New Veltorina
New Veltorine Republic | |
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(3-5)(civil_flag).svg) Flag
 State Emblem
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Motto: Nova Aurora in Nova Terra ("A new dawn in a new land") | |
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| Capital and largest city | New Taxades |
| Official languages | Veltorine Latin Julian Ænglish |
| Religion | Catholicism |
| Demonym(s) | Veltorine (noun) Veltorine (adjective) |
| Government | Unitary Julian republic |
• State-President | Niko Meletine (PNM) |
• State-Overseer | Niko Meletine (PNM) |
• Majority Leader of the National Convocation | Makis Lucerna (PNM) |
| Legislature | National Convocation of the Veltorine Nation |
| Establishment | |
| 30 September 2024 | |
• Provisional Government established | 16 May 2026 |
• Constitution effective | 1 January 2028 |
| Population | |
• Estimate | 9,904,304 |
| Currency | Taler (₮) |
| Driving side | right |
New Veltorina, officially the New Veltorine Republic, is a country in Crona. It is neighbored by Varshan to the south and Quetzenkel to the east.
New Veltorina is the nation-state of the Veltorine people. Veltorines people began to settle in northwestern Crona in the 1960s and 70s as part of a movement to find a new homeland following the conquest of the original Veltorina by Caphiria at the conclusion of the First Great War. Veltorines received some status in Quetzenkel and Veltorines migrated to from Sarpedon to the Brudxaan Province, a territory taken by Quetzenkel from Zurgite Varshan in the 1960s. Conditions gradually worsened as political stability in Quetzenkel declined, precipitating the South Nysdra War in the 2010s and Urcean intervention. Following that intervention, the Veltorines established their first independent state in a century with the proclamation of the Principality of Cetsencalia, a declaration which led to precipitous migration of remaining Veltorines from the Occident to the territory. The growth of an Occidental population in northern Crona was particularly offensive to the government and people of Varshan, and when Varshan began the Final War of the Deluge against Urcea, Cetsencalia was its first target. Cetsencalia eventually capitulated to Varshani occupation, beginning a slow-moving genocide of Veltorine people in the territory. The genocide was interrupted by the advanced of Urcean and allied forces, which liberated the territory and placed it under the Veltorine Territories occupation government. Subsequently, popular political movements under the Veltorine Popular Defense Committee participated in the liberation of the country, and following the war the VPDC took control of the country. Negotiations between it and the sometimes-rival Veltorine government-in-exile resulted in a merger and the formation of a new, unified New Veltorine state in 2026 under the New Veltorine Provisional Government. A constitution was subsequently ratified in 2028.
New Veltorina has become noteworthy in the Occidental press by significant ethnic turmoil between its Veltorine majority and its remaining indigenous minority. The country has been cited by several international organizations for human rights violations and has been the subject of sanctions by several countries. Additionally, the country is subject to a deep cultural divide between Veltorines who arrived before 2016 and those who arrived after. Despite these difficulties, the country has experienced significant economic growth and many scholars have observed the beginnings of a strong national identity forming among both Veltorine groups.
It is a member of the Nysdra Sea Treaty Association.
Etymology
The country is the "New Veltorine Republic", signifying both the geographical position of the territory (in Crona, distinct from old Veltorina) as well as a degree of continuity from the original Veltorine Republic. The territory underwent several name changes during the 2010s and 2020s. The first Veltorine state in Crona, Cetsencalia, was a latinization of the name of Quetzenkel, from whom it gained indepenence. After the capitulation of Cetsencalia during the Final War of the Deluge, this name was considered to have negative connotations, and the territory was reorganized as the Urcean military rectory of the Veltorine Territories. Subsequent negotiations between Veltorine factions produced the name "New Veltorine Republic", primarily as a concession to the Veltorine government-in-exile.
Geography
New Veltorina sits on a promontory to the northwest of Crona, adjacent to the large Varshani plain and Sea of Nysdra. The promontory, referred to as the Brudxaan Peninsula, extends approximately 500 miles into the ocean and serves as a primary dividing feature between the Sea of Nysdra and the Sea of St. John. To the northeast of the promontory sits a large coastal plain which serves as New Veltorina's primary population center, while to the southeast is the country's hinterland region, a plain sitting between the Varshani border mountains and the highlands to the north which backstop the northern plain. On the west coast sits a minor urbanized region surrounding the city of Qozala, which sits at the southern base of the peninsula. The entire country is considered to be in the Oceanic climate.
History
New Veltorina is a country that, in many respects, has two histories: the history of its indigenous peoples and that of the Veltorine people, who arrived in the 20th century. The territory of what is today New Veltorina was, prior to the 1960s, a territory of Varshan known as the Brudxaan Province, and, before that, generally part of the Quetzen sphere of influence but not always directly a part of that state. Quetzenkel's acquisition of the Brudxaan region precipitated the arrival of Veltorine people, beginning a period of settlement which resulted in the establishment of a Veltorine state.
Indigenous history
The Brudxaan area was first settled by humans in the period of the 6000s BC along with neighboring Quetzenkel and parts of Varshan.
