---
title: "E.S.U."
type: "overview"
nation: "esu"
infobox: (31 rows)
---
**The Elysian State of Unity** (abbreviated as the **E.S.U**), commonly known as the **Unity State**, is a country in Northeastern [[elysia]]. It is bordered on the North by Acadia and the Thule Governorate, Calveria to the west, Hollosend to the West and South, and the Sahara Sea to the East. The Unity State covers over 700 thousand square kilometers and has an estimated population of over 102 million people, making it the second most populous single nation in Elysia after Hollosend. The Unity State is a one-party state ruled by [[archer-maine]], acting as the flagship [[gestaltist]] state in the world. Its capital city is Nexus.
The earliest signs of human settlementation in North-Eastern Elysia date back to around 4200 BCE with the arrival and settlement of hunter-gatherer tribes in the region, which would later go on to form the native tribes of the area, most prominently the Thram. Remaining isolated and without much advancement, the earliest signs of agricultural practices in the region date only to around 200 BCE, only a few centuries before Rumaic settlement and colonization of the region. With the collapse of the Rumaic Empire, and the waning authority of the Triumvirate, any remnants of former Rumaic authority in the region collapsed with the arrival of Evrian refugees escaping the Black Death’s subsequent chaos to Elysia. The chaos was exploited by multiple Evrian powers to establish colonies and authority in the region, most notably for Northeastern Elysia being [[elvester]], who founded the Commonwealth of Elysia in 1582. However, over the years, ideas of self-governance and Enlightenment era ideas began taking root in the Commonwealth, eventually culminating in a total revolt against their Elvesterian overlords in the Elysian Revolutionary War. Following their independence from Elvester, the newly founded United States of Elysia saw an incredible era of economic growth, eventually becoming one of the foremost nations spearheading the industrial revolution. And while not yet a great power by 1900, the USE still maintained great power and influence over Northern Elysia and the world stage at large.
The aftermath of the Great War saw the Central Power-aligned USE sign a white peace with the Kingdom of Hollosend, causing unrest to slowly fester with the populace. This internal tension would come to a head with the election of President Vincent Stone into office in 1918. He began enacting a series of policies consolidating power to himself, eventually culminating with the “Capitol of Truth” speech held on the 30th of November, in which he decreed his duty to protect Elysia from what he referred to as foreign agitators, reading off a list of politicians who were immediately arrested on charges of conspiracy against the USE. These arrests and repressive practices became widespread in the USE, with people from all walks of life being arrested or executed for their ethnicity, their ideology or general personal attributes. This period of political repression and purges would come to be known simply as the “Years of Oppression”, ultimately culminating with the start of the [[elysian-civil-war]] in November 1920. The conflict would rage on until March of 1922, when the final major units loyal to the USE surrendered to rebel forces.
Following a brief period of consolidation, Archer Maine, a Karjanian-Elysian socialist writer and history teacher, would declare himself the Supreme Protector of the Elysian State of Unity following approval of the newly created parliament on the 25th of July, 1922.
The Unity State is a Gestaltist state, where the role of the Gestaltist Party is enshrined in the constitution. The Unity State has a totalitarian government, wherein most forms of political opposition are prohibited. Despite this, majority of foreign literature and domestic press remain untampered with, stemming from the Gestaltist philosophies developed by Archer Maine. The Unity State stands as both an industrial and welfare power on the world stage, sporting a very high level for standard of living, educational quality and literacy, as well as life expectancy.
## Etymology
The first known usage of the Unity State in referring to the area which once constituted the United States of Elysia comes from the State’s constitution, written by Gestaltist Party Chairman Alyssa Traton and also in small part by Supreme Protector Archer Maine, declaring that “...the new State that is to rise from the Civil War’s ashes will be that of pure and Gestaltist ideas. An Elysian State of Unity.”
## History
### Pre-Colonial Era
The earliest signs of native settlement in the area that now constitutes the Unity State dates back to 4200 BCE with the arrival of hunter-gatherers from the Laurentian Plains, establishing their first settlements in the area around the same time. Most dominant of these groups were the Thram, establishing a proto-agricultural city state in the area now referred to as the Aquila Valley. Contact with the outside world was limited, with new ideas and trade slow to arrive in the area. Estimates of pre-Evrian populations of the area range somewhere in the hundreds of thousands.
