Tuthina: Difference between revisions
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Tuthina is generally considered to be one of, if not the most ethnically diverse country in Esquarium, with the largest ethnic group constituting slightly less than 20% of the total population. Combined, the indigenous ethnic groups of Tuthinan aborigines and Encu comprises slightly more than half (50.4%) of Tuthinans, while Ka, the ethnic group claimed to inherit the Kwa people who founded the Kyriarchate, comprises slightly less than half of that number. | Tuthina is generally considered to be one of, if not the most ethnically diverse country in Esquarium, with the largest ethnic group constituting slightly less than 20% of the total population. Combined, the indigenous ethnic groups of Tuthinan aborigines and Encu comprises slightly more than half (50.4%) of Tuthinans, while Ka, the ethnic group claimed to inherit the Kwa people who founded the Kyriarchate, comprises slightly less than half of that number. | ||
===Religion=== | |||
{{main|Ecclesiarchy}} | |||
The Kyriarchate is a {{wp|theocracy}}, with the monarchy deriving its {{wp|political legitimacy}} from the {{wp|founding myth}} of the polity led by the White King, the Tuthinan Kamist patron deity of humanity, more than three millennia ago. To reinforce its legitimacy through the folk religion of the Home Islands, Kamist clergy was organised during the early days of the Kyriarchate into the Ecclesiarchy, a sect of Tuthinan Kamism which focuses on the worship of [[Sakitili]], the patron deity of "all earthly life", and the White King, the patron deity of humanity. | |||
As the {{wp|state religion}} of the country, the Ecclesiarchy plays a major role in Tuthinan society and government, with observance of it being one of the prerequisite for Tuthinan citizenship. Since the Katëk Reform at the wake of the Great Republican Uprising, the Ecclesiarchy has seen major expansion in its authority, with it being granted the responsibility of maintaining the {{wp|compulsory education}} and {{wp|social welfare}} system of the country, a role that continues to this day. | |||
Despite being a theocracy with enforced state religion, the animist-polytheist nature of Kamism results in {{wp|multiple religious belonging}} being permitted and practised to a certain degree. While belief systems incompatible with the Ecclesiarchy, such as {{wp|monotheism|monotheist faiths}} like [[Irfan]] and {{wp|antitheism|antitheist faiths}} like [[Sadulaarsa]] are effectively banned, {{wp|polytheism|polytheist}} and {{wp|henotheism|henotheist faiths}} like some interpretations of [[Saturnism]] are generally allowed. | |||
===Languages=== | ===Languages=== | ||
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Formed alongside tectonic plate boundaries at western Voragic Ocean, the Home Islands is rich in many mineral resources, most notable of which being gold and silver. At the same time, frequent tectonic and volcanic activities result in lack of sizeable fossil fuel deposit on land. High availability of metallic ore in both the Home Islands and eastern Borea is believed to play a vital role in the relatively early development of {{wp|metalworking}} by Ama and Kwa people. | Formed alongside tectonic plate boundaries at western Voragic Ocean, the Home Islands is rich in many mineral resources, most notable of which being gold and silver. At the same time, frequent tectonic and volcanic activities result in lack of sizeable fossil fuel deposit on land. High availability of metallic ore in both the Home Islands and eastern Borea is believed to play a vital role in the relatively early development of {{wp|metalworking}} by Ama and Kwa people. | ||
The highly varied climate of the Home Islands, caused by complex interaction of prevailing wind and ocean currents, drastically reduces the area of arable land compared with locations of similar latitude and general climate. Even with introduction of rice and other high-yield crop from continental Borea by Ama and Kwa migrants, many Tuthinans soon turn towards pastoralism and fishing as the primary form of subsistence in face of population growth. Despite effort to expand arable land area through public work and agricultural technology, it is estimated that less than 10% of the Home Islands is capable of supporting {{wp|intensive farming}} today. As such, {{wp|seafood}} and {{wp|dairy products}} comprises up to 80% of nutritional source for average modern Tuthinan diet. | The highly varied climate of the Home Islands, caused by complex interaction of prevailing wind and ocean currents, drastically reduces the area of arable land compared with locations of similar latitude and general climate. Even with introduction of rice and other high-yield crop from continental Borea by Ama and Kwa migrants, many Tuthinans soon turn towards pastoralism and fishing as the primary form of subsistence in face of population growth. Despite effort to expand arable land area through public work and agricultural technology, it is estimated that less than 10% of the Home Islands is capable of supporting {{wp|intensive farming}} today. As such, {{wp|seafood}} and {{wp|dairy products}} comprises up to 80% of nutritional source for average modern Tuthinan diet, with its upper class relying heavily on imported food for food variety. | ||
==Infrastructure== | ==Infrastructure== | ||
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The Kyriarchate 皇國 | |
|---|---|
 Emblem of the Monarchy
| |
| Motto: Hyunhwa Yipnyang "勛𦻏揖𦦬" (Literary Tuthinan) "All merits and prosperity shall bow complaisantly" | |
| Location of Tuthina | |
| Capital | Sakan |
| Largest city | Mintupo |
| Official languages | Literary Tuthinan |
| Religion | Ecclesiarchy |
| Demonym(s) | Tuthinan |
| Government | Theocratic absolute monarchy |
• Kyriarch | Akiyasu |
• Regent | Anteko |
• Chancellor | Chen Chia-man |
| Legislature | Court of Worthies |
| Formation | |
• Establishment | 1311 BCE |
• Myuhwan Reform | 616 BCE |
• Unification under Sakan | 731 |
• Katëk Reform | 1964 |
| Area | |
• Total | 646,008.43 km2 (249,425.25 sq mi) |
• Water (%) | 4.9% |
| Population | |
• 2014 census | 95,176,284 |
• Density | 147.3/km2 (381.5/sq mi) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2014 estimate |
• Total | $3.844 trillion |
• Per capita | $40,381 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2014 estimate |
• Total | $3.466 trillion |
• Per capita | $36,404 |
| Gini (2014) | 43.9 medium |
| HDI (2014) | 0.898 very high |
| Currency | Tuthinan tael |
| Driving side | left |
Tuthina, officially the Kyriarchate (皇國), is an island country in Esquarium, sharing a maritime border with Senria to the southwest. Its territory is collectively known as the Tuthinan Home Islands, an archipelago estimated to contain more than 10,000 islands in the Voragic Ocean, forming an island chain separating the smaller Tuthinan Sea from the ocean. According to 2014 census, the archipelago is home to approximately 95 million people, inhabiting about 800 of the islands.
An absolute monarchy with theocratic elements, the Kyriarchate adheres to the state ideology of Kwokthey, an indigenous ideology commonly considered an offshoot of national conservativism with heavy focus on monarchism and anti-nationalism. It is ruled by the Kyriarch, a position held by Akiyasu since 2010 under guardianship of Regent Anteko. Often seen as a decentralised country, the majority of domestic affairs within the Kyriarchate is delegated to its constituent states, with the central government responsible for country-wide policies including military and foreign relations.
The Home Islands has been home to numerous ethnic groups since neolithic, with the earliest attested indigenous people on the archipelago being Encu and Eteo-Lahudicans. They were later joined by migrating Ama and Monic people, marking the beginning of chalcolithic and iron age to northern Lahudica respectively. A decentralised country founded as an alliance between tribes and city-states, the Kyriarchate's eventual unification of the archipelago in the millennia after its foundation nonetheless allowed many native population to retain local culture and tradition, with more foreign ethnic groups joining the Tuthinan population through its expansion in trade and influence.
The Kyriarchate was founded in 1311 BCE as a coalition of city-states and tribes led by the White King of Tanyang, making it one of the oldest surviving political entities in Esquarium. The first millennium of its history, called the Age of Law in Tuthinan historiography, was marked by its expansion across the South Island and, later, surrounding islands in the archipelago. Commonly seen as the period where the central government has the most power over local affairs, Tuthina saw the beginning of gradual unification of the islands both politically and economically, leading to the rise of Tuthinan high culture from the mixture of population under its banner.
The millennium-long expansion ended in 121 CE, where the burden of prolonged military expansion finally led to a collapse of central government, with its vassals and military governors gaining significant autonomy and waging warfare against each other for power and prestige in a period known as the Age of Disorder. Having only nominal influence outside immediate vicinity of the capital, the Kyriarchal government finally splintered in 430 CE, where a great fire destroyed the capital city of Tanyang and killed the majority of the Kyariarchal lineage. In the ensuring chaos and struggle, three separate lineages from the original Kyriarchal house established their own base of power, leading to the Age of Three Thrones that ultimately ended in 731 CE, with the Sakan branch declared the indisputable Kyriarchal lineage.
Following its unification and subjugation of remaining indigenous polities, the Kyriarchate rose to prominence as a thalassocracy. Helped by its insular geography, the Kyriarchate began to expand its oceanic trade outside the archipelago, reaching continental Borea and, eventually, Nordania at the beginning of the second millennium. Following the First Tuthinan Expedition in 1169 that saw formal establishment of trade across the Voragic Ocean, Tuthina became a prominent player in transoceanic trade in Esquarium as trans-Voragic trade exploded in the 15th century, with Asgård of Sjealand, Phyennay and Mintupo of Tuthina becoming major hubs of transoceanic trade in the region.
Influx of resource and new ideas led to a golden age in the Kyriarchate called the Template:Wikt. Lasting from 15th to 18th century, it was characterised by development and maintenance of sophisticated high culture of Tuthina, facilitated by wealth accumulated by the nobility and merchants. Introduction of foreign art theory and material also led to rapid development of local art like painting, architecture and music to benefit from their exoticism.
Although being one of the earliest states in Esquarium to undergo industrialisation, rise of nationalism and nation states since the 18th century saw erosion in the influence and power of the Kyriarachate, furthered by significant reduction in international trade before and during the Volatile Century. Its defeat in the Great Borean War by Xiaodong was considered the end point of undisputed Tuthinan hegemony in western Voragic Ocean, later followed by the Great Republican Uprising, the most destructive civil war in Tuthinan history, marking the end of its interventionism during the first half of the 20th century.
