Cirréone

Second Commune of Cirréone
Flag of Cirréone
map of Cirréone in yellow, c. June 2024
Population	3-4 citizens
Demonym	Cirréonese
Location	Northern Cinder; Fortican continent
Capital	Felicie
Government	Unitary Stepanist national commune, or socialist republic
Leader	Vox Populi Elliott Dupont
Religion	Secular

Cirréone (/si.re.ɔnə/), officially the Second Commune of Cirréone, was a socialist state, following the doctrine of Stepanism, the socioeconomic analyses of Valerie Stepanoff, in which the Cirréonese Stepanists' Party is enshrined in the Constitution. Cirréone is located was the global north, on the continent of Fortica. The capital city of Cirréone was Felicie, located along la Pennibique (river), in Central Cirréone. Cirréone bordered Crannoghold to the west and Ritannia to the south. As of the 11th of June, 2024, it is now a part of the International Commune, which was formed from Cirréone, Paxia and Bardovia.

Etymology

The name 'Cirréone' originates from the Cyrronese tribe of la Pennibique. The origin of their name is unknown, but is theorised to come from the Cyrronsese word for the birch tree, which is itself theorised to be 'cyron.'

History

Early History

⚠️The following information is considered external lore, containing events that did not influence the characters or the world of Cinder.⚠️

Flag of the Viscounty of Cirréone

It is said that long ago, the lands of what now is Cirréone were, according to faith, touched by Her Holiness Selûne and Her Divine Empire. Following the dissolution of the empire however, Cirréone was split among several small states. One quickly became the most powerful of them all through the leadership of their chief. This had been the Syrronese, the descendants from which Cirréone would form. A  millennia ago, the chief of the Cyrronese declared himself the ‘Vikont’ of the lands he dubbed Cirréone. Once over 300 years had passed, and Cirréone grew with it, Cirréone was declared a Viscounty by Viscount Charles I of the house of Baptiste, with his seat of power being held in Felicie.

The First Viscounty

Following this declaration, the nation continued to prosper, especially so under the house of Baptiste, that being until Viscount Filippe IV died of brain cancer at age 38, having no heir due to his by now apparent infertility. This ended the almost 300 year long reign of the Baptistes, and therefore sent the nation into chaos.

Several different forces fought for the throne, however, coming out on top was Baron Peter Durand, a powerful noble with a formidable private guard, ascending by way of military force. His rule was immediately clear to be a shallow ploy for accumulating power and wealth, rather than a true service of the nation. The government was quickly made to comprise of his close friends and richest benefactors, with titles sold to their highest bidder, regardless of any ruling skill. And so, Cirréone saw a quick downturn from her Baptistian past. Viscount Peter I of the house of Durand died after his 13 year reign and passed on the throne to his son, a king that would decide the fate of Cirréone, King Antoine the Fool.

Ascending at age 16, he was swift to absolutely demolish the economy through his flamboyant spending, and other such foolish decisions. It was clear to the public that something had to have been done. And so, the national guard, in hand with Baptistian loyalists in government, launched a coup. A mighty civil war broke out between the Durandian private guard and the national guard. The Fool’s War. And after 8 months of fighting, Antoine Durand was beheaded and the Durandian guard dismantled.

However, this wouldn’t be the end of conflict. As now, a successor would still need to be decided, and many suggested for it to be a parliamentary body. And so, the civil war shifted to a conflict between the Viscountists and the Republicans. At the same time, many in Cirréone, especially intellectuals, many of whom supported the Republic, would become increasingly secular. After another 13 years of brutal warfare, the Republicans came out victorious, marking a new era for Cirréone.

The Republic

Flag of the Republic of Cirréone

Immediately the Republic of Cirréone saw hardships in many people’s distrust of the new form of governing, and the parliament saw that they would have to be very much organised and powerful to rule. They would have to elect a primary representative, voted in by the parliament into the title of Lord/Lady Regent by a majority decision of ½ . The first would be Lady Regent Sofia Bittencourt.

There would be several major issues left behind by the war for Bittencourt. One issue she and her parliament would face however, was that of the national guard. Much of the national guard was lost in the civil war(s), either by casualty or by fighting for the Viscountist army. And so, what was left was horribly disorganised, rather independent, lacking payment, and devoid of numbers. Another issue was the state of the economy following both Durand and the war. First, they instated nobles with actual experience leading into the positions previously bought out in the name of Durand. Secondly, the national guard was completely disbanded and the Cirréonese Army was formed, with leading Republican commanders at its helm. These two both helped to somewhat restabilise the economy, as well as a focus on more self-sufficiency, but a lot of ground still needed to be covered.

