The World Becomes Ours: Pre-Thread

[Cadellon]

Most Honorable Wind-Prince Republic
Colour: Teal
Claims and Capital City

Spoiler :

The capital is Ielohan, the greatest city of the era, home of philosophers and merchants, greatest port of all seas.

Neighbours: Kogu, in red. The remainder is still under the control of the Imperial givernor, with waning control due to the Pyong Rebellion

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HISTORY


In by 330 B.E.E. (Before imperial era), a philosopher of Ieolehan conceived the first repeating crossbow. Impressed with the device, the local Wind-Prince, Il-Jong, outfitted his army with them and went on to defeat the forces of the other Princes, which at the time relied on heavily armored infantry whose tactics were totally ineffective against barrages of amor-piercing bolts. He proclaimed himself ruler of the realm by divine ascent from the Gods.
Strong from the numbers of a unified realm, the now Wind-Emperor Il-Jong, through a combination of iron discipline, tactical genius and unmatched mixed crossbow and pikes formation, went on to conquer nearly every piece of land between the two seas, creating the Ardent Winds Empire.
His son, who created a imperial bureaucracy based on the knowledge of philosophical texts, grandson, grand-niece then great-grand-son inherited a strong empire that was only consolidated by their reigns, until 183 BC when the Wind-Emperor died without declaring a heir, far east fighting Velache rebels, who then proceeded to exterminate half of the imperial army which was busy fighting them. Taking advantage of the utter chaos reigning in Ieolahan as the various Wind-princes fought a short-lived civil war, most provinces declared independence, including Kogu, that besieged the capital, forcing a truce among the wind-Princes that precipitated the formation of the Republic as their alliance. The Wind-Prince Republic retained the backbone of imperial administration, only that at the top of government was nowthe Senate and not an Emperor.
Eventually, Kogu was forced into a truce due to strength of the Wind-Princes' army but was never conquered for the Republic's forces were far too spread out to fight a war on such a scale.
The Senate, realizing that even its now halved territory was far too large for them to control, granted independence to any city that wished so in 153 BC. This was an extremely clever move that created several friendly states in the western part of the continent. Not only did the creation of these new states free up precious imperial forces to fight Kogu and Pyong, it still allowed this new-generation of Sea-Princes enriched by imperial mercantilism to continue their lucrative trade in these friendly states.

By 132 BE, it was however clear to the Senate that the Republic's control on continental trade was waning as the various states distanced themselves from their former masters. The solution was unexpectedly found by an obscure navy officer, Cai Lui. Before over two hundred incredulous senators, he demonstrated how its was possible to build junks capable of sailing the high seas with local wood. Impressed by the idea, the Senate commandeered a fleet of these ships to be built. The fleet set sail in 129 BE, returning two years later with fantastic tales of unknown lands and hulls full of exotic goods.
Seeing the opportunities in this, rich merchants banded in Hyeobhoe's, trade associations that dominated Great Sea (placeholder for the sea between the three continents) commerce for the next centuries.
In 41 B.E, the Republic's naval dominance came brutally to an end when an enormous Qeng Xo fleet, copied on their own designs, appeared out of nowhere in the bay of Ielohan. Before war was even declared, the Senate, with in mind the Hyeobhoes' insanely profitable sea trade monopoly which would be shattered by a war with Qeng Xo, settled for an alliance with the Empire, becoming one of the first countries in Dongfangdau to be integrated to it. The Republic was thence able to retain autonomy, in exchange for the alliegance of the countrie's army and most importantly, navy.
This allegiance quicly proved benificial, as in 39 BE, the Wind-Princes were able to get payback on their traditionnal enemies of Kogu, who, refusing to join the Empire, where brutally conquered with the assistance of the Honorable Republic, and were forced to surrender under very disfavorable terms.
Imperial rule proved a blessing for the Republic, allowing its Hyeobhoes to trade around a Great Sea now patrolled by imperial ships and making the already large Ieolahan perhaps the greatest city in Donfangdau. The cultural influence of the Republic was quite significant during the imperial era, with local philosophical ideas, literature and science gaining a large following in the upper spheres of Qeng Xo, who admired that culture far older than theirs which by some historical phenomenon shared a very similar written language. Ideas in administrion were particularly impactful, as the Empire based its bureaucratic system partly off the Republic's.
This led to the Honorable Republic enjoying over two centuries of peace, during which the Wind-Princes and Hyeobhoes were able to complete many great projects such as the colonization of hte Meolli Seom (Far isles),in search of hardwood suitable for shipbuilding and luxury products to trade, or the completion of the irrigation system in the north.
In 197, the peace was put to an end by a bloody civil war. The old priesthood, dissatisfied with what seemed as excessive heresy on the part of philosophers who proned a godless world, and poor farmers discontent with the increasing wealth of the Hyeobhoes in compared to their own increasing poverty as rich land and slave owners forced them into ever-decreasing wages. This combination of angry farmers and clergy marched on a unsuspecting Ielohan, and ravaged many of the symbols of the Hyeobhoes' power such as the port and Golden Chamber of commerce and executed many members of the Senate. Until 200, much of the Republic' mainland turned to total chaos, as the peasants confiscated land from the wealthy and destroyed symbols of heresy. The same year, imperial forces intervened and helped the Senate put down the rebellion. Altough the Republic was restored, it was forced to make several compromises, redistributing land to the poor, and creating a new institution of Wind-Princes which would be partly be elected by the less privileged citizens.

