Lunaria
The Democratic Republic of Lunaria | |
|---|---|
 Official Flag of Lunaria | |
Motto: Nation of Humility and Justice | |
Anthem: Eye of the Moon | |
| Capital | Port Oculus |
| Largest city | Port Cynar |
| Official Languages | Lunarian Codexian |
| Recognised Languages | Tavari Staynish Ideographic Lunarian |
| Ethnic groups (2018) | 95.7% Elven 4.2% Human 0.1% Unspecified |
| Demonym(s) | Lunarian |
| Government | Parliamentary Democracy |
| Legislature | Two-House Parliament |
| The Board | |
| The Council | |
| Establishment | |
• Unification of the Archipelago | 15 November 1712 |
• Charter of Home Rule | 26 December 1782 |
• Establishment of the Democratic Republic of Lunaria | 4 October 1917 |
• Proclamation of the Second Lunarian Republic | 17 August 1933 |
• Re-Establishment of the Democratic Republic of Lunaria | 6 April 1955 |
• Admission of the Morsto-Lunarian Territories | 4 October 2016 |
| Population | |
• 2020 estimate | 59,700,000 |
• 2018 census | 57,928,817 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2020 estimate |
• Total | 1.157 trillion LND |
• Per capita | $19,500 |
| Gini (2018) | 0.27 low |
| SDI (2018) | 0.86219 very high |
| Currency | Lunarian Dollars (LND) |
| Time zone | Eastern Lunarian Time (CIT -8) Standard Lunarian Time (CIT -9) Western Lunarian Time (CIT -10) |
| Date format | DD/MM/YYYY |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | 910 |
| ISO 3166 code | LN |
| Internet TLD | .LN |
The Democratic Republic of Lunaria, commonly known as Lunaria, is a sovereign state located in the centre of the Gulf of Northwest Gondwana. Lunaria is comprised of the Oculus Archipelago which spans 38 islands, with 80% of its population residing on the largest landmass of the archipelago, Oculus Island (or scientifically Lunaria Proper). It currently shares maritime borders with Tavaris to the north, Zukchiva and Ayaupia to the west, as well as Sontrona, Ragea and Sanctmunitis to the south. The north-western part of the Lunarian Archipelago is located in Urth’s Pacific Ocean.
Lunaria is a parliamentary democracy, with a two-House parliament system. The Prime Minister of the country serves as both head of state and government, and is appointed by the majority party (or alliance) of the Council, which is in turn elected by the citizens of Lunaria through a party-list proportional representative system, in which citizens vote for political parties that appoint members of the Board and the Council. The Capital city of Lunaria is Port Oculus, which houses 2.7 million residents (according to the 2018 Census), and has a metro area of 2860 square kilometres. The other densely populated urban areas of Lunaria include those of Cynar, Topesk, Vanorus and the Valley of Affluence.
Etymology
When the Morstaybishlians arrived in the 17th century, the interpreters first identified the land as “the Land of the Oulne” due to a misunderstanding between the natives and the interpreters. In official documents published later that decade, the name “Lunaria” been adopted, with “Luna-” representing the Oulne and “-ria” as a suffix for territories. Since then, the name “Lunaria” had been in use for over three centuries, both as a self-governing territory and a sovereign country.
History
Colonisation of Lunaria
Age of Settlement
In the middle 17th century, settlers and missionaries have set foot on the continent of Gondwana, where they had spread their faith and culture to the kingdoms previously inhabiting the continent. Over the ensuing deacdes, the Morstaybishlians gradually usurped the power from the aboriginal Lunarians through force and faith. A classic example is the Vanorus Protectorate, which was invaded by the Morstaybishlians with their superior navy in the mid-17th century. During the early 18th century, it expanded aggressively towards the other city states with the assistance of the Morstaybishlian Royal Army, disrupting the balance of influence on the Oculus Isles, which remained stable for over half a century. The Morstaybishlians soon pillaged the surrounding cities states for supplies and valuables, and captured thousands of slaves and prisoners from them. With the Morstaybishlians now occupying most of the archipelago, the remaining vassals formed a coalition to defend against them.
| Siege of Cynar | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Participants | |||||||
| Morstaybishlian Royal Army | Joint Defense Force by the Coalition | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| ~270,000 | ~140,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| ~15,000 | ~70,000 | ||||||
140,000 troops from the coalition were stationed in Cynar, and were preparing for an offensive on the Morstaybishlians. After receiving intelligence of this plan, the Royal Army dealt the first strike by occupying a major port city. From then on, with the combined attack of the navy and army, the Cynar Protectorate suffered great casualties. After being trapped in a siege for 8 months, they unconditionally surrendered to the Royal Army. By now the Morstaybishlian colonisers have functionally occupied the entirety of the island, and they only had to eliminate the radical anti-colonisation dissidents within. From its absolute rule from 1712 to 1788, the colony underwent fundamental reforms, with the introduction of guilds and apprenticeship. It became a trade post and military garrison for the Morstaybishlians, who introduced multi-cultural languages and traditions, some of which is still practiced to date. However, from the summer of 1767 to the spring of 1782, a series of natural disasters jeopardised the fishing economy. The Morstaybishlians who were in power were too late to respond and caused thousands of preventable deaths from famine and natural disasters.
