The Northshire Republic/The Oatbarton Confederation[]
The Northshire Republic, led by James Turpin, was a faction/nation that encompasses the Shire Moors, parts of Eriador, Midgewater, Buckland, and Parts of the regular Shire. It consisted of nine counties: Nortshire, Louna-vabasire, Ida Vabasire, Buckland, Midgewater, Valis-Eri Vabamaa, Mets-Eri Vabamaa, Lääs-Eri Vabamaa and Metsa-Sire the capital was Oatbarton. It had a theocratic government, in which two churches are recognized: the Shire Protestant Reformed Church and Beorngeleafa. It had a relatively small population, and was likely the poorest faction. The NsR first started as a group of bandits who desired to separate from the Shire. The Northshire Republic was stated as separate from the Shire in 1409, and granted independence in 1410 by the Shire. When this happened, the Republic was put on the world stage. At this point in time, the NsR was composed solely of the Shire Moors. The Northshire Republic claimed Midgewater as a colony, and then, after meeting with both Thain Vibiras (Leader of the Shire) and Hell Metallicus (Leader of the Dunedain), it grew to its largest size. It had alliances with the Elves, the Shire, the Rangers, and the Tauredain but they had had a rocky relationship with the Dwarves. This started with the NsR-Dwarven war of 1411, where under false reasons, the Dwarven army captured Oatbarton and burned the inside of the Great Capitol Church. Later on, the President and Defender of the Faith, James Turpin, had invited Andrew to the capital for a few days of feasting in return for a sum of 1000 coins. Inside of the Great Capitol Church, Andrew murdered the president and three of his friends who had gathered for the execution of Tom Bombadil. Later, Andrew bombed the capital and tried to burn the Center Pub. This attack had his lordship removed and he has been bound to a fine of 5000 coins.
Faction information before it's end:
| Leader | National Anthem | System of Government | Population | Military Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Turpin | Onwards My Comrades | Theocratic Republic | 5 | 3 |
Geography and Regional Governance[]
The NsR after the new added Counties, became the Oatbarton Confederation. Under the new arrangement, the NsR was the first of nine equal states in the Oatbarton Confederation. This was centered in Oatbarton as the name implies, and in all fact, all the states are really dominated by the NsR.
Each county has a Laird. Each Laird pays 2000 coins, and in return, the Laird is able to rule the region as an independent part of the Northshire Republic. Within counties, a Lord is able to buy lordship of a part of a county for 500 coins to 1000 coins depending on the size of the area taken. Terms for obtaining either are these:
- A Lord or Laird must be an allied player or citizen of an allied faction.
- Besides being an ally, a Lord or Laird must also not have committed a truly egregious crime against the state.
- The money must be paid in coins, no other payment method is accepted without express permission form.
History[]
The NsR was founded 1405, but was officially granted independence in 1410. In 1406, the NsR had adopted a Constitution, and when the city of Oatbarton was started in 1410, plans were made to build a presidential palace, residential areas a public square and a place for disposing of criminals. Tterrag1112 was charged thus with the construction of the city and granted the right of Mayor and Lord of Oatbarton. At the same time, Andrew, a Gray Dwarf, was allowed Lordship of Needlehole, or Needleburg as the NsR officially labeled it. He was often given honors by the Republic, and at some point thought about converting to the national Beorngealfa. This was before and after the Shirevolk-NsR war.
For a long time, the NsR had increasingly tense relations with the dwarves. This was brought further when the king of the Grey Dwarves claimed that the NsR had murdered dwarves and had stolen from Andrew. In fact, Andrew was in debt 2000 coins at the time. This thus caused a war: Aidan, Squatch and Speedy, equipped in the best possible armors, attacked Oatbarton. There were two defenders of the city: James Turpin and tterrag. James died and quickly, the dwarves took the town. This was the First Oatbarton Massacre. Later, the NsR asked the dwarves for an alliance as to clean the problem, it was refused. Then, the NsR started the "Our Land" policy, where they obtained lands from the Dunedain and the Hobbits of the Shire and of Buckland. By this time, they bought Buckland, Bought parts of the Shire and allied with the Dunedain. The NsR then started a crusade on Yule 1412, this was effective and brought them wealth and new goods that had never been seen before. This was adjacent to and related to a war between the Dwarves and Harad.
On a day in the Oatbarton Church, Andrew was invited to a feast. There, four bandits came into the church and were killed. In the crossfire, Andrew used it as an opportunity to murder the president. Besides the president, he killed three others. This was the Second Oatbarton Massacre. A day later, there was a bombing of the road, a bombing of the Oatbarton Bridge and an attempted fire in the Oatbarton Pub. Andrew was responsible and punished. Because of that, he lost his Position as Lord of Needlehead, and is forced a fine of 5000 coins. There is speculation among certain citizens of the NsR that it was a greater conspiracy and not just the act of an individual, but this is a contested thought. This was met with more desire for alliance, however, this was refused.
