Darnussia

Darnussia, officially the Darnussian Republic (Darnus: Darnussien Republiki, Narik: Darnussien Republiek) is a country partially located in mainland southern Artania and partially on two large islands in the Migrant's Pass. It borders Beluzia to the north-west, Luthori to the north, Hobrazia to the east and Malivia to the south-east. Doressa is the capital city, while Ghacrow is the largest city.

The Darnussian people consist of two ethno-linguistic sub-groups: the Narik-speaking Nariki people and the Darnus-speaking Kozer people; these two groups make up over 80% of the Darnussian population. Darnussia also contains a sizeable Yeudi minority. Narik people primarily inhabit the islands of Narikaton and Shirmania, while Kozer people primarily inhabit the Artanian mainland. There are also small minorities of Hobrazians, Luthorians and Malivians.

The modern country of Darnussia emerged in the mid-eighth century following the War of Narikatonite Succession, in which Darntus I became King of Narikaton. He subsequently united the lands he conquered into his own personal kingdom which he named after himself, ruled as a decentralised feudal state. The nineteenth century saw the country transformed into a unitary constitutional monarchy, followed by the establishment of a parliamentary republic in 1966.

Darnussia is an industrialised developed country with an upper-middle income economy. It remains one of the poorer countries in Artania, with a dominant service sector followed by the industrial sector, agriculture and fisheries. Darnussia maintains an official policy of military neutrality, however it remains a member of the Artanian Union.

Prehistory and antiquity
The area which now constitutes Darnussia was settled in prehistoric times by peoples who are the ancestors of modern Malivian and Hobrazian peoples. During the time of the proto-Dundorfic expansion that covered much of Artania, the decendends of modern Darnussians arrived in the region. The islands of Narikaton and Shirmania were occupied by proto-Dundorfic settlers who arrived via modern Beluzia, while those who occupied what is now modern mainland Artanian Darnussia are generally believed to arrived from the north-east from what is modern Luthori. Until unification in the mid-eigth century, the histories of the future Narik islands and Kozer mainland can be viewed as two distinct chronologies with relatively little overlap.

Around the mid sixth-century, starting approximately around the year 530, a sophisticated system of city-states emerged on Narikaton and Shirmania. This coincided with a relatively large migration of Yeudi people from Majatra to the islands. Due to geographical proximity, ancient Narikatonite and Shirmanian culture in this period was closely tied to what is now modern Beluzia. As such, a distinct Narikatonite culture grew based on a combination of proto-Dundorfic and Semitic influences, resulting in the direct ancestors of what is now the modern Nariki people. Its position both geographically and culturally at the crossroads of Artania and Majatra helped the city-states become powerful and wealthy.

What are now the modern Darnussian mainland provinces of Alkavon and Kozaria have a distinct historical background to the islands. The Dundorfian expansion reached Alkavon and Kozaria, mixing with the indigenious proto-Malivian culture around the first century; the modern Kozer people and Darnus language are descended from this melting pot of various cultues and ethnicities. Unlike in Shirmania and Narikaton, historical records are sketchy for this period. The area swayed back-and-forth under the influence of Dundorfian and Malivian states, generally expressing little independent power of its own.

Emergence of the Darnussian kingdom
The emergence of a unified Darnussian kingdom started around the beginning of the eighth century. The House of Darntus was a minor Kozarian noble family who possessed lands around the area that is now Doressa. This ethnic Kozer family had migrated to Narikaton around the year 640 after marrying into a minor Narikatonite noble family from around the Narikatonite town of Torchvan, while retaining possession of their Kozarian lands. This cross-sea arrangement changed little for the next half-century, until Narikaton erputed into civil war in 715.

The War of Narikatonite Succession broke out between several families and city-states who wanted to be the high king of Narikaton. Soon, Shirmania was dragged into the conflict. In forty-five years of intermittent conflict, the House of Darntus led by Darntus I - bolstered by their sizable Kozarian possessions - emerged victorious as king of Narikaton. The destruction of the opposition allowed Darntus to take his conquests as his own personal property, and establishing his capital at Merenbürg, he named his new country Darnussia after himself. Darnussia at this time consisted of the entirity of Narikaton, much of western modern Kozaria and the entire north-west coast of Shirmania. Darntus subsequently launched the Unification War of Darnussia, in which he conquered the rest of Shirmania as well as expanding his mainland possessions significantly into modern Alkavon, ending Luthori, Hobrazian and Malivian influence in region forever.

