Vox Orenis

Official Tapestry

Offically known as **Vox Orenis** (Commonly: Orenis/ Chieftdom of Orenis), a culterally isolated country located in the Central Lakes region of the Eastern Continent, on the South-Eastern shores of New Ocean. The name of the country means **Vocal Silence**, Orenisians don't have a spoken language and instead present pieces of artworks, usually tapestries or craftworks, to present their words; alternativly they also use sign language in cases where they can't use thier pictographic based language. The vocal part comes from their battle traditions, in which, both sides begin the fight by yelling, screaming, and all-around cacophony in order to frighten the enemy.

**Vox Orenis** has a multi-levelled monarchic system where the lower levels of the government hold the power to vote in the matters of governence of thier liege. Most common people do not have the power to vote unless they are within a clan or if they hold a special non-landed title.

In **Vox Orenis** culture, country, and religion are basically one and the same. It would be extremely difficult to seperate an Orenisian from their native culture. Due to historical reasons religion itself is deeply rooted in the lives of the people. And while the name and royals of the nation may change, an Orenisian's homeland will always be their homeland.

## Culture

The human Orenisians are a very fair skinned type, their hair usually comes in shades of brown, black, or red. Thier eye colors are usually brown, blue, green, or hazel. They are slightly taller than average humans. They are sometimes lightly bespeckled and thier ears are the tinniest bit sharp edged at the end.

### Morals and Principles

Orenisians are grouped up into many clans that are decided by their dedicated spirit, in this way religion is deeply integrated into the culture. Sometimes children would leave their parent’s clan upon becoming an adult to be with their chosen spirit's clan, though they don’t have to if they don’t want to.

Men and women are treated relatively equal given that they are capable people. This is because Orenisians are individualistic when it comes to matters of personal development. Women are still assumed to be more fragile than men but, many settler groups were led by strong capable women and due to that women have an equal footing in governing.

Orenisians love crafting things, especially accessories, due to this they have an interest in trading materials with others and gifting crafts to people they like(or even purposely creating a poor-quality accessory to give to someone as an insult). This has turned into a holiday known as Giving Day.

Since Orenisians are individualistic in personal development others aren’t as likely to know how strong they are. This has developed into a love fighting and testing their strength. Lords will sometimes raid other lords or even have all out wars with them. They tend to want to fight other people outside of their realm but if none exist they will infight instead. This culture of testing strength has led to the creation of a games event built around the idea of being the strongest.

Parents are expected to teach their children to be responsible for developing themselves, and to use that strength to help their community, priests teach them about the spirits, and they learn toughness from other children. Children aren’t expected to be as responsible for their development as adults, so the community will help them often. For example, sometimes soldiers might teach them how to brawl or the hunters will teach them how to track.

### Traditions

The two major holidays are the Giving Day and Unification day. Giving day is where people give each other crafted works to each other.  These pieces are gifted to friends and rivals. Sometimes people will purposely send other low-quality pieces as an insult. Sometimes some will send others crappy pieces not meaning it to be an insult, but because they are not so good at crafting, which can lead to some misunderstanding. Unification day is the day when most of the tribes were unified, this happened after the tribes travelled from a very long distance creating settler trails. Most of the tribes made it to the Orenis but the journey was harsh and it made them weak, many people died along the way. Due to this, they were forced to work together or perish and that has lasted all the way even until now. Everyone who knew why they started the journey has long since been dead and only theories remain.

Every few years a competition is held that tests the strength of the people involved. They are tasked with doing increasingly inhuman feats until the last person. That person is named as the strongman and becomes the target of envy for many. They are rewarded by the lord who hosted the event (sometimes even the king) with a title. This title gives them monthly pay and tasks them with training the soldiers, and or children of the lord. This position makes them a very attractive target potential suitors.

There's a certain battle tradition that is followed, especially when battles are between fellow Orenisians. Most battles begin with a postering banter, screaming and jearing usually accompanied by waving an insulting tapestry. They paint the parts of their bodies that can be seen with intriguing patterns using dark shades of colors. Battles that they believe they can win will begin with a charge used to frighten the enemy into fleeing. When fighting unknown, or disciplined armies they will use more tactics and animal-like cunning.

