Nysdra Provisional Republic

The Nysdra Provisional Republic, commonly referred to simply as NPR or the Four Neighbors Republic was a country in Cusinaut. The country declared independence from Algoquona following the successful offensive of the Royal and Confederate Army in the Four Neighbors Campaign.

Name
The official name of the Republic - the "Nysdra Provisional Republic" - was established in the declaration of independence from Algoquona and in subsequent official documents of the Republic. The term originated as a generic hypothetical term for any state which became independent of Algoquona during the Final War of the Deluge and was subsequently adopted by the peoples of the Republic. In common Levantine parlance, however, the Republic was known as the "Four Neighbors Republic" after the common nickname of the constituent peoples of the Republic.

Northern Confederation
The four constituent members of the Republic were founding members of the Northern Confederation, a loose political alliance of tribes, cities, and statelets of Cusinaut intended to maintain internal political harmony and project a unified defense against Occidental encroachment. The Honeoye and rival Algosh were among the leading members of the Confederation. The Confederate period lead to relative peace, including decreased border conflict between the four constituent peoples of the Republic. The growing power of the Honeoye and Algosh, increased Occidental interference, and decreased internal cohesion lead to the gradual dissolution in the Confederation, culminating in the War of the Northern Confederation in the late 2000s.

Algosh domination
The collapsing Northern Confederation could not agree on a course of action in the War of the Northern Confederation against the intervention of Urcea in the internal affairs of the Confederation. Without Confederate sanction, the Algosh lead military action against Urcea, leading a smaller coalition of Confederation members from north and west of the conflict area. While Algosh forces fought against the Urceans, the Confederation's essential dissolution into non-functioning paved the way for the diplomatic protections that smaller Confederation members enjoyed to also dissolve. Citing wartime necessity and the need for a unified front, the Algosh invaded most of the Confederation's members with a handful of non-Algosh allies, who were organized as the first autonomous chiefs of Algoquona. All four of the constituent members of what would become the Republic - the Honeoye, the Gowandis, the Canandaigua, and the Saranac - had been neutral in the war with Urcea, but had provided the Algosh the ability to pass through their territory on the way to the conflict. All four members resisted the Algosh invasion but due to the superior forces of the Algosh, as well as their familiarity with the four peoples' territories and position of troops already inside their territories, each of the four quickly fell in succession. They were reorganized as chiefdoms within the Algoquonan system. The Cape and many Occidental nations, especially Carna, objected, but most recognized the annexation as a fait accompli. The conquests were recognized by Urcea in the Treaty of Narasseta which formally ended the War of the Northern Confederation.

The four peoples began immediate, low-level resistance to Algosh domination. The various resistance efforts were never numerous nor well organized enough to present a serious threat to Algoquona, with the most serious incidents being minor ambushes by guerilla forces on military caravans. The destruction of most of the professional Algoquonan military in 2017's Operation Western Blizzard lead to bands of guerillas seizing many villages and large segments of territory but failing to organize or seize major cities. The conflicts between Algoquona and the Occident between 2016 and 2017 had the effect of abrogating the Treaty of Narasseta, giving guerillas and locals access to Occidental weapons and supplies. Unfortunately for resistance efforts, Algoquona made pacifying the region their top priority following the conflicts with the Occident. Newly conscripted forces, as well as tribal militias from Algoquona's western subjects, launched a major offensive into the four peoples' territories. The area was classified as an "ongoing warzone" by the League of Nations in 2018-19, with the Algosh ultimately triumphing and reestablishing control of the entire territory by August 2019. Settlement efforts by Algosh colonists intensified following the conclusion of the conflict. Large numbers of guerrillas and militiamen were captured by the Algosh but, due to their lack of military resources because of Operation Western Blizzard, these men were mostly conscripted into the Algoquonan military for service against the Occident. Put under the command of Algosh commandants, these forces made up a large segment of the new Southern Army, training on the border with New Yustona. Leaders among the Algosh believed that the conscripted forces could not be used against other peoples of Cusinaut, but would be dependable fighting against Occidental encroachment.