In the aftermath of the what came to be known as the Traditionalist Conflict, the Republic in shambles, and resulted a strange era of both extreme social mobility, re-organization and stand-off between old enemies.
The status quo did, quite suprisingly, hold off and the republic was able to enjoy nearly another century of peace , with the exception of the Republic's assistance in putting down a rebellion against the Empire, resulting in the gain of the small island of Iol Seom.
By 290, a group of conspirators in the Senate and major Hyeobhoes led by Wind-Prince, Senator, and Hyeobhoe magnate Syngman began to ready for independance in face of waning imperial authority, training new soldiers, buying support in the bureaucracy and negotiating alliances with other similarly-minded provinces. In 297, with the abrupt death of the Emperor, Syngman decided the time was ripe and, with emergency dicatorial powers voted by a Senate he controlled, declared independance from the Empire.
Patriots in Kogu were quick to evict remaining imperial troops as well and re-instaured their traditionnal values. The Pyong chiefdoms in the northern moutains decided to rebel as well. The imperial governor found himself stuck between independant Velache, Republic and Kogu, with a waning control over his remaining territorry with the Pyong rebellion. An uneasy truce holds between the Republic and Kogu as long as the imperial governor stands between them.


ECONOMY

Since the Traditionalist Conflict, most of the land in Dongfangdau is owned by independant farmers. Due to extensive wind-powered irrigation projects undetaken in the First imperial century, much of the arid northern mainland supports extensive agriculture. Once-common collossal slave farms are now operated by free farmers.
Paved roads built under the Ardent Winds Empire and owned by the government support most of the interior trade, but Hyoebhoes are in total control of overseas trade, being the major agent of trade in the Great Sea, but not to such a monopolistic extent as in the Second imperial century, due to new competition such as the Serene Republic. The port of Ielohan is among the largest of the world, burslting with ships and traders from all arounf the Great Sea.
Interior industry is strong, on a scale comparable to 11th century China, only powered by wind- rather than water- mills. In the arid and windy mainland, windmills are one of the most common elements of the landscape.
In Meolli Seom, the economy relies heavily on the isles' trading ports that are at the center of Great Sea trade. Slavery, while abolished on the mainland since the Traditionalist Conflict due to the general dislike free farmers had for rich slaveowners who then owned most of the land, is quite prevalent there as slaves work in the islands' numerous plantations and iron mines, sending back raw materials to Ielohan for manufacture. Jungle hardwood, vital to the Republic's colossal fleet, is also an important source of revenue, as the few forests to not have been felled on the mainland are now preciously preserved by the Senate.

PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION

The traditionnal cult of gods of weather goes far back, before even writing was known to the people of Ielohan. Weather and its unpredicatability were at the center of the cult, with a fatalistic attitude towards how uncontrolable the will of the gods is. The cult never had any hierarchical structure or much wealth, and as a result always had the respect of the people.
The greatest challenge to the cult was made by the philosopher Geon. For centuries, priests and philosophers had made calendars to attempt to determine patterns in the weather, and understand the will of the gods through these patterns. He, using many previous studies mad eby other philosophers, proposed a set of natural laws capable of explaining the weather without divine intervention. Geon died in 229 BE, but one of his students, Il-Jeoy, went further and attempted to explain the origin of these natural laws. He believed that an original god made these laws before retiring from creation. This philosophy quickly gained influence, especially at a time during which the Wind-Emperor persisted in claiming divine descent. It came to be known a Geonism, despite Il-Jeoy's much more important role in eleaborating the philosophy. To this day, the division between Geonists and pagans affects all levels of society, being one of the major causes of the Traditionalist Conflict.

A major consequence of Geonism was that many philosophers set out to discover these predicted laws of nature. Ielohan became one the major intellectual centers of the world, with the Bronze Tower, built by the last Wind-Emperor, in the city hosting one of the largest libraries in the world and being the theater of some of the most heated intellectual and scientific debates of the age.
The Republic was quick to exploit this prodigious scientific heritage to use. By 150 BE, windmill-powered pumps designed by the greatest minds of Ielohan had become common in arid regions, and by 103 IE (imperial era) the decade long wind-powered irrigation project in the north was completed, making vast swathes of land farmable. The measure system, architecture and steel production had all been standardized by the 2nd Imperial century.
Qeng Ho realizing the opportunity, imported many of the Republic's greatest minds to the Imperial Court to work on the Empire's fortifications and cannons, and doing very much indeed to prevent the Republic from acquiring the same weapons its own philosophers had designed. (okay this is just a lame excuse to remain consistent with the ruleset that prevents non-imperial powers from having gunpowder ).

