Nandegakko

The **Republic of Nandegakkô** (Nandegakkovian: **Skečáwela ni Nándegakkô**; Sũlgantaen: **Sũlganta**) was a planetary state located near Jerde's solar system.

## Factfile

* Official name: Republic of Nandegakko
* Anthem: Hymn to Knowledge
* Official motto: The Republic of Nandegakko ("Knowledge Is Power" is the unofficial battlecry)
* Capital city: Deraten
* Official languages: Nandegakkovian, Sũlgantaen
* State religion: N/A, secular
	+ Major religions: Igarin polytheism, Resparin polytheism, Odinpath
* Government: Republic
* Climate: Mostly tropical
* Currency: Skoro (100 praljes)
* National Day: Čartaiksa/May 28 (Independence Day)

## Flag and symbols

The red line represents distinction or identity in the face of an age filled with destruction and chaos, and the gold ship represents preservation of culture and a desire for exploration. Blue represents the turmoil the Galaxy suffers under, or the vastness of knowledge waiting to be discovered and collected. The blue colour in Nandegakko's flag also represents the sea, which played a huge role in the culture and mythology of its Resparin ancestors. It also resembles the blue sails raised by religious Resparins in honour of the sea god Sailachro, or the skin of Resparin people and all grifajes, representing Nandegakko's devotion to its ancestors.

Other than the red band of courage and the golden ship of discovery, the contemporary flag of the Fourth Republic of Nandegakko adds its coat of arms in the middle.

The three spears symbolise war, the three palm branches stand for peace, the ship on top symbolises progress, and the striped shield (formerly the emblem of the exiles who founded the earliest Republic) symbolises prosperity.

The octopus was Nandegakko's national animal, used in contrast to the Imperial Igarins' squid. For this reason, Nandegakkovians never eat octopuses to honour their country and its independence. Another animal used as a national symbol is the turtle, which represents the ancestors. The usage of the turtle and the octopus symbolises the past and the future. It is then interpreted as the country being a bridge between the ancestors and the unborn: their existence is to preserve the knowledge of their ancestors so the unborn will use it to improve the Galaxy.

While "The Republic of Nandegakko" is the country's national motto, a popular battle-cry used by the warriors of this republic is "Knowledge is Power", reflecting its people's desire for more information.

Another symbol of Nandegakko is the "diamond tree", a tree with shells that are hard and transparent with bright seeds inside. These trees are mainly kept for their beauty, and they also represent Nandegakko's love of knowledge.

## Geography

Much of the planet has a tropical climate.

## Features

* Deraten Capital Metropolis
* Tőraiwa - the greatest library in all of Nandegakko. Destroyed by the Igarin Empire during the annexation for keeping "heretical" works, rebuilt since independence.
* Telkaplonta, Telgaplon - city where the Nandegakkovians defeated the Igarin authorities before the Igarins besieged them. The City of Light.
* Lauchesaro - City of Gazelles, founding colony
* Olirdwira
* Spendara
* Zurinda
* Ekkawelas - a town of fire mutants. The City of Infernos.
* Mangokoros
* Dasparras
* Lospakar
* Laroda
* Lwogesko
* Skörmanda
* Kirajepawin
* Kozonkira Region - plains and grassland full of farms.
* Umirakjante - a seaport home to a large temple dedicated to the sea god Sailachro. The biggest religious community in atheist-majority Nandegakko, its priests conduct ceremonies to bless the republic by invoking the ancestors.
* Heaven Lake, Fjarajora Pond - a round pool surrounded by thirteen statues of the month-goddesses of Resparin lore. Located to the north of Umirakjante, it is one of the holiest sites in Nandegakko. While the locals go there to worship the months, the seasons, and the sea god on various festivals, the majority atheists visit this temple either to look at the architecture, relax by watching the pool or washing their faces, or watching the locals dance and play ritual music on the festivals.
* Sky Plateau, Karuroka Palace - a stone palace on the Karudolka Plateau, to the north of Fjarajora's month-temple and its pond. Founded by worshippers of Sailachro, it was destroyed during the Igarin conquest because it was a fortress used by the resistance. It was rebuilt and reconsecrated 400 years after the conquest, and it became the first temple to celebrate the independence of Nandegakko.
* Nolkanwas Region
* Lifanpratto Region
* Lâriza Region
* Peksadro-sombora Region
* Auzirotri - a town inhabited by Norse humans, home to a massive library. Many of its residents are worshippers of Odin, who consider the Nandegakkovians as ideal agents of the God of Wisdom for preserving all kinds of knowledge.
* Mikaloffo Auzirotrizh - a large temple and university dedicated to the god Odin; in fact, this temple is the republic's official temple to Odin.
	+ Some presidents go there to conduct rites to the one-eyed god out of respect: that is known as the Festival of the All-seeing Eye. Observed on the ninth day of Risdol (December), a grey book is printed with the discoveries of the year as its text from the previous year's 9th day of Risdol. The book is given to the president or the chief gothi (a human priest), who burns the book of discoveries as a sacrifice to Odin.
	+ To the atheist Nandegakkovians, it is not an act of worship, but a symbol of their continued pursuit of knowledge.
* Skedakura Region
* Lourimenča Region
* Jeparil Region
* Katokla Islands, Pluranian Islands - archipelago at the eastern hemisphere: the main islands are Nîtaklo, Kretâlso, and Widanso. Dotted with stone fortresses during the Nandaro Civil War.

