Lianica

The national flag of Lianica

**Economic**
Asa

The Imperial seal "Sword of Firma"

**Prime Minister**
Lian

Constitutional Monarchy
Parliamentary
Imperial

The Empire of Lianica is a country located in the southern region of Siro lake, bordering the countries of Prosperosia to its north-east, Azear to the north, and Minacko to the west. Lianica is the largest country in SiroCraft by land area, and is considered among the Great Four siroac nations. Lianica has it's ancient history, made up of three prominent clans of Liani, Cel, and Yeshi. Among the three clans, the Lianis managed to subjugate the Yeshi of the south, and later tracing back to the 6th century BC where the biblical Kavita stories affirm the old account of King Heka marrying Queen Leah of the Cels which led to the founding of the Hekaleah Dynasty, the very same dynasty that still rules the empire in the modern period, with Bathory currently reigning as Empress. The people of Lianica practice an array of different religions, most of whom around 79% identify themselves as Lemons, followers of the Mahalem religion. A significant 18% identify as Catholics mostly concentrated in the southern region of the empire, whilst a minority still practice and preserve ancient folk-beliefs.

For much of its history, Lianica has gone through lots of changes. From devastating wars, imperial conquest and expansion, and civil wars, the empire nowadays (1980's) has rather reaffirmed its more isolationist peaceful era for the past century. Scholars dubbed this era the "*Pax Marliana*", meaning Great Lianican Peace. The last war it got involved in was the Gosling War, which approximately 20 million people died during the span of 1945-1950. Since the last 35 years, the Siro nations and Lianica has taken an approach of economic development, international trade, facilitating cooperation amongst countries, and is one of the founders of SUCC (Siroac Unitary Cooperation Council), and has undergone extensive development and country-wide infrastructure projects. Lianica is amongst the well developed nations, and is a strong exporter of timber, coal, and railway technology. The country has a distinct gothic aesthetic both in fashion and architecture, which revolves around black, dark, and fantasy-like culture/atmosphere. A country rich in ancient history, it is a testament to the persevering spirit of Lianica and its grand plans for the future.

## Etymology

The name "Lianica" simply means "the land of the Lannites". According to the biblical Kavita, the Lannites were a group of people who were named after the garden they resided in, the Garden of Lann, hence according to the biblical Kavita, Lianica means "the land of the garden". The people of Lianica simply call their empire or land "Marliana", meaning the "great garden (of Lann/Liani)". As to why Marliana was not chosen as the empire's name remains unknown.

Another theory comes from one of the three sons in the biblical kavita, the eldest son, Lian. Knowing that King Malith from the Liani kingdom subjugated and united the two other kingdoms, this puts the Liani people at a clear superiority. Hence, where the name *Lianica* comes from.

### Mythical origins

According to Kavita, the Lannites were a group of people who settled around the Garden of Lann (modern day Asa), hence where the term "Lannite" is derived from. Their origins are still unknown, but what the biblical Kavita tells us is that the Lannites were the southern siroites who descended from the surviving Yerodites. The southern siroites became Lannites. The lannite king, Julian, had three sons and divided his kingdom accordingly between his sons. Those three sons were the principle ancestors of the three tribes of people we know today,

1. Lian : Liani peoples
2. Iyeshva : Yeshi peoples
3. Karl : Celian peoples

The Liani lived alongside with two other kingdoms/clans, notably the Cels and the Yeshi. The Cels resided in the far east, the Yeshi reside beyond the hills to the south, and the Lannites resided in the north and west.

It was told in the biblical Kavita, an ancient godking, Malith, led the Liani people to glory by war and conquest. He waged war against the two other clans, and subjugated them under his rule. Essentially forming an empire, he established the First Gadrani.

## Government and politics

* *See also: Realms of Lianica*

Lianica is formally a constitutional monarchy, ruled by the Imperial House of Hekaleah, with a royal parliament consisting of the House of Franks and the House of Crisps as its lower and upper houses respectively. They all serve as the legislative and constitutional body. Although in name they are an empire, they have long abandoned their imperial pursuits and are on the tracks towards political and economic reforms ever since the end of the Gosling War.

### Administrative divisions

The empire of lianica is divided into eight provinces, called *realms*. Each realm has a provincial capital with a mayor, and each realm is appointed a governor to rule over the province. Prior to 1915, governors and mayors were not elected but passed down hereditarily. But ever since the Bill of Zeitz, almost *all* government positions were now required to be elected by their capabilities and chosen democratically by the upper house of Franks. The provinces of Lianica are:

1. Asahai
2. Meiheim Royal District
3. Jessheim
4. Zeitz
5. Celbar
6. Celtim
7. Ihsahn Commissariat
8. Synor

And each province has its capital city, which are:

* Asa (Asahai)
* Meiheim Royal District
* Slataan (Zeitz)
* Kotts (Jessheim)
* Yupsiloom (Celbar)
* Rames (Celtim)
* Fort Burz (Ihsahn Comm.)
* Urukshire (Synor)

Meiheim Royal District does not have a capital city, for the city serves both as a province and as the empire's royal capital. It is also where the [insert name] Palace sits, where it houses the royal family and the home of the monarchs.

### Emperor

* *See also: List of Lianican emperors*

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### Energy

Lianica mainly uses fossil fuels like coal as a fuel for energy. Its various powerplants and vast coalmines to the west and east are utilized, and often exported. One power plant is enough to power up multiple cities. There has been recent talks regarding the building of a nuclear power plant, however its still being debated over parliament, mostly concerns regarding the safety and implementation of such a project. If this power plant goes through, it could power up multiple provinces and would put the empire at a cost-effective source of energy.

### Transport

Lianica is known for its heavy integration system of its underground metro lines that connect from city-to-city and province-to-province. Lianica has put a ban on cars, but allows the usage of trams and emphasizes a healthy lifestyle of biking as a means of commute. Trucks and other such vehicles however are primarily used by the military and under strict government regulation. Most of its citizens use the train, trams, or bicycles to get from place to place.

Consequently, Lianica also developed a rail technology and is a main exporter of this engineering speciality. The country proposes a plan to make the Trans-Siroac Railway. If completed, it will logistically connect most if not all the siroac countries via rail, and will foster cross-cultural cooperation and economic growth amongst one another.

## Demographics

jjj insert map of lianican population density

### Language

Lianica is comprised of three main languages, of which are Lannic, Yeshidic, and Celidic, all of whom belong to the same Siric language family of the South Siric variant. Languages such as celidic are spoken in the eastern realms by the Celian people and they have adopted a few cultural words from the Teghtars, mostly due to the influence from the Sotobe Empire who used to rule the Celian provinces and their geographic position to the east, however traditional Celidic is without its Teghtarian influences. The yeshidic language is primarily spoken in the south by the Yeshi people, with a significant latin influence due to the spread of catholicism in the 17th century. The lannic language is spoken by the most dominant ethnic group in lianica and serves as a *lingua franca* across the empire alongside english. The lannic language was standardized in the early 1800's, with the formtion of the lannic script, which have its roots in the old siric script, and alongide the usage of latin alphabet to help the yeshidic people increase their literacy. Nowadays, the latin alphabet is the most widely used form of alphabet to write lannic and the other languages.

### Religion

* See also: Mahalem, Catholicism, Lianican folk-beliefs

Lianica has a wide array of religious beliefs, most of whom adhere to the Mahalem religion. The second largest religious adherents are catholics, comprising almost a fifth of the total population with around 1,8 million people identify as catholic. The rest are religious minorities who are protected under the various cultural preservation laws under the lianican government. These include folk-spirituality beliefs like Juis, Batuha, and Mikelium.