Volde
From Snowblossom
The Sacred Collective of Volde is a collective nation which holds territory along the southern coast of the Northern Shard. It also holds territory amongst many islands in the Great Sea, the Western Archipelago and the Eastern Shard. Its capital is New Valgerth on the Northern Shard.
History
Volde was once a part of Nezrahim which split off soon after the kingdom was founded. The details of how and why this occurred remain unclear. This split resulted in years of war between the Voldes and the Nezrahi. In the centuries since that time, the two nations have lost territory and changes hands, so their ancient enmity is mostly forgotten.
For centuries, Volde was known as the Sacred Empire of Volde, lead by the Immortal Emperor Naranazath I, whose power reached far and wide. However, Naranazath I died during the War of the Bale, attempting to single-handedly fight off an army of amphibious aberrations which invaded the beaches of Volde. His son, Karazamath I (who did not share his father's great power), died leading an army against undead invaders.
In 813 AK, in the aftermath of Karazamath I's death, the people of Volde (lead by the monastic order, the Bright Hand) formed the Sacred Collective, a socialist style of government which focuses on bringing the lowest members up society up, on eliminating poverty and famine, and on accomplishing these goals through selflessness, redistribution of wealth and equality of all races and genders.
The Sacred Collective spawned a religious movement called the Nation of One whose adherents and missionaries can be found across the Eye. The Nation of One believe that all beings can be united into one nation by practicing the tenets of the Sacred Collective - giving of the self, rejection of materialism and acceptance of all cultures and races, generally through the worship of gods such as Bloom, Edict and Jubilan, whose philosophies espouse finding beauty in the world, justice for all beings and accepting new things.
People
The Voldes range from bronze-skinned halflings to the horned tauros and everything in between. Volde is a true melting pot of races and cultures. When the nation was still an empire, many of these races and cultures became unwilling subjects of the Immortal Emperor. Now, hundreds of years after the end of the empire, the zealous Sacred Collective welcomes these races as equals.
Volde's philosophies have attracted many marginalized people, people who work hard towards the dream of the Sacred Collective. On the other hand, Volde's high tax rates and rejection of capitalism means that few merchants are willing to import goods into the nation.
Government and Economy
At its center, the Sacred Collective has the Sacred Eye, the politicians that represent the people. These politicians are not typical politicians - they are adherents to an ascetic and monastic lifestyle who go out among the people to learn what is needed by the citizens of Volde. The Sacred Hand acts as an artisans guild, organizing the infrastructure and trade of volde. The Sacred Sword act as the police and military for the nation.
The economy of Volde is weak, but most villages of Volde are self-sufficient anyway. Self-sufficiency is a tenet of the Sacred Collective, and the zealous adherence to that philosophy keeps the nation running. The strongest economy in Volde is seafaring, a trade many Voldes excel at. Their ships and crews rival the Alembrians in efficiency, although the Alembrian wanderlust makes them better explorers by far.
