The World of Majoria

Made up of thirteen countries and two unrecognized, breakaway states, the continent of Andromeda is considered to be the wealthiest in the world by far, controlling nearly 45% of the global wealth and is home to almost 60% of the world's total population. The continent is broken up into four cultural regions with the largest of which being Tucana, making all of western Andromeda, the boundary between Tucana and the rest of the continent is generally believed be the Erith Mountains, a sprawling mountain chain that stretches from Cepheis' northern coast all the way to Spica's southern coast. Central Andromeda predominantly consists of Spica, Leonis, and Leporis, all now part of the growing Columba Empire. Northern Andromeda consists of eastern Cepheis, most of Canis Majoris, and all of Sirius. Finally, Southern Andromeda consists of the Empire of Betelgeuse, Atria, and Macot County.

The continent has gone through numerous changes over the centuries and it's often believed that Andromeda was home to first, recognizable country, with Arcturus first forming nearly seven hundred years prior to the present. Records indicate that the now lost city of Veritas was both Andromeda's and Arctrurus' first permanent settlement, though its present location is currently unknown. Over the many centuries, the continent has undergone numerous periods of conflict, which includes the present day Columbian War of Expansion, the Shaula Rebellion, and the Scuti Civil War. The current warring period is simply known as the Fourth Continental War as it involves armies from all points of the continent with numerous battlefields in numerous countries.

Despite the numerous conflicts going on, the continent remains incredibly wealthy and many of the countries serve as melting pots of the world. Canis Majoris and Aquarii are particularly well known for their diverse populations, though there are several nations who are quite resentful of outsiders, Cygni in particular is not known to be very welcoming to foreigners, tourists or otherwise. The incredible wealth comes from a number of factors: the various mountain ranges that stretch across the continent are rich in valuable minerals; silver, cobalt, copper, iron, and precious gems are especially common within the various mines. Despite the bitterly cold winters, the soils of northern Andromeda are especially fertile, packed with nutrients and yield bountiful harvests as summer ends. This gives many nations plenty of materials to use for domestic and international trade. However, the ongoing conflicts are threatening their global trading abilities as the other continents are cautious about sending ships into active war zones.

The rich minerals found in their mines have allowed them to be slightly ahead of the other continents in terms of technology. They possess the largest and most advanced train systems in the world, with major stations in every country and even in the two rebellious states, though the ongoing conflicts have halted many train lines due to fears of them being attacked. Automobiles and aircraft aren't especially uncommon, either. Help from the Dusk Space Federation has helped them to continue their advances. Today, the federation has three bases in Andromeda; one in Canis Majoris, another in Rigel, and the last in Atria. They're used primarily for communication and transport, but have served as major destinations for hopeful engineers and scientists.

In addition to the usual humans, shifters, and fairies, the continent is home to several races not seen anywhere else. The elusive Hirvane reside primarily in the mountainous regions of Arcturus, the territorial Rulites primarily call the islands of Antares and Cepheis home, the mysterious Subterraneans hide within the ancient Crimson and Verdant Labyrinths in Canis Majoris and Betelgeuse respectively, and finally, the mysterious Crystalline call the Crystal Labyrinth beneath the Crystal Lake between Canis Majoris and Cepheis home. The Empire of Columba is the largest country of Andromeda in terms of both area and population, and the world's most populated, though it comes behind Centauri in overall area. Canis Majoris is the world's wealthiest and holds the continent's largest standing army, though is third overall behind Centauri and Pavonis.
  
In addition to the fifteen nations spread across the continent, these countries are broken up into sixty-nine provinces, states, and territories as well as a number of smaller cultural regions. Several of these smaller regions include the Golden Vale, an incredibly wealthy stretch of land that consists of Macot and Caleah Counties in Canis Majoris, the states of Leonis, Leporis, and Spica in Columba, and the Province of Lacaille in Betelgeuse. These six regions hold nearly 50% of the continent's wealth, and a large chuck of the world's total wealth. The cities of Caleah, Macot, and Astrakhan are three of the five wealthiest in the world, the other two are Beobrook and Chronia in Rigel. The Silver Belt is a large number of silver rich ore deposits across the Antares and Arcturus. The Gulf of Spirits is a stretch of coastlines across Aquarii and Rigel that's renowned for their storied history of taverns, breweries, and bars; many popular drinks that citizens across Andromeda have loved for decades originated in this area. Finally, the Breadbasket is a stretch of land across southern Columba and the Tau Ceti and Barnard Provinces of Betelgeuse that's well known for its nutrient rich soil where the vast majority of the continent's agricultural goods are produced, however the many farms across the region are threatened by the Columba-Betelgeuse War.

