Pavia

 Successor to Gabon (Civclassics) 

Pavia (/pɑːˈvɪˈə/, officially the Principality of Pavia) is a maritime nation located in the Lyrean Sea region of Vinteria, comprised of citizens of the former Free Republic of Gabon, as well as others.

The Principality's territory is divided into three distinct classes as outlined by the Magna Pavia these are Churchland, Crownland, and Dukedoms. These classes administrate their own territories with full authority and cannot be superseded by another.

The Principality of Pavia is an elective monarchy, with the six Dukes in Pavia making up the Privy Council that convenes to elect the Crown Prince of Pavia through a majority vote. The Crown Prince enjoys a wide breadth of powers domestically and abroad when representing the country on the international stage, with the head of state only being answerable to death whether it be natural or by assassination. Additionally to the Privy Council, all nobility and government members from across Pavia make up the Royal Court to discuss matters of state, diplomacy, and internal affairs.

As of July 2022, the Crown Prince of Pavia is His Supreme and Serene Highness, BritishWanderer II, elected by the Dukes on the 11th of June.

History
((I am basically writing pure story-drivel of notes, please edit as you see fit to condense, contextualize and make sense of my ramblings))

Founding
On the 3rd of June 2022, many Pavians set off into a brave new world to search for their forever home. Their Graces, Paagf & Creepion both found themselves lost in a river in the -, + quadrant for over an hour, whilst Cissonius of Braemar was sailing the vast middle ocean hoping for a sight of land. Duke of Windermere, Gobblin, was exploring southern regions across jungles and marshes hoping to wander into the supposed promised lands.

In the late morning hours of the 3rd, BritishWanderer I stumbled across lands now known as Auldmarche and began to explore, calling upon his fellow Dukes to join him in mapping out the surrounding territories.

Upon exploring the initial claims, a debate ensued about whether Pavia was settling down too fast before scouting other regions of the map and whether there was a risk of missing out on a more suitable spot. To resolve this quandary, The Dukes of Pavia agreed to set a time, midday, by which if no finer land was found then the people of Pavia would settle on the landmasses found by BritishWanderer I.

Later on in the day, Griffin would traverse through Pavian lands and settle north of the river, and both nations would also be joined by Lambat settling to the east on the 4th of June.

Midday came by and with plenty more lands prospected, it was concluded that the best lands were those that had already been discovered and charted. The people of Pavia swiftly made their way to the new lands and settlement sprung up inside of an expansive cave complex located on the northern tip of Auldmarche.

The Bureau of Architecture, led by Gobblin would begin to survey the lands for a suitable Townhall spot, requiring swaths of smooth land due to the size of the planned structure. Blueprints would be drawn up for the Townhall to be placed on the western portion of the 'Great Pavia' landmass and as such the people of Pavia would ferry resources from the cave complex in Auldmarche to a new cavern closer to the planned cityscape.

As soon as the landmasses were fully explored, the Duke of Lugano immediately undertook the arduous task of signposting the entire shoreline to mark out the claim to dissuade any foreign settlers & scouts. This would later be accompanied by a noteblock snitch network laid by BritishWanderer I.

In the afternoon of the 3rd, the Dukes of Pavia would unanimously approve Pavia's Initial Claims and post them into the Pavia discord publicly. The Bureau of Semiography would post an updated and more detailed map of the claims on the 4th.

All citizens of Pavia from every rank agreed to remain to inhabit the cave until the Townhall of Pavia was completed, citizens would make the cave more homely over time by adding vast amounts of flora & fauna, and by June 5th would even introduce domesticated animals into the great hole as it became named by residents. Inhabitants would begin carving out inlets in the walls to make homes, with some of the grander dugouts hosting a kitchen, living room, and bathrooms. On the 11th of June, the great hole of Pavia would come to host its first commercial property, a topington shop selling cobble, andesite, and prismarine. This shop would be a popular hit and sell out frequently.

Due to the cave's extensive underground networks, the people of Pavia gained mild riches and collections of build materials with ease, which aided greatly in erecting the foundations of the town hall.

On the 5th of June, the Bureau of Architecture under the leadership of the Duke of Winderemere, Gobblin, and the Duke of Vetranio, paagf, citizens would begin flattening and terraforming vast tracts of land in preparation for the construction of the town hall. This terraforming would be completed the following day and efforts would commence on the bricklaying.

