Deseret (Artemis)

Kingdom of Deseret 𐐗𐐮𐑍𐐼𐐲𐑋 𐐲𐑂 𐐔𐐯𐑅𐐨𐑉𐐯𐐻 (Deseretan)
Flag Coat of Arms
Motto: Under the eyes of the lord.
Anthem: High on the Mountain Top
Location of Deseret (dark green) - as part of the Common Congress (light green) – in Oxindentale (light grey)
Map of Deseret
Capital	Zion (Theocratic) Nauvoo (Secular)
Largest	Bountiful
Official languages	Deseretan Anglic
Ethnic groups	List 62% Nephite 31% Lamanite 3% Darenite 4% other
Religion	Smithicism
Demonym(s)	Deseretan
Government	Theocratic Elective Monarchy
• Lord President	Calvin F. Murray
• King of Zion	Jesus Christ
Legislature	The Legislature
• Upper house	Quorum of Apostles
• Lower house	Senate of Freemen
Area
•	721,650 km2 (278,630 sq mi)
Population
• 2017 estimate	20,360,000
• 2015 census	19,841,310
• Density	27.49/km2 (71.2/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2015 estimate
• Total	$363 billion
• Per capita	$18,320
GDP (nominal)	2015 estimate
• Total	$425 billion
• Per capita	$21,440
HDI (2015)	0.802 very high
Currency	Deseretan dollars ($)
Date format	dd.mm.yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+017
ISO 3166 code	DE
Internet TLD	.de

Deseret (/dɛzəˈrɛt/; Deseretan: 𐐔𐐯𐑅𐐨𐑉𐐯𐐻), officially known as the Kingdom of Deseret is a country located in central Oxidentale, bordered by Sante Reze to the north and the South Thalassan Ocean to the east. The geography of Deseret varies from fertile grasslands in the east to tall mountains and valleys in the west.

The emergence of a unified Deseretan identity began in the early-mid 18th century, with the creation of the Smithic religion. While previous empires had occupied the region, such as the Jaredite Kingdom between the 4th century BCE and the 2nd century CE, the idea of a single Deseretan culture would come about first in the Nephites, and later in the Lamanites. The resulting First Nephite Empire, Lamanite Kingdom, and Second Nephite Empire would precede the formation of the Kingdom of Deseret after the Great Smithic War in 1823.

Deseret's 20 million people are reasonably urbanized, though a significant portion of the population lives in small cities scattered around the nation. Much of the population is located in the Moab-Jordan and Bountiful river valleys in the eastern half of the country. A large majority of the population follows the state religion of Smithic Christianity.

While not officially isolationist, the culture of Deseret is often semi-xenophobic. Foreign religions are afforded less rights relative to other nations in the world. In some smaller towns, especially in the more rural, western part of the country, non-Smithics are forbidden from engaging in certain social activities, or, in the most extreme cases, owning land. Polygamy is outlawed, though some Darenite communities practice a non-formal polyamorous union between a man and many unofficial wives.

Etymology

Deseret comes from the ancient Jaredite word dezarnetii, meaning "community" or "hive". It is often mistranslated as the word for "honeybee", which in the ancient Jaredite language would be dzarunmosit. The name first came into use with the teachings of the early Smithic church, and was originally used to describe a "city upon which the lord [God] would bring prosperity to the devout." With the formation of a Deseretan identity in the 18th century, the concept grew to encapsulate a kingdom of devout Smithics, which made it an obvious name for the emerging Smithic-led state preceding the Great Smithic War.

History

Midian Kingdom & Bloody Years

With the collapse of the First Nephite Empire following the Nephite-Rezese War, the Rezese established a puppet state capitaled at Midia and headed by King Daldam. The kingdom, through the support of the Rezese, conquered its neighbors along the coast. With the death of King Daldam in 1179, King Ferreto took the throne, instituting a number of reforms across the realm.

Spread of Christianity

As the Midian Kingdom entered a period of stability, nearing century of prosperity, King XXXX suddenly died in 1289. With no living heir, and a succession crisis facing the Kingdom, Sante Reze put King Veritucci on the throne. An open and devout Christian, King Veritucci revoked the longstanding policy of Stans Fides, opening the door for state-enforced Christian conversion. The 1299 establishment of the Councillory of Religious Observance further cemented the mass conversion of the kingdom.

