Varkonia

The Grand Duchy of Varkonia, commonly known as Varkonia, is a constitutional monarchy located in the northwestern quadrant. Varkonia's mainland borders stretch from neighboring Gabon in the east to Tierra de Conciencia in the west. The Grand Duchy of Varkonia is made up of eight provinces. The province of Varkonia is the center of government and the most populous. Other provinces of note include Nevrast, Kaiserreich, and Westmore.

The Grand Duchy of Varkonia is a constitutional monarchy with an elected senate of at least five sitting members. It is led by The Red Duke, who serves as the head of state, and the Senate, which is the highest decision-making body in the Grand Duchy. The current sitting monarch, Varkanos, is the figurehead of the nation and generally acts as the arbitrator of senatorial affairs.

Varkonia was a prominent and founding member state of the United Northern Congress (UNC) with a range of contracts, treaties, and economic arrangements with many of its regional neighbors, and now currently is a member of the Entente, with Gensokyo, Nyasaland, and Hjaltland. Varkonia has been directly involved in the resolution of several regional affairs and conflicts, as well as a major participant in the War of The Coalition and Infinity War on the side of the Coalition.

Varkonia remains a prominent member of the loose organization of nations in the post-war server, referred to as the World Police, including the members of the Entente, SATO, and UDF, and is keeping many war criminals and unrepentant combatants pearled for the foreseeable future.

Founding of the City State of Varkonia
The City of Varkonia was founded In early July 2018, after extensive work and deliberation by Mickale, who had returned after the resolution of the Somber War. While he was initially offered citizenship in Coventhia, there were calls for a new nation to be formed by stateless former Volterrans and SPQR citizens from previous iterations. Varkanos, S4NTA, RedSkillz, Cicero, and various others came together to help Mickale in the founding of Varkonia.

Several candidate sites were considered, including the area north of the Airbud Republic and former Republic of Vallera. These sites were rejected in favor of proximity to more friendly nations and the center of the map. Varkonia’s geography contained considerable natural beauty, which ultimately favored the current site for selection.

The formation of the City State of Varkonia was warmly received by all neighboring nations and their citizenry. Gabon in particular developed a very close relationship with Varkonia due to their common histories and views.

Construction of the Capital
The first Varkonian construction on the island was a small birchwood hut built by Redskillz and Mickale at the base of Mt. Velino, looking out over forest gently sloping toward the Tiber River. Within this hut, the initial factories were placed and rails were dug to neighboring Gabon and Impasse.

The area was hilly and heavily forested. The process of developing a city was slow and difficult. Jett213 was responsible for clearing the largest trees, which had 3x3 block trunks and were at least 24 blocks tall. Vast excavations of the local surroundings took place during this time, with deforestation being a high priority as areas suitable for construction were required to house the growing population. It was common practice to ask passers-by to assist in the deforestation effort, with limited tools and wealth available to the fledgling city-state. Ez2Clutch was one such passer-by who single-handedly deforested the entire Eastern side of the island.

After clearing enough suitable locations, work began on constructing the Tower of Varkanos, located in the center of the city, which was completed in just three days. It is situated atop a naturally elevated plateau, which inspired the Varkonians to preserve as much natural elevation variability as possible. At 125 blocks tall, it is still the tallest and most recognizable structure in Varkonia. The tower is a national icon and can be viewed from any point in the capital.

The tower’s reputation attracted the attention of Gobblin, who invited Varkonia to join the Order of St Marcus, whos builds and aesthetics are still highly regarded. After this, the rate of construction in the city exploded as Gobblin designed new buildings at a prolific rate. After joining the Order, a town hall was designed by Mickale to replace the initial birch construction and the rails were redirected into a new station directly under the tower. The town hall remains the seat of Varkonia’s government to this day and is at the heart of Varkonian politics.

Early Politics
From the founding of the City-state, Mickale ruled as de facto dictator, making decisions about location, construction, immigration, and development unilaterally. The Varkonians valued central leadership in the developing phase of civilization. As a result, the city of Varkonia was planned out extensively first with a strict building code.

With a growing population and growing number of responsibilities to respond to, Mickale set the groundwork for the Varkonian government. He titled himself the Red Duke of Varkonia, and created a Senate. The early Senate was made up of appointed prominent active citizens who served to assist the Duke in governing Varkonia, to represent the provinces, and to hear and rule on internal disputes, crimes, and punishments.

The early Senate primarily focused on creating organization and forging bonds with neighboring nations in order to firmly establish Varkonia within the region. During this time, Varkonia began establishing XP production and solidifying its borders. Vendemmia, a settlement due East of Varkonia, was established by Jonnyflatz to supply pumpkins and potatoes to the growing needs of Varkonia.

