The Prut Meritocracy - Brilliant, Brazen, and Blasé

[Neo Prutenia]

“We, the Prut, shall inherit this world for two reasons; because we must, and because we can. And yet, out of these two forces which are the foundation of our destiny, the later is the greater. We will do this because we consciously choose to do it. By our sovereign will, limitless determination, and untiring mind, we, the Prut, will enlighten this world, and in doing so, we will remake it, reforge it; the final society will be without weakness, complacency, or hypocrisy, - incorruptible, disciplined, and pure. Our descendants will walk the hillside of that future, innocent beneath the stars, with no more between them and their naked will than a wolf has. Then, then there will be Daimons on earth, brilliant and brazen.”

- Immanuel Oswald Macht, Prut philosopher, general, and statesman

For IC purposes, this factbook uses the SH (Since Heavenfall) calender; in simple terms, it just adds exactly 1000 years to the RL common era time. So, 2013 CE in example would be 3013 SH. Likewise, the data presented in this factbook is completely divorced from any real life content, events, and relations (thus no Gregorian calendar). Here's also an easy conversion chart for the RL Gregorian calendar. You might, however, find a few subtle or not so subtle shout-outs to certain events in RL.

Coat of Arms:

Introduction and short summary:

The Prut Meritocracyis a transnational organisation, a cultural, political, and economic cooperative of several nations, and a common ideological and transnational identity for several sovereign communities. The name is derived from the term “Prut”, an autonym of the citizens of Neo Prutenia used to describe a certain mindset, system of values, type of behaviour, and Weltanschauung, which has become the universal description and ideological term of self-identification of all residents and citizens of the Prut Meritocracy. The Prut Meritocracy is composed of several ethnolinguistic realms, all of which were former nation-states, which are now part of the same sovereign entity; these realms are Neo Prutenia, Hesperia, Raion no kuni, Veleslavia, and Mag Mell. The Prut Meritocracy is primarily located in the region known as Kosmopol, in the Notalian hemisphere, and it is predominantly a Pelagic entity, and only a few areas and organisations are associated with it directly or indirectly outside of the Pelagos. While the greatest single population concentration of the Prut Meritocracy is located in Nyktogeios, Avendland in Low Prut, the majority of the population lives in the various realms in Hyperpelagia, or the Morgenland. Because Neo Prutenia is the place of origin and inceptor of the organisation, and because Prutons hold a plurality in the realm, the Prut Meritocracy is often informally referred to as “Neo Prutenia” or just “Prutenia”, although this synecdoche is considered inappropriate in formal and official communication.

The Prut Meritocracy's forerunner, the Dreemächteraat (Three-powers-council) was founded in 2949 SH, four years after the conclusion of the Guerra Civil Hesperià or Hesperian Civil War. The pro-anarchist forces which emerged victorious after the war joined with the Prut Freihändler movement to form a stateless, supranational union in 2945 SH. Raion no kuni, as one of the involved parties expressed a wish to become associated with this new entity. After five years of negotiation, restructuring, and building up the necessary social and cultural capital, the Grey Accord (Graues Abkommen / l’Acord Gris / Gurē Kyōtei) was formally signed and ratified on 25 Regner 2955 SH. A decade later Veleslavia applied to join the Prut Meritocracy, and entered negotiations. The end result was the Winter 2968 SH Addition (Winter-2968 Zusatz / 2968 Addició d’hivern / 2968 Fuyu tsuika / Прикључак зиме 2968.), signed on 17 Nasser 2968 SH. The last enlargement was in 2989 SH, when Mag Mell was officially admitted after intensive negotiations and the end of the Prut intervention from 2979. Mag Mell signed the Southern enlargement (Suiderweiterung / Ampliació del sud / Nanbu kapudai / Јужно проширење / Méadú ó dheas) on 29 Streiter 2989 SH. Due to the shift in international relations and politics, further expansion of the Prut Meriotcracy is somewhat unlikely and it’s not a goal of the current administration. The Prut Meritocracy is more involved in expanding its influence in the Pelagic area and ensuring that the Pelagic basin remains peaceful and stable. Secondary aims include extension of influence in the general Notalian hemisphere and penetrating into the Boreal regions, in particular in areas which were former colonies of the member-groups of the union. Extra-kosmopolitan activity is limited.

The Prut Meritocracy maintains relations with most sovereign groups in Kosmopol, and is a proactive, peaceful, and progressive member of the international community. The main foreign policies and programmes of the Prut Meritocracy are strictly based around and in accordance with the Declaration of Lieblich and the Osca Doctrine, while points of reference and general protocols and policies can be found on the official site of the Prut Diplomatic Service. The cooperative considers itself a soft power and strives to influence other polities through diplomatic, cultural, economic, and political means, rarely, if ever, opting to choose a militarist approach. Nevertheless, the size, economic power and influence, and strategic location of the Prut Meritocracy forces it to act as a de facto hard power within the Pelagic basin. The power projection capacity, the technological and logistical sophistication of the Prut arsenal, and the nation’s well-known nuclear policies and attitudes towards biological/chemical/radiological/nuclear warfare are often considered as controversial topics and potential issues, although overall, Prut presence is seen as a stabilising factor. The Prut Meritocracy champions various economic, social, and environmentalist causes, and is a well-known supporter of anarchist, liberal, progressive, and ecological groups. It also acts unofficially as a defender of Heliandism and Heliandists, a trait it shares with its western neighbour, Mesonyktia.

The Prut Meritocracy is particularly active in the fields of science, technology, industry, culture, and commerce. While counted among the more advanced, sophisticated nations, the cooperative is renown for its particular developments in green, sustainable technology, high-tech and precision goods, optics in particular, and engineering, especially vehicle and robotics engineering; the pragmatic, proven, and resourceful solutions are the ones preferred by Prut. Thus, Prut products, while not necessarily the most inventive, often surprise with their simplicity, reliability, and design. As a trade nation, the Prut Meritocracy is quite commercially active and promotes free trade and communication, and an end to economic warfare. Within its own internal market, which can be considered as the single-largest national market under one sovereign nation, the Prut have achieved an enviable level of cooperation, trade, wealth distribution, and income equality. The highly developed and meticulously maintained Prut infrastructure, telecommunication system, transport network, solidarist and social market economic policies, conscientious regulations, and total transparency are credited with enabling this success. In the international market, Prut are common competitors and quite effective businessmen for many people, mainly because of the Hanseatic standards and attitudes which prevail Prut economic thinking and approaches. As a large population centre with a refined, educated citizenry, and a major kosmopolitan language being the lingua franca, the Prut Meritocracy has considerable cultural influence as well. It’s actively promoting the Low Prut language and maintaining several programmes in any interested nation or area, and it’s exporting the language via cinema, video games, and literature. With filmmaking and book publishing being among the most recognisable Prut cultural achievements, followed closely by their particular architectural styles, Prut culture and its trappings are commonly known to wide audiences in Kosmopol.


Content:

01. Introduction and summary
02. Overview and quick reference
03. History
- Prutons and Prutonic history; from tribe to empire
- Neo Prutenia: Haupt, Hand, und Herz
- Hesperians and Ardanic history
- Hesperia: La Jove República
- Raion no kuni
- Veleslavia
- Mag Mell
04. Religion and Secularism
- Heliandism
- Silver Heliandism

[Neo Prutenia]

“Nur wer gegen den Strom schwimmt, kommt an die Quelle”

– Prut proverb; (Only the one who swims against the current, reaches the source)

Overview and quick reference

Official name
- Formal: Prutisches Leistlaid (Prut Meritocracy)
- Informal: Neo Prutenia, Prutenia, das Gemeenwohl, das Leistlaid,etc

Demonym: Prut / adjective: Prut; singular: Prut; plural: Prut

Official Language(s):
Nederprut (Low Prut), Hesperià (Hesperian), Raiongo (Raionese), Јужнојаснички (Veleslav), and Arfolan (Arfolan)

Low Prut is the main relay language of the Prut Meritocracy. It’s the de facto lingua franca as well. Early Low Prut is still a widely spoken dialect, and was the main language all the way until the late 2800s and early 2900s, before the language shift in the first half of the 30th century. It’s still understood and generally mutually intelligible with modern Low Prut. The Polymatheon in Vineta is the regulatory body for the Low Prut language, and is generally responsible for linguistic cooperation between the various ethnolinguistic groups of the Prut Meritocracy, although it's authority is mostly just nominal and it acts in a supervisory and advisory capacity.

Total territory
Land area: 2,826,653 square kilometres (inland bodies of water excluded)
Water area: 154,000 square kilometres (all lakes, reservoirs, and rivers)
Total: 2,980,653 square kilometres (sum of all land and inland water bodies)

Territorial Waters: 915,300 square kilometres

Population
Neo Prutenia: 104,059,751 / 45.3%
Hesperia: 61,792,655 / 26.9 %
Raion no kuni: 10,337,061 / 4.5 %
Veleslavia: 47,091,057 / 20.5 %
Mag Mell: 6,431,950 / 2.8%

Total: 229,712,474 / 100%

Percentage of population according to:
-Age: 0-15 (23%); 15-65 (60%); 65+ (17%)
-Sex: Male (50%); Female (50%)
-Ethnicity/Nationality:
- Pruton: 47%
- Hesperian: 25%
- Veleslav: 20%
- Raionese: 4%
- Arfolan: 3%
- Other: 1%

-Religion:
- Heliandism: ~ 73% (Silver Heliandism, Orthodox Heliandism)
- Atheism: ~ 20% (Atheist, Agnostic, Irreligious)
- Taiyōmegamikyō: ~ 4%
- Other: ~ 3%

-Class: Poor (5%); Middle (90%); Rich (5%)

Size of labour force:
147,015,983 (64%)

Economic model:
Pluralist economic system (Social market economy/Progressive Corporatism/Solidarism/Anarcho-Syndicalism)

Nominal GDP*:
Neo Prutenia – 2,597,566,198,588 PT (55.3%) / 5,195,132,397,176 USD
Hesperia – 1,068,537,995,473 PT (22.8%) / 2,137,075,990,946 USD
Raion no kuni – 214,100,886,571 (4.6%) / 428,201,773,142 USD
Veleslavia – 694,600,583,138 PT (14.8%) / 1,389,201,166,276 USD
Mag Mell – 117,369,428,408 PT (2.5%) / 234,738,856,816 USD

Total GDP - 4,692,175,092,178 PT / 9,384,350,184,356 USD

Nominal GDP per Capita*:
Neo Prutenia – 25,213 PT / 50,426 USD
Hesperia – 17,461 PT / 34,922 USD
Raion no kuni – 20,743 PT / 41,486 USD
Veleslavia – 14,938 PT / 29,876 USD
Mag Mell – 18,347 PT / 36,694 USD

National average: 20,642 PT / 41,284 USD

*The Prut Meritocracy measures income in the Prut Thaler (PT), a currency that is usually valued at 1.9 to 2.1 Universal Standard Dollars (USD), with two USD being one PT being the standard average.

Government budget as % of nominal GDP:
~40%
Breakdown of the Government Budget:
- Welfare and Healthcare 35%
- Education 20%
- Defence 15%
- Law and order 10%
- Other 20%

Size of Armed Forces:
1,368,576 (approx. 0.6% of the Population)

Size of Strategic Arsenal:
~ 2,500 active nuclear warheads in various forms

Anthem:
Das Lied der Prut (Song of Prut)

Capital City:
Königsstein in Neo Prutenia, is the official capital for diplomatic/legal purposes, however, the Prut Meritocracy actually has three capitals;

- Königsstein (Neo Prutenia): Executive branch, Administrative centre
- Conca (Hesperia): Legislative branch, Parliament
- Wrangelburg (Veleslavia): Judiciary branch, Supreme Court



Top five institutions of higher learning:
Polymatheon of Zelisch (largest and best-equipped)
Academy of Vineta (oldest and most prestigious)
Polymatheon of Königsstein (famous for its laureates)
University of València (most scientifically inclined and productive)
University of Kraljevac (most pragmatic and inclined towards applied knowledge)

Five famous persons (include deceased ones as well) in the fields of:

- Academics/Culture
Oswin Thorsten von Teutschberg (2496 – 2549) – Late Pelagian knight, preceptor of Vineta, strategist, and writer, author of the military and political treatise Krieg und Klinge (Blade and Battle), and one of the most influential scholars on the Leutherite period, the Exposure, and the early Antinomian wars.