### Rumaic settlement and rule (50 BCE - 1582)
Starting at around 50 BCE, Rumaic explorers began sailing from [[evria]] to establish colonies in Elysia, in a territory that came to be referred to as **Territoria Elysiaca**, thanks to geographic information obtained through Thalassan sailors who’d done trade with Elysia for some centuries prior. The Elysian territories acted as a major grain and timber producer for the Rumaic Empire, as well as a strategic outpost to secure Rumaic naval superiority in the Sargassum Straits and the Sahara Sea. Through their settlement, they imported the Rumaic legal system, urban planning, infrastructure construction and provincial planning to the continent. The largest city built during the era of Rumaic rule, Tonitria, and also the capital of Territoria Elysiaca; acted as the predecessor of the modern-day city of Donnerbrucht, where many buildings from the era still stand, most predominantly the city’s old system of aqueducts, which provided water to the city until 1898.
However, the fall of the Rumaic Empire in 476 caused immediate chaos within Elysia, with the Territoria Elysiaca splintering into three separate polities, with the polity simply known as **Elysia** occupying most of the modern-day Unity State. This gave rise to the period of the Triumvirate, and the **Triumvirate wars**, where the different former Rumaic polities waged intermittent war against each other, however none could wrestle control away from each other to a definitive decree. The wars devastated the more economically developed areas, creating a political climate of decay that endured for centuries. This gave the chance for groups of Native Elysians to wrestle control away from the polities and establish control over the frontier regions of Rumaic colonization.
### Elvesterian Colonization and rule (1582-1787)
Following the mass migrations from Evria to Elysia caused by the Black Death, the old Rumaic polities finally collapsed by the oncoming flood of people to the continent, simply not possessing the infrastructure or economy to support them all. This state of chaos was eventually taken advantage of by the Empire of Elvester, who staked their claim on the continent in 1582, establishing the **Commonwealth of Elysia** to administer the territories that constitute the modern-day Unity State.
With the influx of immigrants to the region, both fleeing the Black Death and later willingly arriving from Elvester, the Commonwealth began a swathe of expansion initiatives, founding new cities and towns rapidly, in some cases even rebuilding abandoned or ruined Rumaic settlements, like with the cities of Aquila, which had acted as the capital of the Thram people for millennia and was conquered by the Rumaics; and Nexus. This influx of new available workers and widespread settlement caused a veritable population boom, with the population of the Commonwealth reaching 10 million by 1642.
The Commonwealth acted as a breadbasket for the Empire for most of its existence, its large fields providing grain, its forests in the north timber for the Empire’s growing navy, and the many mines popping up in the Apalchen mountain ranges providing precious metals, such as iron, tin and copper, and coal.
During the 7 Years War, Elvester started becoming more and more reliant on Commonwealth assistance in supplying material and manpower for their war effort in Evria. The situation became worse, as after the end of the war, the Empire began levying heavier taxes on their overseas territories and colonies, especially on the resource- and population-rich Elysia. Additionally to this, colonial representation in mainland Elvester saw no major improvements for Elysia, which steadily began growing the ire of the Commonwealth’s public. This eventually came to a head when a group of independence supporters seized an Elvesterian arms shipment in Donnerbrucht. The ensuing firefight was seen as the last straw by Imperial authorities, who then imposed martial law on the colony. In response, a group of Elysian landowners and intellectuals released their August decree, declaring the Commonwealth’s independence and igniting the Elysian Revolutionary war. The newly founded Elysian Continental Congress soon voted former Elvesterian General Vergilius Mountbatten as commander-in-chief of the newly founded Continental Army, fighting a brutal war stretching from the December of 1784 to May of 1787, when both sides came to a peace agreement following the entry of Arverne into the war on the side of the Commonwealth. The peace treaty saw the Commonwealth inherit all Elvesterian colonial territories in Northeastern Elysia, and Elvester recognizing the independence of the Commonwealth.
Following victory in the Revolutionary war, the Continental Congress underwent a constitutional rewrite, enshrining democratic values and liberty in the nation’s constitution, officially renaming the Commonwealth of Elysia into the United States of Elysia.
