Lyncis

**Grand Duchy of Lyncis** is one of the constituent parts of Ottacorp, and by that, The Dual Commonwealth. However due to its isolation and unorthodox political scene, out of necessity it often pursues very autonomous and independent policies unrelated to central government. It is mostly located in the Far West, on a land bridge connecting Pannonia to an unnamed continent. Its current administrative center is located in Lyncis Castle, with parliament in Kreslarsk.

## Etymology

Name “Lyncis” comes from Latin and can be simply translated as “Lynx” in English. The sole reason for this name comes from Wagner' Stellaris game where star system “Alfa Lyncis” proved crucial for his space empire. Anyone suggesting other reasons might actually be very correct, but should stay silent with their theories.

## Flag

The national flag of Lyncis is a horizontal tricolor of yellow, red and blue known as the “Western Flag”, with colors representing sun descending beyond the horizon. Alternative tricolor of black, white and blue is also accepted as alternative. This design is popular in nationalist circles and is connected to “Kerguelen Clique”, a shadowy military organization from the past.

## Government

Since the Committee Revolution, state embraced modern separation of powers, ending with at least partial division of the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Due to some revolutionary mistakes, the system is considered by many liberal outside observers to be “flawed”. Typical government response to such criticism usually involves mentions that Lyncis actually is the sole democratic and constitutional state (2023 status) in era of dictators and absolute rulers.

### Grand Duke

Lyncis is a constitutional monarchy, with the Grand Duke serving as head of state and representative for the government. He wields unspecified executive powers, that are not supposed to be used as long as he wishes to keep them, and are mostly devolved to the royal government.

### Parliament

Most of the power belongs to the two chamber parliament, without exact name due to lack of consensus of different revolutionary factions. The Grand Duke is supposed to select his government with consent from elected representatives and role of Chairman-Minister of his Majesty Government, more commonly known as Prime Minister. The more powerful lower house is elected by a free and fair election for a four year term, while the upper house, due to disagreements about its function and methods of member selection sits vacant.

## Politics

### General Overview

Free and fair political scene of Lyncis is currently being dominated by the bizarre “National Progressive Front”, coalition of Socialist Party and various national populist movements, promoting an ideology described as “Popular Patriotism”. It is not a concrete idea, but a vague collection of both revolutionary groups banding together to prevent liberal and conservative movements from taking power, while destroying all even more radical political forces. In practice Social Patriots try to combine graduate transition towards moderate socialism while curbing most radical forms of nationalism and replacing it with highly militant brand of civic patriotism, combined with fanatical condemnations of all non-democratic forms of socialism. The liberal and conservative oppositions operate freely, with various less flexible reactionary moments existing on the fringes, harassed by political paramilitaries of all other political groups. Various regionalist movements are present in the North-West, and despite being part of current ruling faction, are interested in partial devolution of powers of central government.

### List of major political parties:

* United Socialist Party of Lyncis – Broad coalition of socialist and social democratic movements accepting monarchy and parliamentary democracy.
* National Movement “The Claw” – Organization of Lyncian nationalists, begrudgingly agreeing about need for democracy and alignment with authorities in Wackel.
* Constitutional Democratic Party – Liberals, both center left and center right.
* Conservative League – Party of landowners, traditionalists and business interests.
* Northern League – Various movements centered around Ivalo and Sokolovka, focused on decentralising the state or securing autonomy.
* Military Union of Officers and Doctors – “Apolitical” moderate nationalist military movement.

## Culture

### Language

Due to the relative isolation from rest of the world, Lyncis developed slightly different culture from the central regions. Local Lyncian language and its dialects are considered to be nasty tongue twisters to foreigners. For greater external trade and administrative purposes Ottakringer is still recognized and widely known among the locals, easing contact with other parts of the Commonwealth.

### Religion

Population of Lyncis is not particularly religious, mostly claiming to not belong to any organized religion, instead preferring to “appease malevolence” as a way of spiritual protection. This is however claimed to be anything but a religious practice, as contrary to Gods, manifestations of malignity are physically present in the world, actively able to interact with them very scientifically. An eldritch being, known as P I T is a centerpiece of this non-religion, and is known mostly for enigmatic statements, peer reviewed papers about itself and its own respected brand of malevolence. Due to terrible accidents, sudden cases of mental illness and general apathy, organized religions tend to not survive very long.

## History

### Pre Modern History

Early history of Lyncis is considered to be extremely muddied, partially due to obfuscation of earliest members of the ruling house. Due to this, it is not clear if Lyncis was inhabited before arrival of its founder: Arcturus the Great, first recorded member of current ruling dynasty. Many other mysteries are still unanswered, despite the best efforts of historians. Origin of the P I T and its early relation with Lyncians is unknown, while malevolence itself refuses to give clear answers. Nobody knows how populations of early settlers ended up acquiring their fluffy appearances, that seemingly appear out of nowhere in all existing sources. Despite best efforts of historians and archaeologists to answer all the mysteries, they still seem to be out of their reach. Thankfully later history is accurately documented due to numerous archived bureaucratic documents, presenting visions of gradual expansion on eerily empty lands and establishing stronger connections with other civilised areas in Pannonia and Illyria.

### Modern History

Lyncis was heavily developed by CK\_Wagner in the Summer of 2022 and became his permanent residence inside the Lyncis Castle. Throughout later 2022 and 2023 projects outside of the plateau were developed, including village of Moczarne, pre dreadnought ONV Arcturus anchored nearby, P I T Island and town of Kreslarsk. During the fall of Ottacorp, detached lands of Lyncis begrudgingly joined NARO, without much participation in its activities and being constantly on the verge of leaving the organisation. In January of 2023 Wagner was joined by Pancakes\_II (also known as slodka\_pandzia and Beholder) who focused on the Northern parts of Lyncis, including town of Ivalo with nearby port city of Sokolovka. 2023 was also a year of southwards expansion along shores of the Western seas, with projects like Backflip Estate and Abisalsk. In May of the same year political status quo of Lyncis was destroyed with the Committee Revolution, bringing democracy and more chaotic modern ideologies to previously detached and almost feudal state. In November another breakthrough happened, as Lyncis managed to acquire lands of Rahibi Emirate, located between the Western and Southern seas, from the Empire of Meridium. This purchase and creation of a protectorate allowed the dig of the Rahibi Canal, a connection to the South circumventing nearby Meridian controlled strait. Late 2023 also brought end of all remaining links to NARO, with government purging itself from any of its supporters, while also nationalizing any property related to NARO related organizations.