Volinia

Volinia, also called Nuyak in Volin, was a country in Crona. Volinia was founded by and is comprised of Volins, hence the exonym Volinia which means "Land of Volins". The name Volinia is relatively recent, and is used to describe specifically the time period in which the Volins were self-governing. This is in contrast with the endonym Nuyak, which refers to the island itself, and can also refer to modern day Austro-Caldera.

Pre-Settlement (100 BC)
Prior to Volin settling of Nuyak, the Volin people were simply a tribe of indigenous people native to Crona, and were forced to move west due to warfare and starvation. When they found the island of Caldera, they considered it a gift from their god, Mashk, and designated it "Nuyak", which means beautiful land.

Rules of Leadership (50 AD)
After generations have spent their whole lives in Nuyak, the Volin people decided that there needed to be a set leader who could manage criminals and actions relating to the religion of Volinism. Volins wanted their gods to choose, and thus devised a plan where the leader of Volinia must be favored by the gods. To determine favoritism, the Volins held trials.

Trials
The trials consisted of 3 parts, each part meant to determine who was favored by one of the 3 main gods. Whoever passed the most trials would be considered the chosen child of that person's favorite god. If a different person passed each of the trials, then Mashk's favorite would pick the chosen child, which could be anybody, not just people who attempted the trials.

Mashk's trial
In order to become favored by Mashk, those who wanted to become a leader would need to swim to mainland Crona and make it back, faster than any other swimmer. This trial had the highest death rate, due to the cold waters, currents, and vast space that is the channel between Caldera and Crona. However, this was the most important trial, because if no one passed 2 different trials, whoever passed Mashk's trial would be able to choose the next leader of Volinia with no rules on who they could pick.

Bron's trial
Bron's trial is treacherous, but was nonetheless one of the more popular to attempt. Those who wanted to become favored by Bron would need to climb the caldera in the center of Volinia, and make it back to the bottom before others. Many Volin children loved to watch this trial occur, and some would gather at different points on the caldera to root for specific people attempting the trial.

Sirkup's trial
The least deadly but still lethal trial was Sirkup's trial, which would have Volins run into a nearby forest and pick 10 different plants, then the Volins would need to consume all of the plants, and not suffer any adverse effects for a week. Bystanders would record who ate their 10 plants first, and after a week, whoever ate the 10 plants the fastest while not suffering any effects would be considered favored by Sirkup.

Creation of Volinia (51 AD)
No one successfully passed all three trials until the 16th of June in 51, when Red Water was favored by all 3 gods, and became the leader of the Volin people. This designates exactly when the Volin people became self-governing, and the Chosen child of Mashk Red Water united the Volin people, effectively creating the State of Volinia. Although, historians typically consider Volinia to have been established when the rules of leadership were adopted, because this demonstrated mass rule all over Caldera.

Fall of Volinia (1540-1600)
Volinia started to collapse during the Hendalarsk exploration, in part due to the lack of reliance on the Volinian government, but also because of the new Gothic presence turning Volins away from self rule. In 1600, the Volkspartei founded to take control of Volinia, creating the State of Caldera, and therefore dissolving Volinia.