Aepefestia

Aepefestia is a continent on the eastern hemisphere of Betriation. It is broken into five countries. Ranked by size, the largest countries are Pesseton, then Occidalius, Sur Du'Opilli, Ilius, Tessan, Gregancia, Paesiodon, and finally, Timbaire. It is one of the most populous continents in Betriation.

Physical Attributes
There are two main moutain ranges, one called Verticulum Range spans the north and the south, its highest peak is Mt. Ossilisse. The Sudus Mountains cut across from east to west, separating the souther regions. Its highest peak is Mt. Partian, named after Tally Partian who lead an expedition to explore the range in 1728. Their calculations from later expiditions found that the peak, as well as the range in general is growing by about a third of an inch per year. Modern scientists have revised this number to be about two-fifths of an inch per year. This growth is because the Sudocore plate is pushing into the slightly lighter Aelamborico and Occundiero plates. Thus, while the Verticulum Range is relatively stable, the Sudus Mountain Range is more prone to earthquakes, and as a result, avalanches and other natural disasters. Most of the rivers get their source from the mountains, with the exception of the South Baetin, Tacoma, and Parniship Rivers, the other river and lake systems get water from the mountain.

Etymology
Aepefestian countries are most commonly named from Tessarion, as most of the continent speak this language, or some dialect; however, Gregancia is different, as it speaks Iloplex. Gregancia is a Tessarion name, meaning Gregory's land, however, fifteenth century colonization resulted in the population speaking Iloplex. Many of Occidalius's names come from its native language of Omnicronus. This system is set up similar to Tessarion, as they share the linguistic root of Proto-Tessilio languages. Tessan, for example, means "Bearer of Essifiodae" (Daisies), in Tessarion, where supposedly, much of the Tessan Plains were covered in. Timbaire was once a province of Tessan, and its name is literal, much of Timbaire's economy is dominated by lumber. Ilius was named after its island, however, it was once named Pessisten,which mean "Little Pessiodon" in Tessarion. Sur Du'Opilli gained its name from Omnicronus, meaning "Side of the Ocean." Occidalius comes from Omnicronus, and is the name of the indigenous peoples living in the land. Paesiodon was once a center for wheat and cereal grains, and here, nearly five hundred individual types of breads were invented, thus, its name reflects its cultural heritage and translates to "Region of the Bread." Aepefestia comes from Depefestio, which meant "Of Strength and Valor." Aepefestia was written since it was mistranslated into English; however, Aepefestia, if converted back into Tessarion can mean "And Strength and Valor."

People from Aepefestia are called officially, Aepefestians. In Tessophone countries, the system involves substituting the suffix "-ian" onto the root, people of Tessan are called Tessians, Occidalius- Occidalians, Timbaire- Timbairians, and Paesiodon- Paesiodians.

Regions

 * There are three regions in Aepefestia, they are separated by the mountains. They are: The West, The Sudocore Region, and the Aelamborico Region.

The West

 * The West consists of Gregancia as the highest north, the Occidalius, and furthest to the south is Pesseton.

The Aelamborico Region

 * The Aelamborico Region is often called the Free East, since contains the most democratic nations. It too, contains three countries: Paesiodon is the most northern region, Timbaire is the most eastern, and the largest, and western nation is Tessan. This region rests on the Aelamborico plate. This region is not only the most industrial, but also the most populous.

The Sudocore Region

 * This is the most southern, and as its name suggests, sits atop the Sudocore plate. There are two countries here, next to each other. On the west is Ilius, and the east is Sur Du'Opilli

Countries
There are eight countries on the continent, and the majority of them are agricultural. Only a few have fully developed, and two are in the process of industrializing.

Ilius

 * Ilius controls the island of Ilios, and its captial is Istendron, which is located on the Tacoma Lake. This nation's main source of wealth comes from tourism and importing exotic produce.

Gregancia

 * Gregancia was once ruled by King Neal Gregory. However, as more non-Aepefestians move into his kingdom, the land became dominated by people who spoke Iloplex. Gregancia was considered the final monarchy in Aepefestia until King Regia Gregory VII died and converted his nation's government into a parliamentary monarchy. Its current capital is Otripolens.

