Övlanda

Övlanda, officially the Republic of Övlanda (: ᛦᚠᚴᛅᛚᛚᛋᚴᛅ ᛚᛅᚳᚦᛅᛋᛅᛘᛆᛚᛚ, Övkallska Landasamell, : オウヴランダ共和國) is a with a   system located on continental western Yoju. It borders Esia to the east, Norikwhum to the south, Sora to the west and faces the Northern Ocean to its north. The components of its name come from Övska Öva for river, shortened to Öv, and landa, thereby meaning "river land" which alludes to its many streams and flowing bodies of water.

The regions that comprise modern-day Övlanda have been inhabited by various cultures throughout the ages, with the attested history of Övlanda starting when speakers of began to create inscriptions in the  alphabetic script around 400 CE. The amount of texts found among Övska-speaking peoples is far higher than most other historical societies, but the means of dispersion is unknown. The Övkall peoples are believed to have emigrated from Roci in northwest Nukigurun, passing through areas with and  peoples and interacting with them culturally and linguistically. As the Övska-speakers pushed west to reach the western boundaries of modern Övlanda around 1000 CE, speakers of expanded north from Norikwhum, settling in the fyllşar of Gottchey and Tornbirn.

Övlanda has been in a state of political, economic and societal transition since the Heavenly Moon Revolution led to the deposition of former High President and military dictator Warg Stįefalk in July 2015. The armed forces effectively governed the country under semi-martial law until the September 2016 elections, after which it has officially been "cooperating with elected authorities to safeguard the democratic transition". Observers are divided on whether it is the military or the government that actually holds true power over Övlanda, but it is generally considered a strategic shift as the military and economic elite relinquish some powers in hope of greater foreign investment and aid.

Prehistoric
Modern humans first arrived to modern Övlanda after the retreat of the last glacial ice sheets several thousand years ago. Evidence suggests the area was inhabited by both and  (原始瑤洲人) for thousands of years. North Germanic speakers first migrated to Övlanda around 1500 years ago, and quickly replaced the preexisting cultures in the core cultural region of Övlanda.

Medieval period
Starting from the northwest of the country, a period of southwards and eastwards expansion during the medieval Starktraik Period saw the assimilation of the various groups that inhabited the rest of modern-day Övlanda. In the centuries before the first encounter with the colonizers, a patchwork of small fiefs and kingdoms dotted the major trading routes, wooden and stone walls protecting the largest population centers. Mutual co-defense treaties largely inhibited any chieftain from obtaining too much power. As technology slowly progressed, merchants came to ever greater prominence, to the dismay of the landed nobility. This resulted in several decades of violent turmoil which would greatly weaken the Övlandan states against the coming Fusenese colonial threat. Also around this time, the ancient  religious practice began to diverge into the Odatruo, which placed much greater importance on the worship of, and the Åsatruo who largely concentrated on  and its associated deities.

Government
Övlanda is a with a  where the  is the head of state and government. The uppermost wielder of executive power, the president appoints a who are strongly subordinate to the head of state, as they serve at the president's pleasure. The president's power, in turn, is vested in the Övlandan people as well as the advice of the Military-Civilian Administration Commander. The current political system is a result of the Heavenly Moon Revolution of 2015 which deposed the military dictatorship of Warg Stįefalk.

Administrative Divisions
Övlanda is divided into 12 first-level administrative subdivisions, called fyllşa, and the Metropolitan Region of Wattnsluta which is not part of any fyllşa. The fyllşa are in turn divided into either rural herað or urban skai (from Fusenese 市, Shi), whereas Wattnsluta is divided into city districts. As Övlanda is a unitary state, laws do not vary by division, and they exist for purposes of local government, coordination of resources and statistical purposes only.

Climate
Most of Övlanda's landscape can be placed in either the or  climates, with high-altitude regions being cold enough for the  and occasional glacier.

Economy
Övlanda is classified as a.

Demographics
Övlanda has an estimated population of 30,465,902 people as of 2020. In the 2014 census, the largest city was Wattnsluta with 3,602,534 inhabitants. 72.4% of the population lived in urban areas, up from 68.9% from the 2003 census. 98.8% of the population were Övlandan citizens, but the actual amount of immigrants is thought to be vastly underrepresented in government data; unofficial estimates put the number at around 1 million. Most of these live in border regions of Wattnsluta slums and come from neighboring West Yoju nations such as Sora.

Languages
Övlanda has rich linguistic diversity, with over 35 commonly recognized languages from two different language families. Despite this, there are only two official languages at the national level: Övska, a loosely standardized written form of Urban Wattnslutan, and Fusenese, which is the mother language of less than half a percent of the country's population, but was the primary language used for official communication during Fusenese subjugation. Most of Övlanda's languages are not mutually intelligible with each other, and a lack of a working in some areas is cited as a major obstacle to national cohesion.



Ritual sacrifice (Blot)
When the early Övkall migrated from modern-day Roci, they brought with them a ritual of known as blot. These blots may be dedicated to native gods, worldly spirits or their ancestors, in some cases even foreign deities and personalities. Numerous traditions exist, but it most commonly involves aspects of a sacramental meal or feast, typically from domesticated animals. There is also a long-standing tradition of, mostly in the form of sacrificing enslaved women after a major chieftain has died, to act as their servant in the underworld.