rp: extra information Lore Information: Talvania

[Neptune]

Talvanian Lore Information

Contents:

• Introduction
• Geography and Map
• History
• Important figures
• Miscellaneous

Talvania is a relatively new country, still finding its feet after declaring its independence from its founding country. The land is harsh and unforgiving, and largely unexplored. Towns and settlements have begun to settle, and industry has been brought to the land. But be wary of travelling too far from safety for the wilds of the land may hunt you, as well as enemies that are hungry for your blood.

For those rough enough to handle the dangerous land, there is much opportunity for those who are bold enough to grasp for it. This thread is intended to give you all the information you need to help your character survive the wild and untamed lands of Talvania.

[Neptune]

Geography and Map

Talvania has a range of climates that can make travelling across it difficult, especially if one is not prepared. The northern part of the country is more temperate, with the northeast being covered in a lust forest that can hide many dangers. To the southeast of the island though, the climate becomes warmer and the lust rainforest gives way to a more dry and arid environment with sparse vegetation. This trend continued for the entire southern edge of the country, with sparse areas of lusher vegetation. The heart of Talvania however is more akin to the Mojave Desert, making it impassable to all but a few daring travellers. In the Southeastern section of the island is the Southstone Peaks, a range of mountains that is as dangerous as they are beautiful. 

There is one thing that must be noted here is the area just south of the western region of the mountainous region shown in the height map below. The mountains are shown as the red and orange colours, as they are the highest areas of Talvania. Due to the fact that it is a flat plain leading up into a mountain, warm air is pushed against the mountain and up where it is cooled by the higher altitude. This causes a cyclone effect in the air, which can lead to supercell storms, some of which produce tornadoes. So the area just to the south of that mountainous region is a tornado hotspot. For ease of visualisation, I have highlighted this area on the map.

Cities and Towns

This is a list of the towns and cities that one will find when travelling across Talvania. This gives you an idea as to the surrounding environment of a town and its purpose within the world. 

Bari

Bari is situated on the very east of the island, Bari is on the edge of the island sitting on the edge of the Haelan River. They have a small fishing port, with a small fleet of fishing boats where they head out to sea to fish the local schools in the surrounding water. On both sides of the village there are farms that surround the village that grow various crops throughout the year. The area around the farm is also slightly marshy, and one has to be careful of the alligators that reside there as they are more than happy to take a bite out of you.

The town itself is a relatively small size, but they are reasonably self sufficient although they trade with other towns for red meat. But they have their own sheriff’s office, tavern and blacksmith along with a variety of shops and houses where farmers and other workers live.

Berdin

Berdin is a town situated along the Glendoran River, allowing the town itself to have access to fresh water despite the arid surroundings. The town has little in the ways of farms, although there are one or two ranches that are set up near the river. The main export of this town is Iron Ore, as there are several mines that are very rich in Iron Ore deposits allowing people to make a decent wage. They are a medium sized town, with a decent number of shops, Sheriff’s Officer, blacksmith, butchers and a tavern. The housing mainly belongs to the miners who work long, grueling shifts.

Berzu

Berzu is towards the south of the country, in a rather marshy area where they have access to a fresh water spring that feeds into a small river that heads to the nearby coast. The residents take advantage of the fertile soil to grow a large number of crops. The local river is a favourite for Crocodiles, though, so one must be careful but they residents have learned to live with the dangerous reptiles. They have the basics such as a Sheriff’s Officer, tavern and blacksmith along with shops. 

Bire

Bire sits close to the Southern cost, but slightly back, and a fair distance from the closest river. It relies on underground springs, tapping into them with wells where they are able to extract clean water that suits their needs perfectly. The area around them is slightly dry, and the soil is too hard and barren to grow crops. Instead, they raise Talvanian cows, a staple meat across the entire country. So the town is mainly built up of cattle ranches as well as one or two stables where they breed and sell good quality horses that are quite hardy with good stamina. They have a small town centre with a few houses, Sheriff’s office, blacksmith, several butchers and a tavern. 

Burne

Burne is on the North West of the country, and not the most visited of towns. This is because Burne is home to a Sulphur mine which, as you can imagine, stinks. But it is an important component to Gunpowder of which is used across the entire country. There is a small town huddled a distance from the mines with a Sheriff’s office, tavern, blacksmith and shops. There are also a few factories where they combine the sulphur with charcoal imported from New Warlington and Saltpeter imported from Reyhan to create gunpowder which is exported country-wide.

