The Empire of Apfeldonia

Apfeldonia, officially the Empire of Apfeldonia, is a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy situated in northern Rosecetta. It consists of nine official "homeland" provinces and several colonial territories throughout the world. Its capital and largest city is Lipton. Apfeldonia is the third largest country in the world in both area and population. The climate is diverse and depends largely on geographic location. Apfeldonia has historically been a world leader in economics, politics, military, science, and culture. After Celestria and San Wong Se, Apfeldonia is the third most popular migration destination in the world. Apfeldonia is a great power and a part of the G3. In addition, Apfeldonia is a member of numerous international institutions, including the Rosecettan Trade Council (RTC), Monarchist Treaty Organization (MTO) as well as a founding member of the Celapfey Union.

Etymology
The term Apfeldonia was in use since the nation's founding in 1066, however it only appeared as a poetic name for the nation. This remained true until the early 1200's, when the word would officially be used in government documents at the name of the nation. The term "Kingdom of the Apfeldites" was used before hand, and was first mentioned in the foundation speech by King Rutgar I. The name itself translates into "Apfeldite land" or more so "Land of the Apfeldites", Apfeldites being the large ethnic majority and the founding culture of the nation.

Early History
The lands of Apfeldonia had been settled by humans during pre-historical times. Evidence of this is found throughout the country in several sites, such as the Ombergard caves in the Schulfsrum Mountains that feature a wide array of cave art, the largest collection in the nation in addition to the archaeological discoveries in the Giesen Pass. These original inhabitants are believed to be the ancestors of the modern day Schulfen ethnic group. Evidence suggests that the Schulfens lived at first in small hunter gatherer communities and then later in close-knit villages. These villages developed an advanced form of agriculture, growing a number of crops such as wheat, turnips, carrots, other assorted field vegetables, and an array of fruit, which included the first cultivation of apples. The Schulfens relied however on stone and wood, a technological disadvantage.

At some point, the snow and ice of the Giesen Pass thawed enough for Apfeldite tribes to migrate into mainland Apfeldonia. These invaders used their superior bronze weapons, cavalry, and chariots to quickly overtake the Schulfen natives. The Apfeldites followed the Uiop river, and spread throughout southern Apfeldonia. The Schulfens were able to retreat to the northern forests and mountains, where they would defend and survive.

Classical History
Both the Schulfens and Apfeldites learned from each other. The Schulfens drawing power from the metals of the earth, specifically copper, though still used stone weapons in times of war. The Apfeldites settled down into permanent settlements, using the newly learned farming skills obtained from the Schulfens. Apfeldonia went through a time of prosperity, were food was abundant and technology advanced greatly. The boom of populations lead to the ability of stronger tribal units to create greater and better things. Out of the tribes and confederations rose two empires. The Lerz empire, with it's capital on the coasts of Erstiks, and the Atkas empire, inhabiting Verbania and Custach.

Both empires focused heavily on architecture and military forces. They viewed each other as rivals, and any outside tribes or kingdoms were mere pawns in which to weaken each other with. Both focused heavily on their navies. The Breezebay stationed the trireme navy of the Lerz, whilst the Sunshore and Verbanian islands housed that of the Atkas. The cities each built were huge and great feats of architecture and engineering, great wonders found places amongst the buildings of their capitals. Like most great empires, they both would meet an end. The Atkas was destroyed by a coalition of minor states, whilst the Lerz died more slowly. The Lerz empire would coast to its end by stagnation and inefficient government, a great tsunami nailed the coffin by destroying the Lerz capital.