### Art

Tapestries are used to decorate houses. They serve as a basic coat of arms. Some of these tapestries are created by multiple generations resulting in unique looks, others are created in the likeness of an animal, and some are created trying to tell a message or concept. Tapestries are also the main way Orenisians talk to each other, and pass down their stories.Other forms of art would be accessories, things like charms, rings, necklaces, and the like. Many such pieces have a meaning to them such as religion, a close relationship, or to give good luck.

Tartan are clothing that communities wear. Tribes, noble and royal families, battle clans, and high priests will all have their own tartans. High priests have an ancestral tartan that is passed down. These tartan are special and are called Corwyn.

### Religion

Spirit worship is a slightly organized pagan religion where everything is believed to have one or more spirits representing it. Spirits have ranks, for example Mother Earth would be the one spirit of nature but under her she would have countless spirits of the rivers, hills and the like under her.People worship the spirits to ward off starvation, wild animals, and natural weather(all things that the settlers encountered on the way to Orenis).

The religion is organized in a way where in each ruler have a chosen high priest that they work alongside to ensure the spirits are happy. High priests are chosen by said ruler pooled from the lower priests within their realm. There are no churches, the only places of worship are wherever the realm’s high priest declares there to be lots of spirits (notable places like a patch of giant trees, a weirdly fast part of the river). Lower priests work under high priests, high priests work under their lords. They don’t have much actual power over managing the realm, only advising the lord, but they do have sway over the citizens. That sway is not greater than the lord’s sway, legally anyway, but particularly zealous characters may side with the church over the lord.

Spirits are seen as neither good nor bad, their personality depends on the type of spirit and how many spirits there are in an area decide how energetic the spirits are. People give offerings to spirits because if they don’t they believe the spirits will play pranks on them or even call wild animals to savage them(depending on the spirit). Depending on the type of spirit they are seen as more or less good. For example, thunder spirits are seen as very fast, energetic, spirits that like to set things on fire.

Some regions may have a specific spirit they wish to please, a region with lots of rivers may wish to please specifically river spirits. In this way the religion is not organized and is open to splintering into other religions if the realm becomes too large or gets into contact with many conflicting religions. The only official high spirits are Mother Earth(nature), Cephis(all matters of death), and Ayin(time). Sometimes, in the event of natural disasters and the like, two or more spirits can work together towards a common goal.

There are many ideas on the creation of the planet but the two most popular ones are that all 3 high spirits created it(mainstream/official) or that Mother Earth alone created it(nature supremacist). Everyone agrees that life is a cycle where Mother Earth plants them, Ayin grows them, and Cephis havests them when ripe. In death people get to relax for a few dozen years in an area of great pleasure, after that they become the spirit that they had dedicated themselves to during their life. Most doctrines are about pleasing the spirits, this includes making spirit homes, leaving food out for them, or saying thanks to them. This could also include leaving some of the meat behind after hunting or asking for protection before a fight.

The three major festivals are the coming of age ceremony, the celebration of life, and the celebration of death.  The coming of age is a ceremony where people go out and collect something that they believe has been influenced by the spirits(like some weirdly colored water, or a rock that has multiple colored crystals), that spirit will be their chosen spirit and will give them luck. They can change their spirit after if they are not happy with it but that is looked down upon because, it’s viewed as them not trusting the decision of the spirits. The ceremony of life is celebrated on the date when the planet was created and is a generous festival where in the lord would even be willing to open up his holding to feed the peasants and many would donate extra resources to the homeless. This day is seen as a day where nothing can go wrong, a day where Mother Earth herself is protecting them so, if anything bad happens that day, it is seen as a bad omen that sets the tone for the entire year. The celebration of death is a small ceremony where the family members and a priest bury a dead family member. The way they are buried depends on what spirit the person was dedicated to(someone worshiping the forest spirits would be buried in a grove or perhaps a sapling would be planted on their dead body).

## Unique Geography

### Fauna

* The Creìmich is a large species of rodent that mostly resides in Vox Orenis. In total, three sub-species have been found including the Furred Creìmich, Chitinous Creìmich, and the Three-Eyed Creìmich. These rodents are amongst the biggest in their taxonomical order of *Rodentia*. Relatively little is known about this species since they seem to avoid most outside contact.

### Flora

* Bog Berries are a bulbous type of berry that grows well in swamps and bogs, though it can grow anywhere plentiful water and a slightly humid climate are found. These berries don't taste very good alone, but if crushed and allowed to marinate with other seasonings it can turn out quite well. The berries can also be used to create vibrate colored dyes from shades of pink to light red.

