Sodrax

**Sodrax** (Sodraxian: *Sodraks*), officially the **Borderlands of Sodrax** (Sodraxian: *Simihibak af Sodraks*), is a landlocked country located in central Asmatys.

It is bordered by Consensum to the south, Illuminata Maxima to the north, Populus Poetarum to the west, and Lashardia and Adoriam to the east. As of a 2015 estimate, Sodrax has 3.2 million inhabitants.

Sodrax is a parliamentary republic, established under its current form in 1900. The capital city is Amelon, however the city of Vorshdek has the largest population. The official language of Sodrax is Sodraxian. Sodrax is a unitary state, comprised of six districts.

Indigenous people of Sodrax are known as Sodraxians. Sodraxian is an Asmatic language, and member of the Titovic language family, closely related to Maximan.

The Borderlands of Sodrax was founded on 13 August 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 errupt in war. After nine years of battle against Zakharian forces, Titova was defeated and broken up into smaller nations.

Sodrax is a member of the Asmatic Union. It is ranked ninth in Asmatys on the Human Development Index, and has been classified as a middle income econmy. Its currency is the Sodraxian Token.

## History

### The Kingdom of Titova

The territory of modern-day Sodrax was first settled by hunter-gatherers in 1500BC. In the late sixth century, Tito the Conquerer was born in Amelon. Throughout his lifetime, he built up the Kingdom of Titova, incorporating nearby territory into his kingdom.

Sodrax was the center of the kingdom, with Amelon being its capital and largest city. Sodrax was known throughout the kingdom as the most prosperous and urbanized region, with many Lashardians, Consesumites, and Maximans moving to the region during this time period.

### 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 the war-torn Sodrax.

### Modern-day

Following its independence, Sodrax established itself as a parliamentary republic, with a democratically elected leader and parliament. The 80-seat parliament the *Shorsta*, has also been used since independence. The Sodraxian government has frequently come under scrutiny in recent-times under allegations of government corruption, bribery, and non-transparency.

## Demographics

### Ethnic groups

During the time of the Kingdom of Titova, Sodrax was known for having one of the most diverse ethnic makeups in the nation. According to the 1978 census, 34% were Sodraxian, 16% were Maximan, 10% were Lashardian, 10% were Zakharian, 8% were Consensumian, 5% were Adoriamian, 5% were Pesan, 3% were Mockingtopian, 2% were Naxnic, and 7% were either mixed, undeclared, or were a different ethnicity.

Following the breakup of the kingdom, the population slowly became more homogenous, with currently 92% of the country identifying as Sodraxian, 5% as Maximan, and 3% as others. Over 85% of Maximans in Sodrax reside around the northeastern city of Marianna, which previously belonged to Illuminata Maxima.

### Language

The national language of Sodrax is Sodraxian, closely related to Maximan. Sodraxian is a member of the Titovic branch of the Asmatic language family. There are two main dialects of Sodraxian, Shan Sodraxian, which is spoken in the west of the country which is heavily influenced by Naxnic and Poetarumian, and Deli Sodraxian, spoken in the east of the country which is more influenced by Lashardian. The two main dialects are further broken into subgroups, but are all mutually intelligible to each other.

Approximately 94% of the Sodraxian population speaks Sodraxian as a native language, while 4% speak Maximan, and 2% speak other languages. About 99.3% of the population can read, write, and speak Sodraxian, and 39% of the population can speak a language other than their mother tongue, most often Maximan, Lashardian, Consensumian, or English.

### Religion

The largest religion in Sodrax is Christianity, with over 90% of the population identifying as Christians. Traditionally, Sodraxians belong to the Roman Catholic faith, with 87% of the population identifying as Roman Catholic, and a further 3% identifying as "other Christian". Additionally, 7% of the nation identifies as "atheist, agnostic, or unaffiliated", while 3% as "other religions". Regardless of religion, about 85% of Sodraxians attend religious services regularly.

In the same poll, 74% of Sodraxians agreed with the statement "there is a God", 20% stated they believed "there is some form of spirit or life force, but not a God", and 6% stated "there is no God, spirit, or life force".

### Education

The Sodraxian education system begins when a child is five years old. At five years old, children enter primary school. Primary school lasts from ages 5 to 14. In primary school, students study mathematics, science, history, Sodraxian, English, a second foreign language, art, music, religion, and physical education. They remain with one teacher for all their subjects (except art, music, and physical education) and have the same class for every subject and every grade. Students are given very little freedom with their education in primary school, only being able to choose their second foreign language from Maximan, Lashardian, and Consensumian.

After graduating primary school at the age of 14, students move onto high school. Both high school and primary are compulsory for all Sodraxian students. Students are able to choose between five different high schools: A mathematics and science based high school, an art and music based high school, a general high school with no specific focus, a vocational high school for students wanting to go straight into the work force following high school, and a high school designed for students who struggled in primary school academically. In each school, there are dozens of different programs relating to the school's focus, such as fine arts in an art and music high school or cosmetology in a vocational high school. Each student picks one program and follows that for all four years. Following high school, students are encouraged to attend university. About 76% of Sodraxian high school graduates attend university.
Universities in Sodrax are free for Sodraxian citizens, but foreigners must pay a relatively small tuition fee. There are twelve universities located in Sodrax: Each district capital has their own university, while there are also private schools, and religious-based schools throughout the nation. The most popular universities are Vorshdek University in Vorshdek, and Sodraxian International University, located in Amelon.