The Kingdom of Saresse is a colossal, efficient nation, ruled by King Paolo II with an iron fist, and remarkable for its infamous sell-swords, digital currency, and complete absence of social welfare. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical, devout population of 2.775 billion Saresseans are ruled with an iron fist by the corrupt, dictatorship government, which oppresses anyone who isn't on the board of a Fortune 500 company. Large corporations tend to be above the law, and use their financial clout to gain ever-increasing government benefits at the expense of the poor and unemployed.

The relatively small, corrupt, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Spirituality, Defense, and Industry. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Centrisol. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 14.3%.

The powerhouse Saressean economy, worth 211 trillion Crowns a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Retail industry, with major contributions from Arms Manufacturing, Tourism, and Door-to-door Insurance Sales. Average income is 76,110 Crowns, but there is a large disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 322,265 per year while the poor average 11,612, a ratio of 27.8 to 1.

Boot polish is the favourite lip gloss of entry-level corporate workers, politicians sweat as journalists scour internet archives for any mention of them, the jails are alive with the sound of birdsong, and babies are increasingly seen as a luxury. Crime is moderate, with the police force struggling against a lack of funding and a high mortality rate. Saresse's national animal is the Ram, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Protestant.

Saresse is ranked 36,722^nd in the world and 1^st in The Alta Archipelago for Most Cultured, scoring 76 on the Snufflebottom-Wiggendum Pentatonic Scale.