Wedse

Wedse (Wedsen: Шедсе, Mashgal: Йãлщун) officially The Country of Wedse is a sovereign state in the north of Serica. It covers an area of 303,158 square kilometres and is inhabitated by approximately 17,280,029 inhabitants. It is composed of ten regions (Бүс нутаг), one of which is Wedse Capital, Wedse’s capital and its largest city. It is bordered by Pohunskia to the north, Suuher to the northwest, Hikyoto to the southeast, Yeukiwan to the south and Katsyria to the west. Wedsen is the country's official language.

Prehistory
Homo erectus inhabited Wedse from 250,000 years ago. Modern humans reached Wedse approximately 15,000 years ago during the Upper Paleolithic. There is clear evidence of Humans inhabiting Wedse from this period, from a painting in Ulamd’düme caves. The paining portrays several men surrounded by fields of mammoths and ostriches. There is also several other Upper Paeolithic art from several locations around Wedse, each presenting different aspects of life and what life was like back them.

The existing land of modern day Wedse was initially used for nomadism, dating back to 5500 BC. The first official tribe to be known to inhabit the area was the Dvamtajkan tribe, consisting of a population around 250. Initially, the Dvamtajkan Tribe would ride horses all across the Wedsen Plains (situated in modern day Zakhiral and Tögöldörkhuur)setting up new areas to introduce agriculture. This tribe continued to dominate, evolving into different titles until 3000 BC. During the millennia of 3000 BC, the Bkhöga people (formerly the Dvamtajkan Tribe) explored all of the Sugndatchi Mountains, and began to construct weapons and other essential items for survival. Monuments of this period are stone slaps with drawings of spears and mountains, which are assumed to be the Sugndatchi Mountains.

As the second millennium BC arrived, nomadism became somewhat extinct, since many tribes had decided to settle. The newer tribes exploring Wedse were commonly originated from Eastern Amelia (now Eastern Katsyria), which could imply that millions of Wedsen civilians today have Amelian ancestory. Tribes would forge for Wood and other metals in aim of building small low quality huts, and would still find sources of food by hunting. Agriculture continued to be dominant through the BC’s, this was also boosted by the Amelian nomads who brought new types of crops into Wedse, which can still be seen grown today.

Throughout the millennial of 1000 BC, Wedse experienced several changes. The land which was still unclaimed by any official country was fought over by the Amelians and the tribes inhabiting the area. This lead to the first assembly of several tribes inhabiting the Wedsen Plains, as they came together to fight of the Amelian warriors. The war ended with the tribes defeating the Amelian warriors - which allowed tribes to build relationships with each over. These tribes would cooperate with each over, exchanging materials and food. Specifically the two most dominant tribes, Bkhöga and Chena, were the most biggest tribes in the borders of modern day Wedse and also had the most agriculture. These two tribes would soon form to become the first form of Wedse.

The tribes continued to develop their communities over the several hundreds of years, each minding each overs business, apart from trading. Tribes such as Achengoga and Btakhë were merging to develop their communities together, which initially sparked the idea of a unified state full of tribes. In 762, the two largest states within the central Serican region, Bkhöga and Chena began their first formal discussion of unifying. Their aim was to decrease the chances of being invaded again, since the Serican continent was becoming heavily populated with new nations.

Soon, in 804, the discussions finally ended and the Bkhöga and Chena tribes formed to create ‘The Wedic People State’. The population was small - only around 2,430 inhabitants, and was located in the modern day Chuluulag Region in Wedse. The name, which is also a demonym, ‘Wedic’ derived from the two tribes basically ‘marrying’ since they had established relations over a thousand years before. In the old language of Bkhöga called ‘Makar’, ‘Wedia’ translates to Everish as ‘to marry without force’.

Over the following 50 years, The Wedic People State encourages other tribes who had also formed their own cooperated states, to join their state so that the population and presence within Fantasia would increase. In 863, The Country of Zakhiral (previously the tribes of Manüba, Fa and Zhelini) merged with The Wedic People State, which boosted the population by around 4,200.

Politics
Wedse is a unitary parliamentary republic. The current prime minister is Ri-Chun Hee. The Wedsen legislature is the Parliament divided into the Deed Baishin and Namkhan Baishin.

