Great Thornia

*Dagan Thornis*

Great Thornia (shaded in yellow).

### Government

Federal consitutional democratic republic *(de jure)*Totalitarian police state *(de facto)*

### Founding

* 1 January 2020 *(Creation of the 'Secretariat of the Joint-States of the East')*
* 5 January 2020 *(Incorporation of 'Great Thornia')*
* 10-11 April 2020 *(Brief dissolution and incorporation into the Commonwealth)*
* 11 April 2020 *(Re-establishment of Great Thornia and re-annexation of Aphthonis)*
* August 2020 *(Anti-absolutionist Revolts and resumption of membership with the League of Palus)*
* September-October 2020 *(Transition to democracy and federalism)*
* September 2021 *(Collapse of Thornia)*
* September 2021 *(Re-establishment as a monarchy)*
* February 2022 *(Replaced by the Union of Thornia and Ume)*
* March 2022 *(Restored as a constitutional democratic republic)*
* August 2022 *(August Rising)*

**Great Thornia** (***Dagan Thornis*** in Thornian Umic, ***Magna Thornia*** in Classical Umic), was a state on the eastern coast of the central continent (mostly covering the Goruid peninsula, the eastern half of Greater Aphthonis, the Galinisian Islands, and the Coral Islands). **Palus** served as the national capital, though many other cities and towns such as Elysia, Volovna, and Petrodis had served as temporary capitals during national emergencies.

Great Thornia was a member state of the League of Palus from its founding until its exit from the League in April 2020. It established a parallel federation in the form of the Commonwealth of Socialist Realms, which later became defunct as Great Thornia annexed all other member states. The Transitional Council restored Thornian membership in the League in August 2020. Two years later, Thornia annexed the League of Palus and granted Aphthonis de jure self-government (albeit under pressure from the Aphthonic-dominated Thornian Army). Both states formed a union known as Thornia-Aphthonis, before the Sea of Temples Crisis led to the Aphthonic government willingly agreeing to reunify with Great Thornia.

The state originated as a monarchy in personal union between Goruid and Aphthonis, before coalescing into a unitary state. Some aspects of this have since been reversed. Great Thornia's government largely evolved from the colonial government that governed the Palus Bay area, and all regimes since the first settlement in what is now Palus Urbem are, in reality, a direct continuation from the colonial government.

Since the integration of the rest of the Umic world, Great Thornia effectively became an asymmetric federation. The more culturally Thornian regions dominated the central government whilst the more classical-leaning Umic regions held vast self-governing rights. This came to a *de facto* end in August 2022 when various factions within the federal government conspired to overthrow the President, leading to civil unrest and mutinies in the military. The victory of the moderates led to martial law and the reorganisation of the military.

The country had been in a state of near-collapse and constant crisis since the start of the Second Pillager War. Despite this, the country managed to expand its territorial holdings and enrich its coffers while government after government took power. Power had been frequently switched back and forth between centralisation and decentralised federation.

In December 2022, the Thornian state founded in 2020 was declared dead and the new **Imperial Federation of Thornia** was founded in its place. Despite having the same leadership, military, government institutions, and provisional constitution, the new imperial federation was legally defined as a successor state in order to allow the central government to transfer governorship of the provinces directly to the governors' personal possession.

## Etymology

### National name

*Thornia* is the historical name of the swamps surrounding Palus Urbem, and through time the name has come to cover all territories governed from Palus Urbem (and later from Elysia). In a modern context, it generally collectively describes the Palus swamps, the Goruid peninsula, and the Galinisian islands (essentially all of metropolitan Great Thornia).

The name was used almost consistently by the autonomous government that ruled the northern half of the Umic Empire, until a cultural shift to re-emphasise the importance of the swamps saw it being renamed to *Paludumia* for a brief period of time.

### State name

The attachment of the word *Great* to Thornia came about in late 2019 as a resurgent Thornian nationalist movement sought to prevent any further cession of territory to create new member states of the League of Palus. 'Great Thornia' defines the phase of Thornian civilisation after its political and cultural heartland moved from the Palus swamp to the Elysian plains.

The current republic is also known as the *Third Thornian Republic* as the first was the Paludumian Republic, the second being the Thornian People's Republic, and the current Thornian state being the third.

### Alternative names

A new name of *Greater Thornia* was considered in the event of the integration of all external territories (the external provinces of the Great Northern Expanse and the colony of the Coral Islands). When the socialist era began, the new regime kept the name 'Great Thornia' despite annexing all the aforementioned territories.

During the rule of the Order of the Golden Trident, the almost inability to differentiate the order from the Transitional Council has led to the country being colloquially called the *Golden Trident* or the *State of the Golden Trident*.

As of late 2020, the country has stabilised into the two geopolitical entities of Goruid and Aphthonis, and each function almost independently of each other in terms of funding and resources. As such the country as a whole has also been referred to as *Goruid-Aphthonis* or *Goruid and Aphthonis*. With the Province of Porta occassionally being separated from the rest of Goruid, it has been suggested that another alternative name for the country could be *Goruid-Aphthonis-Porta*.

## History

### Establishment

On 1 January 2020, the Secretariat of the Joint-States of the East was established to coordinate the governance of all territories under Clarence's personal rule. The Secretariat and its related institutions were grouped under a pseudo-state known as Great Thornia on 5 January 2020.