Today, the Kyriarchate is considered a major power in possession of a blue-water navy. Many also regard Tuthina having significant soft power, with memberships in multiple international organisations including Monic Union and the International League, playing a major role in their establishment. It is also the historical centre of the Tengkong system, a historical alliance and system of cooperation and trade that remains active to this day.
Names
Unlike many other countries in Esquarium, Tuthina does not utilise toponym or demonym in its official name, referring to itself simply as the Kyriarchate. In Literary Tuthinan, the sole official language of the Kyriarchate, the country is called hwangkwok (皇國). Hwangkwok is a compound noun comprising hwang (皇), which is believed to stem from the White King (白王), and kwok (國). Together, it can be translated literally as "the White King's realm", the lineage of whom Kyriarchy base its political legitimacy.
The word Tuthina, an exonym used by most languages outside the historical sphere of influence of the country, is ultimately of unknown origin. It is commonly believed to be a loanword from an unknown language introduced to Latin during the last years of the Latin Republic, which was described as one of the "foreign people from the west". Little is known about the nature of the people apart from them living on islands west of the continent, but most scholars agree that it does not correlate to the inhabitants of the Home Islands, but was simply borrowed during early contact between the two continents. Another hypothesised origin of the name was from tuktāni, a dialectal Aburrite word meaning "an act of oppression, victimization, or abuse".
Geography
Comprising the majority of land in Lahudica, Tuthina is one of the largest achipelagic countries in Esquarium, with an area of 646,008 square kilometre spread across about 10,000 islands as the Tuthinan Home Islands. It lies between latitude 14°N and 83°N, and longitudes 123°E and 174°E, stretching 7,120 km from south to north and 5,580 km from east to west.
The Home Islands comprises two partially-overlapping island chains predominantly formed by convergent boundary of tectonic plates. The east-west island chain is geologically older, forming approximately 256 million years ago through collision between Hyperborean plate and Voragic plate that led to their merger. The south-north island chain contributing to the majority of land mass in Lahudica is younger, reaching its height around 16 million years ago as a result of collision between Borean plate and Voragic plate. The collision caused significant stress against the eastern part of the Borean plate, leading to its fracture forming and submerging the Lahudic plate about 5 million years ago, with the resulting deluge usually seen as the beginning of Pliocene. While primarily formed by convergent boundary, the southernmost islands in Tuthina, known as Himuka islands, are formed primarily by divergent and transform boundary instead.
Due to its geology, Tuthina is a primarily mountainous country, with mountain ridges dividing the few plates of notable size. The largest plain on the archipelago, Yosipalu plain, occupies the western seaboard of South Island, with Lyongcyek mountains forming its eastern boundary and Tonghifza range its southwestern boundary. The highest point of Tuthina is the summit of Mount Sinkaw on North Island, at 4,862 m. Thenkyeng lake, located on North Island between two ranges, is the largest lake in the Home Islands, with a surface area of 4,331 square km and a maximum depth of 32.9 m. Next to the capital city of Sakan and connected to the ocean by Nupkipet canal in Mintupo, the lake once saw significant maritime traffic as the end point of Tengkong trade missions, but had since been superceded by larger ports in Mintupo. The lake itself was declared off-limit to maritime traffic not approved by the monarchy following the Great Republican Uprising, which remains in effect today.
The two largest islands of the Home Islands, commonly called the South Island and North Island, comprises the majority of land of the archipelago. The South Island (Ama: sayttang, "east land" or "new land") is the most populous island of Tuthina, with a population of 65 million in 2014, or almost two third of that of the entire country. Its western seaboard, dominated by Yosipalu plain, is the traditional heartland of the country, being the first place settled by the migratory Monic people, as well as the first territory under Imperial rule. Its largest city, Phyennay, was a major political and cultural centre of pre-modern Tuthina.
The North Island (Apaitak: porosir, "large island") is slightly larger than the South Island, although its colder climate and more mountainous terrain resulted in a smaller population compared with its southern counterpart, the majority of which being the aboriginal Encu people. However, since the foundation of Sakan in 430 as the capital of the Sakan branch of the Kyriarchal house that eventually united the Home Islands, its importance has been steadily increasing, with its largest metropolis, Mintupo, serving as both the largest city in the Home Islands, as well as the de facto centre of government of the Kyriarchate.
Climate
Tuthinan Home Islands contains a great variety of climate due to its extent, ranging from tropical savanna climate in the southernmost islands in Himuka, to tundra in the northernmost islands in Rokol. With the majority of its landmass located in the temperate zone, the archipelago is subjected to year-long westerlies that brings significant rainfall to the western coasts. The Lyongcyek mountain range dividing western and eastern shores of North Island and South Island also has a profound impact on the climate of the archipelago, as its height creates a rain shadow on the leeward side, intensifying rainfall to the west while producing foehn wind to the east, leading to formation of temperate rainforest in the west and steppe in the east.
The climate of the western coast of North Island and South Island is predominantly oceanic climate, of marine west coast and subpolar variety respectively, characterised by year-long heavy rainfall and overcast days. With the exception of northern Yosipalu plains, oceanic climate is confined to a narrow strip of coast limited by the coastal hills of Iworso range on North Island and Tonghifza range on South Island. The inland valleys and basins, formed by geological fold alongside convergent plate boundary west of the central mountains, is dominated by the more arid humid continental climate. The more profound seasonal change and lower rainfall in central North Island and southern Yosipalu allows them to be one of the few places in the Home Islands with significant agricultural output. East of the Lyongcyek mountains, the eastern coast of South Island features cold semi-arid climate due to the warm and dry foehn wind. Eastern North Island, on the other hand, often features dry winter variety of humid continental climate, with the northern coast of the island having subpolar climate amplified by polar easterlies.
Located at the middle of Voragic Ocean, ocean currents play a huge role in shaping the climate of the Home Islands, with four ocean gyres surrounding the majority of its land. The combination of it and prevailing trade wind and westerlies for Himuka and the main islands respectively not only results in a complex combination of climate and environment for the Home Islands, but also allow relatively easy travel across the sea to mainland Borea and Nordania, both playing a major role in shaping the inhabitants of the archipelago and their countries.
The western seaboard of the archipelago forms the eastern boundary of both Tuthinan Gyre and Pongpathic Gyre in their eponymous seas. The former forms the cold Tuthinan Current flowing southward, while the latter forms the warm Retar Current flowing northward. This leads to a more moderate oceanic climate in western Tuthina, as well as creation of highly productive coast in western South Island, resulting in both a more moderate oceanic climate in western Tuthina, as well as high food production historically. As a result, the western seaboard has traditionally been one of the most populous regions of the archipelago, and has been the political heartland of the Kyriarchate since its formation.
Eastern coasts of the islands are subjected to western boundary currents by northern Voragic oceanic gyres. The presence of submerged continent comprising southeastern islands of the archipelago resulted in the warm Kemmïl Current flowing northward from the tropics following the island arc. Converging with the cold Rokol Current from northern Voragic Ocean east of Daran Strait, the resulting coastal upwelling forms one of the more productive wild fisheries in Esquarium, and has been a major source of food for the native population since prehistoric times.
| Climate data for Phyennay, South Island | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 8.4 (47.1) |
9.2 (48.6) |
10.0 (50.0) |
12.6 (54.7) |
15.9 (60.6) |
17.6 (63.7) |
19.7 (67.5) |
19.2 (66.6) |
18.4 (65.1) |
14.2 (57.6) |
10.8 (51.4) |
8.4 (47.1) |
13.7 (56.7) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 2.2 (36.0) |
2.6 (36.7) |
3.4 (38.1) |
4.2 (39.6) |
7.7 (45.9) |
9.3 (48.7) |
11.4 (52.5) |
11.3 (52.3) |
9.9 (49.8) |
6.4 (43.5) |
4.7 (40.5) |
2.1 (35.8) |
6.3 (43.3) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 115.8 (4.56) |
87.5 (3.44) |
97.9 (3.85) |
96.8 (3.81) |
114.4 (4.50) |
105.3 (4.15) |
85.6 (3.37) |
76.9 (3.03) |
84.7 (3.33) |
95.4 (3.76) |
90.5 (3.56) |
105.3 (4.15) |
1,156.1 (45.51) |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 98.5 | 123.3 | 140.4 | 173.2 | 181.0 | 188.6 | 186.1 | 167.3 | 142.9 | 117.8 | 88.2 | 79.7 | 1,687 |
| Source: Commandry of Keepers, Ministry of Works | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Sakan, North Island | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | −3.5 (25.7) |
−2.1 (28.2) |
2.6 (36.7) |
11.7 (53.1) |
17.7 (63.9) |
22.9 (73.2) |
25.8 (78.4) |
26.3 (79.3) |
21.6 (70.9) |
14.8 (58.6) |
5.8 (42.4) |
−0.8 (30.6) |
11.9 (53.4) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −12.3 (9.9) |
−12.7 (9.1) |
−6.3 (20.7) |
0.0 (32.0) |
5.4 (41.7) |
11.6 (52.9) |
15.9 (60.6) |
16.8 (62.2) |
11.2 (52.2) |
3.9 (39.0) |
−2 (28) |
−7.9 (17.8) |
2.0 (35.5) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 69.6 (2.74) |
51.3 (2.02) |
54.0 (2.13) |
47.6 (1.87) |
64.8 (2.55) |
63.6 (2.50) |
108.7 (4.28) |
133.5 (5.26) |
130.9 (5.15) |
104.3 (4.11) |
117.2 (4.61) |
96.6 (3.80) |
1,042.1 (41.02) |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 46.9 | 70.5 | 128.1 | 176.9 | 253.8 | 262.4 | 258.2 | 237.3 | 166.6 | 99.7 | 36.1 | 27.0 | 1,763.5 |
| Source: Commandry of Keepers, Ministry of Works | |||||||||||||
Biodiversity
Although connected to mainland East Borea with two island chains, Tuthinan Home Islands is believed to have been separated from the continent by water since at least the beginning of Pilocene more than 5 million years ago. The separation is generally attributed to the fracturing of the eastern Borean plate due to its convergence with the Voragic plate. The fracture resulted in the creation of Lahudic plate which soon become submerged in a major deluge. Since then, geographic speciation and island effect has given rise to a separate archipelagic ecozone with unique faunal and floral presence.
