Rikutsar

Rikutsar, officially the Golden Empire of Rikutsar, is a unitary  in the southeastern Indian Ocean 456 kilometers off the western coast of Australia. Founded on June 18th 433 AD, it is one of the oldest countries in the world. It has a land area of 131,778.14 km2 and, as of 2017, has a population of 13,265,813 people.

It consists of the main island, Ricuv Toac, and multiple smaller islands. Rikutsar is notable for its capital city, Cazengár Luch, which is built on an island in the center of a volcanic caldera, as well as for its one active volcano, Sarainár. The overall climate is a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Csb), with mild, wet winters. Due to this climate, Rikutsar possesses much of the vegetation of west Australia, including forests of Eucalyptus trees and members of Xanthorrhoea.

The Government of Rikutsar is an Absolute Semi-Diarchy, led interchangably by two Empresses; Smenaer and Óasmae. When in power each Empress exercises absolute, nearly unchecked authority over the Rikutsaren government, with only the other Empress being able to veto.

Etymology
The name comes from Ricutsar, the Rikutsaren endonym for the country which translates literally to "Great(ness) Land."

History
Rikutsar has existed as a united, sovereign state since the foundation of the First Empire in 433 AD, but the current national and governmental structure, commonly referred to as the Fourth Empire, was established with the current Constitution in 1846.

Discovery
Rikutsar was uninhabited prior to its discovery by the empresses, but from Lithon charts of the area they had saved from the war they were able to determine that there was an island in the area that suited their needs. The long journey to Rikutsar embarked by the empresses and their human comrades is known as the Raffas Checesirí.

From their base at, scout ships were sent westward based on the comment from Smenaer that she "could have sworn there was an island west of (there)." After a couple of journeys, her hypothesis proved correct, and a scout ship reported the first sighting of Rikutsar (by any known humans) on November 6th 427 CE. The land sighted would come to be known as Subutsan in Rikutsaren, but at the time it was simply called Novinsul Promontor.

The ensuing voyage to Rikutsar of the entire party took 3 days on their 30-oar galley ship, the Fortis, and a navigational error took them further north than intended. As a result, upon arrival on December 22, they landed instead on Ricuv Toac. The island was declared to belong to the Empresses and bestowed the temporary name Magninsul. At the location of the first landing they established the first settlement on Rikutsar, Ítusera, and it is from this that the modern-day canton takes its name: Samusco, meaning "first arrival."

Provisional Government
The founding, or Cesise, was actually a set of separate events in 433 AD, including the Coronation and Veneration of Smenaer and Óasmae (June 15th), the signing of the declaration of self-determination (June 17th), and the signing of the provisional laws by the Císirchugh (June 18th), the latter of which is considered to be the official start of Rikutsar.

The provisional government lasted 38 years, from 433 to 471, during which time the Císirchugh and its many committees built the foundations of Rikutsar both literally and metaphorically. During this time the Empresses and the Císirchugh were the only government entities and as such were in charge of, among other things, peacekeeping and law enforcement over what would become a population of more than 2,000.

During this time there were those who attempted to usurp power from the Empresses or the Císirchugh, and those people were usually imprisoned, banished, or hung.

the First Empire
This government lasted from the signature of the first constitution in 471 until 1011. Smenaer led for the first 174 years of the government, followed by a period of joint leadership. The government consisted of the Empresship, a small appointed legislature called the Ricudiuz, and a judicial system of various regional tribunals that could only be appealed by going directly to the Empresses.

the Second Empire
This government was different in that the Judicial system changed from a system of tribunals to a centralized system of law. The Fadeas Riguisi, a larger and now publicly elected legislature, was established. It was established at the end of the Great Constitutional Convention in 1011 and lasted until 1815.

Geography
The Rikutsaren archipelago resides in the southeastern Indian Ocean, and its three major islands are Ricuv Toac, Sweorlac, and Pretoac. Ricuv Toac, with an area of 121,347 km2, is the 13th largest island in the world.

The population of 13,265,813 people is quite dispersed, but is generally denser as one gets closer to the capital at Cazengár Luch. The 4 least densely populated cantons are all in the historical region of Sarainár which, as is evidenced by the name of the region, surrounds the Sarainár volcano on all sides. The average population density of Rikutsar is 100.67 people per square kilometer, much higher than other countries of similar size such as Greece.

Rikutsar lies between latitudes 30° and 34° S, and longitudes 102° to 111° E. Its two main topographical regions are:
 * Pretsarec: The hilly regions, where all of the visible surface volcanoes lay.
 * Úléc: The coasts, which are flat.

16 rivers and numerous creeks flow from the centers of Ricuv Toac and Sweorlac, the most notable of which are arguably the Ricuv river, the Lawar river, and the Íoriforg river.

Climate
The Rikutsaren climate is mediterranean, although cold-summer/glacial climates exist at the top of Sarainár and, to a lesser extent, Uzgáracnár. Summers tend to be warm to hot with some rain, although rain is more plentiful along the north coast, where crops are more plentiful. Rikutsar is generally safe from the storms of the Australian cyclone basin, although the northern coast bears some of the brunt of those storms when they pass far enough south.

