Izaria (Pacifica)

Republic of Izaria
Founded 1924
Flag
Motto: Izarrak Eta Zeruak - The Stars and the Skies
Anthem: ?
Location of Izaria in Pacifica
Capital and largest city	Aitzondoa
Official languages	Izarian
Ethnic groups	TBD
Religion	TBD
Demonym(s)	Izarian
Type	Provinces
World Forum	Member State
Government	Diarchal Democratic Republic
• President of the Hiri	Mikel Ilbarra
• President of the Herri	Anna Aramburu
Legislature	Errepublikako Batzarra (Assembly of the Republic)
• Upper house	Errepublikaren Aretoa (Republic's Hall)
• Lower house	Parliament
Area
• Total	222 km2 (86 sq mi)
Population
• 2025 estimate	45,298
• Density	204/km2 (528.4/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	2025 estimate
• Total	$568 million
Gini (2025)	0.254 low
HDI (2024)	0.801 very high
Currency	Izarian Eusko (€I) (IzE)
Date format	MM/DD/YYYY
Driving side	left
World Forum Code	IZ-RIZ
Internet TLD	.iz

Izaria, officially the Republic of Izaria, is an island nation located in the Mediterranean Sea, whose territories consist of an archipelago of five small islands that together form a total land area of 222 km² (~528 sq mi). The most populous and significant of these islands is Santu Uhartea (Austral: Holy Island), which serves as the location for the national capital and primary urban center, Aitzondoa; this city functions as the republic's largest city as well as its central economic and cultural hub. The nation maintains no land borders with any other country but does share recognized maritime borders with several other states in the wider Mediterranean region, and its total population is estimated at 45,298 inhabitants as of January 2025. Izaria is politically organized as a diarchal democratic republic, a distinctive system of government led by two coequal heads of state: a President of the Hiri and a President of the Herri, where the nation's constitutional law explicitly decrees that the former must be a woman and the latter must be a man.

Izaria was settled by various tribes and people groups during around the Bronze Age (~2,300 BC). These tribes, whose exact identities are unknown, lived a nomadic lifestyle of herding animals and relying on agriculture. They are a staple of Izarian philosophy, poetry and culture. In Izaria, they are known as Zeldizan, which was a rough translation of and a mix of words that mean the people of the horse. For most of its time, Izaria was never united and was just inhabited by nomadic peoples with no form of government. This changed much later at around 200-300 BC where due to the emergence of religion unifying the Izarian people, the First Republic was formed.

History

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Pre-Republic Era and the Zeldizan Foundations (~2,300 BC – c. 300 BC)

The archipelago now known as Izaria was first settled during the Mediterranean Bronze Age, around 2,300 BC, by successive waves of migratory tribes. Archaeological evidence, including pottery fragments, rudimentary stone tools, and burial mounds found on Santu Uhartea and the smaller eastern islands, suggests these early inhabitants were pastoral nomads. They primarily subsisted on herding sheep and goats and practiced small-scale, seasonal agriculture in the islands’ limited arable valleys.

These prehistoric tribes, whose specific ethnic or linguistic origins remain unidentified by modern scholarship, form the foundational bedrock of Izarian national identity. In Izarian tradition, they are collectively revered as the Zeldizan, a compound term derived from ancient Austral roots approximating "the people of the horse" or "the horse-folk." This nomenclature reflects their perceived mastery of equestrian husbandry and a deeply ingrained cultural association between the horse and concepts of freedom, movement, and spiritual strength.

For nearly two millennia, Izarian society existed without centralized political structures. The Zeldizan lived in scattered, kin-based clans that moved seasonally between coastal fishing grounds and inland pastures. Their social organization was likely egalitarian and tribal, governed by customary law and the authority of clan elders. This prolonged period of segmented, nomadic life profoundly shaped the Izarian worldview. A rich oral tradition of epic poetry, known as the Harri Kantak (Songs of the Stone), emerged, recounting the legendary migrations, heroic deeds of ancestral figures, and the spiritual relationship between the people, their animals, and the starkly beautiful island landscape. Early philosophical thought, preserved in later texts, centered on cyclical concepts of nature, the importance of communal reciprocity, and a form of insular animism that ascribed sacred qualities to specific springs, groves, and mountain peaks, a practice that would later influence the islands' unique religious development.