Flora
Comprising multiple ecoregion due to significant variation in climate and geography, the Home Islands is home to many species of plants, many of which is endemic to Tuthina. One of the most famous plant endemic to Tuthina is Gentiana tuthinensis, also known as Tuthinan gentian flower. Since its discovery in the 13th century, it has gained significant fame and demand due to its biofluorescence of floral guide visible to human eyes in blue or purple.
Many ecoregions in Tuthina belong to forest biome, including tropical moist forest in the southern islands of Himuka, temperate broadleaf and mixed coniferous forest in western seaboard of the South Island and southern parts of North Island, and boreal forest in northern North Island. East of the Lyongcyek water divide, the drier climate lead to predominance of shrubland in the eastern seaboard.
It is estimated that about 60% of the archipelago is forested, primarily in northern and eastern land that was traditionally inhabited by aboriginal Tuthinans. Forests in North Island typically contain a mixture of hardwood like beech and ash wood, and softwood like pine and fir, while South Island forests are characterised by camphorwood, karri and Template:Jarrah, many of which is commonly used in carpentry historically. Tropical rainforest in Himuka archipelago is characterised by hardwood such as teak and mahogany, but has since been mostly deforested for farming. Nowdays, only isolated islands still retain their original vegetation, and are almost all under government protection from further logging.
About half of the forest in Tuthina is second-growth, usually under the management of Commandry of Keepers (Syodongmun: 丄林院, Ventzi: 上林院, Literary Tuthinan: Jyanglimhwen) as royal forest. Originally preserved both for hunting by nobility and as timber reserve for shipbuilding, logging without approval from the Commandry is considered illegal, with the system gradually evolving into modern nature reserve as need for timber for shipbuilding decreased.
Despite the varied climate and vegetation across the archipelago, the majority of land in the Home Islands are traditionally considered non-arable, usually due to being too cold and wet like most parts of the western seaboard, or too dry and hot like southeastern South Island. Pre-modern staple crops in the Home Islands include rice in the southern islands and southernmost area of South Island, and wheat, barley and oat around the Lyongcyek mountains. In addition, fruits like orange, banana and plum are grown and consumed by Tuthinans since ancient times, while the Himuka islands once served as the only indigenous source of sugar from sugar cane before the introduction of sugar beet from Nordania.
Fauna
Due to geographic isolation from mainland Borea since the beginning of the Pliocene epoch, many species native to the Home Islands observed divergence with their mainland counterpart, with some species found only in the archipelago and vice versa. Many of them have undergone insular dwarfism or island gigantism as adaptation to the insular environment of Tuthina.
Island gigantism is often observed in reptiles and birds of prey possibly due to lack of large mammals as apex predators in the Home Islands since its separation from the mainland. Aquila halilis, commonly known as the Tuthinan mountain eagle, is one of the largest species of eagle known, with wingspan up to 3 m and mass up to 15 kg. Hunted by Finawlan and Carisen since ancient times for rituals and its feathers, it is now considered a vulnerable species due to gradual habitat loss and overhunting in early modern period.
Insular dwarfism, on the other hand, occurs more frequently with mammals and herbivores likely due to a relative lack of food supply. The largest endemic carnivorous mammals prior to arrival of humans are Neofelis nebulosa montanus (Tuthinan clouded leopard) and Canis lupus seta (Tuthinan wolf), both standing on average 60-65 cm and weighting about 20 kg. Bubalus tuthinensis, or Tuthinan dwarf buffalo, is the largest living endemic mammals in Tuthina, although it is smaller than pygmy mammoth that lived in South Island before its extinction in early Holocene likely due to a combination of changing climate and human activity.
The Home Islands is also home to several species of Prionailurus, a genus under the Felinae subfamily more commonly known as cat. Unlike many countries in Esquarium where domestic cat species belong to Felis genus, indigenous Tuthinan domestic cat species belong to Prionailurus genus. According to archaeological findings and genetic studies, both leopard cat and fishing cat has been selectively bred by Tuthinans since prehistoric times, for both pest control and recreation.
Due to the highly nutritious water currents flowing through the Home Islands, Tuthinan coasts are abundant in maritime lifeforms, including various species of fish, whale and squid. Lack of sufficient arable land leads to seafood constituting the majority of diet of Tuthinans, and thus many of these species are made edible either by fish farming, selective breeding or specific culinary techniques to remove inedible parts.
History
Stone age
Tuthinan Home Islands has been continuously inhabited by human since Late Stone Age, with the earliest archaeological findings dating back to 50,000 years Before Present (BP). As the archipelago has been separated from mainland Borea since Pilocene epoch, even during the last glacial period where sea level was at least 70 m below present, the earliest human inhabitants of the Home Islands most likely entered the island chain via primitive boats such as dugout canoe.
Most of the first inhabitants of Tuthina were palaeolithic hunter-gatherers relying on foraging and subsistence fishing around the Tuthinan Sea. Although little is known about them, distribution of ruins and artefacts suggest they remained part of the Tuthinan Sea population until the end of the last ice age. Occurring around 7th millennium BCE, the rise of sea level above 50 m below present saw the isolation of the Home Islands from the continent. Many settlements around the sea was submerged which, together with the rise in temperature, drove many survivors northward and towards inland.
The remaining population soon entered mesolithic period, and divergence from their mainland counterpart began to emerge. Stone tumuli (𠣥, Literary Tuthinan, tyong, A'toana: heuf'a) began to be used in 5500 BCE in southwestern coast of South Island, before spreading to the rest of the archipelago in the following centuries. Constructed with earth and stone, Tuthinan tumuli were used for mummification of the dead before living relatives brought them back to home for burial. Microlithic and jade grave goods, as well as small amount of food remains found in tumuli is believed to be proof of them being used for funeral rituals.
It does not take long before mesolithic cultures to enter neolithic age in the archipelago, and divergence into different cultures became more apparent across the Strait of Daran. Jade Hill culture, emerging around 5000 BCE, is the first neolithic culture found in Tuthina, and the second of its kind in Lahudica after Seidou culture in Senria. Believed to be distantly related to Seidou culture, Jade Hill culture is known for its use of ornamental jade alongside the more common tapa cloth. Practising slash-and-burn agriculture across the Yosipalu plain, it is seen as the common ancestors of all Eteo-Lahudic Tuthinan aborigines as it spread across the island and diverged.
In the North, Sinrit culture emerged around 6000 years ago in its southern peninsula. While technological and cultural exchange between Sinrit and Jade Hill culture likely existed since its early days, the lack of arable land in the north resulted in a heavier reliance on hunting fishing for subsistence, supported by relative abundance of self bow and fishing net, as well as food remains in northern archaeological sites. Sinrit culture also had the first known use of tattoo in Lahudica, with a natural mummy found in Homakasi bearing tattooed lips, and was dated back to 4th millennium BCE.
Metal age
While there are evidences of primitive metalworking conducted by aboriginal population of the Home Islands, they were mostly limited to gold and silver for their relative ease of processing, and were used primarily for ornamental purposes due to their low strength.
The arrival of the Pongpathic Ama people to the Home Islands in 4th millennium BCE marked the beginning of its chalcolithic age. Originating in the island chain between Tuthinan Sea and Pongpath Sea, it is hypothesised that they migrated outward following the flooding of many coastal settlements in the area due to rising sea level. The Ama people made heavy use of copper tools and ornaments, and was widely traded in the Yosipalu plains where they made landfall. Exchange between Ama and aboriginal people resulted in proliferation of metallurgy in South Island, with indigenous source of copper goods emerging by the end of the millennium.
A seafaring people, the Ama people utilised outrigger canoe which has higher displacement and reduced wakes. This enabled longer sailing distance and more efficient transport between islands in the archipelago, as well as restored contact with continental Borea through existing Ama trade network. It also allowed contact between the main landmass of Tuthina and the southern islands of Himuka across the Nagi Strait, which was geographically and culturally more similar to Senria to its west.
Chalcolithic age in the Home Islands continued until the arrival of Kwa people in the 2nd millennium BCE. Part of the easternmost extent of the Great Monic Migration, the Kwa people are a semi-nomadic people ultimately originating central Borea. After gaining shipbuilding and possibly ironworking from Pongpathic people in eastern coast of Borea, they gradually migrated to the Home Islands utilising Ama outrigger canoe and possibly catamaran. While legends approved by the Kyriarchal government stated it was a single migration of 2,500 soldiers under the guidance of their king, genetic evidence suggested there might be multiple migrations over the span of several centuries that formed the Kwa population in Tuthina.
After making landfall in western Yosipalu, the Kwa people established multiple city-states on the coast and further inland along the Red River, many of them alongside existing Ama settlements. Together, they formed the Kingdom of Tankwa and was in close relations with the southern Ama state of Mïlnënho and the eastern aboriginal states of Mhiyang and Sawwac, with Kyriarchal history records considering them tyewkung states.
The Kwa people, being the first on the archipelago to use both iron tools and horses, was said to have gained dominance over its neighbours in its early days, establishing settlements further inland as far as Tanyang. However, unity among the Kwa people soon fractured as the king's realm was divided between their children during succession, and trade with local populations enabled them to utilise iron tools and horses of their own as well. By 1350 BCE, the Tankwa state had collapsed under the pressure of invading neighbours, with the capital city of Phyennay captured by Mïlnënho.
Although Mïlnënho itself would soon fell to conquest by A'toana people led by Posonghifi, Tankwa would not be reunited again as successor states fought against each other for dominance of the Yosipalu plain until the rise of Tanyang as the Kyriarchate at the end of 14th century BCE.
Age of Law
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According to official history, the Kyriarchate was founded on February 17, 1311 BC, the earliest of all surviving polities in Esquarium. It is believed to be founded by the White King, the leader of Tanyang and an alliance of tribes and city-states in Yosipalu. Following its victory over the Encu forces invading the plains, the White King transformed the alliance into a permanent polity later called the Kyriarchate, with Tanyang as its capital and its monarch the first leader.
