Republic of Pentium

Republic of Pentium
1822 Flag after unification
Motto: Courage in Every Heart, Unity in Every Hand
Anthem: Dreaming of the Sun
Capital	Whedon's Row
Largest city	Saltbrook Channel
Official languages	Pentian
Other languages	Mesean
Ethnic groups	77% Pentian   13% Others 10% Mesean
Demonym(s)	Pentians
Government	Federal Republic
• President	Iain Callahan
Independence
Area
• Total	87,500 km2 (33,800 sq mi)
Population
• 2022 estimate	36,000,000
GDP (PPP)	2023 estimate
• Total	725.832 billion
• Per capita	$20,162
Gini (2023)	29.23 low
HDI (2023)	0.871 very high
Currency	Pentian Dollar (PTD)
Time zone	UTC +2
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side	right
Internet TLD	PT

The Republic of Pentium (Pentian: Poblachd na Coavia) is a nation located in Eastern Argis, its closest neighbors Skibbenon in the north and Aurivizh to the west To the South is the Geltic Sea and to the west is the Cetan Sea. It has a total land area of 87,500km^2, making it one of the smaller nations on the Argis continent. The Republic of Pentium has a population reaching approximately 36,780,182, making it one of the most populated nations in its local area. The nation is subdivided into 7 administrative zones that each form regional governments that are responsible for tasks that are delegated from the federal government.

Pentium has long been inhabited by a mixture of local peoples and peoples who migrated into the area for its preferable climate and fertile land, the mixing of these peoples and the native population has been a process that has been ongoing for thousands of years in the nations history. The oldest surviving records are dated to 200 BCE, written by proto-Gelts that inhabited the area. From that period up until 932 AD, the area that currently encompasses Pentium were city states or fledging states and were separate to each other.

The troubles would last until 985 AD, the invasions culminating into a major offensive into Pentium's heartland after 50 years of on and off raiding and invasions. The King of Whedon's Row, whose name was lost to history allied with the city of Riversguard to defend each other against the invaders. Utilizing the River Mercy rapid transportation of supplies and materials gave two cities an advantage over the overextended armies opposing them and gained the alliance an impressive victory. During one of the final battles, both kings were slain and a new monarch was given reign over both kingdoms. Edmund Callahan merged both states into the North River Federation and successfully saw off the barbarians near the turn of the century.

The new entity continued expanding its borders, many city-states that had surrendered or had been conquered flocked to the banner of the North River Federation. Giving the entity the status of a dominant power in its local region, ending The Troubles in 1002 AD and planting the seed of a unified state within the peninsula.

Despite the newfound wealth that many citizens enjoyed, it would not last. As in 1207 AD, an overwhelmingly large force of allied clans from the west invaded the North River Federation, having allied with the trade states of the south. After decades of fighting and losses, they coordinated an extremely successful offensive that stripped back vast amount of land and wealth from the Federation. Ancaster Pentium would lead the Federation to victory, and restore the Federation to its previous state in the west, but struggling against the Southern States before retiring peacefully.

Despite the treachery of the Southern States, the Federation was largely unable to reconquer much of its lost territories. The constant worry about their neighbor would keep the Federation on watch however. This uneasy period was known as the Boreal War, called such because of how little conflict started between the two nations despite the mistrust between the two states.

Starting in 1898, border skirmishes increased along Pentium's borders. Seeing minor territorial changes, up until 1905 when the Southern Union declared war on the Republic of Pentium, which had since become a Federal Republic after broad public demand to follow through on Ancaster's idea caused a deposition of the Monarchy. Despite the build-up on the border with the Southern Union, they led a ferocious campaign that tore through Pentium's armed forces. Crushing entire armies decisively, and causing major defeats at sea. The Republic of Pentium was on the brink of collapse. Ultimately, victory was achieved at great cost at sea. Allowing the Southern Union to be isolated from supplies and eventually starved into unconditional surrender in 1967. Pentium imposed a full annexation, which the Mesean people were unwilling to contest, though many would leave Pentium.

