Nara

Nara
On each side of the flag, one finds three heavenly trigrams representing the divinity of the nation. In the center the moon rises in a dark night sky.
General
Location	3300, 4700
Demonym	Naran
Activity level	High
Alliance	DNA
Capital city	Shiroyama
Settlements	Ichinokawa, Sunatoride, Kajitsu
Area	3.05 km^2
Government
Government	Feudal Shogunate
• Shikken	SwordMaster7777
• Rensho	Prawny331
• Komuin	Bronnakus, JeyHey, Greltam
Formation
Foundation date	2nd June 2022
Preceded by	Far Seas Alliance, Inferno
Links
Discord	https://discord.gg/M8etHAEyBB

Nara is a nation on CivMC, located in the deep (+,+) on the continent of Alenarith. The nation is based on Japan and is rooted in aesthetics and environmentalism.

Nara's territory runs from Lake Biwa in the north to the world border, and reminds many of Chile, to the point that an acceptable alternative demonym for Nara is "Chile Admirer."

Nara is bordered to the west and southwest by Dalgon, the east by Free Danzilonan Republic, Llama Land and Gensokyo, and to the north and northwest by Doom City and the Arsenio Pact.

History

Initially founded in late 2020 by several members of nations in the Far Seas Alliance in CivRealms 2.0, Nara was planned for the now-cancelled iteration CivEx 4.0. Following the decline of player count on CivRealms, Nara was initially planned as a nation of states, much like Nro'meagh and later the Imperial Federation (albeit with a more rigid federal structure), to make use of some of the planned mechanics of CivEx. Due to the cancellation of CivEx, many members continued on to play CivUniverse or Devoted Hell in the interim. In Hell, many Narans composed the successful nation of Inferno while waiting for a more serious, stable server to release. This did not occur until the announcement of CivMC in early 2022. With CivEx out of the picture, Nara was merged under one banner in preparation for launch, and many of the plans for subdivision into smaller nations (such as the planned nation of Nagoya) were abandoned.

Launch

Upon launch, the Narans paired up with the Dalgonians to find suitable land for settlement. Given the nature of both nations' ambitions, with Nara wanting to build its capital by a mountain and Dalgon wanting to live inside a mountain, the two were natural neighbors. Within half an hour of launch, Dalgonian leader Fredhun14 found and shared pictures of beautiful white cliffs by a birch forest. Shikken SwordMaster7777 loved it, and the scattered Narans beelined to settle the area. After switching to the meadows north of the mountains, work quickly began to set up defenses and farms in what would become Shiroyama.

Within a week of founding, Shiroyama had begun construction in earnest. The house of Bronnakus, Nara's oldest building, was built on 6/4/2022, followed quickly by Ukai's house and sheep gauntlet in Noto Point. By the end of the week, Nara hosted a flower shop, wood exchange, multiple houses, and the global headquarters of MofuMofu Wool, the largest provider of both gay and anime girl wool in CivMC. Shiroyama, a city built at a reasonable scale and focused on aesthetics, quickly blossomed into an attractive place for foreign visitors and investors.

The First Month

Ichinokawa was thought of within the first week, but it was not until week three that Paragonius began the project in earnest. In that time Shiroyama also was expanding quickly and drawing in newfriends, as well as advancing through the tech tree with the help of Greltam and his farms in the Greltam Special Economic Zone (GSEZ), which is located in north Dalgon. A public factory room was set up, and Komuin Bronnakus continued to encourage settlement and home construction throughout Shiroyama. New parts of the city were seeing growth, and the SpeedyJustice Manor Neighborhood began to take shape at this time with the construction of the eponymous manor.

Second Month and Onwards

The second month of the server did not go as smoothly as the first, though Nara is still flourishing. During this time the Nara Royal Academy of Sciences, an academy with the mission to collect every written book in the world and allow free access to them, as well as the Nara Brewers Guild, were created. The settlements of Kajitsu and Sunatoride sprung up and many new recruits joined the citizenry of Nara.

