Aciria

Aciria, officially the Grand Empire of Aciria (Acirien: Grand Empire d'Acirie), is a country located in southwestern Sarpedon, bordering Pelaxia, Grajnidar and Volonia. It also shares maritime borders with Kiravia. The seven administrative regions, three special administrative regions and imperial dominions span a combined area of 1,326,488 km2 (512 160 sq mi) and is home to over 76 million people. Aciria is an Absolute Monarchy, with its capital in Trosseurs, which is home to the Imperial Seat. Trosseurs is the largest city in the country, and its main cultural, political and commercial centre. Other notable urban areas include Soleir, Marothien, Pantmàur, Daléir, Guerres, and Chabourg.

The land of modern day Aciria was inhabited by a peoples known as the Glaistos to the Istroyans. The Glaistos were described as a warlike people, with the multiple tribal kingdoms in almost perpetual warfare with each other. Most notable of the tribal kingdoms was the one lead by Three Sisters, who are still beloved in the Acirien nation today. Aciria was eventually annexed into the Caphirian realm which introduced the Latinic people into the region which eventually created the Glaisto-Latinic culture, laying foundation to the Acirien language. The introduction of the Latin and eventual Catholicism brought stability and peace into the region which lasted until Acirien independence in 1615, started by the declaration of the Free Republic of Aciria. An inefficient democracy, the Free Republic suffered from corruption, constant revolts and an unstable leadership due to coups and the People's Senate's inability to agree on various subjects. Despite this, the Free Republic era is remembered for not only its instability, but the first formation of the Acirien identity, highlighting the various tribes that made up the Acirien nation. The tumultuous succession of the governments came to an end in 1783 with the establishment of the Grand Empire of Aciria, declared by Jean I after arresting and executing the First Speaker and crowning himself Grand Emperor. Thanks to the power concentrated on the highly popular emperor and former military leader Jean I and his various reforms, Aciria reached stability it hadn't seen in over a century. After the reforms, a period of rapid cultural, economic and scientific development followed. The stability and prosperity the House of Dupois has brought to the region is the reason the Emperor is still very popular among the people, still ruled by direct descendants of Jean I.

The Acirien economy is highly developed, with the Acirien GDP being third largest on Sarpedon. Despite this, the population has vast economic differences, with a large number of the population living near or under the poverty line. Acirien population is the fifth largest on Sarpedon, with the population growth guaranteed by the controversial law that requires all physically able women to give birth to a minimum of two children in their lifetime. The population enjoys a well-developed public transport system, and benefits from universal healthcare which has quickly raised the Acirien life expectancy since the founding of the Imperial Health Service in the 1950s.

History
Due to limited literacy in the region, much of the early history of Aciria was lost to time, mostly written based on oral tradition and comparing it to archeological dig sites.

Age of the Three Sisters
300 BC to 220 BC is known as Age of the Three Sisters in Aciria. Oral traditions and limited writing from the region told of a local ruler who desperately tried to gain a son to take his throne after he passes, but managed to only bring three daughters to this world; Safo, Canyae, and Nayo. After his passing, the three sisters together took the throne and ruled not as only political leaders, but due to their unparalleled charisma, locals began to see them as envoys of the Gods. The sisters played along, using this as a chance to further expand their power in their petty kingdom. The era is remembered for both its peace, prosperity, and the founding of their capital, Trosseurs (originally Trois Sœurs, lit. Three Sisters) and is a part of the reason why the Three Sisters have been held in high regard in Aciria, even long after their conversion to Catholicism.