SOCIETY

The Republic is divided divided between free men and slaves, free-men themselves being either citizens (pureblood) or mixed-blood

GOVERNMENT
The republic's government is an extremely complex, multi-faceted organization that is the result six centuries of nearly continuous government.
In very old times, Wind-Princes were directly chosen by their tribe. As city-states evolved and migrants from other regions arrived, Wind-Princes were only elected by the a minority of citizens.
When Il-Jong forged the Ardent Winds Empire, they realized that the city-states neede to be able to voice their opinion if they were to remain content, and so created the Senate to represent the different cities and their respective Wind-Princes. His son built a meritocratic bureaucracy to administer the now united Empire. Its goal was dual: bring the most competent individuals to the service of the Empire and insure conquered cultures would be represented in the Empire's administration without destroying the old Wind-Prince system.
With the fall of the Ardent Winds Empire, the old system was maintained, with the only exeption that the Senate was now at the head of the new Republic. With the rise of Hyeobhoes in the first century BE, the Senate increasingly came under the influence of money and many individuals, through buying favors and votes, came to accumulate several positions of power in the Hyeobhoes, the Senate and the bureaucracy simultaneously. This was ended in the aftermath of the Traditionalist Conflict, when a law was made, forbiding Hyeobhoe members to work in the government if they didn't abandon their Hyeobhoe responsablities. In 289 IE, Wind-Prince Syngman bended the law due to his influence, and in 297, changed again the Republic's laws by having the Senate vote him emergency dictatorial powers. If he was succesful in restauring the independance and commercial dominance of the Honorable Republic, many fear a return to the absolutist days of Ardent Winds.

 

[Terran Empress]

ignore theis post

 

[Arrow Gamer]

Grabbing the isthmus between the two northeast land masses. More soon.

 

[Immaculate]

Vélache

Values:
harmony (spiritual, personal, social),
artistry (stone and wood carving),
faith (monasticism, meditation, nature),
education (academies),
community (social responsibility, and communes- as opposed to family),
order (national bureaucracy, cooperative organization)

Territories and Land

Spoiler :

History:

Spoiler :

When the Qeng Xo came to the western shores of northern Dofangdau, they knew their efforts would be limited. Hostile cultures in southern Dofangdau required considerable manpower and resources to keep in line and distance, open seas, and a lack of friendly ports made extended operations in the area difficult. Instead, they focused on the eastern coasts and south where accessibility made colonization that much easier. That isn’t to say they ignore the towering forests of western Donfangdau; they were able to establish a successful colony in the north in what is now Dofang Xin-Xo.

Western Dofangdau was a land rich in timber and silver and drew the attention of the imperium even as their armies marched in the south. But what to do? Attempts to establish colonies amongst the Onaabe were quickly repulsed and bloodily. When imperial diplomats arrived at Vélache and found a people not only willing to trade but to allow imperial colonists to make their homes at three small villages bordering promising river estuaries it seemed like a sign from the great pantheon. And so they seized the opportunity and the ports of Lifung, Che-Su, and Taichu were founded.

Needless to say, the Vélache’s northern neighbors, the Onaabe, where none-to-pleased to have imperial invaders setting up camp just south of their tribe but the Vélache did not seem to mind. They were too busy enjoying Qeng Xo silks, ceramics, and technology. The silver mines of Donvaj were expanded and the Qeng Ho eagerly invested money and know-ho in developing the Vélache internal roads to allow regular and timely delivery of the much-needed silver.

Over the decades Lifung, Cheng-Su and Taichu became, while not actually Qeng Ho colonies officially, major shipping and resupply ports for the imperium in the distant Dofangdau western coast. Trade ministers (effectively governors) were sent to the distant Vélache coastal cities and the Vélache tribal elders were quick to appreciate their intelligence, education, and sophistication. Quick to see an opportunity to ‘civilize the savages’, the Qeng Ho offered to educate the sons and daughters of the tribal confederacy’s chiefs and this the later gratefully did.

The years passed and increasingly it became tradition for the sons and daughters of influential Vélache leaders to be educated in distant Qeng Xo. Surprisingly, this did little to blunt the unique economic models of the Vélache (community ownership) nor their religion and culture (Nine Spirits) but it did change the leadership of the Vélache. A systems of schools was instituted and developed at Donvaj, with funding provided by the Vélache community as a whole. Qeng Ho, and later local, teachers taught calligraphy (the Vélache written language uses Qeng Ho logograms), mathematics, engineering, applied sciences, literature, governorship, foreign languages, and later, a more organized form of the Nine Spirits faith.

Within only two or three generations of the landing of Qeng Ho traders, the Vélache tribal confederacy had been replaced by a merit-based oligarchy with leaders chosen based on academic performance. The small river villages, largely ignored until now, had developed into major imperial trading cities. The mud and rock paths had been expanded and paved and bridges built with modern engineering to access the highland interiors.

But all was not well for the Qeng Ho had not forgotten the welcome given them by the Onaabe and with a major base of operations just south of their lands, quickly mounted major conquests upon the Vélache’s northern neighbors and co-religionists. This created strife within the Vélache. The witches (spiritual leaders and monks) of the Nine Spirits were very clear that the attacks went against the wishes of the local spirits. At the same time, continued cooperation with the Qeng Ho would prove very lucrative.

It was around this time that the Planá sect of the Nine Spirits was founded and very soon the Vélache were funding another series of major academic institutions, these ones dedicated to the faith and founded at the holy city in the northern mountains, Planá. In the wake of worsening relations with the Qeng Ho, these institutions had to be much more independent, both in practice and in culture than they might otherwise be and it is perhaps for this reason more than any other that there is so little influence from the imperial pantheon in its theology.

