Fourland

Fourland, officially The Republic of the Fourlandian Isles is a nation made up of four islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It has a population of about 56.4 million.

It has been inhabited for over 9,000 years, since the Ice Age began to end.

Demography:

Ethnicity: 89.6% Fourlandish 10.2% European 0.2% Other

Religion:

89.6% Belism 8.1% Christianity 2.7% No Religion

Semism is a religion created by the Great Messenger of Truth, who is known as Senrel Rerez (although that is merely his birth name, rather than his "True Name").

Only Fourlandish people can follow it, and all Fourlandish people must follow it: doing otherwise is said to be a deep wrong which results in exile from "the Homeland" (that is, the country of Fourland), to a different country. However, they do not have to be extremely pious: simply following its Ten Great Rules is enough, although of course they are also encouraged to worship Bel more fully. Because of this strict emphasis on ethnicity, miscegenation is prohibited, in both the religion and the country. All children born out of this must become Christians, as was ruled in 1889 by the Grand Council of the Messenger.

Gods? -There is one supreme God. Every human is forbidden from uttering or writing his True Name, but for practical purposes he is called Bel. He did not create the universe, but he created Ger and Sem. Everything he does is according to the principle of Ane, which is completely unknowable and not understandable to humans. He is all powerful-but wilfuly, genuinely ignorant about some things, so he is not all-knowing. -Ger is the evil God who created the universe and all the things in it. He is like a demiurge except he also created the universe. -Sem exists in a different way to the way everything else exists, he kind of only half-exists. He is purely good but has very little power or ability, and accepts that. However, because of this, he requires humans do carry out his will, or rather, give him will in accordance with his character-and then act on that. He embodies all virtue, and deserves to be worshipped by humans. He just is.

Why were humans created? -They were first created by Ger. He did not have any particular motivation, because Gods don't need to have motivation to do stuff-they are free like that. However, some were at one point "re-created", or "re-birthed" by Bel. They were given their purpose then. These people, of course, were the Fourlandish. Other people could have been given some purpose, or they could not have been; the Great Messenger did not comment on that.

Ethics/Commandments? -The Ten Great Rules must be followed by all Fourlandish people, they are the main part of the religion in terms of actions (and inactions.) However, there is also a list of Ten Great Virtues, which Sem embodies, which are also very good to be followed-while it is not obligatory for Fourlandish people, it is strongly encouraged and "a great, sad shame" if people do not deeply value those virtues.

Why is there evil in the world?

What is the purpose of life?

Mythology, chronology?

Organization?