Dunland-Shirevolk war[]
After this situation, the Northshire Republic had a short period of stability until the end of the year 1412. At the beginning of 1413, due to diplomatic mistakes, Dunland, led by the brave Evil_Mogwai, declared war on the Republic. The war was to take place in Oatbarton in the form of a siege. The Shirevolker and Dunlending forces had a period of ten days to prepare for the battle. Both sides had strong international support: The defenders drew support from Fangorn, the Uruk-Hai, Celleborn, Lothlorien, the Island Kingdom, certain Dwarves, Gundabad, the Presidential Militia, and the Freikorps-Heervolk-NSR led by Shamgo. On the other side, Dunland had a force of men from Harad, Durin's Folk, Gondor and others, however, unlike the NSR, Dunland had very little official support from other nations. The battle took place at the Oatbarton wall, the Shirevolken army was vastly outnumbered, however, they had a smashing victory. The battle took place on the twenty-fifth of Rethe, later being called Victory Day in the Republic. After the battle, Mogwai paid 15000 coins to James Turpin who used an amount of it to pay for the mercenaries who fought on his side. Besides this, Mogwai also demanded another battle be held, in Dunland. He said that if the Shirevolk army won, they would get dual rule of Dunland, Turpin and Mogwai being equal rulers of all of Dunland, Turpin getting to keep the Republic free of Dunland in all respects. In the end, the Second Battle of Oatbarton has also changed national opinion on the Dwarven Race. While before the battle there was much hate of Dwarves, (the Beorngeleafa preached that Dwarves were servants of the devil), Dwarves of all stripes have become far more popular and accepted. The official Shirevolke Church, Beorngeleafa has even distanced itself from the idea of dwarves serving the devil.
Before the Dunland-Shirevolk war, James Turpin had started the Jacobisian Monastic order, an order part of the Beorngeleafa Communion. They were dedicated to helping the poor. They constructed a monastery in Hobbiton, in it, there are still today many stores of food, leather and weaponry for poor people in need.
Religion[]
The NsR is a theocracy. There were two main religions however: the national church, Beorngeleafa, and the popular church, the Shire Protestant Reformed Church. The Chief holy document of Beorngeleafa is the Tüükeralding. Members of Beorngeleafa believe that Tochfilde created the universe and that his mortal enemy, Gorfending, corrupted dwarves, orcs and some people to fight him and his good. They believe that following the laws of Tochfilde will keep them with luck and joy, and, that an unknown group of the dwarves has been corrupted by a servant of Herobrine, Saidan. They thus have four primary evil figures: Gorfending as leader of evil, Herobrine, the corrupter and his servants Saidan, Saruman and Sauron. SPRC is also popular in Smaland.
NSR Policies on Non-Shirevolken People, Foreigners etc.[]
In the NSR, public opinion was devotedly anti-dwarven. It affects the language. A phrase for a bombing, or a general act of violence against property is a "Dwarven Building Project" (allusion to Oatbarton City Bombing). A common proverb is "A Dwarf is a devil but Shorter and Greedier." A common phrase for murder of innocents or the hospitable is a "Dwarven Party Favor" (in allusion to the Second Oatbarton Massacre).
Shirevolken, being slightly bandit and slightly hobbit, are a very particular group of people. Many policies by the government were very pro-Shirevolken and very anti-foreigner. This policy is very popular and has not earned it friends often.
National Symbols[]
The flag of the Northshire Republic, seen flying over certain structures, is a blue field with a white cross in the middle and a yellow diamond. This flag is said to be a stylized version of what the ascension of Tochfilde looked like. Other national symbols include the hat of the Republic, the Thistle, the Bluebell, the Head of James Turpin, the Oatbarton Church, the High Elven Banner, and the Simbelmyne, as it is viewed as similar to the flag. Soldiers have been known to bring them into battle and to throw them on the graves of the fallen on both sides. The uniform of the Shirevolke Soldier is the Republic hat (a black hat with a blue feather) and green tunic, trousers and black boots.
The lyrics of the Northshire Republic Anthem are as follows:
"On the plains where we fought
Foreign foes and foreign scum
Were subject to the Northern Force!
Onward to Glory Comrades,
Raise our banner high!
For our glory, we fight and we die!
For our glory, we fight and we die!"
"For our glory, we fight and we die!"
During the Shirevolk-Dunland war, (or the Patriot's War, as called by others), a song that grew into use was "Come And Fight Us, the Victory is ours!" A sample of the lyrics were gathered here:
In the city streets,
In the battlefield,
They fight us! They fight us! Victory is ours!
On the walls of Old Barton
In the forests of Dunland!
They fight us! They fight us! Victory is ours!
The traitors trembled!
The invaders fell!
They fight us! They fight us! Victory is ours!
"They Fight Us, the Victory is Ours"
The fall of the NsR[]
The NsR before it's fall[]
After the NsR was defeated by the Dunlendings the NsR was weakened. They had to spend a lot of money and resources on the war but they could not easily recover from this since they had a poor economy. Eventually relations in the NsR became very tense and most were starting to get worried.
The Fall[]
Some time after the NsR lost the last battle to Dunland in the the Shirevolk-Dunland war, James Turpin left the faction and went North to created a new faction known as the Northmen. After James Turpin left, the NsR was in chaos and many left the NsR to follow James Turpin. Almost immediately the NsR dissolved in a massive panic as the faction was leaderless and no other members who were still left were willing to take up the title as 'President and Defender of the Faith' and govern the NsR.