Altomar

**Altomar**, officially the **League of Altomar** (Altaer: Λώδεςδαλδ Αλτωμαρε, Lyodesdald Altomare), is a nation in the \_\_\_\_\_ area on \_\_\_\_\_. It is inhabited primarily by the Altaer (a Leporid sapient) and the Montaer (an Ochotonid sapient) peoples, two closely related lagomorph sapients. The Altaer and the Montaer are believed to have once been the same race, diverging after tribal differences arose, splitting the population. The nation borders \_\_\_\_\_.

## Etymology

Altomar’s name comes from the Altaer words *αλτωμ* 'altom', meaning sky (literally *high place* or *grand place*), and *αρ* 'ar', meaning *flow* or *stream*, in this case alluding to the stream of wind and clouds in the sky, particularly the strong westerly prevailing winds that pass over the region and buffet the western edge of the peninsula.

## History

Altomar’s history is long; it is believed that the region has been inhabited by the Altaer and Montaer peoples since time immemorial. For a long time, the Altaer and Montaer lived in relative harmony, however in recent centuries, as technology began to improve at an ever more rapid pace, the Altaer had the fortune of being the more economically savvy race of the two, allowing them to benefit most from the new prospects. The Altaer began to produce and implement all sorts of new technology, often employing the Montaer in business ventures for more menial work. Altaer companies rose to power across the region, often controlling entire towns for the production of certain goods or materials, and these acted almost as corporate feudal states, towns would be controlled by lords working under a company, whose headquarters were almost always located in Auresgard.

Guilds eventually formed as a way for companies to work together, effectively functioning as conglomerates of similar companies in order to share in defence costs and purchase common tools of trade in bulk. The guilds were managed by a council of directors from the companies, with the more powerful companies having a greater say in matters. Each guild is headed by a guildmaster, elected from among the directors to represent the guilds. The guilds varied in principles and conduct, some advocated state capitalist structures, with company directors holding greater control over land, and promoting merging into monopolies, while others promoted distributism among the Altaer, claiming that its constituent companies should be equal to one another and work for the benefit of all. The guilds also played a large role in defining conduct regarding Montaer labourers employed by the companies within them, formalising such matters as how they should be treated and what their wages should be.

Treatment of the Montaer varied considerably between the different guilds. Many acted on a socialist structure, providing the Montaer that worked for them with the food, shelter, and clothing that they needed according to their contribution, and some would even give their workers extra wages in gold to purchase whatever other goods they might want. A few guilds, however, provided their workers with the bare minimum, treating them more like slaves, leading many Montaer to starvation and a quality of life comparable to that of a poverty-stricken area. These companies would not last long, however. As savvy as the Altaer were, the Montaer numbers were significantly greater, and rebellions eventually broke out. These events widely intimidated other Altaer guilds, and while the Montaer are still viewed as inferior by the Altaer, with lingering segregation, they are today treated significantly better than they were in the past.

Eventually, different guilds began to work together, forming leagues, allowing the exchange of services to operate much more smoothly, and to solidify their political and social ideals by tempting smaller guilds to join the leagues and adopt their principles. The leagues acted similarly to the guilds, however each league was in direct competition with the others. Smaller leagues quickly began to die out as larger leagues proved more tempting to the various guilds, allowing them access to a greater network of resources, and membership in a more powerful institution. The leagues functioned very much like nations in their own right, formalising many areas of society that the guilds avoided being accountable for, such as foreign relations, commerce and trade, defence, education, health, agriculture, and preservation, all of which became cornerstone departments of the leagues.

Two dominant leagues rose to power. The most powerful was the Λώδεςδαλδ Γυλρςεφάς (Liodesdald Gilrsefias, 'League of the Golden Winds'), followed by the Λώδεςδαλδ Αλτωμαρε (*Liodesdald Altomare*, 'League of Altomar').

## Environment

### Geography

Much of mainland Altomar is quite flat and lightly forested, with little more than hills to break the view. The western edge of the mainland sees the rise of the Barrier Ridge, a tall mountain range that shields western Altomar from the permanent storm off the western coast. Along the south lies the Altomar channel, separating the island of Kyefalas from the mainland. The south-eastern border of Altomar runs along the great dividing mountains, which separates the nation from Poppis. The eastern border, running north from the great dividing mountains, separates Altomar from the Featherlands.

### Climate

Altomar has a varied climate, the western edge of the nation gets year-round rainfall and strong winds (making it optimal for wind farms), though there are few settlements there due to the horrific weather. On the inside of the western ridge lies the capital city, Auresgard, as well as numerous smaller settlements. In winter, Auresgard gets a fair bit of snowfall: facing the southern channel, southerlies gather moisture crossing this channel which falls as snow around the city. In Summer, Auresgard is much drier and warmer. In the north-east of the country, Rastak and the plains area around it sees a very different weather pattern. Rainfall is spread much more evenly throughout the year, and it has a rather more temperate winter than Auresgard, sometimes receiving no snowfall in a year.

