Varios
When talking about Varios, most of the leaders I have ever met will sigh and change the subject. It is somewhat uncouth to say rude things about people who are so certain of their own righteousness, and anyway it is a far better joke to let them continue believing that they are the greatest country in the world.
One of the unfortunate aspects of Varios is their insistence on worshiping a pantheon of “gods”, which leads to a higher than average number of “prophecies” that lead to a higher number of wars and revolutions and changes in leadership than any other country, including the ones that traditionally rely on assassination for regime changes. Unlike Logenthru, these prophecies are not remotely based on reality, unless you count those who are so determined to believe them that through sheer force of will they cause events to happen as predicted. I have it on good authority that most of the “visions” are more hallucinogen-based than not. Although a few come from blows to the head and daydreams while on starvation diets.
The people call themselves the Variety. It is unsure if this name comes as a derivative of Varios or is simply a reflection of their neurotic level of “tolerance.” They will take in almost anyone from anywhere, including those who deserve censure, imprisonment, the death penalty, or at the very least someone explaining their foolishness. At least they do not foist these unsavory individuals on their neighbors.
The present ruler is Queen Charisma of the Midrasethan family. Her son Agrain was an up-and-coming hero for a while, but succumbed to the lure of unlimited explosive chemicals to experiment with and defected to Gorathia. Queen Charisma also has four daughters: Ynissa, Celata, Igriene and Relestra. It is partially suspected that Agrain defected to keep the hero Zorrros as far away from his sisters as possible. Her maternal grandfather was an overlord of Gorathia who retired to Varios under the name Reiman Battle.
Another effective heroic contractor from Varios is the heroine Miria, who defected with boyfriend Agrain. The notorious hero Zorrros operates out of Varios, much to its detriment. See Part Three for more information. Of course, the hero Masado also operates from here, which raises the national average. In case it cannot be guessed, Varios tolerates almost any kind of hero, which means their professional base is widely varied in terms of skill and eccentricity, and they always have a lot of them.
The best thing that can be said about this place is that their geography is absolutely stunning. Crystal blue water, emerald green foliage, soft yellow sand and rich brown earth. The movie production industry in this country is quite successful.
One of their “gods” is named Terb, who has some of the most aggressive monks you will ever witness. Terb is a god of several seemingly unrelated things: pathways, throwing stars, pickles, pygmy marmosets, and the color navy blue. His monks worship by walking on his “sacred paths” that somehow coincide with what are usually major thoroughfares, and aggressively claim possession of these roads.
Varios existed to a certain extent under that name during the era of the Seven Kingdoms, but it was too disjointed and fragmented to be counted as one of that number.
Type
Geopolitical, Country
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