Ravalei

People: Ravaleian. With well tanned skin, the people of the Rava coast usually have dark brown hair. However, their eye colors include blue and green as well as brown. Males tend to be between 5'4" and 6'2". Females tend to be between 5'2" and 5'10".

Language: Rava. Common secondary languages are Abyssal and Agonori.

Heraldry: A pair of silver craft tools crossed in an X shape on a blue background.

Government: Pure Democracy.

Religion: 50% None, 25% Science, 25% Feergrus Cat Deities.

Architecture: A Ravaleian building is often a work of art. Each is usually unique, though usually not to a point where it can no longer be used. They are placed haphazardly, where it seemed most attractive. This leads to winding roads in towns often leading to dead ends. People often get lost in a Ravaleian city, including the natives. The natives, however, consider it a scenic tour.

Land Area: Approximately 156,209 Square Miles.

Population: Approximately 4,998,700. 99% Human, 1% Other.

Capital City: Calal.

Neighbors: Casea (Northwest), Kurrot (South), Nuvroc (East).

Landmarks: Clockwork Tower of Loritan, Emitson Nature Preserve, Gardens of Calal, Rava Coast.

Terrain: Deciduous Forests, Farmlands, Grassy Plains, Rocky Coastal Shore.

Natural Hazards: Riptides, Goblinoids.

Imports: Foodstuffs, Ore, Raw Materials.

Exports: Art Objects, Manufactured Goods, Golems.

Wealth: A typical Ravaleian enjoys spending coins and other shows of wealth. Their coins are devalued across the land due to overspending. However, most craftsmen have plenty of coin to spend and can make up for the difference. The most skilled, of course, can sell their goods for the most coin, and thus the society's wealth is distributed according to the work people do.

Currency: Gear (.8 Crowns), Cog (.1 Gears), Spring (.01 Gears).

Declarations, Embargoes, Treaties, and Wars: Ravalei is part of a treaty with Agon and Nuvroc for mutual aid against the goblinoids. Ravalei is in a constant state of peace thanks to golem sentinels keeping the goblinoids and other outside monsters at bay. They also have close ties with the Tarvoni and trade arcane knowledge with them.

Organizations: Ravalei is most known for the Gearwork Masters, the skilled men who forge the mighty golems. Another powerful organization is the Rava Coast Trading Company, which works towards making itself the largest business in the world. There is also rumored to be a thriving community of assassins within the land.

Symbol of Ravalei

The Rava Shore is a land full of wonder. Mighty golems do manual labor, as the scientists and craftsmen work on their arts. Their workmanship is no equal to dwarves, elves, or the Casean people of old, but it is still of the highest quality. As a pure democracy, change is slow to come. Few agree enough to make major changes. Most keep to themselves and make independent decisions over their own lives.

Power comes from alliances, where large groups of people agree to make changes. This often comes with corruption as some people can have their opinions bought. The only laws involve not making decisions that affect others without their ability to democratically respond. Some of the oddities have led to the formation of the Assassin's Guild, used to eliminate people who vote the wrong way according to those that can afford it.

Ravalei started as little more than a port to the isle of Casea. Casean explorers surveyed much of the area. The port eventually became the city of Calal. Much of the rest of the Rava coast had access to fishing, and small villages popped up along the coast. The land that would become Ravalei remained sparsely populated until the destruction of Casea, however.

A Ravaleian tends to be easy to spot. While they resemble the Agonish or Kurrot people in many ways, nearly all are quite flamboyant in their adornments and clothing. The spirit of the artist in each Ravaleian means that many have modified their looks with lots of jewelry, piercings, and tattoos.

They also have an unparalleled system of education. While most of the continent is illiterate, there are a large number of Ravaleians that are literate in their own language. There is also a college for higher education in the capital city of Calal.

The Tranumea river is named after a mythical siren, and the Singer River and Singer Lake are also tied to that myth. The Juranem River is named after a Casean explorer that supposedly escaped the siren to tell his tale. Emitson Lake can be found within the fenced in Emitson Nature Preserve. Several creeks run off of the spring fed lake. The nature preserve was started by Eli Emitson, who came from an offshoot of the Emit family.

Thalwald Forest has its own spring fed lake, Thalwald Lake, which also has several creeks fed by it. The Barrier Vale, the third of Ravalei's forests, has no such waterways running into it, though it is close to the eastern rivers and lakes. The forest is owned by the Thal and Wald families. These two rich and powerful families like to use it as a hunting area. The two families are longtime allies and are deeply intermarried.

The town of Thalwald is home to the main estates of the two families. The other towns in the forest are typically the homes of other familes relkated to the Thal and Wald families, although a great deal of less wealthy people live and work in those thriving towns.

The three towns on the Kurrot border are the only way past the golems along that border, unless one takes a ship around the west or instead dares to brave the Siren Swamp or the surprisingly dangerous Singer Lake. The seemingly placid lake claims a great many unwary victims each year.

While most known for their creation of golems, alchemy and trade are two important parts of the Ravaleian culture. The Rinn Institute in Calal is perhaps the most well known source of alchemical knowledge in the country. For trade, however, the world knows of the powerful Rava Coast Trading Company.

The Rava Coast Trading Company started as little more than a shipbuilder joining forces with a coalition of caravan based traders. Within a few short years, the Rava Coast Trading Company was the dominant merchant force in Ravalei and owned nearly all of Ravalei's galleys. With that monopoly they began sea trade to Kurrot and Feergrus as well as with the merchants that barge their goods to Agon.

The Rava Coast Trading Company's symbol is instantly recognizable, being two sets of white wave symbols on a blue field. It is symbolic of the danger of water, as white is considered the color of danger or monsters. The whitecaps of powerful waves only aid the symbolism.

Symbol of the Rava Coast Trading Company