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: Lumamlukumiyat luikht 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
Establishment
• 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

The Kingdom of Drakkengard (known simply as Drakkengard and as Kungeyat Drakkengard in Drakken) is a sovereign state located in Yasteria that lies to the west of Vekaiyu, east of Packilvania, south of Kalatya and north of Allegheny.

It was founded in 1209 by Drakk I as an independent nation. The country is named after the castle he built known as Drakkengard (which means Drakk's Castle). In 1275, it fell under the suzerainty of the Zubraynite dynasty when it was conquered by Ishak Zubrayn under whom its people converted to Paxism. In 1676 it fell under the reign of the Demirite dynasty when it was conquered by Saidun the Conqueror, King of Fidakar. In 1917, when Zerah Demir IV was deposed by Gideon Muktan, it was reorganized under the Packilvanian Communist Party as the Drakkengardian Socialist Republic and its hereditary ruler, the Grand Duke of Drakkengard was deposed. During Communist rule, it harbored many humans who were being persecuted in Packilvania. After the Second Packilvanian Civil War, Sultan Amhoud I granted Drakkengard independence within a personal union known as Pax-Draconica.

It has a semi-arid climate due to the desert sands of the Packilvanian deserts and the Uliveru Mountains. Nevertheless, it has a high rate of biodiversity. Some endemic species face extinction due to habitat loss. The country is an upper middle income newly industrialized emerging economy with a GDP per capita of 9,000 KRB and a GDP of 180 billion. Its economy relies on the export of commodities such as agricultural produce, metals and gemstones. It confronts challenges such as a high disease burden, corruption, reliance on low-skilled labor and lackluster research and development activities. It is a highly ethnically diverse state with Felines, Vulpines and Humans. Although Paxism is the largest religion, a small minority practice Vayanism. It also maintains a moderate armed forces with a budget of 9 billion KRB and total strength of 200,000 men.

History

Founding

Drakk a-Ulid was a warrior of Yehudah who sent by the King of Yehudah to spread the message of Paxism. He left Yehudah with his household, which consisted of himself, his wives, offspring, servants and their relatives. He built Drakk's Castle in a desolate area bordering modern day Vekaiyu and Packilvania. The Castle was known as Drakkengard in Yehudian, an extinct language from which Drakken is descended. He claimed the land around Drakkengard as his kingdom and proclaimed himself King Drakk I in 1209.

Zubraynite suzerainty

In 1275, Ishak Zubrayn, Prince of Tashkar defeated King Jurin IV of Bingol and spread the rule of the Zubraynite dynasty all over central Yasteria. In 1290, Ishak Zubrayn attacked the walled City of Drakkengard which had grown around the Drakk's Castle. King Hubad of Drakkengard attempted to defend the city, but his forces were defeated after a 30 day siege of the city known today as the Siege of Drakkengard. King Hubad signed the Treaty of Drakkengard by which he vowed allegiance to the Zubraynite dynasty. This involved paying a yearly tribute to the Zubraynite King and sending soldiers to fight in his wars. King Hubad's forces became part of the Zubraynite campaign to unite central Yasteria. During this time, the Yehudian dialect spoken in Drakkengard evolved to the Drakken language and the Drakken people began to identify as a separate ethnic group from other feline species of central Yasteria.

During Zubraynite rule, arts, culture, science and mathematics spread. For instance, gunpower, the printing press, and the magnetic compass were introduced. Libraries, observatories, aqueducts and roads were built. As Drakkengard was a midway point between Bingol and other propserous cities of the Packilvanian heartland as well as the rich cities of the orth and east such as Eldura, the Drakken's grew wealthy from trade of silks, perfumes and oils. The House of Drakk continued to rule over Drakkengard despite facing challenges from within and outside the family.

In 1345, King Faijal II was attacked during a diplomatic trip to Bingol by his cousin Gubran. King Faijal escaped and managed to convince Lord Thayek of Mudawar to aid him. Lord Thayek's forces captured Gubran and had him executed. In 1456, King Panoham was poisoned by his younger brother, Nubel, who declared himself the ruler of Drakkengard. In 1512, Raiders from the Vekaiyun plains attacked Drakkengard, but with the help of the Packilvanian army in Tawak under Lord Yaktar of Tawak, the raiders were defeated. Nevertheless, they continued to pester the Drakken people until King Vaskar defeated them in 1521. Vaskar moved his capital to a new city in 1527 named after him which remains the capital to this day.

