Shireroth

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Imperial Republic of Shireroth
Sxiroþ
Flag of Shireroth
Flag
Coat of Arms of Shireroth
Coat of Arms
Motto: Shireroth sumus. Tempus in parte nostrum est.
Anthem: Land of the nifty
Location of Shireroth
Map versions All
Capital Shirekeep
Largest city Shirekeep, Ardashirshahr Allswell, Araxion, Citadel, Cortallia, Demonsfall, Echo, Glenfiddich, Mesior, Nee
Official language(s) Præta Sxiröþes (official), Shirerithian English (administrative), Elw, Yardistani
Official religion(s) Cedrism
Demonym Shirerithian, Shirithian
 - Adjective Shirerithian, Shirithian
Government Federative Constitutional Monarchy
 - Kaiser of Shireroth Kaiser Ayreon IV
 - Steward Waldemar Zinkgraven
 - Legislature Landsraad
Establishment 1442 AN
Area NA
Population 540,217,921
Active population n/a
Currency Erb (€)
Calendar
Time zone(s)
Mains electricity
Driving side
Track gauge
National website ShireWiki
National forum Shirithian Forum
National animal Blue Moose
National food Mango
National drink Antyan wine
National tree Malarbor
Abbreviation IRS

The Imperial Republic of Shireroth, or simply Shireroth (Istvanistani: ['ʃaɪɻ.ɻɑθ]; Yardistani: Širo ['ʃi.rɔ]; Praeta Sxirothes: Sxiro) is a neo-feudal empire that has dominated the Benacian continent, as well as vast swathes of the globe at various intervals, for more than two hundred and fourteen years under the Norton calendar. It is, not withstanding its largely mythical history, by any reasonable standard the most ancient of the surviving states on Micras.


History

For a more in depth treatment of the various (mutually contradictory) histories of Shireroth, please peruse the Shirewiki.

The general tradition is that Shireroth was founded as a successor state to the enlightened and technologically advanced Empire of Khaz Modan (-1211bN to -0bN) which was brought to an end by a sudden and violent cataclysm brought on by dabbling in inter-dimensional research, which seldom ends well. In this instance the experimentation of the so-called mages established a connection between Micras and a pocket hell-dimension which allowed hostile entities to enter this plane of existence, whilst concurrently releasing a pulse of energy which destroyed the Empire's home island and plunged the western hemisphere into a dark age that was, not coincidentally, the First Era (circa 0 AN to circa 880 AN).

Second Era: 878 – 1442


Third Era

Shireroth's modern founding was in 1443 (the beginning of the Third Era). Foreign recognition of the Kaisership occurred later, in approximately 1462, with Erik Mortis becoming Kaiser Metzler I. The accurate record keeping in the Imperial Household began with Gaelen II in 1465, and all accession dates after that are taken to be authentic.


Legitimacy rested upon descent from Kaiser Raynor I. After seventeen centuries, much of Western and Central Benacia, as well as a fair smattering of Babkhi and Kildari can claim this boon. Nonetheless the frequently rotating succession remained within the clutches of a dozen or so noble houses who jealously guarded their notoriously intermarried bloodlines. In spite of the the vigilance of the Imperial Republic's noble oligarchs there have been several "sanglorian" Kaisers in the modern era, alongside a half dozen inhuman Kaisers (whether revenants or aliens). As the Third Era wore on, things became progressively stranger, until a measure of sanity was restored by the confirmation of the dynastic succession in the hands of the House of Ayreon-Kalirion, itself being however troubled by some of its dynastic associations.

The modern era

The Wars of the Dark Orchid were a series of interconnected conflicts beginning in 1635 AN and finally coming to a conclusion in the year 1644 with the entry of Kaiseress Noor into Shirekeep. The prime cause of the conflict was the unbalanced relationship between a weakened Imperial Government and the over-mighty imperial states, of which Elwynn was the prime offender.

The wars began with the so-called River War (1635), an unsuccessful attempt by hard-line Cedrists and Elwynnese ultra-nationalists to mount a quick decapitation strike on the Monarchy of Elwynn which was led by Princess Margana, the daughter of Kaiser Brrapa VII and sponsored by the patricians of Shirekeep and the Court within Raynor's Keep.

