Ashia

The Modern Flag of Ashia

The **Empire of Ashia** commonly called Ashia, is a Monarchy in Etharia. It is a nation comprised of nine islands. Ashia covers 1,904,569 square kilometers & has an estimated population of 208,672,000. Ashia is comprised of regions within the country. Ashia is near 权国 (Quango or Michu) in the North-West, Cynedrycan Kuwang in the North-West, Kīngitanga o Aotearoa (Kingdom of Aotaruo) in the South & 南汉共和国 (the Republic of Nanhan) to the South-West.

## Etymology

The standard way to refer to a citizen of Ashia is as a "Ashian." Although many Ashians will call themselves "Ashi".

### World War Two

The last major expansion period in Ashian history, stretching the influence of the throne as far as Ezhara. Ashia participated in World War Two as the main aggressor, bombing the Cynedrycan Falaepuna Harbor on St. Sabina Island on June 7, 1940. This prompted a response from the at the time Cynedrycan Republic, bringing her ally the Dominatus Leviathan to war. Ashia had no ally at the time.

Ashia would go on to lose the war, surrendering to the Cynedrycans resulting in the Cynedrycans placing the Muteki line onto the throne. Also, due to Ashia being the aggressor, the Cynedrycans implemented control of the Ashian government until the grandchild of the first Muteki took the throne. With the death of her father, the Cynedrycans recognized the nation under Ria Muteki as a sovereign state. Cynedryca still keeps an eye on the once land-hungry aggressors, through the same group of islands that they once fought over.

## Geography

Ashia is a nation comprised of nine different islands and a split island connected with Cynedryca covering 1,904,569 km² of land. Each island has its own geography and climate settings. Each region is named after the dominant clan that emerged from the island or area.

The northern regions, which include Hojo, Tojo, and Ieyasae see significant snowfall compared to the rest of the nation. These regions are mountainous, in fact the natural divide between the regions of Tojo and Hojo is a long, island wide mountain range named the Bunkatsu Mountain Range. Ieyasae Island is known for its large mountain ranges and jungle like landscapes. Besides the mainland regions these lands are the most developed regions of the entire nation, and hold a prominent role in resource acquisition.

The central regions, which include the regions of Taira, Niwa, Miyake, Mizuno and Kiyohara are primarily temperate islands. These islands are considered the most rural of islands, particularly the island of Niwa, which produces the largest amount of rice of any region. These islands see moderate amounts of rainfall and the uninhabited parts of these islands are mostly forested. Kiyohara is a very popular vacation spot for Ashians due to its moderate temperature during the summer and large beaches.

The mainland of Ashia is made of four regions on a single island. The island itself is covered in mountains a forests, however the Hokan region's central plains is a vast grassland that provided for most of the island before the central regions were brought under Ashian control. The eastern region of Yuiika houses the Ashian captial, Yakuso, which is surrounded by the Yukiyama mountains, and is the only area outside of the Kosoto region to see any sort of snowfall. The Motoko region is dominated by hills and valleys and shares the most northern tip of the Yukiyama Mountain Range. It is the most densely forested area, for this reason the cities are built upwards rather than outwards. The southern region is dominated by grassland and vast fields. The climate here is always moderate, and rainfall is rarely seen outside of the monsoon season.

All regions of Ashia share the Monsoon season, which occurs during the months of April through September.

## Demographics

### Population

Virtually all citizens of Ashia are of Ashian descent, with 99% of the citizens claiming to be full blood Ashians. The final one percent are made up from nations from all over Etharia, usually brought from other countries in asylum or as refugees. Though most of the citizens claim to be Ashian, the clan descent is something else Ashia takes into consideration. The percentage of clan descendant claims is as followed using the most recent census data in 2017: 11% Kosoto, 11% Yuiika, 10% Kiyohara, 9% Sototsuchi, 8% Hokan, 8%Hojo, 8% Tojo, 7% Motoko, 6% Ieyasae, 6% Mizuno, 5%, Miyake, 5% Taira, 3% Niwa, 2% of ancient clan descendant and 1% foreigner.

