Free City of Paluker

*Paluker ha Pau ata*

Provisional Government

Leader - PerhapsFabi

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*Mentions of both the Free City of Paluker and the city of Paluker redirect to this article.*

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The city of Paluker is a major town in northern Faltírgílúa by the coast of the Old North-Westher Sea and serves as the capital and largest city of Paluki. It houses the currently largest population of Palokeu of Iaddithis and was the center of the Palui culture up until 300 years ago. Having once been a Free City under the Varsic Crown, it was also part of the NEP.

### Etymology

The name of Paluker can be loosely translated to 'place/city of (the) Paluis', as it is made up of the Palui endonym for the Palui culture and the suffix -ker, which denotes a place or city. Due to its proximity to the Varsic cultures, there also is an exonym for the city and land around it which is Faltírpalí. The reason it is classified as a nation in its Varshí name is a confusion due to its political nature under Faltírvars.

### History

#### Scarce Records

First evidence of early civilization appeared around the mouth of the Kaleskau River as early as three millenia ago. Due to mostly featuring simple pottery and petrified dugouts, it can be speculated that early Palui civilization was already focused on the usage of the water for their survival. Pottery sherds from this age are reminiscent of others found in the regions further east suggesting a connection in material culture.

However, there seems to be little evidence showing the political development of the Palui culture of this age. This is though to have only begun with the appearance of the first Palui writing about a thousand years ago, which are left largely uneroded on large slabs of stone on Putitau Hata. From this development on, complex political structures may have developed from smaller family groups.

#### Age of Legends

##### The Old Kingdom

For the next seven centuries, a kingdom would thus flourish and possibly extend its reach outside the small river basin. Most of what is known to Palui historians comes from a book written after the end of this age, as such most of these stories may be entirely mythical.

It is for instance said that when a certain tyrranical king died about six hundred years ago, none of his children were left to take the throne and his possessions for he had sent them all away fearing that they may overthrow him. Because of this, according to customs all his worldly possessions would be burnt and the title of king destroyed. For three moons, Paluki was in disarray, until one man, named Eupei, who was acclaimed to be one of the sons the old king had sent away returned and assumed the throne. The kingship had been saved and under his rule, the old kingdom apparently prospered. Succeeding him, his son Secei, then his granddaughter Tira and lastly Eupei 'Teratei' ruled the kingdom of the thus named Eupe dynasty. This may well only be a story to legitimize some ancient claim to the throne or the result of careful rewriting but the effects of the story can be found both tangibly and intangibly in Palui culture. The statue of the horse on the market square of Paluker is believed to be constructed by the last king of the dynasty and linguists assert that the name of its founder may even have proceeded the Palui word for king.

The end of the dynasty is said to have been none different than its founding. Eupei 'Teratei', the last king of the Eupe dynasty in Paluki disappeared after a victorious battle in the civil war against his brother, who was said to have been trampled by his very steed that day. Leaving no more heirs behind, Paluki fell into strife again and may even have been divided between various noble houses. These squabbles may in the end have been what lead to the gravity of the end of this age in Palui history.

##### Polian Invasion

Three centuries ago, a seafaring bunch set anchor before Paluker. Today, they are refered to as the Polians, though their true name has been lost to history. Having been in a complicated political situation, the unprepared Paluis were slaughtered or driven out of their homes in an event that effectively began the Palui diasporra. Some migrated North, others moved to distant continents, others fled to the region of Faltírvars and would join the various tribes, travelling with them and sharing technology and linguistic details. Even when these tribes settled down, these Paluis would continue living there for generations, heavily mixing their culture with that of their hosts.

#### Age of Return

##### Rediscovery

Three centuries passed and new nations had sprung up all across the land. Paluker and its late kingdom had long been forgotten. Yet through the studying of traditional texts, one Palui individual born and raised in the town of Varshaad, had found out about the approximate location of the islands. Only a few weeks later, Paluker had been rediscovered. But as it turned out, the invaders had stayed, even adopting parts of the destroyed Palui culture. They called their town '**Poly**'. After some negotiations, the Sentinels agreed to help take back the island. When eventually the occupiers capitulated, the Paluis struck a deal with Szchnow that allowed them to officially retake the island for a sum of $20.000.

