Pronunciation: voh-TAR
Founding Date: 1766 DA
Dissolution Date: -
Demonym: Votaran/Votarans
Capital: New Delgas
Racial Distribution: orc (38%), human (27%), halfling (20%), other (15%)
Official Language: Maglin and Doskrish
Forged of an alliance between the Urabar tribes and Janmeran expatriots living in and around old Demon War fortifications (known as Urthom in the Doskrish language), Votar's diarchy is meant strike a balance between the two groups. Two Diarchs, one from each group, serve as the leaders of the nation, and are advised by a group of senators consisting of one Urabar and one Urthom from each of Votar's nine states. Together they make decisions regarding matters of national significance, and cooperate to make sure each state has resources for long winters and warriors to battle monsters coming in from the Thunderwood.
The Votar government is fairly hands off overall, mostly stepping in when help is needed in some capacity and ensuring the people stay safe. The vast swaths of open land and inclination to not ask questions about one's past make it an ideal place for those wishing to start new lives.
Field-grown crops and hunted pelts make up the bulk of Votar's exports, being the primary pursuits of the Urthom and Urabar people respectively. Votar also holds a handful of stone quarries and lumber operations, mostly at the eastern and northern ends of the nation. Obsidian can be found in abundance here, and it is used to craft tools, trinkets, and jewelry. Much of Votar's trade either travels the Wanderer's Way to Janmere, or floats down the Heledhuin River on trade barges to be sold in Amalar and Shosané. These barges are retrofitted with wheels at their destination, to be drawn back to their origin point as carts.
Votar occupies parts of the Erimead and Talnora Plains, and extends somewhat into both the Varanat Mountains and the Thunderwood. The area has a high rate of geothermal activity - hot springs, geysers, and fumaroles abound, particularly closer to the mountains. Ancient signposts from cultures long past warn of boiling water and brittle ground, which can prove deadly to those unaware. The Heledhuin River's headwaters lie in Votar's borders at Lake Kitori, the second largest lake in Altandor.
New Delgas: built on the ruins of the city of Delgas, which was destroyed in the Shadow War, New Delgas straddles the Heledhuin and snakes around a handful of hot springs bubbling up in the area. It is sometimes called the City of Bridges for the many bridges that connect the two halves of the town.
Pemore: once a military outpost in the Demon War, Pemore now serves as the first stop for travelers coming in from the Wanderer's Way, and the last stop for travelers headed out onto it. Once the home of a Janmeran royal family that oversaw the region, Pemore is now only the home of the nation's official ambassador.
Votar has a strong culture of respecting the land and its creature, influenced this way by the traditions of the Urabar tribes. Rituals of honor are performed over kills, at births and deaths, and prior to the construction of new homes and farmlands, in hopes that the gods and the primordials may watch over them and keep them from harm. As life can be harsh in this region, Votarans have learned to waste little in their lives - hunting and gathering are always for need rather than sport, and use is made of all parts of everything harvested or killed.
Urabar facepaint has also spread to Votarans as a whole, with different patterns representing specific tribal or town affiliations, and further marks to indicate leadership status or vocation. More intricate patterns are reserved for fancier affairs, particularly festivals, and these painted designs are more a reflection of the individual's personal style and taste than a standardized marker of status.
Much of Votar's population is split between two lifestyles - the roving hunter bands, and the walled towns surrounded by farmland. Once segregated between the Urabar and the Urthom, there is now much crossover between the two. Those with the desire to hunt and the soundness of body to do so join the hunting bands, patrolling each state in search of food and returning to the walled towns to share with those who desire a stationary lifestyle, often including the elderly and the very young. The towns further serve as defensible positions in the event of some attack, and a fallback point where the hunting bands can make a more organized stand in protection of the more vulnerable of their number.
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