Dragonweave
1. The Dragonweave Alliance of Sovereign Territories
Yō Zima'i Mrobwa'a Mwatu ma Ithuurō Bwalal
yō [the] zi [community] ma'i [great] mrobwa'a [weave-v.to.n] mwatu [dragon-n.to.adj] ma [of] ithuurō [depend-v.to.adj-opposite] bwalal [nation-pl]
shortform Mrobwa'atu 2. The Chelonian Republic of Free Peoples
Yō Ndime Dimu ma Mnjanan Fi
yō [the] dimu [turtle.n-to-adj] ndime [empire] ma [of] mnjanan [race-pl] fi [free]
shortform Ndimu 3. Ugazuum is the continent/overall land
zuum /zum/ n. homeland, motherland
uga- (we inclusive) MY map:
(we'll say that Qochia and Amashrania on the map is where the would-be colonizers first landed, so the smaller territories united against them first and then just kinda stayed united - so this is where the language Mstikō originates)
Dragonweave Provinces :)
very first nations to ally (nameless):
Qoch
Amashran
Queshraju
Vemia
Lemissetu
Bifelti
Zhia
initial members of the Dragonweave Alliance (when it was founded):
all of the above, plus
Moul
Magul
Setidalu
Naoshi
Fukiya
Wasali
Tutlemale
Kako
current members of the Chelonian Republic:
all of the above, plus
Rine
Miri
Ferdowla
Tatsu
Brampia (rename this)
Swasingsia
Madehow
Dal
current members of the Dragonweave:
everyone in Chelon, plus
hmm
Tenets of the Dragonweave Alliance:no warfare between member nations;
changes in territory must be bartered or mutually agreed upon;
anything more than isolated skirmishes must be brought to the attention of the Dragonweave and must be resolved peacefully/diplomatically;
if member nations choose to break these tenets and war with each other, both are expelled from the Dragonweave
an attack upon any member nation is an attack upon all member nations;
in times of warfare, all nations must contribute what they can, be it warriors or supplies or refuge or etc etc;
member nations not directly on the field of battle may reserve a certain number of their warriors and their resources to protect and provide for their own people, but still must contribute to those under attack
should natural disaster befall a member nation, the others will render as much aid and relief as they can at that time
members of any Dragonweave nation can travel to and through any other Dragonweave nation freely and without restriction, except where cultural or religious taboos would limit certain types of travel or certain belongings/arms
each member nation retains full independence in terms of lawmaking, law enforcement, leadership, governing, trade, import/export, economy, etc etc
Bonds of the Chelonian Republic:
as above: no warfare between peoples of the Republic; an attack on one is an attack on all; aid must be rendered in times of war or natural disaster; travel between peoples is unrestricted wherever possible
borders between member nations are considered political and cultural, not martial or economical; all peoples (and cultures, religions, etc) are intact and shall be preserved whole
there are now two levels of laws, taxes, and similar policies: some that apply to all places in the Republic, and others that remain determined by each member nation;
trade is unrestricted in practice, and there is a broadstrokes economy that encompasses all nations;
taxes are standardized throughout the Republic;
certain laws and rights of personhood are standardized;
everything instated at the Republic level is supported by a Republic-standardized equivalent to small court claims to resolve disputes or failures to comply to said standards;
some functions have been removed from nation-level oversight and given to the Republic as a whole, which include:
creation and maintenance of roads, docks, ferries, caravan routes, and other public thoroughfares;
distribution of surplus resources to areas and peoples of need;
the creation and maintenance of places for education for both children and adults (the form of which is dictated by each culture, but is partially funded by the Republic)
a large portion of (culturally-dependent) medics and hospitals; the Republic standardizes the minimum level of care and competency, as well as funds it and ensures the availability of common medicines
anyone born or raised within the Republic may not only travel but also move and reside within any other part of the Republic, without barrier to immigration or discriminatory restrictions
there are three official languages of the Republic, and its members are encouraged to speak at least one of them conversationally, but most places have many translations into local languages or dialects available in their public offices
barter and trade-in-services are still very common, but the Republic has standardized a range of relative values of most common goods and also regulates some forms of currency probably to prevent extremes of inflation or depression
