Avamorica

Location of Avamorica

### Ethnicity

Approximately 2/3 Avamorican, of which 1/3 are ethnically Elvish, remainder predominantly Walmórícing (native)

### Religion

Predominantly Elvetan, with significant Orthodox Christian and Geranite minorities, and a small Old Believer minority

Avamorica is a country within the Nesarian Empire, and the only one to have no official head of state. Its state religion is Elveta. Its national animal is the Peregrine Falcon, though many coastal towns also have a symbolic connection to the Dolphin.

Avamorica is inhabited by two distinct populations; the Avamorican Elves - the descendants of Elvish colonists from Saveria - and the native Walmórícingas. Most of the native Humans experienced a similar Elvicisation to the Elvic Nesarians, adopting Elvic traditions and language and coming to identify as Avamoricans. There is a large mixed population of Half-Elves, but this has never exceeded approximately 20% of the population due to the fact that Half-Elves (mainly the males) experience fertility problems.

Avamorican is spoken as the primary language, however like with all countries in the Empire, Nesarian is the most frequently learned second language and is used as a lingua franca.

Avamorica is generally a flat country with few hills, and it has a very high density of rivers. The country is also heavily wooded, and in its interior - along the mountains which separate it from Asmukhar - it holds a very dense and exceptionally ancient forest, known as Thewyn Forest. Its Elvic name is Thuina, but it often commonly goes by its Walmórícing name of *Heorlas Thewyn*, and is also referenced as *Thewynglas*, the name given to it by its native inhabitants, the Theysmarel.

Avamorican history is characterised not only by the conflict between the Elves and native Humans, but also between the Theysmarel and the various groups which attempted to do harm to Thewyn Forest, and the conflict between the Festerkin and all of their neighbours.

## Name

Avamorica is the Elvic corruption of the native Epsilucian (or Häpsiluukili) name for the country, Välmorykka. This is itself a corruption of the native pre-Elvic name of Walmóríce (pronounced /wɑlmɔɹitʃɛ/, "wal-more-eech-eh" varying with dialect). Walmóríce translates roughly as "land of courage", or more literally "land of conquering dread"; *wal* translates as conquer or conquest, *mór* as dread, and *ríce* as land or country. Some scholars assert that the original name was Wahelmóríce, which would explain why the first syllable became "väl" in Epsilucian rather than "val"; *wahel* is an archaic form of *warel*, meaning "victory". If this is the case, Walmóríce instead translates as something like "land of victory over the dread", perhaps suggesting an ancient conquest against demons.

In the native language, an inhabitant of Walmóríce is a Walmórícald ("Walmóríce-man"), and the demonym of Walmóríce is Walmórícing. However, the plural form of inhabitants of Walmóríce is not Walmórícaldas, but Walmórícingas.

The name of the capital city, Varela, is an Elvic corruption of Warelflad, which translates as "victory-shrine". The first extant Elvic record of the city names it as *Varevlada*, which over time became corrupted into the modern form. In native Epsilucian, this city is known as Värelevad, which perhaps lends credence to the idea that the first syllable of Walmóríc was originally *wahel* or *warel*. Some modern Walmórícingas insist on using the original name, but most use the Elvic name.

## Independence

Avamorica became independent from Saveria following a war of independence, which took place at an uncertain date from 190 to 180 BC (though some scholars argue it took place during the entire 10-year period). This was the result of a petition of Avamorican nobles being rejected and ignored. This petition demanded increased political autonomy, the lowering of taxes (which were considered unfairly high), an end to logging regulations in Thewyn Forest, and the right to sell food grown in Avamorica to buyers other than Saveria. Though it was not part of the petition, it is generally agreed by historians that protections of the native Walmórícingas were also a complaint of the Elvic aristocracy, as they desired more land and power at the expense of the natives. This is believed to be the cause of the strong loyalist sentiment amongst the natives; native regiments may have made up as much as half of the forces fighting against the rebels.

The Avamorican Senate made it clear that food shipments to Saveria would be prohibited so long as Saveria refused to recognise their independence, and so Saveria eventually came to terms, despite not being defeated militarily; it was widely known that continental food imports were necessary to keep Saveria fed, and the kingdom simply could not risk losing food imports from Avamorica. Walmórícingas resistance continued even after support from Saveria ended, and peace would not be achieved for approximately ten years. A settlement was eventually reached which secured the rights of the native rulers and their subjects, but this only concerned the survivors; several native domains had already been completely destroyed before peace was achieved.

An independent Avamorica was free to pursue its own policy concerning Thewyn Forest. Large-scale logging began, where previously the Saverians had demanded that the forest remain completely untouched beyond a specific boundary. Retribution from the Theysmarel rapidly led to the Wood War, a prolonged conflict which lasted almost a hundred years before the Avamorican Senate eventually gave up and re-instated the old regulations.

