Nations of Avarka

Current Events in Ballena

Ballena is openly at war with a magical island, Orl island, that vanishes and reappears at random. The island was a part of the empire, wanted to be a sovereign state, and is now supporting the pirates that continue to attack Ballena. This is the story as known by the general populace.

Also wildly known is that the old crime families saw this situation as one they could profit from, but they screwed up and the government found out. The government's backlash crippled the old families, which has created a power vacuum in the criminal underworld.

The people of Ballena currently support the war effort, and mercenary business is good for anyone willing to help the underworld gangs or civilians in need of… vigilantes.

Culture of Ballena

The nation of Ballena possesses a very family-oriented culture, both when it comes to working and amusement. The country is often seen as a place of hard work and boisterous, song and food-filled parties, and no place exemplifies these traits more than Tiburon itself. The capital has become a city built around the enjoyment of the present, whether through the haughty refinement of the old manors or the debauchery and chicanery of the working quarters.

To give a Real World analog, Ballena culture is similar to that of 1920’s America (the roaring 20s) crossed with Spanish culture. For Tiburon itself add a heaping helping of 19th Century New York.

Ancient History of Ballena

Long ago, a small fishing village near Calceta Harbor declared itself the nation of Ballena. This was a joke at the time – word had spread of the elves in the far east founding the Manofaide empire, so why not them? The joke was lost, however, on the paranoid lord of the nearby town of Asust. Blades were drawn, raids were made, and when the dust settled the fishermen had somehow managed the impossible feat of not only beating back but of taking over Asust. Tiburon Araya, the man historically believed to have rose to the challenge of Asust by leading the fishermen in battle (whether or not he was actually a single person is debated by historians), claimed this was a sign that his people were meant for greater things. His words became truth as the fledgling group quickly united the scattered villages that made their living on the spoke-wheel peninsula to the north of Calceta. Tiburon became the first king of Bellena, whose capital would eventually encompass all of Calceta Harbor.

Over the centuries the empire would continue to expand across the coast, only halting its constant push during the fall of Zelphon ~450 years ago. All major nations that existed at that time, Ballena included, had little choice but to unite all resources they had at hand to reinforce the Great South Wall before the cursed jungle could overtake it. As soon as the threat had passed the southmost coastal village on the spoke-wheel peninsula, a city inhabited by group of humans known as the Eulric people, attempted to overthrow the aggressive Ballena empire. The rebellion failed, but the resulting instability prompted the royal family to focus more on foreign trade and stabilizing the land they already possessed rather than risking any more militaristic expansions.

Thus began the Golden Age of Bellena, a mostly peaceful period that lasted over nearly a century. The golden age came to an end when the Ghaslette plague spread throughout the region. The mostly-human Ballena was not hit anywhere near as hard as the neighboring shifter clans to the north, but it was bad enough to set back Ballena’s continued growth for nearly a century.

The end of Ballena's rule by kings and queens around 240 years ago came peacefully, in a way; the last queen and her nephew both died in a rash attempt to aid Manofaide in their war against Saventa instead of through any sort of internal strife or rebellion. Rather than fight over which noble family should inherit the throne the nobles chose to instead create the noble council that still presides over the county today.

History:

~215 years ago there existed a sizable empire to the north of Avarka called Anepta. But then the ice began to encroach upon the civilization. Each year the empire was pushed back by the continuously lowering temperatures and massive, unexplained soot-cloud that seemed to choke the sky. Their last stronghold lie in the Vasxi mountains, and war loomed as the Anepta empire prepared itself to push further south to escape the ice… only for the Heigen, the soot-sky, to stop its encroachment. The dinyu are blamed for the Heigen, but no one as actually confirmed the true source of the horrid cloud that chokes out all life north of Avarka (off the map).

The survivors of the Anepta empire set themselves to creating a more permanent stronghold in the mountains, and their descendants would rename themselves the Kuanepi empire following a coup ~185 years ago. The fledgling people eventually built a sizable mining and wool industry. New treaties were ratified with the South Eastern Military Alliance (Which would later become the South Eastern Coalition, and a tenuous peace was made with an elven towns that sparsely inhabited the region. Some mixing between the populations occurred over the centuries, but the Parjev elves’ strong tendency towards water/ice magic and their black hair* helped fuel repeated attempts to blame them for various natural disasters and occasionally for the Heigen itself.

Many attempts to reclaim the Heigenland have been made. The most recent of these attempts, the frontier colony Vaember, saw nearly three decades of success before the entire city was mysteriously slain during a heavy winter storm last year. The loss of Vaember’s completely fire-aspect population was seen as not only a tragedy but also a major blow to the empire’s power. Centuries of profusely rewarding any civilians fortuitous enough to have fire-aspect children have only been moderately successful – although fire aspects are more common in Kuanepi than anywhere else in Avarka, and lesser fire magic users are a common sight, a child possessing any aspect continues to be a rare gift.