The Vélache sought to establish diplomatic compromise but the Qeng Ho would not be stopped and the Onaabe were fighting for their very survival. The Vélache ultimately decided in favor of their co-religionists, stopping the export of silver to the Qeng Ho. They continued to treat the Qeng Ho colonists within their lands well (a requirement of their faith) but refused entry to any more foreign traders or colonists. But it was too little and too late. The closure of the Vélache ports only made the Qeng Ho that much more eager to establish ports they could control with impunity and so they conquered the Onaabe coasts and founded the Yi-qi Onaabe.

Relations with the Qeng Ho had soured but eventually, with official peace between what remained of the Onaabe (many of them living as refugees in Vélache lands or amongst eh HIsgish or Tinchone tribes) the great trade cities of Lifung, Che-Su, and Taichu were reopened to the Qeng Ho. But the Qeng Ho had established their own port, in Yi-qi Onaabe, and so while trade did resume somewhat, it never returned to the levels it once had.

The Vélache turned inwards, expanding their ‘national’ academies with provincial academies in all the major cities and funding new monasteries dedicated to Planá Nine Spirits throughout their lands and even in those of friendly neighbors willing to explore the more institutionalized teachings of the ancient faith. Rice, grain, and cotton farms were expanded and salmon fisheries were developed. Water-based textile mills were developed, though still very experimental and soon Vélache cotton was known throughout the Dofangdau for its quality and comfort. Production from the silver mines slowed even as domestic iron deposits were developed.

Then came the cataclysm, and in of itself was not so great a thing for the Vélache, but the effect it had upon the Dofang Xin-Xo was. The Donfang Xin-Xo declared indepdnence and their first act of independence was to try and deprive the Qeng Ho of local ports they might use to launch reprisal attacks upon their now independent colony. To that end they sent gunships to the ports of Yi-qi Onaabe and Vélache. The Yi Qi Onaabe had their own cannons and were able to turn the Xin-Xo ships but for the Vélache, in a week of deadly bombing, the ports were turned to splinters and cinders, the warehouses collapses, the cranes sent crashing into the sea. It was a major blow for the Vélache and turned a nation that had already begun to turn inwards and away from trade that much more so.

Today the great coastal cities are rebuilt but with world trade only beginning to recover after the collapse of the Qeng Ho and the shaping of a new world order, trade is still very limited. The Vélache meanwhile focus on themselves, on their great academies and institutions of learning, their traditions of wood and stone carving, upon meditation in the great forest and mountain monasteries, upon farming and weaving and metalwork. They raise great totems in distant forests and sing the hymns of the spirits, they take the spirit of Psilocybe and walk the dream world and for now there is peace.

Religion:

Spoiler :

9 Spirit Faith of Northern Dofangdau

Introduction

The northern lands of the eastern continent of Dofangdau have historically been inhabited by various tribes of relatively unsophisticated peoples divided amongst diverse tribes and cultures yet united by a single faith, that of the ‘Nine Spirits’. Today the civilizing influence of Qeng Ho imperialism is felt in the growth of the city states of the Honorable Wind Republic and the abandoned imperial cities of Lifung, Che-su, and Tai-chu but the lands remain wild and so too do its people. The Nine Spirits faith remains strong and for the most part decentralized- except amongst the Vélache and its neighbors where Qeng Hu influence has centralized and codified the ancient faith. This, more structured form of the faith, has spread across northern Dofangdau and is widely recognized and yet not often adhered too amongst the more wild tribes.

Theology of the Nine Spirits

The witches of the Nine Spirits (shamans/priests of the faith are called this regardless of gender) teach that each of us has a soul, as too do the animals and weather, the sea, the forests, the rivers, the mountains. Every individual, man, woman or child, is guided by nine spirits, and the spirits that guide an individual may change as they journey through this life. But one spirit stays with us throughout our life and this is our guardian spirit and somehow, each of us just knows what that spirit is, instinctually and spiritually. The guardian spirit and eight guiding spirit influence our lives in every way and we influence them, and indeed all spirits, through meditation and prayer.

Perhaps the most powerful spirit is Psilocybe, who’s spirit resides in the magic mushrooms of the highland forests and who’s use opens a gateway to the dual reality of the spirit realm.

Our souls are immortal and when we die we will return as a spirit to guide another, or as an animal or person, depending on the whims of the spirits and our own desires. The faith of the Nine Spirits does not believe in heaven or hell or a spirit world divorced from our own material existence.


Nine Spirits in Practice

Adherents of the Nine Spirits teach us to seek enlightenment, to meditate upon the influence of the spirit world upon ourselves, those we love, and the world we live in, to see the mark of the raven in the boisterous laugh of a child, the protective tenderness of bear in a mother’s smile for her child.

Nine Spirits teaches us to seek attunement through quiet reflection, often in some wild place, and often alone. This has led to a plethora of monasticism and monasteries, both ancient ruins and shining new structures, that dot northern Dofangdau. Visitors to northern Dofangdau may be surprised by the humble beauty of a secluded monastery locals do not speak of but all know very well, as they travel through the highland forests.

Those who have obtained enlightenment call themselves ‘awakened’ and know the sign of the spirits in the lives we live. They are called to help others find personal peace in themselves, to see the influence of the spirits in their lives and to invite to their lives those they need most. The awakened are teachers, and many become witches if they were not before.

