Thanatos

Thanatos
– Autonomous country –
Country of Thanatos Ffanalla
[[Image:|border|300px]]
Capital	Malokati
Largest cities	Riverden, Caverden City, Brightown
Population
Total	10,454,968 (1680)
Density	35.78 per km2
Rank	3 of 21
Area
Total	292,210 km2
Rank	1 of 21
Government
Executive	Steward Gregory L. Justice
Legislative	Folksraad (315)
National representation
Llusan	71 MLs
Official language(s)	{{{official_language}}}
Other language(s)	{{{language}}}
Local religion	Cedrism, Somanes, irreligion
Subdivision code	THA

The Country of Thanatos is an autonomous country in eastern Sanama and named after a former county in Shireroth. The country has a population of ten million people and an area of 292,000 km². The country was previously organised as a province, formed in 1679 with the passage of the new federal constitution and is coterminous with the previous Northeast region. The western and northern parts are completely dominated by oil fields, providing a large part of the GDP and employment opportunities of the province. The south has several larger settlements as well as some forests and farmland, usually for grazing cattle. The province is bordered to the west by the National Capital District and Amarra Esa, to the northwest by Highpass, to the north and east by Shimmerspring, to the southeast by Semisa, to the south by Enosa and Qalit, and to the southwest by Xawakalë. The capital Malokati is located in the southwest of the country.

Geography

The border with Eastern Amarra to the west is demarcated by the Dead River that gets its name from the frequent leaks of lava into its stream, usually killing hundreds of fish that then drift down the river. The western and central parts contain several fire pits, which are openings in the ground that drop into pools of lava. These from time to time erupt, usually by flooding the surrounding area with fast-flowing lava. Rarely they erupt by violently expelling lava and pyroclastic clouds. These streams often leak into the Dead River, causing mass death of wildlife. These areas look like a hellscape, with fire pits and black soil, giving the area and the province its name, from the personification of death in ancient mythology. The south of the province is mostly forests, with some farms and fields, while the east is dominated by the river valley and basin of the Den River.

Economy

Much of the northern half of the province is dominated by oilfields. Some areas have been cleared from earlier forests, but a majority of the oilfield area is made up of largely open, dry steppe land. The oil industry completely dominates the economy, employing a large part of the population. The aircraft manufacturer Brightworks has its headquarters and main production plant in the western city Brightown. Both the oil industry and Brightworks are controlled by the federal government, which is a point of contention with the provincial government over the revenue generated. The Sanaman Armed Forces also has a major presence in the province. The Sanaman Army has its III Division and Army Artillery Regiment based in Westham, the IV Division, XI Air Defence Division, XII Military Police Division, Army Air Defence Regiment and Army Military Police Regiment in Kolkata, and X Army Aviation Division and Army Air Corps Regiment in Charlestown. The Sanaman Air Force bases its V Air Force Wing, Air Combat School and Air Force Brigade at Charlestown.

Politics

The political life of the province has been dominated by the Northern League since it was formed in 1679. Allied with the smaller independence party the Freedom Alliance, they have won control of the Folksraad and Stewardship both in 1679 and in 1683. Following the resignation of the Northern League from the Council of State of Sanama in the 1681 Sanaman government crisis, the party leader Gregory L. Justice stood for election as Steward in 1683 and won the election with an outright majority in the first round. Thanatos politics are dominated by two issues: increased autonomy or outright independence and control over the revenue from the oilfields. Federal investigations into allegations of corruption in the province are also regularly denounced by the provincial government as harrassment.

Culture

The sizeable Sanaman population in the province is concentrated mainly in the south and west. It is common in the Sanaman areas to see both unilingual and bilingual street signs in an effort to preserve and promote their language, which has no official status on the provincial level, even though the language is spoken by 17 percent of the population. The province also has the largest Praeta-speaking minority in the country, making up about five percent of the overall population, mainly in the north and east. There are also notable populations of Babkhi and Laqi. The Istvanistani language is spoken by 70 percent. Riverden, Charlestown and Westham are centres for the Istvanistani culture and language in the country. Riverden has a major Istvanistani language film industry and the Riverden Film Festival, an annual festival awarding the coveted Gold Horse Award. Raynortown has the Istvanistani Culture Institute, a major research and authoritative organsation. There are also several institutions of higher learning in the province: the Brightown Technical University, Raynor University in Riverden and Malokati Public University.