Society and cultural groups
Unlike many other groupings of peoples to become independent of Algoquona, the four constituent groups of the Nysdra Provisional Republic shared little in common (besides a distant relation between the Gowandis and Canandaguia) besides their shared antipathy of the Algosh and origin within the Northern Confederation. Accordingly, each of the four peoples had largely different cultural mores and traditions. Additionally, the four peoples within the Republic had very little economic integration with one another prior to the establishment of the Republic's independence, although wartime necessity began to create bonds of economic interdependence between the four tribes and with New Yustona for the provision of basic goods as well as for the logistical support of the Royal and Confederate Army. The natural give-and-take relationship of neighbors resulted in several major disagreements between the four peoples over the course of the Republic's existence. These disagreements lead to major delays of the Royal and Confederate Army's prosecution of the war as it had to play the role of mediator in several would-be conflicts. The worst confrontation took place in October of 2023 as a Gowandis hunting party was shot and killed by Honeoye landowners, citing encroachment and poaching. The event nearly lead to war before the Royal and Confederate Army successfully intervened.

Honeoye
The largest constituent peoples of the Nysdra Provisional Republic are the Honeoye, who, in 2021, were numbered at more than a half a million people. The Honeoye are unique among the four constituent peoples that comprised the Republic as they have no known relations to other tribal groups or peoples; they are one of the few fully freestanding peoples in Cusinaut. Their lands exist on the eastern shore of Cusinaut just to the northeast of the pre-war border of New Yustona. With a large coastal territory, the Honeoye are known to be some of the most experienced mariners and navigators of the Nysdra, being some of the most prodigious and most productive fishermen of the northern Crona area. Consequently, the Honeoye are well-known for having a fish-based diet. Within the practices of M'acunism, the Honeoye are also well-known for their large sacrifices of fish, and during the 20th century, the Honeoye experienced large economic growth as a major exporter of fish for sacrifice to the other members of the Northern Confederation. The coastal cities of the Honeoye are well developed as a result and many of them have relatively modern port infrastructure and urban life by Occidental standards. The Honeoye hinterlands, however, are much like the hinterlands of the rest of Cusinaut - dense boreal forests with scattered villages who live largely along traditional lines, both in terms of social organization as well as technological development.

Due to the relative wealth of the Honeoye, they were unique among the peoples of the Northern Confederation inasmuch as they were ruled by a King, rather than by a council or high chief. The Honeoye were extremely influential within the Confederation and began to be perceived as a threat by the 1970s. The Honeoye were perceived as the rival of the Algosh for control over the Confederation, with the former having commercial power and the latter military power. The tensions between the Honeoye and the rest of the Confederation were one of the points of contention that lead to the collapse of the Confederation and the War of the Northern Confederation. The Algosh conquered these extremely lucrative territories during the chaotic period in the late 2000s. The Honeoye were ruled by their own ethnic chief during this period of Algosh occupation, but had the least autonomy of any of the subject chiefs due to the threat posed to Algosh control. After independence, the ruler of the Honeoye has adopted the title of Regent rather than of King on a provisional basis.

Gowandis and Canandaigua
The Gowandis are the second largest constituent peoples of the Republic, comprising of about 470,000 people. The Canandaigua are the third most populous, comprised of about 450,000 people. They are distantly related to each other, but are unique among peoples of Cusinaut in not having what is considered to be a "senior branch"; oral tradition and archaeology speak of what is known as a "great split", cleaving a single people into two similarly sized groups rather than having an offshoot of one people from another as is common in Cusinaut (and occurred with the Saranac, another constituent of the Republic). This split is thought to have occurred in the 1400s or as late as the 1560s and is traditionally ascribed to a difference in Kānenaka. Unlike other Kānenaka-related splits, traditions say that the two figures each side recognize were brothers and great heroes who fought the Algosh. Despite shared heritage and cultural mores, the split have created a historical rivalry between the two groups which has seen major conflict erupt between them, even during the period of the relative peace of the Northern Confederation. These borders between these two peoples has shifted consistently shifted as both sides have vied for good agricultural lands and hunting territory. The Canandaigua lands sit on the coast north of the Honeoye, but unlike their southern neighbors they do not have a strong maritime tradition and their territory is relatively undeveloped. The land of the Gowandis sits to the west of the Canandaigua and south of the land of the Saranac, and like the Canandaigua their land is relatively undeveloped and organized along traditional lines. The largest city among the four peoples is Cohocton, which sits in Gowandis territory and served as the provisional capital city of the Republic. Although it sits inland unlike the large cities of the Honeoye, Cohocton sits along a major travel route into the interior of Cusinaut which bypasses the mountain ranges to the west of New Yustona, making it the site of significant Occidental investment and trade. It is one of the few cities within the four constituent peoples recognizably built using Levantine urban planning methods. During the period of the Northern Confederation, Cohocton served as the de facto diplomatic capital city of the Confederation as it was the only city where permanent Occidental embassies were allowed. Most of the embassies were closed following the conquest of the Gowandis by the Algosh, and the former embassies provided lavish estate homes to senior Algosh military officials until the city was liberated.

