Cotland

Overview

The Empire of Cotland is a pair of massive islands located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean which was colonized a thousand years ago by Norse Vikings. The main island is the Isle of Cotland, where the majority of the population and industry is located, as well as the majority of the military. The second island is the Isle of Sonnmore, which was invaded by the Cottish vikings six hundred years ago. Their culture has since been assimilated into that of Cotland, and both the Cots and Sonnmorians are considered equals.

Geography

Major cities

• Cotlandstad (capital) (269.7 million) - Cotlandstad (Federal Region)
• Fort Berge (36.4 million) - Vestgap
• Emenri (99.7 million) - Kubler
• Sorby (78.6 million) - Devlin
• Oblestad (101.0 million) - Kubler
• Floibert (47.0 million) - Devlin
• Strandson (35.8 million) - Devlin
• Hetlestad (67.2 million Vestgap
• Solem (38.4 million) - Vestgap
• Helle (55.5 million) - Vestgap
• Synsam (76.7 million) - Vestgap
• Nordby (94.9 million) - Hordaland
• Portinie (63.1 million) - Hordaland
• Kapp Lanse (37.6 million) - Sonnmore
• Meilor (97.6 million) - Sonnmore

The Empire is divided into six regions. Five of them are located on the Isle of Cotland, and they are Hordaland, Vestgap, Kubler, Devlin and the Federal Region of Cotlandstad, which holds the capital city. The last region is Sunnmore, which is located on the Isle of Sunnmore.

The Cottish coastline consists mainly of rocky cliffs overlooking the oceans, interrupted by large, wide sandbeaches. Further inland we find a mostly forested area with several vast steppes and a few relatively small mountains. In Cotland we find three large mountain ranges, of which the largest is named the Emoian Mountains. The Emoian Mountains are located roughly in the middle of the Isle of Cotland, and contain many hundred mountain peaks, of which the largest is Glittertind (5,378 meters above sealevel). The second of the great ranges is the Berge Mountains, where the largest peak is Mount Berge (4.271 meters above sealevel). The Berge Mountains are also known for having inside them the highest city in Cotland, Fort Berge, which is located on 1.860 meters above sealevel. The third range is the Seven Sisters, which consist of seven large mountains overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The largest of the Sisters are Mount Eva (1.502 meters above sealevel), which drops straight into the sea. Tourists are advised not to try to climb the mountains without guides, as the mountains are extremely dangerous. The mountain range on Sunnmore is the Sunnmorian alps, which consists of twelve mountains ranging from 1,200 – 4,800 meters altitude. The Sunnmorian alps are excellent for winter sports, and the alpine ski resorts are open all year around for tourists.The climate in Cotland and Sunnmore is temperate, which gives cold (- 20° C) winters and relatively warm (+25° C) summers.

The average population per km² is on 32.73 persons. The Cottish population are primarily located in the greatest cities in Cotland, with roughly 1.2 billion living in the cities. The Imperial Armed Forces employ another 100 million, which leaves 655 million living in the rural areas and along the coastline, where they provide the food for the Empire either through farming or fishing. The waters off Cotland are filled with fish, mostly cod, mackrel and herring, which are the primary seafood export that Cotland is known for. Other than that, the Cottish Empire contain some 200 000 km² of farmland, which provide more than enough food for the population.

People

The Cottish people are a varied bunch, with the majority of them decending from the Norse vikings who settled on Cotland and the indiginous people of Sunnmore, who trace their heritage back to pre-christian Ireland. Other people are immigrants from various other nations who have been granted citizenship.

The demographical layout is as follows

• Cottish (white) - 76.7 %
• Sunnmorians (white) - 19.7 %
• Black - 2.1 %
• Others - 1.5 %

Politics

The regions are semi-autonomous, with local parliaments that decide taxes, budgets, administration of various branches of government, etc. However, there are no regional laws, as the laws are all made in Cotlandstad. The local parliaments have elections every four years, while the national Paliament also has elections every four years, only that the elections are evenly spaced so there are elections in Cotland every two years. The suffrage is the standard 18, somehting which gives Cotland a whooping 1.6 billion eligible voters.

Judicial system

The Cottish legal system is based on old Roman law and ancient Viking traditions, with modifications to suit the current modern society. The average Cot rests assured that the legal system is fair and just, with thurrough investigations conducted using state of the art methods and technology. For instance, CSI technology is very advanced in Cotland, and as combined with a well-funded and trained police force, any criminals are apprehended quickly and justice is served. A ancient Cottish tradition is that you are innocent untill proven guilty. However, most of those placed on trial are proven to be guilty, and issued the punishment that is the most fitting to their crimes.

Punishments are very harsh in Cotland, and the death penalty is in effect. However, it is only issued to murderers, rapists, child molesters, traitors, terrorists and spies. Prisons are very undesirable to end up in, as the normal cell consists of a 3m x 3m x 3m concrete hole which has no heating or WC. Only a rough bed made of steel and a thin matress. In winter, prisoners are issued a thin blanket. For lavatorial needs, they have a hole in the floor. Not that they spend that much time in the cell though. The favorite punishment for Cottish judges to issue is x years/months of hard labor. With hard labor, they mean that the prisoners are used as cheap labor on construction sites, farms, railroad lines, etc. The prisoners who have behaved very well and don’t have much time left to serve are often used to help old people (they won’t do anything wrong, because they know that then the guards will beat them to within an inch of their life, or shoot them, depending on the guard).