Eternal Realm

The flag of the Eternal Realm

* Note: there is still not much known about the Eternal Realm internationally. Since early 2313, all forms of communication entering and exiting the nation have been blocked. The reasoning behind this unprecedented act is still up for speculation. It has been confirmed that the country continues to speak with fellow Accelerationist nations like Piedmont, Liechtenstein, and Zaire. Leaked communication channels between these nations have recently been discovered by international receivers, but were quickly concealed. The information within this article only shows data gathered from international decryption networks and government files from the R.C.A Exiled Administration.

The Eternal Realm, officially the Realm of Eternity, is a country in South America, taking up roughly 85% of the continent's landmass. It is bordered by Xovreko and Uruguay to the South and Caucasian Panama to the Northwest. Lux Aeterna (Sao Paulo) is the country's capital and second largest city, after Civitas Perpetuum (Rio de Janeiro). An external census estimates that as of August 2324, the Eternal Realm's population is around 1.76 billion. The Eternal Realm is the De jure successor to the Reformed Commonwealth Ascendancy, although an exiled government of the R.C.A exists in the former Constituent State of Australia. The nation has internationally been referred to as a "Shadow Realm", in reference to it's extremely isolationist stance and enigmatic encryption networks.

### Name

The current common English term for the De facto Commonwealth government is the 'Eternal Realm' or 'Realm of Eternity', and in the English Aeterni dialect, 'Statum Aeternitatis' (State of Eternity). The name originally derives from Ozul Marduk in his propaganda prior to the Civil War, where he would preach for "the complete overthrow of the R.C.A to instate an unassailable Realm that will last for an Eternity".

### **History**

On January 10th, 2311, Ozul Marduk internationally proclaimed the Commonwealth's reformation and subsequent establishment of the Eternal Realm. What had unfolded prior to his announcement was the Commonwealth Civil war, which spanned roughly 2 years, causing an unknown amount of casualties, but estimates are in the millions, mostly civilian. It is believed that the Civil War was Marduk's culmination of effort into undermining the R.C.A government, fomenting civil strife through secretive propaganda, and redirecting the military to his Accelerationist cause, while he held the position of Head of Government under Chief Overseer Alvaro Sterling.

The Commonwealth Civil War lasted from August 13th, 2308, to November 14th, 2310. Through various strategies unknown to the R.C.A government at the time, Marduk had managed to muster a large portion of the R.C.A armed forces to support his cause. Additionally, an estimated 3.4 million cybernetic warbots were manufactured to fight on the Accelerationist behalf, how and where Marduk was able to create such a large force is still unknown to this day. Current estimates indicate that the R.C.A was outnumbered 5 to 1 on the battlefield, 3 to 1 in naval combat, and 7 to 1 in air combat. The Accelerationists were able to swiftly rise up and take the heartland of the U.S.G.B (United States of Greater Brazil), cutting the nation in half. Grueling, intense urban warfare claimed countless lives as the Accelerationist legions marched closer to the nation's largest cities, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The Capital, Rio, would fall on March 19th, 2310. Just eight months later, the Reformed Commonwealth Ascendancy would announce surrender to the Accelerationists.

We predict that the total damage costs after the Civil War reached several trillion in Union Pecunia. At the conflict's conclusion, the nation was immediately put into overdrive. Marduk issued the 'Restoration and Reclamation Act', in which all citizens of the Commonwealth would solely devote their time in rebuilding what was destroyed. Massive reconstruction efforts ensued as regular citizens worked hand-in-hand to restore the nation to it's pre-war state. Currently, we cannot know the metric of how much the E.R has improved since the war, but considering their recent developments in traded goods to Vanguard Allies, it's right to assume that much has been achieved since 2310.

Today, the Eternal Realm has shown little interest in international affairs, taking an extremely isolationist stance and utilizing it's complex and enigmatic encryption network to prevent all information in the E.R from exiting. There is little known about the 'Shadow Realm' in recent years with regard to it's developments, however recent findings by the R.C.A show massive exchanges being made between the Realm and it's ally, Piedmont. Among the traded cargo found in a ledger discovered by R.C.A spies were several hundred thousand WMD's. The discovery has sparked widespread upheaval in the R.C.A, prompting Khasan Paskal to speak with the F.C.A leaders and ultimately join the alliance to inform them of the findings but to also counter the spread of Accelerationism and hopefully retake the mainland.

