Waldrich

Waldish Confederation ᚠᚮᚱᛒᚢᚿᛑᛂᛏ᛬ᚡᚮᛚᛚᚱᛁᚴᛂ (Waldish) Forbundet Vollrike
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: ᛋᛐᛦᚱ᛬ᚿᚮᚱᛑᛂᚿ (Waldish) Styr norden "Rule the North"
Anthem: ᛂᚱᛁᚴᛋᛋᛆᚿᚵᛂᚿ (Waldish) Erikssangen "Erik's Song"
Capital and largest city	Alsvik
Official languages	Waldish
Recognised regional languages	Cuthish Eldseyan
Ethnic groups (2020)	87.1% Waldish 0.7% Cuthish 0.1% Eldseyan 12.1% Other
Religion (2020)	84.3% Gregorianism 78.9% Northern Cathedralist 5.4% Other Gregorian 10.2% Irreligious 5.5% Other
Demonym(s)	Waldish
Government	Federal parliamentary constitutional elective monarchy
• Forsitter	Solveig I
• Lawspeaker	Anders Kjeldsen
Legislature	Forbundsdag
• Upper house	Landsting
• Lower house	Folksting
Establishment
• Waldic Empire	19 June 759
• Old Waldish Confederacy	15 August 1487
• Federal state	7 January 1552
• Current constitution	5 February 1821
Area
• Total	332,759 km2 (128,479 sq mi)
• Water (%)	2.2%
Population
• 2024 estimate	53,425,800
• 2020 census	52,832,545
• Density	160.55/km2 (415.8/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2024 estimate
• Total	$3.223 trillion
• Per capita	$60,320
GDP (nominal)	2024 estimate
• Total	$2.414 trillion
• Per capita	$45,192
Gini (2022)	35.7 medium
HDI (2022)	0.918 very high
Currency	Pund (VLP)
Time zone	UTC+0 (Central Calesian Time, CCT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (Central Calesian Summer Time, CCST)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+39
ISO 3166 code	VL
Internet TLD	.vl

Waldrich (Waldish: ᚡᚮᛚᛚᚱᛁᚴᛂ, hernicized: Vollrike), officially the Waldish Confederation (Waldish: ᚠᚮᚱᛒᚢᚿᛑᛂᛏ᛬ᚡᚮᛚᛚᚱᛁᚴᛂ, hernicized: Forbundet Vollrike), is a sovereign state located mostly on the island of Svalland in Northern Calesia. It lies between the North Sea to the north, the Waldish Sea of the Medan Ocean to the east, and the Svalish Sea to the southwest. It shares maritime borders with Rosland-Iskrell to the southeast, Helimia and Vistulzka to the west, and Falland to the south. Alsvik is Waldrich's capital and largest city, with other major cities including Hellnafjord, Strandhavn, Kongsheim, and Hovberg. With a population of approximately 53 million and a total area of 332,759 km², Waldrich is the 5th most populous and 6th largest nation in the world.

Humans first settled Waldrich between the 10th and 11th millennia BCE, at the end of the Last Glacial Period. During late antiquity, the Waldic tribes inhabiting the region began to migrate south into mainland Calesia, invading and ultimately destroying the Hernician Empire. These tribes organized into petty kingdoms during the early middle ages, unifying to form the Waldic Empire in 759. At its height in the 9th century, Waldrich controlled all of Svalland and much of continental northern Calesia from the capital of Alsvik. Waldic imperial power began to weaken during the 10th century as a result of overextension, administrative mismanagement, and foreign invasions, culminating in its expulsion from continental Calesia following the sack of Sydenham in 1031. The Empire stabilized during the high medieval period and underwent a golden age in which Alsvik re-emerged as a significant cultural and economic hub in northern Calesia. However, the Catabolic Crisis and Great Prester during the 14th and 15th centuries severely weakened imperial authority over its constituent states, and the Empire dissolved in 1487 after a lengthy civil war.