## Avamorican Senate

The Avamorican Senate is renowned for its very complex and strange practices and organisation. It consists of one chamber, wherein political parties are banned, which may not go above or below 800 members, and if more than 200 members are absent then Senate meetings cannot be held.

Senators are not elected - those wanting to become Senators must first pass a Senatorial Exam, and then their name is added to the Senatorial Candidate List (which will henceforth be shortened to SCL). Only landowners over the age of 18 are able to take the exam, and until 2005, women could not take the exam. The Senatorial Exam consists mainly of essay questions based on history, philosophy, economics and law.

Every five years, 300 Senators are voted to remain in office by the rest of the Senate. For the other 500, randomly selected names are taken from the SCL, and those who are chosen become Senators for the next five years. Those on the SCL must re-take the Senatorial Exam every three years, unless they are currently part of the Senate. Those on the SCL can withdraw their name at any time. The number of times your name is added to the SCL depends on how well you performed in the last Senatorial Exam. The grade boundaries are explained below. If your name is selected more than once, only the first time your name came up will count.

* Those who passed with 50-59% have their name added to the SCL once.
* Those who passed with 60-69% have it added twice.
* Those who passed with 70-79% have it added thrice.
* Those who passed with 80-89% have it added four times.
* Those who passed with over 90% have it added five times.

This weights more proficient candidates in favour of being chosen as one of the 800 Senators, however it does not discount those who did badly on the Senatorial Exam but would still make good Senators, the reasoning being that not everyone is good at exams, and highly intelligent people can still do badly on exams.

The primary reason for using random chance to select Senators is so that everyone who is qualified to rule gets a chance to do so, as it is better to choose the Senate based on their qualifications alone rather than a popularity contest through elections. However, the reason the creators of the republic gave for this (something rarely cited nowadays) was that the random chance was not actually random, and it was actually placing the decision in the hands of the Gods.

To enact legislation, bills must be proposed and approved by the Senate, requiring over half of the Senate to approve the bill. Bills that fail to be passed can be proposed again an unlimited number of times, but the bill is required to be amended; Senators cannot simply propose the same bill again and again. Each normal Senator receives one vote, but there are 20 "Lawmakers" - who are appointed by the Senate every five years - who wield five votes when voting on bills. These Lawmakers are (at least, in theory) those who are the wisest, and who have the deepest understanding of existing laws and the ramifications that the new law could bring.

Executive power is held by the Executives, who are appointed by the Senate. Candidates offer themselves up for election, and the two candidates with the most votes go forward to the second round, and then the winner of that vote receives the position. Executives act on the principle of "presumed consent", which means that it is presumed they have the consent of the Senate to take any executive action unless the Senate explicitly objects. If a Senator has an objection to an executive decision, they must find four other Senators to petition the Senate, and then the Senate will vote on whether or not to block the executive action. If the motion receives less than 20% of the votes, all five Senators who petitioned the Senate are expelled from the Senate, although they may rejoin at a later date. This is intended to stop Senators merely trying to block all the executive actions of their political opponents.

Executives are chosen every five years alongside the intake of new Senators, but there is no term limit for Executives. If an Executive is found to be incompetent or corrupt, five Senators must petition the Senate to hold a vote of no confidence. An Executive that has been voted out of office may not hold that office ever again, but they may still hold other Executive offices.

## Flag

The flag of Avamorica is a red Peregrine Falcon on a pale blue background. This was taken in part from the flag of Välen, the pre-Elvic city that preceded Vala.

* The Peregrine Falcon, the national animal of Avamorica, holds a sacred status in native Välmorgrykker folk beliefs, and its nature is supposed to represent the nation; free, fast and vicious. These beliefs were carried on by the Elvic colonists.
* The red colour is not well-known in origin, but this shade of red seems to have been associated with the Avamorica since time immemorial. Since red almost always represents the blood of warriors, it is assumed to mean this.
* The pale blue background represents both the skies and rivers of Avamorica. Light blue is also a colour sometimes used to represent magic.

### Flag of Walmóríce

The Walmórícing people have their own flag to represent their native nation, as they prefer to present themselves as distinct from the Elvic colonists. This flag is a white Peregrine Falcon on a red background.

* The Peregrine Falcon is represented on the flag for the same reasons as stated for the Elvic flag.
* The white colour of the falcon represents its sacred status, as white is associated with purity and holiness in Walmórícing culture.
* The red background is present for the same reason the red is present in the first flag; it is an ancient Walmórícing colour likely referring to the blood of warriors.