The people were outraged by the ignorance of the foreign settlers, and a rebellion broke out in the capital of Port Oculus on 18 April 1780, with thousands joining the riot. These rioters were quickly dealt with, with large amounts of innocent bloodshed. After the bloodbath in the capital, people all over the island started to arm themselves with muskets and cannons. The day after the first rebellion took place, a curfew was enforced nation-wide. Subsequently, 2000 opposition members were killed on the street that day, with the Lieutenant Governor dismissing it as ‘violating the curfew’. A violent shootout happened at midnight when a group of radical anti-colonists opened fire at the Topesk Garrison. Even though the anti-colonists suffered huge casualties, they were able to capture the garrison and the city subsequently.
Armed reinforcements from the Morstaybishlians arrived in the thousands during the following days. Before long, the city of Topesk was under siege by the Morstaybishlian Royal Army. The city of Topesk was trapped by the Morstaybishlian Royal Army until sympathisers in the army mutinied. Rebellions and uprisings in other cities soon followed that of Topesk, with major contributions from the Cynar faction and the Vanorus faction. After 2 years of arduous fighting and thousands of casualties on both fronts, the natives have already regained the control of the eastern half of the archipelago, with the exception of Port Oculus, which was the capital at the time for the Morstaybishlian colony.
| War for Home Rule | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Participants | |||||||
| Native Militias |
Morstaybishlian Army Morstaybishlian Navy | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| ~280,000 | ~60,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| ~85,000 | ~15,000 | ||||||
The Morstaybishlians soon realised that long-term rebellions would put a halt to development, and ultimately affect the profitability of the colony. Knowing this, the voice for an armistice or compromise grew louder inside the Royal Army. After a month of negotiations, the Morstaybishlians decided to grant home rule to Lunaria, in exchange for the militias to cease rebellions and uprisings. The Charter of Home Rule was signed on the 26th of December 1782, putting an end to the War for Home Rule.
Age of Revolution
After the Charter of Home Rule was signed in 1782, the new and reformed colony continued to grow and prosper, attracting many traders, sailors and fishermen who came to settle on the coasts of the island. However, the land area of the coastal areas was not sufficient to matain the ever-growing Lunarian society. With nowhere to expand into than inland, the fishermen were gradually converted into farmers, especially since the climate was optimal for tropical cash crops.
Within the short time of a decade, almost 80% of fishermen and sailors were converted into farmers and craftsmen. Following the event, privy councils with democratically elected representatives were formed, under the supervision of the Lieutenant Governor. Although the Lieutenant Governors held the right to veto laws passed by the privy councils, they respected the decisions made by the privy councils most of the time, resorting to vetoing bills only 17 times during the duration of the entire Home Rule Policy. With innovation and democracy, the Morstaybishlian-Lunarian Territories was at its golden age in the 1870s.
During the early 20th century, multiple societal problems appeared in the Morstaybishlian-Lunarian Territories. In 1904, Morstopackia had just declared war on multiple countries, many of which had colonies and/or self-governing territories on Gondwana. At one point, over a quarter of the island’s men were drafted into battle against the Asendavian and Salovian colonies. Within a decade, the total population of adult males in Lunaria dropped by an estimated 110,000. Farms, ranches and fisheries were in dire need of manpower, most of which was used for war and logistics at that time.
As a result of extreme poverty, the population of Lunaria was on the steady increase. In just the short time of ten years, the population had expanded by 50% to 36,000,000 residents, creating widespread famine and disease among the poor people. With the extra population burden, the remaining adults on the island who were not drafted into war could not sustain the economy and the infrastructure.
