The Republic of Vurndraak, commonly shorthanded as Vurndraak, is the only democratic republic in Belldeep and one of its three primary nations. Located on the island of the same name, Vurndraak is a unitary constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. Vurndraak is the second most powerful of Belldeep nations, but has historically been unable to expand its sphere of influence across Belldeep due to Thuletor's and Othuaca's efforts to colonize and use the island as a critical piece in their own cold war. This changed with the Vurndraaki War of Independence, securing the island as an sovereign nation with its own culture, laws, and government. Vurndraak has always been an exploited land, giving the Vurndraaki people a national identity of resistance from others and strong nationalism, one almost directly tied to the island's state religion of the Black Wyvern. While Thuletor may have been the first nation to industrialize and can be considered the most powerful, Vurndraak isn't far behind, with their fleets of aircraft and zepplins dominating the air where Thuletor can't reach them.
Although its unknown for how long exactly, habitation of Vurndraak has existed for several hundred years at least. In that time, the Vurndraaki people have developed their own culture unique to them, one that is especially tied to myth. One of the oldest and most popular myths about Vurndraak's history is that when an early invasion fleet of ships from the Southwest came, complete with fire-covered arrows and catapults, they awakened a sleeping dragon called the Black Wyvern. This Black Wyvern, now enraged by the trespassers on its land, burst forth from the sea in a volcano of fire and destroyed the invasion fleet. This grant explosion of fire and lava from the sea later formed the Wyvern's Maw, where the Black Wyvern is rumored to reside, defending the island to this day from invaders. It's unknown where originally these naval invaders came from.
From this, the religion of the Black Wyvern was made. Wyvern's Maw was seen as a deeply holy place of reverence and respect for the Great Being. But for Vurndraak itself, the island was divided between many tribes who held differing accounts and religious beliefs of the Black Wyvern. This changed when Avina Apollyon the Great, who was said to be the prophet and messenger of the Black Wyvern, conquered and united all of these tribes under one great kingdom. While these conquests were brutal, to many today they were seen as necessary for Vurndraaki unification. As the new ruler of a united Vurndraak, Avina would establish the city of High Apollyon as the capital of the Vurndraaki Kingdom.
Throughout the centuries, the Apollyon Royal Family would rule this kingdom, with each one claiming the divine right of kings and queens. This "divine right" claimed that they were justified in ruling as they did because they came from the bloodline of Avina Apollyon, and were thus blessed with the Black Wyvern's good grace. Avina herself was noted as a strong and mighty ruler but still maintained a kind heart. Her later successors after her passing would not be so generous, with King Candac the II being especially hedonistic and cruel in his ruling.
The rule of the Vurndraaki kingdom, however, came to an end when the more technologically advanced and militarily dominating Thuletor conquered the island. Thuletor and Othuca were at war with each other, with the goal of dominating all of the Belldeep Sea being the goal. Neither power trully won the war, but Thuletor did conquer Vurndraak with their superior naval power and military planning. The Vurndraaki Kingdom was dissolved and the Apollyon Royal Family had its power curtailed. The Royal Family now served as a mere cultural leaders than actually holding power. During this time, Vurndraak was colonized by the Thuletorians and its resources plundered, enriching the upper strata of Thuletorian society.
When the industrial revolution came, more humanist, democratic, and libertarian political theory that was separate from religious dogma and imperial conquest started to emerge. These ideas eventually started to spread to Vurndraak, which later served as the basis for the Vurndraaki War of Independence against Thuletor. The Vurndraaki people started to demand equal representation in Thuletorian society, which was denied several times. Eventually, this led to local conflicts with Thuletorian soldiers, then more regional conflicts across High Apollyon, then the entire island was in rebellion against Thuletor. The war was eventually won, ang Vurndraak had gained its independance.
Vurndraak immediately started to reorganize themselves into their own society. The state religion of Thuletor, the Imperial Cult of the Emperor, was removed and Black Wyvern Faith was reinstated. The Apollyon Royal Family was also kept in political power as the head of state, meaning that while they represented the island in foreign affairs, they held no real power over government outside of giving approval for acts of Parliament. That would be held by Parliament, with the Prime Minister being the head of government. The Vurndraaki Parliament is where the core of Vurndraaki democracy is held. The current Prime Minister is Alred Rikiar, while the current Queen is Lyn Apollyon.
Republic of Vurndraak is a constitutional monarchy and paraliamentary democracy. Parliament is a unicameral legislative body and requires royal assent by the monarch for a bill to become an act of Parliament (or statute law). Queen Lyn Apollyon is the current monarch and head of state, representing the nation in both culture and foreign affairs.
Vurndraaki culture is quite religious and technocratic. The Black Wyvern Faith is prominent and embedded into almost every facet of the nation's culture. The Black Wyvern itself is a very magical being that has given the Vurndraaki the ability to mix both magic with industry, producing such unique tools like steel swords that are always on fire, or the ability to bind a spell to a gun and thus give it a special magical ability. Because of this willingness to mix magic with industry, as well as them being a democracy, Vurndraaki culture is rather open to magic in comparison to Thuletor. They don't mind mild magic items or creatures, so long as they aren't dangerous of course. If something magical is found to be dangerous, then special forces are called in to deal with the threat.