Republic of Rolon

Rolon, officially the Republic of Rolon, was a small nation located in northern Zarilyia along the river separating the subcontinent from the rest of Halinn.
== History ==
=== Pre-history ===
Rolon originated from the Transitional Council of Rolon, a government body that was established in preparation for the exploration of Abexilas and tasked with searching for an adequate place to settle. After observing maps and enduring a long trek southwest, the main expedition party landed on the northern shores of Zarilyia and soon afterward discovered what it had been looking for.
A small camp was set up in the general area that the Transitional Council intended to settle, and the process of digging underground and gathering gold and iron to sell on the public market began in earnest.
=== First settlement ===
The settlement that would later become the capital and namesake of Rolon was founded on April 13th, 2024, after enough funds were raised following several successful mining expeditions. Rolon was the first settlement to be established on its home peninsula, and despite previous claims to much of the region by the Kingdom of Ariefell, no resistance from them was encountered and development of the settlement began.
Under the governance of the Transitional Council, housing was constructed alongside basic infrastructure and pens for the capture and ranching of livestock, and the settlement would steadily lay claim to more territory.
=== First contact and dispute ===
As Rolon developed, exploration and mapping parties were sent out to explore and survey northern Zarilyia. During these expeditions various other parties and settlements were discovered, including the settlement that would later become the capital of the Tyros of Zuritan in the peninsula's south.
On April 15th, the Transitional Council became aware of a new settlement named Soliana that had established itself with the nearby natives, and on April 16th Rolon was visited by a Solianan citizen. Soon afterward, the leaders of Rolon and Soliana met and exchanged gifts as a token of friendship.
Later in the day, formal diplomatic relations with the government of Soliana were established and an embassy created. Hours after an initial greeting, however, the Rolonian envoy was pressured by several Solianan advisors to either relocate Rolon or be integrated into Soliana proper. These attempts were met with resistance, and a debate ensued over Rolon's status and Soliana's increasingly apparent ambitions, but the debate came to an end after a deadlock formed and both sides failed to come to a definitive conclusion. Several hours later, the leader of Soliana issued an apology for his government members' actions, and he stated that Soliana would not force Rolon to relocate.
Over the next few days, the diplomatic situation begun to normalize as initial Rolonian distrust towards Soliana dissipated. On April 19th, talks were held discussing the status of the border between the two settlements, with special emphasis on Rolon's east, and increasing pressure forced the Rolonian envoy to yield territory that was intended to become Rolon's primary agricultural zone. These concessions caused the development of a bitter attitude towards Soliana, and despite the talks being generally productive the eastern border remained unclear.
The Rolonian opinion of Soliana continued to deteriorate on April 21st after a Solianan advisor attempted to persuade Rolon into accepting vassalage, and despite clear disinterest by the Rolonian envoy the advisor continued to press the issue until the discussion ended after the Rolonian envoy walked out. On April 25th, the leader of Soliana issued an apology and stated that the advisor acted without his approval. The same advisor later started circulating a map of Solianan claims that showed the forest Rolon had control over as being Solianan, which led to a further deterioration of Rolonian opinion.
On April 28th, talks to discuss a more definitive border agreement were planned, but none were ever held. Afterward, Rolonian disgruntlement towards Soliana dissipated, and its leadership was left cautiously optimistic of the Solianan leader's intentions and distrustful towards the rest of the Solianan government.
=== Agreements and foundation ===
On May 2nd, talks were held with the government of the Voclarist Free Cities of Aristios regarding the border between Rolon and the neighboring settlement of New Perdin. After an awkward exchange, the Rolonian border proposal was soon put forward and, after little hesitation, accepted by Aristios's leader. Despite an attempt to organize the border immediately afterward, no progress was made and the agreement was never ratified.
Later in the day, several extensive mining expeditions resulted in the acquisition of the funds necessary to create a nation. Almost immediately afterward, the Transitional Council came to an end and was subsequently replaced by the State of Rolon. The settlement of Rolon was declared its capital, and an announcement by Rolonian leadership affirmed the nation's future transition towards democracy once the nation was deemed ready enough.
