Kalaido

A prosperous nation that takes pride in having never invaded, nor been invaded, Kalaido owes much of its success to the defensibility of the land they occupy. The mountainous outskirts only have two valleys from which outside forces can safely enter, and the river that traces the inner border of these mountain paths is the second layer that renders Kalaido too difficult to occupy, the only safe crossings being heavily defended government only bridges and a single large bridge for public use.This same river doubly plays a role in Kalaido's prosperity by facilitating easy transport throughout the nation to the ocean, where Kalaido's seafaring traders can then travel to any other nation to establish more friendly relations. This two-fold geographic advantage has ensured Kalaido's position as the politically neutral convenient trading partner for all nations in Eostrea, as it is simply too costly to take aggressive action against them while not trading with the near-self-sufficient country means missing out on the stable economic boost provided by foreign trading. As a culture, this complete lack of foreign enemies meant that the Kalaidoan view of other nations is generally positive, resulting in an open border policy with all neighbors, though the difficult terrain renders it very easy for the Kalaidoan government to track visitors and immigrants as they are forced to use the pathways that Kalaido maintains firm control over, knowing that the loss of their defensive advantage was too dangerous to risk. This means that Kalaido, despite being the youngest and having the lowest population of the original four nations, also boasts the highest diversity in terms of races, views, skillsets, religions, and more. This diversity is a big point of pride for the peaceful nation, but it is also one of their bigger weaknesses, as they are far less unified in viewpoints and societal ideas than almost any other nation. As a matter of fact, Kalaido has had many periods of unrest throughout its long history, with the most recent one being the Great Upheaval that transformed the structure of the Kalaidoan government in response to the growing power of the lower-middle class from the Technological Revolution. Despite this seeming instability, it must be commended that Kalaido, or more specifically the Kalaidoan Royal Family, has successfully navigated every crisis that has struck the nation without letting things devolve to violence, keeping a firm grasp on the peace that has reigned over the land since the founding of the nation.