Saveria

> "*By the thunder of our guns, the might of our rams and the will of Sevalion, the reaver, the mutant and the demon shall be kept at bay.*"
> ― Motto of the Saverian Navy
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### Capital

Frequently subject to change - currently Elifana

### Religion

Overwhelmingly Elvetan, Orthodox Christian minority

**Saveria** is a country within the Nesarian Empire set upon the Elvish Archipelago, lying off the southern coast of Inecuria. Despite being one of the smallest countries of Inecuria, it is one of the most famous countries of the continent internationally, and it is the only Elvic nation where most of the population (approx. 95%) actually consists of true Elves. Its state religion is Elveta. Its national animal is the Dolphin, the animal associated with the kingdom's patron deity, Sevalion the Sailor. It is also the only Imperial country besides Escaria (which coincidentally is also the only other archipelago) to have a national fruit, which is the apple, used to produce its world-famous cider.

Saveria is universally recognised as the homeland of the Saverian Elves after thousands of years of habitation, but it is not, strictly speaking, where they actually came from. The Elves once inhabited an indeterminate location which was either in present-day Avamorica or Raskev (there is significant debate on this topic) before splitting in two following the Annihilation. One group migrated to Nesaria and became known as the Eshérians, and the other migrated across the sea to the Elvish Archipelago and became the Saverians. The pre-Elvish inhabitants of the archipelago were the amphibious Luisas, who only made use of the coast to lay their eggs and did not inhabit the interior. Relations between the two were initially peaceful, but conflicts between them compounded over time, and the Luisas barely escaped extinction.

## Name

Saveria is the Nesarian corruption of the native endonym Saferia. The etymology of this word is understood, because its corruption over time is well-documented; there are plenty of references to it in official documents, in histories, and in letters written by academics which complain about how nobody is correctly pronouncing the name of their homeland any more.

The modern form Saferia became officially standardised in roughly the 3rd century AD and has not changed since, but the first attestation of this name dates to the 1st century BC; it logically follows that the name was already prominent well before the term entered into official usage. Before then, the name appeared as *Sefalaria*, but it is known from the aforementioned complaints of academics that this was almost always pronounced incorrectly as *Safelaria*, since this incorrect form rolls off the tongue more easily. *Sefalaria* seemingly became standard in around the 5th century BC, but like with the modern form, it is likely that this form was already extremely widespread before it was officially adopted.

*Sefalaria* is simply a contraction of the earliest attested name, *Sefalianli Aria* (which was likely pronounced like a single word, i.e. *Sefalianliaria*), which translates simply as "Sevalion's Land". Sevalion (or *Sefalian*), the Elvetan god of the seas, sailing and fishing, is the patron deity of Saveria - not only because of the country's strong maritime connections, but also because most Saverians believe it was Sevalion who taught them how to sail and led them to settle on the islands.

## Major Islands

The archipelago which constitutes Saveria is made up of many hundreds of islands, but there are seven major islands which are significantly larger than the others, each of which houses one of the seven royal dynasties. The islands are listed below, ordered from geographically largest to smallest:

* **Elifana**, ruled by the **Aserion** dynasty
* **Parafia**, ruled by the **Thelusion** dynasty
* **Alefar**, ruled by the **Ulthenar** dynasty
* **Athela**, ruled by the **Larias** dynasty
* **Astorna**, ruled by the **Theiar** dynasty
* **Reiana**, ruled by the **Felurion** dynasty
* **Seloran**, ruled by the **Magelan** dynasty

The island of Feronar is sometimes counted as an eighth major island, but it is smaller even than the smallest of the major seven, Seloran. It is also not technically part of the Kingdom of Saveria, but is an autonomous republic variously described as a "vassal", "protectorate" or "ally" of Saveria.

The geographically largest of the major islands also tend to be the most populated. The one exception to this is Parafia, which has a smaller population than the next largest island of Alefar due to its highly mountainous geography. Elifana is the most populous island by a significant margin, meaning that the island - and consequently the Aserion dynasty - tends to dominate Saverian politics. Elifana is the wealthiest island in absolute terms, but Parafia has the highest per-capita wealth, largely due to its ancient tradition of masterful smithing, fuelled by the Starforge which lies underneath its rocky terrain.

## Government

As a result of being comprised of an archipelago of geographically and culturally distinct islands, Saveria operates with a decentralised system of government. There are seven Kings, each of which comes from one of the seven royal dynasties and rules over one of the seven major islands (and its associated territories). One of the Kings is elected as the High King to act as the leader of the kingdom, though the High King holds very little power; he is the representative of the realm to the outside world and is the highest level of arbitration and appeal, but his executive capacity is limited, as is his ability to pass or retract laws that apply to the whole kingdom. The High King acts more as a first amongst equals than a true ruler, a principle which the reigning High King must never forget, for the other Kings possess the lawful authority to declare the High King unfit for office and force him to relinquish his title, as long as they all mutually agree to do so.

The right to cast a vote for the High King was historically extremely exclusive, limited only to a few aristocratic families, but in modern times the right is available to any land-owning subject of the kingdom. There is a significant movement amongst the Saverian poor to expand the franchise to all subjects regardless of whether they own land or not, but unsurprisingly there is negligible support for this amongst the land-owners, who would lose political power as a result. There is a prevailing belief throughout Saveria that only landowners have enough of a legitimate stake in society to be worthy of influencing the future of the nation, which is unlikely to change any time soon. This tends to create a highly conservative voter base which is reluctant to take risks or enact change, and although they certainly do not ignore the issues of the landless poor, they have no political obligation to pay them any mind.

