Borrike

Physical Map of Borrike

Borrike is a country on the west coast of Tirónar. It is ruled by Emperor Felix.

## Name Origin

Borrike is a slightly misspelled combination of the Swedish word for “brother” and the Norse suffix -rike, meaning “kingdom.” It’s technically supposed to be Brorrike, but somewhere along the line I lost an “r” and decided I liked it better that way once I realized. It’s based on the common name for Pewdiepie’s fanbase, aka the “bro army” (at least, according to Wikipedia). Since Swedish is part of the Old Norse language tree, I figured it would be appropriate to use a Norse suffix instead of hunting around for a Swedish one.

In-universe, Borrike was originally the name of the huge plains that dominate the western half of Tirónar, before being adopted by the empire that eventually filled the region.

## History

### Ancient Era

Borrike’s ancient history prior to the Waldren Occupation is defined by a wide diversity of unique individual cultures, too many to be described here. The Dragon War did have disastrous effects on those living north, closer to the Winged Peaks, but for those living further south or closer to the coast, the Dragon War only had a minor impact.

### Waldren Occupation

Frustrated with Duilintinn’s waning profitability, in 1325, Waldren sailed to the opposite side of Tirónar in hopes of snatching up Borrike. Rumors said that this region had massive forests and wide, sweeping plains of untilled land ripe for the picking. However, these rumors forgot to mention that Borrike also had giants. While Waldren was able to wander into the region without much opposition, they quickly decided that the western coast of Tirónar was too far away to profit upon after less than a decade of trying in 1334.

While other parts of Tirónar were going through the Waldren Occupation and Interim Years, many cultures in Borrike began to merge into units of city-states, either by choice or force by more powerful neighbors. Eventually, one city state in particular began to annex more and more city states into its own authority, forming the beginnings of a large empire overseen by a ruling government but primarily managed by local governments left largely to their own devices. The empire was named Borrike, the same name as the plains it occupied, and it would continue to grow into the Modern Era.

### Modern Day

In modern day, Borrike has continued to grow, though at slower rates.

In 1613, a number of skirmishes took place between Borrike and the easternmost nation in the continent of Vaqone, which had encroached upon island territories of Borrike. This “war” was slightly sensationalized; neither power seemed eager to escalate the fighting to a full-blown invasion. At most, a few island territories found themselves under a new sovereign when the dust settled, and by mid-1614 the war was long over.

## Government

### Politics

Borrike is a vast empire, led by Emperor Felix with the help of various municipal governments. The lands controlled by Borrike were acquired over a long period of time as surrounding villages were annexed into the empire. As a result, there are no distinct geopolitical or economic regions in Borrike like those of Duilintinn, Haneul, Tandeli, and others. Local governments run almost independently, enforcing any policies or laws enacted by the emperor. Trade is almost exclusively internal and handled by local governments except for Borrike’s three main exports: grains, alcohol, and lumber.

### Military

Borrike's military is infantry-based and *large*. Their main strength is their sheer numbers. Known for their enthusiasm on and off the battlefield and in positive and negative contexts. On average, these troops are passionate and willing to charge into battle without a second thought, but at least half the taverns in Borrike have a “no armed or liveried soldiers” policy for a reason.

## Geography

### Major Regions

The vast majority of Borrike is grasslands, similar to the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. It consists of three regions: The Dry Plains, the Fertile Plains, and the Forest.

#### Dry Plains

In the south, the Dry Plains are exactly what the name implies- dry and hot- but as you travel north, the region gets more temperate and humid. This region is mostly used for pastures and dry farming. Though this region bears a marked similarity to the climate of House Jackie in Duilintinn, agriculture is significantly easier in this region thanks to the two rivers that run parallel through the region from the Jättensbord (In the Common Tongue: “Edge Mountains”)s and the benefits of a less magical ecosystem.

#### Fertile Plains

As you travel north, the plains will become slightly more temperate and a whole lot more fertile, transitioning into the region called the Fertile Plains. Regular precipitation allows grains and cereals such as wheat, barley, and rye to grow in absolutely staggering numbers. This is the source of Borrike’s major grain export. However, the plains turn dry once again in the shadow of the Draksköld (In the Common Tongue: “Winged Peaks”), which prevents very little rain from falling in the northernmost part of the region. Despite this, the entire northern half of the grassland is still called the Fertile Plains.

#### Forest

Finally, a huge swath of trees, even larger than Duilintinn’s western forest, fills the entire northeastern portion of the empire. Borrike’s prolific logging industry has barely made a dent in its depths, and it’s thought that the large numbers of Tree-Giants in this ecosystem help facilitate a faster growth rate compared to other forests.

### Climate

Humid Continental/Humid Subtropical, with patches of semi-arid land to the southeast where the rain shadow would most likely be the worst.

## Economy

Borrike exports grain, alcohol, and lumber.

### Agriculture

So much grain is in Borrike. So much that they have excess so large that the normally-hands-off government has to manage how it’s traded internationally. Meat is obtained by keeping livestock or hunting.

### Science and Technology

All of the nations in Tirónar are at a relatively high level of ship tech due to the nature of the Eastern Sea. Namely, the fact that it's full of islands and weird storms and stuff. The reason that Tirónar went undiscovered for so long is that that's how long it took for other continents to figure out how to make boats that were maneuverable enough to navigate that part of the ocean! Since then, the ship tech that Waldren brought to Tirónar has been expanded upon enormously and, in some cases, adapted to fit other pre-existing ship tech in places like the Island League. This has allowed for trade between the nations of Tirónar to thrive, especially since it's incredibly difficult to cross between the mountains that form their inland borders (and even more difficult when you've got a lot of goods in the back of the cart!). However, beyond this baseline shipbuilding advancement, Borrike's navy is average at best.

### Transportation

Borrike is massive, people are constantly coming, going, and moving around, and there's too much coastline anyway. So tbh I don't think anyone really monitors those borders.

## Demography

### Language

A germanic-sounding language similar to real-world Swedish is spoken prolifically in this empire. However, like the rest of the continent, the common tongue is often used as well. Most people in Borrike are bilingual.

### Education

The education is managed on a local level and therefore far too varied to describe accurately.

### Sentient Species

Giants are the other sentient species besides humans in Borrike.

## Culture

Loud, enthusiastic, bold, and self-assured, sometimes to the point of recklessness.

### Perspective on Magic

The people have a very nonchalant view of magic. In an empire this large, no one really cares what tools you use to get the job done, so long as you don’t hurt anyone. If Duilintinn’s academic and balanced treatment of magic was one end of a spectrum, and Haneul’s chaotic, outright discouragement of studying or regulating anything about magic was the other, Borrike would probably fall somewhere in the middle.

## Foreign Relations

### Allies

Borrike is allied with Duilintinn and Haneul.

### Public Opinion

There is a mixed opinion on Borrike. It’s indisputable that Emperor Felix has a brash attitude towards leadership and has publicly said and done some horrible things during his reign. While some have decided to accept his apologies and later philanthropic efforts as evidence of change, many others continue to hold Emperor Felix accountable for the prejudices reflected in his past actions.\*

*\*I am not going to share my personal opinions on this matter, nor plan to answer any asks about it, in order to avoid discourse. These kingdoms will only feature occasionally in the background of other events, and I don’t want to start drama over such a minor detail in the grand scheme of my plans for the au. However, it would be foolish to pretend controversy doesn’t exist.*