Therica

Links for The Lady Republic of Therica, The People's Republic of Therica, The Arcane Commonwealth of Cearth and The Divine Empire of Therica redirect here.

Overview
Therica, officially the Republic of Therica, is an island nation on the East coast of the Sea of Benth, comprised of the main island of Therica, New Bloemfield Island and the Trelis Islands, an occupied sector of the city of Paul, Waxwaerlia, called the Colonial Sector, a similar sector in the city of Kohlusen, Skyrift, and the Isle of Labrador. These territories are all represented directly in the Imperial Senate in the capital city of Imperia, except for the occupied sectors of Kohlusen and Paul, and the Isle of Labrador, which are self-governed. By square kilometers, and including all of its possessions, Therica is one of the largest countries in the world, next to Edobrin and Ka'liqhistan.

Citizens of Therica are Thericans, and are not a race but a nationality. Therica was founded and settled by mostly immigrants to the island, though the native Orcs do still occupy the island. People from all over the world have settled in Therica, though the largest ethnic groups in the country are Islandic, Breton, Orcan, Skyriftan, and Stanislavic.

The geography of the island of Therica is fairly primeval compared to the Continent of Benth (off of which it sprang due to continental drift). It is a large and diverse place, with the Median Mountains and the Iron River dividing the dense forests and moors of Northern Therica from the vast deserts and savanna of the South. The isle is roughly 1,508 miles vertically with a total landmass of approximately 1,376,322 miles. This makes it the largest island on the planet, and scientists to this day debate over whether it should be considered an island or microcontinent. Due to its size and extreme geography, it is home to a number of world-renowned wonders. The most famous of these include the Lake of Vance, the largest freshwater lake system in the world, the aforementioned Iron River, and The Mountain of Ash, an active volcano located in the Ash Mountains, and the namesake of the Ashlands province in Southern Therica.

Some hundreds of thousands of years before the First Era, during the Great Ice Age, nomadic Vetero-Islandics from the Southern Benthic Isles to the Southwest of Therica, crossed over a glacial landbridge onto the island. When the Second Great Ice Age ended, the nomads were stuck there, and over time became the ancestors of the modern-day Orc. They thrived mostly in the more temperate climate of Northern Therica and the Southern tip of the island, until in 3e402 when Breton explorers from Waxwaerlia arrived around modern-day Glanio Dramor, in the Ashlands.

The Waxwaerlian Empire in Therica
From 3e402, Waxwaerlian settlers spread across the Southern tip and Western coast of the island, conquering territory from the Orcan tribes. Under Waxwaerlian rule, the Breton colonies became the largest and most profitable on the isle. By 3e650, Bretons had long been living across the Isle, and Therican culture began to emerge. The language of Neo-Breton also began to develop into its own language, rather than a dialect of Breton. This change was aided by cohabitation between the Bretons, the Orcs and the Skyriftans, all three of which now being long existent on the isle.

The Bretons living on Therica were represented in the Waxwaerlian House of Mist through two Consuls in the Imperial Congress, though they never held much swaying power in the court, and less so than the consuls from the mainland territories. Their lack of effective participation sowed the early seeds of distrust for the Waxwaerlian Empire among Therican Bretons. Breton colonists were also regularly conscripted into the Waxwaerlian Imperial Army and sent to fight in the Waxwaerlian-Orcan wars- a series of endless conflicts in the Ruhiges territory fought between the Gwyrz and the Waxwaerlians.

In the later period of the Waxwaerlian occupation of the isle, the colonists were also considered second-class by the military, and were kept subjugated to an extent. Legally, the military was allowed to treat colonists however they wished- This didn't often result in conflict, as they abided by the Waxwaerlian military code of honor, but individuals broke this code of honor from time to time. People would at times be harassed or even killed by soldiers, and there was nothing they could legally do in defense, for the assault of military personnel was punishable by death.

The Colonial Aggravationist Movement
Before the Therican Revolution, there were a number of small groups all vying for the independence of Therica. It would be centuries of subjugation and political pressure in the House of Mist before any significant action was taken against the Waxwaerlian Empire, but in 3e1024, the Concert of Auburn was held. Here, a number of rebel groups moved to combine their efforts and make a concerted military effort to force the Waxwaerlians to let them be independent. The revolutionary army called themselves the Colonial Aggravationist Movement. This supergroup of factions was made up of Orcan freedom fighters, Ny'laaraic Pedian agitators, Therican Breton separatist groups, and the Archipelagic Army- this group made up the majority of the Aggravationists' army.

The Therican Revolution
At the time that the Aggravationists declared Therica to be an independent state, the vast majority of the Waxwaerlian Colonial Military was mired in yet another war with the Gwyrz Orcs in Ruhiges, and their overall military power was diminished somewhat by the Waxwaerlian-Graecian War of 3e1014. Had it not been for these concurrent wars, the early military victories by the Aggravationists would not have been possible.

The Archipelagic Army, led by general Pistoclerus Balbillius VI (who would also be a major leader in focused their efforts on attacking the cities in the center of the country, rather than the rural Cearth mountains region or the southern Ruhiges province. This strategy proved effective, as the Waxwaerlian High Command was disoriented by their swiftness in capturing Birchwood, the then-mainland capital of Therica. By 3e1030, the Waxwaerlian Continental Military was relegated to controlling little but the city of Imperia, located on a number of small islands on the Coast of Therica, and Cearth City, the capital of the Cearth mountains province. Forces in Ruhiges were then redirected to counterattack the Aggravationists, but were routed by Orcs on their way to assist in the war effort. The war was officially over on 3:27/3e1031, ending in a Waxwaerlian withdrawal from the isle. The following day, 3:28, was later mistakenly labelled as the Therican Independence Day, a Holiday created in 6e36 to bolster civilian morale during the War of Alliances.

