Willink

Basileia of Willink Willinkian: Βασιλεία του Φιλίνκισ Mariac: ܦܗܠܠܢܟܝܣ ܐܶܡܦܪܳܬܽܘܪܽܘܬܳܐ
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "επιδιώκει με το σπαθί μια ήρεμη ειρήνη" "Seek with the sword a calm peace."
Location of Willink (green)
Capital	Salonika
Official languages	None
Recognised national languages	Willinkian Mariac
Ethnic groups	Norian (64.0%), Marian (33.4%), Vetaen (1.4%), Minuccianite (0.6%), Anglo (0.5%), Niskau (0.1%)
Demonym(s)	Willinkian
Government	Common Law Propertarian Anarchism
• Basileus	Nikephorus Minopoulos
Establishment
• Founding of Norian Kingdom of Fospontis	Classical Antiquity
• Accession of Fillinkis The Great	328 BCE
• Crown unification	1420 CE
Area
•	15,935,000 km2 (6,153,000 sq mi)
• Water (%)	15.9%
Population
• 2020 estimate	15,247,450,000
• Density	943.17/km2 (2,442.8/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2020 estimate
• Total	$1.071 quadrillion
• Per capita	$70,245
HDI (2020)	0.989 very high
Currency	Various private, generally benchmarked as Solidi
Time zone	Kingston Mean Time
Driving side	right
Calling code	+8
Internet TLD	.wk

Willink (Willinkian: Φιλίνκισ), officially the Basileia and Crown Lands of Willink (Willinkian: Βασίλειο και Κτήμα Οικισμού του Φιλίνκισ) is a large polity located on the continent of Thalassia, traditionally located in the region of Haven.

Willink is a highly decentralized, propertarian, caesaropapisic, composite, multi-ethnic monarchy. It is regarded as one of the oldest continuously existing states in history, having been established by Fillinkis The Great in the 4th century BC. Willink is not a state in the strict term, but rather a large collection of land holdings, estates, metropolises, titles, free cities, and other land associations unified either through direct title or apostolically under the Willinkian Basileus. "Governance", to the extent it exists at all, is organized under radical localism; the Geniká Akínita, literally "Estates General" is a voluntary association of defense agencies, land owners, and private individuals who coordinate common defense and foreign policy.

Willink's unique history, culture, and geographic positioning has proved a noteworthy bridge between geopolitical blocs in Haven, its legal system on one hand being founded on Praetonian Common Law and, conversely, its deeply religious society informing close ties with Doomingsland. Other historic allies include the Borman Empire, Cravan, Risban and Hailandkill. Willink adopted Christianity in the 3rd century; the Willinkian Orthodox Church has played a significant role in the development of Willinkian culture, identity, politics, and its practitioners form significant minorities in several other nations in Haven. Willink has at varying times been a member of the Saharistan War Coalition, Kingston Pact, Alliance for the Preservation of Civilisation (APOC), The Sovereign League, and has variously warred and maintained close relations with nations in Gholgoth.

Etymology

Willink is an english exonym and corruption of the Willinkian word Fillinkī́s, first propagated by Sennish-Prateonian traders. The dialect of the Sennish changed the [f] sound in Fillinkī́s to [v], rendering the name of the country Villinkī́s. This was misinterpreted as a voiced labio-velar approximant by Sennish sailors, who pronounced the name Wellenk. This was then re-interpreted by the Imperium Praetonianum's court as Willink, which was circulated throughout the known world in Praetonian official documents and vernacular language. The name is ordinarily rendered as Fillinkis by English speaking Willinkians; this name is also frequently used as an alternative English name.

Fillinkis Sibyrtius is considered to be the founder of Willink; contemporary sources refer to his rule as either the Fillinkis Dynasty (Willinkian: δυναστεία Φιλίνκιν') or Kingdom of Fillinkis (Willinkian: Βασίλειο του Φιλίνκιν), from which the present name of the nation is derived.

History

Main article: History of Willink

Prehistory

The Thalassian continent has records of human settlement dating to the neolithic era. The oldest excavated archaeological site in Willink is the Tell Rukka, a large mound outside the contemporary city of Raphana, the oldest sections of which have been dated to 5000 BC. Relevant among discoveries at this site include early evidence of obsidian tools and the extensive use of mudbrick construction, suggestive of an early trend toward urbanization.

