Republic of Amare
The Republic of Amare is a former Pyrosi province located in the far northeast of Ludwag that was suddenly thrust thousands of years into the future by means unknown. They struggle to quickly adapt to survival in their new world while they mourn the disappearance of their original world.
Etymology
In Pyrian geography, there were eight “winds” or cardinal directions: north, south, east, and west, and also northwest, southwest, northeast, and southeast. “Mare” was the name for the northwestern wind, and “Amare” was the name for the northeastern wind. The Amare peninsula was called so because it was the northeastern most point in Ludwag. History
All of the Amaran villages credit the foundation of civilization in the Amare forest to Ashra, a semi-mythical figure of the distant past who famously drove his sword into the earth when he had grown tired of war. Although this story is too ancient to be confirmed, it is nonetheless upheld as tradition. Amare had intermittently been contested by the two neighboring elven states of Electatem and Silvadomus until the Pyrosi Empire subjugated both and formally placed the region into the domain of Electatem. After the Pyrosi conquest, Electatem found that the Amare region was too isolated to be effectively governed from the capital, and made the decision to consolidate the area beneath a provincial state for easier management. The town of Dian won the right to be the regional capital thanks to the efforts of the Dian family, an Electi clan with a natural aptitude for commerce whose shrewd trade deals guaranteed them political leverage in the Electi senate. Thus, the Republic of Amare was formed. Under the stewardship of the Dian family, the region of Amare grew prosperous and developed a strong commercial tradition over many centuries. Using the country’s bountiful natural resources, the merchants were able to export a large volume of agricultural goods very cheaply and return a great deal of wealth and luxuries to the country. This continued prosperity relied on the hard work of the Amaran drows, who have always made up most of the working class in Amare. They did not always value diligence so highly, but were taught to do so over several centuries of labor for the Dian merchants. One day, the country awoke to find their entire region surrounded by a wall of thick blue gas. Nothing could be seen through it, not the sky, nor the sea. Anyone who tried to go into it was suffocated to death, and anyone who was outside of the clouds when they appeared would never be seen again. The people of Amare thought the world had ended overnight and that they were the last people alive. There was a great panic that the government in Dian struggled to keep under control. This situation lasted for several days until, one day, the toxic clouds disappeared as suddenly as they had come, and the people of Amare found themselves in a new world: one that looked almost just like theirs, but was somehow unfamiliar. Government
Amare is, nominally, a republic in the same fashion as Pyros and its many member states were in ancient times. However, being a traditional republic, the rights of citizenship and the vote are only granted to those who are wealthy enough to pay the substantial tax that is levied on senators. The office of Mentah, a Pyrosi term for a regionally elected executive leader, has been held by members of the Dian family for countless terms even before the country's sudden projection into a new world. The current Mentah, known to most as Lord Dian, is already in his eleventh term in office, and with most of the senate consisting of upper-class Electi merchants, artisans, and landlords who are either fiercely loyal to the Dian family or deeply indebted to it, this situation is not likely to change in the foreseeable future. With the rights of conscription being reserved to major republics in ancient Pyrosi law, Amare has always relied on mercenaries to uphold order in their lands, not to mention protecting the trade that is vital to the country's continued prosperity. In ancient times, this was not a significant focus, as soldiers from Electatem and Pyros regularly patrolled the region. Now, however, with both Pyros and Electatem gone and Amare being left to fend for itself, the Dian family has hastily enlisted a large volume of mercenaries, foreign and domestic, to keep the region safe and protect it from the sudden presence of their powerful neighboring sovereigns. The government and society itself in Amare relies on its merchants and their continued trade to maintain its existence and the way of life of its people, and the laws of Amare clearly reflect this motivation. Culture
The Amare drows are the most numerous ethnicity in Amare. They generally make up the peasants and lower classes. Amaran culture values hard work and hospitality, and many of them are naturally gifted artists, as any traveler may see along the roadsides while walking through the Amare forest. A significant portion of them resent the Electi aristocracy in Dian. The Electi elves are the second most numerous ethnicity in Amare. They generally make up the aristocracy and upper classes. Electi culture values chivalry and familial piety foremost. Electi elves, especially those in Dian, are naturally gifted merchants and artisans and were known to be prolific traders in the time of Pyros. They are prideful but cosmopolitan, often seeing it as their duty to be the noble protectors of the helpless and moral examples for the misguided. The Pyrian drows are the third most numerous ethnicity in Amare. Pyrians are not native to the region, and the ones there now are either soldiers, merchants, imperial officials, or other travelers who were in Amare when the shift occurred. They are pragmatic and ruthlessly efficient people - profound thinkers, innovative engineers, and skilled tacticians, but notoriously unsentimental. Other than the Amare, Electi, and Pyrians, the country is also populated by small amounts of other native Ludwagian races who were visiting or living in Amare when the shift occurred. The people of Amare, elf, drow, or other, strongly value peace and conservation because of the influence of the story of Ashra, and the image of the abandoned sword has become an important symbol of Amaran culture. The Legend of Ashra
