Volzeraen

The **Gamer** **Republic of Volzeraen** (Volzeraenik: **Volzetren-randzhirak Volzeraenir**, "Land of Games") is a nation located to the west of Umbirab and the south of Rabydos and the native kingdom of Falturia, on the frigid mountains of the southern hemisphere.

Volzeraen was well known for being one of a few nations that were forgiving to the Terrans, if not the only one where Terrans lived after being exiled from everywhere else, for being descendants of war criminals.

## Flag and symbols

The flag of Volzeraen is a flag of two halves: red in the left, and blue in the right. At the middle is a purple or black diamond with four circles within forming a cross. In clockwise order, the circles are red, green, blue, and yellow, resembling console buttons used in Ardesch.

The Falcon, a sacred constellation to Pulutokhas after he won it from Kednor in a dice game, is the country's national constellation. There is a proposal to add the eight west-to-east stars of the Falcon as "wings" for the central console, because people denounced the flag as an ugly flag.

Others attempted to draw a black X in the middle, representing the Terrans who were protected in the country, and in turn, sacrificed themselves to defend it and other allies against various empires.

## History

### The Saga of Rubaschrand

Volzeraen was founded in the eighteenth century of the Sixteenth Age by outlaws and pioneers from the Ardeschen Empire, following the trail of an earlier colony of exiles by Rugessor the Hunter. A hundred years before the formation of their colony, Rugessor was exiled by the Emperor of Ardesch for liberating slaves to a random spot to the south of the Gauvajut Empire, far away from the Elessian kingdoms at the southwestern shores of the supercontinent. Surprisingly for the Emperor, Rugessor happily accepted and brought thousands of slaves and criminals with him on his own expedition, where they migrated to an uninhabited plateau to the south. They set up their own colony a hundred miles to the east of the Emperor's destination: **Rubaschrand** ("Land of Hunters"). To honour the sixty-five people who died of diseases on the way, a shrine was set up at the Emperor's destination to honour them. Rugessor was then appointed as the first President of his colony.

Knowing that there are several countries around his, Rugessor sent envoys to establish relations with them. He sent three envoys to the seven kingdoms of Elessia to the west; and three more to the native kingdoms of Kislaent and Klutnas. A few hundred men were led by the rebellious general Findoraend: after fighting against Rugessor's armies, they marched north to conquer Kislaent, but were defeated. The Gauvajut Empire sent an envoy to establish relations with Rubaschrand, but President Trinaar refused the delegation, only preferring to reestablish relations with the Gauvajuts when the latter stopped waging war against the Kislaentir.

With an influx of immigrants from Elessia, the population of Rubaschrand swelled to a hundred thousand within two hundred years. After a rebellion broke out among the slaves of Elessia and was defeated, many slaves, helots, peasants, and prisoners were sent eastward by the dual-high kings Dnonthol and Maklevel. That rebellion was sparked by rumours that the Elessian dual-kings would exterminate them and replace them with an army of obedient clones. At first, the Rubaschrandians were appalled by the crude behaviour of the Elessian arrivals, so they stopped the Elessians from murdering each other in ritualistic hunt-massacres and executed hundreds of cannibals.

Over time, the Elessians and their mixed descendants became more well-behaved, adopting their hosts' tavern songs and their love of chariots, violins, and dice. Fifty years after the first helots were sent to Rubaschrand, their grandchildren returned to rebuild their former homeland, after a great war ended its seven kingdoms. Some of them died of fright after seeing mangled bodies lined on poles along the roads: the Vachelonian governor sent gentlemen to them, who explained to them that those were the remains of their former abusers and their successors.

In the latter 18th century, the Gauvajut Empire invited several Rifandian nobles and their followers to establish their own duchies. Rubaschand's local Rifandians sent their own envoys to establish relations with those duchies.

When Emperor Furnard found out that Rugessor not only survived but also set up a colony, he sent a fleet to bomb Rubaschrand, colonise the land as part of the Ardeschen Empire, and enslave the survivors as traitors. Rubaschrand and its native allies fought back against the Ardeschen fleets, but it lost a quarter of its population during the war.

