Kirvina

[Kirvina]

KIRVINA

Etymology - The word "Kirvina" comes from the phrase "Kírkos-Ampelia", figuratively "the vineyard over which the hawk circles."  The territories were so named for the early successes the first settlers found growing new vintages there, and for the rapidness with which the usually fickle grape plant took to the regional soil. The unusually high population of predatory birds is the most common explanation for the first word, but some argue that it the hawk is a symbol for the desire of other peoples, the circling hawk, to have the land for themselves. There is no single clear origin. The people call themselves Kirvina as well, or "Kirvinsét" in their own language.

Geography - Kirvina is a long country which straddles the coastline of southwestern Aurelia, closely hugging the Gulf of Auriel. That does not mean its terrain is wholly flat, but is rather rugged and hilly, with a multitude of gently sloping valleys and gulleys where villages and farms are built. It is more navigable than it used to be, because modern infrastructure now crisscrosses the countryside in the form of railways and small roads for cars here and there. The climate is fair, but it rains rather often, and it is a constant concern of architectural planners and engineers that the weather must be beat when considering the durability of anything. All of Kirvina shares both the same latitude and the same gulf, so conditions are consistent throughout.

History - The peoples of Kirvina are descended from the great migrators of the late Bronze and Early Iron Age, who left the collapsing Aroman Empire to build new homesteads for themselves in distant lands abroad. Their folk legend about the journey entitles it the "People-Wandering", and it is a matter of interest to modern anthropologists what exact ethnic origin the Kirvina people actually possess. While they have heavy Aroman influences, the presence of a pagan Pantheon with its roots in pre-Orthodox Arome and a language which defies proper linguistic categorization alongside the other Aromance languages lends it a cryptic quality. What is known is that the coastal population of many cities which would be part of what is now considered Tagmatium, under religious persecutions (and possible cultural persecutions), formed an agreement with their proto-feudal overlords to be allowed to ''prepare a fleet of sizable might and muster'' and ''depart in peace''. These words have been interpreted various ways by modern historians, but it is known that by the use of advanced shipbuilding technologies, the early Kirvina people somehow crossed their way through Marenesia, and completed the journey across the Adisi Sea and into Aurelia. The climate was frigid and displeasurable. The wandering sagas of the Kirvina note that life was incredibly difficult in this period, their domestic animals unsuited to the local land, the people strange, entirely foreign, and barbarous. Migration continued further over land until the original founding families arrived at the coastline of the Gulf of Auriel, in the territories which are presently understood as the heartland of the Kirvina nation. Some irredentist scholars both in Europa and Aurelia dismiss the People-Wandering theory, and say that the Kirvina people have been in Aurelia for all time, but they are the laughingstock of the anthropological community because the Kirvina people possess genetic markers and physiological traits that are absolutely, definitively, Europan.  It is broadly accepted that though a relatively improbable event, the People-Wandering did happen, and the Kirvina did depart Arome to arrive in Aurelia some thirty to forty years later. The running theory also asserts that they abandoned nomadism once they entered into a climate suitable to their culture and crop packet. This is also supported by anthropologists, for the reason that the lands which the Kirvina came to settle are the only lands in Aurelia comparable to a Europan climate, and the only one free of tropical or desert diseases that would prove amiable to Europan settlers. Early history was fraught with danger for the Kirvina settlers. To establish an outpost of Aroman civilization, so far away from its birthplace and with whatever recorded knowledge and technology they had managed to bring with them, was extremely difficult. Not to mention the fact that the native peoples were few, so commerce was scant and hostile contact was frequent due to a fear of being overrun, a fact which led to the ethnic distribution of Kirvina the way it is today. But once that civilization was established, taking the form of scattered great city-states across the coastline, trade begun in earnest with farther away native peoples, who profited immensely from access to Europan animals and crops as well as Aroman technologies. Unwittingly, the Kirvina armed those native cultures they came into contact with the immunities to resist colonization in the far future, and the necessary technologies to aspire to high civilization of their own. History between this period and the early modern era for the Kirvina was [ PENDING TALKS WITH OTHER AURELIANS ]

Government - Kirvina is nominally a Grand Duchy, led by a single Grand Duke, who is elected by his peers from a body composed of them. Rather than democratically elected provincial governors, each governor is titled Duke and is part of this body, and has a chance to participate in or be the beneficiary of a succession. Duchies remain hereditary, even though the title of Grand Duke, or the country's leader, is internally elective. However, there are significant democratic autonomies on the local and provincial level, with basically every position outside of these ones being entirely voted in by the populace. Together, a balance of power has emerged over the centuries where while the Dukes theoretically rule by divine and legitimist assent, they also rule by democratic assent, because enough democratic representatives assembled together wield enough power to topple them via impeachment and incompetence assessment practices. This unique system has survived until the present day mostly because of a cultural monarchistic bias, and the tendency of the central government to overwhelmingly delegate power to its regional counterparts. While the Grand Duke has large amounts of authority, which he frequently wields, he is careful to do so only in ways that will not engineer a situation where dissent and revolt are fomented against him. Women and men are capable of governmental leadership alike, and there have been Grand Duchesses before, though not currently. Of the Dekatrapóleis, the Thirteen Cities of Kirvina, nine are currently led by men, and four by women. 

