Variadia

The Empire of Variadia (variadian: Empèr de Variadia) is a constitutional federal monarchy located in central Artemia. It borders to the west with Velselexo, and to the north with Samotkhe; the Amomosean Sea separates it from Lusjki and Mursland, while the Eurybian Sea separates it from Kesh.

Anciently home of the Arvean civilisation, based along the Thala river, the Variadian region was first settled by the Thallassian who founded the ancient cities of Garaea and Plataea (nowadays Gaënora and Pratensa), and then conquered and massively Helticised by the Heltic Empire. Shattered into multiple city states after the collapse of the Heltic Empire and the barbaric invasions, during the Middle Ages the country was progressively unified by the Grand Duchy of Gaenora ruled by the Prevan dynasty, which prides itself in being one of the longest continuous reigning families in the world. The Renaissance Era sees the proclamation of the Empire of Variadia in 1496 and the foundation of Remoria, current capital and marvelous example of a Renaissance planned city built under the reign of Remis I the Great and his son Sevas I the Magnificent. The golden age of Variadia however is widely acknowledged to have been under empress Candia during the XVII century; the first and only female ruler that ever ruled Variadia conceded in fact the Charta Augustalis which for the first time separated the legislative, judiciary and executive powers and put an end to absolutism in the country. Candia is also known for the great impulse she gave to the Variadian industry and commerce thanks to mercantilism, which granted the country enough revenues to invest in a massive artistic and cultural production as well as laying the bases for the industrialisation of the country in the XIX-XX centuries.

Nowadays known for her picturesque maritime and mountain landscapes, her trains, her classical music and her luxury products (mostly wine, furniture and silk), Variadia is a well developed country and a popular destination especially for students, thanks to the high reputation of the Treval University in Gaenora and the Damanosta College in Arion.

Etymology
According to linguists, the name Variadia may have multiple origins; it could either come from Latin “viridis” meaning “green”, hence “the green land”, or from proto-Variadian “valada” meaning “valley” as referred to the valley of the Thala river. The name however appears as it is already under the Heltic Empire which divided the land between the provinces of Variadia Gareathis and Variadia Placentina. The Middle Ages saw the name being progressively abandoned as the multiple states in which the country was divided chose to occasionally unite under the name of “League of the Two Seas” to fight against Velselexo during the Highlands War and against the Samot during the Izvor Valley War. The name was still used however to indicate the language and the populations that spoke it as opposed to any other population that didn’t. Finally during the Renaissance, when the empire was eventually unified, the rediscovery of the classical literature and the need to find a name for the new country brought the ancient term Variadia back in use.

Middle Ages
In the 14th century, Variadia is devastated by a terrible plague epidemic that kills almost a third of the country's population. The demographic decline leads to a desaturation of the labor market; the consequent increase in wages massively redesigns the economic system of the entire region, together with the introduction of new crops from the East (rice, mulberries for silk production) and the expansion of merchant activities. The Variadian states prosper, and gold coins even begin to circulate minted by the most powerful cities such as Gaënora, Pratensa and Dyanema to cope with the increase in prices and above all in traded goods. With well-being, the military power of the lords also grows, and with it the ambition of the lords; the dawn of the fifteenth century sees in fact the Valley Wars break out, which in the space of fifty years sanction the hegemony of the Grand Duchy of Gaënora over the entire Thala plain; thus in 1439 the Kingdom of Lernaea is born. To the north, in the meantime, the Grand Duchy of Pratensa manages to repel the raids of the Samot clans, and with the capture of Astrami in 1445 it ensures control of the lower Izvor by founding the Kingdom of Calusa. Finally in 1454 the Grand Duchy of Dyanema unifies the lands to the southwest of the two aforementioned kingdoms creating the Kingdom of Vostonia. Crucial in the military rise of Gaënora, Pratensa and Dyanema is the introduction of gunpowder from Kesh, which results in the development of the cannon and the harquebus. Firearms shortly lead to the decline of cavalry and castles, effectively marking the transition from medieval to modern times.

Variadian Renaissance
The Pedemontan Wars that break out in 1471 see the emergence of Lernaea as a hegemonic power as the kingdom, allied with Vostonia, defeats the Heltic Empire allied with Calusa, bringing under his yoke the entirety of the Laeran basin by 1475. The wars end with the marriage between the then prince Remis Prevan with Orissa Melanion, daughter of king Fanes Melanion of Calusa. In 1496 Socras Melanion, brother of Orissa and king of Calusa after their father's death in 1478, dies after naming his nephew prince Sevas Prevan of Lernea as his heir to the Calusan throne. Sevas being still a teen at the time, the regency is assumed by his father Remis, crowned king of Laernea the year after, who unites the two crowns of Lernea and Calusa and creates the empire of Variadia. The new state thus constituted opens a long era of peace and prosperity for the entire country; the end of the continuous wars between the various lordships and later kingdoms leads to an exceptional increase in trade, and the consequent general climate of wealth and optimism encourages the development of arts and sciences. Around the construction of Remoria, the grandiose capital wanted by Remis the Great and completed under his son Sevas, allows through the rediscovery of ancient techniques to develop new experiments in the field of sculpture, art and architecture. Remoria is built not to glorify God but to celebrate the greatness of man, and by virtue of this it actually embodies the era that will be known by posterity as the Variadian Renaissance.