Saranac
The Saranac are the least populous peoples of the Nysdra Provisional Republic, numbering at about 350,000 people. Unlike the other members of the Republic, they are related - albeit distantly - to the Algosh peoples. Oral traditions, confirmed by scholarly research, indicate that the Saranac broke off from the Algosh due to a difference in Kānenaka, a concept within the M'acunist religion relating to ancestor worship. This break is believed to have occurred in the 13th or 14th century. Consequently, the Saranac observe many similar festivals and cultural mores as the Algosh but with what could be described as "regional differences". During Algosh control in the 2010s, the government of Algoquona actively attempted efforts to culturally integrate the Saranac as within the Algosh people as part of efforts. These efforts, employing differing means of education and force, were actively resisted by the Saranac on socio-political grounds moreso than religious ones, though the underlying religious differences were featured in prominent Saranac rhetoric as well. The Saranac territory sits on the northern boundary of what was the Republic's territory neighboring the Algosh core territories.

Algosh
The Algosh people are present within the Nysdra Provisional Republic as a significant minority population within each of the four constituent groups and are not considered to be a fifth constituent group. Algosh peoples number about 75,000. Algosh were primarily settled within the lands of the Honeoye, Gowandis, and Canandaguia during the decade of control of the territory of the Republic by Algoquona. Settlement within Saranac land was discouraged as part of an effort to foster friendly relations with the Saranac as part of the government's larger strategy to integrate them into the Algosh people proper. Algosh minorities within these lands also date, in some cases, to the period of the Northern Confederation, dividing the Algosh into two groups - the so-called "colonist" and "neighbor" groups. Although they retain their Algosh heritage, the "neighbor" groups in many cases have lived in the country for centuries and are largely loyal to local tribal and national leadership rather than the Kaigwa government. The colonist group refers to Algosh who relocated as part of the aforementioned state building efforts, many of whom were garrisoned forces and their families. With the Final War of the Deluge, many of these garrisoned forces returned home or were ejected, but many of the newly arrived families decided to stay and attempt to integrate, having given up most of their belongings to try and begin new lives in the lands of the four peoples.

Both neighbor and colonist groups were subject to considerable prejudice during the establishment of the Republic, with the Royal and Confederate Army eventually having to establish garrisons at Algosh settlements to prevent attacks from the other peoples of the Republic.

Government and administration
The Nysdra Provisional Republic, as a temporary state, had very little central governing bodies to speak of. The four constituent peoples of the Republic maintained their own internal governing structures complete with their own methods - both administrative and traditional - of providing for the welfare and education of their people. These systems were bolstered by additional funding from Urcea which allowed the individual peoples to build new schools and hospitals.

Two major institutions were responsible for the governance of the Nysdra Provisional Republic, one of which was official and the other unofficial. The officially-recognized "sovereign body" of the Republic was the "Provisional War Council of the Provisional Republic", an irregularly-meeting body of the leaders of each of the four peoples as well as three designees each. This Council was primarily responsible for establishing the foreign policy of the Republic with the limited number of entities - primarily NSTA states - that recognized it, as well as providing for strategic aims for the Royal and Confederate Army to achieve in addition to providing the Army with advice and contact for local tribal officials within Algoquona. The Council also had limited legislative authority to create internal trade agreements and provide definitive conflict resolution between the constituent members. The Council had no president or speaker but did have a Secretary elected by the Council uniamimously, who was responsible for conveying the decisions of the Council and served as the effective "public face" of the Republic as well as its only senior official.

The unofficial and primary leading governing body of the Republic was, in actuality, the Royal and Confederate Army, on whose fortunes the Republic was entirely reliant. Many scholars and Occidental intelligence officials offered that the Republic was "established in support of the Royal and Confederate Army" and "served no purpose other than the organization of friendly territory for the Army to operate in and recruit out of". Critics of Occidental intervention in Crona, as a consequence, have referred to the Republic as a " state of the highest order" in the words of Carnish speaker Robert Meighan. Accordingly, the leadership of the Army has a significant amount of influence on both the Provisional War Council as well as the individual administration of each of the four peoples.

Military
On June 1 2022, the NPR announced that it formally declared the Royal and Confederate Army as its official military force in collaboration with New Yustona. The same day, the Provisional War Council began recruiting and training forces to be attached to the Royal and Confederate Army.