Corporate interests would begin to grow after the Pentian-Union War, there were benefits to allowing the free market into Pentium. However, after the Sunhaven agreement signed in 2014 gave corporations a voice within parliament, corporations ran the government and the Republic unjustly, if profitably. In the end, a motion thinly veiled as a coup was overturned when the sitting president Iain Callahan revoked the agreement. Sparking a civil war, the short and bloody affair ended in victory for the Republic and put the government on a path less reliant on corporations and restored elected officials as the only representatives in government.

History

Prehistory

The earliest recorded records that Pentian historians have access too are dated from 200 BCE and are theorized to be authored by the pre-Gelts that inhabited much of the northern parts of Argis. Records from other nations archives point towards Geltic settlement going farther back than Pentium's records, however it is known that these people settled down over most of the continent and would begin to form settlements that would provide the beginnings of an inhabited far east in Argis. Much of early Pentian history was defined by city states, places like Whedon's Row and Riversguard were centrally important cities during this era. Small kingdoms and fiefs existed within the modern Pentian borders but were generally isolationist or insular states that didn't interact often with each other beyond trading, historians generally agree that conflict between these City States were typically limited actions, resulting in few casualties and were often the result of settling a dispute rather than conquest. This period of relative peace and calm would be interrupted in 932 AD. When several raiders from barbarian states, or rival clans from the west would begin raiding the peninsula.

The Troubles

The Troubles is generally accepted to have begun in full in early 935 AD, after several years of independent City States repelling raiding parties. A large coalition of rival clans and barbarian mercenaries commenced a concentrated push into the Peninsula, typically the border cities, who were most adept at fighting most threats would have held off the attack, the sheer numbers and fresh tactics were able to handily overcome most border cities. Allowing the coalition to advance nearly unchecked through the heartland of Pentium, this sack would last nearly 30 years, taking pauses to consolidate and recruit on both sides. The King of Whedon's Row at the time, whose name has been lost to history had been following the situation closely, Whedon's Row was a fortress built into the hills and would be adept at resisting attacks, but had vulnerable flanks and could be cut off. Acting on this concept, the King sent a message to the Archon of Riversguard. Toland Han, responded with equal concern, having nearly the opposite problem. The two would meet near the River Mercy, and forged an alliance to defend one another.

First Siege of Whedon's Row

The first siege of Whedon's Row was a decisive victory for the allied cities, resulting in a rout of the coalitions forces away from the Northern cities. Records state that the King devised a strategy to break coalition forces into two separate armies, separating the more numerous mercenaries and their clan allies into two separate armies, using Riversguard troops to block attempts at reinforcements, militia archers would pepper the mercenaries with arrows while the cities guards forced a surrender against the hills. They turned to the smaller force of clans. Forcing a retreat from the field.

Battle of Riversguard

5 years after the first siege, the clans had regrouped with allied forces from captured city states from across the peninsula. Instead of marching for Whedon's Row, the Archon of Riversguard was able to find the force far sooner than expected and called for aid. A further combined force of Whedon's Row Levies and Riversguard Milita managed to win another victory from an ambush and forced another rout from the Clans. The rapid movement of troops was critical in the success of the operation, which was facilitated by using the River Mercy to ferry troops quickly and effectively by boat.

Battle of Brackish Point

It took a further 13 years for the coalition to replenish its numbers from the previous losses, and recruit more mercenaries who were willing to work with them. Operating in secrecy, several elements of this combined force marched on Brackish Point. A city located to the west of Riversguard, and began a siege. The city itself was well-supplied, and armed with levies and militia troops. The city would hold out for a year, where the siege would be broken by a combined army of Riversguard and Whedon's Row. The victory would be costly however, during the frantic fighting after the gates of Brackish opened to allow the Archon and King inside. The coalition had laid a trap, and despite efforts from city defenders and bodyguards both the King and Archon would be slain. It was a hollow victory for the coalition, causing a sally from Brackish and the nearby armies that would encircle and crush the coalition, ending The Troubles around 1002 AD.

