The Federation of Furluania

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Federation of Furluania
Short form: Furluania

National Capital: D'Artagnan

States (Capital):
Nova Borealis (D'Artagnan - 1,832,614)
Nova Occidental (Santa Arineta - 384,913)
Nova Australis (Saint Exeter - 226,409)
Faxany (New Florence - 2,938,488)
Genis (Austrovest - 1,658,326)

Current political leader: Prime Councillor Kitchkinet Netami, MC-Cape Constance (more on his profile in another post)

Political system: The Furluanian government system is a federal system that is more modeled on Germany than on the United States. There is a high degree of power-sharing, with a semi-powerful Federal government seated at D'Artagnan. The parliament is bicameral body, with a lower Federal Council and upper Quintibunal. Councillors carry a postnomen of "Member of Council" (MC), but can be referred to by the prenomen of "Councillor" as well. Members of the upper house carry a postnomen of "Member of Quintibunal" (MQ), with no prenomen option. The Prime Councillor, elected from the Federal Council to run the Federal Executive, is referred to as "Prime Councillor {name}, MC".

Government priorities: The government spends on education and public works, most recently on Uniters Bridge, finally providing a direct link between Saint Exeter and Santa Arineta. It also has a large force for public service, largely a Merchant Marine/Coast Guard.

Species: The species are exclusively canine. The original native lands are Faxany, which was vulpine in character, and Genis, which was dogs, largely of working breeds. The Nova lands ("Terra Nova" before being devided and devolved to their present forms) are more cosmopolitan.

Economy: The economy of Furluania is based on aquaculture (especially off Austrovest), agriculture (plant crops are grown throughout the northern tier of the island, with marsh crops like rice and cranberries popular on the very coast; tree crops are grown on the south side, with a strong wine industry in Nova Australis and Faxany); computer technology (particularly Cape Constance). Extreme sports are popular in Nova Borealis, with D'Artagnan having ski resort settlements to its east and west on Mounts Athos and Porthos. Furluania is powered largely through wind power, with wind farms on the northern coast and the northern slopes of the mountain ranges, though there is a dam on the Athos River from which Lake Athos formed. Lake Athos is considered Federal communal territory, and is policed directly by the Federal Executive.

Climate, Geography and Ecology: The island is rather smooth and hilly, with hardy grasses in most of the valley areas. The northern coast is a low-lying marshland. There are two main mountain ranges: the Aramis Hills, with Mount Aramis, to the west, and the D'Artagnan Range, with Mount Porthos to the west and Mount Athos to the Right. The borders of the Nova lands meet at the peak of Mount Porthos. There are scattered forests throughout the non-marsh areas of Furluania, but the brown highland areas are actually nearly solid forest. The climate is lower Mediterranean, with mild to cool summers and cold winters. Snow is almost guaranteed in the non-marsh areas. Athos Dam does not operate from June through October due to ice. The natural fauna is evergreen with some seasonal deciduous, but the marshlands are warm enough to sustain seasonal agraculture.

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FURLUANIA HISTORY

Chapter 1: Exeter and Arineta, the Founders

In Foxhood Year 4853 (congruent to 1587 CE), a group of political and religious refugees left Foxhood for the territory of Faxas, on the island to the south, as Foxhood began to plunge itself into a bitter civil war. The reasons for that war, and the fate of the ancient Faxans, were lost in history. Using only sturdy but unpowered rafts, after a few days of rowing they made it around Cape Florence to the abandoned settlement of New Florence. The day after they landed and began planning to rebuild New Florence for their own settlement, a gale destroyed all their rafts, cutting all 14,783 of them off forever from Foxhood. No lives were lost in the relatively short journey to New Florence, but the storm afterward killed 9.

The first few years, life was hard. But eventually, they learned how to deal with the cooler conditions of their new home and they flourished. They broke with the old ways of Foxhood by renaming the land they settled on "Faxany". Over the next 200 or so years, they explored the mountail to their west, Mount Athos, and expanded their lands to the two major rivers that flanked Mount Athos: the D'Artagnan and Athos Rivers.

