User:Brant/Kalidar

Kalidar is an autonomous constituent country within the Kingdom of Dragonstone, and is located to the north of both the United Provinces and Candvia. The island is much larger than Dragonstone itself, which allows for farming and other activities that are limited by Dragonstone's small land area to take place on Kalidar, but has a smaller population than Dragonstone itself. Like Dragonstone, the island has been mostly isolationist over the years, but has opened up to Antarctica lately, like Dragonstone.

Settled after the establishment of the Kingdom of Dragonstone by a group of settlers from Dragonstone, Kalidar grew slowly, despite initial growth, and remained smaller in population than Dragonstone. The island experienced some growth over the next few years, and as it grew demanded more independence from Dragonstone. Today, Kalidar is a mostly autonomous region in the Kingdom of Dragonstone with many independent institutions and has become more involved in the Antarctic in the past few years.

History
The island of Kalidar has existed in old myths and legends for hundreds of years, with stories being documented in the ancient Valyrian texts in Dragonstone of a mythical land consisting of dozens of tribes and where magic was prevalent. It is speculated that the island was often visited in the past by explorers or merchants from Dragonstone who built temporary camps and settlements on the island, due to some artifacts of Dragonstonian origin dating from before the initial settlement of the island often being found in Kalidar by archaeologists.

Kalidar was settled in the early middle ages by a group of people from Dragonstone who began to leave the island for better land as it was getting crowded as the population grew. The settlers began to build small villages along the coast at first, but many began moving inland to start farming the soil, which was hospitable for farming in some parts of the island. However it was during this that the settlers first came into contact with one of the many native tribes of Kalidar, encounters of which often ended in violence, since the settlers sometimes intruded onto native territory.

One of the most powerful tribes was the Dothraki, a tribe that dominated the inland of southern Kalidar where the settlers first began to settle. After the first few violent encounters, the settlers began to strike back, attacking the Dothraki villages and killing dozens, which made them retaliate more fiercely, attacking the settlers' villages and farms and taking captives. This war began to be noticed by the Kingdom of Dragonstone, which grew concern for the safety of its people, and began to send soldiers from Dragonstone to deal with the threat.

As the settlers began to move north, they encountered more and more tribes, including the Quendi and Sindar, two High Penguin tribes that had settled the north of the island thousands of years before and had developed a different culture. The Quendi and Sindar were more friendly with the settlers, since they were of the same High Penguin blood, and many would ally with the settlers against the Dothraki. This, coupled with the arrival of Dragonstonian soldiers, helped defeat the Dothraki in many battles, though the wars would continue for hundreds of years until a peace treaty in 1765.

Government
The head of state of Kalidar is the King of Dragonstone and Arthedain, Brandon Stark, while the head of government of Kalidar is the governor, Ryan Walker. The governor is elected in an election every five years along with seats in the legislature of Kalidar, the Vettarmirre, which is a unicameral legislature consisting of 50 seats. The Vettarmirre makes laws, among other important responsibilities, such as approving members of the cabinet, who serve as a group of advisers for the governor, while the governor has veto power over decisions made by the Vettarmirre.

Economy
Kalidar has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the territories, but its unemployment rates are still higher than that of Dragonstone and Arthedain, but the territory still has a similar income to the rest of the country. The tax rate is slightly higher than the rest of the country, at around 12%, and the cost of living is lower than the average in Dragonstone and Arthedain, which makes it a desirable place to live. The quality of life is also the second highest in the country, higher than Dragonstone and Arthedain and the other territories, but is below that of Elwsyr.

The territory's economy is based on fishing, due to the abundance of fish in the surrounding waters around Kalidar, and many fishing villages dating back centuries still exist on the Kalidarian coast. Mining is also a major part of the economy, with reserves of many minerals existing in the rocky inland in the north of Kalidar. Oil has begun to become a major part of the economy as well after oil reserves were discovered in the country's north and surrounding sea in the late 1900s, and Kalidar produces over half of Dragonstone and Arthedain's oil exports.

Military
Kalidar has its own military, the Kalidar Armed Forces, which is a part of the Dragonstone Armed Forces, and consists of around 120,000 active members as of 2018. Conscription was abolished in the late 1900s after the end of the False War, but thousands of Kalidarians continue to enlist in the military. Kalidarian units in the military have seen limited involvement in wars in the past few years, but have otherwise been committed to home defense. Though legally a part of Dragonstone's military, Dragonstone has little involvement in Kalidar's military and defense.