In the 19th century, Rubaschrand became into a dictatorship. Seeing that its population has become so plentiful, they sent their warriors to invade Kislaent and expand northwards. In the twenty-first year of the war, the Gauvajuts aided the Rubaschrandir in their conquest, but also set up their own outposts in the conquered lands to claim those lands for the Gauvajut Empire. Their forces were defeated after a thirty-year war, and Rubaschrand lost half of its newly-conquered land to the natives and the Gauvajuts.

Rubaschrand also had to fend off further expeditions by Prime Minister Nolaan, the fascist Directorist dictatorships, and the occasional raid from Red Ardesch. Although Rubaschrand adopted the Ardeschi language of Red Ardesch because its people think that the language looked pretty, they still remained at war against Red Ardesch. It attracted refugees and dissidents from Red Ardesch, who introduced the Ardeschi language and various videogames.

### Land of the Terrans

Rubaschrand was one of the few countries that survived the Terran invasions. At first, it refused entry to all Terrans like its neighbours out of fear of invasion, but then they allowed them to settle on the uninhabited western mountain plains. This was why it was never admitted into the Denlotia, only sticking together with the other aboriginal states.

It also survived the 3900 Pandemic through its isolation, withstood Klesha and its allies, but it was ruined during the Reorganisation Wars. Survivors from the war - native, Ardeschen, and Terran, rebuilt the nation, making it the first to reemerge from the Reorganisation Wars.

At the end of the Sixteenth Age, it celebrated its 10,010th and final year with a great bonfire, joining Vozolaz in the north. Volzeraen, Kalpetura, and Nadrekthi (two other Kekhaulid nations nearby) were the first to be invited by the First Vozonid Empire to join the celebrations, lightning bonfires all over the south at the stroke of midnight. The skies were lit with ten thousand and ten fireworks at the same moment the Vozonids lit their bonfire. Even though there were Terrans among the peoples of Rubaschand, they still joined the celebrations, cursing the evil tyrants among their kind as they burned the effigies.

### Reckoning

During Sarmelonid times, Volzeraen was known as Schvendaar. It was a tributary of the Sarmelonid Empire, tolerated in spite of its Terran majority. They are sometimes mocked as "our token Terrans" or "the only good Terrans", although they no longer considered themselves as Terran.

The Schvendaarenir people always prepared themselves for a time when the Americans and Terrans will fight them, because the former supported the Jerdiskar over their own warmongering kin. So when the Konjors invaded and brought along armies of vengeful, angry humans to conquer the land, the Schvendaarenir were among the few countries that remained unconquered, resisting their hateful, furious cousins. The two Terran peoples fought each other, but the Schvendaarenir prevailed with their superior technology and defences, aiding other resistance movements to drive the Terrans and their Konjor masters out of the planet. In fact, many Schvendaarenir humans joined Emperor Silojennoz of Vozolaz in his crusade to punish the invaders.

### Later times

During Jauparturnid times, Volzeraen was known as Daarnora. Its territories had expanded to the south, and it managed to resist the Jauparturnid Dynasty's southwards march. Many Daarnoradir have intermarried with Elennians, and they harboured hundreds of refugees from Zemasor's purges. Like its native neighbours in the north, Daarnora built its own Burrow-Cities to withstand the Ontemazei genocide of Jerde.

During the Green Years, Volzeraen was divided into two nations: Trilvason and Veilerir, the Land of Gold and the Land of the Wolf. Both countries were educated by the Burrow-Cities of Elen in the west.

When the kingdom of Rabydos was established in the north, Volzeraen was known as the republic of Toaldir. It sent forces to defend one of the native kingdoms to the north, which became the kingdom of Falturia. Toaldir and Falturia were later supported by Umbirab as clients for their businesses.

