Lemuria

**Lemuria** (Lemurian: *Lemūrija*), officially the **Republic of Lemuria** (Lemurian: *Republika Lemūrija*), is a sovereign state in Northern Eurea, bordered by Estland to the north, Kasha to the east, and Levonia to the south. Its capital and most-populous city is Tina, located in the center of the country. Lemuria has a population of approximately 3.0 million people.

Organized settlement in modern-day Lemuria first began in the fourth century CE. The territory was later unified as the Kingdom of Lemuria in the tenth century, functioning as a small kingdom in the region. The Kingdom was later invaded and annexed by the Kingdom of Medland in 1186, becoming incorporated as the Province of Lemuria while the monarchy was deposed. After four centuries of Medish rule, the Province was traded to the Kashan Empire in 1592, where it became known as Kashan Lemuria. As Kashan territory, the Lemurians suffered from prejudice and legal discrimination, eventually leading to heightened national sentiments. Following a fascist revolution in 1905, the Empire became the Kashan Union, and Lemuria was incorporated as the Kashan Fascist Republic of Lemuria. While under the control of the Kashan Union, civil liberties were greatly diminished within Lemuria. Throughout the Union, Lemuria became well-known as an attractive place to live, and numerous Kashans began moving into its coastal beach towns *en masse*. Beginning in the late-1970s, widespread protests against the Kashan government began to emerge in Lemuria. By the 1980s, the protests had become massive, and Lemuria declared its independence in 1987. Unwilling to quell the rebellions due to internal struggles elsewhere in the country, the Kashan Union accepted the declaration and opted to recognize their independence, making Lemuria the first independent country to arise from the Kashan Union, and paving the way for further independence movements.

Since its independence in 1987, Lemuria has functioned as a unitary parliamentary republic. Its head of state is the President, who wields little actual powers. The President is elected by Lemurian voters for a five-year term that can be renewed once. The President's duties include signing passed legislation, with a two-thirds veto power, formally appointing the Prime Minister, cabinet members, and ambassadors, serving as a representative of the nation both at home and abroad, and serving as commander-in-chief of the Lemurian Armed Forces. The Prime Minister is the head of government, and chief politician of the country. Their duties include leading a cabinet of ministers, implementing national policy, and overseeing day-to-day functions of the country. The Prime Minister is typically selected by the majority coalition in parliament, but is not a member of parliament themselves. The parliament of Lemuria is the 185-seat unicameral Maenis. Members are directly elected by Lemurian voters at-large using party list voting and proportional representation.

Of its population of approximately 3.0 million, approximately 86.5% of the population identifies as ethnically Lemurian. A further 12.1% identifies as ethnically Kashan, while the remaining 1.4% identifies with other ethnic groups. The Kashan community in Lemuria first arrived in the early-20th century, following the foundation of fascist Lemuria. The community primarily resides in the capital city, seaside coastal beach communities, and industrial cities along the Kashan border. The sole national and official language of Lemuria is Lemurian, one of only two living Urmic languages along with Levonian. Lemurian is spoken natively by approximately 83.5% of the population, although it is understood by approximately 95.1%. Kashan holds no official status, but is still widely spoken in Lemuria, particularly among the Kashan community. Approximately 14.8% of the population speaks Kashan natively, while 80.3% can understand it; this number is higher within urban communities and amongst older individuals. Lemuria is an irreligious nation; approximately 11.5% adheres to Eastern Eurean Orthodox Christianity, primarily the Kashan community, 6.3% adheres to other Christian churches, 0.9% adheres to other religions, while the remaining 81.3% identifies as atheist, agnostic, or irreligious.