Vithinja: Difference between revisions

The Vithinjan population is officially broken up into five accepted native demographics, with a secondary break up based on languages. These five demographics are: the Ruthans, who make up just under 22% of the population; the Guerigoles, who make up almost 35% of the population; the Ruth-Gvärs, who make up about 19% of the population; the Novalke who make up just over 14% of the population; and finally the Caerics, who make up 5% of the population. The numbers for these demographics are exact as it is a component of every persons recorded information at birth for the governments identification data.

The official and most spoken language in Vithinja is Ruthi, a gothic language very unlike most other gothic languages, with strong influences from the celtic, coscovian and burgundi languages. This is the expected language to use for any official work such as law, education and research. Almost as common but not always allowed officially is Siarvish, a celtic language closely related to Caeric. While in some regions one can easily live only ever speaking Siarvish it is difficult to achieve great success without also learning Ruthi. Both of these languages may be taught at schools but most schools either teach Ruthi or both. There is also a few minority languages, especially within the Novalke group, some of which are allowed regionally but most are rarely even taught in local schools. On the Vithinjan isles, especially in the south there are many who still speak Caeric. While recognized as a regional language it is often discouraged, usually by the higher levels of unions, to use the language outside of private matters. Considering private business is strongly discouraged this essentially means using it at home if at all.

Vithinja is a religiously divided nation. In the Novalke and Ruthi regions the Church of Rolv, a unique protestant branch which implements many ideas from the old pagan beliefs of the region, still holds a lot of power and support. This church is the main reason for the survival of the monarchy, as the royals serve as important figures within the faith. Then among mainly the Guerigs especially in the northeast there is still a strong catholic presence. It is weaker than the other two but serves as one of the main points of internal conflict within the nation. Finally there is the idea of fully abandoning the old beliefs which is an idea that was heavily pushed by the Syndicalist movement and holds strongest in the southern parts of the nation. At one point the Syndicalists tried to push for a fully secular nation, but failed in the face of the Church of Rolv almost breaking the nation apart.

For being a nation in modern times Vithinja features a large indirect punishment for pretty much any crime: increased difficulty to join a union, which makes everything from getting a job to finding a partner more difficult and may lock one out of the political process. Despite this the number of people convicted for a crime has been hovering around 2.5% up until the last two years, where it has slowly increased to 3%. It is often noted that 90% of convictions are against those already considered residents, and 95% of everyone who has a criminal record are residents.