Acrea

Kingdom of Acrea Königreich Akrien Kongariget Akrien
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: In Treue Fest I Trogen Fest
Capital	Trier
Largest city	Straßburg
Official languages	Gothic Northern Dane Western Dane Eastern Dane
Recognised regional languages	Bayerisch Gotisk
Ethnic groups (2018)	Gothic (59%) Dane (41%)
Demonym(s)	Acrean
Government	Federal Constitutional Monarchy
• Monarch	Friedrich Leopold III
• Chancellor	Lea Marie von Västerlund
Legislature	Reichstag
• Upper house	Reichshof
• Lower house	Landtag
Population
• 2018 census	196,953,803
GDP (nominal)	2019 estimate
• Total	10.233.490.172.395₤ ($12,018,121,059,060)
• Per capita	51.962₤ ($61,020)
Gini	31.6 medium
HDI	.924 very high
Currency	Mark (₤) (ACM)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy CE
Driving side	right
Calling code	+62
Internet TLD	.ar

Acrea (Gothic and Dane: Akrien), officially the Kingdom of Acrea (Gothic: Königreich Akrien, Dane: Kongariget Akrien), 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, the 3rd largest nation in Tyran by land area, with a population of 196.9 million making it the largest nation in Tyran by population. Its capital is Trier, located at the foot of the Aarau mountain range in the northeast of the country. The city is also Acrea's largest city and one of its major financial capitals. Other major cities include Stavanger, Kongsvingen, Baden, Schönbrunn, Gothenburg, and Norsjö. The English name Acrea comes from the ancient city of Acre, located in modern-day Trier where many ancient ruins and sites can be found as protected landmarks today

Today, Acrea is a regional leader and a highly developed country. It 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 a 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.

History

Antiquity

The term 'Acrean' comes from the collection of Germanic tribes that inhabited the territory that is modern day Acrea. According to the Skalla Sagas, the city of Acre was founded along the river Varde 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 mixed Gothic-Dane 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.

Reunification

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 raids alongside Azurlavaian 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 Gothenburg 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.

Geography

Acrea is located in central and eastern Eracura, bordering Svinia to the east, Alemarr to the north, and Sevase to the south. It covers an area of 3.362.625 square kilometres, making it the largest nation in Eracura and second largest in Tyran overall. It has a wide range of elevation, spanning from the Aarau-Voers mountain range in the north, where elevation reaches as high as 2.900 metres, to the southern forested lowlands.

Government

Military

Main article: Acrean Armed Forces

The Acrean Armed Forces are comprised of the Acrean Army, Acrean Air Force, and the Acrean Navy. A fourth branch, the Gendarmerie or Landesgränsvakt, was later reorganised into STATPOL or Staatspolizei, the national Acrean police force. The King of Acrea serves as the commander-in-chief, however in practice the duties of the position are performed by the Chancellor. Employing 1.3 million active duty personnel, the Acrean Armed Forces are among the largest military orginisations in Tyran.

Acrea has historically always been a military power. Despite not being the largest, it is supported a large and diverse domestic defence industry driven by constant competition to both itself and allies by other Eracuran powers. In 2019, its military spending accounted for 3.8% of its GDP at Đ388.6 billion ($456.6 billion).

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.

Demographics

Ethnicity

Generally speaking, Acrea could be considered to be composed of two main ethnic groups: Goths and Danes. However, both originated as collections of over two dozen smaller tribes. In practice, Acrean anthropologists consider both groups to be of the same ethnic group, and instead divide the two as being separate nationalities, with both belonging to a distinct Acrean ethnic group. Even in this definition, there is some controversy as to the distinction of Acreans as an ethnic group, particularly in respect to other Eracuran states.

Settlement of much of the continent by Acreans has led to several states in Eracura tracing their lineage back to Acrean settlement of their current territory. This is especially prevalent in the cases of Azurlavai and Delkora, both of whom attribute settlement by Dane settlers as significant parts of their national formation. The prevalence of what could be considered Acrean ethnic groups in states other than Acrea has challenged the current mainstream definition of Acrean ethnicity, especially as centuries of efforts sponsored by Acrean rulers has led to the creation of a very strong Acrean national identity.

Shalumites are the largest immigrant group within Acrea. Following the economic devastation of Shalum during the Eracuran Great War, large numbers of refugees and job-seekers migrated to Acrea in search of work and economic well-being. Significant numbers of Shalumite women also immigrated to Acrea after marrying Acrean soldiers who had fought in and occupied Shalum after the war. Extramarital relations between Acrean soldiers and Shalumite women proved substantial enough that the Acrean government instituted a birthright policy in 1965 which allowed migration of children born as a result of these affairs to migrate to Acrea, and which still exists currently.

Language

Owing to its unique national makeup, Acrea has one of the highest rates of multilingualism in Tyran. The Acrean government recognises four official languages: Gothic (Deutsch), Northern Dane (Norddansk), Western Dane (Västradanska), and Eastern Dane (Østdansk). The Acrean government is required to communicate written documents in all four. Northern Dane, as the primary language of the Acrean government since the time of Alarik I's reunification of the country, is traditionally used in the chambers of parliament; however, the mutual intelligibility of the Dane language often means that representatives from Dane-speaking regions use their regional language. The regional distinctiveness of the three Dane languages can be seen in the Dane-speaking countries that were formerly a part of Acrea; Nordkrusen speaks a variety of Western Dane, while Azurlavaj speaks a dialect of Northern Dane where its settlers originated from, and Delkora most notably speaks its own dialect that is incredibly similar to Eastern Dane.

This is supported by the incredibly high rate of multilingualism among the Acrean population. A 2018 survey showed that about 68% of Acreans used more than one language on a weekly basis, 74% on a monthly basis, and nearly 99% responding that they used more than one language to communicate extensively at least once a year. Beyond being a practical necessity of daily life in Acrea, multilingualism is also legally mandated. Language education is compulsory for all Acrean pupils beginning in kindergarten, and often by the secondary school level full classes are taught in the non-primary language of the region. In addition to extensive linguistic education, Acreans are also heavily exposed to all Acrean languages in their daily life through media, advertisements, and so forth.

Aside from their official forms, the four languages comprise over a dozen regional dialects. This has produced a unique blend of language depending on the local variety, which is not always restricted simply to geographic area. In many metropolitan areas of Acrea, the local dialects reflect something akin to a blend of Gothic and Dane, with the same phenomenon being very common in places along the border of traditionally Gothic- and Dane-speaking regions.The frequency of the blend of Acrea's official languages has led linguists and anthropologists to distinguish the dialect as the Acrean language, and its use extends beyond daily life, with it becoming more commonplace among government as well. The rise of social media and constant inter-connectivity between the entire country has been reported to be a major cause of the development of a combined Acrean language. The group aside from media-savvy youth with which it sees the most extensive use, however, is within the Acrean military who has traditionally required all officers to be bilingual in Gothic and at least one Dane dialect.