North River Federation

Following the Battle of Brackish Point, a new king would be crowned. A boy said to be heir to both crowns was elevated, having hit the age of majority only a year prior. Edmund Callahan would lead the two cities for a few years after his ascension but would choose to unify the two states around their growing similarities and culture. The new state would be known as the North River Federation. Many city states that had survived the troubles unharmed or had seen the victories the Federation had completed decided to join the new entity willingly. Some states close to the borders of the Federation would have their installed leaders overthrown and would be absorbed by the entity, or set free with a ruler placed on their local governments by the Federation.

Expansion of the Federation

After securing its borders and overthrowing old coalition leaders from rival city-states, the federation embarked on a military expansion to the south and west. Focusing on reclaiming on what the old coalition had fought to take, the campaign would see moderate success in the South and great success in the West. Reclaiming most of the territory lost, except for the Southern States who formed a defense bloc and successfully maintained their independence from the Federation, the campaign would end in 1012 AD.

Era of Calm

The period of calm refers to a period of peace and prosperity encompassing roughly 200 years of history as well as recovering the economy from its tattered state, rebuilding settlements and entrenching systems within the Federation. Trade increased internally and people began to accrue wealth slowly over time, later in his life Edmund Callahan would begin to transition the armies of the Federation into smaller and more mobile units while reducing the size of the Federation's army by 20% and lowering the cost of defending the quiet borders. Edmund would oversee the Era of Calm until he died in 1070 AD. passing the rule of the Federation to his son, Signis Callahan. Signis was largely considered to be a historical footnote, where he and his successors would maintain the upward trend of the Federation until a succession crisis in 1180 AD saw Alexis Ventarus elevated to the throne. Young and arrogant, Alexis would further reduce military spending to bolster his personal coffers further.

1st Southern War

Despite the newfound wealth that many citizens enjoyed, it would not last. In 1207 AD, an overwhelmingly large force of allied clans from the west invaded the North River Federation, having allied with the trade states of the south. They coordinated an extremely successful offensive that stripped back vast amounts of land and wealth from the Federation, King Alexis Ventarus sallied out at the head of one of the Federation's largest armies yet assisted by General Ancaster Pentium. By all accounts, Alexis was a poor leader and was largely ineffectual during the campaign, leading the combined armies in a series of minor defeats that led to his encirclement against the hills North of Whedon's Row. During the armies dinner, Alexis confided in his remaining generals that he received a list of demands from the opposing general, the foremost demands were his abdication and the elevation of the clans as the sole leaders of the Federation. Alexis admitted he was going to accept the demands. In the uproar that commenced from the announcement, Ancaster drew her sword and murdered King Alexis. The next morning, when the Federation army took the field, Ancaster led them to victory after victory, using unorthodox tactics and clawing any advantage she could from the terrain.

2nd Reconquering

The counter-offensive from Ancaster revitalized the hope of the Federation and spurred its soldiers to keep fighting for their home, Ancaster would gather as many volunteers and levies as possible and split her command among her most capable subordinates to push back the tides of rival clans and the Southern States. The victory was costly, and tens of thousands of soldiers and civilian volunteers would die in the effort to reconquer their home, however, the territory lost to the Southern States was inevitable. Ancaster was able to mitigate the territory lost, but a significant chunk of territory was irrecoverable. After this victory, Ancaster had the opportunity to ascend to the throne of the Federation. However, for reasons that are still unknown to historians today she declined the elevation and retired to her home in Jade Cove. She would pass away in that home in 1265 AD, though she would be an outspoken critic of the monarchy and would petition for an alternative system of government.

The Boreal War

After the fighting and bloodshed had come to a close, another era of peace would fall upon the peninsula. Tensions wouldn't fall between the Federation and Southern States, the mutual distrust between both parties had pushed too far to be quelled. Neither state was prepared to start another war however. Frosty relations and the unwillingness to come to a compromise or treaty caused a long lived border conflict. Dubbed the Boreal War, due to dozens of years between any armed conflict, instead a focus on domestic and economic conflict. Lasting from 1324-1881 AD, both sides constantly trying to one up another in any field they could manage financially or technologically.