The city of Čak Qozal was established in the 12th century BC at the southwestern base of the Brudxaan peninsula. The early history of the city is not generally well understood. Much of its history has been recorded later in light of Varshani history, under which context it was portrayed as a so-called "sister Varshan". Historians do agree that the city came to be the regional power (the "Čak Qozal Polity") in what is today New Veltorina for around a millennium, with its territory extending across the Brudxaan peninsula and soft-power influence spreading to the east across what would become central New Veltorina, as well as down into the northwestern corner of modern Varshan. Čak Qozal came under the political domination of Anzo by the year 1 AD, and there are two conflicting stories regarding this change in status, both of which sometimes appear recorded by the same source. In the first version, a deity - sometimes the sun god, later the death god - appeared in the center of the city and left a crown similar to that worn by the ruler of Anzo. When the Anzo ruler (Zurg) came to the city next week, he was hailed as new lord of the city and it subjected himself to it. The second version has a number of variations but involves a Moses-like story about an Anzo prince who was born in anonymity in Čak Qozal only to return later, become Zurg, and wage a heroic war against Čak Qozal in which the city ultimately fell. In any event, the entire territory that was once under Čak Qozal's influence war part of Varshan by the 1st century AD, and for the next milennia it would form the northernmost periphery of Varshani influence. The degree to which cultural changes occurred during this period is not known. The traditional Varshani history recounts that the people of Čak Qozal were as Varshani as the people from Anzo from the beginning of time, an account highly doubted by most modern Occidental historians.
The eastern hinterlands and northern coastal region (referred to historians as the "periphery") were settled by the Quetzen people not long after they established a written culture and urban society in Quetzenkel, and the predecessor of the modern Quetzen language is recorded in this region as of the 1st century AD. The Quetzen settlement of the area varied over time. At times, nomadic tribes in the area served as tributaries of far-off Quetzen trade cities, and at other times direct settlement of the area occurred with the Quetzen people's furthest flung western cities being in the territory. Historians agree that the majority of the nomadic peoples living in the area were not Quetzen as of the 8th or 9th century AD but were significantly influenced by them, with Quetzen peoples only being in the easternmost fringe of this territory. The influence was such that the Quetzen language became the lingua franca of modern New Veltorina by the 12th century and was used as a trade language even in the city of Čak Qozal.
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The periphery was conquered by Varshan in 1525. This region became a critical point which allowed Varshan to project its influence across the Nysdra Sea into Venua'tino, greatly enriching Čak Qozal. The city became an important transshipment point for goods, soldiers, and slaves coming to and from the Varshani heartland to Venua'tino by means of coastal shipping. Čak Qozal thrived during this period, with significant construction occurring. In the 21st century, it is the best preserved example of an early modern Varshani city, escaping the destruction that devastated Varshani archeological prospects during the Final War of the Deluge.
In the 20th century, the collapse of Varshan's Yun-harle dynasty critically weakened the state. Several foreign powers, especially Daxia, encouraged Quetzenkel to annex the Brudxaan Province in order to establish a so-called "Varshan gradient" that would buffer Cusinaut from Varshan. The annexation occurred in 1962. The caste system in Čak Qozal was abolished in 1967, and the Quetzen government formally adopted the Occidentalized name of the city, "Qozala".
The Diaspora and Cronan settlement
The conquest of Veltorina at the end of the First Great War brought to an end the independence of the nation-state of the Veltorine people, a people native to northeastern Sarpedon. Their conquest by Caphiria led to a century of various efforts by the Veltorine people to reestablish their independence, both in their home territory and, later, abroad. The Veltorine government-in-exile supported efforts to reestablish Veltorine independence, while later movements such as the Life Abroad Movement and 21st century resettlements supported by Urcea sought to establish a new Veltorine state abroad.
The Quetzen acquisition of the Brudxaan Province (an area adjoining the Nysdra Sea) of Varshan in the 1960s had important societal effects both for Varshan and the conquering party, Quetzenkel. Occidentals with expertise were sought after by both countries to help modernize their economies and armed forces, and the Quetzen sought to supplement the local Quetzen population of Brudxaan with a non-Varshani population. Accordingly, both countries began to solicit the Life Abroad Movement (with the Caphirian government serving as intermediary) to begin settling Veltorines in the area. Brudxaan, rather than Varshan, was the more popular destination of the Movement, though Varshan generally paid higher and offered unprecedented exemptions to Veltorine experts and consultants. Accordingly, a few Veltorines settled in Varshan's northwestern borderlands, but most agreed to relocate to Brudxaan. Veltorine settlers began to arrive in 1971. In the first decade and a half of Veltorine settlement, Veltorines generally enjoyed specific legal protections and a prominence in society protected by the Quetzen state. In this period, the new arrivals served as technical experts, consultants, and advisors to Quetzenkel as it modernized its military and economy; many of the arrivals had been scientists, civil servants, and even military officers in Caphiria, and accordingly they imparted on the Quetzen state a semi-Caphiric model of administration and organization of the military. The impact of the Veltorines within both Quetzen and Varshani society began to decline by the 1980s, as the highly sought after professionals began to age out or die; in their place, a well-cultured but poorly-educated second generation of Veltorines began to mature, most of whom taking positions as non-skilled laborers. Veltorines maintained their place in society, however, as waves of them from Sarpedon continued to arrive through the year 1992.