Early Island Disputes
Quiet Isle

Although not originally surveyed in the 'initial claims map of Pavia', the people of Pavia soon discovered two islands directly to the west, just 150m from the mainland's shoreline. The Crown Prince immediately led an expedition to these isles, consisting of himself and hitobashuru of the Semiography Bureau, hoping to claim the islands before another party did so. This matter was viewed as of importance as the isles themselves sit in direct line of sight to the town hall and planned city of Pavia, and any construction there would impact the view and nature of the western coastline. Signs claiming the land were quickly erected across both islands, however their fears of another claimant would be realised upon the discovery of a small hovel in a cave on the larger isle.

Later on in the day, on the 3rd of June, the western island's inhabitant contacted Pavians in local chat to inquire about the signs that had been placed around the shore. SeniorGryphon requested an audience with the Crown Prince to discuss the situation and the status of his island & Pavia. Discussions between the two were friendly and they broached a myriad of topics. SeniorGryphon revealed that he was unaware of the Pavian landmass, having only mapped up to his island before settling down. Whilst initially SeniorGryphon expressed mild interest in joining Pavia as a constituent country, it was eventually agreed that Gryphon was welcome to remain independent on his islands so long as the land was not granted to any foreign power in the future.

On the 6th of June, SeniorGryphon communicated that he was abandoning the island and moving to the -, - quadrant. As a result of this information, the Pavian government at the behest of BritishWanderer would lead another expedition to these islands, to plant three flags and more signage to reinforce Pavia's claim to the islands. Upon their arrival, they found numerous signs stating that the islands are haunted, these signs coupled with the dilapidated state of the lighthouse and surrounding terrain earned the larger island the moniker of 'Quiet Isle' for its eerie feeling.

Lucassio Islands

The Lucassio Islands are the largest and closest set of islands to the Pavian mainland, with the island chain itself spanning nearly 500 blocks north to south. These islands are numerous and spread out over a large sea-area, making patrolling and effectively snitching a challenge, with the island chain becoming a security issue almost immediately after their claiming.

On the 5th of June, snitch pings alerted the Pavian Nobility to an individual known as 'wiz_cheese' arriving on one of the northern Lucassio Islands, these pings continued for upwards of an hour before the first contact was initiated. The Duke of Windermere, Gobblin, would be the first to reach out to wiz_cheese and enquire about their business, wiz responded that they were settling down on the islands and just constructing their home. Gobblin to avoid any issues offered wiz_cheese to relocate into Pavia and join as a citizen where he could live with others. wiz_cheese reportedly refused Gobblin's offer and the snitch pings continued.

As wiz_cheese had rejected calls to remove themselves from the island by Gobblin, the Crown Prince decided to gather up Gobblin & Hitobashuru to lead an operation to investigate what wiz was up to. Upon their arrival they found wiz_cheese breaking the Pavia flag that was flying on the northern island, and noticed that the shoreline & tops of the islands had been partially destroyed and terraformed away. Horrified at the sight, the Crown Prince asked wiz_cheese to vacate the islands, which wiz_cheese agreed to, recognising that he was outnumbered and left the general area.

Gobblin returned back to the mainland whilst BritishWanderer and Hitobashuru attempted to repair the damage, and rebuild the flag. Hitobashuru also brought with them snitches that would be used to reinforce the security of the Lucassio islands to further prevent any troubles from occurring again.

Merely 30 minutes later, snitches spotted wiz_cheese boating around the western shoreline of the Pavian mainland, assuming that he was looking for a new spot the Pavians ignored these pings. However, these pings would be a sign of things to come, as eventually the Lucassio Island snitches would light up with sightings of mr cheese yet again at the Island that he had just griefed. As Hito & British were in the area, they quickly made their way back to the north island and upon being spotted by wiz, he boated away from the island. Hito and British would begin a pursuit in their own watercraft, beginning the first coast guard chase in Pavia. Immediately after hearing of the commotion, Gobblin got into his own vessel and joined the chase successfully. Wiz_cheese performed evasive maneuvers and at times, eluded the three pursuers in the vast western ocean. The hunt for wiz_cheese and the pursuit of his vehicle would last almost 18 minutes before coming to its fatal end. The pursuit would be written about in the Pavian Tribune and would be one of it's first public articles.

This sole event would lead the Crown Prince BritishWanderer I to enact a decree establishing the Pavian Coast Guard under the purview of the Duke of Braemar, Cissonius.

