Etelassa

Etelassa is a country located in the central southern region of the continent. To the north it shares land borders with Werissa. Along the mid-western to south western border lies Wicaede, while in the southwest lies the Qelama Gate, which leads into Qelama. Along the south lies the Mongi Bay and the Pire Bay, across which Qelama can be seen. The eastern border of the country is divided between bordering on Miredrius in the southeast, and Sevealia in the northeast. The country consists entirely of the Etelassan Forest, though many parts of it have been cleared out to allow for communities to develop.

Politics
Etelassa is a libertarian democracy. It's head of state is the Prime Speaker, who presides over the Halls of Discussion. The Halls of Discussion are attended by the Speaker of every community in Etelassa, and they meet to discuss and decide upon the matters of the state that are simply too large in scope for individual communities. Each Speaker is selected by their community in whatever capacity the community so decides, though the most common method is a vote held to elect a Speaker, this is not always the case. Each individual community is given total autonomy to run itself how it likes, so long as it adheres to the core tenets of the land established by the Speakers. The primary limitations imposed by the Speakers are laws that are deemed universally important, those forbidding murder, assault, theft and slavery. Outside of these core principles communities are welcome to organize however they like, with some forming communist societies, while others seek to replicate feudalism, or even something stranger, such as a community officially run by a small otter. Any community that forms is allowed to send a Speaker to the Halls of Discussion, however, while acting as Speaker, one is forbidden from seeking work, and as such is dependent upon their community. This method is in place to disallow people to form communities of total insignificance and still attempt to have a say in matters. Villages that cannot support a Speaker often unite with nearby villages into a community to support one.

The Speakers, aside from deciding the core laws of the nation, manage taxation, the police services, and most importantly, trade regulations. Most communities dismiss the Halls of Discussion as being largely a formality to keep the communities from turning savage, or to rob them of their freedoms. In doing so they overlook the most important function of the Halls of Discussion, preventing a ruling class from emerging. By carefully managing economic policy the Halls of Discussion prevent merchants from gaining too much purchasing power, which would allow them to become as nobility within the nation, and eventually establish proper rulership. As such the Halls of Discussion work to regularly adjust the laws regarding trade to react to the movements of merchants at the time, keeping them from growing in power too heavily.

Social Classes and Gender Roles
Etelassa is founded on a principle that every man, woman and child is equal. For that reason, social classes and true gender roles do not exist within the nation. Each individual community may be divided into classes and gender roles, but news of surrounding communities travels regularly, and the law forbids a person from being prevented from leaving a community, and as such all social orders that exist do so with the consent of all involved. Despite this, there are some broad trends across the communities, as well as many similarities between communities. While theoretical equality is guaranteed, in practice some division exists between cities, towns, and villages, with people in cities generally being richer than those in towns, and townsfolk being richer than villagers. This causes some small tension, as while villagers are free to leave and move up in the world, the transition between villages and cities is a rough one to make, and most people are unable. Thus towns serve as a middle ground, where cityfolk who desire a simpler life move, and villagers who wish to move upwards in the world go to continue working farms as they know, while developing the skills for city life. Many communities likewise have a social hierarchy, however these vary so greatly that no generalization can properly do them justice.

Likewise gender roles have a similar function. In cities the difference between men and women is often very pronounced, with women not expected to work, or if they are, not expected to serve any labour intensive, or expertise driven jobs. As such the city girl stereotype is well established in Etelassa, of a young woman with little to no practical experience who lives largely off her families support. This general trend continues down into towns, however is less pronounced, with women not being expected to work, but many still opting to. Even so, the most intense jobs are typically left for the men of the community. Gender roles are the least defined in villages, where ultimately only the most labour intensive of the farmwork being relegated exclusively to the men. This is largely done as a matter of practicality, as women get pregnant, and generally care for the children, resulting in the men being more fit for the physical labour.

Races
Etelassa is one of the most racially diverse countries on the continent. It's primary race is that of the great animals, who make up around 40% of the population. Following this large population is humans and kehrno, who make up around 25% of the population each. The final 10% of the population is shared among elves and half-elves. Community composition varies greatly, with some communities being made up entirely of a single race, while others are a complete mix of all of them. The most common single race community is that of kehrno, with a large town being populated entirely by them. This town is home to the Kehrno King, an outstanding political figure to kehrno and little else. Second to the kehrno are the great animals, who occasionally form into singular communities to escape the occasional gawking of non-great animals, as well as allowing them the freedom to transform far more readily, and live as they believe they were intended to.

Economics
The primary coin of Etelassa is the Gold Tmoaar. The Tmoaar is currently valued at 4 Tmoaars to a Golden Plain. The Tmoaar is a common coin used between Etelassa and Miredrius, as well as up into Sevealia, but gets progressively less common out to the west and north, as Werissan and Nydendald currency competes with it.

Many communities in Etelassa are self-sustaining, or sustain themselves off trade with the surrounding communities, making external dependence largely non-existent. As such trade within Etelassa largely occurs in the large cities, where foreign goods are of enough interest, and the wealth is high enough that they can be sold. The primary import of Etelassa is clothing, furniture, and exotic foods. This is closely followed by metals being imported from the Barrier Peaks. Iron is the most common metal imported, and it's primarily used to supply the tools that the nation needs to continue, however some of it is dedicated to the weaponry of the military. Etelassa's exports come largely from it's villages, which use the money from the exports to maintain their tools, or purchase luxury items from the cities. The primary export of Etelassa is the Acorns, Cherries and Macadamia nuts that are native to the forest. Due to their unique occurance within the Etelassan Forest, these foods are considered a wonderful luxury, and are produced in large enough quantities that they can easily be exported. The other export is exotic tamed animals, including tame deer, leopards, moose, tigers, wolves, tyrannosaurus rex, ankylosaurus and deinonychus. The animal tamers of Etelassa are among the best in the world, and the tame animals fetch a very large price. Typically animal tamers are based out of towns, which allow them to maintain the community that cannot export food as well as villages.

Organisation
The Etelassan military is organized and paid for by the Speakers, using money raised from the taxation of communities and trade. It is a highly specialized military, playing to the strengths of Etelassan culture and it's communities. Military units form into pseudo-communities, that are located close to important communities that are capable of supplying the unit with food as needed. The pseudo-communities of the military are all stationed around a fort, and spend much of their time running drills and patrolling the surrounding areas. In playing to their strengths, the vast majority of the Etelassan military are trained as mounted forces, using a large variety of animals as mounts. Only a small portion of the military is trained to act as sappers and siege experts. These sappers are commonly kehrno, as their small size makes it difficult to serve in the mounted forces. Etelassan military doctrine is one of counter-attacks, and so while the nation itself is unlikely to declare war, should war be declared upon them, Etelassa is likely to respond with a swift attack into enemy territory, avoiding the army itself and aiming to deal infrastructure damage to the enemy to dissuade further wars.