Flora and Fauna
Rikutsar consists, very generally, of flora that would normally be expected for a Mediterranean climate. The ecosystem of Rikutsar is poor in diversity, sporting few species of plants or animals. However, the animals native to the island are particularly larger than their counterparts on the mainland, a classic case of insular gigantism. Rikutsar also sports one species previously thought extinct: a particularly orange breed of Upland Moa (Megalapteryx didinus ricutaris) known natively as the Cazeotø or "Sun Bird". Due to the nature of Rikutsar's terrain and its location, the ecosystem is relatively safe from the effects of climate change, at least in the short term.

Due to its mediterranean climate, Rikutsar possesses much of the vegetation of west Australia, including forests of Eucalyptus and members of Xanthorrhoea.

Geology
Rikutsar is famous for its enormous volcanoes, 4 of which are still visible on the surface. Sarainár is the youngest and only active volcano in the complex. The Uzgárac caldera still maintains some geothermal activity, but the remainder of the volcanoes in the complex are extinct and have been for millennia. The archipelago formed approximately 11 mya when a mantle plume caused a tectonic rift in Earth's crust to the northwest of Australia. As such, the majority of underlying rocks are igneous and, to a lesser extent, sedimentary. The archipelago contains three basic geological regions:


 * Central Ricuv Toac: where all but one of the visible surface volcanoes lay, very geologically young ground and shallow soil (although it gets thicker and richer around Cazengár due to its age)


 * The coasts: flat and rich in volcanic sands


 * Sweorlac: for this purpose, includes parts of the eastern coast of Ricuv Toac; is characterized by smoother hills and coastlines indicative of erosion. Landslides are also common in this terrain.

Government
Rikuchar runs under the Rikutsaren Imperial system of government, which is unique to Rikutsar. In this system, the Empresses hold lifelong terms in office. It consists of 2 governmental levels through which all acts of government must pass through in order to become official. Beneath the Empresses there are three councils: the Gumdiuz, the Lisdiuz, and the Neardiuz.

The heads of state and government in Rikutsar are the Empresses (Cárriguisurec) from whom all governmental power flows. Both are not bound by the constitution, possesses all legal power, and are by all definitions Absolute Monarchs. No national-level decision of any kind described in the constitution can be made without their express approval, and they have veto power over all local-level decisions should they be reported to them. However, all decisions one makes when in power can be overridden by the other.

The Empresses exchange power every 90 years, meaning that the government can look vastly different from one period to the next.

National, cantonal, and local-level elections overwhelmingly employ a system of ranked voting. Political parties exist, but they function more so to lobby for issues than to hold actual governmental power.

Cantons
The Empire of Rikutsar consists of 33 tuvuc (cantons):

The cantons are part of a unitary system, and unlike Swiss cantons they are completely under central government control. Under the current Constitution, all 33 cantons are equal in status. Each canton's laws, government, police and courts are subject to national discretion. However, there are some differences between the individual cantons, most particularly in terms of population and geographical area. Their populations vary between 10,363 (Bísúl) and 1,612,688 (Lawarít), and their areas between 454.08 km2 (Cazengár) and 17,345.11 km2(Bísúl).

Historic Regions
In ancient times, Rikutsar had 7 riaric (regions) instead of the familiar 33 cantons.

The administrative divisions of today arose largely from the municipal borders and centers within these historic regions. Originally the Riaric functioned as the primary 1st level administrative division, and they were not divided, but as municipalities arose the need for smaller administrative divisions became clear. Initially there were 34 cantons but the former Íttses Canton was absorbed into Hetsúl Canton later on.

Economy
Generally the Rikutsaren economy, like its government, is Socialist. Ever since the Lovebay Revolution forced an early end to the Third Empire, Socialism has flourished under the leadership of Óasmae and been embraced as the best economic system by most Rikutsaren. The best term to describe the political, cultural, and economic ideology of Rikutsar would probably be "Socialist Nationalism."

Death
In Rikutsaren culture, death is both celebrated and feared. There are two types of death in Rikutsar: one, called “Piassoro” or “body-death”, is the part which people celebrate. Families will throw a day-long celebration called Sorodasonar where everyone comes together and has a great feast in honor of the life of the deceased, often telling stories of how they knew the person or showing photo albums.

However, the second kind of death, called “Sysahabusoro”, is the feared part of death in Rikutsar. It means “forgotten-death”, literally the death of your influence on people, the death of your memory. By its very nature, nobody knows when this happens. For this reason a person, throughout their life, will meet with a biographer (normally more than one) and tell what has happened in their life. People are encouraged to focus on their feelings during these sessions, and the biographers normally have experience in psychological therapy.

When that person passes away, the biographer will compile their life into a comprehensive story and bury it with the person. This story can be stored in a physical book, an electronic device, or both. Sometimes people will request custom methods of storing their biographies, such as in spoken audio form or even in the form of a movie. These methods are more difficult to obtain.

The biographies of the people have copies accessible in a public database. The purpose of the biographical process is to delay Sysahabusoro for as long as possible after Piassoro. Rikutsaren culture believes that reading a heartfelt account of the life of a deceased person can bring them back to life, in a way. As long as they are remembered or sympathized with, they will live on.