In 1980, the Catholic Church created the Diocese of Brudxaan (under the Province of the Nysdra) to serve the Veltorines of the Brudxaan Province, replacing an early Apostolic vicariate. The first Bishop of Brudxaan was a Veltorine priest named Guias Melinkes, and the establishment of the Diocese was the first distinctly Veltorine social or political institution within Quetzenkel. Melinkes, who would serve as Bishop until his death in 2001, became the world's most prominent Veltorine and was viewed by many Veltoriens - both in Crona and in Sarpedon - as one of the primary leaders of the Veltorine people.
Deluge developments
By the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the Veltorine people living in Brudxaan faced rapidly deteriorating material conditions and social position. Now in their second or even third generation, many Veltorines had become agricultural workers, soldiers, or other non-specialist positions which were of little use to the Quetzen people. As their utility and conditions declined, the Veltorines began to be the subject of scorn to the other Quetzen and indigenous peoples they lived alongside. For a time, the state was able to maintain order and prevent violence, intermittently making attempts to integrate the Veltorines into Quetzen society. Those efforts came to an end as Quetzenkel descended into political chaos. Archchief Honau V's death in 2013 inaugurated the reign of Quetzen XXIII and a traditionalist regime, which began a crackdown on Veltorine civil rights. The Veltorines launched an insurrection aimed at seizing control of Brudxaan, becoming a combatant in the South Nysdra War now consuming Quetzenkel. A Veltorine assassin killed Quetzen XXIII in early 2014, plunging the country further into civil war and ending the ability of the Akwesasne government to project power into Brudxaan. By mid-2015, the Veltorine militias were nominally in charge of the territory, but the coalition of Veltorine leaders began to fragment while facing indigenous guerillas. An inter-Veltorine civil war appeared likely in 2016 as the general Quetzen conflict intensified, but events would soon unfold such that a relatively unified Veltorine state would be established by the end of the year.
Urcea, following intense negotiations with Varshan, began intervention in the South Nysdra War. The first phase of the intervention occurred relatively peaceably, with a de facto ceasefire in effect between retreating Quetzen forces and arriving Royal and Imperial Army personnel. The Royal and Imperial Army established a broad security perimeter around the country and also stationed a large occupation force in Qozala largely to prevent ethnic violence. The Urcean government established a temporary rectory of Cetsencalia and then used the area as a staging ground to implement regime change in Quetzenkel. The new King, Telucti I, recognized the partition of the country and ceded the western territories to Urcea.
Urcea established a rectory government largely related to the military administration of the territory, but invested civilian authority immediately within the Veltorine Social Council, the official body representing Veltorine interests within Urcea and Urcean territories since 1984. The Council began to accelerate Veltorine resettlement into New Veltorina, beginning the major social distinction between feros and the Brudxi. The Council generally represented transfero culture, with its senior leaders being highly educated academics or business leaders who sought to shape the country in the image of countries such as Pelaxia and Cartadania. Between 2016 and 2019, a massive push for urbanization in the territory began, with a specific focus on creating Veltorine cities. Chief among these was New Taxades, the new administrative center of the territory. New Taxades became the site of significant investment and concentration of migration. Internally, many of the extant Brudxi population began to depart the agricultural sector and the city of Qozala for New Taxades and other new settlements, changing the demography of Qozala and the hinterlands into overwhelmingly indigenous areas.
In 2019, the Urcean government adopted the Crona Organic Act of 2019, establishing Cetsencalia as an independent constitutional monarchy with the Apostolic King of Urcea as Prince of Cetsencalia and the Veltorine Social Council becoming the upper chamber of the Principality's legislature. The new Veltorine Principality of Cetsencalia experienced demographic and economic growth in 2019 and 2020 as infrastructure began to spread across the country and New Taxades forming the new political, social, and economic hub of the area.
Capitulation and resistance
The growth of Cetsencalia would be deeply interrupted by the 2020s. Following the beginning of hostilities between Urcea and Algoquona in late 2020, Varshan decided to attempt to end the Deluge completely and drive the Urceans out of Crona. On 15 April 2021, Varshan launched a massive invasion - two army group equivalents - into Cetsencalia. The small military of the Principality as well as the limited number of Royal and Imperial Army forces that were in the country managed to slow the invasion, but by September Varshani forces took New Taxades. The Veltorine Social Council decided to capitulate, allegedly hoping that detaching themselves from loyalty to Urcea might save the overall Veltorine project. Varshan accepted the capitulation and relocated the Social Council to a city near Anzo, using it as a collaborationist entity from then on. Varshan nominally reannexed the territory as the Brudxaan Province and began to build concentration camps to manage the Veltorine population, while many more - especially those in the Principality's defense forces - were either killed outright or sold into slavery in Varshan. The experience of the nearly year-long occupation had the effect of radicalizing a significant portion of the Veltorine population against the indigenous Cronans and also caused, either directly or indirectly, the death of nearly a quarter of a million Veltorines. After initial concentration efforts were unsuccessful, Varshani forces began to indiscriminately enslave Veltorines.
