Salia

The Confederation of Salian States, commonly known as Salia or Saillsland, is an island nation in East Alutra, located in the northwest Locufaric Ocean. It is bordered on the west by the Salian Sea, across from which it borders the nations of Gladomyr, Ordrey, and Lathadu. The Confederation of Salian States includes the main island of Oileán Sáille, as well as Melesa, Ynys Tyll, and many smaller isles. Scrá is Salia’s capital and largest city; other major cities include Porth Grai, Dirái, Cloichín, Melath, Órwen’threv, and Porth Rhôn. The total area of Salia is 437,854.07 square kilometers.

Salia is a federal semi-presidential parliamentary republic. It is led by a Premier as head of state and a Prime Minister as head of government. Salia’s parliament is divided into two houses: a lower house elected at the national level, and an upper house elected at the regional level. Salia consists of eleven traditional regions. Each region in turn is divided further into prefectures and has their own devolved governments, with varying powers granted by Salia’s constitution. It endures as among the most populous and economically prosperous nations of East Alutra; the large main island is home to a wide variety of geographic formations and climates, leading the Salian people to become nearly as diverse themselves in appearance and custom.

Salia has been inhabited since the Upper Paleolithic period (40,000 BC), though the first written mention of the islands appears at around the time of the formation of the Sedic Confederacy in 244 BCE. The union of Salia’s various clans in 23 CE created the first unified form of rule of the island itself, strengthened by the sudden collapse of the Sedic Confederation in 85 CE. A revolution concerning the balance of power within the Confederation upset this fragile peace in 478 CE, although power would again coalesce together by 1235 with the formation of the Salian Empire. At its peak, the early Salian Empire commanded territories in what is now Ordrey and Lathadu. Although these territories eventually slipped from its grasp, a powerful navy allowed Salia to project its power across the world. Most of Salia’s overseas empire was either granted independence or took it by force by 1914, but it remains today as a dominating presence in the region with several overseas territories, as well as cultural legacies left behind in nations such as Gemurtrak and Huenarno.

Salia has among the world’s largest economies by nominal gross domestic product (GDP). It has a high-income economy and a very high human development index rating. It was one of the world’s first industrialized nations, and was among the foremost powers during the 19th and 20th centuries. Today, Salia remains a great power, with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific, technological, and political influence internationally. It is recognized as a nuclear weapon state and ranks highly globally in terms of military expenditure. It has been a prominent member of the World Forum since its founding. The culture of Salia is well known around the world, including its art, cuisine, music, and popular culture, which encompasses prominent comic book, animation, and video game industries.

Etymology
The word Salia comes from the name of the goddess Sáille (Cídeach), the Ayekist goddess of Salia believed to be a pan-Alutran mother goddess.

Pre-history
The Lledoweg arrived to the island first, occupying the southern portion until Cídeach Salians migrated and conquered the western portion of the island. The Salians traveled north and settled the territory that would be known as Gladomyr in the modern day, remaining Sedic until the Lord's Conquest in 85BCE after the fall of the Sedic Confederacy.

Sedic Confederacy
In 244 BCE, Cídeach Salians, whose population stretched from Lathadu across the Island of Salia to modern-day Gladomyr, and after Cánach from Ordrey invaded the island of Salia, settling it, the Sedic confederacy was formed effectively uniting the Sedic ethnic groups into a decentralized country with the head located in what would become Vernon, Ordrey.

Unification
Íadal Mac Conchobhair (who united the tribes to stave off the Myrish who invaded Gladomyr and then northern Salia). Basically his clan became the protector of all tribes, sort of like an enlarged version of the clan system, spread out across all of Salia. From 1000's to 1200's CE, his clan ruled, with the stipulation that each of the other two tribes, the Cánach and Lledoweg, would send their strongest clans to each move to the capital of Scrá in order to advise and act as representatives. However, this system was obviously designed for corruption, and the Lledoweg and Cánach, who already had cultural differences with the Cídeach, felt that their clans were doing more to amass power for themselves than as representatives, and the other clans basically started a civil war/revolution around 1500CE, which ended in a stalemate, with the southern clans not conquering the capital, and with the north not able to subdue the two southern tribes.

Huenarno
In 1535, a rich Cídeach tradesman by the name of Giolla Mac Airde commissioned the first Salian mission to Huenarno, and his sailors, under the helm of the Lledoweg captain and business partner of Giolla named Brin ap Nydd, claimed the beach where they landed in the name of the clan of their employer, who quickly bought and sent other ships to the country. As Salians ventured inland, the traders encountered the native Ralph’s people. The Salians were peaceful at first, setting up a small village on the northern coast of the territory, but as the Huenarnoans became more hostile to the expansion of the company's work, violence was used to enforce trade deals that the Huenarnoans wished to pull out of. Giolla mac Airde petitioned the Salish government to aid him and his company, and the Salian government put Giolla in control of the territory, which was quickly conquered by the Salian navy.