### **Geography**

The Eternal Realm occupies a vast area of continental South America, stretching from Panama in the far northwest to the Rio de La Plata estuary in the far southeast. It borders the South Pacific Ocean to the west, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east. It's current land area is estimated at 724.655 km2 (279.791 miles2), setting the E.R as the world's third largest country, before the North American Reich and after Tanrik. The country ranks third in population at 1.76 billion, before the N.A.R's 2.18 billion and after Germany's 957 million. If it were split in half down the middle, 78% of the Realm's population would lie on the eastern half, while the remaining 22% would lie in the western half. The two largest and most populous cities, Lux Aeterna (82.1 million) and Civitas Perpetuum (79.7 million), are government-mandated metropolitan districts that hold special representational status in the National Council. The Realm spans four time zones; from UTC−5 comprising Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and the westernmost portion of Amazonas, to UTC−4 in the center of the country, to UTC−3 in the eastern states, and UTC−2 in the Atlantic islands.

#### Physical Geography

The country can be divided into three physical regions: mountains and highlands, river basins, and coastal plains. Mountains and coastal plains generally run in a north-south direction, while highlands and river basins generally run in an east-west direction. The country's major mineral resources are gold, silver, copper, iron ore, tin, and petroleum. It's extreme geographic variation contributes to the nation's large number of biomes. The E.R coastal plains’ dry desert biome rises to the rugged alpine biome of the Andes mountains in the far west. One of the nation's river basins, the Amazon, is defined by dense, tropical rain forest, while the other, Paraná, is made up of vast grasslands. With an unparalleled number of plant and animal species, The E.R's rich biodiversity is unique among the nations of the world.

#### Climate

The distribution of the average temperatures in the Eternal Realm presents a constant regularity from the 30° of latitude south. In temperate latitudes, winters and summers are milder than in North America. This is because the most extensive part of the nation is in the equatorial zone- the region has more areas of equatorial plains than any other region, therefore giving the Southern Cone more oceanic influence, which moderates year round temperatures. The average annual temperatures in the Amazon basin oscillate around 27 °C (81 °F), with low thermal amplitudes and high rainfall indices. Between the Maracaibo Lake and the mouth of the Orinoco, predominates an equatorial climate of the type Congolese. The east-central Brazilian plateau has a humid and warm tropical climate. The northern and eastern parts of the Argentine pampas have a humid subtropical climate with dry winters and humid summers of the Chinese type, while the western and eastern ranges have a subtropical climate of the dinaric type. At the highest points of the Andean region, climates are colder than the ones occurring at the highest point of the Norwegian fjords. In the Andean plateaus, the warm climate prevails, although it is tempered by the altitude, while in the coastal strip, there is an equatorial climate of the Guinean type. From this point until the north of the Chilean coast appear, successively, Mediterranean oceanic climate, temperate of the Breton type and, already in Tierra del Fuego, cold climate of the Siberian type.

### **Government and Society**

#### Government

The Eternal Realm's government cannot be clearly defined, as there is so little data available to be able to make an accurate definition. Decryption networks from 16 different countries worldwide have compiled the following information to best define what the E.R's governmental system could possibly be.

##### Ideology

The nation undoubtedly follows a contemporary Accelerationist ideology with slight left-wing attributes; the complete revision and rapid advancement of technology through extreme societal change, the dissolution of capitalism and it's recreation into a new system, and the complete rejection of old ideas and old thinking in favor for revisionist ones. Many in the former Commonwealth and abroad believed that the R.C.A's Ultraprogressivist ideology was radical, but the Marduk's version of Accelerationism redefines the term 'radical'.

Accelerationism in the Eternal Realm follows a highly refined hierarchical system that is centered around stratocratic-based regional societies. Engrained within every facet of society is the strict 'Olympia' Doctrine that enforces the need of every citizen to devote themselves to the Realm's security, which is oftentimes symbolized through the Ouroboros Symbol and accompanied by the 'Aeternian Oath':

"There will be none to prevent our ultimate objective. Fulfillment will be achieved, no matter the cost. Hellfire awaits those who dare to oppose us. The death of Eternity is the beginning of omnicide. I shall forever stand with the common citizen in unity, my adherence to the Realm is unwavering."

In a sense, Marduk's form of Accelerationism combines the nation's past ideologies of Ultraprogressivism and Revanchism with Ultranationalism. Some of the world's political scientists have coined this agglomorated political ideology as 'Cardinalism'.

##### Executive Power

The Cardinal Luminary of the Eternal Realm holds ultimate authority over every decision made, essentially acting as an autocrat. They are able to override legislation and can enact and amend governmental policies freely. Acting as Head of Government is the Subordinate Cardinal position, which serves as a direct succession to the leadership hierarchy in the event that the Cardinal Luminary is killed. The Subordinate Luminary is responsible for leading the National Council and appointing Premiers. Below this position lies the Creed of Posterity, a council made up of the Five Proselytes, who act as advisors for the Cardinal but don't hold any executive power. Under the Creed of Posterity is the National Council, composed of 6 Premiers, each responsible for leading one of the nation's federal executive departments. Criticism that this council has been too slow to respond to time-sensitive issues and too weak to lead the powerful federal bureaucracy has led to the appointment of a High Elder - a position directly granted by the Cardinal that is holds special representational status in the National Council. Premiers are typically appointed to serve a 30 year term, although various circumstances can result in longer or shorter periods of service.