The colonial government was too busy handling foreign relations, and too financially weak to supply regions with the resources to stop the population overgrowth. The government had spent most of its gold and silver reserves on importing foodstuff and medicine, but supplies were still not meeting demand. During that period of Lunarian history, wealthy and influential nobility bought and robbed supplies from poor families who were already struggling to feed themselves. This created a huge divide between the wealthy and the poor, which is still visible in modern-day Lunaria.
| Equinox Uprising | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Participants | |||||||
|
Lunarian Loyalists Local Militias |
Morstaybishlian Loyalists Morstaybishlian Royal Army | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| ~720,000 | ~50,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| ~240,000 | ~30,000 | ||||||
With the poor struggling to feed themselves, the wealthy owning all the supplies, and the recent war that just concluded, tensions within the country were just about to explode. In the evening of 7th June 1917, some 500 Lunarians stormed into the residence of the Mayor of Port Cynar, originally just to rob his supplies. While the rioters were confronting the mayor, the royal guards opened fire at the rioters. Along with the mayor, 92 people were killed, 204 were injured in the incident. This incident was widely propagandised by the revolutionaries, and was one of the most publicised conflicts in the war. All the while, minor skirmishes appeared throughout the territory, targeted at aristocrats, the colonial government and the wealthy.
The Lieutenant Governor ordered the persecution and execution of the rioters involved in the incident. The following day an extra order was given for the immediate dissolution of the privy councils within the colony. A week later, revolutionary (?) in Port Oculus assembled 450,000 rioters who took to the streets on 21st of June, now known as the Equinox Uprising. (In comparison, Port Oculus housed around 620,000 residents in 1917.) They swiftly surrounded the Lieutenant Governor’s Office and ordered the Lieutenant Governor to withdraw from his executive powers. The Lieutenant Governor, instead of trying to resolve this crisis through peace, ordered the royal guards to open fire on the rioters without any hesitation.
The revolutionaries, who were inexperienced in logistics and discipline, suffered huge casualties in the capital. Around 140,000 people were killed in the conflict, with an overwhelming majority of deaths attributed to the rioters. The Lieutenant Governor and the Royal Army would later be posthumously denounced for crimes against humanity during the Port Oculus Massacre. This conflict marked the greatest bloodshed in a domestic conflict in Lunarian history.
While the revolutionaries were holding off the royal army and retreating out of the city, local militias were formed and started to surround the capital. The Lieutenant Governor, instead of suing for peace and an armistice, ordered 10,000 men from around the archipelago to reinforce the Capital. By the morning of 22 July 1917, most of the local militias had arrived at the entrances to the capital city. For one and a half months, the revolutionaries surrounded the capital, choking all food supply into the city. In the morning of 7 September 1917, a battalion of the Morstaybishlian Royal Army opened fire towards a revolutionary camp. The revolutionaries started to fire back at the Royal Army, inflicting massive casualties on the Morstaybishlian front.
The battalion, led by Colonel (?), ran out of food and ammunition in late August. It is estimated that 8000 men were killed as a result of heatstroke, hunger or disease, and another 5000 men surrendered to the militias or deserted the army. Seeing as the situation was increasingly dire, the Colonel made the risky attempt to break the siege. During the battle, the Morstaybishlians were extremely exhausted from the summer heat and morale was running low in the army. The above factors, coupled with the lack of ammunition and food, ultimately led to the defeat of the Morstaybishlian Royal Army in the Battle of the Final Noon.
By the dawn of 10 September, the militias had already advanced through the inner walls of the city, with hundreds of revolutionaries occupying each street and surrounding the Lieutenant Governor’s Office. A shootout occurred outside the Lieutenant Governor’s Office at a quarter past 12 P.M. on 10 September, when revolutionaries opened fire at the guards outside. Later that hour, the Lieutenant Governor was found dead in his office with fatal gun wounds, presumably being targeted by the militias. By the time the Royal Army had discovered the corpse of the Lieutenant Governor, an evacuation was already underway. At the time they had already suffered thousands of casualties, both on land and at sea. With the occupation of the capital, the revolutionaries were about to take on the world’s largest navy in order to retake the outlying islands. Despite their superior shipbuilding techniques, after 2 weeks of fighting and 58 ships sunk, the revolutionaries struggled to take control of the Morstaybishlians’ naval stronghold.
With the Morstaybishlian Empire officially surrendering the sovereignty of the main islands, moderate revolutionaries argued that full sovereignty was close to impossible while fighting against the Morstaybishlians. Over the next few weeks, the support for a radical unification fell to virtually none. On the contrary, most local residents and militias opted for peace, and the voice for a compromise grew even louder. The Morstaybishlians agreed to let Lunaria Proper declare independence, while Lunarians agreed to let the Morstaybishlians keep the Lunarian Island Territories for 99 years, which would be returned on 4 October 2016.
At 10:00 A.M. on 4 October, the People’s Act was signed by the temporary Prime Minister of the newly established Lunarian Republic, declaring the establishment of an independent, democratic government. This costly war resulted in the casualties of 270,000 men and women on both sides, and remains the one of the most aggressive and bloody wars fought in Lunarian history.