Nine Spirits in Our World

The northern Dofangdau are known for their stone and wood carving skills and these skills are reflected in their faith. The Nine Spirits faith are most obvious in the various monasteries strewn throughout the eastern continents more secluded lands, and especially the totem poles present throughout forest, mountain, coasts, and fields. These totem poles are always composed of nine animals and typically carved from the giant redwood trees that grow on the eastern slopes of this continent or from stone. Adherents will also wear stone or wooden bracelets or necklaces carved in form of the spirits that guide them or that they wish to guide them.

Practitioners of the faith engage in prayer and meditation and make extensive use of incense and ‘spirit dances’. They also make extensive use of hallucinogenic mushrooms to engage in spirit walks.

Witches of the faith typically wear black robes and may adorn themselves with intricate jewelry or body art in celebration of one or more spirits. They take no vows of asceticism, celibacy, or charity but typically live simple lives with extensive time spent in quiet and secluded meditation in the wilds.

Planà

By the year 117IC, the Vélache were increasingly adopting many of the ways and customs of the Qeng Xo who made their home at the three imperial cities in their lowlands. One of these was to organize their government as a sort of meritocracy where government posts were awarded to the best educated and most competent individuals of academies both in the distant Qeng Xo heartlands and locally at Donvaj. These practices greatly changed the Vélache and the local faith of the Nine Spirits was not unaffected.

A witch making her home in Planà spoke of a dream, given to her by Psilocybe, of organizing the faith, of establishing a great temple and academy in the manner of the Imperial pantheon and their priests. She was taken as a sort of prophet by followers of her movement, and the Planà beame a holy city for them.

Today the Planà sect is widely accepted as the more ‘civilizing’ force within the faith; they scribe the lessons of the Nine Spirits and fund (through Vélache government subsidies) educational ministries for witches from across the continent and beyond wishing to travel to Planà and learn the intricacies of their faith at the Nine Spirits academies there.

Followers of the Nine Spirits do not see the Planà as a separate faith, but do not always adhere to their teachers either. To date the almost 200 year old sect has peacefully co-evolved with the traditional faith, spreading slowly as the civilizing influence of the Qeng Xo did, and receding as the latter’s reach also withdrew.

Government and Finance

Spoiler :

Effectively the Vénache are ruled by a meritocracy-based oligarchy with one or more individuals serving as heads of foreign affairs to coordinate with foreign powers. The nation is divided into five major provinces, each named after one of the major cities and these in turn are divided into shared lands and commune properties. Ultimately however, the entirety of the Vénache people own all the land, its resources, its assets, and it wealth communally.

State academies at the capital Donvaj are supplemented by provincial academies at Planá, Lifung, Che-Su, and Taichu. Part of this educational system includes an apprenticeship with an assigned mentor. Graduates of these academies are well educated and generally hold wider experiences than their counterparts in other nations. It is only the academy graduates who are eligible to hold positions in civil service, though many graduates go on to positions outside direct governance.

It is this bureaucracy that organizes and runs both traditional government functions like the military, road building and maintenance but also governorship of the communes (see below), the mines, the vast farms, the ports, internal and external trade, textile production, etc.

The communes are organized by the government and have set production goals based on their expertise, resources, and workforce. Goods produces by any particular commune are distributed throughout the nation as required, though in practice are commonly used by individuals and groups within easy transportation distance. Excesses are exported in exchange for foreign goods not available locally.

The entire system is highly organized at the communal, provincial, and state levels and requires many abacuses and much paper. Ultimately however, it has led to sustained growth and development and ample time for leisure and religious, educational, or other pursuits.

While the system may seem strange to outsiders, one must remember that the Vénache, and indeed most Dofangdau have no tradition of individual ownership and even under less organized systems, ones did not own goods per se. The Vénache continue to produce goods, especially artwork individually outside the communal structure and even these are considered to be owned by the community at large though under the direction of the maker of the artwork or what-have-you.

Family and Cooperatives

Spoiler :

Much of northern Dofangdau has traditionally been defined by its tribes and within the tribes, by their longhouses.

The longhouses were multi-family housing cooperatives where residents shared responsibility for communal duties (hunting, fishing, gathering food, trading with neighbors, etc) raising children, and producing goods. While a child may have a father and mother, truly all the adults of the longhouse were expected to care for any child of that longhouse (and of the wider village). A Dofandau native’s brothers and sisters are not only their blood but all the others who grew up in the same longhouse at approximately the same time.

The last two centuries have seen incredible growth in many Dofangdau tribal populations and villages have grown into cities. And so while the traditional longhouses remain common in villages and rural areas, the Dofangdau and in particular the Vélache, have had to adapt to urban living with new models. They took their model, as they did for much, from the Qeng Ho, adopting their siheyuan courtyard residences as urban homes for their longhouse cooperatives.

And so the longhouses of first Lifung, Che-Su, and Taichu and later Donvaj, Planà and the smaller towns have been replaced with quadrangle courtyards based on a unique mix of Qeng Ho architecture and Vélache aesthetic.

