Empherias

Empherias (Empheri:, Exteras: ), officially the High Kingdom of Empherias (Empheri: , Exteras: ), is a constituent country of the High Kingdoms of Alaxia. Previously an independent country, it joined the High Kingdoms following a referendum in 2448, and adopted Exteras an official language. It was, and still is, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Located in the Ewynnia region of East Alaxia, it borders Karkuss to the west, Koresa and Ahitereira in the northwest, Grensalbourg and Palakkinen in the east, and the Hveden Federation in both the north and south. The country's population is approximately 60 million. Emphers also make up the majority of the population of Grensalbourg, and the International City hosts approximately 130,000 people from Empherias.

The current government is led by the Liberal party in a supply and demand agreement with the Nationalist party and the Alliance party. Since 2519, the Prime Minister has been Valorie Metz; the Deputy Prime Minister has been the Leader of the Nationalists and former PM Spencer Wright; while the Chancellor of the Exchequer has been Bonnie Corliss.

Evergreen period
The Evergreen period is characterised by the domination of the Evergreen party and later Liberal party throughout the 2200s and 2300s. Isaac Campbell, who led the Evergreens for over sixty years, became a very prominent and famous figure of the period.

The final half century of the period saw a shift away from progressive politics and saw authoritarian laws, particularly those restricting the right to vote. Civil liberties also were beginning to be clamped down on, as homophobia, transphobia, and sexism became more common across the elite. This was because of the far-right Conservative party managing to win some elections, and because of a grip on public media by right-wing organisations. The Liberal party notably shifted away from progressive policies that had won them previously support and capitulated key arguments to the right. The end of the period saw economic stagnation, public discontent, a decreasing amount of freedom and electoral rights, and increasing violence against minorities, which ultimately setup the revolution to come...

Revolutionary period
The Revolutionary period is characterised by the 2395–2397 revolution. The revolution saw a shift away from the archaic political parties of the Liberals and Conservatives into an expanded array of left-wing parties such as the Populists and Socialists. This was brought alongside an expansion of the voting franchise allowed everyone over the age of 18 to vote without land-owning and nobility restrictions. Furthermore, the revolution itself saw an immediate change in wealth from the upper to lower classes, but this would continue with the introduction of a welfare state to provide healthcare, housing, and education for the first time. However, this did mean higher and higher taxes for all classes.

Felix D'laminet was the figurehead of the Populist movement once it reached government, however other figures such as successive Prime Ministers Henry Watford and Robert Webber, the Minister of War Henry Alark, and activists Edgard Morrison and Lewis Rhommel, played a huge part in reforms in the early 2400s. Briefly in 2411, and then in a majority government from 2415 onwards, the Socialists ruled under Elizabeth Rose, Alice Rettels, and finally Edward Broedesmore, expanding the reforms done by the Populists. The Liberals, who had been one of the two major parties pre-revolution, came back to power after 50 years in 2435 under Skylar Lawrence, however she was unable to enact many major reforms and lost out to Socialists Katelyn Roberts and Sofia Hopkins from 2441 to 2448.

The period also saw Empheri neutrality militarily and isolationism that ended with a renewal of the Empheri-Hveden Alliance, and then the Ewynnia Security Alliance (ESA) being founded with Hvede and Karkuss as members to allow for economic integration and military access. A border war with Palakkinen in 2418 triggered by their invasion of Hveden southern lands saw Palakkinen join the ESA and mediators Ahitereira-Koresa entering an economic treaty with Empherias. This period saw both the Treaty of Nieuwbourg and Treaty of Grensalbourg signed which saw a small exclave in Koresa be ceded to Empherias for their first warm water port, and the creation of the state of Grensalbourg in the east to be heavily dominated economically by Empherias, and ruled as a diarchy by one Empheri and one Palakkine person.

This period also saw the expansion of Empheri borders to the largest extension ever. Empherias annexed the neighbouring countries of Weskynn and Norsair in 2414 and 2415 respectively, integrated the Tbekien territories, bought the Gates territory from the Kingdom of Karkuss, and bought a large amount of mountainous southern land from the Hveden Federation. By 2428, they had lost land to the Treaty of Grensalbourg in a compromise, but maintained their modern day borders since.

