Eldid
Eldid, officially the Kingdom of Eldid, is an island country located in the northern reaches of the Sapphire Ocean, approximately 240 kilometres west of the continent of Asteria. Comprising the three principal islands of Eldoria, Highmere, and Whitecliff, as well as numerous smaller islets, the kingdom covers an area of approximately 248,000 km². Its capital and largest city is Elda, situated on the sheltered shores of the Bay of Elda on the southwestern coast of Eldoria.
Etimology
The etymology of the name Eldid is generally traced to the extinct Old Vaelori language, spoken by the island's indigenous inhabitants before the arrival of the Valedornian settlers in the early eighteenth century. The prevailing linguistic theory derives the name from the Old Vaelori compound el ("shelter", "protection", or "refuge") and díd ("land", "country", or "homeland"), forming the expression El-díd, meaning "Land of Refuge" or "Protected Homeland."
According to archaeological and linguistic evidence, the term originally referred to the fertile central plains of Eldoria, which were naturally protected by mountain ranges to the north and by the surrounding sea. Over time, the name came to designate the entire island. When the Valedornian refugees arrived in 1704, they adopted the indigenous name with only minor phonetic modifications, preserving its pronunciation while standardizing its spelling in the Latin alphabet. The name Eldid first appeared in official records in the Charter of Elda (1728), where it was used to designate the newly established kingdom.
History
Early settlement
The island of Eldoria, the largest island of the Kingdom of Eldid, is believed to have been inhabited since approximately 1800 BCE. Archaeological discoveries around Lake Vaelor and Argen Point indicate the presence of semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer communities collectively known as the Vaelori, who are regarded as the island's indigenous inhabitants.
The Vaelori lived in small autonomous clans governed by councils of elders and maintained an economy based on hunting, fishing, gathering, and small-scale agriculture. Although they never formed a centralized state, they developed sophisticated knowledge of navigation, herbal medicine, and sustainable forestry. Numerous stone circles, burial mounds, and cave paintings attributed to the Vaelori remain preserved across Eldoria. By the early seventeenth century, their population is estimated to have ranged between 8,000 and 10,000 inhabitants.
Founding
The modern history of Eldid began with the collapse of the Kingdom of Valedorn, located on the continent of Asteria. Beginning in 1698, a prolonged eruption of Mount Caelus devastated agricultural production and contributed to widespread famine. The environmental crisis was followed by military invasions, political instability, and civil conflict, ultimately leading to the kingdom's collapse by 1703.
In response, Lord Aldren Eldar, a magistrate and navigator, organized an expedition to seek new lands across the Western Current. On 18 April 1704, a fleet of seven ships departed the port of Merinth carrying approximately 1,940 refugees. After a voyage of nearly four months, five vessels reached the eastern coast of Eldoria on 3 August 1704, establishing the first permanent settlement at what is now Elda Bay.
Initial contact between the settlers and the indigenous Vaelori was largely peaceful. Trade, cultural exchange, and intermarriage gradually integrated the two communities, forming the basis of a distinct Eldidian identity.
Foundation of Elda (1704)
Construction of the settlement of Elda officially began on 15 September 1704. Planned around a natural harbor, the town rapidly developed into the island's political and commercial center. During its first decade, Elda acquired public infrastructure including a marketplace, granary, harbor, school, hospital, courthouse, and public library. Agricultural settlements expanded across the fertile plains of Eldoria, while timber production, fishing, and maritime trade became the foundations of the island's economy. Cooperation between refugee settlers and the Vaelori contributed to improvements in agriculture, navigation, and resource management, enabling the colony to achieve economic self-sufficiency by the mid-1720s.
Charter of Elda (1728)
By the late 1720s, Eldoria had developed into a stable and prosperous society, with several permanent settlements and a growing population composed of both Valedornian settlers and Vaelori communities. The increasing complexity of government, commerce, and land administration led local leaders to seek a permanent constitutional framework. In early 1728, Lord Aldren Eldar convened the Council of Elda, a constitutional convention composed of representatives from every major settlement and the principal Vaelori clans.
The convention met over several weeks in the Assembly Hall of Elda to draft a document defining the institutions and principles of the emerging state. Although the Charter was the result of collective deliberation, Aldren Eldar was widely regarded as its principal architect. Drawing upon his experience as a magistrate in Valedorn, he drafted much of the constitutional framework and argued that the new nation should be founded upon the rule of law rather than hereditary privilege or military authority.
Following weeks of debate, the Charter of Elda was unanimously adopted on 12 June 1728. The Charter established several constitutional principles that remained fundamental to the Kingdom of Eldid, including: equality before the law; protection of private property; freedom of conscience; compulsory primary education; judicial independence; local self-government; recognition of Vaelori customary institutions; limitations on executive authority.
Rather than establishing an absolute monarchy, the Charter created a constitutional system in which executive authority would be shared between the Crown and an elected Assembly, initially composed by twelve men. Sovereignty was declared to derive from the people of Eldid, acting through the Charter and their constitutional institutions.
Establishment of the Kingdom
Following the adoption of the Charter, the newly elected Assembly faced the question of selecting the nation's first head of state. Although several delegates proposed establishing a republic, the overwhelming majority favored retaining a constitutional monarchy. They argued that Lord Aldren Eldar had provided the leadership necessary for the survival of the refugee expedition, had overseen the peaceful integration of the settlers with the Vaelori, and had served as the principal author of the constitutional settlement. Many delegates believed that his leadership had already earned the confidence of both communities.
On 18 June 1728, the Assembly unanimously adopted the Resolution of National Foundation, formally inviting Aldren Eldar to accept the Crown under the limitations established by the Charter of Elda. According to the official proceedings of the Assembly, Aldren initially declined the offer, expressing concern that the monarchy might eventually become detached from the principles upon which the nation had been founded. After three days of deliberation and repeated requests from representatives of both the settlements and the Vaelori clans, he agreed to accept the Crown on the condition that all future sovereigns would remain subject to the Constitution and the authority of Parliament.
On 21 June 1728, he was crowned King Aldren I, becoming the first monarch of the Kingdom of Eldid. The coronation ceremony took place in Elda before representatives of every settlement and Vaelori clan, symbolizing the union between the island's indigenous inhabitants and the refugee communities. Historians generally regard Aldren I as both the principal founder of the Eldidian state and the chief author of its constitutional tradition. His political philosophy, emphasizing education, justice, scientific progress, and limited government, continued to influence the development of Eldid throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.