Acrea

Kingdom of Acrea Königreich Akrien Nördreich
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: In Treue Fest
Anthem: "Rufst du, mein Vaterland." [1]
Capital	Bern
Largest city	Straßburg
Official languages	Acrean Standard German
Recognised regional languages	Bavarian Finnish Swedish
Demonym(s)	Acrean
Government	Federal Constitutional Monarchy
• Monarch	Friedrich Leopold III
• Chancellor	Madeleine von Steier
Legislature	Parliament of Acrea
• Upper house	Reichshof
• Lower house	Reichstag
Population
• 2017 census	190.953.903
GDP (nominal)	2017 estimate
• Total	$11.619.926.905.356
• Per capita	$60.852
Currency	Ducat (Đ or đ) (DUC)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy CE
Driving side	right
Calling code	+62
ISO 3166 code	ACR
Internet TLD	.ar

Acrea (German: Akrien), officially the Kingdom of Acrea (German: Königreich Akrien) and also referred to as Nördreich (English: Northern Empire) or Steiermark in German, is a country located Eracura in Tyran. It is a federal constitutional monarchy. It is bordered by land to the west and north by Azura and Montemayor and Alemarr.

Owing to its size, Acrea has a diverse landscape, with lush forests, rolling light hills, and snowy mountains. Its total territory spans 3,36 million square kilometres, making it the 3rd largest nation in Tyran by land area. The population of Acrea is 190,9 million, making it the second largest nation in Tyran by population. Its capital is Bern, located at the foot of the Aarau mountain range in the northeast of the country. Its largest city and one of its main financial centres is Straßburg, and other major cities include Linz, Baden, Trier, Ebenthal, Vöcklaburg, Zürich, and Mainz. The English name Acrea comes from the ancient city of Acre (modern day Aarberg), which was the capital of the ancient Acrean Empire. In its native language, Acrea is often referred to in three different ways- Akrien originating from the Old German name for Acre, Nördreich in reference to the Acrean Empire (in comparison to the Syaran Makkedonian Empire in the south), and Steiermark from the province of Steiermark which forms the heart of Acrean territory.

The term 'Acrean' comes from the collection of Germanic tribes- primarily Goths, Saxons, Franks, Suebi, Bavarii, and Helvetii- that inhabited the territory that is modern day Acrea. According to the Sagas, the city of Acre was founded along the river Lyss sometime around 700 BCE, although archaeological evidence shows that the city itself actually existed significantly earlier. However this date given in the Sagas is relatively consistent with other tradition which states that the Kingdom of Acre was founded sometime between 700 BCE to 650 BCE. Not much is known about the Kingdom, as most information regarding it is gleaned either from writings of authors during the later Acrean Empire and collections of oral traditions that were recorded. The Kingdom gradually gained more territory as it was joined by neighbouring villages and small kingdoms.

The creation of the Acrean Empire came after the annexation of the city of Thun. Established under a Gothic emperor, the Empire went on to conquer lands across the Eracuran continent, including the modern-day countries of Shalum and Azura and Montemayor. Beginning in the late 300s, internal conflicts and divisions began to arise among various factions within Acrea. The Empire's management of its vast territory through the appointment of Statthaltern, the governors of the Empire's provinces, had proven successful but had begun to expose serious cracks in the Acrean system of government. Centuries of large population growth and the integration of native peoples in Azura and Shalum into the Imperial system had finally begun to put significant strain on the system. Much of politics was divided between those that wished to continue with the status quo, while others argued in favour of returning to a system which excluded the native peoples of conquered territories from Acrean politics and instead treating them as allied tribes in the conquered territories instead of integral parts of the Empire. The Empire eventually split around 510 CE, following a long period of slow but steady territorial decline over the 4th and 5th centuries and significant infighting. While the Acrean Empire nominally existed in the north of Acrea until approximately 590, it was primarily composed of the wealthy provinces helmed by city-states such as Acre and Trier. In the south, numerous city-states and provinces broke away from the Empire.

Acrea endured further significant sociopolitical collapse throughout the 7th century, with most of the former provinces splitting into numerous smaller petty kingdoms that constantly challenged each other alongside the already feuding city-states. However, beginning in the mid 8th century, several of these kingdoms began to find success by looking overseas. Sailing through rivers to the Sundering Sea to raid territories in modern-day Quenmin, Cacerta, Akashi, and Chihon, the kingdoms were able to bolster their predominantly agricultural societies. The beginning of Acrean Gothic raids alongside Azurlavaian Nordic raids which started around the same time began the Viking era and posed a significant challenge to other societies. The era continued in Acrea well into the 10th century. It was already on the decline coming into the century, however, as the demands of population growth and the rapid expansion of Acrean trade throughout the Viking era made raiding hostile territories far more risky than they were profitable. In addition, conflict between rival kingdoms was on the rise fueled by religious and ideological differences. These conflicts ultimately culminated in the start of the re-unification of Acrea, waged via numerous small wars and political alliances and led by Alarik I, the king of Trier, who for much of his life had sought to restore Acrea as a unified, single state much like it had been under the Empire.

The Kingdom of Acrea was created following the Diet of Augsburg in 974 CE, with Alarik I crowned as King, covering a significant amount of the territory as the Acrean Empire that had come before it. Total unification of all of Acrea, however, would not be realised under Alarik I's reign but instead came following the Battle of Coesfeld in 1178.

Today, Acrea is a regional leader and a highly developed country. It has one of the region's highest Human Development Indexes, and is the region's largest economy with the highest GDP and the second highest GDP per capita behind Ossoria. The Acrean economy is largely post-industrial with services accounting for the largest percentage of GDP, although it has an incredibly large manufacturing sector that focuses on the manufacture of advanced goods and technology. It is a regional leader in several industries, particularly in automotives, technology, and energy. The Acrean government's extensive investment in renewable energy technologies has put Acrean energy firms at the forefront of this industry as pioneers in the production and use of renewable energy, shown with 40% of the nation's energy needs met via renewable energy sources in 2017. Oil, natural gas, and energy also account for a large volume of Acrea's exports. The focus on utilising its offshore reserves for export purposes has inversely led to relatively high oil prices domestically since the 1970s compared to other petro-states. Socially, Acrea maintains robust national healthcare, social security, and social welfare systems. Education is valued highly, with low-cost university education.

Government

Military

Main article: Acrean Armed Forces

Economy

Energy

The Acrean government, since 2000, has invested heavily in nationalising renewable energy methods, with the eventual goal of making at least 80% of the nation's needs met through the use of renewable energy sources by 2030. Approximately 40% of the nation's energy requirements were met using renewable energy in 2017, of which the most efficient have been wind farms in the North Sea. The Acrean Government has also done extensive work to begin utilising ever greater amounts of hydroenergy, employing extensive development programmes in order to implement newer and more efficient technology.

Acrea is a strong oil producing economy. Expansive offshore drilling in the sea and in the arctic has yielded large reserves not found in continental Acrea. One of the chief goals of the Acrean Navy is the protection of Acrean economic assets at sea. However, the majority of the oil is exported which results in comparatively high domestic gas prices.