Post Independence
Political Insurgence (1917-1937)
After the Equinox Uprising, a string of nationalist governments were elected into office from 1917 to 1932, which led to a rapid increase in the defense budget. In the summer of 1933, a public referendum held by the government saw a landslide support for a dictatorial ultranationalist regime. Later that year, the democratically elected Prime Minister of Lunaria dissolved the Democratic Republic of Lunaria and proclaimed the Second Lunarian Republic as the legitimate government of Lunaria, naming himself the President-for-life of the Second Lunarian Republic.
Although there was enormous support for the regime, thousands of political dissidents were either executed publicly or assassinated by agents of the government. It began an age of political white terror in Lunaria, which lasted for over two decades from 1933 to 1955. After the soft coup, an ultranationalist movement for the “Western Gondwanan Co-Prosperity Sphere” began, with Kaduna being the prime target of invasion. Although there are no reliable records on the origin of this concept, it is believed that the government had heavily propagandised this, resulting in the build up of tensions between Lunaria and Kaduna.
As a result of the movement, the government started overspending on national defense, allocating over a fifth of its annual budget on defense, even more than the budget for welfare and social policies. At its peak, the navy had 2 aircraft carriers, 9 frigates and 71 submarines, while the army held 3800 tanks, 2200 units of self-propelled artillery and 2600 units of towed artillery. The newly establsihed air force was the fastest growing branch of the military, with an intelligence and reconnaissance force stronger than any other nation in the region.
Kadunan-Lunarian War (1937-1955)
After the Cynar Bay Incident in 1937, when a Lunarian merchant convoy was captured by pirates from Kaduna, the Lunarian government shifted the blame to the Republic of Kaduna for capturing the vessels. An official declaration of war was submitted to the Republic of Kaduna two days after the incident had occurred, with Lunaria stating that the incident was an “act of aggression” towards its sovereignty and that the incident should be retaliated with military action.
Lunaria deployed most of its land forces to capture Kadunan territories in the north, while the navy blockaded major ports in Kaduna and made the long journey around the Cape of [Placeholder] to flank Kadunan forces from the east. Later that year, Lunaria had gained a critical amount of land in Kaduna, arguably enough to occupy the entirety of Kaduna. At one point, the capital of Kaduna was surrounded by Lunarian occupied territories for one month until Kadunan forces broke through the siege and managed to make contact with Kadunan-occupied cities.
However, the Morstaybishlian Empire, with its island territories neighbouring Lunaria, grew concerned over the ultranationalist dictatorship in its neighbour country, especially when it declared war on Kaduna and had an overwhelming successful series of military campaigns against it. After voicing its concerns and receiving only hostile replies, a voice for war in Morstaybishlia grew louder. However, the government of Morstaybishlia was hesitant to declare war, instead creating a naval blockade at the entrance to the Pacific Ocean to cut off Lunaria’s major trade and supply routes.
In 1942, a volunteer army under the doctrine of communism organised by (?) emerged from the south-east of Kaduna. At first a small battalion of farmers and workers, it eventually grew to outnumber the National Army of Kaduna, with an estimated 2.5 million militia soldiers at its peak. Although strongly against the military dictatorship of the Republic of Kaduna, they fought the Lunarians alongside them nonetheless. After securing the control of the capital, they managed to push the front line forward by 100 kilometres after six months of fighting.
After acquiring advanced fighter jets and bombers from Ethalria in 1944, Lunaria began a series of bombing raids against Kaduna, with the capital of Kaduna being targeted the most. During the first year of the bombing raids, an estimated 370,000 people were killed, most of which were civilians or non-combatants. The President of the Second Lunarian Republic and the Marshal of the Lunarian Air Force would be indicted with 37 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for these bombing raids in 1955 after the war concluded.
In the Spring of 1946, a league of communist nations led by (?) offered support to Kaduna to retaliate Lunaria’s frequent bombings. With a decently modernised military, the Kadunan Communist Party had enough anti-air artillery and ammunition to eliminate the Lunarian bomber threats. While Kaduna had seen impressive progress in the war, regaining the control of a major arterial river to the north of its capital, the imminent threat of nuclear devices being deployed by Ethalria-backed Lunaria was starting to affect Kadunan morale. Mutiny and deserting became more common within the National Army of Kaduna, while the volunteer army continued to grow in size. A large portion of the deserters were originally labourers and farmers, most of which later joined the pro-worker volunteer army.
