Civilized Realms. Part I: Valatean Republic.

This is a lore exposition of something that may not be explicitly or directly described in the game itself, out of a desire not to ruin the immersiveness. And, also, not to turn the characters into automatons for dispensing background information. There are not and will not be any spoilers to the plot or characters here.

… and it's a longread, if anything.

A brief history of the origins of the Valatean Republic.

Even super-duper brief, because a fuller version, with many curious details (and colorful metaphors!), will be in the last part of Sargon's book. Well, if your Selene decided to read it at all, instead of drawing dicks with a coal there. What? Vagrant Selene can do a lot more than that...

1. Some 200 years before the game's events, due to long desiccation that cut their homelands into a desert (the White Sand Desert), most of the Yardanari migrated and invaded the Caladan Empire, weakened by religious and civil wars, at the time holding all of the so-called ‘Civilized Realms’ except Inuatar. As they conquered, the Yardanari engaged in a grand massacre that provoked an unprecedented flight of the local population eastward, deep into the Empire.

Curious fact. The peninsula of the ‘Civilized Realms’ on the map is not a peninsula at all, but a part of the world. In fact, it's the size of Europe. It's even slightly larger. So the Valatean Republic is about the size of France and half of Spain. Or Spain and half of France. Shit, I hope I didn't offend anyone…

2. The Yardanari settled in the lands from Inuatar to the Tekla River. In fact, the region has been so named ever since. The old Imperial names Vedusa, Karim, and Lyonia. Yep, modern Yardanar is the territory of three former imperial provinces at once. Although, at the time of the events of the game, only scribes and historians know this. And now you do too holding this useless meta-knowledge. Congrats!

3. The native population of the Empire (Velastians) who fled the invasion settled as refugees in cities on the Melada Plains and along the southern ocean coast. People who had lost everything. So they ‘settled’ around the cities, in the rapidly growing slums they had created.

4. The newly crowned Caladan Emperor Amran IV dreamed of reclaiming the lost lands (those occupied by the Yardanari). So the Empire spent money first to rebuild and then to increase the army. No one cared about the refugees and their filthy slums of crime and lawlessness.

5. About 20 years later, there was an ‘incident’ in a town on the Melada Plains. Former Imperial officer Mithrias (now a refugee from the slums) came to demand justice from the governor of the city. Along with his veteran friends, slum refugees like himself. The governor misjudged their intentions, and by evening he and his guards were dead, the city was in flames, and Mithrias and his comrades (much to their surprise, it should be noted) were at the head of the rebellion.

6. The rebellion grew rapidly. It was joined by refugees who had been rotting in slums for 20 years, the urban poor, and even runaway slaves. Emperor Amran, naturally, sent some of his new army to suppress it. It was expected that the ragamuffin rebellion would be quickly defeated. Except, Mithrias was a former army officer and a talented organizer. The rebels took refuge on a heavily fortified hill, awaiting the approach of punitive troops.

Side note. It was a bit like the Spartacus rebellion in Rome. Though the outcome was different…

Spartacus:

- Yeah! I showed those fucking Romans what's what! Well... in the beginning.

7. In a decisive battle, both the rebels and the Imperial army suffered heavy losses. Although formally, the battlefield remained for the Empire, the rebels retreated (to their hill). But the Imperial forces needed reinforcements, with the remnants of the army after the ‘victory’ they found themselves with nothing to ‘crush the rebellion of bums and slaves’. This was the message they sent to Emperor Amran. Probably with the most worthless messenger ever. Messengers with such news rarely live to retire...

8. At the same time, the Ranalians invaded the Empire from the northwest, led by their legendary leader Ahura Mon... and his Tyrunian witch slash lover slash ‘blue-eyed demoness’.

Emperor Amran was in dire straits, to say the least. A rebellion in the south, an invasion in the west, and the recapture of Yadranar are still a mirage on the horizon...

