Greatwhite Isles

Overview of the landscape of Core Greatwhite Isles township

The **Greatwhite Isles** (Navigaran: *La Landomeci Karcarodon*) is the capital and largest city of the Greatwhite Atoanate. It was its own city-state until the Esma Purchase in the autumn of 962 ACA where the region of Atoan Regalia was entirely absorbed into the nation. The city spans from the eastern coast of Haven to the western coast of Sørligste, completely enveloping the southern banks of the Sea of Jcon.

## History

### Pre-Server Lore

Around 695 ACA, a Daelyrian ship exploded off the coast of Greatwhite Island. On board, a dozen Helmian alchemists and masters of mystic arts were conducting an experiment called the Rebis, an alchemical union of the male and females sexes into a single being. Most information about the Rebis creation have been lost due to the lack of documentation in this era. The Rebis sunk to the ocean floor and remained stationary for another three centuries. During this time, the Rebis transformed into the Oxygen Tree, which currently lies near the center of the city.

### Origins

In the summer of 936 ACA (March 1st, 2022), Shark Greatwhite settled on Greatwhite Island and established the settlement of Blackpearl. Out of fascination of the Oxygen Tree, the settlers who sailed on the *Greatwhite* with Shark established a mission in the center of the island. Greatwhite Island, which was once a small desert island, was heavily renovated and artificially expanded. Blackpearl was heavily marked by its library, which appeared as a sprawling lighthouse with a Exolvonturian architecture.

### Growth and Expansion

Blackpearl caught the attention of many nobles from Frostmarch and attracted many Atoan Regalians from western Sørligste. In the spring of 945 ACA (April 5th, 2022), the Greatwhite Isles was established as an independent city-state. The waves of settlers from the Jarldom of Atoan Regalia brought in huge improvements in infrastructure. By the next few days, two other artificial islands were built. The first map of the nation, drawn by Wander Solon, displayed Greatwhite Island in the center, Kaluna Island in the south, and Jarasoa Island in the east. These islands were connected by bridges built by Most\_Awesome\_101. In the mid-950s ACA (May of 2022), the city of Raskara merged with the capital city, expanding the capital's borders to the mainland continent. The Raskara Merge significantly improved infrastructure as the people of Raskara fully integrated with the customs of the people in the capital city.

### Hirosol Era and Civil War Period

During the Hirosol Era (November 2022 - early-January 2023), the capital city operated almost semi-autonomously as Valfenhein and Serenity formed their own sub-governments in order to survive the period of inactivity and economic downturn. Due to the frequent absence of the keinomal Koyama Hirokami and the collapse of House Greatwhite, most of the population in the capital city migrated to neighboring nations. Heavy decline in the city sparked petitions for a democratic election to choose the next keinomal, something uncalled for in the nation's traditional monarchist culture.

After Anastasia Tyranni Kolasares won the election and established an oligarchy, each oligarch held control over the city of the Greatwhite Isles. In the spring of 1020 ACA (January 30th, 2023), the oligarch Giorgio de Guzman, who sought supreme control over the nation, declared a coup under the support of Liberty's Shield, a secret society that had been under the shadows since Koyama's reign, and established a dictatorship until he died the very next day of his ascension. The Guzman Coup and Giorgio's sudden death caused severe unrest as the systems that linked the government and the public were essentially destroyed. This directly led to the events of the GWI Civil War. In 1022 ACA (mid-February of 2023), Dragon Crepper unclaimed the entire city of the Greatwhite Isles to act as a militaristic tactic against the GWI Military. This left the city vulnerable to bandit attacks, looters, and infighting caused by the war.

When Shark Greatwhite returned in late-February, he immediately put an end to the war, effectively saving the nation from certain doom.

### "Golden Age" Period

After the GWI Civil War, Shark implemented a series of radical infrastructure plans in order to achieve GWI prestige over Rathnir. These plans built a foundation for Shark's dream of a GWI megacity, connecting the islands of the Sea of Jcon to Serenity in the main continent. The Megacity Project radically changed the nation's scope of politics and city rulership. The project was completed in early-March, dividing the city to municipalities (or "townships") and districts. The resulting entities came to be the Core Greatwhite Isles, Valfenhein, and Serenity being their own municipalities and 13 districts in total.

During this time, corporate companies such as Guild Inc and Blackwater Mining LLC were founded, occupying large land areas in the city. These companies often competed for corporate supremacy.

