Taereoca

From Scandia

Kingdom of Taereoca

(Flag) (Seal)
National Motto  • Ingallish	Liberty, equality, fraternity
National Anthem	No Height Is Too Great
Official language	Valanian and Ingallish
Founding Date	1501
Government  • Type  • King	Feudal Monarchy Marcus Philidor
Capital	Taeropolis
Administrative Divisions	Many feudal domains
Largest City	Taeropolis
Area  • Total  • % water	yourinfo km² (yourinfo sq mi) yourinfo%
Population  • Total  • Growth Rate  • Density	9,196,227 yourinfo yourinfo/km² (yourinfo/sq mi)
GDP  • Total  • GDP/capita  • Growth Rate	yourinfo yourinfo yourinfo%
Currency	Taerocese denarius (Td)
Time Zones	Imperial Standard Time (SMT +3)
Technology Codes  • scandianet TLD  • Trigraph  • Calling Code	tc TAE ++84

The Kingdom of Taereoca is a small, mountainous country in central Valanan, one of the Doranian sub-continents. For most of its history, it was under the dominion of the Valanian Empire, but received its independence in 1501. Though frequently troubled by dubious economic policy and unruly nobles, it is reckoned one of the most beautiful nations on Scandia.

Contents 1 History 2 Government 3 Economy 4 Geography 5 People 6 Religion 7 Military 8 International Issues

History

Taereoca did not yield easily to the growth of the Valanian Empire. The hardy tribesmen who inhabited the mountains drove the Valanians back time and time again, until at last in 96 AE they fell to the magnificent generalship of Titus Aurelius (later Emperor Titus II).

The country became, however, the poorest province in the Empire. The lucrative silver mines that had attracted the Valanians were exhausted one by one, and the poor mountain soil gave repeatedly poor harvests. Taereoca became a burden to the empire, and so in 443 CE the Legions marched out, leaving the Valanian settlers at the mercy of the vengeful tribesmen that still survived in the highest and most inaccessible mountains.

Racked by famine and war, it was no surprise when the province immediately yielded to the conquering armies of Gaius Pontifex during the War of Religion. Under Pontifex's new theocracy, Taereoca was divided into three provinces in order to make it easier to administer.

Taereoca at last prospered under the Theocracy. The pagan tribesmen were utterly destroyed by the Legions, and vast projects were put into place to improve the quality of the soil. One such involved the transportation of enormous quantities of soil from southern Valania to one small valley in Taereoca. Though expensive, it was a success and to this day the inhabitants of Jalarel Valley enjoy the best harvests in Taereoca.

The Ingallish Wars passed Taereoca by. The Ingallish saw the mountain forts as impregnable, and chose to pass through Labella instead, where they were at last halted by the elite First Legion.

When Antoninus Decius rose to power, many of his supporters (as well as Decius himself) were Taerocese. This led to vicious purges by the returning Theocracy, which, accompanied by frequent famines from 1405 to 1449, led many Taerocese to mutter of rebellion.

This rebellion became open following Labella's achievement of independence in 1456. Led by the famous guerilla Ernst "Ja" Ganara, the Taerocese raided one Valanian outpost after another, succeeding in killing one provincial governor and abducting another. The Valanians were determined not to lose more territory, however, and flooded the area with troops, heavily bombing suspected rebel hideouts.

Though initially successful, all this campaign achieved was to turn those Taerocese who had remained loyal against the government that was taking all their remaining food and bombing their relatives. The fighting intensified, and eventually a raid on the Legionary headquarters in Taeropolis succeeded in capturing the cross of the Twentieth Legion. In order to avoid further embarrassment, the Valanians finally gave in and left the area, allowing the provinces of North and Central Taeroc their independence, and the cross was returned to Valania. South Taeroc had not rebelled and so remained part of Valania.

The rebels met to discuss how to organise their new government, but immediately violent disagreements broke out. The guerillas polarised into two parties. One, led by Ja Ganara, wanted a republican form of government; the other, led by Marcus Philidor, claimed that a monarchy, with Philidor as king, would be much more efficient.

