Ulikana

Ulikana (Ulikya: Улика) officially The Union of the People’s Councils of Ulikana is a sovereign state in southern Wulfor. It borders Dorma to the north and Lab Rador to the east. Its capital is Oustone and its largest city is Clabassaville. At 90,694 square kilometres, it is the 83rd largest nation in Fantasia, which makes it one of the smallest out of all 114. It is the fourth-smallest in southern Wulfor, following Lab Rador, Tremenoria, and the Harish Islands.

The nation is a founding member of both the Fantasian Organization for Indigenous Recognition and the Fantasian Union of Socialist Nations.

History
The history of the union of councils began well before the written era, but oral folkloric teachings and events have been recorded over time.

Prehistoric Ulikana
Excavations surrounding the River Bambat in the southern part of the union reveal evidence that early humans lived in the area now known as Ulikana. These early humans were proved to be direct descendants of primates similar to neanderthals, possibly even Homo erectus. These early humans had no biological differences to today's fantasians, but lived much different lives. They lived as hunter-gatherers for tens of thousands of years, unable to find land arable enough to stay in. They lived through much of the early Wulforic era in this manner. By the time the first empires across Wulfor and Lakadasia formed, like in Evergreen, Tsytria, and Lakadamia, Ulyck people had begun to form tribes. It was during this time that we can see the earliest forms of Ulyck society and language.

Tribal Era
The first tribe to form in Ulikana were the Eniyanrere. They originally formed settlements around Lake Shelle where plants like papaya and cacao could prosper. The tribe had also developed technology advanced enough to capture dolphins, which were native to the lake. Dolphin soon became an essential part of the Eniyan food basket. Towns soon began to form and neighboring bands of hunter-gatherers residing in what is now Lab Rador, Moowaus, and Vacansa migrated to Eniyanrere towns to form societies. With this, the Eniyan language began to diversify and become more complex. Later in the Tribal Era, new members would be unable to communicate with the complex form of Enyian, which led to a decrease in migration and tribal "naturalization".

The next tribe to form on Ulyck land were the Uhie Uhie. This tribe formed out of hunter-gatherer families who settled near the basin of the River Intal. The treacherous weather of the region (which is now in the southern tip of Dorma) caused the tribe to migrate further southwest as the years went on, eventually establishing a city in what is now Josaka. Josaka is consequently one of the oldest settlements in Fantasia still existing to this day, and attracts a number of tourists today due to the Uhie ruins that can be found scattered all over the city. Uhie language also developed similar complexity to that of Eniyan, which caused the same issue of miscommunication among bands of hunter-gatherers.

During the later tribal era, other smaller tribes in small regions scattered all over Ulyck land (mostly near rivers) formed, like the Saniba near present-day Tenoch, but these tribes lacked the technology that allowed for Enyan and Uhie populations to stretch into the millions and dominate the culture and politics of the region. Enyan and Uhie societies were able to harness resources like stone, wood, iron, gold, and ivory to create infrastructure and defense similar to that of feudal-era Juliana. While largely peaceful and isolationist, Enyan and Uhie societies are considered one of the largest world powers to have existed prior to industrialization. Systems such as the use of plants for medicine and modern mathematics can be credited to early Enyan and Uhie achievements.

Early Era of Exploration and the Elder and the Missionary
During the beginning of the Feudal Era in northern Wulfor and Lakadamia, further developed societies began to explore past their borders, with nations like Ninelie and Fordia building ships able to travel hundreds of miles over periods of many months. Ninelie and Lakadamia were the first to launch an expedition in the direction of Ulikana, unaware of lands existing past the southern Ulyck coast, which had been filled with small uncontacted tribes.

Uhie people had yet to develop ships for exploration in the same vein as these nations, therefore their exposure to culture outside of neighboring tribes was close to nonexistent. The first Nineliese-Lakadamian missions to land at an Uhie port were met with lethal conflict, with both outside missions and native Uhie people arming themselves out of fear. A similar mission also launched by the two nations happened to land past the northern extent of Uhie lands and contacted the Uhie while traveling by land. With assistance from outer tribes, the Lakadamians and Uhie were able to build a rapport. The Uhie soon figured out their enemies to the south were sent by the same nations, and a cease-fire was agreed upon. The Nineliese and Lakadamian crews from both missions were transported to Josaka to meet Uhie leadership, which was still somewhat loose, comprising of elders from each Uhie settlement.

