Volterra

The United Volterran Empire, more commonly known as Volterra, is a Constitutional Monarchy located in the Eilon shard. It is run by an emperor, a senate, and a Chamber of Delegates. It currently has approximately 56 citizens, with roughly 20 consistently active.

Volterra was a well established nation in 2.0 as well as 3.0. In 2.0, Volterra ruled over the towns of Volterra, Nigeria, Vroehm, Ember Island, Vienna, Eslar, Port Norden, Eslenti, Icenia, Vallera, Vendemmia, Ancora, Trinith, Mistogora, and Lumber Ridge. Volterra was the capitol in 2.0 with Icenia being historically the second largest town in terms of population size.

Volterra returned to Civcraft in 3.0 with a modified government style with Mickale at the helm of the nation. Volterra now rules over the towns of Volterra City, Victoria, Province, Fenix, Vendemmia, The Nutshack, Vallera and Project Valery. Historically the towns of Vallera, Province and Project Valery were independent nations who decided to join the Empire of Volterra in September of 2016.

History
A brief video history can be found here:

3.0 History
After the end of 2.0 it was decided that Volterra would return to Civcraft upon 3.0 with some changes in the government. Between Civtemp and 3.0 these changes were made including a new government system that called for a Chamber of Delegates which would consist of representatives from towns within the Empire of Volterra and the Imperial Senate, which would represent the national capitol of Volterra City only. On top of this all was Mickale, the longtime emperor of the nation through 2.0.

Early on several towns were planned outside of the Volterra City including a Myan town by LPTSO, Vendemmia by Jhill and his mom, and Victoria by ChrisChrispie. Victoria was planned to be a less planned city for new players right outside of Victoria City and was designed to be a continuation of the city of Icenia, which had a storied past within and out of the Empire of Volterra. Vendemmia was planned to be the agricultural hub of the empire much like it was in 2.0.

The start of 3.0
After the delay was over and 3.0 was put online, many Volterrans rushed from shard to shard looking for a lake to settle by. The first spot they picked was located in Tjikko -the taiga shard. Immediately a landing shack with beds was set up alongside the lake and Volterrans went out to start solidifying the land claims. However, shortly after moving into the land the large nation of Concordia decided to set up near the Volterran colony. Wishing to avoid conflict, it was decided that Volterra would move to a lake in Elion that Herbie had found during his search for a suitable vault location. Upon moving to the lake Volterrans encountered TKON and another group of natives.

TKON vs. Volterra
It was discovered shortly after establishing a flash town upon the lake that a group of Youtubers and raiders called TKON who had set up base on what is today the Center Island and Victoria, were extorting a group of native that had also settled along the banks of Lake Victoria. It was decided that TKON must be removed to protect the natives who were being extorted. Thus the LORD came down from the heavens and said the LORD to Mickale &quot;I will punish what TKON did to the Volterrans and natives opposing them on the way, when they came up out of Tjikko. Now go and smite TKON, and utterly destroy all that they have;do not spare them but kill both man and woman, infant and sucking, ox and sheep, horse and chicken&quot; So Mickale went and followed the LORDS advice, and Mickale destroyed TKON and he took their fort on the center island for himself without utterly destroying it. But Mickale and his army also spared the buildings and the food that TKON had and all that was good and would not utterly destroy them;all that was despised and worthless they utterly destroyed. Thus the LORD looked down upon Mickale and was not pleased for Mickale did not utterly destroy all of TKON and the LORD said &quot;Mickale have you not followed my orders? TKON is not utterly destroyed. For you have sinned against your LORD and not followed his direct word I now curse you with thus: TKON shall respawn in the shard you departed and a man named Reiko shall destroy everything that is holy to you.&quot; and the LORD wept for his favorite son had sinned against him. Later TKON would move up to Tjikio, cause issues for Concordia, and eventually cause one of the first major wars in 3.0 between The Tjikio Hermetic Federation and Iria. Also the prophesy about Reiko came true for about most of the shards.

Post-TKON early days
After TKON and the natives were removed from the land of Volterra around Lake Victoria, work began on a small flash city and outposts throughout the land to legitimize the claims that Volterra had put forth. These houses were wooden, crude and meant to only last for as long as they were needed. The main area of meeting during this time was the shack city in Volterra City. It was here that the first major roads in Volterra also went up. The Lakeside highway was built around the entire lake and today passes through what is Victoria and parts of Province. Volterra started collecting items as well and the nation started to come together. Shortly after the shack city in Volterra City went up, ChrisChrispie moved across the lake to the East and established officially the state of Victoria upon the land that TKON had once settled. A crude bedshack was set up and a small dock was made. On August 5th, 2016 the first major work of terraforming took place in Volterra City where the majority of the wooden shacks became partially buried in order to make way for the planned city that was to be built on top. The only buildings that were left above ground for the time being was the bed room, in order so Volterra City still had a base of operations. Today this underground city of shacks can still be assessed through limited tunnels on the surface although many of the buildings have been outright destroyed.

During this time Victoria started to gain its population as well, mostly of people looking to build a home in Volterra who did not want to wait or did not want to have an apartment in Volterra City. Many of the upper government players who intended on joining the Imperial Senate stayed in Volterra City, while settlers and new players all moved to Victoria and established their homes. Many of these players down the line would become important and active members of the neo-Volterran social group.

Also during this time, Volterra made relations with its neighbor Gensokyo and Alpoko both down the river from Volterra and established its first network of guard towers along the nation's border.

Government
The Lower House is called The Great Assembly. It is comprised of all citizens and headed by Gramdroid. The Assembly's purpose is to directly represent the citizenry and involve them in current matters. The Assembly will then send legislation and proposals to the Imperial Senate for approval. The Imperial Senate is the main arm of Volterran government. It is comprised of 5 representatives, 1 from each region of the empire + 2 from Volterra City. They are led by the Emperor, Mickale, who acts as Speaker of the Senate. The Viceroy takes the place of Mickale when he is not able to attend. The Senate will review and discuss proposals from the Assembly and then approve or reject them. The senate can also directly generate legislation to discuss, approve, or reject. The Emperor of the United Volterran Empire is elected by the Senate and rules until abdication. He is bound to allow basic rights, which are not specifically listed such that they will not be limited. The Emperor can veto proposals by the Senate but can be overruled by unanimous vote. In times of crisis, as determined by the Senate, emergency powers can be allotted to the Emperor (which must be relinquished after the resolution of the crisis) to accelerate the rate at which the crisis can be dealt with.

New members may join a particular region at that region's discretion. In order to be an Imperial Citizen, one must stand before the Senate and undergo a Reddit background check.

Current Emperor:


 * Mickale

Current Senators:


 * iS4NTA of North Volterra
 * icer66 of South Volterra
 * Gregy165 of West Volterra
 * Jhill1 of Vendemmia
 * Lightning of Ancora
 * ChrisChrispie of Icenia
 * BritishWanderer of Eslar (Viceroy)

= Geography and Surroundings =



Map crafted by smaldragon.

A brief tour of the capital, Volterra can be found here: as well as a screenshot album http://imgur.com/a/pxADR.

Economy
Volterra has a number of resources at its disposal, leading to a wide range of economic activities. There is a market square in South Volterra, part of the Capital city. The Empire has two state owned companies: The United Architecture Corporation (A building and design firm) and CIVBC (a news network).