In Pyrosi times, the most common practice was for each country to worship the local spirit or spirits that inhabited its land. Amare was, mostly, no exception. Ashra, or “Saint” Ashra, is the primary object of worship for many inhabitants of Amare. According to the most common retelling of the legend, Ashra was a famous mortal warrior who won many great victories for the kings of Amnisica in prehistoric times. As he grew older, he came to be bothered by the constant din of war and the ugly suffering it created. He wanted to go somewhere peaceful to spend the rest of his days, so he wandered off. He wandered through the countryside and still saw refugees begging and heard widows weeping, so he wandered further, but still he saw villages burning and heard flies buzzing. He wandered as far as he could and came to Amare, where he saw that the entire country had been turned into a sickly, blackened plain, razed by one of the many conquests he had participated in. Overcome by grief, he resolved that he would never partake in war again. He drove his sword into the earth to be forgotten forever. He spent the rest of his life as a healer and naturalist, helping to fix broken people and broken countries. Eventually, he returned to the spot where he had left his sword and saw, to his wonder, that when he had thrust it into the ground, it had turned the charred earth and let a plant sprout at its base. He knelt by the sword and poured the rest of his life’s strength into it. From the sword, new life began to emerge; trees and mushrooms rapidly sprouted and regrew. The lakes and streams were purified of the ash that choked them, and people and animals began to return to Amare. This is where the story will often diverge, depending on who is telling it. Some say that Ashra’s soul became a spirit through the power of his will, and the spirit called Ashra would always protect and nurture the Amare forest as long as people continued to sustain it through their worship. Others say that Ashra’s soul ascended to the Aether to live with the gods as a saint because of his exceeding virtue. They say that the spirit claiming to be Ashra is either a malicious pretender coveting the worship of the Amaran people, or a wishful admirer who was inspired by Ashra’s sacrifice to carry on his name. However, the spirit that claimed to be Ashra was not, it seems, able to come with Amare to its new world. Believers of both types are in spiritual mourning because, with the disappearance of their spirit and the loss of the gods, they do not know where the soul of Ashra has gone. Nonetheless, they maintain a shrine in his remembrance, and offerings and prayer in the hope that they will, one day, find him again.
In Pyrian geography, there were eight “winds” or cardinal directions: north, south, east, and west, and also northwest, southwest, northeast, and southeast. “Mare” was the name for the northwestern wind, and “Amare” was the name for the northeastern wind. The Amare peninsula was called so because it was the northeastern most point in Ludwag. History
All of the Amaran villages credit the foundation of civilization in the Amare forest to Ashra, a semi-mythical figure of the distant past who famously drove his sword into the earth when he had grown tired of war. Although this story is too ancient to be confirmed, it is nonetheless upheld as tradition. Amare had intermittently been contested by the two neighboring elven states of Electatem and Silvadomus until the Pyrosi Empire subjugated both and formally placed the region into the domain of Electatem. After the Pyrosi conquest, Electatem found that the Amare region was too isolated to be effectively governed from the capital, and made the decision to consolidate the area beneath a provincial state for easier management. The town of Dian won the right to be the regional capital thanks to the efforts of the Dian family, an Electi clan with a natural aptitude for commerce whose shrewd trade deals guaranteed them political leverage in the Electi senate. Thus, the Republic of Amare was formed. Under the stewardship of the Dian family, the region of Amare grew prosperous and developed a strong commercial tradition over many centuries. Using the country’s bountiful natural resources, the merchants were able to export a large volume of agricultural goods very cheaply and return a great deal of wealth and luxuries to the country. This continued prosperity relied on the hard work of the Amaran drows, who have always made up most of the working class in Amare. They did not always value diligence so highly, but were taught to do so over several centuries of labor for the Dian merchants. One day, the country awoke to find their entire region surrounded by a wall of thick blue gas. Nothing could be seen through it, not the sky, nor the sea. Anyone who tried to go into it was suffocated to death, and anyone who was outside of the clouds when they appeared would never be seen again. The people of Amare thought the world had ended overnight and that they were the last people alive. There was a great panic that the government in Dian struggled to keep under control. This situation lasted for several days until, one day, the toxic clouds disappeared as suddenly as they had come, and the people of Amare found themselves in a new world: one that looked almost just like theirs, but was somehow unfamiliar. Government