Strategy
The Salians justify their imperialism with a concept called “Solas Saorga” or “Artificial Light.” They claimed it was their responsibility to colonize undeveloped regions in the continents, to introduce modern Alutran political ideas, social reforms, industrial methods and new technologies. Without Salian intervention, the reasoning goes, these places would remain backward, uncivilised and poverty stricken. But basically it was a facade. The real motive for colonialism was profit, and profit only. The Salians wanted to be a modern Alutran powerhouse and it worked. Those who converted to Ayekism, learned Alutran languages, and generally cooperated were treated with a lot of respect and given a lot of power. Those who didn’t were viewed as lesser or uneducated at best, and enemies at worst. The Salians weren’t like the English. They didn’t want to Salicize the whole world, but they used their culture as a vetting process, a tool to identify and extract people who were intelligent and willing to cooperate with them from the colonies and place them in positions of power, allowing those people to do most of the colonizing work while the Salians reaped the benefits. They allowed those who wanted to practice their own culture to live as they wished, but inevitably there would always be opportunistic people in every colonized country who would jump at the chance to have power sanctioned by the Salians. It never failed. It did, however, mean that the Salians underestimated the colonized people very often. A great example is Huenarno, where the Huenarnoans used the natural world to hoodwink the Salians, such as revolutionaries training birds to squawk every time a light skinned person was near, etc. without the Salians noticing

There was no real ideological motive to colonization beyond mercantilism. It was all profit, and the Salians simply used their culture as a weapon. The government didn’t care who spoke the Salian languages, or who was Ayekist, or who had a Salian PhD. They cared about coin and they used those things to sift through which natives would prove to be of most use to them by jumping through their hoops. Salian colonial officers treated those in their colonies like objects, or weapons that either would advance their agenda, not do anything at all, or cause a problem. Solas Saorga was written about in the 20th century by a Salian nationalist by the name of Sísil map Drú, anthropologist and scholar of Salian colonial systems. He distilled the Salian strategy into a formula:


 * 1) Salia sets up many ports in Country-A
 * 2) Salia bolsters C-A’s economy with their trading connections, maybe lining the pockets of powerful people who are involved with the HIC (Huenarno Import Company; state sanctioned colonialism)
 * 3) Salia begins levying massive tariffs in its ports strangling other foreign goods. It also begins making more and more aggressive trading deals until the port authority or local government dares to say “no” or tries to drive Salia out
 * 4) Salia uses any pushback as justification for armed takeover to “protect Salian lives” or “enforce international law” or “recuperate unfair losses” or whatever the HIC pays to get printed in Salia and C-A’s newspapers. Oftentimes the Salians have payed politicians, monarchs, and authorities so well that it’s completely bloodless, and Salia immediately puts leaders educated in Salia or trained by Salians (Artificial Light) who are sympathetic to Salian interests in office or on a throne
 * 5) Salia controls C-A.

In !YEAR, it was reported that Salia was unspeakably cruel in its colonial pursuits, and !Reporter did research that caused a lot of outrage.

Government
Salia has a constitutional Chiefdom, where the clans advisors were replaced by a group of officials which became the Parliament, the Prime Minister was elected by those officials, (and could be from any clan, but only from a clan) and the Head of State was actually three Heads of State, chosen by the Prime Minister from each of the three tribes. Since the Prime Minister could be from any tribe, not just the middle Cídeach, he must have three heads of state each with power that he himself does not possess, each balancing each other out. Eventually the system was broadened (but probably not until the 1900's) to allow non-clan membership in elected roles.

The Prime minister can be of any Tribe, but the subsequent three High Seats must be held by a member of one of each of the three tribes (or, in the modern age, a citizen of each province. Every election cycle, the three subsequent High Seats will rotate between members of each of the three tribes.

War is declared by a vote between the three Seers, with a veto by the president.

Current prime minister is Cínthe map hÓnop

Duties:

Chief of Coin

Current: Rhydd ap Gegin

Oversees taxation, acts as treasurer.

Chief of War

Current: Dorú Covathíach

Oversees Salian foreign relations, international matters, colonial interests, intelligence.

Chief of Public

Current: Báidhin Ó Chonchobhair

Oversees federal law enforcement, matters of national security, immigration.

Clan life
Clans were formed in the early days of habitation on the Island of Salia. All Salian tribes have Clans, although they differ in nomenclature, form and structure depending on location and tribe.

The Salish started out as tribal, with powerful families ruling each tribe. It was typical a patriarch with a lot of sons that amassed a tribe around his family, led by him. As they grew, the tribal system developed into a clan system where this family didn’t just serve and protect a tribe, but a whole area of land, with borders and laws that was called the equivalent of a fiefdom. A woman can join the clan by marrying into it. A man could pledge himself to this family, and would be taken in as a clan member on the condition that he prove his loyalty to the clan and community. Performing rites, giving gifts, and/or proving himself in battle. Clans collected tolls for road usage, tributes from people they protected, etc. Many people were simply content to live protected by the clan.

