Stevid

The Holy Empire of Stevid
Flag of Stevid Flag Dragon of Stevid Dragon
Motto: "Nos Pugna pro Deus"
Anthem: "God Save our King"
Capital	Stevid Capita
Official languages	English, Latin
Recognised regional languages	German, Spanish, Dienstadi
Demonym(s)	Stevidian
Government	Theocratic-Parliamentary Democracy and Constitutional Monarchy
• King	James
• Prime Minister	DM Conroy
Population
• 2016 estimate	15 billion
• 2012 census	14.3 billion
GDP (nominal)	2015 estimate
• Total	$997.6 trillion (4th)
• Per capita	$37,413
Currency	Stevidian Pound Sterling (SPS)
Time zone	UTC-0 (Stevidian Mean Time)
Calling code	554
Internet TLD	.svd

The United Kingdom and Holy Empire of Stevid and Rubet, more commonly known as Holy Empire of Stevid (sometimes directly referred to as Stevid or The Empire), is a large multinational Empire and sovereign state in the region of Greater Dienstad. Lying almost in the centre of the region, Stevid is comprised of a hand full of large and small islands known as the Home Isles; these are Stevid, Rubet and the Shadow, Fox and Carstark Island chains (The Crown Islands). However as per the nation’s constitution all elements of the Empire, apart from certain dispensations for individual Dominions, all territories under Imperial control are recognised as ‘Stevid Proper’; as such it is possible to include the countries and territories of LiberatedAmerica, North Hanover, Dersconi, New Providence, Stevidian South Greal (Lame Bums), Outer Haven and Cartesia as Stevid – with the nations of Kurona and Adaptus Astrates carrying autonomous Dominion status.

The Empire as a whole has a combined population of over 15 billion citizens with around 20% of those living in Stevid itself making the country one of the most populous in the region. The current head of state is King Alistar of the House Koprite, whilst the head of government is currently Prime Minister Conroy. Stevid has an unusual political system identified as a Theocratic-Parliamentary Democracy and Constitutional Monarchy, whereby by power residence in the Stevidian Parliament in the hands of elected officials who represent the Stevidian public (and Empire by loose extension and representation) and the Monarch. However the influence of the Catholic Church in Stevid is so profound that many decisions made in Parliament are vetted by the Church and given moral approval or disapproval – with Acts with disapproval rarely enacted. The current monarch is King James together with queen consort Queen Zaneta of Ganos Lao, and is mainly a figurehead but does sign off Acts of Parliament and has unilateral veto over any Act so as to prevent political coup d’état. The capital city is Stevid Capita, a fortress city of a construct unique to Stevid.

The island nation of Stevid (and Rubet) is surrounded by seas and oceans, with the Otium Aqua to the west and south west, the Southern Approaches to the south, the Hitmen Sea in the east, and to the north east - the Ingens Ocean. The Empire itself, that Stevid de facto controls and is a part of, stretches across the region from islands south of Guffingford to Adaptus Astrates and Stevidian South Greal beyond. Splitting the landmasses of the Home Isles is the Sea of Rubet.

Given the geographical location of Stevid, the country has been instrumental in the development, growth and history of the region of Greater Dienstad, having been involved in almost all of the great international conflicts that have occurred. Despite the country’s violent past in the region, it continues to have good and cordial relations with many of the resident nation of Greater Dienstad and is also a signatory of the Nordheim Doctrine 2007.

Stevid has the 4th largest economy in Greater Dienstad with Imperial Dominion state of Adaptus Astrates in 5th, this is due to a highly successful internal Imperial trade agreement that all Imperial states and territories benefit from. The nation also has very profitable trade agreements with various largest economies in the region and across the world together with a high industrial manufacturing base and wealthy mining sector, Stevid and the Empire are major economic players in the region.

Stevid is a major, highly-developed, post-modern regional power with huge economic, cultural, scientific, political and diplomatic influence upon many nation-states. Stevid has respected hard and soft power in this regard and is able to assert and project its will or authority anywhere in the world. The nation boasts a huge defence budget and currently is one of the largest naval powers in region and the world. The nation is a regional superpower and primarily exercises this at a regional and world level mainly through extreme naval power and cyber warfare. The nation is one of several nuclear states in Greater Dienstad and remains only one of a select handful in the region to ever have used nuclear weapons in both defence and anger. The Empire is currently a member of the Triple Alliance with Independent Hitmen and Damirez, and is also part of the ODECON alliance. The government uses the standard Gregorian Calendar for all official business however the Dienstadi Calendar, as used in the Golden Throne, is also infrequently used causing some confusion in parts of the Empire.