Upon arrival in Josaka, the foreign crews encountered similar issues of difficult communication. A crew member from the Lakadamian mission, whose grandparents were Jullianoise and who had a rudimentary understanding of the Jullianoise language, began to teach it to an Uhie elder. The elder was able to comprehend the concepts of Jullianoise far easier than that of Nineliese or Lakadamian, and translation soon became easier. Since the crew member and the elder were both low in the social standings of their societies, their names were not recorded as often, and are still not well known. They are often referred to as the Elder and the Missionary, and statues of their presumed likeness are erected all over the modern-day union.

The Josak Agreements
Uhie society began to trade with both the Lakadamian and Nineliese, using broken Jullianoise as a form of communication. The nation-states were not particularly close with the tribe, but did have an open line of communication that was mostly friendly. During this time, Uhie missions were sent to contact other tribes and inform them of the existence of lands beyond their coast. With the trading agreements reached with the two nation-states, Uhie leadership sent an Uhie mission by sea to discover more lands. The first Uhie mission traveled south around the tip of southern Wulfor and landed south of current-day Vacansa. The Uhie established an outpost a few kilometers south of the southern border of Vacansa for ease of trading. Uhie missions contacting tribes by land soon reached the outpost on the other side of the continent and a new Ulyck map was developed, revealing the fact that Ulyck tribes were in fact on what was then thought of as a peninsula.

This new knowledge led the tribes to meet in what is now Aisgarth, but what was then D'Janfoto, the "capital city" of the Enyan tribe. They held what is know known as the Ulyck Tribal Congress, where they agreed upon creating a confederacy, aimed at protecting the interests of the tribe from what was referred to as the "unknown powers of the North". Fourteen tribes agreed to this confederacy, spanning the whole of southern Wulfor, as well as Ninelie and a then-independent Sothala. The agreement was formalized during a second meeting at Josaka, where the first iteration of Unio Ulikano was formed in what is now referred to as the Josak Agreements.

Era of Industrialization and Ulyck response to imperialism
The global era brought upon the earliest forms of imperialism, with the Lakadamian takeover of Sothala for use as a strategic port. Mainland Ulikana immediately quasi-militarized in response to early aggression from the Lakadasian nation. Having already secured an important relationship with two early industrial nations, Ulikana was one of the first nations in Wulfor to use steam and water power to produce electricity. Factories in Ulikana were first opened in cities close to its coast, like Nalagac and Arcodenna. The second Ulyck Tribal Congress (or UTC for short) brought twelve of the fourteen tribes together again to establish the Industrial Republic of Ekwalika. This was the first republic (by modern standards) to be established in Ulikana. The era of this republic saw an increased form of militarization for the nation in order to fend off increased imperialism. The twelve Ulyck tribes were able to fend off colonial attempts from Beklium, Torlova, and Scandavia with the support of its two allies. Lakadamia, with whom the Ulyck had a strained relationship, avoided attempts at colonialism out of fear of potential war with Ninelie, a close ally of the nation.

During the height of this period of Ulyck industrialization, two more tribes voted to exit the Republic to great controversy. The minority tribes felt underappreciated in government which was largely controlled by the Uhie Uhie at the time. One year after the exit of those tribes, the UTC enacted multiple laws to ensure they accurately represented the populations of all participating tribes.

Towards the end of the era of industrialization, the nation of Evergreen, with military and financial support from a recently independent United States of Eldance, began to explore the waters near Ulikana and southern Wulfor. This alarmed the government of Ekwalika, and they immediately called on Ninelie for support.

Everish Colonization and The Great Tremors
TBA

The Red Revolution
TBA

Modern Era and Mass Migration
TBA

Politics
Ulikana is a unitary Marxist-Leninist parliamentary republic. The current head of state, whose title is Minister of Foreign Affairs, is Adelola Oluwole. The current head of government is Saara Johnsson. The Ulikan legislature is known as the Assembly of the Union.

