Elatia

Blessed Republic of Elatia Benita Respubliko Elatia
Flag
Motto: En la nomo de la anĝeloj ('In the Name of the Angels')
Anthem: Hymn of Logos
Location of Valgtea within Belisaria
Capital and	Haveno
Official language	Elatian

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Elatia, officially known as the Benita Respubliko Elatia (Blessed Republic of Elatia), is a nation in the world located in northern Norumbria, bordering Enyama, Belfras and Gristol-Serkonos. Elatia is a totalitarian communist theocracy, ruled by the Supreme Prophet, who holds autocratic power over both the machineries of the state, as well as the Ecclesia, the state church of Elatia which adheres to the pseudo-Gnostic faith of Numenism.

History

The predecessor to the modern Elatian state was a region known as the Sunset Coast (Latin: 'Oram Occasum'). A major trading hub between Belisarian-influenced regions to the east, and the Makrian powers to the west, a number of prosperous city states began to flourish in the area during the early-modern era. They were linguistically and culturally a hodge podge, its inhabitants being a mixture of the indigenous Haida, as well as proto-Ghantish, Latinic and Tsurushiman peoples who migrated to the area at different points in its history.

The coastal city states' wealth depended on trade. However, their agriculture was based to a great extent on the labour of the land-bonded serfs, who were more or less the property of the cities' mercantile oligarchic governments. When in the 1830's the 'crazed preacher', Peter the Harbinger, began to preach the tenets of the pseudo-Gnostic religion which would develop into modern Numenism, the peasantry responded to his teachings en masse. An uprising followed, during which the cities failed to respond in any cohesive fashion, allowing them to be overwhelmed one by one. Peter and his successors to the mantle of 'Supreme Prophet' created what was among the world's first totalitarian and socialist states, creating a new artificial language in order to bind together the diverse cultures of the old Sunset Coast into a cohesive whole.

Elatia fought multiple wars with its neighbours during the late-19th to mid-20th century. A core element of Elatia's ideology has always been the fact that it was the pure haven of the forces of the Angels on earth, and that it was its duty to liberate all mankind from the shackles of individualistic-materialistic regimes, that is, all countries not run in accordance with socialist or left-anarchist principles. This led to the development of the largest military force in the world through universal conscription of up to seven years' terms of service, as well as a bloated military-industrial complex. This, coupled with chronic mismanagement, ultimately proved to be unsustainable to the economy. In 1985, following a period of persistent drought, the harvests failed and with famine came wholesale economic collapse. Refugees in their tens of thousand fled the countryside and flooded into the cities, as well as other countries. The death toll of the Great Famine has never been accurately assessed, but it could have been well into seven figures.

Realising that the Elatian state could collapse if the situation could not be rectified swiftly, the Elatian political and religious leadership embarked upon a series of radical reforms, beginning with agricultural de-collectivisation. With the overt or covert support of experts from Mutul, Yisrael and Walzenia, Elatia carried out wholesale privatisation of the economy, allowing small-holder land ownership in rural areas, the establishment of wholly privately-owned small-to-medium enterprises, and the founding of public-private hybrid companies to manage larger undertakings. This was accompanied by a significant reduction in government spending, through the demobilisation of more than 50% of the military. This liberated a significant proportion of the population to enter the workforce, whilst allowing the government to invest in much needed infrastructural development. The result was a period of rapid economic growth which has, more or less, lasted until the present day.

A side-effect of this economic expansion was the increase in corruption, previously largely unknown in Elatian society. As the core tenet of Numenism was the condemnation of materialism (specifically, 'senseless accumulation'), the Ecclesia found it more and more difficult to square its theology with the economic reality. This culminated in the coup of Marcus the Purifier in 2018 against his father, and his seizure of the mantle of the Supreme Prophet. He has carried out a large scale campaign against corruption in the state, military and Ecclesia, but has so far refrained from substantially rolling back the privatisation measures which have sustained the economy since the mid-80's. Observers continue to closely watch how his regime would develop in the medium term.