Draakur
Dominion of Draakur | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
 Draakur in Belisaria | |
 The Draakur Archipelago with principle cities. | |
| Capital | Sant Mikel |
| Largest city | Fredrikspurt |
| Official languages | Draakuri Allamunnic |
| Demonym(s) | Draakuri |
| Government | Directorial Junta |
• Director of the Emergency Transitional Authority | Stevan Grimmeburger |
| Population | |
• 2023 census | 7,273,481 |
Draakur, officially the Dominion of Draakur, is a state in Northwest Belisaria, in the Salacian Ocean. As of January 1st, 2024, it is nominally still a part of the United Kingdom of Ottonia, although it is in almost all regards de facto independent. It has significant maritime borders with South Ottonia and North Ottonia, and also neighbors Ghant in some areas. Due in part to the ambiguous sovereignty status of the state, Draakur maintains a policy of at least nominal neutrality, particularly in the Inter-Ottonian Conflict.
The country is currently governed by an unelected body called the Emergency Transitional Administration, led by Director Stevan Grimmeburger, in the absence of a constitution. The constitution is expected to be drafted in the next few years.
History
The earliest known human habitation of the Archipelago dates back to approximately 12,500 years ago. The earliest habitation by the antecendents of the current inhabitants begin some time after that. What is known is that by the time Latin explorers documented the islands for the first time in writing in the 2nd century CE, the Keld-Eoni Tracurii people that would give the islands their name were already settled on the archipelago, and archaeological remains from the time suggest that they lived alongside Proto-Ghantish Haratago settlements, as well as some circumstantial evidence suggesting that ancient Norumbian fishermen may have reached and traded with the Tracurii. The Latins would eventually land and establish settlements on the island now known as Grenolm, but native pressure prevented the foothold from growing much beyond that.
Allamunnic Invasions
When the Allamunnic peoples invaded what is now Ottonia during the late period of the Latin presence in southwest Ottonia and Draakur in the 6th century, many of the more Latinized Eoni and Proto-Kanketyan peoples fled the influx of invaders to the islands off the coast, resulting in a significant increase in the archipelago's population. Until the conquests of Otto the Invincible, the Tracurii and Eoni would form their own independent kingdoms in the archipelago.
Ottonian Empire & Early Tyrrslynd
The islands would fall under the conquests of Otto the Invincible in the 9th century CE, becoming part of the larger Ottonian Empire. This would last until Otto's death, when his son, Magnus, would split off much of the northwest Salacian coast of the Empire into his own realm. Draakur during this period became part of the Kingdom of Tyrrslynd under Magnus' descendents, but remained functionally autonomous under its own feudal lords. The islands would fall victim to the predations of the Nords as they scourged the Boreian Sea and North Salacian, and consequently Nordish migrants became the latest wave of new arrivals to the islands.
Kingdom of Tyrrslynd
Initially, Draakur was administered by a cadet branch of the House of Magnus, the House of Draakur. When, in the 12th century, Erik Magnussunn left his throne to seize the throne of Low Ghant, he set off a series of events that would see the House of Draakur become the ruling house of Tyrrslynd by the early 1400's.
Royal Domain
When the House of Draakur became the ruling house of Tyrrslynd, the political center of gravity of Tyrrslynd shifted temporarily to Draakur, resulting in, over the next several centuries, the political marginalization of more of the mainland. It was during this time that the ports of the Draakur Central Bay began to experience significant growth as trade between Ghant, Southern Belisaria, the Ottonian Salacian Coast, and, increasingly, a nascent empire and contacts in Norumbia.
Empire Period
As the centuries unfolded, Draakur began to be the crown jewel of a maritime Tyrrslynder empire, even as the resources and manpower needed to maintain that empire were drawn from an increasingly-politically-marginalized mainland. The effort to maintain the empire in Norumbia in particular roused the attention and interference of the Ghantish, as well as the ire of indigenous Norumbians and colonists who began to view their interests as distinct from the homeland. The near-annihilation of the Tyrrslynder fleet in a series of campaigns against the Ghantish fleet in the 17th century incurred huge financial expenses in addition to the manpower losses, and ultimately led to the de facto loss of the Norumbian territory; attempts to do so increased the financial burdens on the mainland.
