Eskija

EskijaEskija (ɛskiːˈjə | esk-ee-YA) is a player on the Mappercraft Minecraft server.

= VMJ World =

Before the Server
While activity on his previous server began to crumble, Eskija began searching for other geopolitical roleplays in his spare time. On the twentieth of July 2020, he came across an advertisement for a map game's discord, on r/imaginarymaps, that had been posted the day prior. As it would happen, the map game was run by Sikorskii, or Dan. Quickly joining the server, Eskija would lead the nation of Liberia, until around mid-August. Following the eighteenth of August, there wouldn't be updates to the map or lore for a considerable amount of time. On the tenth of October, Sikorskii posted a link and invitation to the discord of Mappercraft, and Eskija, whose interaction with geopolitical servers had been minimal for around two months, joined the discord immediately. Thirteen days later, the fifteenth world Mappercraft had been host to opened. Eskija founded one of the first nations on the world, the Khmer Empire.

Early Days & Westphalia Crisis
Logging on the day after he had claimed his nation, Eskija began building infrastructure. Having always been fascinated with Cambodian history and architecture, he quickly took to the construction of Angkor Wat, the largest religious structure in the real history, and one of the most famous examples of Khmer architecture. Eventually, Eskija convinced four of his friends to join the Khmer Empire, one of whom would go on to join three subsequent nations with him, although all were largely inactive.

Becoming more disinterested with the construction of Angkor Wat, and more interested in European politics on the server, Eskija disbanded the Khmer Empire to create the nation of Westphalia, intending to go on to unite Germany. He took the previous population of the Khmer Empire with him, although none would log on for the duration of Westphalia's existence. Shortly before he began construction on Westphalia's capital, Blütwalle (German for 'Flowering Walls'), on the fifth of November, Eskija was approached by BigVinny24, and later Pussilamous, both leaders of growing empires, about joining their nations. In the end, Eskija worked out a deal with Vinny, and his nation, the Vincentarian Federation of Mappercraft Colonies. Eskija would be a vassal of the Federation, paying tribute in exchange for protection, until Westphalia's population grew to a certain extent, at which point the vassalage would transition into an alliance.

However, it would not last. An argument broke out between Vinny, Multi, and later Sikorskii, on the eighth, mostly consisting just of Multi and Sikorskii pointing out flaws in the tributary arrangement. Pibb would later join the debate, making jokes about freeing Westphalia. After several responses by Vinny, Pibb began to advocate for the destruction of the Federation's monarchy. A chant began of "FREE WESTPHALIA," being picked up by Goosw, the leader of France, MintyMichael, and Owning. Although originally beginning as a discussion about Westphalia, criticism soon grew to that of the Federation's holdings all over the world.

The argument on Discord eventually came onto the server, as a couple of dissident citizens displeased with Vinny's rule, supported by most of the aforementioned crowd, attacked New Fragolia, the Federation's capital. Although many of the Vincentarians came to aid Vinny, including the queen of the Federation, Vinny became trapped inside his house. Eskija logged on and attempted to help Vinny escape, but they were underequipped and outnumbered by far. In such a manner, the battle was lost. Counselling Vinny that it was better to accept their demands and let his empire live on, after a heated discussion, Vinny agreed to grant Westphalia independence. On the Ninth of November, Westphalia became independent, and Vinny agreed to rebel demands, ending the Westphalia Crisis, as it was dubbed by Pibb.

Mexico & Atlantic Pact
Although Westphalia had been at the center of an intense conflict, Eskija, similarly to what had happened with the Khmer Empire, found his interest in the nation waning. Five days after independence was gained for Westphalia, Eskija would disband his nation to create Mexico, a state that started out with great ambitions, to reform the former borders of the historical First Mexican Empire. Around this time, people started joking about Eskija's nations being more of settled nomads than anything else. Not even one day later, just a few hours after Mexico was founded, Eskija began looking into an offer from Pussilamous to join his nation, the United Territories, however decided to decline once again, saying, "i don't want to seem like somebody who dances between different nations randomly, y'know?" Later that day, the United Territories would be defeated in a war by Shamski, ultimately resulting in the nation's dissolution.