Religious Unification and the First Republic (c. 300 BC – )

The trajectory of Izarian history shifted dramatically between 300 and 200 BC with the emergence and consolidation of a unifying indigenous religious movement, often referred to by historians as the Cult of the Twin Pillars. This belief system synthesized the earlier traditions of the Zeldizan with a structured dualistic theology. It posited a universe governed by two complementary, co-equal divine principles: the Hiri (often associated with the settled place, the city, wisdom, and foresight) and the Herri (associated with the wandering people, the land, strength, and impulse). This duality was represented in sacred iconography by two stone pillars, a motif found in the ruins of early ritual sites across the archipelago.

The dissemination of this theology, carried by charismatic prophet-teachers who traveled between the nomadic clans, provided a common spiritual and philosophical framework that transcended clan loyalties. It offered a narrative in which the disparate Zeldizan tribes were, in fact, one people destined to find balance between their nomadic heritage (Herri) and the potential for a collective, settled civic life (Hiri).

This religious awakening created the necessary social cohesion to end millennia of fragmentation. In a seminal gathering believed to have occurred at the site of present-day Aitzondoa on Santu Uhartea, representatives of the major clans convened in what is mythologized as the "Assembly of the First Oath." Under the auspices of the new religious order, they forged a revolutionary political pact: the First Republic of Izaria.

The republic’s constitution was a direct institutionalization of the Hiri-Herri theology. It established the world’s first documented diarchal government, headed by two coequal leaders: a President of the Hiri, tasked with overseeing the administration of the nascent capital, trade, law, and diplomacy; and a President of the Herri, responsible for the defense of the realm, the welfare of the citizenry beyond the capital, and the preservation of traditional customs. Crucially, the religious doctrine that had unified the people also dictated the leaders' genders: the Hiri, embodying receptive and consolidating energy, was to be a woman; the Herri, embodying active and protective energy, was to be a man. This division was not seen as hierarchical but as essential for cosmic and societal balance, a principle that has endured as the cornerstone of the Izarian state for over two millennia.

Politics

Izaria functions as a unitary parliamentary democratic republic distinguished by its entrenched diarchal system of government. This structure, which has its origins in the founding of the First Republic, is explicitly detailed in the modern Fundamental Law, blending ancient philosophical tradition with contemporary democratic practice.

Constitutional and Philosophical Basis

The foundation of the Izarian state is the dualistic principle known as Hiri-Herri. This concept, rooted in the islands' pre-Republican history, holds that good governance and social stability are achieved through the balance of two complementary forces. The Hiri principle is associated with administration, the civic sphere, and strategic planning, while the Herri principle is linked to the populace, national defense, and traditional customs. The constitution translates this philosophy into a mandatory political structure where executive power is shared between two leaders. This arrangement is codified to ensure a built-in equilibrium and to act as a safeguard against autocratic rule. The relevant articles of the Fundamental Law are protected from any amendment.

The Diarchal Executive

The state's leadership is vested in two directly elected and constitutionally coequal presidents who jointly fulfill the role of head of state. Their powers and responsibilities are carefully delineated to reflect their distinct symbolic mandates.

• The President of the Hiri is constitutionally required to be a woman. This office is symbolically tied to the nation's administrative and judicial continuity. The President of the Hiri holds primary responsibility for the formal appointment of government ministers following parliamentary elections, the promulgation of laws, and the stewardship of the state archives and certain cultural institutions. In international diplomacy, this president typically hosts foreign heads of state and signs diplomatic credentials.
• The President of the Herri is constitutionally required to be a man. This office embodies the protective and unifying role of the state. The President of the Herri is the ceremonial commander-in-chief of the armed forces, formally declares states of emergency upon parliamentary approval, and is charged with duties relating to national cohesion, such as presiding over certain memorial ceremonies and representing the state at major domestic cultural events.

A core constitutional rule dictates that the two presidents must never travel outside the national territory simultaneously. One must always remain on Izarian soil, a provision designed to symbolize the perpetual presence of the state's dual authority. Furthermore, all major state pronouncements, including the annual address to the nation and the official confirmation of election results, must be issued under their joint signatures. While their powers are largely ceremonial and representative, their joint assent is required for certain key constitutional acts, and they hold a collective power of moral suasion known as "the Advisory Voice," which allows them to jointly express concerns to the legislature.