## History

Over a thousand years before the Kyrvotin Invasion, Nandegakko was founded by the mathematician Kurita Deratako and his followers, as he was banished for criticising the Igarin emperor Prunowetsa III for spending too much of the empire's economy on entertainment. It attracted many runaways who were drawn to its ethical society. In its early years, Nandegakko sought the support of three secular alliances at the Galactic west, seeking their protection against any possible Igarin attacks. Two of these alliances pressured Nandegakko to adopt their form of antitheism - to ban all religion and wage war on all forms of spirituality, condemning its existence as associated with the Igarin mass murders. When Kurita and his people rejected their demands to establish relations with other parts of the Galaxy (many of which were religious), and to celebrate their Resparin mythology, these alliances declared war on Nandegakko. Only the third, the Golden League, supported it and helped its advancement: it later evacuated many Nandegakkovians during the Igarin conquest and aided their Chakravelian and Resparin descendants, long after its nation was conquered by the Igarin Empire.

Nandegakko suffered from a civil war after the death of its founder Kurita, in which the south rebelled against the autocratic government in the north. It was forcibly annexed into the Igarin Empire due to its strategic location near the Jerde System.

As Nandegakko resisted Imperial rule, it turned to the Malendor Supercorporation, who supplied its rebels with much-needed technology to protect themselves and preserve countless documents from later emperors' purges. Many Nandegakkovians settled along the western edges of the Free Igarin Alliance, where they set up the Republic of Chakravela to build a force to liberate their homeworld, while many others were scattered as piratical warbands or independent republics harbouring resistance movements against the Igarin Empire's death cult: these two coalesced into larger factions, known as the Chakravelians and the Exiles. Eventually, as the Igarin authorities were angered by Governor Letaggasko's attempts to secede from their empire, they sent eight great fleets to exterminate the rebellious Nandegakkovians. At the same time, the Exiles of Nandegakko were encouraged by the defeat of the Igarin authorities to send their fleets to defend their homeworld. By their increasing numbers and their superior firepower, they, and their Chakravelian and Malendor allies, wiped out those fleets and ensured their survival.

The refounded republic of Nandegakko (in its fourth incarnation) was inevitably caught within the maelstrom of the Malendors' war against the Konjors, but just as the Konjors were besieging its planet, it was invaded by the Kyrvotins. Many Nandegakkovians lived in various planets in nearby star systems until they Kyrvotins were defeated, and they returned to rebuild the planet.

Currently, Nandegakko is split into three republics: North Nandaro, South Nandaro, and the oceanic Prummeai Federation. The three republics deride the more-unified Kingdom of Vovtarla for its archaic attitudes and habits, although they nonetheless work together as allies in a Galaxy rife with barbaric cruelty.

600 AT - secession of South Nandaro

900s AT - Nineteenth Galactic Crisis

830 AT - 1023 AT - Prummeai Islands seceded from North Nandaro

1140 AT - 1189 AT - War against invaders, expansion to nearby star systems

1171 AT - Prummeai Islands break away from alien invasion

1190 AT - peace between the three Nandarovian republics, expeditions

1210 AT - 1790 AT - Great Decline - worsening economy, corruption spreads

1890 AT - 2000s? AT - Resurgence

## Military

In spite of Nandegakko's love of tradition, it utilises very advanced (though unstable) technology developed from banned machines smuggled during Imperial rule.

Other militaries that fought alongside or against the Nandegakkovians noted that their synthetic armour looked archaic. They even had skirts for privates and lower officers: that practice was done either to emulate ancient warriors in folklore (as it was usually generals in Imperial Igarin armies who still wore skirts to represent their status), or as a reminder of their "equality" as Nandegakkovian citizens.

Nandegakko has its own warrior culture, heavily influenced by their Resparin ancestors' practices: many Nandegakkovians proudly boast of being descendants of tribal warriors, and combat is also a popular hobby among many Nandegakkovians. These include chants uttered before battle, frequently carrying knives as a close-quarters defensive weapon, and higher officers wearing colourful feathers atop their helmets or coloured bands around their shoulders to represent their ranks.

