Calcova

Calcova
''If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. That's our way. Hated enemies can become brothers, all it takes is conversation, communication, and compromise. Our young nation grows more powerful, more rich by the day simply because we realized that the old blood-feuds between our people were just the baggage of long-dead relatives that none of us remember and few of us would like. A gnome must find a way to adapt to modern times. So what if my neighbor on the left is 8 feet tall? He helped me raise the sheep-barn. And what does it bother me if trusted humans run the port-towns? They are better at commerce than us gnomes anyway. Strange times have made brothers of former enemies, and I am happy for it.''

Summary
Defying generations of racial hatred and united by a common enemy in the Ogres of Gruthar, gnomes and half-giants have found a common ground in the promotion of their young nation, Calcova, which is on its way to becoming one of the most powerful in the land. This windy island-nation houses the largest port city ever seen, which controls commerce in the region, which is protected by the Calcovan Air Navy, a force of cannon-bearing hot-air ballons unparalelled by the rest of the military forces in the Mainlund. The country is currently enacting a program to pacify the last remnants of wild human barbarians in the dense forests and mountains of the northern edge of their land.

Geography
Calcova is a single, large island off the north-west Coast of the Mainlund. The terrain is hilly, with the Heindaag Mountains in the north, and the climate is chilly, with short summers and cold, dry winters. The northern coastline around the mountains the is swampy marshlands, and is wild and untamed. The mountain region itself, along with its coastline, is actually not part of the official Calcovian nation, but the current government is pushing to expand its reach to cover the entire island within a decade or so.

Racial Distribution


Separating Calcova from virtually all other nations in the known lands, there is not a single predominant race here, but instead, a coalition of approximately 40% gnomes and 40% half-giants make up the general population. Humans make up roughly 15% of the population, but they are confined almost entirely to the southern tip of the island, in and around the port metropolis of Jetar, the largest city in the known lands. The other 5% is split among elves, dwarves, and halflings mostly.

In general, the gnomes of Calcova are friendly, organized, courteous, and social beings. There are equal numbers of gnomes living in cities as in the forest, but the two groups don't often mingle. "Country Gnomes" are considered uncultured by the "City Gnomes," who are viewed as snobs by their brethren.

Roughly half of all the gnomes on Calcova live in a few major cities in the southern & eastern sections of the land, with the other half in the countryside in the central and north-western sections. The half-giants of Calcova are the muscle and labor of the society, and their great strength and endurance allowed the gnomes to create the massive structures and large cities of the land. For the half-giants, almost 70% of their people are now living in the rural villages and settlements, with the rest living in the cities.

Technically not part of the nation, the northern portion of the island, around the Heindaag Mountains, is peoples mostly by very primative humans and orcs. The humans are the remnants of the earliest barbarian groups, and lack all but the most basic metal-working skills, using stone, wood, bone, and leather for their tools and weapons mostly. The orcs live much the same way, and the 2 groups historically kept each other in check, fighting over the same territory for hundreds of years. Now, they are both being pushed back further and further by the gnomish and half-giant settlers who are being encourages to tame the wild land by the central government.

History
The now-dimishing human barbarian groups in the northern part of the island have seemingly always been in Calcova. The earliest records of the world include mention of them, and the barbarian human empire of the famed Barbarian Era viewed these humans as distant, ancient cousins, often referring to them as the original human group in the world (the factuality of this is hotly disputed). These humans, for whatever reason, never progressed technologically much past stone-age achievements, and only developed enough agriculture to become semi-nomadic.

During the height of the Barbarian Era, the Ogres of Gruthar set their sights on Calcova as a launching point for Mainlund invasions and a food-producing vassel state, and created a remote colony in the northwest section of the island, pushing back the barbarian humans and orcs with heavy use of half-giant slaves. The colder climate of the land, so very different from their tropical home in Gruthar, proved difficult for the ogres, and so their colony remained small.