The Emperor has sent negotiators to Mithrias. The rebels were granted amnesty, but... (it's always a but!) they were expelled from Imperial territory. The Emperor's plan was simple - the rebels had nowhere to go but to Yardanar. With the ocean at three ends, and the Ranalian invasion to the northwest. Only the southwest border is safe. So let the rebels go there and slit each other's throats together with Yardanari, and then the nice guy Amran will invade there, kill the survivors and restore the Empire to its original borders. Well, as long as nice guy Amran first kicks the Ranalians back out into their steppes... but could those ‘horse-fuckers’ cause any trouble for iron-clad legions of his? Pfft. Easy peasy!

9. Mithrias was forced to accept Amran's proposal. Not that the rebels had much choice, though... Either go to Yardanar and fight with them for a new home, or fight Amran's entire army at once, not just the front lines as before.

Thus began the Exile March (this is a local historical term). Former refugees, slaves, and the poor led by Mithrias and his comrades (mostly former Imperial officers) crossed the border at the Tekla River and occupied the small agrarian town of Vala. Of course, the Yardanari banged the drums, rallying the clans to war against the invading... umm... ex-locals. But the Yardanari had been here for 20 years, so now they were already locals, and here came the... pre-locals... Okay, you get the idea.

However, contrary to Amran's expectations, the exiles defeated the Yardanari forces quite decisively. Yardanari's holdings dwindled a bit. And that same year, almost 200 years before the events of the game (well, 180 to be exact), the Valatean Republic was founded. Though not within the borders you might have seen on the in-game maps. Before these borders, the Republic had nearly two centuries of bloody wars ahead...

Curious fact. The prefix ‘tea’ means ‘new.’ So Valatea can be translated as ‘New Vala’. In general, in imperial times Vala was a small town for the agrarian community (the land around is unusually fertile). There were few Yardanari themselves (most of them settled in the west during the invasion into the Empire).

10. Things did not end well for Emperor Amran IV. According to legend, he was killed on the battlefield by Ahura Mon with an arrow in the neck with a bone tip, which was directed by sorcery by his witch mistress.

Well, the Last Emperor, indeed, fell in battle from an arrow in the neck unprotected by iron armor. Against ‘horse-fuckers’ without horses (that's a long story), which he expected to quickly defeat. However, it is not excluded that it was only a lucky shot of some unknown red-haired archer.

Last words of the Last Emperor:

- That's star iron, babe! It's impenetrable! Hrrr... h-rrr... (gurgle sounds)

Okay, okay, he didn't say anything like that. Talking with an arrow in your throat is... problematic.

After the news of Amran IV's death, the nobles in the capital, the glorious ancient city of Caladan, did what every self-respecting noble should do. They slaughtered all of Amran's children and started to find out whose ass would look prettier on the throne (another civil war, if you haven't caught on).

The Empire fell, really fell this time. In its place, the Velastian Dominion was formed. Later on. In what's left. Half of the former Empire (all of its west) was divided between Ranala, Yardanar, and the newly formed Valatean Republic. New neighbors, so full of love for each other...

11. And in these historical events lies the Valatean and Velastian dislike for each other. The Valateans believe that the Empire failed to protect their ancestors. Then left their ancestors to rot in the slums, the same citizens of the Empire at the time. And after the rebellion, after the exile, decided to get rid of them. You could say the Valateans developed an anti-monarchy cultural layer. Like, fuck the Empire, we'll have a Republic!

Ethnically, the Valateans and Velastians are one people, well, purely ethnically. The languages have also acquired a number of differences over the past couple of centuries, though both branches descend from Old Imperial. So Selene will understand Velastian perfectly well, though she will find some of the words and speech patterns funny.

Despite the animosity, trade between the Republic and the Dominion is flourishing, and there have been no open wars between them in the past 200 years. The same cannot be said for neighboring Yardanar (or rather, the Alliance of Seven on its eastern borders), with which Valatea has been at constant war. Not counting long, sometimes up to 20 years, truces.

