Zerde

== Zerde ==
Zerde, of the Kingdom of Zerde, is a political entity within Serdtse Khrista, declared on the tenth of October 2021, though the political agents who declared independence were in place for a long period beforehand. Zerde is the main vehicle of the Nozerod Cult within Berinsky, in fact, some of the most radical cultists in the Ascendancy wish for Zerde to unite all Berinsky under one government, with Zerde functioning as an 'Ending State'. Only Essotori and Suntterland recognise Zerde in any official way, allowing the polity entrance into the Ascendancy at an extradinary pace. Due to the longterm presence of the Cult in Serdtse Khrista, an official branch of Low Essospeak has already been established. As Zerde is still legally part of Serdtse Khrista, it maintains an open border with the Mandate, though no longer follows any tax or legal restrictions, with the new National Mistery of Zerde, based on the Essotori model has declared 'Year Zero' of the Restoration, passing all laws anew. This process of renewal did not, however enact marshall law or emergency powers, like most Cultist organisations do, instead, Zerde utilises the model province strategy, developing itself to such an extent that it saps the economic and population from the Mandate, until it can officially declare itself the rightful state internationally. In the Ascendancy, Zerde is simply the Cultist name for Nurasovask, as such, Essotori makes mention of Zerde long before the political entity really exists on the map.
== History ==
After the Nurasovask Revolution in 1917, the loyalists were divided between those who fought on the homeland in a losing war of attrition, and the exiles, who launched their own organisations and missions, moved towards Serdtse Khrista, ruled by the Omskan Colonial Administration. The Imperial Fists, fighting to restore the rightful Tsar to the throne, were defeated, and in the insuing chaos, lost the Tsar, who was kept as a virtual prisoner and sage like figure in the new capital. Imperial Fists who were not killed or captured fled to the rightmost island, dubbed 'Tsar's Island'. In 1981, the government of Essotori, led by Lord James Hetail, issued authorisation for the Cult to begin mass promulgation in Serdtse Khrista. Naturally, Tsar's Island was the first, and most impacted by the Cult, with already existing Imperial loyalties being twisted against the Mandate with Cultist rhetoric. Around 1987, the Cult successfully inducted Alexander Kolvin, a local homeless man was bought over the Mandate's capital, and manuevered to a position of power, usurping the existing Monarchist groups, the remnants of the Imperial Fists, the Black Army, and the Loyalist Party, reforging them all into the Honoured Path Party. The HPP's primary goal was to restore the Nurasovask Imperial Heir, Alexis von Paleolog, to political power in Serdtse Khrista, and eventually Nurasovask itself. This ambitious goal was aided by Essotori, who provided funding, promulgators, and soldiers necerssary to resist government crackdowns, and recruit more followers. The charisma of Alexander Kolvin allowed the Honoured Path Party to sweep into power in Tsar's Island, and with the authority of the Baeling of Zerde, the Imperial heir was sent to Radonstinatle, to study, and develop relations. While the Cultists intended for the Tsar to be 'reborn' as a cultist, in the same manner Kolvin and countless others had endured. This payed off, and by the end of the three years of study, Alexis was a loyal follower of the Cult, now, the final step was an opportunity. The Norse War, and the following UN failure to respond appropriately, provided an excuse for the Cult, led by Kolvin himself, to personally march on the capital of the Mandate and give a speech decrying the government. After the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church in Konzask denounced the Mandate, the Orthodox authorities of the Mandate effectively declared a schism, weakening the moral authority of the church to it's breaking point. This allowed Alexis himself to officially declare the Kingdom of Zerde was established in Tsar's Island.