Seen as the tutelary deity of humanity by the Ecclesiarchy, the state religion of Tuthina, the White King is believed to have bestowed his lineage the ability to communicate with him following his departure from the mortal realm, establishing the political legitimacy of the monarchy. The state religion is reinforced by his younger son after the White King's death, who claimed to have gained divine inspiration to his father as he enthroned himself. Calling himself mikanto ("divine gateway" in Classical Vernacular Tuthinan), Chung'yo is seen as the first Kyriarch of the Kyriarchate.
Despite attempts by vassals to dissolve the alliance following the death of the White King, the Kyriarchate remained a united, although highly decentralised country in its first few centuries, gradually expanding beyond the Yosipalu plains to the rest of the South Island. However, this led to weakening of the central government and its neighbouring states, as virtually all territorial gains at the time were given to the border states. This accumulated to a brief civil war in late 7th century BCE and ended with the enthronement of Myuhwan as the new Kyriarch in 616 BCE.
Known as the Lawgiver (灋王 pyap'hwang, also translated as "King of Law"), Kyriarch Myuhwan implemented a series of reforms in her 30-year reign later known as the Myuhwan reform. In order to weaken power of vassals under the Kyriarchy, a variation of gavelkind succession was enforced to all vassals, and many titles belonging to her enemies were revoked and redistributed to her followers. Called Ënthwëy and Cyungkyën respectively, these policies drastically weakened power of vassals and empowered the central government of Tanyang, with the few powerful vassals gradually dismantled themselves through split succession.
Apart from that, Myuhwan also initiated government-led standardisation of writing system, units of measurement and legal system, as well as funding the formation of the first postal system in the archipelago. This greatly reduced barrier to trade and communication across the country, and allowed higher taxation efficiency, leading to a period of prosperity marking the beginning of the Late Age of Law.
Myuhwan's reform, however, was also attributed to later instability within the Kyriarchate that ultimately ended the Age of Law. In order to retain power through their lineage, vassals and nobles sought frequent war both against each other and tribes outside the Kyriarchate. While wars of expansion occurred every few years before the Myuhwan reforms, it became a continuous, often decade-long conflict afterwards due to much higher demand for new lands. Division of fief and demesne also aggravated tax burden on the commoners, both due to higher tax rates required to fund the wars, as well as extended levies reducing their agricultural output.
Centuries of prolonged war led to a near collapse of economy and society in the 3rd century BCE during the reign of Kyriarch Suyjyeng, stemming from a combination of inability for many commoners and even minor nobles to pay mounting tax needed for war, as well as unification of western South Island that limited future expansion. While a total collapse was averted by extensive debt relief and partial abolition of feudal levy, the root causes of the crisis was left unaddressed, and the following centuries saw continued warfare between vassals and consanguine marriage among them to slow down their decline in social status and resource.
Age of Disorder
While central authority of the Kyriarchate had been in decline since the 3rd century BCE, the Age of Law is considered officially at its end in 120 CE. Led by Kusunë Antusa, marchioness of Namasia, a coalition of nobles dissatisfied by the decline of their estate declared war upon the central government. Utilising the Red River to ferry soldiers, the rebelling force was able to intercept the personal army of Kyriarch Myuktëy as it rested in Pïlktal. The Kyriarchal army was defeated and suffered major losses, including the Kyriarch himself.
With the rebel forces marching closer to Tanyang, Hïmin, the succeeding Kyriarch, was forced to appoint many powerful vassals still loyal to Tanyang as military governors. Reinstating the old levy system and authorised to manufacture iron weapons, the newly-raised loyalist forces were able to defeat Kusunë Antusa's army, suppressing the rebellion. However, the central government also irreversibly lost its authority over the now-empowered vassals. Soon, the appointed military governors began expanding at the expense of other vassals under the Kyriarchate, with more vassals gaining de facto autonomy in response to the total collapse of central authority.
Lasting for three centuries between 120 and 430, the Age of Disorder, also called the Warring States period, is characterised by large-scale warfare between nobles and military governors nominally loyal to Tanyang. With its power limited to the capital city and surrounding area, the Kyriarchy had negligible influence over the rest of the country as it fell to turmoil. At its nadir, the capital and thus its throne would change hands multiple times in a year, as powerful warlords fought against each other to control the Kyriarchy. During the period, many aboriginal states previously subjected by the Kyriarchate also regained their independence, with some mounting invasion against the rest of the weakened country.
Age of Three Thrones
The Age of Disorder ended in 430, when a great fire destroyed most of Tanyang, killing a significant portion of the Kyriarchal lineage in the process. With no clear successor, the ensuing succession crisis led to multiple pretenders enthroning themselves with support from the warring states. While up to a hundred of these pretenders were recorded, by the end of the decade following the great fire, only three of them and their supporters would remain in power - Sakan, Phyennay and Kutara.
The next three centuries, known as the Age of the Three Thrones, saw fewer wars compared with the previous period, although the coalesced monarchies also led to wars being fought in much larger scale. As pre-war infrastructure became fractured and rebuilt by local governments, the three Kyriarchates also saw gradual divergence in culture and practice, both to adapt to new conditions and technology, as well as to compete with each other for dominance and prestige. Kyriocratic examination, one of the first civil servant examination systems in Esquarium, was first implemented during this period by Sakan Kyriarchate due to its initial lack of established aristocrats to staff the government and military.
Conflicts between Kutara and is aboriginal subjects to the east ultimately led to its downfall, as the aboriginal Pacidal Kingdom aligned with Sakan and rebelled against Kutara, defeating the Kutara Kyriarchate in 726. A combination of assassinations suspected to be orchestrated by Sakan, as well as casualties in combat against pro-Sakan forces later led to the extinction of the Kyriarchal lineage in Phyennay. Believing its defeat to be inevitable, the remaining court elected the Kyriarch in Sakan as their new monarch in exchange of preserving their titles and privileges, finally unifying Tuthina under the Sakan Kyriarchate in 731.
Age of Palingenesis
In Kyriarchal historiography, the Age of Palingenesis succeed the Age of the Three Thrones following the unification of the archipelago under Sakan in 731. End of large-scale conflict within the country allowed the Kyriarchate to switch its focus towards expansion of its trade network both within and without the realm. Although the archipelago had maintained maritime trade with nearby regions like Himuka, Senria and Tinza before, it flourished in the Age of Palingenesis, as the Sakan government empowered many mercantile nobles and Ama pirates that formed its original supporters, and the end of major conflict in the realm allowed resource to be allocated to trade and development.
This period saw the rise of the Kyriarchate as the hegemon of western Voragic Ocean, with its merchant navy conducting trade as far as Sjealand and Aurega in Nordania and Nunalik in West Borea. While a gradual process, historians often see Himuka, originally part of Senria, joining the Kyriarchate in 809 as the true beginning of Tuthinan hegemony in the area.
Considered to be one of the most sophisticated cultures on the globe at the time, an image partly constructed by the Kyriarchate through lavish architecture, Tuthinan culture exerted notable influence to many cultures, primarily around the Tuthinan Sea as states adopted aspects of Kyriarchal culture and government system to facilitate trade and rule. At its apex, many polities outside the Home Islands became part of the Tengkong system.
Being an integral part of transoceanic trade in Esquarium, especially following proliferation of trade across Voragic Ocean since the 14th century, Tuthina experienced a massive influx of new idea and knowledge from the rest of the globe as well. This, combined with increase of wealth across the country, resulted in a period of rapid advances in technology, aesthetics and philosophy, as well as major shifts in culture. Lasting between 14th and 18th century, the period is sometimes called the Radiance, and is commonly seen as the golden age of the Kyriarachate.
The Tuthinan empire entered a gradual decline in the early modern age, as rise of nationalism, state sovereignty and mercantilism across the globe drastically reduced Kyriarchal influence and trade interest outside western Voragic. Despite that, existing wealth and market for Tuthinan goods nonetheless resulted in the Kyriarchate being one of the first countries to industrialise in late 18th century, with major coastal cities being the first within the country to develop industry to meet demand both internal and external. At the same time, perceiving itself to be under threats from "poisonous foreign ideas" like nationalism and republicanism, the Kyriarchate also saw the adaptation of Kwokthey as state ideology, which aimed to counteract foreign influence through its combination of monarchism, anti-nationalism and conservatism.
Volatile Century
The Home Islands underwent gradual industrialisation starting in late 18th century, with major cities like Phyennay, Mintupo and Hinata being its leaders. Introduction of new agricultural technology, foreign crops and better administrative system resulted in an increase of efficiency for large scale agriculture. This led to both capacity to support a larger population, as well as many peasants and minor nobles leaving rural area to cities in search for new opportunity, fueling industrial mass-production to satisfy the higher demand for goods in the cities, as well as less-developed trading partners within and without the Home Islands.
Drastic increase in supply, however, also led to decrease in price for agricultural and produced goods. This had led to opposition from many craftsmen and farmers as they failed to out-compete mass-produced goods despite inferior quality of the latter. Although most producers of high-quality goods and crops requiring intensive labour maintained their livelihood due to their particular niche, many low-end craftsmen and farmers were forced to migrate to big cities for work. As a result, slums in those places expanded drastically, with more people than ever subjected to poor living conditions despite the relative abundance of goods. This had the most profound impact in Himuka and Miskinga due to their more agrarian economy, as well as Daran due to influx of foreign labour caused by its convenient location between North and South Island.
Economic and political instability during the Volatile Century worsened the social conditions of the Home Islands, as decrease in international trade hampered job opportunity, as well as increasing tax burden on the general population to fund overseas wars. While attempts to establish constitutionalism briefly reduced internal strife from malcontent population, the Kyriarachate's defeat in the Great Borean War and subsequent fall from grace of the Constitutional Assembly ended such attempts, and the perceived humiliation led to a more agitated and radicalised population.
Following the Continental War and subsequent ascension of Kwangmyu as Kyriarch, Tuthina became significantly more involved in foreign wars during his three decades of reign. While many saw it as a drastic but effective way of regaining lost glory and maintaining hegemony of the Kyriarchate, the heavy tax and prolonged conscription required to fund those wars also resulted in massive social unrest, especially during the last decade of Kwangmyu's reign as riots and protests broke out on a daily basis in the country, culminating to the Great Republican Uprising in 1958.