However, notorious raider Vah decided to set his set his sights on the continent of Alenarith in this time period. Due to his slippery nature, for quite some time Vah was able to raid with impunity. However, one fateful day Vah decided to raid the newly-founded Nara Brewers Guild while Komuin and famous build, book, and brewfriend Bronnakus was online and attempting to brew Nara no Uisuki. Despite at first not wanting confrontation with Vah and logging out, Bronnakus quickly came back to defend his work. Vah killed him and destroyed all of his brewing materials. In anger, Bronnakus charged at him six times without armor. On the sixth time, knowing reinforcements were inbound, Vah attempted to escape. He was chased by Bronnakus (still armorless and weaponless) and Earyx (who was in gold prot) and eventually suffered the dreaded connection issues known to have plagued the server that day, which had been running at 20TPS without problems. Seizing the moment, the duo of buildfriends attacked without mercy and killed Vah. Despite not being able to pearl him, the kill was not without its benefits, as Vah lost multiple weapons, potions, tools, and armor pieces, most of which was burnt or dropchested far from Nara.

Wanting revenge, after waiting for the buildfriends to go to bed, Vah obbybombed downtown Shiroyama with a stack of IRO before being chased off. This was easily cleaned up with the help of allies., and peace returned to Shiroyama once more.

Geography

The first public claims map of Nara was released on June Eighth, six days after SOTW and two days following Dalgon publicizing their claims.

Cities, Towns, and Villages

Shiroyama

Shiroyama ("White Mountain") is the capital city of Nara. It is a Japanese word best translated as either White Mountain (白山) or Castle Mountain (城山) depending on the kanji used. The name draws inspiration from the real-life Mount Shiroyama in Kagoshima, the site of the Battle of Shiroyama.

As a capital city, Shiroyama is the largest city in Nara. It benefits from its proximity to populated, allied nations, and fringes multiple bodies of water including Lake Biwa to the north, Beartooth River to the west, and the Ebi River to the east. The sizable Lake Biwa is of particular note due to its central location in the plus-plus (+,+) quadrant. It connects at least six different nations both to each other and to the ocean via water.

Port Shiroyama is located on the Beartooth River. It acts as the central area for shipping to and from Nara. It connects to roads Ninjin St. and Taru Terr. which host many of Nara's businesses and residences, respectively.

Within Shiroyama are multiple neighborhoods. The Old Town is the most developed of them all, and is the place of residence for most citizens. Also notable are the SpeedyJustice Manor Neighborhood, the Modern Area (which hosts the rail station), and Sakura Forest, a planned community in Southeast Shiroyama.

A view down one of Old Town Shiroyama's main avenues, Bokuso-Chi Ave.

Noto Peninsula

North of Shiroyama lays the Noto peninsula (named for a place in Japan), flanked by the diverging rivers Ebi and Beartooth. It is the northernmost geographical region of Shiroyama, reaching a northern extremity at Noto Point, the tip of the peninsula. There is a small, unincorporated agricultural community on the peninsula. Notable features include the headquarters of the Naran Agricultural Department and its expansive farm, spanning the entire northern half of the peninsula. It produces mass quantities of products to be used both nationally and abroad. A lighthouse is planned to be built on Noto Point.

Ichinokawa

Ichinokawa ("Rock Quarry Village") is a village in the central birch forest of Nara. It is home to Paragonius, and is a popular destination for visitors looking to get away from dense urban areas. Ichinokawa was originally intended to be a place for an aesthetically-pleasing quarry to satisfy the stone needs of ever-growing Shiroyama, but after the project was taken over by Paragonius, the site was considered to be too beautiful to mar with a quarry, making the name a misnomer.

Kajitsu

Kajitsu ("Berry") is a hamlet in Southern Nara founded by Ukai upon his return to CivMC. The site was chosen due to its remote nature and allows for a peaceful retreat from the hustle and bustle of economic activity and politics. On the site is the Bronnakus Berry Cabin, built in early July to "make the southern part of Nara a little less Crayola sixty-four pack with sharpener, and a little more Crayola twenty-four pack" (Bronnakus), as well as some farms for brewery supplies.

Sunatoride

On July 22, 2022, it was discovered that a trio of newfriends began building a village in an Arabian style on a small beach in central Nara, unaware of the claims. Komuin of Citizen Management Bronnakus, as well as HPLaptop, discovered the settlement on a trip southwards. After some investigation, the pair was able to determine the owners of the settlement. Rather than reacting harshly, the group was invited to join Nara as an official village. Sunatoride ("Sand Fort") was given as a temporary name while the group decides for itself a proper settlement name.

Politics

Feudal System

Nara is a Feudalist Shogunate led by Shikken SwordMaster7777. Reporting to the Shikken is his Rensho, Prawny331, the nation's second-in-command. The rest of the Naran government is made up of the Komuin, who oversee specific parts of the government.

