Brachyuria

Brachyuria, officially the Kingdom of Brachyuria, is a mainland country in the south-western section of the Melivorica region comprising a single landmass largely connected to water along it's border. It takes it's name from the founding settlement situated inside the Brachyura Forest, which covers most of North East Brachyuria.

Brachyuria is most notable for its national religion; which, due to the utmost absurdity of it, is not practised in any significant numbers anywhere else. The as of yet unnamed religion in question, involving the worship of giant deep sea dwelling crustacean gods, and the veneration of the entire crab species as sacred, is followed devoutly by all but the smallest fraction of Brachyurians.

Owing to a keen spiritual interest with the ocean, Brachyuria's national waters extend further than is the norm, holding sovereignty to the entirety of Lake Sodie and a vast stretch of the Neoacian Sea. It is often referred to by the abbreviation "Brachy" to foreigners, who also tend to colloquially refer to Brachyurians as "The Crabs" or a similarly themed name, due to the country's odd religious practices. It is bordered by Archonis-Thay to the north, and is also closely neighboured to Deketopia in the south, separated by the Ravenessian Sounds.

In a politically unstable region such as Melivorica, where nations of all sizes are prone to sudden collapse through rebellion, economic implosion and fatally counter-productive government corruption. Brachyuria is also notable for being a long lasting country, currently holding the place of fifth oldest nation in the region.

Brachyuria is a Monarchistic Dictatorship, under King Irvine Ronald Niederhaus, who's rule has been categorised under the World Assembly as a "Benevolent Dictatorship." Elections for higher government officials are ignored in favour of the king's personal preference, although minor government officiates and local mayoral and city council positions are decided in a democratic fashion. Brachyuria's rich and middle class enjoy a high standard of living, the nations poor, while not largely impoverished, are well below this standard. All economic classes enjoy a high public education level and an extremely high literacy level.

History
Main article: History of Brachyuria

Etymology
The name 'Brachyuria' comes from the Latinised word Brachyura, which in the literal sense means "short tail", but is also the name of an infra-order of the Crustacea sub-phylum, which applies specifically to "true crabs" (ie. most animals named "crabs", well known exceptions being Hermit Crabs, Crab lice and Horseshoe crabs). A forest in North-East Brachyuria is home to a species of large, fully terrestrial crabs, and because of this was named the Brachyura forest by a pre-Brachyurian civilisation. This forest was the staging point for a large party of raiders, which arrived in the 15th century and set about trying to conquer the occupied lands to the south. The original civilisation in the area refered to these raiders as "Brachyurians", due to their main camp being situated in this forest. The name was adopted by the first king of Brachyuria, Bronzi Niederhaus, and after conquering the territory, he used the term to name his new country.



Early years to spiritual reform
Originally Founded as a small raider camp in 1442 by Bronzi Niederhaus, Brachyuria quickly grew in size as Bronzi captured more and more territory. By 1452, the entirety of the modern borders of Brachyuria had been conquered. And with it, the monarchy and state of Brachyuria was fully established.

Between 1467 and 1476, Bronzi, now the king of Brachyuria, fell seriously ill, with a recurring fever every few months for nine years. During this period, he penned The Glorious Red Ones, and quickly used the text to create the national religion. There were revolts at first, due to the banning of crab meat as a consumable item, but it died down in the place of religious fervour.

The Imperial campaigns period
The years between 1485 and 1752 are known in Brachyuria as the Imperial Campaigns period. During this time, the country's Eastern neighbouring giant, the Empire of Penguininjania, stayed in a constant state of conflict with Brachyuria, and made 3 major attempts at conquering the nation. The City of Graspus, being near the border of the two nations, changed hands numerous times throughout the centuries.

Curiously, the majority of historical accounts from the period make little mention of Brachyuria's navy taking part in any conflicts, with Penguininjania or otherwise. It is supposed that the successes of the Brachyurian army in these wars over the Eastern border far overshadowed any efforts of the navy to such a degree that no writers from the period sought to chronicle them.

