Drakkengard

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Kingdom of Drakkengard Kungeyat Drakkengard
Flag of Drakkengard Coat of arms of Drakkengard Coat of arms
Motto: Drakken: "Jabalaskara, Drakkengardim" Codexian: "Remain, Drakkengardians"
Anthem: Drakken: Neimortalaskara Dou, Vryskara Dou Codexian: Thou eternal, thou free Royal anthem: Packilvanian: Lukharyat lumonus Drakken: Kharyat uniskara Codexian: The United Monarchy
Capital	Vaskar
Largest city	Jabal
Official languages	Drakken
Recognised regional languages	Packilvanian Unonian
Ethnic groups	Feline 70% Vulpine 18% Human 12%
Religion	Paxism 95% Yehudism 90% Madvinism 3% Sohadekism 2% Vayan Catholicism 3% Other 2%
Demonym(s)	Drakkengardian
Personal union	Pax-Draconica
Government	Unitary absolute theocratic monarchy
• King	Namdun III
• President of the Privy Council	Prince Luwadeen a-Harim Bedon
• Prime Minister	Duke Jabal Ukravistre of Halkadir
Legislature	Parliament of Drakkengard
Vassal state  of Packilvania
• Founding by Drakk I	October 20, 1209 (1209-10-20)
• Zubraynite suzerainty	1290 (1290)
• Demirite suzerainty	1676 (1676)
• Drakkengardian Socialist Republic	1917 (1917)
• Pax-Draconica	1985 (1985)
Area
• Total	230,000 km2 (89,000 sq mi)
Population
• 2021 estimate	20,000,000
• 2017 census	18,560,000
GDP (PPP)	2021 estimate
• Total	600 billion KRB
• Per capita	30,000 KRB
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	180 billion KRB
• Per capita	9,000 KRB
Gini	51.4 high
SDI (2021)	0.721 high
Currency	Drakkengardian dinar (DRD)
Time zone	Drakkengardian Standard Time (DRST)
• Summer (DST)	+9 UTC
Date format	yyyy/mm/dd
Mains electricity	PXME
ISO 3166 code	DRK

Politics

The politics of Drakkengard take place in the framework of a unitary absolute monarchy. Although Drakkengard is nominally independent, it is a vassal state of Packilvania and thus its political systems and policies align closely with those of Packilvania. It forms part of Pax-Draconica, a personal union with Packilvania whereby the Sultan of Packilvania is also the King of Drakkengard. Since his enthronement as Sultan in 1995, Namdun III has served as the ruler of Drakkengard as well.

The Drakkengard Privy Council is nominally responsible for advising the King on the running of the state of which the Prime Minister of Packilvania, currently Prince Luwadeen a-Harim Bedon is the ex-officio President. Nevertheless, daily running of the country is done by the Cabinet of Drakkengard which is headed by a Prime Minister and consists of Ministers appointed by the King at his pleasure. Another committee thereof known as the Council of State (chaired ex-officio by the Crown Prince of Packilvania currently Prince Thumim Bedon) is responsible for matters relating to the royal affairs of the Kingdom. Thus in reality the incumbent Prime Minister, Duke Jabal Ukravistre of Halkadir is the de facto ruler of Drakkengard.

The King and the Parliament comprise the legislature but in reality the Parliament is restricted to deliberating and making recommendations giving the King absolute control of legislation. Given that the King delegates the running of the state to the Prime Minister, in reality the Prime Minister and the Cabinet pass decrees with the effect of law. Despite being an autocratic dictatorship, Drakkengard is much more liberal and progressive than Packilvania. It's judicial system does not face the same financial and juridical constraints that judges in Packilvania experiences (in spite of severe challenges). The Court of Cassation of Drakkengard (which derives its authority as the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council) is the final court for interpretibg and applying the law.

Foreign relations

Despite being a vassal state of Packilvania, Drakkengard has some room to pursue its own foreign policy. It does not subscribe to Packilvania's policy of using state-sponsored terrorism to achieve its ends. Instead, it relies on diplomacy and mutual respect to forge relationships. Its fairly moderate and open-minded stance has resulted in Drakkengard acting as an intermediary between Packilvania and other major nations. Under the capable hands of Earl Sahel Vistramistre of Ubayon, the Department of Foreign Affairs has managed to establish embassies and other missions in several foreign states as well as enter into visa and trade arrangements.

Administrative divisions

Whereas, Packilvania is a highly decentralised state in which vast legislative and executive powers have been delegated to the provinces, the provinces of Drakkengard have an administrative function and remain firmly under the control of the central government. The Prime Minister appoints all the provincial executive heads known as Governors who in turn appoint the Mayors who run local governments. As of January 2022, there are six provinces as follows: Uliveru in the north, Kaval in the east, Chagan in the in the south, Ulud in the west, Bhaskar in the centre, Fidawek in the south east and Haban on the north west.

Military

Even though Drakkengard is a vassal state of Packilvania, it maintains its own armed forces: the Drakkengard Defence Forces (DDF). The DDF consists of two branches namely the Royal Drakkengard Air Force and the Drakkengard Army. The military has a budget of 9 billion KRB, about 5% of the GDP of the country largely to maintain the fortified border with Vekaiyu. Without an indigenous arms manufacturing sector, Drakkengard relies on the Packilvanian arm manufacturing industry for supplies. 200,000 men (about 1% of the population) make up the volunteer force. Although men are required to undergo one year of military training, they are only called upon in the event of a war and the conscription is applied equally on all citizens of Drakkengard.