### Consolidation of the realms (early to mid January 2020)

Efforts across several fronts have been made to ease the difficulty of governing several territories under one government. In Goruid, work on improved infrastructure has been done to connect nearly all settlements in the northern half of the peninsula to Elysia. The Galinisian Islands have historically only been accessible by sea (and more recently by air, but it is considered far too costly). A nether portal was created on the island but so far, it has been impossible to find a path from the Elysia portal to the Galikoilada portal.

### Domestic crises in Goruid (mid January 2020 - February 2020)

A major naval expedition on 19 January in the south of Goruid set out to reconfirm outdated records of the environment in the region. It managed to rediscover the lost village of Baoratovia (which had been renamed to Daga or Meridia on newer maps). However, the expedition determined that the southern half of the Goruid peninsula was far too remote and expansive to govern from Elysia. The Secretariat instead decided that before concluding on whether the area should be abandoned, there should be an attempt to govern it via other means. The Coral Islands were discovered and named during the same expedition. It was determined that they would be accessible by sea from the Galinisian Islands. The main island, Guardian Island, was captured by force from a pillager garrison.

The mainland territory of Aphthonis was reduced to only the coasts after the South Goruid expedition. The Secretariat has determined that the core territories accessible via Elysia and/or Galikoilada would be the most realistic area that could be controlled.

The passing of the Goruid Act on 21 January 2020 in Goruid recognised Great Thornia as joint-suzerain with the League of Palus. This was the first legal document to recognise Great Thornia as a nation. Meridia (South Goruid) was separated from the state of Goruid and became its own jurisdiction within Great Thornia. In late January, Great Thornia's military forces were formally consolidated as the Royal Iron Guard. Most of its forces are iron golems dedicated to domestic security, but more importantly to fight off pillager raids.

### Return to expansionism and re-integration into the League (February 2020 - 10 April 2020)

February 2020 saw the peek of the Pillager War in Goruid, with the Thornian military was highly active in defending the territories surrounding Elysia and Palus Urbem as pillager forces attacked both cities on several occasions. A steep increase in funding of the Royal Iron Guard allowed the Crown to re-divert its funds back to its imperial ambitions. This saw two expeditions to the northern Sabaran deserts and savannas. The first expedition saw the expeditionary team fly and march from the southern coast to the Xandunese Sea to the north to get a feel of the number of NPC villages in the region. The second expedition saw the Thornian navy establish logistical support for an increased Thornian presence on the continent with the establishment of West Port (now known as Volovna), and the beginning of the Royal Iron Guard's occupation of the Sabara township.

In late February, the Crown announced that Great Thornia would take over Goruid's membership in the League of Palus. However, colonies would remain outside of the League's protection. The Crown also declared Clarence as Warden of State of the League (i.e. regent) due to the absence of other member state leaders and of the Hegemon. Clarence resigned from the post in early March as Great Thornia has changed its foreign policy to focus on trade rather than military aggression.

#### Creation of the Kingdom of Aphthonis (March 2020)

In early March 2020, Great Thornia's continental territories (external provinces) in the Great North were consolidated into the Kingdom of Aphthonis. This new state is not a realistically independent of Great Thornia, and a King of Great Thornia is automatically regarded as the King of Aphthonis. On the international stage, Aphthonis functions as an independent state and follows some of the articles of the original Aphthonis Independence Agreement with the League of Palus (e.g. the sale of enchant-able items to states outside of the League of Palus is forbidden).

### Northern Miracle (10 April 2020 - 7 May 2020)

The brief replacement of the monarchy with a socialist regime coincidentally started at the same time as an internal economic boom known as the Northern Miracle (as the economic boom mostly occured in the northern provinces).

The early socialist regime's decision to develop Volovna led it to discover a massive cave, ravine, and mineshaft system below the town. The wealth obtained there brought Thornia back from the brink of bankruptcy. The restored monarchy's decision to expand development across the sea to Petrodis had an identical fate, and practically funded Aphthonis from scratch.

#### Interregnum (10 April 2020 - 29 April 2020)

On 10 April, the Crown of Great Thornia was briefly dissolved and it was replaced by the Northern Revolutionary Socialist Party's regime in both metropolitan Great Thornia and Aphthonis. Great Thornia itself was briefly dissolved in favour of creating a new Commonwealth that would unify Xandu, Septia, and Umia with Great Thornia under a socialist regime.

Within a day, the declaration of the founding of the Commonwealth was quickly repealed and it was decided that the NRSP would re-establish Great Thornia, re-annex Aphthonis, and create the new Palus Socialist Republic to allow it to continue Great Thornia's membership in the League to a limited extent.

The NRSP faced its first military test on 14-15 April with an attempted pillager attack on Volovna. The small force was quickly annihilated by the Thornian Army.

On 18 April, a decree to reduce the territory of Great Thornia was issued by the government after military exercises determined that much of the northern flat lands were too difficult or costly to defend. This saw the loss of the provinces of Scovia, Yamna, Aldeby, and Darrowby.

#### Restoration Period (29 April 2020 - 7 May 2020)

On 29 April, the Crown returned to power (as it also endorsed and heavily controls the Northern Revolutionary Socialist Party). The Commonwealth of Socialist Republics had the word 'republics' replaced with 'realms' to reflect the change.