## Government and Politics

The government of **Vox Orenis** can be split into three main groups: the clans, the nobles/royals, and the battle clans. Along side these groups are the three unofficial classes. Those being the warriors class headed by the nobles/royals, the preists, and then the common folk. Note that these classes don't necessarily denote weath or power of an individual. These classes simply note the general responsibilities of the different classes. Warriors protect and administate, preists tech and help the lords govern, and the common folk create and harvest. Royal succesion is a matter that is voted upon by the direct vassals of the royal family, the most capable member is the one who should win the most votes.

* Clans are the lowest level of governance and are made up of the common folk. Clans are groups of commoners who dedicate themeselves to the clan's spirit, for example, a clan that attributes itself to the spirits of rain would also be made up of people who attribute themselves to the spirit of rain. Though, this doesn't mean that you have to be in a clan many are because being in a clan is the only way the common folk get to vote in the affairs of the government. Before the unification of **Vox Orenis,** these clans were equal to kingdoms in power, however much of that power was taken by the royals and nobles. Clans currently hold the power to govern land, be taxed(but not to tax), and to vote in the domestic governing affairs of their direct leige. Clans are an entirely civil affair and hold no power in militaristic departments.
* The nobles/royals group are responsible for protecting and governing the land under their rule. Through that they fall under both the civil and militaristic affairs and hold much power because of it. This group has the power to hold land, to tax that land, to be taxed, to recruit battle clans, hold court, vote on the governing affairs of their direct liege, and to enforce law. Royals are always the top liege of the entire realm, obviously this means they hold the most power and are often a political target. When a royal is not fit to rule, due to illness, age, or the likes, the nobles create a regency council to rule in the royals stead.
* Battle clans *are used to fight and are entirely militaristic. These clans are entirely made up of the warrior class. Battle clans are mixed units of multiple types of warrior (archer, spearman, etc). Battle clans are close-knit and create a family-like atmosphere within the unit. Some special battle clans are only made up of a singular warrior type, for example the scouts, royal guards, or cavalry. Battle clans are the main fighting force for **Vox Orenis** and are the only offensive unit. Militia are another type of military unit though they are only allowed defensive positions.*

### Notable Houses

These are the notable houses of this nation's past. Most are royal houses that once held the royal throne but some may be houses that did notable things to further the nation.

* **House Fortuna** is the founder house of **Vox Orenis** and have been known to be a very lucky house. Most members of this house are generally smarter, stronger, taller, or more attractive than the average person. Many people who lived at the time believed them to be blessed by the spirits to led them towards greatness. This house had a very bi-polar membership, meaning that its members were either good-natured people or bad-natured people; very few in-betweens exist. It is a notable mention that the first member of hosue Fortuna, Virgil, was elected by the common people into his position.

### Notable Laws

* Regency council - This is a council formed by the nobles of them realm that tempararily holds the power of the royals. This happens when a royal cannot perform their duty, some examples of this are an illness that makes them bedridden or if a king dies and the hier is too young to rule.

### Military

The military of **Vox Orenis** has two distictive types of unit. Those being the battle clans, and the militias (or levy). Battle clans are the professional units that are used mainly when invading territory. Regardless of unit type they both have a general compisition of being mainly lightly armoured skirmish units. Heavy units do exist as a backbone but they are not as mobile as light units and thus are at a disadvantage in the geography of **Vox Orenis**. Cavalry units ride hardy breeds of mounts that allow them to traverse the terrain much more quickly than they could on foot. Regardless of unit type they all paint their bodies in swirling patterns as a battle tradition. They do this, and more, in hopes of scaring the enemy into routing so that they may more easily run them down.

### Foreign Relations

* Solyn - At one point in time Orenisian fishermen where lost ashore in Solyn. They were given help by the Solyn people and were given a tapestry to prove it. Vox Orenis owes Solyn a debt.

## Economy

The economy in **Vox Orenis** works on a barter system where people trade goods to each other that they believe to be of equal value. Most of these traded goods are various crafts made from wood, stone, or bone. Some rare and highly-valued pieces have small pieces of colored rock or unique findings on them. Orenisians love to craft and they do so in their spare time, so this barter system works fine for them. Though, trading with foreign peoples may be different in the future.

## Demographics

### Population

Population(s)