Biron

Biron is a nation in Pagia, classified as a city-state; centering around the Bironian Valley and its capital city of Biron. A tributary to Tolméhria, Biron revolves around its heavy mining industry, extracting valuable resources from the Bironian Valley and its surrounding desert; much of said resources go towards fuelling the Tolmerian war industry, in exchange for a paltry sum of gold as payment along with the protection of its sovereignty.

Structure

Biron is completely dominated by the mining industry, with its head of state, the Duke, in fact often being the mining baron in charge of the industry. The Duke is elected by the Bironian Council, a body of representative officials from the Bironian people and their mining colonies, though the council is made up mostly of mining barons anyway, along with the odd union here and there. Biron does not share as stratified of a society as its neighbour Tolmeria however, and social mobility is very much possible in Biron; military officers and mining executives frequently 'rise from the ranks' rather than being given their position as a result of nepotism and elitism.

History

Biron became its own nation as a result of the Great Sundering in the year 5001. Relatively removed from the warring population centres to its west, Biron was extremely lucky to be allowed to survive, as its neighbours were far too busy dealing with the threat posed by each other to be concerned with an annexation of Biron. However, this also meant it missed out on the opportunity to take over other factory cities through military conquest, meaning it diverted most of its rather strained assets towards establishing mining and oil-drilling colonies in the surrounding desert instead of military technology.
Nonetheless, its efforts paid off, as Biron soon found itself with a monopoly over the natural resources around the Biron valley. Instead of relying on automobiles and aircraft like its warring cousins for transport, Biron established a vast railway network connecting its colonies and settlements, which proved useful and efficient for lugging large tonnages of industrial equipment and earth resources across wide distances without costing unreasonable amounts of fuel.
Shortly after the victory and formation of the Tolméhrian Empire in 5010, Biron was forced to quickly find a way to protect itself from the very real possibility of a Tolméhrian invasion. Aware of its almost non-existent chances of survival in the event of a war, Biron was able to stave off annexation by threatening to destroy its own industry and infrastructure in the event Tolméhria invaded them to seize their mines and resources. This worked; Tolméhria was struggling to juggle its own military-industrial complex, let alone rebuild Biron's. So Biron was granted independence and protection by Tolméhria. In exchange, Biron would become a tributary state of Tolméhria, helping to assist the Tolméhrian war industry through frequent shipments of much needed natural resources.

Military

The Bironian military, consisting of (officially) the Bironian Ducal Army and the Bironian Ducal Air Service, is one of the smaller and rather crude armed forces in Munda compared to its contemporaries.

Foreign Relations

Empire of Tolméhria Biron is a tributary state of the Empire of Tolméhria, giving much of its raw materials such as coal, steel, other valuable metals and also oil to Tolméhria in order to fuel its war industry; in exchange, Tolméhria's vastly superior military provides protection for Biron, and also respects its existence, something that it must be admitted Tolméhria rarely does to other countries. Biron consequently has a relatively cordial relationship with Tolméhria, although this is rather tenuous; though they may be close partners, Biron and the Tolméhrian Empire cannot be said to be friends.

Founding Date

5001

Alternative Names

That Blessèd Valley (by themselves), The Slag-Men (by everybody else)

Demonym

Bironian

Government System

Plutocracy

Neighboring Nations

• Empire of Tolmehria