Gemurtrak

Gemurtrak, Officially the Federated Duchies of Gemurtrak, is a country in North-West [Continent Name]. It is situated by the Ornyenka Strait to the West, the [unnamed] Ocean, and is bordered to the South by Takjaana. The Capital is Ornpyat. It comprises 12 States, 4 Duchies, and 1 federal administrative territory, all of which collectively spans ~1.5 million square kilometers. The States are typically tied in some form of administrative control by one of 4 Duchies, typically aligning towards the major cultural group that largely represents the Duchy in question.

Formally a collection of petty nations, Gemurtrak formed following military pressure from the Southern Empire which threatened to consume the various nations. They joined together as the Confederation of the north and held back numerous small invasions. The Confederation almost collapsed after some time into the Great southern war but made an immediate recovery following the catastrophic defeat of the Southern Empire after the death of the Stag King and subsequent loss in the Battle of fallen kings. This victory soon led to a consolidation of power in the northern nations behind the *Stag Slayer* into Gemurtrak. This period of success soon fell apart after King Ardik, the original Stag Slayer died in 1051. What followed was over 50 years of scheming and infighting caused by a weak central government and uncertain lines of succession.

The internal strife calmed following the ascendance of Udrak of Nzek to the throne and the implementation of the Rights of Imperial Lineage. The nation enjoyed general prosperity until the Inheritance Wars in 1480 following the death of the entire royal family. This caused shockwaves that would additionally result in the loss of much of the eastern territories of Gemurtrak after the Two brothers War. The nation continued to maintain its position of trade power it was lucky to possess that soon fell into the ire of international interests during the mid-late 1700’s in the interest of opening the international tradeway to be better aligned to the goals of foreign powers. This series of struggles for control of the area (later dubbed the Wars for the gap) saw Gemurtraks dominant presence begin to dwindle after numerous painful losses in cessation of territory. These were later reobtained during the Fury War of 1842 which saw the return of large swaths of land to Gemurtrak.

Following the return of the territories, internal strife began to reoccur as goals of the various smaller entities became misaligned with one another. Emperor Mazkwat, then re established leader of the nation following the Fury War, maintained the stability of the nation and began reforms to change the now archaic system the nation still functioned under. These reforms would be incomplete following his death in 1874 and would culminate in the 1886 Crisis of the crown, creating a constitutional monarchy following it’s resolution in the 1888 meeting of the Imperial Chambers. The democratic system implemented however was heavily flawed and later resulted in much of the Assembly to consist of former members of the military staff, with the right wing Monarch Interest Party having a severe hold on the elected government. The government later faced major reforms in 1922 and 1943 after major outcries by the public to bring change into the government. The final of these changes occurred in 1952 following the attempted coup which heavily restricted members of higher military staff from taking part in politics. The rise of Left leaning political revolutions overseas (in particular the Ordrish Revolution in 1978) has led to increased support for both sides of Gemurtraks government with numerous left aligned parties being banned by the still dominant MIP.

They still hold popular control of the Ornyenka Strait which has allowed it to remain a major trade entity which, besides ideological differences, has kept the Strait generally open for business in the interest of continued national economic prosperity. Gemurtrak Exports various resources including Timber, Meats, Grains, Automotive Vehicles, and parts with a still developing mining sector. Gemurtrak is a member of the Southern Prosperity League and the World Forum.