General

 * You become a legal adult at age 16.
 * You can obtain a driver's license at age 16.
 * The age of consent is 18.
 * The legal age of marriage is 19.
 * Capital punishment is illegal.
 * Euthanasia is illegal, but doctor-assisted suicide is legal.
 * Pornography is legal with no restrictions.
 * Gambling is theoretically legal (with age restriction), but gambling in public spaces like casinos or online are illegal. This has been compared to the policy of drug decriminalization.

Suffrage

 * The legal voting age is 14.
 * The legal age to hold office is 18.
 * All genders and religious affiliations are allowed to vote.
 * Suffrage is legal regardless of citizenship status.
 * As the nation is a dictatorship of the proletariat, any citizen who was a landlord, a shareholder, or made more than 250 thousand value a year prior to the founding of the union has been barred from voting or participating in electoral politics for three generations.

Gun laws

 * In Ulikana, weapons are legal to all those who can obtain a licence.
 * The legal age to hold a licence is 21.
 * There is no armed law enforcement. Civilians wishing to arm themselves must undergo rigorous mental health evaluations and wait around 1 month, depending on weapon and evaluation results.

Drug laws

 * Alcohol (<15% by volume) is legal, regulated by the state, and restricted to two drinks for those 14 years and older. People aged 16 and older can consume unlimited amounts.
 * Alcohol (>15% by volume) is legal, regulated by the state, and restricted for those 18 years and older.
 * Nicotine and Tobacco products are legal, regulated by the state, and restricted for those 18 years and older.
 * Cannabis is legal for all uses, regulated by the state, and restricted to those 16 years and older.
 * The consumption of nicotine and hard drugs is legal, but the distribution of these drugs is illegal. This is done to help erase the stigma around seeking help for addiction.

Abortion laws

 * In Ulikana, all abortions are legal and costs are covered by the state. There is no stigma surrounding abortions.
 * There are no time limits to when an abortion can be performed in the case of rape, incest, fetal defects, or the health of the mother.
 * The time limit to abortions performed for personal reasons is 28 weeks.
 * Public hospitals are the only hospitals allowed to perform abortions, as proper counseling and therapy can be provided.

LGBT rights

 * Same-sex activity is legal in Ulikana. There is no stigma surrounding LGBT rights in the union.
 * The age of consent for same-sex intercourse is the same as heterosexual intercourse.
 * The LGBT community has the freedom of expression.
 * The LGBT community is protected by law from discrimination.
 * Same-sex marriage is legal everywhere in the union. LGBT people can adopt children with the same rights as heterosexual couples.
 * Changing one's gender is legal. For minors, changing one's gender is legal upon the approval of a "doctor or guardian". This can be a physician, mental health professional, social worker, school guidance counselor, or legal guardian. As long as there is the approval of an adult, a parent's approval isn't necessary.
 * Seven genders are recognized by law. There are the standard man (M) and woman (W) classifications. There is culturally non-binary (N), for genders existing in tribal or indigenous cultures not accepted by society-at-large. The agender (A) classification applies to people who feel removed from the idea of gender altogether. The gender-fluid (F) classification exists for people who occupy multiple gender expressions at different times. The genderqueer (Q) classification exists as an "other" for people who may not identify with any other prior classifications. It is usually assigned at birth upon request and often transitions to the non-binary (X) classification upon adolescence, as both classifications are equally as malleable.

Military

 * While the nation has no armed forces, it is considered a target by many capitalist nations, therefore it maintains an army reserve, whose members all work outside of serving, and who are serving solely in case of an emergency. The closest thing Ulikana has to an active military is an agreement with Ximbala's navy to patrol the waters surrounding Ulikana, and with Ximbala's marines to build a base at Tenoch.
 * Approximately 0.1%-0.9% of Ulikana's GDP is spent on the military annually.
 * Conscription is not enforced or practiced.

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 are detailed and heavily enforced. Hate speech is not protected as part of free speech.
 * Incitement of violence is not protected as part of free speech.
 * The press is considered as mostly free, although journalism is considered slightly more censored than art, activism, or online activity.