*Black hair is believed by the general populace to be a common trait of elves with Dinyue ancestry, although modern scholars strongly suspect the parjev inherited their hair color from their human ancestors. Black hair is not unheard of among the humans of Kuanepi as well but such individuals are seen as natural; humans are not of fey descent, after all.

Kuanepi Today

Tensions are high in the mountain kingdom. The Emperor’s recent decree that the Parjev were not responsible for the destruction of Vaember has done little to stop silent raids on the small elven villages and the growing undercurrent of anti-parjev propaganda. Kuangite elves, even those in positions of power and those not of Parjev descent, grow increasingly concerned for their own safety with each passing day.

Kuanepi Culture

Kuanepi emphasizes blending and being harmonious with one’s neighbors. The nation also maintains a strict social hierarchy, with public officials (a position that is supposed to be determined through merit and scholarly success) and the owners of large farms and mines holding the highest ranks and jobs that do not directly relate to the production of needed goods or maintaining of the peace, such as artists and merchants, generally being considered the lowest of the low. Of course, there are still members of the lower social classes that wield great power through their personal wealth.

To give a Real World comparison, Kuanepi is vaguely similar to a combination late Ming / early Qing dynasty China and 1800s Hungary that aesthetically draws from both cultures but whose system of governance mostly draws from the Qing dynasty. People of Kuanepi generally have names that are a mixture of RL Chinese and Hungarian.

Government of Kuanepi

• The emperor resides in the imperial palace, only showing himself to the common people once each year. The palace is built on the largest mountain in the region, with the king’s palatial tower looking out over not just the heavily populated valleys but over the Hiegenland as well. A complex looking glass allows the king to personally gaze upon his people and their most hated foe.
• Position of Emperor/Empress is by hereditary. It is customary, however, for the children to have to prove themselves by managing one of the dukedoms under the watch of the actual duke assigned to that area. Based on their performance the child can succeed the emperor, marry into the duke’s family, be exiled, or even executed. All current dukedoms are at least tenuously related to the current emperor. If no decision is made before the emperor’s death the dukes collectively choose the next emperor. A child responsible for killing one of their siblings is barred from the throne unless done in an official dual. If the child is too young or otherwise unable to fight (illness, etc) the mother may choose to fight in their place; these rules are to both dissuade wasting of public resources and promote a mighty royal line. These rules have been (at least publicly) followed since the coup 370 years ago.

The Parjev Towns

The Parjev are the most distinct elven bloodline, with the vast majority of their people possessing pale skin and black hair. Their mountain villages are largely self-sufficient and rarely interact with other cultures. A few towns have tried to change this, digging large tunnel networks into the mountains to yield ores not yet reached by the Kuanepi people.

The towns of Chacu and Nieba are the most successful of these tunnel towns, and most Parjev found elsewhere in Avarka originated from these more merchant-oriented villages. The other Parjev find this to be a foolish venture, but the tunnel town’s success continues to chip away at the isolationist desires of the other villages… there are even rumors of the Parjev considering reaching out to the South Eastern Coalition in hopes of reviving aid against the recent string of raids being conducted by anti-Parjev extremists in Kuanepi.

Of course, even now some villages would simply like to be left alone.

Parjev Culture

• OOC: Names: Parjev generally have names that are a mixture of RL Belarusian and Irish Gaelic.

Inner Verto

Imagine a massive lake of rainbow-colored oil. The color distribution varies, and where a color concentrates magical effects related to its art tend to happen (too many shadows, plant growth, wetter than it should be, etc). Now imagine a complex, maze-like and tower-filled city of living crystal rising from the oil lake. A final peculiarity is that this city exists partially in both the fey and mortal realms – it is, in essence, a giant faerie ring. It is possible (but highly unadvised) for those who wander too deeply into the maze without guidance to find themselves in the fey realm. Unlike the more volatile nature fey rings, this core, known as Inner Verto or IV, is a stable dream fey ring. It is, in fact, the only dream fey ring.

Outer Verto

Outer Verto is a massive collection of earthen buildings, pipes, gears, and tents spread out from IV in a ring that continues for a few miles before reaching the outer walls, after which continue another expanse of buildings and tents that continue out into the desert proper. The people of Verto eventually plan on creating a second set of outer walls to handle their population growth, but such efforts were shelved due to a recent fervor on finding a faster means to transfer goods to the other nations. Such a method would be fantastic for the continued prosperity of OV, a nation whose major exports are manufactured goods, refined Auroraoil, and various devices that can utilize these oils to bring magic to those sadly born without much talent for it. The fey of IV have generally requested the machinists of OV avoid violent creations, but a few inventions like the storm-art pistol and the water cannon have still managed to find their way to other nations.