Immanuel Oswald Macht (2880-2936) – philosopher and historian, father of Prut Voluntarism and Deontological Ethics, author of several important works, including Untergang and Aufstieg (Decline and ascension), Der freie Händler (The free Actor), and the Hohenstein-Kritik (Critique of Hohenstein).

Erich Lothar-Günther Precht (2898 – 2970) – Prut poet, author, playwright, painter, caricaturist, satirist, and theatre director, best known for his early novels and later newspaper articles and caricatures. A prominent figure in the Prut Freihändler movement and great supporter of the founding of the Prut Meritocracy.

Quintí Alfred Guillem i Llevantífusta (2940 - ) – Prut screenwriter, film director, actor, animator, and producer of Hesperian origin, regarded as the most representative Prut filmmaker of the Nova onada (New Wave), which tended to dominate the Prut film scene in the late 30th and early 31st century. Known for his diverse and eclectic filmography.

Till Ulrich Vetter (2963 - ) – Better known by his stage name Machne Reise, popular Prut musician (punk, rock, jazz and electro swing), performer, and media personality, frontman of the band Die Weißkittel (lit. white coats, a mocking colloquialism for doctors), and a known solo artist.

Science/Economy

Leopold Johannes Kopferstecher (2452 – 2519) – Better known as Leopold von Lieblich, is a famous Prut polymath, painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, and writer, and one of the greatest preceptors of the Academy of Vineta. Affectionally called Vater Daimon (lit. father Daimon, meaning father genius) by Prut, he’s one of the greatest contributors to Prut science, enlightenment, and knowledge.

Milutin Nikola Dechsel (2856 – 2943) – Prut inventor, electrical and mechanical engineer, physicist, futurist, and pioneer in various contemporary scientific fields, of Veleslav origin, but took his father surname. Lived and worked most of his life in Zelisch, Neo Prutenia. Affectionally called Lasas des Stroms (Lares of Electricity) by Prut.

Takeshi Aoki (2938 - ) Aoki Takeshi in Raionese, is a Prut economist of Raionese origin. A prominent authority on the subjects of econometrics, corporate governance, comparative institutional analysis, the theory of the Firm, and the economy of the Pelagic nations.

Andreu Xavier Oller i Roca (2944 - ) Andreu Oller, renown Prut economist and businessman of Hesperian origin and an expert on microeconomics, and one of the leading mathematical economists of the realm. Frequently invited on Hansa meetings, local and regional government and corporate boards. Professor on the University in Conca.

Hiroshi Yanai (2963 - ) Yanai Hiroshi in Raionese, is one of the most successful businessmen of the Prut Meritocracy and the CEO and founder of one of the largest Retail companies in the realm. His jovial persona and pleasant demeanour made him popular among the consumers and public in general. He’s often seen as a guest in various TV shows.

- Politics/Military

Bonaventura Pere Moragues i Mas (2591 – 2663) – Called El traïdor blau (The blue traitor), Moragues is believed to be one of the best early modern age naval commanders of the Prut Meritocracy. He joined the Silver League during the War of Siblings and is officially regarded as the first Hesperian to convert to Silver Heliandism. He fought against his own homeland during the war, being a diehard enemy of the Hesperian monarchy.

Isoruku Kuroki (2871 – 2943) – Kuroki Isoruku in native Raionese, was a renown Prutophile, a prolific military and political writer, and one of the first modern generals. Regarded as a strong Prut statesman, he contributed greatly in all military and political fields, and is directly responsible for Raion no kuni joining the Anarchist side in the Hesperian Civil War, and the nation subsequently becoming part of the Prut Meritocracy. He was assassinated before he could see the end of the war.

Vincet Rojo Almirall i Llozer (2908 – 2950) – Vincet Almirall, of Hesperian persuasion, is credited with being one of the founders of the Prut Meritocracy and he was the commander-in-chief of the Schwarzflaggen-Freikorps/Cos Franc Bandera Negra (Black Flag Free Corps), the Anarchist side in the Guerra Civil Hesperyol. He was an inspiring leader and passionate freedom fighter, recognised as one of the bravest Libertadores. Due to wounds from the war and steadily deteriorating health, he died only three days after the official founding of the Prut Meritocracy, living just long enough to see his dream fulfilled.

Vasilije Živojin Putnik (2922 – 2991) – Василије Живојин Путник, Prut general, statesman, and diplomat of Veleslav origin. He was a leading figure in Veleslavia’s joining in the late 2960s, and the administrator of Mag Mell during the Prut Intervention. Typical representative of the Prut can-do attitude and contemporary military thinking and asymmetric warfare methods employed on the nuclear battlefield. He was also heavily involved in Mag Mell’s modernization and ultimate joining as a new realm of the Prut Meritocracy.

Gerhard Otto Frahm (2958 - ) Frahm was one of the leading statesman and civil servants of the Prut Meritocracy, the first to formulate the Neue Politik, the new approach to foreign policy, diplomacy, and enlargement that the union has pursued since the early 2990s. The current focus on the Pelagic and the cessation of admitting new members is the direct result of his work. Frahm is still politically active, acting as a balancing factor in economic and military matters between various sides, but has completely retreated from public life since the early 3000s.



Government Form:
Constituational Anarchy organised as an Unitary, Presidential, Representative, Meritocratic Republic
Current/Incumbent acting and representative sovereign*:
Gemeinleiter Friedrich Georg Hohenheim von Lichtberg (3000 - present)
Preceding two (2) acting and representative sovereigns:
Gemeinleiter Gerhard Joachim Meidner (2992 - 3000)
Gemeinleiter Walther Siegfried Lohenstein (2973 – 2992)
Current/Incumbent chief of governance**:
Verwalter Konrad Heilman Metzinger (3004-present)
Previous two (2) chiefs of governance:
Verwalter Konrad Heilman Metzinger (3000-3008)
Verwalter Adam Rudolf von Lenski (2996 - 3000)
Director of Foreign Affairs:
Hauptleiter Siegfried Krammer, Leiter des Diplomatischen Dienstes
(Director of the Diplomatic Service, analogous to a Minister of Foreign Affairs in other systems)
Director of War Affairs:
Hauptleiter Korvin Lauterbach, Kriegsleiter der Republik
(Commander-in-Chief of the Prut Military, analogous to the Minister of War/Defence in other systems)

** the title of active and representative sovereign roughly corresponds to the political concept of had of state in other political systems.
** the title of chief of governance roughly corresponds to the political concept of head of government in other political systems.

The Prut Meritocracy is a Freihändler-type anarchy, meaning it's a stateless non-hierarchic society and polity, therefore having neither a state and head of state nor a government and head of government.

[Neo Prutenia]

”Zelisch wasn’t built in one day; I mean, such a big city? No chance. It must have taken them a lot longer. I don’t know. I do know that you sound smart when you say that phrase.

- Humorous graffiti on the wall of the Polymatheon of Zelisch

History:

It is difficult to ascertain when and where exactly the histories of the founding nations of the Prut Meritocracy end and the history of the actual Prut Meritocracy begins. Within a legal and political context, the history of the Prut Meritocracy starts on 30.12.2949 SH, the day it was officially founded. The 1.1.2950 SH is commonly considered the first year of the Prut Meritocracy, and most institutions, organisations, and individuals use this date as their point of reference. Within the Prut Meritocracy itself and various serious academic circles, especially among political and social historians, the history of the Union starts much earlier, some even pointing out that socio-political and socioeconomic changes which happened even three decades before the founding where the actual beginning of Prut history and the union. Common sense would dictate that Prut participation in the Guerra Civil Hesperyol, the bonding period between the old rivals, the Prut and the Hesperians, and the aftermath of La Garriga is the definite early phase of the union, but the immediate events which led to that cooperation played a much stronger role. In this context, the rise of Freihändler movement in Neo Prutenia and the Freistaat Streit (2917-2922), and the Repercussió era in Hesperia (2920-2923), a direct aftermath of the previous Hesperian Influenza (2918-2920), which initiated a series of events which would eventually end the Hesperian monarchy in 2930 SH and birth of the La Jove República. These two separate incidents would become the beginning of the Black flag years in Kosmopolitan history, as two major powers shifted into anarchist nations and formed a stateless transnational union, sparking severe shifts in politics and international relations. The Prut Meritocracy was just the end result and aftermath of the Black Flag years, which further crystallised into the modern Prut Meritocracy during the enlargements.

Specifically, the Winter 2968 SH Addition is cited as an important step in consolidating the Prut Meritocracy’s position as a great power and a dominant force in the Pelagic basin. Veleslavia, a local power and nuclear state with comparatively cold relations with its terrestrial neighbours experienced considerable social and political pressure internally. Veleslavia, a relatively progressive and liberal country since the Pelagian age, had gradually shifted into an almost oppressive, dictatorial stratocracy in anything but name only led by the military as a matter of national survival since the conflicts from the early 2900s. With Veleslavia having a smaller population and manpower pool, forced industrialisation, extensive management of available resources, and reinforcements of traditional Veleslav identity like Heliadism, Veleslavism, the Trikolorka, and nationalism became the dominant forces in Veleslav everyday life. This position became untenable for the ruling elite in the 2960s, as both Prut influences from abroad and within, in the form of the local Kontor, and from internal opposition, especially student movements, demanded a reformation of society. The Prut Meritocracy and Veleslavia entered negotiations in 2961 and started drafting plans to turn Veleslavia into a Prut model nation to avoid a potential civil war in a nuclearly armed state with a fascist neighbour all around it. Gemeinleiter Lohenstein proposed an effective plan on Veleslav socio-political and economic shifting, anarchisation, and eventual evolution, however, this proposal, while accepted officially, was never actually realised by the government. This started several protests and destablised the area, with the end result being widespread demonstrations and an actual Prut intervention and “nuclear umbrella” being placed around Veleslavia. The government conceded defeat after a mini-civil war within its own ranks, where the moderates and radicals defeated the old guard and nationalists, calling for an adoption of the Lohenstein Ansatz in 2965 SH. By 2968 SH, the Veleslavs were keen on being incorporated into the Prut Meritocracy and held a referendum for speeding up the process, and Veleslavia officially joined as the newest realm, effectively expanding Prut reach and influence into the eastern and southern Pelagic basin.

Just little over a decade later another opportunity for Prut expansion presented itself, during the waning years of International Anarchism. Mag Mell, a small nation at the edge of the cold deep south of the Notalian hemisphere, had become a haven for both radical Freihändler groups, Blue Prut, specifically the old Hanseats, and both Hesperian and Veleslav reactionaries, along with various “adventurers” from several other realms. Mag Mell itself was a rather unimportant country with a strong tradition of freedom and simple living, with the area being dotted by small towns, Heliandist monasteries, art and craft colonies, villages, and the majestic southern woods. For most of its history it had been an inaccessible pirate haven and raider state, although more a nuisance than any real threat. The way of life was permanently changed with the arrival of the Núíosaigh, the before mentioned group during the middle of the last century. The end result was a foreign takeover of Mag Mell by a coalition of these groups. The Prut Meritocracy was requested to intervene according to the then legal protocols, and out of responsibility felt for at least some of the reactionary forces. In 2979 SH the intervention began, with the deployment of personnel and equipment, which soon became a long term campaign of occupation and fighting entrenched reactionaries, local xenophobes and factions sponsored by foreign anti-anarchist groups. Most of the area was under Prut-Mag Mell control, and after some controversies, the realm was declared stabilised by 2987 SH, although some low-intensity conflicts continue and/or erupt until this day, mostly with mountain remnants. In 2989 SH Mag Mell officially became a new realm of the Prut Meritocracy. Today Mag Mell is one of the most rapidly advancing and technologically most progressive and clean realms of the Prut Meritocracy.