Age of the Schism
Once the last sister passed away at the age of 87 in 230 BC, their appointed King Edes ruled for a decade with relative peace. With the Three Sisters still in close memory, people heeded their word as Edes as the next envoy of the Gods as the truth. In 220 BC, a noble named Iodes who served under Edes spoke to his fellow nobles about the irresponsible spending of money on himself instead of the people like his predecessors had, calling him a false envoy. Many nobles agreed with him, and despite Iodes' pleas, many nobles and commoners began calling him the true envoy, calling Edes an impostor. This started the first schism which only deepened as time went on, further, smaller cults claiming their leader to be the true envoy sprouting up. Despite the fact Edes managed to avoid civil war, the schisms caused small-scale conflict in the region between nobles and commoners alike, and the King's power was diminished greatly.

Age of Disorder
The period of political instability started by the First Schism in 220 BC eventually lead to the collapse of the local governments, returning the area to glorified tribal societies warring and raiding against each other. This era is particularly known for its lack of written records, causing historians to suspect a further drop, or perhaps a total loss of literacy in the area. The multitude of archeological digsites in the country have proven that multiple genocides took part in areas of the country, proven by multiple, small mass graves discovered in the heartlands.

Age of Stability
After initial opposition to attempts at converting the local population to Catholicism, the locals quickly accepted the religion once they realized the stability and peace the church brought with it. Finally in 1273, majority of the region had converted to Catholicism. Despite converting to Catholicism, many still practiced their old religion following the Three Sisters in private, seeing the church as simply yet another way the sisters returned peace to the region after centuries of false envoys. It was during this period when more widespread literacy spread back to the region, allowing historians to write down oral traditions and allow the Acirians to start building a national identity over the centuries of tribal allegiance they had experienced.

Age of Instability
Once the schism raging over the continent eventually reached Aciria, the local governor, Silvain Delacroix drafted up a Declaration of Independence for the Free Republic of Aciria with the assistance of local nobles and clergy by offering them a strenghtened position in the soon to be established People's Senate. The Free Republic of Aciria quickly gained popularity with the commoners due to how promising having a say in the local governance seemed, along with the promise of ending instability in the region brought by the schism. Delacroix became the First Speaker to lead the People's Senate and be a figurehead for the new state, while the clergy, commoners and nobles elected their own representatives. The first three years of rule with Delacroix as head of state went relatively smoothly: relative stability was brought back to the region with the newly formed Grand Army of the Republic, and issues were dealt with in the People's Senate. In 1615, however, Delacroix was granted emergency powers to allow swift decisions on how to stabilize the revolting southwestern region of Chantier; local commoners had revolted against the local nobles due to poor working conditions. The commoners in the senate disagreed with this decision, however, reminding the senate of King Edes and what his rule caused to the region. The nobles disagreed, and after hours of debating, the commoners walked out of the senate; encouraging the commoners to revolt against the "Nouveau Roi, lit. New King". The senate quickly fell apart after this, with the nobles seizing power under First Speaker Laurent. Eventually Laurent's policies angered the clergy, which then caused them to overthrow the nobles, putting a council of clergymen in charge. Such coups happened over and over again, followed by usually revolts of varying sizes.

Age of The Empire
For over 150 years, the region had been in near constant civil war, and leadership changed almost as quickly as the seasons. Due to the instability, many left their homes for nearby lands as refugees to find peace and stability, which obviously wasn't going to happen in their home country. The population dropped due to emigration and deaths from disease, malnourishment, crime and conflict, economic growth was nonexistent and little to no noteworthy works of culture were created in this era, other than the beloved Le Dirigeant, a book satirizing the selfish ruling class who put their own personal gain over the wellness of the nation. In 1783 after returning from a successful campaign on the island of Montvert, First Speaker Dumont granted Commander Dupois the title Marshal of Aciria, and Dupois enjoyed both the admiration of the people, and the loyalty of the military. In the early morning of July 7th, 1783, three months after returning to Trosseurs, he rode to the estate of Dumont with three of his Captains. The guards at the estate knew what was going to happen; they stepped aside and not only let them enter, but joined them. Dupois and his entourage arrested the First Speaker for treason against Aciria and her people, parading him through Trosseurs to the market square, where his crimes were read before the people, and executed on the spot, with no trial. Dupois then rode to the People's Senate, presenting them with the head of the former First Speaker, and declaring himself the First Emperor of Aciria; out of both fear and respect, the senate had no objections for it, and so the Empire of Aciria was born.

