Ostcelestria

This page is about the province of Ostcelestria

Ostcelestria is an official province in the Empire of Apfeldonia, it is one of the most western provinces. Since 1090, has been ruled by the House of Konlicht, and became an Archduchy before the Civil War. It is bordered by the provinces of Freiheit to the west, Oschtauch to the North, Nersailles to the South, Lahn to the East, and Verbania to the South East. Where the Schulfsrum Mountains end, of which ends in Northern Ostcelestria and Eastern Freiheit, is known as Helvetia. Flowing out from the Helvetia and Freiheit is the Uiop river which levels out onto the Sibdon Plateau. It is one of the most populous states in mainland Apfeldonia, numbering approximately 4.5 million inhabitants according to the most recent census in 1920. Its capital and most populous city is Konlicht, which is known to be the banking centre of the entire continent of Rosecetta, and of course Apfeldonia.

Etymology and Origin
Modern Apfeldonia historians essentially agree the origin of the name Ostcelestria translates generally to "East of from where the Sun rises" though the exact intrepretation is still unclear. There is strong evidence that in pre-Apfeldite times, there were two nomadic tribes that are shown to have traversed the banks of the Uiop, the first of which were a fishing folk that settled in the Seven Lakes region, the latter being a hunter clan that may have been the ancestors to Nersaillians, historians have accepted this conclusion for the most part, as that hunting clan seems to have shown archaelogically to have moved from the north towards the south within a century of appearing in digs.

Ancient History
Ostcelestria was mostly settled by the Apfeldites during the Age of King Rutgar, in addition archaelogical digs throughout the province suggest that the Sibdon plateau may have been inhabited by Apfeldites before Rutgar. During Rutgar's conquest of the Southern Provinces; Verbania and Custach with the exception of Nersailles, the province was pivotal for becoming the wastern base of Rutgar's future invasion of the north. When Rutgar had conquered the southern lands, and look westward to Nersailles, the Apfeldites who settled on the Sibdon Plateau had moved south to meet King Rutgar and with this pressure, convinced Nersailles to join the Empire without starting a war. It was a legendary scene, in which the tribes of Apfeldites descended from the Sibdon Plateau into the South, the army of Rutgar remarked that it was as if an eagle has descended from Sibdon. It was henceforth recognized that the Sibdon Plateau would play a commanding role in the defence of the west, and guarding the homeland from the Sea of Grass.

Early History
Ostcelestria was the stepping stone towards Rutgar's Invasion of the north, which would put Erstiks, Oschtauch, and the people North of the Schulfsrum at bay from counter invading Lahn. Thanks to the imposing prescense of Apfeldites on the Sibdon Plateau, the coalition bent on curbing the power of Lahn were forced to attack farther east then expected, however this decision forced their joint armies to attack closer to Rutgar in Lahn than planned. This northern invasion was inconclusively defeated by Rutgar at the Battle of Reisland, regardless the Armies of Lahn were in pursuit, and followed the retreating coalition army into Oschtauch. In 1058, with superior intelligence and well trained Sibdon scouts, Rutgar's army crossed the deeper part of the Uiop in Oschtauch to flank and outmaneuver Schwartz's Army and crush the coalition once and for all. However Rutgar nearly drowned in the river when his horse was shot from under him, but he continued to fight through the day when by evening the snow began, and Schwartz surrendered. Rutgar returned to Lahn following this battle, which would later be known as the Battle of White Water. In the following years, Rutgar was then finally coronated as King of the Apfeldites in 1066. After the death of Rutgar I, and the rise of Wetzlar I, the Apfeldonian Kingdom was almost entirely unified. As King, Wetzlar placed his two sons, the Princes of Lahn; Solms I and Braunfels I to govern the East and West respectively. Braunfels I ruled what would become Ostcelestria and parts of Freiheit as Burgrave of Konlechner and Count of Braunfels. Braunfels was to be known as the Eagle of Sibdon, and ruled from his court of the Eagle's Perch, the highest point from the Braunfels Valley, through which the Uiop flows from the North and moves South-East towards Verbania and Lahn.