In addition to coordinating food, production, and child-rearing, with the advent of the state-operated academies, it is also the communal longhouse or siheyuan teachers that ensure the children receive the basic education they will need to compete for positions at the provincial academies.

There are no single-family homes amongst these cities or truly any Vélache village. This might account for some of the appeal of solitary monastic lifestyle that is so popular amongst the Vélache.

Ultimately the Vélache have adapted to the times and changes they have brought, continuing their cooperative traditions, living in small communities that rely upon themselves to raise children, educate them, and contribute to the state economy, either in the traditional style, or in cities, in the new, Qeng Ho-inspired courtyard residences.

 

[gay_Aleks]

Republic of Eamo​

Colour: so blue that even napoleon would approve (hi sk)
Government/Ruler: Elections come in two phases: Initially, the seven families centred in the capital and other large cities pick candidates from non-affiliated families (which means even a small realm, with an able enough leader can have great political clout). Following that the rest of the realm's population elects one among the candidates. Considering however that much of the population is usually under the control of one or another family, that sometimes is a mere formality, as those under said family's influence are usually reminded kindly that if they don't vote for the proper candidate, consequences would be swift.

The ruler elected usually serves Eamor. But in order to hold actual power, he needs to wrangle the thousand-fold families with various interests and influences, as even a small and inconsequential family, in the correct place, can thwart the plans of those who are great. The Seven (technically, the Six, as the Doge's family enters automatically once he's chosen) aren't a static category, and can often change at a moment's notice. However, if the elected ever runs out of favour of the Seven, his days are numbered. He could be removed via legal means, or "removed".

Religion: It's in the water. All surrounding us - from the great seas to the south and east, to the two rivers which create our borders, to the irrigation systems feeding us. Water is life, and life is impossible without water. Water is also a merchant's best friend, offering easy access to distant places. But water can be an enemy. It can flood lowlands, crush ships like twigs, destroy homes without stopping for a moment. Life in Eamoa is, and always will be, one of living on the edge between prosperity and ruin, and water is the factor that controls it. The rivers offer a barrier from enemy invaders and feeds the population, but it can just as easily flood and destroy everything in it's way. Seas offer prosperity, but how many of the ships ever return?

Eamoans believe that all of that is controlled by Mora. The goddess that controls water. She can be a benevolent mistress, giving to those who are loyal to her great wealth to the merchant; food to the hungry. But she can be a furious punisher, sinking the ships of the fools, starving many, drying lakes and rivers, rendering them devoid of water. Only through utmost loyalty to Mora can one avoid such a fate, and so, elaborate temples rise through the lands of aristocrats both petty and major. The clergy makes sure that all are devoted, and roots out the few fools who are stupid enough to deny her greatness.

Values: Trade, Greed, Water, Sailing, Treachery, Diplomacy, Prosperity.
Sample Names: Vedra, Ranosh, Maelindra, Kranas, Renesse, Praetra, Tindor
History:
Once upon a time, what is now Eamoa was merely a bunch of squabbling states, building cities upon the rivers of Vafurc and Zelisk, as well as the river of Iewraiver (upon which the capital of the future Republic was created). Once however the Empire was done conquering the southern continent, it looked to the north, where the rich cities flourished.

They were quickly subjugated. Interestingly, the Imperial conquest brought plenty good; mostly centralisation, as roads spread through the cities and improvements in sailing, mathematics and all other sciences were brought to the north. It also brought the Eamoans together, and created a greater sense of unity, which made them stand out from the populace, to the rate that contemporary chroniclers described it as "almost autonomous; an entity within our Grand Empire".

All that's "good" must end eventually, and the Empire came to an end. But it's roads remained. The unity created during the subjugation of Eamoa was critical in the creation of the new state. And it will be, as despite the dynastic intrigues, cataclysms and wars, the Eamoans now have an identify that is unique to their own.

Only Mora knows what the future will hold.
Claims and Capital City:

Stretching from the Vafurc Brook to the west and reaching the Zelisk Canal to the east, bordered by the Nozyn Peaks, the country stands tall.

Capital is Iewraiver. Other cities are owned by the Six Families.

Neighbours: MAYBE?

 

[Decamper]

Not able to make a claims map today, but confirming Exhera, Seon, Christos, Immaculate and Tolni's claims.

In regards to the popular southern bit of the eastern continent, unless Immac, Tolni and Arrow come up with something they like more, Tolni will maintain his claimed territory, though I'll be considering the Eamoans part of the larger Wassat people.

 

[Immaculate]

Edited my post and withdrew my earlier claims to allow Arrow and Tolni to do their things.

 

[SouthernKing]

Claiming the northwestern corner of the northwestern continent

 

[gay_Aleks]

By the way, Decamper, have you named the continents? I'm tired of calling them the x-direction continent.

 

[Decamper]

By the way, Decamper, have you named the continents? I'm tired of calling them the x-direction continent.

Don't have names yet, I'll get on that when I do a brief history of the empire later.

Also, is it possible for you to move your claim Tolni? Immac technically did post before you, and your faction is pretty easily moved to another region with two rivers.

 

[gay_Aleks]

I was preparing to move, but then Arrow said that he needs the isthmus and Immac decided to scrap the whole thing.

 

[Decamper]

Alrighty then.

 

[Seon]

Missive to Foreign Visitors of the Coty of Tha'im.