The Middle Ages
After the fall of the great empires, the land remained fractured under various kings and lords. Kingdoms rose and fell, the political and military layout changed constantly. Eventually, a unremarkable kingdom in the Solms Valley would gain enough influence in the area to challenge other neighboring kingdoms. This kingdom, and it's monarch Rutgar I, would expand it's borders farther than any other entity in the nations history thus far and it would establish the nation of Apfeldonia itself.*

The Age of Exploration
Great advances in both naval and navigation technology lead to a increase in Apfeldonian naval power. The ability to travel vast distances by sea now prompted a general call from the intellectual community to seek what lay beyond the briny blue. After the death of King Johann, his heir, Robert ascended the throne with a spirit of child-like adventure. His drive to explore and obtain knowledge was the kick-starter to the Apfeldonian exploration policy. Robert himself would sail to Yuzhou, and obtain an audience with the emperor. There he set up an Apfeldonian embassy and trade program. He would establish a colony on Mahboombah, as well as chart many new islands throughout the world. Robert's son, Robert II inherited his father's dream of knowledge and would in turn rule during the second phase of the exploration hype. Robert II would come to be responsible for Apfeldonian dominance of Mahboombah, something that would cost him his life.

The Civil War
After Robert II's death, his only son became king. Richard I wore the crown of a highly decentralized nation where provinces ruled as governing bodies and crown authority was as low as it stood under Rutgar. His predecessors spent their rules as explorers, greatly expanding the knowledge and influence Apfeldonia had over the world. Still, their colonial programs were pricey. Furthermore, tensions brewed between the Apfeldite and Schulfen groups. Schulfens, being in the minority were persecuted heavily, holding little rights in area outside their own provinces. Only in Oschtauch were the groups able to form any sort of co-existence, though this was caused by the near equal numbers by both sides, paired with the Duke's leadership.

Richard's main concern was centralizing the government more. He quickly set about remodeling the capital city of Lipton. Lipton was at the time, a large castle town, looming under the fortress built by Rutgar. The kings had ruled from the Solms Valley, as Lipton was less than desirable. In order to remodel it would cost vast amounts of materials, many of which are metals, and can only be found in abundant supply in the Schulfsrum mountains. The local inhabitants would be the ones to bear the brunt of the mineral demand. This caused great uproar from the northern provinces, even those ones without heavy access to the mines.

In order to remedy this, Richard would seal an alliance with the main trouble maker, Gorivard der Schwartz, duke of Schulfsrum. This alliance would be sealed by the marriage of Richard to Gorivad's daughter, Cee, who Richard had loved since childhood. With Lipton being rebuilt and a new family started, Richard felt that the Solms valley castle, the traditional seat of Volland power, was no longer suitable for the royal family to reside in, especially if a higher degree of centralization was to be achieved. Thus, he decided to build a new royal palace to serve as a vertex of power. The plans however were more elaborate and expensive than originally planned, and thus more resources and an additional tax were demanded from the north.

This was in all ways the last straw. Gorivard der Schwartz mustered the Army of Schulfsrum, and with the support of Oschtauch and Erstiks, declared an independent schulfen nation. The newly founded schulfen kingdom of Apfeltskia was not ignored by Lahn. King Richard summoned the loyal lords to take up arms in defense of king and country. The duke of Verbania was the first to respond, followed by Ostcelestria, Nersailles, and so forth. The war was long and bloody, one that would by all means define the Apfeldonian nation identity. It would be birth place of legendary battles such as Campten, Fisherburg, Littlefield, and so on. It set up the events that would lead to the Apfeldonia known today.

Innovation and the Western Lightning
After the civil war, the empire went through another large bout of colonization. These expeditions were much more militarized than the previous colonial attempts. The most notable were those of Zstar and Mahboombah. The eastern islands were also a target for colonial efforts. The expeditions to Zstar and Mahboombah involved significant military force, as local populaces put up resistance. This was especially true for Zstar, as the zstatines would form a coalition. It had been a thousand years since the empire of Zstar fell, and for the first time since had both the new and the old zstatine states banded together. This within itself was the starter of a major war between Apfeldonia and the Zstatine Confederacy.

Major changes were taking place on the homefront however. In the west new schools were being set up and scholarly reforms were being enacted. This outburst of philosophical and scientific advancement was known as "the western lighting''". ''Ostcelestria is considered the birthplace of said lightning. As a result, eastern schools responded with haste, causing a intellectual race between east and west. The advancement in knowledge was enormous for the whole nation, and it would be these advancements that caused the future ages of romanticism and imperialism, even setting up the basis of all Apfeldonian schools of thought.