Hlenderia

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The Hlenderian Commonwealth of Mūnim, Kwarim, and Vrotrim
Flag
Motto: Hlenderia's people are all alike in dignity.
National emblem:
(1) On Hayaneste (2) Ethnic map Yellow: Vrotrim Blue: Kwarim Gray: Mūnim
Capital	Pelachis
Largest city	Norrith
Official languages	Hlenderian
Ethnic groups (2018)	98.6% Human 0.8% Elf 0.6% other
Religion (2018)	86.1% Hlenderian religion ("La-Dereik") 8.5% Thaerism 2.3% Paxism 0.8% Other 2.3% No answer
Demonym(s)	Hlenderian, Mūni, Kwari, Vrotri
Peoples of Hlenderia	Mūnim Kwarim Vrotrim
Government	Multiethnic, Constitutional elective monarchy
• King	Yendrin Kwarrōth
• President of the Grand Council	Marsilamat Indari
Legislature	Grand Council (unicameral)
Establishment
• Unification of the Three Peoples	1687
• Formation of the Grand Council	1692
• Binational Agreement	1908
Area
• Total	461,300 km2 (178,100 sq mi)
Population
• 2018 census	26,090,300
• Density	56.3/km2 (145.8/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	2022 estimate
• Total	$494.3 billion
• Per capita	$18,945
Gini (2022)	0.53 low
SDI (2018)	0.725 high
Currency	Hlenderian dina (Đ/HLD)
Time zone	UTC -5, -6
Date format	mm/dd/yyyy
Driving side	the right
ISO 3166 code	HLE
Internet TLD	.hl

The Commonwealth of Hlenderia, officially the Hlenderian Commonwealth of Mūnim, Kwarim, and Vrotrim, is a country that occupies most of the island of Hayaneste, Gondwana, except for the most northwesternmost portion occupied by Joralesia. Hlenderia is a multiethnic state divided between the Mūni, Kwari, and Vrotri peoples. The majority of Hlenderia has a subarctic climate, dominated by boreal forest and wetland. The extreme southeast of the island, allocated to the Mūni people, is dominated by tundra. The western coast, mostly Vrotri ancestral land, has a milder oceanic climate. The capital, Pelachis, is located in the northwest of the country, near the border with Joralesia, along the Pela River. Hlenderia's largest city, Norrith, is located on the northern coast in ethnic Kwari land.

Archaeological evidence indicates that Hayaneste was settled at least two thousand years ago, but the first written records describing the Mūni, Kwari, and Vrotri peoples dates to the 6th century. These ethnic groups would unite in the face of foreign threats, but would also often fight among themselves over farming and grazing rights, religious differences, or trade disputes. The modern state of Hlenderia was formed in the late 17th century, when tribal leaders from the three ethnic groups of the area united following settlement attempts by Auravas, Ethalria, and others. This first constitution of Hlenderia established political traditions that remain to this day, including its elective monarchy and legislature constructed and apportioned along ethnic lines.

Hlenderia is sparsely populated, and a large proportion of its people live in a few large cities along the coast. Hayaneste's interior is mostly taiga with cold, harsh winters and a short growing season. The Hlenderians that live away from the coast, mostly Mūni and Kwari, follow traditional ways of life and customary law. The Oramin Mountains, in the southwest interior of Hlenderia, are held as holy in the local folk religion and are designated a National Religious Preserve, one of the largest such preserves in the world. The Oramin preserve is off-limits to foreigners except on certain occasions scheduled by the Bureau of Culture.

The island's harsh climate, traditional way of life and secretive religion of the Mūni, Kwari, and Vrotri, as well as the historic hostility of Hlenderia to foreign colonization, have led to the country having an international reputation for isolationism and xenophobia. One political scientist observed in 2009 that "the Hlenderian government does little to dispel this notion, and indeed one could infer that it is a reputation they would like to cultivate". However, recent reform efforts by the national government and development intended to spur foreign investment has contributed to economic growth in the past decade.

Hlenderia is a middle-income country with a developing economy. The capital of Pelachis and large port city of Norrith are the largest contributors to the national economy, which remains focused on its fisheries, lumber industry, and manufacturing. In the extreme southeast of the country, the local Mūni people engage in small-scale subsistence whaling, but recent attempts to prepare whale products for foreign sale have resulted in controversy at home and abroad.

Politics

Hlenderia is a semi-constitutional monarchy, which has been called anocratic or a hybrid regime. External observers have been divided on the exact nature of the regime, which gives the King substantial political influence but does place some restrictions on his power. An elected legislature, the Grand Council of Hlenderia, chooses the King, who rules for life. In reality, Binational Agreement between Kwari and Vrotri parties in 1908 has ensured that the monarch has belonged to one of these two ethnic groups since then.