### The United States of Elysia (1787-1922)
Adopting many values from contemporary republican and Enlightenment ideas, the United States of Elysia established itself as a bastion of democratic thought in the world, going on to inspire many other nations in the world to adopt more democratic forms of governance. A presidential republic, supreme executive power was entrusted to the president, who was elected every 4 years by direct popular vote by those eligible to vote (which until the late 1800’s meant exclusively men above the age of 18).
Following the nation’s first presidential election, Vergilius Mountbatten was voted into office via an electoral landslide. His administration saw the republic establish ground rules for its existence, implementing constitutional amendments for common human rights, presidential term limits, executive power limitations and ratifying legislation ensuring the peaceful transitions of power. Mountbatten served two terms as president, retiring to his country estate in 1795.
Diplomatically, the USE began making connections in continental Evria, especially with Arverne, whom the USE sided with during the Napolyonic wars, leading to skirmishes with the Elvesterian Navy in the Sargassum straits. The USE would however begin distancing themselves from Arverne after the ascension of Napolyon II to the throne, ending up supporting many of the rebelling Evrian nations in their efforts through supplying vital goods and arms, beginning fruitful trade relations with many of the countries later on.
With the invention of the steam engine, and the beginning of the Industrial revolution, Elysia quickly became one of the foremost industrialized nations in the world, thanks to the nation’s abundant resources, coal deposits and large available labor pool. The continuous economic development led to further waves of mass-immigration from Evria to Elysia in search of work, away from conflict and repression and to provide for their families back home. This explosion of cheap immigrant labor, accompanied by rapid technological progress in the late 19th and early 20th century caused a veritable economic boom, with Elysia’s economy beginning to outpace their Evrian competitors, leading to Elysia becoming the world leader in many fields of industry. This state of affairs was soon capitalized on by a few prominent industrialists, creating monopolies to eliminate competition. These changes resulted in the rapid increase of income inequality, slum conditions and social unrest, creating the environmental conditions for socialist movements to form and flourish.
The USE would enter the Great War on the side of the Central Powers, believing Arverne’s attack on Ymiria motivated simply by the assassination carried out by terrorists of Ymirian background was a shaky excuse to justify Arvernian expansion on the continent. The USE originally only provided material aid to its allies, until launching a surprise attack into Hollosend on the 25th of September, 1914, overrunning the riverwall defenses and capturing Annesburg in a few days of the war’s beginning. Troops from both sides would dig into their positions, leading to a trench-warfare campaign that would endure for the remainder of the war. Both sides would conduct a series of costly offensives which saw little if any tangible territorial gains. The situation would rapidly change in April of 1916, when Hollosend utilized poison gas against Elysian troops, leading to massive casualties and chaos in the Elysian lines. The following offensives would see Elysian troops withdrawing from Annesburg and regrouping on the other side of the Riverwall, the crossing of which would have been far too costly for Hollosend. Soon after, with the signing of the Remington-Wesley treaty, the war would come to an end for Elysia.
The lack of any sizeable gains and the large number of casualties after the war caused a sentiment of bitterness within Elysia to begin brewing, providing fertile ground for extremist ideologies to begin taking root within the Elysian political scene, particularly with the communists, who started gaining a large number of seats within both Congress and the Senate. This sudden spur of socialist sentiment caused paranoia within many of the larger companies in Elysia, giving rise to the Red Scare, during which many right-wing politicians began accruing more power.
In 1918, Vincent Stone, a former business magnate and Captain in the Army, was voted in as president, surpassing Marcus L. Rockwell by two votes. He entered office with a populist platform, increasingly pandering to more right-wing elements within the government and populace. His connections within Elysia’s investment scene earned him a large support-base within both Congress and the Senate, which he began using to pass legislation and Constitutional amendments to give himself more executive power.
This eventually culminated in 1919, with the “Capitol of Truth” speech, where he claimed that the socialist members of congress were plotting with Evrian governments to further destabilize the Republic, enacting emergency powers for himself, and ordering the arrest of hundreds of socialist politicians. This point is often seen as the beginning of the Years of Oppression. The arrests slowly began ramping up from hardliner socialists to social democrats, to native minorities, to sexual minorities and eventually even plain liberals. He accrued a position of de-facto dictatorship, which he used to rule over Elysia with an iron fist. Most of the arrested were transported to the nation’s varying prison complexes, or hastily constructed labor camps, the conditions of which were often harsh and the work grueling.