Dupois quickly established a more efficient administrative system known as La Chaine, and reduced corruption remarkably with the establishment of Police Administrative Impériale in 1790, which also functioned as an intelligence service, allowing him to arrest and kill any opposition before it became any real risk to his power. For a brief moment Dupois also instituted conscription for any able-bodied man in 1795 to bolster the army's numbers and deter any foreign invasions, but in 1805 conscription was removed due to how insubordinate the army had become. Similarly to the senate, out of both respect and fear, the general populace also allowed Dupois' oppressive regime to stay in power, along with the fact this had been the first time in nearly two centuries a single person had kept power for more than a decade. Dupois knew Aciriens feared instability and return to disorder more than anything, using the stability he brought as a propaganda tool.

Geography
The geography of Aciria has been both a blessing and a curse for the Aciriens. Most of the Acirien lands are plains and flatlands, which has made Aciria an easy source of invasion from both foreign- and domestic powers. This has directly affected the turbulent history of the nation. The plentiful flatlands alongside the multiple rivers splitting the nation allowed the Aciriens to turn the landscape into vast fields to grow various crops in, and to this day Acirien heartlands are known for their vast and beautiful fields, which still feeds the nation.

In the Griffe peninsula in the southwest of the nation and the southeastern Montagner regions are the only sections of the country with notable elevation from the rest of the country, shown by the Montagners who've managed to stay as a distinct language and ethnic group despite Acirien efforts to assimilate them into the masses. Various mines have been established in the Montagner region over the years, with various minerals, most notably chromium being discovered in the mountains there.

Climate and environment
The Acirien nation experiences mainly three kinds of climates; in the southwestern Griffe peninsula a marine climate can be experienced, making the summers warm and humid with cool and damp winters. Rainfall is common during both seasons, and during summer the temperatures can go up to 30°C, and during the winter it can reach as low as 15°C. The mean average temperature of the year is 11°C. Majority of the nation experiences a lessened maritime climate, resulting in hot summers and cold winters. In the mountainous Montagner region of the southeast a subarctic climate is experienced, making the region notably colder than rest of the nation. Summers are short and mild, while the winters are cold and snowfall is common. During summer fog is a common sight in the valleys when moisture coming from the ocean gets trapped between them.

Government
The revamped constitution of 1784 grants the Emperor of Aciria the final say over all matters both foreign and domestic, alongside with the power to overrule any decisions made by the Grand Assembly. The Grand Assembly, on paper, is open to all citizens of Aciria. In reality, the Imperial Senate is practically inaccessible to someone with no nobility, military or aristocratic ties, as the Imperial Senate consists of nobility, high ranking military officers, and aristocrats. The Imperial Senate is responsible for the drafting of new laws and debating the budget on the first month of each year.

The People's Senate is more accessible, but still practically inaccessible to a vast number of the population: it consists of lower nobles, lower ranking military officers and upper middle class to upper class citizens. The People's Senate's duty is to inspect the laws drafted and budgets proposed by the Imperial Senate before it is presented to the Emperor, but the People's Senate has little to no say in the matters, effectively being just another bureaucratic body. Both the Imperial- and the People's Senate has their representatives changed once a decade with an election.

