League of Balúrail
| League of Balúrail | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coat of Arms |  | ||||||
| Location |   States of the League and the Territory of Eimbuver | ||||||
| Founded | 289 ME | ||||||
| Capital and Largest City | Têr | ||||||
| Goverment |
| ||||||
| Native Races | Tuzquão • Mifajene | ||||||
| Population | 1.6 million | ||||||
| Administrative Divisions | Têr • Ezinco • Gurverde • Gostiria • Ivaiê • Eimbuver • Mifajene Reservation | ||||||
Introduction
The League of Balúrail is a country in the region of Balúrail on the continent of Méniail. It was founded in 289 ME, when the Tuzquão settlements of Balúrail declared independence from the Kingdom of Bóinbile. It has a population of 1.6 million. Its capital and largest city is Têr. The League is governed in public by elected officials and in fact by the Society of Truth, a secret society.
History
Colony of Bóinbile (201–289 ME)
The first humans in Balúrail came from the Kingdom of Bóinbile in Gosterra, which was then the only human state in that region. They sailed down the coast and founded Saindo in 201 ME under Séan Beascar. Têr was founded in 210 ME. For the next eighty years the settlements were loosely governed colonial towns of the Kingdom. The settlers became the Tuzquão.
Independence (289 ME)
The movement for independence was planned in secret, and the group that planned it became the Society of Truth. The League declared independence in 289 ME. The Kingdom of Bóinbile was distant and occupied with internal problems, and it let the settlements go peacefully. The League was founded with the District of Têr and the states of Gostiria and Ivaiê.
Conquest of Balúrail
From about 290 to 340 ME the League took control of the lowlands of Balúrail and displaced the native Mifajene. The Mifajene Reservation was established in 342 ME.
Expansion
Ezinco was chartered as a state in 612 ME, and Gurverde, in the eastern highlands, in 786 ME. Eimbuver was organized as a territory in 790 ME.
Geography
The League covers most of Balúrail, at the southwestern end of Méniail. It borders Gosterra and, across the Mazissage Mountains, Khamria.
The Western Lowlands are swamp and peat bog, with long freezing winters. Most of the population lives there. The Eastern Highlands are forested foothills of the Mazissage Mountains, with a milder and wetter climate. Lake Arrerem, in Gurverde, is the largest lake.
Goverment and Politics
In public, the League is a republic. The president, the governors of the states, and the mayors are elected.
In fact, the League is controlled by the Society of Truth. The elections are for show, and the Society chooses every official and issues the orders they carry out. Local officials have some control over local matters. The Society's membership is secret, and its existence is not public knowledge, although it is a popular subject among conspiracy theorists.
Administrative Divisions
| Division | Type | Capital | Chartered | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Têr | Federal district | Têr | 289 ME | 320,000 |
| Gostiria | State | Lusbá | 289 ME | 535,000 |
| Ivaiê | State | Ivaiê | 289 ME | 450,000 |
| Ezinco | State | Ezinco | 612 ME | 68,000 |
| Gurverde | State | Arremíria | 786 ME | 160,000 |
| Eimbuver | Territory | None | 790 ME | 7,000 |
| Mifajene Reservation | Semi-sovereign region | None | 342 ME | 60,000 |
- Têr is the capital district, separate from the states.
- Gostiria, in the south, is the most populous state, with many ports along its coast and a sparsely populated interior.
- Ivaiê is a peninsula in the southwest. It is the smallest and most densely populated state and contains the house of Mavai. The naval base of Fort Pone is on Rebe Bay, near Arrêr. Lake Tatube and Lake Donal are in Ivaiê, and the Gal flows from Lake Donal.
- Ezinco, on the west central coast, has the port city of Ezinco, on Tirrico Bay. It contains the Onzirro River, the Onzirro Swamp, and the Fewe'yo Forest.
- Gurverde, in the east, is the most recently settled state. It extends from Lake Beltara and the Diate River east to the Mazissage Mountains, with Lake Arrerem at its southern edge, and holds the sources of most of the rivers of the lowlands.
- Eimbuver, in the northeast, is forest, lakes, and hills. Its only inhabitants are free Mifajene villages.
- The Mifajene Reservation, in the northwest, is home to most Mifajene and to the house of Tahami.
Foreign relations
The League trades and maintains diplomatic relations with both states of Gosterra, the Kingdom of Bóinbile and the Heialdyn Stratocracy. Gosterra is its largest trading partner. It has little contact with the Arânzeni Confederation, because overland travel across the mountains is difficult. Tuzquão shipbuilding gives the League a wide reach by sea, and it trades with the port cities of Arezilur, with Aráinia, and with the other continents.
Economy
The economy rests on the resources of Balúrail: peat and medicinal herbs from the swamps, timber, and mining in the Eastern Highlands. Shipbuilding and sea trade are major industries, centered on the ports of Gostiria, Ivaiê, and Ezinco.
Demographics
The League has a population of 1.6 million. The great majority are Tuzquão, and smaller groups from other regions live in the port cities. About 67,000 are Mifajene, most of them on the Reservation and the rest in free villages in Eimbuver.
Culture