The Varshani territory at the conclusion of the campaign was a roughly triangular shaped territory encompassing nearly all the southern border and reaching a point at the northern coastal region around New Taxades. Accordingly, many Veltorines fled the latter region just before it fell and crowded into refugee camps in the western Brudxaan peninsula. Qozala, though threatened by the Varshanis, was relieved by the Royal Navy and Royal Marine Corps. The Veltorine Social Council was discredited and the Urcean government reorganized the remaining parts of Cetsencalia it held. The peninsular region, as well as all other nominal parts of the country, were reorganized as the Rectory of the Veltorine Territories. The regions east of New Taxades were reoccupied by Quetzenkel. In both the free and occupied parts of the country, most Veltorines resisted the occupation and denounced the Social Council as traitors. The Veltorine Popular Defense Committee - formed in the latter stages of the invasion as a civilian militia - was organized as the primary armed resistance movement of the Veltorine people. It created regular military formations in the unoccupied territories, and in the occupied territories it began a resistance campaign which included sabotage, assassinations, and espionage. During the occupation, the VPDC became the primary social and political organizing body of the Veltorine people in what was Cetsencalia. Its leaders earned the respect of both the Veltorines and their foreign allies, many of whom fought on the front lines themselves.
In the summer of 2022, New Taxades was liberated. The subsequent Operation Gideon and followup operations destroyed a significant portion of Varshani forces in late 2022 and early 2023, liberating the country. That year, the VPDC was given official status as the official armed forces of the Veltorine Territories and given an increasing role in the governance of the Veltorine Territories including total control over local governments. Veltorine forces would go on to play a significant role in the continued war against Varshan. In the 2024 Treaty of Electorsbourg, the Veltorine state - at this point still the transitional Veltorine Territories - received a portion of territory in northwestern Varshan where Veltorines were known to live, and in exchange the Veltorines ceded the easternmost portion of the country back to Quetzenkel.
Veltorine unification
In the waning years of the Final War of the Deluge, the alignment of Urcea and the Cape together in the war against Varshan opened dialogue between both countries. This created a diplomatic window in which rapprochement between the Veltorine Popular Defense Committee and Veltorine government-in-exile could explore collaborations with regard to a Veltorine state in Crona. The collaboration had begun on the ground in the 2022 occupation, as covert cells of the government-in-exile - ostensibly originally placed to disrupt the Veltorine project - were ordered to work with their VPDC counterparts to resist Varshani forces. As a result of the convergence of diplomatic priorities, as well as practical alliances formed on the ground, negotiations to end the so-called "Veltorine schism" began at the conclusion of the war in 2024. These efforts, now known as Veltorine unification, created the New Veltorine Provisional Government, which was agreed to in early 2026 and took control of the Veltorine Territories on 16 May 2026, formally establishing New Veltorina as a sovereign state. The unification resolved many of the personal animosities between leaders and committed the New Veltorine state to be a republic, rather than a monarchy, a main point of disagreement for the Capetian-influenced government-in-exile. The latter institution dissolved with the establishment of the new Provisional Government, formally creating a single body to represent the Veltorine people internationally for the first time since 1984. In the wake of the agreement, many Veltorines residing in the Cape began to relocate to New Veltorina, introducing social and political influcnes of that country into New Veltorine society.
Republic established
The New Veltorine Provisional Government, months after its establishment, held elections for a constitutional convention on 1 October 2026. That body met from 15 November 2026 until 24 May 2027, at which time it approved the draft of a new constitution. Elections for the constitutional government were held on 2 November 2027 for a special term of 2028 through 2030. On 1 January 2028, the new constitution took effect. New Veltorina formally became the New Veltorine Republic with its constitutional officers sworn in, and the former provisional government was dissolved. Among the new government's first acts were to retroactively ratify the 2024 territorial exchanges, erect local governments, and establish the Qozala Special Governance Area (QSGA). Since the establishment of the republic, the Party for the National Movement (the successor of the VPDC) has dominated the nation's elections. Significant foreign investment has continued to flow into the country, and in the years since the establishment of the Republic New Taxades has grown into a major Nysdra-area city. In the 2030s, the New Veltorine Republic has been cited several times by international observers as a "problem state" for its relationship with its indigenous population, which it has increasingly tried to concentrate in the QSGA since 2032.
Government
New Veltorina is a unitary Julian republic with a unicameral legislature. It is governed by the Constitution of 2028, which took effect Jan 1 of that year following a convention and ratification process that took place in 2026-27. As a Julian republic, the Veltorine constitution is modeled on the form of the Urcean government, which employs different offices each for the head of state, the chief executive, and the head of government. Unlike most other Julian systems, New Veltorina employs civil law; accordingly, the National Convocation is the final court of appeal and the judicial system is largely made up of appointed arbitrators rather than a freestanding court system. Some courts are established in the largest cities, such as New Taxades.
New Veltorina is an officially ethnic state, and the Constitution of 2028 provides that it is a state "by and for the Veltorine people". As such, it provides that the three main roles of state can only be held by an individual who has "demonstrable ancestry to the Veltorine people of northeastern Sarpedon", but it provides that indigenous Cronans and others may serve as members of the National Convocation. Although the state is stated to be constructed "for the benefit and protection of Veltorines", the Constitution of 2028 and protocols under the Nysdra Sea Treaty Association provide for civil rights for minority groups. However, the strength of those protections has been questioned by international observers and by authorities within NSTA. Discrimination, though nominally illegal, is viewed to be one of the serious political and governmental problems of the New Veltorine state, though much of this occurs in on an individual or organizational basis rather than at the state level. Protection of indigenous farmers and mountain peoples added to the New Veltorine state by the Treaty of Electorsbourg is an ongoing concern for New Veltorina's foreign allies and partners, especially Urcea.
