Copake

The Republic of Copake is a country in Crona. It was established in 2025 from lands of the Venua'tino mandate of the League of Nations. The peoples of Copake have shared cultural similarities since the medieval period, when they became politically divided following the end of Quetzen trade city hegemony. The establishment of the League mandate in 1967 began a fraught process of state building which culminated in the Republic's independence in the 2020s.

Although not formally organized as such, Copake is considered by many nations and observers to be a benefactor confederacy under Urcean leadership. Copake is a member of the Nysdra Sea Treaty Association.

Etymology
Copake is thought by most etymologists to mean "snake pond" in the Eastern Venua, originating from Cook-pake, or Ack-kook-peek. Many historians and local sources are divided on what this term signifies, but most believe it to originally be a tongue-in-cheek reference to either the geopolitics or culture of the people living in the region as opposed to a real geographic feature.

Geography
Copake sits at the northeastern corner of the Nysdra Sea in northern Crona, and is one of the world's northernmost countries. The country is divided into a southern peninsular region which shoots out into the Nysdra Sea and curls to the southeast, and an inland region which extends in a hook shape from west to east. The peninsular region has a very low-lying coast, but the rest of the country is relatively uniformly flat in terms of topography. The nation's climate is primarily, with only the peninsular lowlands experiencing warm temperatures during the peak of summer. Accordingly, the coastal lowlands are the primary population center of the country. Much of this region is deforested and has several major population centers relative to their latitude. The climate in this region and ready availability of fish has allowed Copake to sustain a very large population relative to its latitude; it is comparably dense to Vithinja in some portions of the country. The majority of the inland region is heavily forested with and other comparable trees.

Early history
Although Eastern Venua'tino had been settled by various peoples since at least 1000 BC, Copake is the first independent state established in this territory. Major cities and tribal nations were subject to the so-called Venua Empire in, and the region faced loose Quetzen hegemony during the medieval period. The rise of a unified Quetzenkel and end of the Quetzen mercantile cities lead to a period of self rule and lack of centralized state organization, and from then on the modern country's borders has largely been divided into shifting leagues of the country's major population centers. Despite the political division, the region developed a generally cohesive culture with some local differences, and developed a shared language known internationally as "Eastern Venua".

State formation and mandate
In 1967, the League of Nations voted to establish an international mandate over Venua'tino which would eventually come under the protection of Urcea. Of the land so designated, Copake made up the vast majority of the habitable, non-tundra territory within the Mandate. The Urceans began a the project of forging a federated state in Eastern Venua'tino which would be able to represent the region on the world stage in 1980. The project involved significant cultural exchanges and efforts to forge local unity between political and cultural leaders, a four-decade long process that included politically contentious economic and educational investments by Urcea. Negotiations began to transfer sovereignty to a self-governing state began in 2015 against the backdrop of The Deluge. These proceedings were halted by the Final War of the Deluge and several skirmishes between rival parties took place during the conflict, slowing progress. An agreement was finally reached with the Treaty of Halfway in 2024. On 1 January 2025, the Republic of Copake was officially formed. The Republic is currently in the process of creating an initial constitution, currently being governed on a provisional basis under the terms of the Treaty.

Culture
Despite centuries of being organized under different polities, necessary trade and proximity interactions have made Copake's regional cultural groups relatively closely aligned.

Copake culture is noted as being extremely oriented towards a sense of geography and place, especially with respect to the Nysdra Sea. With the introduction of Occidental style maps into the country, the term "Northeastern" (its position in the Nysdra Sea) has become a common adjective used to describe things related to Copake. Although the preferred adjective for cultural, national, and individual purposes remains "Copaish", "Northeastern" is used to describe some government and public institutions, such as the military. In this context, "Northeastern" is often used in the same sense that other countries might use "National" as an adjective for their institutions, such as "national army" or "national government".

Demographics
Copake is the most populous country on the northern part of the Sea of Nysdra.

Economy
One of the major historic industries of Copake is fishing. The Copake economy is considered developing.

The post-independence construction of local infrastructure in support of the neighboring International Nature Preserve has made Copake a minor tourist destination and one of the major entrypoints for the Preserve by international travelers. The presence of these tourists and travelers, and the businesses erected to offer services to them, has had a major positive impact on Copake's economy.

Military
In practice, Copake has no armed forces. However, legislation enacted by the provisional government has organized the Northeastern Army and Northeastern Air Corps, which it intends to be fully staffed and equipped by 2040. The Northeastern Army is envisioned to be comprised of 9,000 men organized into three brigades. The Northeastern Air Corps is intended to be comprised of 1,200 men primarily operating helicopters. The Copake government has reached an agreement to buy significant military surplus from Urcea to initially equip the military and is actively contracting with manufacturers in Urcea for replacement parts as well as upgrades.

Copake is a participating member of the Nysdra Sea Guard (NSG), which serves as the nation's navy along with other full members of NSTA. Copake, as a new nation without a significant maritime tradition, has sent many fishermen to Levantia for training in naval affairs in order to take part in the NSG.