Alaxian period
The Alaxian period is characterised by Empherias joining the High Kingdoms of Alaxia on 1 December 2448. This was pushed for by a Pro-Kloresan movement rising throughout the 2440s, spearheaded by PSP member Lukas Knight - who splits the party and wins a general election and then referendum on the subject. Following Knight's tenure, former Prime Minister Sofia Hopkins focused on huge investment in Empherias' services allowed for by better economic integration with the other Alaxian countries, economic growth, and a reduction in other industries such as farming. This saw transport infrastructure grow exponentially, education improving drastically with federal government guidelines, and a cultural revolution. The marriage of Hopkins and the Azyeri Prime Minister Jiari in 2468 was celebrated but then loathed as she left the country for long periods of time. Hopkins premiership was also record breaking for being the first transgender Prime Minister, and the longest serving since Sir Isaac Campbell.

Following Hopkins was four Prime Ministers across the next seven years, as the economy entered recession due to international circumstances. The Liberal party entered government under Scarlett May after the 2475 general election for the first time since 2441 and pursued privatisation and a brief stint of austerity to reduce any deficit. They also oversaw the increased efficiency of government and a more media-focused government with the Prime Minister attending various radio and TV shows. The Socialists returned to government in 2487 under Alistair Walker - but he was assassinated in July 2488 unexpectedly. He was succeeded by Lucy King who ruled until 2500. The majority of her time was overshadowed by the Socialist–Green coalition which saw Georgia White, leader of the Greens and Durbanist Party, as Deputy Prime Minister. Succeeding her was James Williams, who lasted until 2501.

The Liberals returned to power until William Turner winning the 2501 general election, but his time in office ended abruptly with his shock resignation in 2507 amid the outset of the largest recession ever experienced. Meanwhile, the Socialist party had collapsed, with many top officials and backers along with the federal group Red Bloq moving its support to the new Labour party. This power vacuum, with many not willing to support Labour yet, saw the Nationalists win the 2507 general election. Pippin Pierre, then later Spencer Wright, ruled until 2515 and helped grow the economy again and stop extensive damage. Labour entered power for the first time in 2515 under John Malkey - a candidate for the Red Bloq for presidency years prior - who stayed until scandals forced his resignation in 2519. The Liberal party, under Valorie Metz, have been in power ever since 2519, for the past 8 years.

Geography
Empherias is a relatively small country, located on the southern flank of the High Kingdoms of Alaxia. By surface land area, Empherias occupies 1,353,583 km2, making it the 31st largest country in the world. It is often misattributed at being a large nation (although only the 3rd largest in the HKA) due to the distortion of the globe in a map projection. The country is relatively diverse in biomes, primarily dominated by mixed forests in its lowlands around the Ewynn Valley and vast swathes of Taiga in its highlands. To the north, the country occupies a portion of the massive Grensalbourg Volcanic Field, which forms large fractures or dikes resulting in relatively steep valleys around its margins. Otherwise, the country is not geologically active at all, with sparse seismic activity near its highlands. The country is split between the Kaarad-Tbek Mountains and Eastern Durbinian Mountains, which share a similar geology though the Ewynn cuts through the two ranges. Empherias is generally mild, with frostless winters throughout much of the country and cool summers everywhere.

The largest city in terms of population is the capital, Wynnoa with a population of approximately 9 - 11 million people. It is located in the south central region on the river Ewynn. The river also sits on the bank of many other cities, such as the second largest city of Esthullen. Rommes is the third largest city, but is rivalled more recently by the much faster growing city of Gateshaven, the largest port city in the nation. Vreimer has traditionally acted as an important trading hub with the rest of the High Kingdoms and has maintained a spot as the fifth most populated. Rhequons is a traditional large city which remains the seat of many company institutions but has declined more recently to be just the eleventh most populated. Other famous cities include: Nieuwbourg, an exclave that is surrounded by the sea and Koresa and is a large port city; and Mertens, which has the lowest crime rate for any large cities.

Climate
Empherias' climate is diverse, ranging from relatively mild to extremely cold in certain areas. Snowy winters typically dominate throughout the southern half of the country, though the lowlands and north rarely ever experience freezing conditions.

Queer rights
The rights of queer people across the country has been more widespread and accepted than other countries in the world. The native Sisinic peoples that inhabited the lands were generally more accepting of fringe ideas and thus ideas such as non binary identities weren't ridiculed and socially accepted, although they never grasped widespread popularity to the slow nature of moving media and a lack of general interest.