Executive
The executive branch of New Veltorina is considered to be a conventionally arranged Julian republican system. The State-President serves as the head of state and the symbolic representation of New Veltorine sovereignty, but has somewhat limited day-to-day authority over the affairs of the government. The State-President is responsible for declaring war (with the approval of the National Convocation) appointment of military officers and judicial officials as well as the awarding of honors. Next to the State-President is the State-Overseer, who serves as chief executive. The State-Overseer is responsible for the administration of the state and oversees the national cabinet which answers to the State-Overseer but is appointed by the Majority Leader of the National Convocation. The State-Overseer, accordingly, directs public policy, orders the implementation of executive orders and initiatives, and proposes budgets to be adopted by the Convocation. Unlike many other Julian systems, the New Veltorine constitution enables the same individual to serve as both State-President and State-Overseer, but prohibits either executive officer from serving as the Majority Leader of the Convocation, creating a branch separation that doesn't exist in most other Julian governments. The 2028 Constitution laid out a complex mechanism for the appointment of the State-President. It required the appointment of a Presidential Conference Committee (PCC), composed of the State-Overseer, the Majority Leader of the Convocation, and three individuals selected at random by means of sortition from eligible voters nationwide, with each member having a different weighted vote and the randomly selected members rotating annually. In the PCC, the Overseer held six votes, the Majority Leader three votes, and the randomly selected individuals one vote. The State-President serves so long as they enjoy the confidence of a majority of the PCC. By contrast, the State-Overseer is elected very five years in a nationwide election with the same term and same election year as the National Convocation.
Legislature
In New Veltorina, legislative power is concentrated in the National Convocation, a 282-member legislative body. The Convocation's members are elected in first-past-the-post elections in 250 geographic legislative districts apportioned every decade, as well as a 32 member nationwide constituency which is distributed proportionately based on the share of vote in the 250-seats for each major party. Convocation members serve 5 year terms, with elections following the Urcean calendar of having elections in years 0 and 5. The Constitution of 2028 provides that the National Convocation is the supreme authority of the New Veltorine state. It has the authority to make or unmake laws, appoint or remove government ministers, impeach the State-President or State-Overseer with a two-thirds margin, approve treaties, pass or reject budgets proposed to it by the State-Overseer, remove judges and military officers by a three-fourths margin, and most other matters of state. The leader of the Convocation is the Majority Leader of the National Convocation, who serves at the pleasure of the majority (or coalition) party and who is responsible for the appointment of government ministers as well as the conduct of the legislature.
Local governance
As New Veltorina is a unitary republic, few policy choices are made at the local level. The country is nominally divided into four prefectures (and one special governance area) whose governments were dissolved at the time of the implementation of the constitution; most of the municipalities or other local administrations are now directly under the central government. Despite this theoretical , the country has a very large patchwork of local administrative systems due to the way in which it was established. A majority of New Veltorina's populace live within Urban Community Areas (UCA), a municipal government which in theory is intended to function democratically but in practice is primarily made up of central government appointments, including, in some cases, continued holdovers of the provisional government municipal committees. A majority of the land area, meanwhile, is directly under the authority of a central government body known as the Parcel Administration, which was responsible for the survey and division of the New Veltorine countryside into parcels to be sold off to Veltorine settlers. The "Parcel Area" consequently collectively refers to all lands divided by the Parcel Authority but not yet sold. When a parcel is sold, it automatically leaves the jurisdiction of the Parcel Authority and becomes subject to the local Urban Community Area (UCA), creating a geographic patchwork of municipal boundaries with some parcels being separated from the cities in which they are a part by hundreds of miles of Parcel Area land. A smaller portion of the country, particularly in the south, are part of various legal entities which predate the Veltorine settlement and are referred to as "antique commons", which are centuries-old village communes of the indigenous Cronan population. Very few antique commons are legally similar to each other, and though national law treats them the same as Urban Community Areas in theory, in practice relations between the communes and the government vary greatly. Significant outside intervention in the form of lobbying and grant-giving, particularly by Urcea but also increasingly by New Harren and Quetzenkel, is required to prevent the encroachment of both the government and private land owners onto antique common areas.
Qozala Special Governance Area
The Qozala Specal Governance Area (QSGA) is an autonomous region on New Veltorina's west coast which encompasses the city of Qozala and its immediate environs within fifteen miles of the city limits. Qozala, originally Čak Qozal, is the primary indigenous city in New Veltorina, and is the oldest urban settlement in the country. The QSGA has its own government led by an elected twelve person parliamentary body (the Area Dazga) led by a Premier. Residents of the QSGA pay no taxes to the government in New Taxades, and instead the QSGA is given a certain financial levy by the central government it can meet by any means at its discretion. National penal laws generally do not apply in the QSGA, with its own local criminal code in force. The QSGA also has certain ability to nullify some New Veltorine law within its own jurisdiction. As a privilege, te QSGA is entitled to fly its own flag on merchant ships. Critically, the QSGA has restricted entry protocols, allowing it to maintain a mostly indigenous character to the exclusion of would-be Veltorine settlers. The QSGA's status is guaranteed by New Harren.