In spite of being well resourced and brutally executed, the attempted takeover of Elwynn by a combination of a coup and 'hybrid warfare' failed spectacularly and rebounded upon the heads of the plotters. Not only were they unsuccessful in their efforts to exterminate the Royal Family of Elwynn but the war ended with the King's father entering Shirekeep as a conqueror.

It was said by some that Brrapa VII was conveniently ill at the start of the war and conveniently dead at its end.

One of the notable aspects of the war, which effectively lasted for two months at most, was the rate at which stockpiles of modern hi-tech guided munitions and missiles were rapidly depleted. The Imperial Shirerithian Air Forces (ISAF) had expended its reserves of cruise missiles within the first week of the conflict and was still trying to acquire and adapt ship launched missiles from the Imperial Shirerithian Navy (which had remained neutral in the conflict) by the time the war ended. Similarly the UDF had been caught short and taken by surprise by the war and was still trying to reactivate the Southron Barrage programme by the war's end. The UDF had also run its stockpiles of medium-range anti-aircraft missiles down to the point of exhaustion during the Battle of Echo. The decision of the Imperialists to hold back their remaining air assets, particularly the UCAVs, after the shocking losses of that engagement proved to be the hinge point that turned what might have been a mere setback into the decisive victory that ensured the survival of the Elwynnese Union and its eventual victory.

By the final weeks of the war even the supplies of unguided 'dumb' bombs were being run down to the point that the Arandur of Alalehzamin and Utasia was obliged to establish workshops to produce crude unguided rockets in order to keep up the rate of fire on the defenders of Shirekeep and the ISAF was giving serious consideration to adapting its remaining UCAV force to drop re-purposed canisters packed with high-explosives.

This experience subsequently informed the strategic and operational doctrines of both the UDF and the reformed (i.e. purged) Imperial Forces in that the technologically sophisticated weapons systems began to be viewed as an exquisitely crafted and expensive blade of tremendous penetrating power that nonetheless blunted quickly through frequent use. For this reason it began to be felt that what was required was a second line of sufficient mass and firepower that would be less sophisticated, and for therefore more affordable, that could get the job done - through blunt object trauma if need be - once the enemy's own, exquisitely wrought, first line of defences had been sufficiently burnt through to provide an opening.

The desire to test this new theory against a representation of an avowedly unconventional opposing force gave rise to the series of military exercises known as Operation Long Haul and all the attendant controversies that ensued when neighbouring Minarboria became thoroughly alarmed.

The Anarchy of Angularis (1635-1640) was a five year period of disorder in which Elw ultra-nationalists and other separatist, anti-monarchist and anti-imperialist groups waged a low level insurgency, gradually extending their influence throughout the Vale of Angularis. These forces were violently suppressed by Elwynnese and Imperial Forces under the overall direction of the Arandur of Alalehzamin and Utasia in the Campaign of 1639, considered by some to be amongst one of the bloodiest episodes in modern Benacian history, second only to the Green Mortality of 1605 in the reign of Kaiser Aiomide, although this record was subsequently overtaken the calamities of the 1650s.

Martial Law in Goldshire (1639) was declared after the assassination of the Goldshirean and Elwynnese Princes Arn and Rostam Ayreon-Kalirion by parties unknown in the year 1639. This being the third such attempt on a member of the Ayreon-Kalirion bloodline in which poison was administered in a secure environment, suspicion quickly turned to the Leonid Guard whose duty was to protect the family of the Emira of Sathrati. This latest failing proved to be final straw and the Royal Government of Goldshire, administered by the ESB-Jörmungandr Group, declared martial law and instigated a purge of suspect individuals and organisations within the Kingdom. That this poisoning was part of a wider conspiracy was proved when the secretive Assayers successfully, albeit temporarily, countermanded the martial law decree.

After two days of confusion, Queen Noor was able to reassert her authority and reinstated the martial law decree - adding to it the proscription of the now openly treacherous Assayers. The Assayers, more formally the Chamber of Assay of the Avakair Mint and Bullion Depository, had a fearsome reputation for being able to instil psychological terror and also a capacity for actual acts of terror, including abduction, torture and assassination, in pursuit of its relentless drive to try and maintain standards of purity in the 'gold standard' Erb and a ruthless determination to destroy any threats to that self same purity. This put them on an inevitable collision course with the ESB-Jörmungandr Group which has, no less ruthlessly, sought to promote its fiat currency - the Teldrin Thaler - throughout the river ports of the the Red Elwynn and beyond.

