Free State of Vestrines

Current adopted symbol of the nation which has yet to adopt any flag, based off of the 5th Cavalry's Emblem.

### Ethnic groups

Amilori, Shazuren, Ran-Rung, Liks-Dama, various less notable ethnicities

### Religion

Reformed and Traditional Sethdég, Cult of Cathudobua, Sunism

### Origins

The origin of the Free State of Vestrines is closely tied to the complete collapse of Aeduai Vestrines, a colonial state that prior to The Great War was a jewel among the Aeduai Republic's colonial regions, boasting major capital gains for the homeland than many other colonies thanks to it's lucrative trade, cheap slave labour and relatively modernized economy compared to other states and regions of the continent at the time.

However, the collapse started after the ponzi scheme that made up the plantation cash crops fell apart, with the trade dissolving soon after. Whilst initially the colony seemed to be recovering, this process was cut short by the start of The Great War. Not only severing the region from the last trade routes it had remaining, Aeduai troops were being funneled away in growing numbers to active frontlines of the war whilst indigenous resistance movements grew rapidly under worsening conditions and colonial inability to continue making shows of power.

Eventually the colony-state was stripped down to only the 5th Vestrines Cavalry Corps and several independent brigades. The already understrength 5th Corps proved inadequate in maintaining order, and even as the war was raging, the country was already being torn apart by the various native populations scrambling to take control of their homelands. This period is known as The Great Tearing.

Despite Aeduai support, which was already limited to begin with, there seemed no hope in turning the tides of the war now gripping the country, and any semblance of control outside of the major cities in the South was long lost by 1919, resulting in a complete withdrawal of Aeduai homeland forces. This was, by the vast majority of the remaining settler population, considered as treason, and started various divides in the nation's religion, culture and fomented the creation of the Stab In The Back mentality that now grips the remaining population that was left to die by their own country.

In 1921, what remained of the colonial administration, locked within the capital of Saulogne declared the Free State of Vestrines, but before a proper constitution could be created, violence reached the Serran archipelago that the capital resided on. The 5th Cavalry Corps and remaining officials, as well as much of the settler population of the capital fleed from the city, away from the massing hordes ready to take revenge for the generations of abuse they suffered. This retreat to the new capital of Marinoit is known as The Consolidation, which was intended to mass together remaining forces to retake the original capital. When it became clear communications were no longer operational, the Corps dug in and Marinoit became the "de-facto" government of the state, which at this point has no international recognition, or even contact with the outside world.

### Language

Following The Consolidation, the normally overstretched administration of the region found itself governing over little more than a city and some countryside. The excess in bureaucrats caused many to shift focus to reform rather than bookkeeping, as to prevent being drafted into militias, factories or farms. One of the results of this was the creation of a new language, locally known as "Vestrinian" but officially considered "Standardized Aeduai" due to not being wholly unique and using much of the same basis.

The drastic change in language was enabled primarily by the Stab In The Back concept, and the rising separatism that came with it, with many happy to accept a new language just to "stick it to the betrayers". The new language utilizes an alphabetical structure with some similarity to the home tongue of the Aeduai, however the vocabulary is heavily divergent, as a result of integrating (up to this point repressed) emergent regional dialects, the and also some deliberate revisions of the syntax to establish distinctions.

Despite the popularity of the underlying ideas behind the language, it is not widely spoken due to the lack of reach behind the government that created it, leaving it localized entirely to the area in and around the capital of the Free State, while traditional languages (settler and colonial) are present outside. Old Aeduai is scarcely spoken inside of the capital after nearly generations of Vestrinian education, political life, and civil function.

### Religions

Religion in the Free State of Vestrines is divided into three main categories. Traditional, Reformed and Native.

Traditional religion is any form of the old Sethdég religion from Aeduai, as well as any forms of it that change it whilst keeping to it's polytheistic roots. Among these different forms, there may be added or subtracted gods, but most commonly it is in the form of organization. With the majority of modern followers of the religion in Vestrines believing in the gods, but against organizing the religion, believing that just like the gods, the Vestrine people are strong and wise enough to think for themselves, with the gods being examples and inspirations, rather than objects of worship.

Reformed religion is most often the result of honing in on any particular god from the Sethdég religion, creating a monotheistic kind of religion, among which is the cult of Cathudobua. Most popular with soldiers, they are made up of many senior members.

