Aiksuren

Aiksuren (Kaukhen: 'aɪksʉɾɛn; Yano Urtiea Akgasureis) is a country located in the southeast of Charin, bordering the Ghadaa Sea and Deshon to the east, Syenyan to the north, and Thuud to the south and west. The population of Aiksuren is estimated to be around 300,000 people, most of which live in major cities in the north; its most populated cities are, respectively, Makel at around 30,000 citizens and Bar-an-marakheu at around 18,000 citizens. It is between 150,000 and 170,000 square miles, making it the second most sparsely-populated country in the Deshonic region.

Following its declaration of independence after the Great Fracture (Pl1), Aiksuren struggled to establish itself as a nation until the Gheht Brum Dynasty, during which it served as a neutral intermediary between Syenyan and Deshon. During this time, Aiksuren participated in defensive battles against invading Deshonic and Syenyana forces, the effects of which are fundamental to modern Aiksuren culture.

Aiksuren is the 7th-wealthiest Deshonic country and the 25th-wealthiest country in Charin. Primarily, Aiksuren exports lumber, raw ore, clay, and stone, and imports grain and linen. Aiksuren operates using a feudal economy.

Etymology
The name Aiksuren, adapted into Chutagshin, is from the Class Kaukhen word for the Aik peoples, aȳkʒurem. Class Kaukhen was a language that originally developed amongst the Kaukhen people groups in what is now northern Thuud and southern Syenyan. The complex history of the Aik and Kaukhen are only documented by Kaukhen manuscripts, since the Aik had no written language.

Yano Urtiea, the language spoken by the Yanoe people of southern Aiksuren, refers to Aiksuren as Akgasureis, which is almost definitely borrowed from the preexisting Class Kaukhen label.

Prehistoric Activity
The area was likely first settled by the Bonchet, a widespread prehistorical Charin people group; elements of Bonchet language and culture survive in artifacts throughout Aiksuren's history. The Kaukhen people group likely arose between 400 and 200 PDT (Pre-Deshonic Time), settling along rivers in the relatively temperate area between Syenyan and Thuud. It is unknown where or when the Aik first developed, but it is exceedingly likely that the Aik were originally a splinter group from the Kaukhen.

Early Civilization (Dn50-Dn140)
Kaukhen raids on the Aiksuren area increased as declarations of power throughout Charin pressured the Kaukhen into a sedentary lifestyle. By Dn50, during which the first Deshonic national census was undertaken, the Kaukhen had blended with or replaced the Aik peoples in all parts of the area. The Yanoe and Uthuud peoples, who make up part of the population of southern Aiksuren, arrived and settled while the area was under Deshonic control.

Deshonic Control (Dn141-Ud165)
During the Deneth Expansion (Dn121-Dn154), Aiksuren was conquered in its entirety by Deshon and was referred to as Aiksuram, its Shokhla name. The initial date that this invasion began is unclear, but it was completed on 14 Ikovay Dn141.

On 24 Helvay Dn139, a large Aiksuren settlement referred to by Deshonic records as Oghaulam (roughly "circular site") was partially razed and transformed, over several years, into the city of Makel. Traditionally, this conquest has been attributed to Yudan the Bricklayer, although this attribution has been contested. This city became the basis of southern Deshonic operations, however infrequent they may have been. Makel remains the most Deshonic city in Aiksuren, with over half of its population self-identifying as chutaga.

Aiksuren developed its military system during the Eyamas era of the Syenyan Dynasty (Sy302-390). The banner system established during this time period remains its primary method of organizing its military, although the system has changed significantly throughout the years.

Independence and International Politics (Pl1-Ds214)
Following the Great Fracture, Aiksuren took its current name as a kingdom under King Ahe-loukhen II and established a national identity as Kaukhen, with Yanoe, Deshonic, Syenyan, and Uthuud ethnicities relegated to extremely minor and frequently oppressive roles. Aiksuren proceeded to participate in a short civil war (the Aiksuren Civil War, Pl19-Pl20) before stabilizing and establishing its presence as a neutral force between Syenyan and Deshon during the turbulent Gheht Brum Dynasty, establishing the Liminal Treaty (Gh11) followed by the Nonpartisan Accordance (Gh29).