The following day, the Crown landed ships in Petrodis to begin the development of the capital of Aphthonis. Whilst constructing the Royal Lodge (the government's headquarters in the province), it accidentally discovered a massive cave and mineshaft system similar in scale to Volovna's. It is predicted that the wealth to be extracted from the mines will allow Aphthonis to become self-sufficient in the same rapid timescale as that of Galinisia. On the same day, Meridia annexed the Coral Islands and the Palus Socialist Republic was annexed as a new province.

### Inter-war Period (7 May 2020 - 29 August 2020)

*See: Thornia under the Transitional Council*

The Pillager War was declared over by the Crown on 7 May 2020, shortly after the Thornian Army's defeat near Fylakasanisi. The state would instead implement a nationwide state of emergency and carry out a policing operation to create isolation zones around pillager strongholds.

#### Rise of the Golden Trident and The Great Plague (early 2020 - 29 August 2020)

In early 2020, a plague began spreading in the border regions between the remnants of Ume and Tyavyli. Tyavylian authorities lacked the resources to effectively handle the spread of the plague before it reached its state capitals. Similarly, the effective abandonment of Umia led to the entire southern half of the State of Umia being completely overwhelmed with the plague.

By the middle of 2020, a majority of the population of Tyavyli and Umia was dead and their local governments were overthrown or challenged by rebel groups claiming authority over small regions. The Chen dynasty faced a similar decay in authority by this point in time.

Thornia's territories had been largely spared from the spread after authorities closed off its borders to the rest of the world. By August of 2020 this left Thornia as the sole remaining nation with an in-tact government. A brief anti-absolutionist revolt in southern Aphthonis, Galinisia, and Elysia saw the monarchy being abolished again, and replaced with a provisional republican government in the form of the *Thornian People's Transitional Council for Public Safety and Responsible Governance*. The transitional council has been more commonly referred to as the Golden Trident as the council uses a flag with a golden trident.

The Golden Trident initially intended to annex Xandu and the remnants of the League of Palus. However, the Golden Trident decided to reverse course after realising that having to stretch resources far beyond the already vast amounts of territory Thornia holds would be impossible especially with an international plague rendering most governments ineffective. The Golden Trident's rule has seen the dissolution of Goruid and Aphthonis as countries and their administrative divisions being upgraded into full-fledged provinces.

On 27 August 2020, the Golden Trident restored Thornia's membership with the League of Palus. It also re-imposed the historic Huang-Ume treaty regarding the border between Shantouxian and Aphthonis. However the modern borders now form the basis of the new treaty and Thornia's occupation of Xandu has made the transfer of sovereignty over Shantouxian function more like an internal boundary change.

### Second Pillager War and the Golden Age (29 August 2020 - late 2020)

On 29 August 2020, Elysia was attacked by surprise by the largest pillager force ever seen. The Great Plague's severe economic after effects meant that most of the city's iron golems went unrepaired, leading to many of them failing to hold off the pillagers for long. The low number of player forces available to the Thornian Army also meant that it was forced to fight across several fronts in the city. Although the Thornian Army was victorious in the end, most of the city's iron golems were destroyed and an estimated 80% of the villager population was annihilated. This incident has been called the 'Massacre of Elysia'. Despite this, Elysia remains the largest city in Thornia.

In the aftermath of the massacre, the Golden Trident declared war on pillagers across the country. This is considered to be the start of the Second Pillager War. On 31 August 2020, Thornian forces captured the Adanon stronghold, the first outright capture of a pillager stronghold. As a consequence of a major intensification of the pillager crisis on the peninsula all of Thornia's forces have been withdrawn from Xandu, thus ending Thornia's second occupation of Xandu.

Despite the war and the loss of direct control over Xandu, Thornia is experiencing a massive economic boom built on top of the smaller boom during the founding of Volovna. The founding of even more settlements, the rapid development of existing villages, and the reinvigoration of existing towns and cities has also led to far more mining and agricultural activity beyond that of any previous age. Although this has not yet led to a level of wealth beyond the last peak prior to the First Pillager War, it has certainly recovered the losses of the first war and the inter-war period. This current economic boom has been dubbed the 'Golden War Economy'. The cultural and political renaissance as a consequence of this economic boom has led this era to also be known as the 'Golden Age' of Thornian history.

On 17 September 2020, Great Thornia published the Palus Plan III and re-recognised the Palus Capital Territory. Thus, the Province of Elysia would lose the Borough of Palus. Thornian authorities are to remove its assets from the territory to make way for the return of shared League control of the region. Thornian control over the disputed parts of northern Xandu was also restored and were reorganised into the Protectorate of Smarna.

#### Transition to democracy and federalism (late September 2020 - late 2020)

On 25 September 2020, the legal entities of Goruid and Aphthonis were dissolved. The Metropolitan City of Elysia also overtook Shanjing as the largest city in the world. Between late September and early October, the government began amending the constitution to grant all provinces *de jure* self-government, therefore turning Thornia into a federal republic. This was seen as a move towards an eventual merger of the League of Palus into Thornia.