Verto Government

IV and OV are governed separately, with IV being a very disorganized democracy while OV is a republic governed by seven reagents. OV’s regents are each elected by the part of OV they represent, provided they receive approval from IV to take the position (this is usually a mere formality). The regents are re-chosen every 10 years, or sooner if the public or the residents of IV demand it.

IV, meanwhile, relies on constantly changing collection of councils tasked with handling specific issues with major decisions decided by a simple popular vote. Councils are generally balanced across emotional aspects (see Dream Fey under races), and are generally appointed by popular vote. The longest-standing councils are the City Caretaking Council (CC), the Making Sure Councils Are Actually Doing Their Job Properly Council (MSCAADTJP or DTJP for short), and the Evil Free Assurance Council (EOA) that handles approving OV reagents.

Verto Culture

The Vertacian people extol the virtue of progress. “Today is great, but tomorrow might be better still” is a common saying, and one the populace of Verto generally try to live their lives by. A downside of this future-obsessed way of life can be seen by anyone who walks across the whole of the city, noting every partially-finished or tried-and-abandoned engineering project that seemed like a good idea at the time. A few groups (and IV councils) try to keep track of past ideas that might still be of use, but the city as a whole prefers to dwell in the new rather than the old. Other aspects of culture, such as music and fashion, likewise tend to change with each passing year.

Manofaide

A primarily elven nation that inhabits the Erdot and Nerzak forests and, to a lesser extent, the Lepke bog, Manofaide’s largest industry is ecologically sustainable logging, with their major exports lumbar, wooden goods, and various syrups. Manofaide is ruled by a noble council and their Triumvirate member is always the head speaker of the council, which for the past 60 years has been Najac of house Vrod.

Originally an isolationist culture like Casawek, Manofaide as a nation has begun to open up over the past decade due to its interactions with Verto. Many of the smaller villages continue to keep to themselves, however, and numerous elders remember the Manofaide-Saventa war that killed so many of their own a little more than two centuries ago. The fact that virtually no shifter alive can claim the same has done little to assuage the feelings of these smaller villages. The capital itself, however, has done its best to be open to all people while still maintaining the nation’s traditional reverence for the natural world.

Casawek

Very mixed, sparsely populated nation managed largely by local mayors with the occasional townsmeat (not a typo) to democratically iron out more widespread regulations. Primary exports are smaller trained animals (horses, mules, etc) and other animals raised as livestock for food. Primary import are auroil devices from Verto, as such objects have gained great popularity in the region after one of the towns took down an infamous bandit group with an explosion courtesy of Verto engineering (the fact that the device wasn’t.. actually supposed to explode like that continues to be glanced over). Triumvirate membership is determined by townsmeat and is generally held by a particularly distinguished and well-liked former mayor. For the past 15 years this has been Walter Riley.

Casawek has done its best to stay out of continental politics, and has mostly remained neutral in all conflicts since separating from the old Saventa empire ~280 years ago. It is only nominally a member of the South Eastern Coalition, and would much prefer to be left alone by both its eastern and northern neighbors.

For a Real World analog of Casawek culture, take every Wild West and modern Canadian stereotype and smash them together. Shake well and add magic. It’s a mostly lawless place, but a surprisingly polite one.

Delvena

Primarily shifter, specifically herbivore shifter, nation ruled by a constitutional monarchy. The royal Delvena family’s power is far more restricted than the Kuangepi monarchy. Major exports are rice, wheat, tea, corn, soy, and various spices. Triumvirate member is always the head of the family, who in turn chooses the next monarch (who will later ascend to the Triumvirate) from any eligible (not cast out/exiled/etc) member of the royal family. Leadership in all forms is hereditary in Delvena, with very little upward mobility possible to those unwilling to leave the nation.

Delvena society revolves largely around the cast system, with the royal oryx dammah (aka "Scimitar Oryx") shifter Delvena clan and other horned herbivore shifter families occupying the highest strata, followed by other herbivores which are in turn followed by most omnivorous shifters, non-shifters, and shifters tied to carnivorous animals in that order. Children are generally treated as their parents, although the rare few whose animals wildly diverge from their family line might be cast out (if lower) or “adopted” by a family of the higher cast. The lowest stratum is reserved for the “thief-masks”, the raccoon shifters of the Saventa clan that ruled the country centuries ago. Plant shifters are rare enough to not have any specified place in the hierarchy, although they are usually seen as being above omnivorous shifters.

The people generally have a high regard for the charitable royal clan themselves, although the dammah-shifters are also seen as being far too lax regarding the increasingly corrupt actions of the local lords that govern the smaller towns in their name. The Delvena people view “simple living” as the most virtuous of lifestyles.