Civil War History
Before Apfeldonia plunged into civil war, the marriage of the Prince of Lahn, William III, son of Friedrich II to the daughter of the unfortunate King Robert II and the sister of the future King Richard I; Mary in 1647 during the month of October. The spectacular events of the wedding is the traditional beginning of the largest cultural festival in Apfeldonia, known as Gratis Und. At that point with the royal marriage between the Konlichts and Vollands, once more reinvigorated the stong bonds of family between the two in the best possible times, great misfortunes and omens were giving hint to a war. Now the Konlichts had the right and authority of Lahn, and used their new title for the first time as Archdukes. William's consort, Mary is often seen beside Queen Cee, as icons of the Civil War, though Queen Cee was known for her leadership and directing the forces of the King outside of Lipton, Mary spent much of her time tending for the wounded and the ill within the walls. At the beginning of the war in 1653, the whole of the region was subject to raids from the Apfeltskians, when the Ostcelestrians pushed the raiders back, Freiheit was soon prey to the rebels. By 1654, William III, had repulsed the Apfeltskians in Freiheit, and with the news of victory at Hornshallow, and decisive news at Branderby, Friedrich II died in almost legendary fashion exclaimly "Now they will flee!", then finally passing away. These battles later turned Gorivard away from the west in 1657, and regroup and attempt to siege Lipton, simultaneously William was heading south into Verbania, in his pursuit to flank the Duke of Verbania who was fighting farther east in Custach. For the rest of next few years, Ostcelestria's united forces with Nersailles and Freiheit occupied Verbania and exported its wealth in produce and cattle to supply the Royalist armies in the north. William III returned temporarily to Ostcelestria to prepare a new army, armed with the newest weapons and trained in the mountains in preparation for the final years of the Civil War.

With the turn of the decade, the late part of the Civil War had begun, in 1662, the Erstikian river fleet was sailing down the flooded portions of the Uiop and toward the Sibdon plateau. The Archduke had prepared a new levy system on the river making the river more navigatable and deeper, making it very tempting for the Erstikian fleet to sail up. All of which was a plan, the Archduke had prepared several artificial rapids designed to trap the fleet into a resevoir lake that would capture the entire fleet, which proved to be a total success. Subsequently, the Ostcelestrians captured the vessels, and their crew, and used it to transport the trainee army and the new Solmbach Shooters to reinforce Lipton. Though 1664 was a stalemate on siege progress, the new Schulfsrum Brigade proved its value for being a crucial line of intelligence and information from the reinforcing Ostcelestrian army to the Royalist forces in Lahn. When the events of the Bloody September of 1665 were in full swing, the Ostcelestrian's used the river fleet again to control the river's ice flows during the bitter early winter, as a result, Uiop was covered in ice, allowing Royalist troops to cross freely, but the tributary rivers of Jame's Creek and Cripple Creek of which the Apfeltskians were retreating across to remain flowing and allow the Royalists to slaughter the rebels in the freezing waters. Gorivard was finally killed at Littlefield, yet fighting kept up until mid December, when on the 18th, the Apfeltskians finally surrendered, thus ending one of the most bloody conflicts of Apfeldonian history.

Age of Innovation
Was the time following the Civil War, during this period three Archdukes ruled Ostcelestria, known as the Warring Archdukes, and all of them are known for their martial ability and are lead Apfeldonia through the burst of colonial activity. The last of which would be Braunfels II, who fought abroad but managed most of Ostcelestria's government overseas. During his expedition, Freiheit went into a rebellion under Colonel Holzhacker of the Freiheitian Free Corps, a newly founded independant army. Through his son Karl, the Prince of Lahn, Braunfels made a coalition agreement for the Colonel to govern the mountain fortresses in Helvetia and guard Freiheit as a military governor, while Karl ruled over Ostcelestria for his father, and administated Freiheit. Colonel Holzhacker

The Western Lightning
Before the start of the Beagleton Wars, then Archduke, Karl II began a serious revival of scholarly reforms within the west, best known as the Western Lightning, as it began an intellectual race between the college of Lahn, with the newly created universities in Ostcelestria. The race was rather peaceful, but saw throughout all of Apfeldonia a burst of literature, research, and mass consciousness. This period spanned before and after the Beagleton Wars, however the conflict overshadowed most of the innovations during the last decades of the era. Karl II was thought upon as the head of the Western Lightning, his son, Josef was the heart, and Josef's son, Karl III was the feet, together they are known as the Enlightened Archdukes. However, the literature and the ideas developed from the Western Lighting swept all across Apfeldonia and would lay the groundwork for the Age of Imperialism and period of Romantics and time of the Imperial Splendor that would precipitate into the Great War.

