Tribage of the Vale
Deep within Wolvenland lies a small and isolated tribal realm called the Vale. The Vale is nestled high in the Loak Mountains and is naturally fortified from all sides, save for one narrow entrance called the Break. The Break is home to a mighty stone wall and an even mightier moat, to control entry into the Vale. Geography has blessed the Valish Wolvens and protected them from the troubles of the 'Outworld' for over a thousand years - but a new foe is marching, and no wall may be able to keep them out.
Introduction
The Vale, called the Luwnaghz in Valish, is a sovereign tribal state ('tribage') located in the Loak Mountains, bordering Ohmaw to the south and west, the Zhawn to the east, and Dzhawlaw to the north. The native wolvens are called the Valish (Luwnay) and are estranged relatives of the Redwolvens in culture. Their language, Valish, is a close relative of Redwolven and is endemic to the Vale. With a post-Plague population of 1,600 and a land area of 406 square miles (259,000 acres), the Vale is one of the smallest wolven states. Table of ContentsHistory
Sit a while, while I tell you the story of my people.Pre-Redwolven Times
In the most ancient days, the Vale is thought to have been within the territory settled by Greenwolven hunter-gatherers, ancestral to the Zhawnay.Settlement and Soil Death
The Redwolvens first came to the Vale c. 3000 OR (1800 years ago), as semi-sedentary hunter-farmers who practiced shifting cultivation, hidge-herding, and bronze metallurgy - all typical of the Redwolvens of this period. This type of cultivation involved felling parcels of the most fertile woodland to cultivate as cropland for one harvest, then leaving the area to regrow for about 30 years while moving on to new parcels. This method negated the need for intensive composting and usually prevented damage being caused to the fragile soils of Wolvenland. As well as shifting cultivation, large areas of woodland were set aside as browsure for hidges, and even larger areas as wilderness for hunting. These settlers were members of the Pawuwn tribe, and the first Valish remained within the Pawuwn tribe for some centuries. According to Valish legend, the Vale lacked the adequate lowland space for shifting cultivation, causing the settlers to overcultivate the soil and cause degradation. This eventually led to a massive famine, called the Soil Death, around 3200 OR (1600 years ago).Soil Rebirth and Relical Period
The Soil Death was a turning point in Valish history: the survivors innovated a new system of intensive composting using greenchar. This enabled sedentary agriculture, better suited to limited lowland space in the Vale, without causing soil degradation. The Valish were unique among the Redwolvens in using this form of agriculture, and after the Soil Rebirth the Valish developed a distinct culture and identity, separate from the Pawuwn. The Valish emerged as one of the most prosperous Redwolven tribes and traded widely. Despite lacking any native sources of tin, the Valish became the most renowned bronze-casters of the region by importing large quantities from the western tribes. Their expertly crafted bronze tools and weapons were exported far and wide across the Redwolven tribes and beyond. Many of these artifacts survive today, and are called Relical Bronzes: they are so well crafted as to maintain their utility despite being over a thousand years old.Isolation
This leading position of the Valish among the Redwolvens came to an abupt end in the 3550s OR (1300 years ago), when the immense Moonwolven Empire invaded the Om river from the south and conquered many Redwolven tribes. For the first time, the Valish shut down their borders and began fortifying the Break. The Valish marched out with their Pawuwn allies, but were crushed by the Moonwolvens in the Battle of the Pawut, and forced to withdraw to the Vale. By the time the Pawuwn were subjugated, the Valish had constructed a large barricade across the whole of the Break, behind a moat which was flooded by the Pawut river. In the ensuing Battle of the Break, the Valish were able to cast back the Moonwolven army, which moved on to other tribes. Decades later, the Valish were able to assist in the liberation of the Pawuwn in the brutal Pawut War. This saw the Moonwolvens practice a scorched-earth retreat, laying waste to the once-fertile agricultural lands of the Pawuwn. While the Pawuwn gained their liberty, for centuries after they were forced to live as humble herders, ready to migrate quickly when faced with the regular enemy raids on their land. Meanwhile the Valish, protected by the Break, were able to retain their civilisation. Thereafter, the Valish were isolated from the other Redwolven tribes and greatly concerned with their own defence. The fortifications on the Break were regularly maintained and extended. Meanwhile, the lack of access to tin led to the end of the bronze industry, and Valish metallurgy was forced to resort to poorer alternative metals such as brass, arsant, and even pure copper. The days of the Relical Bronzes was over, as was the legendary prosperity of the Valish, but unlike many Redwolven tribes they had retained their freedom and their safety. Abroad, the Moonwolven Empire continued its ravages, locked in its 200-year-long war with the Sunwolven Empire. The occupied Redwolven tribes changed hands between the Moonwolvens and Sunwolvens multiple times, before both empires collapsed. However, the rump Sunwolven states retained ownership over the Redwolven tribes, despite the collapse of their homeland, and continued to rule as kings over the Redwolvens for many centuries to come. The Sunwolven Kings created a strict ethnocracy, with the Redwolvens deprived of their rights, punitively taxed, and brutally punished by a separate code of law, which was designed to instill terror and repress the ever-present threat of revolt. Always looking to expand their territories, the Sunwolvens assaulted the Vale many times in the coming centuries, but just like the Moonwolvens they were thrown back from the Break every time.Mercantile Period and the wider Soil Crisis