On 2 Owevay Ds210, Deshon's royalist forces accused Aiksuren of breaking the Nonpartisan Accordance by involving themselves with Syenyan, which was currently in the Third Syenyana War with Deshon (Ds208-Ds214) declared formal war on Aiksuren, and these forces invaded on 12 Ikovay Ds211. In response, the current King, King Maen-od-apekhemar I, joined the sympathetic Syenyan forces to defend themselves. However, throughout Helvay and Nindavay Ds213, Syenyan and Aiksuren compound troops invaded the southern area of Deshon. This series of events is known as the Bar-yanhai Battles, after the Aiksuren folk hero Bar-yanhai. Aiksuren denied the involvement that the royalist forces accused them of, and requested reparations from the Iakah Dynasty. However, the Iakah Dynasty rejected this request due to Aiksuren's later invasion of Deshonic territory. This would later spark the First Iakah Banner War and leave several generations of Aiksuren suspicious of Deshon.

Iakah History (Ik1-present)
The Iakah Dynasty saw two complex wars close to one another, likely due to the upset in the Aiksuren banner system of military organization. The First Iakah Banner War (Ik35-Ik40) was declared by the Zavu Banner, a cell of banner armies that held considerable political sway and was dedicated to committing to war against Deshon. This war is unrecognized by Deshon, as most fighting took place on Aiksuren soil. Over the course of this war, most major banner cells, including Zavu, Gaioh, Maldza, and Au-korife, were significantly weakened and replaced by the New Banner cells. The weakened cells came to be referred to, collectively, as the Old Banner cells.

Between the First Iakah Banner War and the Second Iakah Banner War, Aiksuren was divided, with each banner competing for political and physical power both on and off the battlefield. Battles in this intermediary period are referred to as the Interwar Skirmishes, despite the fact that the total casualties from these "skirmishes" outnumber those from the First Iakah Banner War.

Aiksuren participated in the War of Decline (Ik68-Ik71) as a minor third party. The results of this war, mainly positive, helped Aiksuren restructure its military and its international position. Moreover, the end of the War of Decline marked a struggle for the crown, during which the Orae lineage was replaced entirely by a splinter lineage, the Gamhuur-al. The first King of the Gamhuur-al, King Ab-ral-dvunh, solidified the Banners under regal decree. This directly led to the War for Independence (Ik77-Ik79), which returned the throne to the Orae.

The most recent international interaction Aiksuren has participated in was the Second Iakah Banner War (Ik90-Ik94), which Deshon recognized as a war. During this time, the country fell under military law and was led by the Grand General Kov-tza-amar, who was defeated and killed during the Battle of the River's Bend. Aiksuren is currently paying reparations to Deshon until Ik140. As a result, the Aiksuren economy is weak and their military is significantly reduced.

Geography
Aiksuren is characterized by rolling plains, broad temperate forests, temperate mountain ranges, and mediterranean scrub.

Politics and Government
Aiksuren is a hereditary, absolute monarchy. The head of state is the King, currently King Ahe-loukhen VI. Nominally, the King maintains a nonpartisan six-person cabinet with a representative of each major area in Aiksuren; however, the current King's Cabinet is made up of one chutaga noble, one Yanoe-Kaukhen Master-Lord, and four Kaukhen Master-Lords. Following the Cabinet, power descends through the Grand Generals and their Generals, the State Heads (including the Master of Finances and Master of Colleges), and finally the accessed nobles.

Nobility
Nobility in Aiksuren is hereditary and based on tax contribution. If a noble family fails to meet the minimum tax contribution annually, they lose their title of accessed noble and become unable to participate in the government of Aiksuren; they remain nobility, but cannot regain the title of accessed noble for one generation.