The financial burdens on the mainland and increase in taxation, combined with political marginalization, would lead in 1733 to the Tyrrslynder Revolution, which saw major fighting on the mainland as the Jormundean, Corvaean, and Kamryker peoples fought for their independence against the increasingly-feeble grip of the Tyrrslynder monarchy. By the time the civil war concluded in 1742, Tyrrslynd had been reduced to a rump of its former self, consisting only of a handful of coastal regions (notably most of the Tyrrslynd Peninsula) and the Draakur Archipelago. Notably, Fredrikspurt and Haefeld were bombarded and suffered severe damage in 1737, 1738, and 1740-41, suffering severe damage and prompting the moving of the capital to the small church town of Sant Mikel.
Unification Period
The loss of Tyrrslynd's territories in Norumbia and on the Ottonian mainland were all but a deathblow for Tyrrslynd's influence as the 18th century continued, with its territorial reductions stunting its ability to recover from its newfound impoverishment. Gran Draakur and Fentyera became deemphasized as the Tyrrslynder royal court moved to Ponver, better situated to administer to the remaining coastal territories as well as the islands. The House of Draakur also increasingly found itself relegated to a functional vassal of the Onnerian throne.
The Tyrrslynder authorities watched the development of the Pan-Ottonian Alliance with alarm on the mainland, but when the Wars of Ottonian Unification began and the Nationalist armies began sweeping across Ottonia, Tyrrslynd was only able to muster token resistance before it was incorporated into the new Ottonian Federation.
Ottonian Federation
During the latter half of the 19th century, Draakur, now incorporated into the Ottonian Federation as the Province of Draakur, became prized by the federal government as a base for the nascent Federal Navy. During this time, Bronnsburg and Fredrikspurt became the hosts of federal facilities that stimulated growth, even as the House of Draakur retreated increasingly back to Haefeld. Unbenownst to the Federal government at this point, Sant Mikel and Haefeld would play host to the meetings between the Ottonian royalists, aristocrats, and industrialists who would form, in secret, the Restoration Society, one of the key players in the Royalist Alliance.
Ottonian Civil War
When the Ottonian Civil War broke out in 1915, Draakur was a hotbed of conflict, with pro-Federation, pro-Republican forces supplementing most of the Federal garrisons in Fredrikspurt and Bronnsburg against a Royalist Alliance force that had covertly assembled in Haefeld. Ultimately, Royalist forces in Ponver were able to assist pro-Royalist elements in the Bronnhuld fleet to seize that base, and those forces along with the Haefeld group placed Fredrikspurt under siege. The siege would last into 1917, when it was relieved by Federal reinforcements. The Haefeld force, along with the House of Draakur, were forced to flee to the mainland, and the archipelago would remain in Federal hands through the end of the war. Despite attempts to get it back in the Partition of Ottonia agreement in 1923, Draakur would remain part of North Ottonia.
South Ottonia
In 1935, Draakur was one of the key targets of the South Ottonian offensive that began the Great Ottonian War. Draakur was attacked simultaneously by Royalist forces striking from Wyllemspurt and Ghantish forces sent by the Nathan III's government, allowing it to be taken by a joint occupation in spite of the substantial North Ottonian defenses that had been built up. However, it was not an easy fight; even as the South and Ghantish forces on the mainland rolled towards Ottonia City, Federal defenders on Draakur held out, battling back against furious assaults and retreating into the mountainous regions of Gran Draakur; though the ultimate outcome wasn't in doubt by the time 1936 dawned, Northern forces would continue to resist in the north of Gran Draakur for almost another year.
Initially, there were thoughts that Ghantish forces might be there to stay, either to hold Draakur as a base or as compensation for the death of Prince Robert of Ghant in the Ottonian Civil War more than a decade previously, however, the UKO's government put its foot down and ended up demanding the return of Draakur, damaging relations with their ally (with Ghantish troops eventually leaving for good as the Mad Emperor's War began in 1939).
When the Armistice of 1943 ended the Great Ottonian War, while other areas changed hands as part of border adjustments, Draakur remained in Southern Royalist hands. Initially, there were efforts to fortify the island, and both naval stations in Fredrikspurt and Bronnsburg were restored, as well as new ones in Primpoht and Suwatch, and for a while the House of Draakur even returned to Haefeld, since, after the initial fighting, the island had largely been spared the worst of the fighting that had hit the mainland.