The Valish developed a very isolationist and close-knit culture throughout the next millennium, and wished little to do with foreign politics, with the world beyond the Vale referred to as the 'Outworld'. While the Redwolven tribes fought and won their freedom in the grand revolts of the 4300s OR (550-450 years ago), and even united into the Redwolven Empire for a time, the Valish refused all offers of trade and alliance. When the Redwolvens defended against both the Northwolvens and the Earthwolvens in the wars of the 4400s, the Valish held firm in their isolation. Their way of life stayed much the same while the rest of Wolvenland was advancing into a new golden age of trade and cooperation, called the Mercantile Period. The Valish were very content in their humble traditions, popularising the adage "Home and hearth, one and all", and saw the increasing materialism of the Outworld as a great burden to be avoided. It was not until the 4600s OR (200 years ago) that the situation changed and the Vale began to engage in foreign trade and diplomacy, including the adoption of the drot as the standard weight of copper ingots (which serve as money). It was in this time that the vast prosperity and population growth of Wolvenland was threatening to cause disaster: the fragile soils of Wolvenland were being thoroughly overcultivated, and soil degradation was leading to great drops in crop yields. Meanwhile the mighty Northwolven Empire, which controlled the principle trading routes of Wolvenland, had established itself as the hegemon of Wolvenland and demanded large tolls from other states to engage in trade. This combination of events finally stirred the Valish to open foreign relations and challenge the state of affairs, with the risk of famine looming across the Outworld, and the Northwolvens using the trade routes as leverage to dominate over much of Wolvenland. The Vale established a local trading bloc among neighbouring Redwolven states, which abolished tolls and reduced the reliance on the Northwolven trading routes in favour of autonomy, despite the economic shortfall. With this action the Vale emerged onto the world stage as a mascot for a different way of life, without subserviance to the Northwolven hegemony, or devotion to material gain (widely seen by wolvens as a social vice), or the threat of worsening soils. With the Valish being very familiar with soil degradation in their own culture, they spread the practice of population stability instead of population growth, and intensive composting with the use of greenchar, previously unknown beyond the Vale. This came at significant cost to economic growth and was denounced by the Northwolvens, but the cultural tides of Wolvenland had turned. Following the Valish lead, many states began forming smaller trade blocs and forsook the Northwolven trade routes. Eventually this led to change in the Northwolven Empire last of all, with many colonies seizing independence and the Northwolven stranglehold on trade being brought to an end. With famine averted by the new cultivation techniques, and a new cross-Wolvenland alliance (Mercantile League) being established to abolish trading tolls, the Vale became known as "the mouse that killed the lion" and established itself as an active but neutral player in the diplomacy of Wolvenland.Human Contact and the Northwolven Plague
In 4790 OR, 39 years ago, the fate of Wolvenland was changed forever. Strange ships came ashore in the west, and from these ships came even stranger beasts: the worlds of man and wolf were about to collide. Though much of the detail of the contact has been lost to the Valish, it is known that the Northwolven Empire began to trade eagerly with these new creatures, who hailed from a land of impossible wealth and unseen technologies. Strange livestock, strange crops, and a new metal called iron, easier to produce than bronze and able to be made into far stronger tools and weapons. But the men brought another new thing with them in those ships, knowing or not. Within months, the Northwolven Empire was brought to its knees by a disease never before seen. Entire settlements were wiped out of existence, as the death toll grew to a quarter of the population, then half, then three-quarters. Governments collapsed, cities fell to ruin, and the unburied dead far outnumbered the living. The trade routes of Wolvenland, the arteries of a continent, now served to spread this plague to every corner of Wolvenland before the year was done. The next decade is the story of how the old world ended and a shadow of Wolvenland was left in its wake. The Vale shut its gates against the chaos and laboured to bury its own dead: four-fifths of all wolvens. The Northwolven Plague left no-one uninfected, but only some could survive it, with pups and elders being the least likely. Ours is the generation that has picked up the pieces and strived to carry on. Life, death and rebirth: such is the way decreed by the Wild Gods. But the Realm of Men has given a different decree. Now they are coming to claim what is left of our lands and bring us to extinction. The one they call Rhodeon marches with an unstoppable army, the likes of which we have never seen, and we are in his way. But no matter what, we will never yield. To the Break!Geography