The city, once prominent under the Varshani and Quetzen administrations, became politically sidelined once Cetsencalia was established, and its fate was a constant source of political discord in that country. When Varshan occupied much of Cetsencalia during the Final War of the Deluge, the city had a minor uprising in support of Varshan before the uprising was suppressed by the Urcean military. After that time, the city was subject to reprisals from Veltorine militia forces, and it became evident that the city would be in danger of public violence unless afforded special status. Such status was mandated by the Treaty of Electorsbourg and created by agreement with Urcea in 2025.
In practice, the QSGA is considered by many international observers to be a ghetto. From 2030 to 2034, international humanitarian groups have leveled dozens of credible accusations of forcibly relocating indigenous Cronans to the QSGA off their land by means of spurious eviction and legal proceedings. The QSGA is very poor and is reliant primarily on international aid from Urcea to provide for the basic needs of its citizens. In the face of diplomatic pressure from NSTA and international criticism, the New Veltorine government began to invest millions of talers into the QSGA tourism sector in 2034.
Politics
New Veltorina is a multi-party democracy in theory, with moderately well constructed political systems ensuring free and fair elections. In practice, however, New Veltorina is a dominant-party state, led by the Party for the National Movement (PNM). Most policy disagreements and change in power usually take place within the context of the PNM. The PNM maintains its hold primarily through cultural and social pressures on New Veltorines rather than by state-based intimidation, though isolated incidents of voter intimidation have been recorded. Besides the PNM, there are three other major parties.New Veltorina's major political parties are as follows:
- The Party for the National Movement (PNM) is the ruling political party in New Veltorina. It is a nationalist party that is ostensibly an "organic socialist movement party", but in many senses the Party is a big tent political party; some have observed increasing strains of Restarkism entering the party since the accomodation was reached between Cronan Veltorines and the Veltorine government-in-exile. The PNM was formed out of the political elements of the Veltorine Popular Defense Committee, the wartime military resistance against Varshan. It is avowedly pro-NSTA and was the primary agent behind the current Constitution of 2028, and of all of the political parties it is the one most closely identified with and largest supporter of the notion of New Veltorine being a self-described "ethnic state of Veltorines."
- The Socialist Revolutionary Industrial Progress Party (SRIPP) is the political party which ruled Veltorina prior to its conquest by Caphiria. Then, as now, the party describes itself as constitutional socialist, and states that its aims are to bring about the "constitutional revolution in New Veltorina so as to bring the state in line with the great achievements of our party and people in Sarpedon". In practice, the SRIPP is considered to be a centrist political party. At the end of Veltorina's existence, the SRIPP transformed from a vanguardist left wing party to a big tent party, and in that respect the SRIPP is considered to be the general party of opposition against PNM rule in New Veltorina. Besides its lofty ideological views, the Party has few concrete policy positions beyond a vague commitment to indigenous civil rights, a general opposition to continued membership in NSTA from a nationalist perspective, denunciation of the status of the state as an ethnic state, and reform of the state to follow a modified version of the 1882 Constitution with more liberal elements. The SRIPP was the dominant organization in the Veltorine government-in-exile until the 1970s, after which time it gradually lost position vis a vis independent liberals.
- The International Veltorine Party (IVP) is a centrist liberal party, generally concerned with free trade and reconciliation with Caphiria, but also has a minor focus on enhancing the civil rights of New Veltorina's indigenous Cronan population. The IVP views the existence of the New Veltorine state as an opportunity for Veltorines to denounce their ideological past but also to step onto the world stage as a full participant in international diplomacy rather than, in its words, as a "bitter, defensive minority trapped in a siege mentality." The IVP supports NSTA as a defensive alliance but views its import-ban and exclusive trade policies as harmful to the Veltorine people. The IVP denounces the concept of New Veltorina as an ethnic state and supports its reform as a "multiracial, multiethnic democracy" similar to states such as Cartadania; some factions in the party also support revising or replacing the Julian 2028 Constitution.
- The Party of the Continuing Revolution (PCR) is a far left political party which espouses council communism and denounces the SRIPP and constitutional socialism as revisionist. The PCR-SRIPP split predates the settlement of Veltorines in Crona, being founded among exiles in 1954, and the disagreement between council communists and constitutional socialists dates to before the dissolution of the original Veltorine state. The PCR is generally Urceoskeptic, opposes continued membership in NSTA, opposes New Veltorina's status as an ethnic state, and, as council communists, generally advocates for the dissolution of the state. It is abstentionist in practice, and usually comprises only a handful of members of the National Convocation.
Culture and society
New Veltorina has a culture extending back several millennia due to the shared history, common traditions, and imported social mores of the Veltorine people, who emerged in Sarpedon during the medieval period from the intersection of Ancient Istroyan civilization and Latinic people. Beyond this longstanding tradition, New Veltorines have taken on a more militaristic and solidaristic worldview due to the effects of the Final War of the Deluge on Cronan Veltorines. New Veltorine society is considered to be deeply hierarchical and, as is the case with other Veltorines, Catholic bishops have a position of personal influence, social standing, and cultural tastemaking virtually unknown in most other Catholic countries; in New Veltorina, this began with the appointment of Bishop Melinkes in 1980, who instantly became an international symbol of Veltorine resilience. Cultural commentators have observed that the country's three Catholic bishops have a semi-monarchical effect on cultural tastes.
