Bivos

The **Republic of Bīvos** (Arosila) is a country to the northwest of Vozolaz. It is surrounded by Gimbarish to the east, Arantar to the south, the Pure Cities of Bielogrady to the north, and the Tornarin Empire to the west and north.

## Symbols

The National Flag of Bīvos is a green rectangular banner with a white border and an eight-pointed flower at the centre. The white border represents purity and order, the green background for prosperity and the tropical climate of the country, and the eight-pointed flower for monotheism. The flag's design was influenced by a religious Vozonid flag for the Creator God that has a black background.

The national bird of Bivos is the white peacock; known locally as *udanpjau* (a Pju loanword from "*u daung hpjau*"), *udabjo*, or *sheni* (a mythical bird that lives in the gardens of Heaven). These birds were originally green peacocks that were given as gifts by the kings of Pju to their allies in the Gauvajut and Vachelonian empires.

## Geography

Much of its terrain consists of mountain plateaus that are low enough for rainforests to grow.

## History

Bīvos was founded when one of three competing kingdoms unified the land and spread its characteristic belief in the One Creator God. It was also subject to several migrations in its early history, first by the Millasians (Heronoi) who taught them modernised technology to improve their living conditions, and then by Ontemazei who helped them build and defend themselves against invaders; and also by various attempts throughout history by others to conquer it and its people, from the Tornarins to the Arantarese. Under Arantarese rule, the land was exploited for its natural resources and its peoples subjected to a long campaign to assimilate them into the Arantarese variant of Vozonid culture.

The land was also used by the Tornarins to smuggle goods into its client state Mirukuz (at northwestern Vozolaz), and some criminal groups emerged and operated in that land to raid Tornarin supply routes. Those groups worked together with the disgruntled aborigines and runaway slaves to fight for Bīvos' independence, in response to the Arantarese purges against various towns and villages suspected of harbouring militants. They also helped thousands of Rakolans who escaped slavery in Mirukuz to return to their homeland by airships.

Today, the Bīvosar Republic is a developing country, struggling to protect its freedom from the Arantarese armies stationed to the south, various terrorist groups, and the Tornarin Empire's lingering forces to the west.

## Demographics

The majority of Bivos' people are aborigines. Minorities there include local Vozonids, and communities made of extraterrestrials, Arnadjanai, Millasians (an ethnicity related to the Heronoi), and Rakolans, descendants of runaway slaves who used Bivos as a transit point to return home.

## Religion

Bivos' national religion is a monotheist religion.

Minorities there practice Vozonid polytheism or Pjuvian Buddhism, which causes this country to establish relations with Ajoltar to learn and medidate on the sutras.

## Trivia

* Bivos was perhaps influenced by Brazil and Laos.

### Why is it "peculiar"?

* Bivos is one of several countries in the world with a monotheist majority.

## See also

### Other monotheist nations

* Gimbarish
* Qogandra
* Kalambour
* Darania