Occidalius

 * Occidalius's wealth is based on agriculture; however, like Pesseton, it is industrializing. Currently, it is at the center of world debate due to its unchecked population growth around the Pompius Lake Region. Its capital is Deltan, in the north. Being a large region, the Occidalian government broke up the land into four provinces: Dometerre, Paintig og Oni, Pontig og Yourt, and Mourtagnour.

Sur Du'Opilli

 * Like many of the southern nations, it is mostly a desert, and its beaches are tropical. This nation's wealth is dependent mostly on levels of tourism and mining.

Paesiodon

 * Paesiodon is the third economically strongest nation in Aepefestia. Its capital is Paesiatris.

Pesseton

 * Pesseton's wealth is based on agriculture; however, like Occidalius, it is industrializing. Currently, it is at the center of world debate due to its unchecked population growth around the Pompius Lake Region. Its capital is Navarole. Like many of the larger nations, it broke itself up into provinces: Itairic, Copenmundus, Ocien, and Antracitious. The captial located in Copenmundus.

Tessan

 * Tessan is the most industrialized country in Aepefestia. It is broken up into five provinces- Nortaire, Depefestio, Petre de Sebille, Centraire (Tessena) and Terrantan. Its capital is Tessopoli.

Timbaire

 * Timbaire is the smallest nation in Aepefestia. It used to be a province of Tessan until it was granted independence under Tessan's Provincial Manumission Act in the mid- 1950s. Its capital is Nouratour.

Overall Culture
Most of Aepefestia is Tessarion, and thus speak some dialect of Tessarion. However, Gregancia speaks Iloplex. Many of the regions share similar traditions. However, in Occidalius, they were radically different from the rest of the continent, and thus, have different customs. The most commonly practiced ideologies are (by percent adherance) Atheism- 35%, Essifisse- 25%, Sudaelis- 15%, Impanig oTot Morg- 10%, Ipilim- 6%, Issifisse- 5% and other smaller religions- 4%. Other than relgion, lingual distribution in Aepefestia is not as varied. Most of the continent speaks Modern Tessarion. A few small regions, mostly concentrated in Antracitious, Pesseton, do people speak Classical Tessarion, which some lingists argue to be a separate language. The West, which is known for their differences, also feature Omnicronus, a different language entirely from Tessarion. Although each uses the Latin alphabet, they widely differ in grammar, syntax, and lingistic make up. Gregancia, too, is an outlier, as it speaks Iloplex. Many of the cultural behaviors is westernized, as is the style of dress. Many Aepefestians, especially in the Aelamboric and Sudocore region dress casually. However, in many areas or rural Occidalius, the people continue to dress in a traditional style

Continental Demographics
Aepefestia is contains some of the largest growing populations in Betriation. This is most likely because of the high numbers of industrializing countries concentrated within the continent.

National Demographics
Many of the nations are in the process of industrializing, and thus, their population's growth rate is almost extreme. However, many of the industrialized countries have reduced their growth rate, and in one case, has reversed the growth rate.

Among Developed Countries

 * Here, the birth rate is very slow, and in some cases, such as that of Paesiodon, the death rate has officially exceeded the birthrate. In places like Tessan, the birth and death rates have stabilized, however, the population is growing due to high levels of immigration, which places strain on the infrastructure of the double-decked cities.


 * This graph here, drawn up by the United Betriation (UB) shows the percent rate at which the population is changing. (n% equals the population change per 100 people e.g.: a 25% birthrate means that 25 people are born fore one hundred that are not). Also take note that it is possible for the parenthesized numbers to be higher than the given number since that is the percent of a percent~ a perthousandth

Among Developing Countries

 * Here, the birth rate is the highest.Some women in Western countries have, on average, fifteen to twenty children. Some physicians worry that the extreme birthrate will not be healthy for the women, and risk future health problems. Many of the people in these industrializing nations are having children as early as twelve, all the way up to their late thirties or early fourties.

Economy
Generally, economy stability and strength varies among the different countries. The two types of nations (developed vs. developing) have different styles of economy.

