Ringerike

'Ringerike' officially The Kingdom of Ringerike, (Norsk: Kongedømmet Ringerike): is a country situated off the northern coast of Artemia, bordering (...?...)to its west. The Capital city and seat of executive power is the city of Kongensheim. The Kingdom occupies a landmass of 342,987 sq.km with a population of around 16.2 million.

History
The Kingdom of Ringerike has its origins in prehistory, with the first recorded settlements in the area dated to ~4000BC, who migrated north, eventually this led to the establishment of an early Ringerike Kingdom, first recorded in the year 670, whose influence spread across the region until it’s borders resembled those occupied by the modern Kingdom.

The Kingdom in its currents state was formed in 1676 at the conclusion of a civil war (The Foothills Rebellion) (1669-1676) caused when the lower class citizens in the highlands of the country engaged in a peasants revolt in the central regions of the country.

Throughout it's history, The Kingdom has engaged in patrol actions along the strait between itself and the Continental Artemia, such actions have lead to the relative security of the strait and it's continued use as a vital sea trade route to Northern Artemian States.

Geography
Sitting to the North of Artemia, Ringerike experiences a typical Nordic climate, ranging from taiga forests in the south to desolate tundra in the north, along the coast, Fjords line the eastern coast, providing calm, sheltered waters in the otherwise rough northern seas, which attracts large populations of aquatic life, ranging from Haddock to Sperm Whales, in the more northern areas Polar Bears are not entirely uncommon, however populations have been one the decline. Grey Wolves and Arctic Foxes are among the critically endangered species still found in numbers in the Kingdom, with measures brought in to secure the future of a multitude of such species.

Economy
The Kingdom has a partially regulated market economy, based on market exchange rates. A relatively strong domestic manufacturing base provides most household goods, backed up by state owned domestic heavy industries in sectors such as aerospace, shipbuilding and material manufacturing. However these industries are supplied with smaller components by private industry and imports. The basic unit of currency is the Krone.

Notable state owned companies include these examples:

=Steel Guild Heavy Industries= (Norsk: Stålgilde Tunge Bransjer) The company itself is involved primarily in material fabrication, steelworks, refining and mineral extraction, but also includes several wholly owned subsidiaries, fore example; Steel Guild Kinetics, responsible for arms and ammunition manufacture and development. Steel Guild Marine, which owns several shipyards and ship breakers along the Southern coast, used for both commercial and government contracts, with a particular specialization in the design and construction of the large icebreakers often require to keep trade flowing in the far north. Steel Guild Automotive is primarily concerned with civilian and government automotive design, manufacture and maintenance contracts.

=Great North Power= (Norsk: Stor Nord Makt) State owned utilities supplier, provides power, gas, and water supplies to the population, prices were formerly imposed by the government, however since the appearance of private firms in the utilities sector rates have been dictated more by their competition, however the company still maintains physical control of the primary electrical distribution grid for management and maintenance purposes.

Although prominent, the monopoly once enjoyed by state owned industry is fading away as foreign corporations and private businesses begin to establish themselves more widely.

Government and Politics
As Constitutional monarchy, the powers of the reigning monarch are limited, however laws are still required to be given, however this is almost never denied. The Monarch also approves the appointment of Fylkesherrer (County Lords), selected from the nobility to sit on the council of the Edel Storting, the upper legislative house of the government. This upper house approves or denies bills drafted by the lower house, the Felles Storting. The members of the lower house are elected on a 4 yearly basis from candidates supplied by the various political parties of the nation to compete over geographical constituencies. These constituencies are loosely associated with the former feudal boundaries, which continue to exist, although hold little to no power over local affairs.

Society and Culture
Overview

Ringerike Society generally values Civil Service and personal self sufficiency. A form of public service is mandatory for all eligible citizens, it is not limited to military service and involves options to work in public health, engineering and community projects. The age of entry into this service varies from 18-24, depending on the level of the individual’s education. The people’s value of self sufficiency however has not lead to a distaste for government assistance, as such healthcare and a level of social welfare is guaranteed by the state.

Sports

The Kingdom places a heavy emphasis on physical ability and sports during it's educational program, resulting in sports being a large feature in society, in particular those most commonly classified as, however activities such as cross-country running and shooting sports feature heavily in the most popular sports clubs. is the Kingdom's most popular indoor sport and also experiences a large amount of popularity, especially in the more mountainous regions.

Religion
 * See more: Godatru

The official religion of the state is Orthodox Godatru (‘’’Norsk:’’’ ‘Ortodokse Godatru’) having been enshrined as such in the constitution of 1676, with the King being the nominal head of the Orthodox branch of the faith. Orthodox Godatru differs from other branches due to it's closer adherence to the principles of its precursor, which is still practised by the traditionalist 'People of many Gods (‘’’Norsk:’’’ ‘Mangegudfolk’) primarily reside in the northern and mountainous areas of the country, away from the more widely inhabited areas in small, mostly self sufficient, communities.

Foreign Relations
As a member of the Northern Coregnancy, Ringerike has good relations with the other nations within, contributing to the LORAN-C network with stations at Thuyishavn and Ålta. Other notable contributions to the NC include Counter Piracy, Search And Rescue, and Icebreaking operations carried out by the Navy.

Military and Law Enforcement
Military
 * See more: His Majesty's Armed Forces (Ringerike)

The Military of the Kingdom is split between a professional force, and a conscripted force of National Servicemen, conscription is one of the Public service options a citizen is presented with, but has seen a massive decrease in popularity since the introduction of alternative paths. This split is most often represented by a professional NCO corps sitting above a mixture of volunteer and conscripted private soldiers, however entirely professional formations are becoming the norm in some areas of the armed forces. The military is divided into the following branches:

Ringerike Army (Ringerike Hær)- Consisting of the full-time Army and the part time volunteer reserve the army is responsible for ground based warfare, also maintaining a limited aviation capability.

Royal Ringerike Air Force (Luftforsvaret) Also maintaining full and part-time components, the air force is responsible for airspace security, strategic ground based air and missile defence and both tactical and strategic expeditionary air operations.

Royal Ringerike Navy (Kongelig Marine) Responsible for maritime security and amphibious force projection, maintains a fleet aviation component and shares operational control several marine regiments manned by the army to achieve these goals, maintains a reserve and full time component.

Ringerike National Guard (Ringerike Nasjonalgarde) A type force, responsible for high level law enforcement, national counter terrorism, general policing of the capital region, and military policing. The Civil Guard is an entirely professional volunteer force, with no reserve or conscripted personnel.

Law Enforcement

Law Enforcement in the Kingdom Of Ringerike is divided into the National and County levels, National Law enforcement is provided by the National Guard, who hold the right to intervene in all serious crime cases across the Kingdom. County Police (Fylkespoliti) forces provide law enforcement in areas outside of the cities in each of the provinces, as well as duties such as local road policing and the security of the county government. The municipal police forces are responsible for petty crimes and the law enforcement in more heavily populated areas, with most cities having their own municipal police forces.