New Veltorines are generally divided into three major cultural groups, the first two of which are ethnically Veltorine (and both of which make up about half of the Veltorine population) while the remainder is the assorted Cronan indigenous persons which are mostly marginalized within "proper" New Veltorine society, instead emphasizing their historic ties and relationship to the city of Qozala. The first major group is the so called "Brudxi", named for the Varshani province settled by Veltorines first during the 1960s. The Brudxi are Veltorines who relocated to Crona during the middle and late 20th century, and accordingly most are part of multi-generational families that have lived in what is now New Veltorina for decades. The Brudxi are usually observed to have a more rustic character, having shed many of the tastes of high Sarpedonic culture and affluence in the decades since moving to Crona. The Brudxi are also considered to be more world-weary in outlook due to several decades of status as a minority ethnicity; while Sarpedonic Veltorines also share this view of themselves as a minority, the Brudxi were victim to multiple waves of attempted ethnic cleansing before and during the 2010s, which make them observably more suspicious of indigenous Cronans as well as authority in general. The Brudxi tend to have a distinctive accent with some Hieratic Varshani words introduced, particularly as slang. The Brudxi also have a mixed cuisine style, retaining many Veltorine traditional favorites and family recipes while including indigenous meals, which they have eaten for generations. Politically, the Brudxi are more cynical, more populist, and socially conservative. The Brudxi made up a majority of the personnel of the Veltorine Popular Defense Committee during the Final War of the Deluge. Most Brudxi would be considered nationalist in a sense (and most are members of the Party for the National Movement), but scholars have observed that the Brudxi eschew more intellectual or Romantic senses of nationalism in favor of a "defensive" or "possessive" view of nationality. Brudxi mostly have lower levels of educational attainment than their Fero counterparts; though their ancestors were largely technical experts or scientists, the children of those experts were generally not given easy access to education. Economically, many Brudxi occupy working class and agricultural jobs as well as service in the New Veltorine military, though the Brudxi also make up the senior clique in the Party for the National Movement and consequently form the country's political elite.
The "Feros", short for "transfero" (transplant), are the second major Veltorine cultural group in New Veltorina. Feros generally moved to New Veltorina during the 21st century, especially following the establishment of Cetsencalia as a Veltorine principality in 2015. Accordingly, the Feros are first generation immigrants to Crona and retain nearly all of the extant social mores and traditions of Veltorines in Sarpedon, Halfway, and Lariana. Feros are usually highly educated and consider themselves relatively culturally sophisticated, preferring higher level cultural amenities in major cities such as New Taxades. The Feros are diverse in terms of political allegiance but have generally similar outlooks. As the Feros are better educated on average than the Brudxi, they tend to have a more philosophical, ideological, and high-minded view of politics. This takes two main forms: about half of Feros are members of the dominant Party for the National Movement and make up the Romantic nationalist wing of that party, viewing New Veltorine nationalism as a culmination of historical forces and ultimately filling a vacuum on the world stage left by the destruction of old Veltorina. The other half of Feros, meanwhile, hold to modified versions of the ideology of old Veltorina, constitutional socialism, with all of the complex philosophical and sociological frameworks that come with it. Many of the Feros were followers of the Veltorine government-in-exile and then made up virtually all of the membership of the Veltorine Social Council when it was made the governing authority in Cetsencalia. New Veltorina's Fero population considers itself more internationalist in outlook than the Brudxi, and tend to identify themselves as more in favor of civil rights for indigenous Cronans than the Brudxi, though interntional cultural observers have noted that this distinction may be more relevant in self-identity than actual policy proposals or outcomes. Feros make up many of the high level corporate and white-collar positions within New Veltorina as well as the majority of members of the National Convocation, but are outnumbered by Brudxi in senior leadership positions within the state and the ruling Party for the National Movement.
The divisions among the nation's ethnic Veltorines have produced a relatively varied national culture, whereby the very identity of being Veltorine is viewed more highly than concrete shared mores and customs, including and especially cuisine. The Feros and Brudxi do continued to share a number of similarities, including the Veltorine propensity for waking early and a late morning (roughly 11 AM) nap, a tradition which shapes the Veltorine workday and eating patterns.
Demographics
In 2030, the population of New Veltorina was 9,904,294. Of these, 72% of the population - 7,131,091 were considered to be Veltorine people, including self-identified Veltorines with one or more indigenous grandparents. As an ethnic state, ethnicity of origin is considered important in New Veltorina, and the state is responsible for taking an annual (rather than decennial) census which tracks not only residency statistics but also self-reported ancestry and relations between household and extended family units. The remaining 28% of the population - 2,773,203 - are of varied indigenous Cronan ancestry. The indigenous population has no single majority ancestry group, with ethnic Varshanis making up a plurality along with Quetzens as the second largest group, with being from other parts of Crona or displaced persons from Cao, Xisheng, and elsewhere. Many of the indigenous people live in the hinterland region or in the mountains annexed from Varshan, but a majority live in and around Qozala.