The Reign of Archduke of Karl II
At the beginning of the Western Lightning, Archduke Karl II, or Karl the Great ascended after the death of his father, Braunfels II. Braunfels drowned when his longboat capsized off the coast of Custach after returning from his victorious campaign in the colonies. Karl II was the first Archduke to expand the educational system in Ostcelestria to every village with at least 500 people, allowing for over 60% of Ostcelestrian males to have access to education. Karl II lead the Ostcelestrian and Freiheitian armies to defend the homeland from invasions from beyond the Schulfsrum and the Sea of Grass. At that point most of

Geography
The majority of Ostcelestria is situated on the Sibdon Plateau, and the Uiop flows through the plateau through the vast valleys and canyons, the most important of them being the Braunfels Valley, location of the Eagle's Perch and resting place of every Konlicht ruler. To the North in Helvetia, the Schulfsrum Mountains end and from the glaciers of nearby Oschtauch begin numerous tributaries to the Uiop. The main Uiop leads into Freiheit to the northwest, and back into Oschtauch. The terrain of much of the Sibdon Plateau is lush green forests, mainly Lindens of which are the Official Tree of Ostcelestria, White Oaks, and Pines. Towards the north and the broken off parts of the Schulfsrum Mountains, known as the Solmbach Mountains, the gap is known as Giesen  Pass between the Solmbach and the Schulfsrum is steeped in folktale as the pass in which the Apfeldites first came into Apfeldonia.

The Uiop River
The Uiop which flows South from Freiheit, then East parallel to the Solmbach Mountains, southeast through the Giesen Pass and through the Seven Lakes region into the Braunfels Valley and to the East, then back to north into Oschtauch mainly through the 'William III' Canals. In the southern part of the Sibdon Plateau, much of the Uiop flows through on its original course, but the river has artificial embankments intended to widen the river to allow for more commerce and transportation.

T here is also an artificial canal that leads from Konlicht to bypass Oschtauch and meet the Uiop in Lahn, which is called the Volland Canal, which was built during the reign of King Travis III and Archduke Lukas and completed in 1920. The Volland Canal is mainly for direct transport or shipping to and from Lahn and Ostcelestria, and also timber shipping from Oschtauch to Lahn via Ostcelestria. Also the Agyte River that joins the Uiop in Ostcelestria from Freiheit is home to the scenic Agyte Narrow Gague Railroad, which was once the railroad for the quarries along the river is now a major tourist attaction.



The Seven Lakes
The Uiop river flows through the Giesen Pass into the Seven Lakes region of Ostcelestria, each named for the stream that flows into the  lakes: from north to south they are;  Wesback, Kleeback, Dilback, Ulmback, Kellenback, Weiback, and Kerkeback. The largest being the Dilback which is twice the size of the second largest, Lake Kerkeback.

The largest town in the Seven Lakes region is the town of Sudlagne, which is home to approximately 10,800, and is closest to Lake Kerkeback. In the Seven Lakes region there is rich diversity in the flora and fauna, rare trees such as the Uiop Fir grow nearby Giesen Pass, and the Braunfels Swan inhabits the Lakelands.

The Seven Lakes region is the hub of nearly 45% of all tourism in Ostcelestria, and hosts numbers close to one million every year in tourists. The region's combined natural diversity, attractions and beauty has been the pinnacle of Ostcelestrian identity, the other being the Solmbach itself, on the northern side of the mountains, or following the northern course of the Uiop, there is the mountainous communities on the cultural border of Ostcelestria and Helvetia, where nearly all winter/snow tourists in Ostcelestria travel to.

The Solmbach Mountains
The Solmbach Mountains are technically its own range, but broken off from the Schulfsrum by erosion a couple millennia before the Apfeldites came to Apfeldonia. The Solmbach Mountains are home to Apfeldonia's largest and most luxurious winter resorts, the Konlicht Dynasty own nearly three quarters of the resorts in this region under their family enterprise of the Sibdon Corparation. There are at least 24 different Winter resorts that function on the Solmbach during Winter, but there are also 10 other all-year resorts that deal in sport fishing, canoeing, kayaking, hunting, and other activities on the shores of Lake Giesen or in the Genbourg Forest.

The largest town within the Solmbach Mountains region is Genbourg, home to 6,000 during the summer, and nearly twice the amount during winter and tourist season. Genbourg is built on the shores of Lake Giesen.

Government
Ostcelestria's government has changed very little during its history. The government was established during the Age of Rutgar, thus the Archduke remains the ruler of Ostcelestria. Ostcelestria like every mainland province is granted it's own seats and representation in the Parliament in Lipton. The Ostcelestrian Government meets in their own assembly in Konlicht, however, the Archduke's Court is still held within the Royal Keep in the Eagle's Perch in the Braunfels Valley.

