Artorias

Artorias is the most populous city on the continent of Gaushan and is the capital of the nation Vyngard. Situated in Shepody Bay on the north-side of Artorias island, Artorias resides approximately 50 blocks east of continental Gaushan, and 300 blocks west of continental Koganon. The city has earned the reputation as a city with a large diversity of culture because of its island residing between Gaushan and Koganon, and its history of Vyzians settling the city. Alongside this, the city has earned the reputation of being a military and political juggernaut, with Artorias's largely succesful political involvement internationally, and the town never losing a war in its history. As of the December, 2022 Census, the city has a population of 17, with a metropolitan population of 19, an increase of two since the previous month.

Demographics
The Demographics of Artorias make the city one of the most multicultural cities in Alathra. Originating from its immigration founding, the town has often accepted new citizens if they are deemed “like-minded” and right-thinking in the eyes of Artorian culture. The majority Vyzian demographic originates from the time Issiroth led people of the Vyzia Greater Area to the island upon its inception between the months of March 2022 to May 2022. The high number of Artorians stems from citizens who were born in Artorias, or resided in Artorias as their first home. The small Tidian minority consists of Sheepboi121, a former HighTide resident, and former high-guard to Cody29797. The small Eldian minority consists of Dragoooooooon, the original founder of the Eldian town Snowport. Finally the small Kogongi minority consists of Naamm, the son of Arcadian Game Glider SKG.

Values
Artorias places its values at the forefront of its government's decision making. Artorias stands for honour, strength, justice, respect, and community.

Honour in Artorias means to be determined to fulfill any commitment or keep any agreement.

Strength in Artorias means to have the capacity to withstand and have the resilience to stand up and fight for what's right.

Justice in Artorias means to punish and get revenge against those who go against the Artorian values.

Respect in Artorias means to treat one another equally regardless of their past selves, as long as that person expresses the same values Artorias desires in the present.

Finally, community in Artorias represents the importance of trust and unity in a city like Artorias. In order to even become a resident of Artorias, any person must express these values admirably.

Religion
Aligning with Artorias political value of respect, Artorias’s opinion respects the right for any person to choose any religion that closely follows the town's Values. In fact, Artorias encourages religious diversification as it allows inhabitants the ability to immerse themselves in a community, and explore new beliefs or ideas which could potentially change Artorias for the better. That being said, Artorias has no official religion, with approximately 90% of its residents not aligned with one.

The Artorian COA
The Artorian COA was first created on July 3rd, 2022 by Oligarch Dragoooooooon. The COA consists of a shield with jagged spikes at its centre, two swords, an outline of Artorias island, a motto, and five stars. The shield centered on Artoria's COA signifies its defence and strength. Strength in Artorias means to have the capacity to withstand and have the resilience to stand up and fight for what's right; defending for whats right as well. The two swords represents two significant swords to the town, The Artorian Blade and Vyzia's Courage. The outline of Artorias island in the background of the COA uniquely signifies where Artorias is located. The motto on the COA writes "Through Blood and Tears Vyzia Prevails!" highlighting the towns Vyzian ancestry and how regardless of what happens, its people will succeed.

Pre-Founding
Before the lands of Artorias were colonized, the land possessed a thick jungle, notable for its vast bamboo forests. Several towns also resided in the area Artorias was built upon, most notably Everglow and small towns part of the nation Estea. The town of Everglow resided around where the current Artorian Court House stands. The former town was constructed out of jungle woood and was developed high above the ground on the tops of jungle trees, presumably for the purpose of defense against invaders. The town tragically fell into ruins on October 18th, 2021. Artorias still possesses a tree that was planted by an Estean to commemorate the lands Artorias was built upon.

Founding
The city of Artorias was first founded on March 7th, 2022 by Vyzian Issiroth. The town was originally supposed to establish itself on the well known, yet barron island of Homo-town; However it was politically claimed by Taffasan. This ultimately led the Vyzian explorer Issiroth to choose a larger Island just south of Homo-Town. At first Artorias Island was covered in heavy brush with bamboo taking up nearly every square foot of space. Making development within the first few weeks of the town's founding difficult. (Place picture A1 of the town island finally being cleared out.) However once this was all cleared out; what remained was a beautiful Jungle island, with great weather and two beautiful rivers surrounding both sides.