Well, dislike is dislike, but money, as they say, does not smell. Trade was and still is in full swing between the Republic and the Dominion. Even if on one side are ‘imperial degenerates’ and on the other ‘divisive scumbags‘. Yeah, Dominon officially considers the Republic to be temporarily withdrawn territory. Their territory. And the Republic thinks the Dominion should fuck off. That's just the current political climate in the region, if put it bluntly.

Side note. Iolanta is a Velastian. Now, it's probably a little more obvious why she emphasizes this in a couple of dialogues and also finds some of the Republic's, shall we say, cultural traits not quite adequate. But that's in private dialogues. Don't expect her to start declaring her identity in the middle of a market square in some Republic town. Though she can hardly be called a Dominion supporter. Hot Republican, probably not either...

- Oh, absolutely!

Political structure.

Valatea is an aristocratic republic. Only the heads of the Great Houses sit in the Senate. They have complete control over the administrative and legislative powers. They make laws and appoint those who enforce them. They appoint the governors of the other cities in the province. Yes, in the Republic, everything that isn't a capital city is a province, one big province. Even the heads of the Valatea metropolitan areas are also appointed by the Senate.

All in all, a Bronze Age democracy. Only the richest, um, men have the right. No women. No slaves. Not even other free men. Just the heads of the Great Houses.

Curious fact. Aristotle would probably have considered the Valatean Republic an ideal, for it is aristocratic, not popular.

Aristotle:

- Hell yeah! No filthy commoners in the Senate!

The ‘People's Republic’ of that period, however, looked like a shouting and fighting mob of men in the town square. Whoever could shout or beat whom - those were the winners. That's how the majority was found out. After all, it is much easier to shout or beat rivals when there are more of you. So, to be fair, Aristotle's idea to separate democracy from the crowd was... not without reason.

All the Great Houses are descended from rebellion leaders or commanders during the Exile March and bear their names as titles. Except for Mithrias (he has no living descendants). But one of the political parties within the Senate is named in his honor.

So each Great House, has its own ‘success story’, of the rise of the common rebel, poor man, or even slave, to a glorious ass sitting in the Senate. Just like their glorious descendants now.

Side note. House Talar (Noble Origin) is named in honor of the leader of the wagon during the Exile March. It was not the most revered position, as the other rebel leaders were in command of the troops reclaiming the lands of the Republic from the ‘barbarians’ of Yardanari, and Talar was in charge of the wagons, with women, children, and old... This is why Talar was ‘granted’ the vast (and useless) swamps south of Valatea.

The other Great Houses were given much smaller but much more attractive lands, with fertile lands, forests, navigable rivers, and other more useful things than a huge swamp with a bunch of frogs. And iron was found in these swamps much later... And the wealth of the descendants of this house went up sharply.

The first subjects of the Great House Talar, the 'Iron Hearts', owners of the largest domain.

Kwak-kwah.

And these, yes. They're also found in the local swamps. Fortunately, Selene of Noble Origin was not inclined to go far into her domain and meet all of her... subjects.

Noble inheritance.

This part will be more interesting to people playing as Selene with Noble Origin. It clarifies some things that are difficult to refer directly in the game itself. In a single sequence, at least.

The first and most important thing to understand is that the nobility in Valatea is not feudal, this isn't medieval fantasy, like 'Game of Thrones' or something. All lands belong to the Republic, the Great Houses just govern them.

But not all the Republic's lands are under the control of the Great Houses, only about half of them. So, theoretically, there is a possibility to create many new Great Houses and give them lands to rule. And given the conquered territories of the Alliance of Seven... The Republic has more than enough ‘free’ lands now. And there are a lot of ownerless commoners living on them, who don't know how to govern themselves properly, oh that poor things...