Great Republican Uprising
The Great Republican Uprising is the biggest conflict in Tuthinan history, as well as one of the dealiest civil wars in Esquarium, with an estimated death toll between 10 and 25 million. Lasting for more than a decade between 1958 and 1969, it significantly weakened the Kyriarchate in terms of military and industrial production and led to a period of relative isolationism in the following decade as the country rebuilt itself.
The civil war began in 1958 following the death of Kwangmyu and his heir, Yosiyasu, which led to a succession crisis between Katiyasu and Takapime, Kwangmyu's cousin and daughter respectively. Their power struggle and eventual open conflict aggravated the existing republican rebels in control of Himuka and Daran, leading to significant portion of Yosipalu, the traditional heartland of the Kyriarchate, under control of the republican regime known as Greater Lahudic Commonwealth.
Although the Kyriarchate and the Commonwealth had comparable population and industrial base at the beginning of the war, the majority of naval vessels siding the the former allowed it control over sea lanes and prevented Commonwealth forces from congregating. Denial of most foreign import also led to widespread food shortage in republican-held territory that ultimately led to the Elegy of Blood, where ethnicity-based distribution of food ration or lack thereof, as well as forced displacement and alleged mass killing is attributed to death of more than 10 million people in the archipelago throughout the civil war.
Major battles ended in 1967, following the fall of Hinata, the provisional capital and last major cities under Commonwealth control. However, many remnant forces continued to fought under its banner, joined by syndicalist elements that briefly sided with the Kyriarchate in 1967, led to continued insurgency until 1969, with isolated reports of it continuing afterwards.
The Great Republican Uprising is seen as one of the defining events in Tuthinan history, with its massive destruction and reconstruction afterwards seen as having long-lasting impact on its national psyche. Seeing extensive coverage from Tuthinan media and art, many scholars argued that the Great Republican Uprising left a major mark on Tuthinan collective memory, which was utilised by Kyriarch Katëk in his postbellum reform to create a common ingroup identity as a transethnic source of national unity.
Postbellum history
In the wake of the Great Republican Uprising, Kyriarch Katëk expanded many reforms he had implemented a few years during the latter stages of the war to the entire country. As many - estimated to be as many as one third - established noble houses and local rulers were either killed in the war, suffered major damage to their power base and demesne, or otherwise in position too weak to resist the central government, the Kyriarch was able to reorganise the country more drastically than most of his predecessors in centuries.
While the pre-war kingdoms of Himuka and Pacidal would be restored few years after the end of the war, the power of constituent kingdoms in the Kyriarchate was severely reduced in favour of the central government. Most notably, the authority of both taxation and ennoblement by constituent kingdoms was revoked by the Kyriarchy. At the same time, the Kyriarchate also saw further devolution of internal administration to state-level division and lower in hopes of improving administrative efficiency.
Postbellum reign of Kyriarch Katëk was characterised by reconstruction of the country, alongside political repression of suspected anti-monarchical elements. While most republican soldiers and militia were killed in combat or summarily executed, unarmed members of the Commonwealth, as well as many civilians with killed republican militants, were relocated across the archipelago as part of the "re-accommodation project" conducted by the government.
Among the re-accommodated, many able-bodied single persons were put in labour camps. Widows and orphans, on the other hand, were married off to or adopted by families relatively unaffected by the civil war. According to official statements, penal labour had mostly ended within a decade after its implementation. Non-natural deaths among the re-accommodated was below 10,000, outside estimates had put the length and toll as high as 25 years and 200,000.
Kyriarch Katëk abdicated in 1991 due to deteriorating health following an intracranial haemorrhage. His son was enthroned as Kyriarch Kwanghwa, with his daughter Anteko appointed as Regent of the realm and later primary wife of the Kyriarch. Since then, the Kyriarchate has slowly rescinded laws and policies deemed too draconian decades after the end of the civil war. The reign of Kyriarch Kwanghwa saw reduction in military and espionage spending, and compensation for some of the people worst-affected by re-accommodation has been made. Combined with reduction of tax for lower class and recovery of economy, the Kwanghwa era saw significant increase in both tourism and service sector, as well as improving diplomatic relations with other polities.
Kyriarch Emeritus Katëk passed away in 2000, later followed by Kyriarch Kwanghwa in 2010, with the cause of death both attributed to health complications worsened by "immense stress of administration". Akiyasu, son of Kwanghwa and Anteko, was enthroned as Kyriarch Sumun. Due to his minor status, Anteko remained her position as the Regent that would last until 2023.
Politics
The Kyriarchate is a theocratic absolute monarchy, with the Kyriarch as its hereditary ruler. The monarchy derives its political legitimacy from its patrilineal lineage from the White King, founder of the Kyriarchate and Tuthinan Kamist patron deity of humanity. The Ecclesiarchy, state religion of the Kyriarchate, teaches that before leaving the mortal world, the White King granted his patrilineal bloodline the ability to channel his will, allowing them to guide humanity correctly after his departure. First proposed by Jyung'yï, second son of the White King and first Kyriarch, it has since been maintained by all succeeding monarchs of the country.
Monarchy
The monarchy of the Kyriarchate, also known as the Kyriarchy, occupies the top of the government hierarchy. Sometimes called the Kyriarchal clan, its membership is mostly defined by members of the lineage originating from the White King more than three millennia ago. Like most other aristocratic titles, the Kyriarchal clan legally extends only up to three generations from any recognised Kyriarchs, although membership of the clan is further limited by the patrilineal nature of divine inspiration. This means that while sons and daughters of a Kyriarch are all considered part of the clan by default, only the offspring from the sons can receive the membership. While membership of the clan is often granted to other individuals such as spouse and distant relatives of the bloodline, their legal privilege differs from "natural members" of the clan, most notably eligibility to the position of Kyriarch.
Kyriarch (Syodongmun: 𢂇, Ventzi: 帝, Literary Tuthinan: tey, Classical Vernacular Tuthinan: mikanto, Ama: nyelim) serves as leader of both the Kyriarchal clan and the Kyriarchate. Although the majority of Kyriarchs have been male, female Kyriarchs are not unheard of, the most famous of which being Kyriarch Myuhwan, who ruled between late 7th and early 6th century BCE and is known as the Lawgiver for her reforms. As an absolute monarch, the Kyriarch is believed to be not bound by any de jure law in the world, and can freely make decrees to all subordinates. In practice, however, consuetudinaries and wills of their subordinates often pose a significant limit to the de facto power of the monarchy.
Kyriarchal succession is mostly hereditary, as only proper members of the Kyriarchal clan - those with a patrilineal lineage with recognised Kyriarchs within three generations - are eligible for the position. In theory, the heir to the throne is appointed by the ruling Kyriarch among eligible candidates under the advice of the Hall of Worthies, without any other restrictions outside the will of the monarch. In practice, however, it varies significantly depending on balance of power between factions. In addition to the common tendency for factions to encourage or pressure Kyriarchs into appointing candidates more receptive to their demands as heir, it is not uncommon for aristocrats to support Kyriarchal clan members mothered by their own clans, which could result in a stronger alliance between the Kyriarchy and the clan in question.
Seen as the sole and ultimate ruler of the realm, the Kyriarch is responsible for both propagating the lineage for future generations, and to mediate conflicts between the multiple parallel administrative systems of the Kyriarchate, primarily between the bureaucracy, aristocracy and clergy. Following the Kwokthey ideology, the Kyriarchate is defined by its collective recognition of the divine authority of Kyriarch. As such, the Kyriarch is also considered the centre of both the secular polity of Tuthina, and one of the spiritual recipients of worship by the Ecclesiarchy.
Aristorcracy
Aristocracy (𢍜, Literary Tuthinan: cwon, Ama: nophi) is the hereditary nobility social class of the Kyriarchate, enjoying a position above the commoners but beneath the Kyriarchy. Present in the archipelago since prehistoric times, hereditary rulers formed the majority of rulers and administrators of tribes and city-states alike during the formation of the Kyriarchate. As the Kyriarchate originated from a conglomerate of allies and vassals, many of the friendlier and more subordinate local rulers were incorporated into the aristocracy alongside existing nobles of Tanyang, later joined by more local rulers who submitted to the Kyriarchy as it expanded to the rest of Tuthina. In addition to it, land and titles of defeated enemies or disloyal vassals are customarily granted to individuals who are deemed "instrumental in restoring Kyriarchal authority" in the area.
Tuthinan nobles are broadly divided into two categories, commonly called the High Nobles and Low Nobles, comprising less than 5% and about 10% of the population respectively.
High Nobles
High Nobles (卿 khyang, also known as 國主 kwokcyu, or Landed Nobles) originated as hereditary rulers of tribes and city-states that voluntarily joined the Kyriarchate in exchange of maintaining many of their existing authority and having their privileges recognised by the central government. As the Kyriarchate expanded across the Home Islands and beyond, many Tuthinan aboriginal rulers who submitted to the Kyriarchate retained their titles as part of the High Nobility, and in some cases, overthrown foreign monarchs and high-ranking nobles are also granted legal privileges equal to that of indigenous High Nobles.
High Nobles are further divided into ranks, each denoting the degree of social, political and legal privileges and duties to the monarchy. They are united by several shared commonality, both legal and social. Legally, while non-primary successors of noble titles would fall in ranks if not otherwise ennobled with higher-ranking titles, High Nobles are guaranteed at least the lowest rank within High Nobility, commonly translated as baron (男, nëm). That means unless specifically revoked or disowned, descendants of High Nobles will always remain High Nobles.
Although sharing the same general position within Kyriarchal society, High Nobles traditionally considered themselves separate from the Low Nobles, and marriage between High Noble and non-High Nobles was traditionally considered a taboo, with some families considering marrying those below rank to be unbecoming. While the High Nobility was devastated by the Great Republican Uprising, which saw the extinction of many lineages, marriage outside High Nobility class remained rare and sometimes condemned by the family in question.
Low Nobles
Low Nobles (士, Literary Tuthinan: zï), sometimes also known as Unlanded Nobles or Scholar-gentry, formed the majority of the aristocray of the Kyriarchate, and are the main source of appointed officials of the government. As the translation of the class name suggests, Low Nobles are lower in rank than the High Nobles, but still distinct from the commoner class forming the majority of the general population.
