Leaderboard

Here it is!

July 20, 1420 6:00 PM Over Time Unknown location Atsil packed the final articles of clothing into her bag as the words of the woman in her dream echoed in her head, The son of the basket weaver, soaked in blood, seeks to kill the heir to Ani’-Wah’ She couldn’t stop thinking of those words recently and one name appeared in her head as she thought more about the “son of the basket weaver”—Kunagadoga. The person responsible for the suffering of so many people and whose attention she attracted back in high school, but back then it was a less malevolent and more...creepy form of attention. And she is grateful she turned him down back then after what CGZ told her about his sister two days before. Atsil was so deep in thought that she didn’t notice CGZ leaning against the door frame with his hands buried in his pockets, “Are you ready to head out?” he asked. Atsil turned to see him wearing black denim pants, a black cotton sweater, and his black ski mask with sunglasses over them. But he also had what seemed to be a utility belt. “I just finished packing,” Atsil said with a sigh, “but I am not sure I am ready to...face the music.” CGZ walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder, “I know you are probably expecting me to say some sappy, inspirational crap but to be honest I don’t understand what you are going through. You are in a unique situation that no one can really relate to in any way. But what you are about to go into is something that no one can be prepared for and you have prepared yourself the best you could. At this point, you are this country’s only hope, so you have to do this whether you feel ready or not.” Despite how blunt CGZ was being, Atsil couldn’t help but feel comforted by his words. Atsil went for a hug but CGZ stepped away and held a hand up, “There isn’t time for sentimentality, it is time for me to take you to the Monarchists. Come find me when you are mentally prepared.” And with that, CGZ left Atsil in his sister’s old room. CGZ walked with purpose towards the library for what might be for the last time. He wasn’t a fool, he had been keeping an eye on the situation in Zoran and he saw Kunagadoga’s flight to Cambria and he had a sneaking suspicion on what the business he had there was about. He sat at his desk and let out a sigh, he knew that his actions at the Olympics were going to catch up with him sooner or later. My sister would have been so much better at this than me. She was all about the ‘stealing things with style’ attitude of the CGZ mantle. Me, I am too concerned about safety to do things right. His eyes drifted to the drawer where he put the last picture he and his sister took together at the beach. He pulled open the drawer to look at it but he saw a folded piece of paper beneath it, something he never noticed before. He set the picture aside and unfolded the piece of paper to read it. To my beloved brother, If you are reading this then you must be having some doubts about yourself or are going through some tough times. I know how much you wish you could be like me and have the confidence that I have(You should get a better lock for your “journal” by the way), but you are incredible in your own way. Throughout our family history, no CGZ has been the same, they never had to be like their predecessor to be successful. Take our ancestor, Captain CGZ or Captain Stormrider as he was more commonly known, his predecessor was the exact opposite of his personality. His predecessor was more interested in developing a mystique around himself and being undetected in his heists. But when Captain Stormrider took up the mantle of CGZ in 1116 AF, he claimed to have started the Golden Age of Piracy in Aura when he stole a ship off the line and started raiding ships, especially during storms which is what got him his name. He was a lot more flamboyant, daring, and mentally unstable than his predecessor and was extremely successful. Even though you aren’t going to be the next CGZ, just know that you can be yourself like our ancestors and still be successful in whatever path you walk down. You were always better at planning two steps ahead than me and you are great with technology and engineering. Those are two talents that I don’t have that you do. You will do great things, Kariwase, and know that I will always be with you no matter where you go or what you do. But always remember that our family, through CGZ, is the champion of the people and even if you aren’t CGZ, always remember to support the less fortunate and to be a champion of the people in your daily life. Love, your sister, Ojistah CGZ felt tears well up in his eyes. It's funny how she talked about planning two steps ahead when she wrote this knowing that I might be going through a hard time. He missed her every day of this life since she was sold by Kuna, and every day he wishes he had done more to stop her from seeing him in the first place. But her words from the past renewed the confidence he had in himself and made him remember the legacy his family worked to leave behind, one that supported the people and those without a voice in the world. Maybe by helping Atsil, I am living up to that legacy in my own way. But what if this doesn’t have to be the end for my legacy... But before he could develop that