Much more controversially, however, due to their increasing secularisation, it was decided that church and state shall no longer have any links, that no matters of religion shall be discussed in the parliament, and that the government shall offer a completely neutral and unbiased view of all religions. This was seen as an affront to manys’ beliefs, and absolutely was one of the first contributors to the Restorative cause, seeking to reinstate a Viscounty following the ‘Republican experiment.’ However, for now, general consensus of the republic was still widely positive, if sceptical.

One major development of the Republican experiment was the emergence of party politics in the Cirréonese parliament, starting within months of the republic with the ‘Bapts,’ agreeing on a governing similar to that under the viscounty just with the difference of an elected Lord Regent and the added parliament, and the ‘Courts,’ aiming to completely change the Cirreonese political landscape and build a true polycracy, somewhat inspired by those developed on the Golden Coast, due south-west.

It was after 6 years as Lord Regent that Sofia Bittencourt died, after an attack by a Viscountist, Nico Cartier, who would see immediate death. And so, a new Lord Regent had to be elected, in which time the parliament would rule and not pass any new legislature unless by emergency decree passed by a unanimous vote, which would suspend the election. However, this did not deal well following the aforementioned party politics. With the parliament split in mainly 2 vastly different parties, no candidate could be voted in. This would suspend the parliament for 18 months, known as The Great Stagnation, while the politics and economy of Cirréone still needed tending. Many Courts would suggest to let the parliament rule without a Lord Regent but most Bapts would reject this notion, seeing it as an easy ploy for their polycratic system of governing, which it very well could have been, rather than a necessity.

This would spark a series of riots and marches by the public and a mutiny in many sects of the Cirréonese army, culminating in a storming of the parliament building, lead by a militia formed from said mutiny. It was in this storming of parliament that 72 members of parliament would be murdered, most of which Courts, and the building burned down. This attack would be endorsed by many Bapts, and at its end, the head of the militia, Serge Vitkiene, would declare himself the Viscount of Cirréone in the honour of Baptiste, forming the Second Viscounty of Cirréone, and sparking the War of the Peones; named after the flowers that the burned parliament was known for having gardens of.

The Second Viscounty

Flag of the Second Viscounty of Cirréone

A nation born from war’s womb, immediately fighting between Viscountists and Republicans would start up once more, now more brutal than ever. Both armies would quickly fall out of the traditional tactics of fighting in way of much less organised and urban orientated fighting, the battle shifting early on from in the fields to through the towns and cities, resulting in high civilian casualties, and the destruction of most older buildings in Felicie. After over 9 years of fighting, however, with the public generally being more favourable to the Viscountists, they gained control of most settled lands, while the Republican forces camped out in the wilderness. A stalemate was reached, where neither army could attack from their safety. This stalemate would last for almost another 2 years, until the vast majority of the Republican armies decided to surrender.

A swift decision of Viscount Serge I would be to transform the Viscounty into a more moderate, constitutional polycracy, with Viscount and parliament, lead by a ‘Vox’ (i.e. voice, as the title serves as the voice of the parliament and the people). The parliament would act as a guidance for the Viscount, though the Viscount would remain ultimately more powerful and have final say. The parliament however, would decide the succession of the throne.

Most of the modern inner landscape of Felicie would be built in the 40 years following the formation of the Second Viscounty, in the several rebuilding plans for the city, as its historic buildings were largely destroyed. Even Tours Jumelles needed some rebuilding efforts, as the eastern tower saw some damage on its rear side. And so, Viscount Serge I would hire Artur Giroud, coming from generations of Cirréonese architecture, including Frankes Giroud, designer of Tours Jumelle, to design and organise the rebuilding of countless structures in inner-Felicie.

While generally more stable than in the times of the wars, known colloquially as the ‘Age of Hellfire,’ the Second Viscounty of Cirréone was rife with poverty, class divide, and horrible industrialisation, with the coal mines of Felicie growing 10 times over in only 20 years, and an industrial sector being built in place of what was previously lush countryside. While before, the rich came from families of aristocracy, industrialisation brought the first new wave of the powerful, from new money, only further dividing the masses from those on top.

It would be during this era for Cirréone that the ideas of capital began to see more substantial and organised criticism, and even protest, specifically after the publishing of the pamphlet Black Capital, and the book Capital, And Its Crushing Weight, both written by Valerie Stepanoff, inspiring the development of many different sects of socialistic theory across Cinder. This would lead to the Stepanist movement growing through Cirréone, and the organisation of labour unions and strikes in the process.

