The Two Derics

The term the Two Derics refers to two identically named but separate (though related) debates occurring in the Kingdom of Dericania in the 19th century. The disputes, largely fought between intellectuals and scholars of the Bergendii people and Derian people, surrounded questions of national identity and cultural association within the eastern Holy Levantine Empire and played a crucial role in the Fraternal Wars.

The first debate occurred within the nationalist revival during and following the Deric defeat in the Third Caroline War and considered the question of whether or not the Bergendii were considered to be part of the Derian people and, accordingly, if they had a role in any "Derian state" to be formed in the future. During this debate, the "maximalist position" - that is, that they ought to be included - was prevalent among most prominent Derian nationalist but was not popular among the Bergendii themselves. The Maximalist position espoused the idea of "Great Dericania", which included not only "heartland Derians" and the Bernendii but also the people of Hollona and Diorisia and Lutsana. The first debate came to a head with Le Crise della Dix, a political crisis following the Third Caroline War wherein Bergendii were expected to surrender land to fellow Derian princes in the name of national solidarity. The resulting First Fratricide established an independent Bergendii nation, Burgundie. Latent Burgophobia proved to be a strong unifying force which enabled the Derian national project to come to encompass Lutsana and Hollona and Diorisia.

The second debate occurred from the 1890s to the 1920s and concerned the construction of the Kingdom of Dericania, which was now largely dominated by Burgundie and an opposing bloc of Derian princes. The second debate specifically related to whether or not Burgundie should be a part of Dericania at all or if a united Derian realm could be created out of the Kingdom by separating Burgundie, either by elevating the latter to a Kingdom, making it a nominal part of the Imperial Kingdom of Urcea, by divesting the Emperor of the Levantines of the Dericanian crown in order to create a single realm, or some combination of the above options. This primarily legal and political debate was not resolved until the Second Great War and dominated the political discourse of the day in both the Derian realms and Burgundie, leading to the abdication of Emperor August I in 1920 among other incidents. The creation of the Deric States apart from Burgundie following the Third Fratricide provided the final resolution to the second Deric question.