Pyreica

Pyreica (pronounced Pee-ray-ka), or in its complete form Republicxi Mudernè Pyreicsè (Pyreican Modern Republic) is a small country located in the Southern part of Galea, between Rumia, Kamandé and Gvozdmost. Being a land of mountains, Pyreica was for a long time quite isolated from the rest of the world. Agriculture was the only economical forte until the middle of the XIXth century when sport and spa tourism took over. Since 2014, the country has been governed by President Aslaís Peira.

Etymology
The term Pyreica, written in latin alphabet, can be first traced back to 686 on a stone crest found in the vestiges of a temple near Gerran. By the 11th century, people of Pyreica were called as such by foreigners, either in Latin alphabet or their respective writing system. An alternative spelling, Pireyca was found in ancient texts from Lacrea and Halito but was never in use in Pyreica. Historians confirmed it was a transcription mistake. The origin of the name can be explained by two common hypotheses, one for each pre-Pyreican language.

The first hypothesis considers the name Pyreica came from the first impression the country left on the sea travelers from Rievs the Soleil, the Biaghè. As they were taken aback by the reflection of the sunset on the snow-covered peaks, painting the sky and the land in red and orange hues. This phenomenon is related on a fresco discovered alongside the lost village of Asedormith, known for being a prolific archeological site. The fresco can be dated back to the 2nd century B.C and was titled Pyr em gaïas (Fire on our Lands) in Begorran, the language spoken by most of the Biaghè.

The second hypothesis, and actually the most supported by historians, gives credits to the Ilexh tribes who came from Rumia three millenniums ago. The ancient Ilexh language used an alphabet that was first translated in 1787 by Goryäs Vilkstrom, a Rumian archeologist. Vilkstrom's work, A Guide to the Ilexh People (1792), helped historians to identify the denomination Pherri Ilexhica as the name of the area currently occupied by Pyreica. The latest appearance of Pherri Ilexhica can be traced up to -983, the next sources only sporting uncomplete versions of this name : Pherri Lehica, Perrixheca or Pherre Hica. These sources are supported by other three parchments dating from 200 to 307 mentioning Perehica, prompting linguists to suppose Pyreica was formed by agglutination from the original Pherri Ilexhica.

Topography
A major part of the country was founded on a plateau, surrounded by high mountain ranges in the East (Massís ed Neth) and South (Mendi d'Aor). The highest point is Píco Nethoù, which culminates at 4306m, while the average altitude of the country is more than 1700m. A few decades ago snow could be found under 1000m from November to May. Nowadays, due to global warming, winter season is shorter and glaciers are melting. The biggest one, Blau Glacier, lost 25% of its surface in the last twenty years and now spreads over 16.42 km².

Many mountain lakes can be found in Pyreica. Small in size but big in numbers, Pyreica owns the record for the highest lacustrine density with 3254 lakes !

Pyreica shares a small part of Cassèl Lake with Kamandé while the dense forest in the West forms a natural barrier with Ujedinjeni Gvozd. This peculiar topography keeps the land quite isolated from the rest of the world and prevents enemies from breaking into the country.

Climate
Pyreica is subjected to an alpine climate, in winter the average temperature doesn't rise above 3.4°C while it's only 19.3° in the summer. The pluviometry is one of the highest in the world of Natia with 1041mm per year. The country marks down a border between the harsh desertic conditions in the east and the more temperate climate in the Kamande-Tybaltevan part of the land in the west.

Demographics
Pyreica is the home of 2,345,689 inhabitants (2019 estimation), spread over an area of 45 468 km². The highest density can be found near Esthaní Cassèl (Cassel Lake), making Esthanè and its suburb area the most populated city in the country with 354 478 inhabitants. Pyreica has a fertility rate of 1.76 and a life expectancy at birth of 83.5 years, one of the highest in the world of Natia.

Language
Pyreican (Pyretzaira, from hetzaira pyreicsè, litt. Pyreican popular language) is the sole official language of Pyreica and the native language of 98.2% of the population. Griffin Empire recognizes Pyreican as a regional language, and other minorities can be noted in Tybalteva and Kamandé.

The Pyreican language known as of today started to be spoken around the 8th century. Before the establishment of the federation in 452, two drastically different languages were present in the region, each coming from a different group of settlers. Begorran and Ilexh merged in the 4th century to form Pyrohóc, which then evolved into Pyreican.

While the Biaghè brought multiple languages of the same family, Begorra remained the most commonly spoken. Based on Ancient Greek and vulgar Latin, Begorran originated from the areas currently covered by the countries of MatiMati and Solentoya. Due to its initial popularity, by -400 B.C it became the lingua franca of the Biaghè settlements.

Begorran coexisted with the Ilexh language, spoken among the tribes coming from Rumian land. While Begorran used the Latin alphabet, Ilexh was based on runes which made it more difficult to decipher for the linguists. Around 300 A.C, the trades between both groups started to develop, which prompted Biaghè and Ilexh to find an efficient communication system. Two parameters pushed Begorran to overcame Ilexh : it had more native speakers and had more common ground with other foreign languages, which made it easier for international trade. Another reason that is advanced by specialists was that Ilexh had more distinctive dialects, making it harder to build unity. Despite the fact it became the most prominent language of the two, Begorran incorporated a lot of Ilexh vocabulary regarding natural phenomenons, fauna, and flora This merge formed the ancient Pyreican language known as Pyrohóc.

