Nostra:Circassia
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Circassia is a town located in the North Caucasus region. The town is part of the nation of Iberia.
History
The Great Swim and Early Settlement
A group of Circassian friends were aware of the existence of EarthMC, but disturbed by the fact that historical Circassia was always owned by randoms who did not even know what Circassia is. There was nothing they could do, so they moved on. Once they learned that the map has been reset, they planned to join and build Circassia. Thus the town is modeled after the historical country of Circassia and was founded (in Terra Nostra) by a group of Circassian friends to build their homeland in the game, though over time members of other ethnicities also joined the town.
The founders initially intended to build the town near the Kuban River near the IRL Adygea region. However, this territory was already occupied by a hostile, Tsarist nationalist town. Refusing to interact with the hostile/fascist neighbors, the founders decided to change their strategy and chose the Taman peninsula as a possible location. Lacking the gold to establish a new town, the Mayor contacted leaders from the nations of Georgia and Iberia, assuming both of them to be led by IRL Georgians, who were the only other Caucasians in the game at the time. The leaders of the town of Georgia were unresponsive. Iberia responded positively and invited him to their territory. The founders received a plot in the Iberian town of Venakhi, located in Azerbaijan, where they built a temporary embassy and received enchanted diamond gear to start them off.
The founders collected gold through daily server voting and mining. Handshake deals at the time placed the entire North Caucasus under the claim of the Soviet Union, so the founders negotiated with the central Soviet leadership in Moscow and agreed to establish their town under the Soviet Union temporarily. To avoid detection in the map, the members swam underwater across the entire Black Sea from the Azerbaijani and Georgian coasts to the Taman Peninsula. Hostile hunters attacked the group during the journey, but the founders escaped. They passed the small town of VigNation along the route, which they liked for its simple architecture.
Soviet Era
Upon reaching the Taman Peninsula, the town found that the broader North Caucasus region was under the informal influence of the Soviet Union. Entering negotiations with the central leadership in Moscow, Circassia agreed to temporarily join the Soviet Union to build strength. The town developed basic infrastructure, including houses, a government building, and an underground cave base. Over time, political conflicts with the residents of the Tsarist town caused the Circassian members to leave the Soviet Discord server when they publicly denied the Circassian genocide.
During this era, the Byzantine Empire established a neighboring outpost named Colchis next to Circassia, with the motto "Colonists Needed!", implying future expansion. Circassia sided with the Turks, who were actively at war with the Byzantine Empire, and the political friction resulted in a cold war between Circassia and Colchis, though no known instance of direct combat occurred. The Byzantine Empire eventually abandoned Colchis, and Circassia annexed the ruined outpost. Circassia also annexed the friendly town of VigNation after its owner became inactive, and preserved its builds.
Joining Iberia
The residents of Iberia and Circassia had a friendly relationship at this point. Over time, the leadership of Circassia realized that the Soviet capital of Moscow was simply too far away, and too uninvolved in the region. The town left the Soviet Union on good terms and officially joined Iberia. Iberia was at war with Georgia, thus putting the town of Circassia in war with Iberia as well. Because Circassia is an exclave located far from mainland Iberia, PVP raiders from neighboring Georgian towns frequently attacked the settlement, killing residents around border regions.
After a while, the Crimean Khanate, which originated in Ukraine, formed near the town's borders. They bought the neighboring town of Sochi, which was established and put up for sale by a Turkish renegade a few days prior. Circassia attempted to purchase Sochi due to its real life historical significance as the capital of Circassia, but they lacked sufficient funds. Circassia maintains a neutral relationship with the Crimean Khanate but monitors their rapid expansion. During this time, the town also mobilized a military campaign to the Middle East upon discovering that a portion of the holy city of Mecca had fallen under the control of Israel, seeking to find and kill targeted players. Although the expeditionary force failed to find any online targets for combat, the campaign resulted in valuable information and an extensive exploration of the Arabian Peninsula.