In old times, the Clan family was the largest and most powerful family of the tribe's territory, and thus a structure developed in order to keep the tribe safe. The Clan family would act as arbiters of justice, as well as protection for the rest of the tribe, who would pay tribute and homage to the Clan family. Any man could pledge himself to the clan family, who then gained their name (Prefixed with Ó, not "mac" in Cídic lands) and worked for them and helped keep peace and prosperity among the lands the clan owned.

Clan membership was open to those of both genders, but via different ways. A man could swear fealty to the Chief of his tribe's clan, and in order to enter the Clan as a Fosterson, the man would be asked to do up to three tasks, and/or give lavish gifts to the Chieftain. The Queen (wife of the Chieftain) would then, upon witness of the completion of these activities and the swearing in ceremony with her husband, bless the new Clansman, and sometimes put on him a geas. Women could only join the clan through marriage, and clansmen were allowed to marry non-clanswomen. However, if a clanswoman desired a non clansman, the clansman would have to become part of her father's clan, in a join initiation/wedding ceremony after his dues and tasks were paid.

But after the second revolution and the modern constitution was written, the clan's official capacity to enact justice waned. The clan system still holds sway and has a lot of ties with clan members in government, but is divorced from government. However, they still are respected and still keep traditions, only they don’t uphold the law. In modern times, clans are hallmarks of many communities in Salia. They protect communities as a sort of neighborhood watch, organize charity, invest in businesses, and protect their own. Descending from a clan is a mark of honor and recognition— it can still be a boon in modern society.

Salian names are patronymic. Among the three tribes, there are different standards for naming among the clans:

Cídeach
The Cídeach live in the north-west part of the island, in the territory known as the Cídeacht.The most traditionally clannish of the three tribes, the Cídí take clan names very seriously. If a man is a direct descendent of a born clansman, he takes the "mac" prefix before his clan name. "Ní" for a woman. If a man or woman is simply affiliated with the tribe, he takes the "Ó" prefix. Non-Clan affiliated Salians only use "mac" in a patronymic sense. A clan-affiliated Salian may use both, for instance Cillian, son of Cloichín, of clan Donn would be Cillian mac Chloicín mac Donn— the second "mac" before the clan name denotes direct lineage, however those who are only sworn to the clan or related to a sworn member would use Ó (Cillian mac Chloicín Ó Donn)

Lledoweg
The boatmakers of the east-south part of the country in Lledowu. The Lledoweg also live on the island just east of Salia called Ynys Rhon.The Lledy use "ap" or "map" (north/south dialectical difference) for all instances, but for clan membership the Lledy prefix the Clan name between the given name and last name. For example, Don of clan Drewyth, son of Faion would be Don Drewyth ap Faion. If the man is not associated with a Clan, it would be Don ap Faion.

Cánach
Living in the north coasts to central mountains of Salia lie the Tír Ganaché, where the Cánach tribe is. This ethnic group is more spread out and rural than the other twoThe Cánach use the same system as the Lledy, except in addition using the preposition “i” marking ownership before the clan name. Archer of clan Drú, son of Don would be Gwirthói i Dhrú map Don. For abbreviation purposes, the man would use Gwirthói map Don unless he wanted to purposefully stress his clan heritage.

Marriage
Most marriages in Salian clan society were historically arranged by the parents of the two individuals. Matches were made when the children are young, with children generally growing up knowing who they were promised to, barring some exceptions. When they reached an appropriate age (16 or so), they would be wed. Love was seen as a sort of duty, not only to one’s partner but the tribe as well.

Matches made by one’s parents were made on the basis of lineage and closeness of the families. If one’s family was famous for having heartier people, then proposals would likely be more abundant. Matches were often made with families of different tribes, to improve genetic diversity and secure alliances between different neighboring groups within the larger cultural umbrellas. Normally women would go to live with the man’s tribe.

Martial Arts
Martial arts in Salia consist of 4 main fighting systems used for different purposes. Báíocht, Claomhaíocht, Sailíocht, and Buillíocht. Claomhaíocht, which translates roughly to “sword craft” or “the art of swords” is not, strictly speaking, a martial art form solely characterized by swords alone. It is broken down into two sub-categories: cíofú, which utilizes the cíof, which is the Salian short sword, and Sá, which utilizes the Salian throwing spear (the sleá).

Báíocht
Báíocht arose in Salia from traditional wrestling matches taking place in shallow water, such as rivers and tide pools on beaches, as a way to circumvent the Salian code of Cógaíocht, "warfare" that commonly treated the usage of weaponry of any kind as a declaration of war. Báíocht avoided this by allowing soldiers to fulfil geas oaths or to defend his individual or his clan's honor without starting a clan war, by engaging in physical unarmed but lethal combat usually resulting in death by drowning. It emphasizes holds, throws, and chokes with the aim of subduing an opponent's head below a shallow waterline. It utilizes subduing groundwork and head-holds.

Báíocht in the modern day is primarily used competitively, and non-lethally, yet still contains an aquatic aspect. Báíocht arenas are a shallow (1/3 meter) pool of water made of waterproofed wood or plastic.