Nevkreno

The **Republic of** **Nevkreno** is a country in the southern parts of the continent of Palkyras. It is surrounded by Porashon and New Irajon to the east; Sevestrana to the south; Narivo, Ashostrana, the Bujanski enclaves, and the Tornarin Empire to the west; and Arantar to the north.

Its capital is the rusted metropolis of Nyvol; a former mining town furnished with gardens, schools, and academies to lift its thousands of residents from poverty.

## Flag

The national flag of Nevkreno is a green and yellow banner, having a flying great horned owl surrounded by a border and nine triangles. The green and yellow colours symbolise prosperity and natural resources; the border for honour (reflecting Vozonid traditions); the triangles on the left for unity and the nine sacred peaks that give the country its name; and the owl (its national bird) for courage and resilience.

## Symbols

The great horned owl (*rogsova*) was selected as the national animal of Nevkreno over two other choices, the blue jay and the barn owl. It was chosen for being larger and stronger than the other two local birds, even though they were popular symbols of Nevkrenian culture.

## Geography

Much of Nevkreno consists of tropical plateaus, with pine forests and cooler climates as one approaches the westerly mountains that run along a north-south axis.

* Nyvol - (capital city)
* Hermits' Bridge - borders Arantar to the north
* Valley of the Gryphons - a national park
* Barandon Castle
* Dannokroz
* The Nine Peaks/Nine Sons of Perun
* Mount Rintir-slorin - the northern edge of the Jasper Mountains in the southernmost point of the country, which run south all the way to northeastern Rabydos.

## Politics

Nevkreno is a republic, ruled over by an elected President.

## History

Nevkreno was first settled by indigenous tribes related to those of Bivos, before their chieftains were subjugated and contested between various empires over the millennia such as the Vachelonians (Vilonians), Gauvajuts, and later the Sarmelonid Vozonids. As the third of those declined the land was later claimed by various slave rebellions, the largest of which consisted of Darroskei who established the Kingdom of Meravon and survived the catastrophic Kyrvotin Invasion. The Meravonian realm developed into the Kingdom of Nevegornia, who joined the Dai Mandorai Alliance in its rebellion against the Jauparturnid Dynasty.

After ages of splintering it was reorganised into Nevkreno, founded by several mining and market towns as they sought to withstand its rivals. It was annexed into Arantar as it sought protection from the Vilonians and the Tornarins, but after over two thousand years later, the Arantarese government's indiscriminate purges prompted the people of Nevkreno to fight for their independence.

## Military

Officer Vladimir Berchuskon was the general leading the 165th Division, part of the Nevkrenian Armed Forces. His unit was one of the main forces besieging Barandon Castle.

Like many high ranking commanders, he rides on live, tamed gryphons, a symbol of Nevkreno's Sarmelonid heritage.

## Economy

As a mountainous nation, Nevkreno's economy is mostly supported by mining and manufacturing.

## Society

Nevkreno's culture is a Slavo-Vozonid culture, somewhat like the Turodarians but more classical and traditional.

Like its easterly neighbours, New Irajon and Porashon, many Burrow-Cities still exist in Nevkreno. Built during the Green Years as shelters against the Ontemazei Empire's global bombardment, many of those cave communities were later abandoned and reused as silos, refineries, and bases. The handful of Burrow-Cities that continue to exist enjoy a high degree of autonomy, in exchange for sharing their resources and technology with the rest of Nevkrenian society.

Every President of Nevkreno is required to keep at least one horned owl, as a symbol of the nation.

The Sarmelonid language is used in government functions, alongside the native Nevkrenian Slavic language.

## Demographics

The majority of Nevkrenians are Slavic and White, yet retain a number of traditions from the Sarmelonid era, some of which were revived at later points in Nevkrenian history.

Other peoples there include Kekhaulids, Vozonids, Arnadjanai, Ontemazei, and some Heronoi.

## Nevkrenian language

Like its distant relatives, Drevobojanse and modern Bujanski, Nevkrenian (Mōvjaz Nevkrenskej) has long vowels. Nevkrenian also has many loanwords from Sarmelonid that may no longer be used in modern Bujanski.

Final z's in words usually indicate whether a word is male or female, from Vozonid influence, so native words with final z's may have an extra vowel added to indicate its gender. They are usually dropped when the word is declined by grammar.

### Glossary

* bavjal - (S) magno-, mega-, great
* dōm - home
* Southern dialect: tsjōm
* dōvičje - great home, palace
* džemmja - earth, ground
* goi - go to hell, Hell
* Like most Vozonid countries, no one is supposed to say that word at all, because doing so brings a great curse.
* goida - doomed to Hell
* gontaraz - Hell
* gontarido - denizen of Hell, a demon, evil person
* gontarskei - hellish, infernal
* gōra - mountain
* gōrun - castle
* guezda - star
* jaumaroz - (S) gryphon
* jauparoz - (S) gryphon spirit
* kroda - city
* ksē - where
* ksō - who
* khrāmaz - a temple
* mjera - peace
* mōvjaz - language
* nejaz - (S) beauty
* poruz - desert
* prao - empty, nothing
* praznei - barren
* riña (rjenka) - river
* rog - horn
* rogsova - horned owl
* sova - an owl
* šonduoz - (S) tradition, classical culture
* tijō, tisō - what
* vauta, vjata - water
* vēlkei - great
* vjarado - demon, infernal or evil being, abomination
* Vrarjoz, Vjaramoz - (S) Hell, damnation
* zīmjaz - (S) star

### Numbers

* 0; 1-10 - praos; jaden, tva, trei, čjetyři, pjed, šēst, setmei, jōsa, nevja, desja.
* 100 - sto
* 1000 - tjosa
* 10000 - vaiza

## Religion

The national god of Nevkreno is Perun, Lord of the Mountains and Thunder.

The Nevkrenians believe that the nine tallest peaks of their nation are consecrated by the nine princely sons of Perun.

Nevkrenian religion is described as Slavic polytheism with heavy Vozonid syncretism. So in some religious art venerating Slavic deities, Vozonid mythological characters also appear in the background. For example, gryphons, venerated in Vozolaz as angels, are also regarded in Nevkreno as divine warriors of Perun.

## Trivia

* Nevkreno may be inspired by Brazil, Czechia, and Yugoslavia.
	+ The author based the Nevkrenian language on Czech, and altering some Russian words by imagining what they would sound like if they evolved in an isolated community. For the latter, it was the same idea for the Bujanski language, due to its isolation from other Slavic countries and influences from Wonao and Vozonid cultures.
* The author derived the country's name from the Russian words девять (devjat', "nine"), and гора (gora, "mountain").