Vachena

Vachena (Vachenan: Vaĉina) was a country in the north-westernmost corner of Sarpedon. It was bordered by Cartadania to the east and the Font Republic to the south.

From antiquity through the early medieval period, Vachena was inhabited by a Tainean people referred to today as proto-Vachenans. The Kingdom of Vachena was founded by seaborne raiding parties from Gothica in the 11th century. For many centuries Vachena was primarily associated with the maritime peoples surrounding the Odoneru Ocean and developed a large number of coastal trading ports. In 1474, Caphiria conquered Vachena within three months as a result of the Battle of Cicero Plateau. The Province of Vachena (Provincia Vachetania) was formed and formed a close relationship with neighboring Cartadania - also a Caphirian province - during the period of occupation. The country regained independence in 1833 during the romantic era as a Republic. The Republic was eventually overthrown by a military junta which lasted from 1909 until the end of Vachena's independence in the Great War. After the war, the country was annexed by Cartadania.

After being wrought with sociopolitical issues and conflict, a period of rapid economic growth occurred in the beginning of the 20th century while the new military government greatly improved national infrastructure, governance, and social services. Prior to the Great War, it was a major exporter of machines, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and automobiles.

Geography

Vachena is a roughly diamond-shaped tropical nation located on the north-westernmost area of the continent Ixnay. It has an area of 1,465,130 km2 (565,690 sq mi), approximately 1.6% of (23442 km2, 9051 sq mi) is water, located between the latitudes 5° S and 11° N, and longitudes 105° and 89° W. To the south Vachena has a border with Pelaxia 1,011 km (628 mi) long, and a border to the east with Insui, 1,113 km (692 mi) long. Additional maritime borders include Umcara to the north, Keronia, Horholme, and the Burgundian island of Sturmhavn all to the west.

The Ardes stretch in to central Vachena from the crossroads of the Insuian and Pelaxian borders. The Capalnin Mountains area less impressive but lie entirely within Vachena along the north and northwest. Vachena's highest mountain, the stratovolcano Desarca, is located along the Ardes, and has a height of 4,492 m (14,738 ft) above sea level. The 2,067 km (1284 mi) long Celet River is the longest in Vachena, entering from Insui and crossing the central hilly Karst area known as Colinia before emptying in to the Gulf of Vachena. While not as the long, the Katarina River is arguably more important, accommodating a large percentage of the Vachenan population, including the metropolitan area and capital of Marcus. The coastline of the country is 6523 km (1282 mi) long. The important adjacent minor bodies of water are the Castian Gulf near Insui, John's Bay to the north, the Gulf of Vachena in the south, and Font Bay near Pelaxia. Lake Lapusnic is the largest in the nation, being 487 km2 or 188 sq mi.

The country is located along major Ixnayan and Odoneru tectonic plates, resulting in fairly large amounts of seismic and volcanic activity. There are 27 volcanoes in Vachena, 8 of which are active. Much of the countries mountains, islands, and geographic features have been the result of volcanic activity. Major earthquakes and eruptions occur and have resulted in natural disasters, most recently in the 2009 eruption of Nicola that halted a large amount of air traffic over Vachena for several weeks. The Stegias Caverns is among the most extensive known cave systems, stretching 354 km (220 mi) beneath Colinia. There are four "major" islands of Vachena. They are, from northernmost to southernmost, Triumph Island, Graunascen, Eute Island, and Matthurbita Island. Graunascen is the tallest of them, having a peak of 2,142 m (7,028 ft). Matthurbita is the most flat and populous with 1,164,000 inhabitants, more than tenfold the other three islands combined.

Fauna

The presence of multiple mountain ranges and other geographic boundaries causes Vachena to have numerous distinct bioregions and relatively endemic wildlife. 18,000 species of animals have been identified in Vachena, and the flora is similarly constrained. The coastal and central regions are an important habitat for a large amount of endangered or threatened species, however the inner region's inhospitably has resulted in very little human contact and minimal loss of habitat. The status of most specific species is not well known due to difficulty in obtaining information on animal population, migration, and other details. The Vachenan government has taken steps since the 1990s to combat environmental damage caused by industrialization, successfully reintroducing several extirpated species and establishing a number of nature reserves, which are now quite popular for safaris by both Vachenans and internationals. The cougar is the national animal of Vachena and the only big cat indigenous it.

