Past (Pacifica)
Republic of Past Nelra e Aldrana Past | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
| Capital | Caston |
| Largest city | Ralton |
| Recognised national languages | Indavral |
| Demonym(s) | Pasten, Aldranal/Aldranic |
| Population | |
• Estimate | 42,331,405 |
| GDP (nominal) | estimate |
• Total | 552,467,166,655 |
• Per capita | 13,051 |
| Currency | Pasten Tiradon (PTD) |
The Republic of Past (Northern Indavral: Nelra e Pastrala, Aldranic Indavral: Nelra e Aldrana) is a Cordilian state north of Ikaranara, and it is the northernmost state in the Bay of Spiders. It is a parliamentary republic with a separately elected Grand Governor who maintains the powers of head of state and is commander-in-chief. Until the Great War, Past was ruled under the rulers of Ikaranara: the Triangular Empire and the Ikaranarean Father States.
Past is a rapidly developing economy, with most of its economy based on manufacturing goods. Past's primary import is food due to the poor soil in the region. Pasten culture is also considered more distinct from general Indavral culture.
Etymology
Past's Austral name comes from the Indavral "Pastrala", with the archaic word "Pastê" meaning story, with the archaic "ala" for "land of the," in whole meaning "Land of the storytellers." It is thought that the first Indavral travellers in the region first met the Pasten oracles who maintained an oral convention of Pasten History.
The Pasten name for Past, Aldrana, is unknown in origin, as the pre-indavral Pasten language is hard to get records of. The primary theory is that Aldrana means something along the lines of "The New People," possibly referring to a theorized "Aldranic Migration" where the predecessor groups of the Aldanans settled in the region.
History
Migrations and Initial Conquest (1000s- 800s BCE)
The "Aldranic" tribes that comprise the people who would inhabit the region seem to come from elsewhere. There are multiple candidates; some people think that the Aldranics come from the region of modern Nölvra and surrounding Besern. Others believe the Aldranic migrations came from south, in modern Almannic regions. Whatever the case, the Aldranic tribes that inhabitted the regions arrived in around the 1000s to 900s B.C.E. Records of the people who lived there before are sparse, but archeological studies show a prolonged struggle at the time the Aldanics arrived in the area, potentially eliminating the extant group at the time through violent conflict before forcing the survivors to migrate or integrate.
The Aldranic tribes existed in both the region of modern Past and Ikaranara before the Indavral migrations out of Ryccia. When Indavrals met the Aldranic tribes initially in the Ikaranarean region, they generally forced them to assimilate or pushed them further north.
In the early 800s BCE, the Indavral tribes united under the first "Triangular Alliance," beginning the predecessor of the Triangular Empire. The Aldranic tribes to the north were divided between two major kingdoms at the time under different dynasties; the "Hatadian Dynasty" and the "Erevrian Dynasty." The Indavrals used this to their advantage: they sided with the Hatadian Dynasty, and Indavral armies bolstered them, allowing them to defeat the Erevrian Dynasty and take their territory, and the Hatadian dynasty became the first vassal of the Triangular Alliance.
Assimilation into Indavral Culture
Around this time, the Aldranic tribes were assimilated, with varying degrees of force, into Indavral culture. Unlike previous assimilations when Indavrals migrated out of Ryccia, these assimilations generally led to a greater blending of Indavral and Aldranic culture, with the Aldranic language heavily influencing Old Indavral at this time. It is around this time that Aldrana got the name "Pastrala," "Land of the Storytellers," that generally usurped the native Aldranic endonym in Indavral regions. The region was known mostly for its rich art and culture, some of the first Indavral writing and poems coming from the region.
In some areas, Aldranic assimilation did receive some resistance. There are sparse records of revolts around the 500s BCE, after Indavrals had conquered modern Losavra. However, in general, the Aldranic assimilations went peacefully after the initial conquest.
As a part of the Triangular Empire
Past was considered one of the Triangular Empire's crown jewels after large iron and gold reserves were found in the north of the region in the 500s AD. While Past's population was always dwarfed by Ikaranara and Losavra, Pasten culture was one of the primary drivers of Indavral and Triangular thinking at the time. Many reforms to Bvarai were originated in Past before spreading southward to the rest of the TE.
Past was much further north and into the coastline than other Triangular conquests. Therefore, Past was generally not a staging ground for invasions into foreign territory.
The Father States and the Great War
By 1895, Past had become the industrial heartland of the diminished Triangular Empire, with only territories in Ranaras comparing even remotely in industrial scale. This, even before the Father States took power, led to extremely poor working conditions. After the triplet coups, conditions in Past got much worse. The territory was effectively placed under military Junta, with an appointed governor under the control of the combined Father States militaries. Freedom of speech and free thinking
During the Great War, Pastens were recruited similarly to Ikaranareans. Pasten soldiers were heavily involved in the Invasion of Losavra, where they carried out many attrocities alongside Ikaranarean soldiers. Other than that, they were primarily involved in the defense of territories, and played a great role in attempting to suppress the Great Revolution.
Post Great War
After the Great War, Past, along with Nölvra, were made independant as punitive measures to Ikaranara. Past ruled as a democratic state from 1955-1962. However, remnants of the Junta that had ruled Past had gathered and united to coup the military command, which eventually overthrew the country. The conditions for people in Past at this point remained similar to the conditions under the Father states- Control of speech, mandated work hours, conscription and relentless militarization. Past still had significant industrial capacity, but lacked resources. Because of this, Pasten command wanted to invade and conquer Ikaranara. The Pasten junta played into Aldranic identity- it became illegal to use the name Past, calling Aldranans the "Superior Indavrals," citing their contributions to the thinking of the Triangular Empire. The few other Indavral ethnicities in the region, particularly the ones native to the Ikaranarean region, were met with harsh skepticism and even persecution. All of this led to increased international tensions in general and especially tensions with Ikaranara.