Further exploration, however, would change their civilization forever. After crossing the Porthos River in 1783, the Faxans came across a different race: the Genisians, a diverse race of large canines. For several years, the two races would learn more about each other. However, there was a small establishment within Faxany, a group named "Kokkino Labidas", that sought not to deal with the other race. They wanted the entire land solely for Faxany. So they covertly meddled in affairs, leading to a misunderstanding that nearly plunged the island into war.

In the winter of 1793, the leadership of Genis and Faxany agreed to each send one representative to the valley between Mount Athos and Mount Porthos to discuss the affairs of the two nations and try to work out some sort of cooperative agreement to ensure peace between the two peoples. Genis sent Arineta Pavliva, a Rottweiler woman and one of their most respected scholars and philosophers. Faxany sent Exeter Notara, one of their respected scholars, but also a recruit of Kokkino Labidas.

Fate has a way of intervening. The past several Winters were particularly cold, and the Winter of 1793, perhaps symbolic of the times, was the coldest yet. A cabin had been built not far from the confluence of the D'Artagnan River, and Arineta was the first to arrive and set it up. A few hours later, a crash was heard nearby. Arineta rushed out to investigate, and found Exeter pinned in the branches of a fallen tree, unconscious. She dug him out and carried him to the cabin.

Exeter remained unconscious for nearly two days before finally coming to. During that time, Arineta tended his wounds and made sure he was warm. When he woke up, Exeter had several cracked back ribs, a broken right arm, and was suffering from partial amnesia; he had forgotten several weeks of his memory, including both his official and secret missions, and anything about Kokkino Labidas. Their mission was forgotten altogether for a time, and the harsh winter snowed them in, trapping them for the duration.

Stuck up in the highlands of the island, the two exchanged ideas, stories and legends from their people, learning each other's histories, and discovering far more common ground than either race had ever imagined. They also developed a personal rapport and attachment to each other. As the storms kept them trapped far longer than they expected, the two eventually became lovers.

As spring arose in October, a summit of the leaders of both sides was called near their retreat site. There, Exeter and Arineta told of their mini-adventure and what they learned of each other. The two sides decided to take their cooperation even further with a formal federation of the races, and called for a Charter Convention at the confluence area that Summer.

The news made everyone happy on both sides, and Exeter and Arineta spoke for unity at the settlements of both lands and the unorganized Terra Nova lands between that Spring, beginning first in the Genisian Capital, Austrovest. Once they got to New Florence, however, tragedy struck. Having learned of the fate of their operative, and the accident that destroyed their plan, Kokkino Labidas made a reactionary plot: assassinate both the envoys.

During their rally at New Florence's ancient Pantheon on November 24, 1793, a marble building built by the original Foxhood settlers and still standing when Faxany was established, a KL operative jumped the stage and stabbed Exeter in the heart. Before he could get Arineta, however, she grabbed his wrist so fast he couldn't get his dagger out of Exeter. She snapped the assassin's wrist, then grabbed his head and twisted it, snapping his neck. At the very least, Exeter's assassin would die before him.

Exeter ended up dying in Arineta's arms, the dagger left in his heart the only reason he didn't die instantly. But before he expired, Arineta placed his paw on her stomach and told him he would go on. Shortly before arriving in New Florence, she found out she was pregnant. Exeter was only 29 when he died.

The assassin was identified, and his body was thrown in Florence Bay to be eaten by marine predators. Exeter Notara was given a state funeral, and then buried in the settlement of Australia, where he was born. The settlement was renamed Saint Exeter in his honor.

The assassination of Exeter only solidified the resolve of Genis and Faxany to overcome their differences. Arineta Pavliva was elected President of the Charter Convention on December 15, 1793, and a federation between them took shape. The site was named D'Artagnan, after the river that formed there, and became the capital of the new nation of Furlania. The central lands would be developed as cosmopolitan lands shared by both races, eventually to be carved into their own states. A bicameral representive parliament was formed. The Charter of Furluania was signed on April 8, 1794, and ratified by both Genis, Faxany, and the settlements of Saint Exeter, Cape Constance and Port Winter on June 6 of that year.