Faced by such a dangerous and unpredictable foe, and concerned about wavering morale amongst the Goldshire Regulars, the Royal Government, on the 11th of Araroqpinu 1639, invoked its right under the Martial Code of Shireroth to seek the assistance of Imperial Forces. The Imperial Government had already taken steps to order Leonid Guards based overseas to return to ESB run rendition facilities in Goldshire and Zy-Rodun. Now, with an official invitation, it could act with full force. The situation led inevitably to full blown civil war (1639-1643).

The civil war ended with the Armistice of Airle (Reire the 15th of Nomeziooqu, 1643), the terms of which surprisingly generous, by Shirerithian standards. Rebel leaders were castrated and sent to monasteries. Golems, alchemical artefacts and Gnostic grimoires meanwhile were be destroyed. Beyond this there was a prohibition on reprisals. Imperial Constabulary assumed responsibility for peacekeeping in Goldshire while the crimes of the rebels, as well as of pro-government militias were to be investigated equally by judicially appointed inquisitors.

The civil war saw a revival in the ancient Cedrist religion as well as the reintroduction of various practices such as gladiatorial combat, human sacrifice and the mass enslavement of displaced persons. The various factions on both sides sought to make the war pay for itself by resorting to the plunder of the opposing sides territory. Criminality also dramatically increased with the Mercaja side especially resorting to drugs smuggling, extortion, racketeering and the fraudulent transmutation of base metals into gold and silver in order to fund its operations.

Officially the Royal Government of Goldshire acknowledged 43,770 fatalities as a consequence of the civil war. It has however been suggested that these figures were deliberately underplayed to avoid causing embarrassment to the Alexandrian government during the negotiations leading up to the formation of the Sxiro-Alexandrian-Natopian Entente.

An estimate contained in a report by the ESB Group suggested a death-toll of 8,431,770, several orders of magnitude greater than the official tally. The reason for the disparity laid in the omission from official statistics of the victims of chemical weapons attacks carried out by the Imperial Forces and the death-toll from clean-up operations in Lunaris after the collapse of the organised rebellion. The report and its authors were suppressed and pulped by the Jaysh al-Sathrati on the orders of Queen Noor.

Holwinn and Lunaris felt the effects of the war disproportionately, with advance and retreat of first the Jaysh al-Sathrati and then the Army of the Golden Dawn which caught the civilian populations of those two counties in a desperate maelstrom of violent reprisal, where civilians were targeted as much as, if not more often than, the opposing combatants. 25% of the Lunatic population was killed or died of communicable diseases during the conflict whilst a staggering 41% of the population of the County of Holwinn perished as collateral damage after the Technomaezji unleashed its full arsenal of chemical and biological munitions in an attempt to halt the rebel advance towards Cabbagefall.

It was the scale of this slaughter which convinced Kaiser Dominus to initiate war-crimes trials against the guilty parties of both sides in the civil war. A matter of some embarrassment considering the support that the Imperial Government and the ESB Group had lavished on Queen Noor's private army. By the end of the war however the Jaysh was a broken force, discredited both morally and militarily.

The Imperial States and Imperial Dominions of Shireroth during the reign of Kaiser Dominus.

1644, the Year of the Four Kaisers, was a tumultuous moment in Shirerithian History which saw the deposition and murder of Kaiser Dominus, and the emergence of three claimants to the Golden Mango Throne.

The next cycle of wars that began with the Struggle for the South (1649–1651), a series of inter-related disputes and conflicts following the Elwynnese confiscation of Mishalan and the collapse, demotion and or dissolution of the Lich Realms of Lichbrook and Minarboria, ending the dominion of the dead over the lands of southern Benacia. The disputes saw an increase in anti-Elwynnese sentiment and the first semblance of opposition to the Ayreon-Kalirion dynastic succession to the Mango Throne.

The Struggle ended with the restoration of Mishalan, the establishment of the Domain of Malarboria and finally the Auspicious Occasion of 1651. This decree marked the beginning of a systemic purge of Storrish influence in the Imperial Republic. More specifically the expulsion of the House of Ettlingar Freyu and the Church of the Froyalanish Ancient Ways from the Elwynnese Union resulted from a double coup in Shirekeep and Eliria which brought to an abrupt end the Froyalanish hegemony over the Imperial Republic that had begun with the abdication of Prince Jonathan Ayreon-Kalirion in 1623 and the River War of 1635.

