Shkegjonje

# Yvros

## Location

On the banks of the great karagjuzo'j shaska (lit. river of red trees) (north-eastern river). It is widely regarded as a part of the greater north-eastern river basin but due to its position also interacts with the central valley nations.

Basic Statistics

## History

The beginning of Yvros was a long and hard battle for dominance over the upper karagjuzoj. The nation state began as a monarchy, ruled by a king. The nation was named Shkegjonje after the hereditary name of the monarch. The original meaning of the name is lost to time. At the formation of Yvros, the last king of shkegjonje was disintegrated by a godly challenge from the High Priest at the time. When the High Priest recovered from the challenge, she assumed the throne as a Supreme Director, effectively turning Yvros into a theocracy.

## Geography

### Fauna

##### Kjedystx people

The Kjedy'stx people of Shkegjonje are a tough hardy folk who have a slight reddish tinge to their skin. often they cover themselves in the blue foliage that can be found inland from the river.

### Flora

The banks of the Karagjuzo'j Shaska are populated by many trees with red wood from which the river gains its name.

More inland, the trees' leaves take a more blue-ish tinge which is used in dyes for clothing and banners.

## Languages

The main language of the Kjedi'stx people is Kjedy'stx [kʲeˈdɨs.tx̩]

No strict word order, although the verb is usually first and emphasis can be put on any word by placing it first in the sentence.

Tenses: future and non-future. Aspects: perfective, terminative, progressive, iterative and retrospective(perfect). No moods.

Noun case: Nom, Acc, Dat, Gen, Loc, Abl, All. Noun class: animate, inanimate. Verb agreement to subject in person, number and class

Pronouns and proper nouns:

"mjo" I, "tis" you, "az" them, "fpi" we, "vi" you(pl), "ska" them(pl), "Shkangari" god of the ocean, "Kjavalja" god of the sky, "Shjovagh" god of earth and stillness, "Ka’ljuva" god of air and flow, "Tasi" god of the sun and heat.

Some nouns:

jo (1), sje (2), xje (3), pov (4), nal (5), o (6), tjilj (person), kghiv (the planet), zhi (rock), kanj (food), pla (animal), zi (year), namjex (enemy), stjanv (mountain), rjir (friend), jus (tree), kar (dirt), sjofj (name), kljazh (glass), ljex (“still one”)

Some verbs:

shkunj (burn), ivir (flow), tan (be/exist), sjizjav (eat), skistx (drink), pi (call), sa (endure), tanalj (create), mujents (compete), shkiljagh (own/have), njang (obey/submit), san (sleep), tjan (sculpt), ptjun (argue), iv (learn), tjuz (repeat/again), xorju'z (go), zhe (come)

other:

njux (unless), s (with/and), shki (same), jazhagh (middle), ka (big), qaz (north), ma (east), konl (west), aju (south)

Idioms:

S ivrjas staghljazh “as you flow the glass” Meaning: Your life is what you make it

Pjus shkex “The still ones call” Meaning: You should watch your back

## Politics

### Shkegjonje (legacy)

The council of 100 is elected into power by the landowners, soldiers and citizens of the nation. The council has complete power over the nation. Each eligible voter votes for a representative in their region who is tasked with the upkeep of their region, collecting tax and voting for a seat in the council from among nominees. Laws are decided by voting, the majority vote wins. If a law passes by a slim majority, that law can be challenged, revised and voted on again. Law is enforced by a specific section of the army.

Landowners often lobby for more conservative laws, to keep power among themselves and restrict the freedoms of the lower classes.

Soldiers vote for their generals as well as a representative. They often elect people who pass military reforms that increase the bonuses of being in the army and give the military more influence over the state. Generals can also be elected by the state and superior officers. The two highest positions in the army are elected by the council and in war time they hold absolute power over the state.

Citizens vote for more liberal laws, to expand their freedoms and increase their allowed autonomy.

Any law that is passed by the senate must be venerated by the high priest that the omens of the gods are good ones before becoming legitimate articles of law.

### Yvros(current)

The council of 100 has been reduced to 50, with each position being chosen by the Supreme Director, or on their behalf, from candidates elected by each province of the theocratic empire. There are some bottlenecks to becoming a candidate such as they must follow the kanjegatjes faith, and be of Kjedystx descent. each council member governs a selection of land with about half of the members being governors of national provinces, and the rest being made up of monasteries and barracks.