This was also the last enlargement of the Prut Meritocracy and it has de facto ceased officially supporting anarchist movements abroad, at least directly. The complex network of international relations and the size and influence of the Prut Meritocracy jeopardised the political stability of the international community, hence the union was content with furthering its agenda by different means and consolidating its current position. This has generally been the trend since the 2990s, with few notable exceptions. It should also be noted that a complete understanding of Prut history requires at least familiarity with the histories of the respective parts of the Prut Meritocracy, the realms of Neo Prutenia, Hesperia, Raion no kuni, Veleslavia, and Mag Mell, as well as the general history of the Ardanic people and the Prutons.

[Neo Prutenia]

"Kamerad, if you want an issue resolved, ask the Prut. And if you want it resolved thoroughly, go to the Prutons."

- Common saying and attitude among Prut

Prutons and Prutonic history; from tribe to empire

Overview:

Prutons (Low Prut: Prutonen) are an ethnolinguistic group from a area of Nyktogeios called Prutenia, or members of any group descended from or associated with the ethnolinguistic or linguistic group(s) speaking the Low Prut and High Prut languages. This connection is usually based on ethnic and sometimes linguistic grounds, but can be on ancestral, cultural, and legal grounds as well. Historically and politically, the term Prutons refers to the indigenous populations of Mesonyktia and Neo Prutenia, and has historically referred to the inhabitants of the Prutonic Empire since the Meso-Protosian age.

There are several hundred millions of Prutons in Kosmopol, of which a majority speaks either Low Prut or High Prut. The major population centres of Prutons are Prutenia (as part of the Prut Meritocracy) and Mesonyktia, in both of which over 200 million ethnic Prutons live. Prutons form substantial minorities in many parts of the Prut Meritocracy, neighbouring lands, and some former colonial Boreal nations. Prutons are also the namegivers of the Prutonic peoples, and are related to various other groups in Kosmopol.

The traditional culture, art, and craftsmanship of Prutons encompass various forms of traditional music, cuisine, dance, literature, architectural styles, cinema, and clothing, some of which are globally recognisable. The dominant religion of Prutons is Heliandism (Silver Heliandism and Ragnaism being the majority Redactions), although other religions are not unheard of. Today, all Pruton nations have developed their own national identity and no longer consider themselves Prutons in the classical and historic sense. In modern contexts, Pruton groups usually identify with one of the major Pruton nationalities, e.g. Mesonyktian or Prut.

Origin:

Prutenia (PROO-teh-nee-ah) is a geographic, political, and ethnolinguistic term that refers to certain area and its inhabitants on the Nyktogeios (Abendland in Low Prut) landmass in the Notalian hemisphere of Kosmopol. Specifically, the land bridge between Panonyktia in Nyktogeios’ north and Mesonyktia in the central part of the continent is the usual geographic extent of Prutenia, while the political and cultural definition encompass a larger area, depending on exact definitions used and other circumstances. The name is of Prutonic origin, and can be traced back to the third century since Heavenfall, where “Prutenia” became the universally recognised name for the area. Some inconclusive records from the area, mostly bilingual trade records in Old Prutonic and other languages, indicate that the region was called “Gefyria” previously, translating to bridge today, while the people were referred to as “Gefyrios”. Other sources suggest that the inhabitants were called “Thavmasios”, which appear to be translations from the original Old Prutonic term the inhabitants used for themselves.

Current academic circles trace the name back to two the Old Prutonic words; prattuz and brahtaz. In Prutenia, general consensus is that both words, due to their morphological similarity and synonymity, are the etymological ancestor of the current terms “Prut” and “Pruton”, although popular opinion tends to favour the Prattuz-origin, since it is more in line with Pruton mentality, customs, and culture. The Prattuz-origin links the modern Low Prut term “Prut” over the Early Low Prut “Prat, Prot” and New Hanseatic Prut words “Prat/Pratt”, to Old Hanseatic Prut, all the way back to Old Prutonic “Prattuz”, interpreting it as the “tricky” and “cunning” ones. This is also related to the modern term “Protz(ig)”, meaning pretentious. The Brahtaz-origin recontructs it along the same linguistic principles, linking the modern “Prut” over the words “braht/praht” and “Pracht” and “prachtig/prächtig”, and the current etymologically related Low Prut term “prunk”, with brahtaz, roughly translating to “splendid, splendour / magnificent, magnificence”. This is supported by the “Thavmasios-translation”, as it means essentially the same. It is also etymologically related to the term “pretty”. A less common hypothesis is the “Gefyra/Brugjon-origin”, where the etymological origin lies in the Old Prutonic translation of Gefyra into Brugjon, hence “bridge”. This is however unlikely, as the word did not go through the same linguistic shifts like the terms “prattuz” and “brahtaz”, nor is it supported by any reliable records.

Prutenia did not exist as a united polity until much later, and until the 7th century since Heavenfall it was a tribal federation of various Prutonic tribes. The premier unifying force of the tribal Prutons was the systematic introduction of Heliandism and the Vineta script, which replaced the previous runic writing system in favour of the system created by Wulfila the Enlightened. Over the course of several generations the secretive runes which were the portfolio of tribal shamans and priests soon lost importance and their magical, mysterious status, thus enabling an easier writing system to be utilised and spreading over the tribal boundaries, creating one linked culture and identity. During the same period the ethnogenesis of the Pruton peope happened, which identified itself with Wulfila’s enlightenment movement and conversion efforts, the city of Vineta (Wulfila’s home city and one of the larger settlements in the area), the Pranger tribe (first to embrace Heliandism) which lived in contemporary northeastern Neo Prutenia, and the tribal king Adalbehrt, who united the various Prutonic tribal groups, thus creating the Prutonic Empire. The Empire would fall in 2648 SH, after the Forty years war, and split into West Prutenia, called Mesonyktia, and East Prutenia, called Neo Prutenia. The name of the region however continued to be used.

(Pre-Heavenfall) Pre-Protosian Age:

Little is known about the Pre-Protosian Prutonic people. The only reliable records are the Ansger Chronicles, an incomplete collection of stories and heroic epics, which form the most extant source on Old Prutonic history, mythology and legends. The Ansger Chronicles were collected, written, and preserved by Ansger af Lioflik, a colleague of Wulfila the Enlightened. The segments about history are the best preserved, and mostly give details about the spread of Heliandism, Wulfila’s work, and the tribal wars which the conversions provoked. Only few of the old deities are mentioned by name or title, so the old pantheon could only be reconstructed partially. Legends have generally remained part of the oral folklore, and were subsequently written down and collected in the 29th century SH, providing a somewhat accurate picture of Old Prutons.

Prior to Wulfila’s conversion and the spread of Heliandism, the Old Prutons prayed to many deities. The Chief deity in the pantheon was identified as Woed, associated with earthquakes, fire, volcanoes, wrath, and war. The strongest cult however was the cult around Pliht, the deity symbolising duty, honour, truth, loyalty, and peace. The Pranger tribe was chiefly associated with this divine figure. Other identified deities include Sunna, Fiur, Diop, Hunhraz, and major and minor spirits, as well as some heroes. According to the Ansger Chronicles, each tribe had a totemic deity which was the tribal “Urahn”, the original ancestor. Tribal Chieftains would be descended directly from such an ancestor. The blood link was proven with various quests, called “Lestian” where a potential future Chieftain or prominent member of the group would complete his quest and be considered in favour of the tribal Totem and original ancestor. Priests were their own caste and went through similar trials as potential Chieftains. Disputes between members were resolved by the groups elders, usually the collection of priests and if necessary the Chieftain. Infighting between members of the same group, especially drawing blood, was strictly forbidden and considered a grave taboo against the Totem and the Urahn. The usual punishment for breaking taboos was either death or exile. Such individuals were know as “Wirrwesan” and were shunned by all groups and avoided if possible. The “Wirrwesan” still play a role in Pruton folklore, often being depicted as fantastic creatures and spirits that are chthonic, daemonic, and generally mischievous in nature.

On tribal culture, only general outlines are preserved. Old Pruton society wasn’t particularly stratified. In general, only three castes were recognised, all equal in “Wirdi” (worth/dignity). The priestly caste was the collection of all learned members of a group, which translates to everyone who was literate and passed the initiation quests and rites. The Old Prutonic Runic Script was complex and difficult to learn, mostly due to the secretive nature of the caste which preserved it. It was considered magical and the ability to learn, read, and interpret the runes was considered a sign of the favour of the deities, and only an exclusive group of individuals was granted this favour. Gender apparently didn’t play a role in this caste, as there is strong evidence that women were also members of the priestly caste, although there seems to be strong indicators that certain cults and deities were strictly gender-based. In example, all priests of Woed were men, and all priestesses of Sunna were female. The second caste was that of the “Leitari”, the leaders, or specifically those who lead. This group was composed of leading members whose accomplishments (Lestian) had elevated them and made them exemplar members of society. This group included accomplished hunters, warrior, craftsmen, and traders. While priests taught the group and were it’s memory and lore keepers, the Leitari lead the group and were day to day administrators. The third caste was the “Fulger”, those who follow, the followers.

The Pranger book, a supplement to Ansger’s Chronicle, provides an interesting example of how an Old Prutonic tribe’s day to day activities looked like. The Pranger tribe was the first to convert to Heliandism and adopt Wulfila’s new script, hence this document is the oldest and mostly likely first native Pruton text written in the Wulfila script. The Pranger book indicates that tribes practised both agriculture and animal husbandry, but that herding and animals were more important than fields. Tribes lived in a semi-nomadic lifestyle, mostly as pastoralists, moving around their territories according to the seasons. Care was taken to avoid depleting local resources, hence they rarely settled somewhere for long. Permanent settlements were rare and usually small, a vast number of them having less than twenty households. Larger settlements only developed along very well travelled routes and acted as marketplaces, locations for intertribal games and festivals, pilgrimage sites, and as defensive positions and retreats in case of barbarian raids. Fish, veal, and beef were the chief trade goods which were exchanges in these settlements. Beef in particular was a desired commodity, and the size of a groups cattle herd was a strong indicator of a groups wealth. Resources and services were shared among the entire group, although not equally. Priests and Leaders could and would often claim more shares, frequently as sacrifices for the deities and spirits for the former, and as rewards for the later. Contact with other groups and tribes was frequent and regulated according to very specific customs.

Contrary to usual relations between tribal societies, the Old Prutons did not live in a situation of endemic warfare. Warfare was the exception rather than the rule. Tribes often met in neutral grounds or designated settlements to exchange goods, stories, participate in games, and to find potential marriage partners. Marriage in Old Pruton tribal groups was strictly exogamic, and marriage between members of the same group was very rare and almost considered a taboo. Blood relatives of any kind never married. Usually women would chose their own husband, and both partners had to agree to the marriage and get the blessing of the other one’s parents before it was considered a legal bond according to tribal laws. Marriage was usually for life, although remarry in case of one partner’s death was acceptable. Men would prove themselves either in the games, through their accomplishments, or through their wealth. Women just had to be healthy and of age. Both partners were of roughly equal age, and according to the Pranger codex of law, the usual minimal age was twenty summers, i.e. twenty years. Remaining chaste until that age was considered important for both genders and a sign of maturity, as it was believed that it promoted character growth and health. Once a partner was chosen the tribal elders would negotiate which partner would be adopted into which tribe. Usually this was settled by quotas, and in a small majority of cases a man would move to the tribe of his new wife. A majority of tribes practised matrilineality, so mothers had special status in family units. All but the eldest daughter were considered “expendable”, as only the firstborn daughter would carry the family name and be able to inherit. Younger daughter had to create their own lineage or marry into other families. Old Pruton marriages were marriages of convenience and adultery wasn’t considered a taboo. Generally a man was allowed to keep a mistress, often one of the eponymous younger daughters of some family, but he had to finance her from his own wealth without damaging his legal wife or their children. Woman on the other had were not allowed to have a paramour until they produced a legal heir to their husband.

