Nordgis

Flag of Nordgis

**Nordgis** is a country in the far north in Kanita, sharing borders with Biyiliri and Phoyeto. Nordgis is divided into several small states: Gadburg, Sakov, Regin, Nam, Dagur, and Nordne Karnumgisn. All are united under one President and represented by elected representatives. Inhabitants of Nordgis usually prefer to be called Nordsirn (sing. Nordsir).

## Etymology

Nordgis directly translates to "north land" in Nordsang, the official language of Nordgis. It is uncertain who gave it this name, since there is little evidence that there were Nordsang speakers south of Nordgis. It is theorized that it was named after people from the south travelled there. However, the name is about as old as Nordgis itself.

## History

Nordgis was united in 732, considered the official birth of the nation. However, it had existed for a long time before as a group of small city-states.

### Early settlement

The area was settled by early sailors from the westward area of Kanita, likely what is now Iljika, who founded towns on the coast. Others left those towns and settled further in the mountains, following the stars and rivers. Those people are now the Suderesirn. This story is well known and has been passed down in folklore and songs, but not much else is known about this period. It is believed that the Gadrudin existed before the coming of the proto-Suderesirn, but very little is known about them before then.

### Independent city-states

Nordgis was made up of independent city-states for most of history. The most prominent were Gadburg, Sakov, Regin, Nam, and Dagur. There was usually peace between them, and traders went between them for their different goods. This period was for the most part uneventful.

### Uniting of States

The uniting of the states began in 625 with Dagan Hem, a man from Gadburg. He organized a small military of about a thousand men and began marching on the nearest cities, which quickly surrendered with little bloodshed. He remained satisfied with this conquest, dying happy as the first King of Nordgis with only Gadburg and Sakov in his realm.

His son, also named Dagan, decided to go a step further and unite all of the states. He marched west from Sakov with five thousand men in 730, taking Regin with little resistance. When he reached Nam, however, he faced a crushing defeat from their superior weapons and military and due to the extreme winter. Nam and Dagur were already allied, and were determined to resist rule by a king. Dagan decided to call for reinforcements, resulting in the bloodiest battle in Nordgis history with four thousand casualties. Dagan won the battle, and ruled the entirety of Nordgis.

However, people were still unhappy with Dagan's power. There were two uprisings in Nam, both led by a man named Jer Valav. Dagan had Jer personally taken to his court, and asked what he could do to make peace. Jer told him to let the city rule itself again, and Dagan refused, having Jer imprisoned.

The next heir, Dagar, was also disliked by Nam, leading to more rebellion. Eventually, Dagar announced that he would allow one man from each of the large states to represent them in his council. This change was accepted by most people, and the states chose their representatives.

Over the generations, the king began to lose their power, until they were only slightly more powerful than the rest of the Council. They are therefore referred to as President, to better fit in with the rest of Ulina and reflect their reduced power.

Nordne Karnumgisn is a relatively new acquisition, and the culture there is different to the mainland and different between the islands. Despite this, there is only one representative for them. However, their representative Goin has recieved positive feedback.

## Geography

Nordgis is largely mountainous and covered in deep pine forest, though towards the West it becomes flatter. It is known for its coastal cliffs in Sakov. It mostly has cold weather for most of the year, resulting in much more snow than rain. The temperature is most temperate in the southern half of Regin, and that is where most farming is done both historically and currently, though greenhouses make farming easier.

Despite the fact that it's a peninsula, Nordgis is fairly dry. It recieves an average of 30.4 inches of precipitation yearly.

The ocean around Nordgis is very cold, making it dangerous to swim. Members of the Nordgis Navy are required to be able to swim in it for their training, resulting in a low rate of recruitment especially for Suderesirn.

## Politics

### The President and the Council

The President of Nordgis is selected by the States' Council, a group of elected representatives of each of the five states of Nordgis. The President is reelected every four years, and will oversee the entirety of Nordgis and preside over the Council. The Nordsang word for President is *Daganed*, which is the same word for "king" as well as a general word for a leader. While speaking to foreigners, however, Nordsirn always refer to them as the President.