By now the volunteer army had secured the de facto control of the country and its economy, allowing them to effectively concentrate its supplies and manpower on the war. In 1948, a series of trenches spanning 2500 kilometres had been created. A majority of the land-based battles during the remainder of this war would be fought in these trenches. At this point in the war, most major attempts to capture enemy territory ceased, with marine and airborne combat guiding the course of the war, and ground units only acting as support.
In October 1951, Kaduna began a major land-based offensive to the north of its capital, led by the 118th People’s Infantry Division and the 24th People’s Artillery Division. Without suffering from major losses, they managed to capture 35,000 square kilometres of land from Lunaria, before ceasing advancement because of low morale.
After the rapid success of the Kadunan Army down south, Lunaria turned its focus to the neighbouring Morsto-Lunarian Archipelago, which was still under Morstaybishlian rule at the time. With strong Ethalrian support and encouragement, a bombing raid on the colony capital of Fort Nonko was commenced on 28th March 1953, almost half a year after the proclamation of the People’s Republic of Kaduna.
Geography
The Oculus Island has a fertile coastline suitable for crop plantations, inhabiting 85% of the total population. The highest peak in Lunaria is Mount Temple, at an altitude of 4783 metres (or 15,692 feet). The annual average temperature at the peak of the mountain ranges from -12°C to -38°C, depending on the season and wind direction of the mountain range.
The lowest elevation in Lunaria is Lake Cynar, which is situated south-west of Port Oculus. It has an elevation of -57.2 metres (or -187.7 feet), with 32-33 metres (or 105-108.3 feet) submerged underwater. The longest river flowing through Lunaria is the River of Affluence, at a length of 79 kilometres (or 50.1 miles). Lunaria has an average elevation of 358 metres (or 1174 feet), including its outlying islands.
Lunaria Proper is mostly comprised of sedimentary rock, with large deposits of fossil fuels (coal and crude oil) and base metals (namely iron, aluminium and copper) in mountain cliffs. Around 50 million years ago, volcanic activity near Lunaria produced large amounts of igneous rocks that formed most of the 23 islands north-west of the Lunaria Proper. As for the islands south-west of Lunaria Proper, geologists generally believe that they were landmasses broken off from the coast of Gondwana about 650 million years ago.
Volcanic Activity
There are at least 7 active volcanoes in Lunaria currently. Lunarian residents and tourists are forbidden from entering designated areas encircling the active volcanos. The sizes of restricted zones range from 20 square kilometres to 300 square kilometres, depending on the size and eruption frequency of the volcano. There are 580,000 tourists visiting the volcanoes annually, bringing in an estimated $10.5 billion Lunarian Dollars through tourism industry chains. At the time of writing, almost 1200 residents and tourists lost their lives from volcanic eruption and similar incidents since 1791.
Geologists estimate that an eruption will occur once every fifty years, causing a layer of volcanic ash to blanket the entire archipelago for several weeks. The most recent major eruption occurred in August 2004, when Mount Chisel expelled 50 cubic kilometres of magma from its magma chamber. The restricted zone was already breached before the incident and 15 tourists were declared dead in absentia after searches for their corpses were inconclusive. Out of the 56 discovered volcanos in Lunaria, 7 are active, 11 are dormant and 38 are extinct. Currently, a total of 382 research stations and seismic detectors are built near the volcanoes for research and forecast purposes.
Ecology
As an advanced and scientific nation pioneering the fields of hydroponics and genetic science, ecology is an important field within the Lunarian society. It is estimated that there are currently 508 unique species of microbes, flora and fauna on the Oculus Island, with even more undiscovered unique species on outlying islands. The government spent 3.9 billion Lunarian Dollars last year to fund conservation programs, public environmental education and ecological research programs. Given the large amount of capital provided for conservation, previously over-hunted or endangered species are now protected by laws and reserve zones. With new breakthroughs in genetic science and biology, new techniques of breeding endangered species raise efficiency by a large margin.
As for aquatic species, it is known that at least 270 species of marine life is native to the maritime territories of Lunaria. Water pollution is strictly monitored, with harsh regulations that could place entire companies out of business. It is mandatory that all intensive industries must pay an annual license fee proportional to their annual production. Moreover, residential sewage water is treated with cutting-edge machinery, namely the AMA—WaterX12, and usually reused for irrigation, flushing and cleaning. Listed endangered species are heavily protected, with strict hunting and fishing restrictions set in nature reserves.
Notable Flora
Plalmelon (Citrullus Plalus) is a tropical fruit grown near the equator, native to the surrounding archipelago of Lunaria. The fruit of the plant usually grows on the bottom of the plant, while the branches and leaves grow on the top. Much like the watermelon (Citrullus Lanatus), a thick exocarp envelops the mesocarp of the fruit, where the seeds are stored in. The plalmelon grows at rapid speeds in tropical coastal zones, especially since the humidity and temperature is optimal for the growth of plalmelons. However, the plalmelon has a distinctively thicker exocarp than watermelons, with an average thickness of 2-3 inches. This species of melon also has a juicy mesocarp, with high amounts of Vitamin A and C, with considerable amounts of iron, magnesium and Vitamin B5 and B6.