Warfare between tribes was rare. Intertribal disputes were solved with games, or with a mediator. Often a third party would be sought out. If it came to irreconcilable differences, tribes would resort to a feud, called “Fehd”. This was a ritualised war which was fought until the conditions to end the feud were met. Breaking a feud was considered taboo and would jeopardise the long term survival of a tribe, as the entire group would be declared to be “Wirrwesen” and shunned by the rest of the tribes, or even actively hunted down and destroyed. Actual warfare was far more common with raiders, bandists, Wirrwesan groups, and outsiders. Horsemanship and bow were the most employed tactics, as the pastoralist Old Prutons were renown hunters and riders, and dangerous horse archers. The Pranger Book mentions various methods and strategies used beside these hit and run tactics, and recounts an impressive arsenal of iron and steel weaponry. Old Prutons fought in highly organised loose formations, preferring swarming tactics over decisive encounters. Battlefield communication was made possible with an intricate system of banners and music. Several tribes would often join together to form tribal unions for mutual defence and to destroy external threats, especially tribes at the periphery of the Old Pruton realms, or those close to the seas. One Chieftain would then be elected “Koning”, king, to lead the tribes until the threat has been eliminated. Such alliances were also only unions of convenience and rarely lasted longer than necessary, as they taxed a high amount of resources and time to maintain. In wars, Old Prutons did not keep prisoners indefinitely, but determined a certain period after which a prisoner could either decide to return to his home after paying a ransom or stay as a free man and friend in the tribe (usually the actual family) which captured him or her.

(Heavenfall to 1000 SH) Protosian Age:

Pre-Albertine and Albertine era (2nd century SH to 981 SH)

There exists a much more extensive documentation of Protosian Old Prutons, especially since the post-conversion period. A considerable plurality of texts details the conversion process, the tribal wars, unification of the Old Prutons, Wulfila’s travels, and the subsequent conquests of Adalberht, and there is some overlaps. While the start of the Protosian age is usually considered to be the Heavenfall event, Prutonic circles prefer to start their history from the introduction of the Wulfila script. By all accounts, the Wulfila script was widespread by the third century SH at the latest, while some evidence suggest that it might have been created in the first century SH. Traditional academic circles and conservative estimates place the creation of the Wulfila script in the second century SH, which produced the most reliable early texts written in this writing system and alphabet. The Wulfila script is considerably different from the Old Prutonic Rune Script, and was originally inspired by the Old Trade Tongue’s writing system and alphabet. A strong indicator of this link is the actual loanword “Alphabet” in the modern Low Prut language, which is evidently of Old Tongue origin.

Wulfila was the first Enlightener of the Old Prutons and of the Heliandist faith. Before meeting the Heliand and becoming one of his disciples, Wulfila was a priest, philosopher, and judge from the Old Pruton coastal settlement of Vineta. When the Heliand was visiting Old Pruton lands, he was confronted by the “magos”. The three day long debate between the magos and the prophet was ended in the Heliand’s favour, who condemned Wulfila’s and his caste’s secrecy, magic, and exclusivity to knowledge and wisdom and pointed out their hypocrisy and sophism. This story is well-attested in both the Megali Hagiographia and the Pentaevangelion, and can be further referenced in related Heliandist texts. Wulfila translated the Heliand’s words, but found the Old Prutonic Rune Script to be unsuitable for the task. Hence a new script was created, and soon began spreading outside of Vineta. In order to increase the the number of translations and teach people to read the script, he founded the Vineta Archive and the School of Preceptors, which began copying his translation by hand and travelling from tribe to tribe, spreading the Gospels and denouncing the old Priest caste.

Initial success was sporadic and slow, and came at considerable personal danger to Preceptors. Priests were not willing to let go of their power. When they couldn’t prevent the Wulfila script from spreading through the tribe and showing that everyone could eventually learn to read, they resorted to censorship and even violence. Preceptors have even been declared as “Wirrwesan” by their own tribal Priesthood as a retaliation to spreading the Wulfila script. Even those who learned the script could have been banished from the tribe as punishment. Within a generation, however, Vineta swelled from a coastal fishing village to a rather respectable town, which could command the awe of the local tribes. The first tribe to completely renounce the Old Deities and accept the Heliand were the Prangers, the keepers of the Cult of Pliht, which was a strong blow to the old order, and great victory for Wulfila’s conversion process. The Prangers soon became the core group of Heliandists and founded the first permanent Heliandist city with other converted tribes, calling it Koningsstain, in honour of the Koning of their tribal federation. Koningsstain would later become Königsstein. This conversion happened in the third century SH and according to preserved records, Wulfila died roughly at the same time. His students continued his work, supported by the unified Heliand Koningtom of the Prangers.

This period is called the “Early Kingdom” by most Pruton historians. This span of time was characterised with near constant warfare between Old Order Tribes and Heliandist tribes, and it lasted up to the sixth century SH. The first cleansing marches and enlightened missions have their origin here, as Heliandism usually spread peacefully into new area only to be contested and attacked violently by the adherents of the Old Order. This lead to increased pressure on such groups from already converted tribes. Soon, actually permanent tribal federations were forming. The breaking point was the conversion of a powerful tribal koning in the centre of Old Pruton realms, Koning Adalberht. Adalberht was converted in a similar fashion to Wulfila; a Preceptor descendent from Wulfila’s original students, named Fardinand, debated him for three days without tiring and convinced the koning to support the Heliandist cause. With Fardinand at his side, Adalberht converted his entire koningtom within a year, banished all the false priests which had deceived the people and refused to repent, and lead a cleansing march to the northeast to help the Heliand Koningtom and Vineta. Adalberht’s forces decisively defeated all opposition and lifted the siege from Koningsstain.

His military campaign was unprecedented in Old Pruton lands and has been the subject of much academic debate as to how long it lasted, where exactly it went, and how many were involved. His Heer was rumoured to have had over 100,000 combatants, half of them on horse. For the Old Pruton tribal kingdoms this was an incredible logistical feat, as organizing that many armed troops in a permanent fighting force for an extended period required considerable resources and clout among other tribal leaders. What is certain is that East Prutenia was now firmly in the Heliandist camp. Adalberht was crowned as the first “Basel”, the first true koning under Heliandist tradition and grace. During the first half of the fifth century SH, Basel Adalberht the First-Crowned (Albertos Protostephanos) mounted an enlightening expedition into West Prutenia, the area currently part of the modern nation of Mesonyktia, and defeated the loose tribal federations in the area, establishing a permanent Heliandist foothold there.

This marks the start of the Albertine era in Pruton history. Adalberht’s son, Alarich continued his fathers work after he had passed away and pushed southeast, into Galmidden, the area corresponding to modern Garimidia, thus forming the core Pruton Empire. He founded the city of Baselburg, the first capital of the united Pruton Empire. By the sixth century SH, the vast majority of tribes had converted to Heliandism, the Wulfila script had spread of the entire territory of the Reichsbund, and the Empire was ruled from Baselburg. The Albertine dynasty continued to champion the Heliandist cause for several generations, until it was succeeded by the next dynasty, the Johannites at the start of the Pelagian Age. In the beginning of the eight century SH, Basel Baldarich officially became the protector of the faith and institutionalised the former custom of the Basel being in charge of the religious organisation, thus starting the tradition of caeseropapism, and forming the first Orders of the Faithful.

With the stabilisation and unification of a large part of the Pruton area under one government and one religious identity, and with the ease of communication, spread of literacy, and free exchange of ideas and discoveries offered by the Wulfila script, the Pruton Empire began to flourish. Fire temples began to rise across the land, cementing the influence of the faith in the lands and acting as hubs for the founding of new settlements. The Pruton lands began to experience urbanisation and concentration of people and power into regional hubs. This coincided with the Great Notalian Exchange, which brought new cultures, discoveries, and species into Nyktogeios as a whole, and which were embraced and spread across all of Prutenia, Mesonyktia, and Lykosia by the educated Heliandist orders. What have been mostly fishing villages and whaling stations soon grew into international ports, as the Pruton Empire began establishing links with overseas societies. The first Pruton city-states began developing in this time as well, following the model of Vineta and Koningsstain.

The sheer size of the realm and the increase in population encouraged by the stability and Great Notalian Exchange, soon created regional hubs of political and social activity. After several generations and a few centuries, at the dawn of the Pelagian Age, the once uniform Pruton Empire had become a decentralised and diverse collection of city-states and duchies competing with each other over resources and power, held only together by a common faith and culture, language, and the figure of the Basel, who still acted as a common unifying force and defender of the faith. Internal turmoil was brewing among the various native factions and regional power centres. The death of the last Albertine Basel, Emmerich in 981 SH, was the catalyst for a power struggle in the Empire. The Royal houses of the Empire, which were descended from the original tribal Konings who became Heliandist and joined Adalberht the First-Crowned began fighting for the throne and the position of Basel.

This interregnum period is called the Zwischenherrschaft, and was characterised by gross political instability, slow growth, and internal warfare. Just in the year 996 SH, six candidates for Basel were murdered, only one of which actually died on the battlefield. The conflicts were usually sporadic and the fights between the nobles didn’t directly affect the populace. However, the allocation of resources and manpower in petty inter-dynastic fighting and rivalry lead to a sharp increase in banditry and piracy, which made everyday life perilous. The politicking in the larger cities also didn’t help resolving the issues. One ducal family from Hohenstein rose quickly to prominence by seizing the opportunity presented in the increase in criminality. Johann the Peacekeeper as he would be called later, used his fleet to hunt down and destroy various pirate havens in the Pruton sea. He intervened in several conflicts between the various central coastal cities and pirates and between each other, and managed to put them under his banner. By 1001 SH, Johann held authority over the entire Pruton sea and controlled the maritime access to and from the capital Baselburg. From this power base he asserted his dominance over the coastal urban centres and used his wealth and influence to take over Baselburg, crowning himself Basel in 1007 SH, thus beginning the Johannite dynasty.

(1000 SH to 2500 SH) Pelagian Age:

Johannite era (1007 SH to 1527 SH)

The Johannite rule of Prutenia saw the widespread use of that name for the Pruton Empire. As coastal city nobility, the Johannites entered the Pelagian age with distinctively pelagic policies. The pelagic trade centres and port cities became increasingly prosperous and were granted more power and say in the political matters of the empire. The Johannites also started all-encompassing public works, beginning the era of monumental building that would last for three centuries. Cities expanded considerably. As a gesture of good will between the various cities of the Empire, an intricate and sophisticated network of roads and highways, called the Steinweg (Stone way) was started as a project. It took two generation to build the expansive traffic nexus, but it ensured the military and political control of Baselburg in the interior, away from their coastal power base. Walled cities began to emerge as well, with rather advanced feats of engineering being displayed during the construction of the walls, forts, and harbours. The most enduring architecture of this period are the new model temples which started cropping up in settlements, the towers of light. Part temple, part lighthouse, the towers of light were erected all over the land functioning as communication relays and beacons. They were equipped with mirrors or extremely well-polished metal discs which reflected the sunlight during the day, and during clear nights the moonlight as well. Usually, a pyre would be lit during nights.