Chabey

Chabey is located on the Southern Coast. It has a relatively large port where it is able to accept goods, and send them off to be sold to other countries. The population is mainly made up of port workers and tradesmen and thus they are a little larger than other towns and are made from more stone than wood. They have a large law enforcement office, several taverns and several important services such as the blacksmith and taverns. They also have a large fishing fleet, allowing them to fish from the local waters.

Desirzi

Desirzi is on the eastern side of the country, sitting between two rivers but not aligning with either. They have quite lush land, allowing them to grow a number of crops as well as being able to raise several kinds of animals such as sheep, cows and pigs. This allows them to export a lot of farm produce. They have a Sheriff’s office, blacksmith, shops and a tavern. 

Dragontail

Dragontail sits on the edge of the river Dragon on the eastern side of the country, and is a gold mining town. They have their Sheriff’s Office, blacksmith, tavern and shops but there are no farms or ranches. Every worker works either in the gold mine, or works the riverbed to try and fold gold within it. It is a relatively rich mine, allowing them to pull in enough to trade for food and goods from other towns. 

Gurman

Gurman is on the southern side of the country, sitting at the very start of a river as it boils out from a spring. The area around their town is quite rocky, making it unsuitable for growing crops or raising animals. However there is a rich vein of Iron Ore, which the townsfolk mine. The town is quite small, lacking even a sheriff’s office. But they have the all important tavern, as well as a blacksmith and a few shops especially since they have to import their food.

Haling Cove

To the North of the country is Haling Cove, a large port town that imports and exports goods to and from other countries. It is quite a high traffic town, with a fluctuating population. There is a police station, many shops and many services and taverns. There are one or two nearby farms but nothing immediately important. 

Hullbeck

Hullbeck sits on the river Fenn, with a rather warm and wet climate. Thus the farms are very lush and fertile allowing for the growing of crops and the raising of animals. Not only that, but the town is surrounded by a thick forest where workers chop down trees to either sell the wood or to burn down into charcoal to be sold to other towns. They have a Sheriff's Office, blacksmith, butches and a tavern. The woods around the town are quite dangerous, though, filled with bears and wolves.

Kalan

Kalan is situated on the North-east of the country on the river Dozle. It is a large town that fulfills several rolls. Despite the fact that it is slightly upriver, this serves to protect it from any tidal surges. There is an extensive port that caters to both goods and a fishing fleet. The goods ports are not as extensive as other towns, but it allows for incoming goods to reach the nearby towns easily. There are also several nearby farms that grow both crops and raise animals. They have a police station, as well as several important services. 

Kale

On the Southern lip of Talvania, there is a large farming town of Kale. There are extensive farms that surround the town that go on as far as the eye can see. There are also large ranches and other animal farms meaning that they have a huge amount of food exports. The town itself is quite small, with a small collection of shops, a sheriff’s office and blacksmith. The homes of most of the townsfolk were closer to their own farms.

Kalik

Kalik is a coastal town close to Kale. The farmland gives away to a thick forest. Kalik is a logging town, chopping down the local trees and exporting them to other towns, or burning them down into charcoal. They also have a fishing port, where they fish the local schools. They have a Sheriff's Office, tavern, blacksmith as well as an array of shops. 

Kalora

Kalora is a port city at the mouth of the river Dragon. It is quite a large settlement, the only one competing with Shangul and almost became the Capital City. However it lost that race and is the only other city on the island. It is spread across both sides of the city, and has the largest port on the island where they export and import things with the rest of the world. They also have the largest fishing fleet as the waters nearby contain some of the most abundant numbers of fish available. There are numerous services available in this city, including several large police stations. 

Kara

Located on the Southern edge of the island, Kara is a farming town surrounded by many ranches and farming fields. There is a small collection of buildings towards the centre of the town with vital services such as the Sheriff’s office, blacksmith and shops but most of the houses are situated close to their farms, making Kara a rather spread out down.

Kirk

Kirt is situated quite close to Kara. It is a small town, with a few fishing boats that catch fish on a daily basis. However the largest industry is the coal mine that is located nearby. Most of the people who live in the town, work in the dangerous coal mine which is then transported across the entire island. They have a few general shops, a sheriff’s office and a rather large blacksmith as well as a boat building yard.

Kryla

Kryla is another coal mining town, located somewhat nearby Kirk. But with how desolate the surrounding land is, there is little land to build crops or have ranches. They have to rely on wells dug deep into the ground for their water supply. The town is situated in an area that is dry and arid, with little plant growth. It also tends to be quite warm especially in the summer. They have general shops which rely on outside sources of trade, as well as a large blacksmith and a sheriff’s office.

