Kingdom Of Lievonija

After the Lievonijan Declaration Of Secession was published, the island would be thrown into chaos. Urban areas, including the capital, would stay loyal to the Empire, while rural areas would throw their hat in with the Marquis (who would then declare himself as King of the Lievonijans) who at that moment was in exile, protected by the Brigandi. At the command of both the King of the nation and the Bandit King, the nationalist forces were to lay the foundation of the revived Kingdom by rectifying its biggest mistake: that of the landed nobility, a band of traitors and nothing more. State-Commanders who refused to give the King their loyalty, and most of those that did, would be put against a wall and shot by the Brigandi, who thereafter would take anything not nailed down and then reduce the looted mansion into ash and dust. And from this dust, the Kingdom of Lievonija would be molded.   As the old nobility of the cold North are now in a shallow grave (or, if they're lucky, a luxurious Imperial apartment) the King of the Lievonijans, Mindaugas iš Lanksaitis, has near-absolute control over the country. For all intents and purposes, the King has absolute executive and legislative power, codified within the "King's Statute", the constitution of the nation. The King's Statute firstly establishes the throne's Salic succession laws, and then goes on to declare that all law-making in the nation shall be done via Royal Decree. As the country's absolute monarch, the King's Royal Decrees are, obviously, boundless and can cover most anything. However, while the government is a dictatorial one, the Brigandi were, despite their banditry, populist. As such, members of the Royal family (even the ruling King) can be prosecuted for crimes committed, and all Lievonijan citizens are guaranteed the rights of speech and expression (insofar that it does not "violate societal order"), property, the bearing of arms, equality before the law, a speedy trial, protection against unjust imprisonment, and assembly. The current King, Mindaugas, is by and large considered a good King. Although his second has handled most of the government reforms, he has been influential in the transformation of the nation as a whole and the renaissance of Dracon culture, the latter of which the King has a special interest in.   As it is said, no wise King rules alone. While all tangible political power is in the hands of His Highness, many tasks are de facto delegated to his "Council Of State". The Council is handpicked by the King to do anything he desires they do, and as of current, this is the job of overseeing the Kingdom's various ministries. It should be stated that the Council of State is technically permitted to draft and write laws for royal approval, but legally speaking, all of these laws must be rewritten into a Royal Decree before it becomes law. The Council itself is headed by the King's second in command, the Lawspeaker, the name coming from an office within the Immortal Kingdom of days long past. The first and current Lawspeaker is the illustrious Arvaidas Pocios, the former "Bandit King" of the Brigandi Confederation and a towering figure who is widely considered to be the only Wizard yet born who can rival Primus the Martyr. It is the duty of the Lawspeaker to ensure that the Council of State is conducting its job in a manner that the King desires and to represent the Council of State to both the country's population and to foreign dignitaries. As of right now, the Lawspeaker also serves as the King's closest advisor. However, this duty may be more of Pocios' job than the Lawspeaker's, as all in the Kingdom know of his wisdom and power (with some during the Deluge suggesting that he take the throne for himself). It has been Pocios that has led the charge in reforming the Kingdom from a poverty-stricken, feudal waste into the burgeoning industrial economy it now is, and for it, the people love him. All within the Council of State right now are of common birth, highlighting the government's odd moniker of the "People's Monarchy".   Furthermore, right in line with the populist bend of the Brigandi, local democracy is practiced across the country. National democracy is not (although there are those who are pushing for it), with those who manage the various organs of state being handpicked by either the King or the Lawspeaker, but local democracy is thriving. The nation is divided into a great many "Communes" which are similar in size to counties. While not true federal entities, various Communes across the country are given government funding as well as the authority to collect a flat tax within their borders in order to maintain public infrastructure and services (such as policing) within the Commune. Each Commune is headed by a "Headmaster" who himself is elected from the ranks of a small legislature known as a Commune Council (whose members are elected by universal male suffrage over the ages of 26). The job of the Commune Council is to figure out how to use the budget they are entrusted with to facilitate the prosperity of the community and the growth of Lievonija as a whole, as well as to keep in contact with royal government in Sulaca to ensure all is going smoothly and that the King and his Council hear their concerns.   Likewise, as the People's Monarchy (and out of some necessity) the Kingdom of Lievonija exerts a great deal of authority over its native businesses. In its earliest days, and still to some degree now, the Kingdom was in dire need of modernization, and it was decided that Free Market Capitalism was not the most efficient way to achieve this nor one that lined up the populist ideology of the Brigandi. Thusly, Ecumene's first instance of State Capitalism was introduced by the young Kingdom. Small businesses have been allowed to persist, of course, but most industrial and utility corporations are owned entirely by the government. However, these state-owned enterprises are still organized along orthodox business management practices, the ultimate goal of these corporations is to generate profit, and the surplus-value generated is taken into the hands of the government and used for further investment. This economic model has served the Kingdom well, streamlining its extensive modernization programs. Foreign corporations are permitted to run themselves as they would in their native land when operating within the Kingdom, but they are subject to fairly heavy taxation which is then put to further industrialization, modernization and welfare projects. Even still, many have found a home in Lievonija, wanting a slice of its ever-developing economy.   Despite the fact that the Kingdom is not as modernized as most other nations, the true-hearted populism of those who rule it means that it is quite progressive when it comes to workers' rights. Both state-owned and privately-owned companies in Lievonija must follow a fairly decent minimum wage law, an eight-hour work day and decently stringent safety requirements, a mandatory weekend is in place, pensions for the disabled and the retired are offered, economic aid to struggling co-operatives is given, maternal leave is in place, and child labor is banned. Furthermore, those working for private companies are allowed to join and create unions (although unionization in state-owned companies is both not allowed and stomped upon).

