Union of Haven

The Union of Haven (U.O.H. or UOH), also known as simply the Union or Haven, is a country in eastern Haven serving as one of the successor states to the Second Empire of Uldarash, following its collapse on March 22, 2022. The nation was founded when the five nations of eastern Uldarash, the Federal Republic of Montroig, Republic of Alfheim, Chevkri Republic, Duchy of Canine, the Vanshae Operata, the Kingdom of Trafalgar and the Kingdom of Mithusu united to keep peace and order throughout eastern Haven and to, in some ways, preserve the legacy of Uldarash.

The Union of Haven is a federal presidential-constitutional republic with three separate branches of government, including a bicameral legislature. The Union is currently the largest republican state within Rathnir. The Union of Haven is the only former-Uldarashi nation that did not join the Golden Ring Pact of Haven.

Background
Following the Uldarash Civil War and the reabsorption of Montroig and Alfheim back into the Second Empire of Uldarash, many of the military leaders appointed to the Uldarash High Council, mostly Auroran, refused to give up the powers afforded to them during the war. This caused the Council to be extremely imbalanced and allowed for almost total Auroran dominance in Uldarashi politics. Due to this, the High Council was often gridlocked and many of the constituent nations of Uldarash became generally annoyed and frustrated with the Uldarashi Government. This led to the Empress ScotchKnight proposing a vote to disband Uldarash and allow each constituent nation to become its own sovereign nation outside of the control of Uldarash. The vote passed, and as such Uldarash ceased to exist and each country was allowed to form any new unions they felt were necessary.

Founding
The Union of Haven was founded on March 22, 2022 following the dissolution of the Second Empire of Uldarash and the secession of Montroig, Alfheim, and Chevkri. The three nations were the initial founders, with the Duchy of Canine and Kingdom of Mithusu joining several hours after the initial founding. The nation was placed under a provisional transitional government with former Emperor of Uldarash Rakia Knight Ganeff serving as Provisional Sovereign, with no actual laws or constitution in place defining the office or its powers. The former High Council members from Uldarash who joined the Union, including Montroig Guardian Cynthia Gooblegins, Alfheim Prime Minister Ashley, Duke of Canine SkipiusTG, among others voted to ratify the Constitution of the Union of Haven to create a structured government for the Union and take it out of the provisional period.

Sentinel and Princeps
The executive power of the Union of Haven is vested mostly within the Sentinel of the Union of Haven, who serves with a deputy known as the Princeps. A Sentinel is permitted a two-month term, before he must then step down for at least one term and allow another Sentinel to serve. The Sentinel is elected by the High Council of the Union and may be anyone in the Union, he does not have to be a member of the High Council to be elected. The Sentinel serves as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The Sentinel also oversees the five executive departments of the Union and may appoint the respective cabinet officers, as well as ambassadors and Justices of the High Court of the Union.

Cabinet and executive departments
The daily enforcement and administration of federal laws is in the hands of the various federal executive departments outlined in the Constitution, however Congress holds the power to disband executive departments as it sees fit. The heads of the five departments are appointed with the advice and consent of the High Council of the Union of Haven and serve at the pleasure of the Sentinel.

Department of State
The Department of State is responsible for the Union's foreign policy and international relations, as well as overseeing the collection and dissemination of foreign intelligence. The State department is also responsible for public relations between the Union and both its citizens and its constituent nations. The current Secretary of State is GameOnFinn, who was appointed to the post on March 27, 2022 and served in an acting capacity until he was confirmed by the High Council on March 30, 2022.

Department of Defense
The Department of Defense is tasked with coordination and oversight of the Union's combined military force, as well as its associated combat support agencies. The Department of Defense is led by the Grand Marshal, currently Ren M, who was appointed to the position on March 23, 2022 and served in an acting capacity until he was confirmed by the High Council on March 30, 2022.

Department of Culture
The Department of Culture is the department responsible for overseeing the culture and traditions of Haven, as outlined in the Constitution. The Department is also tasked with archiving the history of the Union and keeping the records of all branches of government, including Congressional votes, judicial proceedings, and election results. The Department is lead by the Secretary of Culture, of which Flynn Depster of Chevkri was appointed by Sentinel Ganeff, and received confirmation by the High Council on March 30, 2022.

Department of Justice
The Department of Justice is the federal executive department tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice within the Union. The Justice Department oversees federal prosecutors, selections of juries, and federal arbitrators. The Justice Department is also tasked with overseeing investigations of inter-nation crimes and the collection and dissemination of domestic and internal intelligence. The Justice Department is lead by the Attorney General, who is also the highest law enforcement officer within the Union. CoCoLaxxative was appointed as the first Attorney General of the Union by Sentinel Ganeff, and was approved by the High Council and has been serving since March 30, 2022.

