Chaska

Chaska
Flag	Coat of arms
Motto: Mana Qonqasunchikchutaq "Nevertheless, we will not forget"
Anthem: The War Song
Locator map
Capital city	Qheca
Largest city	Viracachá
Official language	Remana
Other languages	Wariano, Aruxa, Auresian, Livaryan, Bahaso Sokoku
Ethnic groups	Ruma, Waria
Religion	Circulism
Demonym(s)	Chaskan
Government
Government Type	Government type
Your 1st leader title (e.g. King)	name
Uma Akllaxqa (Premier)	Yunkar Munawasi
Legislature	The Concordat
Establishment
The Founding of Qheca	date 1
The Quiet Revolution	date 2
Area
Total	1,983,088.96 km2
Water %	0.0%
Population
Total	85,219,877
Density	42.97/km2
Economy
Economy type
GDP (total)	Ꞡ 525,506,341,492.37
GDP per capita	Ꞡ 6,166.48
Currency	samp_nat_currency
Currency symbol
Inequality index	0.0
Development index	0.0
Other information
Time zone	0
Driving side	right
Calling code	+441
Internet code	.ch

Chaska is a reasonably large, reasonably populated nation just to the south of the equator. It is most prominently known for its history (once part of three separate empires simultaneously), its reserves of gold and coal and plantations of coffee, its architecture, and its music.

Chaska used to be the eastern provinces of Huilcasonco, an empire spanning the Kancha and Suyana Mountain ranges and much of their associated lowlands on either side. Once divided, it then survived in the form of Ayawantin, an independent state in the southern lowlands which expanded out to the islands in the east while the mountains became the territory of colonial states. It was only after the Quiet Revolution that the two were reunited once again into the state occupying its present borders, although they were obliged to forfeit the island territory they had since gained.

Today, Chaska is divided into the northern regions—industrial, more than slightly Livaryan in look and manner, whose wealth comes from the provision of power through thermal generators on the mountain coastline—and the southern regions—less industrialized and more traditionalist (they call themselves ñach'uq "authentic, pure"), whose main wealth comes from trade and the plantations of coffee and spices found in the lowlands.

Etymology

Chaska as a name is a derivation (or perhaps acts a source for a derivation) of the word Chaskar, the Remana name for the planet Samler. Its bright white-blue light, appearing at morning or evening as "a grain of sky against the sunset", has made it an important star for the Ruma people and their neighbours for millennia, even forming the basis of a number of calendrical systems.

Ayawantin was originally Ayawasuyu, the name given to the southeastern territories of Huilcasonco. The term derives from áiva, a word from a jungle language referring to "things", and more broadly to "groups" or "tribes". When the majority of Huilcasonco was colonized, Ayawasuyu became Ayawantin, "the tribes together", as a symbol of solidarity against these new invaders.

Huilcasonco is a derivation of the Remana word Willkasunqu, the "sacred heart"—for it was believed that the empire was formed around the heart of the world, in a cave in one of the mountains of the Kancha range, whence the Ruma people emerged millennia ago.

History

Prehistory

Chaskan history is often likened to Ruma history; many historians consider them one and the same, and the rest of the country's peoples mere afterthoughts. In fact, the Ruma and their Azix relatives are relative newcomers to the content, which had been inhabited for thousands of years prior to their crossing in from the northeast.

The first inhabitants of the area were in fact related to the Austro-D'Runian peoples of the south, particularly to the Ir'duma of the southeast. Similarities in artifacts—not to mention shared cultural myths—suggest that they first migrated to the area around 20,000 years before the present day, settling on the Strait as early as 18,000 years ago.

The Pan-Altaian peoples were not far behind, entering the Strait from the east around 16,000 years ago, then pushing west at an incredible rate. As they went, they began to split into smaller groups; those who settled in the mountains to the north and the jungles and grasslands of the east were the Azix, as we know them today.