The road to modernity
The years immediately after Penguininjania ceased it's efforts indefinitely, Brachyuria found itself an adversary of many other regional powers, who had historically considered Brachyuria a minor state of little consequence. Notably, it engaged in a war with the Fasdian kingdoms to support Norheimir, largely to negotiate a royal marriage agreement with the latter. In this period, the Brachyurian navy became more notable, and was mentioned favourably by scholars. The modern trend of admiration bordering devotion towards the navy is thought to have originated from this time.

Modern industrial advances such as aeroplanes and machine guns brought much change to Brachyurian society. Vocal adversity towards aeroplanes for religious reasons produced a short war with Archonis-Thay, where the slaughter of crab riding cavalry by machine guns brought the long lived tradition to a reluctant halt.

During the 1950's, Nuclear arms were at first defied as cowardly weapons by Queen Sodie III, until a bloody coup by King Tin brought Brachyuria up to speed. In 1968, Brachyuria conducted it's first and only test of a nuclear weapon, on a Fasdian merchant ship. The resulting war and subsequent conflict all but destroyed the Brachyurian economy, and caused a large divisive rebellion that eventually ousted Tin.

As a result of the revolution; In 1985, King Irvine took over. Nuclear weapons were banned outright again, vast civil reforms were implemented to the populace's benefit and shaky diplomatic ties with many of Brachyuria's neighbours were swiftly repaired. By the turn of the 20th century, Brachyuria had suddenly become a halfway amiable, if rather odd nation to the rest of the Melivorican continent.

Geography
Main articles: Geography of Brachyuria, Regions of Brachyuria



Brachyuria is by and large a temperate nation. It possesses a wide variety of landscapes, from coastal plains in the South-west to the mountain ranges of the Alps in the North-east. At 3,956 m (12,979 ft) above sea level, the highest point in Brachyuria, Mount Roskilde, is situated in the Pantsenstein Alps on the border between Brachyuria and Archonis-Thay.

66.3% of the population lives within urban areas, the countryside, mostly left to it's own devices or protected as a national park, has a very sparse population density. The most populous city in Brachyuria, Celuca, has 10 million people living in the city itself, a further 16 million in the surrounding suburbs, and even more people still in connected metropolitan areas.

Brachyuria's western coastline is mostly meeting the Neoacian Sea, but a small part of the southern coast such as the port city of Mictyrus are technically a part of the Ravenessian Sounds. The East coast takes the form of Lake Sodie, a large body of inland freshwater, which sits under the ownership of Brachyuria. In the past, other nations along it's coast have also laid claim to it. But Brachyuria has outlasted these nations and is now the sole claimant. Forest covers a good deal of the Brachyurian countryside, partially because it is the habitat of the Giant Land Crab, which is fiercely protected by both law and religion.

Environment
main articles: Biodiversity of Brachyuria

Brachyuria was one of the first countries to create a Ministry of the Environment, in 1871. Although it is also one of the more industrialised and developed countries on the Melivorican continent, it's carbon dioxide emissions are comparatively low. The government and people are regarded as environmentally minded. The reason for most of this being religious in nature, protection of the entire crab species, and by relation their habitat, being of the utmost importance.

Forests account for almost 30% of the land area of Brachyuria. Due to it's intermediate latitude, Brachyurian forests are also heavily diversified, with more than 120 different varieties of trees. There are 13 national parks, most of which are larger than 50 km2. Brachyuria has plans to convert over 40% of its established national waters into a Marine Protected Area by 2020.

Seagulls, and many related birds, are regarded as pests in Brachyuria. The national religion enforces an outright hatred of them. It is considered reasonable, and in fact expected as a patriotic duty, to kill any and all seagulls found within Brachyurian territory.

Government
Main Articles: Politics of Brachyuria, The Monarchy of Brachyuria Brachyuria is an absolute Monarchy, the current King, Irvine Niederhaus, has administrative control over the entire nation. With no secondary head of government such as a Prime Minister or President. To ease micromanagement on his behalf, a Brachyurian government of sorts does exist, as a large body of men and women, split into almost a hundred separate ministries, that deal with all manner of national issues imaginable.