Origin of the Low Noble class could be traced back to the early days of the Kyriarchate, where talented commoners were occasionally appointed by the Kyriarchy and aristocrats to supplement the nascant government system. Before the creation of the Kyriocratic Examination system, there were no consistent system in selecting suitable candidates as zï, and many of them were chosen based on personal preference of the appointer. As Tuthinan society grew in complexity and size, educated commoners were often dependent retainers of aristocrats, who offered their service to them in exchange of wealth, social status and power.
Qualification and appointment of zï eventually solidified during the Age of the Three Thrones, with the invention of the Kyriocratic Examination system by the Sakan Kyriarchate. With the Home Islands united under Sakan, the examination system was refined and implemented across the country, it soon supplanted the earlier zï class, marking the formal creation of the Low Noble class as an integral part of the government.
Compared with High Nobles, Low Nobles possess fewer legal privileges and lower social position, but still significantly more than the commoners. A major distinction of the Low Nobles is that unlike High Nobles, whose descendants are guaranteed to remain High Nobles unless specifically disennobled, descendants of Low Nobles will continued to fall in ranks down to commoner without re-appointment.
Government
The executive branch of the Kyriarchal government is called Jyangsyodoy (尙書𡌫). It comprises the top bureaucrats of the realm, and is theoretically responsible for advising the Kyriarch and implementing their edict. While it has seen multiple reforms since the foundation of the realm, the basic structure of Jyangsyodoy remains more or less unchanged, with variants being utilised by other countries with significant Monic influence such as Senria and Akai.
During its early days, the government was primarily staffed with nobles mixed with some religious figures, as they made up the majority of literate people in the archipelago. As the Kyriarchate expanded, higher demand for bureaucrats resulted in gradual induction of learnt commoners, especially following the Age of Disorder and subsequent weakening of aristocratic control of the realm. The Kyriocratic examination, now the unified government accreditation system of the Kyriarchate, began as a system to select qualified individuals outside the nobility to fill government ranks. Since the Katëk reform, all bureaucrats within the government are required to undertake the examination and reach designated levels in order to be qualified for office.
The Jyangsyodoy is headed by the Grand Chancellor of the Kyriarchate (丞相 jïngsyang), who is often considered the head of government of the country. Despite theoretically being an advisory role, the Grand Chancellor is often considered to be one of the most powerful positions within the Kyriarchate due to its proximity with the Kyriarch, as well as the head of the bureaucracy. Because of its pivotal position, almost all Grand Chancellors since the Age of Palingenesis have participated in the highest level of Kyriarchal examination - with many of them being principal graduates of it - thus making all of them part of the aristocracy by definition regardless of upbringing.
Beneath the Grand Chancellor, the government is divided into six Grand Secretariats, each headed by a Grand Secretary (尙書 jyangsyo). The Grand Secretariats are further divided into 24 ministries called offices (䦙 zï), directorates (𧨭 kam) and commandries (院 hwen), each headed by their own Minister (𨝥 lang). Despite the different titles, there are no functional difference between the three types of ministries in modern times, and historical origin of the different names remains uncertain.
In addition to the bureaucracy, the cabinet also contains two permanent posts known as Kyriarchal Advocates (言納 yennëp). Divided into Right Advocate and Left Advocate, their main role is to assume opposite positions in proposed edicts regardless of personal stance. Under request by the Kyriarch, the Advocates will participate in discussion and debate, usually to provide the monarch with opposing opinions during the decision-making process. As such, during authorised input, the Advocates during authorised input are granted absolute immunity for their speech, including lèse-majesté.
Together, the Grand Chancellor, Grand Secretaries, Ministers and Kyriarchal Advocates form the cabinet or presidium (內閤 nwëykëp, also known as 閤 këp) of the Kyriarchate. Apart from their individual roles, the cabinet also receives additional privileges, including priority in speaking in the Court of Worthies. Theoretically, members of the cabinet possess almost full immunity from prosecution during their tenure, although members found guilty for major crimes are often dismissed by the Kyriarch. The cabinet is seated in the first row in the Court and, in the absence of the Kyriarch and other appointed representatives, becomes the temporary decision-making body of the realm.
Court of Worthies
The Court of Worthies (𡖄閤 waykëp, also known as 晁閮 tyewdeng) is an assembly that serve as the highest state organ of the Kyriarchate. It comprises high-ranking nobles, bureaucrats, clergy and military personnel alike, but is most commonly associated with the aristocracy, both due to them forming the largest group, and that most of the upper echelons had received noble titles as part of their promotions.
The name "Court of Worthies", as it is commonly translated, originated as a praise towards the White King made during the reign of Kyriarch Kawneng. Seeing it as a meritocratic institution compared with noble-only royal courts of his opponents, the anonymous author referred to it as henjipden (贒𠍱殿), or "palace where worthy [people] gather". It is said that Kawneng approved of this name, to the point of producing a calligraphy of it on a plaque decorating the entrance of the building in Sakan, leading to this unofficial name becoming more well-known than its official name.
The Court of Worthies saw its origin as the royal court of the White King. According to official history, the White King, disembarking on his journey to unify the remnants of Tankwa, turned the court of Tanyang into an itinerant court in order to continue administering the growing alliance while maintaining a presence in front line. As rivals and opposing forces were defeated, talented individuals were said to be recruited by the White King into the court to further boaster his force. As the Kyriarchate was established in the wake of the unification, the White King's court also became its first assembly of vassals and experts to facilitate governing of the newfound country. as the White King is said to appreciate talents regardless of their upbringing, commoners and defeated enemies retained their position within the court alongside noble vassals and Kamist clergy.
Despite its origin, the early days of the Kyriarchate would see the Court of Worthies being dominated by landed nobles, with clergy comprising most of the few unlanded members. While commoners were occasionally inducted into the court by the monarchy, they would not become as common as in the White King's Court until the foundation of the Sakan Kyriarchate. Kyriarch Kawneng, in addition to implementing the meritocratic Kyriarchal examination system, also mandated all participants with outstanding performance to be granted a seat in his court, a tradition that continued to this day.
At the same time, as some of the most powerful supporter of Sakan at the time were merchants and privateer clans, many of the more powerful leaders were also inducted into the court in exchange of their continued support. While both merchants and high-ranking officers would become part of the aristocracy later, inviting talented commoners to the Court of Worthies, either temporarily to provide insight on specific issues, or as life-long members when their input are deemed valuable on a regular basis.
While the Court of Worthies is a de jure advisory organ for the ruling Kyriarch, who hold absolute authority over the realm, the nature of it being a gathering of the most powerful and influential people in the country means it is uncommon for the ruling Kyriarch to oppose decisions and edicts with major support within the court.
Agencies
Apart from permanent government organisations, the Kyriarchate also employs multiple agents commonly called hwen'way (𪔅𡖄). Literally meaning "outsider personnel", these agents were theoretically employed by the Kyriarch on a temporary basis to resolve issues outside regular activities of the government. However, as appointment of hwen'way is not required to be bound by established laws governing the bureaucracy or scrutiny of the Court of Worthies, the system has been used by many Kyriarchs to establish organisations answering to themselves alone. As a result, some of the larger Kyriarchal agencies became de facto permanent establishment outside the de jure government system. Currently, the biggest and most well-known agency of the Kyriarchate is the Censorate (yësïdoy), which comprises the bulk of intelligence agency of the realm.
Foreign relations
The Kyriarchate is considered a major power in Esquarium, with substantial influence across the globe, especially in western Voragic Ocean that is considered the traditional sphere of influence of the country.
Military
Commonly considered to be a major power and local hegemon in west Voragic Ocean, the Kyriarchate maintains an expensive military force capable of global power projection. Unlike the military of many other countries, the largest branch of the Tuthinan military in terms of personnel is its naval branch, the Sea Forces, owing to the far extents of the Home Islands as an archipelagic polity.
Officially, the Kyriarchate utilises conscription to supplement its professional army, especially after the Great Republican Uprising significantly reduced the number of available manpower. Deriving from levy and town watch of the past, the byang'in (埅人) system fulfils the role of national service and civil defence of the country. Although also used as regular conscription, participants of byang'in generally serve as local law enforcement and other public service instead.
Demographics
Ministry of Revenue of the Kyriarchal government conducts population census every five years, corresponding to years ending with digit 5 or 0 in Tuthinan calendar, or 4 or 9 in Gregorian calendar. According to census conducted in AD 2014 (MT 3325), the average total fertility rare of Imperial citizens is 2.36, continuing the trend of slow decrease since the 1989 census.
The Kyriarchal government recognises five gender-sex combinations, commonly translated as masculine male, masculine female, neuter (of both sexes), feminine male, and feminine female. As of 2014, the vast majority of Tuthinans are registered as either masculine male (47%) or feminine female (52%). The total human sex ratio of 0.87 is primarily caused by huge male casualty during the Great Republican Uprising: sex ratio at birth is estimated to be 1.00, while elder sex ratio is 0.47. Feminine male is the third largest gender in Tuthina, comprising about 1% of the population, while almost no individuals identify themselves as masculine female or neuter.
Ethnicity
Tuthina is generally considered to be one of, if not the most ethnically diverse country in Esquarium, with the largest ethnic group constituting slightly less than 20% of the total population. Combined, the indigenous ethnic groups of Tuthinan aborigines and Encu comprises slightly more than half (50.4%) of Tuthinans, while Ka, the ethnic group claimed to inherit the Kwa people who founded the Kyriarchate, comprises slightly less than half of that number.
Religion
The Kyriarchate is a theocracy, with the monarchy deriving its political legitimacy from the founding myth of the polity led by the White King, the Tuthinan Kamist patron deity of humanity, more than three millennia ago. To reinforce its legitimacy through the folk religion of the Home Islands, Kamist clergy was organised during the early days of the Kyriarchate into the Ecclesiarchy, a sect of Tuthinan Kamism which focuses on the worship of Sakitili, the patron deity of "all earthly life", and the White King, the patron deity of humanity.
