Flatstone

Dīmmə Āmzūmgām Ɉləŧszŧōn The Second Kingdom of Flatstone
Flag Coat of Arms
Motto: "Ā Zəmōŧā Szŧōn Kōnkā Nō Gūnā." (National) "A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss." (English)
Anthem: "Szŧōngəmān"
Map of Flatstones Provinces
Capital and largest city	Szlād
Official languages	Ivili
Religion	Geology
Demonym(s)	Stonish Lōkō (Ivili)
Government	Absolute Monarchy
• Chancellor	Dag Von Stone
• Commander in Chief	Dag Von Stone
• Chief of Staff of Army High Command	Christoffer Assmunen
• Ruling Party	Northern Ivili Clan
Founded
• Treaty of Szlād	September 21st 1232
Area
• Total	42,454 km2 (16,392 sq mi)
Population
• 2021 estimate	8,700,000
• 2018 census	8,521,441
• Density	200/km2 (518.0/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2018 estimate
• Total	377,593,572,151
• Per capita	44,311
GDP (nominal)	2018 estimate
• Total	402,467,658,430
• Per capita	47,230
Gini (2018)	24.9 low
HDI (2018)	0.831 very high
Currency	Sand Dollar (SNDL)
Time zone	UTC+3 (UCT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (not observed)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+224
Internet TLD	.rock

Flatstone (Ivili: Ɉləŧszŧōn) or officially known as The Second Kingdom of Flatstone (Ivili: Dīmmə Āmzūmgām Ɉləŧszŧōn) is a country in Southeastern Thrismari, Anteria. The nation shares a maritime border with Kentalis to it's north, making it Flatstones only neighbor. Szlād is both Flatstones's capital and largest city, possessing religious ancestry as well as being the first permanent settlement on the archipelago. Other major cities may include; Ōnlō, Ūmūdīn, Sūnŧūgā, Ūmōkō, Īnbā, and Kūmōnlān.

Over the course of two hundred years, the nation suffered from three separate wars. All of which play an arguably important part in it's unification; including but not limited too Erik Slaten's War, the First Stonish War of Unification, and the Second Stonish War of Unification. Erik Slaten would be the one to spark the chain of conflicts, and thus he is the one credited with Flatstones founding. His rise to power is largely due to his usage of religion, more specifically a religion that he himself had created. Geology has been Flatstones state religion since it's implementation by Dag Von Stone in 2020.

Flatstone is a diplomatically isolated nation in terms of foreign relations, having joined the League of Unaligned Anterian Nations with the High Ilanean Kingdom shortly after announcing it's condemnation of the Salstil Pact. Aside from the High Ilanean Kingdom, Flatstone only shares diplomatic ties with Gadorien.

History

Chapter I: Erik Slaten's War

Erik Slaten's Declining Health

The lifeless corpse of Crown Bishop Erik Slaten on his deathbed in 1144

One hundred years years of peaceful rule over the archipelago allowed for the gradual spread and implementation of Geology, the religion originally introduced to the nation by Erik himself. However, in 1141 the Crown Bishop's health took a serious turn for the worse, having contracted what historians believe to be Tuberculosis. For three years, doctors nation-wide would visit the crown bishop in a desperate attempt to revitalize Erik's worsening health, to no avail. After a variety of methods and dozens of miracle cures, Erik Slaten would pass away in 1144, leaving his short-lived kingdom without a true successor. Over the next ten years, the nation would manage to keep itself partially intact with the help of priests that had banded together to form a "regency council" to act as the ruling government while a qualified successor could be chosen. However, the corruption that had developed amongst the members of the clergy had severely worsened following the death of Erik and thus no true successor would ever be found. Instead, the stability of the order would only continue to worsen, eventually leading to the dissolution of the order and the recreation of the Taverkny Clan, and shortly after the South Ivili Clan as well. The remaining territory posessed by the order fragmented after the regency council disbanded and fled in hiding, leaving the Northern Ivili Clan in pieces and without an Ōd. Over the course of fifty years, the various clans would engage in various skirmishes with each-other to no avail, eventually leading to an universal ceasefire in 1195.

Birth of Bjarn Von Stone

Bjarn Von Stone was born just one year before the ceasefire. He had been born into an isolated farmhouse somewhere in Sūnŧūgā, supposedly growing up with his mother and potentially his father, although it should be noted that his mother was believed to have been widowed. Not a lot is known about Bjarn's childhood and his progression into adulthood, but what is certain is that Von Stone was a name that he gave to himself, and his original last name is unknown. It is likely that Bjarn taught himself archery and swordsmanship at a young age, as by the time the First War of Unification broke out in 1211 his performance in battle and leadership was of high standards. Bjarn left for the capital of Szlād at age fourteen in order to find work and make money, however rather then starting a farm of his own or participating as an architect, Bjarn would be quick to find his way into the politics of Northern Ivili, establishing himself as the self-proclaimed successor of Erik Slaten at the age of 17 and taking after his beliefs and accomplishments, using religion as a tool to seize and maintain power through authoritarian means. By the time he was 18, the civil war was in full swing and Bjarn had couped the remnants of Northern Ivili in the same fashion as Erik Slaten had a century prior.