Kvor

Kvor is quite a small town, with a small collection of buildings that dot the streets. It has its own Sheriff’s office, blacksmith, butcher and gunshop. The town is surrounded by a number of ranches that raise cows specially bred and raised to be consumed as the meat is very tender.

Luton

Luton is situated on the edge of the river Dunearth. With access to fresh water, Luton has access to a large amount of fertile soil that is perfect for farming. They also have a closeby forest that is filled with hardwoods that they chop down and export to other areas of the island for the good quality wood that they produce which is perfect for furniture and other luxuries. They are a respectably large town with a number of different shops, sheriff’s office, blacksmith, and butcher.

Mirfield

Mirfield is located on the North-east of Talvania, on the edge and close to the mouth of a small river. It has a small port for a small fishing fleet that collects from the local schools. As they are also on the more temperate side of the island, they have access to a large number of trees that grow in the surrounding forests thus they chop the wood down to export. They are a relatively large town, and have a large number of shops, a sheriff’s office, and a blacksmith.

New Denis

New Denis is situated just a little West of Mirfield. Its primary industry is logging from the lust forests that surround the town, usually using the river to help speed the exportation of logs to other locations on the landmass. They are a relatively large town, with numerous shops, a sheriff’s office, and a blacksmith.

New Marsh

New Marsh is quite an isolated community. It is a small town, whose main business is the mining of the nearby iron mines that are rich in the much sought after metal. Everyone that is able to work, works in the mine as there is pretty much nothing else to do. There are some shops, a sheriff’s office and a blacksmith. Instead of processing the ore on site, it is immediately shipped out to other areas of the country.

New Warlington

New Warlington is situated just South of the Capital City. Is sits along the river Kvaelovich which feeds into the sea through Shangul. It also feeds into a large lake that helps keeps the surrounding land lust with forests, making it idea logging and farming which is what New Warlington is known for. They have extensive farms across fertile soil, and chop down the local softwood trees. They have a large central down, with numerous ships, a sheriff’s office, blacksmith and a butcher. A number of people life out by their farms though.

Newham

Newham is situated on the Northeastern coast, close to Mirfield. It is a farm town, primarily consisting of growing fields, on the river Vale. The fields and the town are surrounded by a lush, rich forest but they are not loggers by trade although there are those that cut down trees for firewood uses. The town is relatively small, the main portion consisting mainly of shops, the blacksmith, and the sheriff’s office. Most individuals love close to their fields.

Northwich

Northwich is quite a new town that has popped up over the years. Unlike most towns, it does no farming, logging, fishing or mining. Instead, iron and other basic materials are imported where those that live in the town work at steelwork factories producing basic metals such as iron, steel, among others. As such the town is quite industrialised, and the buildings are made from local stone and slated roofs. It is not a large town at the moment, and is still a rather modest size due to how new of a settlement it is. It has a number of shops, a sheriff’s office and various services to keep all the equipment in the factories up and running.

Oakenary

Oakenary is on the river Dragon about the point where it becomes its widest and serves as a means to get across the river with a bridge that spans its expanse. Oakenary is a logging town that focuses primarily on the good quality oak trees that grow around them, hence their name. It is a modestly sized town that has general shops of the centre, a sheriff’s office and a blacksmith. 

Rasburg

Rasburg rests towards the southern shores of the country, along the river Vengarr. The town has a gold mine that the settlers in the town dig within. Prospectors also mine gold from the river, however the amount pales in comparison to the amount that can be extracted from the mine. There are no farms, and there is no logging as there are no trees. The town is modestly sized, has a good collection of shops, has a sheriff’s office and a blacksmith.

Reyhan

Located on the Northern coast, Reyhan is close to Shangul and has a direct road to it. Reyhan has a number of farms dotted around, mainly growing tough grain such as rye. Its main industry though, is a saltpeter farm, where they mine saltpeter and export it as saltpeter is a key ingredient in the production of gunpowder. As the sole miner of Saltpeter, it has made the town quite wealthy in relative terms. The town has a number of shops in town, and a number of services such as the sheriff’s office, blacksmith, etc. There are a number that live close to the town proper, but a number of the farming families live close to their fields.

Sadanak

Sadanak is on the Southern part of the country, a little inland and on the edge of the arid centre of the island. They are a little while from the closest river, so they rely on wells for their water supplies as the ground is abundant with ground water. There is one main industry in the town, which is a Silver mine. While not as profitable as a gold mine, it does well enough to attract miners from across the country. The town is quite clustered together, with a number of shops, a sheriff’s office and blacksmith as well as various other services. 