King Noah disputed the legality of his expulsion but failed to gain any measure of popular support at home or abroad, with the sole exception of the then Emperor of Natopia, Zakyyr. A complete rupture in the Sxiro-Natopian alliance was averted but Noah remained Natopian foreign minister for a time longer, prompting some awkwardness.

The speed of the collapse of Elwynnese resistance, combined with the success of the Imperial Government in delivering a fait accompli had brought the Auspicious Occasion to a swift and decisive conclusion, greatly limiting the destruction and loss of life endured by the Elwynnese. This contrasted strikingly with previous Imperial interventions in Dietsland, Goldshire, Lichbrook, Minarboria, Puritania and Voltrue over the course of the previous sixteen years.

On the Elwynnese side, the centralising of decision making powers into the hands of the King and his court had meant that once Noah was isolated and unable to maintain open communications the once formidable array of forces at his disposal gave a poor account of themselves, in marked contrast to their performance during the Year of the Four Kaisers seven years previously. The selection and advancement of officers noted for their loyalty to the Crown and love of pomp and pageantry over their professional ability had degraded the quality of command and control and led to a loss of the capacity for displays of individual initiative.

The Imperial Forces meanwhile had continued to expand, rearm and professionalise following the defeats endured in the River War and the Year of the Four Kaisers. The Imperial Army was performing at near the peak of operational readiness it had achieved during an abortive war scare with Jingdao in 1647, and its officers were highly motivated to gain revenge for the slights they had endured from the Elwynnese over the years.

The Imperial Forces were, to be sure, still bedevilled by the perennial problems of a creaking and sclerotic logistics chain as well as a command structure of bewildering complexity. Nonetheless the matter was resolved before these issues could make a decisive negative impact.

The Imperial Marshals had finally proved themselves with their involvement in the capture of Krull Palace. Unfettered by the constraints of the Martial Code they had been free to move assets into the city under the guise of rotating personnel out of the Imperial Legations, without the level of domestic surveillance that Imperial Forces transiting Elwynnese territory routinely had to endure.

Debate continues as to whether the establishment of a new period of dynastic rule constitutes a fourth era. In the past, using a discredited historiography and calendar, as many as seven eras were postulated. However, following the Auspicious Occasion, a more rational approach to historical research has taken hold and the process of investigating and verifying the reigns of the Kaisers of the early era, and indeed the nature of their rule, is ongoing.

One of the most notable attributes of the aftermath of the Auspicious Occasion was the systematic repudiation and destruction of much of what had previously been considered integral to Vanic and Froyalanish iconography. In many regards the Royal Government was obliged to legislate to keep up with the popular anger and the tearing down of Vanic monuments.

The smashing and destruction of the "viking helmet crowns" prominently displayed on all royal crests, proved to be an especially popular pastime amongst the masses.

The sudden fall of the House of Ettlingar Freyu threw into sharp reverse the expansionist policy pursued by Elwynn hitherto. Instead, under the terms of an agreement brokered in Eliria, Elwynnese territory was ceded to the Kingdom of Goldshire, the Dominion of Malarboria and the Imperial Republic itself - so as to form new Imperial Dominions.

The much reduced Elwynn would subsequently go on to cast off the last vestiges of monarchical rule and refound itself as a constitutional republic.

Between 1636 and 1655, between the Wars of the Dark Orchid, the Auspicious Occasion, the Alexandrian Flu, famine, emigration, and the War of Lost Brothers the population of Shireroth fell by 21% to 540 million.

Government

Kaiser

Almost everything you'll read in this article is wrong.


Imperial Advisory Council & Ministries

Landsraad

Imperial Judex

Foreign Affairs

Culture

Religion

Cedrism

Holodomatic School

Zurvanism

Bovinism

Economy

Demographics

The Shirerithian population is distributed unevenly into the following categories: 1% citizens, 82% denizens, 9% in loyal subjecthood, and 11% in community servitude.