Accessed nobles are any nobles that actively contribute to the economy of Aiksuren. This title was developed as part of the Treaty of the Second Banner War and applies to 96% of Aiksuren nobility. Master-Lords are accessed nobles who maintain a certain amount of economic output from the land they own, and frequently pay a smaller percentage of taxes than other accessed nobles. Master-Lords tend to own large swaths of land or cities, and every Master-Lord must maintain at least ten Lords under their loyalty.

Feudalism
At least 90% of Aiksureni are serfs, the lowest economic title in the country. Serfs are paid a living wage to work for Councellors, who work for Lords, who directly answer to Master-Lords and manage their property. There is a burgeoning middle class in Aiksuren's major cities, mainly due to influences from central Deshon and western Syenyan.

Impartiality
Due to the nature of the Treaty of the Second Banner War, Aiksuren is unable to declare war against Deshon until Ik200, and due to the nature of the Nonpartisan Accordance, Aiksuren is unable to directly aid either Syenyan or Deshon in a military fashion when the two powers are competing. Finally, Thuud and Aiksuren have never been at odds militarily, leaving Aiksuren, currently, the most neutral Deshonic country.

Economy
The Orae Coffer is the official royal bank, which processes at least 70% of the wealth produced by Aiksuren. Most of this wealth is accumulated by the areas to the north of the Iboudve Mountains, meaning most of this wealth is disconnected from citizens of the Yanoe or Uthuud ethnicities. Lords in the southern parts of Aiksuren are usually 1/4th to 1/20th as wealthy as Lords in the northern parts of the country; food insecurity is also a constant problem for southern citizens, who are not geographically positioned to make good usage of natural resources.

Aiksuren uses a standard coinage system; nickle-iron coins are smelted into five shapes and sizes which each denote a different value of the Aiksuren monetary unit kai. Coin denominations include the tal (1 kai), the graz (5 kai), the muzie (10 kai), the obol (50 kai), and the agur-an (100 kai). Three kai are approximately worth one loaf of bread, but this value has been inflated since Aiksuren's loss in the Second Iakah Banner War.

Ethnicity
The most recent federal census was taken in Ik84, so most of its information is likely outdated. It reported 166,500 Kaukhen citizens (57%), 41,100 Syenyan citizens (14%), 40,700 Yanoe citizens (14%), 29,900 Uthuud citizens (10%), 14,300 chutaga citizens (4%), and 1,400 citizens of other ethnicities (<1%), for a total of approximately 293,900 citizens. However, an influx of Syenyan and chutaga immigrants in the north changes these figures, perhaps by as much as 5 percentage points.

The Kaukhen speak Kaukhen, the most widely-spoken language in the country, and most other ethnicities speak at least some Kaukhen. In addition, most Aiksureni, especially in the north, speak some Chutagshin. The Yanoe language, Yano Urtiea, is spoken by at least 90% of Yanoe people, but few outside this ethnic group speak the language. The Aiksureni dialect of this language is noticably different than Thuud dialects. Comparatively, only around 18% of Aiksureni Uthuud speak Ubautuuhkja, the major language of Thuud. Instead, Aiksureni Uthuud commonly speak Kaukhen or Syenyana.

Non-Kaukhen Aiksureni have suffered major rights violations in the past, including unlawful enslavement and unlawful deportation. Currently, rights violations are less common and less extreme due to recent changes in governance, but violations still occur. Chattel slavery has also fallen significantly since the Interwar Skirmishes, and no chattel slaves of Kaukhen ethnicity still exist in Aiksuren.

Religion
The Kingdom of Aiksuren does not officially recognize a national religion. However, it's estimated that 62-68% of Aiksureni follow the chutaga religion of Nangism, while most of the remaining 32-38% follow the Syenyana religion of Oranys. Traditional religions are very rare, and even outlying villages will often gather around some form of one of these two religions (or a combination of the two).