New Veltorina has significant income inequality which is based mostly on ethnicity. Generally speaking, indigenous Cronans make up the vast majority of the lowest income bracket and most of the indigenous Cronans within the country are at or only slightly above poverty levels. Though there are many ethnic Veltorines who rely on subsistence farming who form the bottom end of the wealth spectrum of Veltorines, they are nonetheless significantly wealthier than their indigenous counterparts and neighbors. The top 15-20% of the country's wealthiest people, meanwhile, all live in and around New Taxades. Many of these individuals would be considered middle class in other developed countries, demonstrating the large wealth gap and gradient that characterizes New Veltorine economic life.
Linguistic Demographics
New Veltorina has a highly diverse linguistic landscape. Approximately 85% of its people - both Veltorine and indigenous - primarily speak Veltorine Latin. However, there are significant differences within the Veltorine Latin linguistic group. About half of speakers speak the so-called Brudxi Dialect, a form of Veltorine Latin which features significant vocabulary introductions from Hieratic Varshani which is spoken primarily with what was considered to be a rural accent in old Veltorina. This group tends to have Veltorine Latin as a first language. The second group, mostly corresponding to the Feros but also with indigenous Cronans, speak traditional "High" Veltorine Latin as it was taught in schools and universities in Veltorina around the time of the First Great War. Many of these speakers, however, speak Veltorine Latin as a second language, with most of the ethnic Veltorine Feros speaking Julian Ænglish as a first language. A minority of this cohort speak Caphiric Latin as their primary language. The remaining 15% speak a mix of indigenous languages, with 7% speaking Hieratic Varshani, 6% speaking a variety of Quetzen, and the remaining 3% speaking rare Cronan indigenous languages or foreign languages such as Housatonish or Algosh.
Religious Demographics
Religious affiliations in New Veltorina (2034)
New Veltorina is a predominantly Catholic country, as was old Veltorina before it. In terms of Church governance, it is divided into two dioceses and one archdiocese (New Taxades). Virtually all ethnic Veltorines are Catholics in New Veltorina, in addition to a significant percentage of the indigenous population. There are several prominent indigenous religions that form small minorities, namely M'acunism - primarily practiced using Quetzen traditions and customs - as well as Arzalism. Orthodox Arzalism was banned by the Urcean occupying authorities in late 2024, and those Arzalists in New Veltorina are required by law to be part of the State Arzalist belief system.
Economy
New Veltorina's economy has been called "divergent" by several prominent observers and economists, due to the heavily urbanized and relatively modern economy in and surrounding New Taxades, the capital and socio-economic heart of New Veltorina on the country's northern coast while the southern and interior parts of the country are functionally a developing economy. The primary export of both regions of the country is foodstuff to neighboring Varshan, whose intermittent post-war famines have produced significant demand for food from across Crona. In terms of consumer products, mead is by far the most well known and popular agricultural export of the country, with well-capitalized apiaries and meaderies existing alongside subsistence farms within the interior.
New Veltorina's most prosperous and productive region is its northern coastal plain, centered on the city of New Taxades. Since 2024, this area has become increasingly urbanized, with increased demand for consumer goods (mostly foreign) and services dominating the economic life of the city. The presence of the government in New Taxades, as well as a significant concentration of both New Veltorine and Urcean military personnel, is the primary driver of demand on the tertiary service industry. The northern plain is also a prosperous fishing area, producing major catches often exported to Varshan. The other major urban area of New Veltorina is in and around the indigenous city of Qozala on the country's southwestern coast. Unlike the New Taxades area, Qozala (and its Qozala Special Governance Area) is extremely impoverished and is primarily reliant on international development aid. In the 2030s, the area began to see a small influx of tourists, as Qozala is one of the few areas where pre-Deluge Varshani architecture and historical structures remain intact. The Qozala tourist sector has been the recent target of significant investment from both foreign capital and the New Veltorine government.
Outside of the major urban corridor, much of New Veltorina is a developing economy, with most of the population living there conducting subsistence agricultural activity and ranching. Some of the New Veltorine hinterlands have become successful and productive farms and ranches, and like the northern coast most of its surplus is sold to Varshan. Construction is a growing sector in the New Veltorine hinterland as well, especially in the territories acquired from Varshan, where extensive transportation infrastructure and transportation linkage with the rest of the country has been constructed since 2024.
Military
The New Veltorine Armed Forces were established first as the Army of New Vetorina. The core of the new Army was made up of the two corps previously organized under the Veltorine Popular Defense Committee Army of National Reclamation, with an additional division organized in January 2028 out of various militia forces and operatives that had been organized by the former Veltorine government-in-exile during the Final War of the Deluge. Much of the army served under Royal and Imperial Army allied command during the Final War of the Deluge, and current defense doctrine calls for them to be subordinated to allied command in the event of another war as part of the Defense Coordination Initiative.
The New Veltorine Government also authorized the creation of the Air Force of New Veltorina, which began its existence on paper as personnel were trained by the Urcean Royal Air Force. Several surplus aircraft have been provided by Urcea to New Veltorina and these vehicles made up the vast majority of the AFNV's fleet by 2030. The New Veltorine Government has begun a project of local aircraft manufacturing, with the government intending to phase out foreign made vehicles by 2050. In addition to this domestic air defense service, Urcea's Royal Air Force maintains a mid-sized airbase in the country, RAF New Taxades.
In February 2028, New Veltorina joined participation in the Nysdra Sea Guard, the joint naval forces of the Nysdra Sea Treaty Association. The Sea Guard was designated the official naval armed force of New Veltorina that month.