-Visitors are once again reminded that downfall of the Imperial government is no excuse to disobey laws and customs of our people. Your loyalty will be rewarded.

-Visitors are once again reminded to find lodgings and shelter before nightfall in the city of Tha'im, as your safety after nightfall cannot be guaranteed.

-Visitors are reminded that horse head amulets are not acceptable currency for use in the riverside Bazaar.

-Visitors are reminded to make no attempt at sailing up the river of blood without proper protective wards and legal documents, obtainable at the local embassy.

-Always report any suspected face-stealers or those you suspect have contracted the red fever.

-As always, loitering is a crime, punishable by death. Please make way.

The city of Tha'im welcomes new arrivals, and wishes Godspeed to all departures.

 

[Zappericus]

The Union Principalities of Polavostronya / Zappericus
Place of angry, angry, slavs

Colour: Dirt Brown
Government/Ruler: Elective Monarchy | Grand Boyar Kazimier Yekom Radziwill
Religion: The Vasikemkom Faith. Vasikemkom is the pagan Warrior God of Battle, and the patron god of the Polavostronyan peoples and church. They worship him as both their protector and executioner, in a mixture of respect and fear of his divine wrath. Whilst there are many other deities of which the Polavostronyans follow, Vasikemkom is considered the most worshiped of the lot, even during- and after the age of the Empire. The worship of Vasikemkom involves ritual sacrifice of animals and human enemies, ritual scarring, huffing mad drugs before going into battle and basically going all-out berserk.exe
Values: Labour, Industry, Pride, Perseverance

Sample Names: (M) Jan Wojciech, Aleksandr Solorz-Żak, Bialy Władysław | (F) Anastascia Drahomanova, Rasnya Zawadzka, Cezaria Podgórna

History
The Polavostronyan are a proud, hardy and industrious people, whose history is littered with great calamities and misfortune. Primarily centered on- and natives to the arid north-western regions of the western continent of Wepravka (Xidau), these men and women live herded together in tightly-knitted feudal principalities, ruled by a central council of Boyars, whom are in turn ruled by the Grand Boyar and underneath his principality, respectively. To attain the mantle of Grand Boyar, the current one must die, and the council must vote for which one of them to take his place. Discrimination towards women in power (not necessarily women in battle) is ripe in the principalities, and a woman on the throne is strictly forbidden, and considered a great act of shame and humiliation against the Polavostronyans' sense of honour.

Whilst their lands were unforgiving, it had left their minds steeled and their bodies strengthened. The brutish mentality of "the strong above the weak" was so widespread across the principalities that it had become a way of life. The weak perished quickly in these lands, whilst the strong carried ever onward. To give in to luxury and temptation is to accept weakness. It softened the mind. Therefore, it was to no surprise that the Polavostronyans were quick to turn violent when the Qeng Xo arrived one faithful day, with their banners and clothes of fine silk, and their yellow, pure skin.

Whilst numerically and physically superior to the Qeng Xo armies, the peasant levies and the Boyar council's retinues were highly unorganized in comparison to the Imperial army due to an internal conflict having broken out only moments earlier between two Boyars. In the ensuring confusion, the Qeng Xo Emperor; Mongdei, seized the opportunity and laid waste to a majority of the principalities, and cutting down anyone who opposed his will. The Polavostronyans became a people in chains, and their already meager living standards were lowered further when these foreigners decided that they'd make great miners and cheap labourers. They became slaves, shackled to their new masters and forced to toil away in a foreign nation's industry.

Some Polavostronyan elements were raised in the Qeng Xo west-continental armies as vanguard shock troopers, and they fought with extreme efficiency, laying low a majority of the Empire's enemies. Their ferocity and physical might came into great use for most Imperial commanders. These years of servitude continued, with the hatred of the Polav grew and boiled ever greater with each passing day. It eventually exploded nearly three hundred years later, during the Great Cataclysm, when the Polavostronyan nobleman Kazimier Yekom Radziwill rose up, claiming the title of Grand Boyar and re-erecting the Boyar council, bringing with him the entirety of the principalities into riot, slaughtering their occupants with such fury that it was written in song.

Now the Principalities stand free - and they will never again suffer the tyranny of the Qeng Xo, or anyone.

Renowned Mercenaries & Raiders of The West

Spoiler :

The Polavostronyan's unique pro-warrior culture and society makes them ferocious killers at young ages. This also forces them towards a certain way of life which makes them typical warmongerers, always yearning for glory on the battlefield, both as a show-of-strength and worship towards their benevolent deity; Vasikemkom. As a result, a large percentage of the Polav peoples usually make a living on being sellswords and mercenaries in foreign lands, acting as anything from hired armies, town guards, marines and caravan escorts. Some merchant empires even use Polav mercenaries exclusively, as they are often more effective and loyal than their own peasantry. The Boyar council sees great profit being made from their cultural position, and often employ their professional armies, and willing national guilds of sword-for-hire to other nations in exchange for currencies, to bolster the economy of the principalities, and to ensure that their population are always in the heat of major warzones across the known world. Ironically, most pirates, raiding warbands and looters on the western continent are of Polavostronyan descent, having jumped on a path of destruction and pillaging rather than professional employ to satisfy their need for the rush of bloodshed.