Republic of Pentium

After centuries of unified rule, the old city state regimes that used to dot the peninsula were barely recognizable to the citizenry in 1807. Many people felt more like citizens of the federation, rather than citizens of their cities. There was a forming zeitgeist around an idea from Ancaster Pentium from 1232, when she expressed her desire to form a government where the people could elect their leaders instead of a king, archon or queen. The inciting incident which sparked this demand was the accessibility of information from outside the peninsula, about revolutions and nations that had different forms of government past a monarch.

August Protest

In the early days of August 1809, a coordinated protest against the monarchy in several major cities sparked up. Bringing the country to a standstill in most areas and aspects, local garrisons were overwhelmed by the population's sudden uproar. While the crowd was generally rowdy and disorganized, however the protests remained mostly peaceful. Once news reached King Auric Mercy in Whedon's Row, he decided to enforce martial law across the major cities with protests. The increased powers of the guards, in addition to the curfews being enforced caused tensions to rise within cities.

September Revolt

In Riversguard, several protesters were killed in a botched raid on a tavern that had several local protest leaders. Causing the cities protesters to begin organized revolts against the local guards, arming themselves with whatever they could find, and assisted with elements of the local guard officers. They managed to storm the government district, and overthrow the mayor of the town. With the support of the Archon on the city, who was mostly a ceremonial figurehead at the time, the revolutionaries established a rudimentary democracy. Going so far as to change the name of the city to "Saltbrook Channel" in honor of the leader of the revolt, Josiah Saltbrook.

Further Revolts

Addition successful revolts were enacted in Jade Cove, Brackish Point, Elksford, Calum's Keep and Callahan's Boot. Many more failed however, but the strategic and symbolic locations of several cities began to hurt the coffers of the state, forcing the king to act to defend his own personal interests and that of the state. Each city defended itself with vehemence, even with the reduced number of professional guards and volunteer citizens. Elksford, Calum's and Callahan's Boot would fall to the King's forces. However, each city would take years to fall and allow for the other cities to defend itself with greater numbers and weaponry. Culminating in the defeat of the King and his armies in 1819 AD at the same place where the Federation was first formed, Brackish Point.

Formation of the Republic

With the King defeated and in custody, the revolts came to an end. They forced the king to abdicate, and give up his authority as the sole ruler of the Federation. Afterwards, he was allowed to live out the rest of his days in his palace, under the watchful eye of a few handpicked men. A temporary council was established by the revolutionaries of each city state to write the constitution and run the country while the infrastructure was being established. It took 2 years to finalize the papers and be approved by each member of the council, and in 1821 AD the convention to create a new national flag was established. Resulting in the modern banner of Pentium being implemented in 1822 AD and standardized across the nation in 1824 AD. The institutions of the Federation were safely integrated into the Republic, with a few name changes and policy tweaks.

The Great War

The final chapter of Pentian history is defined by the Great War, a conflict that saw the end of the Boreal Wars and saw the establishment of the modern borders of Pentium. The Boreal Wars started to heat up, focusing less on indirect warfare and more on border skirmishes and small scale conflicts in 1898 AD. Constant border skirmishes meant more troops were sent towards the southern borders by both sides, constantly escalating in small ways up until 1905. When the Southern Union declared a formal war on The Republic of Pentium, beginning the Great War.

The Breaching

Pentian defenses were quickly overrun on the frontline, as the Southern Union punched through using Siege Artillery. The breakthrough put the Pentians on the backfoot almost immediately, units were forced to retreat under the threat of encirclement. Gradually, the entire frontline was peeled back from the border and the Southern Union advanced north. Battles from then on would follow a very similar format, where the Pentians would dig in and hold their ground for a few months before being forced to retreat from superior artillery. Pentian high command eventually caught on, and began to deploy emplaced 120mm artillery pieces across their frontlines and inside towns. Which helped to relive the troops and engage Union artillery positions.