Dating at ancient sites in the Fospontis basin paints an image of several multi-hectare settlements lining the sea's southern shores, ringed by pastoral hinterlands; indeed, recorded history suggests many of the large cities of Maria are the oldest extant settlements in Tharassia, predating their northern counterparts by several centuries. A great deal of historical research in Willink has been committed towards understanding the migration of language in this early period; the linguistic divergence of what are considered proto-Willinkian and proto-Marian appears to have been evident from 2500 BC; a hypothesized proto-Thalassian language is believed to have become extinct by 1500 BC. Earliest records of language in Willink suggest divergence dialects of this language were rendered in hieroglyph, but as of 2020 attempts to decipher this early use of language have been frustrated.

The most comprehensive form of written record in early Willinkian history comes by means of the Kanisian Empire, a Marian kingdom centered on the city of Kanis that subjugated prominent settlements along the Marian coast from 1300 BC; this includes early testament of sea and coastal trade routes, major settlements covering some 1200 km of coastline, and the early identification of Norian settlements and tribal polities in the vicinity of Lake Halone.

Geography

The primary landmass of Willink is the continent of Thalassia, located in eastern Haven. Its maritime borders consist of the Fyre Sea to the north and west, the Omz Sea to the southwest, the Omz Strait to the south, the Dayan Sea to the east, and the Aralonian channel to the southeast. The Pseira Islands, located offshore southeast of Thalassia are the largest island chain of Willink, covering some 19, 980 km² in area. The Eos Islands lie directly east of Thalassia, and are 4,150 km² in area.

Willink possess an inland sea, the Fospontis, as well as three large freshwater lakes of significance: the Halone, Kalonymos, and Ophiousa.

Land relief can vary tremendously. Willink exhibits megadiversity, consisting of coastal plains and a vast steppe in the north, to arid desert and highlands in its southern expanses. Two large mountain ranges spine the Fospontis basin running west-east; the Vóreios range to the north and the Tiaret range to the south. The basin is noted for its Mediterranean climate.

The confluence of the Fyre and Omz seas pushes prevailing winds over the continent and generates a mild climate; other than its mountains and steppe, Willink receives very little snowfall. Much of northern Willink is temperate broadleaf and temperate steppe, whereas its central portions exhibit a strong Mediterranean climate. In the south, Mediterranean coastal areas give way to semiarid steppe zone and an arid pleatea and associated highlands that carries down the southern spur of the continent.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Willink

According to estimates by the Fillinkís Statikí Koinonía, the current population of Willink is 15.247 billion persons. Willink has an average population density of 943.17 people per km². The median age is 35.02, reflective of the comparatively high birth rate compared to several of its immediate neighbors. Willink has a large external dispora, estimated to include some 1.2 billion people; it's largest populations can be found in Minucciano, Izistan, Hamptonshire, Praetonia, Cravan, Questers, Doomingsland, and Pacitalia.

Willink possess a fertility rate of 3.1 children per women, a rate of population growth considered very high for a westernized nation; large scale population growth has led to population density issues, especially in Willink's many urban areas where large swaths of cityscapes consist of historic built-out low and medium density city centers that are often over a thousand years old. This pressure has further accelerated emigration, particularly in the case of Minucciano, where nearly 25% of the population, some 1 billion persons, consists of Willinkian Norian and Mariac persons seeking greater availability of land.

Willink has no official language; the overwhelming majority of its citizens speak either Willinkian, an Indo-European, Hellenic language, or Mariac, a Semitic language endemic to the southern regions of the continent. English commonly serves as a bridge language. Though no comprehensive survey has been undertaken, it is believed to be the case that Willink is both the largest Hellenic speaking and Semetic speaking nation in the world based on total population; there are an estimated ten billion persons who use Willinkian as a first language, and five billion persons who utilize Mariac on a daily basis. Loanwords from both languages have entered Havenic lexicon over the course of centuries.