### Topography and Geography

#### Provinces

##### Gavarnie

Located in the South, the majority of the Vestrines' settler population resides here. The capitol of the region is Saulogne, however, very few settlers still reside there, with Marinoit now considered the new provincial capital, as the vast majority of settlers reside there.

The coasts of the province are sandy and long, extending deep inland due to the flat nature of the region, which is the only "temperate" province in the ex-colonial state, comprised largely of flatter areas of grasslands, mild hills and patches of forest. Despite bein more temperate, the summers are still quite hot and the air is very humid for most of the year. Only near the Northern and Eastern borders does this give way to a dryer and dryer climate, but doesn't fully transition to a desert within the province.

##### Nanterre

Located in the South, East of Gavarnie, the province of Nanterre houses one half of the nation's large desert, known as the Evrenne Plane. In the far-South of the province is land more similar to Gavarnie, which is where the majority of the population here resides, with the desert being largely ignored during the colonial period in favour of the small coastline. Yet the desert was still claimed in the case resources would be found there eventually.

##### Sevres

To the North of Nanterre lays Sevres, the other half of the Evrenne Plane, that was inhabited by a primitive kingdom when the Aeduai settlers arrived. This kingdom was eventually conquered for the purpose of enslavement once the kingdom failed to produce enough tithe for the third year in a row. After the conquest of the desert, the region was governed by the colonial administration and it's sandy landscape gave way to large scale mining operations after gold was discovered along one of the major rivers of the province. At this time however, no one in the capital knows what happened in the isolated province, as it was the first to fall during The Great Tearing.

##### Gagny

Gagny is a land of differences, with the Southern and Eastern parts of the province containing the lingering parts of the Evrenne Plane, and the Northern and Western sections being akin to a Savanna, the borders of this province always seemed arbitrary, and much favouritism was placed in the more liveable parts of the province, where much livestock was housed, making up a good chunk of the sizeable Vestrinian meat production. The great river Sarvante runs through the middle of the province, connecting it with Gavarnie and lending itself to become a relatively rich and fairly populated part of the country for those seeking a more "frontier" kind of lifestyle of ranching.

##### Ventre-Comte

Located at the very center of the nation, Ventre-Comte was a prime hub for national trade, as resources would come from the North and the South to the other side, they inevitably had to go through this area. Hence a good chunk of industry was build here due to it's central position. A rather hilly province, the coastline here has some amounts of Gavarnie-like coasts and temperate areas, whilst also stretching into the great Northern rainforests and housing the rest of the large savanna present in Gagny.

##### Carnac

Carnac is where the rainforest really begins, whilst initially still light, the further you go inland, the thicker it gets. Much of the nation's woodcutting is done here due to the slightly more acceptable temperatures compared to Sauvignon. Decidedly flatter than Ventre-Comte, it often suffers from flooding due to heavy rainfall, with most houses here build upon poles at small lakes. The region is decently populated, but the settler population is light due to the climate, with mainly soldiers, supervisors and police having been present to ensure the workers did their jobs.

##### Briagne Major

By far the most isolated province, Briagne Major is the thickest area of rainforest in the country, if not the continent. Despite this, it was colonized due to it's richness in materials like coal and sulfur, making it very valuable despite the difficulty of living there.

The majority of the population here were imported slaves, as well as locals pressed into slavery by the colonizers. Due to the population of natives here being lower than elsewhere, order was maintained for a long time until the words of revolution seeped into the jungle and native forces entered the province to free the slaves from the settlers.

##### Sauvignon

At the very North of the country lays Sauvignon, yet more rainforest that is a bit more livable. The terrain here is somewhat mountainous, and the land rich in iron, which is the primary region for colonization. The rainforest itself was never fully colonized and many native tribes were left largely undisturbed due to it being far too much effort to take over yet more useless rainforests, so the majority of the known population resides around the mountains and the chopped down areas of forests around them.

### Government

Due to the dire circumstances of the free state, Vestrines has a largely improvised hierarchical system of leadership, divided into two parts. One half of this is the National Conservation Authority(NCA), which is entirely made up of military officers and led by three generals, who make up the council, where one general, Achille Forest has supreme authority over Major General Rickshaw and Brigadier General Granger.

