Kingdom of Scotland

Human Era

The nation dates back to the human era as a small nation oftentimes associated with its former neighbors, England and Ireland in its earlier history. Little historical text from the region prior to the rise of the dragons has survived until today, but a number of documents, legends, and myths have, oftentimes depicting the neighboring country of England as a foul enemy. This has confused many historians for centuries, as by all accounts during the time period from other nations where they are mentioned, Scotland and England were regarded as close allies, Scotland in particular being regarded as a smaller offshoot of England itself or colony of it. Many other countries' records of the time do, however, have marked disdain or even outright hatred for England itself, suggesting violent and brutal pasts between them. A partial document dated to the 2100s found in what is believed to be a governmental office has a partial line describing local officials' refusal to give arms to England due to a dragon attack.   A text dated to The War of Black Ash, and further supported by other partial texts of the era, was found that described the 'Great Independence' of multiple nearby nations and Scotland itself from England, further bolstering the theory that Scotland and England were once united. The text, likely written by a high ranking military official, describes successful plans to hinder England's own military by way of blocking shipments to and from the island, having formed a blockade to prevent resupply. A large scale attack by the Lunar Dragonflight was later capitalized upon with a land invasion force from Scotland and Ireland, taking the capital for a brief period of time and declaring "...The entire Isle of Britain free of the foul English". It is unknown precisely how factual this account is, as many from mainland Europe at the time attest to that the isle of Britain had largely been devastated by dragon attacks already, and much of the populace had already fled to the mainland, moving south as early as 2200. By the time of the War of Black Ash, it is believed that the vast majority of settlements at similar latitudes had become abandoned by all but the most stubborn of survivors.   Scant few records from England itself exist, with those surviving having been heavily damaged in antiquity. It is unknown if these records were intentionally burned or merely collateral damage in dragon attacks. Some records have been found suggesting that indeed Scotland had claimed the isles in a revolution, but that their claims to other regions under England's control at the time were invalid due to not coming from the monarchy of the time, who had fled into Spain decades prior. It seems as though that during this period, which nation controlled whom was under heavy debate even in far flung regions of the world such as Australia, Fiji, Myanmar, Singapore, and many more with surviving Black Ash era records. During this time, many nations had refused to acknowledge England as a nation at all, and instead corresponded with Scotland's self proclaimed monarchy.  

Conquest Monarchies

Much of the information following this period is only known from Australia, and has not been corroborated by records or texts from other closer nations or Scotland itself, and subject to intense debate amongst scholars. It is believed that there was a relative peace period following the invasion of England, but due to issues of lines of succession, the nation quickly faced governmental crisis due to multiple self-proclaimed monarchs, disputes over England's former colonies, and several self proclaimed leaders either claiming the territories for their own or declaring them independent. What followed was a period of brutal civil war and fracturing, much like other nations during the Black Ash era, where smaller communities and more local governments attempted to seize control of growing dissent and the scant few resources left behind. In Scotland itself, this was reportedly a period with numerous local wars fought over control of the region's coastlines for fishing and oil reserves where a right of monarchy by conquest was often cited- a law apparently dated to much earlier in the human era.   It's believed that many of these local conflicts lasted for centuries, only quelling with the descent of the glacial line due to a lack of resources and was followed by another mass exodus of people from the region to warmer regions of the world. The scant few records of the era make reference to a monarch having unified Scotland, though their name has been lost to history and is heavily debated on whether they are fact or myth.  

Modern Era

In modern times, Scotland is a democratic constitutional monarchy, with its royal family being little more than figureheads. The vast majority of political decisions are made by a parliament of officials elected by smaller districts to represent their peoples for 2 year terms. To extreme controversy at the time, in 20,007 the crowned prince of Scotland's royal family stepped down from the family to pursue a priesthood under the Cult of Life and left the country for training in the Land of Gods. Prince Andres has not been heard from directly since his departure, though Mora's cult has assured the public he is well cared for and excelling in his studies. One of Mora's high priests stated in 20,009:  

Andres has taken on himself Mora's vow until his apprenticeship has been completed, as is traditional. We expect he shall finish his studies within two years, if (Andres) does not pursue further training.

  This statement did little to quell online theories that Prince Andres may have either been disowned by the royal family or had decided to leave the family himself under the pretenses of duty to the pantheon. A much smaller but much more dedicated group of conspiracy theorists believe that Prince Andres may in fact be deceased, likely having been killed by one of his younger siblings to take his position, and that his pilgrimage to the Land of Gods is in actuality a cover up. This conspiracy has been growing over the years in no small part due to a continued lack of public appearances by Prince Andres as well as numerous investigations of corruption within the Scottish government. Scottish parliament has long time had connections to various feuding priesthoods and cults among the pantheon, oftentimes to direct intervention by the Cult of Ludovic.   Following the Pacific Eruption Disaster and due to an alliance between Ludovic and Soliairs Taeyang, Scotland and the Republic of Shanai became formal allies, with Scotland sending numerous ships to the country with humanitarian aid. It remains unknown just how far this alliance will be taken, though many speculate that Scottish armed forces may soon formerly join the War of the Moon.

As with many regions above the glacial line, Scotland is highly dependent on a rich oceanic fishing industry as well as livestock, seeing little in ways of crops to survive the brutal temperatures and short growing season. The vast majority of crops grown in the country are grown primarily as wintertime feed for livestock such as sheep and cattle, though migratory fowl are also oftentimes raised for eggs, meat, and feathers. With a rich food culture highly connected to traditions within Ludovic's cult, most crops outside of animal feed are grown for the production of wines, meads, and liquors used both in the preservation of food as well as ritual.   Seasonal fishing grounds are highly protected and maintained, with strict boundaries between Scottish waters and that of their neighbors.

Due to local proximity as well as Ludovic's uncontested proclamation as the primary god of Scotland itself, an estimated 31% of the population belongs to his cult in some fashion as estimated by a 20,019 census. Although most respondents to the census declared they did not worship Ludovic as their primary or patron deity, the majority did participate in his feast days and holidays.   The country is rather well known for being fiercely loyal to a select few members of the pantheon, with Ludovic, Mora, The God of Life, and Shia, the God of Death being household deities to the majority of the populace in some fashion. Shia and Mora both are oftentimes worshiped in tandem, to the contrary of many highly religious sectors elsewhere in the world, with both gods being seen as equal sides of the same force. Oceanic gods such as Novi, The Goddess of Orcas and Ryoma, God of Tuna are also fairly common household gods who make up the personal pantheons of many in more coastal regions of the country, though are more commonly worshiped as a precaution. Mą’ii, the Coyote God is another god who has become popular in Scotland, due to being a primary partner of Ludovic himself as well as parent to his heir, Domhnuich.   Notably, Scotland is one of few regions where Ferventi, God of Wolves does not hold a significant presence in the population's local pantheon. It's believed that this is mainly due to Ferventi's association as a god of winter and also a lack of wolves native to the island, though in recent years this has been strongly influenced by Ludovic's rivalry with him.