Alpachnia

Alpachnee Empire
Flag Coat of arms
Capital and largest city	Opa-Loka
Official languages	Sugondese
Ethnic groups	Sugondese people
Demonym(s)	Alpachnee (adjective)
Government	Constitutional monarchy
• Emperor	Balu I
• Upper house	House of Nations
• Lower house	Deliberative Assembly
Establishment
• Sacred Confederation	2 August 1800
• Empire declared	13 May 2025
Population
• Estimate	21,451,650
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	$242,060,418,600
• Per capita	$11,284
Currency	Cronan lira (de facto) (₤)

The Alpachnee Empire or Alpachnia is a landlocked country in northeastern Crona. It is bordered by the International Nature Preserve, Copake, Xisheng and Mid-Atrassic Crona.It was established out of the previous Alpachnee Confederation, which ceased to exist following the Alpachnee War.

History

Balu's coup and social reform

Following the Alpachnee War, the domestic political situation in the Confederatiom reached a tipping point. Although President Sisubiso had overseen defeat in the conflict, the Alpachnee State still stood and avoided total annexation. Additionally, many of the periphery nationalities and branches of the Sugondese people had been lost in territorial cessions to Daxia and Kiravia. As these groups were traditionally opponents of the Sisubiso administration, President Sisubiso paradoxically emerged from the war is a much stronger position when also considering the political capital he gained from extricating the Confederation from possible destruction.

In 2023, Sisubiso began to use his strengthened position to replace most senior Confederate and military leaders with individuals loyal to him. As the Final War of the Deluge reached its conclusion, the administration began to signal its belief that the Occident would once again thrn its attention to the Alpachnees. A major media and propaganda campaign drove a public narrative by 2025 that the country needed a "strong leader" willing to dispense with the traditional construction of the Confederation.

On 8 May 2025, a major demonstration began in Opa-Loka demanding government reform, and these demonstrations were suppressed by forces loyal to traditional Council leadership. The Sisubiso administration and its military allies seized this incident as pretext to arrest the members of the Confederate Council for “crimes against the people” on 11 May 2025. On 12 May 2025, a counter-coup was defeated and martial law was established in Opa-Loka. On the morning of 13 May, President Sisubiso cited the arrested Council as evidence of the failure of the traditional system, and proclaimed himself Emperor of the Alpachnees, dispensing with the centuries-old Confederation government. These events, known as the “May Days”, were largely enabled by the loss of domestic opponents to Daxia and Kiravia.

The newly-styled Emperor Balu I, recognized by most Deluge participants, spent most of 2025 consolidating control and pledging a new, Occidental-style constitution at a future point once national stability was reestablished.

Government

Alpachnia is a constitutional monarchy largely classified as an authoritarian state by international observers. The nation is governed according to the Constitutiton of 2025, implemented and largely drafted by Emperor Balu I. The Constitution, ostensibly introduced to "modernize" and "Occidentalize" the previous Alpachnee Confederation, had the practical effect of concentrating most authority within the executive office of the Emperor.

The Constitution of 2025 provides nominal authority to the bicameral legislature to make laws and adopt budgets, but provides significant limitations on their terms and provides the Emperor the authority to appoint or remove members at pleasure. Accordingly, the Emperor is widely viewed to have most political power and authority within the country. The Emperor also has the authority to directly appoint government ministers without need for a confirmation vote by the legislature. Accordingly, the Emperor also has the authority to direct foreign policy and military affairs.

Alpachnia's elections occur every three years for seats in both legislative chambers. The elections are nominally free and fair and the country's constitution provides for a "multi-party democracy", but in practice Emperor Balu's former political party - the Sugondese National Liberation Front (SNLF) - is the dominant political party in the country. Several controlled opposition parties exist within the national legislature. Although the Emperor is now politically non-partisan, his historical association with the SNLF during his Presidency has made it the de facto "Imperial party" within Alpachnee politics.

Military

Alpachnia possesses two separate armed forces - the Alpachnee National Armed Forces (ANAF) and the Imperial Guard. The ANAF are the largest component of the armed forces and constitute the traditional, professional military of the Alpachnee people, serving the Alpachnee nation and taking a loyalty oath to the Constitution. It has three branches: the Alpachnee National Army, the Alpachnee Air Guard, and the Alpachnee Navy. In practice, the Alpachnee Navy became irreelvant following the Treaty of Opa-Loka. The ANAF has a listed personnel size of 142,739 as of 2030.

The Imperial Guard is a separate military branch whose forces have sworn allegiance directly to Emperor Balu I, and the Guard have no civilian government oversight. The Guard was established as a reorganization of ethnic Sugondese militias loyal to Balu in the direct runup to the 2025 coup. Obstensibly, its duty is to provide protection to the Imperial household, but in practice it serves as a military option for the Emperor to maintain regime stability. The Imperial Guard's total numbers are a state secret, but most Occidental observers believe they range between 20,000 and 50,000.