train of thought any further, Atsil walked into the room with her bag in tow. “I’m ready to go.” CGZ nodded and led her to the vehicle storage where there was an ATV that was waiting for them. “You have an ATV too?” asked Atsil, “Not until yesterday.” answered CGZ as he got on it, “So you stole it.” “Atsil, I am the latest in a dynasty of thieves, what do you expect?”Atsil didn’t bother saying any more as she put her bag on the back and joined CGZ on the ATV. “Hang on, it might be a bumpy ride.” CGZ said as the engine came to life. Atsil grabbed onto CGZ as he zoomed through the tunnels until they came out of a secret passage that landed them in the middle of the jungle. The trees and vines were a blur as CGZ drove the ATV through forgotten trails made back when the years Saint Mark ruled the land. And after about an hour or so an ancient Saint Markian fortress came into view. CGZ brought the ATV to a stop when they reached a clearing in front of the entrance to the fortress. A group of monarchist soldiers approached, rifles aimed at CGZ as they didn’t seem to see Atsil behind him, “Who are you and what are you doing here?” asked one of the soldiers. CGZ lowered his head to make Atsil’s face visible to the soldiers. When they saw her, they immediately dropped to one knee and their right arm crossed their chest and their hand clenched in a fist over their left shoulder. This drew attention from others taking watch at the fort and a crowd could be seen forming on the different floors of the fort. CGZ got off of the ATV and helped me off of it as an older man approached from the entrance of the fort and knelt down the same way the other soldiers have. “Uh, you may rise. There is no need to kneel like that.” Atsil said nervously. The older man rose with the other soldiers, “My lady, I am General Waholi of the Monarchist forces. It is a pleasure to see you safe at last.” he then looks over at CGZ, “This must be the legendary CGZ. Thank you for keeping Atsil safe.” “Oh please, I didn’t do it for you or your cause. I did it to keep Kuna from getting power.” Waholi simply nodded in response before returning his attention to Atsil, “It will bring much joy to the troops to be under the command of their queen. We look forward to seeing how you lead.” Waholi said. CGZ heard a branch snap behind them and tackled Atsil to the ground right as the shot of a rifle echoed through the jungle, the bullet whizzing past them by an inch. The entire fort sprung into action along with the troops in the clearing. CGZ looked up to try and pinpoint where the shot came from. “We can’t have that unfortunately, Ani’-Wah’ and CGZ are coming with us!” yelled the voice of Kunagadoga from the trees. What is he doing here?! He is literally going to die here!...Actually, would that really be a bad thing? CGZ thought to himself as he laid over Atsil on the ground in the middle of a standoff between Monarchist and Corporate forces that were about to break out into a full blown battle.

Demographics The total population of Giovanniland was 29,305,150 in the latest census of 1422, with a density of 74.2/km² and a ratio of men to women of 0.97:1. Over 4.5 million of those live in the eight prefecture-level cities, while another 21 million live in other cities across the country, concentrated in the coastal prefectures and the region of Giovannia Magna. The literacy rate is 99.55% among the youth (6-18), 98.91% among adults (18-60), and 97.1% among the elderly (60+), being slightly lower in the remote prefectures but still high overall compared to other nations of Esferos. The first ever census, made 322 years ago in 1100, registered 13 million inhabitants in modern Giovanniland (excluding northern Varanius), down from 16 million at the Giovannilandian Empire's peak due to wars and famines during its decline. This rose to 15 million in the census of 1200 and 19 million in 1300, with an increased pace due to the start of industrialization. In the early 14th century there was a significant growth due to the decline of the mortality and a high birth rate, and also an estimated arrival of 500,000 immigrants from various continents. In just six decades, from 1300 to 1360, there was an increase of 7.5 million, adding up to a total of 26.5 million in the end of this period of rapid growth. Ever since 1360, with the decline of the birth rate, the population growth has slowed again, but there has been a fair increase of nearly 3.5 million in the last 60 years partly due to immigration. It is expected that the Giovannilandian population will continue to grow, albeit in reduced rates, possibly achieving 30 million in a few years according to census predictions. Population and density maps of all Giovannilandian counties, county-level cities, and prefecture-level cities. The main languages spoken are Giovannese, which has heavy influences from Saint Markian due to being part of the same language family, and Lavandulan. Common is teached as a second language in most schools and is used in foreign affairs and trade, while third languages often differ according to the location within the country. It may be Glendulan—the national language of the neighbouring nation of Blue Bubble and main language of the Glendon-Lavandulan diaspora in Giovanniland—or one of the indigenous languages.

