Realm of Dhammarat
Dhammarat after the Dhaula Varlauve
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RHUVERNAT EN DHAMMARAT

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Dhammarat (Dhammaratian /ð̼aːmma'ɾat/ "land of the indigo oliffant"), officially the Realm of Dhammarat (Rhuvernat en Dhammarat) or, fully translated, Realm of the Indigo Oliffaunt, is a realm in Arbrea, a continent of the world of Aerglè, in the hyperspacetimely Spheres of Ènees. Its capital is Ruvai Barnusa.

Etymology


In the Dhammaratian language, Dhammarat means "land of the indigo oliffant" or, more properly, "land of the indigo marat", since marats are native animals to Dhammarat but not to Earth. The word oliffaunt, or oliffant, is used to adapt the concept of marat, unknown to us, to relate it to a more known animal, the elephant, using a variant of the word elephant to give it a sense of exotism. From the point of view of etymology, Dhammarat is thus a compound of dham "indigo, bluish purple" and marat "oliffaunt" plus the suffix -at (ancient form: -agt) used in the formation of placenames. This suffix is merged with the end of marat in the common and modern version of the toponym, although in older times the long version (Dhammaratagt) had a more widespread use.

Overview


Formally, Dhammarat is a monarchy headed by King Ahuddan Atthunsa IX, the sole heir and member of the Atthunsa dynasty after the War of the Dhammaratian Succession and the Dhaula Varlauve Catastrophe that came after it, although the realm is de facto governed by a technocratic council of elders constituted by the Permanent Assembly of Advertence, which took power in the year 6228 (fourth year of Ahuddan Atthunsa IX's reign, when the king was sixteen years old). That happened when the former ruler, Rhomaz Rhuszam, usurper of the throne during the war, fled the realm after a popular revolt. Since then, and in great part because of the widespread devastation that the war inflicted upon the peoples and the lands, the Dhammaratian realm is a barren land that recovers slowly from the Dhaula Varlauve. Only a few spots of miraculously untouched (and even virgin) nature, remain, the most notable of all being the forest of Braulovença, the last and largest remaining part of the immense primeval forest that once stretched across Dhammarat and beyond.
    Despite the devastation, the realm is still quite populous, although people is scattered throughout the country, living in hamlets and small villages. Few towns remain, and sustain the little commerce and high cultural life of the realm. The old capital, Ruvai Barnusa, is a vast field of ruins, but the government, with the Chancellery and the Permanent Assembly of Advertence, still have it as its headquarters. Only the inner areas of Ruvai Barnusa are populated and safe enough, while the outer neighborhoods are too dangerous to live and thrive, with thieves, weird peoples, and bands of rogue barbarians hidden there. The other cities of the realm were diminished, if not abandoned, and now are counted among the most important towns of the realm.

National symbols


The flag of Dhammarat is that of the former Dhammaratian Empire, which has been in use for the last two millennia. It's a blue and purple gradient banner with sky blue to indigo shades, with the All-Eye of Ènnes in the middle, in white. The All-Eye is one of the most sacred symbols in Dhammarat and throughout Aerglè, and represents Ènnes, or the Divinity, or the Absolute, and its many eyes put on the world.
    The realm lacks an official motto and there's no historical record of one, although a few songs that refer to the marats or the royal banner have semiofficial status. The realm has a national anthem, Orhovè Rhuvunt tar daur "Royal Hymn to the Sky".

