Tvetchla (t-VETCH-lah)

56% Humans, 23% Firbolgs, 7% Goliaths, 14% Other Races

---

Unity in Strife

Tvetchla spent centuries as part of Zaratka, fighting to keep its own culture in the face of an empire. Tvetchla has always had a strong sense of unity and culture. The Tvetchlan people as a whole never considered themselves Zaratkan, and being assimilated into the Zaratkan Empire only made their nationalism stronger. Resistances sprung up all over Tvetchla, but Zaratka's guard squashed their uprisings when they happened. When Zaratka weakened, Tvetchla was the first to break off with a small rebellion. Ilyas Palovyr was chosen by the small group of people who accomplished the rebellion, but he's far from a popular choice of leader. As it is, the country is in a sort of stasis with an interim leader.

The Mother and the Maiden

Tvetchla isn't a theocracy, but its people have a strong mythology surrounding Caelia and Kira. While they are considered closer than most gods by the rest of the world, Tvetchlans treat Caelia and Kira as two simultaneous forces who ebb and flow together. In most of Tvetchla, night lasts the entire winter—a holy time when the people of the north are being guarded by the goddesses they refer to in their parables as The Mother and The Maiden. Many a story circulates in Tvetchla's strong oral traditions of a kind, motherly stranger and a quiet young woman met on dim nights on the road.
Caelia's biggest temple, Nox Ecclesia, sits proudly above the clouds in the northern mountains with walls and ceilings made of glass so it touches the night sky from every angle. Clerics of the Eventide are often advised by older priests and priestesses to pilgrim to Nox Ecclesia at least once to spend days under the endless night sky and the auroras.

Pictured: Nox Ecclesia

Demonym. Tvetchlan

Languages. Common, Sylvan, Zarakt (A language with roots in Draconic, Giant, and Dwarvish. Uses the Draconic script.)

Government. Tvetchla is governed by the most recent rebellion's leader, Ilyas Palovyr. He isn't a popular leader, but there isn't anyone of a high enough rank or standard that the Tvetchlans trust more.

Demographics. Tvetchla is mostly inhabited by humans, but there is a population of firbolgs who make their homes in the wildlands of the nation, living nomadically with the herds.

Military and Defense. Tvetchla's military right now is mostly localized militias. Some Zaratkan generals and guard captains are left over from Zaratka's rule, but their authority is tenuous at best.

Economy. Tvetchla tries to be as self-sustaining as possible. Zaratka used to supply them with food grown in the south, but now that they've severed from Zaratka, they have to import most food that isn't the hearty meats of the northern game. They export very little.