Komuin of Citizen Management

Handles recruitment, plot assignment, coordination of zoning, and promotion from resident to citizen, works with the population to ensure citizens are happy and having fun. Currently held by Bronnakus from the server's launch.

Komuin of the Interior

Coordinates management of natural resource gathering and farming, as well as all land either reserved for national parks or not currently part of a city/village. Initially held by dynamiczbee, who stepped down in late July to be replaced by Greltam.

Komuin of the Treasury

Oversees shop creation and maintenance, promotes Naran business internationally and encourages businesses to open in Nara in coordination with Citizen Management, identifies opportunities for economic cooperation and works with Infrastructure to develop trade routes and ease travel, controls national currency should the need for one arise. Initially held by Ukai, who also stepped down in late July so that JeyHey could shuffle from the defunct position of Komuin of Infrastructure

Naran Infrastructure Committee

Initally a full Komuin role, the position was transitioned into a joint citizen committee to oversee public infrastructure works such as roads, rails and bridges. This committee is currently chaired by Asakuun, along with HPLaptop and MythicPatronymic.

International Relations

Nara has a very close relationship with the bordering nation of Dalgon. This is due to the fact that the Shikken SwordMaster7777 is a good friend of the founder of Dalgon, fredhun14. This close allyship also assisted both nations during the CivMC launch as they could guard each other's backs from the roaming players at the time, merging their territory until official claims maps could be posted, although this did lead to some confusion with many people believing that the two separate nations were but one. This alliance is yet to be formalised, but has been named the Dalgon-Nara Alliance, or DNA.

Nara maintains friendly relations with all of its neighbors, and generally remains neutral on the world stage. Shiroyama hosts a consulate for each of the member nations of the Arsenio Pact, and is connected by rail to Danzilona, Gensokyo, MTA, and is working on connections to Arsenio and the Pridelands.

Culture

An illustrated map of the early Naran Nation

Naran culture is built on two pillars:

1. Vibing
2. Environmentalism

Vibing has been integral to the foundation of Nara ever since its roots in the Far Seas Alliance, with Shikken SwordMaster7777 leading the nation of Vibeville. As a principle, Nara does not seek out war with other nations, nor does it engage in wanton expansion. Nara claims that its national interests are to harmonize with its neighbors, to cooperate thoroughly, and to prioritize industry.

Environmentalism is also integral to Nara's roots. Komuin Bronnakus and Rensho Prawny331 ran the colony of New Providence, which was built in a Solarpunk style and strongly valued environmental integration and architectural passivity. This translates today into the careful consideration of terrain that is present in all of Shiroyama's construction. While other nations see little issue with wiping out entire flower fields and cutting across mountains with trenches, Nara is keen on avoiding such things.

Economy

The Naran Agricultural Department's Noto Farmland

Nara boasts an agrarian economy with an increasing rate of industrialization. The majority of jobs are currently in construction, with mining and farming being other popular choices. Due to Nara's core lands of meadows, birch forests, and taiga, Nara is a leading producer of carrots and wheat, birch wood, and spruce wood, respectively. Other significant exports include wool, dirt, obsidian, and honey. Presently, there is no official currency of Nara, with most shops trading in iron and diamonds.

The Naran economy also has a significant amount of shops specializing in brewing items, largely stocked by the Nara Brewers Guild. Presently, there are six shops, bars, restaurants, and cafes in Nara.

Brewer's Guild

With the addition of the brewing pluging to CivMC server on July 24, 2022, Nara quickly formed and founded the Brewer's Guild on the same date to discover and perfect brewing recipes.

The guild is headquartered in Shiroyama and is formed by individuals who have an active shop in Nara related to brews like cafes, restaurants, tea shops, etc or that are part of The Nara Royal Academy of Sciences. At the same time, guild members cooperate with each other and share their knowledge within the guild.

Nara's Brewer's Guild boasts of having discovered and perfected to 5 stars almost 40 different recipes in the first 4 days of brewing being added to the server.

The guild is currently led by Superbgamer5225 as Brew Master.

Nara has two national brews:

• Nara Puffer Fish Wine, discovered and perfected by Earyx. Being the first Naran recipe to be perfected and granting him the title of Auxiliary Brew Master.

• Nara no Uiskui, discovered and perfected by bronnakus, Director of the Nara Royal Academy of Sciences and Recordkeeper of the guild, after pushing throught some harsh time with raids and targeted attacks trying to ruin the brewing process.