Arcadia

Arcadia (アルカディア, Arukadeia) is a country that serves as a secondary principal setting in the Fullmetal Alchemist fanon world, though it does not take any precedence in the canon storyline.

Arcadia is a powerful country to the far East of Amestris with a Constitutional Republic-type government. Though it has a fairly large military, it is different from Amestris in that the military does not have direct power over segments of the country nor the full country itself. Its Head of State acts as the Commander-in-Chief of the Arcadian Armed Forces and has the title of President (主席, shuseki) and his powers also differ from the Führer of Amestris in that he does not control the legislative body. The other two branches of the government are the Legislative and Judicial Branches which comprise of the Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate, and the Supreme Court respectively.

The country is comprised of fifty states which have diverse culture, religious, political, and economic characteristics. Each state is controlled by a smaller version of Arcadia's federal government; a Governor as the Executive Branch, a Congress as the Legislative, and a State Court as its Judicial.

History
Arcadia isn't nearly as old as Amestris, having been founded in 1776 by settlers from another oppressive nation. Alchemy was brought over to Arcadia when Alphonse Elric, a State Alchemist from Amestris who was traveling the world to train, introduced Arcadia's people to the art of alchemy in the year 1926. Arcadia then reorganized its military to introduce Alchemists to their chain of command and their ranks. Alchemists were also allowed to live normal lives under the Arcadian Constitution if they wanted.

In the same year 1926, as the result of an experiment by the Arcadian military to create alchemy-using Homunculus as soldiers for war apart from alchemists, allowing normal alchemists to do their jobs as scientists, a terrible event occurred. To do this, they brought in an inmate, slated for execution an used him in the Human Transmutation to create the homunculus that would become Instinct. This failed, however, because the Homunculus turned on his creators, using their own guns to slaughter them and then forge a Philosopher's Stone out of their souls and thus, Instinct was born.

Geography
Arcadia is a large continental nation, meaning the nation spans the entire continent on which it sits. To the north - along the coasts - is a rather small (compared to the rest of the nation) section of tundra, which keeps human life and civilization away for the most part, but allows for a large amount of rare wildlife, such as the Arcadian Polar Bear and the Walrus, which is on the endangered species list in Arcadia. The middle portion of the nation, spanning from central plains to the eastern mountains near Arcadia City, as well as the coastal areas of the Eastern Capital City, are dominated by large plains and vast, fertile, farmland. Around Central Capital City in particular, these plains contain a large amount of oil fields from which the nation has gained its fame. Stretching from the Northeast part of the nation down to the Southern part around South Falls - virtually splitting the nation in two - is the Arcadia Mountains. The largest peak in these mountains, and in the entire nation, is Union Peak, which is located southwest of Southern Capital City and directly north of Arcadia's southern border.

Population
Arcadia has a population of nearly three-hundred million people living within its borders, more than triple the amount of Amestris. It is a "melting pot" nation, meaning it has many different ethnic groups, with Caucasian being the most prominent. Population density varies from place to place. In the Northeast region of Arcadia, it is focused around large cities that dot the coasts. It is the same in the East. The South and central areas of the nation, however, are very rural and dotted with farmland.

Foreign Relations
Having literally no competition on its own continent, Arcadia's foreign relationships are mostly concerned with nations abroad. It is known to have fair relationships with all of its allies abroad. Its relationship with Amestris is partially good, though both nations have threatened the other on multiple occasions due to the presence of alchemists in both nations.

Military
Unlike Amestris, Arcadia's military is not singularly composed of an army, but of an Army, Navy, and Air Force.

Ever since Alphonse Elric introduced alchemy to the nation many years ago, the use of alchemy and its practitioners to strengthen the military for national defense purposes, has become the primary political objective of most elected officials in Arcadia. Arcadia's Army is composed of any normal solider and alchemist, the Navy is composed of naval officers and water-related alchemists, and the Air Force is composed of pilots and alchemists who work well with planes and machinery.

The military bases itself in Arcadia City but has various military bases in different parts of the country, as well as in other nations. Arcadia's military and equipment is very modernized and is backed by a growing number of elite alchemists that aid the nation in war time.

The ranks of the army are the same as those in the real world, though Alchemists immediately gain the rank of major upon joining the army, as it is in Amestris.

Notable Locations

 * Arcadia City: The capital of the nation of Arcadia and the seat of all three branches of government. It is also the primary base of all three branches of the Arcadian Armed Forces.


 * Eastern Capital: A major city in one of the southeastern states of Arcadia. It is a center of sea commerce and space research for Arcadia.


 * North Falls: A small city in the north of Arcadia.


 * Northern Capital: A major city in one of the northern states of Arcadia. It is a primary location for most of the nation's mining.


 * Central Capital: A major city at the center of Arcadia. It is the base of operations for the study of Alchemy in Arcadia.


 * South Falls: A small city in the south of Arcadia.


 * Southern Capital: A major city in the southern portion of Arcadia. It is the headquarters of the majority of Arcadia's oil industry.


 * Western Capital: A major city in the west of Arcadia. It is another location for sea trade, a well known vacation destination for many of Arcadia's wealthy, and a center of international commerce.

Real World Parallels
Arcadia has very close parallels to the United States of America in the real world including government form, geography, military make up (save for alchemists), and history.