### [[the-elysian-civil-war-1920-1922|The Elysian Civil War (1920-1922)]]
The official beginning of the civil war is often disputed, with the official formation of the Revolutionary Guard being seen by some as the start, while others see the first prison camp uprisings as the start. Whatever the position, the prison populations of the government’s prison camps began multiple uprisings in the countryside, using the arms and bases of support in the Northern countryside to begin a popular uprising against the government. While branded as a socialist uprising by the government, the newly founded Revolutionary Guard was generally composed of everyone from the political spectrum against the Stone administration, wishing to see him removed from his position as president. Besides the 26 labor camps, the Guard began disarming Army garrisons in the nearby cities of Moose Pen and Starfell, gaining a considerable amount of arms for use. In some cases, entire battalions straight up joined the cause of the Revolutionary Guard, either generally disloyal to the government or horrified by the inhumane treatment of the prisoners in the camps.
On December 20th of 1920, the government finally acted against the Guard, with the president declaring a state of martial law and declaring the Guard to be a communist uprising funded by foreign powers against Elysia. The first large-scale engagement of the war was fought in the city of Fort Union, where a local police unit engaged the Guard detachment attempting to disarm them or help the Guard in their cause. The police station opened fire, which caused the local garrison to intervene. This led to both sides calling in further reinforcements, placing Fort Union to become the centerpoint of the war. The battle ended with a decisive Guard victory, leaving the Army to retreat further South. The Guard quickly swept through the highly populated areas of the north, taking Metro Regima without a fight in March of 1921, to which the Guard quickly moved their headquarters, previously held in Moose Pen’s Griffon Hall, a former countryside presidential residence.
The Army largely relied on conventional warfare tactics to combat the Guard, relying on railroads for their logistical support. These efforts were massively hampered by partisan movements formed in areas still under government control. The Guard on the other hand utilized the nation’s terrain to its fullest advantage, employing hunters with experience of the local rural areas to lead Ranger units on sabotage and recon missions, creating mass confusion and chaos behind enemy lines. This forced the Army to continue retreating south, avoiding engagements at as many points as possible, only forming into defensive formations after reaching the countryside south of Foundry. The majority of the war took place in this area, referred to by Army Command as the “Tango-Line”, with both sides digging in to engage in trench warfare for most of the duration of 1921. Both sides attempted offensives to break the stalemate, which resulted only in minor land grabs and large casualties. Eventually, the Guard broke through the Army lines following the defection of Colonel [[george-elwood]] to the Guard’s service, providing swathes of valuable intel which enabled the Guard to encircle and wipe out the last few major Army units still in service.
The last remaining trained units and loyal militia fell back to their secondary and tertiary defense lines around Nexus, burning down the city of Aquila on their way to slow down the advance of the Guard. The ensuing Battle of Nexus would last until the 14th of January, 1922, when a detachment led by then Captain Archer Maine advanced beyond the city’s defenses, taking the last few remaining units and government representatives as prisoners. President Stone would be captured and executed that same day.
Despite being the final major engagement of the civil war, various random skirmishes continued on until late 1923 between the forces of the Guard, and later the Unity State, and forces still loyal to the old government. Most Elysian scholars consider the end of the war to be the 4th of June 1922, with the official founding of the Reconstruction Authority of Elysia.
### The Elysian State of Unity (1922-Present)
The end of the Civil War brought an air of uncertainty in Elysia. While the Guard was unified in their cause to overthrow the government and supporter base of president Stone, the aftermath was far different. Many in the Reconstruction Authority wished to see a return of the U.S.E and its republican system of government, seeing Stone’s takeover as an anomaly that could be prevented in the future. Many others on the other hand saw the weaknesses of democratic government too easy to exploit, vying for a more centralized authority to safeguard the people from such bad actors.
At the forefront of this power struggle emerged Archer Maine, former Captain in the Revolutionary Guard and former chairman of the Elysian Communist Party. Him and his faction, composed primarily of his socialist and communist supporters, arrived on the scene with a different philosophy: [[gestaltism]]. Along with the publishing of Maine’s book “One Choir”, the newly founded Gestaltist party’s campaigns promising economic resurgence and total unification quickly gained traction, with the suggested mode of government being accepted by both sides as an adequate compromise to the issues brought up in the aftermath of the civil war.