Department of Construction and Resources
The Department of Construction and Resources is the department tasked with administering federal construction and resource laws, as well as overseeing federal construction and resource gathering projects. The Department of Construction and Resources is headed by the High Architect, who has been Tofu Inaba since March 30, 2022.

Legislature
The legislative power of the Union of Haven is solely vested within the Congress of the Union of Haven, a bicameral legislature consisting of the lower chamber, the Senate, and the upper chamber, the High Council. Laws need to be approved by both chambers and approved by the Sentinel in order to become law. Congress is vested with the powers to establish post offices and roads, create courts below the high court, grant copyright, declare war, raise and maintain an army and navy, and pass laws for the governance of the Union of Haven.

Senate
The Senate is the lower chamber of the Congress of the Union of Haven, its members decided by the population of each nation-state within the Union, with each nation-state receiving at least one Senator, and having one more for every twenty active members the nation-state has, based on results from the Census. The Senate internally elects a Speaker of the Senate who has the responsibility of presiding over Senate sessions, which are conducted on a weekly basis. Each Senator has one vote, and may propose and vote on any legislation in the Senate.

High Council
The High Council is the upper chamber of the Congress of the Union of Haven, with its members being the leaders of each nation-state within the Union, as well as several non-voting members, including High Advisors, officers appointed by the Sentinel with advice and consent of the High Council to voice their input to the council on specific topics, although they may be removed with a simple majority vote of the High Council, as well as the Grand Marshal of the Union, the Speaker of the Senate, and the High Justice of the High Court of the Union of Haven. Each nation only gets one vote on the High Council, regardless of how many members it has serving on it.

Judiciary
Article VI of the Constitution of the Union of Haven establishes a High Court of the Union of Haven, and article IV section IV grants Congress the power to establish inferior federal courts. The High Court consists of five Justices, all of whom are appointed by the Sentinel with advice and consent of the High Council, and serve for life. Each Justice serves for life. The Justices internally elects a High Justice to preside over the court. The current High Justice is Jack F. Kennedy, and the current Associate Justices are Mystix and Fickogames. There are currently two vacant seats following the resignation of Justices Prince_JD and Nyctomint.

The court is given the power of granted the power of taking appeals from any inferior courts, including courts of the nation-states, as well as disputes between constituent nation-states, disputes between the federal government and constituent nation-states, disputes between the federal government and the citizenry, disputes between citizens of two or more different constituent nations, foreign nations or citizens, officers of the Union of Haven, and has the original jurisdiction for any cases of treason against the Union.

Geography
The five constituent nations of the Union of Haven occupy a combined area of approximately 9,415,488 square blocks. Of that area, approximately 1,342,987 square blocks is water, accounting for 14.2% of the total area. The Union of Haven is the fourth largest nation in Rathnir by land area, ranking behind the Soleannan Imperium, Imperial Archonal Union of Viodoxa and the Grand Jarldom of Frostmarch, but slightly larger than the Aurlûnor Velande and the Kingdom of Aurora. If compared to Eldham nations as well, the Union of Haven is sixth, also ranking behind the Goonguard and the Constellation of the North.

Region and climate
The Union of Haven consists mainly of arable farmland, especially in central Alfheim and Chevkri. In the north, especially within Montroig and northern Chevkri, there are vast areas of dry but still usable farmland in the savannas. The Kingdom of Mithusu and parts of Montroig west of Tiatua occupies a large desert and savanna, known as the Haven Drylands, which has very little suitable farmland. The Union also consists of a large jungle in the south, located entirely within Chevkri, and several bays and gulfs, including the Baldic Sea and the Bay of Russantia. The east of Alfheim consists of low foothills, due to its close proximity to the high Sanctuary mountain range.

Due to its large size and wide range of geographic features, the Union of Haven contains examples of nearly every global climate. The climate is subtropical in the southern parts of the Union, tropical in the southern Chevkri jungles, temperate in the central Alfheim regions, such as Chevronstad or Axel, semiarid in the Montroigian plains west of the Russantian River, arctic in the Gulf of Axel, and arid in the western Kingdom of Mithusu and southeast Chevkri. Despite the large diversity in climate, the nation experiences rain in every region besides the deserts in the south and west of the nation, and the large savanna in the north.

Biodiversity
The Union of Haven consists of many types of flora and fauna, including the Haven Quetzal and Savanna Sparrow, native to the savannas of the north, as well as the Havenite Owl, more common in the midwest of the nation, in Alfheim and western Chevkri. The Union also includes a diverse aquatic ecosystem, with Western Hawk Turtles often nesting in the northwest regions of Mithusu and Vanshae, as well as the Mitasaruna Paiche, which, although living mostly near Hapatmitas, can often be found as far south as Tiatua or Terroja in the Baldic Sea.