Amare is, nominally, a republic in the same fashion as Pyros and its many member states were in ancient times. However, being a traditional republic, the rights of citizenship and the vote are only granted to those who are wealthy enough to pay the substantial tax that is levied on senators. The office of Mentah, a Pyrosi term for a regionally elected executive leader, has been held by members of the Dian family for countless terms even before the country's sudden projection into a new world. The current Mentah, known to most as Lord Dian, is already in his eleventh term in office, and with most of the senate consisting of upper-class Electi merchants, artisans, and landlords who are either fiercely loyal to the Dian family or deeply indebted to it, this situation is not likely to change in the foreseeable future. With the rights of conscription being reserved to major republics in ancient Pyrosi law, Amare has always relied on mercenaries to uphold order in their lands, not to mention protecting the trade that is vital to the country's continued prosperity. In ancient times, this was not a significant focus, as soldiers from Electatem and Pyros regularly patrolled the region. Now, however, with both Pyros and Electatem gone and Amare being left to fend for itself, the Dian family has hastily enlisted a large volume of mercenaries, foreign and domestic, to keep the region safe and protect it from the sudden presence of their powerful neighboring sovereigns. The government and society itself in Amare relies on its merchants and their continued trade to maintain its existence and the way of life of its people, and the laws of Amare clearly reflect this motivation. Culture
The Amare drows are the most numerous ethnicity in Amare. They generally make up the peasants and lower classes. Amaran culture values hard work and hospitality, and many of them are naturally gifted artists, as any traveler may see along the roadsides while walking through the Amare forest. A significant portion of them resent the Electi aristocracy in Dian. The Electi elves are the second most numerous ethnicity in Amare. They generally make up the aristocracy and upper classes. Electi culture values chivalry and familial piety foremost. Electi elves, especially those in Dian, are naturally gifted merchants and artisans and were known to be prolific traders in the time of Pyros. They are prideful but cosmopolitan, often seeing it as their duty to be the noble protectors of the helpless and moral examples for the misguided. The Pyrian drows are the third most numerous ethnicity in Amare. Pyrians are not native to the region, and the ones there now are either soldiers, merchants, imperial officials, or other travelers who were in Amare when the shift occurred. They are pragmatic and ruthlessly efficient people - profound thinkers, innovative engineers, and skilled tacticians, but notoriously unsentimental. Other than the Amare, Electi, and Pyrians, the country is also populated by small amounts of other native Ludwagian races who were visiting or living in Amare when the shift occurred. The people of Amare, elf, drow, or other, strongly value peace and conservation because of the influence of the story of Ashra, and the image of the abandoned sword has become an important symbol of Amaran culture. The Legend of Ashra
In Pyrosi times, the most common practice was for each country to worship the local spirit or spirits that inhabited its land. Amare was, mostly, no exception. Ashra, or “Saint” Ashra, is the primary object of worship for many inhabitants of Amare. According to the most common retelling of the legend, Ashra was a famous mortal warrior who won many great victories for the kings of Amnisica in prehistoric times. As he grew older, he came to be bothered by the constant din of war and the ugly suffering it created. He wanted to go somewhere peaceful to spend the rest of his days, so he wandered off. He wandered through the countryside and still saw refugees begging and heard widows weeping, so he wandered further, but still he saw villages burning and heard flies buzzing. He wandered as far as he could and came to Amare, where he saw that the entire country had been turned into a sickly, blackened plain, razed by one of the many conquests he had participated in. Overcome by grief, he resolved that he would never partake in war again. He drove his sword into the earth to be forgotten forever. He spent the rest of his life as a healer and naturalist, helping to fix broken people and broken countries. Eventually, he returned to the spot where he had left his sword and saw, to his wonder, that when he had thrust it into the ground, it had turned the charred earth and let a plant sprout at its base. He knelt by the sword and poured the rest of his life’s strength into it. From the sword, new life began to emerge; trees and mushrooms rapidly sprouted and regrew. The lakes and streams were purified of the ash that choked them, and people and animals began to return to Amare. This is where the story will often diverge, depending on who is telling it. Some say that Ashra’s soul became a spirit through the power of his will, and the spirit called Ashra would always protect and nurture the Amare forest as long as people continued to sustain it through their worship. Others say that Ashra’s soul ascended to the Aether to live with the gods as a saint because of his exceeding virtue. They say that the spirit claiming to be Ashra is either a malicious pretender coveting the worship of the Amaran people, or a wishful admirer who was inspired by Ashra’s sacrifice to carry on his name. However, the spirit that claimed to be Ashra was not, it seems, able to come with Amare to its new world. Believers of both types are in spiritual mourning because, with the disappearance of their spirit and the loss of the gods, they do not know where the soul of Ashra has gone. Nonetheless, they maintain a shrine in his remembrance, and offerings and prayer in the hope that they will, one day, find him again.
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