Lorantis

Lorantis - small country located on the shores of Iviran Sea. It outstands from the nearby countries by it’s peaceful attitude and love of personal freedom. The capital of the country is Neril placed by the Yenik river estuary.

Geography
Lorantis is a country of small hills and many lakes which cover about 4% of the country area. It is also known for beautiful beaches covered by white sand. The whole country lies in hot-summer Mediterranean climate zone. The biggest river is Yenik flowing from Demirhan Empire and forming a large estuary.

Typical form of plant life in the country are endemic pines (pinus lorentiesis) which can be seen all along the coastal part of the country up to 50 kilometers into the land. Deeper where the climate is much dryer the scrub type of planting is much more present. The pines also cover the Windy Hills region. These woods are dry with artificial forest cover.

Antiquity
The first known city is Aheron mentioned on the stone tablets from third century before Christ. The more known outline comes from second century BCE when all along the coast were place various city-states lead by kings or king-priests. The most important were Limris, Neril, Malazit and Findirala (currently Şneldorf). Around the sixth century appeared several colonies on the shore of Midistland.

In early fourth century Aryan Empire appeared just near the borders of Findirala city and easily conquered it. The expansion of the empire was stopped by united city states in 156 BCE in the battle of Tavial but it didn’t change the fact that northern cities stood under their rule. In the first century of modern era Aryan Empire lost control over the inland steppe which cut off the former some Lorantian city states from the heart of the empire. It allowed them to gain independence and remove the Aryan rule.

By this time several settlements in the upstream of Yenik river such as Khartakind (today Ortakend) and Viralmain (Viralmanaz) although in next centuries Lorantosphere has seen significant loss in the territory. The Aryan Empire regained control over steppe and the newly established Lorantian settlements. The Aryan shah settled in this area Turquan people who migrated rapidly from the West in tenth century.

In late tenth century Aryan Empire experienced several raids from the northern Slevic tribes as well as another period of political instability caused by war of succession. Again they lost control over the steppe but this time Turquese established their own beyliks. The day of the fall of the Aryan Empire marks the end of antiquity in Lorantian history.

Middle Ages
First centuries of Middle Ages were prosperous for Lorantian city-states which could trade with Turquan beyliks and Slevic peoples from the north. But during the centuries several problems occurred. Aryan Empire came to the gates of Lorantian Realm again and the new power, the Demirhan Empire grew slowly on the steppes. They wanted to achieve the sea access blocked by Aryan Empire which regained the power again so they started to conquer weaker Lorantian city-states. Their first victim was Malazit.

Lorantians in all other city-states became to worry about the situation and the need of reform of the archaic system was very strong. Kings-priests from three most important city-states, namely Neril, Aheron and Meredil decided to form one country. Other rulers decided to act in line with them and united Lorantis was born under the Union Act of 14 September 1437 with the new Supreme Council composed of these three.

1437 - 1693
Demirhans dropped the ambition of conquering the new country and focused on fighting with their other rivals like Aryan Empire and Antharia but it was not the end of troubles. Lorantis was surrounded by rapidly growing Demirhan fleet which in late fifteenth century gained superiority in Western Iviran Sea and cut off the country from the international trade which was vital for it. The Council Treasury dried out in early sixteen causing the great crisis and a hunger. To avoid further decline the Supreme Council decided to cede several small islands to Midistland which allowed this country to create a safe corridor for the ships of both nations but also allowed Mergans to settle on originally Lorantian islands. Another step taken was invitation of Kalmish Knight Order to Neril to protect Lorantis from invasion from the land. However most of Lorantians didn't follow christicism which caused lot of tension between the Supreme Council and the knights.

Demirhan Empire was at the time focused on war with Haronian Empire and couldn’t response quickly. The things have changed when the Haronis were pushed out the border river. Sultan Abdülmecid II, almost secure from the enemies, started to prepare for the full scale invasion on Lorantis. The army of two hundred people led by the sultan himself started to march straightly to Neril. Also northern and southern fleets led by fleet admiral and Grand Vizier moved to Midistland territorial waters.

