Folkvangr

Folkvangr is a planet in the Folkvangr-Valhalla Solar System. Folkvangr is a colony of the Union of Nation States. It has a special self-determination status within the colonial system of the Union of Nation States. It consists of two colonial territories, of which one is a Type-IV Mandate, namely that it is governed by an union of non-governmental organizations. All these organizations, representing the Adam and Eve Movement, strive to create a new, self-reliant, anti-authoritarian and ecologically neutral society.

The two colonies are both predominantly libertarian. The Central Folkvangr colonial territory is governed by the Central Colonial Administration, whereas the Folkvangr Mandate colonial territory is governed by the Folkvangr Council. The Folkvangr Mandate is the only CT where the mandate applies: the Folkvangr Mandate is essentially a semi-anarchist society. The same laws as elsewhere in the Union of Nation States apply, with some minor exceptions regarding urban planning, drug and weapon use and safety measures. However, Folkvangr has no official law enforcement and no infrastructural projects and facilities managed by the government outside of Babel, the capital. It also has no army component in the United Armed Forces.

The capital of Central Folkvangr is Santo Domingo, which is also the capital of all of Folkvangr. The capital of Folkvangr Mandate is Babel. The only space port of the planet is situated in Santo Domingo. There are numerous airports and airfields throughout Folkvangr. Most are operated by citizens of the Folkvangr Mandate, while there is one public airport operated by the Folkvangr Council just outside of Babel. The planet has a total population of 1,078,300 inhabitants as of 2218. 248,700 of those live within the borders of Central Folkvangr. The remainder lives in the Folkvangr Mandate.

History
Folkvangr was the second planet colonized by the Union of Nation States. It was colonized in 2078 by Terra, then Earth, before contact was initiated with the other human races that are currently member of the Union of Nation States. The planet was called Martius and used for military purposes by the UAF forces. Most armed forces stationed on Martius where from the US, France or China. Later on in the 2090s, Indian, Indonesia, Iranian, German, Polish, Portuguese, Brazilian, Russian and Vietnamese army divisions were stationed on the planet. By 2110, most members of the Union of Nation States had army components stationed on the planet. At its peak, 400,000 forces were housed in various military bases in what is now Central Folkvangr.

Gradually, Martius fell out of favor as a military training and testing planet. Other, new-discovered planets were considered more suitable and gradually the planet was abandoned. A permanent military base with 9,000 army personnel remained close to what is now Santo Domingo.

In 2179, more than 100 years after the discovery of the planet, the Adam and Eve Movement, an union of various spiritual, political and cultural organizations applied for a Type-IV Mandate grant. This request was met with positive response and after a lengthy process that lasted until 2188, the Union of Nation States granted the Mandate. During the process, hundreds of thousands of applications for future citizenship of Folkvangr were made. The media covered the process extensively, and this contributed to the massive public response. Many members of social fringe groups decided to apply for future citizenship. They formed the bulk of applications. Various religious groups (including New Age religions and several Christian churches) and some sects also applied. A transition period lasting until 2200 was planned.

It was decided that an area that encompassed most of the former military bases would be excluded from the mandate. This would allow for the construction of several cities that could provide for public facilities during the transition period. This was also designated as the main point of entry of the planet. This area, now Central Folkvangr, was used by the Union of Nation States to oversee the transition period in situ.

During the 2190s. hundreds of thousands of colonists immigrated to Folkvangr.

Name and symbolism
Originally, the planet was to be called "Valhalla", after the Norse mythological heaven, but this fell out of favor due to the connotations associated with the name in popular culture and history. The lesser known sister heaven of Valhalla, Folkvangr was used instead. Initial proposals, such as "Babel", "Eden" and "Canaan", were dismissed because of their Biblical origin. Names like "Utopia" were dismissed due to the expectations associated with such names.

The Folkvangrian flag, a rainbow, is also used by the LGBT movement. According to Folkvangr Council officials, the flag represents "the diversity of Folkvangrian society and the absence of state-imposed symbolism". The simple design consists of the six colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. The flag is flown horizontally, with the red stripe on top, like a real rainbow. The Folkvangrian Manifesto, an explicitly unofficial guide book issued by the Folkvangr Council that informs citizens of several Folkvangrian concepts and values, states that this is a suggestion for the flag of Folkvangr but that there is, in fact, no official flag and that "every citizen is free to use whichever flag they feel fit to use to represent Folkvangr may represent Folkvangr." The guide book also strongly suggests that citizens try to abstain from "offensive" designs. For this reason, a white flag is flown by several communities. Other designs include a black flag with the "A in a circle" design common in anarchist symbolism, a flag with a symbolic representation of Folkvangr and a flag that consists of a colorful gradient containing all colors.

