Grand Duchy of Pales

Pales, officially known as the Grand Duchy of Pales, is a coastal country located in southeastern Merkopa. The only country it borders is the Kingdom of Rizia. The country's capital is the Port of Pales, and it is governed by a monarch, Duke Axel Reinhart. The culture, people, and languages of Pales are deeply intertwined with its Rizian neighbors. Though the official national language is Palean (closely related to Rizian, and sometimes considered a Rizian dialect or a language invented by Valgish colonizers), Rizian and Valgish are also used in administrative and judicial proceedings. Pales first emerged in the 10th century when Count Rezna acquired a rocky coastal region in southern Rizia and built the first Rezenid-era fortifications, known as Paleaccis, in the modern-day city of Pales and its surrounding area. Over the centuries, Pales thrived under the Rezenid and Markian empires and later became part of the Kingdom of Rizia when it seceded from the Markian Empire in the 17th century. During the 17th century, the port city of Pales became one of Eastern Merkopa's most important trade hubs and served as the main port for the Kingdom of Rizia. However, in the late 17th century, the Valgos Empire occupied the city, forcing the Rizian government to cede administrative control of the port. Despite losing its most crucial port, the region of Greater Pales remained part of Rizia until the 19th century. As promised by Duke Willem of Monqiz during the War of Rizian Succession, Valgos took control over the Pales region and the coastal areas of Morella along the Gulf of Nal in 1810, integrating it into the empire. The Duchy of Pales was established soon after, unifying Greater Pales and the coastal regions of Morella under a Valgish duke. After the 1920 revolution in the Valgos Empire, the region went through a time of political upheaval before proclaiming itself an independent country, the Grand Duchy of Pales. In the meantime, the Republic of Morella took advantage of the instability to reclaim its coastline and former capital city, Cavette. Later, the Kingdom of Rizia swiftly retook the northern parts of Greater Pales in military operations with minimal casualties. However, with financial and military aid from Lespia, the Reinhart family maintained control and successfully defended the southeastern cities in the duchy. In the 1930s, the country saw rapid economic growth and militarized its borders with the help of the Republic of Lespia. Both countries signed numerous cooperation agreements, resulting in the Grand Duchy's increasing reliance on Lespia. In 1947, Duke Njolma's brief ban on the Rizian language led to heightened tensions between pro-Rizian and pro-Palesian factions. This controversial move compelled Njolma to abdicate, paving the way for his brother, Axel, to assume the throne. Axel, widely admired by the Rizian-speaking community, was officially crowned as Axel Reinhart in 1948, a year following his brother's resignation. The Grand Duchy of Pales is a developed country with a robust economy, boasting one of the world's highest GDPs per capita. The city of Pales was declared an ESCAN Heritage Site in 1950 due to the remarkable preservation of the Rezenid-era fortifications. The country has an above-average record on civil rights but below-average political freedoms. Pales is a member of the Organization for Merkopan Economic Development (OMEC).