By 1320, most Midians had converted to Christianity.

Second Nephite Empire

Age of Revelation

While the Nephites attempted to squash the 1736 Lamanite Uprisings, Belisarian immigration to the kingdom reached its humble peak. During this time a young Arthuristan exile, Gregor John Smith, and a small group of his religious followers arrived in Nephi. Having fled his home country after being pursued by Arthuristan authorities for fraud, he quickly began re-establishing his religious organization in Nephi.

The Smithic State

As the Church suffered from considerable revocations and restrictions of their exercised power by the waning Second Nephite Empire, the movement for the Church to form its own state grew significantly among the clergy and devout. The formation of organizations, such as the Sons of the Saints and the Onyx Bees, drew in thousands of young, disenfranchised Smithics. Church President Daniel Jules Charleson resisted the movement, seeking to maintain as much of the status quo as possible and pushing for a political peace.

Darwin II (1790) by Alvin Ardenson

The policy of peace ended abruptly with the assassination of Emperor Darwin II (pictured left) by the Onyx Bees in July of 1819. In the following weeks, with the strong personality of Darwin II removed, the empire shattered. As various generals took up armies to carve out regions from the former imperial territories, the remnant of the empire retaliated with the seizure of property and the mass arrest of Smithics. In the chaos, President Charleson and the First Presidency was killed, believed to have been assassinated, though it is unclear by who.

With the empire collapsing around them and the death of the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve opted to elect Samuel Mordecai, a young bishop over the largest ward in Bountiful, as temporary president as an intended sacrificial lamb during the time of upheaval. This proved to be a miscalculation, as President Mordecai proved to be far more ambitious and influential than the Quorum could have expected. Almost immediately, he began mobilizing the manpower of the Church's followers to prepare for securing his position and the position of the Church in the coming years.

Government

Politics

The government of Deseret is split into two divisions: the secular government and the religious government, with both being headed by the Lord President. The secular government, at the federal level, has two branches, the legislative body known as the Senate of the Freemen, and the judiciary known as the Lawful Courts. The religious government contains three branches, the legislative Quorum of the Apostles who create Smithic religious law, the judicial Celestial Courts who preside over religious legal cases, and the executive First Presidency headed by the Lord President.

Military

The Deseretan Defense Force (DDF) is made up of five branches, the Land Corps, Sea Corps, and Air Corps under the National Armed Forces, and the Paladic Legion and Vanguard Legion under the Church Security Forces (CSF). The DDF consists of approximately 150,000 personnel over its three branches, while the CSF is approximately 30,000 in number.

The National Defense Complex in Nauvoo, the headquarters of the National Armed Forces

.

The DDF is the larger of the two, and led by the National Defense Minister under the direction of the Lord President and the General Staff. It's generally considered secular and semi-independent from the church, having its allocations determined by the Senate of Freeman. All men between the ages of 18 and 30 are mandated to enlist under the DDF's National Reserve Program in the case of possible conscription.

The CSF, on the other hand, is a smaller force dedicated to the defense of the Church. Because of this, it reports directly to the Lord President. They are charged with various duties related to the Church, including the defense of temples, protection of the Lord President and the Quorum of the Apostles, and the policing in the city of Zion. The Paladic Legion often works in conjunction with the DDF and secular police forces, while the Vanguard Legion generally operates more independently from both the DDF and the Paladic legion. Enlistment in the CSF is voluntary, but is considered an honorable and devout method for fulfilling conscription requirements.

Culture

Festivals

Festivals are an important cultural keystone in Deseret, including harvest festivals, religious festivals, and cultural festivals. The most important annual festivals include the singles festivals, Christmas, and the Moroni Festival. The cultural significance of festivals can be traced back to c. 300 BCE, with the harvest festivals of the ancient Jaredites. As Smithic doctrine emerged, festivals became an important time of community gathering and worship during the early church.

Singles Festivals

Singles festivals, also known as coupling festivals or match festivals, are a traditional Deseretan festival around the height of summer. Intended for communities to gather and single Deseretans to seek out possible partners for romantic relationships, the festivals are some of the largest and most popular in the country, only behind Christmas and the Moroni Festivals.