Nova

Nova
Nova;
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Capital	Novagrove
Demonym	Novan
Government
Population

Nova is a relatively new city-state on the continent of Ceyreto. Founded in July of 17 AC, Novan migration from Prsata to the base of the Salty Mountains saw the small merchant colony see rapid population and economic growth in a region often traded between powers but hardly populated itself.

History

Pre-Novan Settlement

The region now known as the Nova Coast was first recorded in the Kalikhan Topographical Map, which depicted the claims of the Empire of Kalikhan. The region was broadly defined within the Salty Mountains geographic area due to the mountain range blocking easy settlement from the population centers of the Empire; the region was catalogued as having no cities outside of a keep Zhar Dorahl in the mountain passage. The region was integrated into and out of the Triumvirate of Ceyreto as part of Kalikhan territory. When Kalikhan declined into Kalikrozpospecta, that regime also failed to develop the area. When Kalikrozpospecta too fell, the region entered a dark age without mention in any records being made of it or claims over it; sometime in this period, the town of Bloomfield rose and fell. At 4 AC, the isle off the coast of the region was operated by the Kingdom of Arbus as Port Salerno, before later being known as Opus Tenebris and then becoming defunct and abandoned by the time of Novan settlement.

Novan Settlement

What would become the Novans began as the merchant class in the Second Norheim. After a devastating war that would see the First Norheim fall, a mass migration of surviving Torhirric-cultured people settled at Hrafnvik. After a brief golden age that saw the merchant class rapidly reemerge, disagreements on economic and expansionary policy saw the first Novans again set off to the sea. In the early morning hours of a hot summer day, they touched land at the southern edge of the Salty Mountains.

Nestled at the base of the mountain, the first settlement in the area became Founders’ Grotto. From this small base-camp , the merchanteering Novans were able to set up their business operations and begin organizing the logistics for the construction of their city. On July 15th, 17 AC the City of Novagrove was founded on democratic and free-market principles as an independent City-State. On that same day, the Novagrove Agreement was the first treaty made by the City with a foreign power; it saw the exchange from the then-Gempire claimed-but-undeveloped lands into Novan control.

Back in the Second Norheim, social and economic collapse seemed inevitable as rapid territorial expansion paired with rapid population decline in the capital led to a power imbalance. This caused the Norheimian Refugee Crisis, which prompted the young City government to close further immigration from Norheim until it was able to quell the issue. Eventually, tensions between Norheim and Novagrove faded, and the two states were able to resume friendly partnership, before the Second Norheim officially dissolved in September of 19 AC.

The City began to properly resemble a city by the end of the Settlement period. The Novagrove Inn & Restaurant made history as the first building to be constructed, and later constructions of the Build House, GaleCo Building, and Market Street showed the first markings of a township.

Nova Confederation

As the City of Novagrove flourished and rapidly extended their control along the eastern Salty Mountains, a second Novan settlement was founded from a second, smaller migration from Hrafnvik. This was on the island of Silvermoor, far out into the ocean. Silvermoor and Novagrove entered into a close partnership and loosely centralized their government in what would become the Nova Confederation. In-between the two Novan cities was the island Kingdom of Pebbleton, which the Confederation invited to integrate. On July 31st 17 AC negotiations began with the Pebbleite King.

The City government began to flex its muscles as the population grew. At the City founding, merchant and Novan settler Neil Gales was elected the first Speaker, becoming the first to occupy the office of the executive. Various committees were charged with different aspects of governance; architect and fellow Novan settler Mýrún Ulfreyr secured the most committee chairmanships and thus became the first City Second-in-Command as Chief-of-Staff.

Novagrove extended its City territorial claims along the entirety of which it dubbed the “Nova Coast,” the thin, fertile coastal region nestled between the South Ceyreto Sea and the Salty Mountains. As the City continued to grow, a new neighbor emerged out of the plains south of the Coast.

