Arkyatan

Imperial Union of Arkyatan
Flag of Arkyatan Flag
Motto: The Will of the State is Supreme
Location of Arkyatan
Capital	Qo'noS
Largest city	Morska
Official languages	Arkyatani
Ethnic groups (2018)	K'toca (64.2%), Olmerak (35.8%)
Demonym(s)	Arkyatani
Government	Autocratic Constitutional Monarchy
• Emperor (Head of State)	Kahless XXI
• Regent (Head of Government)	Sullerr Ghill
Legislature	Union Assembly
• Upper house	High Council
• Lower house	Detapa Council
Population
• 2018 census	263,890,500
GDP (nominal)	2018 estimate
• Total	$7.72 trillion
Currency	Darsek (DSK)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy CE
Driving side	right
Calling code	+38

Arkyatan also known as the Imperial Union or the Arkyatani Alliance is a supranational politic union between the two nation-states of the K'toca Empire and the Olmerak Union located on the western coast of Tavlyria in the region of Teramara. Arkyatan is bordered by Figuerroa and Falkasia in the east, and terra incognita in the north, and the Arkyatani Sea to it's west.

Arkyatan in it's present form was founded in 1965 following the conclusion of the K'toca Civil War. Before that the land known as Arkyatan was occupied by two major states known as the K'toca Empire and the Olmerak Union. The Empire has existed in one form or another for nearly 3,000 years, often utilizing it's military forces to expand it's power and influence. The smaller Union has by comparison clung on as a minor power for much of it's history, until Industrialization, after which the Union rose to prominence as a major power while the larger Empire began to lag behind. Both nations have a long and shared history, including periods of both peace and war, leading to a complex modern relationship. Following the end of the civil war in which the Union had intervened in to support Kragrarrd Zirv, whom later established the Imperial Union as an alliance and political union between both states. Arkyatan today is a highly industrialized state dominated by complex internal politics in which it's various internal factions, including the Great Houses, the military, and major corporations vie for control and influence. Internally, Arkyatan is noted for it's authoritarian nature and highly ritualistic culture, especially in the Empire.

Arkyatan is the most populated country in Teremara and is considered a major power in Tavlyria.

Geography

Dominating Arkyatan's geography is the sprawling Hamar Mountains, which run through both the Empire and the Union, forming a natural spine. Most of the Empire is defined by it's vast semi-arid plains, grasslands and savannahs, coupled with several major deserts and an elongated, rocky coastline. The Union by comparison is hilly and forested, with a more Mediterranean climate especially along it's coast.

Government and Politics

Arkyatan’s Government is divided into three branches by the Akryatani Constitution of 1965, the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative. The Executive Branch is responsible for the execution and enforcement of Arkyatani laws, as well as management of the Arkyatani government. The Executive Branch is led by the Regent, who is appointed through a vote by the High Council. The Regent acts as the head of government, and may issue Imperial Decrees with the consent of the Emperor. The Emperor himself (which is always K’toca, as the Olmerak Union has no monarchy) serves a largely ceremonial role as head of state, taking part in important rituals like the Ritual of Ascension and other religious duties. The Regent is supported by a cabinet composed of Ministers from each government ministry.

The Legislative Branch is composed of two council, the upper High Council and the lower Detapa Council. The High Council is composed of 48 members, two from each of the 24 provinces of the Imperial Union. High Councilmembers are appointed by Provincial Governors. The number of provinces are equally divided between the Empire and the Union despite the Union being only 1/3 the population, in order to maintain equilibrium at the higher levels of government. The High Council effectively manages more governmental affairs, signing treaties and international agreements, approving justices to the Supreme Tribunal, and manage constitutional issues.

The lower Detapa Council is more geared towards lower level domestic issues; creating and passing laws, setting the budget. More importantly, the Detapa Council can initiate motions of no confidence against public officials and politicians. Since the Detapa Council is elected into office by popular vote, this ensures that leadership must maintain some degree of popular support. The Detapa Council is made up of 300 members, in this instance reflective of population; 100 members from the Olmerak Union and 200 from the K’toca Empire. Detapa Councilmembers are elected by population vote based on Districts, of which there are 300, one for each seat in the Detapa Council.

At the lower levels, both the Empire and the Union maintain their own National Assemblies, to handle administrative and internal affairs that are best left up to more local government. For example, the fishing industry regulations on the southern coast fall entirely within the Olmerak Union, and therefore the Union National Assembly manages such issues. Each National Assembly manages all law making within their domain, though both are ultimately subordinate to the central government. Each National Assembly in turn appoints a national leadership; the Legate for the Olmerak Union and the Chancellor for the K’toca Empire. All lower governmental bodies follow this trend. Beneath the nations are the Provinces, 24 of them, each led by a Provincial Leader known as a Viceroy and managed through a Provincial Assembly. One level lower is the District, led by a Governor and managed through a District Assembly. Districts are the basis of the Detapa Council, and Arkyatani citizens can vote for members of the Detapa Council through district elections every two years.

Economy

Arkyatan’s economy is a mixed market economy, with state control of vital sectors such as defense and energy, while the free market is generally free to operate how it pleases as the lower levels of society and government. The economy is directly influenced by the political and cultural factors at play in both the K’toca Empire and the Olmerak Union.

