Codmendia

## Description

Codmendia is an Egic kingdom in the northern region of Juhnvechteya. Though a king in practice, the head of Codmendia is referred to as a jusceaz, not a king. The state religion is the Beruvian Werran church. The name Codmendia comes from the Codmendi tribe, named after Codmend the Great (Codmendih: Codewynd Kowzdar). Codmendia has an estimated population of around 125,000 people and roughly 49,000 square kilometres. The currency is the Codmendish sokelwaz.

## History

### Early history

According to Codmendish legend which supposedly took place between -325 and -290 JC, a wise and powerful chieftain named Codewynd was leading his tribe to a new home. Here there were giants, Codewynd singlehandedly slew every single one of them with his sword that could cut through stone. Here he founded the village of Saxa, where the Codmendi would be based around for most of its history. The Codmendi were traditionally semi-nomadic horsemen, and so would usually roam in camps in the area by the source of the Orat river and the Zarny mountains. Today this region is called Wayrz, deriving its name from the proto-Egic "vartz" (home).

### Conversion to Werranism

At this time the Codmendi practiced Aruerism, also known as Egic paganism. The Elders of Aruerism usually served advisory roles to the chieftain, and were well-respected and trusted. In 273, one of these Elders, St. Scewmyr converted to Werranism because of a missionary effort from Aingz. This was after St. Lorau had cut down Arüer's tree, and so there was a mass conversion in Saxa. After St. Scewmyr was killed in 283 by Aruerists, Saxa entered into a period of having no spiritual authority. One person who tried to fill this gap was Solrisc Kassav, who started Scewmyrist Werranism, which in essence was a fusion of Aruerism and Werranism. They were exiled from Saxa after St. Wartyn arrived in 294 after having studied Werran theology in Aingz. He preached to Saxa, and founded the Codmendih Beruvian church. The church of St. Lorau was completed in 307. In 311 a total ban on all faiths but Beruvian Werranism was put in place.

### Great migration

Being semi-nomadic horsemen, it was common for Codmendih bandits to rob Predish caravans along the Orat. In the year 554, Ameikchere declared war on Codmendia. This lead to a mass migration which was split into two groups. The king at the time was Dorscwynd V, who had a twin brother, Wowë, who was not happy about not being the heir to the throne. When Saxa was being invaded, Wowë and his supporters went east and founded the Kingdom of Kasaxa, and the town of Ryscane. Most people followed king Dorscwynd V, where he founded the city of Payefwerts, meaning "new home", which would be the new capital of Codmendia.

### Great conquest

In 612 Ameikchere fell apart. Due to the Codmendi's knowledge of the vast forest, the Codmendi were quick to take advantage of this and expanded a lot in size in only three years. The city of Joakiez was conquered in 613 after a siege and was made the new capital of Codmendia despite them also soon retaking Saxa. There were large amounts of opposition towards making Joakiez, which the king had renamed to Jaumdeyr to de-Predishise the new capital. Many inisted Saxa should be the capital, as it was the historic centre of Codmendia, yet king Axinaw I decided to go for Jaumdeyr due to its strategic location. Despite the sudden expansion, Codmendia did not face large-scale instability. Most of the land was sparsely inhabited with the exception of some smaller Predish towns along the river. Many of the Predish people were forced to leave Codmendia in a de-Predishisation effort.

### Goblin tribes

In the latter half of the 500s, the Codmendi would occacionally interact a bit with the neighbouring Krirytt, though the Codmendi did not seek to conquer them and expel them, rather just occasionally trading. After the conquest of large parts of Ameikchere, Codmendia developed a border with the Krille goblins. Axinaw I, in his opportunistic and glory-seeking nature wanted to have their land. Knowing the goblins were well-fortified and would defend their land to the death, and their land having little value, he knew taking the land by force was not worth the trouble. The treaty of Myzyz was signed which meant the goblin tribe was part of Codmendia yet would be self-governing and permitted to practice their religion. The same treaty was eventually extended to the Krirytt, Ryz and Kyrdyf who all agreed to the terms.

## Climate and geography

Codmendia is fairly sparesly inhabited due to the large taiga forest coverage. Having mountain ranges on both sides, Codmendia receives lower amounts of annual perticipation, usually ranging from 550-700mm a year depending on the region. The average daily temperature usually ranges from about -3 degrees in January to 19 degrees in June, with clear variations depending on other factors, like latitude and distance from the mountains.

## Religion

### The Beruvian Werran church

Historically, the Codmendi practiced Aruerism, and there still are small Aruerist communities scattered across the vast forest, however their populations are too small to impact the state on a large scale. The state religion is Beruvian Werranism, and the Codmndish states puts a great deal of effort into supressing all other faiths and denominations. The Beruvian church is typically seen as an essential part of the Codmendih identity, and many deem the non-Beruvian Codmendi as "fake Codmendi".

### Goblin reservations

The only exceptions to this are in the goblin reservations, where each reservation has its own official religion, in which they are free to supress whomever they feel, but Beruvian Werrans. The small community of Readjusted Werrans in Codmendia has a tendency to go to the Krille reservation to practice in peace, as the Krille reservation follows the Readjusted church.

## Culture

### Horses

The Codmendi live across vast distances of forest. For efficient travel they use horses despite the poor terrain. To compensate, the Codmendi made the Kowzder Kowzdar (English: great cobweb), a vast system of paths through the forests made for horses. The 'wyndwaz kowzder' (cobwebmen), are people who get paid to travel the cobweb to maintain the paths. Along the Kowzder Kowzdar there are inscrpitions on some of the trees with directions and other information.

Most households usually own at least one horse, and Codmendia is one of the states with the highest rates of horses per capita. Because of this, there is large demand for places to put their horses, and having many horses is seen as a sign of status. It is common for the richest Codmendi to own more than ten horses. All settlements have at least one stable, with the bigger ones having multiple. Even in the cities it is common for some people to have a place for their horses right outside their house, or even inside of it. Despite all this, eating horse meat is not a taboo in Codmendia, horse meat is a staple of Codmendih cuisine.

### Egic egalitarianism

Being an Egic people, the Codmendi share many customs, traditions and their language with the other Egic peoples like the Toradisch and Kautish. One of these is the tradition of Egic egalitarianism. Men and women typicaly share many similar chores, men also do housework and women also do physical work. This also extends even to the nobility and royal family, with the heir being the firstborn, whether son or daughter.