Early Development
At first Artorias began developing rapidly. The town was created due to members of a previous city “Vyzia” seeking a new home. Lands that provided them with the opportunity to become a Geopolitical Leader. After the first week of development, Artorias already had six separate homes established on the island. (Caption this) (Place picture A2 here) the town by this point garnering a total of eight residents.

The Court House Construction (Formally the Artorian Town Hall)
As Artorias continued to prosper, demand for a town hall accelerated. One of the long term goals the Artorian government envisioned was to become a city with the infrastructure to host major diplomatic meetings. With the Vyzian people's new desire, Connaco began construction on the project. Being built in roughly 2 days, the building illustrated Artorias’s Architectural capabilities. Since its completion, the building has held numerous meetings and events, most notably the Sherman Court Case Trial.

Establishment of “The League”
The League was a nation started by ​​Pact of the Immortal Blood (P.I.B.) member Twyst on March 22nd, 2022. The League’s primary goal was to possess some of Alathra’s strongest fighters united under one nation with the purpose of promoting their agenda world-wide. Artorias was one of the founding towns of the nation, solidifying its military strength throughout the world of Alathra. The League was the first nation Artorias was in.

The Arithian Crisis
On March 23rd, 2022, the native nation of the Vyzian peoples was overthrown. Through a Coup d’etat, Senator Tartarus merged the nation of the FCA with the nation of Solaris, a western Arith nation. The newly founded Solar Empire of Arith claimed a massive chunk of Arith (Similar to what the F.C.A had claimed prior to their dissolution.) Following the fall of the F.C.A and the formation of the Solar Empire of Arith, Artorians immediately entered talks with the FCA with the potential of declaring war on the newly formed nation. The FCA hastily accepted this deal, and three days later on March 26th, 2022, The FCA as well as Artorias Island declared war on The Solar Empire of Arith. (Note: The P.I.B and Artorias operated as separate entities under the same flag however both declared war on Solaris) after two days of hard fought skirmishes and seeing multiple wins from the F.C.A side of the battle. The Solar Empire of Arith and F.C.A met to discuss peace negotiations. With the war officially concluding March 28th, 2022.

The Highlands War & The Artorias vs Ehrenhal Siege
On May 30th, 2022, Elyria declared war against Arcadia, a nation Artorias has maintained favorable relations with for the entirety of its existence. The following day on May 31st, Artorias joined the conflict against Elyria with two goals, to expand upon Artorias’s existing bond with Arcadia and gain territory for Artorian residents to have the ability to reside on vast farmlands. The conclusion of the Highlands war conflict remains the biggest disagreement Artorias has held with Arcadia. Artorias publicly accused Arcadia of creating an unjust peace treaty when Arcadia departed from the conflict, writing how Artorias received nothing despite being a major power in this war. The war raged on, with Artorias and the F.C.A. rejecting Arcadia's peace treaty. The two powers successfully sieged Ehrenhal days later on June 18th, ending the war. During the siege of Ehrenhal, the Elyrians attempted to siege Artorias however Issiroth and Sheepboi121 slaughtered them all, marking the first time Artorias was ever sieged. In the conclusion of this war, Artorias gained land across the (insert name strait), and captured Elyrian General Sherman for his war crimes against Artorias, and Alathra. Weeks later, this event would spark the Shermans Court Case Tragedy.

Dissolution of “The League” and The Creation of Shepody
On June 29th, 2022, Artorias departed from The League due to the Artorian government voting to represent itself independent from The League. Artorias left the nation with favorable views, still having residents often visiting the P.I.B. to reminisce over the former nation's capital grounds. The same day Artorias left The League, Artorias established the nation of Shepody. Shepody still remains a nation to this day however was later renamed to Vyngard, with Artorias still maintaining its capital status over the nation.