Draakur briefly enjoyed a resurgance of resources and attention from 1943 into the 1960's courtesy of the resumption of Rowena VI of Tyrrslynd and her son Erik's residence, with future South Ottonian prince-consort Harald VI of Tyrrslynd even being born in Haefeld's Kristiana III Memorial Hospital.
However, the young Harald's marriage to the future Storkenegyn Adelhaed I of Ottonia in 1966 (followed, a year later, by the birth of their own heir, the future Storkeneg Rodrik I of Ottonia) and the subsequent marrying-off of Harald's younger sisters, Jana and Franceska, in the ensuing years saw the family's next generation largely anchored outside Draakur, and, as Adelhaed took a more active role in the nation's governance, so too did her in-laws, Erik and Andrea, increasingly spend time at court on the mainland. Over the ensuing decades, Draakur's prominence in national priorities slipped, with even its defensive uses falling further into the back of the country's leadership's minds, as it became increasingly obvious that the Northerners had no intention of breaking the hostile peace of the Ottonian Cold War and, even if they had, lacked the naval capacity to significantly threaten South Ottonian shipping. The largesse of the 1980's in the Ottonian states helped ease the sting of that mostly-benign neglect, but when the economy began to slow down in the mid-1990's, the cold grip of austerity brought dwindling honeymoon in Draakur to an end.
As the nation's political center of gravity largely remained fixed on the Onneria-Staalburg axis, Draakur found itself increasingly relegated to a political backwater as well. With Erik X's death in 1983, the islands had become directly-administered by the royal government through the Royal Authority on Draakur, a civil service bureau purposed with governing the archipelago. However, as Harald grew increasingly feeble in the early 2000's and his sisters' attentions remained with their families abroad, the RAD started to become a stashing ground for officials who proved too troublesome for advancement at court but too potentially-useful for removal, or too incompetent for advancement but too well-connected to dispose of. The nationally-allocated budget dwindled, and as Allamunnic cultural dominance became more-and-more fixed as government policy the non-Allamunnic-speaking populace of Draakur began chafing under the oversight.
All of this meant that, on the eve of the South Ottonian Revolution in spring of 2022, Draakur had a restive population and a local government not overly-inclined to loyalty to the mainland government. This would have consequences.
South Ottonian Revolution
When the mainland government began facing large-scale protests and strikes, heavy-handed responses quickly saw them grow into riots and full-on rebellions. On the periphery of the chaos on the mainland, the Royal Authority on Draakur found itself faced with its own protests calling for dramatic reforms to ease the pains the general populace had begun to suffer over the previous quarter-century. Breaking from official royal government policy, Governor Ardem Wyatt empowered his deputy, Stevan Grimmeburger, to negotiate with the protestors, promising multiple reforms in the process. The RAD quietly ensured the loyalty of the Dominion's Home Guard and the naval assets stationed in the area. As the mainland situation deteriorated further, Draakur became the evacuation point for those fleeing the chaos, including the Ottonian Royal Family, with Storkeneg Rodrik I of Ottonia landing in Haefeld two weeks after the revolts had begun in earnest, met by a delegation from the RAD.
Although sources are spotty, it is believed that the RAD, acting insubordinate, negotiated with Rodrik, making an arrangement in which the RAD would oversee and ensure the success of the evacuation and provide refuge in exchange for the authority to do so and the manage the ensuing refugee crisis. It is unknown, but possible, that Rodrik's ensuing abdication was also one of the conditions of this agreement. The RAD also entered into negotiations with the North Ottonian government and the rebels, to negotiate a ceasefire and manage the evacuation of those wishing to leave. All of this resulted in an influx of more than 200,000 people into Draakur in a matter of weeks, as well as the functional reduction of the United Kingdom of Ottonia to the archipelago's shores.
Present
Since then, the Emergency Transitional Authority has reconstituted a local Draakuri government to manage home affairs, and has undertaken a number of major structural reforms to ensure a lasting government and order can be built on the island chain.
