Avosa Tesota
Along the southeastern shores of Halinor Avosa Tesota juts into the Serveaus Sea, its gilded coast flanked by heavy jungles and hills before opening into the mainland continent. What interests the City of Pirates, however, is the Gilded Bay and the many docks and ships that reach out into the sea. There on the waves the Avosans ply their sailing trade, earning their keep as merchants, explorers, fishers, and yes, pirates.
Avosa Tesota and its surrounding jungles are inspired by Spain and South America.
Structure
Avosa Tesota is born of a sort of conglomeration, a signature collective of sailing vessels that themselves are a motley assortment of crewmembers, ranking leaders, and rules of their own. No captain would give up autonomy on their own ship, but to band together for something greater, they would indeed sacrifice some of their plunder and gain for a chance at something bigger.
Each Avosan is themselves considered a freeperson. It reflects in their common name, Freeman, and extends into their every contract. If something does not work out for either party, they are free to walk away (though this has come with some new contract protections since their city's founding). This hearkens back to their contracts on sailing vessels both legal and otherwise, where each person was considered a valid voice on the crew.
Now though there is indeed a 'captain' over Avosa Tesota, it is the Congress of Captains that suggest laws and pass them, and this Congress is elected via periodic votes from all members of the nation--even those at sea are known to ship their tally of votes back to the mainland to be counted. Popularity is a heavy factor for success, as is heroism--try as they might to posture a more competent and refined legislative before the people, Avosans are at their hearts still sailors and lovers of adventure.
Culture
Avosa Tesota is a land at odds with its reputation. They are a self-made nation and one that stresses the individual contributions of each member toward the larger whole. On the flip side, their unique practices of taking rests during the hottest parts of the afternoon and shifting their hours later into the night gets them the reputation sometimes of being too laid back, rather than resourceful around the heat and humidity of their corner of Halinor.
Avosans are warm, gregarious sorts without a readiness for deeper relationships. It takes time to get the water-faring people to truly open up. They are focused instead on the web of allegiences, unspoken rules, and cultural customs that require them each to be brave, competent, open, yet without the opportunity for weakness, vulnerability, or being tricked. The nation remembers its shame with Levin all too well, and the prospect of failing to live up to the bravery of their countryfolk that took up arms against the Eel, let alone being one to make such a mistake, weighs heavily on their collective consciousness.
Bounty is important to the Avosans, and as their land and coffers are both full of interesting crops and fruits, they enjoy sharing with newcomers. This extends from a practice in mainland Avosa, the jungles of Gragato, where protection was a promise for any that tasted of fruit of a particular tree. While this has largely extended into any sort of food, guest rights are taken very seriously in the south--a tradition that has found footing elsewhere in Halinor slowly but surely.
History
Avosa Tesota is the most recently founded city in Halinor and still struggling with its place in the continent. New to power and prominence, they are having to reckon their past as heavily involved with piracy and now unto this day where the profession still flourishes. This makes for some diplomatic difficulties to be sure, but the fledgling nation gives it the gusto they are famous for. While some in Carinthia, Aqualonde, or Tarwa'kem might look down on Avosa for its newness and its many mistakes, they rely too much on their sailors to be too forward about it.
Of course, no mistake ranks higher than the Folly of Levin the Blue. While Avosa claims the sailor acted on his own accord, the man claimed harbor at the port city. The Lightning Eel's devastation earned another black mark on the nation's record, one they've tried to scrub ever since with their readiness to help in other disasters.
Open seas, open minds.
Founding Date
The Sixth Radiant Age
Type
Geopolitical, City-state
Demonym
Avosan
Location
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