Currency
The Union of Haven dollar is the current currency issued by the Central Bank of the Union of Haven. The currency is directly backed by precious metals, including gold and iron from the Union of Haven Federal Gold Reserve, as well as the gold reserves of the several nation-states. The currency is currently issued in banknotes of $5, $20, and $100. No coins have been minted by the Union.

Transportation systems
The Union of Haven currently relies on the roads built by the several nation-states of the Union for transportation between the nation-states and their cities. A plan is currently being devised by the Department of Construction and Resources to build a high speed interstate highway from New Laurentia, Chevkri to Terroja, Montroig, in the interests of trade and national security. The Department of Construction and Resources is also planning to increase the Montroig-Alfheim Ice Highway to include more nations and cities, as it currently only goes from Terroja to Chevronstad. If completed, the highway would provide a far faster and far safer route between the two cities, underground.

Science, technology, and education
The Union of Haven's constituent nation-states currently include only one university, the University of Terroja, in Terroja Montroig, The University is one of the oldest on the continent, being chartered on August 13, 2021, predating the Union itself, the only older university is the now-defunct DeltaImpact University, which was established on July 29, 2021 and was shut down two weeks later, on August 12, 2021. Currently, a second university is under construction in the Alfheimi capital city of Chevronstad, known as the University of Chevronstad.

National flag
The official national flag of the Union of Haven is a white banner with a gold outline, with a circle that has the continent of Haven in the center, with six stars, representing the six founding nations of the Union. The flag is meant to symbolize firm league of friendship held between the nations of Haven and to honor the six original nations that came together to form the Union. The flag bears some similarity to the flag of the Empire of Loyalist Uldarash, which was a black flag with an orange circle surrounded by dots. This may be due to the fact that two of the major founding nations were member states of the Loyalists during the Uldarash Civil War, and reflects their continued sympathy towards the Loyalist cause.

National population distribution
According to the monthly international Census of Rathnir and Eldham held during April 2022, the Union of Haven has a population of 72 people, placing the Union as the fifth largest nation in both Rathnir and Eldham, behind the Imperial Archonal Union of Viodoxa, Soleannan Imperium, Vulperium, and Kingdom of Aurora respectively, however the internal census of the Union of Haven paints an entirely different picture, with 162 citizens which would place the Union firmly in first. The main reason for this is the fact that people may only put their primary nation on the monthly international census, while those who aren't primarily Union residents may fill out the internal census without any negative effects to their primary nation.

City population distribution
According to the Union of Haven Census held in April 2022, the population of the Union of Haven is heavily urbanized with 75.3% of the population living within the 10 most populated of the nation's cities, and 62.2% of those residing in cities living in the top three most populated cities, Terroja, Montroig, Chevronstad, Alfheim, and Axel, Alfheim. Most urban areas are in the west of the nation, in Alfheim and Montroig, especially on the coast of the Baldic Sea and the Bay of Russantia, with smaller towns and cities dotted around the nation. Chevronstad is the most populous city in the Union, with nearly double the population of the second most populous city, Terroja.

Foreign born citizens
From data recorded from the Union of Haven Internal Census, as of April 2022, 75.7% of citizens in the Union of Haven were born inside the continent of Haven (however not inside the nation, due to the extremely recent date the Union was foudned), and only 24.3% were born outside the continent. For the purpose of the census, all of the Vanshae Operata was considered part of the continent of Haven, despite some of the islands being considered part of Ummarnu.

Religious affiliation
While the Union of Haven does have freedom of and from religion, a relatively large amount of the population still follows some religion. The table below is based mainly on selected data as reported to the Union of Haven Census, and it only includes the voluntary self-reported membership. The definition of a member is determined by each religious body. In April 2022, the Internal Census reported that 21.7% of the respondents did not follow any religion.

Races and ethnicities
Humans make up the largest majority of the Union of Haven's population, with 47% of the population being human. Niedene make up the largest minority race in the nation, accounting for only 16% of the total population. Niedene are followed by Dwarves, who make up 8% of the population. The remaining 29% of the population is made up of assorted racial minorities, including Elves, Orcs, Assoti, and the occasional Lamiatrophii. The Union of Haven is considered to be a melting pot of different races, ethnicities, and cultures from all around both Rathnir and Eldham, especially the nation of Alfheim, which has a very large population of dual-citizens, sharing citizenship with other nations in the world.

Constituent nations
The Union of Haven is currently made up of the five founder nations, the Federal Republic of Montroig, Republic of Alfheim, Chevkri Republic, Duchy of Canine, and Kingdom of Mithusu.