This arrangement resulted in the gradual mixture of the Kozer and Narik peoples into a wider pan-ethnic group known simply as Darnussians, while still retaining their seperate languages and identities. Gradually over the centuries, a more centralised nation-state emerged, as the concept of a single Darnussian country began to take hold. For the first few hundred years, the areas under the control of the House of Darntus generally remained independent of one-another. By the thirteenth century, a single centralised parliament had convened at Doressa, while the monarch remained at Merenbürg. This duel arrangement helped to further integrate the country and establish a single Darnussian identity, despite the multinational nature of the state.

Constitutional monarchy and First Republic

 * See also: Darnussian First Republic

The Darnussian parliament consisted entirely of the aristocracy, and returned to Merenbürg in 1635. By the early eighteenth century, in a process which mirrored much of Artania, there were major calls among the new growing middle-classes for greater representation. In 1720, a second parliamentary house was established after a long-stand off with King Paul VI, and while it ultimately answerable to the crown, the power of the monarch began to gradually decrease. The early nineteenth century saw the centralisation of the Darnussian state by the curtailing of the power of the senior nobles and concentrating power in the hands of the Parliament and the King. By the late nineteenth century, a paradoxical situation developed in which the upper house, aristocracy and nobles became the ones pushing for a more socially liberal state, who were bitterly opposed by the deeply conservative commoners.

The situation came to a head in 1966, when King Cecil, a keen social reformer, attempted to curtail the powerful standing of the Church in Darnussian society and declare an officially secular state. In the outrage that followed Cecil was ousted from power, and his brief successor Darntus XIII formally declared the abolition of the monarchy. In a complex process, universal suffrage was introduced and parliament was reconvened as a single unicameral assembly, while the head of state would be the Secretary General, an official who was jointly appointed by the former nobility and the Church for a seven-year term, thus creating the Darnussian First Republic.

The right-wing National Liberal Party dominated the First Republic, winning every election between 1966 and 2026. The NLP's defeat at the 2026 election was the catalyst for the disintegration of the party and the transformation of the country into the Second Republic, when the Darnussian Socialist Party finally formed a government, only to be virulently opposed by Secretary General Eric Van Haldon. In an effort to push forward with their governmental program, the DSP led the efforts to transform the office of Secretary General into one of a directly-elected President, which was acheived in mid-2026, with the new constitution officially coming into being on 11 January 2027.

Geography
Darnussia consists of two islands in the Migrant's Pass and an area of land in mainland Artania around the Bay of Migrants. The island of Narikaton in its entirety consists of the Province of Narikaton, while the island of Shirmania is split between the provinces of Clenon and Nihaton. The mainland is split between the Provinces of Alkavon and Kozaria.

The Provinces originated in the powerful duchies which existed at the time of the Kingdom of Darnussia. These duchies lost most of their autonomy in the early 19th century during the centralisation of the Darnussian state, but the Provinces remained. They currently are solely ceremonial and do not have any administrative purpose, with either the central government or local government holding power.

The mainland consists of both low-lying agricultural land and grassland, as well as upland regions in central Kozaria, and north and east Alkavon. This region was historically densely forested but has since been replaced by the flatlands seen today. Both Narikaton and Shirmania contain mountain ranges in their centres, while rich low-lying agricultural land surround the coasts.

Three major trans-continental rivers reach the sea at Darnussia. The Crow River (Krähefliess/Kraastroom) flows from Luthori through Beluzia, through Lake Kraw in northern Alkavon and into the Bay of Migrants at Ghacrow. The Red River (Rotfliess/Rodstroom) originates in Hobrazia and constitutes the border between Alkavon and Kozaria; Red Stad is on its southern bank. The Cerrott River (Cerrottfliess/Cerrottstroom) flows from Malivia, through southern Kozaria and into the sea at Doressa.