There is no grand forum of discussion amongst the ministries, and the chief minister of each section holds the power to reform any part of national law he or she sees fit that falls under their ministry's role. King Irvine has the power to rescind any of these changes whenever he so pleases. And as a rule, ministries are required to present any major rulings to him before they can be given the go ahead.

Members of the Brachyurian public of any social standing are permitted to apply for a role in the government. Chief ministers are chosen from this number by King Irvine, who often chooses based on personal preference rather than eligible skills for the task. This method has resulted in a rather hazardous egocentric group, which constantly meddle with each other's business and turn press conferences into volleys of personal insults.

The government conducts most of it's work from the capital city, Gerald. The government buildings, usually called "The Brachyurian government compound", consists of a collection of ministerial buildings, which form a rough rectangle around King Irvine's estate and it's surrounding gardens. The ministerial buildings and estate are red brick buildings from the 18th century, and were previously used for the city's harbour committee.

Law
Even though Brachyuria's laws themselves are fairly lax and Brachyuria has no real prison system to speak of, the country has received repeated condemnation over it's conduct regarding crime. The Brachyurian judicial system proper only exists for the handling of minor offences, where the sentence is either house arrest or a variation of community service. For any other recognised crimes, a very simple private court, absent of jury, tries criminals under threat of the death sentence.

Execution is carried out by pitting convicted persons into a one sided fight against specially trained animals, usually giant land crabs, in spectator arenas spread across the country. The exception, other than cases of crimes deemed too minor for this punishment, are cases of Crab meat being eaten, considered a form of treason, where the convict is executed by gunshot. Supposedly to avoid the arena animals from being "tainted by their blood."

This punishment is largely set aside for the major crimes such as murder, rape and high treason. But some other acts considered minor or moderate in other countries, domestic abuse, aggravated robbery, Arson and driving under the influence among them are also dealt with by this method, presumably to further deter would be criminals.

In Brachyuria, the traditions of the national religion are enforced upon the populace regardless of whether or not they believe it. The right of free speech is respected, except in special cases of insulting the national religion or aspects of it, which even then is considered a minor crime at first, but major in the case of repeated instances. Homosexual and transgender marriages are permitted, correctional violence against children is prohibited and treated as assault and animal cruelty not involving seagulls is similarly regarded as an offence.

Sean Mortlock serves as both the figurehead of the Brachyurian Police and as the minister of justice. Ostracised by some very brave people as a violent drunk, he nevertheless preforms an admirable job in keeping the nation relatively well policed through a potent dosage of intimidation.

Foreign relations
Main Articles: Diplomatic ties of Brachyuria

Brachyuria's foreign policy is for the most part controlled by King Irvine, with a small amount of consideration given to him by members of the upper staff when his gut instinct is not the most politically sound method. Irvine, and by relation the Brachyurian government, is to some extent anti-expansionist, viewing the actions of any nation who invades a smaller neighbour for the purpose of easily obtaining more territory as "cowardly." However, this may be a slightly hypocritical stance, as a number of countries previously allied to Brachyuria have conducted expansionist invasions in the past, many of these occasions leading Irvine to offer support to the invader.

Military
Main Articles: Royal Brachyurian Defence Force

The Royal Brachyurian Defence Force, or RBDF, is the name of the combined Brachyurian military, which operates under one joint command made of officers and Generals from both the Navy and Army. The RBDF allows all genders and sexual preferences, and maintains it's numbers through volunteering rather than conscription. Although nationalistic advertisements do bring in some manpower, there is a higher percentage of experienced personnel that stayed on than there are new recruits, leading to a noticeable lag in the speed at which deserving soldiers proceed to higher ranks. For religious reasons, the RBDF completely lacks an airforce, but utilises the extra reserve of manpower this grants them to bolster the other two branches. While the RBDF operates under a joint command, it does split it's forces into two branches for the purpose of identification. Typically, the naval side of the RBDF, which includes Marine Infantry, conducts most of Brachyuria's offensive operations, while the smaller army is used mainly for home defence.

