself. Effective on 6 June 2022, the areas of Rodoka under the control of the RNTA became the independent country of Rodoka and the Isles.

Also in Novaris are the Isles of Kanor, two islands seized from Milofia in 1714 during the Tavari-Milofite War, in which Milofites attacked Rodoka in an effort to seize the islands and in response to what they considered to be heresy. Tavaris won the war and claimed the islands as a “buffer” between Rodoka and Milofia. They were never administratively part of the Province of Rodoka, but most land on the islands that is not taken by military facilities is owned by the Rodokan Native Tribal Administration and as such became part of Rodoka and the Isles in 2022. However, the Kingdom of Tavaris retains control of all Tavari military facilities on the island as part of its commitment to defend Rodoka through the Tavari Union.

The Aequator passes through southern Tavaris, bisecting the Greater Tear of the Moon. Given the country's location on the Aequator, the climate is tropical. All of Avnatra was once covered in rainforest, although the southern portions of the island have been cleared since ancient times. Akronist political opposition to logging and resource extraction, especially in the north where Akronists are politically stronger, means there are many protected or otherwise undeveloped areas in the north, including much of the area along the border with Vaklori. Most of northern Tavaris is undeveloped and sparsely populated, particularly in the far north, which is significantly more mountainous than the rest of the country and in some places is even a desert.

Southern Tavaris is the country's industrial base and most populated region. Most of Tavaris' major cities are located here, especially along the Bight of Tavaris in the southwest. Further inland is the primary agricultural region of the country. Off the southeastern coast is King's Island and the capital of Nuvrenon. With the distance too long for a bridge, Nuvrenon is connected to the mainland by a fleet of state-operated hovercrafts and private boats and ships. The portions of King's Island not taken by the Nuvrenon urban area are primarily palm oil plantations, and heavy industry such as manufacturing. There are fewer large cities along the east coast, as this region has borne the historical brunt of Banian invasion, but the city of Good Harbor is one of Tavaris' major ports and the heart of Tavaris' primary coffee and cocoa-growing regions. The body of water to the east of Avnatra is known officially as the Strait of Vaklori but is also known among Tavari as the Sunrise Sea.

Military

The Royal Tavari Navy aircraft carrier Žavražan, foreground, in formation at sea. The Žavražan is one of two Tavari aircraft carriers. In the background are destroyer Kanor VI and corvette Lansai.

The military of Tavaris is the Royal Tavari Armed Forces. Tavaris has a strong military tradition, and for centuries maintained mandatory conscription for citizens of all genders. Mandatory conscription was ended in 2016. The strong military culture was shaped early in Tavari history by the frequent armed conflicts with Bana. Despite the fact that there has been no such attack from Bana since the Great War, the two countries remain on relatively poor terms and there is still a belief that the country must be protected. As such, the military remains one of the most popular institutions in the country.

The Royal Tavari Armed Forces consist of:

  • The Royal Tavari Army
  • The Royal Tavari Navy
  • The Royal Tavari Air Force
  • The Royal Tavari Marshals

While citizens are no longer required to serve in the military, many choose to serve in the reserves, of which there were approximately 2.5 million servicemembers in 2020. The law allows for conscription to resume in the event of a defensive war, in which case all adult citizens would be called back into reserve status to begin training. These reserves would be drawn from as needed onto the front lines. The law does not allow for wartime conscription if Tavaris has not been directly attacked.

Including the Royal Tavari Marshals, the total number of active duty Tavari troops is 599,238. The Marshals are the primary police force for the entire country, as only three cities (Zaram, Dravai, and Lantaž) have established independent, civilian police departments. The Marshals also include the Coast Guard Division and the Border and Immigration Control Division. Excluding the Marshals, who would not be counted among military personnel in many countries, the number of Tavari troops is 362,206.

Tavaris maintains a blue-water navy capable of deployment across the world, although a majority of operations are conducted within the Tavari EEZ, or alongside fellow UCA members in international joint operations. The Empire maintains two nuclear-powered submarines as part of its nuclear deterrent, and two diesel-electric aircraft carriers, one of which is typically (though not always) deployed in a helicopter dock configuration.

