The
Republic of Adravezia (
Adravetic:
Arinang wi'Adravezia;
Fasiaui:
Aquesti vatano Adraveni), traditionally known as
Li Eziottim (Keman:
Six-fold), also the Duchy of Adravezia, was a sovereign
maritime republic in regions of present-day Oltunasia which existed for 1000 years from 37
Moga Equine until 52 Moga Ferric, at the start of the
Cuspal Revolutions. Centered on the
Adravetic Lagoon and the surrounding coastline, it maintained and established trade routes and settlements in
Firuia'vita,
Onno'amzo, and
Sumatƚig’a (called Batiou by the Adravetians). It grew into a major trading power during the
Tender Mogas and was at the height of its power during
its Golden Age.
Growing from
whaling and
salt trade, the city state became a prominent
thalassocracy in subsequent mogas, dominating trade in the
Satoyi sea and, after
years of war, being the first Samovettin state to make trade with the island of
Sumatƚig’a. It percieved itself as highly independent and insular in culture, viewing other major sea-trade powers (at the time
Louisen and
Yratka) as either rivals or enemies. Due to its status as a highly successful thalassocracy, it developed an extremely wealthy and insular merchant class, which patronised much of the architecture, city planning, and art forms that the city is renowned for. Skills and trades at the time exclusively and strictly followed family ties, leading to many famous Adravetic artists following lineages, such as the
Alle'manne,
Yucellan, and
Vinan.
The republic's head figure was the
duke or duchess, who was elected by the city state's
parliament comprised of a voting body exclusively from the
Great-Haired Families, the
Blood of the Six, and ruled for ten years. While there were an unlimited number of terms any individual could run, only two ever held more than one term:
Yan Ezo'mai and
Bantio the Terrible. The ruling class comprised of an
oligarchy of merchants and aristocrats. Families being both social and trade-based entities led to highly insular class strata and complex movement, with the most important marker of class being one's hair length, along with strict
sumptuary laws on presentation and hair growth.
After Sumatƚig’a's embargo of Adravetic trade after the
Revolt of the Kwan’iwak, Adravetic domination of maritime trade began to decline, the city state's losses soon exacerbated by Jadir Unala's
opening of their borders and increased presence in world trade as an ally of Louisen. The city suffered civil unrest in 52 Moga Ferric, with middle-class individuals storming the
Sanguine Palace and establishing a larger parliament comprising of more diverse social classes in the
Adravetic Coin-Flip, nicknamed for a coin flip that allegedly took place between the leaders of two major parliamentary factions. Following an attempted invasion by the
Louisen Empire in late Moga Lily, the democracy weakened. In Moga Axle, dissatisfied lower-class individuals, inspired by the newly-built
communist government in the
Unorganized Sangottima Tribes, an Adravetic Communist Party, called the
Orchids of the Valley, rose up and burnt down the Sanguine Palace, cutting off their hair and tossing it off the balconies. This began the
Sunlit Revolution and the later founding of the
Commune of Adravezia. The Commune lasted half of a moga (36 years) and was incorporated after short but brutal conflict into the
Eltis Oltin Federal Republic in late Moga Axle.
The exact origin of the word Adravezia is uncertain. The leading theory proposes that Adravezia is descended from the ancient
Adruuna Vantia, a collection of tribes that lived in the lagoon and up the nearby
Saratta river. Another theory proposes that it stems from an Old Adravetic word meaning "the puppeteering hand of the elements." (Modern Adravetic:
vettio wo'amani) However, this etymology is now largely believed to have stemmed from Adravetic mythologization of history and
folk etymology.
Adravezia on a world map (marked as a star)
Adravezia sits atop alluvial silt washed into the sea by the
Saratta river in the region of Buzhangi'olto (Keman:
The Broken Nose), its branches, and other smaller rivers from the
Enegio Mountains across the plain, with the silt being stretched into long banks by the action of the current flowing into the
Satoyi Sea.
The city is currently in danger of sinking due to the gradual lowering of the city's land and surfaces, which has contributed to seasonal high water levels, where high tide washes over street level. This happens most often during late spring, when flood tides come from the Satoyi and into the lagoon. Golden Age-era city organizational methods tried to alleviate this issue by redistributing silt, deepening the lagoon. Numerous canals and bridges have also been built in and around the lagoon to support ease of transportation, but Adravetic traditional river-boats,
sangianitta, were the main mode of transportation in the age of the Republic, with the building and steering of sangianittas designated as a family trade.