Brachyuria prefers a more straightforward, less technologically reliant method of combat, and most of it's equipment is at least a decade old. In the fields of navigation and anti-air equipment, both of which are Brachyurian interests, the RBDF is better equipped. Anti-Air weapons and detection systems in particular, are regarded as a speciality of Brachyuria.

Economy
Attempting a very finite balance between industry and environment, as of 2011, Brachyuria's gross domestic product was in excess of 170 trillion dollars. 1.7 trillion of which is used for purposes pertaining to the environment. The exchange rate from the base dollar is heavily in favour of the Brachyurian conch.

The income tax rate is negligible, and economic efficiency of the government is relatively high, especially considering how it is run. Recent polls have put worker enthusiasm at 83 percent, the same census rated the amount of consumer confidence was completely unwavering. About 2.65 percent of the population is unemployed.

The commercial aspect of the Brachyurian economy is very strong, with a small number of powerhouse corporations that have a near impervious foothold in their chosen market. The government regulates these companies, in the interest of diversity and something resembling a healthy competitive market, into only functioning within a set marketing niche, to allow smaller or private businesses to prosper as well.

Regardless, the country has one corporate giant, Steel Carapace Manufacturers, which has managed to retain control over almost every metal based product manufactured in Brachyuria, and on top of being the sole military hardware manufacturer in the country, also enjoys the largest exporting market.

Demography
In a 2010 census, the total population of Brachyuria was found to be around 75 million people. It's sole language is a localised form of English, among the able bodied and minded citizens, the literacy rating is very high, almost 100 percent. The majority of modern citizens consider themselves Brachyurians by genetic demographic, this meaning a thorough mix of all the racial demographics found in the vast area of land to Brachyuria's East, where Bronzi and his raiders originally came from. Descendants of the historic immigrant communities from areas of modern day Norheimir and Deketopia are the second largest demographic claimant, with just 8.7 percent. In modern times, immigration is very low, since many foreigners view Brachyuria in rather negative light. Foreign interpretations of the national religion in particular, have done a great deal of damage to the country's credibility, to the point that Brachyurian culture is considered a joke to many.

Religion
Main Articles: Religion of Brachyuria, The Glorious Red Ones

For most of it's history, continuing on into the present day, Brachyuria has had a single religion. Enforced on the populace to the extent that only a very tiny percentage of Brachyurians even think of questioning it's legitimacy. A feat in itself, considering the strange details of the religion in question.

The religion has no official name, features no holy days, set times or places for spiritual activities, and no head figure other than the king. Who even then is not regarded to have any higher a standing with the gods than the common man. It's main tenet is the sacredness of all Crab species, and subsequently that eating crab meat is forbidden. Secondarily, it demands loyalty to the Brachyurian Kingdom, though curiously not specifically to the monarch itself.

The holy text, The Glorious Red Ones, was written by King Bronzi during a decade long period where he was suffering from a heavily feverish illness. The titular glorious red ones are gargantuan immortal crustaceans lying at the bottom of deep sea trenches, a then unknown geographical feature that Bronzi apparently predicted. These gods, who's number is never specified beyond the constant use of plural, are believed to be the protectors of the Brachyurian kingdom. The text states in it's first page, that as long as Brachyurians remain pious to the two simple tenets of the faith, Brachyuria will never be conquered.

Other than translation into modern English, very few aspects of the text have changed since then. At some point in the late 17th century, King Cecil-Augustus, who was notoriously insane, added many pages worth of text decreeing that seagulls were to be hated as an enemy of the crab gods. For whatever reason, this new tenet stuck, and is one of the defining features of modern Brachyurian culture. Not least of which because it led to the banning of aircraft when they came into existence in the early 20th century.

Culture
To outside eyes, the majority of Brachyurian culture can be summed up with the word "Crabs" and left at that. Though this is a key component, it is not the only aspect of Brachyurian culture. Understandably, the antics of a nation home to zealous crab worshippers attracts the attention of it's neighbours on a regular basis. As a result of the actions of a number of extremists throughout the centuries, the other countries of Melivorica have attributed many harmful stereotypes to the Brachyurian people.