Geography
Draakur is an archipelago consisting of 11 islands, with an additional two "outlying" islands that are not part of the archipelago proper but are politically-united with the others. The islands are typically organized according to their size and proximity, with the three largest islands typically referred to as the "principle islands" of Draakur, the eight nearest in proximity to them referred to as the "minor home islands", and the two distant ones as the "outlying islands."
Geologically, the eleven home islands are part of the Belisarian continent; in addition to residing on the Belisarian plate, these islands actually reside on a protrusion of the Belisarian continental shelf, resulting in relatively shallow seas.
Gran Draakur
The largest and most central of the major home islands. Home to the major cities of Fredrikspurt, Sant Mikel, Wesburk, Primpoht, and Suwatch, as well as surrounding about 2/3 of the Central Draakur Bay.
Grenolm
The easternmost of the major home islands. Home to the major cities of Ponver and Bronnsburg, the latter of which has historically been home to a significant naval base since 1878.
Fentyera
The westernmost of the major home islands. Home to the royal city of Haefeld.
Tortugom
It is a matter of debate whether or not Tortugom is defined as a major home island or a minor home island, being larger than the rest of the latter but significantly smaller than any of the former. Home to a base of the Home Guard, protecting the northern approaches to the Central Bay.
Minor Home Islands
- Nordraakur (North-most)
- E'figlante (Directly north of Grennhulm)
- Tebrona (South, between Gran Draakur & Grennhulm)
- Ref'ye (South, large island east of Gran Draakur)
- Is'Ramoa (immediately north of Ref'ye)
- Laportunda (directly south of Gran Draakur)
- Puetarenke (southwest of Gran Draakur)
Outlying Islands
- Eltatira
- Vendimeno
Politics
Since 1987, Draakur has been governed directly on the behalf of the South Ottonian royal government by an agency called the Royal Authority on Draakur. In spring 2022, the RAD was dissolved to form the Emergency Transitional Administration as the new national government, following the South Ottonian Revolution and the subsequent Flight to Draakur.
Draakur officially remains a Dominion of the UKO, but in practice it is the sole remaining territory and is coterminal with the UKO.
The islands are marked by several distinct political movements, some of which had mainland counterparts but many unique and distinct.
Government
In the immediate aftermath of the South Ottonian Revolution, the government and its loyalists evacuated to the islands of Draakur, which had largely escaped the violent uprising which swept the rest of the country due to independent actions taken by the military governors of the islands, including the promise of reforms demanded by protestors. When the subsequent arrival of the UKO's government in the Flight to Draakur threatened a relapse in regards to public order, the military authorities on the island insisted on a provisional government to oversee the process of relocating the UKO's government and military onto Draakur, as well as implementing the reforms needed to prevent further violence.
Part of the process of implementing the Emergency Transitional Administration involved the abdication of Storkeneg Rodrik I in favor of his son, Vitus, who in turn named Draakur's former deputy governor, Stevan Grimmeburger the Director of Oversight. Although ruling in the name of the Storkeneg, the ETA largely governs as it sees fit, and has embarked on a number of dramatic reforms following the UKO's collapse on the mainland. The current government consists of an executive and legislative directorial-style Administration made up of 15 departments overseen by the Director of Oversight, advised by a Advisory Council of Municipalities (representing the elected governments of the archipelago's villages, towns, and cities) and the directly-elected Popular Assembly. Although the latter two bodies do not have any binding legislative power, thus far the ETA has cooperated in taking seriously resolutions and advice given by both.
Nationalism
While Draakur has been the home of nationalist movements of its own since the dawn of the concept itself, Draakuri nationalism did not pick up steam in earnest until the Unification of Ottonia, when Draakur's cultural and linguistic differences from the larger dominant Allamunnic culture of Ottonia (at the time; subsequently the Federation moved to a more pluralistic culture) were brought into greater relief. While nationalism as a sentiment was largely an undercurrent after about 1937 when the islands were (more-or-less) back in the possession of South Ottonia and the islands briefly enjoyed an economic and cultural resurgence, it came back in a big way in the 1990's and onward as the islands suffered the benign neglect from the central government, the economy worsened, and Allamunnic-ness was increasingly pushed as a cementing cultural identity throughout the country. Especially combined with austerity measures, as the 2000's unfolded Draakuri nationalism and separatism became intertwined with underground republican and socialist movements, although nationalism had a broader appeal than simply those two companion movements.
