Non-contiguous Zwangzug

The vast majority of Zwangzug's land and population consists of part of the Wrigley continent. However, the country includes multiple archipelagos at varying distances from the mainland. Residents of non-contiguous Zwangzug are politically the equals of their mainland counterparts; the islands have no special governmental status but are part of various parliamentary districts.

Spread throughout the waters off the northern coast of Zwangzug, the Picksall Islands had little contact with the mainland until a cartographic spree gripped much of the latter. As their awareness of neighboring cities grew, so too did their knowledge of the islands beyond. Unfortunately, some of the first visitors from the mainland were horrified by the vaguely-polytheistic practices they found on many of the Picksalls. (While variations abounded throughout the many islands, the most common belief system involved the henotheistic worship of the sun, moon, or stars depending on gender or individual conversion.) As the cartographers' work allowed detailing of more and more small islands, the problems multiplied. Unusually for Zwangzug, and unprecedented for the country on its scale, a wave of Christian missionary activity was soon to follow in the hopes of "saving" the islanders. This was partially successful, as Christianity is now the islands' most common religion, but in other cases backfired when those who had lived on the Picksalls for some time eventually converted.*

The islands' largest city is Gifogodi Demyok, located on the island of Gifogodi. The area is also known for its vowel-heavy language, usually known as "South Picksalladed;" the paucity of consonants makes it plausible that it may be distantly related to the northeastern mainland dialects, but many records are classified due to "blogging about them under a different username."



The Zebra Isles are located much farther from the mainland, near Wezeltonia. They were named in an outpouring of homesickness from their original settlers, most of who had come from Zwangzug's mountain ranges through Lang. (The Isles are politically included in the district of Langport.) More recently, the Wezeltonian army took control of the islands. Though the eventual demilitarization was seen as an encouraging sign, diplomatic talks meant to determine the Isles' long-term future broke down shortly thereafter. However, the government of Zwangzug ruled that they are officially a far-flung region of Langport rather than a "colony," and later wrangling by international authorities means that this issue is unlikely to recur, at least for Zwangzug.

The Isles are: 1. Ghos (uninhabited) 2. Iavbrat (no permanent residents, though it does contain one scientific base with rotating occupants) 3. Lonope 4. Quesy, where zebras have in fact thrived as an invasive species. 5. Nurdsont 6. Tisawa, first settled by ethnic Wezeltonians fed up with their government's policies. It eagerly embraced membership as part of Zwangzug and today tends to be particularly supportive of the Isles' inclusion within the larger state. 7. Vergy, the largest and most populous. It contains the archipelago's largest city, Jagoul.


 * ...their maps to GIF rather than JPEG.