Celestial Empire

The Celestial Empire of the Moon, Stars, and Sea Ik' Ka' Ek' A Kai Malama Apetu'a Akai
Flag
Motto: Kaole matou ke iloa hea ke holau, 'ae matou ke aru
File:Work In Progress
Capital and largest city	Makuahine
Official languages	Yocatullic (Western dialect)
Recognized languages	Yocatullic (Southern), Yocatullic (Eastern), Fatafafoluan, Iwikuamoan, Kakanuiean
Ethnic groups	Sublustrian (100%) [ESTIMATE]
Demonym(s)	Yocatullic
Government	Tribal confederation
• Ari'i Tapairu	Malama Kai La'au Yocatul
Legislature	Tribal council
History
• Founding	14th century(?)
Area
•
Population
• 2015 estimate	3,000,000
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	1 Billion USD
HDI	0.4 low
Currency	Kalaka (KLK)
Driving side	right

The Confederation of the Moon, Stars, and Sea (Common Yocatullic: Malama apetu'a a kai IPA: [malaːma apeːtuʔa a kai]), officially The Celestial Empire of the United Yocatullic Isles of the Twelve Tribes of the Moon, Stars, and Sea (Common Yocatullic: Kotahi A'ua'a Hona Yocatala Motu'a Te'arua Hapu'a Malama Apetu'a A Kai), often colloquially referred to as the Celestial Empire, or Sublustria, is a sovereign tribal confederation located throughout the southern Vehemens ocean. It holds a small population of some 3,000,000 estimated indigenous individuals, spread across several archipelagos with strong regional identities. The main population center is the capital city of Makuahine, one of the most dense areas in the country, with a population of about 150,000.

The Celestial Empire's founding is hotly debated, due to a mixture of incomplete records and competing definitions. One school of thought considers the Empire a continuation of the Yocatullic Confederation that united the Celestial Isles in the 10th century, while others consider it a distinct phenomenon that only began to gain ground in the 12th or 13th century. The Empire was administered as a series of tributaries and feudatories up to the Yocatullic Civil War, which caused a sharp decline in imperial influence throughout Sublustria. Following the centralization reforms that came as a result of the victory of Makuahine in 1630, the Empire was reconsolidated and rebuilt under more strict conditions. This reconsolidation effort formed the basis for the modern Empire, although archaic tributary rituals and terminology is still used regardless of the evolved relationship.

The Celestial Empire today retains its tribal confederate government, with highly autonomous regions characterized by distinct languages and cultures. Indigenous culture flourishes under imperial leadership, as the Empire successfully resisted foreign colonization and established itself as a legitimate international entity in the early period of foreign contact. As a result, indigenous customs, languages, religion, architecture, and attire is dominant throughout. The consequence of this resistance, however, is that the Empire is severely underdeveloped with most regions lacking reliable access to modern amenities and resources. This is in stark contrast to neighboring countries such as Mihi Mai Ra and Valentir.

Detailed statistics from the Celestial Empire have traditionally been difficult to produce due to the decentralized nature of government and the lack of infrastructure to properly record data. Moreover, the government has been historically apprehensive of foreign influence and interference, and would hinder attempts by outside agents to conduct particular studies and surveys. Since the turn of the millennium, however, the imperial government has become much more open, and has taken steps toward positive interactions with foreign agents, governments, and organizations.

Precise dating for much of Sublustrian history is difficult, as the Yocatullic Calendar was not prioritized for record keeping purposes until recent centuries. For most of imperial history, time was instead reckoned by generational counts. Due to the family-oriented, clan-based, and tribal society that dominated, and still dominates, this part of Sublustria, distance of generations and relatives was deemed a more important factor in determining the importance of events, the severity of feuds, familial status and caste, and other matters of tribal life. In this sense, the early records of the First Confederate Council, evidently written only a few generations after the events described, were celebrating the passing of the alliance unto children and new generations, rather than celebrating landmarks in time elapsed. The consequence of the viewpoint of such things as essentially timeless and dependent upon the passing of generations is that dates are imprecise, with any given generation having a potential gap of decades not only in a standard definition, but from one generation to the next.

Background

The origins of the Celestial Empire lie in the Yocatullic Confederation, named after the ruling dynasty of Makuahine from which it was based. Touted as an early pioneer in supranational organization, the Confederation united twelve warring polities under an umbrella government that allowed them to address universal concerns and organize intertribal events more effectively. The choice of Makuahine as the seat of the council was originally based on convenience, as it is a near-perfectly central location within the archipelago. This higher level of social organization is believed to be the primary cause behind the ability of the Celestial Isles to expand its influence across the vast ocean and form tributaries and vassals in distant archipelagos. The model of the Confederate Council would also be followed in the creation of the empire, allowing each subject nation a degree of autonomy and representation. This helped to simultaneously preserve the distinctiveness of various Sublustrian peoples, as well as to provide greater stability for the imperial authority.

Pre-Confederate Period

In the immediate period before the formation of the Confederation, the Celestial Isles was divided into warring states and dominated by three main islands. The triumvirate of Makuahine, Taipea, and Me'aulelei dominated the archipelago, and smaller tribes found themselves aligned with one of these three. Particular allegiance tended to be consistent, although some shifted throughout the period. This triumvirate is still reflected today in the dialect groupings of the Celestial Isles, whereby three dialects corresponding roughly with the older alliances are present. These three kingdoms developed powerful rivalries between one another, which lasted well into the confederate period.

The reason for the foundation of the Confederation is not entirely clear, and is surrounded by legend. Some accounts suggest that the rivalry between kings began to interfere in religious matters, with pilgrims having their property seized or disappearing altogether, and certain festivals being desecrated. Other stories relate the foundation to the aftermath of a natural disaster, such as an eruption or a tropical cyclone. The truth from available evidence appears to be a composite, with natural disasters causing events that the kings would blame one another for, and some minor violations of sacred laws on each part in revenge of the others.

According to legend, the conflict was resolved due to a solar eclipse. The eclipse had been predicted by Yocatullic astronomers for quite some time, and a common festival was held to celebrate the union of sun and moon. Games and competitions held at this festival resulted in an ultimate tie, with no king receiving more victories than the other. Witnessing this as they sat among one another, and witnessing the ceremonies dedicated to celestial unity, the kings agreed to end their feud and, contrarily, to unite so that such a thing may not happen again. Although the rivalries persisted throughout the confederate period, it was recontextualized into a new system of intertribal politicking and smaller-scale ritual conflict.

Confederate Period

Following the formation of the Confederate Council in the 10th or 11th century, the Celestial Isles began to flourish in regional cooperation and prosperity. The earliest text from this period, one of the earliest in Yocatullic history, details the formation of the confederation "two generations ago", and lists various exchanges between tribes and futions of the council. The Celestial Isles entered a golden age of increasing monumental scale, and each island specialized deeper into particular fields and exchanged their specialties among one another. This laid the foundation for the imperial system of tribute and exchange that would later help to define the majesty of the Yocatullic imperial court.

The later part of this period, starting in the 13th or 14th century, was defined by an increasing militarization. While many causes likely contributed, such as the caste-type society offering little chance for social advancement beyond warriorhood, the ritual importance of warriors being maintained in times of peace and prosperity, and the popularity of heroic myths and legends, this most likely correlates to the start of the Celestial Empire's overseas expeditions. Yocatullic sources typically credit this to Taipea, said to have sent an expedition to impress and extract a one-time tribute from a minor island, essentially conducting a bloodless raid. This opened the concept of overseas expeditions to the Celestial Isles, ultimately leading to the creation of the Empire through more organized efforts of this type.