Developed Nations

 * Here, the economy is a capitalistic, free trade economy. Tessan dominates the market with its variance and buying power. While it is not the most populace country, its citizens are the wealthiest. Much of the Centraire Province deals with technology and the services as well as being the seat for the Aepefestian Free Trading Zone (AFTZ) where the Aelamboric Stock Exchange (ASE) is located, where as more outlying regions depend on other modes of commerce. Nortaire is known for its fishing and agriculture, Depefestia for its agricultural heartland, Petre de Subille for its petroleum and fossil fuels, and Terretan for its natural resources such as lumber and minerals. In many other developed nations such as Paesiodon, mass-agriculture is a major industry, however, most people are involved in jobs that have to do with services.

Developing Nations

 * Most of these nations are in the transition phase, meaning that agriculture's percent is dropping, technology is on the eve of growth, and manufacturing is booming. Some of the nations are dependant primarily on oil and other natural products.


 * This graph here, drawn up by the United Betriation (UB) shows the percent rate at which the population is changing. (n% equals the population change per 100 people e.g.: a 25% birthrate means that 25 people are born fore one hundred that are not). Also take note that it is possible for the parenthesized numbers to be higher than the given number since that is the percent of a percent~ a perthousandth) Also, numbers for both Gregancia and Ilius have not been calculated yet.

Infrastructure
In general, the infrastructure in Aepefestia is very stable, however, as current population growth rates continue to increase as they have, Tessan may begin to experience symptoms of overcrowding in the double layer cities.

Transportation

 * Aepefestia's transportation system is generally unified among individual countries. However, political stresses often complicate attempts to link up systems. Cars and automobiles are often the best way to get around. The road system is easy to use, and a driver with proper liscensing from one country can often drive into another using the same liscense and carrying a passport (however, an intercontinental liscense is required, but is relatively easy to procure). The roads are often maintained by the Aepefestian Trans-Continental Road Crews (ATCRCs), thus the roads are kept in working condition. Whereas roads are well unified, rail systems are not. Most large rails, such as freight trains are well linked, however, there is a lack of small-scale passenger rail systems (e.g.: light rail, and subway). However, members of the United Aelamboric Nations (UAN) have an extensive subway system underground. It serves: Tessan, Paesiodon, Timbaire, and Sur Du'Opilli. It operates as a private company under the name of Grid System (Stockname: GRD). It hits all major metropolises, and other needed regions. This system runs in stations underneath Tessan's double decker metropolises. Also, exclusively within the second level of Tessan double decker metropolises, are light rails also run by Grid System. They travel only on the upper deck, however, there are plans to build a connection bridge between Tessopoli, Eston, and Petropoli. In Occidalius, the subway is government operated under the name OccidaTRANS. OccidaTRANS was faced with court charges in early March of 2011 after supposedly not having trains that were up to modern safety standards. Similarly, Pesseton experienced this problem with their old subway system called Luminor Velocite Ferric (Light Speed Rail). LVF is still in use, however, Pesseton is applying for admittance into Grid System. Gregancia's subway/light rail system is run by the private corperation called NovoFerro (New Rail). Ilius does not have an extensive passenger train system.

Sanitation and Living

 * Most of the water in Tessan comes either from mountain fed rivers, and lakes, desalination plants, or from the water table. In Tessan, two companies, HydroDrop and Carbo-Aqueous. HydroDrop usually takes control of the interior, where it is in charge of wells, and river drinking water systems. Carbo-Aqueous usually controls the desalination plants, often using reverse osmosis to desalinate the water. Carbo-Aqueous International is in charge of most of the desalination plants in every nation in Aepefestia. The quality of water in Aepefestia, if you live in an urban setting is some of the best in the world. They have removed much of the extra minerals dissolved in the water, thus, there is less hard water. However, in rural settings in developing nations, the quality of the water is often very poor, as their governments are not in charge of water quality.

Education and Community Infrastructure

 * In Aepefestia, there are problems of overcrowding plaguing certain cities. Many of the double decker cities cannot be expanded, and thus, living quality inside is beginning to decline. However, in general, there is strong community infrastructure. Many economists foresee an overall increase in housing prices by 5% over the next twenty years as more people move into the double-decker cities. There are plans to start a new city in the growing town of Neurenton, 150 miles east of Tessopoli. It's completion should reduce the cost of housing by 25% after all costs (construction, taxes, marketing, infrastructure development) are calculated.