Lesbian and gay rights
People who did not stick to regular heteronormative relationships were not ever deemed lesser throughout Empherias for most of it's history. However, through later centuries, some upper classes were inspired more by other cultures and so the practice wasn't deemed illegal nor wrong, but not given benefits in law. Homosexual marriages were not permitted initially and violence against them became more and more pronounced throughout the twenty-third century. By the 2300s, the practice had gained an underground movement and by 2318 had it's first openly homosexual establishment. The rest of the century saw many new pushes for gay and lesbian people to be treated better, bisexuality became more popular, and homosexual marriage was made legal in the early 2400s under Prime Minister Felix D'laminet.

Transgender rights
It has always been generally accepted that some people would change genders in society. Some people of the opposite sex would do stereotypical things of the opposite sex, such as going by a different name or wearing different clothing, and it was not looked down upon. Although violence grew against these people in the 2200s with the emergence of Anternian ideals and family values, there were never any legislation brought to limit them. Certain sects of intelligentsia were actually fascinated by the possibility of changing genders and sex, and the exploration of non-binary identities - these group throughout the 2300s with the re-emergence of good sentiment towards the queer community.

Sex change operations were attempted throughout the late 2300s and early 2400s although medical technology of the time did see some patients die as a result. There was legislation levied by the Conservative government of 2391 to implement measures to prevent deaths by requiring certain prerequisites for patients and doctors to go through first, although this law would later be repealed in 2403 by the Populist government.

Currently, the law dictates that in order to start the process of changing sexes, the person must be diagnosed with gender dysphoria after meeting and being approved by a psychiatrist, and must be at least 18 years old. The process of hormone therapy would be heavily monitored with blood tests and constant review by doctors and psychiatrists. A person can legally change their sex on their birth certificate as soon as they are diagnosed with gender dysphoria. All surgeries are down to the individual on whether they want to take it and most are covered by free healthcare. For some select surgeries requiring hormone therapy prior, and have major post-surgery care, they will consult with their doctors as needed.

For children, direct cross sex hormones are not permitted to be given under the age of 16. Between the ages of 16 and 18, a similar process is used as the adult but more intervention is taken by psychiatrists than usual and the parents are included in the discussion. Children below the age of 16 may be given puberty blockers, of which their effects are reversible, with psychiatric and doctor approval. As defended by the Socialist government in 2497, the PM Lucy King defended having more safeguards in measure to ensure certainty that this is the option the individual wants to pursue, but not too slow that it causes irreversible trauma and damage to their mental health.

Law and Criminal justice
Local courts would, as usual, take on all types of court cases. Certain levels of appeal would bring the case up and up. The highest court in Empherias is the High Court of Empherias with 7 chief justices. However, the High Court can be overruled, or appealed to, the Supreme Court of the High Kingdoms of Alaxia, with it's 15 chief justices.

Media
Over the last few years, many more leisure magazines, such as fashion or sports magazines have began selling extremely well, more so than many national newspapers. It is predicted that these magazines will have huge cultural impacts. For example, the Rechtjucke Magazine created a massive trend starting in 1932 for women to wear shorter and shorter skirts that has now spread nationwide with no indication of the trend slowing down. Magazines also created a massive boost in popularity for Football, with the sport overtaking the number of fencing clubs, the national sport in early 1934. Magazines will surely have a huge influence over our culture.

Football

 * See also: Empherias in Football and Empherias Football Club

The most popular sport in Empherias is football, however this hasn't always been the case. Fencing, now the second most popular sport, had held an iron grip over the nation in terms of popularity for centuries as a symbol of the culture. This domination quickly crashed down following the standardisation of football in Ahitereira, and the big culture crossover. Empherias' success early on in the High Kingdoms Football Cup and the GPA World Cup, and it's abundance in media, led to a quick takeover from Fencing to this more engaging sport. Other top sports in Empherias include Hockey, Cricket, and Skiing.

