Ardelaine
A former superpower that recently fell, Ardelaine still has some of the best universities in the world. The city is known for being the place where the world's brightest scientists learned their trade.
Territory
Ardelaine is bordered to the north by the Sovereign River, to the east by the mountains, to the west by the ocean and to the south by the Ardellian Sea. It being enclaved on all sides with very little land border makes it difficult to invade (almost impossible before the advent of navigation tools and large ships) and easy to protect, which was a critical factor in its former development. It has a varied climate, going from relatively cold and almost continental in the north-east to warm and oceanic in the south. It's hard to define a typical Ardelannois environment, but overall, summers are warm and winters are mild.
The land, while not specially rich in mineral resources when compared to true mining states, has a bit of everything, which makes it the perfect place for research and tests.
Important Places
South Sovereign
The political capital of Ardelaine, most important trading hub and most populated city.
Saint-Antoine
The former capital city of Ardelaine and most populated city besides Sovereign. It is still the cultural hub of the country, and the Academy of Saint-Antoine is the most renowned university in the world. It hosts a mix of modern buildings, as well as remains and ruins of antique Ardelaine, like the forum, which remained mostly unchanged for over a millenium.
Maranville
The largest port in Ardelaine, and hub towards the Ardellian Sea. It's one of the oldest cities still standing in the country: popular legends make it the first city in Ardelaine, being founded by nomads who crossed the sea on rafts and settled there many millenia ago.
Society
Ardelaine is currently ruled by the Commonwealth federal government. All decisions for the country are taken by the Senate and, for minor matters, either by the Ardelannois senators or by mayors. The mayors are elected by direct universal suffrage, and themselves chose the senators using proportional voting. The most important decisions are traditionally subjected to referendum, although it isn't an obligation.
Justice is served by professional judges appointed by the Senate.
Academies in Ardelaine, while not holding true political power, can be surprisingly influent as well. They are usually wealthy, and since they are the institutions teaching all the influent people and their children, they can usually nudge politics one way or another.
Ardelaine doesn't have a proper military (only a few troops and officers, mostly used for law enforcement), and instead rely on militia and drafting in case of an attack, and on federal and private investigators for criminal matters.
Culture
People from Ardelaine generally value popular culture, traditions and the pursuit of knowledge. For most of its long history, Ardelaine was the cultural, economical and scientific center of the world, and the people are trying to preserve what's left of it as best as they can.
Even though usually of pretty small scale compared to what can be found in Old Vetus, folk festivals and traditions are still upkept. Most people, even farmers, tend to follow some kind of education. Everyone above the age of 18 knows how to read due to an extensive literacy program: everyone, when turning 16, has to join the local garrison to be taught how to read and write, rudimentary mathematics, astronomy and meteorology, how to fight and basic military maneuvers.
For upper-class citizens who can afford it, most pursue higher education in the various universities of the state. There, you can usually chose from one of six tracks: Arts, Physics and Mathematics, Law and Culture, Medicine, Chemistry, and Alchemy, although some advocate for alchemy to be removed from the curriculum as they consider it "not a true science". For those who cannot afford it, scholarship programs exist, but only the greatest students can benefit from it.
People
People from Ardelaine are usually very rational people, although the criteria for rationality vary between individuals.
They are usually wary of smooth talkers, fearing that they could cause their demise once again.
Ardelannois generally value quality over quantity, knowing that they can't compete over quantity with the newer regions in the Commonwealth. Food production is low, but millenia of experience and selective breeding made it so you find some of the best in the world there, academics are not as numerous as they could be but are the most knowledgeable...
As for their appearance, Ardelannois are almost as varied as it gets. Hosting part of Sovereign and being a significantly cheaper country to live in than Old Vetus, a lot of tourists and merchants settled there, adding to their already existing broad gene pool established by covering both cold and mountainous, and warm and oceanic climates.
History
The early history of Ardelaine has been mostly lost to time. What we do know is that most ancient discoveries emerged there: alchemy, paper and glass, to name a few.
In the more recent history, Ardelaine faced a significant political crisis a few centuries ago. Due to cultural influence from Old Vetus, charismatic and demagogic people appeared in the country. Ardelaine, having some kind of presidential monarchy (where an absolute monarch is elected every 10 years), only worked by assuming that both the people and the leader are enlightened, which had been the case for most of its history. Due to the high average level of education, people voted for the wisest leader, and said leader usually took the right decisions.
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The people weren't ready for the arrival of smooth talkers, and assumed that they knew as much as they talked about. However, while not entirely incompetent, these newfound rulers were far less competent than the previous leaders, and over the course of a few decades, the country had been ran into the ground by approximate policies and out-of-touch decisions.
After a period of civil unrest, Ardelaine held a referundum to see what to do, and decided that they would try to join the Vetusian trading league, marking the true beginning of the Commonwealth. Even though the building of Sovereign right around that time might have been a coincidence, Ardelannois truly see it as a symbol of equality between the two countries.
Playing as a Ardelannois
As an Ardelannois, you know how to read, chances are you are decently educated and have a working knowledge in mathematics and language. You might also come from a dynasty of craftsmen or farmers, having mastered your trade across generations. You are probably wary of smooth-talkers and charismatic people, as you know what impact they had on your country.
There isn't really a typical Ardelannois look. As the country has been at the crossroads of the world for most of history, they mixed a lot. Generally though, people have relatively light skin, and brown or blonde hair.
Ardelannois names typically sound like real-life french, sometimes greek and latin names, but are often borrowed from literature due to the high level of literacy.