## Religion and culture

### Moral values and principles

Strength in all its forms (ie. physical, mental, emotional, spiritual) are highly sought after and it is not uncommon for wealthy parents to enlist their children into militaristic training camps to teach them fortitude. Strength in turn leads to domination or leadership of peers. Polygamy is commonplace with a head of the house being either male or female. War is seen as a means to dominate others and as a bid to gain power through physical force. However, children are taught at a young age never to underestimate another’s abilities lest they be subjugated by an equal.

Long flowing dresses are commonplace for nobles of both sexes, whereas simple cloth shirts and pants are the clothing of the standard citizen. Many of the minor godlings of the religion are heroes supposedly ascended to godhood by an impressed god.

They view outsiders as competition to be overcome or incorporated into their own nation. For native peoples of the world this means cultural and religious conversion to their faith and sometimes unequal endeptitude similar to slavery. For nations this means alliance or war. As they say in shkegjonje: “nyux staryir kyamy tis s stanamyex tis” “If you are not my friend then you are the enemy”. They see the world as one great conquest and often work together towards the goal of global domination either by vassalisation, alliances or, if diplomats fail to gain ground, the military is ready to force compliance.

There is no prejudice of gender, sexuality or age. This is because the people in this culture are wary of how hasty assumptions can result in under or overestimation of one’s abilities.

### Traditions

The aforementioned life day is celebrated in the new year at the end of winter. The various houses of power each send competitors to compete in “the great games” held every decade to determine the head of the culture and has a hand in who gets elected for a seat in the council.

There is one month per major deity of their pantheon and at the beginning of each month, a nation wide sacrificial holiday is held to pay homage to the specific god of that month. One of the cultural dishes is fish stomach cooked over an open flame with the fish’s own flesh inside, forming a kind of sausage. These fish have to be caught carefully, as using a standard fishing spear may rupture the fish’s guts. The rest of the fish’s guts are cleaned, salted and cooked, making a food similar to bacon, or they can be tanned to form a kind of water vessel.

Many of the important games they play involve a mixture of physical and tactical strength, mimicking war in some aspects causing most involved citizens to become well versed in tactics and keep a strong healthy body. For most citizens these games are optional but for enlisted soldiers and other military personnel they are mandatory.

### Religion: Kskjatati /kskʲaˈ tati/ [ks̩kʲæˈ tatɨ]

Kskjatati is a hellenic style, organised, faith with many gods and godlings. The head deity is Ka’ljuva god of flow. She is the god of all flows. She can manifest in air, water, lava, electricity, anything where a flow can be present. Therefore the most important part of life is flow. The gods live beyond the horizon. One can become a priest by studying in the churches. Priests have certain exemptions from mandatory citizen acts such as tax and the ownership of land. The High priest is the highest authority in the religion and once elected they serve until death. The new High priest is elected from a batch of suitable candidates by a council of the 5 most influential churches. The religious sect is quite influential in the state’s politics as the state depends on signs and omens from the gods.

Creation myth: once, the whole world was only Shkangari and Kjavalja. Shkangari and Kjavalja had three children, Shjovagh, Ka'ljuva, and Tasi. When Ka’ljuva came into being she began to flow and where she flowed, life arose. Together with Shjovagh she made the trees and all the plants, and with Tasi she made people, and all the animals. The mountains are a spurned product of Shjovagh and Tasi as they did not realise that the necessary factor for true life is flow, although volcanoes are mountains that came alive by the grace of Ka’lyuva.

Afterlife myth: once any living thing dies its life or “flow” is given back to Ka’lyuva to create more life and the body returns to Tasi or Shjovagh. It is believed that to be reborn into another human or animal, a dead person must be burnt on a sacrificial altar making a sacrifice to Tasi. If one is buried, their body goes to Shjovagh to be reborn as a plant.

Once a year there is a life festival celebrating the three main deities of the faith (Shjovagh, Ka'ljuva, and Tasi) when roaming festival wagon trains are paraded around the country. Often the people donn long sleeved and hemmed dresses that appear to be flowing in celebration of life and the gods.

### Art

Architecture is sturdy and rough, made primarily of stone and glass, built to last. Reinforced buildings are not uncommon and they have a method of working glass so strong that it can rival the strength of steel. This glass working makes its way into the art also, with the main form of art being glass formed statuettes. The transparent nature of the glass can create some truly beautiful kaleidoscopic effects. Paint is not used, instead the glass can be worked and stained to produce a staggering array of colours.

Folk tales usually revolve around one character or group overcoming or defeating an outside force or competitor.

The competitive culture wills the people to be the best they can be in their field. This results in a large number of highly specialised experts compared to the rest of the citizenry.