On the 25th of July 1922, along with approval from the newly created Gestaltist parliament, Archer Maine was voted in nearly unanimously as the Supreme Protector of the Elysian State of Unity, a dictatorial position with powers to surpass the legislative decisions of parliament’s upper and lower executive organs. Maine immediately began instituting policies to rebuild the ravaged nation back to its former glory, instituting a period of near total political isolation from the rest of the world, with Elysian political relations being reopened for the first time in 1925. He began improving the state’s welfare, healthcare, educational and infrastructural conditions, reforming the dollar into the chit, and migrating people from the hard to supply areas of the countryside into the cities, with newly available jobs in industrial, educational, and construction sectors, as well as cheap housing and easily available services. This began a fundamental demographic shift in Elysia, where all aspects of life began steadily centering around the cities, with even agriculture being shifted to large greenhouses and large farms just outside city limits.
<figure><img src="/assets/old-media/media/elysian-state-of-unity-2.jpg" alt="A student of electrical engineering studying at the Axiom Institute of Technology."><figcaption>A student of electrical engineering studying at the Axiom Institute of Technology.</figcaption></figure>
In 1927, the Unity State would pursue the establishment of a permanent base on the continent of [[hyperborea]]. The events related to this venture would result in a brief period of tension with the Miyamoto Shogunate over an Elysian reconnaissance squad’s intrusion into Nichirian base territory in Hyperborea. The negotiations regarding which would prove to be the beginning of a conflict known only as the [[majesty]] Crisis, wherein a branch of the Elysian Office of Naval Intelligence would split off into its own separate entity. The conflict would prove to be a nightmare for the Unity State, now forced to chase a mostly formless enemy across the globe, leading them to send military expeditions into [[shivon]] and finally [[rudania]], after which the organization would scatter and disband.
The Unity State would see the first successes of its ideals through their invitation into and acting as a founding member of the Third Internationale in 1930. The organization would see a surge in membership over the following years, plateauing out at 5 in the mid 1930’s. Due to diplomatic tensions related to the MAJESTY crisis, Rudania was voted out as a member in 1932, leading to the ESU assuming leadership of the organization. Another diplomatic triumph of the 1930s would see Elysia diplomatically annexing the Republic of Calveria into the Unity State, incorporating most of the nation into the ESU, with the exception of certain native territories to the west of the Lannahechee river.
## Military
The [[grand-army-of-the-unity-state]] composes the total strength of the armed forces of the E.S.U, and is administered by the Ministry of Defense in Nexus. The Grand Army is made up of 4 service branches, being the Army, Ranger Corps, Navy, and Air Force, with the Coast Guard being under the administration of the Ministry of the Interior during peacetime, however can be transferred under the Department of the Navy during wartime. The Supreme Protector acts as Commander-in-Chief during peacetime, however can appoint a different individual to occupy the role during wartime.
The total strength of the Grand Army is ~4 million personnel in active duty, with 1.3 million in the Army, 500 thousand in the Ranger Corps, 1 million in the Navy, 300 thousand in the Coast Guard and 900 thousand in the Air Force, with an additional 3 million trained in the reserve.
According to the latest government reports, the Unity State spent around $612 billion on Defense in 1934.
<figure><img src="/assets/old-media/media/elysian-state-of-unity-3.jpg" alt="Riflemen of the 2nd Infantry Division during a training exercise near Fort Freedom (circa 1926)."><figcaption>Riflemen of the 2nd Infantry Division during a training exercise near Fort Freedom (circa 1926).</figcaption></figure>
## Government
The Elysian Gestaltist state system is based on [unified state power](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_state_power) as well as [democratic centralism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_centralism). The Office of Supreme Protector stands as the highest organ of state authority, with the Supreme Protector maintaining a final say in any bills submitted by the lower ranking state organs, possessing the ability to submit new legislation at will or even vetoing any ongoing legislation. The executive organ of the state (synonymous with government), the Politburo, is an upper organ of the legislative totality referred to as Parliament, with the Party Congress acting as the lower organ of the Parliament. In times of domestic or international crises, matters requiring swift legislative decisions, or when constitutional amendments are required, the Supreme Protector or Politburo can call for a General Assembly of the Gestaltist Party Congress. This event brings the totality of the Unity State’s government to debate and vote on decisions requiring swift and decisive action, with the Party Chairman acting as the Speaker of the House for the duration of the event.
