I'm looking for ideas for civilizations for my mod, Mystic Domains (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=230784). It's a high/low fantasy mod for BTS and I want to fill my world with interesting people. I thought the best way to get a lot of ideas would be to ask everyone.

So, here's the deal:
There are five sparks of civilization in Mystic Domains, each standing for many aspects of life.

Spark of Instinct
• Instinct/Senses
• Life
• Growth/Regrowth
• Nature
• Simplicity
• Community/Interdependence
• Spiritualism
• Plants/Animals
• Self-Sufficiency/Predation
• Earth/Holistic Reasoning

Spark of Wisdom
• Purity/Light
• Religion/Politics
• Structure/Hierarchy
• Law/Order
• Honor/Honesty
• Morality/Chivalry
• Optimism
• Cooperation/Community
• Military
• Self-sacrifice

Spark of Reason
• Knowledge
• Subtlety/Politics
• Passivity
• Progress
• Artifice
• Unfeeling/Cold
• Trickery/Deception
• Manipulation/Control
• Illusion/Shadow
• Water/Air/Cold

Spark of Ambition
• Ambition/New Direction
• Amorality/Selfishness
• Individualism/Individuality
• Power
• Darkness/Secrecy
• Deceit/Manipulation
• Decay/Recovery
• Disease/Impurity
• Sacrifice of Others/Parts of Self
• Death/Undeath

Spark of Passion
• Emotion
• Chaos/Spontaneity
• Impulse/Thoughtlessness
• Love/Compassion
• Military/Fighting
• Zealotry
• Violence/Destruction
• Might
• Gambling/Hedonism/Barbarism
• Fire/Lighting

Using two (or one) of these sparks as inspiration, your task is to create a civilization:
Indicate which sparks your civilization draws from (remember, maximum 2, this is a hard and fast rule)
Provide a name for your civilization
Provide a short background of your civilization and its history (it doesn't need to be elaborate, but it can be if the muse finds you)
Most importantly, explain how and why your civilization follows the sparks it does

I must stress that creativity is encouraged. There is nothing wrong with submitting your average elven kingdom, but it probably won't stand out (although one will likely be included in the final anyway). Instead, perhaps try a take on elves, like a dark/death elf kingdom of philosophers or scattered sea elf tribes only recently reemerging onto land from their floating citadels.

Depending on turnout, finalists will be selected and voted on.

Ready... Set... BANG!

Spark of Reason

Spark of Ambition

The Alur

The Alur are a technical people, holding no store in the old stories of all powerful gods. the gods are old and obsolete. It is time for a new age. the age of man. and they plan to spread thier philosphy by the sword, magic, and steel. the Alur bind magic into metal, creating great war machines, the mightiest in the land.

The Alur use the Ambition sparks for the simple reason they want supremcay of man over other species, and alur supremacy over other men. the spark of reason was chosen because they are intelligent, and as you say above: Knowledge
• Subtlety/Politics
• Passivity
• Progress
• Artifice
• Unfeeling/Cold
• Trickery/Deception
• Manipulation/Control
are all traits that match what i had in mind.

Spark of Reason

Spark of Ambition

The Alur

The Alur are a technical people, holding no store in the old stories of all powerful gods. the gods are old and obsolete. It is time for a new age. the age of man. and they plan to spread thier philosphy by the sword, magic, and steel. the Alur bind magic into metal, creating great war machines, the mightiest in the land.

The Alur use the Ambition sparks for the simple reason they want supremcay of man over other species, and alur supremacy over other men. the spark of reason was chosen because they are intelligent, and as you say above: Knowledge
• Subtlety/Politics
• Passivity
• Progress
• Artifice
• Unfeeling/Cold
• Trickery/Deception
• Manipulation/Control
are all traits that match what i had in mind.


sort of with big things like this:
http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/438/modernsurrealism01zo2.jpg

Spark of Wisdom
Spark of Ambition

The Kelver

The Kelver were once simply the inhabitants of an obscure archipelago notable only as a source of delicious fruits. Because the archipelago was difficult to conquer, its natives were able to develop their society independent of outside events and eventually became a loose alliance of island-states. The autonomous nature of the individual islands would result in a diverse culture once they finally formed a unified nation. This unification was the work of a man named Kellin, the charismatic warlord who ruled over a small state on the mainland called "Kelver" ("tribe of the family Kell" in the local tongue). In addition to his charisma, Kellin possessed a strong innovative talent, and set his mind to proving himself the most powerful warlord in history by conquering the islands. He approached the Theaw tribe, who lived on the island closest to shore and had developed a strong warrior tradition, and offered an alliance. In exchange for Kellin's agreement to label the "Theaw Archipelago" on all his maps and provide lucrative trade deals in the future, the Theaw allowed him to "glimpse but once the glory of [the Theaw's] prowess in battle" against another island. They were proud to give him detailed explanations of their tactics, as his good nature lulled them into a false sense of security.

Having learned what he could of amphibious warfare from the Theaw, Kellin attacked. Though they held out for some time, the Theaw were unable to long resist an enemy better-armed that knew of their weaknesses. The seige of the Theaw would prove to be the most costly battle of Kellin's career, but once the first island fell, the other followed suit quickly when Kellin improved on the Theaw techniques of warfare and applied his superior technology. Flush with his victory, Kellin took advantage of the fervor he inspired in his followers and the utter submission he inspired in his enemies to march overland and forge an empire.

Spark of Wisdom: Although Kellin would attempt to build a rigid beaureacracy into his short-lived empire, the true manifestation of this spark was present in the islanders (whose culture would later so subsume that of the Kelver tribesman that the original Kelvar would become a mere footnote in Kelvar history books). Despite the fact that they never banded together as a unified empire, they were highly concerned with order, stability, and tradition. The Theaw, for instance, would never have been so valuable to Kellin had they not been an inflexibly military society (in fact, they were so steeped in their traditions that they voluntarily gave up occupations of foreign lands simply so their descendants would always have something to conquer--a tradition which helps explain why the "Theaw Empire" is a concept reserved solely for alternate history novels). Other islands were similarly focused on whatever craft they chose to practice, be it artistic or philosophical or anything else. This monomaniacal specialization, once all its threads were tied together by Kellin, was the cause of the Kelver Empire's unique culture.

Spark of Ambition: This spark drove the Kelver to excel in whatever path they chose, and there are still some cults around today which worship Kellin as the physical embodiement of the purple spark. While the islanders primarily focused single-mindedly on the tasks their island assigned to them, the original Kelver were members of a highly chaotic tribe. The fact that they had called themselves "Enver" less that one hundred years before Kellin's conquests is evidence of that. Kellin's drive to succeed led him to forge his empire, and there are those who say that the man committed suicide once he had conquered all he could see so that he could make war on the afterlife (modern historians believe that Kellin was assassinated once his military genius was no longer necessary, though there is much disagreement on who did it). Unfortunately, the combination of Wisdom and Ambition proved to be quite difficult to mantain, and Kellin's empire did not long outlive its founder. Though the democratic system refined centuries later has been posited as a productive method of channelling both sparks, its effectiveness in a large empire with that unique combination will remain speculation.