As the state religion of the country, the Ecclesiarchy plays a major role in Tuthinan society and government, with observance of it being one of the prerequisite for Tuthinan citizenship. Since the Katëk Reform at the wake of the Great Republican Uprising, the Ecclesiarchy has seen major expansion in its authority, with it being granted the responsibility of maintaining the compulsory education and social welfare system of the country, a role that continues to this day.
Despite being a theocracy with enforced state religion, the animist-polytheist nature of Kamism results in multiple religious belonging being permitted and practised to a certain degree. While belief systems incompatible with the Ecclesiarchy, such as monotheist faiths like Irfan and antitheist faiths like Sadulaarsa are effectively banned, polytheist and henotheist faiths like some interpretations of Saturnism are generally allowed.
Languages
Similar to ethnic groups, Tuthina houses a great variety of languages, and is sometimes considered one of the largest and most diverse sprachbund in Esquarium. The lack of writing system outside Literary Tuthinan-based Syodongmun poses major obstacles in classifying languages spoken across the Home Islands. Current theories usually divide indigenous Tuthinan languages into four major groups, either as language families or language isolates with divergent dialects.
The biggest linguistic group belongs to the Eteo-Lahudic languages, comprising the languages of Tuthinan aborigines who inhabited the majority of the Home Islands since the Neolithic period. It is estimated that around 40% of all Tuthinans, most of them inhabiting eastern Home Islands, speak an Eteo-Lahudic language as their native tongue.
Vernacular Tuthinan languages is the second largest linguistic group. Distantly related to Senrian, its members are spoken by roughly 25% of the population centred around the western seaboard. Classical Vernacular Tuthinan, considered the oldest surviving form of Vernacular Tuthinan, is considered the language of internal diplomacy and upper class in general.
Both Ama and Apaitak language are considered language isolates as no genealogical relations with other known languages had been established, although features and loanwords from the two languages are not uncommon in Vernacular Tuthinan languages, and vice versa.
Official language
Literary Tuthinan language is the sole official language of the Kyriarchate. Spoken by the proto-Ka people who migrated to Lahudica 3,500 years ago and founded the Kyriarchate, it differs from the official language of most countries in that it is a dead language, as native speakers of Literary Tuthinan ceased to exist roughly two millennia ago, being assimilated into native languages such as Vernacular Tuthinan languages. However, it remains in frequent use as the literary and liturgical language of the Kyriarchate and the Ecclesiarchy to this day. Syodongmun, as a written form of Literary Tuthinan, is used to write virtually all languages in Tuthina, benefitting from its ideographic nature.
Due to complex ethno-linguistic distribution in the Home Islands, the majority of Tuthinans are considered multilingual. Apart from their native language, Tuthinans who received higher education are generally fluent in Literary Tuthinan, and some form of Vernacular Tuthinan languages are widely taught in elementary education as auxiliary language since the Katëk Reform. Additionally, members of the Kyriarchal military tend to learn the lingua franca of their own branch with varying degree of fluency.
Economy
Energy
Energy production in Tuthina is dominated by nuclear power, contributing 78% of total electricity production of the country in 2014, one of the highest percentages in Esquarium. First beginning operation in 1962 as part of the Tuthinan nuclear weapons program, the proliferation of nuclear power in Tuthina receives great support from the Kyriarchal government, both to reduce reliance on imported fossil fuel and to increase production capacity of nuclear weapon: environmentalism was not included in official statement concerning Tuthinan nuclear energy development until 1986.
Both total output and percentage of nuclear power in energy generation has been steadily increasing for decades in face of rise in demand for more power. As such, the Kyriarchate is generally considered to be among the most advanced countries in design and construction of nuclear power plants, adopting experimental designs such as Thorium-based nuclear power reactors.
Renewable energy is the second-largest producer of electricity, accounting for 15% of power production, the majority of which being geothermal energy (10%) due to the Home Islands being located on tectonic plate boundary. Apart from electricity generation, geothermal heating and hot spring is also commonly utilised by Tuthinans for various purposes.
Fossil fuel provides the remaining 7% of energy for the country. As geology of the Home Islands precludes sizable fossil fuel deposit, virtually all of it is imported from closely-affiliated countries such as Xiaodong. In 2016 Esquarian Summit, Anteko, Regent of the Kyriarchate, stated that fossil fuel consumption in Tuthina is expected to drop in the "foreseeable future" in face of technological development in nuclear and renewable energy. However, it is speculated that fossil fuel in the Home Islands will not be completely phased out, due to diplomatic concerns with Xiaodong and its influential coal industry.
Resource
Formed alongside tectonic plate boundaries at western Voragic Ocean, the Home Islands is rich in many mineral resources, most notable of which being gold and silver. At the same time, frequent tectonic and volcanic activities result in lack of sizeable fossil fuel deposit on land. High availability of metallic ore in both the Home Islands and eastern Borea is believed to play a vital role in the relatively early development of metalworking by Ama and Kwa people.
The highly varied climate of the Home Islands, caused by complex interaction of prevailing wind and ocean currents, drastically reduces the area of arable land compared with locations of similar latitude and general climate. Even with introduction of rice and other high-yield crop from continental Borea by Ama and Kwa migrants, many Tuthinans soon turn towards pastoralism and fishing as the primary form of subsistence in face of population growth. Despite effort to expand arable land area through public work and agricultural technology, it is estimated that less than 10% of the Home Islands is capable of supporting intensive farming today. As such, seafood and dairy products comprises up to 80% of nutritional source for average modern Tuthinan diet, with its upper class relying heavily on imported food for food variety.
Infrastructure
Architecture
Buildings in the Kyriarchate are strongly encouraged by law to utilise traditional architectural style. Buildings with aesthetics deemed to be observing traditional aesthetics are given financial benefits such as tax reduction in relevant fields not enjoyed by those pertaining to modern architecture. Contrary to popular belief, traditional architecture of non-Tuthinan and non-Monic cultures receive similar benefits as Tuthinan traditional style, including Conitian classical architecture and Nordic Classicism.
As part of manifestation of the conservative Kwokthey state ideology, the majority of Tuthinan buildings adhere to traditional Tuthinan and Monic architectural style. In order to overcome the inherent inefficiency, the Kyriarchal government has been supporting development of architectural technology and "respectful reinterpretation" of traditional aesthetics. Sometimes called Monic neoclassicism, the combination of modern building technology and traditional style has been the dominant architectural style of the country, as well as friendly Monic polities receiving construction aid from it.
Transportation
Maritime
With its population scattered across hundreds of islands in the archipelago, maritime transport is the predominant form of transportation in Tuthina. A traditional thalassocracy, the Kyriarchate has a well-developed maritime industry supporting its extensive international shipping lanes. The high capacity and speed of maritime transport, combined with rolling terrain of the Home Islands, makes watercraft a vital component of Tuthinan infrastructure since its early days, particularly for the seafaring Ama people, who traditionally dwell in houseboat. Since the Age of Palingenesis, the Kyriarchate has been maintaining a dedicated shipbuilding industry, utilising its many deep water ports to cater to both maritime commerce and naval force.
Road
Out of the total length of more than 300,000 kilometres, the vast majority of road in the Home Islands are constructed and maintained by local governments with assistance from the Ministry of Works of the central government. Many interstate motorway, however, are within purview of either the central government or the military. As part of the post-civil war reconstruction and national defence scheme, most major cities on the North Island and South Island are now interconnected, allowing rapid military deployment against potential invasion or insurrection.
The fragmented geography, however, limits the capacity and extent of Tuthinan road network. The longest motorway in Tuthina is located at the western seaboard, connecting the southern tip of South Island to Hyperborean coast of North Island. With a total length of about 2,200 kilometres, the southern and northern portion is connected by several tunnels between the Daran strait through the island of Mbala.
Air
Throughout the 20th century, increased need for military presence and rapid deployment against potential naval invasions saw the construction of numerous transport seaplane and outposts across the smaller islands of the archipelago, especially ones too small to house larger infrastructure. Originally reserved for the military, advents in military technology has rendered they ineffective, gradually relegating them for civilian use to this day. Although lacking in capacity, the flexibility and low maintenance cost of seaplane routes means it is the most prevalent vehicle for short domestic flights between small islands.
Culture
Since ancient times, the culture of Tuthina has received significant influence from multiple, often distinct sources. What is commonly considered the core of Imperial Tuthinan culture today stems from that of the Kwa people, part of the Monic peoples who migrated from Namor during the Great Monic Migration. Since their arrival at Tuthina and creation of the Kyriarchate more than three millennia ago, the original Monic culture has seen extensive mutual influence with native cultures from the Great Steppe, eastern Borea and Tuthinan Home Islands. Combined with a lack of nationalist notion that push for cultural unification of population, the highly diverse ethnic composition of the Home Islands is commonly attributed for the highly-varied modern Tuthinan culture.
As a whole, Tuthinan culture is generally considered to be very conservative, further reinforced by both of Tuthinan Kamist teachings and Kwokthey policies. Almost all native ethnic groups in the Home Islands observe ancestor veneration to a certain degree, and it is commonly believed that any reforms on culture or society contrary to practices of the ancestors would be unfilial and impious, as well as actively harmful as offended ancestors would retract their protection from them. Similarly, as traditionally Tuthinan rulers, including the Kyriarchy itself, derive their legitimacy through observation of guidance from ancestral practices, radical changes in customs are often considered to be a threat to stability, both for government and society as a whole.
While defined as socially conservative due to a cautious approach to social reforms, the status quo of Tuthinan society differs significantly from many other cultures in Esquarium. It is often said that Tuthinan views and laws on homosexuality, prostitution and recreational drug use are among the laxest, or "most liberal" on the planet, due to lack of taboo or - in the case for prostitution - enjoying a status of veneration on these issues. At the same time, infanticide and Nopi, a societal institution commonly considered to constitute slavery, is also legal and practised across the Home Islands.
Art
While some form of art has been present in the Home Islands since its earliest human habitation, the current form of Tuthinan art, in particular that of high culture, is believed to have ultimately originated from the nomadic Kwa people during the Great Monic Migration. Due to lack of surviving records, the first Kwa art dated back to around 1500 BC, shortly after they made landfall in Yosiparu.
