Archduchy of Nordonia

Nordonia is a nation located within the north-west quadrant of the world map. It does not border any other nations, however it is very close to the Karvelian Union. Nordonia consists of an archipelago of 3 main islands, named Cantorell, Gloptik and Frondley, and many smaller islands. Its capital is Stokhom, located on the largest and most populous island of Gloptik.

As of (Approx. 50AD), Nordonia and the KU have merged to form the Holy Karvelian Confederation (HKC), later renamed to to the Nordonian-Karvelian Republic (NKR), also consisting of the former northern colonies of the Imperial Guard.

## Geography

Nordonia's climate varies vastly due to it stretching out from near the artic to the equator, however, a vast majority of the nation, especially in Gloptik, receives relatively mild weather, as temperatures between summer and winter do not differentiate massively, however it has been known to receive infrequent heatwaves and feet of snow in the winter months. The north-east of the island is primarily flat, with grasslands and forests spanning the fertile landscape. This area is especially prone to flooding due to there being no natural features to block rainwater. The west comprises of a large expanse of mountains, hills and plateaus, in which life is allowed to flourish without human civilisation. An ancient civilisation, known as the Hikori, once settled within the valleys between these massive peaks, however they were presumably wiped out by a flood of said valley. The south is mostly urban the and semi-tropical weather allows for the growth of exotic fruit in good years, however this is mostly contained within Cantorell. Tusk Peninsula, located in the very south, receives the Gloptikan current en force, which provides warm water from edel up north along the Karvelian East Coast. As a result, the area is warm year-round and is often used for farming crops often found near the equator.

Cantorell, the southern-most island, is primarily tropical year-old, the north being home to a rich rainforest, stretching across the north until stopping abruptly at the Kaho mountain range, stretching across a tectonic boundary, causing the northern and southern parts of the island to crash into each other. The southern part of the island is primarily forest, which is also the location of Nordonia's second largest city, Helsinki. Along the south coast stretches a low-land savanna, home to isolated fishing communities aswell as pocket of native tribesmen. Oko for example is located on the coast of the Gloptikan Strait, starting as one of these small communities, however grew due to its relevance in trade to the southern settlements and beyond that. Between both Cantorell and Gloptik consists several small islands, mostly untouched by the government due to being home to native islanders, some of which are well-known for first settling Cantorell. Some of these islands are used as holiday resorts for the elite, over even as their homes.

Frondleys history, when compared to the other two main islands, is complicated, due to the fact that it no longer exists. When it was above water, it was primarily a tundra, devoid of life apart from the occasional grass/trees. As a result, anyone that was willing to live here had to settle on the coast, especially around the Frillian Gap, an area on the west coast that is similar to that of the Gloptik Plains, thus birthing the (former) city of Nuke. Two large plateaus stand in the centre of the island, called the Basilian and Serosona Plateau's from the south to north. The two together often being known as the 'Life's 8' due to the shape of both plateaus forming an 8 shape. While the Basilian plateau is habited with many forms of animal life, Serosona Plateau is completely devoid of it and instead covered in spike-like hills, origin unknown.

Sometime between 50AD and 65AD, A tragic disaster occurred, which sinked the island of Frondley, causing the deaths of around 780,000 people.

## History

Nordonia was likely created as a result of millions of years of collisions of tectonic plates and volcanoes, the earliest example of this being from volcanic rock and lava pools located deep under the surface of the Hikori mountain range, aswell as pockets of limestone, some of which became exposed due to further tectonic activity.

Further investigation of the ground revealed vast amounts of fossils from both the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras, revealing a lot about the biodiversity prior to human settlement. Types of dinosaur that were native to Nordonia was the Allosaurus, Stegosaurus and Plesiosaur among others. Many of these dinosaurs were wiped up during a theorised volcanic eruption of Mt. Nordona, occurring around 85 million years ago with a category 6 eruption.

Nordonia was first settled by humans around 24000BC by native onians alongside the Karvelian Union, the earliest records of settlements were found in Pekas Humikas, many of which evolved into the fishing settlements we see today, since fishing was one of the only ways to get food before the dawn of agriculture. Fishing back them relied on using the hands, since fishing rods were not invented until around 2000BC. Bait was used in order to attract fish, which were then grabbed and cooked. Around 1000OBC, this was substituted to using long spears instead, which helped with distance.

When the Bronze Age started around 2000BC, many ethnic Nordonian groups started to turn their tribes into fully-fledged nations. Governments were formed and money (in the form of gold and silver) was created as a mean to trade between each other. However, you would of not expected for this to be peaceful, as soon these civilisations started to attack each other. Alliances were formed and wars were thought, however by the end of the Bronze Era, the modern nation were reduced to several.

### Iron Age

Starting from around 1000BC, The strong and influential Hikori, who lived in the Hikorian Mountain Range, collapsed. This is due to a range of factors, including potential drought, an earthquake collapsing their major cities or a collapse of their government and descent in Anarchy, there are also a wide range of myths around the collapse, one of the most popular being about the nation being destroyed in a fit of rage from an unknown God, who had been sealed into the Basilian Plateau to prevent him from enslaving the world.

During this time, The kingdom of Gloptika went to war with the kingdom of Copekage in the north, resulting in the unification of the main island of Gloptik by 700BC, eventually leading to Nordonia in its current state being born in around 400BC with the acquirement of Frondley.