Due to their lesser numbers (when compared to the other armies of the Galaxy, from the Igarins to the Supercorporations), Nandegakkovians prefer using heavy firepower to quickly kill their enemies, or they commit sabotage and quick raids to weaken their foes.

Driven by desperation, some Nandegakkovian platoons and squads became mutants, gaining various powers to overtake their enemies. Most of them prefer using fire-based abilities to destroy their enemies and incinerate their armies.

## Economy

Nandegakko is a highly-developed country with a capitalist economy. Its primary industries include manufacturing, synthetic substances and chemicals, tourism, and vehicles.

Its currency is the *skoro*, divided into 100 *praljes*.

## Demographics

Most people in Nandegakkô, the Nandegakkovian race, belong to the blue-skinned humanoid Igarinoids (or Grifajes), and more specifically to the red-haired Resparin race. It also had minorities belonging to other Igarinoid races and humans.

To the south of the main continent, a community of Norse humans exists, mostly devotees of Odin invited as scholars and engineers.

## Culture

See also: Nandegakkovian language, Nandegakkovian glossary, Nandegakkovian slang, Nandegakkovian calendar

Nandegakkovian culture would seem archaic to an Igarin of the Sarmelonid era, as its traditions were more similar to the conditions and phonology that were used during their country's founding nearly a thousand years ago. It valued art, historical knowledge, fashion, and archery as its main traditions, and it also has its own "warrior culture" inherited from their Resparin ancestors. Nonetheless, in spite of their love of combat, they are also refuse to be reckless to avoid attracting more powerful enemies, but they will fervently defend to the last member and bullet if they are threatened by such.

Women, carers, and drones are given equal status in Nandegakkovian society as men: it is either due to the founders' teachings of reform and innovation, or it is a continuation of the Resparin admiration of female warriors. Likewise, Nandegakkovian society accepts bekrijes (people who do not identify themselves by any gender at all) out of being practical, and to avoid repeating the Igarin Empire's and the Supercorporations' forceful policies.

Sũlgantaen is an artificial language based on reconstructions of Ngatolarin words and Resparin native words in Nandegakkovian, in an attempt to depict Nandegakko as a Resparin people. It became so popular among the southern regions, that it became one of Nandegakko's two official languages.

## Religion

See also: Resparin mythology

Nandegakkô is renowned for being one of the few openly-atheist states in the Galaxy, a result of the Igarin Empire using their planet to exile those who refused to worship the Gods, developing an atheist majority. However, its religious minorities are tolerated, as the Nandegakkôvians sought to avoid repeating sectarian conflicts and they sought allies among a polytheistic Galaxy. Furthermore, many Nandegakkovians love to surround themselves with their syncretised mythology, a mixture of Resparin folklore with Igarin legends.

### Nandegakkovian atheism

As a result, many other peoples in the Galaxy -- most of whom worshipped many gods -- viewed Nandegakkovians as "weird" or "unusual". Their lack of religious belief also caused others to view them as "soulless barbarians": however, this is disproved as nearly every Nandegakkovian practices a series of principles (instead of religious laws) to keep themselves under their own control and avoid the same recklessness that plagues other galactic civilisations. As individuals, they can still be fallible and easily-corrupted like anyone else, hence the need for self-discipline. The national discipline code of Nandegakko is the Krazača, a set of rules and teachings used by every Nandegakkovian to behave better, improve their own lives, and avoid the destructive behaviours of other civilisations: as it greatly influenced the national culture, it replaced any concept of religion to most Nandegakkovians, so they direct their actions for the greater good instead of appeasing the gods.

Although all atheists are welcomed to Nandegakko, any atheist who does things like damaging temples or beating up people over their religious beliefs (or not being "atheist" enough) would be shunned and ridiculed. Such anti-theist fanatics would be known as "Ironworlders", named after a dictatorship that shared similar beliefs about "forcibly eradicating religion in the name of progress": this attitude of tolerance towards religion angered some armies in the Galaxy, who sought to eliminate all spirituality as their crusade against the Igarin empire. Nandegakkovians prefer coexistence and diplomacy (except to the most destructive of all people), rather than using force to alter people's beliefs, because they prefer having more friends in a Galaxy that would otherwise hate and kill them for their beliefs.

The atheist Nandegakkovians love their culture so much, that they fiercely opposed two attempts to impose a more harder form of secularism. The first was a Terran human-majority movement who tore down anything in government buildings that vague looked mythological or religious (which represented Nandegakkovian folklore), and the second was an Igarin-era human governor who banned Unowane, sparking riots across the planet and his expulsion.

These two types of extreme atheists are known among the Nandegakkovian atheists as "bone-whites" (for building stripped of their beautiful decorations) and "brass-reds" (for their violent hatred of all religion), as both of them are considered against the Nandegakkovian cultural values of beauty and cooperation.