Moreover, the attitude increasingly proliferated into the more-and-more-neglected Royal Authority on Draakur, to the point that when, in March 2022, the mainland of South Ottonia devolved into chaos, an opportunity was sensed to push for greater Draakuri autonomy. With Draakur relegated to being the last royalist-held territory and its people and government having a great deal of negotiating power with the Royalist government, those dreams of autonomy and cultural self-determination may be approaching fruition, but only time will tell.
Factionalism
Since the spring of 2022, the influx of refugees from the mainland, existing political movements in the archipelago, the temporary government, and the simmering of the same tensions that boiled over into the South Ottonian Revolution have created an ecosystem of various factions on Draakur.
The Government (ETA)
Seeking to maintain a balance between the Draakuri natives, the UKO remnant and refugees, reformists, radicals, royalists, and loyalists, as well as advocates for outside actors such as the Federation of Ottonian Republics, Latin Empire, Ghant, Arthurista, and several others, the ETA and Storkeneg Vitus have a daunting task of setting up a new, lasting government for Draakur. There is a consensus among the ETA that the ideal long-term goal is an independent, democratic constitutional monarchy Draakur with strong social safetynets but relatively free markets that maintains a degree of neutrality between South Ottonia's traditional allies and the mainland.
The Radicals (FDL)
On the left, the ETA is criticized by "Radical" groups led by the Frente Pa Draakur Libertau (also known as the Front for a Free Draakur, or more commonly as the FDL) that seek a republican, overtly-socialist Draakuri government and the expulsion of mainlander royalist elements, either to be sent back to the mainland for trial or simply into exile. This faction also includes a not-inconsiderable number of people that consider political unification with the Federation of Ottonian Republics to be a desirable or at least acceptable outcome, although this is far from universal.
The Reformers (ASD, DSSA)
The other 'left opposition' faction barely qualifies as opposition compared to the others: the pro-reform groups Alianza pa'n Socieda Democratica (ASD) and Asociacion Draakuri d' Socialisma Sarpetica (ADSS/DSSA) are both broadly pro-ETA and are well-represented in the government's proxies, the elected components of the system, and primarily differ only in their recommendations for the reforms to be undertaken. They are primarily included here due to being organizationally-distinct groups that clash with the other factions. Notable non-government members of this group include Grace Heligsburg and Princess Kristiana, among others.
The "Loyalists" (AOS, PGR, & OGL)
The ETA's opposition on the right includes the "Loyalist" faction, represented primarily by the Alliance for Ottonian Survival, which seek anything from the restoration of the government of South Ottonia in Draakur with only a few relatively minor alterations, specifically seeking to restore the South Ottonian class system, all the way up to removing most or all traces of constitutionalism in favor of a hybrid monarchist-military-theocratic government combining the military, the Storkeneg, and the Honorian Church. To call the furthest-right of these groups, led by the Order of the Golden Lance's Draakuri branch and the Party for Glorious Restoration, nakedly Invictist is entirely fair and generally quite accurate. This faction opposes the ETA for being, in their words, "crypto-Wernerist". Notable AOS figures include disgraced ex-Chancellor Edwyrd Jaal, Joerg Kleiner and his wife Emilia. This group is disproportionately made up of refugees/exiled mainlanders; native Draakuri support for this faction is relatively light, though not noexistant.
Demographics
Draakur, as of the Emergency Census of July 2022, has a population of 5,644,871. It is estimated to have grown over the year since then, possibly to as high as 6 million. Of the official count, approximately 500,000 of those people are known to have arrived in the islands at some point after March 31 2022, with potentially as many as twice that number on the island if the estimates of 2023 population growth are accurate.
Settlement Patterns
Draakur's population is largely clustered into two urban agglomerations (although some demographers actually combine the two into a single metropolitan area, for reasons that will be explained below): the Central Bay Area, and East Grenolm. Although other major settlements exist, these two agglomerations account for more than 4 million of the archipelago's inhabitants.
