Cervidium

**Cervidium**, officially the **Great Kingdom of Cervidium**, is a Kingdom of Cartonia, home to the deer species. For a brief period of time between 723 and 725, Cervidium was known as the **Union of Cervidian Centralized States**.

A large Kingdom, Cervidium is bordered by six neighbors. It is the only other nation besides Vulpus to share a boundary with the Vixen Cliffs. Vulpus is located to the south, and Gallix is between them. Mallardia is to the west, Willie to the northwest, Felexa to the north, and Leprolia to the northeast. The nation is a coastal Kingdom, with a large border on the Eastern Ocean.

Until Vulpus's wartime acquisitions, Cervidium was the most populous nation in Cartonia.

## Geography

Cervidium's geography is unique in its shape; it is in fact shaped like a deer. The front "leg" is known as the Leap, a name chosen to symbolically represent the nation's ability to move forward. The capital of Lyme is located where the deer's eye would be. The Serpent River branches off from the Cartonian and flows eastward to the Ocean. Cervidium has one of the longest coastlines in Cartonia, and many ports are located on the shores of the Eastern Ocean. Climatically, Cervidium is predominantly warm, even in winter. Agriculture is one of its main industries.

## History

Cervidium pledged allegiance to the Harmony Crown in the Year 1, thus uniting the Cartonian continent. It precedes Phantine and succeeds Gallix in the rotation.

Unlike the majority of its fellow Kingdoms, Cervidium does not use the titles of "King" or "Queen" in an official capacity. Instead, male leaders are known as Stags and females are Does. These designations are used even in the case of a consort. For example, a female deer who marries the ruling Stag would still be called Doe. Similarly, a ruling female deer would also be called a Doe.

At the outbreak of the War in 708, Cervidium declared neutrality. This changed in February 709 when Queen Vixen VII of Vulpus abolished the Harmony Crown. Though four neutral nations immediately joined the Granite Bloc alliance in opposition to the Vixen Queen, Cervidium joined leagues with the Vixen Queen's Summer Sun alliance.

Cervidium and Vulpus consolidated power within the alliance, becoming its leaders. Together, Stag Ellis and Queen Vixen VII plotted to occupy Gallix. After King Poultrus III attempted to defect his citizens to avoid a harsh conscription notice, Cervidium and Vulpus invaded. The Petukinau royal family was executed, and Cervidium occupied western Gallix, including its capital.

Cervidium, Vulpus, and Psittancyna launched a sudden invasion of Felexa in 712 and turned on their ally. Felexa fell under Cervidian occupation, and the former Queen defected to the Granite Bloc.

By 715, it became known to several deer and high-level officials that Stag Ellis and Fawn Barrow were conducting gruesome experiments on prisoners of war in Lyme. These monstrosities were discovered by an unsuspecting Doe Deirdre Elkton. She subsequently disappeared, and was imprisoned by her husband in castles across Cervidian territory. She was eventually moved to Talonclaw Castle, where thousands of experiments were carried out. Deirdre was the first survivor of these tests, and became one of the first BioFreaks. The Stag hid these experiments and their side-effects, fearing retribution from his allies.

The Stag's gruesome experiments came back to haunt him in 720 when Doe Deirdre led an escape attempt of fellow BioFreaks toward Antlerstag. There, she immolated and murdered Stag Ellis. Her attempts to take control of Cervidium failed when she confronted her son, Barrow. He killed her, leaving nothing standing between him and the throne. He was coronated as Stag Barrow. He immediately published an edict blaming interspecies sex for the BioFreaks, a document that both confirmed their existence and vilified them.

On New Year's Day in 725, Stag Barrow officially annexed Leprolia into Cervidium, ending a long feud between Cervidium and Vulpus over the territory. In return, the Leap was ceded to Vulpus. The Stag reorganized his kingdom into the Union of Cervidian Centralized States, granting a shred of autonomy to the conquered nations of West Gallix, Felexa, and Leprolia. Bovo was absorbed into the new Union in 725. The Union was dissolved later the same year, and the Kingdom of Cervidium replaced it.

Stag Barrow was overthrown by his fourth and final wife, and the Elkton dynasty ended.

## Trivia

* Cervidium is named after the collateral adjective for deer: "cervine." This adjective also inspires the nation's demonym.
* The flag of Cervidium depicts a set of antlers against a green field, indicative of the lush greenery and agricultural industry.
* This nation does not use the title of "King" or "Queen" in an official capacity, though a Stag or Doe could still be referred to as the King or Queen of Cervidium.
* Antlerstag's actual castle is an original creation, but its gardens is based on the Palace of Versailles. Antlerstag is named after the Reichstag in Berlin, Germany.
* The capital of Lyme is named after Lyme Disease, an affliction caused by deer ticks.