Province of Elysia

Banner of Elysia (the province and the city, as well as of the Borough of the Elysian Rivers).

### Capital

Elysia

The **Province of Elysia**, also known as **North Goruid**, was a province of Great Thornia, that covered the entire northern half of the Goruid peninsula. Its capital was Elysia, on its central west coast. The province was a continuation and legal successor of the Elysia District of the former states of the Despotate of Thornia and the State of Goruid.

It had the highest villager population in the world and it is also the most urbanised region in the world. Its economy was considerably diverse with intensive focuses on agriculture, mining, and manufacturing. Extensive internal trade allowed some level of self-sufficiency for the province.

The province was politically dominated by the pro-industrialist and pro-trade Reformist Party (a successor to the Order of the Golden Trident) and the populist Goruid People's Voice (a Jhutari tribal-nationalist party that broke ranks from the Tahrakh Confederacy). The dissolution of party politics in November 2022 effectively allowed monarchist Elysian-Petrodis unionist groups to seize control of the province.

In December 2022, the province was elevated to the status of achalonate and its informal union with the Voranate of Petrodis (formerly the Province of Petrodis) to persist.

## History

Prior to Umic settlement, the region was dominated by the Jhutari of The Neck and the Erwada in the Elysian Rivers and Altium. Despite being at the heart of the Thornian world, the province was only settled by Umic Thornians relatively recently and it only became the centre of Thornian culture nearly three years after the region was first discovered in 2016. The Erwada peoples were almost completely assimilated into the Umic population, with the last remnants of their culture surviving in the forest villages of Altium.

### Colonisation (Late 2018 - Late 2019)

During the early stages of Umic Thornian colonisation of what is now the Borough of the Elysian Rivers, the area was governed as an extension of Palus Urbem. As the settlement of Elysia developed throughout 2019, administration of the area was separated from Palus and the Province of Goruid was established. This early province eventually evolved into the modern legal entity of Goruid whilst the local government of Elysia morphed into what is now the Province of Elysia.

The Elysia settlement grew rapidly from a ranch, into a village, then into a town, and then a major city by the end of 2019. It replaced Palus Urbem as the capital of Thornia once extensive mineral deposits were discovered under the city, which practically doubled or tripled the nation's wealth.

### First Pillager War (Late 2019 - May 2020)

*See: First Pillager War*

Pillager strongholds were discovered in the province in late 2019. By December 2019, pillager forces were raiding almost every settlement across the province. This prompted the Thornian Army to fight a defensive war against these pillagers, leading to increased colonisation and economic development across the province.

The war ended in May 2020 after numerous battlefield victories but no tactical gains. The province also experienced an economic slump as the Thornian government focused on developeding southern Aphthonis, Volovna, and the Galinisian Islands. International trade also collapsed through the course of the war and The Great Plague effectively destroyed Thornia's western neighbours' ability to interact with the outside world.

### Inter-war period (May 2020 - August 2020)

The province remained stable after the war, even through three major regime changes (with the NRSP overthrowing the monarchy, to the monarchy's partial restoration alongside NRSP-rule, and their overthrow by the Order of the Golden Trident). Internal trade allowed the provincial economy to survive whilst government spending halted.

The Transitional Council eventually restored order both in Aphthonis and in neighbouring Xandu. Government spending resumed, starting with the completion of abandoned building projects in Elysia City.

### Second Pillager War and the Thornian Civil War (August 2020 - January 2022)

*See: Second Pillager War and Thornian Civil War (2021)*

The Massacre of Elysia on 29 August 2020 led the Transitional Council to declare war on pillagers, thus resuming the Pillager Wars. The government has focused the fighting almost entirely within the province. Despite this, it has significantly increased development of settlements throughout the province. Adanon was formally colonised and local government facilities were established. The Adanon Stronghold was the first pillager stronghold captured in the world (captured over the course of the two-day Battle of Adanon between 31 August 2020 and 1 September 2020).

A borough system was established in the province to replace the disorganised, informal settlement-centered districts. The Thornian Army's survey of the Elysian Rivers and much of the rural areas of the province helped the government establish the boundaries of these new administrative divisions.

Through early September, the government rapidly built the town of Mesapedia from scratch and turned it into a highly profitable mining station within days. The town, its neighbours, and Adanon have also finally had their economies integrated. Mesapedia was attacked on several occassions by pillager raids, and were defeated quite quickly thanks to the town's iron golems and the Thornian Army.