Legislative and Judicial Power

Legislative authority rests with the unicameral Izarian Assembly (Errepublikako Batzarra). Its members are elected through a system of proportional representation for four-year terms. The Assembly holds the sole power to draft and pass legislation, approve the national budget, and confirm the government. The executive branch of government, which directs day-to-day policy, is formed by the political party or coalition that commands a majority in the Assembly. The leader of this majority becomes the Chancellor (Kantzilerra), who serves as the head of government, chairs the cabinet, and sets the domestic and foreign policy agenda, subject to parliamentary confidence.

The judiciary is independent and operates on a civil law model. It is headed by the High Court of Balance (Oreka Goren Auzitegia), which serves as the court of final appeal and has the authority of constitutional review. The court's name reflects its perceived role in adjudicating disputes and maintaining legal equilibrium, a concept resonant with the broader Hiri-Herri philosophy. Lower courts are organized at regional and local levels.

The diarchal system exists alongside a conventional multi-party democracy. Presidents of the Hiri and Herri are elected in separate, nationwide elections that are non-partisan in theory; candidates run on personal merit but often receive informal backing from political blocs. These presidential elections are held on a fixed six-year schedule, staggered so that one presidential election occurs roughly every three years. This is deliberately out of sync with the four-year parliamentary cycle, ensuring a constant mix of electoral mandates and preventing any single election from determining all levers of state authority at once. This can lead to periods of cohabitation, where the two presidents may hail from different ideological backgrounds than the parliamentary majority and the Chancellor, a situation which the constitution is designed to manage through its precise definitions of separate powers.

Geography

Izaria is a small archipelagic nation situated in the Mediterranean Sea. Its territory consists of five main islands and several minor islets, with a total land area of 222 square kilometers (approximately 85.7 square miles). The islands are of volcanic origin, resulting in a landscape characterized by rugged, mountainous interiors, dramatic coastal cliffs, and a limited number of small, fertile plains and valleys.

One of Izaria's protected islets and a large coral reef

The largest and most significant island is Santu Uhartea (Holy Island), which contains the nation's highest peak, Mount Aritz (842 meters). This central volcanic massif forms the island's spine, with slopes descending sharply to the sea, creating a deeply indented coastline with numerous coves and inlets. The capital city of Aitzondoa is built upon a series of terraced hills overlooking the island's largest natural harbor on the southern coast. The other four main islands exhibit similar, though less pronounced, topographical features: rocky shorelines, central hills, and thin, often discontinuous belts of arable land. Erosion of the volcanic rock over millennia has created pockets of rich, red soil, locally called lur gorria, which is highly prized for agriculture.

Izaria enjoys a temperate Mediterranean climate, characterized by hot, dry summers and mild, wetter winters. Summer temperatures average between 25°C and 30°C (77°F to 86°F), while winter averages range from 10°C to 15°C (50°F to 59°F). Precipitation is highly seasonal, with the majority of the annual rainfall, approximately 650-800 mm, occurring between October and April. The islands are frequently exposed to the Mistral, a strong, cold northwesterly wind, which helps moderate summer heat but can batter the northern coasts, particularly in winter. Due to the islands' small size and porous volcanic geology, there are no major rivers. Freshwater resources depend on seasonal streams, and a few perennial springs that emerge from the mountainous aquifers. Water management, including the use of cisterns and small reservoirs, has been historically vital. However, in recent years, the nation has been relying more and more on desalination plants to provide the country with freshwater. The native vegetation is typical Mediterranean maquis shrubland, featuring hardy, drought-resistant species such as holm oak, juniper, myrtle, and aromatic herbs like thyme and rosemary. Significant portions of the original forest were cleared in ancient times, though reforestation efforts exist on Santu Uhartea. The islands are an important stopover for migratory birds, and their surrounding marine waters host diverse ecosystems, including seagrass meadows. Environmental protection is a growing concern, with several marine zones and the central highland region of Santu Uhartea designated as protected areas.

Economy

Izaria possesses a small but high-income, mixed economy with a strong emphasis on service industries, modern technology, and natural resource extraction. Its nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was estimated at $568,036,920 in recent figures, with a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of approximately $11,361, reflecting a developed standard of living. The economy is unitary in structure and is managed by a socialist-leaning government that prioritizes a comprehensive welfare state and public ownership in key strategic sectors.