### Collapse (late 2020 - August 2021)

The Thornian state began to crumble as pillager forces switched to hit-and-run tactics. The over-stretched Thornian Army began relying on mercenaries from Xandu and the Dark Realm for reinforcements, but unbeknownst to them this helped to spread the plague into Goruid. This led to much of the Thornian Army dying en masse, as well as killing off much of the population across the peninsula. A deadlier strain of the virus that evolved there was also unknowingly brought back to the west, which led to the entire population of the Dark Realm dying off and Xandu's population centres being abandoned. Tyavyli also suffered immensely due to this second outbreak, with its economy collapsing yet again. However, the speed of fatalities prevented an uprising and saw much of its population also being killed off.

The Second Pillager War was declared over in September 2021 in the midst of severe food shortages, plague, uprisings, and intense pillager raids. Not much is known about what happened in Thornia between September 2020 and September 2021 as government and military scribes were hastily conscripted in a last-ditch effort to rescue the Thornian state. Disgruntled army officers and members of the Golden Trident briefly overthrew the central government and created the new state of Elaseum. The central government fled to Petrodis but returned to Elysia within 10 days as almost the entire rebel government was killed off by either the plague or assassination by rivals within their ranks.

The dissolution of the former Great Thornian state and of Elaseum meant that the government was able to have a fresh start at rewriting the constitution. The former monarchy was re-established with Elysia once again taking its place as the capital. The Thornian Army in Aphthonis was largely withdrawn from the interior of Aphthonis while the southern half of the Goruid peninsula was once again abandoned. The Thornian government also abandoned its plans to seize control of the League of Palus.

The almost never-ending political instability throughout 2020 and 2021 led to famine throughout even the most well-defended Thornian territories. This led to even more civil unrest as townspeople protested against the new regime's lack of focus on local development and the national food supply. Various towns and villages throughout northern Goruid and in the border lands of Aphthonis effectively became autonomous entities as local leaders took matters into their own hands.

### Thornian Civil War (August 2021 - December 2021)

*See: Thornian Civil War (2021)*

Almost 3 months into the Third Kingdom's existence, only Elysia, the Palus swamps, Volovna, and Petrodis remained within direct royal control. Native Goruidian tribes had retaken control of almost the entire southern Goruid peninsula and portions of The Neck. Many of these tribes still swore fealty to the monarchy. Warlords who were former generals and commanders from the Thornian Army had taken control of much of Aphthonis and the remainder of northern Goruid, though their control has been contested by resurgent royal forces. Some of these breakaway regions in Aphthonis include the land-locked **Smarna**, **Anipoxis** (formerly Anypsosi), **Kontar** (formerly Kontatora), **Okthi** (formerly Ochthimou), **Chamos**, and **Meros**. The only Thornian forces left were the Thornian Maritime Legion, who were effectively acting as the army, navy, and coast guard spread out across the remnants of the Thornian empire.

The rebel forces eventually decimated the legions loyal to the regime through several battles around the Sabaran Sea. The civil war culminated in the Battle of the Grimsaurs and the capital cities of the League of Palus and Thornia were taken without resistance.

### Reconsistitution as a constituent state (January 2022 - April 2022)

The new Aphthonic-dominated regime established a constitutional convention to establish a new national constitution. By a majority vote, Aphthonis was once again released from the hold of the central Thornian government and the remnant League of Palus members were annexed into Thornia. In February 2022, the Thornian rump state and the Umic regions were reconsistituted as the Union of Thornia and Ume.

The union's new constitution did not have time to take effect as the Province of Elysia was not in agreement with demands by the new Province of Ume over the new system of government. In March 2022, the Reformist Party in Elysia effectively took control of government and restored the constitution of Great Thornia (albeit with significant modifications to take into account that Thornia was no longer a sovereign state).

In April 2022, the Province of Elysia was expected to annex the Province of Porta. The provincial government ultimately decided not to proceed with the annexation, and instead formed the Sabara Economic Zone with South Aphthonis.

### Transition to partial direct democracy and the Sea of Temples Crisis (April 2022 - May 2022)

The Presidential Office of Great Thornia issued a decree on 13 April 2022 to replace the unnamed lower house of the Parliament of Great Thornia with the Chamber of Petitions. The new chamber would did away with the requirement for members of the representative body of the nation to be governors, leaving the Council of Governors be that chamber. The Council of Governors was also formally declared to be the upper house.

Between 18 to 24 April 2022, a series of land survey missions done in cooperation between the Aphthonic government and the armed forces uncovered that most of northern Aphthonis was made up of seas, mountains, and jungles. This went against the prior understanding that much of Aphthonis was a flat, barren land. It is thought that Aphthonis may have lost anywhere between 40% to 60% of its total land territory.

In the past, its mistaken geography caused the regions that now make up the Province of Ume to reject Aphthonic integration. In the time since its rejection, Aphthonis' government had learned to embrace its mistaken geography as a defensive barrier from attacks from the north and west, and also saw it as part of its national identity. A series of negotiations between the Aphthonic government, the Province of Elysia, and the central government of Great Thornia saw Aphthonis agree to unify with Great Thornia. The Province of Elysia was effectively abolished in the process as a new body known as the ***Unified Administration of the Districts of Metropolitan Thornia*** was formed in its place. This new administration recognised that Great Thornia's core territories were now considered to be North Goruid, South Aphthonis, and the Galinisian Islands (effectively all territory surrounding the Sabara Sea).