The current ruling family, the Muteki's, have their bloodline descending from the Yuiika clan.

### Language

Ashians all speak Ashian, based off of the language of the Yuiika tribe. Many of the descendants of the other clans know words from their clans tongue, but most have just have remnants of dialectical differences. Foreign language is starting to be taught throughout Ashia, with a focus being on Cynedrycan, although Trekkish is also rising in popularity.

Ashian is derived from the Yuiika and Kosoto clans' languages. It is divided between the character language called Radaki, which uses three "Alphabets":"Hirati", "Kataki" and "Kanari".

Kanari is the language that the nobles used before printing was available. Because the peasantry was illiterate, Kanari was passed down through the educated and the nobility. With the introduction of Hirati, the uneducated could read and write as well, all sentences can be written in Hirati but context would be left out because Kanari brings on another aspect of context. When foreign influences started to make their way into Ashia a separate alphabet was created for foreign objects and ideas specifically, caled Kataki. Considered the fourth alphabet of Ashia is Romaki, using the universal latin characters of the Cynedrycan influence.

### Religion

Ashia has had true religious freedom since 1903 when Emperor Satoshi Hiro declared that religion does not define a person, but their actions do. Before that point Ashia was a nation with hundreds of dieties, the most followed was the Shinto religion, which can be dated back to the Ichizoku period. Many Shinto traditions and festivals are still followed today, although most Ashians do not follow religion at all. It is estimated that 75-85% of Ashians do not subscribe to a religion, but 95% still participate in the in the traditions of the Shinto religion. Respecting the ancestors is a major part of the Shinto religion, warranting an entire week of celebrations and traditions in January.

Christianity has started to make an appearance in Ashia with the opening of the borders, but has not gained a strong foothold, as it is still a very foreign concept to the Ashian culture, and doesn't fit in with their ideals.

## Government

The government is split into two levels, although the Emperor/Empress has the last say on all matters. The Royalty and High Minsters deal with national matters, while the House of Regions handle matters pertaining to their particular regions. The House of Regions may also draft up decrees and present them to the High Ministers and Emperor/Empress, if the bill is important enough to pass through the entire region, an example of this was the Decree of Regional Defense in 1995, which resulted in the creation of the Regional Guard.

### National Level

At the national level the Emperor/Empress makes the decision on all things except military operations. He or she is accompanied by three main advisers, a Minister of War, Minister of State, and Minister of Economy. Each of the three ministers will have a chance to share their ideas, thoughts and concerns about each proposal, issue and decision the Emperor or Empress makes, and if all three have an issue with the decision they may decide to amend the decision in an attempt to fix the issue or rid of it completely. This is to prevent any personal gain decisions, such as war for land or increased taxes for personal use.

### Regional Level

At the regional level the Lord or Lady of the Region is considered to be the final say in all decisions. Each regional leader is selected by the a majority vote from members of the royal family, high ministers and the noble families of the region. The job of the regional leader is to create and pass laws with their interest being for the region, but not to intrude on other regions ways of life. Each region has the exact same influence in national affairs and to date there has been no conflicts between regions. Each regional leader is required to meet with the Emperor/Empress each season to discuss matters of the nation.

### Foreign Relations & Military

The Ashian military is known as the ASDF, or Ashian Self Defense Force. Ashia employs a conscription of at least four years of service, with added benefits after service the longer the individual serves. The Ashian Self Defense Force is split into four branches, the Ashian Ground Self Defense Force (AGSDF), the Ashian Naval Self Defense Force (ANSDF), the Ashian Air Self Defense Force (AASDF), and the Regional Guard for the thirteen regions of Ashia. The nation stresses the importance of a strong Air Force and Navy due to the fact that it is an island nation. This leads to greater spending on the Navy and Air Force, and more conscripts joining these branches. The Regional guard is comprised all able bodied men and women under the age of 35 who have already served their conscription term. A Lord of the Region may request the regional guard from a neighboring region to assist in states of emergency, and all Regional Guards will be activated if the nation is invaded. Ashia only engages is hostile actions in cases of self defense, chemical weapons, and threats against her allies.