=== Rolonian-Solianan border crisis ===
On May 11th, the acting Lord Mayor of Soliana entered Rolon with a small delegation and began demanding that it withdraw its from land in the south, claiming that Rolon was not adhering to the terms of a border agreement. This demand was immediately challenged, and the legitimacy of the cited "agreement" was debunked since the only discussed boundary was to Rolon's east. Despite this reasoning, the Solianan delegation continued to press for Rolon's withdrawal from the land, citing the need for border security and building space. These claims were also challenged, but the delegation refused to concede and soon left.
The debate soon continued in the Rolonian embassy in Soliana, but discussions remained circular until the acting Lord Mayor put forward a proposal that would see Soliana expand as far north as it could and see its claims in Rolon's south be dropped for the time being. The Rolonian envoy attempted to put together a counter-proposal due to the Solianan one completely ignoring Rolonian interests in the region and leaving the rest of the border vague, but was repeatedly pressured into accepting the Solianan one before they could finish. One the Rolonian counter-proposal was put forward, it was immediately challenged by the acting Lord Mayor and decried as giving Rolon everything it wanted despite it not seeing Rolon gain any territory.
The situation soon devolved into a heated argument lasting for nearly two hours, and both parties failed to come to a consensus. The Rolonian envoy soon withdrew, and the talks ended on a bitter note. The Rolonian envoy was later recalled the next day and asked if they wanted to initiate border talks, but the offer was quickly turned down until the return of Soliana's true Lord Mayor. The acting Lord Mayor issued an apology for the previous day, and tensions cooled.
On May 27th, the Rolonian government allowed Soliana to establish control over the recently collapsed settlement of New Perdin despite its own ambitions in the region. Solian] in turn agreed to uphold the previous agreement between Rolon and Aristios, seeing Rolon's first territorial expansion in months.
On May 31st, the acting Lord Mayor offered to purchase Rolon proper for $100,000. Rolon was declared to not be for sale, and Rolonian-Solianan relations entered into a long state of dormancy.
=== Transition towards democracy ===
Shortly before June 2nd, after a month of steady development and industrialization, the State of Rolon became sufficiently developed for it to comfortably undergo its transition towards democracy. The first elections for Rolon's prime minister began in earnest, but since only one person was added to the ballot a vote of confidence was held instead. On June 4th, the vote came to an end and KingREN1 assumed the role with a majority of the populace backing his candidacy. The presidential dictatorship was then declared to be over and the Rolonian Constitution was released from its dormancy, resulting in the establishment of the Republic of Rolon.
=== Zarilyian Wars ===
Over the course of several months, tensions between Soliana and the rest of Halinn began to flare following the development of increasingly hostile Solianan ambitions.
The crisis eventually reached a breaking point, and Soliana issued a mass wave of purchase and vassal offers, threats, and ultimatums. Rolon was issued two ultimatums, both of which were unanimously rejected following a vote in the National Assembly on August 21st.
In the coming weeks, Rolon and the rest of Halinn were dragged into war against Soliana following their declaration of war against the Independent State of Steelwater, beginning what would soon be called the Zarilyian Wars.
On September 17th, 2024, the National Assembly voted to withdraw Rolonian recognition of Soliana and its ally, the Empire of Melzia.
Following several military defeats at the hands of Soliana, the crisis gradually began to subside, and outside of the prolonged war against Steelwater the region settled into a cold war. Not long afterward, Steelwater was officially dissolved.
=== Dissolution ===
Following a re-evaluation of several months of dealing with obsessive Solianan attempts at challenging its sovereignty, a lack of public motivation to participate in the nation's politics, and the dissolution of the Independent State of Steelwater, the Rolonian government came to a general consensus that maintaining the Republic of Rolon as a nation was no longer worth the time and resources.
After several days of planning and deliberation, the Republic of Rolon was officially dissolved on October 31st. Immediately afterward, Rolon proper was ceded to the Councilate of Thalor, and president James Costello made his final address to Rolon's friends and allies abroad. Rolon's embassies were then shut down, and the nation's story came to an end.
Category:Abexilas
Category:Nations
Category:Halinn