Ywarska

Ywarska (: 𑀬𑁆𑀯𑀸𑀭𑁆𑀰𑁆𑀓𑁂𑀫𑁆, Ywārśkeṃ), officially the Republic of Ywarska (Ywarskan: 𑀧𑁄 𑀬𑁆𑀧𑁄𑀬𑀺 𑀬𑁆𑀯𑀸𑀭𑁆𑀰𑁆𑀓𑁂𑀫𑁆, Po Ypoyi Ywārśkeṃ) is a sovereign state in Central Yoju, bordering Samaran and Yela to the west, Gyaser to the south, Komulia to the north, the Uzun Sea to the northwest, and the Damhae Sea to the east.

Ywarska is a country of sparsely-populated arid steppes and deserts, punctuated by occasional rivers and oases around which the cities in which most of the population lives sprang up. In a strategic location in Central Yoju, it is a historic crossroads of cultures, on the border between the steppe nomads to the north and sedentary city-dwellers to the south, and the Sinju-influenced cultures of the eastern coast and Napsal- and Tagol-influenced cultures of the western interior.

Etymology
Ywārśka (𑀬𑁆𑀯𑀸𑀭𑁆𑀰𑁆𑀓) means "in between" or "in the middle of" in both Ywarskan, and Akennean and refers to the geographical position of the country between the Damhae Sea to the southeast and the Uzun Sea to the northwest. The official name of the country is technically Ywārśkeṃ (𑀬𑁆𑀯𑀸𑀭𑁆𑀰𑁆𑀓𑁂𑀫𑁆) with keṃ meaning "land" for a meaning of "midland" (a contraction of the more grammatically correct Ywārśkāññe Keṃ, 𑀬𑁆𑀯𑀸𑀭𑁆𑀰𑁆𑀓𑀸𑀜𑁆𑀜𑁂 𑀓𑁂𑀫𑁆, "land in the middle of"), but simply "Ywarska" is much more often used in colloquial speech.

Po Ypoyi (𑀧𑁄 𑀬𑁆𑀧𑁄𑀬𑀺), the official translation of "republic", is an archaic stock phrase that literally translates to "all the people of the country" or "all the citizens".

Early history
The are an independent branch of the ; although they settled next to the  they are not directly related and historians believe they migrated from the Itihasic  to their present location via the eastern side of the Uzun Sea some time before 500 BCE. By the start of the common era, Ysamnic city-states and petty kingdoms dominated much of the land between the inner seas and the mountains.

Ysamna civilization
Located directly on one of the overland routes between the empires of Cheonje and Mennefer, as well as being a major source of jade for export to Cheonje, the Ysamnic states thrived as both empires did. was introduced in the second century CE and most Ysamnic states quickly converted, and the centrally-located region became instrumental in the further spread of Buddhism, and the school in particular, north and east into Sinju. The Ysamnic golden age around 500 CE coincides with the semi-official hegemony of the city-state of Kusi over the rest of the region.

The decline of Cheonje and the Takhuit dynasty and subsequently of the trade between them in the 700s and 800s struck a major blow to the Ysamnic states, and their own decline was further exacerbated by the migrations and invasions caused by the rise of the Heeradic Empire to the north in the 900s. Ysamnic territory was steadily eroded by Iranian peoples from the west and steppe invaders from the north and east, culminating in the sacking of Kusi around 950 and the narrowing of Ysamnic territory to the strip of land between the two inner seas (“Ywarska” meaning “between”).

Idiqut Khanate
Around 1000, the weakened Ysamnic city-states were conquered by the Jaatunist, -speaking people. The lasted for three centuries, with the Idiquts adopting elements of Ywarskan culture but mostly remaining a distinct ruling class, until fragmenting in the 1300s; the newly-autonomous (though sometimes still formally subject to the Idiqut) Ywarskan city-states were able to reassert Ywarskan culture in the period that followed.

Ooled Khanate
Ywarska was conquered once again in the 1500s, by the Heeradic-speaking, who established a state of their own, the , also remained distinct from the native people rather than assimilating; although they were also Buddhist, they were Vajrayana rather than the local Mahayana, and they stuck more closely to their ancestral nomadic lifestyle than the Idiquts.

In the late 1600s, amidst a succession crisis over the Ooled Khanate between rival Ooled clans, one of them appealed for aid to Nukigurun, which invaded the region and installed them as vassal rulers. A century later the Ooleds revolted against Nuki rule, and the Nukis responded by (leaving the Ywarskans as the dominant population in the region once again) and directly annexing the area.