Over two hundred cities are spread out across the continent with many of them clustered in Central Andromeda. The settlements vary wildly in terms of population, available resources, topography, and elevation, with many of them being hundreds of feet above sea level. The continent is home to twelve of the top twenty richest cities in the world, three of them being located within a few hundred miles of each other. Macot in Canis Majoris is both the wealthiest and most populated, sitting on the shores of the highest lake in world, sitting nearly 13,000 feet above sea level. Most of Macot is spread out through various caves that rest along the lake's shores. Despite that, New Cresthill in Orionis is at a much higher elevation, sitting at over 20,000 feet above sea level. Despite the harsh elevation, New Cresthill is the second most populated city and it's nestled into one of the most densley populated regions of the continent. Other well known cities include Caleah, Wymoor, and Camor in Canis Majoris; Astrakhan in Columba, Savavista in Sirius, and Naporia in Aquarii.
 
Due to the continent's location on Majoria's northern hemisphere and its highly mountainous geography, Andromeda is home to a fairly cold climate, with most of the continent covered in deep snow for most of winter and early spring. Cepheis, the world's coldest nation averages at just a little over 40 degrees Fahrenheit during the peak of summer while frequently dropping into the negatives during the winter. However, areas south of the Ironbind Mountains are considerably warmer. Aquarii, southern Columba, and southern Betelgeuse regularly average out on 60 degrees Fahrenheit year-round. Rain, snow, and other forms of precipitation are especially common, with many parts of the continent seeing over 50 inches of rainfall annually. Scuti in particularly sees nearly 120 inches worth of rain and snow every year, with over half of it occurring in the winter. Perhaps as a result of them being surrounded by tall mountains, central Arcturus and the Stardust Vale are relatively dry in comparison to the rest of the continent, seeing under 20 inches of rainfall annually.

Andromeda's landscape is as diverse as its population. The continent is dominated by one major mountain chain that's broken up into three smaller ranges; the Erith Mountains that cover Arcturus' northern borders with Scuti, Antares, and Cepheis; the Ironbind Mountains that cover its southern border with Rigel and Orionis, and the Sunstone Mountains that run along the border of Canis Majoris and Columba. The highest point of the continent is the Cresthill Mountain in Orionis, which is where both of Orionis' historic capitals currently sit. Silver Peak is considered to be sacred grounds for many of those that worship the Moth Deities and despite it being slightly lower than the Cresthill Mountain, few people have ever reached the peak. Much of the continent's coastline is relatively flat; the nations of Betelgeuse, Atria, Sirius, and Aquarii are considerably flatter than their neighbors, with most of their highest points being below 700 feet above sea level. Two major rivers exist within it; the Silver Valley River flows across Arcturus, Cygni, and Rigel and the Great Tau River flows through Betelgeuse. There are ten major lakes across Andromeda with Queen Maria sitting in between Sirius, Betelgeuse, and Canis Majoris being the largest of them.

For the past seventy-five years, Andromeda has been locked in the Fourth Continental War, a major period of strife and conflict between various nations. The warring period is largely agreed to have started when Spica began its war of expansion by attacking the former nation of Acrux, which spurred a series of wars over the next fifty years as Spica absorbed Castor, Adhara, and the Stardust Vale into the newly formed Columba Empire. Sixty years after they began their expansion campaign, war broke out between Leporis and Leonis, who were independent nations at the time. Taking advantage of their ongoing conflict, Columba swept in and ultimately absorbed both nations, and soon after they were taken, the Empire turned its sights upon Cygni and Canis Majoris; particularly eyeing the cities of Macot and Caleah. While being fairly successful with Cygni, occupying most of the country, including the ongoing siege of its capital, they've found less success with Canis Majoris. Atria and Sirius have provided military and financial assistances to Canis Majoris and Betelgeuse, but haven't directly attacked Columba yet.

In an effort to help their ally, Betelgeuse declared war on Columba, quickly taking over much of Adhara, including the city of Larkinge. While struggling in the east, they've managed to take several cities from Canis Majoris and occupies most of Caleah County, but have faced heavy resistance from the county's capital. As a result of their attack on Cygni; Article 7 of the Tucana Pact was invoked, resulting in Rigel, Aquarii, Arcturus, and Orionis declaring war on Columba. Roughly ten years after the war between Columba and Canis Majoris began, civil war broke out within Antares, resulting in the separation and declared independence of Shaula. While most of Andromeda has recognized Shaula as legitimate, they've faced opposition from other powerful states. Likely as a result of Arcturus sending aid to Shaula, Antares has declared war on them, receiving aid from Cepheis and Scuti. This time, Article 9 of the Tucana Pact was invoked; the United Erith Council had ejected Antares and Scuti from the Pact, and placed heavy sanctions on Cepheis. Antares is currently locked in war with forces from Arcturus, Orionis, and Rigel in the east and with rebel forces to the west, and it's believed that the Republic will formally surrender and cede the rest of the North Province to Shaula.

Just five years later and civil war broke out in Scuti, likely due to the horrific treatment of the shifters locked away in the six major prison camps. The national army has had slow progress, likely due to rebellion aid from Orionis. As a result, the Tucanchu District has managed to declare independence, but has only been formally recognized by Orionis. Scuti is likely to be defeated within a few months, with the resulting territory being split between Orionis, Shaula, and Arcturus. Smaller conflicts have sparked within Leonis and Leporis as they fight for their own independence.