Adoriam

**Adoriam** (Adoriamian: *Adorja*), officially the **Republic of Adoriam** (Adoriamian: *Republikiadorja*), is a country located in eastern Asmatys.

It is bordered by Rentusca to the north, Lashardia to the south, and Illuminata Maxima and Sodrax to the west. As of a 2015 estimate, Adoriam has 9.5 million inhabitants.

Adoriam is a parliamentary republic, established under its current form in 1900. The capital city is Adoriam City. The official language of Adoriam is Adoriamian. Adoriam is a unitary state centered in Adoriam City, comprised of eighteen provinces, several municipalities, and a capital district.

Indigenous people of Adoriam are known as Adoriamians. Adoriamian is an Asmatic language, closely related to Lashardian.

Adoriam was founded on 1 March 1900, following the breakup of the Kingdom of Titova. The breakup was instigated by the secession of Zakharia in 1890, which led the kingdom to erupt in war. After nine years of battle against Zakharian forces, Titova was defeated and broken up into smaller nations.

Adoriam is a member of the Asmatic Union, ranks very high in the human development index, and has been classified as a high income economy. Its currency is the Adorjalin.

## History

### Kingdom of Titova

Adoriam was settled permanently in 1400BC. In the early seventh century, Tito the Conquerer discovered the land and along with his army, incorporated the territory into his Kingdom of Titova. The population of Adoriam gradually increased following its incorporation into the kingdom, with many Titovans emigrating to Adoriam due to the promise of free land.

### War of Independence

Following years of protests in Zakharia, in 1889, the Duke of Zakharia sent a letter of secession to the King of Titova and formally released the Zakharian Declaration of Independence. Upon hearing the news, the king sent a fleet of men to Zakharia and formally declared war, calling up all able-bodied Titovan men to fight. The war went on for nine years and ended in 1898, following the surrender of the Kingdom of Titova and the execution of the Titovan king. Following these, all the other regions of the Kingdom of Titova released their declarations of independence from the Kingdom of Titova, including Adoriam.

### Modern day

Following its independence, Adoriam established itself as a parliamentary republic, with a parliament, president, and prime minister being elected every four years. They have kept this format ever since.

## Geography

Adoriam lies on the eastern coast of Asmatys. The nation borders Rentusca to the north, Lashardia to the south, and Illuminata Maxima and Sodrax to the west.

### Climate

Most of Adoriam experiences a cold climate, due to it having a mountainous terrain. However, the eastern coast of the country experiences quite warm summers yet cold snowy winters. This area has become known as the vacation spot of Adoriam, for its great weather and renown beaches.

The country's average winter temperature is -1C (29F), while the average summer temperature is 26C (78F). Adoriam experiences all four seasons of unequal lengths, with winter lasting from from early-November until late-April, and summer lasting from late-June until early-September.

## Politics

The 150-seat unicameral Lashardian parliament, the *Mevna*, is elected by popular vote every four years. The president is elected by popular vote every four years as well, while the prime minister is elected in the parliamentary election as the leader of the party with the most seats in the Mevna. Presidents can serve one term of four years, while the prime minister can serve two four-year terms. The prime minister and president form the executive branch together, the Mevna forms the legislative branch, while the Adoriamian Supreme Court forms the judicial branch.

### Foreign relations

Adoriam is a member of the World Assembly and Asmatic Union. It has diplomatic relations with all nations of the world, and has embassies in each as well.

Since its independence in 1900, Lashardia has had close ties to its neighbors Lashardia and Rentusca. While originally holding strong ties to Sodrax and Illuminata Maxima as well, these bonds have since weakened due to the widespread government corruption and other instability in those countries. While Lashardia is its closest ally, the nation also has close ties with Populus Poetarum and Pesa.

### Human rights

Adoriam has been commended by international organizations for its human rights. Human rights of all residents, whether citizen or not are guaranteed in the Adoriamian constitution. Non-citizens hold the same rights as citizens except for the right to vote in Adoriamian elections and carry a Adoriamian passport.

Adoriam has been ranked above-average in terms of press freedom, privacy, and human development.

### Military

Adoriam maintains a small army, navy, air force, and marine force of about 30,000 altogether. Conscription has never been used in the country.

### Administrative divisions

Adoriam is a unitary state, divided into eighteen provinces and one capital district, and further divided into several municipalities. Populated places are organized into cities, towns, and villages. Cities are the heads of their municipality and typically are the most urbanized and have the greatest population. Towns are other populated places in municipalities with a smaller amount of citizens, while villages have even smaller populations.

The eighteen provinces are Forcheta, Korsella, Ceca, Jorsanda, Lima, Polstina, Katarina, Grosta, Bushtia, Hanka, Fridena, Sballa, Dhena, Sofia, Kita, Glorja, Unjeria, and Gita. The Adoriam City Federal District is governed like a province but not considered one.

The largest city of the nation is the capital Adoriam City, followed by Bonidesa, followed by Mona.

## Economy

The officially currency of Adoriam, is the Adorjalin, which has been used since independence in 1900. In a 2010 survey, 82% of Adoriamians support the current currency.

