Ventora

Ventora, officially the Kingdom and Commonwealth of Ventora (: Reino y Mancomunidad de Ventora), is a  in southern central Alutra. Located along the north coast of the xx Sea, Esharat lies to the west, with xxx and xxx bordering Ventora to the north and east, respectively. The capital is Plenas.

Properly a kingdom, Ventora's head of state has been an elected regent since the deaths of the entire royal family in a train derailment on September 13, 1961. The current Regent is Isidro Duque de Estérez. A Governor General is head of government; Pepito Conde de Araujo currently holds the office.

Etymology
The name derives from the old Ventoran ventosus (windy) and ora (coast), for the country's location on the xxx Sea and the winds attributed to it. Scholars are uncertain when the original ventosus was shortened to vent, but the consensus is it came about to shorten the region's name and for ease of pronunciation.

History
Ventorans have been seafaring peoples since the times of the first boats. As settlements grew, trade grew and exploration gave rise to more trade and influences from beyond the region.

Haksar tributary
In the last half century BC, Haksar sway grew resulting in the formations of the nobility and establishment of Ventora as a tributary region to Haksarad. Distance across the sea kept Haksar from having a strong dominance, especially with Esharati and Velorankyan incursions from the west and north.

Kingdom
With the waning of Haksarad after the 250s and 510s, Ventoran nobles established stronger positions, resulting in the rise of the kingdom in to fend off imperialism from outside. On June 20, 311, the dukes signed the Concords of Plenas, establishing the Kingdom of Ventora, with Clemente I of the House of Carres as the first king.

Renewed ties with Haksarad in the 510s strengthened the kingdom. While the Haksars viewed this as a renewal of the tributary relationship, the Ventorans saw it as a military and trade alliance. The ties lasted until the Coffee Wars in the 1700s.

War of the Three Capitals
King Florián III and the entire royal family were killed September 13, 1961, when their train derailed en route back to the capital from their summer palace. With a lack of clear succession, the Council of State appointed Tácito Duque de Castellano as regent in the interim. After months of bitter discussions, Castellano declared the Council dissolved on March 10,1962, and used military forces to secure the capital city of Plenas. This led to the formation of monarchist, republican, and northern alliances, each with varying degrees of support. With no formal means of discussion, the rivalries degraded into open, now known as the War of the Three Capitals, as three prominent dukes vied for the throne.

After two years of varying degrees of battles, the popularity of the war was waning with average citizens. The nobility also felt the economic impact of the war. Realizing continuing the fight could result in a complete loss of power, the dukes agreed to resume discussions on succession, meeting in the relatively neutral location of the Summer Palace at Terelle.

Commonwealth
On October 18, 1964, the dukes signed The Treaty of Terelle. This resulted in the formation of the current commonwealth under a regent as an overlay to the retained structure of the kingdom. The dukes agreed to the duchies having a confederal arrangement with the national commonwealth due to the lack of a monarch.

Geography
At 1405430 km2, Ventora is a medium-sized country in Altrua along the northern coast of xxx Sea. The Bay of xxx lies to the west and Bastrop Bay is near the southeast corner of the country.

Topography
The Kanaka Steppe forms in northern Ventora and stretches east across central eastern Altura. The area is sparsely populated and a fair number who live there still tend to lead semi-nomadic lifestyles.

In the southeast, the Plomosa Mountains rise and extend eastward along the xxx coast. Central and western Ventora consists of plains. The coastline tends to be rocky, but there are some good beaches. The black sand beaches of the Alpunte al Oeste region are a popular tourist destination.

Climate
Four main climate zones fall largely along geographic lines.
 * The (BWk) affects most of the northern quarter of Ventora. The area experiences hot, dry summers and cold, dry winters.
 * A band of (BSh) lies south of the Kanaka Steppe region.
 * The central plains predominantly experience sn (Cfb). The area sees generally cool temperatures with relatively few extremes.
 * Along the ooast, Ventora experiences a (Cwa). The effects of this extend upward as Cfa regions in the east and west adjacent to the central plains.

Politics
Technically a kingdom, Ventora is a commonwealth with an elected regent in the stead of the monarch and a bicameral, the Diet of State (Dieta Estatal). The country is multi- with a complex for voting and universal suffrage at age 18. Due to the lack of a monarch, the dukes and duchesses no longer have personal fealty to the head of state. As a result, the duchies are semi-autonomous and have a confederal relationship with the state.

Government
The legislative branch consists of the General Congress (Congreso General), as the upper house, and the People's Assembly (Asamblea Popular), as the lower house. Each of the 26 reigning dukes and duchesses hold a life seat in the General Congress. Members of the nobility elect another 26 nobles to 5 year terms, bringing the number of fellows to 52. All citizens may vote under the three-tier franchise system to empanel a Conclave of Electors by district who elect delegates to 2 year terms the 720 seat People's Assembly. Candidates must be at least 20 years of age and have completed national service.

Serving a 3-1/3 year term, the Regent (Regente) is. The General Congress elects the Regent who must be a titled noble at least 20 years of age. Although not required to have completed national service, in practice no candidate has stood who has not completed that obligation. The Regent appoints, with consent of the General Congress, a Governor General (Gobernador/a General) as. The Governor-General serves at the pleasure of the Regent and may resign at will but may only be dismissed by the Regent with simple majority concurrence of the People's Assembly.

The Council of State (Consejo Estatal) is the advisory council and for the government of Vespratia. Its members are the Commissioners who are the heads of the various primary departments of state. The constitution provides for the cabinet but does not define the departments themselves, leaving that to the discretion of the Governor-General. He or she appoints the Commissioners with simple majority approval of the General Congress and the assent of the Regent who issues their Royal Commissions.

Administrative divisions
Vanatas consists of 26 semi-autonomous duchies in a confederal relationship with each other and the national state. A duke or duchess rules their respective duchy, normally under an hereditary system. Governance is typically invested in a governor and executive departments. Each duchy has its own legislature and judiciary.

Duchies have a varying number of counties with a count or countess as titular head. The authorities and independence of the counties varies by duchy. The next level of governance consists of municipalities, which may be further subdivided into boroughs.

Law and judiciary
The legal system in Ventora is a system compiled into statute books called codes (códigos). There are separate codes for criminal, civil, and commercial laws, as well as laws of governance. Although the state has prominence in commercial and some criminal and governance law, most civil and criminal law is within the purview of the duchies. The country's document, the Fundamental Law of Ventora, provides for the structure of the state and its governance.

The judiciary is organized into sets of courts for each type of law plus an armed forces court system. The national court systems consist of three tiers: Courts of Inquiry, Courts of Justice, and High Courts. Duchies have their own court systems but typically mirror the national structure. A single State Supreme Court (Corte Suprema del Estado) is superior to the lower national tiers and serves as a court of last resort for appeals from the highest ducal court.

Military
Falling under the authority of the Armed Forces Commission, the country's armed forces consist of three combat branches: Army (Ejército), Navy (Armada), and Air Force (Fuerza Aerea), each under the command of their respective Captain-General. The Logistics Corps (Cuerpo Logístico) provides support to the entire armed forces. Although members of the armed forces proclaim their fealty to the Regent in the stead of the King, in practice, the Armed Forces Commissioner is the commander-in-chief and gives direction through the Captains-General.

Foreign relations
Although the Regent has influence in matters of foreign policy, it is largely the purview of the Governor-General and Foreign Affairs Commissioner. Ventora's key objectives in its foreign policy focus on trade. The country takes an expansive view in its foreign relations policies as demonstrated by tendencies to recognize any legitimate governmental authority and efforts to encourage and support local determination free from external interference.