Deseret (Artemis)

Republic of Deseret 𐐡𐐮𐐹𐐲𐐺𐑊𐐮𐐿 𐐲𐑂 𐐔𐐯𐑅𐐨𐑉𐐯𐐻 (Deseretan)
Flag Coat of Arms
Motto: From Justice Comes Unity
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	Nauvoo
Largest city	Bountiful
Official languages	Deseretan Anglic
Ethnic groups (2015)	List 62% Nephite 31% Lamanite 3% Darenite 4% other
Religion	List 41% Nauvite Smithic 34% Kimbalist Smithic 22% Youngite Smithic 3% other
Demonym(s)	Deseretan
Government	Federal presidential liberal republic
• Executive	Calvin F. Murray
• First Minister	Gideon Edwards
• First Citizen	Noah S. Bohnert
Legislature	Federal Assembly
• Upper house	Provincial House
• Lower house	National Senate
Formation
• Kingdom of Deseret	August 23, 1823
• Constitutional Convention	March 16, 1913
• Ratification	September 30, 1918
Area
• Total	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 Republic of Deseret and informally as the Deseretan Confederation, 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. As the Kingdom collapsed in the early 20th century, the modern Republic of Deseret was established as a successor.

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.

Most of Deseret's population practices one of three sects of Smithicism. In order of largest to smaller: Nauvite Smithicism (41%), Kimbalist Smithicism (34%), and Youngite Smithicism (22%). The culture of the nation is varied and dependent on the dominant sect in the region. In the urbanized areas surrounding Bountiful and Nauvoo Nauvite Smithicism and more liberalized culture is paramount, whereas in areas like Nephi and the Moab-Jordan Area Kimbalism and more conservative/traditionalist culture exists. In the eastern-most province of Laman, a majority of people follow the older Youngite sect, and practice the old Smithic traditions of polygamy and communality.

Etymology

Deseret comes from the ancient Jaredite word dezarnetii, meaning "community" or "hive". It is often mistranslated as the word for "honeybee" (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.

The Collapse & Confederalization

By the turn of the 20th century, the Deseretan Church had accumulated egregious amounts of debt trying to keep order in the face of a schism and maintain the bloated theocratic system that had emerged after the death of President Mordecai. The unrest of the nation grew as Lord President Barlow enacted the Barlow Reforms in an attempt to reign in the Nauvites.

Government

Politics

The government of Deseret is laid out according to the Confederal Instrument of Government, the legal constitutional framework of government ratified in 1918. This establishes Deseret as a federal republic, with power divided between the federal government based in Nauvoo and the various provinces. The federal government is divided into three branches, the Executive Cabinet headed by the Chief Executive; the legislative Federal Assembly divided into two houses, the Provincial House lead by the First Minister and the National Senate lead by the First Citizen; and the judicial National Judiciary.

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 and Marriage

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.

For Smithics, singles festivals typically act as the first step in a process of finding a suitable marriage partner.