First battle between Demirhan and Lorantian forces happened in Quiriel in July 1692. Lorantians fought bravely but they could not win with the enemy which outnumbered them by ten. During this month there were also several clashes between Demirhan and allied fleet but allies tried to avoid open confrontation and saved their force for protection of the capital. In August Midistland accepted the loss of the islands and quit from the war in fear of loosing entire fleet. Shortly after Kalmish knights decided to leave Neril and seek the shelter on well fortified island Findirala. Lorantian ships headed to Neril to protect the city. The two days long battle of Neril started on 3 September and ended with almost complete destruction of Lorantian fleet except for three ships still stationing in Malazit.

On 12 September sultan arrived with the army to Neril, starting the siege. Although the majority of the country were still under Lorantian control all of the land was cut off from the capital. In November the regional officers of Malazit sent their ships to Suria in desperate cry for help but the ships never achieved the target because were captured by Demirhans on the open sea. The defenders’ morale dropped and several cities surrendered. At the end of the year Lorantians controlled only Vilosetra and Limris.

During the winter the hunger in Neril became to grow. In spring the diseases also haunted the city. Capital, overpopulated by refugees, started to look as a powder keg. The Supreme Council, on one hand afraid of the rebellion and in hope for better position in negotiations on the other decided to surrender on 4 June 1693. Limris, the only city which was still loyal to the Council accepted the decision and the war was ended.

1693 - 1885
Shortly after the surrender the process of incorporation the territory into the Demirhan Empire begun. The country was divided into two provinces - Malazit and Neril. Sultan decided to give small autonomy the province of Neril where the Supreme Council became to be a counselor for the local vali. This was also the only province where Kreideth wasn’t prohibited as being seen as pagan by Demirhans although ritual performances became to be forbidden. All Lorantians who did not decide to convert to Iman were forced to pay a tax for unbelievers - cizya. Also they were forced to serve in Demirhan military. They fought especially in campaign against Midistland in 40s of eighteenth century and helped to undermine the Haronian Uprising in 1799.

First Lorantian Uprising started on 14 April 1803 in Aheron during the coup d’etat in Tarsinar. Led by several veterans of Demirhan army lasted forty seven days. As a form of repression many thousands of Lorantians were resettled to Northern part of Yevercin desert, the others were killed in prisons. The harsh reaction of the central government was a great breaker for further freedom movements in the empire. It became clear that without good opportunity the uprising will never be successful.

The new opportunity appeared on the horizon in 1873 when Ravith Paşa, Lorantian proselyte, began his term as the vali of Neril province. Pasha wanted to regain independence of his homeland and in late 70s started to cooperate with Suria to create secret Lorantian forces. He also increased the number of Lorantians in provincial army in hope for support after his declaration of independence. The whole process was supposed to last about ten years but the opportunity came 20 April 1885 when sultan Ahmet III was abolished rule was officially because of his acting against Demirhan constitution.

Next day Ravith Ali Paşa ordered the forces stationing in Suria to move directly to Neril by ship. The ships with soldiers arrived to the city 3 May. When Ravith Paşa took control over them most of the garrisons stationing in the city decided to join the revolution instead of fighting. Only the garrison near the western gate, commanded by Turgut Yusuf Ağa stood by the empire. The garrison was quickly conquered and Neril became free. The information about independence spread across the Lorantian coast and several regions were liberated although Demirhan forces kept most of the cities under control.

28 May the newly appointed sultan decided to send army of one hundred and fifty thousands of soldiers to regain control over the rebellious provinces. When Ravith Paşa heard about sultans decision he decided to march with his army, despite being outnumbered by Demirhans over half. Also during his March for Freedom as the happening was called later by the historians he lost soldiers in small battles with Demirhan forces occupying cities. In fact only luck allowed him to success.