The lands of the two Great Houses cannot be united in any way, not even by marriage. For example, if two noble people marry, the woman leaves the line of succession of her House, and their joint children with her husband enter the line of succession of his House.

A woman also cannot head a Great House. At least not without the permission of the Senate. Which has never happened in 200 years. In disputable moments, the Senate appointed some distant relative (a man) to run the Great House, even if the daughter of the deceased head of the House was alive, healthy, and sane.

It's not so much about the presence or absence of, ahem, a dick, by the way. Despite their high status, members of the Senate must always be ready to lead an army or separate units in times of war. Or sit on the back of a pharx (a large wingless bird, a local type of particularly heavy ‘cavalry’).

Side note. However, that doesn't change the fact that some Great Houses were and are actually ruled by women (like the mother of Selene's with Noble Origin ). All the responsibility is on the husband, and all the power is in the hands of such an active woman, who actually runs the estate and the affairs of the House while her husband sits far away in the capital's Senate. Or off at another war. Ahem, patriarchy, yes...

Another important aspect is that only the first heir passes noble status to his children. All other children retain noble status for life but do not pass it on to their children.

For example, Sargon is the fifth son of his Great House. So he is and will be a nobleman until his death. But not his children. Unless all his four older brothers die (and all their sons).

The inheritance of each Great House shall be distributed as follows:

• The first heir receives the name of the Great House, all its lands and estates, and half of the movable property and treasury.

• The other half of the movable property and money of the house is distributed equally among all the other brothers and sisters. Thus, the second and further children are usually not poor and add to the local ‘middle class’.

Back to Selene of Noble Origin. She is third in line to inherit House Talar (two brothers ahead of her). But she's a woman. That's a problem when getting the title. Her mother disinherited her (as Selene herself is sure, but they never really talked since her escape from the estate, after all). And it's an even bigger problem that calls into question her receiving the family's share of the money due to her after her father's death in the war. After all, noble women, unlike men, can indeed be disinherited by verbal decree of the head of their Great House for any offense, such as disobedience. Or running away from home with a slave lover, as Selene did.

By the way, such a trick won't work with a male heir, a hearing and a decision of the Senate will be required. And a much more compelling reason, like insanity. Or outright blasphemy. Though, in this society, it's about the same thing.

However, absolutely no one can revoke Selene's nobility status. It's with her for life. But without the money and influence of her Great House, it's not like that's worth much.

Side note. Funny thing is, marrying a former slave doesn't technically violate any laws of the Republic. But it's such a SCANDAL for the nobles that Selene's confidence in being banished from her Great House is probably not unfounded... Now, here's if Selene had some powerful patron with influence in the Senate, then who knows... Maybe one day, all the frogs in the swamps south of Valatea will obey her! And all the iron from the swamps will flow into her treasury, which is probably more significant. Or it will remain just a pipe dream of an actress in a traveling troupe, who until her old age will tell everyone who wants to listen that she is such a real noblewoman, nooo wait, seriously...

Army and politics.

In a society at the level of development between the Bronze and Iron Ages, these two things are roughly the same. However, I'm not sure that this has changed much now...

The pre-reform army of the Republic (shortly before the events of the game) was the capital's militia, gathered in times of war. Traditionally, the militia was recruited from wealthy capital citizens and nobles, as they were obliged to provide their own armor and weapons. The city poor were not suitable for this. But this is more about the ‘bronze period’ of the Republic.

After abundant deposits of iron were found in the swamps south of Valatea (lands of Great House Talar), the Senate monopolized its purchases and created state forges to forge iron weapons and armor for the militia. That was about 100 years ago. And around the same time, the capital's poor began to be recruited into the militia. They were now given weapons from the state warehouses. Poverty used to save them from the honor of serving the country. Not anymore.

The provincials didn't serve in the army. But, unlike the capital, they paid taxes. It was in this state that the Republic entered the last of the wars with the Alliance of Seven.