Administrative divisions
The seven administrative regions are Valarién, Aciries Marines, Sainte-Beatrice, Gamme Orientale, Portée Nord, Dutelle and Pâtnoir. The administrative regions are all ruled by an Imperial Governor, who rules til death. The Imperial Governor is appointed by the Emperor himself, appointing only those he trusts the most to these roles, such as close family. The three special administrative regions are Trosseurs, Chantier and Teravien. Trosseurs is directly ruled by the Emperor, as it is where the seat of the Empire and the Imperial Palace is located, but both Chantier and Teravien are ruled by a military junta loyal to the Emperor. Both of the regions earned this after repeated revolts in the regions, and despite for nearly half a century since the last noteworthy instability, the military maintains a strong grip on the region. The Imperial Dominions are bits of land of Aciria which are directly owned by the Emperor, not by the state. Such a dominion is Montvert, which is home to the Imperial Retreat. Despite this, all citizens of Aciria are allowed on Montvert and other Imperial Dominions due to the incredible beauty and historical significance these places may have for the people.

Grand Army of the Empire
Officially formed in 1785 after two years Dupois took the throne, the army has then maintained both a constant presence in domestic affairs since its formation. After the failed Conscription Act of 1795, the army maintained its professional army until 1895 when Dupois' grandson Julien Dupois took the throne, and made a year long conscription mandatory for every able-bodied man. Ever since the act the definition of "able-bodied" has been hotly debated in the Imperial Senate, which has caused ages of either a more relaxed conscription, or a more strict conscription. Originally controversial, over time the conscription has become a rite of passage for young men in Aciria; and a chance for even the most disenfranchised of society to rise up to a higher social class via a military rank.

Police Administrative Impériale
Formed in 1795, the Police Administrative Impériale (PAI) has also had a constant presence in both domestic and foreign matters. PAI has been both praised for securing stability in the nation and rooting out corruption that plagued the nation before the Dupois took over and criticized for infringing on the personal liberties and privacy of innocent civilians, and even accused of making people "go away". Until the 1950s, the PAI had a zero tolerance policy for speaking out against the state or the Emperor, but after reforms in 1957 and 1959, criticism of the government was allowed, and PAI's reputation has been slowly on the rise ever since, even if still somewhat controversial.

Imperial Guard
The Garde Impériale are the elite soldiers of Aciria, who are tasked with defending the Emperor and his possessions. The exact number of Imperial Guard is classified, with most of their numbers suspected to work in the military until a crisis calls for the assembly of the Imperial Guard. They are famously picked from the most promising of conscripts and trained relentlessly, sometimes even causing the deaths of new recruits who simply can't keep up with the rigorous training routine they have to go through. Typically they are seen outside of the Imperial Palace in Trosseurs, on Montvert or accompanying the Emperor's vehicles during his visits to other areas of his realm.

Economy
Aciria is a well-developed, middle-high income mixed economy. According to the 2018 report, 58% of the population is employed in the service industry, followed by 27% in the industrial sector and the remaining 15% in the primary sector. Despite the well-developed economy, many Aciriens live near or below the poverty line, employed by both the industrial and primary sector.

Primary sector
Majority of those working in the primary sector are employed in one way or another by agriculture. Due to the vast flatlands and fertile soil in Pâtnoir, many people chose to stay in the countryside and tend to the crops even after the 19th century industrial reforms made cities a more desirable location of living. Partially this was caused by majority of the farms owned by single families for centuries, amassing massive wealth. Typically the descendants of those working on these farms tend to stick to the profession of their parents, keeping a healthy rural population and an unusually large primary sector.

The second largest employer is the mining industry located mainly in the southeastern Montagner region by the Grajnidarian border. The industry has caused mass migration of Aciriens to move to the Montagner region since 19th century after jobs and in the early 20th century, a gold rush. The largest resources excavated in the Acirien mines are gold, chromium, tin and iron.

The fishing industry is located almost exclusively in the Aciries Marines region on the Griffe peninsula, with small fishing companies over time being bought out into larger conglomerates, such as Nutripois. The fish populations have been waning for decades, causing activists to campaign for the government to intervene in the large scale fishing operations off the Acirien coast for the sake of biodiversity.