Shermans Court Case Tragedy
On July 9th, 2022, Elyrian General Sherman’s court case was held inside the Artorias court building following Artorias holding him captive after winning the Artorias vs Ehrenhal siege. With Oligarch Connaco as the judge, Artorias tried him for war crimes he committed against Artorias and Alathra. This court case sparked several controversies as Connaco was an Artorian Oligarch, yet still was the judge and the jury was deadlocked 50/50 with numerous Sherman sympathizers and enemies. By the end of this trial, the jury couldn't decide on a verdict and ruled for a retrial. Issiroth then gave his famous final speech against Sherman, before decapitating Sherman and being killed himself by guards on display by the entire court. The death of Sherman and Oligarch Issiroth caused anarchy within Artorias, with Connaco and the other Oligarchs fleeing the town the night of the riots to Kais Kogong in Arcadia as refugees. The nation Shepody also dissolved weeks later on July 26th after Connaco announced its dissolution from Kais Kogong.

Artorias’s Lothric Arc
On September 8th, 2022, Isalith (an ex P.I.B. assassin and Lothric follower) seized control over Artorias after the town remained vacant from any civil order following the departure of the Artorian government. The town was stolen swiftly and the few inhabitants that still resided in the town were treated comparatively to barn animals and faced death in the event they attempted to flee. Residents were forced into labor and remained voiceless under Isaliths horrific ruling, forcing everyone to swear fealty to King Lothric Wulfgar. Throughout the time Artorias was under Lothric's control, Connaco alongside the other Oligarchs and the Arcadian military devised a war plan to recapture Artorias Island. The plan was to capture the island from the south first, where there was minimal infrastructure to constrain their naval invasion, then to reclaim the population centers northwards. Finally on September 28th, the Shepodians and Arcadians made landfall on the island. Day by day their regiments would make small gains over Lothric, entering the city proper on September 30th at 3:00am. The war saw its deadliest fighting that day with both sides enduring 5-10 casualties. Around 9:30 pm the following night, Isalith alongside the few existing Lothric forces vacated the island. Isalith had been stabbed in the eye and chest by Connaco just prior to fleeing the island, impairing vision in one eye and resulting in a grave loss of blood. Because of this, Isalith is presumed dead however no corpse has been found. Connaco officially announced October 1st as the conclusion of Lothric's and Isaliths Reign over Artorias after 24 hours of the town being free from any Lothric or Isalith regiments. The city’s infrastructure stood impaired however, with Connaco even stating Artorias streets appeared as if “they were painted red” from bloodshed.

Arcadian Rebuild
On October 1st, 2022, Artorias joined Arcadia following the reannexation of the city by the Artorian people. During this time, Arcadia offered financial and military aid to the city after it had been devastated by the lothric war. To ensure a reliable recovery, Artorias joined the nation of Arcadia until the town believed it was fit to be independent again. During this time, Kais Kogong native PLACEHOLDER (nicknamed Naamm) joined Artorias and eventually became a crucial Oligarch for Artorias’s success.

Shepody’s Revival
On October 24th, 2022, Shepody was reformed following a vote held in Artorias concluding 100% in favor of leaving Arcadia on favorable terms, and establishing Shepody. The nation was quickly reformed and changed to ensure the past tragedies of the nation can never occur again. Read more on the Shepody wiki.

Political Claim Belief Emerges
On November 9th, 2022, the senate of Artorias voted in-favor of publicly announcing their support for smaller, more realistic political claims of nations worldwide. This announcement means that Artorias could come to the support of nations that follow similar political claims and beliefs over nations that don't depending on the context. The following document describes the specifics of their political belief more in-detail. We hope for other nations in the future to pursue similar beliefs. (Inspiration for this document's format is from The Kogangon Compact.