After decades under such divide, in which time industrialisation spread massively across Cirréone, wars were won and lost, and parties grew more and more stagnant in their politics, the economy finally tipped, and Cirréone saw what is known as the ‘Coal Worker’s Crisis’ After a several month long strike from the coal miners of Felicie West, the economy finally saw a crisis as the factories of Felicie East had to pause their production. This would lead to an economic crash across Cirréone as many would have to sell their shares in various industrial companies, diminishing their value, and stripping thousands and thousands from their jobs, placing many into poverty. This would push the Cirréonese populus to extremism in their politics in a never before-seen magnitude. While many would flock to the Stepanist movement, many would cast their blame on the unions, increasing anti-Stepanist sentiment just the same.

This political divide would then lead to an attack by a civil militia known as the ‘Market League,’ a strongly anti-Stepanist organisation, on the head-quarters of the Stepanist Party of Cirréone. While the militia would lay siege to the building for 3 days over the course of the attack, they would be largely defeated. In response, many unions and Stepanist organisations would then attack anti-Stepanists and even burn down the head-quarters of the Market League. As election season came up, Viscount Nico II would make a decree banning any socialist parties and trade unions, and offer public support of the Market League. This would result in an election in which only 54% of the population voted, and by landslide, the Conservative Party of Cirréone would (through the Market Coalition, of 3 other anti-Stepanist parties) win. Victor Belandine would be elected Vox.

Belandine would only push Cirréone further and further into the depths that it was reaching for, until roughly 50 years ago, when the tipping point was reached, as people realised after 6 years of harsh anti-Stepanism, that maybe it was the fault of the system.

The June Revolution and the Commune

Flag of the First Commune of Cirréone

The June Revolution would begin in Felicie West at the coal mines, where workers of Stepanist affiliation, inspired by the words of one Sebastian Kouzmine, would revolt and attack the mine owner during an inspection. It would then spread east into the inner city with many factory workers revolting and then a march on la Place Pourpre, where factory workers, farmers, miners, and other citizens would march hand in hand. The revolution would then begin to organise as Kouzmine would begin leading the revolts through the CSP, however, non-CSP members, non-Stepanists, who were fighting in the revolution, often anarchists or centre-left groups, would not be on the same page and would even sometimes have fights with Stepanists.

Despite the Viscountist forces being dealt with in only a matter of a few months, the fighting would rage on for a total of 2 years, as Stepanist, anarchist and centre-left forces would fight between themselves, however, the CSP, due to their massive populist appeal and their charismatic leader, being relatable to many due to his deeply working class roots, having self studied until his neighbourhood realised his potential and sent him to university, would come out victorious, and the Commune of Cirréone would be made official.  

The Commune would, however, see hardships of great extent, as with any revolutionary government, but especially so as only 3 days following the conclusion of the June Revolution, Sebastian Kouzmine would be murdered by a young right-wing extremist, Alain Opatrie. This would lead to some infighting over the successor to Kouzmine, but it would be decided that Leon Crivanne would replace him as chairperson. Crivanne however, was not quite as charismatic as Kouzmine, and would often be criticised for his upper-middle class upbringing.

The major issue left though, would be a constitution. How would the Commune of Cirréone be run? This only would lead to more fighting within the CSP. Many wanted a full polycracy, many wanted a polycratically elected socialist vox, some even just wanted the chairperson of the CSP at any given time to rule. It was a disorganised mess. A vote was conducted but no one decision was majority, meaning another would have to be conducted. The second time around however, the decision was made to let any polycratically elected socialist leader run. This saw great criticism though, from both the right and left, the latter of which claimed it to be just as bad as before the revolution. This would lead to almost half of the CSP leaving the party, and several other splinter parties to form. This would make any divisive decision a horribly stagnant affair as indecision and argumentation, often over completely separate issues, was commonplace between the parties. Many of the left would grow unhappy with the leadership of the Commune, and many of the right remained as unhappy as ever, and so slowly, public support dwindled.

After 3 years of the Commune, a liberal coup-d’état was organised by several different right-wing groups, hoping to establish a capitalist, representative polycracy, and due to the diminishing public support and the constant infighting, the Commune fell, and the Federation of Cirréone was formed.

The Federation

Flag of the Federation of Cirréone

From the formation of the Federation, socialism would be banned, along with any and all Stepanist or socialist parties. However, this would not end up mattering particularly as elections under the Federation could not be trusted in the slightest. This would place the Federation, for the vast majority of its lifetime, in the hands of the Actuelian party, and more broadly the Republican Coalition. The first Vox Populi Cirréone of the Federation Government would be Vox Alec Brionne of the Actuelian Party. Famously, he would commit suicide 3 months into his term, on the basis of the stress of the economic transition. Over the course of several years, however, the economy would somewhat stabilise, though strong class divide would not cease to exist. Following the coup-d'état, fascistic and hard-right militias would be subsumed into the Cirréonese Army, sparking much controversy and a series of protests, however, ironically, these protests would be violently supressed by the army. The Federation Government would be plagued with favouritism, corruption and elitism, with public service spending being cut to be invested into the private sector, and tax cuts on the rich.