More than his father Remis, Sevas is nowadays considered by the majority of historians as the true example of the Variadian Renaissance king; during his almost equally long reign, spanning from 1512, the year of Remis' death, to 1548, Sevas "the Magnificent" patronizes arts and culture, founds numerous new cities such as Monsevas in modern-day Piedmont (another admirable example of Renaissance urbanism), gives a massive boost to sciences by welcoming scientists and scholars at the universities of Arion and Gaenora and radically reforms the state structure by creating the Consel General (today's Variadian parliament) through the union between the Calusan Boulé and the Lernaean Mayoria. The only war Sevas fights is the one against Vostonia in 1521, which brings the kingdom under the Variadian crown as the death of the last king without any heir projects Sevas himself as the most suitable candidate to the throne.

Golden Era
The century between 1550 and 1650 is generally considered as the empire's golden age. With the Evoryan peninsula pacified under the Variadian hegemony, the empire is now able to secure the main trade routes between Northeastern Kesh and Central Artemia by controlling the access to the Belpecian Gulf and the lower Izvor. Variadian galleons manage to push themselves even further, reaching the Green Sea by 1580 and the Akitei and Jade Sea by the beginning of XVII century. New trade agreements are sealed with the Vojiskiy Empire and the rich East Keshan kingdoms and empires; in 1601 the Pratentine Bank of Roscan finances the establishment of the West Tethys Company, a trade company charged to manage all trades between Variadia, Eastern Artemia and Eastern Kesh through opportunely purchased trading posts along the coasts facing the ocean. Meanwhile in 1603 the Gaënoran Bank of Aymarcos founds the Eurybian Company with the same purpose but focused on Eurybian trade routes, notably with the West. The necessity to secure Gaënora's access to the western routes pushes the company to obtain from the decadent Heltic Empire the isles guarding the access to the Gulf of Garaea as well as the concession of the port of Brusta, as guarantees for the loan conceded by the bank to the Heltic emperor.

Government
The Empire of Variadia is a federal constitutional monarchy. The emperor holds the executive power, together with eight councillors elected by the Parliament and assigned to eight ministries: Culture and Research, Defense, Economics and Finances, Energy and Transportations, Foreign Affairs, Health, Internal Affairs, and Justice.

Parliament
The Variadian parliament or Consel General holds the legislative power and is bicameral.

Economy
Variadia's economy is nowadays heavily tertiarised, with 70.1% of the total productivity made of trades, finances, banking activities, hi-tech and tourism. About 25.8% of the total productivity is then covered by industrial activities, mostly pharmaceuticals, textile, mechanical and food processing (especially confectionery) industries; clocks and watches specifically make out Variadia's most prided industry. Finally, 4,1% is dedicated to agriculture, with the main cultivations being olives, vines, wheat and fruits in the plains and along the rivers, and to farming on the mountains. In the past fishing was well developed particularly in the gulfs, but nowadays it is rapidly being replaced by pisciculture.

Agriculture
The agricultural sector in Variadia was very developed in the past, to the point that the Variadian plains were deemed to be the "breadbasket of the empire". During the industrial revolution however the fields were progressively abandoned in favor of the textile and metallurgic factories emerging in the largest cities. The wealth and progress derived from industrialisation caused a redirection of the agricultural activities towards a more "niche" function, where Variadian products are mostly considered luxuries rather than subsistence goods. The most diffused cultivations are nowadays vines, especially in the provinces of Rosel and Palast known for their wine production, olives for oil production mostly in the Dyanema province and on the islands, fruits such as cherries in Nives, agrumes in Colomna, apples in Beresan and Yedres and peaches and apricots in Latona, and finally wheat and other cereals on the lower Thala between Arion and Gaënora, whose bakery products are emblematic of Variadian culture. The lower Thala is also known for the mulberries cultivations, planted in the Middle Ages following the importations of the first silkworms from across the Eurybian Ocean. The provinces of Pratensa and Sancores are known for their corn production; Pratensa is particularly renowned for her roses fields, used mostly for cosmetic and perfumes productions. The island of Torsa is curiously known for her cheese production and dairy industry; from there comes the Fontan cheese. Very peculiar are finally the rice fields of Remoria; their implementation remounts to the Renaissance and was partly due to the favorable climate and abundance of water which allowed the cultivation of rice in that region, and partly to defensive purposes: Sevas I the Magnificent planned in fact to open the locks and flood Remoria's rice fields if the city ever risked of being besieged.

Industry
Variadia's industries are nowadays mostly concentrated around the country's largest metropolitan areas such as Gaënora and Pratensa. Developed during the XIX century, the Variadian industry was boosted thanks to the massive iron deposits found in the eastern mountainous regions which encouraged the birth of the "black cities" of metallurgy along the Thala river. At the time, the key sector of the country's industry was however the textile one, thanks to the centuries old silk work tradition as well as the arrival of cotton from Northern Kesh. XIX century saw also the birth of the first great confectionery brands, specialized particularly on chocolate which is nowadays Variadia's most known exported good together with watches and clocks. Clockwork industry, born originally in the most mountainous regions, is today concentrated around Gaënora while another historical Variadian industry, that of glassware and porcelain, is located mainly around Pratensa. Pharmaceuticals is nowadays the country's leading industry, with the majority of the largest corporations being concentrated in this sector.

Services
The largest Variadian economic hubs are the metropolitan areas of Gaënora in the south and Pratensa in the north-east. Being the seat of the Variadian stock exchange, Pratensa is considered to be the country's economic and trade capital; however, Gaënora challenges this role thanks to the seat of the Imperial Bank of Variadia which makes her the financial heart of the empire.

Variadia's currency is the dama, whose value is determined through an autonomous monetary policy and a state fixed exchange rate.