Khull's Reforms. After becoming Archon of War (a sort of consul for military affairs) after the battle of Serenity Hills, he turned the Republic's army into a professional one. Soldiers now received a salary from the treasury, as well as weapons and armor. So poor provincials were drawn to the army. 'Gold for Blood' policy. And the number of the Republic's troops increased dramatically. Which began to drain the treasury. And a large army and an empty treasury are the shortest way to expansionist policies. With a touch of supremacism. Well, ‘we’ are civilization, and ‘they’ are filthy barbarians. The usual crap.

This is already, so to speak, current events in the world of the game, which can be traced in many dialogues with a variety of characters.

Curious fact. You can google something similar about Gaius Marius, who reformed the army of the Roman Republic. However, there are no direct borrowings, just some similarities. Valatea is not Rome, and Rome is not Valatea.

Gaius Marius:

- I'll make soldiers out of you, you provincial suckers!

All right, Gaius Marius didn't say that. But he could.

Geography and population.

The Valatean Republic is a large country. But populated unequally. Most of the population is in Valatea itself, with about 250,000 inhabitants in and around the city. That's still less than Caladan, the capital of the Dominion, with its roughly 500,000 inhabitants.

Side note. And still smaller than ancient Rome, with its million inhabitants. Ah, yes Caladan is not marked on any in-game map, but it's actually at the mouth of the Vedena River (mentioned in the second part of Sargon's book). Caladan is right there:

Former capital of the Empire. The current capital of Dominion. And the largest city in the world. Valatea is only in second place. Which pisses off a lot of Valateans. ‘Those imperialistic assholes!’

But back to the Republic. The largest of the cities in its province is Amarath. It's home to about 50,000 people. That's where Selene and her troupe are going. Then there's Medosa (30k) and Nemeda (20k).

So the north of the Republic is the second most populated region after the capital and its suburbs.

The rest of the province's cities are even smaller, nowhere else has more than 10k residents.

As for villages and small towns, they are mostly concentrated around the major cities. The spaces in between are barely populated. That's why Selene doesn't meet travelers on the road at every turn. Not the least of which are the jumpers, of course. These little critters terrorize small, remote villages and hamlets, making people less willing to settle too far away from major cities. Though there are always brave souls, like Ronan and Celia. Ahem, okay, perhaps that wasn't the best example...

Another reason for this settlement is the wars fought by the Republic against the Alliance of Seven. The inhabitants of villages and towns usually took refuge behind the walls of a nearby major city for the duration of the war. That's hard to do if you live weeks away from such a city.

Now let's take a look at the centre of the Republic, the Grinurian Mountains.

Barely inhabited. And hardly passable. The local highlanders are something like caricatured rednecks from American films, well, adjusted for local flavor, of course. They do not recognize the authority of the Republic. ‘Lowlanders’ (as they call them) are terrorised by raids. Usually to steal something, to rape someone... For petty reasons, so to speak. They don't usually leave a mountain of corpses as the Ranalian raiders do. Usually.

The Highlanders are descendants of those who survived the Yardanari invasion by hiding in the mountains, or they've always lived there, even before the Caladan Empire was founded. Or maybe both.

The Senate has been aware of the ‘mountain problem’ for a very long time. But there's not much they can do. Sending a military expedition into the mountains is a pretty stupid thing to do. The mountaineers will just hide and wait out the danger. If they can be found at all by those soldiers who are fumbling around the mountains, like blind kittens. Oh, those inhabitants of the countryside and the cities, who have never been to the mountains before...

The west of the Republic is a wide, stretched from north to south strip of swampy, densely forested land around the Kunara River, where there are not even normal roads.

Navigation on the Kunara River, more or less, links the smaller towns in this part of the country together. The largest of which are Tethys and Caluna. And, now, the recently captured Rishana, which was part of the Alliance of Seven.

Outside of these ‘islands of civilization’ in a green sea of dense forests, there live only rare hunters and those who want to hide from the world on purpose.