Cities and towns
Darnussia has six cities with over a million inhabitants: Ghacrow, Merenbürg, Red Stad, Moete, Doressa and Podrueja. There are nine more with a population of over 100,000

Climate
Darnussia's location in southern-Artania places it firmly in the dry summer climate zone. The climate can vary significantly depending on location, but all of Darnussia generally experiences very warm, dry summers. Winter on the islands is generally mild with moderate precipitation, while mainland Darnussia often experiences much colder, wetter weather in the winter months. Inland from the coasts on the mainland can sometimes experience harsh winter weather, witnessing frost and significant snowfall.

The mean monthly temperature in Narikaton and Shirmania ranges between 3.5 °C in winter to 26.8 °C in summer, while mainland Darnussia experiences a mean of -1 °C in winter and 22.4 °C in summer. The temperature is generally much less variable closer to the coasts than inland.

Politics

 * See also: Elections in Darnussia

Since 1966, Darnussia has been a unitary parliamentary republic. Legislative power is held by the Parliament of Darnussia (Gemeinsam/Gemeensamen) which is elected every five years by universal suffrage in elections held using proportional representation. The Government (Gouverung/Gouvering) is made-up of any parliamentary grouping which can command a majority in parliament, while the head-of-government is the Governer General (Gouverner-General/Gouverneur-Generaal).

Executive power is derived from a complex power-sharing agreement between the Government and the Secretary General (Sekretar-General/Secretaris-Generaal), who serves as the head-of-state. The cabinet is chaired by both the Secretary General and Governor General simultaneously, both of whom constitutionally have equal power over the Government.

Darnussia's unusual system was the result of the compromise between republican and monarchic parties during the time of the transition to a republic. The Secretary General is elected for a seven-year term in a tripartite arrangement between the Parliament, the otherwise powerless Assembly of Nobles (Herrsam/Heersamen) and the Church of Darnussia, who each have an equal one-third vote in the elections. The Secretary General, despite being head-of-state, traditionally plays a subordinate role to the Governor General, and is usually an elder noble or veteran statesman; however it has not been uncommon for the Secretary General to clash with his government in major areas of policy.

Since 1966, the five provinces of Darnussia have been purely ceremonial; instead local government has been made-up of municipal polities, usually with populations of around 100,000 each, with the borders frequently being redrawn to address population changes.

Political parties
Since the 1940s, Darnussian politics has been dominated by the National Liberal Party (NLP), a big-tent centre-right to right-wing party which has been returned as the largest party at every election since 1948. As such, at certain times Darnussia has been classed as a dominant-party system due to the fact the NLP has been in government consistently since 1948. The creation of the republic strengthened the NLP's grip on the country even further, and it ruled uninterrupted as a majority government between 1966 and 1991.

On several occasions since 1991, the NLP has ruled as the senior partner in a coalition with either the hard-right Republican People's Party (RPP) or the right-wing Truth and Justice Party (TJP). The current government is a coalition between the NLP and the RPP.

Since the creation of the republic, the Darnussian Socialist Party has gradually emerged as the primary party of the country's left. Previously, the left-wing vote was fractured between numerous parties across the left of the spectrum; in 1983, several of these merged to create a single coherent left-wing opposition party. The left-wing vote has gradually increased since then, but Darnussia remains a country very much right-of-centre in terms of its voting base.

Demographics
Darnussia currently has a population of approximately 35,000,000. Around 18,500,000 of the Darnussian population live in the Artanian mainland provinces of Alkavon and Kozaria, while 16,500,000 live in the island provinces of Clenon, Narikaton and Nihaton. Darnussia is the eighth-most populous country in Artania. Darnussia has a total area of 913,200 km², resulting in a population density of 38.32/km²; this is the sixth-most densely populated country in Artania.

Ethnic groups
Darnussians consist of two main ethno-linguistic groups: Kozer people speak the Darnus language and inhabit the mainland, while Nariki people speak the Narik language and inhabit the islands. Kozers make up approximately 44% of the Darnussian population, while Narikis make up approximately 38% (a total of 82%).

The is also a sizeable minority of Darnussian Yeudis, who make up around 10% of the overall population. The majority of Yeudis migrated to Darnussia around the eighth century and continue to play an important role in Darnussian society today. Around three-quarters of Yeudis live in the island provinces and speak Narik as their first language, while the remaining quarter reside on the mainland and speak Darnus.