With this beacon system, Prutenia had established a for its time advanced communication system and developed a signaling language which was kept a state secret. The system allowed the navy to move quickly to troubled spots and areas and effectively fight off foreign vessels and especially pirates. In the same manner, the Johannite Armies were marching along the highways north, west, and south, discouraging both attacks and rebellions. In the thirteenth century SH, Prutenia was an established force in the region, with extensive naval presence in the northern Pelagos. Trade and communication was mostly restricted to Ardania and Lykosia, with expeditions to Panonyktia and the south being only sporadic and the exception rather than the rule. The grand projects of the Johannites eventually created an Empire of stone on land and wood on water.

Heliandism in Prutenia entered its blooming period. The first predecessor of the modern orders began rising in the area. In Prutenia proper monastic orders were founded, while the Mesonyktian and Garmiddian frontiers began creating military orders which defended the faithful and would later become the post-Pelagian knightly orders. In all cases, Orders ensured a systematic spread of knowledge and functioned as an informal education system for both the rural folk and the urban population. Pilgrimages to the large temple complexes all around the empire started being more frequent due to the better traffic conditions and internal stability of the Empire. This is also the first instance of a deliberate, systematic spreading of Heliandism outside the borders of the Pruton Empire. While academies were opened in the Empire, missions were created abroad to preach the virtues of the Heliand. Other proto-Heliandic groups were encountered abroad, as well as general Sotirist cults. They were soon introduced to the most iconic trait of Prutonic Heliandism, the Wulfila script. Soon, the writing along with the faith started gaining traction in other lands. An early conversion was the previously Caminoist Hesperia in Ardania, while its northern neighbour vehemently resisted conversion. Raion no kuni, likewise, wasn’t economically or politically important enough to bother converting it, after the initial resistance of the population. By the fourteenth century SH, Pruton and Heliandist influence was touching all the pelagic shores and spread as far as modern Veleslavia, although tangible results of this influence are disputable.

In spite of the successes of the early Johannite era and the prudence shown my the dynasty’s monarch, the Empire suffered from a lot of inertia economically. The later generations and the last Johannites in particular inherited a vastly indebted Empire whose monumental construction efforts consumed a large amount of resources and manpower. The standing army of the Johannites competed endlessly with the standing fleet for funds and men, which depleted the coffers of the state even further. Continual maintenance of the roads and ports couldn’t be financed by trade alone, and a gradual increase in taxation, which started in the early Johannite era, turned in longterm overtaxation of many realms, especially the more developed urban centres. This lead often to rioting and clashes with the authorities in Baselburg. The extravagant lifestyle which the dynasty maintained didn’t help them with alleviating these budgetary deficits. The Basels were forced to take loans from regional nobles to sustain their projects. By the fifteenth century SH, the Johannite dynasty was forced to partially disband their army and fleet, as it could no longer sustain them, and replace them with the household forces of local nobility. The end of the Johannites came when they intermarried with a rich rural noble family from the west, when their only male heir, Rutger, succeeded to the throne and gained the title. Thus the Rudgerite era started in the sixteenth century SH.

Rutgerite era (1527 SH to 1815 SH)

The Rutgerites reformed the Pruton society according to their own experiences and ideals. The overpopulated and impoverished cities of the Johannites began experiencing at first a decline in growth but soon this ended in wide scale depopulation, as many families moved out of the cities to the open land. This social change was the start of feudalism and manorialism in Prutenia, and was legally cemented by the Grand Oath. This was an instrumental social and political contract which significantly changed the administrative units of Prutenia and created the large feudal stem duchies. Those who were on good terms with the Rutgerites became the heads of the stem duchies and the new ducal families of the realm. They swore the Grand Oath to the Basel and received the right to become liege lords themselves. Smaller noble families swore oaths to them, until all the land was divided among them for management. In return for managing the lands and providing men and coin to the state, the new feudal lords controlled their domains and had rights of taxation. The people of the realm became serfs on the new lands, obliged to make a binding oath to their local lord or move somewhere else. This concept became known as the “Chains that bind”, and would be challenged in the later eras.

The Rutgerite reforms and subsequent feudalization of Prutenia saved the empire from collapse and strengthened it, enabling it to maintain its vast expanses and influence. The entire process took several generations to set in. By 1864 SH, only the Free Imperial Cities were excluded from the land reform, while the rest of society was firmly ordered into the new manorial system. The system was stable internally and presented a united front against external influences, but lead to another decentralization of the Empire and the rise of local power blocs. Interestingly, the social and political changes actually triggered a cultural revival of old Prutonic values and culture. With the moving of centres of learning from Johannites academies to rural monasteries and the majority of the population now living in smaller communities away from the convenience of cultural institutions in the cities, the cultural focus shifted on rural stories, customs, and events, while the new ducal courts nourished an environment of romantic and knightly literature. Music, theatre, circus, and performances could be experienced all over the lands, with famous troupes and artists vying for the attention of the audiences and local elites. Old Prutonic history and mythology began appearing again in both temple sermons, drawing parallels with the old conversion and strengthening the faith of the believers, as well as in knightly tales, where local heroes, legends, and even lords wit the coin to spare created epics in the style of the old stories as a matter of increasing personal prestige. The most lasting cultural achievement of the Rutgerites was the reintroduction of the ancient, Protosian tribal games, which were held annually in various places, and a large game festival was held every four years and hosted by the Basels themselves in Baselburg and the surrounding area. Roughly at the same time, the medieval version of modern association football began gaining in popularity in Prutenia, becoming the most dominant ball game in the lands.

The Rutgerite era came to an abrupt ending in the nineteenth century SH, during the “Northern invasion”. Since the Rutgerite powerbase was in the interior and on land, they maintained the Johannite highway system and the army at the expense of the fleet. With the support of the other stem duchies, they could effectively raise a large army comparatively quickly for the time, without having to maintain a standing force for peacekeeping purposes. The lack of interest in trade and maritime development of Rutgerite Prutenia enabled an Ardanic group to move overseas en masse in the late nineteenth century and effectively conquer a large chunk of Galmidden unopposed, capturing the stem duchies of the area. The last Rutgerite Basel, Gautselin the Luckless, proclaimed a cleansing march against the invaders and gathered his ducal allies. After several months, the Pruton armies marched into the heart of Galmidden and after some initial success suffered catastrophic defeat at the hand of the opposing forces. Losing a cleansing march doomed the entire dynasty, as this decreased both their prestige and support among the people and nobility. Many of the stem duchies withdrew their support, and it came to intra-imperial warfare and conflicts. Gerbern, the heir of Gautselin was exiled from Baselburg and forced to flee by a mob. Baselburg itself was now threatened by the invaders, as the Empire couldn’t adequately protect it from seaborne attacks nor regain control of the Pruton sea.

One of the eastern merchant princes, Leopold the Bold, managed to unite and organise the collective merchant fleet of Prutenia and arm it with the help of the regional guilds and city councils. Within two months, in the midsummer, Leopold’s fleet raided the entire Galmiddian coastline successfully surprising and threatening the invaders and contesting their naval supremacy. In a most audacious move, Leopold effectively campaigned from east following the sun’s movement all the way west into the Pruton sea and to Baselburg, restored hope and faith to the knights and rallied the forces saving the remaining Galmiddian coastline from enemy takeover. With the new threat from the sea and a far from depleted or weakened Prutenia on their doorstep, the invaders conceded to a peace treaty. Leopold became the hero of the war and the new Knight of the Heliand, entering Baselburg victoriously and ushering the Leopoldine era.

Leopoldine era (1815 SH to 2394 SH)

The Leopoldine rulers marked a return to the Johannite urbanisation and commercialisation policies. Leopold the Bold in particular was a crafty and clever ruler who managed to leverage his popularity with all strata of Pruton society not only to become the Basel but to guide the nation along his desired path. The frugal and decentralised policies of the Rutgerites were incorporated into the new Leopoldine model of governance. With a new threat in the immediate neighbourhood and the desire to protect Prutenia from another seaborne attack, the Leopoldine managed to break the feudal system by a grand political and administrative reform, thus implementing the Pronoiai system which would remain in place well into the later Frederician era. The stem duchies were converted into imperial circles, each circle having an appointed Imperial officer in command. Ownership of the entire land was invested in the person of the Sovereign, as the divinely blessed and appointed ruler and representative of the people. The nobility was organised formally into the monastic and knightly orders which grew out of previous similar groups. Orders then competed for the Basel’s favour to be granted one of the offices. The highest office, Kreismeister, effectively ruled an Imperial circle in the name of the Basel and had right to divide the circle among his order and delegate power, as well as right of collecting the Basel’s taxes and keeping a part of it as a salary. With orders always competing over political power, the most favoured Orders and Kreismeisters were those who collected and sent the most money back to Baselburg. The Leopoldines had thus created a system in which the most politically powerful groups would always be the poorest.

Even internally, orders tended to be comparatively small, accepting only so many members at a time as needed to maintain the Imperial Circle and sub-circles, as to retain a higher share of the collected taxes. Even if an order managed to become powerful, the Basel could and often would replace the Kreismeister with another Ordenmeister or a member of his retinue and/or court. Those Orders which didn’t manage to gain a foothold in the temporal power arena switched became monastic orders and turned into spiritual and intellectual forces. Some of these monasteries became quite involved in their regions and had extensive influence. In a few decades entire political structures developed around them. Some of them became powerful schools, academies, and even the first universities, the eponymous Prut Polymatheions. Other became formalised Chivalric orders or Military orders, in particular in the frontier and rear areas of the Empire. In the coastal cities and other urban centres Orders were eschewed and preference was given to guilds and trans-city alliances, which would soon morph and turn into the one unitary Prut Hansa. After a few generations of Leopoldine rule, the Empire was finally a thriving centralised state again, with a vibrant economy and political stability.

The new sociopolitical model and division influenced the way of life in many interesting ways. On one hand, the de facto disenfranchisement of the nobility led to a blooming of chivalric tradition in Prutenia, in particular in the west and centre. With the formation and institutionalisation of the Imperials orders a large number of knights and monks and even warrior-monks began roaming the land. This mobile, educated and often still rich sociopolitical group was legally a collection paid soldiers and officials of the Empire who got an annual stipend from the Basel as upkeep. In return they served as soldiers, administrators, and bureaucrats. As learned men, they also served various other purposes, reinstating the Preceptor tradition of Wulfila’s fame. Pruton knights and monks often beared a sword in one arm and a pen in the other, or a hammer, or lute, or a combination of those. The Chivalric code was the first secular Pruton system of values which served as an example for moral and social behaviour. The images of the warrior-poet, philosopher-knight, soldier-monk, fighter-bards, and similar figures became archetypes and stock characters of the High Pelagian Pruton poetry and literature, and they did indeed have a strong basis in contemporary reality and everyday life. On the other hand, the same legal changes in the status of nobility wasn’t followed by a change in a lot of the common people.

Still bound to their lands and Grand Oaths of the Rutgerite era, the commoners were still largely in the same position. However, the new nobility soon began settling with and intermixing with the serf population due to many reasons, a majority of them economic in nature, or out of simple convenience. Their offspring however often inherited the legal and social position and persona of their noble parent, resulting in an increase is yeomen and freemen populations, in particular outside of the cities. By the 2300s SH, such segments of the population were numerous enough to threaten the entire social order and economy of the realm. This was further worsened and intensified by the newly powerful and united Hanseatic cities which were at the height of their power during the same time and which were quite keen on abolishing the vestiges of feudalism and manorialism in Prutenia in favour of a more liberal social system promoting mobility. The twenty-fourth century SH was largely characterised by these social unrests and conflicts caused by the legal and economic injustice inherent to the Pelagian government systems and sociopolitical organisation. The Leopoldine, however, were not capable of taming their diverse and newly awakened realm and were soon replaced by a new dynasty, the Fredericians, in 2394 SH.

