Veria

High Kingdom of the Verian Isles Àrd Rioghachd na Eileanan Vèrannach (Àthaic)
Flag Royal Icon
Motto: "Urram agus Glòir" "Honor and Glory"
Anthem: "The Fian's Last Voyage" (Turas mu Dheireadh an Fhian)
Veria (top right) and Galemòr (bottom left) in green
Location	North Concordian Ocean
Capital	Ruinaith
Largest	Lotharne
Official languages	Àthaic
Demonym(s)	Verian
Government	Plutocratic monarchy
• High King	Artagan IV Taranìr
• Upper house	Noble Council (Comhairle Uasail)
• Lower house	Guild House (Taigh Guilidh)
Population
• 2023 estimate	17,400,000
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	$748 billion
• Per capita	$40,000
Currency	Verian Aonad (🝪) (AON)
Calling code	+7
ISO 3166 code	VI
Internet TLD	.vi

Veria (Àthaic: Vèrinn), officially the High Kingdom of the Verian Isles (Àthaic: Àrd Rioghachd na Eileanan Vèrannach) is an island nation in the northern Concordian Ocean, located just west of Borea and east of Novaris, the latter of which it holds territory on through the Crown Colony of Galemòr. Veria shares no land borders with any other nation on Urth, and the only nation it borders by sea is Kurandia. Out of Veria's 17.4 million population, 8.9 million live on Mòrrùn, the largest of the five main islands. The capital of Veria is Ruinaith, and its largest city is Lotharne.

Modern Verian history begins with the rise of the Kingdom of Àthia, formed from the unification of the County of Kèr Seanaire with the lesser Àthic city states. Under the semi-mythical King Alator à Seanaire, the Kingdom of Àthia conquered most of the Verian Isles, spreading what would eventually become Àthaic, the modern language of Veria. Though Àthia eventually collapsed in the Àthic Strife upon the death of King Alator II, the Mòrrùn Kingdom rose from the conflict of the Strife, establishing itself as the first true predecessor to the modern Verian state. It was during the Mòrrùn Era that the Kingdom of Malainn was conquered and subjugated, marking it as one of the five principal kingdoms of the Verian Isles. The Mòrrùn Era ended with the partition of the kingdom between the three heirs of King Arlen V in 979.

The High Kingdom of Veria as it exists today was born in the aftermath of the Verian Consolidation Wars, a series of military and religious conflicts spanning roughly the first half of the 14th century. By the conclusion of the Consolidation Wars, King Midir of Àthia held the crowns of all five kingdoms, and was crowned as the first High King of Veria. Under his rule the Verian Guilds came into formal power, and the exploration that would eventually lead to Verian colonialism began. The colonial period lasted from the 15th century to the early 20th, ending with the outbreak of the Great War, and only briefly interrupted in the 18th century with the Guilder Revolt of 1717, which most historians mark as the origin of the contemporary Verian government.

Formed from a union of the monarchy and the Verian Guilds, the Verian government shares power between a High King and a legislature formed from both the nobles of the lesser kingdoms and the leaders of the guilds, semi-governmental organizations that function as both state corporations and regulatory bodies for their respective fields. It is up to the citizens of Veria to vote for which nobles represent their region on the Noble Council, and up to the guilds to decide who represents their interests in the Guild House. The High King is a hereditary position kept in check by the two halves of the legislature, and may be replaced upon a two-thirds majority vote from both the Noble Council and the Guild House, though this has only happened once in Verian history.

While small, Veria is a considerable regional power with a prospering economy, of which very little goes to military expenses. Veria maintains a small, well-trained army and a more significant navy, reinforced with its diplomatic ties to Norgsveldet, with which it has been allied since before unification, dating back to the Kingdom of Àthia and the Kingdom of Novreheim. Veria maintains observer status in the Borean Assembly and associate status in the League of Novaris, but is not formally part of either organization.

History

Guilder Revolt

Historical Background

The Guilder Revolt of 1717 was a period of civil conflict centered around and resulting from the longstanding power struggle between guild and state. By the early 18th century the Verian guilds were a long-established force in both politics and government, and with the advent of the Industrial Revolution in Veria the so-called 'Guilder' class—a social strata of guild magnates—had risen significantly enough in station to rival the nobility in political influence and power. Though the guilds had held sway in the High King’s court since the 15th century, the advancement of the guild magnates was the first time in Verian history that they stood on equal footing with the nobility, and many among their ranks were no longer content to serve a noble as their High King.

Rise of the Lodges

Guilder society was unimaginably exclusive, as demonstrated by the Loidsean Guilidh (Guild Lodges), private societies formed from the only most privileged members of an already privileged class. The lodges were organized as secret meetings of the high society, and became hotbeds for philosophical and political debate among the most prominent guild magnates. At the fore of popular Guilder rhetoric was the concept of Tionnsgainneach Riaghailt (Magnate Rule), a political philosophy that advocated for the magnates, as the champions of the Industrial Revolution in an evolving society, to rule the nation at the head of the guilds, which themselves would act as bodies of governance. The concept, famously characterized as "a monopoly over the state" by Duke Íomhar Taranìr, advocated for a peaceful transfer of power from the nobility to the magnates through the purchase of titles. The common belief was that if the guilds could acquire the titles assigned to important court functions, they could take over the government like investors buying shares to acquire a company.

Guilds in Government

A stylized oil painting of the Verian Council Building by court painter Cynbel MacAngus, 1733.