Shangul

Shangul is the Capital City in Talvania, and is where the seat of power is. It is the richest area of the country. It is a sprawling city, with tall buildings made from stone brick with slate roofs. The town is highly industrialised, with a lot of factories producing a high number of products that they sell across the country and even overseas. The streets are wide, and are mainly filled with horse and carriages. There is even the occasional car, however due to how expensive they are, they are only owned and maintained by the extremely rich.

Stawford

Stawford is in a rather hilly area of the country, where the Kiryun river starts from an underwater spring which the town live off of in terms of water. Due to the rich source of water, the town is well known for its lush farms that grow a variety of crops. There is also a deep coal mine that produces a lot of good quality coal. The town is rather clustered, with mine workers living in the central part of the town along with shops, a sheriff’s office, blacksmith, etc. Most of the farmers live outside of the town close to their fields.

Toyan

Toyan is located on the Northern edge of Talvania, close to the coast. It is slightly inland though due to a rich copper deposit that the local town is making good use of, by setting up a good copper mine that pulls up a good amount of copper to keep them reasonably well off. The town is a cluster of wooden buildings muscled between the rocky surroundings. They have a number of shops, a sheriff’s office, and blacksmith among other services.

Veritas

Veritas is at the entrance of the small lip of land that emerges from the mainland. It is an extensive farm, with fields and ranches that sprawl out over quite a bit of land. In the main town there is only a small collection of shops and services such as the sheriff’s office, blacksmith and butcher. Houses tend to be close to their fields and ranches, meaning that this community is quite spread out. 

Zago

On the Southern lip of the island is Zago, a rather small community has been built on the edge of Seven Angel river, a name that came about due to claims of angels spotted in the area. Compared to other towns, Zago is quite small and the community tight knit. All those of a working age are either homemakers or work within the iron mine. The sheriff’s office is quite small, but they still have their own blacksmith as well as other services.

[Neptune]

History

This post outlines the history of Talvania and how it came to be. It is likely that your characters will have a passing familiarity with this history.

The origins of Talvania date back to 1634, when a country by the name of Maskurg, home of the Maskurg Empire, found the new lands and laid claim on it. They started to build their first settlement; Shangul. After some time, they started a couple of other towns as they began to expand and explore the continent. It was clear that they were intending on claiming the country as one of their colonies, making use of the country's warmer climate to grow goods that cannot grow in their much older, northern mainland. 

Things were not to go smoothly, however, as colonists from another country, Thuya who were part of the Thuyan Empire, started arriving and began to settle themselves in 1645. It was not long before the two sides found each other and hostilities broke out. Even with what little they had explored of the island, both sides viewed it as a valuable resource to exploit and wanted ownership of the land. Both sides fought hard, and lost many people during the following sixty-seven years that the war lasted. At first, with the Thuyan’s superior technological process when it came to military weapons, the Thuyan Empire was able to easily gain control of most of the land. However the Maskurg Empire fought back viciously, outnumbering the opposing side at least twenty men to one. They were also more tenacious and displayed a flare for tactics that the Thuyan Empire just couldn’t keep up with. In the end, the Maskurg Empire were victorious in throwing out the Thuyan Empire and gaining supremacy over the land.

Despite the Thuyan Empire being defeated though, there are still pockets of soldiers that have remained, hidden from the settlements that still cause problems to this day (more information below). 

By this point, the country had become largely independent, as the Maskurg Empire mainly threw money at them and little else. They had been forced to fend mainly for themselves. In order to deal with the invading forces, they had been forced to set up their own government. In 1716, the Maskurg Empire demanded that they become a vassal state, earning money for the Empire and providing money and manpower during wars that might not have anything to do with the country itself. 

The government and the Empire bickered back and forth about this, as the people of the country did not want to give up what they had so bitterly fought for as by now at least two generations had passed during the wartime. Finally, tired of the pressure being exerted by the Empire, the government formally declared independence in 1721, officially naming the new country Talvania. 

The Maskurg Empire was not pleased by this turn of events, and threatened consequences but the government refused to bow down to their demands. At first, the Empire attempted to wage economic warfare by refusing to trade with them as for the moment the Empire was Talvania’s largest trading partner. However, Talvania was quickly becoming self-sufficient and switched to trading with other countries, becoming more profitable as a result. 