Demirite dynasty

As Uden II of Packilvania struggled to pay back his debts, King Saidun the Conqueror of Fidakar established a coalition of Packilvanian vassal rulers and defeated him in 1676. He declared himself the Sultan of Packilvania and made Sohadekism the official religion of Packilvania. Nevertheless, Drakkengard retained Yehudism as their religion. Under King Ibran IV, Drakkengard was under the rule of the Demirites. The system of Packilvanian peerage was developed and Sultan Saidun demoted the Drakk's from Kings to Grand Dukes reorganising Drakkengard as the Grand Duchy of Drakkengard. In reality, little changed. The House of Drakk continued to reign over Drakkengard until 1917.

Communist rule

In 1917, unrest due to the Great War and the unpopular unification of Great Morstaybishlia and Packilvania led to the Packilvanian Communist Party (PCP) under Gideon Muktan overthrowing Sultana Zerah Demir IV. Sensing their imminent overthrow, Grand Duke Usmil IV of Drakkengard ordered his family to evacuate to Vekaiyu. Despite leading a resistance, Grand Duke Usmil IV was defeated and executed. The White Resistance, a movement inspired by Grand Duke Usmil IV arose which led to the Drakkengard War which lasted from 1917 to 1918. The Packilvanian government under the Communist Party granted Drakkengard nominal independence as the Drakkengard Socialist Republic and installed a puppet government under Chairman Kusil Garir of the Drakkengard Communist Party (DCP). When Amhoud a-Gurion Bedon suggested that Drakkengard be used as a site for human extermination, the DCP became aligned with the Carriers of Mercy and secretly helped to harbour and repatriate humans. When Amhoud I declared a civil war against the PCP, the DCP members, many of whom were secretly Paxists and bore affinities for pre-Communist rule, joined in the effort.

Bedonite suzerainty

Main article: Bedonite dynasty

Drakkengard was granted independence by the newly crown Sultan Amhoid I. However, he declared himself the King of the reestablished Kingdom of Drakkengard. Drakkengard and Packilvania signed a treaty whereby they would be joined as Pax-Draconica. Drakkengard's Parliament was reestablished (despite having little actual political power). Drakken aristocrats were restored to their positions. The Paxist religion's status as the national religion of Drakkengard was restored. Despite, the Crown Prince of Packilvania being the Chairman of the Council of State, the Prime Minister of Packilvania being the President of the Privy Council and the Sultan of Packilvania being the King of Drakkengard, the Cabinet of Drakkengard exercised relative independence over its internal affairs and was even allowed to establish its own armed forces and pursue its own foreign policy.

Politics

The politics of Drakkengard take place in the framework of a unitary semi-constitutional monarchy. 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 King 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, the 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. Its 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 heavily influenced by 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. It is currently a member of the International Forum and successfully lobbied the body to pass a non-binding resolution condemning nations that unilaterally seceded from the Puntalian Compromise Treaty. It maintains strong elations with Iphelklori, Rodenia, Nystatiszna, Stratarin, and Kalatya.

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

Drakkengard 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 protect itself from attacks from Vekaiyu. Without an indigenous arms manufacturing sector, Drakkengard imports most of its weapons especially from Packilvania. 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. Drakkengard hosts Packilvanian nuclear missile silos, and military bases of the Packilvanian Armed Forces. Furthermore, Packilvania and Drakkengard have an agreement that if either of them is attacked, the other is obligated to assist them.

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 sourced from hydrocarbons sources as coal and diesel (about 70%).

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 Melkezedekism. The Drakkengardian Melkezedekist branch resisted the Sohadekist influence of the Demir dynasty, the atheism of the Communist party and the Madvinist influence of the Bedonite dynasty of Packilvania. Melkezedekists make up 90% of the population in part due to converts from other religions upon being naturalized as citizens of Drakkengard. The Paxism in Drakkengard 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. 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.