The Gestaltist Party Congress’ role revolves mostly around acting as the legislative and advisory organ to both the Supreme Protector and Politburo, with members acting as representatives for their respective area of expertise, or region of residence. Judiciary matters are handled by the Ministry of Justice, an organ under the direct oversight and administration of Parliament, as well as the Minister of Justice.
While often seen as dictatorial in nature by most scholars, the Unity State still exercises a wide degree of democratic processes, with the general party membership’s positions in the Gestaltist Party Congress being analogous to regular Members of Parliament in many liberal democracies.
## Economy
The E.S.U possesses a newfound but developed planned economy, with the vast majority of Elysian industries having been nationalized following the rise of the Unity State. Despite this, a small percentage of private businesses still exist, consisting mostly of companies within the entertainment industry. However, the State still holds majority shares in these corporations. Industrial jobs continue to dominate the Unity State, with a slowly growing service industry also ranking highly.
Despite the transition to a planned economy, the E.S.U continues to dominate most consumer product markets by a wide margin, with electronics, automobiles and other machinery being their most common export products. Its main trade partners include its neighboring countries in Elysia, Nordmark, Rudania, [[nichirin]], Guandong, [Arverne](https://www.nationstates.net/nation=the_horkish_people/detail=factbook/id=2688052) and Elvester.
<figure><img src="/assets/old-media/media/elysian-state-of-unity-4.jpg" alt="Evening rush-hour on Beat Street, Axiom. Formerly Elysia’s center for global stock trading."><figcaption>Evening rush-hour on Beat Street, Axiom. Formerly Elysia’s center for global stock trading.</figcaption></figure>
Elysian wealth is highly decentralized, with income equality being largely nullified through the State’s legislation on minimum wages, and its extensive welfare policies, with homelessness being practically eliminated thanks to the government’s “Housing First” approach.
Technologically, Elysia has always been on the forefront of technological developments since the mid 19th century, and scientific developments since the late 19th century. Many Elysian educational institutions are regarded among the highest quality in the world, with technical universities such as the Axiom Institute of Technology.
<figure><img src="/assets/old-media/media/elysian-state-of-unity-5.jpg" alt="A view from a Dynamo assembly line, one of the most commonly seen Elysian export products."><figcaption>A view from a Dynamo assembly line, one of the most commonly seen Elysian export products.</figcaption></figure>
## Geography
### Topology
Geographically, Elysia lies in the geographic area known as **Old Elysia**, with the country split into East and West by the Apalchen mountain range. Western Elysia is home to the nation's largest cities and densest population centers, as well as economical heartland, dominated primarily by wide plains its coastline to the Saharan Sea. Eastern Elysia is primarily dominated by the forested and rural lands of the Apalchen mountains, with most population centers located near the river valleys snaking deeper inland, or around the coast of the Great Lakes region. Additionally to this is Northern Elysia, characterized primarily by its less mountainous, although still hilly terrain, dominated by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with pine, spruce and birch dominating the landscape.
<figure><img src="/assets/old-media/media/elysian-state-of-unity-6.jpg" alt="The Apalchens, the mountain range that splits Elysia in two."><figcaption>The Apalchens, the mountain range that splits Elysia in two.</figcaption></figure>
### Biodiversity
Most Elysian forests can be split into two categories, the taiga dominated mixed forests of the north, and the more continental, leafy dominated areas to the south, where species such as the Montane birch, oak and Elysian larch dominate the landscape. The nation’s fields and flatlands that haven’t been purposed for farmland or grazing are primarily dominated by a varying range of grasses and weeds, with species like poppies, harebells, and fireweed dominating the landscape.
Similarly, Elysia possesses an extensive and diverse range of fauna, being home to more than 70 native mammalian species, over 300 breeding bird species, over 80 fish species and 15 reptile and frog species present today. Large and widely recognized wildlife mammals include the [brown bear](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_bear), [grey wolf](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf), [moose](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose) and [Elysian lynx](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_lynx). Three of the more striking bird species include the [Elysian barn owl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_barn_owl), the national animal of the Unity State; the [bald eagle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_eagle), a distinctively colored large eagle species; and the [ruby-throated hummingbird](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby-throated_hummingbird), the smallest bird in Elysia.
