Coulcisen

Coulcisen of Seld-Cordan Coulciser Seld-Cordal
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Tava Cisen, Tava Ârimein (Seldarion) "For the Law, For Elfkind" (English)
Capital and largest city	Solanyve
Official languages	Seldaris
Ethnic groups	96.8% Seldarion 3.2% other
Religion	58.2% Feadan Hagdvadal 25.2% No religion 18.2% Vaen-Atal 0.4% Other
Demonym(s)	Coulcisarin, Coulcisaris
Government	Unitary stratocratic Coular-Cisel republic
• Coulan	Siuan Semolosan
• Deputy Coulan	Eavon Noatenona
• President of the Representatives	Vortadan Torsisena
• Grand Censor	Hâgtan Colatan
• High Justice	Cellen Molosgeaden
Legislature	Coular-Cisel Administrative Council (Legislative Assembly) Council of Representatives (Representative Assembly) Censor Board (Advisory Assembly)
Establishment
• Formation of the Kingdom of Seld-Cordan	545
• Democracy formed in the wake of the First Summer Coup	1405
• Second Summer Coup and beginning of military rule	1462
• Christening of the Wall of Rights	1468
• Current constitution	1587
Area
•	173,928.88 km2 (67,154.32 sq mi)
Population
• 1611 census	17,645,533
• Density	101.45/km2 (262.8/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	1611 estimate
• Total	$950,953,064,436
• Per capita	$53,892
Currency	Coulcises Hauon (CCH)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side	right
Internet TLD	.cc

The Coulcisen of Seld-Cordan (Seldaris: , tr. Coulciser Seld-Cordal, pronounced [koʊlkiseɾ seɪd̪kord̪al]) commonly referred to as the Coulcisen (Seldaris: ) or, rarely, Seld-Cordan, is an elven nation in Pelia, just off the southwestern coast of the continental mainland, on the planet of Sparkalia. It is an island country, with several smaller islands and minor archipelagos. Solanyve is the largest city and capital, with other major cities including Caldun, Afisiven, Goiceoch and Patin. The main island of Seld-Cordan is the largest island in the Coulcisen, and is the third largest island in Sparkalia. The Coulcisen has a population at last census of 17,645,533.

The Coulcisen is a unitary stratocratic republic under the native Coular-Cisel ideology. Its ruler, Coulan Siuan Semolosan, has ruled the state since 1595 as the fourth Coulan to have ruled the country since its foundation. The Coulcisen emerged from a series of coups against the Kingdom of Seld-Cordan, citing the massive corruption, the large rich-poor divide in the state, and the practice of serfdom as reasons for the first coup. The subsequent Seldic Democracy suffered from many of the problems that plagued the Kingdom, not least the retention of power by the guilds and the church, prompting the Second Summer Coup, led by Tiisar Tsiosan, leading to the Lawful Revolution, the dismantling of the Seldic Democracy and the establishment of the Coulcisen.

Ethnically, nearly 97% of the population is Seldarion, an elven people group native to the island. Many Seldarios believe that they arrived on the island from elsewhere long ago, in an event known to them as The Great Blessing, or Molos Seldal, which has become mythologised in the Vaen-Atal faith that many Coulcisaris profess. The Vaen-Atal is one of the two main faiths that many Seldarion follow, with the atheistic Feadan Hagdvadal, or 'Cult of Logic', currently holding the larger following in the nation.

Coulcisen produces a small number of raw materials, but has a thriving production sector, specialising in higher technologies. Farming and agriculture are predominant in many of the rural regions around the country, with fruits, vegetables and carbohydrates providing the main bulk of the farm yield of the nation. In the tertiary sector, Coulcisen has a developing tourism industry, with the fairly mild climate of much of the island, including its rolling plains, abundant forests, seaside cliffs and white-sand beaches, being an attractive prospect for tourists. The Coulcisen practices a planned economy, with the military operating many of the state-owned businesses. Since the rise of the Coulcisen, Seldarios have consistently scored high on litracy, life expectancy (even compared to many other elves) and higher education.

The Coulcisen has an authoritarian stratocratic regime, with democracy not permitted outside of city governments (and the associated Council of Representatives, comprising all of the representatives of city governments). Independent journalism is repressed in the state, and it is considered one of the poorest countries on Sparkalia for press freedom. However, the government places a high degree of importance on civil liberties, social role valorisation and welfare, with the expansion and protection of these entrenched into the Constitution of the Coulcisen.

Etymology

The word Coulcisen comes from a shortening of the Seldaris Coular-Cisel, which remains the name for the ideology followed by the leaders of the Coulcisen. The name of the ideology comes in-turn from the words coulan, a form of military commander, and cisen, meaning "law". The full name thus means "Law of the Commander", indicating the high value that the Coulcisen places on a watchful figure protecting liberties from corruption.

The name of the island, Seld-Cordan, comes from the words seld, meaning "blessed", and cordan, meaning island. This name is in reference to the Vaen-Atal belief in The Great Blessing (Molos Seldal), referring to the time in which their theology dictates that the Seldarion arrived on the island from elsewhere, and seeing its fertility and temperate weather, believed it to be a blessing for them. While the name is always used in reference to the island and the landmass, the use of the name Seld-Cordan to refer to the Coulcisen is somewhat controversial. The official name of the nation is "the Coulcisen of Seld-Cordan", though its abbreviation is usually "the Coulcisen", with "Seld-Cordan" mostly being used by those sympathetic to monarchists or fundamentalists of the Vaen-Atal faith. There have been attempts within the military to rename the island to another name, most prominently "Sar-Cordan" (meaning "our island"), though this has never gained much support.

