Finara

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Finara
Flag of Finara
Motto: Death Before Dishonor
No Map Available Yet
Region Pantocratorian Archipelago
Capital Arra
Official Language(s) English, Irish
Leader Queen Maeve II
Population 300 million
Currency Copper 
NS Sunset XML

Finara is a large island to the north of the Pantocratorian Archipelago. It's one of several human Catholic powers in the Atlantic, rooted largely in Irish culture and populated overwhelmingly by ethnically Irish people.

Geography

The geography of Finara is marked by a mountainous coastline, low central plains, and rolling green foothills in between. The highest peak, Ana, is 1043m above sea level.The longest river on the island, the River Ronliffe, largely separates Alsa from the rest of the island, though it comes a few kilometers short of actually splitting Finara into two islands.

Finara is divided into four duchies: Alsa, Deasrargle, Naotrina, and Vyn. Each duchy is further subdivided into eight counties. Representative members of the Seanad Finaraann (which constitute only part of the membership, see below)) are elected by duchy and members of the Dáil Finaraann are elected by county.

The largest port city is Franvan in southern Vyn, built upon trade with Pantocratoria. Vyn, on the whole, is the most urban part of Finara, also containing the great entertainment capital of Eita and its own capital city of Luchan, the largest ducal capital on the island.

The least arable land in Finara is in misty and mountainous Alsa and the islands off the west coast, as well as in Deasrargle, where the rocky terrain and healthy grass produce beautiful vistas of green and grey.

Politics

Prior to the unification of Finara in 1548 and beginning with the settlement of Finara by Irish explorers, Finara consisted of four independent kingdoms under an Ard Ri, descended from Mathgamain, the older brother of Brian Boru.

According to Finaran tradition, the Irish settled in the four separate colonies of Alsa, Deasrargle, Naotrina, and Vyn. Unfortunately, the first attempt of the colonists to sail back to Ireland failed. When the Finarans were unable to make contact with home over several more attempts, they eventually accepted that their affairs were know their own. Murchad, a son of Mathgamain and the leader of Alsa, claimed the title of Ar Ri and became Murchad I. The leaders of the other three colonies claimed their own petty kingships.

After unification, these petty kingships became duchies and can never again claim royal dignity. The throne of Finara does officially retain the title of Ar Ri among the list of titles belonging to the monarch. However, since 1548, the Finaran monarch has normally been styled simply the king or queen of Finara.

Finara is a constitutional monarchy. The monarch retains formal sovereignty as well as the authority to veto any acts of the legislature. She has the right to appoint ambassadors and judges with the advice and consent of the legislature. She has the right to judge in cases of law and Her Majesty's Court is the final court of appeal. The monarch is the head of the Finaran military, opens the Oireachtas (Parliament) with a Speech from the Throne. The monarch also chooses the Taoiseach (Prime Minister), though this is almost always the leader of the majority party or coalition in the Oireachtas.

The Oireachtas consists of two houses: The Seanad Finaraann and the Dáil Finaraann. The Seanad consists of representatives elected by duchy, titled nobles, ordinaries of the Catholic Church, representatives of the branches of the military, and a small smattering of other delegates from groups guaranteed one representative in the Seanad. The Dáil consists of representatives elected by county, with each county having one representative for every million people, rounded down.

History

Founding

Finara was founded by Irish explorers who landed in four separate colonies in 990 A.D. The colonists brought with them much of Irish culture, even while developing a few new Finaraann cultural traits unique to the new land. The new settlers were devoutly Catholic and brought with them many of the traditional Irish expressions of the faith such as flourishing scholarship in theology, ornately carved Celtic crosses, and a strong monastic tradition. It was at this time that the Abbey of Akeschala was founded.

Pre-Unification (990 to 1548)

For the first century and a half of her existence, Finara was divided into four petty kingdoms loosely under the administration of one Ard Ri. Unlike in Ireland, the Ard Ri was always the king of the same petty kingdom, that of Alsa, and always of the lineage of Murchad I. Nonetheless, the Ard Ri was considered primarily the king of Alsa, possessing formal precedence and a degree of authority over the other kings.

