Rexinar

Written by Oniwanbashu

Rexinar ('King's Light') is a hardy little country situated south of the archipelago and encompasses a narrow stretch of land between the tallest cliffs in the region and a massive mountain range, which leaves flat land at a premium and leads its people to build vertically instead of horizontally. It sees Mediterranean weather all year long and regular thunderstorms during spring and autumn that its people harness as a perpetual source of renewable energy, which the country is synonymous with.
The Mac Lir river, which is 1,600km long, 10km at its widest point and 5km at its narrowest, is the main river which runs through the country.
Its landscape is dotted with rocky and jagged outcrops, sea caves and a constellation of islets populated by thousands of Wattrel and Kilowattrel, the national bird.
Electric, Psychic and Steel Pokemon dominate the local fauna, while Dark and Bug-type Pokemon colonise the many winding cave systems the cliffs and mountains have to offer.

Structure

Rivanel Vincente Reguera

• Science, Technology and Innovation
• Home Affairs
• Defence

Commodore Meirion Emrys Rodric

• Tourism, Arts and Culture
• Foreign Affairs
• Finance

Captain Akane Kaname

• Pokemon Welfare
• Education
• Community Development

Locally-elected district and county Rabanus (Ravens) who each hold one portfolio

Culture

• Rexinarian fashion is as diverse and vibrant as Rexinites themselves, but tend to have futuristic silhouettes with a Steampunk undertone. Cool colors with gold or neon highlights are commonplace.
• Singing is the most popular performance art among Rexinites owing to the many, many sea shanties that have filled their halls since time immemorial, and modern music here still takes cues from the soundscape of sailors and seafarers long gone. Also popular are ‘work songs’ often heard among miners.
• Litchtenberg figures are not an uncommon work injury among Rexinarians, though those who have them tend to wear them like a badge of honor. It’s also a popular tattoo design among Rexinites (alongside futuristic circuit and ‘grid lines’).
• Rexinar’s maritime industry is, unusually in this case, dominated by women. This is due to issues with man-eating Primarinas lurking in the many coves dotting the coastline in the past, and it was said that women were immune to Primarina-song, so many ships brought women onboard as an ‘insurance’ policy. As time went by, more and more women became involved with the industry and took up top positions in it.

BURIAL CUSTOMS

Rexinites have unique burial customs due to the lack of land, which mainly hail back from maritime traditions. Most of them tie in with the belief that in death, all souls set sail for new shores.

• Ship burials are the regular for the higher class or people of importance, who are interred in ship-shaped tombs crafted from marble. These are often located at the edge of cliffs or the mountainsides, which are considered auspicious resting spots.
• Sea Cave burials are commonplace for the common folk, where the many sea caves that dot the coastline are turned into well-kept mausoleums that inter bodies in boat-shaped sarcorphagi usually made of stone and clay. Funerals, that always take place at Mortilus Bay, may vary from culture to culture, but all end with the body and the deceased and their closest living family members being ferried to the mausoleum cave by ‘Charon’s crewmen’, who are the guardians and keepers of each mausoleum and prevent robbery of the dead/theft of bodies. Here, the ‘crewmen’ help the family of the deceased move the deceased’s body to their sarcophagus and carry out any final rites.
• In the old days, it was common to place gold or silver coins with the deceased to help them pay the toll for their journey into the afterlife. While these coins are still a part of modern-day last rites, they are now mostly given as a token of gratitude to the ‘crewmen’ for their help.
• Children are not considered old enough to ‘set sail for new shores’, so those deceased below the age of 18 are instead interred at Tir Na Nog, an island close to Mortilus Bay, in above-ground mausoleums surrounded by gardens where their parents or guardians plant a tree or flowers in their name.

Rexinites celebrate the Sea Of Souls week during Midsummer which coincides with the period of the brightest annual bloom of bioluminescence in the coastal waters. The glowing seas are seen as symbolic of departed souls anchoring back on these shores to visit their loved ones, and merrymaking as well as more somber rites are held at the coastlines to celebrate and remember the dead. At the end of the week when the glow eventually fades, thousands of biodegradable lanterns (some with food offerings, many with letters written by their loved ones over the year) will be set adrift on the waters to light the way back to the afterlife for these souls. The families of the deceased will also visit their tombs and sarcophagi during this time to perform upkeep and offer prayers. Tourists are not allowed in the waters during this period out of respect for the dead, but are allowed to walk the beaches and take part in any rituals if invited by locals.

Mythology & Lore

Despite most Rexinites’ dismissive attitudes towards deities, they hold Raikou, the Raging Bolt, in high regard compared with the rest of the pantheon as unlike elsewhere, they believe Raikou is not the original god of thunder, but one who stole it from the heavens and shared it with mankind. Raikou is their Prometheus—the one who saw the burnt soil and weeping parents of dead children, whose feet stood sturdy on the ground, the same ground they all stepped on, and who audaciously raised its head above the clouds to confront the gods for their latest act of destruction. There, it stole lighting from Zapdos, consumed that lightning so it could take on similar powers to Zapdos and understand them, and taught humans how to capture and wield this new power and turn it into a source of energy so they would never again suffer the god-bird’s whimsies. It’s said during particularly violent thunderstorms that Zapdos – still filled with wrathful indignation – and Raikou – still defiant and unrepentant – are battling again, and it’s not uncommon to see many a Rexinite cheering on or raising a glass to Raikou the more powerful the storm gets. Rainbow sightings after such storms are seen as a good sign that Raikou won the battle and Zapdos has left for another day. Lack of a rainbow sighting means the grid system will be put on alert for further storms as Raikou has retreated to heal from its injuries and Zapdos will rage further. Offerings are left for Raikou not in reverence, but in brotherhood and solidarity with the thunder god they chose.

Lux Mentis, Lux Orbis

Type

Geopolitical, Country

Alternative Names

Realm of the Lighting Rebel

Training Level

Elite

Demonym

Rexinites

Major Exports

Marine products, technology, and electricity

Major Imports

Meat, rubber and raw metals

Notable Members

• Rivanel of Rexinar