Elections for the first Federal Council were held on October 17, 1794. The Federal Tribunal was originally selected by territorial governments. The Parliament opened its first five-year Congress at Saint Exeter on November 23, and Arineta elected the first Prime Councillor, serving three terms (15 years) before taking a permanent seat in the Federal Tribunal, the upper house of Parliament (today the Federal Quintibunal, since there are now five states instead of two states and the Terra Nova). The Second Congress opened at the new Capitol Building in D'Artagnan on November 24, 1799.

Arineta Pavliva died of pneumonia in Austrovest on July 5, 1828, at the age of 62. Her body was preserved on the coastal slopes of Mount Porthos over the winter, then she was given a state funeral at D'Artagnan before being buried in a place of honor at the Santa Arineta Memorial Garden, on the south side of the D'Artagnan River confluence, on September 30, 1828. At the time of her burial, Exeter Notara's remains were exhumed and moved from Saint Exeter to D'Artagnan, to be interred at her side. His crypt in Saint Exeter was replaced by a massive memorial and statue. A new settlement, located where her body was kept over that winter, was named Santa Arineta.

On November 22, 1829, Accalia Notara Pavliva, Exeter and Arineta's daughter, took office as the first Member of Council representing Santa Arineta.

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[glow=red,2,300]PRIMER ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN FURLUANIA[/glow]

A large amount of Furluania's energy needs is amassed by wind power stations built on the north shore of the island, as well as the north slopes of the mountain ranges. Some of the earliest stations, built as early as 1884, are still operating; they were exclusively built out of wood, with stone foundations, and were engineered meticulously to withstand the harshest gales Furluania has ever encountered. Later ones were built of concrete with wooden rotors, and eventually steel with aluminum rotors. The Athos River was dammed in 1917, after it was determined that the Athos Basin, where the Upper Athos and Lower Athos arms conflowed, would be a perfect location for a dam-induced lake. Within two years, Lake Athos reached its modern shores, and resort settlements were established.

Oil is a limited commodity. It was discovered in the mid-1800s on the Faxan shores south of New Florence. Due to the limited supply, it is exclusively used by heavy industry today.

Personal conveyances like automobiles do not exist. Carts are used to carry large amounts of goods, and enormous loads are towed by beasts of burden.

Transportation between towns is by electrified rail. The first railroad was completed between New Florence and Austrovest in 1866, and initially used oil combustion. A spur from this first road to D'Artagnan was completed in 1869. A line from New Florence to Saint Exeter was finished in 1871, and from Saint Exeter to D'Artagnan in 1877, completing a rough circuit. Electrified rails were innovated in 1908, and the entire system as it existed at the time was electrified by 1924. The first new electrified rail line was a spur from the main line to Santa Arineta in 1930. After several attempts, a tunnel through the Porthos Cliffs finally permitted a direct link from Saint Exeter to Santa Arineta in 2003. Today there are several rail links on the island, and all employ high speed rail. It is possible to travel from New Florence to Austrovest in a matter of two hours.

Communication via telegraph was innovated in 1893, and telephone followed in 1910. Computer technology began to spring up in 1953, and the integrated circuit was innovated in 1970, greatly reducing power required for computing.

Sailing returned as an interest in the 19th century, but was limited to circling the island due to rough conditions further out. With the discovery of solar power and photovoltaics in the late 20th century, mechanized marine propulsion is finally being realized, and an expedition beyond the island is possible.

Weaponry originally consisted of blade weapons. New Florence and Faxany banned the possession of pointed and dual-edge weapons by civilians in urban areas after Exeter Notara's assassination, but lifted that ban in the mid-1800s. Manually-fired projectile weapons are used in hunting, since war is not a fact of life in Furluania. Bullet guns do not exist, but in recent years lasers have come into wide use, including experimental high-power lasers as weapons for police and defense forces.

Gunpowder and solid propellants do not exist, but liquid rocket propulsion was discovered in the 1970s using liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Space travel has been theorized, but has not yet been tested. Wireless communication was innovated in 1987.