The tertiary sector, encompassing services and information technology, forms the largest component of the national economy. The capital, Aitzondoa, serves as the nation's primary financial and business hub, hosting a growing number of IT firms, software developers, and digital service providers. This focus on technology and services is supported by a highly educated population, with an expected 16 years of schooling for its citizens, and a legally guaranteed right to internet access, which is treated as a fundamental public utility.

A significant and historically vital segment of the economy is the petroleum industry. Izaria possesses substantial offshore oil reserves within its maritime territory. The extraction and export of crude oil and refined petroleum products contribute roughly 20% of the country's GDP, providing a major source of state revenue and export earnings. The industry is tightly regulated and largely state-controlled, with profits directed toward funding the nation's social programs and infrastructure. In contrast, Izaria does not mine coal and has no domestic coal industry.

Other traditional industries remain present but smaller in scale. Commercial fishing continues to be an important activity, both for domestic consumption and export, leveraging the nation's maritime location. The country maintains no military, which allows for a significant reallocation of public funds away from defense spending and toward social services, healthcare, and economic development.

The national currency is the Izarian Eusko (€I). The economy is characterized by extensive public welfare programs, including a universal healthcare system where vaccinations are mandatory and abortion is always legal. The state also maintains a progressive stance on social policy, which intersects with economic activity; for example, prostitution is a legal and regulated profession, and certain recreational drugs are legal for personal use. Major infrastructure, such as digital networks, transportation, and the energy sector, is either publicly owned or subject to strict government oversight to align with national social and economic objectives.

Culture

The culture of Izaria is characterized by a distinct set of spiritual, intellectual, and artistic traditions that have developed in relative isolation. Its societal norms and creative expressions are deeply influenced by indigenous religious beliefs and a longstanding emphasis on philosophical discourse, creating a cohesive national identity that integrates ancient cosmological concepts with daily life and social organization.

Religion and Cosmology

The predominant native belief system in Izaria centers on a form of astral veneration, where stars and constellations are regarded as divine or spiritually significant entities. This system, often termed the cult of the stars (Izar Gurtza), is not merely a set of rituals but a comprehensive worldview that organizes the entire ritual life and community calendar around meticulous astronomical observations. Key religious festivals are intrinsically linked to major celestial events, with the summer and winter solstices marking the year's pivotal turns, the equinoxes celebrating balance, and the heliacal rising of specific stars, like the bright star Artizarra, signaling times for planting, harvesting, or maritime voyages. This deep celestial connection means the Izarian liturgical calendar is, in practice, an agricultural and civic almanac. Central to this cosmology is the constellation known as the Celestial Chariot, believed within the tradition to be the vessel that transported the mythical early inhabitants, the Zeldizan, across the sea to the islands, thus linking the heavens directly to national origin mythology. Religious practice is facilitated by a specialized class of astronomer-priests (Izar-Irakasleak) who undergo rigorous training in both traditional lore and modern astronomy. They conduct ceremonies, maintain precise calendrical knowledge, and perform calculations at open-air stone temples known as Behatokiak (Observatories). These structures, often located on high ground, are precisely engineered with alignment stones and viewing apertures to frame specific astronomical sightlines, such as the sunrise on the summer solstice or the zenith passage of the Celestial Chariot. The belief system posits that celestial bodies exert a guiding influence over temporal cycles, environmental patterns, and human affairs, leading to the common cultural practice of an individual noting their birth-star or dominant constellation at their nativity, which is thought to impart specific spiritual affinities or character tendencies.

Izarian philosophical tradition is historically rooted in the dualistic concept of Hiri-Herri, a framework that understands reality, society, and effective governance as arising from the perpetual balance of complementary, and sometimes opposing, principles. Hiri encompasses the settled place, the city, administration, structured wisdom, judicial deliberation, and long-term planning. Herri embodies the wandering people, the land, physical strength, intuitive impulse, oral tradition, and communal defense. This binary framework extends far beyond the political structure into all facets of ethical and social thought, promoting core cultural ideals of equilibrium, measured action, and reciprocal obligation between the individual and the community, and between human society and the natural world. A related and deeply ingrained philosophical strand is Insular Stoicism, a local adaptation of classical Stoic thought that emphasizes resilience, emotional fortitude, self-sufficiency, and harmonious acceptance of the natural limits imposed by the small island environment. This philosophy contributes directly to noted cultural values of communal responsibility, pragmatic problem-solving, and a general disdain for overt displays of extravagance. The historical nomadic heritage of the Zeldizan remains a powerful and romanticized cultural reference point, symbolizing foundational values of personal freedom, adaptability, and a profound, almost spiritual connection to the natural landscape. This heritage is often consciously contrasted in art and discourse with the equally valued virtues of stable civic life and collective project embodied by the Hiri principle, creating a dynamic cultural tension between movement and settlement.

