Vascania

Imperium of Vascania Emperat zho Vascania (Vascanian)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  "Vae victis" (Latin) "Woe to the vanquished"
Anthem:  Bolksmartrumm zho Victoreun (Vascanian) "National March of Victory"
Capital and largest city	Magnolia
Official language	Vascanian
Ethnic groups (2300)	Vascanian
Religion (2300)	95.8% Imperial Cult 2.2% Irreligion 2% unanswered
Demonym(s)	Vascanian
Government	Unitary absolute monarchy
• Emperor	Rovert II Valeris-Astonfort
• Lord Chancellor	Brantoniss Templetonn
Legislature	Council of Elders
Formation
• The Great Crash	29 February 1 (2400 Terran)
• Kingdom of Astonfort established	30 January 76
• Duchy of Valeris established	18 October 158
• First Lotanni Conflict	3 July 269
• The Eternal Peace	31 December 300
• War of the Roses	18 January 301
• The Great Merge	1 January 327
• The Collapse	8 August 1004
• Battle of Lutzpergat	27 February 1012
• The First Purge	1 July 1013
• Imperial Proclamation	1 January 1527
Population
• 2300 (NEC) census	9,120,741,089
• Density	49.54/km2 (128.3/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2100 estimate
• Total	$510.374 trillion
• Per capita	$131,132
GDP (nominal)	2100 estimate
• Total	$505.043 trillion
• Per capita	$129,762
Gini (2300)	20 low
HDI (2300)	0.803 very high
Currency	Zol (Ƶ) (VRZ)
Date format	dd.mm.yyyy (NEC)
Driving side	left
Calling code	+44
Internet TLD	.va

The Imperium of Vascania, commonly known as Vascania, is a interstellar empire located in the southwest of the Antares Cluster, within the Butterfly Constellation. It's core comprises the system of Exeter as well as it's largest terrestrial planet (And capital of Vascania) Exeter Prima. Vascania is a absolute monarchy ruled via a unitary system, it is currently governed by Rovert II of House Valeris-Astonfort, the twenthiet monarch of Vascania. Exeter Prima, the home system of Vascania, is renowned for it's magnificent beaches, beautiful architecture greatly inspired by victorian and neoclassical styles, and vast museums detailing the history of Vascania. The most populous of the three megacities present in Exeter Prima, Magnolia, boasts a massive 39.2 million inhabitants as of 2300 and the palace therein currently serves as the preferred residence of Emperor Rovert II, thus making it the de facto capital of Vascania.

Vascania shares no borders with other stellar-level nations, and all other nations within Exeter Prima were wiped out before the XXI Century. In on itself, Exeter Prima is the third planet from Exeter and has two natural satellites in the form of the moons Yarmut and Wrex. Yarmut, the larger of the pair, is the third largest satellite in all of the Exeter System only behind Vrist and Conset, and is larger than several planets in the Exeter System. Exeter Prima is, according to recovered archives, at least twice the size of Earth and it's rumored this might have been the original super-earth that the colonist sent on the original expedition to the Antares Cluster. Exeter Prima is the fifth largest planet in Exeter System, and the largest terrestrial one. Exeter Prima is also in close proximity to Carlet, the seventh largest planet and the second largest terrestrial. Due to the size disparity between the two, with Carlet being little below a quarter of Exeter Prima and only marginally larger than Vrist, as well as due to the close proximity of their orbit, many scientists throughout early human history in Exeter have confused Carlet as the third moon of Exeter Prima. As of 2300, there are still pockets of civilization that firmly hold that Carlet is a moon of Exeter Prima, and contentious debate amongst the astronomic community of Vascania continues in spite of it having been proven in 1968 NEC that Carlet is an individual planet.