General

 * You become a legal adult at age 20.
 * You can obtain a driver's license at age 17.
 * The age of consent is 18.
 * The legal age of marriage is 21.
 * Capital punishment is used but rarely carried out.
 * Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide are illegal.
 * Pornography is legal with heavy regulation.
 * Gambling is illegal except for on July 31st, Wedse's independence day.

Suffrage

 * The legal voting age is 14.

Gun laws

 * In Wedse, the only weapons that are legal are Dao Swords. Any eligible citizen can obtain a weapons license provided they are 25 years and older.

Drug laws

 * Alcohol (<15% by volume) is legal and restricted for those 18 years and older.
 * Alcohol (>15% by volume) is illegal.
 * Nicotine and Tobacco products are legal and restricted for those 24 years and older.
 * Cannabis is illegal.

Abortion laws

 * In Wedse, abortion is legal, however it is not widely accepted and there is heavy stigma towards women who choose to have one.
 * A woman is expected to pay for the abortion with her own funds.
 * Abortion is legal up to 12 weeks from conception.
 * Abortion is legal in the case of fetal defects.
 * Abortion is legal in the case of rape and where the mother's life may be threatened, and costs are covered by the state.
 * Abortion is regulated by the state. Only public hospitals are allowed to perform it and are obliged by law to give extra counselling/therapy to women in order to deal with the abortion.

LGBT rights

 * Same sex activity is legal in Wedse, and there is no social stigma towards the LGBT community.
 * Changing one's gender is illegal.

Military

 * Approximately 0.1-0.9% of Wedse's GDP is spent on the military annually.
 * Women are permitted to serve in the armed forces.
 * Conscription is not enforced.

Freedom of Speech

 * Freedom of speech is granted to all citizens constitutionally.
 * It is legal to criticize the government.
 * Online speech falls under Freedom of Speech.
 * Laws concerning hate speech do exist but are not well enforced.
 * Laws concerning the incitement of violence do exist.
 * The press is considered as completely free.
 * There is some censorship online by the government.

Military
From 2018 to December 2019, Wedse had only a small military of 346 soldiers, and 4 aircrafts, 17 military vehicles , and two guns per soldier. Stated in the county's constitution, "a military is completely unessential to a happy life, even in the immediate threat of war. However, we still need to protect ourselves in case of emergencies, which is why we have an extremely small military." The issue of weaponry is well debated among the leaders and the remainder of the civilians of Wedse. Weapons, at the moment, are exclusive to the countries military although there are strong campaigns from political parties of Wedse to ban all weaponry, so no country should feel like they should attack us.

In January of 2020, The Wedsen Government decided to take a different approach to their military. The slogan ‘Bigger Is Better’ was published all around the country, as a form of propaganda and advertisement. The aim was to encourage as many people as possible to join the Wedsen Army. The first two months of advertising proved to be a success, as over 22,000 people across the country signed up for the army. All this happened just before the 2020 Wedsen offensive into Eastern Yster. 28th of February 2020 was the key event during this inflow of Military personnel. Over 300 Military vehicles were imported from Fordia, with a permanent contract signed by the Armed forces of Wedse.

Administrative divisions
The major administrative divisions in Wedse are ten regions.

Climate
Wedse is known as the "Land of the Eternal Blue Sky" or "Country of Blue Sky" (Wedsen: "Mönkh khökh tengeriin oron") because it has over 250 sunny days a year.

Most of the country is hot in the summer and extremely cold in the winter, with January averages dropping as low as −30 °C (−22 °F). A vast front of cold, heavy, shallow air comes in from Flírskmasto in winter and collects in river valleys and low basins causing very cold temperatures while slopes of mountains are much warmer due to the effects of temperature inversion (temperature increases with altitude).

The country is subject to occasional harsh climatic conditions known as zud. Zud, which is a natural disaster unique to Wedse, results in large proportions of the country's livestock dying from starvation or freezing temperatures or both, resulting in economic upheaval for the largely pastoral population. The annual average temperature in Wedse Capital in the winter is −13.3 °C, making it one of the world's coldest capital cities.

