Minor Fictional Countries in Short Stories

These are fictional countries appearing in the short works of Harry Turtledove. This may include fictional countries on Earth, as are often found in alternate history, as well as those found in fantasy or science fiction realms. These countries do not have well defined borders in either print or cover images. Their government may be broadly defined by type, but the identities of office-holders are not disclosed. Their histories are usually vague, particularly in alternate history stories. Even countries that serve as the primary setting may be listed here if they are still insufficiently developed outside the narrow scope of the plot.

This article may at times be written both in and out of universe, depending on the country being discussed.

=Countries on Earth=

Duvai
Duvai shared the southwest section of the Great Continent with the Principality of Lissonland. It occupied the eastern part of the section and bordered with the Hereditary Tyranny of Tartesh to the north and the Krepalgan Unity to the northeast. It did not claim any part of the Bottomlands.

Duvai was populated by Highheads.

Principality of Lissonland
The Principality of Lissonland shared the southwest section of the Great Continent with Duvai. It occupied the western part of the section and bordered with the Hereditary Tyranny of Tartesh to the north. It possessed a southern strip of the Bottomlands with the bulk of the sub-sealevel desert claimed by Tartesh.

Lissonland was populated by Highheads and ruled by the Prince.

Kingdom of Morgaf
The Kingdom of Morgaf consisted of a number of islands in the Western Ocean off the northwest coast of the Great Continent. It was separated from its long time enemy, the Hereditary Tyranny of Tartesh, by the relatively narrow Sleeve.

Morgaf was populated by Strongbrows and ruled by a King. Over the centuries, Morgaf fought numerous wars with Tartesh but had been at an uneasy peace for the last twenty years. Many believed this was due to the invention of the starbomb some fifty years prior.

Empire of Stekia
Empire of Stekia, a large empire in the Double Continent, whose land includes the Grand Canyon. Mentioned in passing.

Namerican Empire
The Namerican Empire was cobbled together by King Bryon of Canoga and his descendants in the centuries after the Burning. Using technological information recovered from pre-Burning society, the Namerican Empire expanded from small Canoga to include all of Ellay, then encompassing SoCal, and eventually annexing Vegas and the Zona.

Over a period of three generations, technological advancement, led by the Technology Recovery Section, saw the Namerican Empire go from single shot guns to repeaters, to fighter planes, space shuttles, and starships.

SoCal
SoCal was a kingdom in the American southwest bordering the Pacific Ocean. It grew out of the much smaller kingdom of Canoga and was ruled by King Burger. Between himself and his father, King Bryon, Canoga grew to encompass all of its neighbors in Ellay and beyond to form this kingdom.

Eventually under King Burger, the kingdom of SoCal would stretch to Zona and finally become the Namerican Empire.

West Coast People's Democratic Republic
The West Coast People's Democratic Republic was a communist state located on the west coast of North America. As was common among the fraternal socialist states, the Communist Party ruled the country absolutely.

The state of California was an important part of the WCPDR. Cities were sub-divided into regional party committees, which were in turn sub-divided into blocks, which were overseen by individual chairmen who usually did as their immediate committees bid them.

Elections took place when the Party deemed them appropriate. Other political parties, such as the Democrats, the Progressives and the Republicans were still legal, but citizens were directed to voted for the CPWCPDR.

As was often the case in socialist states, the upper echelons of the Party's nomenklatura enjoyed more power and privilege than the average workers they were nominally working on behalf of. Thus, a quiet resistance began to grow, with average citizens slowly working against state.

Literary comment
In a separate interview, Turtledove stated that the WCPDR is located on the west coast of the United States. That implies Washington and Oregon are also part of the WCPDR, but the text of the story itself does not make that explicit.

Northeastern Soviet Socialist Republic
The Northeastern Soviet Socialist Republic was located on the northeast coast of North America. Once, a General Secretary of the NESSR had lived by the motto "With an iron fist, we shall lead mankind to happiness". To that end, he turned Long Island in a corrective-labor camp for "deviationists" and had worked or frozen hundreds of thousands more to either exhaustion or death in Maine. His actions provoked a full-scale revolt that was quickly halted by the Soviet Union, which replaced the general secretary. Charlie Simpkins had just graduated from high school when the Soviet Union intervened.

While the NESSR likely includes all of New York State and New England, the story doesn't explicitly state this.

Southern Confederated People's Republic
Aside from the fact that Old Dominion Province makes good bourbon, we are told nothing else about the Southern Confederated People's Republic.

=Countries on Other Worlds=

Western Realm
The Western Realm, with its capital at Lerellim, was ruled by the High King until the War Between the Dark and the Light, when it was overrun and occupied by the forces of the Dark Brother.

Gothia
Gothia was a Kingdom which once maintained an Amazon Corps of virgin unicorn-riders. Because virgins tended to be small and inexperienced in battle, the corps was not as effective as it could have been. Many of the members did not keep their virginity, and the ranks decreased at a quick rate.

Hispalis
Hispalis was a Dukedom which once maintained the Stripling Squadron, which consisted of about 100 youths aged to 14 to 17. Because they had not lost their virginity, the lads were able to ride unicorns. Their lack of combat experience and small body size hampered the squadron's effectiveness. Also, half of them lost their virginity and thus became of no further use to the squadron.

Iveria
The County of Iveria was ruled by Count Rupen, with the aid of his seneschal Milo.

Under Rupen's reign, Iveria successfully defeated the neighboring county ruled by Gui, and claimed a disputed valley. Their victory relied primarily on the services of the mercenary Coradin Honeymouth, who rode a unicorn.

Kar V'Shem
The Empire of Kar V'Shem includes the town Sennar where the story takes place, but no further information about this Empire is ever given.

=References=