Due to it's relative distance from the Great Abyss, the Exeter Colony was one of the last to be founded by the scattered remnants of the Armstrong Colonization Flotilla. According to archives, a small crew of roughly 50 colonists, 20 scientists, and 130 military personnel took control of a military vessel following the events that transpired inside the Great Abyss. Led by Admiral Henry Dawson, the ship coursed through uncharted deepspace until arriving at Exeter System. After the radars of the ship took notice of Exeter Prima, Admiral Dawson ordered the ship to land believing it to be the Super-Earth the Armstrong Colonization Flotilla had been sent to look for to begin with. Upon landing however, the Exeter Colonists faced the hardships of the extremely aggressive alien fauna as well as dwindling resources due to the ship's limited supplies. Due to this, the ship that brought humans to Exeter in the first place was scrapped for materials and its components used to build the first vestiges of humanity in Exeter Prima. After a certain unknown period of time, humans in Exeter began to split and form other kingdoms which slowly meant a transition back to an era akin to that of the medieval in Earth. Eventually, two fiefdoms rose to prominence; the Kingdom of Astonfort, based around the basin of the Aston River, and the Duchy of Valeris, which encompassed most of the Danuban Coast and the River Danube.

The Duchy of Valeris and the Kingdom of Astonfort, alongside a third kingdom in the form of the Lotan Diarchy, eventually grew to be the main contenders for domination of Novuropa, the largest of the continents of Exeter Prima. Wars were fought often between the three kingdoms, and for three centuries a period of constant bloodshed known as the Jagged Contest engulfed all the aspects of Novuropean life as minor tribes were brought into the chaos as pawns for the major powers. Eventually, the Jagged Contest came to an end following the conclusion of the War of the Roses between Houses Astonfort and Valeris and a victory by the latter, due to it signaling the unification of the two major powers into a singular superpower and the subsequent tip of the balance of power caused the collapse of Lotanni society and the complete annexation of all Lotanni territories in a process called the Great Merge. The kingdom that emerged from the Jagged Contest was named Vascania in honor of the Vasca River, where the original crash site of the ship is believed to be located. The Kingdom of Vascania would go on to start a series of massive conquests across most of Novuropa, beginning a slow ascent that directly led to a golden age during the rule of King Harol "The Eloquent" (678-712 NEC). King Harol's form of enlightened absolutism has received praise and critique by many members of Vascanian society throughout history, seen by many as the founding principles upon which Vascanian Despotism takes inspiration from, though also seen as a diametrically opposed ideology to the current of Vascanian Brutalism that has dominated Vascanian politics since the early XI Century.

Eventually, the Age of Marvels would come to an abrupt end after tribes of desert dwelling Taizinns, nomadic raiders that had been in a loose alliance to maintain their independence from the growing Vascanian Kingdom, united in a singular empire at the helm of Sharakurrankan Benya Lestraed and began to wage a massive war of conquest through all of the south of Vascania. This massive war would coincide with the untimely death of King Ewald IV and the ascension of his unprepared heir, Ewald V, as well as a massive rebellion led by Baron Henri Gascond. All this combined as well as ill-prepared troops that were not ready to face the hordes of Taizinn Cabelgars led to an almost complete collapse of all institutions within Vascania during a period known as the Anarchy. In 1012 however, 8 years after the start of the Taizinn Invasion, a host of 5800 soldiers led by exiled King Ewald V successfully defeated 20,000 Taizinn Raiders at the Battle of Lutzpergat. This signaled a turning point as King Ewald regained control of the nation and mobilized Vascanian troops to take defensive positions whilst applying the tactics he had learned from Lutzpergat against the encroaching Taizinns, eventually successfully killing Sharakurrankan Lestraed and conquering the Taizinn Sharakurrankanate.

Modern Vascanian society is very much based around the ideals brought during the Collapse, as a staunchly militaristic, nationalistic and xenophobic set of beliefs known collectively as Vascanian Brutalism still dominate Vascanian politics. Modern day Vascania is an advanced industrial and technophilic society that strongly believes in it's own supremacy and is dominated by Vascanian Brutalism and Revanchism. The Emperor of Vascania, Rovert II, holds absolute authority over all Vascanians and is often revered as a living god and the strongest of all Vascanians.

Etymology

The first recorded instances of a tribe in Novuropa calling itself Vascania comes from a small group of sedentary Novedinburian separatists that came to inhabit what's today the northern stretch of the Vasca River, near Benevis Mountain. Allegedly led by Jon Hicort, an almost mythological adventurer from Novedinburdian history that founded the Seven Convents of Midert, the Proto-Vascanians created the Assembly of Vascania somewhere around 148-150 NEC. This assembly served as a tribal council that governed over issues across a series of different settlements north of the River Vasca.

In 195 NEC the Vascanian Assembly established contact for the first recorded time with the Duchy of Valeris, following the latter's annexation of Novedinbur