The average plalmelon fruit is 2 feet in diameter, and 5.6 kilograms in weight. It usually grows between late spring to mid-summer to 5 metres in height if planted in the suitable areas. In late summer, the plalmelon flowers blossom. In early autumn, the fruit is usually ready to be harvested. The plalmelon is considered a national specialty of Lunaria, with foreign officials and diplomats receiving them as gifts. Traditionally, it is used to prevent scurvy while sailors are at sea, as the melon contains high amounts of nutrients only found in select foods, hence the tradition of giving them to visitors abroad.
Notable Fauna
Lemon-Faced Green Pigeons (Treron Citraphyillis) are a species of pigeons native to the Oculus Island. As suggested by the name, these pigeons have a bright shade of yellow on their faces. The abdomen of these pigeons are distinctively olive green, with some variations bordering on yellow-green colours. The average wingspan of a Lemon-Faced Green Pigeon is 75 centimetres. It has an average lifespan of 6.5 years living in the wild. Currently, there are only 17,000 wild Lemon-Faced Greeen Pigeons left in the world.
Traditionally, this type of pigeon is hunted once every year on Spring Solstice. They are then served to elders and children in hopes of health and longevity. To this day, many Lunarians still practice this tradition, but with other species of pigeons as this species of pigeon is a highly protected animal. Along with crows, these pigeons are considered as the role model of elven behaviour. Its vibrant colours and symbolism represents the pacifism and cultural identities of Lunarians.
Economy
The Lunarian economy produces a total of 1.15 trillion Lunarian Dollars each year, with roughly $19,500 worth of GDP produced per capita. The still-developing economy is largely based on manufacturing, oil extraction and tourism. The largest exports of Lunaria include crude oil, natural gas, petroleum products, advanced machinery, textiles, steel and tropical crops. The largest imports of Lunaria include precision instruments, precious metals, clay, pharmaceuticals, optical fibres and sanitary products. Corporations generally enjoy high economic freedom in Lunaria, as the government mostly avoids interfering with business and commerce. According to the 2018 Census, about 96.1% of citizens aged 18-60 are receiving teritary education, self-employed or employed. In total, only 3.9% of citizens are unemployed. Labour unions are often established, and the government actively takes part in them, in hopes of creating a connection between corporations and employees.
According to the 2018 Census, residents have an average disposable income of $24,550 annually, with over half of their earnings put towards taxes and utilities. The average Lunarian spends $19,240 locally every year (excluding luxury items, corporate spending and property acquisitions). Maternity leaves, official leaves and public holidays are guaranteed by labour law. Intellectual and physical rights are respected and protected by law. The average Lunarian pays a tax equal to 51.9% of their income, relatively high compared to its neighbours.
Agriculture makes up 3% of the Lunarian economy, with tropical cash crops (such as cotton, fruits and coffee beans) being the most prominent. Transportation follows next, making up 6% of the economy total. The economic output of the transportation industry includes the service value yielded from freight and passenger transit, whether by land, sea or air. The information technology industry is the third biggest industry, making up 9% of the economy while employing 7% of the workforce. Crude and mineral extraction makes up 12% of the economy, but has seen a decline in productivity. Manufacturing is the second largest sector in Lunaria, providing employment for almost one-fourth of the workforce. It is based around the production of industrial machinery, electronics assembly and metal refinery. Services (i.e. creative industries, financial services, legal services, education, catering, entertainment, retail, wholesale and etc.) are the largest industry in Lunaria, making up 25% of the economy. It is estimated that it would overtake the combined economic output of labour-intensive industries in 2024.
Foreign countries have invested $81.4 billion LND into Lunaria, while the total value of investments made by Lunaria in foreign countries is estimated at $108.5 billion LND. The poverty line is defined as citizens who have an annual pre-tax income of $17,020 or under (one-third of the average pre-tax income). The poverty rate in Lunaria is 5.2% (according to 2018 Census). The Gini Coefficient is 0.27 points.
Lunaria has a market-based economy, allowing free capital flow in its territories. Its government is largely based on the Nordic Model, in which the government provides universal healthcare and public education for its citizens. The establishment of labour unions are highly encouraged, with the government providing tax benefits for corporations and employees which are members of labour unions. Moreover, large portions of the workforce are employed by the public sector (8.5 million employees, or roughly 25% of the workforce). Under this model, the government usually keeps itself from interfering with the market-based economy if unnecessary, which creates a comfortable environment for corporations to operate in, and in turn provides a greater economic output.