Frederician era (2394 SH to 2608 SH)

In many regards the Fredericians were quite different from their predecessors. Unlike almost all previous groups, they didn’t not hail from a noble house or urban merchant upper class family, but from a monastic order of hesychasts turned school. Specifically, the Flamenfechter school of fencing, a martial arts school and centre of education rolled in one, whose headquarters had become the first officially sanctioned Pruton Polymatheon just three centuries earlier. The founder of the Fredericians won the throne and crown in a divine duel with the last Leopoldine, in the typical Heliandist tradition as performed and sanctioned by Wulfila himself. Friedrich von Licht (Frederick of Light), debated the last Leopoldine and won with wit and cunning all arguments, proving that the Basel had committed Wulfila’s sin and had to renounce his right on the crown. Friedrich then challenged him to a sword duel and triumphed both over the Basel, his Judicial Champion whom he had to fight first, and one of the Hochmeisters of the Orders who claimed that Friedrich wasn’t granted grace and God’s blessing to rule. He defeated all of them on the same day without a pause. Come next sunrise, he was crowned Basel. In addition to their rather unusual ascension to the throne, which caused quite a bit of controversy both domestically and abroad, they also largely ignored the previous policies of reforming the sociopolitical organisation of the realm, but concentrated mostly on legal, cultural, and socioeconomic equality and aspects of life.

One of the strongest reforms taken by the Fredericians was the legal abolishment of feudalism, manorialism, and pronoianism in Prutenia. This effectively eliminated the legal and official sanction of serfdom, although the peasants were still de facto tied to their land and lords. The Fredericians also excluded political status and influence as a basis for attaining offices and position and introduced a merit-based system. This provoked very strong opposition from conservative and reactionary elements in society. In 2467 SH the “Steel rebellion” broke out, and a vast number of knights and orders marched on Baselburg to depose the Fredericians. While the Imperial capital was under siege, an effective civil war was harassing the realm. The Fredericians only barely managed to beat to rebels, but they had to compromise with them for the sake of peace and stability. Some of the reforms were rolled back, but by and large the reforms had already found traction in society. While legally everyone was enfranchised, the reality was quite different. Those who were already rich and educated already had all the necessary advantages to remain in power, while the commoners were hardly in a position to change their lot in life. Nevertheless, the new Frederician model loosened social, legal, and cultural restrictions on advancement within society and enabled badly need fresh blood to enter the scene, thus starting the end and decline of the chivalric age of Prutenia and the influence of knights.

The later Fredericians would turn from idealists to shrewd machiavellists. They kept the orders in check by removing their political power and forcing the Hochmeisters to live in Baselburg in the court, hence cutting of the Orders’ leadership from their powerbase and making them compete for the Basel’s favour in petty court rivalries. The Hansa was kept in line by controlling their access to the market and by “adopting” their scions into the Imperial family, thus holding a large pool of political hostages from powerful Hanseats in the court. Universal conscription also became the norm, enticing young men from poorer and rural background into joining the army and staying there to build a career and escape their poverty and misery. They competed with the professional warriors of yore and mercenaries over work and pay, keeping everything balanced. If the Leopoldine Empire was centralised then the Frederician Empire was practically an absolute monarchy completely invested in the divine sovereign. Even in earlier ages Baselburg was the seat of power, one way or another, but the Fredericians were true autocrats who practically were the state with the entire political, economic, and cultural process revolving around the person of the monarch and sovereign, while any potential opposition was ruthlessly, yet subtly kept in line. It’s no small wonder that Frederician rulers had the highest rate of attempted assassinations on their heads out of any of the other dynasties.

The Fredericians did however have a strong sense of duty and were capable and cunning rulers who furthered Prutenia’s interests abroad and strengthened it internally with various social and economic projects. Maritime explorations of the Notalian hemisphere, increased diplomatic activity in the Pelagic, and even expeditions to the Boreal hemisphere were on the agenda, all efforts to increase Prutenia’s prestige and power and by extension their own. Their interest in academic fields and promotion of merit-based sociopolitical organisation, economic liberties, and innovation directly and positively influenced the development of science and scientific thinking in Prutenia, leading to a formalisation of the scientific method and later embracing of the Enlightenment movement and scientific revolution. However, their tyrannical stranglehold on power and absolute authority was increasingly challenged by both exceptional individuals from various groups as well as the population as a whole. The promotion of absolutism, as enlightened as it was, didn’t found support among the Prutons. Their court also turned into a decadent institution of pettiness and nepotism, as in their struggle to increase their power they more and more relied on loyal cronies rather than capable individuals like their earlier members did. While the prutons were slowly awakening and started seeing the light, the Fredericians became more and more a shadow of their idealistic former selves. There was also still the issue of the vast difference between the urbanised, enlightened, hanseatic east, and the rural, traditional, chivalric west, which both resisted the central authority and increasing tyranny of Baselburg in their peculiar ways.

The hypocrisy of the Fredericians and the beginning of the west-east conflict was exposed and started with the “Declaration of Tuisburg” in 2517 SH. A hesychast monk and scholar, Johann “Eleutheros” Leuther, declared in several theses that the Pruton Empire had become a mockery of a Heliandist state and realm, that the people were letting tyrants rule them and Orders define their faith, and that apostates and heretics were roaming free while the faithful covered in fear and complacency. This message sparked serious debate in Prutenia, and with the recent invention and introduction of printing press and the already established printing industry in the east, his message spread fast and wide in an unprecedentedly quick manner, with the theses being nailed on schools’, polymatheons’, and temples’ doors all over Prutenia. Leuther’s Exposure was known all over the realm within the same year and the people were debating its merits. This only aggravated both the Fredericians and their supporters as well as the opponents as it made perfectly clear that a large reformation of society was needed. The Fredericians saw the east as a lost cause, as it was the first to be hit by the Exposure and started revolting. Instead, the Basels tried to strengthen ties with the west and the Orders, facilitating and mediating between them and slowly building a united Church to support their claim to the throne. In 2526 SH, Johann Leuther was invited to Baselburg to justify his accusations. However, he arrested as soon as he arrived in the capital and tried as a heretic and apostate. He refused to yield to the Basel’s authority and admit his guilt and was subsequently burned at the stake.

This sparked the Leutherite Wars, which lasted until 2540 SH, and were mostly fought between the supporters of Leuther and the opponents, while the entire religious issue was used as a distraction by the besieged Fredericians. By playing each side against each other, they managed to regain control of the realm. Sporadic violence and conflicts broke out every now and then, but no major campaigns were fought, as the movements began crystallising into the Ragnaist Church and the Hesychast Antinomists. The Basel’s effectively placed their faith into the new Church and accused the antinomists as being anti-social criminals and heretics wishing to wrestle power from the rightful authority for their own personal gain. A systematic persecution of Leutherites started all over the realm, with the larger urban centres and the northeast heavily resisting these campaigns. The Orders of Knights which were previously guarding the borders of Prutenia were now involved in internal cleansing marches. Mercenary bands and groups profited the most, as they were more and more used to fight proxy wars against the other group. Foreigners started getting involved as well, also mostly for the coin. While initially more numerous, the Antinomists lacked a central command structure and united front and couldn’t effectively withstand the Basels’ attempts to eradicate them. The breaking point was the Battle of Reutz in 2559 SH in which the largest concentration of Antinomist forces was broken and scattered. Skirmishes, raid, and guerilla warfare intensified after this event, and a sharp increase in crime, violence, and general profiteering was noticeable as well. In 2561 SH, the Peace of Treuburg was signed, allowing Antinomists freedom of religion in exchange for ceasing all hostilities and accepting the Basel as the protector of faith. Oaths were exchanged and peace returned to the lands, although the calm on the surface was just hiding a powder keg waiting to blow up.

With the increased authority of both Church and Basel, Prutenia was heading in a more and more anti-Leutherite direction. The urban centres on the pelagic coast effectively decalred themselves independent republics, “Freistaaten”, and returned to their city state roots. Half-hearted campaigns against these new city states under antinomist influence were unsuccessful and stopped by 2587 SH, when it became evident that the antinomists would return to their guerilla activities. The next twenty years saw a rise in tensions, a strengthening of the Ragnaists, and a change in rulers, with the much more aggressive, religious, and militant Friedrich Emil the Dark replacing his peaceful father on the throne in 2598 SH. By 2604 SH the new Basel was sanctioning unofficial cleansing marches against antinomists strongholds and made an alliance with the Hesperians and their King, the archrivals of the Hansa and the new City States, hoping to force them to return to the fold. Two years later, Friedrich Emil announced that the Leutherite Heresy has been suffered long enough and that the divided Prutenia had to be reunited again under one rightful God and one rightful representative of the divine on earth. The “Ultimatium of Basel”, often called the Basel-Diktat was rejected by the antinomists and considered a breaking of the Peace of Treuburg. With the effective mobilisation of the Imperial Army over the next year, the intent of the Basel to violate the Peace of Treuburg was obvious. A official cleansing march was declared, calling all Heliandists to participate and eliminate the heretics. One last offer of surrender was made by the Basel, which the antinomists firmly rejected, and proclaimed that God will either vindicate their rebellion and return to Heliandist roots or punish them for their hubris, not a mere man. Friedrich Emil promptly declared the rebels to be moonstruck, an epithet which would come to haunt him later, as the lunar metal was adopted as a unifying symbol and colour of the newly formed Silver League.

The War of Siblings (2608 SH to 2648 SH)

With two sides clearly defined and mobilized for war, the conflict was inevitable. In 2608 SH the Imperial forces clashed with the Silver League and the two groups waged a war for forty years in which entire areas of the realm were utterly devastated and depopulated, the Pruton Empire ceased to exist, and a political tradition of two millennia was irreparably ended with the death of the last Basel and the final capture of Baselburg by the Silver league in 2646 SH. The war only ended in 2648 SH, with the Peace of Teutschberg, resulting in the official split of the Empire in West Prutenia, called Mesonyktia, and East Prutenia, called Neo Prutenia. This also formalised the split between Ragnaist Heliandism, championed by Mesonyktia, and Silver Heliandism, embraced by Neo Prutenia. Both parties were severely devastated and it took decades to recover from the shock. The hundred years of extensive rivalry between the two sides did not help in the recovery process.

The sheer effect of the damage, length of the conflict, and price of recovery cost Prutenia a colonial empire and a leading position in the world. With the enlightenment movement in full swing and the scientific revolution, the rivalry between the Pruton siblings caused the most brilliant minds of the nations’ and their resources to be spent on petty conflicts, revanchism, military matters, and pointless competition. It would take both nations another hundred years to finally put their differences aside and reassume their leading positions in the world again during the industrial revolutions and the following centuries, turning into the modern developed nations and regional powers. The aftershock of the Geschwisterkrieg, the War of Siblings, or the Forty years War as it’s sometimes called in academic circles, can still be observed in the cultural, political, and social differences between the Mesonyktians and Prut. Exact differences and a comprehensive overview and summary of the nations’ development after 2648 SH follows.

[Neo Prutenia]

“Hinter uns vergeht, was noch gestern galt...“

”After us ends, what til yesterday was…”

- Prut Folksong

Neo Prutenia – Haupt, Hand, und Herz

Neo Prutenia – Head, Hand, and Heart

The main part of the Prut Meritocracy, Neo Prutenia is the most populous, largest, and most influential part of the Union, and the strongest singular realm. The ethnic Prut(ons) of Neo Prutenia are the precursors and ideological fathers of the Prut Meritocracy, the name givers, and the most influential group within it. They also enjoy a high plurality in the demographic sense, only recently having being surpassed as the majority ethnolinguistic group of the Prut Meritocracy. Within the union, and abroad, the natives of Neo Prutenia are what everyone imagines when they think of Prut. The Low Prut language, religion, popular culture, and Weltanschauung are the defining traits of Prut general identity. Because of its size, economic and political power, and very advanced industry and infrastructure, Neo Prutenia is referred to as the Head (Leader), Hand (Industry), and Heart (Engine) of the whole Prut Meritocracy. The overwhelming presence of this realm is felt strongly enough, that “Neo Prutenia” is frequently used as a synecdoche for the whole Prut Meritocracy, although never in official capacity or formal settings.