It was not unheard of for the petty kingdoms to war among themselves, even against the Ard Ri. Vyn was the most warlike by far, waging major wars against Naotrina (1022), Alsa (1121), Deasrargle (1242), and Alsa again (1548). It was after defeating the Vynann in 1548 that King Heber I declared Finara a unified monarchy.

Unification (1548-1845)

Finaraann history teaches that the rulers of the four duchies were always legally and properly dukes and that the style of king was merely a linguistic oddity of the pre-unification period. Beginning with the historians of King Heber's court, it has been held that sovereignty is not a partial thing. Because the petty kings were ultimately subject to a worldly authority above themselves, the Ard Ri, they were not truly sovereigns. Because no secular authority superseded that of the Ard Ri, he was the only true king of Finara. Heber I held that he was merely clarifying the use of titles in Finara and moving to strengthen the throne for the good of society and to be of greater use to the Church, which thoroughly supported this endeavor at every level.

Of course, the petty kings did not immediately accept this pronouncement. During the life of Heber I, they largely accepted the new declarations from Arra only because the petty kings, now called dukes, remained in practical control. Under subsequent kings, the duchies refused to comply with royal edicts until, one by one, they were brought into subservience by the force of royal arms. Deasrargle came under the effective rule of the throne after a the long and bloody Northern Wars (1637-1673), Naotrina in 1737, and Vyn in 1837. In 1838, King Daniel I created Heber Collins Duke of Alsa. By alienating the direct rule of Alsa, Daniel I eliminated the last vestige of the old system and established himself clearly as king of all the island.

Deasrargleann Protestantism (1845-2001)

The first Protestants arrived in Finara in 1845, part of a Presbyterian missionary movement. Unsucessful in the rest of the island, Protestantism was smashingly sucessful in Deasrargle, where the Church had always been weak.

At first, most people on both sides believed Finara could not exist as an island with two faiths. The Protestants spoke and acted as though they expected all of Finara to convert in the immediate future while the throne moved swiftly to suppress the Protestant movement. King Daniel II of Finara immediately made Protestantism a crime punishable under civil law. While the penalty was originally a prison sentence, Daniel II made Protestantism a capital offense when imprisonment failed to work. None of this reduced the faith of the Deasrargleann.

King Eamon I, who took the throne in 1857, guaranteed freedom of conscience to all Finaraann but continued to outlaw organized Protestant worship or preaching. Anyone was free to hold whatever religious views they wished. However, non-Catholics were not allowed to attempt to spread their views or organize according to them. This did very little to ease religious tensions.

Except for a minor reform by King Sean I (allowing Protestants to publish and speak, so long as they did not organize Churches), the situation continued in much the same vein until 1987, when King James allowed full religious freedom under the Constitution of Finara. While Finara had effectively been a constitutional monarchy since unification, James was the first king to grant a written constitution. This document could theoretically be withdrawn by any subsequent monarch, though it is politically unthinkable that any king or queen of Finara would do so.

The Modern Era (2001-Present)

Starting in 2001, Finara suffered through the short but disastorous reign of Eamon II and an Oireachtas under the control of the Feudal Socialists. Eamon's rather rigid ideas and unassertive character led to a weak government while the legislation of the Feudal Socialist Oireachtas led to massive poverty and unemployment and total economic collapse. These circumstances have also led to the emergence of a fundamentalist terrorists, especially in Deasrargle. During Eamon's reign, terrorist attacks accounted for the deaths of some 2,070 Finaraan.

Eamon II died of a heart attack on 7 May 2005, leaving his teenage daughter Maeve II to pick up the pieces of a badly injured Finara.

Sport

The most popular sport in Finara is hurling. The most popular women's sport is Camogie. Also popular are Gaelic football, handball, rounders, boxing, and Ladies's Gaelic football.

In recent years, track has gained a large popularity. While it is still not viewed as a Finaraan sport, track competitions are widespread throughout the nation. A similar phenomenon has occurred with basketball. Even stockcar racing is becoming popular in some parts of Vyn.

Finaraan love both horse and dog races as well as riding and hunting. Swimming is common as a recreation but almost unknown as an organized sport.