Illu'a

The United Republic of Illu'a is a federal constitutional republic comprised of five provinces. The nation is located off the coast of western North America, along its sole neighbor, Lower Columbia. Lower Columbia is to the east of Illu'a across the Adraman Channel.

Geography
The heartland of Illu'a spans the central portion of Illu'a Island, from the Colbitz River leading to the Pacific Ocean to the Palmona Bay bordering the Adraman Sea. To the north of the heartland is the Abbot Mountain Range, which separates the northern forests from the heartland. The country also includes the southern mountains, fertile farmland throughout, and scattered areas of wilderness. Illu'a's highest point is the summit of Mount Marsh, 5,729 feet (1,746 m) above sea level. The AIN nation of Lower Columbia lies across the Adraman Channel at an average distance of about 100 miles.

Climatic conditions are generally the same throughout the country. Illu'a is mostly a temperate rain-forest, with warm summers, cool winters, and high annual rainfall. Up on the higher mountains, the climate is snowy. The most common natural hazards in the nation are volcanoes, flooding, forest fires, and tsunamis.

Founding of Two Nations: 1530s-1779
Before the founding of any nations in the area, ships with persecuted Christians landed on the island of Illu', mostly from Europe and East Asia. Around 20 years later, the majority of Christian settlers arrived in the North American mainland. The immigrants in Illu'a mostly decided to create new cities, including the three major towns of Colbitz, Daloa, and Strathmore. While natives were at first welcoming of the settlers, increasing troubles over land heightened tensions with the natives.

The settlers of Illu'a and the Pacific Northwest rejected colonial powers, claiming them as oppressors. However, two nations proclaimed self-government on the island within a year of each other. In 1716, British descendants in northern Illu'a gathered drafted a new constitution proclaimed the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Reizga. Thomas Fisher, an important writer of the constitution, was chosen as king. One month later, French descendants declared the country of the Monarchie de Illu'a centrale (Central Illu'a), which claimed the central and southwest portions of the island. Central Illu'a chose Normand de Chateaub to be King and head of Parliament.

Reizga had their official coronation ceremony in Reizga on October 14, 1717. Central Illu'a constructed parliamentary buildings at the edge of a town called Colbitz, but didn't have a coronation ceremony. Both Reizga and Central Illu'a acknowledged each other as sovereign nations, and free trade commenced between the two nations.

King Thomas and King Normand both maintained the status quo in both kingdoms until both leaders died in 1729 and 1735 respectively. The city of Reizga was renamed to its English translation, Red Rock. Other than those two events, both royal families had two more Kings until border conflicts arose.

The Unification: 1779-1781
In 1799, Prince Vernon of Lamballe commenced construction of a personal estate on Sacré hill to the south of the Trinicum River. Reizga defined their southern border as the 47th parallel, while Central Illu'a defined their northern border by the Trinicum River. Sacré Hill fell under both of these border plans. When authorities at Red Rock heard of the news, they ordered an ultimatum of two weeks before they remove the Central Illu'ans by force. Central Illu'a likewise ordered the Reizgaites to move north of the river. Prince Vernon remained adamant about giving up his future estate, and Reizga wanted to keep fertile farmland.

On 31 March 1779, King Richmond of Reizga declared war on Central Illu'a for the diputed territory. The Reizgaite Army captured Sacré hill and the surrounding countryside the following day. The Central Illu'an Parliament was in political gridlock over the best course of action to take against Reizga. Some members of Parliament wanted to simply secede the territory, while others had hostile intentions. While deciding on their next move, the Reizgaite Army and militia units regained control over all land north of the 47th parallel.

Politics
Illu'a is a bicameral constitutional republic and representative democracy. Elections are held every four years for the President, Vice President, and the House of Commons, and every six years for the Senate. Each province has 10 senators and an amount of representatives dependent on population for the House.

The President and Vice President are elected separately. Usually, both winners of the election are in the same party, but there can be exceptions. The President gets to appoint his own cabinet, but all cabinet members cannot be senators and must be approved by the senate with a majority vote.