Military - The military is a significant part of Kirvina's legacy and culture, especially the further away from the capital one goes. There is a bias towards the navy, nationally, as the overwhelming majority of the country is coastal. The presence of a strong agriculturalist element in the countryside among the rural population means that the army tends to come off more as a hunters' militia, with Kirvina fielding significant theoretical numbers of reservists and citizen guards but not that many active duty field soldiers. The nation is proud of its naval forces, and Kirvina's military-industrial complex is geared to keep modern vessel patterns and naval aircraft innovations leaving the drydocks and construction yards as often as possible, at the expense of other fields. It can be said that Kirvina is a militarily defensively geared country, with capabilities oriented towards denying potential enemies the ability to trespass the seas under its jurisdiction or enter into its land regions, but does not possess the logistical or long-term upkeep capabilities to project its forces into the lands of others or outside of Aurelia, so it can be considered a regional power at best, or the naval arm of a potential Aurelian league.

Economy - Kirvina is one of the wealthier nations in Aurelia, mostly owing to its tightly knit land holdings and favorable climate. This does not mean it is an economic superpower, by any means, but it benefits from tariffs imposed on large cargo vessels passing under Aurelia to reach the Sunset Sea Islands, as well as a large domestic manufacturing industry springing from autarkic policies implemented throughout the latter half of the previous century. Kirvina's industries include automotive, chemical, processing of metals such as iron and steel, electrical equipment, ships and naval equipment, machine tools, high precision equipment, optics, and textiles. Its population is overwhelmingly middle-class, without much of a wealth disparity between the lowest and upper classes. This is mostly because upper-class status was locked to nobility until relatively recently, but the governmental structure of Kirvina placed large local investment demands on these same nobles, so their large incomes would enter and leave their hands cyclically. Poverty still exists, especially in some forgotten areas of the countryside, but the population is relatively well off. This is good domestically, but means that the international economic presence of Kirvina lacks magnates or large investors to meddle in other nations, which makes Kirvina, while a respectable economic power, one with very weak economic projection and foreign investment capabilities.

Demographics - Kirvina is a very ethnically homogeneous country, with a population composed of Kirvina people ranging from ninety-six to ninety-seven percent. This is mostly because it does not actually make sense to immigrate to Kirvina for much else but work. Non-Europans tend not to feel at home in the rainy, gloomy country full of foreigners with a difficult language, and Europans tend to despair at the lack of safe vacation spots and easy countries to travel to, as everything around Kirvina and in the broader Aurelian continent tends more often than not to be backwards and unstable. Draconian assimilation laws and a difficult permanent residency acquisition process mean that most just leave it at the visa, staying as corporate liaisons, experiencing the country, and then leaving. The median age of the population is thirty years old, as Kirvina families still tend to produce multiple children, and the population of the country is consistently on the up and up.

Culture - Here are some interesting bullet points for culture.

- Kirvina is culturally unified. While there are regional variations and mild dialects, it cannot be said that the country is divided into multiple clear subcultures, or has fault lines it could divide across. In fact, there are more people who could be considered of its culture outside its borders in the poor, wartorn Aurelian hinterlands, than are actually inside its borders. This phenomenon is because throughout history, the power of the Kirvina state was always a fraction of the theoretical area of the Kirvina culture, especially along the lines where it bleeds into other cultures. The government has never professed interest in reunifying these meltpot regions, as each and every time they have been described as "too poor" and "too unstable" to be worth it.

- Kirvina is socially liberal. Homosexuality, for example, is not provisioned against by its religion, and since its religion had such a hand in the cementing of its early society, not by its society either. Women and men have stood on a more equal footing for a very long time, which has led to a more evenly distributed and mixed-leadership society. Despite this openness, there are still some social difficulties faced by those who split from what is considered the norm, and baseline rules such as monogamy and otherwise are still culturally and legally enforced. 

- Kirvina's cultural dress includes stylized antique wooden umbrellas, and different variations of heavy coats. Because of how often it rains, designers have historically had to get inventive with water-resistant clothing rather than experiment with cleavage, and so complicated fabric designs and richly colored scarves are a strong mode of self-expression. Most favor a drab gray color in clothing apparel, but there is significant effort put into interesting shape designs in jacket collars, belts, and other clothing that can remain visible even on the outer edge of a bad weather ensemble.

- Kirvina's cultural alcohols are diverse, but mostly focused around different kinds of flavored liquor. Fruit liquors are very popular in the countryside, the the most popular being a peach-flavored variant called pálankos. However, maple-flavored alcohol is also incredibly popular in the large cities, and all sorts of cocktails involving warm maple syrup are in high demand. Wine is also consumed in the countryside, especially by those who are near to the vineyards, but it is normally taken mulled and considered a spicy variant of water that even teenagers can safely drink. Liquor is the real cultural asset

- Kirvina's cultural cuisine is a curious blend of spices both local and foreign, with common seasoning mixes being lemon and tarragon; pepper, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger; lavender and rosemary; and mint, among others. Besides this, many dishes feature ingredients which are unique to Aurelia paired with crops brought from Europa. Examples of Aurelian crops cultivated by the Kirvina include maize, wild rice, grapes, maygrass, squash, sunflowers, tepary beans, macadamia nuts, taro, potato, tomato, and water chestnuts. Examples of Europan crops include wheat, barley, rye, and rice. An example of a countryside Kirvina breakfast would be two eggs fried in sunflower oil, with diced steamed squash, chopped salted macadamia nuts, diced roast potato and roasted garlic cloves, and a lavender-rosemary garnish mixed together into a salad and paired with cold smoked salmon cuts.

Anthem - conlang go brr (i will write this when i am done with it)

Edited January 16, 2021 by Kirvina (see edit history)