North Brittania

''This article is about the country. For the Capital Territory of North Brittania, see North Brittania (city). See also North Brittania in the Plastics Song Contest. For other uses, see North Brittania (disambiguation).'' The Commonwealth of Brittania, commonly known as North Brittania, is a sovereign country in Plastics. Lying on the south-western coast of the Plastics Mainland, it is a conglomerate state of five formerly South-Asylic nations; Arridia Britchska, Selkie, Dova, Valley Green, and The Republic of Tacos. Along the north-eastern coast of North Brittania lie a series of archipelagos, collectively known as the Umian Isles. Qaimoriya borders the country's north, while to the west lies an uninhabited peninsula characteristic of Plastic geography. Apart from its sole land border, North Brittania is separated from South Brittania by the Brittanian channel, with coastlines stretching from Pont Erena in the west, all the way around to Dorinsvale at the northernmost point in Brittania. It shares extremely close political and economic ties with South Brittania, despite the latter's declared independence (circa 1682).

Archaeological research indicates that North Brittania was inhabited by humans as early as the Presapiatic Period. The first written mention of its oldest constituent territory, Arinidia, is in scholarly texts of Rhodes from around 6000 AV. Series of long territorial conflicts characterise North Brittania's history, with influence from other regions; particularly Qaimoriya and South Brittania, shaping events in North Brittania. From around 5800 AV, Arinidia, and later Arridia Britchska and North Brittania, have been ruled by a reigning Emperor, inheritance of dominion passed through the maternal bloodline. The introduction of The Kyoto Protocol in 3626 AV saw the first inherently democratic method of governance in Arridian History.

The Commonwealth of Brittania is a Unitary Imperial Democracy with a parliamentary system of governance, consisting of an upper and lower house. The lower house's sole purpose, however, is to elect (from their own ranks) three individuals as heads of government for Military and Foreign Affairs, Domestic Governance and Internal Affairs, and Internal and External Economic Management. These individuals respectively are titled General, Governor, and Honar, and together make up the upper house, known as the Kyoto Triparty, the executive body in all matters of state and answerable only to the incumbent Emperor/Empress, and their "Zero".

North Brittania has famously renounced its right to declare war, and does not officially have an official active military. It does however, authorise numerous active military agencies, such as ANTEI, AMIA, and ARGO, which all play a role in upkeep of the nation's military strength and foreign affairs.

Etymology
The earliest recorded usage of the term Britchska dates back to 4749 AV, when King Arhyn of Arinidia planned the First Crusade into the then Esthantos. Sources indicate that he used the term Brittschkavata (Brittschkav from the Royal Esthantosi bloodline at the time, and avaata, literally, "winged horses"). This was used in Arinidia to refer to the fast moving ranged cavalry battalions that made up the majority of forces on the steppes of Esthantos. The use of the prefix Brittschk in Arinidia as a denonym for Esthantos, and later Naomi carried over into the Pcak Era and continued until the founding of Fort Ekma following the third Great War. After the assassination of Emperor Hezelf by ANTEI (circa 2783 AV), the marriage of Prince Jaax of Arinidia and Princess Mirana in a union of nations formed Arridia Britchska; the Arridia of Brittschkav.

In 57 AV Queen Diasy III of Sanctum received a military report regarding the presence of "Britten nomadic peoples" in the far western reaches of the continent. She thereby dubbed the unknown lands Brittania in the common tongue. Upon further establishment of political and economic ties with the budding nation, and an already well documented map of the region, the international community adopted North Brittania to refer to the Arridian inhabited lands in the area, while using Brittania to refer to the geographical location itself. It is unknown how the leap from Britchska to Britten was made, however it is widely believed that traders and merchants of the common tongue, from the Oligarchic Systemic Republic and Selkie were the first to make contact with the Arridi. The term Brits is known to have been used on a regular basis to refer to Arridian nomadic traders, and historians suspect Britten was a term used to christen the state in the common tongue.

Over a period of hundreds of years, a multitude of sovereign states came to power within the geographical province of Brittania. In 1281 a federation of nations was established, formally known as the Commonwealth of Brittania, marking the first conjunction of states in just over a millennium. The name Brittania does not derive from the Capital Territory of North Brittania, the governing state of Arridia Britchska, which coincidentally is the most populated and longest standing sovereign state in the Western Peninsula.

Prehistory
The oldest traces of human life in what is now North Brittania date from approximately 1.1 million years ago. The region then experienced a harsh and variable climate, marked by multiple glacial eras, followed by periods of milder climate. Early homonids led a nomadic hunter-gatherer life, with a somewhat basic oral culture. North Brittania has a number of decorated caves from the Upper Paleolithic era, including one of its most famous and best preserved; Pa d'aava (approximately 21,000 AV). Migration in the early Paleolithic era is believed to have resulted in the first inhabitants of South Brittania arriving from across the channel.

Following the most recent glacial period (19,000 AV), North Brittania has had a more temperate, pseudo-tropical climate. From approximately 9000 AV, this region entered the Neotic Period and its inhabitants became sedentary. After strong demographic and agricultural developments between the 7th and 6th millenia, metallurgy appeared, initially working with gold, copper, bronze, and later iron.