The ruling monarch is considered a living symbol of the nation and the realm. Its title is "King/Queen of the Realm of Dhammarat", the full title being "The Most Serene [name of the monarch], the [royal ordinal] of the Noble House of [name of the monarch's house], Imperial Protector of the Peoples and Shepherd of Marats, by the Grace of Aerglè under the Perennial Wisdom and Holy Mantle of the All-Eye of Ènnes, King/Queen of Dhammarat, Prince of the Ruvai, Ivressë, Arrantes, and Sigra, Grand Duke of the Otnent Sea, Offecne, Hyebernes and Fèamich, Duke of Barnusa-en-Ruvai, the Ardaginzat, and Hyesnë, Count of Centhedni, Isternat, Calovnë, Mareio, Caravetze, Idives, Ölmuc, Ereiliat, and the Esglai, Lord Protector of the Vearldainë, Dansauthes, the Anthologicat, and the Trader Marks, Baron of [the monarch's city or town of birth], and Chief Magistrate of Ontestinòbol and the Five Keys of the Sight."

The colour indigo, or bluish purple, is another national symbol of the Dhammaratians and their country. Indigo is the natural colour of marats' skin, the sacred animal of the nation. Crimson red is tied to the Dhammaratian Armies, and is sometimes regarded as another symbolic colour of the realm.

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A mounting marat and its royal rider, both in full uniform, in the Old Empire's crimson.


Government and politics


Since the end of the War of the Dhammaratian Succession, the governance of the realm resides on both the monarch and the Chancellery, with the latter institution grouping the different Royal Offices and Departments. The Permanent Assembly of Advertence is the main institution of the legislative. Both the Chancellery and the Permanent Assembly reside at the capital, Ruvai Barnusa, but king Ahuddan resides at Ardaginz Castle, the safest and most impenetrable fortress in the realm.

Once ruled with a centralized government and an iron hand (one of the many things that propelled the Succession War), Dhammarat is divided now into several autonomous regions and half-sovereign princely states. Each region is administered by a partially elected government and supervised by a virghë, a representative of the king appointed by the Chancellery, who also administers justice at the highest level in the region. The virghe is also the commander of the regional militia and the superintendent of the royal castles and fortresses in the region. On the other hand, princely states are self governed entitites by one of the old feudal lineages of the realm. Although feudalism is no more a form of government or economy, some families of old lords survive and have the right to rule their ancestral lands. There are virghes in the princely states as well, although they only administer justice.

Geography


Dhammarat lies on the norhwestern quarter of the continent of Arbrea. Ruvai Barnusa sits roughly at the center of the realm, dominating the Ruvai Plain (Lafsan Ruvai "Saffron Plain"). Many important roads meet at the once large and mighty city, an inheritance from the Old Dhammaratian Empire that still keeps Dhammarat united.

The Western Regions


The Rain Road (Danteyl en Vresse) leads to the west, not far from the southern border of Braulovença Forest (Auretza em Braulovença) throughout its route. Braulovença it's a primeval forest that lies to the north and northwest of the old capital, covering the hills and mountains of the Olmallerë region, which separates the Ruvai Plain from the northern regions. The Rain Road crosses the Ellirir Mountains and then enters Ivressë, a small region by the Otnent Sea, rainy, with a soft climate, and covered by lush forests. To the north and northeast, Ivressë is bordered by the westernmost end of the Olmarellë Mountains, the Ereàmalech Mountains, which reach the sea in abrupt cliffs. Southern Ivressë has a warmer climate and it's less mountainous than its northern half. Hills dominate the landscape there. The Aineu river is considered the natural division between northern and southern Ivressë. West of Ivressë, not far from the coast, lies the island of Arnavalet, rich in mountains, forests and port towns. It was one of the least spoiled parts of the realm during the War of the Dhammaratian Succession. Ivressë is separated from Idives, the region to its south, by the narrow Caulèon plain, where the old Caulèon Duchy still thrives.

