Martyland

Martyland, or officially, Republic of Martyland, is the leader of the Convoy alliance. It is located in Oligrendia and has two regions, capital region Rathekar, minor region called Azhel, and another minor region called Tabu Nandor. Its language is Beshalyk and its currency is the Martylandian Lek. It is bordered by Ukiland, Alamul, Karnimis, Stockholm and Romia.

History
Martyland's origins are strongly tied to the Higetnas' order, an order of elite Beshalyk knights. When the Beshalyk Empire finally settled for the northwestern part of Oligrendia, the Higetnas' order put its headquarters in Adenikar (a town north of Rathekar), because is bordered both the Landian and Jolenoid tribes, in case they attack. However, the Beshalyk empire had lots of unrest in its government, and it was threatened to split into many other, smaller tribes. Since the Higetnas' order consisted mostly of the people from the Seraphim clan, its leader Marty of Seraphim was the first one to ask for independence. His first request was gaining more farmers and cattle, which the Beshalyk Empire obeyed. Seeing that the Beshalyk Empire willfully succumbed to his demand, Marty requested the most skilled scholars and engineers, which was, of course, denied, even after he threatened the Beshalyk Empire with war. Eventually, The Seraphim Clan rebelled against the Beshalyk government, which was known as The Seraphim Uprising. They were outnumbered by the main Beshalyk forces, until Landian war-seekers came to their aid. Rathekar was conquered by the Seraphim rebels, and so the Kingdom of the Seraphim was formed, with Marty of Seraphim as its king.

In the low medieval times, after several kingdoms were formed, the Kingdom of Seraphim was influenced by the Landian kingdoms, mainly from the Kingdom of Ukiland. Through this cultural exchange, the Kingdom of Seraphim wanted to distance themselves from the Beshalyks to a certain degree. They adopted Landian customs, holidays, and even some names and words. Since the last heir of The Seraphim Clan was assassinated, supposedly by a Beshalyk sapper, a new royal family came to the rule, and the coutnry was renamed to Martyland, in honor of Marty of Seraphim. On the other side, the Beshalyk Empire was getting weaker and weaker, being assaulted both by the Romani people and several Gospian knight orders. Martyland took this chance to declare war on the Beshalyk Empire, and with the Higetnas' order growing strong, it easily conquered the whole Beshalyk Empire, which consisted of the Azhel region, and other smaller towns near Rathekar.

During the rise of Istkanism, the Beshalyk Paganism didn't die out easily. Custodes were sent to forcefully convert the citizens of Martyland, but they were met with an equally strong resistance. All this fighting exhausted Martyland's military, and with the Landian tribes uniting in the name of Istkan, Martyland reluctantly converted to Istkanism, while initially preserving some of their most important traditions. Those traditions died out about a hundred years after.

In the world revolution, Martyland was part of the countries that became republics, with their royal family essentially serving as more of a national symbol. Martyland was also one of the first countries to adopt manufacture, building lots of factories. During the process of Alamul's independence, Martyland was one of the first countries to recognize it. Alamul, Ukiland and Romia were one of Martyland's greatest allies, which later influenced the creation of Convoy.

Eventually, the Great Ukiworld War happened. Martyland joined the WML side, believing in the freedom of people. Initially with Romia, Alamul and Caspia on its side, Martyland considered itself safe, until the Romani changed sides to battle "moral degeneracy". Since Alamul didn't have much troops, and Caspia was very busy, Martyland was conquered by Ukiland and Romia. Ukiland occupied Rathekar, while Romia occupied Azhel. However, after the WML won the war, Ukiland and Romia were forced to withdraw their forces from Martyland.

During the Rathekar Congress, Martyland formed the Martini Brotherhood, with the promise that the countries in it will be world powers. They planned to achieve that with cooperation, both economical and military. Unfortunately, since the countries had conflicting goals and philosophies, the Martini Brotherhood was internally split in two - side S, which supported The Socialist Alliance and wanted a good relationship with them, and side F, which wanted socialism gone. Looking to escape the internal conflict, Martyland created Convoy with Ukiland, Alamul and Romia. Shortly after the fall of TSA and MB, Sashia joined Convoy, looking for redemption.

Geography
Martyland has a generally hilly landscape, with Uzordi mountains and Naykuov Ebëzd adding in a bit of variety. Naykuov Ebëzd is a freshwater lake located in the center of Martyland, and it supplies the cities with drinkable water. Northern Martyland has moderately cold temperature, while the souther part has moderate temperature. All in all, Martyland has an average humidity.

Statistics
Martyland has a population of 21/26.5 PU, with 86% of people being Martylandian, and the largest minority, Ukilandians, make up 10% of Martyland's residents. 62% of Martylanders are atheists, while 31% are Istkanists. The ethnic structure is 85% Martylandian, 10% Ukilandian, 3% Jolenoid, and 1% Roma, and 1% other. The average life expectancy is 81 year for men, and 83 years for women. An average Martylandian family has 3.95 members, making the country slowly decline in population. The average Martylandian citizen is 36 years old.

People
By appearance, Martylandians are short but stout, with the average height being 172 for males and 163 for females. Martylandians mostly have black, curly hair and dark eyes. They are described as being focused on cooperation and self-improvement, while also being described as fun and secure people. Most foreigners describe them as friendly and reluctant to start conflicts when angry. They are also commonly strongly opinionated, but not vocal about it. Ukilandians stereotype then as strong, but humble and kind-hearted people who value camaraderie.

Culture and Media
Martylandian culture is focused on being calm, collected, and working on yourself while helping those who deserve it. It also preaches that hostility is a strictly bad thing, and that no good thing can be accomplished by war. The media is focused on entertainment, mainly on cartoons, as there are many cartoons with adult humor.

Cities
Rathekar - the capital city of Martyland. Azhel - the capital of the Azhel region. Adenikar - the original capital of Kingdom of Seraphim. Tabu Nandor Elsabat Chorojo Dobnivar Mozhersko Barren Kraltipol Yailame Bytoun Rechercen Hospiltar Idaber Galdiol Astenika Znerip Shporren Martylit Alvizi poye Spathle Bosginovo Chagardin Zahtropi Boleskit Abnaruvas

Trivia
Before Ukiworld 2.0, Martyland was originally much more similar to Albania. Its two cities were called Lezhe and Elbasan, which are real cities in Albania.