Vallajorski

Free Land of Vallajorski
Flag
Motto: Ex Undis From The Waves Of The Sea
Anthem: The Rock of the Waves
Status	Independent
Capital	Vallajorski One
Official languages	English
Recognised national languages	English
Demonym(s)	Vallajorskite
Government
• President	Calvin Schmitz
• Vice-President	Soojeong Lee
Legislature	Island Council of Vallajorski
Population
• 2025 estimate	5,259
Currency	Sea Rand (SRD)
Time zone	VST
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	right

The Free Land of Vallajorski is an island state located far south of Caxcana, roughly halfway between Holvale Island (Legionas) and the Chenalco Islands (Xiomera).

History

Vallajorski Island was originally settled by the Xiomeran Empire in 1884. The small island was found to be rich in coal deposits, and the Empire set up a small colony focused on mining those deposits. Vallajorski Island would also serve as a coaling station for the growing Imperial navy and merchant marine, as Xiomera expanded its trade network and military reach during its industrialization period. The island was named Vallajorski after Anton Vallajorski, the privateer and explorer who first discovered it on behalf of Xiomera.

Xiomera would build up a settlement on Vallajorski while extensively mining its coal deposits. The island was administered directly by the Imperial military from 1884 to 1910. In that year, control was handed over to a joint administration by Tinal Mining and Extraction and Mizhua Corporation. Tinal, Xiomera's largest mining corporation, would handle mining the coal. Mizhua, Xiomera's largest corporation overall, handled building and maintaining the settlement. Mizhua demolished the existing structures on Vallajorski between 1910 and 1916, building large reinforced concrete buildings to house the settlement. Reinforced concrete was chosen to withstand the harsh environmental conditions on Vallajorski, which included severely cold winters and stormy weather.

The Vallajorski settlement would eventually grow to be housed in several large buildings. The buildings were designed to serve as a single community. Development on Vallajorski reached its peak in 1959. But by the late 1960s, as Xiomera began replacing coal with nuclear power, oil and natural gas as primary energy sources, the importance of Vallajorski as a colony declined. Mizhua and Tinal also began to find the island unprofitable, as the value from its rapidly depleting coal reserves dropped and the cost of supporting the island rose. Finally, in 1974, the Imperial government and the corporations pulled the plug on the colony in joint agreement. The entire colony was abandoned by Xiomera by the end of 1974, as Xiomera retrenched following the Great War and sought more profitable ventures.

The island remained dormant until 1987, when a wealthy Pharitayan entrepreneur named Niran Phanichkul ran across it while on a pleasure cruise between Caxcana and Neria. Sensing the potential of an isolated location with significant infrastructure totally outside any nation's control, Phanichkul spontaneously decided to disembark on Vallajorski and claim it. Raising a whimsical flag depicting a paper ship floating on the water, Phanichkul declared the island to be the Free Land of Niran (named after himself). He gave himself the royal title of King Phanichkul I and turned Vallajorski One, the main building on the island, into his "Royal Palace".

During his reign, Phanichkul set up many of the businesses and industries that still exist in Vallajorski. He used the old Xiomeran mines to create the offshore server farm and data haven that funds much of Vallajorski's operations today, as well as a series of secure storage facilities underground. He also created the underground series of tourist attractions such as zip-lining courses, mountain bike and ATV trails, and adventure exploring that also provide a significant portion of the local economy. However, the increasingly erratic and autocratic rule of the self-declared "King" did not sit well with many of the residents he had encouraged to move to the island. In 1998, his chief advisor Hyong Lee convinced the "King's Guard" (i.e. the local security force) to overthrow Phanichkul in a bloodless coup. Phanichkul and the few followers he had left were expelled and returned to Pharitaya.

The island returned to its original name of Vallajorski. Hyong Lee formed the Island Council of Vallajorski, the democractically elected legislature that still governs today. A constitution was drafted in which the ten-person Council would be elected every five years, and would appoint a President and Vice-President to serve the same term. The new government took office in 1999, with Hyong Lee serving as the first President and Leon Wallace serving as the first Vice-President.

In 2001, Phanichkul returned to Vallajorski with a small band of hired guards to try to retake control of the island. His ships were promptly detained upon reaching the island seawall. Phanichkul and his guards were once again sent back to Pharitaya, and would mount no further attempts to regain control.

Hyong Lee would serve as the President of Vallajorski until 2019, when he chose to retire. He would be succeeded by the current President, longtime head of the Vallajorski Security Service Calvin Schmitz. Soojeong Lee, the daughter of Hyong Lee, is the current Vice-President.

Structure of Vallajorski

Vallajorski is a single island roughly 160 meters wide (east-to-west) and 480 meters long (north-to-south). It is enclosed by a massive, reinforced concrete seawall which helps protect the island from the rough ocean waters surrounding it. The buildings on the island are as follows:

• Vallajorski One is an eleven-story building at the center of the island. The tower is visible for miles around the island on the open ocean, particularly at night when the beacon at its top is lit. It was the former administrative building for the Xiomeran settlement. Today Vallajorski One serves as the center of government for Vallajorski. It houses the Island Council and the offices of the President and Vice-President. It also houses the Cabinet offices and government departments. Vallajorski One also houses the Island Hall public meeting chambers. The building also houses the offices of the Vallajorski Economic Development Corporation (VEDC), the entity responsible for operating the various business enterprises that bring revenue into Vallajorski.
• Vallajorski Two was the former garrison of the Xiomeran military. It houses the Vallajorski Security Service, the Vallajorski Air-Sea Patrol, and the Vallajorski Emergency Management Service.
• Vallajorski Three serves as the island's school, daycare center and nursery.
• Vallajorski Four serves as the island's medical center.
• Vallajorski Five serves as the island's library and also houses an internet cafe.
• The Promenade is a large building at the center of the island, near Vallajorski One. It holds 25 shops, a community center and a movie theater. There is an open courtyard in the middle of the island that serves as the island's main public gathering place.
• Island House, a former residential housing building, now serves as a hotel and hostel for tourists visiting the island.
• The Ring consists of thirty reinforced concrete apartment blocks that make up the majority of the housing on the island. The complex is known as the Ring because it forms a large ring around the rest of the buildings.
• The Underground is the dense network of stairs, underground tunnels and corridors that connect all of the buildings on the island. The Underground supplements the roads and sidewalks on the surface, especially during the often inhospitable winter weather on Vallajorski. There is also tunnel access to the island's seaport and airport.
• The Deep Underground consists of the mines and connected shafts that once housed Xiomeran coal mining operations. Today, the mines house the majority of the island's economic enterprises. The VEDC runs the Vallajorski Data Center, a data haven and server farm, as well as various data-based and electronic enterprises, in the former mines. The VEDC also runs the Vallajorski Secure Storage Facility in the former mines. The Deep Underground also houses Adventure Vallajorski, an entertainment operation consisting of the island's famous underground exploration and adventure attractions.