Cities

Willink possesses many vaguely-defined urban amalgamations. Given the lack of centralized governance, many cities have vastly outgrown their historic footprints to form continuous urban regions; this is especially true on both the northern and southern shores of the Fospontis sea, where outward population expansion has resulted in mirrored megalopolises occupying the majority of buildable coastline; the northern shore corridor, for example, has some 1.8 billion people living within twenty kilometres of the sea, and features multiple cities harboring more than ten million persons. As Willink does not possess a central government, and given the vast palatial land holdings of the Willinkian crown, three cities are historically held to possess preeminence and today constitute the three largest cities in the nation: Salonika, the historic capital, Epidaurum, the oldest and most prominent of the historic Norian cities, and Botrys, the historic seaside capital of the Willinkian Mariac population. Other large cities with regional prominence include the Mariac resort city of Abydos, the northern port of Neopolis, the easterly port of Ismaros, the center of Willink's expansive shipbuilding industry, and the large island city of Virasia.

Ethnic Groups

Main article: Ethnicity in Willink

Willink is a diverse, multi-ethnic polity, encompassing two primary peoples and myriad smaller ethnic groups. Willink has historically been stratified into two major ethnic populations. The largest of these are Norians, endemic to the northern region of Thalassia, an Indo-European, Willinkian speaking Hellenic population who are estimated to number some 9.8 billion persons. "Willink" in an ethno-national sense is often inaccurately conflated with its Norian population in foreign nations given their size and significance, as well as the primacy of the Willinkian language, but significant overlap and ethnic syncretism over the course of centuries has diminished this distinction.

The second largest ethnic population in Willink consists of Marian peoples, a Semitic, Mariac speaking population traditionally residing in the southern regions of Thalassia. Numbering some 5 billion peoples, the Marians have exerted strong influence on Willinkian culture, literature, religion, science, trade, and have constituted several ruling dynasties of the polity, as well as often proving the source of consorts for Norian emperors. Much of Willinkian history is a story of relations and power struggles between the Norian and Marian states, and today the Marians occupy a space as one of the most unique, significant cultures in the Haven writ large.

Willink's long political relationship with Minucciano, as well as religious and linguistic similarities has resulted in the immigration of several hundred million Minuccianites into Willink; these ethiosemitic people have attained cultural and economic prominence as well; they constitute the wealthiest, most prominent black population in all of Haven, and have shaped Willinkian foreign policy, particularly its economic retrenchment from Questers, whose cultural aptitudes toward its own black population are considered marked by racial prejudice.

The Vatae are another significant population of Willink; this Indo-Iranian pastoral people traditionally inhabited the vast Willinkian Steppe and the northern hinterlands of Vóreios mountain range; today they constitute the fourth largest population residing within Willinkian territories. Of additional note is Willink's Niskau population, a Slavic ethnic group related to and originating from Cohenia that settled on the north-eastern shores of Thalassia that still constitute large percentages of the minority population in those regions.

Willink does not possess any immigration laws; accordingly, it is home to a vast array of immigrant populations, principally business related expatriates from Sovereign League countries. Historically, Praetonians make up the largest percentage of this population, followed by Cravanians, Doomani, Questarians, and Spizanians. These populations, with the exception of the Doomani are colloquially referred to as Anglos, given their usage of English and national origins in the expansion of Praetonian settlers across wide ranges of territory in Haven.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Willink

Willink adopted Christianity as a state religion in 287 AD. The Willinkian Orthodox Church is one of the oldest extant Christian churches in the world, and it's early adoption of the faith has led to significant divergence from Chalcedonianism. The Willinkian church is often maligned categorically as Nestorian, as it rejects the Theotokos. Theologians hold that this distinction is primarily semantic, and Christologically differentiation between the Willinkian Orthodox Church and what would be considered Eastern Orthodoxy is negligible. Willinkian Orthodoxy employs the Byzantine Rite, and it is estimated to include some ten billion parishioners.

The second largest church in Willink is the Ancient Miaphysite Church of Maria, with an estimated 3.3 billion practitioners. In contrast with Hellenic-centric Willinkian Orthodoxy, the Marian church utilizes the West Syriac Rite. Both the Miaphysite church and Orthodox church share communion, though this theological unification has proved a source of controversy, and has historically figured the cause of numerous wars, rebellions, and ethnic cleansing in religiously striated communities. Other large Christian communities in Willink include the Minuccianite Oriental Church and Praetonian Protestantism.