Eventually, the arguments got lethal and most of Ganara's supporters were attacked and murdered by Philidor's party. Ganara fled across the border to Valania, only to be promptly executed by the Valanian authorities.

To this day, Taereoca has been ruled by King Marcus Philidor. However, his weak government has never been able to truly consolidate control over the entire country due to the many warlords that remain. The king is technically supposed to have absolute power over all of Taereoca, but in practice this only extends about thirty miles from Taeropolis. In 1537, the government was reordered as a feudal monarchy, giving the king at least nominal control over most of the warlords. However, all this effectively amounts to is royal recognition of the warlords' legitimacy.

Government

Taereoca's head of state is the King, Marcus Philidor (King Marcus I). He is also head of the army, but occupies no constitutional power, since this is controlled by the Prime Minister and the General Assembly. However, since the Prime Minister, Julius Philidor, is the king's brother and the General Assembly is packed with the king's supporters, Taereco is effectively a dictatorship under Marcus Philidor's control. In 1537 the General Assembly voted the constitution as void, and on the same day unanimously voted the king as head of government. What role the Prime Minister now plays is highly uncertain.

Further, the reforms of 1537 also attempted to include the warlords in the government, effectively as a noble class. However the success of this measure is vague since they are largely free to do as they please in their own private domains. Some warlord factions, notably the communalist People's Liberation Front, remain unrecognised and wage a private war against the forces of the state.

Economy

Taereoca's instability, combined with its lack of any major resources, contributes to its very poor economy. There is very little international trade, as foreigners generally see little point in investing in such a resource-poor region, and Taereoca itself has little to offer other nations.

Geography

Taereoca is almost entirely mountainous, the main mountain range being the Taeroc mountains, which include some of the largest peaks in Scandia. Most notable is the enormous Mons Colossus which, at 8,725m is the second-highest peak in Scandia. The mountainous terrain gives rise to frequent heavy rain- and snow-fall in the west of the country, meaning that many of the valleys are virtually uninhabitable swamps. In contrast, eastern Taereoca can become extremely arid in the summer, with virtually no rainfall at all.

People

The people of Taereoca are very hardy, considering the frequent war, famine, drought and other associated calamities they suffer.

Religion

Military

Officially, the Taereocan army (styled the King's Legion) is "an elite armed force trained according to the Valanian model, armed with the very latest equipment and supported by the finest communication and logistics corps on Scandia." In fact, it is a shambles. The 5,000 men of the King's Legion are known to be unreliable in the extreme, with desertion a serious problem. The much-vaunted logistics corps consists of three men and five trucks. The air force, although there is no shortage of would-be pilots, can boast only three aeroplanes: VK-4 Caelum jet fighters that were inadvertantly left behind by the Valanians during their withdrawal from Taereoca. Taereoca has no navy.

The King's Legion is involved in frequent skirmishes with various warlords. As a result of this fierce fighting, they have eventually succeeded in clearing all warlords from about thirty miles' distance from Taeropolis. There are hopes that one day peace could be restored to Taereoca by these methods, but such hopes seem unlikely without outside help.

International Issues

Taereoca has attracted various complaints from other countries about the behaviour of its warlords. Some regions of Valania, notably the province of South Taeroc, have suffered greatly from cross-border raids, although recently the Valanian Legions have been deployed along the border in force to prevent such attempts. More problematic is the issue of piracy. Various pirates have raided any shipping that comes too close to Taerocese waters. Though sometimes intercepted by naval vessels, the pirates simply have to make it back to Taerocese waters in order to be guaranteed the protection of international law.

The only notable success against Taerocese piracy came in 1536, when a group of pirate schooners was detected well inside Valanian waters, and subsequently obliterated by aircraft from the aircraft carrier NV Imperator.

In early 1537, a vast oil field (now christened the Ganara Field) was found off the coast of Taereoca. It is hoped that this will help to promote the country's regeneration and eventually provide the government with sufficient funds to combat the warlods. Vamar's Moth Industries will assist the Taerocese in their development of these resources.