On 30 April 2022, the world's largest known underground cavern was discovered under Petrodis. The Petrodis city government almost immediately announced plans to colonise the cavern with villagers and to establish vertical farms within it as well. The enclosed nature of the cavern almost certainly means that building restrictions applied overground need not necessarily apply (i.e. extremely tall and narrow high-density buildings). The *Unified Administration of the Districts of Metropolitan Thornia* was renamed to the Metropolitan Thornia Commission.

Accusations of unfairness and favouritism by the Province of Ume forced the central government to dissolve the Metropolitan Thornia Commission on 4 May 2022. The provinces of Elysia and Petrodis were revived, with the commission directing the re-establishment of both. The Sabara Economic Zone was also revived with the Province of Petrodis taking the place of South Aphthonis. Reforms to the Thornian Umic language were made to include a huge chunk of the indigenous Goruidian language, further distancing Thornian Umic from the Classic Umic spoken in the Province of Ume. This led to the renaming of the Palus Bay Area to Paluskova.

On 11 May 2022, the central government formally recognised the provincial system was indeed functioning as a federal system anyway. It formalised this recognition by declaring Great Thornia to be a federal republic. This declaration does not require changes to the political system, aside from making it legally binding that the federal government could no longer change the borders of states without the explicit permission of state governments (unless they are indisposed or disbanded).

### Rebellions (May 2022 - Present)

Between May and July, the Territorial Defence Forces were engaged in near-continuous battles across much of Aphthonis and the coasts of the Sea of Temples. The Third Pillager War proved to be extremely unpopular with the public, especially in regions outside of Goruid, as it quickly became yet another failed colonial war. The Thornian nationalist elements of the Volovna Brigade pushed for the expansion of the war to include the conquest of regions further north, whilst moderate Reformist Party cabinet members insisted on scaling back operations to only involve securing the Sea of Temples coast.

#### July Mutiny (July 2022)

In July, a portion of the members of the Palus Brigade mutinied and held the Palus swamp and Cataracta. This was likely in response to a rumoured mobilisation of the Palus Brigade to fight in the Grimsaurs as part of the Third Pillager War. The mutineers attempted to head east to capture Elysia but were forced to turn southwards as the Ume Brigade arrived to besiege Cataracta. The Volovna Brigade was forced to withdraw from the Sea of Temples area, leaving half of their forces to defend Petrodis while the other half of their forces crossed the Grimsaurs and marched into the Palus swamp area. This prompted the Palus Brigade to surrender. The military allowed non-mutineers to remain in Palus, whilst the majority were sent off to serve sentences in prisons in the deserts of western Aphthonis with the survivors expected to be sent straight to the frontlines afterwards.

#### August Rising (July 2022 - October 2022)

Almost immediately after the arrest and imprisonment of the mutineers, protests broke out across the country in their support. The loudest amongst the voices were the indigineous Goruidians and Aphthonians, as well as Umic-Palusian nationalists. Towns and villages across southern and central Goruid were taken over by protest groups throughout the rest of July.

Tribal militias sprung up across Aphthonis, forcing the Volovna Brigade to fight two enemies across a vast front. The three major tribes of Aphthonis, the **Am Lon** (indigienous to the Petrodis area), the **Hga Bun** (indiginous to Okthi and Chamos), and **Kul Khit** (indiginous to Dobrado). The Aphthonic militias also managed to free the recently imprisoned Palusian mutineers, who promptly joined their cause. These various groups began coordinated efforts to remove the Thornian federal government and to install new governments focused on their respective regions (albeit with the intention of maintaining some form of a union of nations).

#### Political settlement in Goruid (August 2022)

The loyalist Palus Brigade was dispatched to Goruid, where it managed to end the occupation of settlements across central Goruid with minimal bloodshed. The federal government conducted negotiations various protests groups such as the Goruidian People's Voice (GPV, dominated by the **Jhutari** tribe of The Neck) and the Goruid Liberation Front (GLF, dominated by the **Paiewan** tribe) whereby it agreed to grant them direct involvement in regional government. Both groups originally intended to stand in a hypothetical future democratic election, but the uprisings in the west and north forced their hand. The GPV and GLF formed a coalition with the Reformist Party in the Provinces of Elysia and Porta. The governments of both provinces formed a 'super-authority' called the **Goruid Authority** as the Goruidian groups protested that Porta was lacking the same attention to development and economic growth that Elysia received.

#### Government of Peace (August 2022 - October 2022)

The absence of the Palus Brigade from Palusia, the limited range of the Ume Brigade, and the ability of the Volovna Brigade to hold off incursions into the Petrodis Valley forced the Aphthonic rebels to push into the Grimsaurs and occupy Palus and Cataracta (after a minor skirmish with the city's own militia). Umic provincial authorities surrendered the province to the rebels, who established a military junta called the **Government for the Peace of Thornia and Public Order**. The Government of Peace denounced the federal government as being unnecessarily imperialistic and patronising towards its subjects in colonial territories. The federal government rebuked this claim with proof of the Reformist-GPV-GLF alliance and the new Goruid Authority. The Ume Brigade was ordered to march on Cataracta, but false intelligence orchestrated by the Government of Peace made it seem as if the Tyavylians were preparing to attack Ume City after the Ume Brigade leaves for Cataracta. It was also unclear who was in command of the brigade as the Province of Ume brought up its rights over the brigade to counter the federal government's claims that the brigade was under the command of the cabinet.

