Goruid

**Goruid** is a peninsula (though it is argued to be an island) on the east coast of the central continent.

It is the largest known peninsula of the central continent, followed closely by the Gnokka peninsula to its south. Technically, it is an island as the Palus swamps are divided in half by the Palus Way, and the Septian and Sabaran Seas are connected by narrow, but navigable, water ways.

The entire peninsula and its surrounding island archipelagos are under the control of Great Thornia, and as of 2022 governance is split between the provinces of Elysia and Porta.

## History

### Former territory of Goruid (27 December 2019 - 10 April 2020)

Goruid functioned as an administrative division from late December 2019 to early April 2020. The area of this territory frequently waxed and waned from covering almost the entirety of the peninsula to just the northern half.

#### Dissolution of the Despotate (27 December 2019 - 21 January 2019)

The state of Goruid is the legal successor of the Despotate of Thornia (though now it is considered that Great Thornia acts in that capacity). It was established in December 2019 in the aftermath of Aphthonis separating from the League of Palus and after the creation of the Palus Capital Territory. The new state is focused on governing the majority of the Goruid peninsula's mainland.

The state government faced an insurrection on 10 January 2020 by iron golems when state authorities violently pushed villagers out of the way during renovations in the Elysia settlement. The government managed to eventually suppress the insurrection and brutally execute all iron golems in the settlement. It is unclear if the government will produce replacement iron golems.

#### Joint subject status (21 January 2020 - February 2020)

On 21 January 2020, the government of Goruid passed the largely formal *Goruid Act* which recognises the institutions of the Crown of Great Thornia and the Secretariat of the Joint-States of the East as suzerain over its internal affairs and its territorial integrity. It recognises that Goruid's foreign affairs would be largely under the control of the Hegemon and Citizen's Assembly of the League of Palus. The passing of the act does not change existing arrangements but legally recognises Great Thornia as the sole authority on whether Goruid has to cede/lose territory.

#### Demotion to province (February 2020 - April 2020)

In February 2020, Great Thornia (as a whole) took over Goruid's membership in the League of Palus. Goruid was thus demoted to being a province. The province continued to exist until 10 April 2020 when its southern half became the Province of Elysia and the northern half was ceded to Galinisia.

### Revival as a country (8 May 2020 - 25 September 2020)

On 8 May 2020, after declaring the end of the Pillager War the Crown decided to re-annex the former provinces of Scovia and Aldeby (in the Great Northern Expanse). The territory of these former provinces was added to Aphthonis directly the province had better infrastructure to manage them rather than relying on the central government. It was decided that Aphthonis would be upgraded to a 'country' and the provinces in Greater Goruid would be re-grouped into the new 'country' of Goruid.

In August 2020, the country was referred to as a 'legal entity' instead of 'country' by the new Golden Trident regime. The new regime also granted the territory its own banner and the former national symbol (the berry bush) as its regional symbol.

The Province of Elysia suffered two devastating attacks by pillager forces at the end of August, leading to extremely high civilian casualties and economic damage. The Golden Trident has since temporarily moved the governance of Thornia back to Elysia to aid the region with redeveloping the economy and resuming all abandoned construction projects.

During the Second Pillager War, many formerly neglected towns and villages have seen a significant surge in government and military activity. Economic development of these rural or remote settlements have pushed the nation out of economic depression. By mid September 2020, intensified economic integration of the northern half of the peninsula (thanks to rapid redevelopment for wartime production of supplies) led to all northern provinces being merged into the Province of Elysia. The office of Governor-General was established on 12 September 2020, marking the first time in several months since Goruid had its own office of leadership.

### Dissolution of the legal entity (25 September 2020 - Present)

On 25 September 2020, Goruid was once again dissolved as a distinct legal entity of Great Thornia. This was to make provinces in both Goruid and Aphthonis equal in stature and to force the League of Palus to accept the Aphthonic provinces into the league's protection zone.

The northern half of the Goruid peninsula was a major theatre of the Pillager Wars and the Thornian Civil War. The southern half, which equates to the Province of Porta, had remained undeveloped and almost entirely separated culturally and economically from the rest of Goruid. As of early 2022, the government of Great Thornia has even considered granting the territory (including Koralinisia and the Ironie Islands) independence upon finding the right leader, or even selling it off.

## Geography

The peninsula or island does not have a land connection to the central continent. The closest points are in the Palus swamp and the Septia-Galinisia Point (a narrow waterway dividing Septia and mainland Galinisia).

Goruid can be divided into a northern half and southern half, with Lake Goruid dividing the peninsula in the middle.

North Goruid is largely made up of expansive plains, forests, and beaches. Much of its villager population is concentrated in the central plains, though some settlements exist on the northern east coast. The southern third of North Goruid is made up of thick, mountainous taiga forests. These forests are lightly populated. A peninsula south of these forests mostly comprises of swamps and hilly oak-birch forests.

South Goruid can be divided into three regions - the west, middle, and east. The west is almost entirely extreme hills, and difficult to navigate by foot. The middle comprises of hilly plains, with a heavy concentration of villages, making it the most densely populated sub-region of the peninsula other than Elysia. The east is made up of hilly oak-birch forests with some taiga forests near the southern coast.

## Symbols

Goruid initially did not have its own banner nor symbolic item to represent the whole country, though each province has its own banner and symbolic item. This is due to each province having formed its own identity separately over time (whilst Aphthonis' districts were all consolidated in roughly the same time period).

In August 2020, the Golden Trident granted Goruid a banner of its own. The banner's base colour is white with orange and brown stripes on both ends. This is the first banner of the region that does not the traditional colour of the South Seas Company (red) or of Elysia (green and yellow). The region also adopted the former national symbol, the berry bush, as its symbol as the trident became a more popular symbol for the nation as a whole.

In late September 2020, the dissolution of the Goruid entity also saw its short-lived banner go out of official use. The banner of Elysia has become the de facto banner of the region due to the prominence of the Province of Elysia over its affairs.

## Transportation

Goruid currently has three Thornian government programs to help with improving transportation within the region. This includes lighting and widening the extensive river systems of the peninsula, completing the Great Thornia Metro, and laying out an extensive highway system.

### Great Thornia Metro

The Great Thornia Metro is a regional rail system that is expected to connect all settlements across the Palus Bay, Thornia Bay, and northern Goruid. It will be largest rail network in the world. It is being built piece by piece between mutually interdependent settlements. Some examples include the Palus-Cataracta link and the Elysia-Mesapedia link. The next links to be completed are Mesapedia-Carcea, and Mesapedia-Raiga.

### Highways

Numerous highway systems are being layed out between conurbations. The Elysian Way connects Elysia, Thuron, and Carcea. It will soon include Mesapedia. The Neck Highway, currently under construction, will connect all settlements in the Borough of The Neck.