Kingdom of Eclipse

= Eclipse =

''This article is about The Kingdom of Eclipse. Information on the City of Eclipse has its own section in this article.''

Eclipse, officially the Kingdom of Eclipse, was an island state in the Southeast Quadrant on Civcraft 2.0. Eclipse geographically comprises two main landmasses, that of the island of Penumbra, and the island of Antumbra. Eclipse shares no borders with any known sovereign states, and lacks any land transportation routes to major cities.

History
Eclipse was founded in early August 2013 by a group of dissatisfied residents of Aurora. The initial settlers were five former New Agorans (&quot;oldgorans&quot;) who had become tired of the Aurora/Agora schism that continued to deepen rifts and conflicts in Aurora, who decided they would rather strike out on their own than continue to watch the tensions rise. As they explored the world for the site of their new home, a number of fellow &quot;oldgorans&quot; decided to join them. After 2 days of searching, an ideal site was discovered by agg23 and orikebise, a birch forest in the Southeastern Quadrant.

The site that would later become Eclipse was suggested to the Eclipsians by Gant2000, an important figure in New Danzilona. Unknowingly, the settlers had initially chosen a site that was well within New Danzilona's chat range, which could possibly have caused problems due to Eclipse's RP culture. Gant directed them to two islands off the western coast of the birch forest landmass, (mostly) out of the Danzilonan chat range but still close enough to foster trading and relations between the two states.

The islands were uninhabited, but not unsettled. Small shacks were present on both Penumbra and Antumbra, but the islands lacked any permanent residents. The settlers got to work and established the first settlements across the two islands. However, for a multitude of reasons activity began to subside, and by October AgentMuu was the the only Eclipsian still &quot;active&quot; on the server.

King PestilentEdge attempted to revive the dying state twice, both times resulting in failure. In late December, AgentMuu started a chain reaction of activity, eventually bringing back every Eclipsian to restart the Kingdom's progress.

Government
Eclipse is an absolute monarchy, PestilentEdge is the King of Eclipse and Head of State. The King is assisted by the Eclipsian nobility, made up of Counts (owners of land outside of Eclipse City) and Barons (overseers of the Eclipse City districts). The nobility serve as representatives of the peasants living on their lands and make suggestions to the King in that regard.

Legislative, Executive and Judicial power is invested solely in the King, though certain powers can be delegated to the nobility. The laws of Eclipse are enforced by the Order of the Emerald Star, a volunteer militia of armed and armoured residents. The Order is given sole authority to catch criminals within Eclipsian claims and engage in deployments at the request of our allies. Peasants and nobles alike are strongly encouraged to join the order, train in PvP and rise up its ranks.

Foreign Relations
Eclipse was relatively isolationist compared to most cities, most of those outside of the immediate area are not even aware of its existence. However, the kingdom makes use of its proximity to New Danzilona, and enjoys friendly relations with its inhabitants. Eclipse was a member of the United Provinces of the Plus Plus, a multinational organisation located in their quadrant.

At the time of writing, Eclipse has ratified 0 international treaties, is a member of 1 multinational organisations and has been involved in 0 conflicts.

Geography
Both Penumbra and Antumbra are mountainous birch forests, approximately 70m above sea level. The landscape is characterised by unnatural rock formations, tall peaks (the highest known mountain, &quot;Prince's Peak&quot; is 164m above sea level) and jagged cliffs. The two islands are separated by the Strait of Eclipse, 10m wide at its narrowest point. At sea level, both islands have large sandbars around their perimeters jutting out into the sea. Eclipse is 912 metres long and 647 metres wide.

Blackoak
Originally settled by pantostado1066, later taken over by DonVlinar and finally by n1ggasquidward, a former peasant of County Hamilton whose contributions elevated him to the countship. Blackoak features a complex castle and autofarms, watched over diligently by Geoffrey the donkey.

Cambridge
AgentMuu's home since Eclipse's founding, boasting a very large wheat plantation and a compound containing all of the factories and resources Eclipse needs to function.

Eclipse City
Still in planning stages. Currently its only inhabitant is D_Aiser, but expansion is on its way.