Climate
The Oculus Archipelago has a tropical climate. The temperature varies between 28°C and 36°C along the lowlands (lowlands defined as areas below the elevation of 500 metres, or 1640 feet). Annual humidity levels range from 75% to 100%, with 2920 millimetres (or 115 inches) of rainfall annually in the lowlands. Typically, winter is nonexistent in the tropics, and snowfall is extremely sparse, with only one occasion of frosting in the previous century. Within the north-western outlying islands, the temperature varies from 26°C to 36°C yearly. Annual humidity levels range from 78% to 100%, and oftentimes even higher with the occasion of tropical storms. The south-eastern islands have an average temperature of 24°C to 32°C, and a humidity level of 72% to 100%. Altogether, the Oculus Archipelago has a mean wind speed of 7.1 kilometres per hour (or 2 metres per second) annually.
Tropical storms and cyclones are commonplace in the Pacific Ocean, with 14 storms categorised as ‘Tropical Depression’ or above every cyclone season. Annually, tropical storms cause an average of $5.84 billion Lunarian Dollars in economic damage, while an average of 17.91 people are killled during each cyclone season. The strongest hurricane to ever hit Lunaria is Cyclone Cameron (1940 Cyclone Season), lasting 28 days from formation to dispersal. Its fastest central wind speed clocks in at 297 kilometres per hour, with a diameter about 715 kilometres at its widest point. It is estimated that it has caused $8.49 billion Lunarian Dollars in 1940 (or $68.14 billion Lunarian Dollars in 2020). A total of 1752 lives (1039 missing, 713 confirmed dead) were lost from this cyclone, and it remains the single most deadly cyclone in the history of Lunaria.
| Climate data for Port Oculus, Lunaria | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 38.7 (101.7) |
38.9 (102.0) |
39.3 (102.7) |
39.9 (103.8) |
40.0 (104.0) |
40.2 (104.4) |
40.1 (104.2) |
39.8 (103.6) |
39.7 (103.5) |
38.8 (101.8) |
38.9 (102.0) |
38.6 (101.5) |
40.2 (104.4) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 34.7 (94.5) |
34.9 (94.8) |
35.1 (95.2) |
35.1 (95.2) |
35.5 (95.9) |
35.7 (96.3) |
36.0 (96.8) |
35.9 (96.6) |
35.6 (96.1) |
35.7 (96.3) |
35.2 (95.4) |
34.9 (94.8) |
35.4 (95.7) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 27.4 (81.3) |
27.6 (81.7) |
27.9 (82.2) |
28.2 (82.8) |
28.3 (82.9) |
28.3 (82.9) |
28.7 (83.7) |
28.6 (83.5) |
28.4 (83.1) |
28.1 (82.6) |
27.8 (82.0) |
27.6 (81.7) |
28.1 (82.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 22.5 (72.5) |
22.7 (72.9) |
22.8 (73.0) |
23.0 (73.4) |
23.0 (73.4) |
23.1 (73.6) |
23.1 (73.6) |
23.2 (73.8) |
23.0 (73.4) |
22.7 (72.9) |
22.8 (73.0) |
22.5 (72.5) |
22.5 (72.5) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 220 (8.7) |
240 (9.4) |
230 (9.1) |
240 (9.4) |
250 (9.8) |
240 (9.4) |
250 (9.8) |
270 (10.6) |
240 (9.4) |
250 (9.8) |
240 (9.4) |
240 (9.4) |
2,920 (115.0) |
| Average precipitation days | 24 | 24 | 26 | 21 | 24 | 21 | 22 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 24 | 22 | 286 |
| [citation needed] | |||||||||||||
Government
Legislative Branch (the Parliament)
The Parliament of the Democratic Republic of Lunaria (commonly known as the Parliament or the Lunarian Parliament) is a bicameral legisalative entity that consists of the Board and the Council. The former contains 192 members, and is responsible for reviewing and voting on the resolutions passed by the latter, which contains 526 members. Members of these two legisaltive entities are elected through a party-list proportional representative system, in which citizens vote for political parties that appoint members of the Board and the Council.
Honorary members may be nominated with a three-fourths majority vote in both the Council and the Board. These members can enter the voting chamber at their will. They are granted the special right to participate in debates, and propose resolutions in the chambers. However, once they have reached their term limit, their voting powers in the parliament will be revoked. Honorary membership in the parliament may be revoked with a three-fourths vote, and must be approved by the Prime Minister of Lunaria. There are currently 42 honorary members of the Parliament. So far, a total of 155 honorary members were elected, of which 3 have been dishonourably dismissed.