## Politics

### Government

The League is headed by an Altr Kai, a 'high lord', that is elected by the populace. The high lord is a member of the upper chamber, the House of Lords, who stands as volunteer to lead the upper house and represent the country. The Altr Kai has no further power over lawmaking, however. The House of Lords is, as the name suggests, the chamber wherein the Lords, the Kai, come to decisions regarding actions to be taken by the state. The lords are made up primarily by Guildmasters and officials elected by the people to represent the interests of the different regions of Altomar. The Guildmasters are the heads of the guilds, constituents of the League with dominion over the various industries and companies in the nation. The lower chamber, the House of Gold, is made up primarily of the directors of each guild, and is reponsible for passing most common law legislature. If legislature is not "majorly rejected" or "majorly approved" (that is, reach either below 33% or above 66%), then it goes to the House of Lords to decide action.

## Economy

### Infrastructure

The primary power source in Altomar is wind; the landscape is dotted with wind turbines generating energy for the entire nation. This is supplemented by hyrdo-electric generation dams, and further by bioethanol fuels.

## Demography

The population of Altomar is estimated to be approximately 24,000,000. The largest urban areas in Altomar are Rastak, with approximately 2,000,000 residents, and Auresgard, the capital, with approximately 1,000,000 residents.

### Ethnicity

The Altaer consist of approximately 35% of the population, outnumbered by the Montaer at 55%. The two make up the native Altomaran populations. The remaining 10% of the population are split among various other races who have only more recently made the region their home, this group most notably consists of the Panpan and Nauticans. A large majority of this migrant-background population live primarily in Rastak, considered to be the most international city in Altomar.

### Language

Altaer is the predominant and only official language of Altomar. The Altaer language is the mother tongue for all Altaer. It is closely related to the Montaer language, though there is little intelligibility between the two except to the trained ear. Standard Altaer is based off the dialect of Altaer that is spoken in Auresgard, and it is the form of the language that all official media and education uses, however the old dialects around Altomar have had many influences on the local accents, with a number of pronunciation differences in different areas. Rastak Altaer in particular is noted to have a particularly unorthodox accent, help in part, perhaps, due to the large migrant communities that call it home.

### Education

Schooling is compulsory for youth between the ages of 5 and 16. There are 12 school years during which students are taught a state mandated curriculum. Prior to this, many Altomare youth attend a 2- to 3-year pre-school aiding children in early development.

Primary education is half of Altomar's compulsory education. It starts around the age of 5 and continues until the age of 10, consisting of forms 1 to 6. It introduces to students the subjects of Cultural Studies, Domestics, Music, Health, Literacy, Numeracy, and Theatre. The primary mode of learning for students is interactive learning.

Secondary education makes up the latter half of Altomar's compulsory education. It begins around the age of 11 and continues until the age of 16, consisting of forms 7 to 12. It introduces to students the subjects of Biology, Commerce, Geography, History, Law, Literature, Mathematics, Media, Oracy, Physics. The primary mode of learning for students is classroom learning.

Tertiary education is the first stage of non-compulsory higher education in Altomar. It typically caters to students between the ages of 17 and 20, covering forms 13 to 16. It introduces to students the subjects of Anthropology, Linguistics, Logic, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology, Sociology. The primary mode of learning for students is lectures.

University is the second stage of non-compulsory higher education. It typically caters to tertiary graduate adults, aged 21 and up. Students engage in research of their field of interest, and work towards writing dissertations.

## Biodiversity

### Terrestrial Fauna

#### Alk

The alk (Altaer: *αλκ*, pronounced [ɒɬk]^((Auresian)^), [ɐʊ̹̑k]^((Rastakur)^)\) is a genus of feathered hadrosauroids. They were originally endemic to Alpeis, where a wild population still exists, though domesticated ones were introduced to continental Altomar a long time ago, and they are popularly employed as terrestrial mounts due to their great speed and commonality (compared to the raknir, which is much rarer and more expensive). The alk are able to sprint around 70km/h, rivalling the likes of ostriches. They are about the same size as a horse, just a little smaller than the raknir. When running, they adopt a bipedal sprint, though revert to quadrupedal locomotion otherwise.