⚠️The following information is not considered external lore.⚠️
43 years after the formation of the Federation, Jean Laurent of the Actuelian Party would be elected Vox Populi. During his term, he would focus on foreign relations, signing the Cirréone-Crannog Charter, defining the border between the two nations on the island of Malouine, however, this would cause a border conflict between Cirréone and the Socialist State of Crannoghold, with Manon Giroud ordering the deforestation of the newly Crannog lands, west of the border, to protest their claim. It would take 4 days, however, for Toainsully, the Chairperson of Crannoghold, to realise this and respond, calling for international justice. Giroud would use the delay as part of his reasoning, showing how Crannoghold was not, in actuality, aware as to the dealings occurring within their claims. This response from Giroud would also go to spark the first in-game mention of the Stepanist movement and Elliott Dupont, with him critiquing the border conflict as a futile cause and a distraction from internal issues. Laurent would also be responsible for the signing of the Nautilus Defence League, a military alliance, in response to recent Uslan expansions north. Laurent would then close off his term by leading the connection of Cirréone to the Syradine Metro. However, this focus on foreign relations would often be criticised as simply a distraction from internal affairs. In the primary election in the lead up to the final elections of the Federation Government, Laurent would lose his place as leader of the Actuelian Party in place of Manon Giroud, for his more reactionary stances, attractive to Actuelians. This would lead to the inevitable election of Manon Giroud as Vox Populi Cirréone, which would spark the Firework Revolution, beginning with the storming of Giroud's personal home, and his execution. Ultimately, it would establish the Second Commune of Cirréone, with Elliott Dupont as Vox Populi Cirréone.

The Second Commune

Symbol for the PCC

The formation of the Second Commune would immediately spark controversy. Immediately following the Firework Revolution, Korallriket would dissolve the Nautilus Defence League. It would also cause much debate as to the ideology of Stepanism and its differences with Revolutionism, with the Revolutionary Internationale inviting the nation several times. However, instead of this, within days of the formation of the Second Commune, the Paxian-Cirréonese Comintern would be formed, a military and economic alliance between The Second Commune of Cirréone and the Worker's Republic of Paxia, by which Paxia would also secede from the RevIntern. Unlike the First Commune, the strong ideology of Elliott Dupont and his Cirréonese Stepanist Party would immediately come into effect in the government, centralising the economy and effectively banning any other parties other than the CSP. It would also be during this period when the Polut of Foreign Affairs, Paul Grasé, would be exiled for treason. In the wake of the Great War and of the Bardovian Republic joining the PCC, Cirréone would unite with the other two members of the PCC on the 11th of June, 2024, into the International Commune.

Government and Politics

Graph surmising the relations between the different bodies of the Cirréonese government.

The Second Commune of Cirréone was one of the few socialist countries across Cinder, specifically, following the Stepanist ideology. The Constitution of Cirréone defined the Second Commune of Cirréone as a Stepanist commune, in the orthodox interpretation of a national commune as posited in the works of Valerie Stepanoff. The Constitution dictated the disbanding of "all subdividing parties of socialist ideology" as to "promote unity in the War against Capital," establishing the Cirréonese Stepanists' Party as the sole party of the Commune, due to the inherent nature of the socialism of the nation.

The Vox Populi, or Vox, was the most senior position in the one-party state, the head of state and the head of governance, permitted to sign off on and veto any new legislature, enforce the law, and act as Commander-in-Chief in times of war. Under the Vox Populi were both the Communal Assembly of the People, a representative assembly, in which each District was represented by a Districteur, and the Communal Council of the Poluts, a council of several ‘Poluts’ delegated to one field of governmental interest, such as Industry, Agriculture, Foreign Affairs.

The Cirréonese mode of governance was largely the inspiration for the mode of governance in the International Commune.

Administrative divisions

Cirréone was divided into Districts, each represented by a Districteur in the Communal Assembly of the People. These districts were:

District	Land Area (blocks square)	Population (June 2024)
Felicie	41,913	4
Léttona	18,813	0
Historic Louveberg	22,289	0
La Courtha	21,857	0
Caulléy	39,639	0
Bierrov	18,910	0
Milacieur	50,377	0
Malando	10,642	0
Vountier	15,382	0
Diyonroux	17,455	0
Thatchelle	8,451	0
Lavaffe	15,496	0

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