Before the invention or, less likely, introduction of hemp paper in Tuthina during the late Age of Disorder, the majority of art in Tuthina was based on non-written arts such as ceramics and sculpture. While bamboo and wooden slips, as well as Monic cauldrons have preserved earlier writing and painting, their high cost and weight is believed to have significantly limited their circulation to the ruling elites.
A combination of increase in wealth and exchange of foreign ideas across the planet through expansion of transoceanic trade during the Palingenetic period caused Tuthinan art to experience tremendous evolution during the Tuthinan Radiance. Apart from adaptation of art form and medium such as impasto and oil paint from Nordania and Conitia, native art form also adopted certain characteristics from the outside world, usually pertaining to application of mathematics in art.
Modern Tuthinan art retains a significant amount of traditional Tuthinan aesthetics, but at the same time, many art has adopted a multitude of medium regardless of their origin, in particular popular culture. This is most commonly observed among coastal cities of the Home Islands, where contact with foreign entities are both common and constitutes a significant portion of customer base.
Aesthetics
Philosophy of Tuthinan culture, in particular Kamist religious philosophy, has a huge influence on the aesthetics of all Tuthinan art form through the ages and across most medium in the country. Since the 20th century, several unique attributes to Tuthinan aesthetics have been considered definitive of Tuthinan culture and thus receive notable endorsement and patronage from the upper class of the Kyriarchate.
One of the most common elements of Tuthinan aesthetics is the pathos of things, sometimes also translated as lacrimae rerum. As its name implies, it is a pathos - appeal to emotions - based on the nature of all entities in the world. Usually, the pathos of things focuses on the impermanence and suffering inherent in the nature of the world, particularly for human being. Despite the sorrow disposition of these elements, however, the pathos is considered to have both a positive and negative side. Tuthinan Kamist mythology teaches that the transient nature of life is beneficial: the existence of boundary between life and death serve to "condense the essence of life" so as to drive kam of a being to strive for accomplishment.
Pathos of things is sometimes combined with the Kamist notion of Tree Will, where all beings have a purpose where fulfilment is necessary for true happiness. Sometimes interpreted as a death drive where one who has fulfilled one's purpose should embrace death so as to preserve the perfection achieved, this is often called "death worship" or "obliteration of the Self" by foreign scholars. Its prevalence within Tuthinan culture is, however, unknown, and is said to be explicitly unendorsed by the military.
Another common aesthetics of Tuthinan art is anthropomorphism, where non-human objects are given human characteristics, if not assume human form in art. Similar to other elements of Tuthinan aesthetics, this is rooted in Kamist belief of everything having possession of their own kam, or spiritual essence, like human. As such, Tuthinan expressionism often depicts non-human beings as human with characteristics with non-human characteristics, while humans sometimes also receive non-human (usually animal) characteristics to reflect certain aspects of mind. This is most commonly used in relations to Tuthinan aborigines, who have a long history of adopting animal characteristics such as ears for garment, believing that it will grant them additional power.
Literature
With one of the longest written histories in Esquarium, Tuthinan literature can be dated back more than three millennia ago, when the Kwa people introduced Syodongmun to the Tuthinan Home Islands. Early Tuthinan literature were mostly written versions of earlier oral traditions, as well as (often semi-legendary) accounts of interactions between Kwa settlers and native population. As religion continued to play a significant role in Tuthinan society since then, folkloric and religious overtone continue to be a common feature of Tuthinan literature since the foundation of the Kyriarchate.
Spread of literacy during the first millennium of the Kyriarchate saw a drastic increase in literature, with one of the first novels known being written in Literary Tuthinan around the first century AD. Similar to other art forms, Tuthinan literature often contain a strong focus on subjective experience of characters, sometimes at the expense of detailed and realistic depiction of physical reality. Sadness, impermanence and general human imperfection are common themes of Tuthinan literature, its format allowing them to be conveyed more often than other traditional art form.
Music
While the different source of music in Tuthina results in use of multiple musical scales, virtually all known native Tuthinan music scales pertain to pentatonic scale. In Imperial music theory, the most prominent pentatonic scales in use - in particularly court music - are the "bright scale" (A minor pentatonic: A-C-D-E-G) and "dark scale" (B minor pentatonic: B-D-E-F#-A).
A combination of the bright and dark scale results in a E minor heptatonic scale (E-F#-G-A-B-C-D). It saw a rise in popularity in Tuthina during late Palingenetic period, possibly due to introduction of Nordanian and Conitian heptatonic music scale.
While unnamed and traditionally unmarked, microtonality is often employed in Tuthinan music for a more complex performance. It is hypothesised that microtones originated as minor improvisation used to express and invoke specific emotions based on circumstance, before becoming a regular feature in Tuthinan music.
Portamento, a smooth sliding of pitch from one note to another without discrete intervals, is a common element in traditional Tuthinan music. It is also often characterised by a descending tendency, going from higher pitches to lower ones, as well as from loudness to softness.
Tuthinan music utilises a variety of musical instruments, particularly woodwind instruments and bowed string instruments. Among them, bone fiddle, believed to be in use by Kwa people since the Great Monic Migration, is often considered the most iconic Tuthinan instrument.
Painting
While painting has existed on the Home Islands for several millennia since Neolithic times, in terms of high art, Tuthinan visual arts mostly originated from ancient Monic culture, thus sharing significant similarities with its continental Monic counterpart.
Stemming from application of ink brush used for writing, ink wash painting (Literary Tuthinan: suymëk hwek) is the predominant form of traditional Tuthinan painting since the Warring States period. While painting with multiple colours exist, the vast majority of pre-modern ink wash painting are monochrome, usually black-and-white due to common use of black ink.
Aesthetically, Tuthinan art bears notable semblance to the more modern expressionist art movement, in that depiction of the "spirit" of subject is considered more important and artistically superior than its appearance. As such, it is not uncommon for Tuthinan artists to distort physical reality and objective appearance in order to convey subjective sensation such as emotions and concepts.
During the Palingenetic period and modern age, influx of foreign art style from Nordania and Conitia alike contributes to artistic evolution of Tuthinan visual arts, primarily in technique such as application of graphical perspective. However, while mathematics in art drastically improved accuracy in depicting reality and appearance, subjective expression continued to dominate Tuthinan aesthetics.
During the 20th century, propagation of mass media, as well as influence from popular culture such as cartoon leads to rise of modern Tuthinan art. Characterised by extraggerated appearance and expression as well as traditional expressionist aesthetics, it is first popularised in the Home Islands through newspaper comic strips, where limitation of medium encouraged such art style for improved readability.
Cuisine
Unlike the majority of Monic cultures, Tuthinan cuisine does not feature many food made directly from crop due to its severe lack of arable land in its heartland. With the exception of the subtropical southern islands and the southern tip of South Island, the majority of population in Tuthina before advent in modern agricultural technology and science relied heavily on pastoralism (primarily pastoral farming) and fishing for subsistence. The lack of dominant foodstuff, combined with the multitude of cultures and ecosystems in Tuthina, gives rise to its diverse cuisine.
Tuthinan cuisine primarily consists of dairy product, seafood and vegetable, often supplemented by secondary foodstuff such as rice, meat, animal fat and honey. Traditionally, alcoholic beverage is produced from honey or rice, due to lack of availability of other sources in the early territories of the Kyriarchate.
Before the introduction of beetroot from Nordania, production of sugar in the Home Islands was severely limited as only the southernmost islands could grow sugar cane. As such, before both were introduced during Age of Palingenesis, honey was the sole source of sugar for almost all Tuthinans. Because of that, honey serves a pivotal role in Tuthinan haute cuisine, as well as other aspects of its culture. Apart from using it as an additive to enhance taste and preserve food, it is also commonly used as offering to ancestors in religious functions.
Media
Media industry of Tuthina is quite robust and varied, owing to sizeable presence of multiple ethnic groups within its border, each with their own preferred media. Like most other major industries, media in the Kyriarchate is dominated by family business of the aristocracy, often utilising their companies to supplement government function in their territory. As such, there are no truly country-wide media outlets in Tuthina, although some of the largest media businesses generally enjoy decent coverage in the majority of the country, usually by endorsement from the monarchy.
According to legal system of Tuthina, all public publication require approval from the Censorate to proceed, in order to "prevent the spread of hazardous misinformation and anti-[Tuthinan] propaganda". To enforce this, all permits of printing and publication are assigned at least one full-time officers from the Censorate depending on scale, whose approval is required for legal publication of material. In practice, these officers are reported to enjoy considerable freedom to use their discretion when deciding what constitutes forbidden material. Because of that, publishers tend to garner favours from their assigned censors to ensure smooth publications.
Philosophy
Tuthinan philosophy is strongly influenced by the religious cosmology of Tuthinan Kamism, the indigenous belief system of the Home Islands. Generally considered a mixture of animist and polytheistic belief, Kamism as a whole teaches that every entity in the world, including both animate and inanimate beings, as well as abstract concepts, possess distinctive spiritual presences called kam. Unlike monotheist religions where divinity is unique to a single God, both soul and divinity are considered identical in the form of kam.
The belief in omnipresence of kam in Kamism is said to manifest itself in idealism and, to a lesser degree, dualism that dominated Tuthinan philosophical circles. Most philosophical schools in Tuthina suggest that some form of mind, or kam, formed the basis of reality, or at least playing an essential role in it. The dominant position of mind over matter is often reflected in various forms of art, most commonly in the notion that expressing the mentality of the artist and the work itself is more important than depiction of physical reality.
Traditionally, Kamist philosophy holds that all beings, from humanity to inanimate objects, are equally sacred due to the presence of kam, and reverence is required to form a mutually-beneficial relationship between them. Often, this is reflected in frequent anthropomorphism of non-human beings by Tuthinans, where they are treated as sentient beings with their own characteristics, and lack of care can lead to them working against the user. This is most prominently demonstrated in the military. Apart from the presence of on-board shrine dedicated to the spirits of larger armament such as warships, mechanics and engineers responsible for maintenance of armament tend to belong to the Ecclesiarchy, who conduct pacifying rituals in addition to physical maintenance.