Brachyurians are often thought of as gullible fools who unquestionably accept the existence of absurd giant crab gods. In fact, a fairly large proportion of Brachyurians are believed to only follow the religion as a matter of cultural tradition, which even if they are secretly unbelievers, is forced upon them by law regardless. However, due to growing up in a culture where it is never observed, it is true that almost all Brachyurians, believers or not, are shocked and often sickened by the idea of eating crab meat.

Cartography and exploration
Although other attempts to map the surrounding nations had been made to some effect, they often did not cover much beyond the creating nation's sphere of influence. It was the Brachyurian cartographers that first charted the Melivorica in it's entirety.

Expeditions like that of P.W. Hopkins and Jack Farthing were conducted by the Royal Cartographic Society with the explicit purpose of mapping the Melivorican region. Though the simple style of maps made by Brachyuria generally only take notice of the national boundaries and bodies of water, Brachyuria's maps have remained the most commonplace.

As a result, cartography and exploration in general, particularly when a naval voyage is involved, are a point of national pride amongst Brachyurians. The modern equivalent, GPS systems and satellite maps, are growing in importance through this cultural interest. The sole reason for Brachyuria becoming involved in a regional space program in the early nineties was to launch the necessary satellites into orbit.

Literature
Even discounting the obvious The Glorious Red Ones, Brachyuria has a large interest in Literature, especially local works relating to Crabs or other aspects of culture. Though pieces not wholly related to Brachyuria can still be highly regarded. The dubious misadventures of Samuel the Crab, an early form of novel from the 1600's, tells the tale of the titular Samuel, as he scuttles across the countryside beyond Brachyuria's borders, encountering the vast differences in culture and belief. Still, read today in schools, it forms the basis of many an untravelled Brachyurian's understanding of the outside world.

More modern literature has a tendency to take a shortened form. Abbot Toledo's blandly titled two page magnum opus What I ended up writing on two separate occasions when I heard someone say the words "Hermit Crab." is a critically acclaimed masterpiece, winning the homeless Khedive Rex born author several prestigious awards from both local and international institutes.

At around the same time, Brachyurian Librarian Fred Bunkle released his own collection of inspired short stories, titled The blanketed shades of oppression. Which, surprisingly dealt with party-going multidimensional travelling dragons rather than crabs. For it's sheer novelty, it was well received, but Bunkle has never been able to shake off rumours that he was heavily under the influence of something during it's writing.

Media
Of particular impact to foreign views of the nation is the heavily sensationalist newspaper All hail the glorious leader, which is regularly circulated outside of Brachyuria, particularly in Melivorica. All hail the glorious leader has been called a "Xenophobic, over nationalistic, propaganda fuelled joke of a newspaper" by an independent reviewing organisation, and is viewed as such even within Brachyuria itself. Competing papers are more factual and unbiased, and slowly gaining popularity. Most prominent among them being the Geraldric Sun, Brachyuria Herald and Western Kingdom Post.

Sport
Brachyuria does not have an official national sport, but across Brachyuria the sport of Rugby Union is by far the most popular. It was introduced to Brachyuria some time in the late 19th century from Northern Melivorica, and superseded the spread of any other team sport in development. The national team, known as the "Red Claws", are it's premier international sport's presence. In addition, the domestic competition known as the Niederhaus Cup is held annually, contested between 8 provincial teams over the space of several weeks; regularly drawing crows in the tens of thousands and watched by several million television viewers.

During the reign of King Tin, organised activities including team sports were banned, with transgressions punishable by the death penalty. From 1951 to 1985 there was therefore no sport played in Brachyuria except in the utmost secrecy. Upon the death of Tin sport saw a renaissance in Brachyuria, with Rugby returning to utmost prominence, but also joined by all manner of other imported sports. In 2011, polls taken from Brachyurian schoolchildren indicated a much increased interest in Soccer, Basketball, Handball and Field Hockey over the previous decade. Rugby League and the Gridiron codes of Football have also increased in popularity, but with Rugby Union so popular it is difficult for these competitor codes to gain headway.