Literature and Poetry

Poetry is universally considered the highest and most respected form of literary art in Izaria, serving as the primary vehicle for preserving historical memory, exploring complex philosophical ideas, and conveying spiritual concepts. The ancient epic cycles, known collectively as the Harri Kantak (Songs of the Stone), form the canonical foundation of national literature. These lengthy narrative poems, composed and refined over centuries, detail the legendary migrations, heroic deeds, and existential struggles of the Zeldizan ancestors, blending myth with perceived historical truth. A defining and ubiquitous formal feature of traditional Izarian poetry is the use of bi-gendered dialogue, where verses are structurally arranged as a call-and-response exchange between a male voice (representing Herri) and a female voice (representing Hiri). This structure, which directly mirrors the Hiri-Herri duality, is employed in everything from the ancient epics to modern civic poetry composed for state occasions, embedding the core philosophical concept into the very rhythm of the language. The oral tradition remains exceptionally strong; public recitations of both classic and contemporary works are a central feature at national festivals, local gatherings, and official ceremonies, with skilled reciters (Kontalariak) holding significant social prestige. Modern Izarian literature, while diverse, continues to engage heavily with enduring philosophical themes, the tension between preserving tradition and embracing modernity, and the nation's unique, often fraught, relationship with the encompassing sea and the watchful stars.

Visual Arts, Music, and Performance

Traditional visual art is heavily symbolic and intimately connected to the dominant cultural motifs. Recurring imagery is derived from astronomy, intricate star charts, constellations, and celestial bodies, and from the foundational Zeldizan identity, most notably the horse, representing freedom and ancestral spirit. Mosaic work, particularly in public buildings and temples, utilizes locally sourced stone and tile to depict these themes in complex geometric and figurative patterns. Textile weaving, especially of the traditional izar-mantua (star-cloak), and decorative metalworking on practical items like tools and ceremonial vessels also feature these intricate, symbolic designs. In music, the tradition is primarily vocal and choral, with a cappella polyphonic singing being a cherished hallmark. These complex vocal arrangements, often performed in a circle, are meant to symbolize communal unity and the harmony of multiple voices creating a single sound. Accompanying instruments are typically modest and rhythmic, including the larruzko (a small, skin-headed drum), the txirula (a wooden flute), and various stringed instruments like the korda-harpa. Music is seamlessly integrated into both solemn religious rituals at the Behatokiak and lively secular community gatherings. In performance, a stylized form of masked theater, known as Aurpegiak (The Faces), is prevalent. Troupes use large, exaggerated wooden masks to represent archetypal figures from Izarian life and myth, such as the Fisher, the Elder, the Star-Gazer, or the Horse-Spirit.

Modern Izarian culture operates within the codified framework of the nation's progressive social policies, which both reflect and reinforce certain communal values. The Izarian language, a linguistic isolate with a unique syntactical structure that accommodates poetic forms like bi-gendered dialogue, is the sole official language and the medium for all authentic cultural expression, fiercely protected by law and educational policy. In leisure, baseball stands as the unrivalled most popular sport, with a professional league and a dense network of community clubs that serve as important social hubs; its strategic, turn-based nature is often seen as culturally resonant with Izarian ideals of patience and collective effort. The society's most notable political feature, the legally mandated gender balance in the dual executive, finds a profound cultural parallel in the bi-gendered structure of its traditional poetry and arts, suggesting the political system is an institutional expression of a much deeper cultural logic. A very high value is placed on education and intellectual life, consistent with the nation's philosophical heritage, leading to high literacy rates and robust public engagement with the arts. Cultural institutions, including museums, theaters, and astronomical societies, are state-supported. The government actively promotes, through funding and legislation, the preservation of the astral religious traditions, the Zeldizan heritage, and the Izarian language as the three indispensable pillars of national identity in a globalized world.