In September, the Umic Brigade decided to side with the Government of Peace and began building up its naval fleet across the east coast of the mainland. The Volovna Brigade was quietly recalled from Petrodis. A small force was left behind to build up defences and fortifications to seem as if the brigade was continuing to bunker-down in the city. The rest of the brigade made a naval journey via the seas east and south of Goruid where it grew its numbers via townspeople on the east coast and gained supplies. This maritime force eventually made its way to Ume City, where it conducted a surprise attack on the city garrison. Simultaneously, the Palus Brigade pushed westwards into Palusia from Elysia.

The Umic Brigade, the Province of Ume government, and the Government of Peace were forced to retreat to the plains villages in the middle of the Province of Ume. Despite being technically more difficult to defend, they were able to use the less well-mapped forests west of the plains to hide. It was hoped that the Government of Peace could get support from the government of the Xandunese rump state, but the Xandunese were uninterested in getting involved in Thornian affairs again. It took until the middle of October for federal-aligned forces to tire out the Government of Peace into surrender.

#### Ume Agreement and dissolution of partisan politics (October 2022 - Present)

Both sides negotiated a settlement in Ume City in early October 2022, which saw the federal government agree to end all expansionist activity further north of the Sea of Temples, and further west than Chamos in Aphthonis. The Government of Peace was allowed to remain somewhat in-tact as the *Palusia Authority*, the Palusian/Umic counterpart to the Goruid Authority. An *Aphthonis Authority* was established, with a council consisting of representatives from the Am Lon, Hga Bun, and Kul Khit tribes. The federal system remained in place, but real authority now remained in these 3 regional authorities. The federal government was severely weakened as well, though it managed to retain significant influence in Goruid as the senior partner of the Reformist-GPV-GLF political alliance.

Throughout October, there were rumours that the Reformist Party and the Umic moderate conservatives had reconciled in secret after finding that the new situation would lead to eventual economic ruin and the decay of many functioning state institutions. Both were looking to oust the GPV, GLF, and hard-line Umic conservatives. All parties dismissed the rumours, especially after the bloodshed of the last few months. In the last days of October several unmarked commandos (suspected to be a mixture of the Palus and Volovna Brigades) carried out surprise raids and assassinations against much of the GPV, GLF, Aphthonic, and Umic leadership. Many politicians went missing during these few days and the President consequently declared that martial law was in immediate effect.

In early November, the half of the Palus Brigade stationed in Palusia/Ume were reorganised into the Palus Regiment. The half of the Palus Brigade in Goruid, the Volovna Brigade, and the Aphthonic militias were reorganised into the Volovna Regiment. Reprisals against the federal government in the form of attacks across various cities across the country were met with raids by the Palus and Volovna Regiments.

In mid November, the federal government announced the revival of the abandoned State Secretariat, effectively the non-partisan civil service body of the nation. Members of the Reformist Party and the Umic moderates loyal to the President were all given positions in the civil service. The Reformist Party was formally dissolved, and the Office of the President decreed a ban on the formation of new political parties. The combination of the newly strengthened Thornian military with renewed loyalty to the President, and the consolidation of civilian politics under the Office of the President ushered in the beginning of a totalitarian police state. On 13 November, the President announced that provincial boundaries would be redrawn to allow for provincial governments to focus on much smaller swaths of territory.

In early December, the title of President of Great Thornia was renamed to **Ezgeriet of Great Thornia**. The decision to revive the historic title once used in the city-state of Ume and the League of Palus was done as part of the reapproachment deal between the federal government and the Umic moderates of Cataracta. In mid-December, to encourage the colonisation of uninhabited lands across the country, the Ezgeriet decreed a limit to the maximum size of settlements. No set size has been established yet, but it is likely that this size will vary depending on population density and geography.

## Politics

### Government

*See: Government of Great Thornia, List of leaders of Thornia*

Thornia is a republic with an **Ezgeriet**, also known as **President**, as its head of state and the commander-in-chief of the **Armed Forces of Thornia-Aphthonis**. The country consists of numerous self-governing regions, each with their own chosen system of government. The legislature of the nation is the **Parliament of Great Thornia**, which consists of the **Chamber of Petitions** and the **Council of Governors**. In the aftermath of the 2022 August Rising, parliament was effectively dissolved.

Between August 2020 to early October 2020, a provisional government in the form of the Transitional Council and later in the office of the Chief of State, ruled the country as a centralised military dictatorship.

Prior to August 2020, Thornia was ruled by a seemingly odd coalition of absolutionist monarchists and radical socialists. The monarchy managed to balance tyrannical political power with economically socialist policies. The monarchy was represented by the institution of the Crown of Great Thornia, whilst the de jure political body of the nation was the Northern Revolutionary Socialist Party (NRSP). The monarchy was later replaced by a republic, which itself later collapsed due to the twin crises of the Great Plague and Second Pillager War. The monarchy was restored in August 2021 with the remnants of the Order of the Golden Trident being destroyed in the process.