Chapter III: Stonish Invasion of Hoterallia

Outbreak of War

An increase in activity by Stonish merchants in the Neil Canal resulted in a variety of small skirmishes between Stonish and Hoterallian naval craft. This eventually lead to the Stonish king, Bjarn II, delivering a letter to the Hoterallian Emperor Gon-Suda himself, demanding that these interferences cease, otherwise facing war. Two letters were sent, both of which were discarded as Hoterallia had no way of translating the Stonish language properly and were thus unable to read the letters, leading to war between the two nations.

Post-War Recovery

The war between the two nations had initially started after King Bjarn II of Flatstone delivered an ultimatum to the Hosu Taichimate, demanding that Hoterallia cease naval activity in the Neil Strait, theoretically putting an end to Hoterallian interference with Stonish trade running through the Neil Strait and surrounding bodies of water.

The ultimatum, written by Bjarn II himself and delivered to Emperor Gon-Suda by Stonish emissaries, contained the following;

In spite of recent events, it has come to my attention that Hoterallia has decided to undermine my merchants, the very same merchants that just months ago I had sent to maintain my kingdoms trade through the Neil Strait. I've decided to take this as an insult, as for you to believe that you can so subtly interfere with the distribution of my faith and resources without facing the consequences is absurd. Cease this obnoxious interference or face war, a war that once I have won will result in the loss of both your sad excuse for a navy and coastline.

These warnings were ignored by Emperor Gon-Suda, as Hoterallia failed to properly translate the Stonish hieroglyphic alphabet and discarded the message. However, in 1326 another message was dispatched regarding the lack of Hoterallian response.

Your failure to recognize my demands I find quite incompetent. You've had multiple chances, and thus I will be granting no more. Consider this final message greatly, as your response will be the deciding factor when it comes to war between our two nations in this day and age. You have six months to produce a response and deliver it to me, otherwise my armies will depart and your capital will be burned.

This second message, although received by Emperor Gon-Suda, was once again discarded as it couldn't be properly translated. Following this, Bjarn II declared war on Hoterallia, dispatching his armies and navies to the Szŧōnbā islands.

Military

Stonish military history starts off in 1322, when King Bjarn II Von Stone, son of King Eirik Von Stone, ordered for the construction of a battlefleet and an army to go with it. He named this contingent the Steinhær, meaning "Stone Army". The Steinhær remains the main force for offensive and defensive purposes in Flatstone even today, having been created 697 years ago. Today, the Steinhær is 210,000 strong thanks to the help of forced conscription and various recruitment campaigns throughout the country.

Branches

Steinhær (Army)

The Steinhær acts as the the main branch of Flatstone's military, consisting of the Ground Force, the National Guard and the Anti-Terrorist Unit. These three inner-branches comprise the Steinhær for a total of 210,000 active servicemen as of 2020. The Steinhær was founded in July of 1324 by Bjarn II Von Stone to meet the nations demand for protection. Ironically enough, this force would rarely be used for conducting defensive operations but rather offensive operations on foreign soil. The Steinhær has had a lasting partnership with both Steinpansel and Steinkjøretøyfirma since their creation in the 30's, and the majority of Steinhær's equipment comes from both of it's suppliers.

Flatstones rough terrain limits the use of large vehicles, to accommodate for this Flatstones army has relied on the use of horses to bear the weight of heavy cargo, making normally impassable routes possible at the cost of reduced travel speed. The use of cavalry has played an important role in Flatstones army since before it's creation, with historical records referring to the use of horses in warfare as far back as the 9th century.

Steinkongeligemarinen (Navy)

coming soon

Steneluftvåpenet (Air Force)

coming soon

Geography

Physical & Historical Features

Topological Map of Flatstone in 2020 during republican rule

Climate & Geography

Flatstone is in a temperate climate zone, although the mountainous terrain of the archipelago makes for good complications when it comes to the prediction of weather.

Climate data for Szlād (1900–2020 averages)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	33 (91)	32 (90)	15.9 (60.6)	13.9 (57.0)	12.8 (55.0)	13 (55)	12 (54)	10 (50)	19.3 (66.7)	21.4 (70.5)	24.9 (76.8)	30 (86)	33 (91)
Average high °C (°F)	20.3 (68.5)	19.2 (66.6)	14.6 (58.3)	8.4 (47.1)	5 (41)	1.9 (35.4)	−2 (28)	−4.2 (24.4)	0 (32)	5.3 (41.5)	15.4 (59.7)	19.6 (67.3)	8.6 (47.5)
Average low °C (°F)	11 (52)	8 (46)	9 (48)	3 (37)	−5 (23)	−10.1 (13.8)	−15.4 (4.3)	−14.3 (6.3)	−5.9 (21.4)	8 (46)	12 (54)	17 (63)	1.4 (34.6)
Record low °C (°F)	−1.3 (29.7)	0 (32)	1 (34)	−3.1 (26.4)	−23.4 (−10.1)	−25 (−13)	−28 (−18)	−25.1 (−13.2)	−16 (3)	−9 (16)	−7.7 (18.1)	−1 (30)	−30.3 (−22.5)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	13 (0.5)	25 (1.0)	32 (1.3)	41 (1.6)	39 (1.5)	59 (2.3)	78 (3.1)	59 (2.3)	57 (2.2)	40 (1.6)	32 (1.3)	9 (0.4)	484 (19.1)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	1	3	7	11	14	19	20	20	16	12	7	−1	129
Source: Tpaвepteehe Weather Services and Co.