First Battles of the Georgian War
While collecting wood to make a quick buck, a town member was ambushed by hostile Georgian players using invisibility potions and bows. After this, The Mayor decided to mount a counter-offensive to take revenge and fight for their nation, and for the first time, Circassia went on the offensive. The Mayor purchased some cheap combat gear and potions and started patrolling the Caucasus. Tracking the Georgians in a Georgian outpost located in southern Azerbaijan, the Mayor launched an attack. The operation was a success; yielding three kills and seized loot, but most importantly, morale. This proved to be the first significant victory of the developing town. Following the initial counter-offensive, the Mayor raided further south to hunt additional Georgian targets. Upon reaching a Georgian outpost, utilizing an invisibility potion, he attempted to lure an enemy player out of their safe claims. This resulted in a 30-minute bow standoff. Although the skirmish ended without a decisive winner and the Mayor withdrew, the operation successfully disrupted Georgian productivity. The enemy was observed on the server map paranoidly searching for the Mayor long after the engagement ended.
Back near Circassia, the town faced a wave of targeted harassment. Anonymous threatening signs began appearing just outside the town's borders. Furthermore, invisible attackers repeatedly targeted town members during routine wood-gathering operations. The attackers also placed TNT-trapped chests designed to kill whoever opened them. Circassian citizens easily identified and avoided the traps, but town leadership concluded that enemy forces were actively monitoring the server map to target them.
During this period, a Circassian town member fell victim to a malicious scam. Upon reviewing the incident, the Mayor realized the scam was incredibly simple to replicate and could generate massive amounts of wealth for the town. Despite the potential for extreme profit, Circassia refused to engage in the unethical practice.
To aggressively accelerate the town's wealth accumulation for the planned city rebuild, leadership established the Circassian Mining Corps. Equipped with highly efficient pickaxes and potions, the Corps launched a massive underwater mining operation. By utilizing the Nether to travel immense distances, the miners accessed completely isolated, previously untouched caverns. The operation yielded a massive amount of gold, and the exact coordinates of the site remain strictly classified to prevent rival players from finding it. Simultaneously, the town formed the Exploration Corps. this group embarked on long-distance expeditions to the extreme corners of the world and various exotic locations. Upon reaching these distant milestones, the Corps established a tradition of leaving signed markers to permanently document Circassia's presence across the globe.
Scorched-earth
Following a meeting with other members of the Iberian nation, Circassia's leadership finalized their plans for the town's future. They decided completely destroy the existing, organically built village and rebuild it entirely from scratch as a meticulously planned, well-designed city. To ensure that the new city would be a structural masterpiece, town members embarked on a global exploration. Citizens traveled to various cities all around the world, traversing manually or utilizing teleportation for extreme distances, such as visiting the Americas. The members took notes and studied the layouts of these global cities, gathering inspiration for the future city.
Economy
Circassia currently consists of a few buildings and a small animal farm. The town is hoarding gold to fund a planned large scale renovation to transform the settlement into a large city. The town practices extreme frugality. Members use basic copper tools and avoid purchasing strong armor to minimize financial risk. The town generates revenue by farming and selling items such as leather, stripped wood, and obsidian. Circassia earns passive income by occupying gold AFK regions overnight with dedicated AFKists. To avoid toxic gatekeeping of AFK spots, the town follows a rotation system, leaving some spots unattended for other players on the server. Members also collect giant gold crates by tracking vote parties to never miss one. Town members monitor global markets to exploit pricing inefficiencies. In one case, members used daily vote gold to buy underpriced gold crates from a lesser known market. They opened the crates for a guaranteed profit and repeated the cycle until the seller raised their prices. The town also purchases cheap Trial Vault keys from the global market, and use the keys to extract emeralds, tridents, and maces, which they sell for high margins. To bypass system cooldowns on the trial vaults, Circassia temporarily employs outside players to open the chambers and pays them a percentage of the profits.
Government and Culture
Circassia enforces strict laws against scamming, trapping, and fraudulent behavior. The town immediately outlaws any known frauds and toxic players. The town members prefer manual exploration over teleportation, because it is more fun. Some town residents often travel on horseback across the Eurasian Steppe and further, visiting regions including the Balkans, Kazakhstan, Samarkand, Astrakhan, Dagestan, and as far as Siberia. The Mayor and other members also participate in these campaigns. Because members carry basic gear in these campaigns, they suffer zero financial loss when killed by heavily armed players. During these expeditions, members scavenge unique biomes and abandoned towns for loot, rare animals, and abandoned town banners as trophies. Circassia utilizes the Nether for long distance travel. Members study the Nether to build/master secret tunnels. Sometimes, members ride on horseback to neighboring settlements to deliver small gifts, maintain positive relations, and invite other towns to join their nation. The town maintains positive relations with most neighbors, with the strict exception of toxic players. The town is also a member of the Islamic Caliphate, an Islamic community in EarthMC.