At about the same time, the gnomes arrived in the region from Hoobdaggen, their ancestral homeland much further west across the ocean from the Mainlund, having been pushed off their lands there by some horrible army of evil humans and goblins, by their account. Some of these gnomes eventually settled in sporadic spots in the Mainlund, but the majority set up villages in the south-eastern part of Calcova. The Grutharian forces and the gnomes were aware of each other, but were separated by the vast hills of the central part of the island, and so had no real conflict for many years. The gnomish settlers were much more accustomed to the type of climate that Calcova possessed than the Grutharian forces, and so the gnomish villages became cities and flourished over the years, while the ogres and half-giants struggled to survive.

Much later, in the days of the Parthian Empire, which wasn't much concerned with the island yet, the half-giants slaves on Calcova hit their breaking point. Their numbers had been greatly diminished over the years, due to incredibly harsh living and working conditions enforced by their ogre masters, and after a particularly bad harvest (which led to some amount of starvation), they formed a secret plot to overthrow the ogres. This was not the first such plot, but was painstakingly planned and kept hidden for almost 3 more years, before the time was right for action. At exactly the right time, when the ogres' military forces were being drawn away to prepare for a military invasion of Partha on the Mainlund, the half-giants sprung into action, and over the course of less than 1 week, broke free from their masters in a horrifically bloody revolt, and fled in mass to the central hills of the island. The ogres were caught by surprise, and decided not the pursue their fleeing "property" right away, but would instead deal with the renegades after their war on the Mainlund was done. Fortunetly for the half-giants, this was never to be.

For the next several years, Grutharian and Parthian forces fought to a stalemate in the foothills of the mountains west of Partha (needs name) and on the open seas in the Straits of Benuva. At this same time, the gnomish people of the island officially started calling their lands "Calcova" and in a surprisingly aggresive move for gnomes in general, decided that there was no better time than now to take control of the entire island and remove the ogre threat from their lands. The ogres had been planning to smash the gnomes soon anway, so the gnomes felt they had no choice in this matter.

At this point, the gnomish forces were divided on an important issue: what to do about the half-giant slaves living in rag-tag camps in the central hills of the island. Some gnomish leaders advised wiping out the barely-surviving giants while on their way to attacking the Grutharian forces. Others advized moving around them instead, and killing them afterwards. The ancient gnomish hatred of the cruel giants of old was motivating these ideas, but a minority of influential gnomish leader pushed forth another radical, almost comical idea: to actually join forces with the giants to gain their aid in the fight against the ogres. They would offer the starving half-giants food and resources to build up their own villages after the fight, if the half-giants would join in on the fight on the side of the gnomes. Initially dismissed as naive optimism at best, and pure madness at worst, the idea gained traction as more and more gnomes went to communicate with the pitiful half-giants, and learned that these beleagured people had no intention, let alone ability, to harm the gnomish people. In the end, the gnomes decided to offer the half-giants to chance to fight with them against the ogres, and the half-giants agreed.

The ogres, having heard an army of gnomes was mobilizing and coming up towards their position in northwest Calcova, almost completely dismissed this threat, and kept only a minimal defence force there. Unfortunetly for them, when the gnomes attacked, they unvealed a new technological breakthrough they had recently discovered throught their alchemy: gunpower. The ogres' laughter at the sight of an "army" of foes who barely came up to the ogres' belt-lines was quicky halted when the crude gnomish cannons opened up on the ogre forts. And once the shock of this new weapon wore off, the ogres were also greated by an even more dangerous threat, an additional army of half-giant former slaves, bearing down upon them with a fury and hatred that shocked even the most evil of ogres.

The Grutharian bases in Calcova were completely and utterly destroyed, almost overnight once the fighting comensed. While not overly important in the overal Grutharian strategy, this loss was shocking and embarassing. Many ogres who were in charge of overseeing the Calcovian operations were publically executed in horrible fashion back in Gruthar, and at that point, Gruthar turned its hatred away from the humans of Partha, and towards the gnomes of Calcova, and their renegade half-giant dogs.