Folkvangr has no anthem. There are several unofficial anthems, like The Internationale. The Council explicitly abstains from official symbolism and has decreed no motto, anthem, official flag (although the rainbow flag is generally accepted as the Folkvangr flag). There is no official language, but the official language of communication of the Union of Nation States, English, is accepted as the de facto official language and the lingua france of Folkvangr. Esperanto, French, Spanish, German, Russian, Japanese and Mandarin Chinese are also widespread. Several constructed languages are used by some communities. The most popular one is Esperanto, which is used by at least a dozen communities.

Geography
Folkvangr is similar to Earth. Climate zones, gravity, rotation speeds and atmospheric composition are all extremely similar to Earth and don't differ in any way that would impede human inhabitation. It is covered by oceans and land masses. Most of the surface is covered by water. The original vegetation of Folkvangr evolved out of Terraneous Generation, meaning that the biological composition of indigenous plants is Earthlike. Almost all plants are shrub-sized or smaller. There are some indigenous animal species, that are all smaller than approximately a milimeter. The military introduced Terran species in the 2080s and the subsequent natural colonization caused some degree of forestation in Central Folkvangr and surrounding areas, although this is negligible. The colonization of Folkvangr brought widespread artificial forestation around communities, but most of the land remains covered by endless grassy fields with occasional shrubs.

There are two continental landmasses and 20 continental islands. The largest landmass is called Greater Folkvangr. The other, substantially smaller landmass is referred to as Terra Nova.

Regions
The Folkvangr Council uses several geographical designations, each of which roughly (never with definite borders) encompasses a certain land region. These designations were agreed on after communicating with the inhabitants of each region. Several regions encompass other regions, and a substantial portion of the available land remains unnamed due to lack of inhabitation.

Greater Folkvangr consists of the Southlands and the Northlands, connected by the Bridgeland land bridge. There are two named deserts, while the other two regions that are recognized as deserts remain unnamed. These unnamed deserts are referred to as "the outback " in many communities. This name is also widely used to refer to the two named deserts, which are aptly titled the Northern Desert and the Southern Desert, as they are situated in the Northlands and the Southlands, respectively.

A large portion of the land northeast of the Northern desert is referred to as the Northshire. Part of this area is subdivided into The Hat, the Dragon Hills, Skyland, Peakland, The Heptarchy and Northbay. South of the Northshire lie New Europe, Bayland, Cliffland, Portland, the Green Hills and the Northern Rifts. East of the steppes and savannahs surrounding the Northern Desert lie New Arcadia, Moorland and Goodland. South of it lie the Countryside and Bridgeland, separated by the savannah of Bridge's Bay. The Countryside is separated from Moorland by Moorbay.

North of the Northern Desert and east of the Northshire lie Borderland, Westshire and the border region of Northshire, which is named The Basin. The lands east of the Northern Desert are separated by a sea from a large peninsular region (subcontinent) connected to the Northshire. This peninsula is separated into two parts by an unnamed desert: Eden, which contains Adam's Land, in the north and The Thallasocracy and Lake County in the south.

South of Bridgeland, still part of the land bridge connecting the Southlands and the Northlands, lies Central Folkvangr, which is not part of the mandate. One has to travel through Central Folkvangr to go from the Southlands to the Northlands by land. South of Central Folkvangr is the Central Folkvangr Sphere of Influence, which is also referred to as the Central Mandate. Together with The Rifts, a region just south of it, it roughly corresponds to the Bible Belt, an area with an unusually high number of Christian communities.

West of the Bible Belt lies the Pentarchy, a collection of regions that are all named after former medieval British kingdoms. This area was the original focus point of colonists within the mandate. The regions that constitute The Pentarchy are called New Mercia, New Anglia, Transanglia, South New Anglia and Westedge. The regions of South New Anglia and Westedge are also referred to as New Sussex and New Wessex, respectively. It is common practice to drop the "new" modifier before the name in informal communication in The Pentarchy. New Mercia, for example, is referred to as just Mercia by inhabitants.

Westedge, Transanglia and South New Mercia are all west of the Blue Mountains, a collection of mountain ranges just north of the Southern Desert. Transanglia borders the Southern Desert. East of the Blue Mountains lies The Valley, a depression surrounded by unnamed land bordering New Mercia and The Rifts.

East of the Bible Belt lie Cumberland and New Alexandria, two coastal regions that are separated by a body of water from Transalexandria, the only inhabited region on Terra Nova as of 2218. Terra Nova itself has an unnamed desert that is referred to as "the outback" by inhabitants of Transalexandria. Apart from Transalexandria, Terra Nova as three noticeable peninsular regions called the Northern Peninsula, the Western Peninsula and the Eastern Peninsula.