It isn't until the establishment of the Kingdom of Pyreica era that Pyrohóc became the official language of the country. However a noticeable distinction was made between written Pyrohóc and the spoken language, the latter being influenced by French speakers coming from Kamandé and Tybalteva, and other foreign languages such as Gvozdmostist and Rumian. Over the decades, it became apparent the understanding of written Pyrohóc lost field among the general population. Scholars started to call the spoken language Pyretzaira, to differentiate it from classical Pyrohóc. It is only in the XVth century that the transcription of Pyretzaira, noticeably different by its lack of gender markers, was authorized, thus forming the current Pyreican language. Due to the new arrival of Kamandeans in the XIXth century to flee the war with Tybalteva, the government took a measure to protect Pyreican and insure it stayed the major language of the country.

We can still find vestiges of Begorran and Ilexh in the east and northwest respectively, notably in the name of places. The Ilexh influence can be noted by the profusion of 't', 'z' and 'k', while Begorran was known for its particularly vowel-rich phonology. Pyreican language presents a general unity, but the population in the most mountainous areas of the country tended to develop dialects, due to the reclusiveness of the terrain and lack of communication between valleys, especially during winter.

Pyreican is deemed as an easy to learn language thanks to its lack of gender markers and its simple conjugation, however natives are hard to understand due to their speed of speech and habit to talk animatedly.

Alphabet
The Pyreican alphabet is composed of 29 letters. Its difference with the English alphabet is noticeable by the additional a-e-i-o-u variants and the lack of q and w. Most letters follow the typical phonology, making the language easy to transcript from spoken to written form.

Some noticeable differences can be made in the pronunciation emanating from the eastern part of the country :
 * au : \a.u\ becomes \ a.ɔ\
 * nh : \ɲ\ becomes \n\
 * lh : \l\ becomes \j\
 * e and è are both pronounced \e\

Grammar
Sentences follow the basic construction of subject + verb + complement

Economy
Thanks to its vast fields and topography, Pyreica’s economy revolves around two main points : agriculture and tourism. For centuries now, the country has welcomed people from all over the world, eager to tackle the highest mountains or chill in winter resorts. Simultaneously, Pyreica is the home of many hot water sources, which propelled the country as a world’s leader in balneology. Ansèth, the capital, hosts the largest balneo center of the continent.

The currency is the Sòun (SON).

Flag
Nature has always been one of the most important aspect of Pyreican culture and can be illustrated in the flag chosen by the people at the establishment of the new republic in 1912. Black, lime green and white embody three fundamentals : rock (mountains), life (agriculture), and light. The representation of the sun in the middle is accompanied by the symbols of Air and Earth, two of the four elements that are essential to the balance of the land.

Motto
The national motto « Demori xumilè aítzi gizandi » (litt. Stay humble in front of the giant) had been for centuries the core principle of Pyreican values, the giant referring to the unforgivable mountain that took the lives of many over the course of the years. Despite its far-away origin, it was only written in the Constitution at the end of the XIXth when Pyreica disposed of the Monarchy and implemented the current Modern Republic. Today it is most employed to remind people to not force themselves onto nature and learn to live with it rather than trying to master it.

Anthem
The national anthem Ailisi ed Tierth ò Pyr (litt. "The Wings from the Land on Fire") was written in February 1912 at the start of the Modern Republic in honor of the new era.

Ahantz, sèkulei nai (Forget, we will never) Cèu tènhaí gorri (The sky tainted red)

Banhaí nel odol ed nòu frèxis (Basked in the blood of our brothers)

Hegani, pitchoùn (Fly, little one)

Sùbre lèrmis eth lehertzà (Above the tears and the rumbling)

Sùs nò maiestàt tierth (Over our majestic homeland)

O se pàurnai eth grazicsè (O so fearless and gracious)

Hegani, pitchoùn (Fly, little one)

Dia tieu ailisi obreiu liberthsè (May your wings spread free)

Eth aduíreiu nò arma (And carry our soul)

Ó Viatgji infinitsè (On a never-ending journey)

Sports
Pyreica excels in winter sports, especially in alpine skiing and snowboarding. In the 2018 Winter Olympics Games, they brought home 14 medals, earning them a place in the Top 10 and the highest ratio of medals per inhabitant. Since the eighties, Ice Hokey is the most popular team sport in the country. The Men’s team won two World Cups in the last decade and never left the semi-final lineup in international championships since 2003.

Bare rugby sevens, summer sports aren’t as successful, unfortunately. In the last three editions of the Olympics they only won medals in swimming, cycling and judo, but with the inclusion of climbing in the 2020 Olympics they hope to break this poor streak.

This lack of results on the biggest stage doesn't prevent Pyreicans from performing in less conventional sports. DH, trail running, canyoning, paragliding, mountaineering, and all outdoor activities are extremely popular.

Music
Since December 2019, the Pyreican delegation represented by the national media company, PyrTV, joined the Nation Song Contest. Pyreica spent 14 months in the Waiting List before joining NSC for the 190th edition