Thevia

Pronunciation: THEH-vee-ah 

Adjective: Thevan (THEE-van) 

Capital: Brundavis

Major Islands:

     Brundavis Island: 10,969 sq mi (28,409 sq km) [Hawaii]

     Eddacaro Island: 7,523 sq mi (19,484 sq km) [Connecticut plus Delaware]

     Jinoi Island: 3,531 sq mi (9,145 sq km) [New Hampshire]

Population: 4.5 million

Government: Plutocracy, led by a Council of Merchants.

Economy: Mercantile. Thevia runs on its merchant marine and has a ridiculously high standard of living relative to the rest of Litanaea. It may not look it, but its sailors are far better off and far better trained than any Afrennen peasant or Chō miner. This wealth feeds into the nation's research facilities that develop technologies which are, in turn, sold for more money.

Politics: Thevan policy is driven by the wealthy wanting to become wealthier, both in a personal sense and also in a national sense. Those in charge want the nation to remain enough of a superpower to dictate terms to its trading partners. Or at least break even with nations who have other advantages.

Religion: The Children of Iomei had to start somewhere and it might as well be Thevia. The religion permeates the nation and it is rare to find the citizen who doesn't worship the Pantheon. Religious fervor can occasionally get a little high, but with the moderates in the majority things usually don't boil over into riots or the like.

Culture: Thevia is a hotbed for research and innovation, education (even for the well-educated Litanaea) and industriousness, all topped off with a healthy dash of Steal from the Competition. The southern island nation is probably more advanced than any two of their neighbors put together. Part of that is undoubtedly because Thevans will happily sell their ideas and research for just the right price. They have decades remaining on a trade contract with Afrene that revolutionized the larger nation's agriculture and other, equally pricey contracts have been established with Chō and Miln in the past. Thevans are not the type, however, to just give away things that they are perfectly capable of using themselves. While others may get innovations adapted to their specific needs, all of the best ones are put to home use. In particular, Thevia boasts the best ships of air and sea and it has used these advantages to become the mercantile king of Litanaea. They have a fair exploratory bent to some of their fleet, although this is usually with an eye towards profit or just because it's there. This bent has lead them to establish the closest thing to a hundred colonies and outposts on various islands around Litanaea.

Social Systems: A moderately matriarchal society, Thevan names, wealth, and rank are all generally inherited through the female line, although some families do buck the trend, generally when they involve a man of exceptionally high standing and public profile. They also tend to come down firmly on the woman's side when reproductive rights are discussed.

Sexually, the Thevan view is probably closest to that of the modern West; you have straights and you have gays. Please pick a box and stay in it. They don't really acknowledge bisexuals; while teenagers and young adult are expected to take a few years to sort themselves out and decide which box they belong in, anyone persisting in the pursuit of both genders past their early twenties is not going to be looked upon kindly. Marriage is the same institution for both gays and straights, although certain aspects of the law (especially the bits regarding presumptions of paternity) are, reasonably enough, read in a different light when the parties involved are of the same gender.

While adoption is possible in Thevia, it is a legal nightmare unless there's a blood tie present, and thus most gay couples (and a non-trivial number of straight ones) remain childless. Partially because of this, and partially simply because being the first born daughter need not bestow good business sense on a lass, Thevan inheritance laws are structured to allow for the bulk of the family wealth to pass along to a niece, cousin, or other relative, while still having stops to prevent the natural heirs from being left destitute. It is, quite possibly, a more complex system than Afrennen Marriage Laws.

Thevia's biggest concern regarding sexuality and relationships has always been openness, or at least the avoidance of hypocrisy. While other nations try to gloss over things like brothels and mistresses/concubines, the Thevans embrace them, and have laws in place to help prevent problems. Such as a concubine of a person of higher class being entitled to a comfortable living allowance and, should the concubine in question be a woman, a modest stipend for child support up until the child is thirteen. This may be waived if sufficient proof is presented that the concubine's employer is not the child's father.

Male concubines – and indeed, males in general – get no legal claim on children born out of wedlock, although it is generally considered good manners to not completely lock them out of the child's life. Brothel owners may have legal claim saddled upon them should one of their employees become pregnant, and this has forced that industry to establish birth control regiments for their employees in order to protect the owners.

History: One of the earliest splits from the main refugee body, Thevia was determined to reclaim her technological birthright. As such, they have managed to preserve an archive of information that is of literally incalculable wealth in the modern world. Sadly, most of that information only makes sense once you have all of the pieces that lead up to it. A diagram of a refrigerator does very little without the knowledge of circuitry, heat exchange, and proper insulation. This doesn't stop them from keeping the information around, though, just in case.

Throughout the centuries, Thevia has had her share of internal disputes, but the main structure of the nation has remained the same for most of the island's history. The only major shift in thinking was some three centuries back when a group rose up to challenge the Children of Iomei-ruled nation and push for a more secular government. The ensuing conflict saw the offending party exiled off to the north and, some fifty years later, their ideas had taken root enough to shift the entire nation to a more secular Council of Merchants.

GodTouched: Godtouched are simply one more mystery of the universe to be dissected and examined. Any godtouched discovered on Thevan soil is promptly shuffled off to research facilities, some less pleasant than others.

     Brundavis (BROON-dah-viss) – Probably the most stereotypically 'Victorian' city you are liable to find in Litanaea, Brundavis is home to upscale merchants in their coffee houses, newsies carrying the banner, dockworkers swearing genially at one another, and the thousand other little details that make this city the best possible city in the world. According to its residents, at least. This is where great shipping magnates control their empires from, making and breaking deals with the best of them. The beating heart of Litanaea's economy, pumping the deals and merchant fleets that are the life-giving blood flowing through its veins.

     Auvina (aw-VEEN-ah) – X

     Brijana (bree-JAN-ah) – Quite possibly the single largest trading city in Litanaea (although Aine and Greenrock give good showings), Brijana occupies a wonderful island smack dab amidst several major trade routes and a half-dozen minor ones. Lower harbor fees for those ships and airships that fly the flag have encouraged Thevan merchants to use the island's many warehouses as a waystation between ports. The island also plays host to a sizable division of the Thevan Navy at any given time: coming and going with convoys, conducting practice maneuvers, or simply stopping in for a resupply. In any event, they conspire to make the port a ridiculously tough nut for raiders to crack.

     Eddacaro (ed-ah-CAR-oh) – The government seat for the smaller of Thevia's Twin Isles, it also hosts the world-renowned Thevan University and it's many subordinate colleges. A fair chunk of the entire island is either owned directly by the University or reserved for its exclusive use. All manner of arts and sciences are championed here, with reports and data from satellite campuses wired in daily. What parts of the city not dedicated to government, the University, or management of the same are, naturally, dedicated to supporting those same institutions. It has, quite possibly, the largest number of cafés per capita (and you thought Brundavis was bad).

     Iotryn (ee-OH-trin) – Nobody is entirely certain how the Thevans managed to effectively sequester an entire town, but they have. While Iotryn appears on maps and the occasional unmarked ship can be seen entering or leaving the river mouth leading to it, nobody has ever admitted to being within its walls, or even to having seen them.

     Jinoi (GIN-oy) – X

     Kessayl (kess-AIL) – X

     Merindir (MARE-in-deer) – The southernmost of LItanaea's major cities, Merindir supports a thriving fishing industry, up to and including the occasional whaling boat. There are some capable port facilities, including a dry dock, to service the fishing vessels, the occasional merchant who runs afoul of an iceberg, and the damnfools who insist on exploring the Great Southern Ice. Merindir is certainly not someplace that one ends up by accident and definitely not the kind of place one stays any longer than absolutely necessary.