The Empire of Altanys is a gargantuan, cultured nation, ruled by Archon Valeros Thenaten with a fair hand, and renowned for its rum-swilling pirates, anti-smoking policies, and punitive income tax rates. The compassionate, democratic, cheerful population of 11.91 billion Altanysians are free to do what they want with their own bodies, and vote for whomever they like in elections; if they go into business, however, they are regulated to within an inch of their lives.

The enormous government juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Areseia. The average income tax rate is 98.2%.

The frighteningly efficient Altanysian economy, worth a remarkable 2,152 trillion drachmas a year, is highly specialized and mostly made up of the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Tourism and Book Publishing. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 180,689 drachmas, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Even secular Altanysians are shouting "Blessed are the cheesemakers!", small patches of desolate land across the world are part of Altanysian sovereign territory, tourists aren't the only ones that talk about coming back from a trip, and lovesick people are told 'it's not them, it's you'. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Altanys's national animal is the dragon, which soars majestically through the nation's famously clear skies.

Altanys is ranked 3,440^th in the world and 137^th in Lazarus for Most Cheerful Citizens, with 64.05 Percentage Of Water Glasses Perceived Half-Full.