#### Annexation of Volovna, Galinisia, and Altium

On 12 September, a Thornian Army maritime survey of the Galinisian Islands and land survey of Volovna determined that it would be more worthwhile to annex the Province of Volovna due to how most of the province's resource rich areas were closer to settlements in Elysia than to Volovna. Thus, the Transitional Council passed a law that merged the Province of Volovna (split into the boroughs of Volovna and Galinisia), as well as the Province of Altium, into Elysia. This gave the province three additional boroughs. The settlement of Foliazo was established on the westernmost island of the Trianisian sub-archipelago.

#### Re-establishment of the Palus Capital Territory

On 17 September, the Thornian government formally re-recognised the Palus Capital Territory. The Borough of Palus was dissolved and returned to shared control with the League of Palus. The provincial government announced its intention to handover the Palus Palace to the territory once it removes Thornia's state assets from it.

### Thornian Civil War (2021)

During the Thornian Civil War, The Neck and Volovna were the site of numerous battles between both Thornian nationalist-aligned legions and Aphthonic nationalist-aligned legions. After the victory of Aphthonic forces, the city of Elysia was the site of the Thornian constitutional convention. The province lost the Galinisian Islands to Aphthonis as a result of unification negotiations with the League of Palus.

### Interlude and revival (April 2022 - Present)

The provincial government was briefly dissolved in the aftermath of the Sea of Temples Crisis, and merged with the regional government of South Aphthonis to form Metropolitan Thornia. Metropolitan Thornia was largely unpopular with other provinces and territories, and led to the central government reviving the provinces of Elysia and Petrodis (which replaced South Aphthonis).

During the 2022 August Rising, much of The Neck came under the occupation of Jhutari irregular militias. The occupations came to a peaceful end after a compromise between the federal government and the Goruid People's Voice.

## Geography

The province is almost entirely made up of plains and oak forests, with beaches lining its eastern and western coasts. The Palus swamp in the province's western-most frontier is the only swamp in the province, with the swamp being divided in the centre by a narrow strait of water.

The plains that make up most of the province are divided by several extensive river systems, which makes river transportation the most efficient form of transportation after rail.

## Economy

Elysia is one of the wealthiest provinces of Thornia, with the Palus swamp and the Elysia City area being rich in mineral deposits. The villages that dot the province's plains also produce extensive amounts of agricultural products and its inhabitants trade extensively with other villages with the provincial government acting as a middleman.

The wealth of the province has contributed signficantly to the rapid expansion of the Thornian state into what are now the Province of Volovna and Aphthonis, with wealth from these regions flowing back into Elysia during localised financial slumps. Its wealth has also contributed to the revitalisation of Shanjing in Thornian-occupied Xandu.

## Government

The Province of Elysia is nominally governed by its own provincial government, headed by a Governor. In reality, the province is governed by the central government of Great Thornia.

The provincial government has direct access to the national treasury, giving it vast resources to carry out grand construction projects and regional infrastructure projects.

## Administrative divisions

The province is roughly divided into five districts (no formal borders are defined for them) which are centered around their capital.

It is the largest borough by surface area.

### Before August 2020

Most of the province's central region was previously consolidated as the Elysia Metropolitan Area. The province formerly controlled all of Altium, but since August 2020 it has become its own province.

## Transportation

Of all the provinces of Great Thornia, Elysia has the largest number of options for travel across the province.

### Raods

Walking or running through the fields or walking along highway is one option. All settlements in the province are at least a day's walk between each other. The province currently has one mostly complete highway, the Elysian Way which stretches from Elysia in its west and Carcea in its east, though it is due to by extended to Mesapedia. The Neck Highway is currently under construction in the Borough of The Neck. There are plans to connect these two highway systems by connecting them at Raiga.

### Rivers

The province is crossed by numerous inter-connected river systems, known as the Elysian Rivers. This allows for reduced travel times between settlements as sailing through the rivers is a much quicker option that running across the province's plains. The rivers in the Borough of the Neck are easily accessible from the east coast, whilst the rivers in the Borough of the Elysian Rivers are easily accessible from the west coast.

### Rail network

The Great Thornia Metro is the rail system of the country and is currently entirely contained within the province. It is still under construction, with the first line (between Elysia and Hagea or Carcea) still being built.