The current King, Yendrin Kwarrōth, was elected in 1991. Before his accession, Yendrin was an influential member of the right-wing party Traditionalist Kwarim, but since taking the throne he has moved to the center of the political spectrum and focused on modernizing efforts. His only child, Yendrina Kwarrōth, is a member of the centrist Liberal Party and sits in the Grand Council. Yendrin's wife, Queen Mera Kwarrōth, died in 1986 and he never remarried. Most political observers believe Yendrina is the most likely successor to the throne.

Legislature

The Grand Council of Hlenderia is elected at-large every five years, or earlier if the legislature is dissolved or votes to hold an early election. The King is given the power to suspend and dissolve the Council, but must call a new election within two months. The Council elects a President from among its members, whose position is analogous to that of a Prime Minister or Chancellor in other nations. The current President is Marsilamat Indari, an ethnic Vrotri.

The Grand Council has 187 seats. Of these, 144 are reserved seats divided between the Kwari, Vrotri, and Mūni people according to proportion of population. This arrangement, present since Hlenderia's founding, can cause census years to be times of heightened ethnic tensions. The census, which occurs every eight years, last occured in 2018 and is scheduled to occur again in 2026.

The remaining 43 seats are open to all candidates, and primarily represent districts in cities along the coast and the largest interior settlements. These seats are often key swing votes in major issues, and constitute an informal "upper house" in the unicameral Council.

Elections proceed according to party-list proportional representation. Seven parties are represented in the Grand Council. Five of these parties are "ethnic" parties, officially representing the issues of their ethnic groups, and two are officially "pan-national".

Party name	Political position	Seats
United Vrotrim	Center-left to center-right	57
Kwari People's Party	Center-right	35
Traditionalist Kwarim	Center-right to right-wing	19
Mūni People's Front	Right-wing	20
United Southeastern Mūni Bands	Right-wing to far-right	11
Liberal Party	Centrist to left-wing	31
Hlenderian Workers Party	Left-wing to far-left	14

The current ruling coalition is comprised of the United Vrotrim, Kwari People's Party, and Traditionalist Kwarim. The United Opposition is compromised of the Liberal Party and Hlenderian Workers Party. The two Mūni parties vote together on most issues.

The King of Hlenderia:
Yendrin Kwarrōth
since
December 20 1990

The President of the Grand Council of Hlenderia:
Marsilamat Indari
since
August 3 2020

Member of Council and likely heir to the throne of Hlenderia:
Yendrina Kwarrōth

Geography and climate

A bog located in the eastern shadow of the Oramin Mountains, typical of the region.

Hlenderia comprises the majority of the island of Hayaneste in southern Gondwana, except for the neighboring country of Joralesia in the northwest. Most of Hlenderia is sparsely populated. The most populous region is the western coast, followed by the northern region around the city of Norrith, near the Joralesian border.

The western coast region has a relatively warm, oceanic climate with fertile soils watered by storm systems that are fed by sea winds and collect on the slopes of the Oramin Mountains. The interior of Hlenderia is marked by conifer forests and taiga, with the rain shadow to the east of the Oramin Mountains dominated by bogs, muskeg, and fens. The southeastern part of the country - the closest land mass to Sempiterna - consists of tundra.

The Oramin Mountains are the source of over 850 rivers in Hlenderia, the longest and widest being the River Pela that runs east and passes through the nation's capital of Pelachis. Nearly 35,000 ponds and lakes, many of them unnamed in the vast interior, also provide fresh water. This range, considered holy in the local Hlenderian religion, run north to south along the western half of the island, with the smaller "Little Oramin" or "Oramin's Highway" range branching off and stretching eastward through central Hayaneste.

Tundra in southeastern Hlenderia, with abandoned Mūni hunting shacks.

In central-western Hlenderia, the Oramin Mountains Religious Preserve is set aside for local religious use and forbidden to logging or development. The forest here is a fine example of old-growth taiga, and on the middle slopes drunken forest predominates, the result of melting and refreezing permafrost.

Flora and fauna

In the western part of the country, deciduous broadleaf and mixed forests consisting of maple, oak, pine, and cedar predominate. Moving eastward over the Oramin Mountains, taiga consisting primarily of pine, spruce, and fir makes up the interior and eastern coast. In the far southeast, tundra with a short growing season provides a home to highly specialized plants and animals.

Along the coast, bird life such as gulls and albatrosses, cormorants, herons, and penguins are commonly seen. In the interior, birds of prey such as owls, falcons, and eagles have long been seen as sacred by the Kwarim and Mūnim. The fen-grouse, a large ground bird and Hlenderia's national animal, lives in the fens, bogs, and forests of the interior and is a common sight. In its breeding season, male fen-grouse can be highly aggressive. Passerines are also common throughout the island. In the southeastern tundra, penguins and terns comprise the majority of avian life.

The western slopes of the Oramin Mountains in the autumn.

The large land wildlife includes deer, moose, muskox in the southeast, caribou and bears. The large Hayaneste brown bear is sacred in the Hlenderian religion. The medium-sized land wildlife includes foxes, wolves, jackals, etc. The small animals seen most commonly include squirrels, hare, groundhogs, raccoons, chipmunks, and beavers.