Lupinian Commonwealth

''This article is a work in progress. Deal with it and keep your grubby paws off it too.''

Lupinia (Lupus: Лупайния), also officially known as the Lupinian Commonwealth (Lupus: Лупайская Содружества, tr. Lupaiskaya Sodrujestva), is a state in the north western Endeavor Sea region. It is a federal crowned republic comprising numerous provinces and territories. Lupinia shares borders with the Union of Latrano to the south, as well as the polar ice caps to the north and a number of wolven states to the West. It also has a maritime border with the Highland Republic along the Neverend Straits to the east. It has the second largest land area in the Endeavor Sea region, surpassed only by the Highland Republic. It also is one of the most populous nations in the Endeavor Sea region. It covers almost half of the land area in the Old World and has a number of different environments and landforms within its borders. Lupinia has massive amounts of natural resources, as well as large scale forest reserves and supplies of fresh water.

Lupinia's origins lie with a loose coalition of Lupine tribal states that was formed to combat an ancient Latranian invasion in 217 BW. That coalition, though the efforts of Lupus tribal chieftain Azeri, evolved into a vast empire through trade, exploration and diplomacy. This empire gradually diminished over the centuries following The Winter Without End, and the nation eventually plunged into civil war. Following this civil war, a political and cultural renaissance occurred, during which it shifted to a democratic system of government, abandoning the system of absolute monarchy.

Lupinia has played a defining role in the affairs of the Endeavor Sea region, and the world at large, since its rise to prominence. Its role as a major actor in Endeavor Sea regional politics has put it at odds with other, non-democratic major actors such as the Union of Latrano- its historical enemy -and the Highland Republic, as well as other smaller "rogue states". In the modern age, the threat of these states and other smaller "peripheral" threats has led Lupinia to develop a large military capacity, capable of projecting power all over the Endeavor Sea region. It is one of several states in the region to possess WMD capability, including the ability to field nuclear weapons.

Origins of the Lupinians
The progenitors of the canid peoples of the Old World roamed the lands that are now Modern Lupinia throughout prehistoric times. It was around 10,000 BW though, when the common ancestor of the Lupinian peoples first came into its own, becoming distinct from the other canids. With superior physical prowess, these "proto-lupinians" drove out most of the smaller, weaker canids towards the south; these tribes would later become the Vulpinians. This left only a few scattered nomadic tribes besides the proto-lupinians; these tribes would later become the Rufinian (Red Wolf) and Latranian (Coyote) peoples in modern times.

After the proto-lupinians had established their dominance over the land, groups of tribes began to spread across the territory, settling throughout all corners of Lupinia. Some even managed to brave the harsh barrier of the Kriller Range to the north, or the unforgiving wasteland of the "Pustota" to the south. Over time, the various tribes began to become culturally distinct from one another, and in some cases physically distinct as they adapted to their new homelands. Over the course of many generations, the proto-lupinians had become well over a dozen different distinct ethnic groups, all related -some more than others- but also unique in language, appearance, and so on.

Warring states
As the lupine-peoples began to diversify biologically and culturally, they eventually began to compete with one another as they developed into distinct tribal states. These nations varied greatly in size and power, from small city-states- like the island city state that of the Crasso- to expansive kingdoms and empires in their own right- such as kingdom of the Lupus. Lupinia became a battleground, not just in warfare, but also politically and economically, as the different Lupine nations combated one another through diplomacy and trade as well. However, it was full scale war that dominated the relationships between the different tribes of Lupinians.

Warfare in the "tribal era" of Lupinian history was recurring and bloody. Alliances were fleeting and was not uncommon for two nations that were allies in a war one season to be enemies the next. There were exceptions to this however, such as the long standing partnerships between the Lupus and the Communin people, who were closely related ethnically and linguistically. Other than that, most Lupine nations knew each other almost exclusively through facing each other in combat. During this violent period, many nations were decimated to the point they were absorbed by other states. Some wars were so violent, that entire Lupine tribes were completely exterminated in acts of ancient genocide, such as the city states of Hodophilax and Hattai. It is for this reason, the tribal era of history is one that few Lupinians enjoy discussing.

This era of on and off war continued for thousands of years until the 216, when the Lupinian peoples faced a far greater threat than each other. The Latranians, a canid people descendant of nomads that had been forced out by the proto-Lupinians, had settled the lands that had been thought to be uninhabitable to the south. Developing at a rapid pace, the Latranians massed a large and well trained army and invaded Lupinia, hoping to recapture their historical birthplace. The weaker, more dispersed tribes in the south were quickly defeated and occupied by the invading coyotes, and as word of the invaders spread north a panic ensued.

One leader who did not panic was the young king Azeri, leader of the Lupus peoples, who had the most powerful tribe and nation in pre-unification Lupinia. Azeri realized that none of the other Lupine nations could defeat the Latranians on their own, and his people would only be able to fight the coyotes at great cost, with victory still being uncertain. With that in mind, the charismatic young ruler set out to organize a coalition of nations in opposition to the Latranians. Using every diplomatic tool at his disposal, including tributes, arranged marriages, and even coercion among other things, Azeri managed to secure the loyalty of practically all of the remaining tribes. Assembling a unified army of his own, Azeri marched to war against the coyote invaders in 218 BW.

The Latranians had not expected the combined Lupinians to be any more of a threat than the armies of the individual nations had been. They were proven wrong at the bloody Battle of Bezmolvnoi River, where the Lupinians led the Latranian army into a trap after forcing it to engage in a grueling goose chase for weeks. This battle marked the beginning of the end for Latrano's incursion into Lupinia, and over the next three years they were dealt defeat after defeat until the survivors of the legion limped back over the badlands of the Pustota into Latrano.

Government
The Lupinian Commonwealth has a parliamentary system of government, the Commonwealth Assembly, evolved from the institutions utilized by more democratic Lupine nations pre-unification and the old Empire. The Commonwealth Assembly meets in Rodstvo Palace and has two houses: the lower house is the National Duma, and the upper house is the Council of the Commonwealth. The National Duma's members represent the people of Lupinia directly and is elected from specific constituencies, while members of the Council of the Commonwealth are elected from the legislatures of each of Lupinia's states and represent those states as a whole. Lupinia has a federal system of government, and the Commonwealth Assembly- along with the rest of the national government- shares power with the state governments and legislatures.

The Prime Minister is the head of government for the Lupinian Commonwealth, and rises to that position by achieving the support of a majority in the National Duma; for this reason, the Prime Minister is almost always the leader of the largest political party in the Duma. The Prime Minister and his or her cabinet are called upon and appointed by the Imperial Sovereign to form His Majesty's Government, but this is a formality and the Emperor is informally bound to respect the decisions of the Prime Minister.