Citizens vote for their political parties of choice during election season. The Independent Election Council then translates the proportion of votes to seats in the Council and the Board (i.e. If 33% of the votes were voting for the Conservative Party in the Board Election, 64 seats (1/3 of the 192 seats in the Board) are allocated to them). Political parties then choose their own representatives in the Parliament after the votes are tallied. 65.07% of Lunarian citizens take part in the elections for the Council on average, while 62.88% take part in the elections for the Board.
Prime Minister and the Cabinet
Most of Lunaria’s governmental administration is overseen by the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Lunaria and their Most Honourable Cabinet (commonly known as the Prime Minister and their Cabinet). There are in total 8 Ministers who report to the Prime Minister bi-weekly, who are responsible for giving the Prime Minister advice on his decisions. The Prime Minister may revoke and reinstate the Ministership of an individual without any input from the Council and the Board. The Prime Minister has the ability to announce emergency conditions and draft a temporary bill that can disregard the Council’s voting powers. However, the Council or the Board can repeal this action with a 2/3 majority vote. The Cabinet can also initiate the voting process if they distrust the Prime Minister’s decision.
The Prime Minister is nominated by the majority party (or alliance if no political party has won over half of the total seats) in the Council. The nomination is then reviewed and voted on by the Board, and a 1/2 majority vote is required for the nomination to pass the Board. The nominee then needs to submit a Cabinet to the Council for verification. With the approval of the Council, the nominee will take office once the current incumbent has finished their term.
Administrative Branch
There are in total 8 ministry branches in Lunaria, each helmed by a Minister that reports to the Prime Minister. These government branches make up the Adminstrative Branch of the Lunarian Government, employing ≈8.5 million citizens in total. It is also the highest spending government branch of Lunaria, which spending a total of $385.5B LND in the 2019 Financial Year.
The Administrative Branch refrains from interfering with the rulings and resolutions made by the Judicial Branch (the Court System) and Legislative Branch (the Parliament) as it would be considered unconstituitional of the Adminstrative Branch to affect the independent Judicial Branch and Legislative Branch. The Administrative Branch is tasked with submitting proposals to the Parliament, and enforcing resolutions passed by the Legislative Branch.
Judicial Branch (the Court System)
The Judicial Branch is tasked with giving rulings on criminal charges and civil procedures. The Judicial Branch is also tasked with supervising the Legislative Branch and the Administrative Branch. The Judicial Branch consists of a Lower Court System and a Superior Court System, with the formal processing misdemeanours and petty crimes, and the latter processing civil procedures and felonies.
The Lower Court System consists of the Magistrates’ Court and the Regional Court, while the Superior Court System consists of the Senior Court, the High Court and the Court of Final Appeal. The main difference between the Lower Court System and the Superior Court System is that the latter uses a jury or an assembly of judges for its verdicts, as opposed to the former, in which a single judge presides over the court. These judges and juries use common sense, statutes and precedent to decide on a verdict. In a court case, both sides (the plaintiff and the defendant) present evidence and testimonies to the judge. The plaintiff and the defendant will then refute and cross examine charges made by their adversaries. When an official governmental body represents the plaintiff, that party is known as the prosecution.
Armed Forces
After gaining independence from the Morstaybishlian Empire, Lunaria started to aggressively expand its military. From 1917 to 1933, the size of the Lunarian military increased by ≈260% (470,000 men) with its budget increased by ≈450% (inflation adjusted). By then Lunaria has become a recognised regional power, able to compete with its neighbour Tavaris militarily. After the Proclamation of the Second Lunarian Republic, a five-year military conscription was implemented and the size of the military was increased by ≈70% (740,000 men).
Later that decade, the highly militaristic nation declared war on Kaduna after the Cynar Bay Incident. During the war, 1,900,000 Lunarian men were mobilised overseas, with 260,000 killed in action and 90,000 missing in pandemonium. Around 7200 units of heavy artillery were lost in battle out of the 8600 units deployed in combat. Both aircraft carriers owned by Lunaria were sunk by torpedoes and bombs respectively, while 48 out of 71 submarines were lost in battle. Although none of the 9 wartime frigates were sunk, all of them have been decommissioned since 1982.
Since then, Lunaria has become a demilitarised state under the Fort Nonko Agreement of 1955, and currently holds a relatively tiny military, with only 22,000 active personnel (0.037% of the total population). Artilleries, firearms and ammunition are imported from larger and more militaristic states, with significant portions of equipment imported from…/. The military has spent $3.7B (1% of the national budget) in total during the 2019 financial year.