Waldrich

Waldish Confederation ᚡᚮᛚᛚᛋᚴ᛬ᚠᚮᚱᛒᚢᚿᛑ (Waldish) Vollsk Forbund
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	Rikesdag
• Upper house	Landsting
• Lower house	Folksting
Establishment
• Waldic Empire	19 June 759
• Old Waldish Confederacy	15 August 1031
• Federal state	7 January 1552
• Current constitution	5 February 1821
Area
• Total	332,759 km2 (128,479 sq mi)
• Water (%)	2.2%
Population
• 2020 census	62,775,800
• Density	188.65/km2 (488.6/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2020 estimate
• Total	$3.536 trillion
• Per capita	$56,320
GDP (nominal)	2020 estimate
• Total	$2.837 trillion
• Per capita	$45,192
Gini (2021)	35.7 medium
HDI (2021)	0.921 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, Vollrike), officially the Waldish Confederation (Waldish: ᚡᚮᛚᛚᛋᚴ᛬ᚠᚮᚱᛒᚢᚿᛑ, Vollsk Forbund), is an island country and sovereign state located mostly on the island of Svalland in northern Calesia. It lies between the North Sea to the north, the Medan Ocean to the east, and the Svalish Sea to the southwest. It shares maritime borders with X to the southeast, 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 63 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 BC, 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 Waldc Empire in 759. At its height in the 9th century, Waldrich controlled all of Svalland and much of continental northern Calesia from its capital in modern-day Falland. During the late 10th and early 11th centuries, Waldic imperial power began to weaken as a result of overextension, administrative mismanagement, and external pressures resulting from !Slavic and Hyacinthean invasions of its continental territories. The empire collapsed after the sack of Sydenham in 1031, and the remaining Waldic polities in Svalland reorganized into a loose defensive alliance known as the Old Waldish Confederacy. The Confederacy stabilized during the high medieval period, undergoing a golden age in which Alsvik emerged as a significant cultural and economic hub in northern Calesia. In the mid-14th century, Waldrich's era of prosperity was cut short by the Catabole and subsequent global crisis, which caused significant societal upheaval and killed nearly half of the empire's pre-impact population. The !Reformation of the 15th century further divided the realm along religious lines, with Presterism taking hold in the eastern states that constitute modern-day X. Increasing repression from Alsvik prompted the Presterist nobles to revolt against confederal rule in 1472, sparking a continental war that ended in defeat for Waldrich.

The war forced Waldrich to relinquish control over more than one-third of its remaining territories, exposing the increasing weakness of the Waldish crown. In response, Forsitter Halvard II introduced a series of administrative reforms during the first half of the 16th century, strengthening the government apparatus and transforming Waldrich from a loose confederation 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 outbreak of the 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 war sparked a gradual transition away from absolutism and towards a constitutional monarchy, culminating in the ratification of the current constitution in 1821. The nation reached its territorial nadir following the First Cuthish War in 1866, ceding the island of Cuthland to Falland. Waldrich and Falland fought a second war between 1919 and 1921, resulting in a Waldish victory and leading to the rise of national syndicalism in Falland. Continuing tensions between the two nations were a major cause of the Great War's outbreak in 1934, which pitted Waldrich and the Transmedan Powers against Falland and the Sydenham Powers. After the defeat of the Sydenham Powers in 1940, Waldrich solidified its position as the dominant power in northern Calesia.

Contemporary Waldrich is 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 Xth 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 Xth largest military in the world, with a blue-water navy that allows it to project power globally.

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 6 states in northern and central 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 14 different countries worldwide in support of UC 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 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.