Ocean Town was a small town that took settlement just across the peninsula, and its proximity and usefulness as a port as well as its ease-of-access across simple plains prompted the Novans to enter into a friendly relationship with the culture. Ocean Town expanded into the Kingdom of Tragon, though functionally remained a City-State with much larger borders. While Novagrove attempted to provide aid to the Tragonians, the Kingdom eventually succumbed to rapid expansion it did not have the resources to support. The City accepted Tragonian refugees after its fall.

Trouble also lingered closer to Novan hearts in Silvermoor. Leader Voltox had advanced the humble island settlement into a prosperous ship-building hub and valuable like-cultured ally of Novagrove, working closely within Confederate structures. An unexpected tide shift cut off communications with the isle for several weeks, and when a route was again navigable from Novagrove, the island was found abandoned.

As the Coastal Novans mourned the loss of their brother city, the Nova Coast inherited the entirety of the Confederacy. “Confederate” philosophy was slowly abandoned as Nova Coast dropped the term and defined the nation by its own name. By the end of the Confederate period, the Port of Novagrove had grown from a overcrowded landing-site into a proper harbour with regular passenger and trade traffic from powers across Alathra.

Nova Coast

Conversations with the Kingdom of Pebbleton were continued by the Coastal inheritors of the Confederacy. On September 11th, 19 AC, Pebbleton officially integrated into the Nova Coast as a home-rule municipality. The Pebbleites retained their King via a monarchical city-government. This integration diversified the Nova Coast, with Pebbleites becoming a minority culture within the nation.

North of the Nova Coast, the much older and larger Commonwealth of Blackthorn began to experience internal division. Newly-made friends from the Empire of Id'eskana sent an envoy to Novagrove to discuss possible involvement in the overthrow of the government at Zethoral. The City government deliberated on the issue and decided to remain non-militant, but leased the outpost Northcountry Installation in the northern Coast to the Coalition of Wrensbath, the rebelling faction of Blackthorn. When civil war finally consumed Blackthorn, Coalition forces launched their second offensive from Novagrove’s Northcountry Installation. The result was an overwhelming victory for the Coalition, and Blackthorn was reorganized into the nation of Ceyreto.

The Vuori Union, a nation nestled in the snowy mountains of the northern Ceyreto continent and fellow Torhirric-evolved culture, migrated to Adelaa'r and formed the Federation of Valkoinen shortly after the events of the Ceyreto war. Its cities include the city Churbon, a Novan-cultured settlement on the continent. Novan culture thus became multinational as it retained a powerful albeit minority city in the Federation.

The nation Ceyreto was able to stabilize quickly under Wrensbath control and normalized friendly relations with the Nova Coast. Pirates arrived at the bay on the northern border of the Coast and settled at Port Waterdane in 19 AC. Though originally of concern to the Novans, who rely on secure seas for international trade and domestic transport, the pirate colony proved surprisingly friendly as they grew comfortable in their settled setting. Though the land had been claimed by the nation Ceyreto after the war, the power allowed Waterdane to gain possession of the south central plain and form its own nation. This new settlement saw the Nova Coast’s border with the nation Ceyreto replaced with Waterdane, and the pirate-nation entered into a culture of partnership with Novagrove.

The Gempire, who had at the City’s founding relinquished the land to Novagrove, and later relinquished more claims to the Kingdom of Tragon, again released more claims as they abandoned the continent Ceyreto outside of their vassal Priuya. This shift in territorial claim on the continent left the Nova Coast with no neighbors outside those at Waterdane and a small border with the nation Ceyreto in the far north mountain region of the nation.

In the City, various outdated committees were dissolved as other committees were formed and the electorate, the eligible Citizens with voting rights, was expanded. The neighborhoods Endower’s Crest and Northtown saw suburban opportunities within the Novagrove township. The rural areas outside of the city began to see development as ground broke on the vineyard and other countryside projects. As the era of the Nova Coast continues, the nation and city grows more and more into itself as a prosperous, rising city.