initial ponderings on nji (the people) - the little bit of power that the land spirits gave them (the ones who answered well) is basically like an innoculation against magic. these folks cannot use or be corrupted by magic. magic elsewise, though... if you use it, it twists you, deforms you, mutates you. the more you use it, the more you change. there are some monstrous tragedies who are still themselves under it all, but it's just as easy for someone to lose their sanity before their physical cohesion and go feral. it's possible to discover you can use magic and then just. not. ever. so you might be a totally normal person with like, maybe a weird-colored eye or something from the very first time you touched magic, but that's it. ...but usually, something compels even such a person to use magic. to save someone's life, to heal the dying, to destroy a dangerous thing. and then the mutations begin. sure, they can stop again. refuse to use it for the rest of their life. but it's /hard/. they'd have to choose to let terrible things happen around them because they won't use magic. and their community may simultaneously demand they don't use magic (so they don't become a monster and eat half the village) yet also be righteously pissed when they don't prevent a catastrophe that would have required magic to negate. magic, in this world, is unbelievably powerful undirected chaos potential. it's a soft magic system in that there are very few rules as to what magic can or cannot do when it's being used. it can be addictive on several levels. it's volatile. impossible to guard against. scary. a little bit like how it is in Dragon Age, actually, but less unbelievably depressing. (...I think...) any mutated part of a person is no longer affected or affectable by magic (their own or others'). that makes half-turnt mages hella scary in duels against their own kind, because they're so hard to hurt and so desperate to use very little magic as lethally as possible to minimize further mutations to themselves. mages get absolutely brutal if they choose to pursue magic as a path. sure, I can cast fireball and nuke the room. or I can turn a sliver of your brain into a molten needle and spin it in place. y'know. it's the raw power/volume of magic that's directly proportionate to how much mutation happens, not the intensity or granularity of control. it's very possible for someone who is driven, disciplined, and lucky to have a long and successful life as a mage by being very specific and very deliberate about when and how they use tiny amounts of magic.
Yō Zima'i Mrobwa'a Mwatu ma Ithuurō Bwalal
yō [the] zi [community] ma'i [great] mrobwa'a [weave-v.to.n] mwatu [dragon-n.to.adj] ma [of] ithuurō [depend-v.to.adj-opposite] bwalal [nation-pl]
shortform Mrobwa'atu 2. The Chelonian Republic of Free Peoples
Yō Ndime Dimu ma Mnjanan Fi
yō [the] dimu [turtle.n-to-adj] ndime [empire] ma [of] mnjanan [race-pl] fi [free]
shortform Ndimu 3. Ugazuum is the continent/overall land
zuum /zum/ n. homeland, motherland
uga- (we inclusive) MY map:
Tenets of the Dragonweave Alliance:
initial ponderings on nji (the people) - the little bit of power that the land spirits gave them (the ones who answered well) is basically like an innoculation against magic. these folks cannot use or be corrupted by magic. magic elsewise, though... if you use it, it twists you, deforms you, mutates you. the more you use it, the more you change. there are some monstrous tragedies who are still themselves under it all, but it's just as easy for someone to lose their sanity before their physical cohesion and go feral. it's possible to discover you can use magic and then just. not. ever. so you might be a totally normal person with like, maybe a weird-colored eye or something from the very first time you touched magic, but that's it. ...but usually, something compels even such a person to use magic. to save someone's life, to heal the dying, to destroy a dangerous thing. and then the mutations begin. sure, they can stop again. refuse to use it for the rest of their life. but it's /hard/. they'd have to choose to let terrible things happen around them because they won't use magic. and their community may simultaneously demand they don't use magic (so they don't become a monster and eat half the village) yet also be righteously pissed when they don't prevent a catastrophe that would have required magic to negate. magic, in this world, is unbelievably powerful undirected chaos potential. it's a soft magic system in that there are very few rules as to what magic can or cannot do when it's being used. it can be addictive on several levels. it's volatile. impossible to guard against. scary. a little bit like how it is in Dragon Age, actually, but less unbelievably depressing. (...I think...) any mutated part of a person is no longer affected or affectable by magic (their own or others'). that makes half-turnt mages hella scary in duels against their own kind, because they're so hard to hurt and so desperate to use very little magic as lethally as possible to minimize further mutations to themselves. mages get absolutely brutal if they choose to pursue magic as a path. sure, I can cast fireball and nuke the room. or I can turn a sliver of your brain into a molten needle and spin it in place. y'know. it's the raw power/volume of magic that's directly proportionate to how much mutation happens, not the intensity or granularity of control. it's very possible for someone who is driven, disciplined, and lucky to have a long and successful life as a mage by being very specific and very deliberate about when and how they use tiny amounts of magic.