In northwestern Svalland, the Old Waldish Confederacy was established to fill the power vacuum left by the fall of the Waldic Empire. Initially a loose defensive alliance, Forsitter Halvard II introduced a series of administrative reforms during the first half of the 16th century, strengthening the central government apparatus and transforming Waldrich into a more centralized federal state. Halvard subsequently led Waldrich to victory in the X War, which restored the confederation's image as a major Calesian power. Waldrich also emerged as a significant colonial player during this time and ruled over parts of Razan and northern Elia Borealis for much of the early modern period. However, Waldish colonial dominance ended with the War of X Succession in 1741 and Twelve Years' War in 1785, which forced Waldrich to recognize the independence of Razan and cede most of its colonies in Elia Borealis to other Calesian powers. The wars sparked a gradual transition away from absolutism and towards a constitutional monarchy, culminating in the ratification of the current constitution in 1821.

Waldrich became one of the first nations in the world to industrialize and was the wealthiest power in Calesia until its defeat in the Great War of the mid-19th century. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Waldrich and Falland competed for economic and military power and fought a prolonged and destructive war during the 1910s. Continuing tensions between the two nations were a major cause of the Transmedan War's outbreak in 1934, which pitted Waldrich and the Transmedan Powers against Falland and the Sydenham Powers. Although victorious, Waldrich had been decimated by the conflict and was slow to rebuild. Hyacinthe and the solidarist Liseaux Pact emerged as the dominant geopolitical bloc in Calesia, prompting Waldrich and its serial allies to form the Nordbund in response. After decades of reconstruction, the Waldrich economy began to surpass that of Hyacinthe during the 1970s. Tensions between the two powers continued to build until the outbreak of the The Deluge in the late 1980s, which saw Waldish soldiers engaged in multiple proxy wars against solidarist adversaries around the world. Hyacinthe and Waldrich briefly fought one another directly during the Six-Day War of 1999, until the Millennium Peace led to a cession of conflict and the onset of détente.

Contemporary Waldrich is considered a great power, wielding significant regional and global influence in economic, cultural, diplomatic, and military affairs. It is a founding member of the Nordbund and X Economic Partnership, and holds a permanent seat on the United Congress Security Council. Waldrich is a developed country, with a high-income economy that ranks as the 5th largest in the world. Its economic system, known internationally as the Waldish model, combines high economic freedom with a strong social safety net centered around a universal basic income. Waldrich is a recognized nuclear-weapons state under the Treaty of Hellnafjord and possesses the 3rd largest military in the world, with a blue-water navy that allows it to project power globally.

History

Early 20th century

• War with Falland over Cuthland ends in a bloody stalemate, devestating both nations
• Recession of 1924 destabilizes the nation, increasing unrest akin to Weimar Germany
• Falland recovers much faster and takes advantage of Waldrich's weakness to invade Cuthland, overrunning the island in a matter of days and kicking off the Transmedan War
• Emboldened by the rapid collapse of Cuthland, Falland launches a full-scale invasion of mainland Cuthland in 1935
• Waldrich transitions into a wartime economy, by 1936 the Fallish offensive has ground to a halt
• War of attrition during the winter of 1936–37, failed Fallish offensive during the summer of 1937 significantly weakens its forces
• Royal Waldish Navy establishes naval supremacy in the Svalish Sea and cuts off Fallish supply lines
• Waldrich launches a counteroffensive during the summer of 1938, leading to a rapid collapse of the Fallish lines and pushing them out of Waldrich
• Waldrich and its allies invade mainland Falland during the summer of 1939, and Falland capitulates within months

