Minaka
| District of Minaka | |||
| |||
| Virtual Territory of Varina | |||
| Motto: Shigodo Wimiate (English: In God We Trust) | |||
| Minecraft (Wyvern Server) | |||
| Capital | Sakura | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | June 16th, 2011 | ||
| Population | 3 | ||
| Area | Unknown | ||
| Government | Territorial governorship | ||
| Governor | David I of Varina | ||
| Note: Population includes only number of people with houses located in Minakan territory. Anthem | |||
The District of Minaka was a territory claimed by the Kingdom of Varina on a server on the game Minecraft that is run by the Kingdom of Wyvern. Previously operated by the Republic of Ultamiya, Minaka claims territory in two different servers which have been assigned names by the district. The original server, North Wyvernia, has three cities, and Avolia, an island off the coast of Upper Wyvernia, a January–April 2012 server, has one.
Minaka was the only District of Varina, the other regions being provinces or occupied areas.
History
Founding
On 16 June 2011, Bradley of Dullahan was assigned by the server administrator, King Quentin of Wyvern, to create start points for territorial claims by Ultamiya and another nation, the Federal Republic of Flatland. Bradley constructed a wall dividing the two territories, made out of cobblestone and glowstone, and gave the territory to the north to Flatland and the area south of the wall to Ultamiya.
David quickly got to work clearing the land of trees and leveling it. For a while, the only structure was a strange tower made out of glowstone, which was retouched and named the Minaka Tower. By the end of the day, however, quite a few structures had been built, including a governor's office, a Flatlandian embassy, a church, and even a highrise, the Ultamiya Mining Headquarters.
Construction of the city did not stop the next day, as housing sprang up south of the other buildings, and roads were established. However, on 18 June, construction shifted east to begin the Sakura Turnpike, a 1.74 mile-long road running from Sakura to the Spawn Plateau, where the default spawn for the server is located. It was completed on 23 June, much of it being built the last two days.
After that, the city of Kanachia was established along the Turnpike at about mile 0.35, and three buildings and a fort were built before the center of attention moved back west.
Progress stalled for a few days due to single-player combat, however by the middle of the week business picked up again with the establishment of a Post Office in Sakura and the building of the Ultamiya World Tower. However, it was dismantled and began reconstruction, this time much bigger. After it was finished on 2 July, followed by a greenhouse, the center of attention moved back east again to Kanachia in order to build housing, the Rosaria Apartments. On July 3, after that finished, the Ultamiya Pacific Rail Company was officially inaugurated after building a railway linking the two cities.
After the construction of a church in Kanachia, a plaza, and the institution of stone flooring in both cities, a third city got underway with the establishment of Tanaga on 5 July. The railroad between it and Sakura was quickly built and housing development started that evening.
Takeover and the Winter
The morning of 9 July saw the finish of a statue and island in Sakura's Harbor; which takes the shape of a cherry blossom leaf. However, progress stalled as people could do nothing until Quentin returned from holiday which he started on the 15th. Ossie of Behemoth, governor of New Xtabay, Wyvern's claim, took over the server and transferred IP's. Around this time, the Western Winter set in, plunging most of Minaka and other countries' claims near it into a deep freeze, turning the grass around Sakura, for example, into a dark teal color.
The winter did not hamper late-July and early-August, as work began on 1 August on the fourth city of Mokkaino, and the railroad was extended to it from Kanachia that evening.
Fall and reincarnation
The original server was then permanently shut off for newer continents. By this time Minaka had gone completely inactive and had given way to direct control of Minecraft claims by the Capital District. However, on March 31, 2012, David bought Minecraft, and could once again enter the server. This newest incarnation of Wyvernian continents had taken hold in January 2012, but was more expansive biome-wise.
After trekking through Eggmanland, a theme park, and countless blocks of various biomes, the governor set out to sea and discovered the continent of Avolia, which he immediately started work on. By 1 April, the City Hall of the unnamed city had been built, and by mid-week his residence was complete. Soon, the city was linked with Eggmanland by a cobble road and bridge. Business picked up on Thursday, when a lighthouse was erected on a natural peninsula, and a quarry was started. The Ultamiya Mining Headquarters for the new continent were also built, though the front windows had to be tinkered with.
