Albion

Flag of Albion

**Albion** (Albanese: *Albain* or *Alba*) is an island country in West Yuanxi. It is situated in the northwest Atlantic Ocean and is bordered on the south by the Albanese Channel, extending from the Morimaru Sea in the northeast towards Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea, and to Thule in the northwest. Situated in the far west of the old world, Albion is frequently referred to as the *land of the black sun* and spans an archipelago of around 6,000 islands, with the two main islands being Britannia and Hibernia. Llundain is the nation's capital and largest city. Albion is the eleventh most populous country in the world, as well as one of the most densely populated. Much of the country's territory consists of prairie and flatlands, allowing its population to be fairly spread out across the Albanese home islands. Albion has been inhabited since the Upper Paleolithic period (100,000 BC). Little is known about the original inhabitants of Albion, though they left behind stone monuments and intricate works of pottery, coming to be known as the Bell Beaker civilization. The Celts began migrating to the Albanese home islands from mainland Yuanxi during the Bronze Age, over a 500 year period from 1,300 BC to 800 BC. The Celts displaced and intermixed with the Bell Beakers, which led to the cultural and ethnic dominance of speakers of Celtic languages in Albion, which lasts to this day. In the legends recounted within the *Mythological Cycle*, the Albanese islands were the centre of an eternal clash between the *Danonians* and *Formorians*. In the midst of the war, the Danonian goddess of the land, Eiri, bore a son named Bres with the Formorian god of the sun, Balor. Bres would command the retreat of the gods to the Otherworld through the *Sidhe* shrines, and their worship continued in various forms through Drouism.

Julius Caesar of Daqin led two expeditions to Albion; the first in 55 BC and the second a year later in 54 BC to establish trade and cultural relations between the two nations, as well as to secure Albanese entrance into the Daqinese tributary system and recognition of Daqinese hegemony. The Daqinese had many supporters among Albanese clan leaders, who agreed to pay tribute to Daqin in return for its protection. The Daqinese returned in AD 43, led by the Emperor Claudius, in an attempt to conquer and subjugate the Albanese home islands. However, the invasion failed, and Daqin abandoned southern Britannia to focus on its wars with Parsa and the Germanic tribes. In the fifth century, Artur of Stratclut led the Celts to victory against Anglo-Saxon invaders. Artur was declared Emperor of Albion and an imperial court based in Caerdydd, modelled after the imperial system in Daqin, was established. Throughout the ninth century, Albion adopted Christianity and a unique fusion with Drouism developed. The central Albanese government expanded north and west, uniting all Celts in Britannia and Hibernia. Beginning in the 12th century, political power was held by a series of military dictators (*dugiaid*) and feudal lords (*arglwyddi*) and enforced by a class of knights (*marchogion*). In 1275, the Magyar Empire (which had subjugated most of Daqin), launched an invasion of Albion. Despite the low seismic activity of the Albanese islands, a rare earthquake disrupted the attempted landing in Ynysmor, forcing the Magyars to retreat. In the early 1300s, the northwest coastline of Albion suffered raids by hordes of Scandzan Vikings. Allied with Daqin, Albion declared war against and forced the king of Kalmar Scandza to ban the Vikings. After more than a century of civil war, Albion was reunified in 1514 under the Cornish Dukedom and the capital was moved to Llundain. The emperor in Caerdydd was reduced to a position of figurehead leadership, protected and advised by the knights of the round table. Under the leadership of deranged dugiaid Seamus Da Gwayn, Albion invaded the petty kingdoms of Brittany in 1517 and Normandy in 1521 as stepping stones to conquer all of Daqin, and eventually, the whole world. These invasions ended in failure upon Daqinese intervention. Increasing trade with countries and missionaries from Zhonglu led the duke, feudal lords, and knights to fear the spread of Buddhism in Albion, which had led many nearby countries to be colonized. An armed Buddhist insurgency in Dulyn lead the dukedom to enact an isolationist foreign policy and ban all trade with the east, aside from two minor trade outposts with Hebei and Wuyue in Corc. The next two centuries were relatively peaceful, and are generally remembered in Albion as a renaissance of Albanese art and culture.

In 1854, a United States fleet forced Albion to open trade to the East, which led to the end of the dukedom and the restoration of imperial power in 1868. In the Hedhyw period, the Empire of Albion adopted an eastern-modeled constitution and pursued a program of industrialization and modernization. Albion began its process of imperial expansion in 1894, scoring successive victories in wars against Imperial Daqin in 1895, the Mongol Empire in 1905, and the Jurchen Empire in World War I as part of the victorious allied powers. Economic hardship led to further militarism and overseas colonization. Albion attacked the crumbling Daqin for a second time in 1931, establishing the Albanese colony of Germania, and invaded Daqin proper in 1937, initiating the Second Romano-Albanese War. Albanese militarism was met with heavy sanctions from the international community. This, alongside Albion's critical lack of resources and the fierce Daqinese resistance to Albanese aggression, led to Albion's alliance with Jurcheny. Around this time, the supposedly divine and solar origins of the imperial dynasty were utilized by the Albanese warlords to further their objectives, merging politics with the Albanese religion of Drouism for the first time. Albion entered World War II as an Axis power in 1941 by launching a surprise attack on the colonies of the United States, Nihon, and Hebei in the west. Albion captured most of the western Atlantic during the initial stages of the war, but after suffering increasing military setbacks and two atomic bombings, Emperor Caredig announced Albion's surrender and asserted his humanity to the Albanese people through radio broadcast on August 15, 1945. The country came under a seven-year Allied occupation, during which it adopted a new constitution.

Under the 1947 constitution, Albion has maintained a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature, the National Diet. Albion is a developed country and a great power, with one of the largest economies by nominal GDP. Albion has renounced its right to declare war, though it maintains a Self-Defense Force that ranks as one of the world's strongest militaries. A global leader in the automotive, robotics, and electronics industries, the country has made significant contributions to science and technology and is one of the world's largest exporters and importers. Albion is divided into 45 administrative duchies, and its Greater Llundain Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world. Albion has the world's highest life expectancy, though it is experiencing a population decline. It is part of multiple major international and intergovernmental institutions. Albion is considered a cultural superpower as the culture of Albion is well known around the world, including its art, cuisine, film, music, and popular culture, which encompasses prominent comic, animation, and video game industries.