Climate

As a consequence of the nation's varied altitudes zones, the climate zones of Vachena are quite diverse. Most of the southern regions close to Pelaxia are tropical savanna (Aw), while the central and northwestern regions, including Colinia, are primarily humid subtropical or temperate oceanic. Near border with Insui is Fornacem, a 39,446 km2 (15,230 sq mi) stretch of desert created by the rainshadow effect of the Ardes, where some of the highest temperatures have been record. More inland areas are semi-arid or subtropical highland.

Politics

Government

Vachena is a representative democracy with a unitary semi-presidential government. The constitution of Vachena, adopted in on 9 January 1984, establishes the framework of the Vachenan Government and acts as the guiding legal document that all facets of government are bound by. The government is divided in to executive, legislative, and judicial branches, although Vachena does not maintain as significant a division between them as other nations. The leader of the government as a whole is the president, currently Rufus Antony. The chief executive, currently George Geta, is the head of government, appointed by the president with the consent of the Senate.

The Vachenan Parliament is the bicameral national legislature. Vested in it is the ability to enact law, declare war, ratify treaties and membership in international organizations, and determine the budget of the Vachenan Government. The National Assembly (Adunare Nationalis) is the lower house of Parliament, and it's members are elected in local elections in voting districts that typically send 1-5 based on their population. Voting districts for urban areas can be higher. The Senate is the upper house of Vachena, and most of its members are elected by a nationwide proportional system. A small number of others are Life Senators, who are appointed by the president for outstanding contributions in public service, scientific, creative, medical, or literary fields.

The Executive Administration of Vachena is defined by the constitution as the holder of executive power within the Vachenan Government. It is responsible for carrying out and ensuring the continuation of governance by enforcing law. The Executive Administration is composed of a number of ministries, departments, offices, and committees, including the Cabinet, which can be dismissed with a vote of no confidence by the parliament. The Chief Executive of Vachena is the head of the Executive Administration and the seniormost cabinet member. Unlike most semi-presidential and parliamentary systems, the head of state (President) usually holds most of the influence within the government. In practice the chief executive acts as the seniormost assistant to the president, ensuring the continual operation of the machinery of government on a day-to-day basis in a manner similar to a chief of staff or presidium. The chief executive may also act in place of the president in certain functions as well as in the event of the president's incapacitation or death.

The Judiciary of Vachena is chiefly responsible for interpreting and applying the law of Vachena. It has the ability to annul laws that are deemed unconstitutional. The supreme court of Vachena is the highest court and its members are nominated by the president. The lesser courts are appointed on a provincial level. The Prosecutor General of Vachena is an independent office and the seniormost member of the Vachenan judiciary.

Law

A mixture of Roman and Napoleonic Law forms the basis of the Vachenan legal/judicial system. It is a civil legal system; as a result, judges have no official ability to set precedent and do not observe it, in contrast with common law systems. In some areas the variation in judicial action varies significantly, even similar situations, such as in lesser criminal courts. Codified rule of law is long ingrained in to Vachenan governance, with origins in the proto-Vachenan city-state governments. In order for law to be applicable, it must be added to the Code of Laws of the Vachenan Republic. It is maintained by the Department of Records and contains all active Vachenan statutes of government, composed of 40 titles. Vachenan law is broadly defined in to civil, criminal, and adminstrative law. Civil law is focused primarily on interaction between agents, including private and commercial law. Criminal law is now distinct from civil law, differentiated primarily by usage of "professional juries," similar to a panel of multiple judges, but not an actual part of the judiciary, and an adversarial system more common in common law systems. Administrative law guides the activities of the government and defines its structure through constitutional law.

Title II of the Vachenan Constitution is a bill of rights, one of the longest, and includes guarantees of life, liberty, equality, thought, expression, and suffrage, amongst others.

Religious freedom is assured by the government as a logical consequence of title II freedom of thought. The government is secular, although there are some historic references to religion and god that is retained for traditional reason. Tax-exempt charitable organizations are not permitted to be religious in nature, while religious organizations are recognized as nonprofit organizations. The religious bodies and leaders associated with some movements that the government has identified as dangerous have been sanctioned, including those of Wahhabism and Zheaniism. The judiciary of Vachena has ruled “morality” laws as unconstitutional on multiple occasions. In place of them, Vachena has adopted laws of “common decency” targeting anti-social behavior. There is additional, similar legislation targeting racism and forms other discrimination based on caste, disability, nationality, gender, and sexual orientation. Same-sex marriage and LGBT adoption are both legal in Vachena. The wearing of conspicuous religious symbols is not permitted for anyone holding public office. In 2024 the Parliament enacted legislation that bans face-covering Islamic veils, or hijab, in public.

