Editing Setting:Tabula Gloria/Animar (section)

=A Brief History=
[[File:Tabula Gloria EastCont Key.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Locations in the Eastern Continent]]Long has the Nation of Animar stood on the western coast of the '''Eastern Continent''', said to have existed from the time of the '''Old Empires''' on the '''Western Continent'''. From its turbulent beginnings as a collection of fiercely independent Kingdoms to the relatively harmonious political and economic cooperative it is today, Animar has become the epitome of civilization on the Eastern Continent. Despite its long and powerful standing, they have kept their success to themselves, only ever acting in the capacity of an observer of Western affairs during the time of the Old Empires.

As such, Animar has built up an impressive collection of history from a relatively unbiased third-person perspective, something that was found to be immensely valuable to the '''Imperial College of Antiquities''' when an expedition team of theirs made '''For’Channar’s''' first contact with the Nation. In turn, this attracted the attention of the Emperor at the time, '''Margurim X''', who funded expedition after expedition, almost bringing his government to financial ruin in the process. Under public and internal pressure, the Emperor became the only one to voluntarily abdicate his throne, going to Animar himself to learn more about them until the end of his life. His son and successor, '''Margurim XI''', would commission and open the '''Embassy of Animar''' in Tabula Gloria in the meanwhile.

Since Animar became more of an active world power due to the opening of the Embassy, the people of the Western Continent have come to learn more about the Animari people and their way of life. At the root of all this is their federalized form of government. During the formation of the Nation, the many Kingdoms were in heated debate about maintaining their identity. Sure, the political and economic situation would certainly improve upon the Nation’s founding, but the Kingdoms were worried that they would be absorbed into a single culture based on the dominant Kingdom at the time, '''Paserna'''.

To alleviate these fears, the committee in charge of structuring the new National government decided to keep the Kingdoms the way they were, including their own individual governmental systems. This preserved the royal lines of the Kingdoms instead of abolishing their authority. However, the rulers of the Kingdoms would in turn elect a King and Queen to rule over a new entity, the '''Grand House''', which would rule over the Kingdoms in major matters of political disputes, economic troubles, and matters of security. Of course, the Grand House would be located in Paserna per the charter that was drawn up, but it would be strictly forbidden to meddle in affairs of a Kingdom which are not expected to directly affect other Kingdoms in the Nation.

For the most part, the system worked better than expected to this point. They managed to subdue and even drive back the ever-present threat of the '''Chaktari''' natives to their south, forcing them to close themselves off to the southwestern peninsula of the Continent. When the Kingdoms weren’t united, they all had different methods of dealing with the tribal folk, all with varying degrees of success. If one Kingdom proved to be less effective than a neighbor, the Chaktari would go there instead. But with a unified approach to the Kingdoms’ collective security, they could all utilize the best strategy and utterly overwhelm the natives back to the peninsula.

On the other side of the coin however, there are some difficulties of seeking a majority opinion on other matters. It is common knowledge now that the Earth’s Cry, the massive mountain range to the east of Animar which spans through the center of the Continent, is indescribably dangerous to travel over. The seas to the north and south of the Continent are equally as difficult to traverse. These geographic obstacles have long prevented the Animari from expanding east into new territories and to gain new resources. Figuring out how to tackle this task has been debated for a long time with one point becoming downright impossible to overcome – the costs of the endeavor to the different Kingdoms. While by now trade has been simplified by the creation of a common currency, some Kingdoms which weren’t interested in eastward expansion feared they would have to unnecessarily pay into the project. In this case, a private explorer by the name of '''Zannawa Rosen''' undertook the task and recently completed the underground '''Rosen Passage''' which connects Animar to the southeastern part of the Continent.

The Animari experiment is still a work in progress, however long it has taken thus far. But their long road is still a point of pride among the Animari people, as well as a point of admiration among the Imperial people of For’Channar.