The monarchy was overthrown again in December 2021 and Thornia was replaced by the Union of Thornia and Ume. It was a de jure federal republic and there was little coordination planned when it came to economic development and national security. The Reformist Party (dominant in the Province of Elysia and Aphthonis) gradually won control of the central government (as well as four provinces) and restored the old Thornian constitution to some degree. In April 2022, elements of direct democracy were introduced into the legislative process and governing responsibilities of the President (during times when a quorum of citizens has been met) would rest in the Parliament of Great Thornia and the provincial governors. A patchwork of conservative Umic nationalist parties and political movements continue to hold power throughout the Province of Ume.

The new democratic reforms were quickly torn apart by unsubstantiated rumours of a troop build-up in Aphthonis, the attempted removal of the President, civil unrest, and mutinies in the military. Order was eventually restored but the involvement of provincial governments led to the termination of the federalised nature of government.

### Military

The **Armed Forces of Thornia-Aphthonis** are responsible for the defence of the country. The armed forces were formerly shared with an independent Aphthonis as part of the Thornia-Aphthonis confederation. After the dissolution of the confederation, the armed forces retained its name to prevent confusion with the prior *Armed Forces of Thornia*.

#### History

Great Thornia has seen several complete changes in its national defence organisation. The South Seas Company formed the initial militia that founded and settled Thornia; this militia evolved into the Royal Army of the early kingdoms of Thornia. The Royal Army was disbanded after Thornia briefly reunified with Ume. After Thornia's second independence, an informal militia was formed to support the State Secretariet (the de facto government of Thornia after the founding of Elysia); this later evolved into the Thornian Army. The Thornian Army tore itself apart during the Thornian Civil War. Surviving units later formed the backbone of the Armed Forces of Thornia-Aphthonis as part of the Territorial Defence Forces.

Much like their predecessor, the Territorial Defence Forces of the Armed Forces of Thornia-Aphthonis also came close to tearing themselves apart. The relatively quick cessation of hostilities prevented its total destruction and allowed for some level of recovery.

## Economy

The economy of Great Thornia is focused largely on agriculture and mining as primary sectors. Internal trade has allowed the country to thrive economically independently of the rest of the world by trading the products produced by the country's primary sectors.

Great Thornia has been largely economically independent of the rest of the League of Palus. The initial policy of the monarchy was to build up industry to mass-produce products for sale across the world. This led to rapid development in infrastructure around the capital, Elysia. After Great Thornia left the League, the new Northern Revolutionary Socialist Party continued the economic policies of the Crown after its overthrow. Major gains in wealth stagnated throughout the course of the First Pillager War due to poor management of resources and costly losses in the war.

When both the party and the Crown were overthrown by the Order of the Golden Trident, the economic plans of the previous regimes were scaled up to a much larger size and spread across a vast geographic area. Spending in agriculture and animal rearing was also increased dramatically. Trade in agricultural products and increased mining activity over a much larger geographic area has led to a surprise economic boom even in the midst of the Second Pillager War (though this time the Thornian Army has seen far more successes on the battlefield on a much lower budget).

The waxing and waning of political power of administrative divisions and sporadic political instability has led to much of the country's wealth being hoarded by the provinces. The central or federal governments of the day usually do not have any funds themselves and rely on politically allied provinces to provide funding. As of mid 2022, the federal government and the provincial governments on the Goruid peninsula and in Aphthonis (all of which contain the wealthiest provinces) are from the same political party.

### Agriculture and timber

Great Thornia is the largest producer of wheat. Pumpkin farming and bonemeal production is now one of the more important agricultural sectors. Bonemeal is used almost exclusively for the timber industry which grows large spruce and jungle trees, which provide a much higher yield of wood logs and saplings.

The pervasive use of vertical farming in urbanised areas has allowed all major settlements to be self-reliant. Unlike other countries, Thornian cities tend to export surplus food stocks out to regional towns, villages, remote colonies, and military outposts.

### Industry

The industrial cities of Elysia, Palus Urbem, Volovna, and Petrodis produce a vast array of goods spanning from a variety of building blocks and glass, to advanced weaponry and redstone-powered manufacturing machinery. Industrialisation has allowed Thornia to rapidly urbanise as well as to strengthen its national defences at a rapid rate, even in the face of crises such as The Great Plague, the Pillager Wars, the Thornian Civil War, and even the Sea of Temples Crisis.

### Mining

Previously the Thornia Maritime Company (previously known as the South Seas Company) had an exclusive license for mining across Great Thornia. However, the Crown of Great Thornia had absorbed the company and directly controlled mining operations. This continued after the NRSP took over. Through the rapid succession of several regimes after the fall of the NRSP, mining has become a state-controlled affair within Metropolitan Thornia. Mining in Metropolitan Thornia is now heavily regulated and requires a time-limited permit.

Caves and ravine systems are in the process of being connected in Elysia into a single large-scale mine. Underground processing centres and warehouses are being built to allow for more efficient mining.

## Culture

### Evolution

Thornian culture began as an off-shoot of the older Umic culture that originated in Ume City. Some important traits in their culture at the time were that there was a heavy emphasis on mercantilism as a way of life, urban living, and social welfare. This was brought to modern day Palus as Umic settlers setup the Thornica colony.

Indigenous cultures were already present in Goruid and Aphthonis at the start of Umic colonisation. The ancient Tahrakh culture of Goruid survived through the Jhutari in the north and the Paiewan in the south. The Erwada population in the centre of Goruid was assimilated into Umic colonial culture. The Saboran, Am Lon, Kul Khit, and Hga Bun tribes dominated the south of Aphthonis. The Saboran in what is now Sabara were integrated into the Umic settler community, with the Am Lon around Petrodis doing the same later.

