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“Fortune favours the living”

The Principality of Erukush is a massive, safe nation, ruled by Prince Algernon IV of Erud with an iron fist, and renowned for its anti-smoking policies. Its hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 4.525 billion are ruled by a mostly-benevolent dictator, who grants the populace the freedom to live their own lives but watches carefully for anyone to slip up.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Defence, Law & Order, and Education. It meets every day to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Erud. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 49%. A powerhouse of a private sector is led by the Information Technology, Uranium Mining, and Pizza Delivery industries.

Euthanasia is legal, women earn less than half the salary of men if they can even find a job, the nation's diplomatic missives are now delivered via sniper rifle, and employers may fire workers without giving any reason. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Erukush's national animal is the erukushi hunting dog, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation, and its currency is the Varessan crown.

Erukush is ranked 17th in the region and 4,074th in the world for Largest Furniture Restoration Industry.