6 April brought the completion of the Post Office and the start of the completion of the bridge to Eggmanland; David insisted on making it three long with railings to prevent falling into the ocean. It was on Friday that the city, christened New Sakura, was taken under the wing of Minaka by the President's declaration.
After that section of the continent went offline, and a new, PVP-turned-Survival server went under development, David ventured into the southeast of this continent of East Wyvernia and eventually settled in a woodland area surrounded by snowfields. He set up a small house and expanded from there. On 4 June, Ultamiya Mining came back into the fold with the New Sakanisen Mine, and the City Hall went under construction. David switched the namesake of New Sakura to this settlement, renaming the grand fifth Avolia City.
New Sakura
Throughout the following two weeks, New Sakura grew moderately. By 10 June, housing and connection with other nations had been established. On 13 June, the Great Cathedral was completed, and on 15 June, the Nokito Apartments became the third tallest building in Minaka.
Following announcement by Kingdom of Wyvern operator Ossie of Behemoth, that North Wyvernia, the original server, would be reopened to settlement and funding on June 16, the first anniversary of Minaka's founding, David organized an expedition back into his native continent to take photos and re-examine the cities and the continent as a whole. When the team landed in Sakura on the morning of the 16th, they were surprised to find everything just as they had left it. Tanaga, however, was half destroyed and Mokkaino had been wiped off the map.
David then decommissioned Mokkaino as an official city, though he kept the exit on the Sakura Turnpike as a memorial, and repaired Tanaga. The expedition then flew back to New Sakura, perhaps leaving the continent forever, as Governor David made the transfer of capital from Sakura to New Sakura. On the morning of June 17, he established a desert city named Nosabaku.
After the two cities were linked together on June 18 by the Ultamiya Atlantic Railroad, New Sakura became the focus again. Between June 18 and June 22, the Moritono and Ashigi office buildings were constructed, as well as a fire department and a restaurant. On June 22, the Wilary Mining Company established a branch on the top floor of Ashigi.
The 23rd sealed New Sakura's place as the largest city in Minaka with the completion of The Exaltation, which is currently the tallest building in the District.
Starting on the 28th, a series of excavations took place around New Sakura. Known as the II Expansion, it cleared three hills from the terrain and generated more cobblestone than Minaka had ever had in its stores before. The project was also the longest in Minakan history, ending on July 5. The resources from this were used to construct many buildings in New Sakura, including embassy buildings, a conference hall in July 6, and the next tallest building in the district, Two Grace Center, on July 8.
After a small hiatus, work began on One Grace Center, the district's to-be star, on July 23, however construction was put on hold shortly thereafter due to disinterest.
On July 31, tragedy struck New Sakura as the entire city was looted and vandalized by a non-micronationalist. Shaken by the horror of this event, David had no choice but to revoke the capitalhood of the city, and remove the city status of both it and Nosabaku after only two months of activity. After this, Minaka became inactive, though the Kingdom of Varina declared Minaka its own on May 2, 2013. Following Varina's decline into inactivity, Minaka was nominally declared an independent federation, although by that point none of its cities were accessible.
Geography
Minaka had potentially many different climates and possibly every biome within its borders. Sakura enjoyed a mild/hot summer climate along the edge of a rainforest area, and temperatures below freezing during the winter. Kanachia was located in the heavily-forested mountains eastward and did not have as much natural water formation. During the winter, it was even colder than Sakura due to its inland location. Tanaga, located in a savanna on the edge of a desert system, was very hot with barely any rain at all during the summer, and a cool-mild temperature during the winter. Avolia City sat mostly within a snowy plain, but is also along an ocean and thus enjoyed a stable, cool temperature.