This irritated the Empire, and in 1762 they launched an attack on the Capital City of Shangul but the city was able to repel the navy forces as they had been quietly building defences. Thus when the Maskurg ships arrived, they were able to drive them back and defend the city. Until 1794, there were many skirmishes from the Empire as they attempted to land a base on the continent but were met with little success. They then fell silent for a while, with small invading forces flaring up every now and again, the last being in 1880, ten years before the start of the roleplay. Since then, things have been relatively quiet other than the industrial era entering full swing and Shangul becoming one of the industrial hotspots in the world. 

The year is now 1890, the time of this roleplay and the tales that you will weave.

[Neptune]

Important figures

This post outlines some of the important figures that characters may know about in general. This list will likely grow and expand over time, and may include infamous outlaws as well as governmental figures.

President of Talvania

Name: Charles Winstone
Date of Birth: 10th November 1828
Age: 61
Information: Charles was born in Shangul, his father being a wealthy businessman who had a number of connections within the business and political landscape. Charles attended a Private school, and did well getting good grades. When he left school, he attended the Shangul University and immersed himself in business studies. He then joined his father’s business, and quickly became one of his hardest workers as their family owned a large mason company which helped mine and shape the stone that lines Shanful’s streets. When Charles became 50, he decided to use his connections in the political world to start a career in politics. In 1886 he was voted in as President of Talvania. 

Edited July 31, 2020 by Neptune

[Neptune]

Miscellaneous information

This post outlines some of the miscellaneous information about the Talvania Loreverse. This list will likely expand overtime so keep an eye on it!

State Enemies

Maskurg Empire

The Maskurg Empire spans across sixteen different countries across the globe. It is the largest empire in the world and wields enormous ergonomic and military might. It is the original founding country of Talvania before Talvania seceded in 1721. Since then, the Maskurg Empire has attempted to regain control over the continent due to its potential rich resources but this far has failed. Culturally, they are rather like the British Empire with a flare of Russian in there with the language being a mixture of the two. As a people they are rather hard working and can be ferocious in a fight, qualities that can be seen in modern day Talvania along with a desire for freedom.

Thuyan Empire

The Thuyan Empire is the second largest Empire in the world, having control over eight countries across the globe. What they lack up for in size and numbers, they make up for in technological prowess. While they did not start the industrial revolution, they certainly ran with it and have become quite innovative. They are extremely efficient and get things done. Culturally, they are rather like German with an almost Japanese sense of honour and duty.

Notable Groups

This subsection outlines a few notable groups such as outlaws and gangs.

Thuyan Raiders

The Thuyan Raiders are the remnants of the Thuyan Empire invasion force. As some of their family were left along with them, they were able to continue through several generations. They live in hidden outposts and settlements, never staying in the same place for long. They often raid settlements, villages and towns stealing resources and generally making life hell for the locals. They have been known to kidnap, rape and murder.

Zhaltan Cannibals

There are rumours that in the Southstone Peaks mountain range, lives a tribe of foreign individuals who are extremely primitive. Primitive they may be, though, they are extremely dangerous. They are relentless hunters that will track their mark for weeks on end, and they don’t restrict their prey to animals. It is rumoured that they are cannibals, believing that by consuming their enemies they absorb their power. Thus the more powerful they perceive someone to be, the harder they will attempt to hunt you. It is rumoured that they also consider all those that are not of their tribe are their enemies. 

Animals

This is a list of some of the animals characters may encounter on their travels around Talvania. Obviously the list is longer than what I have here, but this gives you some kind of an idea as to what to expect. 

• Horses (obviously)
• Buffalo
• Bison
• Ox
• Deer
• Domesticated animals (introduced)
• Cow/Bulls
• Sheep
• Pig
• Dog
• Cat
• Wolves
• Wild dogs
• Coyote
• Kodiak Bear
• Black Bear
• Grizzly Bear
• Cougar/Mountain Lion
• Moose
• Grey squirrels/mice/rats/Racoons/Possum/Ferret/Weasels/Fox
• Vultures
• Birds of prey: Eagles, Falcons, Buzzards, etc.
• Crows/Ravens
• Alligator/Crocodiles
• Snakes

Along with animals, there is a wide range of crops grown across the continent such as maize, wheat, corn, etc.

Food and drink

You will find the same kind of food and drink in Talvania that you would have found in the Wild West. There are some others, such as new and unique drinks that are within the country. They are listed below (If you have any suggestions, message me!):

• Shangul Whiskey: Whiskey made in the city of Shangul, using the river water to give the whiskey its unique smokey taste.
• Valka: This is a drink based on a drink from the Maskurg Empire, Vodka. Valka is made in a similar manner, although it tends to be slightly stronger than Vodka.

Edited July 28, 2020 by Neptune