Palrus

**Palrus** (Limian: *Palrus*) is a sovereign state located in Southeastern Eurea. An island nation, Palrus has maritime borders with Bazalyan to the northwest and Lima to the southwest. Its capital is Chaidroupoli, located in the center of the island, while its most-populous city is Palopolis, located on the southwestern coast. Palrus has a population of about 863 thousand inhabitants.

Organized civilization in Palrus did not begin until after its annexation by the Limian Empire in the 1st-century AD. Prior to this, the island was sparsely populated by unorganized scavengers. Following its annexation, the island saw mass immigration from Limians, leading to an eventual extinction of its native population. Centuries afterwards, the island became a haven for immigrants from the neighboring nations of Aferia, Bazalyan, and Borgizstan, with many fleeing economic downturns or political instability in either their home Kingdoms, the Kingdom of Kasha, or the Kashan Empire. Ethnic mixing was seen as taboo, which led to the four main ethnic groups of the island developing their own distinct neighborhoods and cultures on the island. By the 19th-century, instability in the Empire led to the formation of the Kingdom of Lima. With the establishment of the Kingdom, nationalist sentiment broke out in Palrus, with a growing independence movement. In order to overcome political instability and economic downturn, the Kingdom sold the territory of Palrus to the much more powerful Ditrovian Kingdom in 1905, leading Palrus to become the Overseas Ditrovian Collectivity of Palrus. The sale of the island led to nationalist sentiment to grow even more, with the name of the island becoming synonymous with political tension and nationalist violence in the Ditrovian Kingdom; the Ditrovian armed forces had stationed numerous units on the island by the 1910s in order to quell potential uprisings. In the 1960s, the Ditrovian government began to acknowledge the growing independence movement in Palrus, and a successful independence referendum led to Palrusian independence in 1965.

Since receiving its independence, Palrus has established itself as a unitary presidential constitutional republic. The President serves as both head of state and head of government, wielding immense power. They are elected through a popular vote for a term of four-years that can be renewed only once, and are tasked with serving as a unifying figure for the country, representing the interests of Palrus both abroad and at home, serving as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, leading a council of cabinet members, and implementing their policy agenda through executive actions. Unlike in some other similar systems, the President has no power over the leadership of parliament. The Chairperson of Parliament is the chief legislator of the nation, who is elected by the parliament at the start of each legislative session; due to the nature of their election, they typically are simply the leader of the largest party in parliament, and are tasked with implementing their policy agenda through legislation. When the President and Chairperson of Parliament come from opposing political parties, the President's power is largely minimized, as the Chairperson is not required to include any of the President's political agenda in their legislation; however, when they do come from the same party, the governing political party wields tremendous power and can implement widespread policy changes in the nation. The House of Representatives is the nation's 115-seat unicameral legislature.

Of its population of about 863 thousand, approximately 76.5% of the population identifies as ethnically Limic-Palrusian, 10.9% as Aferic-Palrusian, 6.5% as Borgiz-Palrusian, and 4.2% as Bazalyani-Palrusian; the government views these four ethnic groups as "native" to the island. The remaining 1.9% consists of other ethnic groups, primarily Ditrovians or those of immigrant origin. The sole official language of Palrus is Limian, the only known member of its own branch of Eurean languages. Limian is spoken natively by approximately 87.5% of the population, even those who are not of Limic-Palrusian ethnic origin. There are four languages with special minority language status: Aferian, Bazalyani, Borgiz, and Ditrovian. Aferian, an Aferic language, is spoken natively by about 5.5% of the population, Bazalyani and Borgiz, both Tagik languages, are spoken natively by about 1.5% and 2.9% of the population, respectively, while Ditrovian, a Lungaric language, is spoken natively by about 1.5% of the population; the remaining 1.1% speak other languages natively, primarily Kashan. Limian and Ditrovian serve as the *lingua franca* of the island, with 97.9% of the population being able to communicate in the former and 90.2% in the latter. The island is home to relative religious diversity; approximately 80.1% adheres to Eastern Eurean Christianity, 10.6% to Eurean Islam, and 2.6% to other religions, while the remaining 6.7% identifies as atheist, agnostic, or irreligious. Weekly religious attendance differs largely based on ethnic group, while 24.6% of the total population states that they attend religious services at least weekly.