Nuki rule
Initially Nukigurun was popularly seen as a liberator from Ooled domination and many Ywarskans were loyal to the Buddhist monarchy, but the Ywarskan economy began to be adversely affected by the diversion of most trade north to the Nuki heartland. Tensions were further inflamed by Nukigurun’s switch from the imperial monarchy rooted in religious legitimization to the First Republic and its emphasis on pan-Ergunic nationalism, from which the Itihasic Ywarskans were excluded, and a nationalist movement arose by the turn of the 20th century, at first advocating for autonomy and language revival but increasingly agitating for independence as the 1900s went on.

Independence
After Nukigurun’s defeat in the Great Eulhae War, Ywarska was granted its independence as a republic by the Allied Powers in 1944. It has spent much of the time since independence dominated by its founding party, combining nationalism, political Buddhism, a mixed economy, and a pro-Sinju foreign policy stance, and has remained a developing country.

Ywarska intervened military in favor of the Buddhist faction in the civil war in neighboring Samaran, a conflict that had a deep effect on Ywarskan politics, economy, and society, including an upsurge in political Buddhism culminating in the constitutional amendment declaring Ywarska an officially Buddhist state,...

Administrative divisions
Ywarska is divided into seven provinces corresponding to and named after its seven historic oasis-cities, though the eponymous cities are not always the administrative center of or largest city in their namesake provinces.

Politics
Although Ywarska is not officially a, it is generally considered to be a with the National Sangha Party as the  and most other legal political parties characterized as controlled opposition. The National Sangha Party (𑀬𑁆𑀧𑁄𑀬𑁂𑀲𑀦𑁆𑀖𑀸 𑀓𑁆𑀭𑀉𑀧𑁂, Ypoyesanghā Kraupe) follows an ideology of Ywarskan nationalism, political Buddhism, and (ostensibly) social democracy.

Largest cities
𑀢𑀭𑁆𑀓𑁃𑀭𑁆𑀭𑀺

Ethnicity
75% of the population is made up of the two branches of the, the Ywarskans proper (ywārśkāññe-śāmna, 𑀬𑁆𑀯𑀸𑀭𑁆𑀰𑁆𑀓𑀸𑀜𑁆𑀜𑁂 𑀰𑀸𑀫𑁆𑀦) and the Akenneans (akeññe-śāmna, 𑀅𑀓𑁂𑀜𑁆𑀜𑁂 𑀰𑀸𑀫𑁆𑀦); as Akenneans are officially classified as ethnic Ywarskans the exact proportions of each are not known but it is informally thought that 50-60% of the population is ethnic Ywarskan and 15-25% is Akennean. A further 10% of the population are, divided about evenly between and ; another 10% belong to the   people, and 5% belong to the   people. Most Akenneans, Samarese, and Hvatanai live in the west of the country while most Idiquts and Ooleds live in the north.

Language
The Ywarskan language (ywārśkāññe-kantwo, 𑀬𑁆𑀯𑀸𑀭𑁆𑀰𑁆𑀓𑀸𑀜𑁆𑀜𑁂 𑀓𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯𑁄), a member of the branch of the  language family, is the official language of the country as stipulated in the constitution, while the Akennean language (akeññe-kantwo, 𑀅𑀓𑁂𑀜𑁆𑀜𑁂 𑀓𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯𑁄; ārśi-käntu, 𑀆𑀭𑁆𑀰𑀺 𑀓𑁃𑀦𑁆𑀢𑀼), a closely related but not mutually intelligible Ysamnic language, has recognized status nationwide. These languages mark the northeastern limit of the Itihasic language zone. The, , , and languages each have co-official status in localities where their respective ethnic groups make up a majority or plurality of the population. First language use is closely correlated with ethnic identity while a large majority of the population can speak Ywarskan as at least a second language; many people can speak as a second or third language as well.

Ywarskan and Akennean are written in the, Hvatanai is written in the related script, Samarese and Idiqut are written in the , and Ooled and Nuki are written in the descended. The government has undertaken some attempts to standardize the use of Brahmi for all languages but they have not met with any notable success.

Religion
is constitutionally enshrined as the state religion and followed by up to 90% of the population. The larger number of Buddhists, including most ethnic Ywarskans along with Akenneans, Hvatanai, and Buddhist Samarese, follow the school, while the Ooled people and ethnic Ywarskans in the south follow the  school, although in folk practice the boundaries between the two schools are blurred and many people combine elements of both. Most of the remaining minority of the population, among the Idiqut people and some Samarese, follows Jaatunism. Although religious freedom is constitutionally guaranteed, many Jaatunists have complained of discrimination and persecution.

Ywarska regularly places highly among rankings of the most religiously observant countries and Buddhism profoundly shapes the Ywarskan way of life. A relatively large proportion of the population is ordained into, it is fairly for many men and some women to be temporarily ordained as or  as a rite of passage into adulthood, and  are widespread.