Lorantian army met with Demirhans when they crossed Yenik river in Malazit and the most of the enemy forces were still on the northern bank. In the brave action Revith Paşa took over southern half of the city and destroyed all two bridges stopping Demirhan march.

After four month long deadlock sultan Süleyman II, in fear of foreign intervention, proposed Revith Paşa an armistice and peace talks. Pasha agreed on the armistice because of disbelief his army is able to continue the war.

Reforms
Peace talks took place in Demirhan part of Malazit during winter. As an initial proposal Demirhans offered that Lorantians can keep all the land Revith Paşa controlled when the armistice came in effect. The idea was criticized by Lorantian delegation, including pasha himself because in this case the new country would be surrounded by Demirhans because they kept control under Çanratipal region and Mergan speaking islands which even did not join the rebellion.

During negotiations Revith Paşa was able to establish his own control over Lorantian sphere and rebuild army with Surian support so at critical point he threaten the Demirhans that he will continue fighting if they had not agree on better conditions. Finally the compromise was achieved and Demirhans agreed to return Çanratipal under Revith Paşa rule. Both sides also undertook each other to help both Lorantians and Alkanlars peacefully relocate to their homelands. Under these conditions nearly one million of Alkanlars and six hundred thousands of Lorantians returned to their homelands. The peace treaty was signed on 3 May 1886. That date became later Lorantian Independence Day.

When Revith Paşa returned to Neril, under his native name Leiran Revith, he started to work on the new Constitution for Lorantis. He believed that the country should function as a direct democracy with Supreme Council as its government. Archpriests rejected the honor because they felt they had lost authority to rule after failing to prevent the conquer of the country. In this case the right to appoint the Supreme Council was ceded to the body called National Electoral Gathering composed of all archpriest in the country, either from Kreideth and other religions as well as academics with professor degree. Leiran Revith was elected as a first Supreme Council leader and his term was extended once.

The Constitution also preserved rights guaranteed by the first Demirhan Constitution, for example the judiciary system remained untouched, except for the fact that Sultan’s and Grand Vizier competences were ceded to Supreme Council. The system was changed in the Second Constitutional Amendment in 1953 to increase judiciary independence.

The Constitution was implemented on 16 September 1889 by the support of 76,7% of voters taking part in first public referendum. The turnout was 91,6%.

Modern times
After death of Leiran Revith (in 1907) who held vast amount of unofficial power even after the end of his term as leader of the Supreme Council the country became peaceful and democratic period. Due to efforts of sultan Süleyman II and Council leader Fairan Larith the ties between two countries improved, for example the people living in the city of Malazit which was divided during the war were allowed to cross the border freely. Also when the World War happened Lorantians could enjoy their peace and freedom, protected by large Demirhan army.

In sixties the cultural revolution came to effect in Lorantis. The country started to seek alternative sources of clean energy and other technologies which were more environment friendly. Most of the industry built these years not only allowed to clean the air but also brought to the country large amounts of money. On the other hand more industrialized country became more dependant on its neighbors. For example liquidation of classical power stations in 2004 caused the lacks of energy in adverse weather conditions which must be partially supplied by Demirhan Empire. Cars with oil motors were banned in 2014. Limited ban on air conditioning was implemented one year later.

In 2016 the eight amendment to Constitution was approved and since then voting in referendums is provided only by the Internet.

Politics
Country has an unique political system which is a mix of meritocracy and direct democracy. The head of the government is the Supreme Council composed of three people elected for four year term by the National Electoral Gathering from professors and Lorantian archpriests. The Supreme Council’s Chairman who is currently Mehrilan Lerath has the power of appointing ministers and is a nominal army commander. The Council appoints ministers and is responsible for preparation of the acts of law.

The law is then proposed in referendum where the Lorantian citizens can vote. Lorantians can also propose own law by gathering more than ten thousands required to put it into national referendum. The age required to vote is eighteen years but it can be lowered by The Supreme Council in justifiable cases to fifteen years.

