Hwairland

"This document is baffling, and it might just be stupid enough to work."

- A Hwairlander politician, after having read the proclamation of the republic

The Interim Republic of Hwairland, sometimes written abroad as Weirland, is a country situated in western Eidora. Long at odds with Radovia, it has acted as a shield stopping their expanse further south. Its capital is Fairnisbaurg.

Having mostly endured the Age of Turmoil, the conditions it brought has created a political anomaly: Hweirland, having overthrown its corrupt monarchical state system that was in reality controlled by a cadre of nobles, became a temporary republic that still recognised a king. Instead of dismantling the kingdom, a republic is formed on a higher executive level: the Kingdom of Hwairland being a constituent part of the Republic. After the coup, however, the military quickly took over to prevent the outbreak of a civil war, turning the country into a de facto military dictatorship under General Nivard Wöhrle.

History
The Hwair people are distantly related to the Druthenians, a fact that can today be seen in their somewhat similar languages.

Age of Turmoil
The economic crisis of the Turmoil would hit Hwairland like a brick. Large parts of the economy was driven by export of produced goods, and as the trade collapse reached Eidora, Hwairland found its economy following suit. The country fell into a deep economic recession, and the situation was dire. However, King Albrecht I was not an idle man, and with the help of his advisory council, got to work combating the crisis. His economic expertise proved to be impeccable, and thanks to his abilities as an absolutist monarch, little red tape were to be found hampering progress.

The economic issues of the country were deeply rooted and the pit of despair deeply dug. And while the economy did not recover quickly, the policies of Albrecht would show results within a couple of years. Despair amongst the people changed to cautious optimism, and while Hwairland was not exempt from the rise of political strife that arose in all the corners of the planet, it was heavily subdued by the evident recovery of the economy. Industries began production, companies were formed and reformed, and unemployment was on a decent decline. The support for the King remained high as ever, and his efforts were even applauded by some anti-monarchist groups. By 1907, the worst was over, and the Hwair population could breathe a sigh of relief.

All was not good, however. The stress of micro-managing an entire country left its mark on Albrecht: in 1907, he suffered from a stroke, and resigned some of his duties to his cadre of buerocrat nobles. Slowly but surely, a cadre of high-ranking nobilities began to creep into the authority of the incapable monarch, and over the years the country would slowly transform behind the scenes. Albrecht became a puppet monarch, unable to resist pressure from the nobility who increasingly took control of the state. And while the economy had recovered to some degree, the nobility was preoccupied with combating political unrest, especially in regards to the need for political reform: something the nobility vehemently pushed against, fearing it to be a threat to their power.

King Albrecht still enjoyed great support of his people who were sympathetic to his condition, but it would become increasingly clear that the monarchical system in place had failed, and the fault had not been his own.

Coup d'etat
In 1913, the country reached a breaking point. A coup, supported by the military (led by non-noble officers) and the common people (many political groupings) overthrew the nobles, arresting many. While the king was still a beloved person, faith in the monarchical system had been shattered. There was much bickering between the many groups as to what to do with the country, but eventually, a compromise was made: the Kingdom was to remain, but placed below a new state apparatus. Thus, the kingdom would exist as a constituent part of a newly formed republic, until the state could be sufficiently reformed. This did not completely abate tensions, though the compromise was generally accepted across the board. Most assumed the monarchy would return in some form, though many socialist elements had hoped that this may pave the way to a permanent republic and abolishment of the kingdom.

An unfortunate side effect of the expulsion of the nobility was the fact that many government positions were occupied by them directly: soon after the coup, Hwairland would suffer from a power vacuum, which threatened to tear the country apart into civil war between the various political groups. To prevent this, the military assumed direct control of the state "until negotiations could be completed", a move that angered and worried many. A republic now only in name, Hwairland had turned into a military dictatorship. Negotiations for a new Hwairland state commenced shortly after - under the watchful eyes of the military.

In 1914, four distinct factions had emerged within the Advisory Assembly (parliament): on the right were the Reformists, lead by Crown Prince Gothar and who advocated continued monarchichal power but with a reformed system allowing greater input from the people in the rulings of the state; and the Absolutists, lead by Gothar's younger sister Princess Theodora, who would continue to push for an absolutist monarchichal state. On the left wing were the Parliamentarianists, who advocated for a constitutional monarchy where the power laid with the Assembly and the people, and the Republicans, who wished to abolish the monarchy entirely.

Outside of the assembly, more radical groups would form, including several Socialist and Nationalist factions that were seen to be "too extreme" to participate in the nation-building process.

However, not all involved nobles were apprehended. Many fled - with much of their wealth - into neighbouring Radovia, which promised them a safe haven. There a deal was secretely (though correctly assumed by the Hwairland junta) struck, where Radovia promised to assist the nobility in re-instating the monarchy in exchange for various concessions, some of which gave rise to fear that Radovia was seeking to turn Hwairland into a puppet state. However, luckily for the young republic, Radovia was busy with building up their military in the east, fearing further advances by the CSR. Thus, the Hwairland nobles would have to wait until after the oncoming war had passed.

Eidoran War
Hwairland remained neutral during the war, though tensions within the country would remain high and many feared a potential invasion of the exiled nobles and Radovia. However, Hwairland would suffer from other more immediate troubles of the domestic kind.

While many saw the military takeover as a necessary evil, others were adamantly opposed to such a solution. A fair few groups, mostly on the left wing of the political spectrum, would begin to target military officials in various attacks, mostly to terrorise and sway, but sometimes assassinations were carried out. All the while this was going on, the political groupings still attempting to maintain the status quo had to fight tooth and nail to prevent the military leadership to implement restrictive laws that they claimed to be necessary to "uphold the security of the state negotiations" in the face of terrorism.

The process of constructing the country would remain in a political deadlock, as no faction would be ready to give in to another. Behind the scenes, however, things were hectic - plotting, scheming, and threats would become the norm in Fairnisbaurg as various groups attempt to gain the advantage for a potential future coup. And none were as proficient in this as the military, who with their access to well-trained men and serious hardware could perform more explosive operations to make sure the process would go their way: many politicians who were deemed threat would find themselves tragically dying in terror attacks and car bombings, which the military would blame on political extremists (most notably Vangerists), and that they would put every effort into "finding these terrorists".

Many in the military believe that Wöhrle was a useful figurehead to keep the situation calm enough for long enough so that they could take power backstage. Wöhrle himself was not entirely on board the idea of a military takeover to begin with, but as the political process remained stuck, he eventually gave in and joined the plotters. They thought that Wöhrle could be controlled and manipulated for their own gain, but Wöhrle was keenly aware of this, and plotting himself to make sure he remained at the top of the food chain when the coup eventually would come.

The Cauldron
The Cauldron is a large crater, a little more than a kilometre in diameter, located in the central part of the country. It has long been an important meeting place in the region, where kings would be crowned and treaties would be agreed upon. Its effect and presence in Hwairland history and culture can be seen in the very name of the country (hwair = cauldron).

Behind the scenes (meta)

 * Hwairland is based upon Germans, and the Gothic peoples and language.