The remaining 8% of the Darnussian population are from a variety of ethnic groups; Narikaton and Shirmania have a relatively large Majatran population, while Alkavon and Kozaria have sizeable minorities of Malivians and Kilanis (Beluzians).

Language
Darnus and Narik are the official languages of Darnussia and are both afforded equal status under the constitution, with all government business and correspondence is conducted in both languages. Kozers and other mainlanders speak Darnus as their first language, a total of around 52.5% of the overall population, while Narikis and other islanders speak Narik, around 47.5% of the total population.

Between 90-95% of the Darnussian population are fluent in both languages, particularly as a result of major bilingual campaigns in the mid-twentieth century. It is now mandatory to be fluent in both languages in order to graduate from higher education, and monolingualism is now limited to some very rural areas, among a small proportion of elderly people and among some immigrant communities who have only learned one Darnussian language.

Road and street signs are generally only in one language, except in Doressa where, due to its status as the country's capital, all signs are bilingual. Narik and Darnus speakers have their own separate newspapers, television channels and radio stations, access to which is usually limited to either the islands or the mainland.

Religion
The majority of the Darnussian population are adherents to Aurorian Hosianism, making up around 61% of the population, with 5% being adherents to other Hosian denominations. The second largest religious affiliation is Yeudism, with approximately 8% of Darnussians claiming affiliation.

Around 21% of Darnussians are irreligious, a figure that continues to gradually grow, particularly among ethnic Kozers. The Darnussian Church historically has been a very powerful organisation, and the archbishops and cardinals of the Church continue to cast one-third of the vote for the Secretary General of Darnussia every seven years in a situation that is becoming more and more controversial as adherence to Hosianism continues to decline.

Economy
Darnussia has an emerging market economy in the middle-income range, and while there has been a significant upswing in Darnussia's economic growth since the 1980s, it remains one of the poorer countries in Artania. The economy is dominated by the service sector, followed by industry and agriculture. Despite Darnussia's relatively low economic performance, Merenbürg remains a relatively significant regional financial centre for southern Artania.

Southern Alkavon and northern Kozaria is the industrial heart of the country, containing several heavy industries such as steel-making and coal mining. Manufacturing remains a major employer in these areas as well as in western Clenon, particularly due to Darnussia's relatively lower wages to its neighbours.

Agriculture is dominant in Narikaton, Shirmania and southern Kozaria, while fishing remains a very significant source of economic activity throughout Darnussia. Narikaton and Shirmania's fishing industry continues to be one of the most profitable in Artania.

Income inequality is substantial in Darnussia, both geographically and socially. Alkavon and Kozaria in general are poorer than the island provinces, often suffering lower incomes, poorer working conditions and higher levels of unemployment. Despite its larger population, the Darnussian mainland continues to suffer occasional economic stagnation to a much greater degree than Narikaton and Shirmania.

Culture
Darnussian culture is diverse, with the Kozer and Nariki people both sharing and diverging in various aspects of culture. Kozer culture is more similar to their neighbours in Malivia in terms of food, dress and music, while Nariki's share a cultural common ancestor with Luthori and Beluzian peoples. This is held together under an umbrella of a Dundorfic-esque cultural heritage.

Darnussia's warm climate has resulted in a cuisine that is simple, yet popular worldwide due to its frequent use of fish and salt, which reflects its maritime heritage.

Sport
The primary sport in Darnussia is association football. The professional league system in Darnussia is the Darnussian Football League, which consists of two national divisions, the Premier Division and the National Division which cover the whole of Darnussia. The third and fourth tiers are split between the Island First and Second Divisions and the Mainland First and Second Divisions. Below this is a system of regional, semi-professional and amateur leagues. The Darnussia national football team represents Darnussia in international football.

The two largest football clubs in Darnussia in terms of both success and support are FC Royale from Merenbürg and FC Dynamo Red Stad, who together compete in the Grand Old Derby. Between them the two clubs have won the majority of league titles, and it is common for title races to be between both teams, neither of whom have ever been relegated from the top flight. The rivalry is often political as well as sporting, with FC Royale supporters being predominantly right-wing, while Dynamo Red Stad is supported by large sections of the country's left.