### The Gold Way

As led by President Hirasin, the Council is effectively disbanded, and Hirasin rules Nordgis with Darhav as her right-hand person. She has become the effective dictator over Nordgis.

### States of Nordgis

Nordgis is separated into six states: Gadburg, Sakov, Regin, Nam, Dagur, and Nordne Karnumgisn. Each of these states are self-governed to a degree, but the King's Law (Nordsang: *Daganednesmarg*) holds priority over the State law.

#### **Gadburg**

The state of Gadburg is the location of the city of Gadburg, government capital of Nordgis. It is known for its fishing. The city sits alongside a river which has an annual salmon migration, drawing fishermen from all over Ulina. There are also other fishing towns all across the coast. Gadburg is the most populated state, and has the most ethnic minority population of all of the states. It also houses most of the navy, along with Karnumgisn. It was represented by Hirasin Fanggaddog.

#### **Sakov**

Sakov is known for its coastal cliffs, thick pine forests, mountainside towns, beautiful aurora views, and basically anything else that relates to the natural geography of Nordgis. Sakov is the third most populated state. It was represented in the Council by Bej Vanesir.

#### **Regin**

Regin is the military and technological capital of Nordgis, harboring much of its army, air, and (developing) space force. It's also the primary agricultural area. Regin is the second most populated state. It was represented in the Council by General Darhav.

#### **Nam**

Nam experiences some of the coldest temperatures in Nordgis, being mostly glacier, and it is the least populated state. Most of its inhabitants are Gadrudin. It was represented in the Council by Rina Seranesujam.

#### **Dagur**

Dagur is the southernmost state. Most of the army is stationed there. The mountains in this area are infamously treacherous, and the army is specially trained and equipped to handle them. It was represented in the Council by Viren Sirvansir.

#### **Nordne Karnumgisn**

Karnumgisn consists of Samner, Iman, and Ogar, the islands under Nordgis' jurisdiction. They are sparsely populated, and their representation in Council is relatively new following widespread protests. The sea tends to be calmer around the islands than the mainland. It is represented by Goin Gaddoghir.

### Foreign Policy

Nordgis is a member of the Allied Effective as of 2055, and generally aligns with their views.

### Domestic Policy

#### Sigantrovos Administration

The Sigantrovos administration was headed by President Sadiv and ended in January of 2053.

Nordgis placed high priority on the individual rights of its citizens, and was semi-socialist, taxing the rich more with very high taxes on large corporatons and attempting to redistribute some wealth using semiannual "distribution checks". Mlijeko Enterprises in particular pays a large amount of tax, adding up to about 2% of the overall government income anually. Healthcare is free.

Nordgis also emphasized bureaucracy, using various different bureaus that have different functions. Among the most important are the Bureau of Classification (Nordsang: *Sangsogborsog*) Bureau of Agriculture (*Gomgisborsog*) and the Bureau of Tax (*Narmargborsog*).

Nordgis was generally friendly to immigrants, though citizenship is usually required to do things like own land. Only legal citizens recieved distribution checks. The citizenship test was fairly simple, requiring that a citizen knows Nordsang, and that they were aware of the relevant laws of the King's Law. A short background check was also conducted, ensuring that they were not a member of an organization considered enemies of the state.

#### Firetrovos Administration

The Firetrovos administration is headed by President Hirasin. It began in January of 2053, and is ongoing.

Nordgis is a member of the Allied Effective. Economic and industrial regulations are loosened, and any opposers of the administration are arrested, deported, or destroyed. It is very capitalistic, emphasizing the power of industry. Communication is carefully controlled. Hirasin also bought and runs NSF, the national news network, and other publications are destroyed.