Culture
Aiksureni culture is characterized by diverse and often unclear influences as well as lasting conventions that can be hundreds or thousands of years old. Two "traditional" cultures, Kaukhen and Thuud, have begun to mesh with two "new" cultures, the Deshonic and Syenyana cultures, over the last several hundred years. While some elements of these "new" cultures have made a significant impact upon Aiksuren, much of it is still contested or compared to a theoretical Aiksuren national spirit.

Music
The musical culture of Aiksuren is some of the richest in the area and is extremely characteristic. Aiksuren music tends to use woodwinds and strings as well as a strongly vibrato voice. Woodwind instruments made from reeds, including the yazu-ga, the oukhezad, the dvodzii, and the bogui, and woodwind instruments made from strong grass like the flute-like sat-vezmae, interact to create ethereal and haunting sounds, evoking the natural and the supernatural. Traditional folk music forms like the uz-dan-gaoved (the song of fathers) also use drums of various sizes.

Recent music implements choral forms from Syenyan culture, overlapping it with the Aiksuren warbling voice, and experiments with gongs, bells, and cymbals from other nearby locations like Haurm and Deshon.

Literature
Aiksureni literature is uncommon, given the number of citizens who can read and write. However, amongst the upper class, there are several distinct Aiksureni schools of literature that have arisen since Deshonic control. Early Aiksuren writing directly interacts with Deshonic religion and culture and frequently partakes in Deshonic poetic form. Between Deshonic control and the Trials Era (Ds210-present), Aiksureni literature stagnated with the exception of an adopted Syenyana religious form, the bykir (adopted into Kaukhen as the biikhir).

The Trials Era brought a resurgence of Aiksureni literature. Notably, the writer Zori Gamu-tu-dvedar (Ds174-Ik75), a Northern noble, wrote extensively about philosophy, including wartime ethics, the ethics of ethnicity and bigotry, the ethics of religion and the gods, and the meaning of life. Gamu-tu-dvedar's writings influenced a later group of writers to create the Trials School, during which they expounded upon his work and the work of his peers. The Trials School had some impact on the related Deshonic literary school, the Red Lake School.

Sports
The most popular traditional Aiksuren sport is gau-mokhri, a ballgame played with the feet in which the ball cannot hit the ground. The court for this sport is small, often leading to injuries, which has become a part of Aiksuren culture. Deshonic sports, especially bahlen, have also been adapted by the Aiksureni.

Cuisine
Aiksureni cuisine is one of the few in the area that is heavily based on meat, especially tough wild meat and fish. Dishes usually involve extensive cooking, especially boiling and roasting, and thick, sour butter called biu. Aiksureni cuisine also borrows extensively from Deshonic cuisine, in that it uses flat bread, soft bread, soups, and dips. However, the different ingredients available in Aiksuren change the nature of these dishes; Aiksureni flat bread will often be thick and crisp like a biscuit, and in highbrow restaurants, this bread is served with thick dip or sauces and meat.

Aiksuren's major native spice is gurur, a sugar with a bitter aftertaste that is mainly exported to Deshon. However, some Aiksureni cuisine utilizes this spice in caramelization and teas. One unique twist on Deshonic cuisine is podhuura, a sauce that uses gurur as a thickening agent. Many consider it an acquired taste.

Fashion and Clothing
Unlike other Deshonic cultures, Aiksuren does not make use of uraner in any capacity. The abundance of duzu goats allows the Aiksureni to use thick duzu wool, which they will usually dye teal, violet, or crimson; the most difficult dye to acquire in Aiksuren is yellow or golden. Aiksureni clothing for men tends to consist of a long tunic that covers the knees, leather-topped high boots (sometimes with covers), and fur collars that keep the tunic shirt closed. Sometimes, a wide-brimmed hat or a gioubi scarf will be added to an outfit. For women, two-layer light wool dresses and belts are commonplace; rarely do Aiksureni women wear headgear.

Aiksureni decoration appears to take from a number of Thuud cultures and early Syenyana cultures. Motifs including the dyven arc and simple woven bands have appeared on Aiksuren clothing for hundreds of years. Decoration also reflects armor of early antiquity, including iron lamellar patterning.