Cities
Minaka had a total of seven cities at some point or other. They were, in order of their construction:
Sakura
Sakura was the second largest city and cultural capital of the District of Minaka, with many flourishing businesses and rampant development south and eastward. Though it was located along the walled border with Flatland, it was generally peaceful. Three different people had houses in the city, one being owned by the governor (2 Nagano Avenue, located on the same property as the office and connected to it), Luks123 (1 Nagano Avenue), and Brayden Yates, President of Flatland, who administered the territory on the other side of the wall (12 Nagano Avenue). Incidentally, Nagano Avenue was the only street in the city to have housing units (seven), though the road south of it, Aether Road, ended at the Governor's spawn complex, on top of which a house enclosed the spawn area. Sakura served as the capital of the District for its first year, being transferred to New Sakura on June 16, 2012, and was the district's largest city until the 22nd.
City Hall and Old Capitol
The Old Capitol (1 Capitol Road) was a domed building located roughly 30 blocks from the border wall. It was the only building in the city with a basement (that contained many of the district's supplies) and had a cave system with a dungeon (small, moss-infected rooms with treasure chests) running right under it. Today it served as Sakura's City Hall, and the Governor's Office was blocked off with fencing.
Kanachia
Kanachia was a mountain town situated about 0.35 miles west of Sakura. (Before the advent of horses, this was a significant distance.) The city's first four buildings were all built on June 25, 2011. Located just off of Exit 59 on the Sakura Turnpike, it sat at the bottom of a system of hills and rainforest areas just south of the Turnpike. Kanachia held the most units of housing of any city, with 10, all in the Rosaria Apartment Building (the second tallest building in Old Minaka, after the Ultamiya World Tower in Sakura).
A lot of Kanachia was inspired by a city of the same name on a single-player map, which is reportedly the first city ever built by David. Both versions of Kanachia have a fort (named Fort Misaka), a governor's office/city hall next to it, and a skyscraper on the other side. Other than that, the cities are separate.
Tanaga
The smallest establishment in the district, Tanaga was a town situated at about the same level as Kanachia, yet in a completely different climate. Much like other cities such as Ville Des Rois in Tiana Nova, it sat in a savanna, however it bordered a desert area. Tanaga's only lifeline was the Ultamiya Pacific Railroad, which connected the city to Sakura. When originally planned to be a loop, the Ultamiya Pacific Railroad designated Tanaga as "the last city on the line" and "Sakura to be first on the line" though plans for a fifth Minakan settlement in North Wyvernia fell by the wayside by the time Mokkaino began construction.
Avolia City
Avolia City was the capital of Minakan claims on the continent of Avolia on the server of Upper Wyvernia. The city had most of the things other cities do: City hall, a post office, office buildings, and a link to other areas. Sitting east of the main continent on which Wyvern, Egtavia, and other countries sit on, Avolia, expectedly, had a monopoly on Avolia. Though nowhere as grand as its "old" cousin, the city hoped to meet the expectations of Minakan cities with great speed. On June 4, 2012, it took up its current name from its old namesake of New Sakura, by declaration of the President.
Spire of Wyvernia
The Spire of Wyvernia was the tallest structure ever built on the Wyvernian supercontinent. 143 blocks tall, it was completely made of cobblestone, torches, ladders and glass. The Spire was inspired by the Tokyo Tower and the Burj Dubai. It was only one of two projects that took five days to complete, the other being the Sakura Turnpike.
Nebesostrov
Nebesostrov, also known as Tengoshima, was a city-island in East Wyvernia. Nebesostrov was a portmanteau of the Russian words Nebesa and Ostrov, meaning Heaven and Island, respectively (Tengoshima is the same in Japanese). Roads began construction on April 26, 2013, but no buildings were ever constructed.
A second Spire of Wyvernia was also planned to be built on Nebesostrov, but also never was.
Former cities
Mokkaino
Mokkaino was an oceanfaring town that was constructed between, approximately, August 1 and August 5, 2012, on the original server of North Wyvernia. Though it was perfectly functioning, it came too late in the server to be saved in the archives, and thus, when the server was brought back on in June 2012, it was not present. It was decided that a hurricane struck the town and drastically altered the biomes of the peninsula Mokkaino sat on, before it was decommissioned as a city.
