Konda Mkono (The Eastern Reach)
"Illegal, accursed magic? I tink not. Our windspeakers just be... lucky." - Zalika, Captain of the Pweza
History
Eastern Reach is one of the few existing nations whose political structure has remained more or less intact since before The Mage War. The culture, language and physical characteristics most people associate with Reachers can be traced back to a tribal ethnicity known as the Ewashariki. They expanded through trade and intermingling, slowly absorbing elements of other cultures around them, including local Trammic free cities and the Academy at Aistighatha. Though the peninsula slowly consolidated under shared cultural identity, the humans in the area never traversed the land bridge that (at the time) connected modern Reach to Nalduqqia. The reasons for this differ depending on the source material used; Western historians, for example, paint the relationship between Nalduqqia and early Reach as contentious, with skirmishing and territory disputes par for the course. Others, including famous Elven historian Gergall Sundew, suggest that the eventual vassal-protectorate relationship that developed between Reach and Nalduqqiatus were actually integral to the development of Reach as a consolidated state in that rulership by an outside force unified the disapora and gave the Locales a sense of shared territory.
When the Reach became independent following the decline of the kingdom, the Esterians found that they pretty much already had all of the infrastructure and governmental systems that they needed in place. Sovereignty was formally declared and recognized by Andril, Greater Tervania, and Mande in 133. The Reach was badly damaged environmentally during the Mage War, losing many hectares of essential agricultural land to blasting or encroaching seawater. The land bridge that connected the region to Nalduqqia was completely submerged. With the loss of arable land and their established trade routes, the Esterians found themselves facing widespread famine and the collapse of two Locales entirely--whose refugees put a huge strain on already thin resources. As a result, the country was an early knockout of the War, and despite being the location of several important battles faced too much internal turmoil to contribute in a meaningful way to either side of the war effort. During this time, the Reach only survived due to the leadership of a Locale leader named Banou Adoti--a logistician who quelled the rise in piracy and banditry by hungry and displaced Esterians turning to crime to survive. Adoti rallied the Reach and cleared new land to establish farming, ripping up villages for lumber to build ships that established new maritime trade opportunities that allowed the country to import the grain it desperately needed to stave off starvation. In a nearly unprecedented move, Adoti relinquished almost all of her executive power once the immediate crises facing her people were dealt with, restoring the Localestrate and stepping down to the role of a delegate until her death at the age of 71.
After the War, Reach publicly agreed to and endorsed the international ban on magic use and practice, periodically imprisoning or prosecuting curious experimenters and the occasional wild mage. Until recently, it was a well-guarded secret that for centuries Reach actually sent magically talented individuals to the Aistighatha ruins for training. The study of evocation gave Reacher ships a massive advantage at seafaring and navigation, which the nation retains to this day. The Shared Dream and establishment of the Saint's School in Daneora allowed Reacher windspeakers to perform their spells more publicly, and the subsequent inclusion of Eastern Reach as a member of the Regional Unitariat set them up as the shipping middlemen between the western continental coast and Alkhade--an extremely lucrative positoin. Many, Reachers included, believe that Esterly commitment to the Unitariat persists largely due to the economic prosperity of the arrangement, which has created a major boom for the economy.
Demography and Population
Roughly ten million peeople live in the Reach, with a vast majority of the population human. Of those, almost all non-immigrants exhibit characteristics shared by peoples of Ewashariki descent: dark skin, woolly or frizzy coarse hair, and brown, dark brown, or hazel eyes. Due to the seafaring nature of the country, total population may be as many as twelve million counting those who spend their lives shipping or aboard warships.
Territories
The Reach extends from the land around the Socket gulf to the Eastern coast of the continent. In the south, the climate is cool and dry, consisting of plains and patches of tundra. Along the coast and peninsula are fertile grassland separated by the Redleaf Forest. The forest themselves are one of only two suitable environments for growing Ferrowood trees--a major export for the country and a prime material for building extremely durable ships and structures that can easily withstand the frequent storms that buffet the eastern coast during the fall seasons.
Foreign Relations
Eastern Reach is a member state of the Regional Unitariat, although there are whispers that the transnational government may become a power in name only.
As a previous dependent or vassal state to Nalduqqia, some tensions between the two territories still exist to this day.
"Kuwa rafika bhari." (Become friends with the sea)
Founding Date
133
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Alternative Names
Reach, The Eastern Unitariat
Demonym
Reachers, Esterian
Government System
Oligarchy
Power Structure
Transnational government
Economic System
Market economy
Currency
Uzito (Electrum piece, worth roughly 2/3 of a standard weight gold)
Legislative Body
The Localestrate writes and interprets the laws of the land. Made up of three delegates per Locale by selection, the system is designed to give each Locale equal voice and representation while keeping the individual delegates accountable to their constituents. In practice, the long terms and difficulty of removing entrenched delegates opens the system up to insider dealing and corruption--especially since almost all delegates are from upper class families with vested interests in various shipping or manufacturing companies.
Official Languages
Neighboring Nations
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