### Lorent-Dimes War

During the Battle of the Greatwhite Isles in the Lorent-Dimes War, the city received severe damage to its major community centers. From May 21st-May 22nd, 2023, the site of the Greatwhite Isles was the bloodiest and most pivotal battles during the war, effectively turning the tide in favor for the Greatwhite and Lorentish forces. After securing a victory, the city of Gaeldome was captured by the Lorentish army.

The damages were so great that even in contemporary times, reconstruction efforts are ongoing.

### Contemporary

In the spring of 1054 ACA (June 14th, 2023), the nation of the Greatwhite Isles was officially changed to the Greatwhite Atoanate, differentiating the nation name and the city name.

## Geography

The Greatwhite Isles spans from the western banks of the Sea of Jcon to the township of Serenity in the Estea Desert located in mainland Sørligste. The boundaries of the city contains the eastern coast of the subcontinent Haven to the west and the border between Serenity and Redlink to the east. It also straddles the very edge of the southern world border. Its physical geography is diverse, dotted with forests, mountains, desert, and flat plains. Before the city was founded, the physical geography mainly consisted of flat savanna. Today, a vast majority of its terrain has been radically transformed in order accommodate the urbanization efforts of the people approved by governmental aid. Only very small dotted spots of savanna has been left untouched.

### Political Divisions

The Greatwhite Isles contains is made up of 13 districts, which are grouped into 3 townships/municipalities. The Great United Highway runs through every district in the city, serving as borders between districts.

* Core Greatwhite Isles (holds 47.7% of the GWA population) covers the western region of both the nation and the city where it continues until it hits the Rennen River. It contains 4 districts: Kaluna Island District, Greatwhite Island District, Jarasoa Island District, District I, and District II. It houses the Royal Palace, the Greatwhite House of Wisdom, and the Raskara Theatre. Core Greatwhite Isles typically has a cottage architecture with stone bases and bone blocks as walls.
* Valfenhein (holds 25% of the GWA population) covers the northeastern region of the city and contains 4 districts: Valfenhein District, District IV, District V, and District VI. It is mostly a residential coastal region with a strong community culture. District V and District VI, which are the most populated districts in the township, are dotted with various tourist sites. These include: Mushroom District Park, District VI Casino, Greatwhite Tavern, and the Shark's Mouth. Valfenhein has a mix of a suburban and medieval architecture with wooden houses.
* Serenity (holds 20.5% of the GWA population) covers the southeastern region of the city and contains 3 districts: Serenity District, District VII, and District VIII. This is the oldest township in the city, dating back to the Atoan Regalian period. As a result, this township continue to have a strong cultural influence from the Sisters of Peace religion. This township is home to the Tree of Life, a humongous sprawling tree rising up to the clouds that serves as a religious site and is located at the center of the township.
* Woods District (Population: 1) is the smallest district in the city and does not belong to any township. It is located approximately at the very center of the city and is entirely forested with jungle trees, completely covering the formerly savanna land. The Woods District serves as the residence of the Lorax, an environmental position in the government.

## Culture

### Art

The city is home to a collection of portraits mostly depicting the average citizen and landscapes. Alonch Wayfarer (born 54 AJC) was an explorer and artist appointed by the GWI government and is credited for drawing portraits of many influential figures in the Greatwhite Isles as well as portraying average citizens.

Art involving landscapes often take the form of professional photographs. Because of the abundance of tourist sites across all three townships, photographs with shaders are taken almost daily and are widely appraised by even foreigners across the world.

### Architecture

Before the emergence of Kunnism, the towns of Blackpearl, Serenity, and Valfenhein were comprised of styles associated with the Sisters of Peace. The city of Serenity, whose people were characterized by a zealous praise of the deity Serenity, had followed the style of Serenitian architecture, which heavily relied on the natural environment. The followers of Serenity abhorred harming any plantlife. Therefore, Serenitian architecture was characterized by large gardens, trees wrapped around cottage houses, and luxurious fountains. While followers of the Sisters of Peace have largely decreased in population, the Tree of Life, a sacred Serenitian site, is still preserved today.

Blackpearl and the early Greatwhite Isles had a large population of followers of Exolvonturis and was comprised of Exolvonturian architecture, which is characterized by a more urbanized medieval setting with tall sprawling brick towers with shingled rooves. Similar to the style of Serenity, Blackpearl continued the Atoan tradition of cottage-styled architecture.