New Sakura
New Sakura was the economic and political capital of Minaka from Mid-June to Late-July, 2012. New Sakura sat in a southeasterly forest on the current server of East Wyvernia. It was founded on June 4, 2012 and expanded at a moderate pace after that. Originally planned to be entirely wooden, that plan was abandoned after the New Sakanisen Mine was formed and an abandoned mineshaft was discovered. The first goals of New Sakura were to establish Minaka as a premier power on its server and to develop good relations between Ultamiya and the neighboring nations, such as the Arkistan Sultanate and the Republic of Vierra, two other nations on the server.
New Sakura was connected to Arkistan via the 2-mile long New Sakura Turnpike, a branch off of Arkistan on Egtavia Railway's server-wide network, and was connected to Nosabaku via the Ultamian Atlantic Railroad before that line's dismemberment on August 8, 2012. It was also home of an office of both Ultamiya Mining, which ran the New Sakanisen Mine before the Tragedy, and the Wilary Mining Company, which was situated on the top floor of the Ashigi Tower, built between June 21 and 22, 2012.
New Sakura overtook Sakura as Minaka's largest city on June 22, 2012. After its collapse, New Sakura was nominally managed by Joseph Puglisi. Its status after August was unknown.
Nosabaku
The Republic of Nosabaku was a city-state in a desert north of New Sakura. The town was established on June 17, 2012, as part of Minaka, with the creation of a City Hall and a Blacksmith. Nosabaku was the literal Romaji translation (Japanese) for "Of the desert", although later the 'No' also came to mean 'Wild' and gained a Kanji of its own. Located approximately a third of a mile north of New Sakura, it was very isolated, with little connection to the rest of the server. Nosabaku was inspired chiefly by the original Wyvern New Xtabay capital of El Chupacabra, before it was decommissioned as a Minakan city on July 31, only a month and a half following its founding.
For over a month it sat abandoned, until September 5, 2012, when Nosabaku returned to activity as an independent Republic and began on-and-off construction for some months afterward.
Businesses and facilities
Minaka runs primarily through the efforts of Ultamiya Mining, a company headquartered in Sakura. Without this company, much of the district's supply of minerals, stone, and valuables would not exist.
Sakanisen Mine
The Sakanisen was the main mine operated by Ultamiya Mining and serves the cities of North Wyvernia. It was Minaka's primary source for cobblestone, diamonds, gold, iron, coal, and redstone dust, though it was not the only source of these materials. Ironically, the entrance to the mine was located just next to the house owned by Brayden Yates; in fact, Flatland's mine system was linked up with the Sakanisen Mine through a system of staircases and rooms. Lava and even entire cave systems were uncovered through this mine.
The main room in which the mine operates was a giant, 2-block tall hall which was continuously mined out on its south and west sides, so it grew larger with each use.
Trans-Ultana Railroad
Soon after Sakura was founded, a railroad was begun named the Ultamian Pacific Railroad which would have carried someone all the way to Spawn. However, since Ultamian cities were way out of its reach, it was dismantled.
It had long been envisioned by both David and the governor of Tiana Nova, the Republic of Tiana's claim on Wyvernia, Joseph Puglisi, to have some sort of tunnel connecting their claims, as the two worked together from David's first day on Minecraft. In fact, a mine was built by David on Tianan territory, formerly called the Kanataga Mine but now renamed by Puglisi to the Tiana-Ultamiya Joint Mine. Attempting to fulfill this vision, David recorded the x (longitude) and z (latitude) coordinates of Tiana Nova's capital, Ville Des Rois, and those of Sakura, and began digging west into a mountain and down to build a railroad. It went poorly at first, with accidental hittings of water and cave systems that had to be explored, but by the end it ran much more smoothly, and construction ended only a day or two after it began.
Like was common with all railroads on the continent, the railroad was powered via redstone torches and powered rails and stopped at a station in Sakura at one end, and just south of the Leroy Santiago Honorary Tower in Ville Des Rois.
The railroad's name derived from the two countries' claims it links: Ultamiya and Tiana.