Claims and Capital City: (Capital: Polaskrakow; Fortress-city in central, north-western island. Acts as meeting grounds for Boyar council)

Neighbours:

Obs! All principalities are unofficial vassals to the acting Grand Boyar. They are all primarily connected by common blood, protection and prosperity. And whilst the Polav are indeed an unruly and smug lot, all historical conflicts have been handled before escalation in one way or another, and no principality has ever in the history of the Polavostronyan people broken off from the union, or declared outright war upon one of their own.

South: The Principality of Kazar (Capital: Port-city of Mhekstan *only permanent settlement in the region and the commercial lifeline of Kazar) - Ruled by Boyar Basel Khmelnytsky, these mineral-rich lands are ruled by nomadic Polavostronyans whom excel at riding on horseback and living in mobile settlements, as they live off the land and primarily act out as mercenaries for the other principalities and nations such as Deschaen or the Thaumaturgy of Sengkan. Masters of horses, archery and hunting.
North-west: The Principality of Rusvogorod (Capital: Port-city of Russengrad) - Ruled by Boyar Vladim Dnieper-Kovos. This breadbasket region is filled with vast stretches of farmlands which feeds the other principalities. Without Rusvogorod, the Polavostronyans would surely perish from famine. This fact followed by years of haggling, has made them astute merchants and traders, both abroad and inland.
North-East: The Principality of Slavabrest (Capital: City of Prosminsk) - Reigned by Boyar Józef Masłowski. Brutish and moody even by Polavostronyan standards, these iron-willed men and women serve as the religious and military center of the joint-principalities, worshiping the War God Vasikemkom to a borderline fanatical extent. Their warrior society often makes them wary or outright hostile towards outsiders.

 

[Decamper]

A Brief History of the Qeng Xo Empire​

93 BIC - 59 BIC: Emperor Batdai the Uniter - United the Qeng Xo petty kingdoms, began spreading the Empire across Jiadau (Southern Continent). Died of natural causes.

59 BIC - 58 BIC: Emperor Batdai II the Disappointment - Death by hand cannon misfire.

58 BIC - 21BIC: Empress Khulan the Great - Conquered the rest of Jiadau and nearly the entirety of Dofangdau (Eastern Continent). Death by assassin.

21 BIC - 10 IC: Emperor Mongdei the Forger: completed conquest of Xidau (Western Continent), uniting the known world under the Qeng Xo Empire. Death by natural causes.

10 IC - 38 IC: Empress Qingnu the Firm: Established a secure trade network across the three continents. Death by natural causes.

38 IC - 62 IC: Emperor Sorhai the Reformer: Passed reforms that consolidated the Empire's power. Death by unknown illness of the throat.

62 IC - 115 IC: Emperor Daiger the Long Lived: Effectively maintained the status Quo. Death by falling of a horse.

115 IC - 117 IC: Emperor Dinanhai the Potential: Planned to enforce higher centralisation. Death by choking.

117 IC - 118 IC: Emperor Erhai the Young: Death by unknown illness of the neck.

118 IC - 118 IC: Empress Xilang the Unfortunate: Death at coronation by heart attack.

118 IC - 140 IC: Emperor Zhuley the Thirsty: Left most matters up to his council. Death by alcohol sickness.

140 IC - 173 IC: Emperor Tagao the Short: Spent a fortune on improving the Imperial Palace. Death by natural causes.

173 IC - 194 IC: Emperor Xixin-Nashin the Bloody Eyed: Oversaw brutal crack downs on tax evaders. Death by natural causes.

194 IC - 211 IC: Empress Shanlian the Poor: Made massive repayments to territories ravaged by Xixin-Nashin's forces. Death by unknown illness of the throat.

211 IC - 223 IC: Emperor Batdai III the Conceder: Granted higher autonomy to local governments. Death by natural causes.

223 IC - 258 IC: Emperor Tagao II the Brick Layer: Completed plans layer out by his namesake, emptying the treasury once again in the process. Death by stomach illness.

258 IC - 275 IC: Emperor Poshan-Go the Mad: Left his quarters only once for his coronation. Death by falling from palace tower.

275 IC - 295 IC: Empress Shengle the Traveler. Spent much of her reign visiting far-flung regional capitals, spending extravagantly along the way. Death by drowning.

295 IC - 297 IC Emperor Dinanhai II the Eager: Had amassed an army to reinforce waning authority in provincial territories. Death by cataclysm.

OOC: Jiadau (south continent), Dofangdau (east continent) and Xidau (west continent) are the Qeng Xo names for the three continents. Other cultures likely have their own titles for the continents.

 

[thomas.berubeg]

In so far as the Islanders knew of other lands, they called the southern one Otharvoot.

The Kishlahi refered to that same self continent as Eshafan. The North east was known as Shefahan, while the west was known as Thuran.

 

[gay_Aleks]

Will we ever find out what "the Cataclysm" is?

 

[Decamper]

Will we ever find out what "the Cataclysm" is?

It'll be part of the intro in the main thread.

 

[gay_Aleks]

Noice. When are signups due?

 

[Decamper]

I'm hoping to get everything done this week so we can start the real thing early next week. Still need to finalise a bit of the rules, which shouldn't take too long, but then have to do all the stats, and that could take some time.