Infrastructure Due to the Giovannilandian policies of social democracy and welfare state, 48.2% of the national GDP goes to government spending, adding up to a total of $678,003,960,965, or $23,136 per capita. Most of this money goes to infrastructure, including science, technology, transport, energy, health and education. Technological and scientific research is carried in the various universities in the country, with special units on the eight prefecture-level cities, the country's most advanced technological hubs. Furthermore, Giovannilandian high schools feature a special project called "idea incubator", in which dedicated students can start working on scientifical projects from an early age, and then contribute their ideas to the nation with the help of government subsidies once they are older. Nearly all of the Giovannilandian population has access to the internet, a fact supported by the high amount of internet and telephone towers across the country. Broadband is only inaccessible on a few isolated places, such as deep into the Garavandian rainforest or into the desolate mountains, and elsewhere Giovannilandians have a generally good connection. In the topic of transport, Giovanniland has a strong and well connected network of railroads, highways, waterways, harbors, airports, and more. The highway system is divided into national roads, which receive an abbreviation with the two-letter code GL followed by a number; and provincial roads, whose abbreviations are similar but feature the two-letter code of the prefecture instead. In the year of 1315 a very important project in the history of Giovannilandian highways was completed, with north-south highways in both the Auran and Andolian territories. Twenty years later, all of the prefecture and county-level cities were linked to either main highway to allow better integration of people into the modern world, and all cities with more than 5,000 inhabitants were integrated by 1360. The construction of railways soon followed suit, in order to better transport goods in and out of the country, and today they have a similar integration rate that of the highway system. However, some places are still inaccessible by these conventional transport methods, like in the Garavand rainforest due to environmental regulations. Furthermore, Giovanniland also has a network of harbors and airports for both internal and external transport. The busiest port of Giovanniland is Porto Violeta, intended for trade with any continent, however there are also continent-specific ports such as Uryde in the north for trading with Auran countries, and Andoliaville in the south for trading with Andolian countries, and smaller ports that have a more internal use rather than for external trade. The country has one international airport for each prefecture-level city, national airports on all county-level cities, and smaller provincial airports in other cities. By number of passengers per year, the five busiest Giovannilandian airports are the Emperor Giovanni the Great International Airport in Giovannia (24 million passengers per year), the Violet International Airport in Uryde (15m), the Emperor Fernando International Airport in Andoliaville (9m), the Neuryn Caetano International Airport in Porto Violeta (5m), and the Giovandolian International Airport in Gioville (3m). Left: A highway near the city of Sonserina. Right: The Lavandula Airport of Quoriv. Energy in Giovanniland majorly generated by renewable sources, such as hydroelectricity (55%), solar power (21%) and wind power (10%), and managed by the government's Ministry of Energy, who owns state companies that provide energy for all inhabitants for a small cost. The two Abrantian regions is the main site for the wind and solar energy generation due to the favorable tropical savanna climate that features a lot of solar irradiation and strong winds, while hydroelectricity is generated out of various rivers throughout the country. However, the ruling coalition has created a goal of phasing out hydroelectricity as the main contributor by 1450 due to its environmental disadvantages—such as loss of arable land, population displacement, and disruption of ecosystems—to which possible replacements are offshore wind farms near the Giovannilandian coasts. Meanwhile, universal healthcare is provided to every resident of Giovanniland, and the government has a near monopoly on health services. Ever since 1380, the health infrastructure includes at least five Basic Health Units and one major hospital with advanced technology per county. The biggest hospitals are located in the county-level cities, with an even higher concentration on the prefecture level-cities and the most populous prefectures. Nowadays, the national healthcare has also adopted nationwide electronic health records that both patients and doctors can access, and also a government app for mobile phones, so that patients can quickly schedule appointments. University hospitals are common, as it is fundamental that medical students have practice in order to graduate and become full workers for the healthcare system. Due to this advanced system, Giovanniland has a low infant mortality rate and high life expectancy. Finally, education is also very important for Giovannilandian social policy. Just like the healthcare system, schools and universities are mostly state-owned, and national law mandates that county-level educational infrastructure must include at least five schools that provide classes from preschool to highschool levels, as well as one college and one university, for each county. The law also states that the full education until the end of high school is compulsory. According to the latest national census, around 1,446,283 children aged 1-5 are enrolled in kindergarten, 2,202,294 children aged 6-13 are in primary school, and another 1,676,373 teenagers aged 14-18 are in secondary school. Furthermore, over a million students are enrolled in various universities throughout the nation. The students of most Giovannilandian schools have the freedom to choose their own school subjects in order to line up with what they wish to do in the future. Furthermore, they also have the option to do cultural exchanges abroad once they are 15 years old. High school and college are very competitive in the country, as students give their best to achieve better job opportunities, a claim supported by recent surveys showing that Giovannilandian students have grades above the international average on most subjects. Therefore, the country has an overall high reputation for student happiness and school procedures in Esferos, and also a high amount of bachelor's, master's and doctor's degrees. Left: Wind farms in the prefecture of Abranterra. Right: The outside of a modern high school and college in Porto Violeta.