River Republic

The River Republic is a nation in Eastern Griffonia, and seen as the "Sister nation" to Equestria

## History

The River Republic is a haven of peace and prosperity in the heart of the Riverlands. In 357 ALB it gained independence from  Lake City, and in 814 it became a republic when the last Princess, Soft Water, decided to peacefully hand her powers to Sabor, the parliament, to avoid a bloody succession crisis after her death. The final defining moment was the signing of the Treaty of Coltstream on the soil of the River Republic, making them the strongest force behind Riverlands politics, rivaled possibly only by Lake City

Whilst Lake City battled the crusades of the Griffons, the Grand Principality of Rijekograd grew to become the great power of the Riverlands, relying on the immense trade allowed by its many rivers. With their wealth, and with their rival to the west distracted, Princess Wild Water hired mercenaries from Diamond Mountain and Nimbusia to invade the  Kingdom of Wittenland, attempting to conquer Coltstream*.*

Her invasion was successful, capturing Coltstream. Emboldened, she pressed on into Wittenland, advancing on its ancient castles. The unicorns of Wittenland made her pay for every inch of territory. Even as her forces dwindled, she pressed on to the fortress of High Mane.

The battle was close but decisive. High Mane was breached, and Wild Water herself charged in, where she was thrown from the ramparts by the fortress' commander herself. Her three daughters, Velvet, Lily, and Rose also met their end to assassins, the chaos of war, and the final assault on the fortress.

With their forces smashed, the Wittenlanders launched a counter-offensive, recapturing their losses. But they found Coltstream manned and defended by fresh militias and the regrouped armies, and could not retake it.

Despite terrible losses, the Grand Principality of Rijekograd had won. Coltstream was theirs. However the Royal Family was devastated, and the last remaining Princess, Soft Water, died childless. In her will she wished that her mother's mad ambitions never be repeated - Rijekograd would become a republic, accountable to its ponies, not to any one pony's ambitions, yet it never returned Coltstream. And the River Republic evolved as a republic and maintaining its monopoly on river trade.

The government stayed this way, free, harmonic and prosperous. In the year 1001, River Swirl, a graduate of Celestia's Academy for Gifted Unicorns, was elected to lead the nation. She championed hard-needed reforms for the nation and did great work in continuing the prosperity held by the River Republic for a long time. These reforms brought growth, but also a new consciousness to the River Republic, causing either the growth of the greatest threat, or the greatest opportunity the republic has ever seen.

The year is now 1007 ALB and recently a new political force has risen in the River Republic. The Socialist Alliance led by Nova Whirl, a new face in River Republic politics, championing socialist policies with great support from the lower classes of the Republic who have not necessarily had the best years in recent memory with poverty being prevalent in the nation. Meanwhile, Nova Whirl's deputy Caramel Haze advocates for a much more authoritarian style of socialist rule in the country and Nova should be careful if she comes into power, as the partnership between her and Caramel is purely pragmatic and they hold no affection for each other or their policies.

Though there is only one part of the government that can claim to be both excited and fearful about the new Socialist Alliance. That is the OHS, the Office of Harmonic Services. An artifact of the early Republic, created to guard against lingering monarchist sentiment directly after Soft Water's death. As the Republic evolved into a prosperous democratic nation the importance OHS diminished somewhat. But now its director, an enigmatic pony by the name of Arclight, sees a new opportunity for the OHS to once again to return to the position of glory and praise of its glory days. He sees the socialist movement within the nation as a way to get the OHS back into its slot, right next to the Chancellor. While he holds no hatred for Nova Whirl personally, he values his own vision of harmony in his own heart, and Nova may even hold some of that kind of Harmony herself. But Arclight knows it will take a bit more to get River Swirl to enact the kind of laws he needs to be enacted.

But through all this political turmoil still stands River Swirl. Intent on keeping her position in the Chancellorship and continuing on with her reforms and changes, both in her native Republic and stretching out to the rest of the Coalition, always wary of the changing powers of the area surrounding the Republic, River Swirl must help her nation stand as the Bulwark of the East, against all threats that may present themselves.

## Historical Leaders

\*That we know of

1. River Swirl