Sakura Turnpike
The Sakura Turnpike was generally considered to be Minaka's greatest feat of engineering and took nearly a week to build, starting the morning of June 18 and running to the late evening of June 23. Running 1.74 miles, it spanned over 2400 blocks, passing through five mountains, running along many old buildings, and containing three different rest stops which are on average 0.5 miles apart. The entire road was made of cobblestone, with glowstone markers being set every 10 blocks and wooden signposts for every 0.1 mile traveled and wooden signs for exit and rest stop notifications (exit signs started at 1/8 mile, or 200 blocks, away, and rest stop signs begin 100 blocks away from the entrance on either side). The Turnpike runs generally ENE, starting from Sakura. There were only a few occasions where it turned southward for brief moments, the longest of which were right after the Nishasan Tunnel and near the eastbound terminal.
As could be expected from such a long road, the turnpike ran through at least two nations: Ultamiya, which claims the westbound terminal to the second rest stop, and Gishabrun, which is marked by a sign near the 0.9 mile marker.
Current exits
The Turnpike had three exits:
- Exit 5 (Chicago, Flatland) (There are no exit signs heading eastbound as this exit is very close to the west terminal)
- Exit 59 (Kanachia)
- Exit 111 (Mokkaino) (Symbolic)
Rest stops
Three rest stops spanned the Turnpike's route: One at mile 0.2.2 (Mile 0.2, marker 2 of 16), one at mile 0.7.2 (just next to exit 111), and one located at about mile 1.3. The latter two were not visited often. Each rest stop was identical with the exception of their entrance plazas:
- The Rest Stop was 11 blocks by 9 and has 11 chairs (wooden stairs). It is of cobblestone, but its roof is glass and there is one block of glowstone in every corner.
- Every rest stop had a flag.
- Every rest stop had an entrance plaza with a furnace and crafting table, with entrances and exits going both west and east bound marked by signposts.
Tunnels
The Turnpike ran through five tunnels: (in order, traveling eastbound)
- Fenette
- Kanadia
- Sagakani
- Nishasan
- Nagashina
Many of these were particularly long and it was not uncommon for the biome on one end to be different from the biome on the other; this had little effect besides changing the grass color, and the biomes changed with each game update in any case.
Ultamiya Pacific Railroad
The Ultamiya Pacific Railroad was the most important system in Minaka, and was the only method of going between North Wyvernian cities quickly (though travel between Sakura, Kanachia and Mokkaino was possible via the Sakura Turnpike). Owned and operated by the Ultamiya Pacific Rail Company, it was one of the largest rail systems not run by the Egtavia Railway Company, which dominated claims of other countries farther east on the map. The rail line ran the route of, from west to east, Tanaga, Sakura, Kanachia, and Mokkaino, but would have eventually become a loop with Sakura being first and Tanaga being last on the line, respectively. Due to the server switch in August, the railroad never reached that stage.
Trivia
- David divided the countries' claims on North Wyvernia into two areas: The Western Division, which encompasses Tiana, Ultamiya, and Flatland, who are thousands of blocks west of Spawn, and the Central, which is everyone else. The claims on East Wyvernia could also be divided in this way. Vierra and Dwemoria are in the Northwest; Arkistan, Alpjne, and Minaka are in the Southeast.
- The first structure built in Tanaga was the railroad station, further exemplifying its connection with the railway.
- Aether Road, in Sakura, and the Aether Spawn Complex, are named after an expansion mod called the Aether, that takes place above the cloud level and functions like a Heaven. Expectedly, the Spawn Complex is designed to work like a Heaven, as anyone who spawns there after they die will be in a house on a "cloud" both made of white wool. A staircase going up to it has since been built, and Aether Road has been connected to it.
- David's system of naming servers derives from a name he gave the original server in September 2011, "Wyvernia" during the second server, which Minaka has no claim in. North, South, Upper, and East Wyvernia are names for the first, second, January–April 2012, and current servers. He theorizes they are all part of one massive Wyvernian supercontinent, though in reality they are separate servers and are not connected.