The Kingdom of Lievonija is disconnected from the rest of the world by the World Sea, not being on the continents of Sahul or Oriens, but rather on the large island of Borealia. Its position in the North and its distance from the Suntouched Current make the Kingdom a cold, harsh land, but its people are hardy folk who will not bend to some trivial weather conditions. However, be this as it may, its population is centered around the more comfortable areas on the Southern coast, those immediately to the East and West of the Židinio Mountains, and within the foothills of the previously mentioned mountain range. While some live in the massive peat bogland of the far West and in the cold taiga of the East coast, their number is far lesser than those within the country's center.   Despite the nation's subarctic climate, most Lievonijans are farmers. Following the purge of the old March's nobility, their land was redistributed to those that rented it. However, the primarily rye, potato, beet, and cabbage-based agricultural sector does not lend itself well to yeomanry (nor did the rulers of the reborn Kingdom wish to encourage yeomanry). To ease their loads, many Dracons would form agricultural co-operatives with their neighbors, this system becoming more and more popular until even the government began encouraging it. Nowadays, 95% of Dracon farmers work within a cooperative, merging both their lands and their labor force to more efficiently produce for their community, nation, and the world, especially since Lievonijan agriculture is not nearly as mechanized as that of most nations.   A mountain range known as the Židinios cuts the nation near in half, with only a sliver of coastal land separating the two portions of the Kingdom. This particular mountain range is notable for being incredibly difficult to traverse, especially during the Winter snows, which make many routes completely impassable. Due to this, the mountains are inhabited only by small mining towns (most of which extract iron, copper, tin, and lead), and not even throughout all the year, as many miners have homes outside of the mountains that they travel to during the Winter, so as to avoid the potential of being stuck and starving to death. These mountains are also inhabited by bands of "Greitkelininkai" (Highwaymen). After the Brigandi put up their guns, they were succeeded by the Greitkelininkai. This group lacks the ideological basis of the Brigandi, and therefore, the redeeming qualities. They are nothing more than criminals who saw the open door the Brigandi left and took it, and as such, are much less skilled, although the Židinio Mountains offer as good a shield for the wicked as any. The government is especially concerned about the raids on state-owned mining towns, and to some degree, the Lievonijan Land Force is currently engaged in a small-scale conflict with these bandits.   The Lievonijan capital of Sulaca is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on Ecumene, with most archaeologists believing that it was first built five thousand years ago. There are many historical parks in the city center in which primitive huts of wood and thatch have been found, although the rest of the city has moved far past this ancient age. It is now a modern city of stone buildings (primarily built in a style similar to that of our own world's Brick Gothic movement) and incredibly wide streets once meant to accommodate Riding Mammoths, but now serving the tramlines. The Palace of Mercy, the residence of the King of the Lievonijans, strikes an imposing figure over the city square, its golden dome once serving to remind the recently subjugated Dracons of their newly found Trinitist faith. Sulaca itself is located far in the interior, within a cold taiga region, but after the Deluge, other notable cities have sprouted up. Chief among these are Pagznas and Ignalbarkas, port cities situated on the moderately warmer Southern coast. Pagznas is the bigger of the two, being connected to Sulaca by the mighty "Royal Capital Railway".