All companies in Adoriam are state-run, with privatization illegal. State-owned industry accounts for 42% of the government's GDP, while the rest is government-funded. The Lashardian GDP of $221 billion, is spent mostly on education, welfare, healthcare, and the environment.

## Demographics

### Ethnic groups

Adoriam's population has been largely homogeneous since its independence, but previously housed many ethnic groups while under the Kingdom of Titova. According to the 1878 Titova census, 56% of Adoriam were Adoriamians, 19% were Lashardians, 12% were Maximans, 7% were Sodraxians, 4% were Pesans, and 2% were Rentuscans.

Following the breakup, most non-Adoriamians returned to their home countries which were also gaining independence. According to the 2014 Adoriamian census, 90% of the country identified as ethnically Adoriamian, 4% as Pesan, 4% as Lashardian, and 2% as other ethnicities. The majority of ethnic Pesans arrived in Adoriam following the 1969 coup d'état in Pesa which saw the country struggle financially and politically for a number of the following years. However, most Lashardians reside on the border with Lashardia and have had their family's reside there for generations.

### Language

The sole language of Adoriam is Adoriamian, related to Lashardian and more distantly to Pesan. Adoriamian is a member of the Titovic branch of the Asmatic languages, the dominant language family in Asmatys.

Each province of Adoriam speaks a different dialect of the language, with the main groupings of the dialects being North Adoriamian (heavily influenced by Rentuscan), South Adoriamian (more similar to Lashardian), East Adoriamian, and West Adoriamian. The dialect spoken in Adoriam City is considered to be "standard Adoriamian". Some North Adoriamian dialects are completely undecipherable to other Adoriamians, while some South Adoriamian dialects are mutually intelligible to Lashardian.

Approximately 94% of Adoriamians speak Adoriamian as their mother tongue, while 4% speak Lashardian, and 2% speak other languages, mostly Pesan. About 87% of Adoriamians speak at least one foreign language, most often English, Lashardian, Rentuscan, Pesan, or a European language.

### Religion

Adoriamians have traditionally never belonged to an organized religion, however spirituality is considered a crucial part to many Adoriamians' lives. While most Adoriamians do not belong to a religion, many of them are very spiritual and have their own personal religious beliefs. Religion in Adoriam is considered very personal, and not something that is discussed often with other people.

According to the 2014 census, 94% of Adoriamians identified themselves as atheist, agnostic, or unaffiliated, 3% identified as Muslim (mainly Pesans), 2% as Christian (mainly Lashardian Orthodox Christian), and 1% as other religions. In a 2012 survey, 4% of Adoriamians agreed with the statement "there is a God", 90% believed "there is some sort of spirit or life force, but not a God", and 6% believed "there is no God, spirit, or life force".

Likely to do with their distaste for organized religion, Adoriamians have also tended to be very tolerant of other religions. According to the same poll, 97% of Adoriamians agreed with the statement "you don't need to believe in God to be moral", while 1% disagreed, and 2% agreed "in some circumstances".

### Education

Mandatory education in Adoriam begins when a child is five-years old. At this age, they begin first grade at primary school. Primary school lasts from ages 5 until 14. In the early years of primary school, students are taught simple mathematics, basic science, Adoriamian, English, art, music, physical education, and cooking. Later in primary school, students can begin to customize their classes more and take things like a second or third foreign language, history, psychology, business, government, and drama.

After a student graduates from primary school, they enter high school. Students can opt to attend a gymnasium or vocational school. Gymnasiums are much more challenging than vocational schools and prepare students for university, while vocational schools are for students who plan to enter a career after graduating. Each vocational school is centered on a specific trade, while all gymnasiums teach the same basic subjects, despite some being known for having good programs in certain subjects. The mandatory subjects taught in gymnasiums are math, science, history, Adoriamian, English, a second foreign language, and physical education. Students also take elective courses. In vocational schools, these subjects are also taught but the actual vocation is given priority. The vocational schools offered in Adoriam are as follows:

* Animal care
* Architecture
* Athletics
* Carpentry
* Childcare
* Cooking
* Construction
* Cosmetology
* Hospitality
* Fashion design
* Performing arts
* Social work
* Waiting

Students graduate from high school at age 18, and gymnasium students then attend university. Because university tuition in Adoriam is funded by taxes, admission is very competitive and approximately 20% of students will not be accepted to a university. For students who are not accepted to a university, there are polytechnic universities scattered throughout the country which offer Bachelor's and Master's degrees. University typically takes four years, but can be longer or shorter depending on a student's degree and course load. The largest universities in Adoriam are Adoriamian International University and the University of Adoriam, both located in Adoriam City.

## Culture

### Holidays

The following are national holidays in Adoriam.

* ***New Year's Day (Dega fledar)* – 1 January**
* ***Commemoration Day (Inga fledar)* – 17 January** – A day of mourning to commemorate the deaths of those in the War of Independence.
* ***Constitution Day (Nishermlati fledar)* – 11 February**
* ***Independence Day (Friordahaf fledar)* – 1 March**
* ***Spirituality Day (Gledam fledar)* – First Monday of May** – A day of celebration for one's spirituality and to commemorate those's deceased loved ones.