Wedse is high, cold and windy in the North, west and central part of the country. It has an extreme continental climate with long, cold winters and hot summers, during which most of its annual precipitation falls. Precipitation is highest in the north and along the border with Katsyria(average of 200 to 350 millimeters (8 to 14 in) per year) and lowest in the south and east, which receives 100 to 200 millimeters (4 to 8 in) annually.



Wildlife
The name "Tsöl" is a Wedsen term for a desert steppe, which usually refers to a category of arid rangeland with insufficient vegetation to support marmots but with enough to support camels. Wedsens distinguish Tsöl from desert proper, although the distinction is not always apparent to outsiders unfamiliar with the Wedsen landscape. The Tsöl rangelands are usually quite fragile and easily damageable due to the use of overgrazing heaving common within the country. This causes not even the Camels to survive in these counditions. The arid conditions in the Tsöl are attributed to the rain shadow effect caused by the Sugndatchi Mountains.

Flora
Wedsen flora has remained undisturbed for centuries, in areas of pristine vegetetion, often the last of its kind in the world of Fantasia. The Wedsen steppe is unsurpassed as an open pastureland and various types of grasses thrive on different ground and landscape conditions – from mountain to meadow steppe. There are many different types of steppe – generally named after the geographical terrain or a predominant plant species. Formations and colonies of plants live in harmony with the soil and climate, where the only danger apart from the severe climate is from natural forest fires or desertification. Certain plants like peonies thrive in shady or cool places, while others, like saxifrage, like to live on dry slopes exposed to the parching wind and powerful sun.

Demographics
Wedse’s total population as of January 2021 is to be 17,280,029 people, ranking around 48th in the world of Fantasia. There are estimates made by the Wedsen National Statistical Office that show Wedse’s population growth rate is estimated at 1.2% (2018 est.). About 62% of the total population is under age 30, 34% of whom are under 14. This relatively young and growing population has placed strains on Wedse's economy, however this recovered quickly due to the new findings of oil within the countries borders.

The first census in the 21st century was carried out in 2020 and recorded a population of 17,280,029.Since the beginning of socialism, Wedse has experienced an increase of total fertility rate (children per woman) that is steeper than in any other country in the world, according to recent WNSO estimations: in 1980–1985, fertility was estimated to be 2.4 children per woman, rising to about 7.4 in 2000–2005. This has continued and is expected to level off in the mid 2030’s, depending on the political status of the country.

Ethnic Wedsens account for about 92% of the population and consist of Mashgals and other groups, all distinguished primarily by dialects of the Wedsen language, and the isolate Mashgal language, heavily used in the Chuluulag region. The Mashgal make up 13% of the ethnic Wedsen population. The remaining 87% include primarily Wedsen people. Flírsk people constitute 3.5% of Wedse’s population, and the rest are Lakadamian, Neocastrian, Katsyrian and many more smaller populated nationalities.

Languages
The official language of Wedse is Wedsen, and is spoken by 98% of the population, as well as Koran which makes up another 90%. A variety of dialects of Wedsen and Koran are spoken across the country, and there are also some speakers of Old Wedsen. In the west of the country, Mashgal is heavily used, specifically in Chuluulag and some parts of Zakhiral. In these regions, over 84% of the population are fluent, with Wedsen acting as their second language.

Today, Wedsen is written using the Wedsen alphabet in Wedse, and Koran the Koran alphabet, although in the past Wedsen was written using the Old Wedse script. An official reintroduction of the old script was planned for 2021, but has not taken place as older generations encountered practical difficulties. Schools have been in discussion to reinstate the old alphabet, for the future generations to come. However, talks have been slow and there have been many disadvantages of enforcing this into society.

Flírsk is the most frequently spoken foreign language in Wedse, followed by Everish, although Everish isn’t an official language of Wedse. It is believed about 70-80% of the population in Wedse can speak Flírsk to a good degree, whereas English speakers in the country are estimated to be around 40%. In total, some thousands of Wedsen citizens are fluent in at least 4 languages, which has been helped by the high education system within the country. Lakadamian is the main foreign language choice for students in education, with over 86% of students aged 9-19 being able to speak Lakadamian to a good level. All these figures are likely to increase in the future as Wedse strives to become a more multilingual country.