### Turmatian Civil War, Gaanarand Rebellion

In 1700 BT, it was known as Turmatia, and it was torn between a national gamer movement and a subculture of hikers, hunters, and sportspeople. A warlord led hundreds of young men westward to establish his own realm, Gaanarand ("the realm of true men"): his movement was condemned by the national gamer movement of Turmatia for its violent hooliganism. He claimed that it represented actual gamers across the world, free from the influence of Red Ardesch and women. The Rabydosians called it "Zibadum", the "land of ash". It lasted for sixty years as militants travelled to Gaanarand to build their own machines, videogames, and army, and at the time of its prime its forces consisted of 300,000 men from richer and overpopulated nations. In contrast to the Turmatians' diplomatic attitude and love of hobbies, life in Gaanarand was crude and harsh, where women were hated and banned, and its men kept killing and cloning each other over various quarrels.

They waged a war against Rabydos to establish their own empire, enslaving anyone who survived the purges: and they also invaded Turmatia and Falturia because they condemned their war against Rabydos. The Rabydosian armies arrived at full strength to defeat Gaanarand, and brought any surviving soldiers northwards as their slaves. There were still Gaanarandian warlords that continued to attack Turmatia, but the Turmatians defeated them and plundered their videogames, selling their own modded versions of Gaanarand's icons to the rest of Jerde.

During the Tornarin Bombardment, Volzeraen was known as the republic of Seghos. It regarded itself as the easternmost Elennian nation.

At 823 AT, Volzeraen faced a demographic crisis, as much of its people had left for better jobs in Falturia and Umbirab. To attract more people to work in live in Volzeraen, it officially made itself a nation for all gamers, attracting thousands of people and integrating hundreds of refugees. This also attracted five militant groups to invade Volzeraean, and their plans to conquer Umbirab caused the Umbirabians to send their armies to defeat the militants. A sixth militant group attempted to revive Gaanarand and its militarism, claiming it as the "legitimate lord of all gamers", but it was also defeated.

Volzeraen was one of Umbirab's allies that withstood Emperor Burendil's wars to sacrifice and kill the inhabitants as offerings to the Kyrvotins.

## Geography

* Drilxotar - capital
* Dyslon Mountains
* Ellomar Province
* Folfrojant
* Grisol Spaceport
* Kynostri - a city with many lumber mills

## Economy

Volzeraen's industries include vehicles, electronics, synthetic products, lumber, and mining.

## Society

See also: Volzeraenir language, Volzeraenir glossary

Volzeraen's people love playing videogames and are proud of their hobbies: videogames are considered part of Volzeraen's national culture, and anyone who loves to play videogames is more likely to pass a citizenship test and threat-test. They also like hunting, archery, combat, wrestling, boxing, sculpting, and skiing.

Fandoms for fictional works are a popular aspect of Volzeraen culture, and almost every Volzeraenir is a member of at least one fan club.

As of 1985, the three most popular videogames in Volzeraen were Vadranshaar (first-person shooter, sci-fi), Blonde Fighter 86 (fighting), and Kalendrica 76 (first-person shooter, sci-fi); and in 2016 (the present day), they were Forked Path (role-playing game), Talons of Fury (real-time strategy, fantasy), and Ghost Hunter (first-person shooter, sci-fi).

Because Volzeraen is the only nation on Jerde dedicated to gamers, it has become a popular venue for international events. While videogame and sports competitions are frequent in Volzeraen, it is also a venue for diplomatic, technological, and business expositions and fairs.

Men outnumber women in Volzeraen by 3 to 1. Most of its men are too focused on art and videogames to compete for women.

## Demographics

The majority of Volzeraen's people belong to a mixed White race, descended from Ardeschens and Elenians. Even though Volzeraen has no official ethnicity like other countries do, this majority is regarded as Volzeraean's national identity in international censuses and records. Although they coexisted with the natives and many other people, they continued to thrive as a distinct ethnicity from them and their Elenian kin.