Having smashed the ogres completely, the gnomes and the half-giants found themselves celebrating their independence together, and in another move that seemed almost impossible, instead of settling down as neighbors, the two peoples actually decided together to completely integrate their societies as one. At this same time, large numbers of "modern" humans had been building up in the port town of Jetar, on the southern tip of the island, and that town swelled into a large, influential city. Comprised mostly of humans, this city swore alliance to the Calcovian state, rather than remain an independent city-state, mostly to ensure their defense, and so the modern nation of Calcova was formed. Jetar soon became the fastest growing city in the known world, based on human economics, gnomish engineering, and half-giant muscle.

Politics and National Relations
Calcova is currently in the midst of a campaign of expansion, with the aim to completely settle the wild northern marshes on their north tip, around the Heindaag Mountains. To do this, they must completely displace the human and orcish barbarians still living in this area, and this has caused a massive political argument both within Calcovian society and among the other human nations as a whole. The Calcovian government is funding the gnomish and half-giant settlers with supplies and resources as they push further north, and pays for troops to guard their settlements against barbarian raids. These troops sometimes act preemptively to destroy human barbarian groups who might possibly threaten the settlers, and this policy is at the heart of the controversy. None of the human nations are particulary happy about this concept, both because the expantion is fueling more growth of the nation (the attitude in the Footlands) and because they view this as an assault on an indiginous people who had not attacked the "official" borders of the nation yet (the attitude of Garmond).

Inside Calcova, some groups are trying to put a halt to the expantion, out of moral concerns, while others have not the slightest problem with completely wiping out the primative, troublesome humans and orcs.

Calcova is ruled by a Parliamentary council that elects a Gnome and Hill Giant Headsmen as needed. Currently, Harkon Memrer (gnome) and Throng (hill giant) are the Headsmen. Women (after protest by the giants) now have the same voting and property rights as men. The country is divided into five territories, one city-state, and a "free-zone" of settlement.
 * Belgunle : Southwest corner of the island. Controlled by Senators Kashmin and Thungaul, this state holds New Hope Port and contains a large part of Calcova's military force because of the proximity to Gruthar, the Ogre nation.
 * Benuva : South part of the island. This state is the oldest settlement of the land and houses noble families of gnomes, along with the bulk of the farmland. The center of Calcov culture resides in the capital of Gyomiti. Senators Barnaby and Grnuch rule here.
 * Kurtz : East Midland to coast. Hilly land of fields and small settlements with the City of Belova Housing the Gnomish School of Magic. Senators Gunflier and Rox preside over the area.
 * Kyshlund : Mid to North East Coast. Forest State just south of the Barbarian Swamplands, under constant alert from Barbarian forces. Senators Qwrank and Gundle are trying to tame the wild land.
 * Morgutx : Mid to Northwest Coast. Untamed territory with lots of conflict between the Calcov forces and Wyld Goblin Hordes from the Northern part of the Island. Small town and forts with settlers moving up from the south. Senators Hulr and Cruglum rule.
 * Free zone : Northern part of the land. The west side holds the demi-human hordes while the east side houses the Barbarian Men. A secret city of Ogres exists at the north-most tip of the region, unknown to Calcova.
 * The Metropolis of Jetar  is currently the seat of Calcova's wealth. It is the city that controls the trade over the Straits of Benuva, the only water-based trade route that links the Southern Nations with the Northern ones. On constant alert because of a decade long guerilla war with Partha.

Culture & Customs
Calcov culture is a strange mix of giantish customs and gnomish quirks. After forming their odd confederation, the two peoples quickly realized that both groups would have to change the way they behaved, and the people of the land actually succeeded in accommodating each other’s lifestyles. The half-gaints gave up their human-eating tendencies, and their clan system, while the gnomes destroyed their feudal and monarch systems, their subterranean dwellings, and their heavy reliance on magic. Theses two vastly different people bridged the racial gap and actually have a 2-Race state that doesn't segregate the cultures, but instead melted them together. In every town in the nation, there will be gnomes and hill giants in almost equal positions, and schools do not separate the little gnomish children from their gargantuan counterparts (except for restroom facilites, which are segregated out of technological necessity, rather than prejudice).