Many Ywarskans also continue to worship deities from the pre-Buddhist alongside Buddhist practices, especially the , who is often  with the   due to their shared attributes of mercy and compassion, as well as the   and the.

Cuisine
Ywarskan cuisine is part of and similar to that of neighboring countries, as well as the cuisines of Gyaser and Tagol. Rice, barley, dairy, and mutton form the basis of the Ywarskan diet. The main staple food is (𑀓𑁆𑀮𑀼𑀱𑁆𑀱 𑀱𑁆𑀯𑀻𑀬𑁂), rice porridge or gruel, which can be made sweet with milk as  or sour with yogurt or curd as. is a similar porridge made from toasted barley flour, mixed with butter and salt and sometimes shaped into or. Kanti (bread) is also a basic staple and comes in a variety of forms including (flatbread cooked in a tandoor) and  (steamed and twisted buns).

Many other dishes also use dough, such as (baked buns stuffed with ground meat),  (deep-fried noodles twisted into rings),  (meat-filled dumplings boiled in broth), and  (barley soup with dumplings). Other dishes include, small pieces of lamb roasted on skewers above charcoal; , rice simmered in stew with mutton, pickled vegetables, and dried fruits; , dried yogurt curds; and , mutton broth often served with bread or mixed with yakso to make  or with rice to make. Due to the prevalence of Buddhism, many Ywarskans follow a vegetarian diet, although the majority do not.

Grape wine (kuñi-mot) is a common beverage; the most notable local variety is, brewed in clay urns with spices like cloves and saffron, fruits like goji and mulberries, and most notoriously sometimes even raw lamb, chicken, pigeon, or pheasant meat and blood. Cagala is widely thought to have medicinal properties, and gathering a mixture of cagala brews is a common village ritual and celebration following the grape harvest. , beer brewed from barley or rice and served hot in winter, is also a popular drink.

Drama
Nāṭak (𑀦𑀸𑀝𑀓𑁆), or Ywarskan classical drama, has been performed for almost two thousand years, since the Ysamna civilization. It is largely derived from and shares many of its elements, particularly the foundational theory of  in which the fundamental goal of a performance is considered to be evoking specific moods (literally "flavors") in the audience, conveyed by the use of stock, , and characters, along with the incorporation of music and dance and the combination of poetry and prose, comedy and drama, and secular and religious Buddhist themes and content. The most highly esteemed and widely performed classical play is the religious drama or "Encounter with ". Folk theater (kuṣaiṣṣe nāṭak) is distinguished from classical nāṭak by its heavy influence from, seen in its use of colorful masks, simple dialogue, local amateur troupes, more comedy and satire, and more Gyaseran styles of music and dance.

Holidays
Ywarskans observe a Buddhist religious holiday on the full moon day of each month, known as the days, on which devotees visit temples and give to charity. The most important of these is (𑀧𑀜𑀏𑀓𑁆𑀡𑀘𑁆𑀫𑁂𑀮𑁆), celebrating the birth and enlightenment of the Buddha, followed in importance by the other "triple jewel holidays",  and. Beyond the major pälles, each oasis-city also has a particular pälle associated with it as a.

In addition to these religious observances, Ywarskans also celebrate the cultural holidays of (𑀦𑀇𑀫𑀜𑁆𑀜𑁂), the solar new year, celebrated when the sun enters Aires about a month after the vernal equinox as in much of Tagol;, the ghost festival, towards the end of summer; and , the festival of lights, towards the end of autumn. Naimaññe and Pañäktecmel fall about a month apart, in the middle of spring, and this period is Ywarska's main festive season of the year. Many people also celebrate the as a result of the Nuki occupation and wider Sinjuan cultural influence.

Music
The, an ancient kind of lute related and possibly ancestral to the Sinjuan , is the national instrument; other traditional instruments include the flute,  conch trumpet,  frame drum, and  kettle drum.

The is the  used in traditional secular Ywarskan music; there are twelve different meks, each with their own characteristic, rhythmic patterns, and melodic formulas. A mek consists of three main sections that get faster and faster as the progress and includes both and instrumentation and both  and composition. Meks are performed in many formal and informal settings, most notably the (literally "harvest festival" but also held at other special occasions), structured all-male gatherings featuring competitions to see who can play meks the fastest or dance to them for the longest along with other songs, skits, religious lectures, moral discourse, and community decision-making, therefore making the ñemek an important social and cultural institution in most villages.

Sports
Many traditional Ywarskan sports resemble those played in other central Yojuan steppe countries, including the team equestrian sport, the kritāṃ
 * tsänk-/sälk-/yärtt-