Construction of the Town Hall
-- Progress on the project was faster than expected, whilst initially, the construction only grew 4 meters between the 5th and 9th of June, it gained pace rapidly, adding 11 meters to the town hall between the 9th and the 12th of June.

Crown Prince
The Crown Prince of Pavia is recognized as the Head of State and is entrusted with supreme legislative, judicial, and executive powers.

Crown Prince Elections in Pavia
The Crown Prince of Pavia is elected by a majority of the Dukes no sooner than every four weeks and no later than every 10 weeks.

Dice Day

The wide breadth in time between electable periods is due to the Pavian National 'Dice Day'. After six weeks of rule, the Crown Prince must partake in Dice Day; a randomized dice-based system that will determine when they 'die', and their reign ends. Every Saturday after the 6th week, the crown prince must choose a number off of a 6-sided die and roll the dice, should their chosen number appear then they are deemed dead by the state and an election for a new Crown Prince is held immediately. Should the Crown Prince's number not appear, then they are safe from death until the next Saturday when they must roll again. However, this time picking two numbers, as the number of numbers picked each Dice Day shall correspond to the number of Dice Days they have endured in their current reign. For instance, if it was the Crown Prince's 3rd Dice Day then they will pick 3 separate numbers off of the dice, giving them just a 50% chance of survival. * Due to a calculation error, BritishWanderer II would only serve 42 total days as his first dice day was scheduled to be a week earlier than it should have been - this was upheld by the Dukes however and the process continued, with the Crown Prince dying on his 'second' dice day.

Election Process

Elections are to be done anonymously, with each Duke informing the State Tabulator privately of their desired candidate for Crown Prince. If no Duke reaches the threshold of a ducal majority, or if there is a tie, then the State Tabulator presents the anonymized vote tally to the Dukes, and voting shall continue in the same manner until a majority is reached. Within this system, elections for Crown Prince may go on for multiple rounds until a candidate is chosen.

Elections always take place on a Saturday, and in the event of a legal assassination of the Crown Prince, the election would be held on the nearest Saturday.

State Tabulator

The State Tabulator is elected unanimously by the Dukes and shall serve indefinitely until their removal or replacement.

List of Privy Council Votes
The Privy Council of Pavia is a voting and discussion body made up of all reigning Dukes of Pavia. Generally it operates on majority vote, in the exception of constitutional laws and amendments.

Institutions of Pavia
The Institutions of Pavia are the established bodies deemed of vital importance to the health of the Principality, and as such the institutions along with their bureau heads are enshrined in the Constitution, requiring a unanimous vote to overhaul them.

Bureau of Semiography
The Bureau of Semiography is responsible for designing and maintaining all heraldic symbols, coats of arms, and flags. The position of the Royal Semiographer is currently inhabited by Hitobashuru, Seigneur of San Selano.

The Heraldry of Pavia is under the purview of the Bureau of Semiography, which is currently led by Hitobashuru. Hitobashuru has been responsible for creating the Coat of Arms for 6 Dukedoms, and 1 Seigneury. The CoAs are made with continual advice from the noble and are made to reflect their traditions, colours, and their attributes.

Bureau of Architecture
The Bureau of Architecture is responsible for outlining, innovating upon, and enforcing the build-style of Pavia. They also maintain control over city planning within established urban areas. The position of Head of Architecture is currently inhabited by Gobblin, Duke of Windermere.

Pavian Coast Guard
The Pavian Coast Guard was first established in June 2022 by Crown Prince BritishWanderer I. in response to the imminent threat of criminals trying to gain a foothold on Pavian soil. He handed over the Head of Office to Cissonius, Duke of Braemar, endowing the office with extended rights and powers. The Office currently is still active.

On July 13th, 2022, BritishWanderer II reinforced the Pavian Coast Guard by passing the Coast Guard Regulation Act. This Act instituted a meritocratic promotion system and training regimen for members of the Coast Guard.

Crown Princes of Pavia
The Crown Princes are elected by the Privy Council, which is made of every Duke of Pavia. The Dukes vote anonymously by messaging the State Tabulator their choice for Crown Prince, their choice must be a reigning Duke to be counted as valid. The State tabulator then counts the votes, should a candidate receive a simple majority then the election is concluded and they are crowned as the ruler of Pavia until their death. If no candidate reaches a majority of ducal votes in the first round, the State Tabulator shall make every Duke aware of the anonymous tally, and then ask for everyone to submit their votes again, this process repeats until a Duke reaches the majority needed to ascend to the position of Crown Prince.