The next day, Eskija formed the Atlantic Pact alongside the leaders of Almondia (a successor state to the Federation, named after Almond/r0adk1lls), the Sevalonic Federation, and later Vinland. Pussilamous would, following the dissolution of his old nation, found a new state in North America, New York, and also join the Atlantic Pact. It was around that time that Mestiphon founded the nation of Skavenblight, just north of Mexico. Shortly after New York joined the Atlantic Pact, Eskija worked out a deal with Pussilamous to create a state in New England, centered around Maine, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, saying he would join "probably around the 22nd." On the twenty-first, Pussilamous messaged Eskija about joining New York, and while Eskija wouldn't officially join until the following day, the two began making plans.

The Atlantic Union
After disbanding Mexico and joining New York, which was shortly after renamed to the North Atlantic Union, at that point including the former territories of Almondia and the Sevalonic Federation (although the agreement from the Atlantic Pact with Oscail, while mostly forgotten, did not cease), Eskija began looting the former capital of the Sevalonic Federation, having thought that its former leader, jpmaster, was going to leave the server. Soon being joined by Pussilamous, they took many valuables from the city, included sheep that would become the starts of a farm in Florida, and items that would help in the construction of Eskija's new capital, Providence. After the destruction of the Slavic Empire, Eskija gave his condolences to its former leader, Owning, although they had previously threatened the Atlantic Union.

As the North Atlantic Union expanded to incorporate the entirety of the East Coast, it would be renamed to the Atlantic Union (often abbreviated to the AU). Throughout the AU's tenure, Eskija would remain active mostly on the nation's Discord, talking and formulating plans with other members, while infrequently logging in to aid Pussilamous in random projects or continue building Providence. As the nation grew, a system was agreed upon wherein a new President would be elected every two weeks, with the runner-up serving as the Vice President. In the first election, Pussilamous, the AU's chief architect and most influential member, decided not to run. As a result, the election only involved two candidates: StraightFishie (also known as Mythical Magikarp), and Eskija. Straightfishie having swayed the vast majority of the vote, he won the presidency, and Eskija, being the only other candidate, became Vice President by default. As Vice President, Eskija would help settle administrative matters, notably demarcating an official border between New England and New York.

The Fraying & Collapse
The nation's second election was more contested, seeing the formation of several political parties. Around this time, the governor of Almondia, at the time a state in the AU, r0adk1lls, better known as Almond, would become politically active outside of her state. As the elections dawned, Almond and Eskija agreed to form a party focused on the movement of political authority away from individual figures, known as the Constitutionalist Party. Coordinating with several other players, the two secured a tight victory in the election, with Almond taking the presidency, and Eskija being reelected as Vice President. Their party would succeed in its eponymous goal, spearheading the creation of a new Constitution. This period would see Eskija's relationship with Pussilamous fray, as the two continuously bickered, and the latter became more unpopular with other members of the AU. Things came to a head in the Pussilamous Incident, which ended with the creation of a new national discord, the adding of new territories to the union, and the exile of Pussilamous from the nation.

Pussilamous would take several members of the AU with him, however, most importantly, his banishment removed from the AU a motivated, active force, which had brought the nation to glory in months past. As the union's third and final election dawned, activity throughout the nation would slowly wither, things generally being kept alive by the work of President Almond. The third election would see Almond step down from her office, allowing Eskija to take the presidency, with StraightFishie becoming Vice President. Eskija would soon after leave New England, handing control of the state to player Bearabia, who would rename it New Eire, and founded the city of Clementine in North Carolina. Eskija's tenure would see the nation collapse without fanfare, as foreign pressures and internal inertia would compel the AU's leading politicians to dissolve the nation. Almond would join a friend in a small nation in Anatolia; Eskija, alongside StraightFishie, would join the nation of Oscail, a successor state to the AU based around Vancouver Island. Oscail would remain relatively quiet, taking an isolationist foreign stance, until the world's end.

= Brave New World =

Formation of Okais
Following the end of the VMJ World, the Oscailian Discord server would fade into inactivity, with only sporadic, short conversations between the former members. However, with the announcement of the Brave New World, Eskija would broach the idea of recreating Oscail to the other members of the Discord. Of the five Oscailian members when the former server ended, just three would remain active throughout the server's revival. It was decided that the nation would be renamed "Okais," and move from Vancouver Island to the Chesapeake Bay. With Eskija and the Okai monarch, Ornibyl, working to prepare the nation for the server's reopening days before claims became available, Okais was able to start the server a few steps ahead of many of the other newfound nations.