Markodonia

Markodonia

Flag of Markodonia
Motto: "All living things produce waste and then die."
[[1]]
Region	Moperville
Capital	Fairfield
Official Language(s)	English
Leader	The Council of Three
Population	4 billion
Currency	Euro
NS Sunset XML

The Vast and Bountiful Bunnidom of Markodonia is a country located to the west of the central continent of Mopergaea in the region of Moperville. It borders Randomocitia to the south and Northern Blurnsburg to the east. To the north across Bamboozle Bay lies the Perolijkan fjords, and to the west across the ocean is the continent of Progalu and the islands of Kunori and Orderly Beings.

Markodonia is the founder of and the most ancient nationstate in the region of Moperville, and currently holds the position of UN delegate.

History

Amongst the first nomadic peoples to arrive in Moperville were the Pearchops, who roamed the vast landmasses for many generations. Legend tells that one day they were visited upon by a creature that was not one but many, and was of many small minds but one vast intellect. This was the Swarm, and even the oldest legends make no mention of the origin of the vast genderless entity. Some tales say that Swarm was a huge flock of birds, others tell of a cloud of insects so large that it turned the night to day, while more claim that Swarm did, or does not have one true body, but is in actuality single Mind capable of dominating creatures of any species. The most common representation of the Swarm is a huge flock of red-billed qualas, the national animals of modern day Markodonia.

The Swarm is said to have led the Pearchops to the fertile and beautiful lands to the west of Mopergaea, where they founded the continent’s first city, Fairfield, on the banks of the vast river Avon. The first generation born within the settlement all had quala-shaped birthmarks upon their left shoulders, and in celebration the tribe renamed themselves the Marked Ones.

After several years the Swarm is said to have disappeared, and the Marked Ones’ village remained peaceful for several generations before tribal leaders began questioning its absence. Some said that the people had not paid the Swarm enough of a tribute; it should be venerated as a god. Worship of the entity sprang up, and religious fervour grew until the Marked Ones, greatly increased in number, suddenly launched a holy crusade to conquer all the lands of Mopergaea in the name of their Swarm-God. They encountered many other new villages and plundered each, enslaving the population and leaving their own to reap the bounty of the land. Thus the Marked Ones began to carve out the Markodonian Empire. The Empire remained the largest and most powerful in the region until the return of the Swarm.

Swarm demonstrated its distaste for the violent ways of the Marked Ones in spectacular fashion. It descended upon the new cities of Markodonia, destroying many of their greatest buildings and consuming their grain. Then an ultimatum was presented to the people: reform their civilization or have it destroyed. Within a year all slaves were freed and the first primitive political system began to slowly evolve.

As Markodonia grew and prospered further many people began to migrate to the country and it slowly expanded further and continued to absorb other peoples, no longer through conquest but through instead through gradual political integration. The country has been essentially pacifist for many generations despite maintained a friendly rivalry with Yuppers.

Relatively recently, Markodonia has been involved in the most serious conflict since its imperialistic days. Effendi had long been a small, distant province beyond the northern Rhamban mountain range, largely inhabited by undisturbed tribes and cut off from the rest of the country. The territory was theoretically Markodonian land but largely not interfered with. Some would argue that Effendi was criminally ignored by Markodonian politicians. However, no one predicted the revolution in the heavily forested Upper Effendi. A new state was formed under the leadership of a brutal dictator, to the horror of the peaceful Markodonians, who simply didn’t know how to react. Initially the central government refused to recognise the state’s existence, but the actions of Effendian terrorists within Moperville signalled that some kind of action had to be taken. Eventually Upper Effendi was recognised as a sovereign state (meanwhile, Lower Effendi was fully incorporated as a Markodonian province and vast efforts were made to improve the region’s infrastructure and services) as an attempt to work on diplomatically encouraging reform. This failed miserably as the overtures were simply ignored. Instead, the government began to offer loyalist Effendian insurgents support in the form of airdrops offering food, maps, and intelligence. Due to both the actions of insurgents and the very instability of the government itself, Upper Effendi soon fell. Markodonia was quick to claim sovereignty of the region and moved in with vast amount of aid and construction workers, who remain there to this day. Upper Effendi is the newest full Markodonian state, with its capital being a city of the same name.

Government and Politics

Main article: Politics of Markodonia

Markodonia is a social democratic republic. Sovereignty lies in an elected national body, the Markodonian Parliament. Executive decisions are taken by a directly elected body, The Council of Three, and its appointed secretaries and civil service branch. Suffrage is universal for citizens over the age of 16.

Markodonia has long played an important role in international politics, and has represented Moperville on the NSUN throughout the majority of the region's history.

Geography

Markodonia is a huge and varied country. Despite the high and relatively dense population, most of the land is still covered in forest, although vast plains occupy the centre of the country. The forests and grasslands of the west and far east of the country have a mainly temperate climate, although warmer summers and milder winters are found in the plains and further inland. Markodonia has three main mountain ranges. The Rhambans run between the two Blurnsburga borders, cutting off Effendi from the rest of the country. The Central Peaks can be found, unsurprisingly, near the centre of the country, and are heavily forested in areas free of tourist resorts. To the south of the country is the vast Mopergaeania Range, including some of the tallest peaks in the region. The climate in this range varies dramatically from balmy alpine valleys to sub zero conditions in the glaciated heights.

Economy

The Economy of Markodonia

Markodonia's government plays a role in the ownership of every industry and business in the nation to a greater or lesser extent. The reasoning behind this is that the government represents the will of the people, and the people therefore have control of the means and fruits of production.