Other peoples in Volzeraen include Rifandians, Rabydosians, white-haired Umbirabian immortals, Falturians, and the natives. The native peoples of Volzeraen are the Meaeska in the west, the Tulothin in the centre, and the Pulunkha in the east: the Pulunkha are among the richest people in Volzeraen due to their easier access to Umbirab, and they helped the rest of the country become richer.

There are thousands of men and women from other countries who made Volzeraen their home, as most of them tend to be gamers. Alongside them were the descendants of refugees and mixed peoples, who form six other ethnicities in Volzeraen: three of them are mixed ethnicities. Most of them were descendants of Terran people who were protected in Volzeraen, and agreed to abandon their extremist or hateful views to redeem themselves.

The Volzeraenir know that they are partly descended from Terrans, particularly those from the civilisations known simply as "America". Yet in spite of Americans being seen as insane warmongers and sadists, they refuse to partake in such acts, preferring finer arts and being more "normal" over childish arrogance.

## Religion

Volzeraen worships the Ardeschen gods, but over time its people created its own pantheon of deities. It also syncretises the gods of Falturia, and several cults were established that worshipped videogame characters.

### Volzaraenir gods

* Elbandor (Elbantro) - The Triumphant One. The god of the hunt, bards, brotherhood, and games. The main patron deity of both Rubeschrand and modern Volzeraen.
* Kerdon - The Deerman. The god of the hunt, and one of Volzeraen's patron deities.
* Sornea - Our Lady Under The Moon. The goddess of knights and the tormented. She rides on a unicorn.
	+ The Elessians who migrated to Rubaschrand began to worship her as their heroine from their cycle of murder and cannibalism. Some have created three knightly orders dedicated to her.

### Falturian gods

These are known as the Gods of the Land, venerated for their blessings for the country. Harming a native is considered as a great sin against the Gods of the Land.

* Pulutokas - The Great Hunter. He is surrounded by phoenixes.
* Kednor - The Falcon God, who sees all.
* Tinalara, Tilara - The Mistress of the Myriad Words, she watches over writing and language. Poets pray to her for her inspiration before they write.
	+ She also has a warrior aspect known as Tila, whom warriors of Volzeraen prayed to when they fight their enemies. Tila is depicted as a woman raising a sword, clad in silver armour.
* Aro - The Fire God, master of judges and righteousness.
	+ Invoked in national prayers to judge the nation for its deeds every year.
* Akil and Kiltal - The Twins, masters of technology and the forge.
* Mimaar - The Winter Lord. Enemy of Pulutokas and all humanity. God of murderers, death, and slaughter.

### Videogame gods

* Rudaar - The Blood Knight
* Olarbad - A strong fighter. The God of Refinement, patron of courageous people and athletes.
* Ozircha - A scientist who assists Olarbad. The God of Science.
* Raanaexir - An adventurer who fights her enemies with martial arts and guns. The Goddess of Courage.
* Herixari - A talented princess who learned to defeat her enemies with a magical mirror. The Goddess of Healing and Peace.
* Monirotch - An adventurer who explores ruins and lost tombs. The God of Knowledge.
* Morival, Dreezel, and Turask - Three motorcyclists. The Gods of Luck, Speed, and Protection.

## Diplomacy

Because Volzeraen is the only nation in the world dedicated to gamers, some people refused to recognise Volzeraen as a nation, instead listing it as a western extension of Umbirab. They insist that only ethnic and racial communities can be true nations, and they either invade Volzeraen to establish an ethnostate or call for Rabydos to invade and enslave the country.

On the other hand, Volzeraen is somewhat grudgingly respected because it was seen as a containment zone for all Terrans, hated as war criminals over the actions of the Fifty-Six Tyrants. Some praise it as the only place in the world where Terrans can redeem themselves and be forgiven of their sin. Others refuse to acknowledge that Volzeraenir are partly-Terran, since they seem so well-behaved that they hardly look Terran.

### Rabydos

Rabydos is a frequent tourist destination for many Volzeraenir, who mostly go there to play sports, traverse the jungles, or sell merchandise.