History

Ancient to Early Modern

Archaeological digs and finds can put a prehistoric human presence in Stevid dating back to around 20,000BC. These finds revealed that Stevid was sparsely populated by hunter-gather communities for millennia before settled communities began to from in more supportive areas in east Cadia and south west Stevidia provinces. These communities did not flourish over the millennia due to a heavily active Mount St. Malleus volcano in what is now the Stevidian Wastelands consistently erupting over several millennia up until around 5,000 BC. What remains of the more hardy farming communities of the late bronze age include stone structures and circles as well as minor hill forts and woodland stockades. By the early 14th Century, the native population of Stevid was no more than a million and consisted of small farming communities; larger tribes were led by warlords or kings and numbered only a dozen or so, but because the natives numbered so few the tribes rarely met in conflict. It wasn’t until the mid 15th Century that English explorers landed on the shores of Stevid in 1462. The land was claimed in the name of King an a tiny trading post named after Portsmouth was establish and largely left to fend for itself following the departure of most of the explorers – however the post endured and assimilated local tribes and communities. The post survives to this day as Portsmouth city and remains Stevid’s oldest settlement.

The British Empire claimed the territory of Stevid officially in 1702 and began a systematic colonisation of the island of Stevid and Rubet and surrounding islands. Local tribes and communities were either assimilated or wiped out during the colonisation. Stevid was granted independence from Britain in 1949 and the aristocracy in line to the throne of the United Kingdom eventually relinquished their hereditary line to the English Crown and began a fledging Stevidian Monarchy that endures to this day that started with King Albus of the House Koprite (the name Koprite taken from an ancient native Stevidian tribe C. 60AD).

Stevid’s independence brought with it great prosperity as the nation was rich in natural resources and had great centres of learning and advance education. The nation also benefited from expert shipwrights that instead of producing shipping and nautical parts for a grander Empire were now able to build vessels for the betterment of the new nation of Stevid. These fortuitous circumstances allowed Stevid to develop a small local empire of their own that led to a full conquest of the local island of Rubet, the Shadow, Fox and Carstark Island Chains to the north east of the nation and the establishment of a small penal colony on a territory that would later become the Commonwealth of Morrdh. Throughout this period, Stevid maintained cordial to minimal relations with her neighbours and this continued well into 18th and mid 19th centuries.

From around 1890 there was a growing Marxist movement centred within the capital, Stevid Capita. The rise in global communism was never really perceived as much of a threat to Stevidian society that had policies that were typically left wing. As Stevid progressed through the 1940’s and into the 1950’s, the country saw a monumental shift away from traditional democracy towards a benevolent communist government.

Communist Stevid

In 1952 Stevid became a single party communist nation-state ruled by Chairman Karl Winterbourne. He was democractically elected in a landslide election whereby he promised ruthless order in exchange for large health and welfare reforms. To accomplish this he relied heavily on an already institutionalised Catholic Church, which would ordinarily fall out of favour with a secular communist government, to convince to the population of his motives that hid an underlying lust for total control. A small, a seldom mentioned, cull of Stevidian Catholic Church clergymen who were opposed to the new regime allowed the Chairman and the new Stevidian Communist Party to solidify their control over a very devout population. The Church was given sweeping powers of control over healthcare and welfare though strictly monitored by the sate, in essence the Church became the instrument of the Party’s will in Stevid. By 1965 the Communist Party had complete control of the national consciousness and no longer required the Church in order to enforce its will; however in order to prevent outright rebellion, publically loved institutions like the Church and a now subjugated monarchy were allowed to continue to exist but were now shadows of their former selves and had no power whatsoever.

Regional dislike of the communist state steadily grew and the Party, and the Chairman himself, became increasingly paranoid of foreign attacks. In 1969 Chairman Winterbourne cut all diplomatic ties to the outside world and severed all political contact to the outside world affectively isolating Stevid from the rest of the region and the world. The Party then embarked on a revolutionary endeavours to protect itself from attack and to prevent the party from falling. In the northern province of Eldrich, atop a mountain landscape, the Northern Eye Over the Horizon (OTH) and conventional early warning radar installation was built. Throughout Stevidia a comprehensive onion layered anti-air defence grid was built and, most impressive of all and unique to Stevid in Greater Dienstad, was the construction of the fortress city walls, of which the last was only completed 10 years ago. A series of five fortress cities were to be constructed to safeguard the nation from nuclear and foreign attack. Five cities were to be completely encircled with monolithic defensive walls that were to be armed with weaponry capable of destroying all threats including nuclear missiles. The resources required to complete such defences required a national effort and huge percentages of the national domestic product and man-hours were thrown at the fortress city project. It claimed the lives of untold millions through forced labour, food shortages and poverty. Eventually three fortress cities were completed: Stevid Capita, Milton, and Keele. The installations were also part of the Party’s preference for the ‘Hive City’ theory of city planning whereas instead of expanding outwards, the city expands up.