Industrial sector
Acirien industry has slowly waned as the population moved away from factories to service jobs in the second half of the 20th century. As a result of this, many domestic companies went bankrupt and were either bought out by other domestic companies, birthing conglomerates like Voielle, buying out both Auto Impériale and AcirAir's manufacturing wing. Because of these mergers, Voielle employs thousands of Aciriens in the manufacturing industry, creating cars, airplanes and telecommunications. Other major Acirien industrial sectors are pharmaceuticals and chemicals. Minor oil deposits off the coast of Aciries Marines in the 1980s has also caused a small oil industry to pop up in the region.

Infrastructure
For most of Acirien history, infrastructure inland was practically nonexistent, causing settlements to grow on the coast due to the ease of movement between cities via the sea. It wasn't until Emperor Julien formed the Imperial Railway in 1865 and began building nationwide railway systems, finally connecting the smaller inland settlements to the prosperous coastal cities, allowing both goods and people to move with ease. Imperial Railway is still the only rail company in the nation, but with the invention of cars and the massive highway projects Emperor Florien ordered, the importance of the railways has lessened over time. The local railways and subways in larger cities such as Trosseurs are referred to as Rail Metropolitan, and the railways stretching longer swathes of land are referred to as Rail Rural. The Rail Metropolitan in Trosseurs is highly affordable and the main method of transport  in the capital, transporting 120 000 passengers daily.

Demographics
By far the majority of nation identifies as Acirien, an umbrella term consisting of multiple former tribes that inhabited the modern day area of Aciria. The only notable minority in the nation is known as the Montagner, who are one of the Acirien tribes that refused assimilation under the umbrella term due to their distinct cultural and linguistic development caused by their remote location in the mountainous regions of the country, having limited contact with the other Aciriens until the 19th century. Other ethnic groups in the country are made up of whatever expats and other foreigners that have settled in the country over the years, which aren't accurately accounted for in the census.

Languages
Both the Free Republican constitution of 1615 and the Imperial constitution of 1783 declare Acirien to be the sole official language of Aciria. The establishment of Académie Acirien in Trosseurs in 1799 has overseen the linguistic development and sanctity of the Acirien language, ensuring minimal foreign influence in the language. Prior to the 19th century, Acirien was only seen as the dialect of what is now known as Acirien spoken in the region in and around Trosseurs, but assimilation and nationalism efforts in the 19th century created an Acirien language and identity. The only dialect that to date has refused to assimilate has been the mountaineer peoples of the southeast, the Montagners, who still demand to be recognised on a judicial level as both an official language and a minority language, which would grant protection against assimilation.

Education
The modern Acirien education system can be traced back to the Education Act established by Jean I Dupois in 1783 which enforced the construction of People's Schools in the countryside to raise the literacy rates in the nation. The attendance in People's Schools was voluntary however, causing many parents to not send their children there and instead enlist their help at the farm as usual. Mandatory schooling was signed into effect by Emperor Florien in 1888, who is commonly seen as the father of the Acirien education system.

The education system is divided into three stages, primary, secondary and higher education. Primary is divided into years 1 to 6 and 7 to 9, years 7 to 9 usually being held at another location from 1 to 6. Despite all three stages of education being funded by the government, schools typically are segregated by the financial background of the students, becoming more apparent in secondary- and higher education due to them being application based, where the parents of the applicants can use their connections to ensure spots at  more prestigious schools. The government has promised to crack down on this discrimination since the 1980s, but little change has been seen since. Higher education in particular is accused of discriminating against students of lower economic backgrounds, with 93% of new students annually coming from upper-middle class or upper class families. Notable centers of higher education are the Imperial University of Trosseurs, the first university in Aciria, established in 1576, and the University of Marothien, established in 1872. Imperial Academy of Trosseurs and the Naval Academy of Soleir often accept applicants of lower economic backgrounds due to the possibility of rising in social status via the military.

