LUSSIA
The ten countries of Lussia are, in fact, united under one banner, and their cooperation has facilitated a society of progress and discovery. It is the global hub of technology and home to the most advanced vesper users, though its people are sometimes still wary of channellers. The lands of Lussia are as diverse as the population, which is an eclectic mix of genders, sexualities, races, and species. With its growing and aging population, Lussia struggles to sustain renewable resources, so its systemic forces have resorted to ethically questionable methods of sustenance. Travelling in Lussia guarantees political and social intrigue as you navigate a country and continent of corruption.
GEOGRAPHY
The continent of Lussia is the southernmost portion of the main vestige landmass, located almost entirely in the southern hemisphere. It is bordered in the north by a mountain range that separates it from M’Qara, though the great Obori valley breaks the boundary in the northwest.
Savannas border the northern regions of Lussia and include many of the mountains that form the boundary between this continent and M’Qara. Across most of Lussia, you will see a mix of subtropical rainforests and dry forests and grassland savannas. At the foot of Lussia in its tundra and taiga regions, a strange, protruding landmass seems to curl towards a similar form in the uninhabited tundras in the south pole, as if pulled inward by a whirlpool. Locals refer to it as the vertex What sort of geological event brought about this strange formation?
POLITICS
Lussia is a united socialist union, and was governed by a council of ten. Each member of the council was responsible for one aspect of the well being of the country. These include, in full, resource management, defense, technology, ambassadorship, medicine, economics, justice, labour, culture, and governance. Every year, one member of the council was replaced by a democratic electoral process. In recent years, however, the state of the government has changed.
Lussian politics have been have been home to some of the more corrupt and dispassionate figures in recent history, and their actions have taken a toll on both foreign and local relationships. A few years ago amidst a drought, the largest known underground aquifer was discovered in the Obori valley between Lussia and M’Qara amid the settlements in Hajan. Lussia, citing an ancient claim to the land that was made several hundred years prior, exerted control over the area, but in response, the countries of M’Qara retaliated, trying to retain what water remains in the land so that their people can continue to survive. This fight over water and survival resulted in the Obori War.
The Obori front was defended by the elite Lussian military, also known as the Knights-Noble. Over time, control over the aquifer changed hands, and the Knights were quickly losing the war against the united M’Qaran continent. The Lord Vigilant, commander of the Knights-Noble, was urged on by the Lussian Council, of which the Lord Vigilant is a part of as the councilor of defence, to regain control over the Obori valley. He in turn resorted to drastic means, including poisoning peripheral water supplies, raiding villages, and desecrating ceremonial grounds. Although these actions were undertaken covertly, as to protect the Lord Vigilant’s reputation, rumors began to circulate. One by one, as Lussian councilors began to catch wind of the crimes committed on the M’Qaran front, they were assassinated. Eventually Lussian governance became a matter of military dictatorship.
The young knight, Arialla Leone, growing dissatisfied with the operations of the Knights-Noble, defected and overthrew the reigning Lord Vigilant. She took her place as Lady Vigilant but by then only two other councilors remained alive. The Lady Vigilant now works to restore the Lussian Council and maintain peaceful relations with the M’Qaran people.
CULTURE
Lussian culture is derived primarily from a secular ideal of progress and invention. Fewer and fewer rural settlements remain as cities become centres for research and development, prompting a wealth of recent inventions. Many refer to Lussia as inciting a second golden age for the vestige.
Though many Lussians totally forego religious obligations in favour of atheism or agnosticism, religion is no foreign concept in Lussian culture. Lussia’s official religion, as declared by the councilor of culture, revolves around the binary opposition of space and time. The deities, _____ and ______, preside over space and time respectively, and devotion to them demands a determination to uncover the laws of the universe and a respect for the division between peoples. The binary has ingrained itself into Lussian culture, as genders are divided into a binary male and female, and the roles of each are divided equally. To deny this boundary, for some, is seen as a denial of the will of deities, and is sometimes punished by social ostracization, though no legal bounds prevent stepping outside the confines of binary gender.
Concurrently, many hostilities are held toward foreigners. Though not predicated by species, the racial and ethnic binary of “local” and “foreign” has cultivated a sense of wariness for intercultural mixing. This wariness was amplified by the Obari War, becoming a blatant contempt for foreigners. This is not always present on an individual level, due to recent social initiatives to welcome and encourage immigration, but systemically, immigrants and emigrants are disadvantaged over others.
In contrast with the will of its official religion, Lussia has expanded their trade reach after the fall of the M’Qaran port city, Verune. Trade posts and embassies have sprung up across the vestige under the Lady Vigilant’s leadership. This has created greater mixture of species and races within Lussia’s boundaries, making it one of the most diverse populations on the vestige.
LANDMARKS
Obari Valley
The site of the Obari war and the boundary between Lussia and M’Qara in the northwest. This valley is littered with towers, all of which were built upon the caverns that lead to the underground aquifer, though many of the towers and the caverns beneath them have collapsed amid the conflict.
Ochridge
The primary centre for medicinal development and home to the largest medical university across the continent. This small city is nestled into the foot of the mountains along the east coast amid a line of ochre-coloured birch trees.
Sir Anders’ Prison
A highly secure prison perched on the cliffs of the eastern coast. This prison was made in memoriam of Sir Anders, a long-serving councilor of defense and later a councilor of justice on the Lussian council. This panoptic prison is often the final stop for those who take on a life of crime.
Thienna
Thienna is the capital of the continent and the home of the Lussian council. The Council Tower overlooks the entire city from a hill, with districts radiating outwards from the centre. It is, similarly, close to the centre of Lussia itself, and is considered “the axis on which the country spins.”
The Vertex
This strange, twisting landmass is located in the southernmost portion of Lussia and looks as though it is being pulled into the ocean. Some speculate that a well has somehow impacted the lay of the land, but attempts to uncover its origin have been met with failure and sometimes even death. Most tend to stay away out of superstitious belief, and none have settled near the Vertex.