Vetok

United Dominion of Vetok
Flag Emblem
Motto: "Non Sine Virtute Pax" "Peace Is Not Without Virtue"
Capital and largest city	Carrishem
Official languages	Anglish
Recognised national languages	Anglish
Demonym(s)	Vetokite
Government	Parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Emperor	Survan Jaansma
• First Minister	Koziai Garvia
Population
• 2022 estimate	197,740,000
Currency	Vetokite Credit (VTC)
Driving side	left

Vetok, officially the United Dominion of Vetok, is a nation in northern Europa on Eurth. Vetok shares a land border with Volsci in the north, Baranchia and Mongol-Swedes in the east, and Philippia in the south. The country is located on the Buranian subcontinent. The climate in Vetok is mostly humid continental. Vetok lies on the Kosscow Sea to the west. Vetok has a population of approximately 11.2 million, and an area of 629,707 square kilometres (243,131 sq mi). Carrishem is the capital and largest city of the country.

Vetok is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Its historical development is linked closely together with the Congregation Of Broken Chains. As a Buranian nation, it was historically opposed to the Aroman Empire in the Occident. The current head of state is Emperor Survan Jaansma.

Vetok trades with neighbours since it emerged from isolation. It has an active merchant marine as well as a fishing fleet. After its first faltering steps onto the international scene, Vetok joined several international organisations. However, shortly afterwards, Vetok once again ventured back into isolation.

Etymology

The name "Vetok" comes from one of the most important historical figures in the early history of the pre-unification nation. At the time, the many different tribes and early feudal realms were dominated by a monotheistic religion, and one of the most notorious was a priest-king named Gollivant. Whilst crushing a rebellion in a small part of his realm, a man named Vetok led the different rebels to unite with other dissidents, and Gollivant was the first such lord to be toppled in the start of this anti-theistic crusade. After decades, the free lands decided to abandon the patchwork they'd been divided into previously, and unite as one, taking the rebel leader's name as a symbol of this unity.

Geography

A humid continental climate is prevalent throughout Vetok. This is ideal for the growth of forests, temperate woodlands and temperate grasslands.

(The capital city of Vetok is Carrishem. A sea to the west. Mvellen Uplands are a mountainous area with some ski resorts and various winter holidays. Arakite Valley coming down from the Audra Mountains )

History

A mountain valley in Vetok.

The first inhabitants of what was to become Vetok were migrating tribes of modern humans, or Homo Sapiens, who moved across the breadth of Europa into the open grasslands and mountain valleys that lay before them. Modern researchers and archaeologists have, over the years, slowly worked to pin down and identify what they believe to be the original site of the first proto-conurbations of the early natives. Most theories place this as Garadawin Province in eastern Vetok, where a small but bustling city sharing the same name sits on the banks of the Elda River, where this enters the lowlands.

Over a thousand years ago, the land that was to become Vetok was nothing but grasslands and mountain ranges dotted with villages. Thanks to the spread of these villages, and the sheer distances between many of them, few people ever left their village for another. Only a few exceptions existed, with towns on the coast benefiting from their use of boats to visit others.

Politics

Monarchy

Emperor Survan Jaansma is the first to sit on the throne while not being the formal head of the Congregation of Broken Chains. One similarity he does have with his forebears is that his is an elective position, and Jaansma was elected following the death of Vetok XIII as part of a compromise towards the conservative factions, while still trying to further the liberalisation of the Vetokite political structure introduced by Vetok XIII.

Government

Parliament building in Carrishem.

The national government is divided into a number of different Ministries under the overall leadership of the First Minister, each of which has a separate area of the government to deal with, and each with their own Minister controlling the Ministry in question. These are, respectively:

1. Ministry of Homeland Affairs
2. Ministry of Foreign Affairs
3. Ministry of Justice
4. Ministry of Trade
5. Ministry of Culture
6. Ministry of Health and Social Care
7. Ministry of Local Development
8. Ministry of Technological Development
9. Ministry of War
10. Ministry of the Imperial Mint

Foreign relations

After its first faltering steps onto the international scene, Vetok joined the alliance of nations known as the League of Imperial Nations. However, shortly afterwards, Vetok once again ventured back into isolation for a period of two years before re-emerging, where it joined the organisation better known as The Conglomerate.

Military

Battle of New Varrisia.

The first traces of the Vetokite military can be found in the history of the old feudal realms and their eventual demise. Each warring king, attempting to take the most plunder and captives for their respective deities, maintained levies from their subjects, and the wealthiest of these lords could afford to maintain small standing retinues. Given the agricultural demands at the time, these retinues were few and far between however, and for the most part never really increased beyond perhaps as many as two-score in the case of King Gollivant, who was notable for being one of the first to make of himself a suzerain of many of these weaker realms. The rebels who eventually overthrew him under the banner of Vetok the First were largely under-equipped dissident peasants and the like, equipped for the most part with makeshift weapons excepting a rare few who had taken treasured arms and armour from his raiding parties, a pattern which was to remain accurate even up until his dethroning.