Stahlfaust vs Prospitia War
On November 22nd, 2022, Artorias declared war upon Prospitia following promises Kaiser Arctan of Stahlfaust made to Artorias. Following the publishing of Artorias’s political claims belief, Arctan asked to meet with Artorian Oligarchs proposing how if Artorias joined his side of the war, he would promise to redraw both Prospitias and Stahlfausts political claims to reflect our political claims beliefs. The Artorian Oligarchy agreed to assist his nation in their war efforts as a result of this. The war was a resounding success, with both Prospitia, and Solaria agreeing to surrender with Arctan's terms. Because of the war and Artorias’s Political Claim Belief, the continent of Prospit resides as the continent with the most unclaimed land for new cultures and nations to thrive upon.

Estryae, FCA, and Silvan Exiles Border Resolution
On November 19th, 2022 Morgan Sylvia Silva, Founder of Estryae met with the Artorian Oligarchs regarding the FCA being unreasonable with political claims, and being aggressive in their eyes. Two days later, Artorias met with the FCA regarding the information Estryae forwarded to Artorias. The FCA agreed that a discussion regarding changing the FCA’s political claims to allow this newly found nation to grow and prosper on Arith can be debated, however they believed Estryae were the real aggressors in this situation as they settled in FCA politically claimed land and built new towns on historically important FCA town ruins without their prior permission. Observing this situation as an outsider, Connaco of Artorias immediately set out to facilitate a meeting between the two nations with the hope of Estryae to be able to claim fair political lands on Arith with minimal FCA intervention, and for Estryae to understand why the FCA does not trust them. Following the Artorias political claims manifesto, the meeting commenced on December 6th, with Silvan Exiles also joining to mediate alongside Artorias. This meeting lasted two and a half hours with both sides throughout the meeting bantered and showing signs of aggression, but by the end of the meeting they were able to understand each other's side and compromise with one another. In the end, Connaco wrote The Estryae and FCA Border agreement which both sides signed on December 8th, 2022. This document states the FCA allowance of Estryae to claim a large part of their political claims for the price of 40k, and can only be claimed in increments they are actually building in, following Artorias’s political claims manifesto. In the end, this meeting was a resounding success for Artorias’s international diplomacy capabilities.

Artorias Keep is Created
(WOP)

The Eldian Jog of Protest
On December 1st, 2022, Artorias hosted a jog that had Shepodians and FCA residents gathered together to perform an act of demonstration against a newly passed Eldian law. Just days prior, the southern Gaushani nation announced the closure of their borders and issued a warning stating "if you are caught in Eldian lands, you will be killed". Shepody as well as the FCA believed this Eldian law was radical and thus performed this act as “we don't wish to see passer-byers being slaughtered despite them inflicting zero harm upon any Eldian.” (Connaco Ormon) The jog commenced in Ardora, visiting towns all across Eldia before concluding in Wulfheim. Although nobody was murdered, there was still some violence, such as Arrows being fired between two players from Shepody and Eldia. The Eldians followed the group until they made sure that the protesters had cleared their borders. Shepody and the FCA hope that this demonstration makes others feel more safe while traveling through foreign territory.

Shepody’s First Expansion Period
Artorias’s political values once again shifted on December 11th 2022, being less restrictive on who can join the nation. Prior to this, towns must encompass a majority Vyzian or Artorian population in order to apply to be a town in the nation. With the reversal of this rule, Peachfield, Kais Jerikko, and Oakland were voted in favor of joining Shepody. During this time, Shepody’s population went from approximately ~30 inhabitants, to around ~90 inhabitants, tripling within the length of a week.

Shepody is Formally Renamed to Vyngard
Following new towns joining the nation, so did new oligarchs who presented new ideas. At Shepody’s first national meeting with new Oligarchs Yana of Kais Jerikko and Oligarch Celeste of Peachfield on December 18th, 2022, Yana presented the nation body with an idea to rename Shepody to another name to reflect the nation's/ Artorias’s dramatic changes. The new name still represented the native Vyzians who founded Artorias with the “Vyn '' in Vyngard, then the “gard” representing “guardians”, together meaning Vyzian Guardians. This title represents the appreciation for the Vyzian founders of the Vyngard capital Artorias, then also signifying the strength and dignity of the inhabitants of this nation.