Gorawarthieniup

Flag of Gorawarthieniup
Motto: Wahoo! Gold!
[1]
Region	The Vert Archipelago
Capital	His Verdigral Ship Crossbow, currently anchored in scenic Slime Mold Bay
Official Language(s)	Gobber
Leader	His Verdigral Highness Grand Duke Gorawarthieniup
Population	570 million
Currency	gorbo
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The Grand Duchy of Gorawarthieniup

"Where the World Comes to Arm Bears"

History

Founded by famed soldier of fortune, Gorawarthieniup, the Grand Duchy came into existence a mere twenty years ago. With the proceeds of his illustrious martial career, His Verdigral Highness purchased a surplus aircraft carrier from an undisclosed nation and remodeled it as a world-class production facility for smart munitions and cruise missiles for export. In response to various ... legal difficulties ... regarding the sales of his products, His Verdigral Highness sailed out into international waters and declared his sovereignty on October 31, 1986 - celebrated today as "Green Friday" - officialy founding the Grand Duchy of Gorawarthieniup with the HVS Crossbow as its capital.

Politics

Originally a constitutional monarchy with a democratically-elected legislative council, his emerald eminence has recently tired of the annoying squabbling emerging from the council chambers. His viridian grace has disbanded the council and returned the realm to direct personal rule.

Despite the loss of voting and representative rights, the realm is known for its civil and personal freedoms. Gambling of all sorts is a favored national passtime, nearly all drugs are legal for personal use, and speech (as long as it is not political) is completely unregulated and zealously protected.

Industry

A rapidly up-and-coming arms exporter, the Grand Duchy has a small but growing section of the international arms industry. Known for their cruise missiles and similar smart munitions, the realm has apparently recently branched out into other naval armaments, including submarines, fast attack craft and advanced torpedoes.

Geography

The HVS Crossbow is a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier of undisclosed origin. The massive ship forms the nucleus of the rapidly-growing floating nation. Its reactors provide the primary motive power for the rare occasions the nation moves to a new location, but they are more often used to provide the steam power that drives the nation's thriving arms manufacturing industries. Over the past two decades, a bizarre panoply vessels of vastly differing sizes have attached themselves to the floating Duchy - from a pair of gargantuan 380 m (1245 foot) supertankers added to the realm in 1993 to the infamous cruise ship-turned factory worker dormatory "Pacific Princess" to a vast flotilla of inflatable dinghies inhabited by the Duchy's newest immgrants.

HVS Crossbow	statistics:
Power Plant:	Two Nuclear Power Plants (Pressurized Water Reactor)
Length overall:	1,092 feet (332.85 meters)
Flight Deck Width:	252 feet (76.8 meters)
Displacement:	Approx. 97,000 tons (87,300 metric tons) full load
Speed:	30+ knots (34.5+ miles per hour)

Military

The Grand Duchy's military is primarily comprised of submarine units. Other than a small number of surface tenders, His Verdigral Highness' Navy greatly values the stealth and mobility of nuclear subarines. Even His Verdigral Highness' Air Force is stationed on submersible carriers. The latest units to join the HVHN have recently been spotted in their pens in Slime Mold Bay.

Little is known about these boats - not even their intended purpose. No information is available regarding the number of this new class of boats are in commission, nor has anyone outside the Grand Duchy been able to discern what armaments they carry. Given the nation's history of high-quality smart munitions and the near complete lack of any sort of army or marine corps, many analysts suspect they may be stealthy precision cruise missile delivery platforms. The only information known to external intelligence agencies is that they have never been detected in the open sea once they leave their tenders or pens. Tentatvely identified as the "Coelacanth" class, these submarines are subject to intense international curiosity.

Rumor has it that negotiations are proceeding for the sale of several of these mysterious boats to the Grand Duchy of Bellrose. These rumors seem to have a kernel of truth, given the above images appear to show at least one boat flying a flag resembling that of the Grand Duchy of Bellrose.

Current News

His Verdigral Highness is currently hosting a state visit and summit with the other sovereigns of the Vert Archipelago. The luxurious and heavily-armed Royal Yacht, the HVS Rat Ear, has been offered as the site for the first region-wide summit. Sources close to the government have not confirmed whether or not any diplomatic incidents have yet been encountered.