The manufacturing, use, and sale of cannabis has been legal since 18 May 2008. After a successful transition to a regulated system similar to alcohol and tobacco, many other drugs were legalized in a similar manner. Prostitution, euthanasia, and abortion are also legal in Vachena, subject to government regulation. There are an estimated 32.4 guns per 100 residents. Shotguns, handguns, and rifles chambered for powerful cartridges may be purchased with appropriate licenses. Purchasing of most intermediate cartridge long guns and some others require only valid government ID and a firearm safety training card. Automatic weapons, high-capacity magazines, and semi-automatic shotguns are all considered non-permissible for civilian ownership. Vachena has an intentional homicide rate of 3.6 per year per 100,000 residents.

Policing in Vachena is centralized on a national level. The National Police (Politia National) is the country's primary centralized civilian police service. The National Police is part of the Ministry of Justice and is responsible for most regular police duties, such as patrolling the nation's highways, performing investigations, and apprehending fugitives. It is divided into a number of divisions responsible for general policing of a certain region of the country or for a specific purpose, such as in the case of the National Cybercrime Division. Other law enforcement units include the State Protective Service (SPS) under the Ministry of Interior, responsible for the protection of the President and other important officials; the Commerce and Export Police who ensure that all restrictions on international trade are followed, primary concerning goods such as weapons and military technology; and the National Security Corps, a paramilitary that protects very sensitive material such as nuclear material and extremely dangerous pathogens.

Foreign Relations

“ ...the guiding principles of our democracy, liberty and equality, are very much products for export. Claiming otherwise would be contradictory to everything those ideas stand for. ” —Horatius Basson

Since the founding of the new government in 1984 Vachena has pursued a policy of increased participation in multilateral international politics. A large amount of political and economic connections remain between Vachena and Heku, which Vachena was a province of for many centuries. The nation was a founding member of the League of Nations and is a strong supporter of its security operations. The current guiding principle in Vachenan foreign policy is known as Bassonism, referring to Horatius Basson, the Minister of State from 2001 to 2007. Under him, Vachena adopted more non-interventionist stances, more than doubled foreign aid spending, and effectively became the de facto financial patron of a large number of liberal and progressive international organizations. Sanctions were imposed on many foreign countries and organizations, a major component of this being the EPS list. It contains several thousand people claimed by the Vachenan government to be funding terrorism. Individuals on the list are effectively banned from conducting any business with Vachenan companies and whatever Vachenan assets they do have are frozen. Nearly all major officeholders in the governments of Akai, Vespia, and Rumelistan are on the EPS list. While domestically popular, the policies of Basson have stirred controversy and strong criticism from some other nations. In 2026 Vachena spent $12.4 billion as part of its foreign aid effort, and allegedly funneled over $200 million to opposition parties and groups around the world.

Military

The Vachenan Armed Forces is the national military of Vachena, composed of the Vachenan Army, Navy, and Air Force. The President of Vachena, advised by the Ministry of Defense and the Military Command Council, is the supreme commander of the armed forces, ensuring civilian control of the military. The total annual budget of the Vachenan military in 2026 was $53.06 billion, approximately 1.7% of the GDP. It is composed of about 291,400 active personnel, 174,000 reservists, 95,000 civilian employees of the Ministry of Defense, and an additional 32,000 paramilitaries. Vachena is a nuclear-weapon-free zone and completed the total destruction of it's previous chemical and biological weapon stockpiles in 2014. The power to declare war is vested solely in Parliament.

The Vachenan Army is the primary ground forces of the military and is the largest component of the military by all measures. Foreigners that speak Vachenan can join the Vachenan Foreign Legion, a special infantry unit of the Army, and earn Vachenan citizenship after four years of service or an honorable discharge. The Vachenan Navy is the maritime arm of the armed forces and also includes naval infantry, or marines. It is an effective green-water navy that includes long-range submarines, guided missile cruisers, and amphibious assault ships with VTOL aircraft. Plans for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier are underway. The Vachenan Air Force deals primarily with aerial warfare, but also has a number of units devoted to other areas, including cyberwarfare. The Para-CCA (Air Combat Controller) are MEDEVAC/combat search and rescue/forward air control teams that are considered the country's premier special forces.