The Willinkian Vetaen community historically were practitioners of Mithraism; by the second millennium this community gradually converted to Zoroastrianism. Despite a protracted multi-century effort of Christianization, there are still an estimated 450 million practitioners, making the faith the largest non-Christian sect in the nation. The Fire Temple of Kaliolimus is believed to be the largest Zoroastrian temple in Haven, and one of the largest in the world outside of predominantly Zoroastrian nations such as The Parthians.

Willink is considered to be a deeply devout nation; its population is 96% Christian, placing it in the upper percentiles of the world in terms of Christian identification. The segment of population identifying as secular or irreligious is estimated to be as little as one percent. Willink also has a long history of religious militarism; many of the largest defense organizations in Willink are religious military orders, and the employment of religious warfare proves to be a continued a source of social and ethnic tension.

Administrative Divisions

Willink possesses a complicated system of administrative division. In terms of immediacy, the largest recognized divisions of Willink are its two kingdoms, Fospontia and Maria. The Willinkian Imperial title (Crown) is a unification of these two crowns, an accomplishment first actualized by Fillinkis Sibyrtius that linked the Norian Kingdom of Fospontia with the Kingdom of Maria. Prior to the disestablishment of political office in the 18th century these constituent kingdoms held devolved political power in their specific estates, but today exist solely as cultural and statistical distinctions. Both kingdoms are divided administratively into Themata; this developed initially as a religious distinction between diocese and as a means of organizing military recruitment, but its prolonged influence has led to its consideration as the primary sub-national method of organization; most Themata, for example, organize their own collective security, organize statistical analysis of their populations, coordinate long-distance transportation projects between associations, and organize and codify religious hierarchy.

Beyond the two kingdoms of Willink, the next most common sub-national method of organization is into the category of Crown Lands. Crown Lands vary in size from the property of a single building to state-sized territories; when used in reference to administrative division it is usually referring to the largest of the Willinkian Crown Lands, of which two of particular significance are Stépa, a multi-thousand kilometer expanse in north-central Willink that borders Fospontia, and Néagi, a territory encompassing the most northwestern expanses of the continent. Crown Lands are ordinarily organized into Episkopies based on church jurisdiction, which is most usually used for regional and statistical differentiation; Eparchies is also used in a synonymous fashion for sub-units of both Themta and Crown Lands in the same manner other states use administrative terms such as county, though it carries no political distinction.

Willink also possess several non-contiguous territorial holdings; this includes the Episkopies of Willinkian East Karain, and Willinkian Bechaunaland in the region of Karain, the Episkopi of Kanton in the region of Dayuan and the Episkopi of Károlospoli in former Yuslevekia, southern Haven. The Willinkian Crown also possesses the Exarchate of Minucciano in personal union, a multi-billion person Afroasiatic polity in Karain.

Government

Main article: Legal System of Willink

In contrast with most modern states, Willink does not possess a monopoly on violence, and therefore does not collect taxes, conscript its citizens, or otherwise create supranational obligations upon its citizenry, accordingly, it is commonly referred to as "anarchist", "anarcho-capitalist", or "propertarian anarchist" and opposes large anti-sovereign constructions such as the World Assembly. This system of Common Law propertarian monarchism resembles that seen in other Sovereign League member states, most notably Praetonia.

Willink practices what would be considered radical decentralization; most organization for what would be generally considered political purposes (collective security, planning of infrastructure) happens at a local level; this includes defense associations, land associations, infrastructure associations, insurance and medical networks, charitable associations, et al. These associates are broadly organized into estates, which interact with the Emperor and permit large scale collective organization of military and geopolitical efforts.

The Willinkian monarch holds the title Apostolic Majesty, according him de jure leadership of the Willinkian Orthodox Church. This means there is no practical distinction between church and state, a geopolitical construction that means Willink is occasionally classified as a theocratic monarchy in the same vein as polities such as Stevid.

Political theorists have variously described Willink as both a pseudo-monarchy, given the vast devolution of sovereign powers ordinarily held to constitute sovereignty, and as decentralized capitalist state given the strong institutional defense of private property; the nature of Willink and the extent to which it legal and social organization constitutes a state has proved an ongoing philosophic debate in academia for over a century.