The half-giants kept their religion, which was a strange set of customs and philosophies based on the concepts of reincarnation, karma, and personal betterment and growth through pain or strife. The gnomish people, never very religious to begin with, abandoned their weak faith in the Gnomish Father God in order to avoid conflict with the Giants, who strongly reject the idea of omnipotent gods. The gnomes also gave up their previous affinity for spell-casting, focusing their magical talents in the areas of divination and illusionism, which were more acceptable to the giants. The half-giants had to abandon their appetite for human and elven flesh, which had earned them a fearsome reputation in other lands, as well as their tendency to establish male dominance by murder and torture. The Giants defer to the Gnomes on issues of technology and engineering, and the Gnomes allow the Giants to hold high positions in the military and legal system.

Typical foodstuffs of the land include buckwheat, cabbage, carrots, eggplant in the south, radishes, rhubarb, goats, peppers, sheep, eels, wooly cattle, turkeys, beans and cucumbers. A large percentage of the gnomes are vegetarian, while most giants demand red meat instead of fruits or vegetables. These natural inclinations result in a fairly equal distribution of food between the groups.

The half-giants of Calcova have a holiday to celebrate their escape from Gruthar, called the "Feast of Exodus," which occurs in the late spring. The time of year has been subject to change over years, but the hill giants always pay homage to their old heroes and adventurers who made the exodus to Calcova possible. The giants will hold a great feast in their halls, which used to be the center of giant society before they left the isolated wilderness to join with gnomes in the cities. The old halls will be full of giants, and their feast includes many of the traditional foods, such as goat, sheep or wooly cattle, all stuffed with fiery peppers.

Translated directly as "Holiday", "Rustdag" is the traditional gnomish day of gift giving in the late summer. Presents are given to five special people in the gnome's life, and are typically ornaments or toys. It is considered bad taste to give tools or other practical items.

Famous Figures
Qwrank is a half-giant leader from the untamed Calcovan state of Kyshlund, who developed a fierce reputation as a sheriff before he was appointed senator. Qwrank (pronounced "r-on-t") was known as an intolorant fighter of demi-humans, and dealt severely with the orc and goblin populations living in northern Calcova. He is a hero among the militant half-giants of the area, and often disagrees with the gnomish portion of the government. He is increasingly at odds with the direction authorized by the Gyomiti government, and has been disappearing for weeks on end into the wilderness to fight the demi-humans in savage, bloody battles.

Burk Dun'Kirt is a gnomish cleric of Grimluck Greystone who has become a powerful force for peace in Calcova, and represents a population of citizens opposed to the gnomish expansion of north Calcova who have only recently become vocal. He traveled the Mainlund for several decades before returning to Calcova to retire, and was disillusioned by the push into the northern swamps of the island, and the subsequent genocide of the human barbarians and demi-humans living there. Living outside Jetar, he has organized several hundred citizens to protest the expansion, but so far has been unsuccessful in petitioning the government to change its policies.

The roguish Shadowmancers hold polite society in great esteem, and the greatest member of their order is a fast talking mage named Gurculish Tydat'yn of the Gray Cloak. Tydat'yn is a Chambhlis, a nearly extinct faerie race normally encountered only in the Mystic East, but located in the port city of Jetar in Calcova is a small number of Chambhlis immigrants. It was in the slums of the Great City that Tydat'yn learned his craft, and rose quickly to study chicanery with the most powerful mages of the day. He appears aloof, cynical or snide at times, but really has the heart of a champion, and has risked his life for the greater good on many occasions. The Calcovan government publicly considers him a disturber of the peace, but has secretly asked him to aid them in their struggles against Partha, and the mage has worked for years on infiltrating the inner circle of the Parthian Generals, who have the real power over the navy, which threatens Calcova's sovereignty. He retains the title of "Fauxilis Elluminiti" or False Light, which is the highest honor bestowed on a Shadowmancer by his peers.