The realm of Neo Prutenia is one of the main communication, transportation, production, and trade hubs of Nyktogeios and the Notos in general. The entire Notalian hemisphere is crisscrossed with old Prut trade lanes and ports. This is part of the Hanseatic legacy of Neo Prutenia, and an era where dominance of the seas was a primary goal of the then Prut. Furthermore, Neo Prutenia is regarded as the place of birth of Heliandism, one of the major world religions, as the scholarly city of Vineta, the Holy City of Heliandism, is located in this realm. Even more so, Neo Prutenia is also the point of origin and undisputed centre of Silver Heliandism, the most Antinomian and Liberal Redaction of Heliandism. Much of everyday culture and mentality of the locals and the realm are thus influenced by this religion. As a Hanseatic nation, Neo Prutenia also played an important role in the development of economic and commercial thoughts of the world. The most significant contribution to the world community, at least according to Prut, is Freihandeln, or Free Acting, the fundamental political ideology of the Prut Meritocracy, and one of the strongest streams of anarchism in Kosmopol.

Neo Prutenia has officially existed as a sovereign political entity from the end of the War of Siblings with the signing of the Peace of Teutschberg in 2648 to the founding of the Prut Meritocracy in 2949, a span of just over three centuries. Taking into account the Leutherite rebels and Pelagian age Hansa, as well as several Stem Duchies, and some free Pruton cities, which were all predecessors of the Prut and Neo Prutenia, Prut history stretches roughly from the mid-Leopoldine dynasty and early Hansa. Neo Prutenia shares a common history and origin with Mesonyktia, with both having been the main parts of the Pruton Empire until the War of Siblings broke out and finally ended the cracked Empire. During the war, the two realms were referred to as West Prutenia and East Prutenia, with East Prutenia becoming Neo Prutenia after the war. Prut history is named after certain periods, specific spans of time which share a set of common characteristics. They follow in chronological order.

Heer, Hanse, Heliand (2517 SH – 2650 SH)
Beginning of the “Hansestaat Neu Prutenien”

The founding period, traditionally its first year is 2517 SH, the year the Declaration of Tuisburg was made public. This signalled the beginning of the Leutherite rebellions, which were quickly spread over the entire realm thanks to the printing press. Subsequently, the Leutherites were pacified with the Treaty of Treuburg in 2561 SH. The Silver League was formed in 2587 SH, then just an informal agreement between the cities of Lieblich, Marienburg, and Vineta, the main centres of Silver Heliandism. The entire time span was marked by constant low-intensity religious conflicts and confrontations between the urban centres vying for autonomy and the central powers of the Basels in Baselburg. The persecutions culminated in the War of Siblings, which resulted in a pyrrhic Silver victory, led by the Silver League which managed to organise considerable forces and direct the random silver and antinomian factions into one coherent bloc.

Die Sieben Silber-Städte, or The Seven Silver Cities, are the chief founding city-states of Neo Prutenia and were the leaders of the Silberbund, the Silver League, the political and military union of all Silver Heliandist forces and factions during the War of Siblings. After the end of the War of Siblings in 2648 SH, the Seven Silver Cities formed one political entity and incorporated the rest of the “Silver Heliandist”-controlled former Pruton Empire into their new state. This state would be called Hansestaat Neu Prutenien, or Hanseatic Republic of Neo Prutenia, often being just abbreviated to Neo Prutenia, or more informally East Prutenia. The Seven Silver Cities still exist today, and are traditionally ordered from north to south: Zelisch, Friedrichsberg, Königsstein, Vineta, Marienburg, Lieblich, and Rabenstein. Lieblich is still considered the honorary “Queen” of the League and chief city of the Hanse in the cultural and administrative sense. As the economic and financial driving force of the Hanse, Zelisch has taken over and is the main city of the entire Prut Meritocracy in that regard.

This period was very much formative for the Prut, being easily described and condensed into the three leading concepts and thoughts. The Heer (Army) was formed as a professional force consisting of citizen-soldiers, opposed to the knightly and mercenary career soldiers of before. The Prut still pride themselves on their citizen-soldier model. The Hanse (Hansa) was consolidated as the main cultural and political force behind Prut statesmanship and civic thinking, being both an alternative to traditional power structures, hierarchy, and monarchy. Prut republicanism was born out of the Hanseatic legacy. Later on, the same line of thinking would create Prut anarchism. Finally, the Heliand (Religion) offers the mythological, spiritual, and cultural background to the ethnogenesis of the Prut identity, representing a society founded on Freedom of Religion and Conscience, as well as the Enlightenment ideas of that era.

Kaserne, Kontor, Klassenzimmer (2650 SH – 2830 SH)

Colloquially referred to as the Kontor era, it’s the span immediately following the War of Siblings, all the way to the later industrial and scientific revolution. This period was characterised by Prut attempts to expand their influence abroad, mainly in the immediate Pelagic and the Boreal. It was marked by intensive rivalry with both Mesonyktia, which recovered from the War of Siblings roughly at the same pace as Neo Prutenia, and with Hesperia, which was a constant thorn in Prut eyes to increase their presence in the Pelagic basin and effectively prevented the Prut from penetrating into the Boreal in any permanent or meaningful capacity. The frustration caused by the conflicts from expanding abroad and the friction on the western border forced the early Prut into improving their own realm and becoming introspective and reflective. This led to various developments in diplomacy, trade, commerce, finance, economics, education, and warfare.

The Kontor system become the de facto method of Prut trade and colonisation, creating pockets of secure Prut interests and assets in foreign nations, while furthering international trade and communication. With Neo Prutenia no longer being able to rely on Mesonyktian markets and manpower, it could not pursue unilateral actions nor establish a reliable system of supplies, especially food and wood, which was easier to grow and access in the west. The Hanse’s best traders expanded the trade network and created several hubs of transportation to ensure the land’s wealth, while scholars toiled endlessly to find solutions to growing national problems. The Zeitgeist of the Prut Enlightenment was haunted by a deep existential crisis and survivalism, where gun, book, and sextant dictated everyday life and public consciousness.

The armies and navies of the rising Prut republic continued to be modelled after the experiences and doctrines developed during the War of Siblings; citizen-soldiers armed and trained professionally and drawn from the cities. Scholars and engineers conquered swamps and bogs, creating new arable lands, built canals and roads, and established many institutions of learning all over the realm, slowly but steadily turning all of Neo Prutenia into a school, fire temple, and workshop. Meanwhile, the Hanse spread Prut influence abroad, often with guile, sometimes with guns. The Prut became a nation of craftsmen, thinkers, soldiers, and merchants, trading their goods and expertise with the rest of Kosmopol.

The predecessors of the modern Prut industry would rise during this period. Neo Prutenia became famous for its many glass-houses producing high-quality forest glass in substantial quantities, its wine and alcohol industry, printing, instruments and tools, especially precision instruments, medical instruments, and optics, fishing and whaling. Its banking and finance sectors were also highly sophisticated, producing some of the first truly modern banks and stock exchanges. The Prut navy and Hanse merchant fleet also became a common presence in all seas and ports and a formidable and advanced force, making Prut vessels and ship-building sought after commodities.

The dwindling of whale oil as a power source, the cultural and religious taboo on large-scale use of wood as fuel, increase in population, running out of suitable space for watermills and windmills, and larger demands for goods and labour coupled with the already established Prut infrastructure and cultural trait of thinking and improvising around problems and obstacles soon created fertile ground for the Prut industrial revolution to start. The perfection of the steam engine as a reliable power source, the socioeconomic changes in the populace, the increase in efficiency and new methods in production and manufacturing, gradually resulted in the large-scale industrialisation of Neo Prutenia, the effects of which only started to properly be felt by the start 29th century SH and the dawn of the new age of Neo Prutenia.

Stahl, Strom, Sturm (2830 SH – 2920 SH)

The last grand age of a solitary Neo Prutenia in the pre-meritocratic era, it was characterised by several political and ideological movements, social and societal changes, fast demographic growth and consequences, the awakening of the self-conscious Bürger, radicalisation, liberalism, anarchism, predatory politics, in both diplomacy and economics, and the eventual end of the Hanseatic Republic and the Prut State, who were subsequently replaced with the Prut Citizenry and the Freistaat Neo Prutenia in the first third of the 30th century. The culmination of the various events that took place in late modern Neo Prutenia is the contemporary Prut Meritocracy.

At large, it’s wrong to talk about “revolutions” and similar unstable and disorganised, or even haphazard happenings within the context of the Prut and Neo Prutenia. More than anything else, the Prut were always in a constant evolution, rather than experiencing revolution. In that regard, the radical and revolutionary impressions of this age are tempered by that fact; it was always a continuation of pre-existing conditions, circumstances, and causes. In a similar manner the printing press affecting the spread of Silver Heliandism and the birth of the Prut identity and ethnos, the railways spread new ideas and values. Neo Prutenia became once again a closer community bound by endless iron roads criss-crossing the land. The semaphore and telegraph communication systems, coupled with mass mobility and mass literacy gave rise to the new Prut, the enlightened commoner, who was distinctive from the previous Hanseatic city dweller and Kaufmann. No longer was the citizen another resource at the disposal of grand man, but a now-awakening force.

Industrialisation and urbanisation, in this period marked more with the physical expansion of cities rather than rural people moving to the cities, fundamentally changed the intellectual and mental world of the Prut in this period. Education and schooling became a requirement to negotiate the new Prutenia, mobility and information were a right that could no longer be denied or hindered, and the changes in labour and market forces necessitated a change in attitudes. The steel grip of the Hanse and the Silberbund were heavily loosened; no longer could the Kaufmänner and their Houses dominate the political landscape and guide the nation. For the first time in two centuries the Prut people experienced a struggle and internal conflict on par with the War of Siblings, the War between Estates, Ständestreit, the first class struggle of the Prut.

The War of Estates wasn’t a sudden event, nor does it have a definite start and end, although the take-off point is presumed to be the Bürgertag (Citizens’ Parliament) of 2848 SH, the first official challenge posed to the Hanse leadership. Under the influence from authors like Kaspar Sterner, Immanuel Macht, and Heinrich Angels, the doctrines of Freihandeln gained more and more traction among the population and intelligentsia. Reactionary elements rallied around Klemens Meddernick and later Gustav Waldersee. Internally, until the early 30th century SH, clashes between the estates were small scale riots, barricade building, pushes for reforms or changes, and strong debates. Escalations were rare and limited and always localised. The various movements crystallised into five distinctive factions, the Bewahrer (Preservers), the Gegenwirker (Reactionaries), the Radikalen (Radicals), the Gemeinschaftler (Communalists), and the Freihändler (Free Actors). By 2905 SH, each faction had established itself in various strongholds and the traditionalist and moderate Preservers lost their majority in the political landscape. The same year, the biggest uprising so far happened, the Sommertage, or Summer Days, when a collation of liberal forces blocked the Tagfahrt, the annual Hanseatic Assembly for over six months and demanded political and social changes. Violence broke out in the streets and the police and Blue Guards clashed with the rebels in the first Hürdenkampf (Barricade Battle) of many to follow, primarily in Königsstein and later in Zelisch as well, with peripheral conflicts in other population centres. While the Sommer Days ended in a Blue victory and the Hanse remained in power, the Silberbund was de jure dissolved and universal representation was introduced instead, a constitution was officially adopted, thereby de facto ending the Hanseatic Charter (Hanse Recht) as well.