Riparian Era (2000-3500 RH)

The earliest evidence of large settlements dates back to around 2000 RH, with the construction of the ancient city of Wañuqallpa (not the modern city bearing the same name, for which its current name is derived). Perhaps an unlikely candidate, given the near-barren coast and the occasional strong storm from the sea, Wañuqallpa nevertheless appears to have thrived—not least because of their use of acacia seeds (which can last for a great many years if dried) and tubers. Because their crops were perennial rather than annual, and thanks to the destructive nature of their environment, civilization in the Kancha Mountains had to be somewhat forward-planning, placing great emphasis on preparation for disaster. This trend has continued for the past five thousand years, and is unlikely to change any time soon.

Montanicular Era (3500-4400 RH)

The "Montanicular" Era refers not so much to the dwellings in the mountains, but to the creation of large artificial hills in civilizations along the coast and within the jungle. These appear to have acted both as residences for the local rulers and as religious sites. It is also in this era that we see the beginnings of pottery emerging. More importantly, there is a definitive connection between the mounds on both the northern and southern sides of the Kancha range—trade networks passing through the mountains.

Another interesting feature of this time is the first recorded harvest and use of coffee beans for consumption. At first this seems to have been a ritualized event, based on the residue found in some of the most ornate pottery from the sites, but by the 45th Century coffee—mixed with spices and other plant products from the rainforests—seems to have become something of a more democratic drink, a sign of urban living. Of course, this is also around the time when natural disasters and drought seem to have struck the land, so it is entirely possible that the increase in coffee-drinkers represents an increase in territorial division.

Duarchic Era (4400-5200 RH)

This time period saw the establishment of city-states once again along the coast—but this time, to the east, in answer to a growing presence across the Strait as the Ilhuiyocan civilization began to hold sway. The Waria in particular benefitted from this trade, establishing the First Shell Empire with a king on every ship.

It is at this point in time that the patron deities of various cities, each theoretically being the single most important being in the universe, began to find purchase in other lands. This would eventually lead to the great coalescence of deities whose traditions remain alive and well today in Chaska and indeed in neighbouring countries.

Uxupunku as it appeared nearly 2,000 years ago.

Yakari Dominion (5200-6000 RH)

The Yakari were the next to come into power, having had their origins some time earlier in the city of Uxupunku some centuries earlier.

It is under the Yakari that the city of Viracachá gained its first real spike in population, as an outpost of sorts.

Because of the nature of the calendrical disconnect it is uncertain when precisely the Yakari civilization began to collapse, although estimates from local archeological sites suggest a date of around 6000 RH. What is certain is that, while many aspects of Yakari culture were lost, some of the key elements—including certain philosophical schools, a great deal of vocabulary shared with the Intecs and others who took their territories for themselves, and even some key technologies preserved by the armacticuna or "wandering alchemists" (from Yakanakárena armaktiri, "person who does not forget")—managed to survive down the ages. Many still practice in the valleys of Orcosuyo and Qhanasuyo to this day, although they have largely been supplanted by yachapaccona as the officially-recognized authority on the workings of the physical world.

Geography

Demographics

Because of the nature of the settlement patterns in Ayawantin of old, there is a fairly strong divide between the "urban" and "rural" populations. The former are clustered together in great cities in the mountains or the grasslands, the landscape shaped to fit as many people as comfortably as possible. The latter live effectively everywhere else—high in the hills, in the deep rainforest, on the coast of the sea. One goes from almost to many to practically no people very quickly indeed.

Most of the urban population speaks Remana, but there are those who also choose to learn Auresian, Livaryan, or Bahaso Sokoku, all for the sake of better international dealings in trade or politics.

Economy

Tourism

A zeppelin touring the Chaskan rainforest.

A zeppelin touring the Chaskan rainforest.

The Chaskan wilderness is also a place of considerable importance for tourism purposes. Zeppelin flights through the shrouded jungles near the mountains, or over the highland fields between the peaks, or even over the great savanna across much of the south of the country, are a very popular attraction, and given much of a popularity boost by the Chaskan government—for a small percentage per passenger every foreign airship company carries, of course.