Instead of holy scriptures, Nandegakkovians use the Krazacha to guide themselves into helpful and righteous behaviour.

### Resparin polytheism

Every Resparin -- atheist or polytheist -- is welcome in Nandegakko as fellow kin. Many of them form the majority of religious people in Nandegakko, raising blue sails to honour the sea god Sailachro.

Nonetheless, religious people there would consider the Igarin civilisation goddess Poressa Kuri as Nandegakko's patron deity. Furthermore, while the gods of the Igarin and Resparin pantheon are not worshipped by most Nandegakkovians, they are often used as stock characters in popular works. In fact, Nandegakko even has its own canon of Igarin mythology that attempts to unite its many variations into a single narrative, complete with a happy ending where the forces of good destroy all cannibals and demons. Some versions add that all mortals ascend to godhood, using their newly-gained powers to improve the universe.

Various festivals observed by their Resparin brethren are very popular holidays in Nandegakko, including a few Igarin holidays like Unowane, a traditional festival for the rain god, and Midsummer, the Igarin and Resparin new year's day. Among the reasons for the celebration of Unowane include it being part of their Resparin ancestors' culture, the beautiful floats and costumes worn on the festival, and to poke fun of Igarin propaganda decrying "a war on Unowane". Like almost every traditional festival, Unowane has become secularised, although many Nandegakkovians also join the religious communities' parades just to dance around or look at the floats. Many atheist-majority towns also hold their own Unowane parades either to celebrate their ancestors, or simply to compete between who builds the most beautiful and creative floats.

### Odinpath and Asatru (Path of the Aesir)

To the Freyrgardian humans, the Nandegakkovians' dedication to collecting knowledge, and total war against all who destroy such valuable information, would ironically make this atheist people ideal instruments of Odin's enigmatic plans. In one incident, the greatest scholars of Nandegakko are brought into Asgard, where the Lord of Knowledge offers to help them. They anxiously accepted, and strange golden men appeared in front of every vault, aiding the guards whenever the vaults are attacked.

One temple in the town of Auzirotri in central Nandegakko is a holy site to the Lord of Wisdom, Odin. In fact, it is considered the planet's official temple of Odin. Every year, the discoveries of the year are printed in a book. The contents must be reprinted and broadcast to other planets, who usually treat the recitals as a popular annual TV special (and occasionally a delightful comedy if the discoveries turned out to be awkward and bizarre). Then only will the book be burned at the altar to Odin, symbolising knowledge being added to the collective wisdom of sapientkind. It was introduced by other Resparins to Nandegakko as a celebration of new knowledge.

Sometimes, the president of Nandegakko, even though he or she is atheist, attends the ceremony as a symbol of the country's dedication to spreading and collecting knowledge.

Because the Nandegakkovians are very creative, courageous, and fiercely dedicated to preserving knowledge, the Norse humans and Novantirnas believe that the Nandegakkovians are among the greatest of Odin's instruments and the closest to him, in spite of their atheism. Some believe that after they die, they will not be condemned to some hell as the Igarin foe taught, but their souls will be raised as einherjar who will aid the defence of the Galaxy. Without the fear of the Gods in them, Nandegakkovians are more sincere and faithful, so their righteous actions become more pleasing to the good Gods.

## Trivia

* Nandegakkô's name was inspired by a Japanese comment in a Gachimuchi video that read "なんで学校w" (nande gakkou warawara, "Why [does this] school? LOL"), which laughs at a scene where a wrestler destroys a school.
	+ The Nandegakkovian people were inspired by the Octolings of Splatoon (red hair, fashion, octopuses, shooting, and the word "dera" for "very/much") and the Tau Empire of Warhammer 40,000 (technology and a warrior tradition). Their traditional culture was based on Majapahit Indonesian art.
	+ The author decided to make them atheists just for fun or to "try something different".
* Even though Nandegakkovians do not worship turtles as their ancestors and wilder kin did, they also refuse to kill or eat turtles, tortoises, or their eggs. This tradition is either out of respect for their ancestors (who were represented by turtles) or for good luck.
* Letaggasko, the governor who revolted and reestablished Nandegakko's independence, was inspired by videos of the actor Maz Jobrani performing as an American president. Like his basis, Letaggasko was bald.
	+ In earlier versions of the lore, Nandegakko was almost exterminated during the siege of the planet after Letaggasko's rebellion, only to be saved by a combined Malendor-Chakravelian force. In July 2021, the author changed the lore to have the fleets and the exiled Nandegakkovians intervening earlier to fortify and defend the planet from Igarin counter attacks: he also added the Sacrificial Fleets, dreaded fleets consecrated to Faneson to slaughter the inhabitants of rebellious planets.

## See also

* Vovtarla, their old-fashioned, horse-obsessed rival