United Realm of Directionland
The United Realm of Directionland (often shortened to the United Realm or URD) was a relatively short lived, decentralized union that preceded the United Empire of Directionland. By most accounts it existed primarily as a symbolic framework for cooperation among Directionland’s growing patchwork of kingdoms, duchies, and cities, while leaving governance, law, and administration almost entirely in local hands.[1][2]
| United Realm of Directionland | |
|---|---|
| Status | Loose union of kingdoms, duchies, and city polities |
| Government | Decentralized union; member polities retained full internal administration |
| Common institution | Presidium of Directionland (inter polity council) |
| Established | circa 500 cycles ago[1] |
| Dissolved | circa 450 cycles ago (see The Great Unification)[2] |
| Successor | United Empire of Directionland |
| Notable meeting place | St. Stylinson (conference and handover ceremony)[2] |
History
Formation
By circa 500 cycles ago, Directionland’s member polities had begun coordinating under a loose union commonly called the United Realm of Directionland.[1][2] The union is generally described as being “in name” rather than a centralized state, with each member polity retaining its own administration.[2]
Governance and the Presidium
The United Realm’s principal shared institution was the Presidium of Directionland, an inter polity council used to resolve disputes between members and to provide a forum for joint decisions when needed.[2] In the late United Realm period, escalating administrative strain and mounting southern threats pushed the Presidium to convene representatives of the member cities, duchies, and kingdoms to consider full unification.[2]
Administration, economy, and infrastructure
Sources describing the transition to empire emphasize the United Realm’s fragmentation in practice. By the time full unification was debated, Directionland faced multiple parallel systems, including four currencies, fifteen separate administrations, and no unified infrastructure, a condition repeatedly cited as a core driver behind the push for reform.[2]
End of the United Realm
The Great Unification
The United Realm ended with the process known as The Great Unification, culminating circa 450 cycles ago, which centralized authority under a single imperial crown and a bicameral legislature.[2][1] The constitutional settlement created three coordinate branches: the Imperial Parliament (lower house), the Imperial Senate (upper house), and the Imperial Crown.[2]
An election between King Ethian IV of St. Stylinson and Grand King Ultimer III of Gandry selected the first Emperor, with Ethian elected by a large margin in most accounts.[2][1]
The handover ceremony
On the formal handover day, the Presidium transferred authority to the new Parliament at a public ceremony in St. Stylinson. Contemporary summaries describe the presentation of the national flag, the appointment of the first Supreme Judges, and the Emperor’s oath as key ceremonial moments, alongside the public unveiling of imperial uniforms and early performances of “Our Sacred Land”.[2]
Member polities
The full membership of the United Realm is not always listed consistently in surviving summaries, but several polities are repeatedly associated with the transition from union to empire:
- St. Stylinson and Gandry (contending crowns in the unification election)[2][1]
- Simonville and St. Niam (recorded among major backers of the integration phase)[2]
- Grelian, Kingsvalley, and God's Landing (known simply as "The Divine Province" at the time).
Legacy
The United Realm is primarily remembered as the institutional bridge between Directionland’s frontier era and its later imperial constitution. Many later accounts frame the administrative overhaul around unification as a defining “Cycle of Formation.”[2]
Some chronologies also associate the United Realm era with early standardization of dating practices in Directionland, including the adoption of an age based historiographic framework beginning with a “First Age of Prosperity.”