Shahdom Of New Kopran

The Shahdom of New Kopran is an odd one, hardly even being a nation. Indeed, this country, derogatorily referred to as the "Northbounder Shahdom" by skeptics and Arkadī secessionists, is more of an only recently organized settler state than anything else, though it has had some great luck. The charisma of its Governor turned Shah, but most importantly, its gold, has caused a great many Dryads to go Northbounding, none of whom give a damn about what the native Satyrs think.   New Kopran has only just made a proper government, going in a bend very few actually expected. Prior to the writing of the Constitution of New Kopran, the state was governed by a Governor who had absolute power over all affairs. Said Governor was Changiz Faghih-Azari. In 1272, he and his associates would found the colony as a way of extracting money from Dryads desperate for both economic opportunities and a place to call their own (as well as more wealthy investors who were assumed to follow), but even the astute Azari could not predict the Koprani Gold Rush. Loved by his people (though he hardly deserves it), a referendum was held in 1281 to gauge if the people were willing to crown Azari as their Shah, a monarchical title that has not been used since the ancient Shahdom of Arkadija was killed. Perhaps the people were taken by Azari's spell, perhaps they were nostalgic for the days when the Dryads had a true state, or perhaps the vote was rigged. Either way, the referendum was counted in with a resounding "YES" to the proposal.   In a grand and egotistical ceremony, Governor Changiz Faghih-Azari was crowned as "Changiz Shah Azari", the first of the Azari Dynasty. That same day, the provisional government unveiled a new Constitution, officially making the Shahdom of New Kopran into a Semi-Constitutional Monarchy. The Constitution guarantees that all Koprani citizens over the age of 23 are able to vote in the quinquennial elections into the legislature and have the rights to free speech, assembly, their own opinions, their arms, the press, and to be viewed as equal in the eyes of the law. After establishing the rights of the citizenry, the Constitution outlines the powers of their sovereign: the Shah. As a semi-constitutional monarch, he has quite a bit of power over the state, but he does not rule absolutely. His main power is that of signing or vetoing all laws passed by the Meclîsa (Assembly), though he is also able to write laws of his own that can either be signed or vetoed by the Meclîsa. Furthermore, any veto by the Shah can be overridden by a two-thirds majority in the legislature. Furthermore, any change to the Constitution must be approved by the Shah, only he can appoint and remove judges, and only he can declare war. The Shah is also the supreme commander of the Koprani Militia. He is also immune to criminal prosecution.   The Meclîsa is the unicameral legislature of New Kopran, made up of 15 Assemblypersons that are directly elected from within the nation's tiny constituencies via a first-past-the-post system. As the legislature, it is the job of the Meclîsa to legislate. As stated before, any law passed by the assembly must either be signed or vetoed by the Shah, although the Meclîsa can do the same to any decree given by the Shah. However, they have vaguely more power over the whole situation for they can override the Shah's veto with a two-thirds majority instead of a simple majority that is used to pass laws in the first place. Due to the legislature's incredibly small size, they do not need to elect a Prime Minister or make a cabinet. Instead, all they do is elect a Speaker so that order may be kept and then go from there. Beyond simple lawmaking, it is the job of the Meclîsa to create the budget, levy taxes on the citizenry, make and sign treaties, and oversee the various town governments of the country.   Due to the very nature of this settler state, it would be very hard to make a model of local government, and because of it, there is none. Within the capital/stronghold of Ofir, the Shah serves as the Mayor. Within most proper towns, a mayor is elected by the citizens. On the frontier fringes, where the only Dryads are lonely pioneers or trappers, no real authority aside from that of the constitutional government is recognized and even then it is loosely. However, to maintain order, New Kopran maintains a rigorous system of justice. In addition to their role as a military force, the Koprani Militia serve as lawmen. Once someone accused of a crime is arrested by the Militia, they will be dragged into Ofir and in front of a council of judges (all handpicked by the Shah) to be taken to trial. Even still, though, given the wild nature of the state, lynchings in the name of "blood atonement" are more common in New Kopran than they are anywhere else in the Commonalist world.   Now that they have a true government, New Kopran has begun to print their own currency: the Yekbûn. However, while the state itself needs these coins and others to function, many citizens, especially those on the outskirts of Dryad territory, prefer simple bartering due to the youth of the Yekbûn.