By subdivision these are distributed as follows:

Subdivision Jurisdiction Citizens Denizens Loyal Subjects Community Servitors TOTAL
Agnesia ELW 182,712 18,513,458 0 0 18,696,170
Alalehzamin ELW 482,247 40,111,222 0 0 40,593,469
Amarr MAL 57,044 5,932,854 601,046 710,023 7,300,967
Amity JKM 125,013 13,500,000 2,105,661 3,017,236 18,747,910
Angularis MAL 16,050 2,210,113 221,012 902,175 3,349,350
Araxion ELW 97,153 10,192,888 0 0 10,290,041
Automatica ELW 83,290 8,199,991 0 0 8,283,281
Batavia BAT 8,017 582,972 443,917 5,108,063 6,142,969
Benacia–Iridia MAL 3,107 503,134 32,046 41,428 579,715
Cape Farewell ELW 105,808 9,846,340 0 0 9,952,148
Caverden BRK 162,066 15,871,071 816,186 708,363 17,557,686
Cimmeria with Illumination ELW 76,863 9,877,991 0 0 9,954,854
Crowsilver GLD 20,027 2,770,000 180,073 210,032 3,180,132
Dietsland CPS 5,024 600,199 60,774 85,752 751,749
Eliria ELW 304,104 9,188,991 0 0 9,493,095
Elsyran GLD 203,886 20,346,856 2,019,007 719,771 23,289,520
Fiorecittà TEL 5,049 512,000 0 0 517,049
Florencia MAL 102,992 1,477,911 138,141 111,192 1,830,236
Froyalan NR FNR 2,138 198,186 115,607 6,101,880 6,417,811
Hawshire–Dura HSD 43,761 3,220,240 0 0 3,264,001
Highpass MAL 3,977 148,530 320,142 103,573 576,222
Holwinn GLD 67,663 8,936,977 618,575 210,057 9,833,272
Iserdia ELW 270,057 25,888,199 0 0 26,158,256
Kezan KZN 264,407 1,762,714 0 0 2,027,121
Kralizec BRK 110,018 11,056,432 654,991 430,124 12,251,565
Lachmeren MAL 80,631 7,932,854 486,062 7,001,662 15,501,209
Lachmodan MAL 150,013 15,451,711 1,981,162 651,555 18,234,441
Lunaris GLD 70,084 7,220,283 4,531,019 2,162,614 13,984,000
Lywall LYP 3,483 354,211 914,610 813,103 2,085,407
Lywind MAL 94,103 9,715,777 971,016 204,356 10,985,252
Mar-Sara MSR 220,701 2,305,263 110,076 942 2,636,982
Mil Gov Oleslaad MGO 2,167 336,137 17,280 5,291,074 5,646,658
Mil Gov Westpoint MGW 9,037 981,238 51,842 4,718,037 5,760,154
Mirioth JKM 78,535 7,440,305 817,353 510,916 8,847,109
Mishalan MSH 173,524 17,000,111 2,018,571 3,052,055 22,244,261
Monty Crisco BRK 148,826 13,816,992 1,001,874 651,047 15,618,739
Musica with Delta BRK 88,242 8,019,187 817,010 1,402,026 10,326,465
New Blackstone NBL 810 75,865 46,807 15,682 139,164
Puritania CPS 4,237 430,039 102,025 100,017 636,318
Raikoth ELW 30,176 2,001,002 0 0 2,031,178
Romero TEL 8,534 700,100 0 0 708,634
Rossavro TEL 5,199 510,100 0 0 515,299
Savona TEL 4,412 400,300 0 0 404,712
Scoglitto TEL 2,103 234,500 0 0 236,603
Shimmerspring MAL 2,981 105,045 201,050 623,991 933,067
Shirekeep SHK 427,166 21,791,866 6,018,917 1,819,582 30,057,531
Skyla BRK 7,816 420,991 433,173 318,917 1,180,897
So-Sara JKM 102,881 12,170,024 8,001,766 3,916,532 24,191,203
Suthergold GLD 208,882 19,728,215 1,187,913 210,491 21,335,501
Talenore TNR 5,131 3,524,094 0 0 3,529,225
Transamarr TEL 9,117 819,199 0 0 828,316
Utasia ELW 189,155 18,991,001 0 0 1,918,156
Vattnaland ELW 60,328 6,406,145 0 0 7,506,665
Voltrue CPS 8,175 1,065,332 435,750 67,186 1,576,443
Wintergleam GLD 29,129 3,050,702 2,100,201 2,018,881 7,198,913
Yardistan JKM 298,186 38,560,730 6,791,771 4,306,660 49,975,347
Z and Azarea BRK 4,017 340,999 610,100 410,175 1,365,291
Zy-Rodun ZYR 1,607 140,468 415,100 483,017 1,040,192
TOTAL IRS 5,331,861 443,490,055 48389626 59210187 540,217,921


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