Choose your borders.

[EnterJustice]

The Diarchy of Borgondt, in the southeast.

Hope I didn't ruin the map...

[Pogostick Man]

It ended up kind of small…could you try maybe uploading it to the board directly?

I'm curious to learn more about this political entity. You say it's a diarchy. Does that mean there are two regents?

[EnterJustice]

Linguiflex:

The Borgondian Diarchy is indeed an independent state ruled by two regents.

Before the Borgondian Diarchy, roughly 7,500 years ago, this area was home to the Perthinian Empire, which stretched from central modern Dzvenka to mondern Vanda. The area was rich in natural resources (most importantly coal, minerals, and metals such as iron, copper, and gold) and has a highly fertile soil (thanks to a loess belt running through southern modern Borgandt), which allowed the Perthinians to expand their empire over a course of 1,500 years. Many great minds of the surrounding nations were drawn to the Empire and the opportunities it gave, further solidifying the Empire's power.

The mighty Perthinian Empire truly knew only one weakness: human nature. The emperors began hoarding the country's riches (going from gold and gems to finely crafted items and ancient books of wisdom) and began placing increasingly burdensome tax demands on their people. These emperors lived a lifestyle so grand and decadent that there is no doubt it was unprecedented in history. Tensions mounted as the Perthinians were beginning to rebel against their rulers' demands. The empire was steadily declining and the states surrounding the empire saw their opportunity to take the land they had envied for hundreds of years.

The emperors retreated into their bastions filled with treasure, but found that without the people's support and with the escalating war efforts of Perthinian's noughbours, they were doomed to perish. When Willen Alessend, last emperor of Perthinia, was executed, the enemies of Perthinia had finally claimed their irrefutable victory and each claimed a part of the land.

The land's new kings and emperors greedily began exploiting the fertile soil they had won, and greedily claimed the Emperors' treasure hoards for themselves. But then it happened: as though the vengefull spirits of the fallen Perthinian Empire had awoken, the land underwent a horrifying transformation. The once fertile soils seemed to have become cursed, infecting all who dared to consume its fruits with diseases of mythical proportions and the land became infested with the foul beasts from the south. People fled in droves, causing the neighbouring lands to be overwhelmed by refugees.

What once was the Perthinian Empire was now known as "The Cursed Lands". The few who ventured into its hills and plains, usually to claim the treasure it contained, never did manage to return alive and so these plagued lands became a great black spot on the maps of many generations.

About 1,200 years ago, a group consisting of five families decided to set out to reclaim the land previously occupied by the Perthian Empire. They were met with ridicule and were soon avoided - as though the plague infecting the Cursed Lands had already found a home in their bodies. The King and Queen of Erminjeo decided to finance their expedition regardless, demanding 70% of all treasure they found and land they claimed would belong to them. It took several generation, but the curse finally yielded the land to these five Families, who now refused to honor their agreement with Erminjeo and founded Borgondt.

This enmity did not stop the new state from growing to become a mighty empire in its own right. But the families began fighting over power and dominance amongst each, none being satisfied with just a fifth of an empire. It began with things as trivial as attempted poisonings and assassinations, but the military soon became involved, having been bribed by an alliance of two families. Over the course of 120 years, three of the original five families were completely decimated or forced into exile. The two remaining families (not the ones who had originally bribed the military) forged an alliance ruling over Borgondt together, forever watching one another with untrusting eyes.

And so it is that, today, Borgondt is ruled by two regents, one of each from the two remaining families.


I'm not entirely sure what type of conworld the OP was aiming for, so I limited the fantastical elements.

[Pogostick Man]

I was thinking about this thread the other day…



!Oq ||Ävine is a sort-of monarchy in the north. I say "sort-of" because the regent changes every four years but comes from a small pool of hereditary nobility, although in the scope of his power he is largely like a king and the power structure is largely feudal. Its people are related to those of !anda Gưi.

I wonder about the cultural groups/heritage of various nations here. Maybe I'm going off my rocker, but here's some ideas for broad relations:

- Karakeo and Kedekeo seem related (-keo, obviously), but I'm wondering about a connection with Erminjeo; this might be more plausible than the map would suggest, assuming that some of the intermediate islands were settled by related peoples before !anda Gưi conquered them. Perhaps Ongobo is also related. Very possibly Kuer, too.
- Angak and Ftanga Iri Ngosu.
- Zinzei, Khyvas, Asvaki, Dzvenka, Byaval, Tirpazen, and Alfava kind of have a similar-sounding aesthetic for me. Urnenchu sounds different but could just happen to be a name that's different or could have come from another person group.
- Gaznia and all the dark green states to the east of Gzeulkha look like they might be related. (Gzeulkha itself may even be.)
- The Valm Epire and Dvūzgbǝyn̈ may or may not be related; I've had conflicting thoughts just based on the names.

[kusuri]

- The Valm Epire and Dvūzgbǝyn̈ may or may not be related; I've had conflicting thoughts just based on the names.

Names shouldn't be too much of an issue. The Valm were Cultural Appropriators Extraordinaire, lax about tradition so long as proper respects were paid, and eager to learn from and copy others, but I pictured them as becoming too cultish to function at some point. It's very plausible that the Dvūzgbǝyn̈ are people who broke away when things started getting crazy, and kept their original culture and language intact throughout that era.
...or they could be being under attack by the Valm, who are historically foreigners to the area, hence the name difference. The name Valm itself is could even be some fossilized relic preserved for sentimental reasons, a strange pronunciation or spelling that doesn't occur anywhere else.

I can't believe the seed for one of my favorite later conculture projects was irritation at getting snubbed lol bless this thread.

[Pogostick Man]

It's very plausible that the Dvūzgbǝyn̈ are people who broke away when things started getting crazy, and kept their original culture and language intact throughout that era.

My thought was that the western Dvūzgbǝyn̈ was indeed a breakaway group, hence the straight-line border (from a provincial division or something). I wouldn't be hostile to the idea that the whole group seceded though. Would you mind getting into more detail about the Valm?

[kusuri]

In any specific aspect? Military history, general culture, history with Dvūzgbǝyn̈?
I haven't made much up for the Valm beyond what's in this thread, feel free to create with it as you like.

[YourFace]

After a reign of one thousand years, !Oq ||Ävine is overtaken by the Murveeta, a race of barbarians, and is split into two sides. They still haven't decided who gets that little piece of land between them.

[احمکي ارش-ھجن]

Is there still room for a desert empire?

[Pogostick Man]

I'm not a climate expert, but I'd think your best bets are:

- That land across the ocean to the south of !Oq ||Ävine and Izulat
- The land to the east of Dvūzgbǝyn̈
- The land to the north of the Valm Empire (might be a cold desert)
- The southern polar lands south of the GDWU (again, might be a cold desert)

[Pogostick Man]

Bordering Thebekoxa and Ftanga Iri Ngosu, Bers is a small country that likes to stay out of war. The food there is held in high regard across the world, though.

[YourFace]

Bordering Thebekoxa and Ftanga Iri Ngosu, Bers is a small country that likes to stay out of war. The food there is held in high regard across the world, though.

thlaN meKaLHem and Par'azol Materdevje emerge near virélatteristi and GWDU. the are very militaristic, and are constantly warring with each other on and off.

[احمکي ارش-ھجن]

I take the medium-sized land slightly east of Virelatteristi and north of Thebekoxa. I believe that is where my Desert Empire of Yat-Vṛḵaẕ/Yat-Vṛxaž.
I do hope that region is mostly BSh...