The NCA is responsible for order and safety in and around Marinoit and have veto power in the civilian government. However, they are solely in charge of matters outside of the city boundaries and deal with all external and foreign matters without being required to inform the civilian administration at all.

The other half of this state's government is the Civil Affairs Committee(CAC), which deals with all non-military matters of justice and public safety. It manages the factories, energy grid and most civil matters that may crop up. The CAC is made out of 50 total members who vote on each matter they wish to act upon.

Being granted a spot on one of the CAC's seats is not done by popular vote, instead every notable group inside the new capital may elevate one of their own to such a seat, or depending on the importance, up to 5. These include groups like electricians, ammunition recyclers, farmers, foundry workers, and most other occupations of note. Soldiers are however not allowed to elevate their own, with the CAC considering the NCA representation enough for any of their needs.

### Military

Whilst the Vestrine armed forces were never particularly sizeable, The Tearing has certainly put an even greater dampener on their combat effectiveness than The Great War did, with the 5th Cavalry Corps reduced to around 13.000 soldiers when The Consolidation happened, and these numbers have only dwindled over time. The 5th Cavalry however was not the only colonial unit to stay after The Betrayal.

When the evacuation was called, many units, both willingly and unwillingly, remained in the colony, fighting more so for their lives than the maintaining of order and control for the state, over time contact was lost with many of these units. Nowadays the 5th is reinforced by militia forces and other smaller detachments of improvised formations.

#### The 5th Cavalry Corps

##### Background

Formed in 1899, the 5th Cavalry Corps was the first Corps sized unit raised in the colony. The number 5th marks it as the 5th Colonial Corps under Aeduai Colonial Command, not the 5th Corps of Vestrines. Having taken the Eagle as it's symbol, the Corps was raised to be mobile to respond to any upheaval in the flourishing colony, whilst expansion was commonly handled by professional troops from the homeland.

Being the largest force to refuse the Aeduai demands for withdrawal, the 5th took general command over the remaining forces after The Betrayal, but after The Consolidation, they now operate as an independent force, not loyal to any authority but it's own. Were it not for the necessity of these soldiers in the defense of the last city, this state of affairs would never be accepted, as many in the CAC already dislike the military's meddling in local matters, even if it's done in the name of survival.

##### Organization

The Corps is currently divided into 3 Divisions and 2 Brigades, as well as a HQ Detachment. The Corps as a whole numbers at 11.426 men strong. Additional information about these formations can be found on the main 5th Cavalry Corps page.

Vestrinian High Command, 231 Soldiers strong. Led by General Achille Forest

1st Vestrines Cavalry Division, 2.712 Soldiers strong. Led by Major General Rickshaw

2nd Vestrines Cavalry Division, 2.676 Soldiers strong. Led by Brigadier General Granger

1st Vestrines Infantry Division, 3.161 Soldiers strong. Led by Brigadier General Lavalle

Vestrines Mobile Expeditionary Brigade, 1.741 Soldiers strong. Led by Colonel Jaime

Vestrines Mixed Support Brigade, 905 Soldiers strong. Led by Lieutenant Colonel Jacques

#### Other Armed Formations

Whilst the 5th Cavalry is the primary armed wing of the state, in the more recent history of the meagre existence of settlers in Marinoit and it's surroundings, it has happened multiple times that smaller raiding bands find their ways past the patrols and into the inhabited areas of the city or it's production centers. Due to the lack of electronic equipment to rapidly signal for help, every place of work that numbers more than 100 workers, and every residential zone is required to equip 10% of it's members for such a possible incursion. Due to the already severe lack of weaponry, many of these militias compete with each other for the supplies the 5th can offer them, but often they have to make due with improvised firearms resembling muskets, and in the worst cases, crude weapons such as axes and spears are utilized. These militias are not expected to win their engagements, and are only meant to simply hold out until proper relief can be dispatched.

Among these militias, the most prominent and best equipped are those belonging to the most important sectors of the economy, with the CAC, the mechanics, electricians and metalworkers being assigned unemployed civilians to be their militias due to the importance of their positions. They use their political leverage in the CAC to gain access to weaponry similar in quality to that of the military, and hence have the most safety from any given incursion by the natives. Whilst this seems unfair at first, losing even a quarter of the population of these workforces would likely cripple the nation for years to come due to the lack of skilled workers and the time needed to train new ones for the position.