Stalemate

For several years, the frontline was mostly static. Small gains made by both sides, and endless counter offensives to retake territory back from the enemy. A small advantage would be handed to the Pentians in the form of new, updated rifles. The iconic Loughcaster No.2, a rugged, reliable and accurate rifle. It gave the Pentian infantry an advantage in most situations, when faced head on with Union infantry. Organizational changes were also implemented during this small lull, which saw many deviations from the Federation's old ways of fighting and modernized the tactics of the Pentian Army, they were also given a name change, and dubbed the Warden Defense Corp. They were also issued hand grenades, basic field medical kits and other essential equipment. In 1909 AD, a small counter attack saw great success using the newly organized force and regained significant territory in the western part of Pentium.

Union advance

Despite successes in the field, the Union had been preparing its own troops for another offensive. In 1913 Southern Union forces would recapture the recently regained territory that the Wardens had just taken, and continue pushing all the way up to Jade Cove, though with significantly higher casualties among Union troops. Which would begin a large scale siege, and force a naval engagement with the Warden Naval Command in the west. The city itself was well positioned, as it built on a high hill. Naval forces at sea sallied out to engage the Union's navy, two Callahan class battleships and their escorts faced off against a single Union battleship, though they had more smaller vessels. It was a close battle, however the Warden Naval Command came out with a victory, at the cost of one of their own battleships. However, the last Callahan class would begin bombarding Union forces on land, it would not break the siege alone. Only after several years of brutal bombardment and difficult city fighting did the siege lift in 1917. The fighting within the city would prompt Pentian firearm manufacturers to begin work on producing shotguns, and to research other alternatives.

Struggle at sea

As the ground war had begun to stalemate further, both sides began looking to the seas to provide new avenues of attack. Warden Naval Command would commence several, small scale naval strikes to probe for weaknesses in Union naval defenses, but would find few. Engagements between corvettes, destroyers and cruisers were common. Pentium had an advantage in capital ship design and firepower, however the Union had focused its efforts more heavily on its screens and midships. Superior technology and tactics from the Union would prove devastating to Warden Naval Command, who would slowly bleed its screening fleet out as its battleships remained in port. Culminating in the Battle of Saltbrook Channel (1922), where several coordinated teams of Union strike vessels would destroy 4 of Pentium's Battleships at little cost to them. The loss was devastating, and granted the Union naval dominance over most of the Peninsula.

Invasion of Saltbrook Channel

A few months after the battle, dozens of Union vessels appeared outside of Saltbrook Channel. The cities naval defenses proved paltry against the accurate and coordinated fire of Union vessels. Targeting pillboxes and artillery emplacements, the guns of the Union armada swiftly destroyed many defensive zones meant to provide resistance from a naval invasion. Hours later, Union Marines were landing on beach and dockyard. Warden units and civilian militia did their best to resist their advances, but the enemy was armed with new weapons. Small and portable submachine guns, and rifles with automatic firing modes, specialized equipment meant for this kind of city fighting. Additionally, they came armed with Green Ash grenades. Warden units were not prepared for the deadly gas that was deployed by the Union marines. The defense was looking grim, the majority of the naval quarter had been captured, and ships had to be scuttled to avoid capture. Several Warden defense corp divisions had been rendered combat ineffective, and the moral of the civilian defense forces was crumbling.

Collapse on the East

With the ongoing battle in Saltbrook Channel, the majority of units on the East were running low on supplies. A fact that was capitalized on by the Union soldiers, who began a highly successful campaign and pushed back Warden forces in the field to Brackish Point. The city would fall within days afterwards, and only the river mercy provided enough of a defensive barrier to hold back the tide of the advance. The defenders would refuse to give in, as the way to Saltbrook channel would lay open should they retreat or falter. Despite high casualties and constant shelling, they refused to surrender