The Central Bay Metropolitan actually stretches across both the central sector of Gran Draakur as well as the eastern portion of Fentyera, encompassing the urban centers of Sant Mikel, Fredrikspurt, Wesburk, and Haefeld. This cluster holds approximately 3 million people, and is the single most heavily-developed area of the archipelago. Notably it includes the single largest port on the islands (Fredrikspurt), both the modern and historical capitals (Sant Mikel and Haefeld, respectively), and a major fishing port (Wesburk).
The East Grenolm Metropolitan is centered on the two cities of Ponver and Bronnsburg, two major ports that are especially crucial in linking the home islands with the mainland, and the latter of which being a long-time major naval base for a succession of Ottonian states. The agglomeration holds a little over a million people, and is, in the present, linked via a significant rail tunnel, the Draakur East Inter-Island Tunnel to Gran Draakur, specifically into the Sant Mikel-Fredrikspurt portion of the Central Bay.
Because of this tunnel linkage (along with a similar one linking Gran Draakur to Fentyera, allowing rail access to Haefeld, and another linking Gran Draakur and Fentyera near Wesburk), and their influence on the development of settlement on the islands over the last 40 years, there is a certain school of thought that suggests that the two agglomerations should be considered a single "Central Draakuri Metropolitan Area".
Ethno-Linguistics
The primary language spoken in the Draakuri Islands is Draakuri. The language is descended from Latin and shares a common origin with the mainland Eonese and Kanketyan languages, with significant influences from Allamunnic and, to a lesser extent, Corvaean and Ghantish.
An estimated 78% of the population of the archipelago speaks Draakuri as either their first/native language, or as a co-first language. Allamunnic is believed to be spoken by more of the populace (approximately 87%) but a much smaller number (approximately 43%) consider it to be their first or co-first language. There are also small minorities of Eonese, Kanketyan, Ghantish, Sudesh, and Latin speakers, among others.
Religion
The most widely-followed religion in Draakur is the Honorian Rite of Fabrian Sarpeticism, followed by approximately 61% of the population. The second-most-widely-followed religion is Reytled, of which approximately 14% of the population are adherants. Approximately 11% identify as non-religious, agnostic, or atheist. Another 7% of the population adhere to the Corsanguine Sarpetic denomination, approximately 3% identify as some type of Protestant, and the remaining 4% of the population divided between various other faiths.
Economy
For much of its history, Draakur's economy was primarily oriented around fishing and, to a lesser extent, agriculture. Commerce between the Ottonian kingdoms, Ghant, Norumbia, and points south in Belisaria gradually grew in importance as seafaring technology and techniques improved. Still, as with much of the world, subsistance activity would form the main economic activity for Draakur until the 1400's, when trade and settlement ships bound for Norumbia began leaving from Fredrikspurt as part of the strengthening Kingdom of Tyrrslynd's efforts to expand.
For approximately three hundred years, Draakur would be the primary entrepot and waystation for Norumbian and Ghantish goods entering North Belisaria, and this routing of trade, plus the clerical and commercial work that came with the islands being the center of the Tyrrslynder empire, would combine to create a diverse, prosperous economy for much of that period.
With the founding of the Ottonian Federation in 1856, Draakur's importance as a commercial port as well as a naval base would only grow, and this resulted in the construction of industrial shipyards on the islands as well, along with an influx of federal money to establish naval bases and tendering facilities. This aspect would continue into Draakur's time in South Ottonia, with the area briefly becoming a shipping hub for the country before the economic center of gravity shifted decisively back towards the mainland. While the largesse of the 1980's was able to conceal the economic damage, when things began to slow down Draakur found itself with its industrial infrastructure weakened, its agriculture under-developed, and facing high prices for necessities that increasingly needed to be shipped from the mainland.
Although the economy had begun to recover in the 2010's and 2020's, Draakur was also afflicted with comparable wealth inequality to the rest of South Ottonia, along with underdeveloped social safetynets that slowed the recovery.
In the aftermath of the South Ottonian Revolution, the new government has sought loans and assistance in what is planned to be a significant wave of building, both to provide housing for the influx of refugees and to proactively build the infrastructure for a stronger, more sustainable economy. These solicitations have gone to both the once-hated Federation of Ottonian Republics, as well as South Ottonia's more traditional allies.