History of Shireroth
Shireroth was founded April 24, 2000 by Erik Mortis. It spent the majority of its early history as a client state to the great powers of the day, including Audentior, Jasonia, and Tymaria. After the fall of Tymaria, Shireroth emerged as the most powerful of its successor states. It was both able to collect most of the remnants of the old Apollo Sector micronationalists and gather a native community of its own consisting mostly of students at Sonoma State University in California.
By 2003, Shireroth's post-Tymaria glory days were gone, and many observers thought it was being outcompeted by flashier micronations like Menelmacar. In response, Steward Nikkolo declared "Oustfest", a tradition of kicking out anyone with more than three citizenships as insufficiently loyal. The tactic worked, with a smaller, sleeker core of patriotic citizens more willing to place Shirerithian interests first, and became a yearly occurence. Around the same time, the unpopular Kaiser Mog I was overthrown by Kaiser Letifer I, creating a Shirerithian tradition of revolting at the drop of a hat.
The next few years saw many highlights, including the War of the Wylthean Succession, an ultimately failed pro-democracy movement by rebel Philip Locke, and the reduction of and combination of the country's many Duchies into six "classic" ones: Brookshire, Goldshire, Elwynn, Kildare, Yardistan, and Straylight. This era ended when Kaiser Yarad I attempted the brave but ultimately doomed "New Feudalism" experiment, in which the country's traditional feudal structure was turned on its head to allow more independence and bargaining between counties. Around the same time, many of Shireroth's traditional enemies allied into a "Grand Commonwealth" designed to check Shirerithian power; due to poor communication between the government's many ministries and branches, Shireroth's response was lackluster at best. For a combination of reasons including the new feudalism, a series of weak Kaisers, foreign stagnation, and bad luck, many Shirerithians departed and by 2007 the country was in a state of complete disrepair.
In October 2007, Jonas (illegally) took the Throne as Mahamantot I to restore order in the Shirerithian lands. However, Erik Mortis returned and took the royal name Kaiser Mors V, and along with tech guru Ari Rahikkala led the "Great Consolidation", a reconstruction of Shireroth's institutions that shook off the inactivity of the past year. After Mortis' abdication, a long civil struggle began between a faction based in Shireroth's ally Babkha and a second faction that wanted to see ex-Cyberian Jacobus Loki on the throne. The early dominance of the Babkhan faction collapsed when it was revealed to be a front for a Babkhan plot to take over the country, and Jacobus took the throne as Kaiser Loki the Long-Awaited in 2008.
Through 2009, Shireroth gradually collected new citizens, repaired its relationship with Babkha, gained international prestige as the home of the Small Commonwealth, and otherwise enjoyed growing prestige and power abroad completely unmarred by a series of constant low-grade feudal struggles at home. Most recently, long-standing debates between traditionalists and liberals resurfaced in battles over Shireroth's beloved but graphically questionable flag and in Kaiser Agni I's controversial disbanding of the Duchies in favor of a system of noble houses. These two arguments created an era of bad feelings that led to several Shirerithians "ragequitting", especially during the short but exciting reign of Kaiseress Anandja II. Her successor, Kaiser Ikol II, declared an "Age of Tranquility" in which he hoped to resolve some of these bad feelings but failed in doing so.
Disagreements led to a secession of Elwynn and Straylight in August / September 2010. Kildare remained loyal to the Crown and became the only powerhouse within the Empire, overshadowing the once so glorious Duchies of Brookshire and Yardistan. At the nation's lowest point, Erik Mortis took the throne a final time as Kaiser Ometeotl I and pulled parts of the country back together. However, the nation remained tied down by a lack of citizens and by unpopular Kaisers such as Cedris I. In 2012, Kaiser Loki IV brought some order back to Shireroth, restoring the traditional Duchies, and a trickle of old citizens began to return, perhaps portending a more hopeful future.
2013 saw reunification with Elwynn via Treaty in April, along with a new Charter masterminded by Kaiseress Mira Raynora Major which guarantees the rights of Subdivisions. The long reigns of the Lich-Kaiseresses Mira Raynora Major and Mira Raynora Minor gave way to the reign of Aiomide, which was also fairly long. The first part of his reign was dealing with the Cabbage Crisis whereby MoMA Baralak Alaion, last feudal/Shirerithian Duke of Elwynn, claimed the throne in Shirekeep. While the Landsraad met on the beautiful Skyla Isles, Aiomide led a recapture of the capital, which involved Elwynn claiming the western environs, Lichbrook getting the southern part (Lichkeep) and Goldshire the east (Cabbagefall). Towards the end of the year, Aryasht also unified with Shireroth, making her truly the greatest nation on Micras. As the new year turned, Semisa II took the throne.
