Hastica

Hastica
Province and County of Great Nortend
Flag Great Cross
Motto(s):  Non nimis procul (Not too far)
Anthem: "Rex lætabitur in virtute tua" (The King shall joy)
Location of Hastica in Lorecia
Sovereign state	Great Nortend
Dowry of Hastica	1522
Capture by the Empire of Exponent	November 7, 1653
Reunion Day	November 8, 1743
Capital	Hastica
Largest settlement	Saint Parth
Official languages	Erbonian English
Demonym(s)	Hastican
Government	Directly governed by Great Nortend
• Sovereign	King Alexander II
• Lieutenant-Governour	Vacant
• Archdeacon of Saint Parth	The Rev'd Michael Everard
Population
• Estimate	3,700
Currency	Pound marten (£) (GNP)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	left
Calling code	+37 41

The Province and County of Hastica is the only overseas county and province of Great Nortend, comprising of the Isles of Hastica, the two main islands of which are Hastica Major and Hastica Minor. They are separated by a thin strait which is crossed by the Ponty Bridge (a tautology meaning 'bridge bridge') which is depicted on the Blue Ensign of Hastica.

History

The islands, far off the eastern Aquitayne coast of Lorecia, were granted by the XX of XX to William II, first Anthordian King of Nortend, in 1522 as a dowry for the wedding of his heir, George I with XX of Aquitayne.

After the Church of Nortend's Great Schism in 1614 with the Roman Catholic Church, the Empire of Exponent seized the islands in 1650 in the Battle of Hastica, along with later the rest of Aquitayne and Aswick. With the warming of relations with the Empire after the marriage of Queen Mary to the Catholic-leaning Earl of Scode in 1740, and the Empire's quickly deteriorating position in Aquitayne, they were returned to Great Nortend in 1743, exactly 90 years and one day after their capture.

However, it was only in 1749 that Mary appointed the first Viceroy for the isles, having previously been governed by the Archdeacon of Saint Parth. Since then, Lieutenants and later Lieutenant-Governours have been appointed successively to represent the Crown in the islands as a county. The isles are represented in Parliament by one Knight of the Shire.

Settlements

The major settlement of the isles is the 'village' of Saint Parth, located around the Ponty Bridge, with a population of 1,200 residents. The rest of the 3,700 population live in the smaller market town of Hastica and several other small villages dotted around the islands. The isles are broken into 23 parishes. The islanders are 100 per cent Cardican Christians under the temporal jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Sulthey, who instals an Archdeacon to administrate the isles.

A legacy of Exponential occupation is Fortress of Saint Parth, which uniquely serves as the 'home' garrison for the 5 Gunners Rgt., The Hastican Gunners, the only regiment to be based outside of the Erbonian Isles. His Majesty's Dock, Saint Parth, is also the location of the only current installation bearing the title of His Majesty's Dock of the Navy Royal, all other installations bearing the title of His Majesty's Dockyard. The XX Flotilla is based here.