While neutral in most foreign affairs, this policy is one of armed neutrality. In accordance with Dracon traditions of being battle-ready, a well-equipped and trained military force is maintained by the state. Ironically, many of these soldiers are either Brigandi or their sons. As of current, the Land Force is embroiled in a war with the aforementioned Greitkelininkai, a much easier war than that the Empire was tasked with. As the Greitkelininkai are inexperienced and lack the drive of the Brigandi, and they use very similar tactics to those used by the very same Dracons who would go on to found the Lievonijan Armed Forces, crushing their small bands is quite easy. Alas, it is not crushing them that is the problem, it is catching them, something even veteran fighters have trouble doing in the rough terrain.   As an island nation, Lievonija also maintains a decently sized Navy, with many of their current ships being obsolete models bought from Sylvania for cheap. As of current, the Lievonijan Naval Force is busy reverse-engineering these ships to one day produce new and better models.

Due to centuries of blatant neglect by the Empire of Great Mountains, the new government has been saddled with what is by and large a developing nation. Out of the world's most major states, it is the least industrialized, with even Tīkoke beating it out. However, through the industrialization programs of the Kingdom, it is getting far better. For the first time in history, the island has more than one railroad, a few even cutting a dangerous path through the mountains. While not every village has a telegraph, most do, although only 73% of the population is literate (though it is rising quickly). The city of Sulaca, which has long been a modern island on the backward island, and its quickly growing cousins are electrified, although almost no farmers have access to this resource. Furthermore, most farmers have not yet been able to afford mechanized tools, and still use hand tools in their farm work, although the system of co-operatives has made this far less of an issue than it would be.   There is also a regional divide in the nation. The populated central region is connected by rail and telegraph and its people are rising in income, but the far West and East have fared less well in almost all respects. The people of the agriculturally unproductive Western bogs and the taiga forests of the East (a land primarily used for the nation's large lumber sector) lead the nation in illiteracy and lack of access to modernization. This is due to their isolated positions, as it is hard to bring the modern world into deep bogs and over near impassable mountains.   While this all may sound bad, one must keep in mind that only 40 years ago, the Dracon people lived no better than the serfs of the Age of Faith. The careful, but still speedy industrialization projects of the state, funded both by foreign investment and the profits of the state-owned corporations, have done wonders for the Kingdom, and within a few more decades, the power of days long past will return to the Kingdom in the North.

Since their conversion after the Second Righteous War, the Dracons have been Trinitists, and as such, the Trinitist faith is the Kingdom's state religion. Of course, due to this, Trinitist moral policing and punishment are enforced.   However, since the Deluge, things have begun to change. As a truly Dracon identity begins to develop and a cultural revival sweeps through the Kingdom, many have begun to turn to other religions. For centuries, the Dracons have been Trinitist, and they respect the faith greatly, but it was a religion brought by steel and maintained by the same. A foreigner's religion, one that put the Ancient Empire over the people. Some poets and artists have fully rejected the Cultist faith, reviving the Way Of The Traveling Gods, the ancient Dracon religion, but mostly making up rituals and rites as they go along.   Parallel to these practices is a true people's religion. Arvaidas Pocios, the Lawspeaker, is considered by most to be the greatest mage since Primus the Martyr, not to mention that he is the single greatest hero in Dracon history. To this end, some of the former Brigandi came to worship him as a new prophet while fighting in the Deluge, his magical skills a mark from the Gods. After the war, this developed into a true folk religion branching off from Trinitism. Around 10% of Lievonijans claim to be followers of this new religion, dubbed "Atgijimas" (The Revival), which has scared the Trinitist Clergy in the country quite badly, especially since it is only growing. However, the government refuses to do anything, with it being rumored that King Mindaugas is a supporter of the religion's goal of a Dracon Renaissance. The opinion of the Lawspeaker is unknown, though even if it is almost certain he does not believe himself to be a prophet, he will do as his people desire.

Since its cementation, the Kingdom of Lievonija has followed a policy of neutrality, more or less. With freedom achieved, the Lievonijans have found it far more prudent to engage in self-betterment than to worry about the affairs of countries a sea away. However, they are not above playing favorites. The Kingdom and the Sylvan Empire have quite a good relationship, with the Kaiserreich investing in the nation's growing economy and helping it build a navy in return for lower tariffs than usual and big checks in exchange for old ships. Lievonija is also close with its brothers in revolution, Dyffryu and Qadjik, and while it is not likely to offer the countries military support in the event of a war with Tellus, the Kingdom is a strong supporter of the Spring Coalition on the diplomatic stage and pursue close economic ties with these breadbasket nations.