The territory officially claimed by the Shahdom of New Kopran lies entirely within a small subregion of the Orienal Taiga known as the "Orimattila Highlands" (known simply as the Highlands to the Dryads, who cannot pronounce Satyrian words to save their lives). This area was chosen by Azari for its low Satyr population, which only numbers around 3,000 (compared to the nearly 33,000 Dryads that have flooded in). This is mainly due to the fact that the surrounding areas are much better for agriculture, although the Highlands are not terrible for it. When the state was first created, the Governor "legally" owned all the nation's claimed land. As they came in, immigrants would be sold however big a plot of land they could buy, and if they could not pay the price, they were sent out. Those who bought farmland in the country are now part of a growing class of Dryad yeomen, the first of their kind. Mechanization is slim, so most tend to their small plots of land with hand tools. Most of these yeomen are subsistence farmers, eating most of their harvest themselves and selling the rest to surrounding towns. The most common crops grown within the state are the humble potato and turnip, although many cabbage plots and even sheep pastures dot the country.   New Kopran's stronghold is the "city" of Ofir. Founded as the flagship settlement of the country, it is not a flashy city. Ofir, while much larger than any other settlement in the nation, is little more than a collection of turf houses intersected with an increasing number of chalet-style homes for the growing number of merchants. The Shah himself lives within a fairly large chalet, each log expertly engraved, which once also doubled as an office for New Kopran's minuscule, provisional government. Now, however, the Meclîsa has its own longhouse from which they rule. For protection, Ofir is surrounded by a large wooden palisade, a small trench line, and many watchtowers, all of which are manned by the Koprani Militia.   While many thousands live within the protected capital, many more rough it out in the forests. Many of these Dryads live in small towns made of a good mix of yeomen, merchants, and gold miners seeking wealth in the hills. While that latter group was particularly large only a few years ago, as reality set in that not everyone was going to become a millionaire off of the gold found within the Koprani hills, it would begin to shrink as people took up other jobs within the colony. However, be this as it may, prospecting is still a common and, if you're lucky, lucrative job. These towns are primarily kept floating by the work of the yeomen, though, as well as the merchants who will often travel outside the country to trade with their Sylvan counterparts.   Within these wilder regions, there are also large populations of "Frontiersmen". These Dryads usually live alone or with family in small turf houses far from proper settlements, hunting game both to eat and to sell for furs. Their lifestyle often brings them into violent conflict with the native Satyrs, and their lives are romanticized for it. Many Frontiersmen have achieved semi-celebrity status within New Kopran, including their most famous champion, Derbest Tîrêj-Çinûr. Recently, he has come to be a close confidant of Azari, the Commander of the Koprani Militia, and an Assemblyman within the Meclîsa.   Of course, though, the Dryads, numerous as they may be, are not the only folk to live in the Orimattila Highlands. Dozens and dozens of Satyr villages dot the Highlands, most of which are nestled in the deepest parts of the forests. The Satyrs rightfully despise the Northbounders and what they are doing, and it is no secret that they will kill anyone who strays too close to their homes. Obviously, due to this, no friendly or cordial interactions between the Satyr and Dryad populations have been seen. The southern end of the state's claimed territory is majority Dryad as of now, although there are still a good few hundred Satyrs within the area. The unpopulated northern region remains dominated by Satyrs, the villages here more or less drawing a battle line of warriors who will cut down any Dryad who tries to enter the area, be he a Frontiersman or a particularly foolish prospector drawn to the claims of hand-sized golden nuggets in those untapped hills.

After a proper government was established, a proper military came soon after. The Koprani Militia is an odd beast, a mix between a proper military force and a police department. While their primary job is that of defending the towns of New Kopran from Satyrian raids, they also patrol the nation, hunting down and bringing in criminals to face justice. While most Militiamen only carry a lever-action with a few spare rounds or weapons they have personally bought, and they only number in the hundreds, they are well trained and well drilled, ready to ensure that the Dryads do not lose their home for a second time. If worst comes to worst, though, it is law that all Dryad households keep a working firearm in the home.   While not a total war, the Militia has long engaged the local Satyrs in low-intensity combat (even before a unified Militia was established). Aside from the massacres of Bajtbara and Ulniemi, these engagements never kill or wound more than ten on either side. Indeed, it is almost never the Militia who directly engages the Satyrs, frontiersmen doing it far more often.

The State of New Kopran has absolutely no industrial output, its economy relying entirely on subsistence agriculture, a meager fur trade, and its primary moneymakers of logging and gold mining. To this end, they rely entirely on others for technology. No railroads run through the country, there are no telegraph lines, and there is absolutely no electricity. There are less than twenty traction engines in the country, with most farmers relying on hand tools. However, the Northbounders are still hopeful, believing Azari's promise that when foreign recognition is given and the Satyrs either learn to live in peace or leave, things will finally look up for the Dryads.

The state religion of New Kopran is Commonalism, the population themselves being primarily divided between those belonging to the Temple of the Ancients, those belonging to the Temple of the Process, those belonging to the Temple of New Birth, and those who are just simply Commonalists. While Azari himself and a majority of the population are Ancientians, the New Birthers are a very proud minority who often proselytize to the other Commonalists in the country. Interestingly, most frontiersmen are New Birthers.

The Shahdom of New Kopran is not currently recognized by any other country on Ecumene. This is due to the very strange circumstances of its birth, but it does not stand entirely alone. The Sylvan merchants to the South are more than happy to provide the Koprani with food, guns, and most everything else, providing they keep digging up gold and chopping down trees. This has created a fairly large Pro-Kopran lobby in the Kaiserreich made up of Elves who support New Kopran for reasons of economic, social, or both (social, in this case, referring to a desire to run the Dryads out of Elvendom). However, as the Northbounders have survived this long, it is likely that the nations of Ecumene may soon come to see it as a true nation.   The Satyrs, though, shall never see the Koprani as anything more than invaders. The Dryads, fleeing their own oppression, have come to the Taiga, defiling the last vestiges of holiness on Ecumene. With their settlements, their logging mills, and their gold mines, they insult the Satyrs and the Gods more than any crusader could dream to do, and as word slowly spreads throughout the villages, anger grows and the forest quivers with the constrained rage of a people being roused to a final battle.