The Alpko-Gabon Crisis
The first Senate was tested by the Alpoko-Gabon Crisis, a serious dispute between Varkonia's neighbors: the Kingdom of Alpoko and the Principality of Gabon. Gabon had established itself within the claims of Alpoko, which had been considered a dead nation for months prior to Gabon's founding, however Alpoko decided to return and restore its old land claims on the 12th of July 2018. The two states began discussions, searching for possible resolutions to the competing land claims. The capitals of Gabon and Alpoko were only separated by 500 blocks, and the entirety of Gabon existed within the old claims of Alpoko. As tensions began to mount, Bloom became involved in the crisis as a third-party arbitrator. However Bloom failed to set an agreeable path for peaceful resolution. Alpoko would not compromise on its beliefs that most of Gabon should be returned to Alpoko and that a third of the leftover Gabon territory should become a trading territory mutually administered by Alpoko, Bloom, and Gabon. Initially, Varkonia remained neutral in this dispute.

However, on the 14th of July, Varkonia was approached by both Alpoko and Gabon, each seeking support for their claims. Varkonia expressed no interest in getting involved, however the Red Duke commented that the mutually administered region sounded like a bad idea. The early Senate concluded that, while Alpoko had a right to come back and exist, Alpoko did not have a right to remove Gabon's settlement, which had been established for months in previously undeveloped land, and that negotiations were needed to draw a new border without shared administration.

On the 15th of July, the Queen of Gabon, GetSkinny, asked Alpoko to contribute materials alongside Gabon towards the mutually administered trading territory. Inexplicably, Alpoko refused to contribute anything towards this effort, even though it was their idea to create this zone. This decision was seen as a breach of trust in good-faith negotiations, at which point Bloom ceased arbitrating and would not support Alpoko's claims. Furthermore, the Varkonian Senate decided to support Gabon in the dispute. While no actions were decided or planned, word of Varkonia's support reached Havana, the leader of Alpoko. Despite the Red Duke assuring Alpoko that a diplomatic solution was still possible, Havana severed diplomatic relations with Varkonia and shortly after disbanded Alpoko July 16, 2018.

After Alpoko disbanded, Gabon came into full possession of Alpoko's former claims, and the new claims were recognized by Bloom and Varkonia as Gabon's sovereign territory.

The Transition of Government between Varkonia and Gabon
In late July, The Red Duke was contacted by the Lord Chancellor of Gabon, who under the pretenses of seeking protection and reuniting their common peoples requested to negotiate a treaty with Varkonia which would see The Principality of Gabon incorporated as province. Gabon had previously considered joining Coventhia however retracted their request after a decision could not be reached internally.

Negotiations over the terms of the supposed document were time consuming and took hours until both parties were in agreement. Following the verbal agreement, The Queen of Gabon, alongside her Chancellor, BritishWanderer, drafted the transitional document to be sent to The Red Duke. The treaty stipulated that Gabon should receive two permanent senatorial seats as representation and the ability to, with notice, withdraw from the document at any time, known as Article 10.

The incorporation of the territory and peoples of Gabon were of a great benefit to Varkonia, vastly expanding the land claims and the valuable resources of which lay beneath them. Gabon’s code of laws and judicial code was rewritten and adopted to be enforced throughout the Grand Duchy. Both Gabon and Varkonia were elated at the union and each began working in earnest to expand and develop the newly united Grand Duchy.

Formation of The United Northern Congress
Main Article: UNC

With Varkonia’s incorporation of the province of Gabon, the treaties between the latter and neighboring nations were upheld in full by the Varkonian government, with most notably the defensive alliance between Gabon and Bloom. Using their historical ties and good relations, Varkonia opened discussions with the nations of Nevrast and SPQR about a prospective alliance organization, using the Gabon-Bloom treaty as it’s foundation.

The Red Duke hoped that a new alternative alliance bloc in the northwest quadrant would allow nations the ability to stand aside peacefully, not involving themselves in the cold war between FRIENDS and SATO while also furthering good relations and economic ties between signing parties.

With the idea given backing by the respective states, The Red Duke, Mickale alongside Senator, Britishwanderer sought to draft up a reasonable set of terms worthy of an alliance organization.

The UNC Charter as it came to be known, was signed into effect on the 6th of August 2018, by Varkonia, SPQR and Nevrast. Later to be joined by Bloom and Kaiserreich, with Tvtopia, Kaltsburg and Westmore joining throughout September 2018. Gensokyo, Nyasaland, Corvus, and Iria would also join in the early months of 2019.

The United Northern Congress was an integral part of Varkonian diplomacy, keeping close ties with neighbors and friends, encouraging trade and discussions between peoples. As one of the leading member states of the UNC, Varkonia took an active and nurturing role to the organization’s continued benefits and activities. Varkonian Senator, BritishWanderer was the Spokesperson of the UNC. As of 2020 the UNC is dissolved.

Kaiserreich
Kaiserreich was ruled by Wublit and later LazavPhenax. During 2018 Kaiserreich signed a mutual defense pact with SPQR. Kaiserreich became a protectorate of Varkonia in April 2019. . The protectorate is located at °N, °W.

Westmore
Westmore was a member state of the UNC. The nation was created by BritishW4nderer and Gobblin. In October 2018 Westmore became a province of Varkonia. Westmore is located at °N, °W.