Raparth

[Cerce]

Hello, Raparth, and welcome to Kiwike! I be Cerce, founder of Cerantia, grand Roleplayer, and Skeleton-slayer extraordinare... OK, scratch that last part, doggypwn did most of the work on that dungeon... But I rant on, let me get to the point!

You said in your post that you need a little instruction on how a newbie should fit into our nation/town thing that we got going on here. Firstly, we need to point out a few major powers.
The two biggest and most populated nations are the Vikings of Eyvind and the Republic of Helventhar. Spelling may or may not be accurate, as I still can't even pronounce them. The Vikings are a band of bloodthirsty scalawags, with little to no planning whatsoever in their government. They are led by a despotic Viking chieftian, SirSuba (who is likely to post with some funny or snide remark any time now; Oh, and he really is a funny guy, he's not mean at all, which is why I'm still confused as to why he founded the vikings...). There is a longstanding feud between the Vikings and... well, everyone who claims to have a prepared and established government. Typical Vikings are those who enjoy warfare, precious loot, and anyone who has Attention Deficit Oooh Shiney. Note that the entirety of the paragraph I just wrote was extremely biased; I'd reccomend you do your own research.
The other nation, Helventhar, is a rather organized Republic based on a government of equal representation. Although many say that their laws are too hampering and complex, it has worked out on the forums according to popular consent. The first President that will rule will likely be Android (who is likely to post with some uplifting and encouraging words any time now; he can be quite funny too), but after his term elections will likely be held open to the public. The general civil life if devided up into towns, with each towns having representatives in the House of Congress/Commerce, which will preside over the making of laws. I am not sure how accurate the above information is, as I have not talked in length with Android about this subject. Again, I would reccomend you ro your own research.
Also, there is the Cerantian Empire, led by yours truly. Cerantia is an Empire beant mostly on roleplaying in Kiwike. Its government is modeled lightly after the Roman EMpire, with a few personal twists thrown in. It has a Senate much like Helventhar's House of Congress, which is voted in by the respective city council members of each respective city. The Senate votes mostly on laws reguarding the economy, but it can really pass any law reguardless of what the Emperor sais if there is a 9/10ths majority. It also has a supremer ruler, much like the Viking's chief, but one with more limmitted powers. The Emperor can pass any law, but can be overturned by the Senate - and can even be outsted if the populace dictates that he is no longer fit to rule. I've tried to set it up so that I'm a happy medium between the two, but it seems as if people enjoy the extremes rather than the middle man. Again, I'd reccomend you do your own research.
Lastly, there are city-states. There are too many to name; these are basically cities with no offiliation, or sub-nations of other nations, or cities that are under nations all but in name, etc. Yet again, I'd reccomend you do your own research.
That should about wrap it up; look under the Towns and Nations of this forum for more info on who owns what and what they stand for.