#### Draugur

The draugur (Altaer: *ðραωγωρ*, pronounced [dɹo̞.gɵ˞](Auresian), [dɾɐʊ̯̈.ɡɞɾ](Rastakur)) is a genus of theropod closely related to the raknir, though it differs in a few key aspects. The draugur are slimmer and have a slightly longer neck than their raknir cousins, they do not have a crest on their head (though they have a small nose-spike), they have a slightly more beak-like mouth (similar to the hesn), and they have a different wing structure. The Draugur have developed wings with a more bat-like structure, with a membrane webbed between elongated fingers underneath their feathers, allowing the draugur more manoeuvrability in flight, though at the sacrifice of prehensibility. The draugur also have a smaller feather coverage than the raknir: their membrane wings have proper wing feathers close to the arm, but these make way to a more exposed membrane covered only in a light downy fuzz similar that of a fogl, their undersides are also unfeathered, making way for plate-like armour scales, extending from under the jaw all the way to the end of their tail. Their scales, especially around their heads, resembles that of a girdled lizard, two of their ‘spikes’ on their head are elongated, resembling horns. Some species of Draugur are domesticated, many are raised and trained in captivity to act as mounts and to pull blimp carriages due to their superior aerial manoeuvrability, though a wild population does exist on Alpeis. It is believed that the Draugur are the ancestors to the dragons of the Valkaran Mountains.

#### Harkl

The harkl (Altaer: *χαρκλ*, pronounced [hɑ˞.kl̩](Auresian), [hɐɾ.kʊʊ̹̑](Rastakur)) is a genus of ceratopsoids similar to the achelousaurus. They have a coat of thick, shaggy feathers(first image), and they have two great horns by their nose like a rhino. The harkl, like the alk, were endemic to Alpeis, but were domesticated and introduced to continental Altomar particularly for the purposes of terrestrial draught labour and to act as beasts of burden, given their great strength. The harkl vary in size between that of a rhino and an Asian elephant.

#### Hesn

The hesn (Altaer: *χεςν*, pronounced [he.sn̩]) is a genus of herbivorous theropods with semblance to a therizinosaurus, albeit more densely feathered. They are a lethargic animal, domesticated for consumption of their meat (low myoglobin) and eggs, as well as their soft down. Their arms are wing-like, however they are ineffectual and mostly for display. They have a beak-like mouth, and historically they have had a long neck and long claws to reach high foliage, however since domestication these features have shortened dramatically. They stand at a height such that their shoulders would be level with a human’s head.

#### Klanad

The klanad (Altaer: *κλαναδ*, pronounced [klɑ.nɒd](Auresian), [tlɐ.nɐd](Rastakur)) is a genus of gliding reptiles similar to the sharovipteryx. They are notable for having their primary gliding membrane surrounding their pelvis. The klanad are primarily found in the wild in the eastern forests of Altomar gliding between the trees, feeding off insects and fruit. They are approximately the size of a tuatara.

#### Raknir

The raknir (Altaer: *ρακνυρ*, pronounced [ʁɒk.niə̯˞](Auresian), [ɾɐk.neə̯˞](Rastakur)) is a genus of omnivorous feathered tyrannosauroids native to continental Altomar, with close semblance to a yutyrannus or a daspletosaurus torosus. Their feathers cover much of their body, apart from their head and their lower legs. The raknir differ from tyrannisauroids in that they have large and powerful wings comparable to that of an archaeopteryx. The males of the species have distinct crests on their head rather like that of a guanlong wucaii, though the shape may vary between individuals. Females, however, have smaller, almost unnoticeable crests. The raknir average about the size of a large horse. Most raknir are domesticated, used primarily as flying mounts, though they are quite rare due to breeding restrictions, making them somewhat of a status symbol. There remains only a sparse wild population on the stormward side of the Great Barrier Ridge. They are capable runners, though are outclassed in speed on land by most other animals. It is believed that some similar species in the western lands are descended from raknir that crossed the great sea and adapted to the environment there. There are even rumours that they are related to the Dukch from the Featherlands. The raknir are prized for their intelligence and loyalty, and are easily trained when young, allowing them to be taught to fulfil many different functions in society.

#### Sekn

The Sekn (Altaer: *ςεκν*, pronounced [se.kn̩]) is a genus of neornithischians similar to the kulindadromeus. They are about the size of a chicken, and like the hesn have been domesticated for consumption of their meat and eggs, though this is more common in cities, where space would be too tight to keep hesn. The sekn are also fairly common in the wild all across continental Altomar and Alpeis, with some variation.

#### Fogl

The fogl (Altaer: φωγλ, pronounced [fɵ.ɡl̩](Auresian), [fɞ.ɡʊʊ̹̑˞](Rastakur)) is a genus of small pterodactyloids similar to the nemicolopterus. They vary considerably in size and colouration across Altomar, to the point where one may wish to call them different species, however they all share a distinct fuzzy coat and have large beaks. Their diet consists primarily of insects and fruit. The fogl are perhaps the most common wild animal in continental Altomar and Alpeis. Some varieties are even kept as pets.

### Marine Fauna

#### Liotn

The \*\*liotn\*\* (Altaer: *λώτν*, pronounced [ljɵ.tn̩](Auresian), [ljɞt̚.n̩](Rastakur)) is a genus of cetacean similar to a basilosaurus, with some semblance, also, to the mosasaurus. The liotn inhabit much of the southern oceans, not only around Altomar, but also around Nautica and Tagka. Many liotn are around the size of a basilosaurus, but it is rumoured that some the size of blue whales or larger lurk in the high seas.