Economy

The economy of Drakkengard takes place in the framework of a predominantly capitalist market economy with limited government intervention. Although key services are provided by the state and some form of social welfare exists, the distribution and management of the factors of production lies with free market forces. Due to the relatively high levels of corruption and crime, public resources have been diverted from the people who need them and businesses face various insecurities and challenges due to having to pay bribes and suffering damage or theft of their assets and inventory. Large amounts of wealth have been concentrated in the hands of a relatively small proportion of the population despite an unemployment rate of 19% and a poverty rate of 40%. Because the government struggles to enforce workers rights, low-skilled workers often face abuse and neglect from their employers.

The informal sector plays a considerable role in the economy. Estimates suggests that as much as 30% of the economy consists of the informal economy namely domestic services, merchants and traders, small farmers and other businesses. Agriculture makes up 20% of the economy. The main industries in this sector include cotton, peaches, oranges, olives, and pomegranates. Mining makes up 25% of the economy. The main industries include bauxite, rubidium, vanadium, manganese and other metals as well as precious stones and semi-precious stones such as rubies, sapphires, emeralds and topaz. The manufacturing sector makes up 15% of the economy and includes industries such as textiles, processed food and beverages, hard drives, satellite dishes and jewelry. 35% of the economy comprises the services sector which includes financial services, tourism, retail, telecommunications, electricity and government services.

By far the largest trade partner is Packilvania, followed by Vekaiyu, Free Pacific States, Kalatya and Lyon. The country has exports of approximately 30 billion KRB and a trade deficit of 4%. Total debt stands at 55% of GDP mostly to foreign and private sources. The country's urban areas have tarred roads, but the countryside relies on gravel roads. The country lacks high speed rail services and the existing rail infrastructure is fairly poor and is largely devoted to the mining and agriculture sectors. Energy is sources mainly from non-renewable highly-polluting sources such as coal and diesel (about 70%), but hydroelectric power from the Uliveru Mountains comprises 30% of energy output and is helping the country reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.

Demographics

Ethnic groups

The country's main species are Felines, Vulpines and Humans who make up 70%, 18% and 13% of the population respectively. Drakkengardians (citizens of Drakkengard), Vekaiyuns (citizens of Vekaiyu) and Packilvanians (citizens of Packilvania) make up 80%, 5% and 15% of the population respectively. When humans and vulpines were being persecuted in Packilvania during the rule of the Packilvanian Communist Party, about 3,4 million fled to Drakkengard as refugees. Many of them were naturalized i.e., granted citizenship despite not being born there. 70% of the population comprises the Drakken ethnic group of the Feline species while Shirazi, Azraq and other groups from Packilvania make up the rest. Unlike Packilvania different groups of Felines are not considered castes (i.e., one is superior to the other).

Religion

The official state religion of Drakkengard is Paxism, however, by far the largest branch is Yehudism. Yehudists resisted the Sohadekist influence of the Demir dynasty, the atheism of the Communist party and the Madvinist influence of the Bedonite dynasty of Packilvania. Yehudists make up 90% of the population in part due to converts from other religions upon being naturalized as citizens of Drakkengard. Yehudism is by far more moderate, tolerant and inclusive than the Madvinism of the Packilvanian Bedonite dynasty and the Sohadekism of the Demirite dynasty that preceded them. In fact, Yehudism is the religion originally practiced by the Zubraynite dynasty. The minority of the population is made up of Vayan Catholics and other sects and branches of Paxism.

Languages

95% of the population can speak Drakken to some extent. Drakken is part of the East Yasterian language family thus it is related to Packilvanian and Unonian. It is descended from Proto-East Yasterian which is a hypothetical language from which Packilvanian, Unonian, Drakken and Codexian diverged. It can be written in both the Packilvanian and Vekaiyun scripts however the Packilvanian script is the official script of the state. Most speakers are bilingual so about 25% to 35% of the population can speak Packilvanian and 20% to 30% of the population can speak Unonian. About 80% of people are bilingual and about 50% are trilingual. All three languages are compulsory in schools although in practice Drakken is the dominant language of culture, education, commerce and government.

Education

90% of the Drakken population is literate but of those people 5% to 10% have very limited literacy. About 80% of Drakkengardians have attended formal education of some kind, 60% have completed high school and less than 10% have completed tertiary education. This has resulted in about 80% of the work force comprising unskilled and semi-skilled workers. Furthermore, Drakkengard is experiencing a brain drain as skilled workers leave to work in higher paying jobs in Packilvania and Vekaiyu. The country has 12 universities (which are either state-owned or branches of Packilvanian and Vekaiyun institutions), 8 polytechnics and 34 private colleges.

Healthcare

The country has 1,200 clinics and 340 hospitals. There are 2 doctors for every 1,000 people and 4 nurses per 1,000 people. The infant mortality rate is 1.7 births out of 1,000. 12 cases of malaria and 34 cases of yellow fever are reported each year. A massive vaccination and hygiene policy has resulted in the eradication of diseases such as polio, leprosy, smallpox, bubonic plague, measles and mumps. Tuberculosis remains quite strong with 1,400 cases reported annually. The highest causes of death in the country are cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer and infectious diseases. Despite the high level of poverty, malnutrition has been largely eradicated due to state-run feeding schemes. Although primary healthcare is relatively accessible, the country lacks adequate facilities for complex operations which are largely performed in Packilvania and Vekaiyu.