Economy
Ostcelestria's Economy is a robust mixture of natural resources, manufacturing and of course, tourism. Though tourism is an enormous industry within Ostcelestria, the bulk of the economy rests in manufacturing. Locomotives, automobiles, aircraft, or at least their parts often carry the hallmarks of many of Ostcelestria's manufacturing houses. For luxuries, Ostcelestria is also the paramount maker of watches, timepieces, specifically pocketwatches in Apfeldonia. During the Age of Innovation, economic theory developed in the scholarly houses of Ostcelestria, and to this very day, Ostcelestria remains to be the model for banking with some of the oldest banking families in Apfeldonia. The specific reason why Ostcelestria is based primarily in manufacturing is due to the nature of the Uiop, allowing for resources to be transported from the North, where it is then assembled in Ostcelestria, and finally sold in Lahn, particularly Lipton. Natural resources in Ostcelestria are focussed mainly on mining silver, tin and zinc, forestry is generally minimalized to protect the natural look of Ostcelestria. Much of the natural resources in Ostcelestria are put towards smith labor and creating silverware or coins for the Royal Mint in Lipton.

Infrastructure
Ostcelestria is connected to the Imperial Railroad system, one can take a train from Konlicht to any bordering province, especially Lahn. The train from Lipton to Konlicht has been the test route for the nation's most robust locomotive races, and the time to travel from Konlicht to Lipton is approximately 7h 30m. The Canal system on the Uiop carries mainly passengers and produce, where the railway system carries mail, lumber, coal, and express passengers. Most of southern Ostcelestria uses stone, particularly granite, and to some extent marble, due to the proximity to quarries and provinces that yield stone, in contrast to northern Ostcelestria, which traditionally builds in lumber and river rock.

Culture
The culture of Ostcelestria is extremely influential in the west. The northern section of Ostcelestria, Helvetia claims to be the source of all Ostcelestrian-Freiheitian culture. Ostcelestria remains as the only province in Apfeldonia that was colonized by the Apfeldites, and has retained a different culture than the Apfeldites, yet being ethnically Apfeldonian. Ostcelestria celebrates all of the national holidays in Apfeldonia, and as well as is the heart of the Gratis Und Festival, which is a festival that lasts 16 Days, upon the lore of the wedding of William III and Mary von Volland before the Civil War. Gratis Und is a pillar of all Ostcelestria and Freiheitian culture, and celebrates the provincial history, military victories, Apfeldonian culture, as well as beer.

Tourism
Ostcelestria is home to World class resorts for snow sports in Helvetia, and canoeing and kayaking in the Uiop on the Sibdon Plateau. During the youth of King Travis III, Ostcelestria was the typical resort location of the elite of Apfeldonia when parliament was not in session. King Travis III is said to have grown up in both the Solmbach Mountains and the Seven Lakes for most of his childhood in the care of his uncle and godfather, Archduke Franz.

Gastronomy
Ostcelestria is known for the best beer, baked desserts and sweets in Apfeldonia. The beer producing regions of Ostcelestria are the river communities nestled by the Uiop west of Konlicht and south of Sudlagne, mostly in the Braunfels Valley; historically not much of the beer produced was exported, mostly due to the fact the local populace consumed most of it before it could be sold elsewhere. Dessert is the most important meal in Ostcelestria, in which cheeses, wine, fruit, pastries, cakes are all consumed. Dessert is usually served around an hour after dinner or just as the sky goes dark. Ostcelestrians traditionally went home from their work at sunset, and ate when they came home. Dessert was prepared all throughout the day and took the longest to make. Thus in culture, Ostcelestrians take their time eatting dessert, often outside around a fire or near the fireplace. Desserts common to the Ostcelestrian household include;

Fieldberry Tortes: Tortes made with fieldberries; common around Konlicht.

Log Roll: Rolled spongecake made with fresh cream, custard, and chocolate; common around Genbourg.

Seven Lakes Cake: a seven level tiered cake, each layer filling representing each of the Seven Lakes; Roasted Pecans,  Vanilla cream,  diced Peaches,  Butterscotch icing ,  fresh Strawberries,  Chocolate icing, and crushed biscuits. Famous in Apfeldonia, also the wedding cakes of William III and Mary, and King William II and Queen Charlotte.

Military of Ostcelestria
Like all of Apfeldonia's mainland provinces, Ostcelestria has its own provincial army, known as the Archduke's Army or Ostcelestrian Corps.

Symbols
The province has official symbols, they are as following

Official Bird: The Sibdon Eagle

Official Tree: The Linden Tree

Official Flower: The Solmbach Edelweiss

Official Fish: The Northern Uiop Pike

Official Insect: The Western Bee

Official Mineral: Uiop River Jade