Adravetic Lagoon
The Adravetic lagoon is stretched longways to the northwest, with the entrance to the Satoyi Sea being in the southeast.
Eltis Vettio (Keman:
Second Finger) was the main shipwright and docks district at the time of the Republic but also is a long, thin peninsula that narrows the entrance from the lagoon to the sea.
The surface of the lagoon is extremely irregular, leading to hundreds of islands, most no larger than a city block, scattered around the lagoon. The largest island,
Naromotto, lies in nearly the direct center of the lagoon and has been the legal and administrative center of the city since the first days of the republic, and continues to function as such to the modern day.
Enegio Mountains
The shores of the lagoon immediately rise into the southernmost end of the Enegio mountains, part of the series of ranges which seperate Buzhangi'olto and
Firuia'vita. There were few passes through the mountains in the time of the Republic, with very few travelers and merchants passing through. The urban sprawl of the time largely ceased as the slopes reached a certain steepness, with the populous after a certain point being scattered goatherds.
Climate
According to the
Kyybynov climate classification modern-day Adravezia has a mid-latitude, four season
subtropical climate with cool, humid winters and warm, mild, highly humid summers. The 24-hour average temperature in the Month of Spears is 6.4 °M and for the Month of Smoke this figure is 30 °M. Precipitation is spread evenly throughout the year and averages 800 kp; during the Months of Spears and Thaw, snow is not uncommon.
Due to difficulty reconstructing historical methods of weather and climate managing (in Adravezia, under the management of
The Academy of Alchemy and the Natural Elements), there is still uncertainty around this subject; however, there is evidence to believe that in the time of the early Republic, weather patterns were significantly different. This information is gleaned from clothing styles and records from
Saratta river ascetics of certain parts of the delta freezing. This is in line with records from the
Manuscript of the Shivering World, written in Jadir Unala in late Moga Cloven, which notes Adravezia (southeasterly to Jadir Unala) as "strangely cold [...] wet and thick-aired, it can be believed; exceptionally so to us of the high, hot desert. [...] Merchants of ours tell of a feeling of drowning in the air, or their nostrils being lined with sweat. But notably - though not by much - unusually cold, for how north it lies." The reason behind the change in climate is unknown, as record over history of the climate of Adravezia and other places around the world in this time period is tenuous.
Adravetic culture at the time of the Republic, particularly the early republic, varied greatly from those of surrounding ethnic groups and states. As time passed and Adravezia asserted itself increasingly in the international space, it both absorbed aspects of other cultures and exported its culture overseas.
Hairweaving
An important aspect of the class system in Adravezia was the length of one's hair, the only individuals able to bear the longest hair being aristocrats. They often grew their hair to such lengths that they required
servants designated to hair braiding, often employing ornate designs and jewelry. However, outside of day-to-day preparation, the more specialized endeavors of working with hair was done by families of hairweavers.
Hairweavers most often did hairstyles for special occasions on commission, along with emblems, tapestries, and
non-representational portraits.
At the time artists and artisans hung in a delicate space between being highly respected by the aristocrats that patronised them and still being part of the laboring class. Adravetic hairweaving families are now renowned as old masters. Well-known at the time were the
Vitellan and
Ugeniza, however the most recognizable hairweaving family to the modern individual is the
Alle'manne. Moderately respectable in their time, the Alle'manne are known now for their experimental use of form, often considered ahead of their time; along with the now-known murder of
Mallio Zellumoli, son of the then-Duchess, by
Pava Alle'manne in late Moga Serpentine.
Literature
My sad heart aches for the lost days of summer
when I, with joyful, carefree heart, would wander
hand in hand with the ghost of my sweet lover
among the wild groves of whispering willows
then feast and dance in the sun-dappled meadows
where birds sing along the Saratta Riverfrom Shore of the Saratta, Alubis the Mute
Adravezia during the Republic was a hub for authors, playwrights, and poets, and at the forefront of the technological development of printing and publishing. Though the invention of the earliest
printing press was by Yratkan technician
Banakh the Younger, it was exported to Adravezia soon after its invention and used in large quantity.
Painting
The time of the Republic was famed for the frequent patronage of artists by the wealthy. Unlike the art of the
Louisen Golden Age, Adravetic art veered away from realism in favor of high stylization characterized by unusual geometry, manipulated forms, and non-literal use of colors. The most famous artists include
Muang Aduuni,
Yan Zi'weni, and
Ugenio wi'Otinn.
