The Divine Mandate of Lareste is a massive, orderly nation, ruled by Patriarch Constantine with an iron fist, and remarkable for its ubiquitous missile silos, public floggings, and restrictive gun laws. The hard-nosed, cynical, devout population of 3.685 billion Larestis are ruled without fear or favor by a psychotic dictator, who outlaws just about everything and refers to the populace as "my little playthings."

The medium-sized, corrupt, moralistic, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Education. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Nicoslia. The average income tax rate is 76.7%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Laresti economy, worth 555 trillion Lareste Soliduses a year, is dominated by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Tourism, Information Technology, and Uranium Mining. Black market activity is notable. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 150,740 Lareste Soliduses, and distributed extremely evenly, with little difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Teachers are routinely tested to keep their jobs, the new Grand Inquisitor of Righteous Scientific Inquiry has ordered a surprising amount of hemlock, parents who reward their teens' chores with concert tickets are charged with illegal reselling, and most people attending churches are maintenance workers. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Lareste's national animal is the Larestean Eagle, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to toxic air pollution, and its national religion is Orthodox Christianity.

Lareste is ranked 24,367^th in the world and 20^th in Covenant Shores for Highest Average Incomes, with 150,740.5 Standard Monetary Units.