The individual Kings operate in a system similar to the relation between the Imperial Countries and the Imperial Government, in that they are essentially allowed to govern themselves however they wish as long as taxes are paid, loyalties are upheld and a few key laws are followed and enforced. Only the High King has the right to amend the Laws of Saveria, which are laws that apply across the entirety of the kingdom. Though the High King is not technically legally obliged to listen to what the other Kings have to say when passing legislation, in practical terms it is a necessity that the High King receives the approval of the other Kings. The High King *can* pass, modify or retract a Law of Saveria wholly at his own discretion, but the Kings can also hold a vote of no confidence at any time to oust him from office and declare him an "Irredeemable Traitor" (a designation equivalent to the Imperial *Eladucava*) if he refuses to relinquish his power.

## Produce

> "*You know, I find the nation of Saveria to be altogether quite funny. These people present themselves as the most sophisticated and most educated folk of the world - and yet they are hearty eaters and raucous drinkers, using their long lives not to learn some refined pursuit, but to master the brewing of alcohol. Their diet is one of pig's blood, fermented shark and sauce made from rotten fish. They grow their potatoes in their own dung, and smother themselves in grease and gore to carve a whale to pieces. They are a dirty, filthy and rancid people - and that makes them my favourite Elves, for they are just like you and I.*"
> ― Chelard of Berratouse
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Saveria's most famous product is, without question, its cider. The Saverians have several different apples they use to create cider, and take the matter of keeping their recipes and brewing processes a secret very seriously. Since antiquity, cider has been drunk by all social classes of Saveria, and occupies a cultural position similar to wine - which is rarely found in Saveria, as the environment does not support grapes. The finest ciders of Saveria are famous across the world, and is a significant draw for tourists, in addition to the architecture and scenery. Saverians do also brew mead and spirits, but cider is their most famous alcoholic product by far.

Saveria is also known for its smithing. The modern legacy of this tradition is found in jewellery and artisanal smithing, but historically the most well-respected and fervently sought after Saverian smiths were armourers, who were regarded as utterly peerless masters of their craft. This reputation is certainly not unfounded, as Saverian armourers were capable of creating pieces of armour that were literally over a thousand years ahead of contemporary pieces found elsewhere in Inecuria and throughout Europe and Asia; Saverians were the first to craft fully-enclosing steel plate armour, doing so over 1200 years before Europeans, and also invented Frost Ointment to keep this armour wearable in hot, sunny climates.

Saveria has a few other products it is known for, which are all foodstuffs and are largely marine in nature. They have a long tradition of smoked and salted fish - most famously haddock, salmon and trout, but the Saverians smoke and salt a wide variety of fishes. They are also known for eating shark, most famously *Lupeilua* (lit. "lazy-shark"), a deep-sea sleeper shark which must be fermented to be made edible, much like Icelandic *Hákarl*. The term *Lupeilua* is used both for the shark and for its fermented meat. This is often generously described as being an "acquired taste"; though the taste is generally regarded as pleasant and almost sweet, it has a powerful smell reminiscent of urine. Fermentation is not restricted to sharks, as Saverians are also known for eating fermented fish sauce (comparable to garum) and fermented fish, particularly herring, haddock and skate. *Lupeilua* and fermented fish are typically consumed with strong alcohol, and sometimes served soaked in spirits - as well as affecting the taste and texture, this also eliminates the potent stench. Saverians do eat other marine creatures such as shellfish and cephalopods, but are not as renowned for this as the Onshians.

Somewhat controversially, Saverians are also fond of whale meat. They most frequently hunt humpback whales, sperm whales and Black Whales - especially the latter, which is believed to have the tastiest meat - but do hunt other whale species as well. Saverian whaling is the reason why the Nesarian Empire is not party to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, as the International Whaling Commission continues to refuse to recognise Saverian whaling as indigenous subsistence whaling (though it did recognise Harpy whaling as such). The Imperial state and Kingdom of Saveria are both keen to regulate whaling and prevent overhunting, but both refuse to abolish whaling, especially for Inecurian nations which have a strong cultural and economic interest in whaling (namely Saveria and Eske Karaa). Inecurian scholars on whaling generally do admit that the populations of humpback and sperm whales are at risk and either greater control or a temporary whaling moratorium may be necessary, but they reject the notion that Black Whales are overhunted. The Imperial state has only totally prohibited the hunting of one type of whale, the southern right whale (*Eubalaena australis*), which was at risk of extinction due to overhunting, as its docile nature made it an ideal target for whalers.

## Flag

The flag of Saveria is a gold sun surrounded by a gold laurel wreath, atop seven alternating stripes of blue and white.

* The sun represents King Yacela, ruler of the Gods. The sun is his symbol.
* The laurel wreath is a symbol of victory and power.
* The blue stripes represent the waters of the Elvish Sea that surround Saveria. It is also the colour of Sevalion, the country's patron deity.
* The white stripes represent the white sandy beaches of the archipelago. White is also associated with purity and truth in Elvetan tradition.
* The number of stripes (seven) represents the seven major islands of the archipelago and seven royal dynasties.