Theatre
Many of the most famous
Adravetic operas were written in this time period, and popularity was at an all-time high, particularly in Mogas Serpentine and Nacrene. An almost sort of writhing dance, along with use of heavy
vibrato and
falsetto was prized in Adravetic style. Many of the strange visual and writing styles common from classical operas inspired the
Surrealist movement in Moga Axle.
Non-musical theatre would only rise in popularity in Adravezia in the late republic, with a rise in revolutionary sentiment being expressed in high metaphor called
Adravetic Viscous Firework.
Scrimshaw
Adravezia's origin as a center of whaling was not lost on its artists, with some sailors gaining an additional trade to their repertoire in the form of
scrimshaw. Due to its origin as an art of sailors, scrimshaw is one of the few trades that was not centered and passed down through family units.
Other than being a center of the arts, Adravezia was a major center of
alchemical thought and ancient forms of science. The Adravetic school of alchemy was based in the
Six Element system, in which the world was dictated by the grey area between the purity of the six elements: stone, flesh, wood, fire, air, and water. Adravetic alchemy was entirely based in the prestigious
Academy of Alchemy and the Natural Elements, which was both a center for learning and the sole public and freely-available, regardless of class, library in the city.
The Academy was headed by six individuals, called
Idols of the Six. They were former high alchemists who, when instated, would bathe in the element that chose them until they would, in any other situation, die. If they survived, that was seen as a sign of favor, and they would be cleansed of their family name and ascend to their status.
Adravetic alchemy was based in the idea that all the world operated in the bridges between the six elements, called the
Crossroads, and they had various intentions and goals regarding this system. One prioritized balance in the elements, viewing unnecessary chaos as a change in the balance that needed to be rectivied. Another was focused on creating a
Pure Element, that is, the purest and most authentic form of one of the six elements that could be achieved. A third wanted to create the
Great Work, or a single pure substance that united the six into one. This system is the reason behind the deep symbolic associations to the number six, or things in sets of six, in Adravetic culture, then and now.
Ducal dynasties
Being or raising the duke was not considered a familial trade, however many families would have members returning to the seat across time. These are largely either aristocratic or merchant families, but are listed here for their prominence for their reoccuring ducal presence.
- Barasijang - controlled the Blood of the Six for much of Mogas Bovine and Serpentine
- Bozhang - known for large architectural projects
- Canado - known for both their aggressive expansionist policies and their tendency for wild, expensive parties
- Najang - prominent family in the late Republic, and the family of the last duke, who abdicated in 55 Moga Ferric in the Adravetic Coin-Flip
- Yanna'manne - one of the earliest Ducal families, and the family of the first duke, a strong aristocratic presence for many mogas in the early Republic
- Zellumoli - controlled the Blood of the Six, in rivalry with the Barasijang, for much of Moga Serpentine, before abruptly leaving politics in late Moga Serpentine
Merchant
- Cuo'antiwa - one of the earliest and most powerful merchant families, rose to control the Blood of the Six for several (non-consecutive) mogas
- Uge'alle - prominent merchant family specializing in shipping of spices and fruit from the north
- Taraz - one of the earliest merchant families, specialized in transport of salt
- Redolva - owners of the Redolva Whaling Company, a prominent early family in the whaling industry
Artisinal
- Aduuni - painters, printers, and later proponents of the decorative arts
- Alle'manne - highly experimental family of hairweavers
- Dui'oponte - librettists who also managed the Marinaskatti Theatre for 5 mogas
- Tirazian - carpenters who, at several generations, collectively wrote operas
- Ugeniza - favored hairweavers of the Barasijang and Zu'vettia families
- Stragagnia - family of luthiers, considered to have produced some of the world's finest lutes and violins
- Vitellan - hairweavers who pioneered the globe form
- Vinan - potters and vasemakers whose patterns are now emblematic of Republican Adravezia
- wi'Otinn - famous painting family, but also well known for their drafting
- Yucellan - mosaicists who produced some of the most famous mosaics in the city, and pioneered use of finer and finer tesserae
- Zi'weni - architects who, unusually, did not disown the several painters in the lineage
Shipwrighting
- Cuoneletto - traditional sangianitta building family, still wrights sangianittas in the present day
- Oke'atti - family known for innovative seaship rigging systems
- wi'Aduanno - prominent sangianitta building family, some of their methods remain unknown to this day