The apparent peace was a very unstable one, as the Freihändler Blacks disagreed with the Constitution and how it was implemented, essentially resulting in the replacement of one hierarchy and state with another. The Constitution was forced through by a Preserver Blues and Communalist Whites political union, a fact the Blacks saw as a serious betrayal in the struggle. On the opposing side, the Reactionary Golds were categorically opposed to the new ‘common’ order and started forming their own Kampfverband, while simultaneously gaining traction and support from the more extremist elements of the Blues. The Radical Reds on the other hand denounced all other factions and campaigned for a libertarian reorganisation of Neo Prutenia. The Blue-White coalition managed to technically guide the nation despite rather pronounced internal differences, although their power was shaky at best and ineffectual. By 2916 SH, any semblance of Burgfrieden was over, although the Blacks never accepted the truce and refused to cooperate. The nation was divided into Farbenlager, the Coulour Camps, each on his own and all against all. After the Blue-White split, the Preservers fractured, one part forming the new Blue Camp headquartered in Königsstein, while the other parts joined the other factions. The biggest part joined the Gold Camp stationed in Rabenstein and the south. The White camp likewise suffered a minor split, with the main movement entrenched in Friedrichsberg and still retaining the plurality of all factions, while the splinter reconciled with the Black movement, which didn’t have a headquarter per se, but a strong presence in Vineta and Lieblich, via their strong ties with the Intelligentsia, the universities, student movements, and Engineers. The Reds had taken control of Zelisch during the Night of bloody hands, when they effectively assassinated the rest of the factions, and gained control of the north in general. In the spring of 2917 SH the Incident at Tiefbrunn finally sparked the Prut Civil War.

Boote, Bomben, Bürgerkrieg (2917 SH -2922 SH)

With the dissolution of the great coalition, the effective end of the Burgfrieden, and the disappearance of moderate factions in Prut politics, all out war broke out between the various factions. Initially the conflict had three sides: the White Camp, which had the plurality and aimed at creating a political community structured around common property and ownership, which would gradually become stateless and moneyless, and remain in control of their faction and leadership; the White Camp was opposed by the Blue-Gold Coalition which sponsored a return to the pre-2905 order and limited reforms, preferring a polity structured as a state with extensive private rights and merit based social hierarchy; the Black and Red movements were unaligned at the beginning, although they did cooperate in any manner – the Red movement eventually joined the Blue-Gold Coalition out of convenience, as they were ideologically and philosophically opposed to the White movement, leaving the Freihändler as lone faction which practically fought all four of the others since 2905 SH.

The war was characterised by mass armies, large-scale devastations, and immense clashes between White forces and the North-South Axis, as the Blue, Red, and Gold forces referred to themselves. Initially, the battlefields became very static, with heavily defended strong points and trenches dividing the nation. The White Forces enjoyed limited success, having managed to push north all the way to Zelisch and laying siege to the city, while pressing east into the vicinity of Königsstein. However, the southern forces pushed away the Black Banner Armies and besieged Lieblich and Vineta, while taking Marienburg, thus establishing a link with the Blue stronghold, and threatening the White forces with a two front scenario. In 2919 SH, the Krach took place, with the static front being broken for the first time. Both sides were too exhausted to continue assaults or offensives, but the White movements strategic warfare capacity had been eliminated. In the same year the NS-Axis’ lifeline was decisively cut when the Black Banner breached their lines, ended the sieges of Lieblich and Vineta and liberated Marienburg.

In Spring 2919 SH, the Grey Accord was signed, allying the White and Black forces under the lead of the Black Banner, forming the Grey forces. The Greycoat’s defining moment and symbol of defiance was the Spirit of Königsstein, the immense gallantry, bravery, ingenuity, and endurance shown during the liberation of the capital, in a battle which lasted two hundred days, involved over one million combatants, was mostly conducted in vicious street fighting, crammed spaces, and ended only in Winter 2920 SH, with the Greycoats winning. The battle was a strong display of Grey resolve and Freihändler determination. With central Neo Prutenia under Grey control, the Greycoats launched the Silver Offensive to capture Zelisch and the north. The brutality of Königsstein was matched and even surpassed here, as the flatlands of the north became a chemical battlefield, with poison clouds and panzer corps wasting the Prut breadbasket, the Goldlands, named after the endless wheat fields of the region. In 2921 SH Zelisch was captured and liberated in a daring naval assault and the Grey forces took the Silver lake. This signalled the start of the Long March, with all resources, supplies, and manpower being diverted to the Teutschwald and Rabentor, the only gateway to Rabenstein. In summer 2922 SH, the Greycoats began the assault through the gap between the mountains and the eastern edges of the forest, along the Wankel-Bessel canal, while at the same time a naval assault came from the east. The clash became famous for the various mountain operations and the Bergjäger troops, with the end result being the Fall of Rabenstein. In winter 2922 SH, the Prut Civil War ended in a Grey victory, and the Räterepublik Neo Prutenia was founded. The last effect of the war was the Grand Exile, where the losing side and everyone else interested was allowed to leave the nation.

There’s considerable debate as to why the progressive forces won the war and why the Freihändler became the dominant ideological stream despite the widespread popularity of the Gemeinschaftler and the many overlaps between the two systems. For one thing, the Freihändler group had fewer, but stronger ideological and philosophical fathers, and was more viable for the Silver Heliandist environment and sentiments prevailing in Neo Prutenia, while the Gemeinschaftler were more popular among Orthodox Heliandist groups. Even more so, the Freihändler were strongly supported by the students, universities, and educated strata of the nation, who also formed the core of their Freikorps. The Black community was thus more informed, idealistic, educated, and younger than their counterparts. The movement has been active for over two decades from the pre-2905 SH Summer Days to the end of the war, practising propaganda of deed and directing by example since then all the way to the end of the conflict and after. Considering that the movement formed and started gaining traction, at least among the Intelligentsia, since shortly after the Bürgertag, when the actual followers of Freihandeln started acting, it comes to no surprise that the consensus-building ideas of the Freihändler, their methods, and approaches became more widespread, popular, and refined.

Even when the war broke out in 2917 SH, when the initial Black Banner armies were pushed aside, they consolidated in the Teutschwald, Ash Alps, and eastern mountains, all the way propagating their ideas and gaining support. The Freihändler were also more skilled and adaptable to employing various means of communication, effectively using the printing press, telephone, telegraph, semaphores, and most iconic, the radio to their advantage. Wherever they went, invisible waves followed and information spread freely. On the battlefield, they outmanoeuvred and outsmarted foes by eschewing proven methods and reliable doctrines and using the new opportunities, like the aeroplane and submarine. After retaking Lieblich, the city’s factories began frantically producing new aeroplanes, synthetic fuels, and weapons for the cause. The Black Banner managed to form a comprehensive and encrypted communication system which enabled them to be highly mobile and hard hitting in the field, striking from the air and land, swarming over their foes and retreating, with enviable coordination and flexibility. On their own merits, knowledge, skill, and expertise were their main advantages. Later, after Vineta joined the Black side and Marienburg was captured, the shipyards in this city were used to construct a submarine flotilla to harass NS-Axis shipping and cut of supplies from the various Kontors. When the White forces were already exhausted, the Black Banner enjoined aerial supremacy and sea superiority, while their emphasis on mobility, infiltration, and flexibility kept opposing land forces from overwhelming them.

With the formation of the Grey forces, the numbers added by the Whites gave the Greycoats the decisive factor to win in the war from a strategic point of view. The Greycoats by and large adopted the Freikorps model as the basis for units, and the Black Banner tactics and techniques. Adaptability and the production capacity advocated by the Whites only strengthened and tempered their warfare capacity further. In the northern plain, panzers and artillery supplemented from air proved decisively and eventually defeated the chemical clouds of the Reds. Once the north was under Grey control, the progressive forces had the majority of the territory and population, the major production centres, almost all the vital resources, and the momentum of war on their side. The push south just became a formality, albeit one that again cost many lives.

However, more than anything else, the Freihändler movement managed to produce something considered unique in the modern world and politics, a consensus constitution based around voluntary association, participatory citizenship, and stateless, non-hierarchic political organisation, which they legitimised by gathering over forty million signatures during the period from 2905 SH to 2921 SH. This document was voluntarily accepted and signed by two thirds of the entire population, and by over 90% of the adult population capable of voting and participating in public and political capacity. The Vineta Archives still house the original documents and signatures, as well as all the new ones gathered from new citizens becoming Prut every year when they become adults. This made Neo Prutenia the only proven legitimate public authority based on voluntary association. The same principles and methods would later be employed in the formation of the Prut Meritocracy, when the same signatures and consensus-building process was employed to form a union with Hesperia and Raion no kuni.

Würde, Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft (2922 SH – +2950 SH)
Beginning of the "Räterepublik Neo Prutenia"

The last and current era of Neo Prutenia, assumed to continue within the joint Prut Meritocracy history and present, was marked by growth, stability, dignity, and socioeconomic innovation. The guiding political and civic principle became dignity, exemplified in the Prut Law and the cultural concepts of Zack and Zog. The new society was initially structured as a stateless Räterepublik, a nation without state, although the political councils were replaced by legal corporations (Körperschaft) of various types by the 2930s SH. Freihandlen became the dominant ideology and political orientation, coupled with a healthy and rational inclement towards ideological and political pluralism and syncretism, as well as tolerance. On the political and civic spectrum, the new Prut considered themselves the only free, kettenfrei or chainless sovereign group in Kosmopol, living in a functioning, organised, and orderly anarchy and associating voluntarily and freely. Structured horizontally, the new system of public affairs and administration grew from experimental forms and small-scale units into a sleek, efficient, and transparent body and institution of governance and husbandry of resources.

The most visible and apparent changes were the socioeconomic restructurings of the realm along organic, natural corporate and communal lines. The first concept that was abolished was the relation of labourer and work provider; in leaning on the new non-hierarchic principles, the new Prut refused to work for someone. Instead, people either worked alone, or with others, sharing collectively in the fruits of their work, and jointly managing and owning their means of production, sharing labour and responsibility, as well as profit, and managed their enterprise by consensus and along Hanseatic market principles and pruto-heliandist meritocratic ideals. This in turn led to a blooming of at first small and medium businesses, which later, as organisation and communication improved, and the needs of the market necessitated, grew into large communal economic corporations. The Prut economy became extremely mobile, fluid, and self-regulating, with the only legal regulation being environmental concerns and consumer protection. The Prut internal market thus became extremely competitive, organic, and interconnected. Without a caste of workers, a proletariate, separate from a cast of non-contributing managers, a bourgeoisie, the Estate and class system was finally overcome, and everyone could and would participate equally and according to their individual merits, with all participants having great self-interest at stake in the wellbeing, success, and prosperity of ‘their’ and actually their corporation, regardless of size.

This essentially vindicated the meritocratic approach of the Freihändler, as opposed to the democratic ideals of the Gemeinschaftler, although modern sociologists and analysts suggest that the cultural and social traits of the Prut in general tend towards meritocracy as an ideology, rather than democracy, citing the Hanseatic, Pruto-Heliandist, and Freikorps and War of Estates experiences, traditions, and legacies as the main factors which shaped the early Prut Weltanschauung. From a cultural perspective, solidarity and cooperation, two traits having been taught in Prut schools since the first Heliandist holy fires were lit, may have been key components in the success story, but a healthy rationality and pragmatic solutions and thinking dominated problem-solving and decisions then and still today. The beginning of the last century if the third millennium also brought a certain mystique to it, as well as an attitude that science and technology will eventually solve problems. This same technophilia and love of knowledge, after all, enabled the Black Banner and the Freihändler to actually win in the civil war.

One can easily see the same traits and events influencing the contemporary Prut Meritocracy, all the way from the beginning. Neo Prutenia was indirectly involved in the Hesperian Civil War, and later joined directly as well, but it mainly concentrated on ideological and political guidance and materiel support. In the end, the involvement would prove prudent, as it resulted in a union and the founding of the Prut Meritocracy as an entirely new polity, political corporation, legal and sovereign entity, and a tacit continuation of the Prut Freistaat and Räterepublik. In the last days of 2949 SH, Neo Prutenia ceased to legally exist as a separate sovereign nation and became a founding member and administrative realm of the transnational Prut Meritocracy.