##### Era of the Free City

Paluker, under the protectorate of Faltírvars quickly started to reconstruct its lost infrastructure, though with the disappearance of Baulte, one of the first new Palui citizens, this eventually stopped and Paluker was left awaiting the next population boom. This came with the immigration of the Pelaukikui Cian (Síorta), who helped restructure the town and took charge of recruitment which soon earned the developing town a few more citizens and returning Paluis. Putitau Teta would be mostly restored within a year and trade would begin flowing through the nearby sea. Trade routes would be set up with the High Kingdom of Elyria and the Confederation of Relveth, while politically there came a great restructuring. The Kingdom of Faltírvars had shattered under mysterious circumstances as notable politicians and the Búrumhedal had disappeared. This left Paluker undefended and diplomatically isolated. Relations were luckily soon restored with Rinacólid, the newly carved holding of one of the more prevalent Varsic families, and aforementioned trade deals struck, placing the now independent Paluki ha Etoraburui in a kind-of central location in its diplomatic endeavors.

##### Era of the Etoraburui

Development of the city did not stop with the creation of the independent state that is Paluki. The restoration of another small island close to Teta would begin, laying foundations for harbour walls that would protect the naturally unshielded harbour. Along with this, the eastern district of Putitau Teta would also restored and plans would be drawn for a bridge to connect it to the mainland.

### Geography

The city of Paluker is based on an archipelago made up of roughly five islands in the mouth of the Kaleskau river. The main two, Putitau Teta und Putitau Hata are connected with eachother and the mainland by a bridge. It is located in the geographic region of Faltírgílúa in northern Aesilandri. The climate of Paluker is humid, being located near the ocean and between the desert of Asketta and the jungles of Aesilandri.

### Society and Culture

#### Language

The Palui Language has seen many changes over the centuries. Old Palui, spoken and written before the Polian Invasion had its own writing system, which was notably missing symbols for Q, X, Y and Z - which still don't appear commonly in Palui words. Instead it had letters for suffixes like -au *[f. Sg.]*, -ui *[m. Sg.]*, -ker *[City/Place]*, -ki *[Land/Region]* or -ana/-ani *[Honored name]*. Later, the invasion and simultaneous influences from Polian and Varsic languages made the common alphabet the standard for Modern Palui. For Paluis migrating further away, the traditional alphabet stayed in use or morphed according to available material. Because of the influence neighbouring languages had over it and its rigid case and tense structures it is fairly simple to learn and some sentences might be understandable even if the listener only speaks Varshí.

#### Culture

* Cavianity - Though it is estimated that Paluis, before the Polian Invasion, had a quite different religion, through Varsic influence and the current Palui mayor being Cavian, Cavianity has been heavily embued upon Palui Culture and the Paluis see the cavian god Mórgúil as their patron god. Through policies of current leader Askei Neute, Paluker has obtained a religious unity of 100% under Cavianity.
* Sailing and Glerau ha Uekelotui - Since ancient times Paluis are known to excel at ship building and sailing. Palui sailors are very durable and that for one reason specifically. It is common for sailors, on the open sea, to die of scurvy. But Paluis have found a quite useful solution to their problem, which is known in Palui as Glerau ha Uekelotui and can be translated to 'Drink of the Sea' and is made from kelp, which is fermented in barrel aboard the ships. Though unknown to the sailors, who simply enjoy the high levels of alcohol, the drink provides high levels of Vitamine C preventing the dangerous Sailors' disease.

#### Society

While old Palui society is known to have been heavily based on blood-relatedness and family, apparently going as far as tearing down a house or burning a belonging upon death if there was no heir for it, these beliefs have become less pronounced within Modern Palui society. Still they are present in politics today, as seen when the Provisional leader of Paluker sought to solidify his rule upon the town, he couldn't justify it to be a monarchy, as he was not related to the old royal family.

Another trait of Palui society is its blend of shared and differing cultures, as Paluis return from various vastly differing parts of Iaddithis and bring with them the cultures that Palui meshed with. As such many different symbols can be found around Paluker representing this; for example the **Variki ha Potetau** [Place of Faltírvars].