Thovania (\ˈthȯ-ˈvā-nyə\ , "Thoh-vain-e-uh")
Thovania is a war-torn country that is locked between three major geopolitical powers. The Kingdom of Kefrad, Vahlrim, and the allied countries of Okunan and Chudene all struggle for control of the island of Thovania. Control of the various provinces and territories constantly shifts and changes hands between these three powers. A single fort can change hands as many as three or four times in just as many months. What is interesting about the involvement of the three powers in the war for Thovania is that they all universally consider the war for Thovania to be a standalone diplomatic situation. None of the countries consider themselves to be at war with each other outside of the events occurring in Thovania and even openly trade with each other and consider themselves to be at peace with each other.
No one is quite sure when exactly the war for Thovania began, accounts differ depending on the source. However the reason for the fighting is quite apparent. The country is rich in rare ores, such as adamantine and mithral, and great darkwood forests grow throughout the island. Scholars attribute the abundance of rare ores and materials that appear in Thovania to an astrological event that occurred long before anyone ever set foot on Thovania. Evidence suggests there was a meteor shower or similar astrological event that occurred that covered Thovania in hundreds of craters that pockmark the island. It has had long lasting effects on the ecological system causing the growth of the darkwood trees, deep running mithral and adamantine veins that seemed to have somehow grown deeper into the earth, and areas of strange otherworldly energy.
The citizens of Thovania are made up of a mixture of the three major powers vying for control of the country. Sons and daughters of soldiers, miners, lumberjacks, and other tradesmen that had been brought or came to the country in order to support their homelands bid for the resources here. Overtime the descendants of these people have mixed and melded together with the people from the other countries fighting for dominance. Most of the inhabitants that consider themselves native Thovans don't have any allegiance to the homelands of their forbearers anymore. They have long since learned that it is easier to shift their loyalties to whoever happens to be in control of their province at the time.
Thovania doesn't have any form of central government and there is no ruler due to the constant power struggles taking place. Whenever a faction takes over a territory that contains towns or other population centers, that faction typically assigns a new governor or similar official to oversee and manage the populace. However, the people themselves don't typically look to that individual as a ruler or leader. Instead they look to a member among themselves as their leader and to be their voice to whatever faction owns their territory at the time. Due to mining and foresting being the basis for most of the communities in Thovania, these local leaders are more often than not foremen or other types of managers of mines, lumbermills, or other industrial producers. This works well since when a new governor is assigned their primary concern is typically the production of resources and they will often go to the these work managers to get an idea of how to best acquire the rare resources that Thovania provides.
Alignment:
Chaotic Neutral
Cultural Inspiration:
Melting pot of Eastern, Norse, and Western cultures
Chaotic Neutral
Cultural Inspiration:
Melting pot of Eastern, Norse, and Western cultures
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