Most prominently, Elysian territory on the coast of the Great Lakes is home to the [Elysian ringed seal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saimaa_ringed_seal), one of the few freshwater seals in the world. It is often seen as a nuisance by fishermen, and is often hunted in great numbers.
### Climate
Despite its position near the equator, Elysia experiences a significant cooling effect caused by the frigid winds blowing from the Hyperborean ocean, with summer temperatures hovering between 15-25 degrees centigrade, whereas during winter, the temperatures often swing between -15 and -20, being 10 or so degrees warmer than Central Elysia thanks to maritime temperature regulations. Precipitation is frequent, with both rain- and snowfall being very typical sights in every area of the E.S.U.
<figure><img src="/assets/old-media/media/elysian-state-of-unity-7.jpg" alt="The Augustine coast, an example of the many rocky beaches in North-Eastern Elysia."><figcaption>The Augustine coast, an example of the many rocky beaches in North-Eastern Elysia.</figcaption></figure>
## Demographics
### Ethnic Groups
Due to the nation’s history with immigration from all over Evria and the wider world, Elysia is often described as a “melting pot” of ethnicities, with 36 ancestry groups having been recorded having over 1 million members. As such, the group consisting of immigrants that are at least 1 generation removed from their homeland are referred to simply as Elysian. Most prominent of these groups include people of Elvesterian, Vicilian, Arvernois and Albernian descent, with them making up a combined 61% of the population. Around 9% of the population identify as being of Rumaic ancestry. 5,13% of the population consists of people born of Native Elysian ancestry.
Due to the Unity State’s policies and legislation on equality, systematic discrimination has effectively been eliminated, however some people continue to harbor negative attitudes towards foreigners, particularly Hollosendians, likely influenced by the Great War.
The Unity State’s *de-facto* official language is Brantish, however a variety of other languages are spoken in the E.S.U, such as Iberican, Arvernois and Alemannian.
### Religion
Officially, the Unity State is secular, however the constitution guarantees freedom of religion to its citizens. The most dominant religion continues to be Nazarism in its many forms, with Ameistic Nazarism continuing to dominate. With the state’s increasingly secular policies and stances, atheism has been on a steady rise ever since the end of the Civil War. Largely practiced by those of native descent are the folk religions, whose traditions have survived relatively well, predating Rumaic colonization and settlement by centuries.
### Urbanization
Before the end of the civil war, 75% of the Elysian population lived in urban areas, particularly the densely populated city centers, with only around a third living in suburbs. Following the Unity State’s rise to power, it sought to centralize the population even further, relocating swathes of the suburban and rural population to the denser metropolitan areas with easier access to services, faster transit to work, and beginning a process of “de-peasantification” of agriculture, moving food production closer to the cities in newly constructed factory-farms and greenhouses, with many greenhouses decorating the rooftops of buildings in major cities. This has led to a deliberate and swift decline in the rural population, with many small villages and towns left abandoned for nature to reclaim.
<figure><img src="/assets/old-media/media/elysian-state-of-unity-8.jpg" alt="Aerial view of Foundry’s industrial district, among the largest in all of Elysia."><figcaption>Aerial view of Foundry’s industrial district, among the largest in all of Elysia.</figcaption></figure>
## Largest Cities
| Rank | City Name | Urban Population | Subdivision |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Axiom | 19,211,000 | Axiom S.A.Z |
| 2 | Dogma | 7,201,000 | Dogma S.A.Z |
| 3 | Foundry | 5,811,000 | Bay-State |
| 4 | Nexus | 5,532,000 | Nexus S.A.Z |
| 5 | Port of Muscovite | 4,396,000 | Bay-State |
| 6 | Charlotte | 3,782,000 | Treeline |
| 7 | Aquilla | 2,311,000 | Aquila |
| 8 | Starfell (South) | 1,822,000 | Aquila |
| 9 | Cromsine | 1,775,000 | Rumen |
| 10 | Ostrig | 1,768,000 | Erie |