Health
The Acirien health care system provides various healthcare services to all Acirien citizens, with the patient paying a percentage of the fees themselves, based on their income. Typically the patient has to pay between 10 to 30 percent of the fee. The government established Imperial Insurance is required to be able to benefit from the subsidized healthcare. This only applies to public, government ran hospitals and clinics, while the private owned, for profit hospitals can bill the patient for the full price of the treatments they received. Typically, higher income households prefer to use private insurance and use private hospitals, benefiting the lower income citizens by freeing up hospital beds and medical professionals in the public sector.

Smoking is common in Aciria despite decades of government campaigns against smoking to reduce the future medical expenses caused by the health problems that develop from smoking. Obesity has been on the rise since the 1970s, which is another source of concern for the government, causing the government to fine companies with overweight employees to encourage companies to encourage physical activity in their employees. Despite the rising obesity, Aciriens are some of the slimmest people on Sarpedon.

Culture
Acirien culture combines indigenous heritage, rooted around the cult of Three Sisters of antiquity, along with the Latinic and Catholic influences brought over to Aciria over time. The culture of Aciria has rapidly changed since the dawn of the 19th century after never before seen stability in the region brought by the Empire, particularly the rapid urbanization after the dawn of the Empire. Due to the different tribes of Aciriens, regions have minor cultural and linguistic differences from Aciria Proper, the tribe that eventually assimilated most of the cultures into it in the 19th century. In the south by the border of Grajnidar the local Montagner people have a vastly different culture and dialect to that of rest of Aciria, caused by their seclusion from the other tribes and influence from trade with the Vsikites that also inhabit the region.

Cuisine
Acirien cuisine has a relatively short history and not largely known outside of Aciria. The instability caused people to prefer simple cuisines based on the meats, fish or various crops grown in their local area, and even these changed from tribe to tribe. It wasn't until the 1850s when an Acirien cuisine was uplifted from its humble roots due to wanting to change the public perception of the nation from a backwater unstable country to a sophisticated, modern 19th century state. One of the most well-known dishes of this era is Jambons Cuits á la Vapeur, lit. Steamed Hams. It is the most widely known Acirien dish, with traditionally a steamed pork cutlet in the middle with buns both under and above it. Various condiments are usually enjoyed with it.

Soups are rare in Aciria other than the Montagner region due to soups being perceived as poverty food. Even the lower social classes do their best to avoid soup to avoid being seen as poor or lower class; the Montagner region has various soups that have become popular with the upper classes of the nation. These often include mushrooms, deer or boar and potatoes.

Entertainment
Acirien entertainment industry has quickly risen from basically nonexistent to a billion fleur industry since the beginning of the 20th century. The most widely appreciated piece of Acirien entertainment is Conflits Galactiques, a space opera set in a galaxy long time ago, far, far away. The creator Grégoire Luc rose to international fame shortly after the release of the first movie in the franchise in the 1970s. Most Acirien entertainment is directed at the Acirien market, with majority of it being exclusively in Acirien. Popular domestic products often are subtitled or dubbed and shipped to foreign markets, but in small amounts due to little demand. Acirien detective dramas are popular on foreign markets, particularly titles such as Doubting my Visions, The Phantom with Silver Hair and Whispers of Patriots. The appreciation of Acirien entertainment on the international markets has started slow expansion of the film industry with both private and government investments, with putting emphasis on quality subtitling or dubbing to make Acirien language entertainment less intimidating to foreign markets. The majority of the entertainment industry is located in Trosseurs.

Sports


With no particular sport being valued universally in the nation, by far the most popular sport is football. Both local and international games are followed by millions with football hooligans being an uncommon sight at these games. Football is particularly popular and widely played in the Valarién region, where the most successful football stars and teams originate from. Other regional favourites are sailing in the marine regions of Aciries Marines and Portée Nord, equestrianism in Trosseurs and skiing and archery in Sainte-Beatrice, the region where most snowfall is most common and widespread. Particularly the Montagners are celebrated on a national level due to their skill in archery.