Contemporary history

• Waldrich is slow to rebuild after the war, and the reconstruction does not begin until the 1950s
• The nation establishes the Nordbund with its allies in Calesia as a defensive alliance against Hyacinthe and its allies
• Hyacinthe and the Liseaux Pact dominate the continent from the 1940s until the end of the 1960s
• The serial world catches up by 1970 and surpasses the socialist world economically, Waldrich re-emerges as a major power and begins to challenge Hyacinthe for dominance
• Tensions between Hyacinthe and Waldrich explode in the late 1980s with the start of the Deluge, with proxy wars breaking out across the globe
• Waldrich shifts into a wartime economy once more, and tensions in Calesia briefly escalate into full scale war during the Six-Day War of 1999.
• Milennium Peace leads to detente between the Nordbund and Liseaux Pact in the aftermath of the Six-Day War
• Waldrich has recovered economically since 2000, but faces major demographic issues and low growth, has largely been surpassed by Coshaqua as the leading capitalist economy

Geography

• 

  TBAfjord in Skerland

• 

  TBA National Park

• 

  TBA volcano in Eldsey

• 

  Lake TBD in TBD National Park

• 

  The TBA river in TBA

• 

  The TBA mountains in TBA

Politics

Administrative divisions

Main article: States of Waldrich

See also: Free states of Waldrich

Waldrich is divided into 17 states (lander), including three kingdoms (kongedømmer), one grand duchy (storhertugdømme), two duchies (hertugdømmer), four jarldoms (jarldømmer), three principalities (fyrstedømmer), three free states (frilander), and one free city (friby).

Flag	Name	Capital	Population	Form of government	Official language(s)
	Alsvik	Alsvik	2,594,236	Free city	Waldish
	Aursdal	Kongsheim	8,714,043	Kingdom	Waldish
	Cuthland	Alderham	412,710	Free state	Cuthish
	Eldsey	Klettvik	44,382	Free state	Eldseyan
	Forsmark	Forsheim	1,786,199	Jarldom	Waldish
	Geirfold	Hallstrand	13,595,418	Kingdom	Waldish
	Hovberg	Hovberg	634,807	Principality	Waldish
	Jarnland	Hellnafjord	18,402,789	Kingdom	Waldish
	Kolhavn	Kolhavn	244,210	Principality	Waldish
	Lyngmark	Fagerheim	1,837,005	Duchy	Waldish
	Malmstad	Malmstad	79,303	Principality	Waldish
	Coshaqua	Mariesfjord	1,352,640	Free state	Waldish
	Revsdal	Erikshavn	130,271	Jarldom	Waldish
	Røkkerland	Flesanger	4,647,180	Duchy	Waldish
	Skerland	Skervik	1,892,276	Jarldom	Waldish
	Strandhavn	Strandhavn	1,123,945	Jarldom	Waldish
	Vegsdal	Heggersund	4,284,386	Grand duchy	Waldish

Military

Main article: Royal Waldish Armed Forces

Waldish soldiers prepare to clear a building during peacekeeping operations in X.

The Royal Waldish Armed Forces (Waldish: Kongelige Vollske krigsmakten) consist of 266,000 active and 129,000 reserve personnel. They are divided into the Army, Navy, Air Force, Space and Missile Force, and Cyber Force, and are administered by the Ministry of War. Although Forsitter Solveig I nominally serves as commander-in-chief, in practice all operations are directed by Lawspeaker Anders Kjeldsen. The Waldish government spent more than $82 billion on defense in 2020, or approximately 2.9% of its total nominal GDP. Waldrich is a member of the Nordbund, a military alliance consisting of X states in northern Calesia.

The Waldish military has historically been a major military power in Calesia, and remains a great power in the present day. Waldish forces are permanently stationed in several Nordbund member states including East Ruthen, Falland, and X, and are currently deployed to X in support of United Congress peacekeeping operations. Its navy possesses blue-water capabilities and is capable of carrying out amphibious operations on a global scale.

Waldrich is one of three recognized nuclear weapons states under the Treaty of Hellnafjord and carried out the world's first successful nuclear weapons test in 1947. The nation possesses a total of 450 warheads, of which 340 are deployed. Waldrich also operates a nuclear triad and is capable of delivering weapons using a combination of land, air, and sea-based systems. It remains the only nation to use nuclear weapons in combat, launching atomic strikes on X in 19XX during the X War.