On the regional scale, each state within the Eternal Realm is marginally controlled by an Overseer that acts as an administrative official. The majority of Overseers are high-ranking military personnel, each picked and assigned by the Premier of National Integrity. Overseers retain their jobs until death, to which a new Overseer is selected once again to repeat the process.

##### Legislative and Judicial Power

Both Legislative and Judicial powers are held by the National Assembly, a bicameral body that has grown to become almost ceremonial in nature, having rarely rejected a government proposal in its history. While a de-facto single party state, various opposition parties approved by the Cardinal maintain nominal representation within the legislative assembly, although all must remain subordinate to the national interest.

Both the National Council and Assembly are headquartered in Sao Paulo, owing to that city's status as being the nation's former capital and becoming one of the first major metropolitan areas to be fully restored in the post-civil war era.

#### Society

Society within the Eternal Realm implements a stratocratic tiered-citizenship structure. A mandatory four year period of nation service either within the military or other recognized institution grants every citizen certain rights while higher tiers and their associated privileges and responsibilities are typically accessible only to those who have achieved a high ranking within the Realm's national reputation system. Citizenship tiers determine everything from the type of employment a person is allowed to seek and whether limitations exist on their freedom of movement, all the way down to the amount of water allotted to their showers each month. The system remains fluid, with citizens often gaining and losing tiers multiple times over the course of their lives. A reduction in a citizens tier is one of the most common sentences for minor crimes, with usually specific criteria assigned for it's reinstatement. While advances in technology and production mean that even the lowest tiered citizens can enjoy comfortable lives, the system serves to strictly promote loyalty to the Realm and a responsibility over Aeternian society as a whole. It also acts as an effective tool used to combat wastefulness or corruption, albeit at the expense of personal liberty. The predominant status of the military within the Realm's citizenship structure means that almost every position of authority is held by individuals who have either completed their service or remain a part of the armed forces, with rare exception.

After the Civil War, it is speculated that a monumental Cultural revolution took place across Brazil, labeled as the 'Grand Progression.' Marduk enacted the creation of a gigantic paramilitary force called the 'Aeon Throng', comprised mostly of youth and young adults to hunt down and eliminate any traces of the nation's history. Their ultimate mission was to destroy the 'Three Decrepits': decrepit ideology, decrepit culture, decrepit tradition, so that they could achieve Marduk's plan to rewrite Commonwealth history and introduce, promote, and propagate the Accelerationist ideology. The Aeon Throng succeeded greatly; buildings and streets were renamed, cultural sites were destroyed, libraries burned to the ground, suspected traitors sent to prisons or internment camps. Their efforts were relentless and brutal. By the turn of 2316 when the Aeon Throng was disbanded and reorganized into a separate group, an estimated 15,600,000 citizens were imprisoned, killed, or exiled.

Education within the Realm's society resembles more closely to a deeply-monitored propaganda network than an institution for learning. In schools, the Cardinal is practically viewed as a deity, a provider for everything, a master of the arts, an all-knowing omnipotent being who was destined to lead the Accelerationist legions to victory and beyond. This is what is portrayed and indoctrinated into the minds of every citizen in the Realm, starting at early age. Devotion to the Realm is the guiding rule that children are brought up with. At age 12, they are required to attend military training and exercise school for 6 months alongside standard education. At 18, they are enlisted into the armed forces where they will serve for two years, and again at age 20 for another mandatory 2 years. A strict Spartanist principle is engrained in the military that enforces the need for citizens to preserve an indomitable spirit, have undaunted courage, and boast stark self-discipline.

### **Military**

The most critical element of the Eternal Realm is the armed forces, which retains the ability to assume direct control over the nation in the event its civil leadership were killed or incapacitated. Land Force Command remains the largest and primary branch, responsible for the operational readiness of the nation's conventional ground forces. A wholly mechanized army, it utilizes a combined arms doctrine in which an enemy's forward defenses are broken by overwhelming force, at which point fresh uncommitted mobile operational reserves are sent to exploit the strategic depth of an enemy front.

    Air Command is the second largest branch, dedicated to achieving air and space superiority as well as facilitating rapid global mobility and strategic bombing. Advancements in aerospace technology has seen the deployment of Air Command assets across the solar system, typically unmanned satelllites and drones, but also manned squadrons and picket ships.

Smallest among the major services is Fleet Command which maintains a largely automated armada of ballistic missile submarines that continuously circle the globe in anticipation for any conflict.