Cestros

Cestros (: Σέτρου, Cétrou), officially the Republic of Cestros (: Δημοκρατία της Σέτρου, Dimokratía tis Cétrou) is a country in south-eastern (Zemlya). It is bordered to the north by Veršec and Vreteke. Cestros is a unitary state and is divided into 15 administrative regions each with only an extremely limited degree of autonomy. Cestros has a predominantly hot mediterranean climate especially on coastal areas which holds the most populated and dense parts of the country while being slightly cooler on the interior especially near the mountain ranges that encompass a large portion of the country. The capital and largest city/metropolis, Asyrgos has a total population of 4,881,302 and is regarded the heart and of the nation both politically and culturally.

Cestros historically has sat at the crossroads between Zemlya and Azaria making it a hub for culture exchange between both continents. In antiquity, Cestros has been credited with forming the basic groundwork for a a sizable portion of modern sciences, mathematics and literature, the Cestrosian language and script has also been credited as forming the basis for what would become the Cyrillic alphabet. During the early medieval era Cestros would see a period of decline, with the region being split amongst numerous kingdoms, despotates and duchy's  with some being subservient to foreign, non-Cestrosian powers. In 1534 the Cestrosian Wars of Unification would unfold, and would eventually come to an end with the Kingdom of Asyrgos and its client/vassal states uniting most of modern-day Cestros in 1571 and proclaiming the Kingdom of Cestros. The subsequent age of enlightenment would see a large-scale revival of prominent Cestrosian thinkers and philosophers reminiscent of those during antiquity. Cestros would also become belligerent of numerous Zemlyan-wide conflicts from the 18th to 20th centuries, and in this time would attempt to build one of the strongest naval fleets in Zemlya to compete with the colonial and maritime power of Bloodia and Kadolha but these efforts would be largely fruitless with Cestros gaining only minor colonial holdings outside of Zemlya and neighbouring Azaria. The 1987 landslide election victory for the National Cestrosian Unity Party (EKEC) would see the transformation of Cestros from a largely free and democratic state into an authoritarian regime ruled solely by EKEC as the dominant-party, who have since won every election decisively. The undisputed executive power of EKEC has however accelerated the Cestros rapidly, with the nation having almost completely recovered from the 1983 economic and political crisis.

In the present-day Cestros is considered a mostly developed country with a high standard of living and quality of life despite the de-facto limitations on freedom of speech, expression and franchise.