Military

Main article: Militarization in Willink

Despite possessing a heavily armed, militarized society, Willink does not possess a standing state army. Military power in Willink is organized into a myriad of defense agencies and estate militias. Principal among these are: Imperial military forces, military units under direct command of the Willinkian Basileus; Holy Orders, religiously-based, church-sanctioned crusading defense agencies, and the armies of the estates, large associations of defense agencies organized at Themata-scale levels for collective defense purposes; often, allegiances among professional soldiers can overlap between multiple organizations. Given the nonexistence of citizenship in a legal sense, large percentages of Willink military forces consist of either foreign volunteers or mercenaries; historically the most striking example of this is the employment of Doomani citizens in Willinkian military units. There are estimated to be some 150 million people employed in a military capacity in Willink, or roughly ten persons per capita.

The Willinkian Crown is a nuclear armed polity; its nuclear arsenal includes land and sea-based missile systems, artillery, torpedoes, and naval mines. Willink is one of several dozen states to have utilized nuclear weapons in combat, both during the Saharistan War and during attacks on The Burnsian Desert fleets during their attempted invasion of Haven.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Willink

Willink is noteworthy foremost as an economic powerhouse. Practicing what theorists have described as market anarchism, Willink possesses no taxation, or intellectual property laws. Willink is a worldwide center of tax avoidance and money laundering. Willink is one of the wealthiest, most productive nations in Haven on a per capita basis, and possesses a highly diversified economy noted for its shipyards, consumer electronics, alcohol production, glass-works, military equipment, banking, mining, cannabis, and chemical industries. Willink is a net petroleum and natural gas exporter, possessing vast gas and oil reserves, both in its territorial waters, deserts, and foreign territories of Willinkian Saharistan and Willinkian East Karain.

Willink practices private banking; there is no central planning of the money supply or of economic indicators; banks privately issue currency and engage in issuance of cryptocurrency. Willink is one of the major banking centers of eastern Haven, and its banks possess a worldwide footprint and market capitalization. In particular, Willinkian banks often serve as bullion banking functionaries for other nations to secure specie, owning to their nonexistent regulation, powerful contacts, comparative geopolitical stability, and institutional privacy.

Solidus is used to refer to coinage and paper moneys produced for circulation in Willink; Solidus or Solidi historically referred to the issuance of specific gold coinage minted by the Willinkian Crown, but through centuries of usage has been appropriated as a catch-all term for moneys circulated in Willink, usually standardized to a floating unit of account. Along with specie coinage, the Willinkian economy makes prolific utilization of gold and silver foil based bank notes as functional substitutes for fiat paper. Foreign currencies, particularly those issued in Sovereign League states also find common usage.

Willink's economic life was historically centered on its central region of the Fospontis Basin. With the advent of global and regional trade in the 17th century, Willink's location at the convergence of two key regional seas served it immensely; an east-west trade route running from Goobergunchia and the Democratic Underground, Questers, Allanea, Scandavian States, Clandonia, and Praetonia, as well as a north-south route passing Franberry, Skinny87, Akimonad, and Omz. This central location made Willink an important way station on trade heading eastward out of Haven, and southward directed towards the Havenic colonial region of Karain. Praetonia, Clandonia, and Chevrokia today constitute its largest trade partners.

Willink is a major producer and exporter of advanced military equipment, being an integral production partner on seminal projects such as the Havenfighter as well as a producer of missile systems, combat aircraft, warships, radar systems, and land vehicles.

Culture

Sports

Sports occupying a significant portion of Willinkian cultural life; in particular, the two most preeminent sports in Willinkian society are gridiron football and basketball. Other important sports with national footprints include Olympic weightlifting, formula car racing, baseball, and football.

Willink is a prominent gridiron football nation on the world stage, securing a decisive victory in the 2011 Baptism of Iron tournament. There are an estimated 23.2 million secondary school aged gridiron football players in Willink, making gridiron both the most popular amateur sport and collegiate sport. The preeminent Willinkian gridiron professional league, the Ethnikós Podósfairo Sýndesmos (EPS) has a worldwide footprint, drawing talent and viewership from foreign nations such as Okielahoma, Cohenia, Sarzonia, and Barkozy. Basketball is another significant sport at which Willink has attained international acclaim, recording multiple region championships in tournament play, and drawing talent from far flung foreign regions such as Karain to play in its popular professional leagues.