    After the emergence of Kunnism, the style of architecture evolved drastically. The cottage-styled houses largely remained but were built with materials like stone bricks, red bricks, and bone blocks. Individual Exolvonturian tall structures were dismantled and replaced with structures with multiple towers jutting out on the side with gray shingled roofs. In the summer of 1052 ACA (June 8th, 2022), Shark Greatwhite introduced a project that replaced small residences with larger lavish buildings associated with Kunnist influence. This project also oversaw the construction of the Royal Palace, the residence of indomals the keinomal. The main goal of this project was to beautify the city and endeavored to convert Greatwhite Isles into an architectural haven dedicated to worshipping Kunni.

In the 970s ACA (July of 2022), Shark Greatwhite ordered the remodeling of the Greatwhite Library (now the Greatwhite House of Wisdom) and completely abandoning its traditional Exolvonturian architecture. This responsibility initially was presented to Regulus Mindegaus but was quickly passed back to Shark and his himself and his builder team, which consisted of members of House Greatwhite due to Regulus's project of writing the entire regional history of the nation. In the early 990s ACA (early-October of 2022), the Greatwhite House of Wisdom was completed.

After the Raskara Merge, architectural styles of Raskaran and Atoan Regalian builders integrated into the Greatwhite Isles. The Raskara Theatre innovated the party culture of the Greatwhite Isles.

### Festivals/Parties

Parties are a central part of the culture of the Greatwhite Atoanate. The city of Greatwhite Isles is widely recognized as the City of Parties due to the cultural significance and frequency of the parties in the city. During the Blackpearl period, Shark often threw parties for foreign ministers and Tortugan officials in order to advertise the island worldwide. Lavish parties continued after the Greatwhite Isles was founded and hasn't stopped since. After the Raskara Theatre was built in October 2022, parties evolved to also including plays and acts.

While parties are frequent and often large in nature, they usually target citizens in the Core Greatwhite Isles. Festivals, on the other hand, attempt to attract citizens from all three townships. Because some residents have been present since the nation's founding or has parents from that time period, most of the festivals are nationalistic. The Anniversary, which celebrates the founding of the Greatwhite Atoanate every April 5th, was first proclaimed by Shark Greatwhite exactly one month after the nation was founded. Initially, the Anniversary was supposed to be celebrated every month on the 5th. However, because of active construction periods, this expectation could not be met. Since the Esma Purchase, the Anniversary has been celebrated annually, attracting citizens from Serenity, Valfenhein, and the Lorentish Empire.

The city of Greatwhite Isles also hosts Midas Gala, which is held every March 19th. This holiday celebrates the signing of the Midas Pact, which was a written official agreement signed by all regions in the Lorentish Empire to support each other.

## Government

### Megacity System

Each of the three townships in the city are governed by an indomal. Just like other individual towns of the Greatwhite Atoanate, indomals manage the growth and politics of their domain. However, in the city of the Greatwhite Isles, indomals are also responsible for overseeing indomalites. Indomalites, traditionally called district managers, supervise the local districts they are appointed at. Their supervision usually consists of construction projects and recruitment campaigns. While indomals and indomalites have the executive right to govern their domain, the keinomal of the nation is the supreme authority of the city. Therefore, indomals and indomalites must comply with the keinomal's orders.

### The Citizen Committee

The GWI Citizen Committee is the body of political representation of the citizens in the city government. Four members from each of the three townships are elected for a 2-month mandate. Some of the body's attributions include: giving citizens political representation in the government, allow representatives of citizens' choice to suggest ideas that serve their domain the best, activity in the city, etc.

The Chairman, the supreme authority of the Committee, can serve a maximum of two terms. They are responsible to the Greatwhite Court and also entitled to preside over the meetings. They are charged with giving momentum to suggested policies, documenting the important discussion points of the speeches given by the Major Voice and Minor Voice, and providing reports to the Keinomal. The Major Voice is an elected representative out of the four members of a specific town to be its presiding officer that will present the suggestions and grievances from the citizens of their domain. The Minor Voices are the other three members chosen to represent a specific township. They are entitled to addressing miscellaneous affairs of their township.

Meetings occur every two weeks and take place in government offices throughout the city of Greatwhite Isles. The Royal Palace is the main building serving as the city hall for political affairs. Before meetings begin, the Major and Minor Voices are required to submit their main talking points to the Chairman so that each idea would have a specific interval of time to be addressed thoroughly. Normally, the Major Voice presents their township's ideas and discussion points first and is followed by discussion from the Minor Voices to the Committee. After this process repeats for each township, the Chairman ends the meeting with final rulings and remarks.