### Economy

#### Sigantrovos Era

Nordgis' economy does not extend very much beyond its borders, staying mostly inside of the country. There are few large corporations in Nordgis, as the high tax is intended to discourage them from interfering with Nordgis' mostly traditional economy. Nordgis' largest industry is steel and tools made from it, and one of the most common occupations is blacksmith. The second largest industry is lumber, though Nordgis' lumber is usually produced traditionally (with replanting) as opposed to mass deforestation or using a technique called *Sinsirvan*, similar to daisugi.

#### Firetrovos Era

Hirasin stresses the importance of international commerce, heavily incentivizing trade between the member states of the Effective. Corporations steadily gain more power as Hirasin lowers taxes and reduces regulation, particularly large steel companies. Remarkably, traditional lumber techniques and the related individual-centered structure of its economy have remained intact.

### Military

Nordgis has a fairly small military, primarily for the use of defending it against potential attacks. It comprises of the Navy, the Army, the Air Force, and the Space Force. The Navy is the largest branch, followed by the Air Force and then the Army. The Space Force is mostly theoretical, but President Sadiv declared that he wants to make more of it. President Hirasin has not remarked on the Space Force.

## Demographics

Two ethnic groups make up most of Nordgis' population: the Suderesirn (46%) and the Gadrudin (34%). The Suderesirn are humans who typically have pale skin and dark eyes. The Gadrudin are a subspecies of humans that have fox ears and a tail, and usually have gold to white hair and fur. Nordgis' main minority ethnic groups are Karnumsirn (who are similar to Suderesirn, but generally have darker skin), biracial Fansirn, Rozepians, and Caticani.

## Cultures and Languages

Nordgis' culture is intricately tied with its language and the land. The cold is ever-present, and that can be seen in Nordgis' culture as well. Peace is a high cultural priority, and is commonly referred to in greetings, etc. Nordsirn are known for their friendliness, though that stereotype is of course not universal.

The forests of Nordgis are a large part of its cultural identity, which is part of why replanting is done in traditional lumber work, and why Sinsirvan was invented.

Joining the military, especially the navy, is viewed as a high honor. It's seen as a duty to protect peace as opposed to reducing it, since the Nordgis military's main purpose is to defend against invasion.

The islands of Nordne Karnumgisn have a different culture to the rest of Nordgis. The sea is viewed as friendly, and sailing is a popular activity despite cold temperatures.

### Music

Nordgis is quite musical, and has preserved many of its oldest stories through folk music. The national anthem, *Nordgis a, Gis ga Fer* was written during the reign of Dagar and modified over time. Most traditional Nordgis music is soft with moderate tempo and is usually performed solo.

### Language

Most of Nordgis usually speaks Nordsang, a non-Slavic language. It uses the Reprodesic script, though there is an ancient native script that is used in traditional and extremely formal situations.

Gadsang is a dialect of Nordsang spoken mostly in Dagur.

Karnumsang is a dialect spoken in Karnumgisn, mostly mutually intelligible to Nordsang speakers. It is generally more gutteral. Notable in terms of accent: /k/ is replaced by /q/, /g/ is replaced by /ɢ/, /ɾ/ is replaced by /ɭ/, and /a/ is replaced by /ɐ/. There are also a number of words that don't exist in Nordsang that do exist in Karnumsang.

### Religion

Officially, Nordgis is a secular state. Culturally, Nordgis is not very religious and for most of its known history lacked much organized religion, the closest being small cults that worshipped the features associated with Sornsasam. However, Svyeto (Nordsang: *Sevjeto*) has gained some popularity.

Recent archaeological projects have revealed a religion involving at least 5 deities. Very little is known about this Old Religion, and it appears that the government is attempting to actively suppress information regarding it.

### Magic

Nordgis' native form of magic is *Sornsasam*, characterized by weak pyromancy and photomancy, and can be performed by about 40% of Nordsirn, 87% of whom are Gadrudin (49%) and Suderesir (38%). Sornsasam has been observed to work better during the night and even better under the aurora. The reasons for this are still being researched as of 2054. Sornsasam is a large part of the cultural identity of Nordgis, which is a large reason that very few Nordsirn have learned other forms of magic from the rest of the world.