Escaria

**Escaria** (Escarian: *Escarha*), officially the **Kingdom of Escaria** (Escarian: *Reinada d'Escarha*), is a sovereign state located in Southern Eurea, bordered by Dain to the east, northeast, and southeast. Its capital and most-populous city is Heloa, located on the southeastern coast of the country. Escaria has a population of about 9.1 million inhabitants.

Organized civilization first began in the territory of modern-Escaria in the 5th-century, with various small city-states and kingdoms being established. In the 13th-century, the city-states were unified under the Kingdom of Escaria. The Kingdom was under constant threat of invasion by the powerful Kingdom of Dain, its only neighbor. After numerous small-scale conflicts, Escaria and Dain signed a peace treaty in 1745, promising to respect each other's borders, which has been honored ever since. While initially functioning as an absolute monarchy, the nation became a constitutional monarchy in 1889. They colonized several plots of land in Tarfica, eventually establishing the colony of Escarian Tarfica; by 1967, all of Escaria's colonies in Tarfica had received independence. On 24 December 1925, military general João Miranda led a *coup d'état* against the government, resulting in the exile of the royal family to Regia and the establishment of Mirandanian Escaria. A fascist state, Miranda formed close ties with the Kashan Union. Following Miranda's death in 1970, democracy was restored to Escaria, a new constitution was written, and the royal family returned from exile.

Since the restoration of democracy in 1970, Escaria has established itself as a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Its head of state is the Monarch. The Monarch acts solely as the ceremonial head of state, with no real powers besides those they exercise for ceremonial functions. The chief politician of the country and head of government is the Prime Minister. Typically the leader of the governing coalition in the Luges Generales (Escarian parliament), the Prime Minister is in charge of legislation, acts as the chief international diplomat and ambassador of Escaria, and heads a council of ministers tasked with drafting legislation. The Luges Generales is a bicameral parliament, consisting of the Senate – the 112-seat upper house – and the House of Deputies – the 345-seat lower house.

Of Escaria's population of 9.1 million, approximately 85.4% identifies as being ethnically Escarian, while the remaining 14.6% identifies as other ethnic groups; most of these ethnic groups originate in the former Escarian Tarfica, and arrived in Escaria during the colonial period. The sole official and national language of Escaria is Escarian, a Proto-Regian language. Escarian is spoken natively by approximately 95.5% of the population, while the remaining 4.5% speak other languages natively. Escaria has a highly Christian population, with 84.5% identifying as Christian; further, 79.5% adheres to Eurean Catholicism, while the remaining 5.0% are either nondenominational Christians or belong to a different Christian church. 3.2% of the population adheres to a different religion, while 12.3% identifies as irreligious, agnostic, or atheist. Weekly religious attendance is approximately 30.5%.