Neruda

Neruda (Lenkian: Nerudy), officially the Republic of Neruda (Nerudan: Nerudsi Republikas; Lenkian: Republika Nerudy) is a sizeable island nation located to the southeast of the continent of Ispekitsa. A former colony of the Kingdom of Lenkia, the country has largely avoided violent conflict since it gained its independence in a revolution in 1831. An early member of the FIG, it has become increasingly involved in global peacekeeping efforts, as well as some involvement in conflicts within the broken up territory of its former colonial master.

While the government is secular and enforces no official religion, a great majority of Nerudans follow the polytheistic Voski faith, with the nation's largest city of Rastai being the heart of worship. The Nerudan capital, however, is located in the smaller town of Višegrad, constructed around a 550 year-old castle located along the Kalvas river.

Etymology
The name Neruda, originally meaning "black field", is taken from a fairly small town located in Lenkia. In 1589, a group of soldiers and traders answering to the king named the first permanent settlement on the main island Fort Neruda, after the town. The name would eventually be applied to the island itself, and continued to be used even after Fort Neruda was destroyed in the 1831 revolution.