United Provinces of Castra

Flag of Castra

### Religions

63% Universalism 2% Shintoism 1% Buddhism 4% Christianity 1% Islam 23% No Religion

### GDP

$63.241 Billion

**Castra**, officially the **United Provinces of Castra** or **UPC** is a country on the north Ekonaor Peninsula in Western Nova. It is divided into 12 administrative regions called provinces, covering an area of 603,628 km2. Castra has a population of 94 million and is the second least populous member state of the OSCN. Capcom, D.W. is the nation's capital and the largest metropolis is New Gatetown. Other major cities include Mediolanum, Arakawa, Cumae Bay, and Alamance.

Castra has a range of mountainous climates as it's territory stretches mainly across the entirety of the Castran Mountain Range separating the Ekonaor Peninsula from the rest of Nova. It is bordered by Africa to the south and America to the north with an enclave of Virangia. It is bordered on the west by the Phaetomare Ocean and the east by the Mediliberian Sea.

Castra originates from Watchtower Command established during the Early Exodus Age, following the crash of the Exodus on Terra Nova. The Kane Constitution of 3AE between the Exodus Crew and the Clanless Panovians is considered the nations founding document. The Watchtower maintained a policy of armed neutrality until the American Invasion of Gatetown starting the GAU War and ended Watchtower Command. Castra became a founding member of Nova Sec and later the OSCN. While not part of the Pan Novan Forum or the NAO, it participates in some the organizations policies like Novapol, the Novan Common Market, the Novan Open Border Convention and hosts the Novan Space Agency HQ.

## Etymology

The first known use of the word Castra to refer to the land area on Terra Nova was during the Old Saloon Agreement when used by Eian Kane to describe the mountain chain and appeared on subsequent maps. The word is from the Latin word castrum, plural castra, was a military-related term.In Latin usage, the singular form *castrum* meant 'fort', while the plural form *castra* meant 'camp'. The singular and plural forms could refer in Latin to either a building or plot of land, used as a fortified military base. The first documented use of the word Castran to refer to the people inhabiting the land came from a sociologist in Cumae Bay around 16ae who argued that since the nation was expanding out of the city and forts around Watchtower Command that a wider term other then Watchmen was needed to describe the people.

The term "United Provinces of Castra" was first used in 43ae as changes were made to the government under Anya Tchakova to decentralize the government under her Provincial Plan, a Senator from Merphy Mills wrote in support of the bill the article "The United Provinces of the Castran Watchtower: The Creation of a Real Nation". Later the term would be revived after the GAU Invasion to be officially used in the post war border agreements with Virangia and Africa to relocate the refugees from the war back to the 'United Provinces of Castra' The name of the internationally recognized government in exile under Judy and Iris Tchakova. In the Act of Reconstruction in 57ae written by Consul Seo Jun Moon the nation was officially named ''United Provinces of Castra'

## History

### Exodus Crash and The Long March

The colony ship Exodus was a United Nations craft with multiple modules for each host nation, when the ship began to enter the atmosphere on an uncontrolled trajectory the modules separated from the Exodus and landed in various locations around the planet. Unlike the other nations born from the Exodus crash event the colonists that would create the Watchtower were not backed by an official government on Earth or had their own designated colony module. They instead came from the United Nations crew that survived the Exodus' crash in the Panovian Desert. At first they continued to use the iconography and insignia of the United Nations until it was determined that it made them a target of the local population and then abandoned any ties to the UN.

The crew that awoke after the crash found themselves without the command staff present on the ship as the majority had perished in the crash leaving UN Administrator Eian Kane who was acting Chief of Security at the time in command of the now crashed vessel. They crew spent a few days attending to the wounded and scouting their surroundings before being attacked by a pack of rock wolves and chased back into the ship. It was determined that they would need to leave the desert if they had any hope of survival and packed up the supplies they had left into a convoy of rovers and APCs. They would be attacked multiple times on their journey out of the desert by local wildlife, panovians, and blue hats. The latter two believing the exodus crew to be the other side in their war against eachother.