### Falturia

Falturia is one of Volzeraen's closest allies: in fact, they consider the Falturians as their brethren because they defended Falturia from Rabydosian conquest. Half of most Volzeraenir have a small amount of Falturian ancestry.

### Umbirab

While the Burrow-Cities of Elen helped them rebuild their technology, it was Umbirab that brought Volzeraean into its advanced, developed state, mainly as a bulwark against Rabydos.

### Shaunetor

Volzeraen and Shaunetor are good friends, mainly because they like each other's art.

### Mannogard

Mannogard is regarded as a rival for Volzeraen, an "athletic" counterpart to this technological country.

### Elen

Elen is regarded as a "brother nation" of Volzeraen, to the point that Volzeraeanir consider themselves as a related people. It was their Burrow-Cities that helped Volzeraen's ancestors remain modern.

Many of the cruelties committed by the seven kingdoms of Elessia (a previous state) were used in lessons as examples never to follow.

### Marnos

The Volzeraenir look similar to Marnosyns but mock their more rugged, vulgar culture. Some Marnosyns, in turn, look down on them as yet another snobbish country like Bujan and Rukania, because Volzeraenir are more neat than Marnosyns, and are not too prone for a brawl.

Nonetheless, people from both nations, usually men and boys, visit each other to enjoy their entertainment. Marnosyns sometimes go to Volzeraen to practice archery, go on hikes along the southerly mountain forests, join horse riding parties to hunt beasts, and go on sculpting and boxing contests. In turn, Volzeraenir go to Marnos to drink, watch mutants show off their powers, and look at the religious ceremonies to various deities like Perkunas and Saule.

### Bujan

Because videogames were banned in Bujan until the 1960s AT/2760s AT, some Bujanski fly south to Volzeraen to enjoy videogames.

### Darros

Darros is a reluctant ally of Volzeraen, since both countries have large Terran majorities.

### Sevraeja

Sevraeja is praised as an example of what happens if people try to integrate Terrans instead of destroying them, as a better method to restore peace. They enjoy friendly relations, being more supportive of taking on friendly, repentant, or frightened Terrans into their society.

## Trivia

* Volzeraen was inspired by several people online who complained (or joked) that "gamers are an oppressed minority" and Markus Wulfheart. The author designed that country on March 2021 as an "idealistic" version of a "gamer nation".
	+ Gaanarand was based on stereotypes of the right-wing "gamer" subculture.
	+ Elessia was inspired by Sparta from ancient Greece, but with its crueler aspects amplified. The author wanted to depict Renaissance Germans interacting with ancient Greeks.
* The author created Falturia on the same month, because he considered it fair for the native peoples of Rabydos to have their own sovereign nations.
* In July 2021, the author added that Volzeraen was also a refuge for many Terran people.
	+ Later on, the Volzeraenir were seen as half-Terran, or even half-American. They are a contrast against the other Americans, mostly represent more negative aspects of their culture and online users with similar beliefs.
	+ Their ancestors and founders were inspired by mediaeval Germany, like the Ardeschen Empire.

## Why is it "peculiar"?

* Volzeraen is a nation dedicated to videogames, so any gamer is as welcome to Volzeraen as any refugee.
* In spite of international pressure, Volzeraen refuses to designate an official ethnicity like in other nations. This made it the target of terrorist attacks by nationalists and racialists, who sought to replace it with their own regimes.
* Volzeraen is one of several nations that tolerates and accepts Terran people, instead of punishing all of them for their descent from warmongers. This is also why other nations hate Volzeraen, as if it were a haven for terrorists, or to use the Terrans as pawns and slaves for further wars.
* Volzeraen is one of several nations with partial Terran descent, including Sevraeja. Yet in spite of this, they chose to be more like the other nations of Jerde, avoiding overtly stereotypical Terran behaviour like arrogance and rudeness in favour of diplomacy, creativity, and courage.

## See also

* Varn Venn
* Fictional works in the Rabydosverse