In its earliest history as a united nation under one leader, Vetok was a feudal state. The chief of the priest-kings, Tollivant the Wise, was given tribute by his subordinates in much the same manner as many other states, typically offerings of collected riches robbed from the dead victims of their rites, or offered lives. Such was Tollivant's 'wisdom' that he manipulated these sacrificial offerings, throwing them into gladiatorial pits for the pleasure of fighting and dying to prove their worth to him, and to seize the prospect of a better life. Such a way bred cruel and decadent fighters, and they in turn oversaw the levy-masses he ordered to war. The irony that they would have been in such a levy just a few years previously was lost on them.

In the current day, all operations are directed centrally through the Minister of War in coordination with the Vetokite Unified Forces Command, which consists of the three principal branches of Vetok's armed forces, namely the Vetokite Army, the Vetokite Dominion Navy, and the Vetokite Air Force. The head of SOPECC also has a seat in UNFORCOM, along with the heads of the Logistics Corp and the Strategic Global Deterrant Command

The Special Operational Planning and Exploratory Concepts Command (or commonly referred to as SOPECC) is responsible for all forms of unconventional and covert operations, ranging from providing assistance with training foreign military or paramilitary forces, to informational warfare, to covert direct action. It also houses several think-tanks behind the development of future military technological advances and the continous attempt to streamline and perfect many every-day concepts, and it is from these that SOPECC originally earned its name. It was not until the late 1980's in the common calender that the special forces and PSYOPS units were rolled into it to cover their activities.

Branches

• Vetokite Army. At the moment, there are precisely 400,000 personnel serving in the Vetokite Army.
• Vetokite Navy. The Vetokite Navy currently has a designated list strength of 400,000 personnel.
• Vetokite Air Force. At the moment, there are 269,000 personnel listed as serving with the Vetokite Air Force. This number includes not just aircrew, but also ground crew/maintenance staff.
• Vetokite Special Forces. Considering their status as a relatively small and elite force, the special forces consist of what is estimated to be around 5000 personnel strong.
• Vetokite Strategic Weapons Command. The relatively small number of personnel in the SWC is believed to be around 4,000 personnel.
• Vetokite Logistics Corps. As the true backbone of the military, the Logistics Corps comprises the vast majority of recruits, at 32,100 personnel.

Military Bases

Vessels of the Vetokite Navy at Port $Name naval base.

The Vetokite military has a variety of military bases built to suit the needs of the various branches. Each branch has a 'flagship' base regarded as the traditional home of that branch in particular, and often serves as the headquarters for all elements of that branch.

While most bases for the military are very visible to the public, there exists three exceptions. Foremost of these is the headquarters facility for the Strategic Weapons Command, buried high in the Central Highlands of Vetok. For obvious reasons, the government has never publicly identified even the proximate location of this base. The second of these is what's known as the 'Last Chance' Deep Cover Government Safehouse. 'Safehouse' is somewhat of a misnomer, as the 'Last Chance' facility is large enough to house the entire government, along with associated support staff and a security force. Speculation is rampant about the location of the base, with rumours suggesting that it lies in the mainland occupied by Vetok.

The last facility is VNB Matiah, named for Admiral Janson Matiah, head of Naval Operations in the late nineteenth century. The use of a name of a sea god for a freestanding naval base was appealing to the members of the Vetokite Admiralty Board, especially given that the base is a full naval shipyard and defensive facility able to host a complete carrier force. The base is supplied by both airlifts and regular convoys of cargo ships supplying the fuel, ammunition, food, and parts needed to maintain this labour of effort. The base is also armed, with multiple SAM batteries and AShM launchers mounted to provide an effective defence.

Economy

Vetok is a nation that has always prided itself on trading with neighbours since it emerged from isolation. It has an active merchant marine as well as a fishing fleet. Vetok is the home to the major international corporation, The International Small Arms Conglomerate.

Notable Corporations

Vetok is home to a number of

Culture

In its culture, Vetok bears similarities to most other first-world nations, being rather liberal in nature and offering a multitude of economic, personal, and political rights to citizens.

Religion

The Congregation Of Broken Chains. For hundreds of years, following the toppling of the priest-kings of old with their vile gods and barbaric blood-rituals, atheism dominated. The followers of the great Vetok himself believed that any who held a belief, be it ever so benign, was only ever a few steps away from falling into the dark pits of morality that had spawned the foul religions and living sacrifice of other human beings that had been overthrown at such great cost. It did not take long for His disciples to conglomerate together, forming a hierarchy as those who'd been His most trusted confidantes.