Culture
The Vale is famed for its self-reliance, tendency towards isolationism, and its humble contentment. Otherwise they have very similar customs and values to the Redwolvens at large, with a culture that holds personal liberty to be sacred, but the sharing of material necessities among the household (and to a lesser extent the tribe) to be a moral duty. Like other Redwolven states, family properties are usually held in kind by all members of the household. The Vale has a rather different class system to most Redwolvens, with the practice of land tenancy being outright illegal (preventing both a landed elite and a tenant class), the Land Ministry being able to compulsory-purchase land and properties that are not being used, and with slavery having never been permitted in their law. Homesteaders thereby make up the vast majority of all Valish. The head of state is the Tribune, who serves as the religious and cultural leader of the tribe. The Tribune does not hold secular political power, and if they are an elder (which they often are), they customarily withhold their vote. The Tribune is chosen by a moot of the Jurons (high priests) and usually serves for life. Furthermore, the Tribage holds that all of its land is owned by a goddess called the Vale Mother and managed on her behalf.Politics
The Tribage is governed by an ancient form of Redwolven mootism whereby there is no single head of government, and a cabinet of ministers are individually chosen by the Eldersmoot and cooperate (or not) in governance. Foreigners usually regard the Treasurer as the head of government for convenience's sake, though their role is a very conservative one. The Eldersmoot is made up of all wolvens aged 90 or over, and convenes in Zuwz, though it is usual for elders to delegate their vote to another elder they agree with, who is known as a Speaker. The weight of a Speaker's vote is in accordance with how many 'voices' (delegations from other elders) they have, including their own. Speakers often serve as full-time politicians, living in Zuwz, and often had over a hundred voices - but since the Plagues there are far fewer elders. The traditional triangle symbol of the Red Vale. The Valish version of the Redwolven triplicoid (top of page), in the format used by other Redwolven states, was adopted 230 years ago for foreign diplomacy.Economy
Despite averting famine for centuries and having comfortable nutritional standards, the Vale is the poorest of all the Redwolven states per capita and supports only a very small market sector relative to its already tiny population. Less than 5% of the populace works outside of agriculture and trade-specialisation rates are very low and primitive, with most families providing almost everything they need unprofessionally in-house. The most common professions are those concerned with the copper industry and the casting of metal tools. For a mountainous region, the Vale is unusually resource-poor in terms of ore deposits, with no native sources of tin, gold or silver, though with moderate deposits of copper and a large concentration of arsenic. This is favourable for the domestic production of arsant, a low-grade metal, but has little value in foreign markets. The greatest resources in the Vale are in root-crop cultivation, apple/pear/chestnut production, and hidge-herding. The intensive use of greenchar in the river valleys has preserved a high level of soil fertility, and the vast swathes of forested mountain-sides are easily utilised for either hidge browsure or productive orchards. Indeed, the Vale produces an unusually large amount of apples and chestnuts per capita, and is home to roughly 2700 hidges, with a disproportionately large dairy industry. The average Valish household of 12 wolvens annually produces 120,000 spuds, 30 hinds worth of game meat and hides, 9000 litres of milk, and catch 400 trout from the rivers. Last year the Vale as a whole produced some 1,800,000kg of root-crops and 400,000kg of cheese.Military
Demography and Population
1,600.
(Before the Plague, 39 years ago, the population was 6,200.)
HOME AND HEARTH, ONE AND ALL
Type
Geopolitical, Tribe
Capital
Demonym
Valish (singular: Luwnayn, plural: Luwnay, collective: Luwnaywew)
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Democracy, Direct
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Traditional
Currency
Drot
Major Exports
Apples, pears, chestnuts, cheese, root-crops, hides, timber, copper, arsenic.
Major Imports
Bronze, bronze tools, tin, citrus fruits, gold, silver.
Legislative Body
Eldersmoot
Judicial Body
Judiciary
Official State Religion
Official Languages
Related Ethnicities
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Very detailed and interesting. I'm curious to see how the two tribes interact with other races. Also for the bold quotes at the top and bottom, you can do
to format and frame it. Great read and i'm looking forward to developments.Thanks very much! Still playing around with the formats at the moment
It formatted it. I was kind of stupid in my presentation. It's [ q uote] TEXT [ /q uote]