The south of the Republic is mostly volcanic wasteland adjacent to the ocean.

The volcano itself, Ishura, is relatively quiet. Except for the occasional eruption every 50 years or so. Not strong enough to pose a threat to civilization, but enough to keep people away.

Close to the wastelands runs the road between Caluna and Delphonis, the Republic's main temple city and its religious heart. But on the road itself between the two towns, tiny trading posts are mostly found. Not many are willing to test the mood of an active volcano on their own hide.

Ethnic composition.

Valateans make up the majority of the population. They have tan skin, black or black with brown hair, and brown or amber eyes. And amber eyes are more common the further west one goes (Inuatarian hereditary trait). And the further east, towards the Dominion, the more common brown eyes are.

Side note. I've seen some modders present Valateans in their portrait mods as rather... fair-skinned. Well, the Republic is north of the equator on a planet with two suns. There is a rather inappropriate climate... for too light-skinned people. But perhaps I should refrain from delving further into this subject.

The three largest minorities in the Republic are (in descending order):

1. Yardanari. Brown skin, black (often curly) hair, and brown or amber eyes. They are the largest minority in the Republic. And mostly in slave status. Especially since the last war.

2. Inuatarians. Golden skin, black straight hair, and amber (rarely brown) eyes. In the Republic, they live in fairly closed communities. But it's not a rigid rule. Some may have never once been in such a community. Like Selene with this ethnicity, for example.

3. Ranalians. Light with reddish skin, red (all kinds of red) hair, and emerald eyes. Half-breeds are very common in the Republic. Well, the Ranalians are fond of raids, during which they do all sorts of things... Though the biggest raids were on Yardanar and the Dominion. The Republic used to get away with small raids. But that was before it conquered the lands of the Alliance of Seven and bordered Ranala.

Rare minorities:

1. Northerners. This is a collective name for the various peoples of the northern archipelago (far north beyond the map). They have very pale skin, blonde hair (of all varieties except platinum, no Targaryens here), and grey or blue eyes.

Curious fact. The most famous blond in this latitude is Khull the White Tiger, the current Republican Archon of War. I was once asked the question, ‘are there blondes in this world’. Yes, there are. But in the Republic itself, there are very, very few. The local climate is... shall we say, not favorable to them. But that doesn't mean you won't meet any northerners or their descendants in the game. After all, their merchant galleys often ply from the north and along the Solastica coast. Once in a while, some of them settle there and start families. Even more rarely, some of them go even further south, to the Valatean Republic.

2. Southerners. This is a collective name for the various peoples who hail from the Endless Forests (far to the south beyond the map, south of the White Sand Desert). They have ebonite, sometimes even with purple hue skin, dark brown eyes, and black hair.

The best-known Southerners in the Republic are the Black Phalanx. Approximately 600 in number. However, many Valateans have never personally seen them and consider them only a fairy tale.

3. Tyrunians. Native to the hills, south of the beginning of the Nomadic World on the map. They have fairly fair skin, black hair, and blue eyes. The latter is a rather remarkable and rare trait in these parts of the world.

The Tyrunians themselves are barbarians, even by barbarian standards. They do not work with metals, know only stone and bone. The old ways, so to speak. They rarely leave their hills. They're also known for their savagery, and... witch shamans. And a host of other frightening tales. But are they fairy tales? Maybe one day Selene will find out for herself, who knows?

Well, this is what the Valatean Republic looks like. The place where the events of the game unfold.

UPD. I almost forgot, but I still have some preliminary portrait choices for Selene the Northerner and Selene the Southerner that didn't make it into the game. Why? Well, in one of the big replies below in the comments, a bit more on that. Nevertheless, why not show what's left gathering dust in the folder of stuff that didn't make it into the game?

Selene's concept with the Northerner ethnos:

Selene concept with Southerner ethnos:

This is to visualize what Northerners and Southerners look like in this world.