The Therican Republic
The first government of independent Therica was the Therican Republic, later known as the Old Republic. in the wake of the war, the many groups united by the common goal of seeking independence from the Waxwaerlian Empire now found themselves at odds, and the Concert of Auburn was now focused on how to maintain or better the fragile state of the republic. The Covenant of Ny'laar wished for a religious state of their own, which didn't sit well with the majority of Thericans, who were largely still practicing Preservationist Pedianity or Schadism. The Orcan Council wished to be left alone and given all territory South of the Iron River, another heavily debated topic. Had it not been for the proposal of a supreme bill of law, the Pax Reipublicae ex Thericam, the many groups would have collapsed immediately into civil war.

The idea that was eventually decided on was that all majority groups would be given equal representation and their own state within the Republic, but no state would be sovereign. The actions of the Republic would be decided on during a monthly meeting, an evolution of the Concert of Auburn. The meeting would remain in Auburn for thirty years before being moved to Imperia in 4e26. In charge of the international dealings of this new Republic would be a three-man consulate, in the style of the two-man consulate of the Second Empire of Graecia.

The Schadist and Nylaaraic minorities were given the provinces of Ruhiges and the Cearth Mountains, respectively. Ruhiges remained in the same shape as it is now, but the Cearth Mountains province would be split into three states- Varois, Maegacaen, and West Cearth. The Orcs were, as requested, given all territory South of the Iron River, which makes up the modern Southern border of Ruhiges. The Preservationist Breton majority were given the Fenns, the Western half of Auburn, and Therace. Then, The Fenns and Western Auburn were united as one Province.

The Republic stood for decades, but the centralized power was diminishing as the Ny'laaraic, now Cearthagean, Covenant and the Preservationist Covenant became increasingly at odds. The Orcan Council was also in disarray, as many Orc clans were outraged at being removed from their homes in the North by the Pax Reipublicae. The Schadists in Ruhiges were also becoming more and more isolationist, making travel between the Orcan territories and Therace very difficult. This decline in centralized power was a primary reason for the downfall of the Old Republic, and led directly into the divided era of Therican politics.

The Divided Period and the War of 100 Years
In 4e127, the Old Republic was officially scuttled when the Preservationist and Orcan delegations, making up the majority of the concert's attendants, agreed to dissolve the Schadist state of Ruhiges and split the land between them. The Cearthagean delegation, in abject disagreement with the decision, and also due to the underlying contempt for the Preservationists, formally seceded from the Republic later in that year. They formed the Greater Commonwealth of Cearth as a new, independent government. Because the Republic lacked a centralized military (each state managed their own), there was little the Republican loyalists could do to prevent the secession.

Over the following years, seeing the democratic system as a failure, the remaining Republic was reorganized into the Divine Empire of Therica. This abolished the consulate in favor of a single Caesar, appointed by the Senate, who would control the new Imperial Army. This new state was objectively stronger than the previous Republic, but the Orcs and Schadists were unhappy with the dominance of Pedianity, and a sizable chunk of the population wanted the return of a fairer and more democratic united Therica. In response, the government of the Divine Empire outlawed public dissent, as well as atheism and the practice of Schadism. The Empire was then immediately thrust into conflict with the Orcs, starting the War of 100 Years in 4e152.

The Commonwealth of Cearth was in a similar political mire. After their secession, the people of the Commonwealth were unsure of how to structure their new government. A dictatorship similar to what the Empire would end up doing was proposed, but was dropped in favor of a style that forwent the executive office entirely, entrusting power to the Senate. The first act by the Senate was to ask Varois and the Fenns to join the Commonwealth. Varois accepted, fearing military conquest, but the Fenns declined, opting to remain independent. The Commonwealth accepted this, but closed their borders with the Fenns. Quickly, religious laws were put into place. These outlawed the practice of any religion except for Cearthagean Pedianity, punishable by death.

Many people were worried that Waxwaerlia or Teaufortria would take advantage of the delicate state of Therica, but no invasion would come. This was primarily due to the collapse of the House of Mist, Waxwaerlian takeover of Ward's Cove in Graecia, and subsequent end of the Waxwaerlian-Graecian war in the 4e160s. This peace led to the commencement of the second Benthic feudal era, a trend that would not reach Therica until much later.

The War of 100 Years grew far worse in 4e205, with the Empire's annexation of the Gwyrz and Ashlands territories. The Orcs were absorbed into the Empire, and were forced into subjugation, as a slave race. The Commonwealth, fearing the Empire's territorial supremacy, mobilized their forces and invaded through Auburn in 4e207. The Empire met with a swift response, but the Commonwealth had burned the city of Auburn and the surrounding environs, and had massacred tens of thousands of people in a series of bloody pogroms carried out across the North of the Divine Empire. This led to an uptick in patriotism within the Empire, and created a populace that began to hate the Commonwealth.

The battle lines never progressed very far in the early years of the Empire-Commonwealth war, and the majority of the fighting was done navally in the Bay of Sheep and in the middle region of Auburn. The conflict along this border between the Empire and the Commonwealth, however, was heavy. It wasn't until 4e215 that things changed, when the Empire pushed through Auburn and Varois, and arrived in the Cearthagean Mountains by 4e217. The Commonwealth was now on the back foot, and would be for virtually the rest of the war, save for some minor victories.

With an end in sight, the Empire, under Caesar John Waxwiller XI, began to reach out to the Commonwealth in order to offer a chance at surrender.