Administrative divisions
The largest geographic regions of Lorantis are called regions and their names come from geographic features, historical names or the role of the province.

Society
Dominant ethnic group are Lorantians who consist 88%. The other significant ethnic groups include Turquese who stands for 6% of population and Ivirans who are 2%. The other minorities include Aryans and Antharians and compose about 4% of the whole population.

Religion
The majority of Lorantians, nearly 70%, follow the polytheistic cult originated in antiquity known as Kreideth. About 14% declare themselves as atheists or agnostics, 12% as Iman believers (mostly the descendants of Demirhan settlers and proselytes), 3% as Ortholic christics while 4% feel affiliated to various other religions.

National holidays
Most of the national holidays are associated with Kreideth.
 * 1 January - New Year
 * 2 February - Imbolth
 * 22 March - Ostarian
 * 1 May - Beltaine, also Worker’s Day.
 * 3 May - Independence Day (signing the Treaty of Malazit)
 * 22 June - Tigran
 * 1 August - Lammariek
 * 16 September - Constitution Day
 * 22 September - Mudriah
 * 1 November - Ariethin
 * 22 December - Yulethan

Nudity
Unlike in most of present day countries nudity is an important part of Lorantian culture. In the past it was only required as a part of some religious rituals and after the Demirhan conquer it became prohibited because it was seen as immoral by the occupants. Hard Demirhan stance over the issue caused the beliefs, very popular after war for independence, that nudity is a patriotic act but decades of occupation created sometimes complicated social norms saying when nudity is not appropriate. Some of these laws became a law, for example the bill from 1923 prohibits nudity at schools except for physical education because workout is traditionally done naked. In 1968 during exceptionally hot spring students in one of the high schools in Vilosetra started the protest against it wearing nothing but flip-flops and sunglasses. The Education Ministry argued that the requirement of clothing is necessary for efficient education process so they tried to get the best grades as possible. Later other schools in the country joined the protest and students became to collect the votes required to propose a public referendum to abolish oppressive law. The Ministry feared of the consequences proposed a compromise document which allowed nudity when inner temperature in schools exceeds 27 ̊ C. Also in 1997 private schools were allowed to implement own dress codes including allowance of complete nudity. Recent ban on air conditioning also caused nationwide discussion about dresscodes at work and many of the rules were slacken off.

Sports
National sport since antiquity is oil wrestling. Traditionally at the local level the competitors are naked but at continental and world championships the required clothing are leather trousers as it was used in other countries where oil wrestling is traditionally popular such as Demirhan Empire.

The other popular sports include swimming, cycling and several team games of which most notable is soccer but the Lorantian team have never achieved any success in this discipline.

LGBTQ situation
The country was always tolerant for sexual minorities. The same sex relationships were never prohibited and shortly after regaining independence homosexual marriages were made equal to their heterosexual counterparts. The only exception is pressure of society which expects homosexuals to adopt children. The tolerance along with small sexual dimorphism between the sexes is believed to be one of the reasons why the presence of sexual minorities is exceptionally high. According to survey from 2016 about 6% of society identifies themselves as homosexuals, 7% as bisexuals and about 12% describe themselves as heterosexuals but experience or experienced in the past voluntary homosexual activities.

In the contrary situation of trans people is much more complicated. Although there is no formal discrimination, the Kreideth officials are strongly against transsexualism and other body modifications. These issues may also sometimes causes discomfort of inhabitants of culturally conservative regions of Lorantis.

Marriage and age of consent
General age of majority is eighteen but there are several exceptions. For example age of consent is only fifteen years old. In specific circumstances the same threshold can be held during referendums. Although to legally marry each other both fiancés should be at least eighteen years old Kreideth allows people who have full rights as believers (usually shortly after fifteenth birthday) to have a religious marriage. However that has no effect on legal status of these teenagers, it only allows them to feel morally better.