History

Main article: History of Seld-Cordan

Prehistory

There is little evidence of habitation of the island of Seld-Cordan prior to the Era of Blemish, either in the archaeological or genetic record. Earliest inhabitation of the island, as such, is believed to have been elven, though whether the elves comprised one people group or a collection thereof prior to their arrival on the island is unclear. The Vaen-Atal faith terms the inhabitation of the island as The Great Blessing, or Molos Seldal, an event which has mythical significance within the faith and which is seen as the origin myth of the Seldarion people group.

Early elven settlement was marked by regional farming techniques and key crop groups, with fruit trees and vegetables being the most common crop of the northwestern portion of the island, berry bushes and shrubs comprising the southern portion, and carbohydrates and grains being common around the northeastern portion of the island. Evidence of trade, including wheeled carts and early marketplaces, indicates that these early societies likely had quite complex relations with each other, and prehistoric roads, often including gravel in their construction, criss-crossed the country.

Kingly Era

See also: Seldariln Quadrarchy and Kingdom of Seld-Cordan

By the late 400s, the island was politically divided into four Kingdoms, those being Geandyn in the west, Talondyn in the north, Callodan in the centre and the far less historically verified Vyzdyn in the south. These four kingdoms are traditionally credited with giving rise to the "Genera" of Seldariln elves, a concept which informed a lot of later policies, and which has fallen out of use in modern ethnography.

Around 540, conteporaneous sources state that Vyzdyn began to invade into the northern kingdoms, and was successfully making a lot of headway, especially into Geandyn. Talondyn and Callodan were already in a close alliance, their rulers married to each other, and opted to assist Geandyn to repel and eventually defeat Vyzdyn, as long as they agreed to unify into a grand kingdom under the rule of Talondyn and Callodan upon their victory. With this agreed, a bloody 5-year war was fought, with Vyzdyn unable to survive the onslaught. The declaration of a unified kingdom came soon after, with the new royal capital being the Callodar city of Caldun. In the new order, a caste system was put into place, with the genera of Callodarin, Talondarin and Geandarin at the top, and the genus of Vyzdarin occupying the lowest rung of the ladder. Over time, this system would evolve, with the Callodarin coming to occupy the undisputed top spot of the hierarchy, while the other genera dropped below them further and further.

Sparse conflicts with mainlanders would instil a general sense of xenophobia among the Seldarion, which, coupled with the increasing caste divides, formed a fairly bigoted populace that could fairly easily be kept in line. This came at the same time as the expansion of two major forces under the monarchy - the Vaen-Atal Netalgin, the religious authorities of the state-sanctioned Vaen-Atal faith, and the Benevolent Guilds, business and trade guilds that supported the monarchy and hoarded much of the wealth in the country among Callodarin families, exacerbating the deepening caste divisions. Obscurantism and religious fundamentalism played large parts in maintaining the monarchy through this entire period.

In 1366, the Great Grey Plague swept the country, decimating the population, and was heralded by some as the beginning of the end times. Many of the Callodarin, at this point the only genus considered "pure", were often able to separate themselves from ther subjects by locking the gates of their palaces and waiting out the plague. While a few Callodarin died, either from plague or from starvation within the palaces, the brunt of the effects were felt by the lower genera. After the plague ended, the Famine of 1369 caused further hardship, caused by there being too few Seldarion to feasibly work the fields and plantations. Spurred on by the Guilds, the King enacted the Bill of Indenture, which began the practice of serfdom within the Kingdom. The military was sent out to enforce labour mandates and ensure that all serfs complied with the directives of the government. In 1405, many within the military forces of Seld-Cordan involved themselves in a coup against the Kingdom, which led to the formation of the Seldic Democracy.

Democracy

Main article: Seldic Democracy

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of the Coulcisen

See also: List of cities and towns in the Coulcisen

Largest cities

Largest cities in the Coulcisen Coulciser Statistical Office, 1611
Rank		County	Pop.	Rank		County	Pop.
1	Solanyve	Uâlvuemelher	2,669,144	11	Âlanzein	Âlartuin	237,950
2	Caldun	Geidsertuin	905,745	12	Launceiv	Launceivtuin	233,345
3	Afisiven	Misvuemelhen	429,845	13	Uânemgean	Tucelârintuin	224,134
4	Goiceoch	Goiceochtuin	376,115	14	Suecdyren	Vystosientuin	196,501
5	Patin	Schelârintuin	325,454	15	Miscoran	Âiazârintuin	187,290
6	Tivoanyve	Hascontuin en Ceirvan	307,032	16	Chafiln	Neldartuin	151,981
7	Helengin	Aldyrtuin	305,497	17	Rescevan	Tucelârintuin	144,305
8	Cotâlagen	Cotâlagertuin	284,005	18	Valhilyve	Cutuiv	142,770
9	Maetucoran	Misoavan	265,583	19	Giusar	Vaulârintuin	136,629
10	Lalansen	Lalansertuin	251,766	20	Pâvargoen	Pâvargoertuin	130,489