Eirdae
The county of Lady Orikebise, architect of the southern castle.

Hamilton
To be written by Hamburgler_.

Umbra
Umbra, officially Umbra Palace, is the residence and offical workplace of the Eclipsi monarch. Located on the northern side of the Strait of Eclipse, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality. Umbra Palace is home to the Noble Gallery, the meeting place of Eclipsi royals, nobles and international diplomats. The Order of the Emerald Star is also based out of Umbra Keep, maintaining a permanent garrison in the East Wing.

Wizard's Tower
To be written by agg23.

Infrastructure
The settlements of Eclipse are currently in the process of being connected via an overland road network. These highways provide an easy and safe route for people to travel between settlements, rather than risking their lives and possessions by clambering up and down Eclipse's harsh topography. Two bridges are planned between the mainland and the Eclipsian islands, the northern bridge shall eventually connect to New Danzilona, while the southern bridge shall potentially pave the way for future expansion onto the mainland.

There is currently no rail line connecting Eclipse to the outside world, however there are plans among the nobility to fund and construct a private line direct to New Danzilona Station. Once Eclipse grows in size, the line will be expanded and be made public with the contruction of a proper rail station in Eclipse City. At present, the easiest access to Eclipse is via boat, docking at Umbra Palace and ascending to the upper altitudes via water elevator.

Trade and Production
Eclipse's economy is based around the production of XP, and most citizens foind themselves involved in the process at one stage in their. The peasantry works the land and harvest resources that are fed into the diamond cauldron, and are paid in an amount of bottles proportional to their countribution to a batch of XP.

With this XP, Eclipsians are encouraged to work towards a personal set of arms and armour before any other forms of wealth. Beyond that, they are free to make money however they wish, keeping in mind that both islands are considered state property. Attempted collection of any natural resources outside of their specified zones, as well as any attempts to sell them is considered poaching, a crime by Eclipsian law.

The kingdom itself takes a minor cut from each batch of XP, and this is the only form of tax within the kingdom. This XP is sold in bulk to overseas buyers in order to fund projects and expansions within Eclipse.

Culture
Eclipse has a unique culture due to its enforced RP. While language terms such as &quot;thee&quot;s, &quot;thou&quot;s and &quot;thy&quot;s are not expected or even encouraged, Eclipsians must act as if Civcraft is (a very strange) reality. Orders must be obeyed, everything must be done through proper channels and decisions are not to be taken lightly. Visiting foreigners are not forced to abide by these rules, but we would definitely prefer that they at least try.

For RP purposes, Eclipse is set in a medieval timeframe, roughly akin to the 1400s in reality. Unrealistic aspects of Minecraft and server plugins (redstone, factorymod, rails, snitches, etc.) are justified as &quot;magic&quot;, as standardised by the court wizard (not an actual role, but effectively &quot;Minister for Roleplay&quot;), agg23. All RP queries and questions should be addressed to him via PM either in game or on reddit.

Architecture
Eclipse uses a basic timber, plank and stone styleset for most buildings. Structures are built for function and practicality rather than aesthetics, and as such there are currently no particularly stunning examples of Eclipsian architecture. Even so, Eclipse is not an ugly place by any means and structures are definitely expected to conform to a certain degree of beauty. Cobblestone is banned as a construction material (unless being used as a placeholder) and all structures are expected to abide by the laws of physics.

Literature
Although a library is under construction in Umbra Palace, Eclipse has not yet produced any literature for entertainment purposes. The pen has so far been used only as a tool, never an instrument. This is something that we aim to change in the near future.

Sports
The sports held in the Kingdom of Eclipse are near non-existant, save the possibility of Eclipse being represented at a spleef tournament in New Leningrad by the former New Agora spleef champion, Dalkorn. Boat racing is also a possibility in the future of the Kingdom of Eclipse.

Languages
Currently, English is the only language spoken by Eclipsians.

Notable Residents
Eclipse is home to nobody of great importance, preferring instead to maintain its security by remaining out of the sights and minds of most.