In 1973 Chairman Winterbourne died in his sleep leaving a devastated and highly militarised country in his wake. His wish had been for middle-aged and inspiring naval officer and Party member James Conroy to continue his legacy as Chairman. Instead, Conroy overturned much of the damage caused by the previous administration. The Church and Monarchy were eventually restored and the final two fortress cities of Sunderland and Eldrich were cancelled, the defensive structures left half complete. A small rebellion of communist politicians loyal to Winterbournes policies and philosophies emerged and again, a small power struggle ensued. Conroy utilised the power of the Church once again but this time against the government. The local Order of the Knights Templar was instrumental in solidifying Conroy’s grip on power.

In 1990 Chairman Conroy declared that the first democratic elections would be held in Stevid and all her territories for the first time in thirty-eight years. Ironically James’ son, David was party leader of the newly created Conroy Party, a left leaning democratic party with aspirations to succeed the communist regime. The public voted overwhelmingly for the Conroy party with leading polls and newspapers citing that while the public wanted rid of communism, the Conroy family had proven that the best interests of the people and the state were at heart. Further irony can been seen in that the Conroy party has subsequently won every single election following 1990. Criticisms of vote rigging have been turned away and disproven several times due to the public openness of current Stevidian politics.

The Holy Empire

The term Holy Empire usually references Stevid as a nation-state not always the combined territorial holdings it has as one Empire. However the Stevidian Constitution affirms that unless as territory is specifically given a special status by monarch, it is a piece of ‘Stevid Proper’, meaning that a even a far flung island territory on the other side of the world officially flying the flag of Stevid is technically Stevid.

The Empire saw its first beginnings following independence in1949 when territories belong to Stevid as part of an extension of the British Empire were ceded to Stevid itself. These included the island of Rubet, the Shadow Islands, Fox Islands and the Carstark Islands. These territorial holdings remained the same almost throughout the Stevidian transition from democracy to communism with only the inclusion of the Morrdh Penal Colony to note. Following the fall of communism, the country’s new ruling Conroy Party took a more imperialist approach to foreign policy much like its former ruler. In order to keep the nation strong during a turbulent social transition it kept its army abroad to bring good news home thus keeping the population happy. The territorial boundaries of the nation increased in what was known as the First Sphere of Expansion that led to the inclusion of Adaptus Astrates as a close colonial ally before absorbing the nation completely as an independent Dominion in 2001. Destiny Island, located north east of Tir was also colonised for its strategic location round the ‘Horn of Guff’ (Guffingford) and has had an extensive military presence since. Subsequently Stevid became the principle naval power in region and a true force extra-regionally. A further four Spheres of Expansion were declared by the government that has seen Stevid grow throughout the region and hold dozens of territories and islands outside of Greater Dienstad.

The term Holy was attached to the Empire in 1992 when the government declared the Christian sect of Roman Catholicism as the official state religion of Stevid and the Empire. Further to this, in the same year, the government decreed reduced tariffs and other taxes for internal imperial trade between territories in the Holy Empire, including special status territories. The Imperial Decree caused a surge in internal trade between imperial territories and brought much wealth to the Empire in that it was largely self sufficient for the later part of the 20th Century. The grown regional economies of The Macabees, Lamoni and Sumer have forced the Empire to deal more extra-imperial-y but the benefits the Empire brings member states as an economic pact are far reaching and very positive.

The Empire has taken part in many regional and extra-regional wars in its history as a whole including the first Holy Panooly Civil War, the Second War of Golden Succession, the Hanover Wars, the Steppe Empire Conflict and the Greater Dienstadi War. The Empire regularly conducts peacekeeping missions on the request of allies or on the will of the World Assembly, of which it is a member. The current Fifth Sphere of Expansion ended with the ceasefire and subsequent peace accords following the Greater Dienstadi War, with Stevidian South Greal retained as a territory, further territorial gains of Cartesia and Dersconi and the ceding of Stevidian Guffingford to the Golden Throne.