As the settlers adapted to their environment and began exploring the Goruid peninsula and modern day southern Aphthonis, their culture began to centre on expansive colonisation. The settlers first imposed Umic values of urban living and trade in their territories, but slowly adapted to the Goruidian way of life which was centred on rural living, agriculture, and polytheism. Goruid also had a stratified class system which the Umic settlers quickly adopted and integrated into. The Thornians slowly merged aspects of both of these cultures over the following years.

Numerous political and social revolutions from 2019 to 2020 brought an end to the class system. The resurgance of Umic mercantilism and urbanisation also saw a return as the Order of the Golden Trident has sought to realign the balance between early Umic and native Goruidian values. Aspects of Xandunese and native Aphthonic culture have also entered Thornia's own culture. Xandunese Kebabism has slowly merged into the Thornian polytheistic faith through Thornia's occupation of Xandu. Aphthonic village and ranch life has also seen a reconciliation between the urbanist and ruralist mindsets within Thornia as urban planners now seek to plan settlements to ensure a hybrid way of life.

The cataclysmic events of The Great Plague, the Pillager Wars, the Thornian Civil War, and the Sea of Temples Crisis has brought an end to the "honeymoon" period of Thornian culture. The country's annexation of the League of Palus has brought back many aspects of Classical Umic culture. A spirit of industriousness and hardwork has emerged out of these crises as the country has worked to revive its economy. Material culture has largely evaporated in the face of an increasingly authoritarian government, despite numerous surprising democratic reforms.

### State symbols

All three component territories share the same banner (despite one being an independent state) known as the *Eight Arms* or the *Elysian Field*, which consists of a yellow banner (representing the wheat fields of Central Goruid) with a red saltire (representing the rivers of the territories filled with salmon), with a white cross (representing the iron found in great quantity across the land) sitting above. This banner was re-created as a stained glass installation on the ceiling of the Elysia Convention Centre.
The socialist era saw the emergence of the 'white sun over a red field' banner, which represents the Northern Revolutionary Socialist Party and the Commonwealth. Even with the monarchy's return, the flag remains a de facto secondary flag of the state.

In August 2020 the monarchy was overthrown and replaced by the Transitional Council (dominated by the Order of the Golden Trident). The council adopted the order's Golden Trident banner and uses the trident as a state symbol. The Eight Arms banner was intended to be deprecated and replaced by a dark variant of the Golden Trident banner, but the public demanded it to be kept.

Between March 2022 and April 2022, the Eight Arms banner was no longer designated as the national banner. On 11 March 2022 a new banner was adopted which consisted of a Palusian blue strip in the middle of a white banner, with a two-tone orange-yellow sun in the middle. The cleaner banner avoided the Ume-centric theme of the previous banner and brings it in-line (stylistically) with the banner of Aphthonis. The new banner was unpopular with many government officials and the public, and thus the Eight Arms banner was restored as the national banner on 8 April 2022.

### Religion

The territories of Great Thornia largely follow an amalgamated belief system that combines aspects of traditional Umic Aiwanism with indigenous deities from Goruid and Aphthornis, and legendary deities from colonists in what is now Palus Urbem. This belief system is largely iconoclastic, meaning that statues and temples are shunned. However, the emergence of the Black Sun Cult has seen churches being constructed throughout the country.

Before the overthrow of the monarchy, it was a policy of the socialist monarchy not to prioritise Aiwanism over any other religion. Since it was overthrown, the ruling Order of the Golden Trident has imposed its own belief system over the country. This new belief system has formally merged all belief systems within the country's borders. The Golden Trident cult-religion has largely faded from public conciousness in the aftermath of the Thornian Civil War. Irreligiousity is now common across the population and many religious centres across the country have been converted into public event halls.

## Administrative divisions

### History

Thornia has alternated between having constituent countries (such as Goruid and Aphthonis), to having provinces of varying sizes. The constituent-country system was initially dissolved to allow for the provinces in Aphthonis to piggyback Goruid in joining the League of Palus. Increasingly Goruid-centric Thornian nationalism since then boiled over into the Thornian Civil War. After Great Thornia's restoration, Goruid was split between the provinces of Elysia and Porta; the League of Palus was annexed-whole as the Province of Ume.

The Sea of Temples Crisis led to Aphthonis abandoning partial independence and re-unifying with Great Thornia. The central government formed Metropolitan Thornia, which recognised what was previously the Province of Elysia and South Aphthonis as being territories directly governed by the central government (as civilian territory; not as an unincorporated territory). This effectively made all surviving provinces (both autonomous and not) non-integrated territories; but were still *part* of Great Thornia. This approach was abandoned and the de facto federal system was revived after Metropolitan Thornia was split into the provinces of Elysia and Petrodis. In mid May 2022, the federal system was made official.

The federal system survived the 2022 August Rising, though indigenous nations and tribes asserted their claim to rule over their territories in alliance with reformist-minded Umic-dominated political parties.

### Unincorporated, non-integrated territories

Governed by the Armed Forces of Thornia-Aphthonis.
 Ironie Islands | Located south of the