Empherias has been very successful in Football. It's football confederation was founded in early 2418. It's first international match was with Grensalbourg on 9th March 2420 but the majority of interest during this period came from the interior leagues within the nation. Empherian teams played in Ahitereiran football leagues from 2419 until 2472. It has hosted the High Kingdoms Football Cup three times, and has won the tournament on five occasions (2470, 2472, 2490, 2494, and 2496). They scored a victory consecutively two different times. The team have never come in last place. They have won the biggest victory award 6 times (2468, 2470, 2472, 2490, 2494, and 2496) with the largest of these being their 11-2 victory over Koresa in 2470. They also received the top scorer award 5 times, every time simultaneously with winning the whole event. Alex Rhommel, Harry Heron and James Maguire have each won this award once, with Mikael Rettz winning the award twice (2490 and 2494) which puts him in a second-place-tie for the person with the most top scoring awards (being tied with Miqel Davi from Ahitereira, and being beaten out by Holimer Siva from Ahitereira with a record 6 awards).

Other Sports
Fencing is a very popular sport, mainly due to it's tradition routes and link to culture. Every two years there is the Fencing Competitive Championships but these gain low viewership on television. Fencing is more predominately popular for use in schools and passive activities, rather than competitive or television play. There is no official set of rules, but guidelines produced by school curriculums. It was introduced by an old monarch to get children to learn sword fighting at a young age to gear them for war, but has since became a staple of the culture. When more modern laws were introduced and new war technology outdated the use of swords, fencing became popular through duels and young publications. Many film choreographers hire individuals from Empherias to help learn and teach the moves of traditional fencing to make movie fighting more accurate.

Hockey, Cricket and Skiing enjoy a comfy minority as a sport. Hockey is showcased at the Hockey World Cup held every 3 years, and the Empherias Hockey League held annually. Viewership is relatively low but the finals are viewed by as many as some of the most popular TV shows. Cricket isn't a very popular sport on TV and like fencing is mainly played in schools. There is no major cricket league in Empherias, but they do compete and do well in the Cricket World Cup held every 2 years. Skiing is not very popular in terms of television popularity, but is often played by people going on holiday to the mountainous south or east and trying the sport. Empherias also have a great showing in the Skiing segment of the Olympics.

Fashion
Fashion may vary considerably according to age, social class, generation and occupation. There have also been waves of popular fashion often characterised by decades and styles. Empherians have a vast number of choices in the selection of their clothes. What a person chooses to wear can reflect his or her personality or interests. When people who have high cultural status start to wear new or different styles, they may inspire a new fashion trend. People who like or respect these people are influenced by their style and begin wearing similarly styled clothes. It can be argued that Wynnoa is the fashion capital of not only Empherias, but the High Kingdoms of Alaxia, or even the entirety of Alaxia.

Tailors and dressmakers were responsible early on for innovations, while magazines, books, and later television have huge impact on sales and therefore trends in fashion. Major clothing stores in Empherias include: Merigold's, Enrommes, Leseker, Heinrettes, Kaia Kyte, and Augereau.

Women's
There are many fashion magazines that well extremely well which have large cultural impacts into fashion, especially women's fashion. For example, the Rechtjucke magazine created a massive trend for women to wear shorter skirts such as mini-skirts in the early 2430s which has continued until the modern era today.

One of the current trends is a feminisation of men fashion and a revival of older fashion. Flared and breasted trouser suits are gaining popularity in black, navy blue, purple, pink, grey, cream and tartan. Blazers and suit jackets have also peaked in popularity alongside pencil and mini skirts. Traditionally feminine clothing like maxi and gingham dresses also spiked in popularity. Tights, mainly black or white, are commonly used in formal wear.

National symbols
There are various national symbols of Empherias in terms of colours, landmarks, and regular symbols, although many are not official. Prominent colours in representing the nation include the flag colours of red, white, and blue, alongside gold in the royal standard. Pink is also sometimes correlated with the nation. The sport of fencing saw the prominence of swords in national symbolism, with butterflies or fairies also being popular folk creatures. Therefore, some works of fiction have seen fairies holding swords as popular tropes named Fyzwaards. Dolphins are the national animal. Rivers, mountains, and the northern volcanic fields, and the valleys are often symbols representing the physical geography of the nation - the river Ewynn more specifically. Sometimes, the colour red and more especially the ideas of socialism or progressivism are associated with Empherias and the wider 2395 revolution. Sometimes, alongside other High Kingdom nations, the idea of peerages and nobility is also associated.