On January 19th, 2021, Tavaris announced that it had begun a nuclear weapons program through both a native production program and through an agreement with Vistaraland. The two countries will continue to cooperate in nuclear weapons research and development. Tavaris does not maintain a nuclear triad, instead maintaining sea and air-based nuclear weapons systems. Tavaris does not maintain biological or chemical weapons.

Notable international conflicts in which the Tavari armed forces have participated include the Great War, the Arkian Civil War, the Civil War in Ni-Rao, and UCA engagements in Puntalia and Balistria. Along with Durakia, it participated in the LN military occupation of Karolingia.

Economy

A ŋ20 banknote of the 2021 series, the first to feature the Rodokan language as an official language of Tavaris.

Tavaris is considered to be a developed economy. As in most similar economies, the service sector has grown to become the largest sector of the economy. Historically, agriculture and fishing were the center of the Tavari economy, and both of them remain significant. The Tavari currency is the Tavari Nashdat (TAN), which uses the symbol ŋ.

A tropical country, Tavaris grows and exports timber, tropical fruits and nuts, palm oil, coffee, sugar, and cocoa, among many other products including paper and paper goods. Perhaps Tavaris' most well-known agricultural export is chocolate - the production of chocolate is dated to almost the very beginning of Tavari settlement in the region, and Tavaris exports more chocolate than any other country on Urth. Additionally, Tavaris produces significant amounts of ethanol and bio-fuels, although these are not typically exported but used by the population instead, due to policies that encourage the use of renewable sources of fuel. The overwhelming majority of the Tavari sugar industry was inherited by Acronis after its secession, as well as a major portion of the cocoa industry, though Tavaris retains the majority of the processing facilities for these raw products. The open borders and common market of the Tavari Union are instrumental in the continued functioning of these crucial sectors of the Tavari economy.

Akronist religious teaching has a significant influence on the economy in that it has led to relatively unusual proportions of land use in the country. Akronist religious teaching holds life as sacred, and killing animals in general, but especially to eat, is discouraged. With nearly half of the population being Akronist, demand for meat from livestock is significantly lower than in other countries. As a result, there are much fewer livestock farms, freeing the land to be used for the growth of planted crops. There is, however, one major exception to the Akronist rule on eating animals: seafood. Because Akrona is said to have emerged from the sea, the Church of Akrona teaches that everything that comes from the sea is a blessing and gift from Akrona to the people. A significant percentage of Tavari off-shore area is devoted to fish farms and other aquaculture. The people of Tavaris both eat and export large amounts of seafood, and they also engage in commercial whaling within their territorial waters. Kelp and algae are also grown as bio-fuel resources.

Tavaris has some mineral resources, including significant deposits of cobalt and lithium, as well as copper, nickel, and sand and gravel. There are reserves of silicon in the regions of the Ranat Plateau and the northeastern coast. It has smaller reserves of precious metals like gold and silver, and was once a source of diamonds, but Tavari diamond reserves are thought to have been mostly depleted since the 20th century. Prior to 2022, Tavaris was a producer of manganese, but all these deposits were located in Elatana, now independent. There are some oil reserves off Tavari coastlines, especially among the islands in Metrati Anar. Tavaris does have domestic heavy manufacturing, including automobiles, watercraft, renewable energy equipment such as wind turbines and solar panels, and especially arms and military equipment. Tavaris is also a leading manufacturer and exporter of lithium-ion batteries. Most of these industries are subject to significant environmental rules and other regulatory scrutiny as well as protest by members of the public, especially Akronists.

The services sector, as in other countries, is the largest driver of the Tavari economy. While the relatively strict environmental regulations result in difficulty in other sectors of the economy, they are largely credited with creating an environment that is very popular to visit. Tourism and hospitality are a major source of economic activity in Tavaris, and the government leans hard into tourism as a way to make up for economic limitations elsewhere.