Etaoin Shrdlu

Flag bearing the state colours and laurel motif symbolizing the 50 prominent islands of the Etaoin Shrdlu Archipelago

### Motto

Over sea and under his watch: one dominion

### Ethnic Groups

* 50.1% Etaoin
* 26.6% Lorumite
* 13.8% Indigenous
* 9.5% Other

### Population

434,640

**Etaoin Shrdlu** is a constitutional chiefdom located in the northern Fluvian Ocean. It consists of 50 major island groups organized into 5 semi-autonomous chiefdoms. This governmental system is based on the ancient Loremite tradition of Gothi-rule (*goðaveldið)* in which prominent landholders may purchase political stake over regions.

The capital city of Etaoin Shrdlu is Lorem Ipsum, ancient capital of the Loremite Empire. According to the ancient manuscript Lorámabók, Etaoin Shrdlu was first settled by Loremite peoples in 875 establishing an expansive Fluvian empire which lasted several centuries. Etaoin Shrdlu declared its independence from Loremite rule in 1393.

 Etaoin Shrdlu is volcanically and geologically active characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains, and glaciers, with many glacial rivers flowing to the sea through the lowlands. Its pristine fjords and thickly forested regions have inspired many works of art and poetry.

 Presently, Etaoin Shrdlu has a resource economy mainly based around exploitation of oceanic resources such as fish, kelp and salt. Geological surveying of deep sea shale deposits around several of the main islands have revealed deposits of natural gas, though commercial exploitation continues to remain unprofitable. Etaoin Shrdlu has recently gained media attention for becoming the site of the controversial Eyce Music festival.

## History

### **Indigenous/Pre-Colonial (pre-875)**

The Indigenous Etaoin people are considered to be by linguistic, archaeological and human genetic ancestry a subset of the sea-migrating Hiborian people. Tracing Indigenous Etaoin languages places their prehistoric origins in the northern Huayqin, and ultimately, in central Marzath. At the height of Etaoin cultural diversity, it is estimated that over 20 distinct languages emerged. Given that not all Indigenous Etaoin languages are mutually intelligible to each other, linguists have hypothesized that several migrations from various regions may have taken place.

Archaeological evidence points to early Etaoin civilizations having extensive trade relations stretching to both shores of the Fluvian Ocean. Jade artifacts found at the Otwala Site near Lorem Ipsum indicate not only the sophisticated trade networks of the Indigenous peoples, but also the organized craftwork and cultural practices that were beginning to emerge in the archipelago.

Much of the historical record for Indigenous Etaoin peoples come from early Loremite writings. For example this passage taken from the Lorámabók details an early encounter with the Dolor people:

> *Each stoode but halfe the stature of a tipical mann. Cloth'd in roughly weave'd coverings, for t'were no animals for shearing their woole and fibrus plants were seen not. Such scant vestmentes were worn heaped like rags upon them in a beggardly way. For sustenance they et what offal came awash from the ocean, such a thing that woulde make a tipical mann ill. This foode they would neither prepare withe flame nor season nor make means of preserving, but woulde take to their people and et it readily. Such groupings seem'd without structure: no manne had regular occupation but what was need'd for survival and no leader was presente to organize their people.*
>
>

These early writings of indigenous encounters were no doubt an exaggeration of the primitiveness of these early Etaoin peoples, one which the Loremite explorers used as justification for their conquest. Despite these assertions, the Indigenous peoples of Etaoin Shrdlu were known to have relatively well developed social structures including non-restrictive, high-participatory forms of democracy.

### **Early** **Loremite Empire (875-1162)**

Loremite interest in the Etaoin Shrdlu archipelago can be dated as early as the 6th century, when records indicate proto-Loremite ships engaged in trading and fishing activities in the area.

### **Fall of the Loremite Empire (1162-1343)**

The exact causes of the fall of the Loremite empire are highly contested. Historians' and sociologists' theories have been classified under three main hypotheses:

1. The "Slow Moral Decay" Hypothesis
2. The "Overexpansion and Economic Change" Hypothesis
3. The "Sudden Catastrophic Events" Hypothesis