Anstria

Anstria was an island nation located South East of the Kashar mainland, considered part of the Kashar-Maht continent. Situated within the crater of a 59 thousand year old asteroid impact, it consists of three main provinces: Ventrox, Hydrosta and Igligo, as well as various surrounding islands. Although it is closer in proximity to the continent of Barasud, it is culturally similar to the Kashar-Maht peoples and therefore considered a member of the continent. It is known for its thoroughly recorded history, interesting square symbol based writing system and unique political structure.

Anstria's unique makeup is largely in part due to the geological and radioactive consequences of the asteroid strike, with a climate warmer than its latitude would normally allow, biological diversity that has evolved at an extreme rate, vastly unusual geological formations, large concentrations of radiation and materials that occur nowhere else on the planet, various anomalies that are hypothesised to be of alien origin, and a circular land wall formed by the outer rim of the crater sticking above sea level. Despite this, the humans that migrated Westward to settle in Anstria adapted well and continue to live quite comfortably amongst a plethora of convenient natural resources.

On the year 2039 AS, the entirety of the Anstrian Archipelago was brought into Myrklanrer rule.

## Culture

### People

The Anstrians are a human ethnic group and culture native to the island nation of Anstria, but also inhabit the islands around the Anstrian mainland. Little is known about their origins, however the most plausible theories suggest that they migrated from the East, either via Barasud or Kashar Maht. They are recognisable by their "maroon" skin colour and white tattoos acquired as a rite of passage during adolescence. Despite the abundance of radiation left over from the Great Asteroid Impact of Anstria (GAIA) roughly 50 million years ago, the Anstrian people, particularly the inhabitants of the more radioactive province of Igligo, appear to have mutated very little from the initial human form. The lack of expansion throughout history is attributed to the Anstrians' introspective attitudes and self sufficient methods of running society. As a result, Anstrians have managed to avoid autocracy and imperialism, instead going on to develop a unique political structure, known as Tertiarism. Anstrians not only have learned to be resource efficient in this way, but have invested into civil and artistic development instead of conquest and power.

### Language

The Anstrian language, Anstese, uses a set of square symbols, written either left to right or top down, with the rightward writing style being more common and the downward writing style being more formal. Amongst these symbols is an alphabet of 40 characters, including 24 consonants and 16 vowels. The grammar depends heavily on prefixes and suffixes to convey meaning, but also incorporates a 24 tense system. While it may seem unusual and inconvenient at first for a society to write every symbol in square boxes, the cube shaped writing tools that the Anstrians adopted very early in their history made a tessellating square format very logical. The standard is to have 2 different writing tools, each with two vowel and three consonant faces of the cube covered in ink, with the remaining face being the handle. This way, by rotating the tool to the correct orientations one can achieve all forty characters using only two hands. There are extra tools for numbers and punctuation, which also work perfectly as the Anstrians use a base ten system (typical for humans with ten fingers).

### Religion

The lack of hardship across Anstrian history has meant that none of the historical 10 tribes are known to have adopted religious or theistic beliefs, although some famous mythology, legends and epics have developed over time. Despite this, Anstrians are incredibly eager to understand the beliefs held and deities worshipped by foreign cultures, and as the evidence for the existence of gods has become more compelling a society of travelling intellectuals have taken it upon themselves to document and try to reach out to the gods of each culture. They pursue the gods because of the massive implications their existence has for understanding the universe.

### Art

As Anstrian symbolism revolves around the idea of three (e.g. three provinces, three rings on the flag, etc) its artistic philosophy is based on what they think to be the triad of beauty: intimacy, spectacle and ma. This translates to a rich artistry in all genres that incorporates closeness, detail and depth of intimacy; the grandeur, drama and power of spectacle; and the absence, stillness and space of ma. Anstria also has many unique art forms and motifs.

## Geography

### Land and Territory

Anstria consists of the main island, split into the three provinces of Ventrox, Hydrosta and Igligo by a threeway natural canal, as well as three islands in the Aertsa Isles and six connected by the Great Wall. All of Anstria's geography is a direct result of GAIA, with the Great Wall being the outer rim of the crater that has risen above sea level. Anstrians have not only inhabited the islands connected by this thin geological wall, but actively use it to control what comes in and out of the country. The significant amount of radiation, useful and alien minerals, mutated organisms and unexplainable phenomena are all attributed to consequences of the asteroid impact.

### Flora and Fauna

Due to the presence of radiation and extra terrestrial minerals, plant and animal evolution has occurred in Anstria at a rapid rate, the exception being humans and introduced species which only arrived in the last few thousand years. Notable species include the Puripus, a tree dwelling mammal and Anstria's national animal, the Squilem, a highly intelligent semi aquatic camouflaging octopus like creature that doesn't fit into any established cladistics, the Ondore Tree, a hollow wind energy harnessing tree that both Anstrian creatures and people heavily rely on, and the Chimore Roots of Hydrosta that naturally desalinate water.

### Climate

The Anstrian climate is one of the most diverse on the planet, with a range of different wetlands, deserts, jungles, mountains, forests, grasslands and what many consider to be alien landscapes. Whilst the main island's latitude would suggest a relatively cold climate, the geothermal effects of the asteroid impact and its leftover radiation means that it retains a consistently warm temperature. The islands of the Great Wall, on the other hand, have much more ordinary geography, even though the Aersta Isles are much more similar to Ventrox.