The Empire has for centuries now been a bastion of natural resources owing to it’s large size. Underneath K’toca soil there exists vast deposits of natural gas, oil, coal, iron ore, silver, tin, aluminum, gold, chromium, tungsten and silicon. Although much of the Empire is dominated by semi-arid flatlands, along the interior wetlands near the cost, and west of the Hamar mountains there exists plenty of land for farming and mass agriculture, which today consists of corn, wheat, and rice. Farming is the economic lifestyle of millions of K’toca, despite its status as a career of little honor by the ruling elite.

East of the farms are the Hamar Mountains, a massive spine that runs through Arkyatan from north to south, bisecting both the Empire and the Olmerak Union. As one might expect the Hamar is full of minerals and natural resources; for hundreds of years now K’toca miners have dug into the mountain sides to churn out massive quantities of coal, iron ore, previous jewels, and other rare earth elements. Both east and west of the Hamar are large deposits of oil and natural gas, which have been rigorously drilled for in the past half century to fuel the Empire’s growth.

So long reliant on it’s abundance of natural resources, the Imperial industrial base is by comparison less developed and prone to inefficiency. State owned corporations dominated the energy and mining sectors of the economy, though often times these larger enterprises contract out to smaller businesses to fill niche roles, or in some case do most of the work in exchange for a cut of the final profit. This has led to a rise in prominence of the merchant class of K’toca society, which for most of history was considered lowly and less than honorable. Farming by comparison is managed by huge collectives of organized farmers forming loose corporations that work in tandem to produce grains and foodstuffs. Livestock herding is often included in these organizations, and as a result a noticeable portion of the K’toca population continues to work in farming, where in most other industrialized nations the number of farmers has gone down considerably.

Though marred by inefficacy and at times subject to corruption, the sheer weight of the Empire’s resource base has long ensured the K’toca success in economic affairs with it’s abundance of resources vital to a modern state.

The Olmerak Union by comparison enjoys little of the natural wealth their northern comrades, and as such have adapted over the course of their existence to substantiate with comparatively minor resources. Straddling along a rugged but often rich coastline, the Olmerak people have long exploited the seas for resources, namely fish for food, salt from seawater, and of course ship-building for trade and exploration. While the Olmerak maintained their own supplies of oil, iron and coal, the limited deposits of these encouraged a far more refined, efficient usage of resources, combined with a careful cost benefit analysis. Merchants and businessmen who could properly take advantage of what sparse resources were available were rightfully seen as proficient and capable leaders, and as a result the Olmerak culture has long held its enterprising individuals in relatively good light.

When the Union was established the state inherited the problem of limited natural resources and was forced to put into practice policies designed to make the most of the country’s finite supplies. The usage of synthetic fuels, foodstuffs, and metals became commonplace, and while enough to generally supply domestic needs in terms of energy, fuel, and consumer products the shortcomings of such measures would limit the growth of the Olmerak economy. The obvious solution to this conundrum was the facilitation of friendly relationships with more resources rich states, with the K’toca Empire being the most opportune option. It wasn’t until the unification of both states in 1965 however that the Union was able to actually access the vast resources of the Empire, which resulted in a major economic boom. Despite such a relief the Olmerak Union has not completely abandoned it’s long standing policies of focusing on efficiency and cost saving measures; to this day almost everything from machinery, automobiles, consumer products to military equipment is manufactured with the mindset more belonging to the days where the Olmerak were always in need of more resources.

Today the Olmerak Union, like the Empire, relies on a number of state owned industries to dominate vital sectors, like energy, defense, and agriculture. However within the past few decades there has a stronger drive to intertwine the economies of both the Empire and Union, emphasized by the adoption of a common currency. Today the Akryatani economy is defined by three main facets; the selling and refining of natural resources to include iron and oil, a large and refined industrial base focusing on machinery, metal fabrication, mining equipment, automobiles, aviation, and weaponry, and a small service sector primarily catering to domestic markets and needs.

Culture

Arkyatani culture is highly ritualistic, especially in the Empire. K'toca society is complex and revolves around a semi-feudal system organized around traditional Great Houses of noble lineage, to which various parts of the population owe fealty. The Great Houses are typically represented in the High Council. K'toca society functions through a system of family reputation and honor. Tradition is an integral part of the K'toca and breaking from observations was considered a grievous insult to society. An offense will usually bring shame to the offender's name for generations, though in modern times a civil court can be used to clear one's name if wrongly sullied. Bloodlines and relations are taken very seriously, although bloodlines are not determined solely by birth and can be made through blood pacts. An integral part of K'toca society is the military and the tradition around various rituals which mark milestones in a citizen's life or in the history of the Empire.

Olmerak society is hierarchical, with the state at the top in public life, and parents within the home. Olmerak value advanced age as a sign of power and wisdom, with the thirtieth birthday seen as a sign of celebration. Olmerak culture values family highly, which are typically multi-generational and bonded with a strong sense of loyalty. Olmerak cultural standards value organization and order, insisting on structure and clearly defined hierarchy to just about every facet of social interaction. Olmerak place heavy emphasis on strength, not necessarily physical strength, but strength of mind and will.