Since Stevid’s re-emergence as a major player in regional and world politics, the size of the Empire has exploded and encompasses no fewer than four 1st world nation-states. The military might of the country, particularly in its navy, is virtually unquestioned. The notion of honour, political weight of words, love of God – the Holy Trinity, patriotism and hard work are examples set by the country and admired by many in the region. As such, Stevid promotes itself as bastion of hope and light in a sea of evil and chaos.

Geography

The islands Stevidian Home Isles are made up of two distinct landmasses. In the north of the east island (Stevid) are large collections of rocky and sparsely populated islands and further east out to sea a small island chain collection of islands that have a small population density. The large western island of Rubet is the western most of the Stevidian Home Isles.

WIP

Climate

Stevid has a generally temperate climate with rainfall all year round but tends to be dry throughout most of the year. Temperatures in high summer rarely venture below 11C or exceed 28C, whilst in winter the country experiences cold snaps as low as -10C in highland areas and highs of 5C. Stevid is unique in region for having a industrial wasteland supplemented by environmental volcanism in an area known as the Stevidian Wastelands. Green house gases and cloud/ash cover makes the area suffer a drastically different climate to the rest of the Stevid with sporadic acid rain or ash fall, searing temperatures in the summer and sub zero temperatures throughout winter. The prevailing winds are from the west and south west off the violent Otium Aqua Sea. This means the west coast of Rubet suffers from regular hurricane force sea storms and swells but the rest of Stevid is sheltered due to the sheer cliffs and mountainous ridges the length of Rubet and Cadia.

Provincial Districts

Stevid as an individual Kingdom can be broken down into five large administrative areas: Stevidia in the south , Cadia to the west , Eldrich in the north and the Stevidian Wastelands separating Eldrich and Stevidia encompassing a large section of the breadth of the country; and Rubet the western most island. Stevidia is the heart of the country; it contains the largest cities including the three fortress cities and occupies the most land of the nation as a whole. The south of Stevidia is heavily industrialist with manufacturing plants and technological development centres with heavy emphasis on military arms production lines. Moving north to around the capital are more urbanised areas as satellite towns and cities develop in the shadow of the fortress city of Stevid Capita but the land eventually becomes far more agricultural around the midlands of Stevidia. The provincial capital is also the capital city, Stevid Capita.

Cadia is the western most province of Stevid. The region is famous for its towering mountain ridges, the heist being around 2,340m, and vast fresh water lakes. The ridges shield the rest of Stevidia from the buffeting winds that roll over Rubet from Otium Aqua. Cadia is the most mountainous region of Stevid.

North of Stevidia is the relatively new provincial area of the Stevidian Wastelands. This area contrasts greatly with the country’s overall green and natural appearance. The Wastelands are born out of extensive mining for naturally occurring ores and subsequent reprocessing before the ores and metals are transported away. The region is heavily polluted with industrial waste and pot marked with vast quarries and labyrinths of mines meaning that there is little to no flora or fauna in the Stevidian Wastelands. The region is also home the Malleus mountain range that stretches almost the entire breadth of the region. Here also is the semi-active volcano of Mount St. Malleus that regularly discharges ash and sulphur clouds into the local region’s atmosphere; however the volcano itself hasn’t erupted in nearly 80 years.

The northern most province is Eldrich. Mountainous but not to the extent of Cadia, the region is known for it rolling green hills and agriculture. Vast forests stretch across much of Eldrich and the region finds itself somewhat detached from the rest of the country due to the Stevidian Wastelands. The region is also home to the Northern Eye radar facilities.

Imperial Holdings

LiberatedAmerica, North Hanover, Dersconi, New Providence, Stevidian South Greal (Lame Bums), Outer Haven and Cartesia

WIP

Politics

Foreign Relations

The Holy Empire has a very aggressive and expansive foreign policy that frequently brings the country and sometimes the whole Empire to war. However despite the continuous expansions and rapid military development programmes that are constantly on going, Stevid’s diplomatic strength has meant that it has made many allies and gained a much favourable reputation of a bringing of justice fighting for a greater and better world. Stevid maintains very close to ties to several nations in Greater Dienstad and abroad in other regions. The Empire stretches out of Greater Dienstad and into other regions with islands, holdings and dominions flying the same Stevidian flag.

WIP