The Northern Regions


North of Ruvai Barnusa we find the eastern section of the vast Olmarellë Mountains, and between these and the capital there's the Glavi "piedmont" region, with a narrow plain and many narrow valleys and gorges. From there, Braulovença forest spreads to the north and east, and its easternmost end is narrow and long, the so-called "Witches Hills' Arm" (Bis ed Ertzellan), or Ertzellan Arm, which reaches the shores of river Alezant near the town of Isterna. The Northern Road makes a great turn there, crossing the Alezant at Isterna, with its magnificent bridge of twenty-three arches, and then branching to the east to reach Hyesnë, and to the north, to the northern moors. Ertzellant Arm and Isterna mark the northeastern end of the Ruvai Plain; beyond that, to the north, a vast moor lies, covering the upper valley of the Alezant, a strategic region surrounded by high mountains that gives access to several mountain passes. To the northeast of Isterna there's the small region of Hyesnë, a basin drained by the Ezle and surrounded by hills and gentle mountains. To the northeast of Hyesnë there's another basin similar in size, although more elevated: Ölmuc. This region is surrounded by mountains on all directions except to the north, where the basin opens towards the northern regions, dominated by moors, birch forests and grasslands, the tundra landscape typical of the northern regions. The concept of 'Northern Regions' also covers the Sea of Hyebernes and the volcanic island of Feàmich.

The Royal Road is a smaller way that connects Ruvai Barnusa with Ardaginz Castle, in the Glavi region, and then, further north, in the Olmarellean wilderness, Marbedham, the sacred peak of red rock, where myth tells us the oliffants were born for the first time. Coincidence or not, the capital, the castle and the mountain are aligned in a straight and perfect north-south direction.

The Eastern Vastitudes


The Eastern Road leads to the open and smooth lands of the Offecne Flats, a dry and ashy vast region of plains and low hills. These infamous ash-grey plains had a better renown in older days, before the Great Devastation, when the lands where fertile and many people lived there in towns and small cities. Now it's a deserted land full of ruins and burnt woods. Despite the Dhaula Varlauve, though, these lands have spots were some wineyards are still cultivated, and the wine produced there is still excellent. East of the Offecne Flats we find the inner seas of Sautha and Ölautna, known as the Seas of Sight because they resemble two large eyes looking at the sky. The Eastern Road crosses between the narrow strip of land that separates both seas, and then disappears in the dry lands of the extreme east, beyond the oriental border of Dhammarat.

The Southern Lands


River Sirle marks the southern border of the Ruvai, with Doncevet as the largest settlement there, an inevitable crossroads in the way to Arrantes, the woods and highlands south of the Sirle and lake Ereilio. The climate is Mediterranean in the littoral lands, in the Idives land, and gets drier towards the east, but rain clouds reach the Arrantish Highlands and Sigra in the spring and autumn months.

More inner seas are found south of Arrantes, marking its southern border along several flooded rift valleys. The most important bodies of water are the seas of Vensayner, to the west, and Censayner, to the east; both are narrow and elongated in a west-east direction. In ancient times they were vital to the spread of civilization, being salty seas rich in fish and surrounded by fertile lands in a dry region; and hotspots for trade, as well, thanks to their strategic position. Trade was so important there that it gave the seas their names: sayner "trade", with vent "west" and cent "east" prefixed to the word. The Trade Seas, then. The seas also served as natural borders against the southern barbarians, and the old navy of the Dhammaratian empire patrolled their waters. Fisher towns and small ports bustled in the good days of old. A canal connects both seas in the mountainous region of Sigra, through the Gyoghes gorge, and a longer canal connects the Sea of Vensayner to the Otnent Sea; both canals were built in the times of the Ancient Dhammaratian Empire, and nobody knows exactly how. Both canals are counted among the Wonders of Arbrea. South of the Trade Seas the lands are extremely arid. The Sarrena, a vast desert of sand dunes and burnt rocks dominates that region, which was never controlled by the empire.

The Ruvai


Between the capital and the Sirle, the lands are good enough to give the necessary food to survive. In fact, the rivers of the region carry great amounts of ash from Offecne, making the earth very fertile. It's no surprise, then, that a quarter of the Dhammaratian population lives in the Ruvai, in many hamlets and farms, and towns like Centhedni, Doncevet, Virvins, Vencermes, Toerë or Rhourë.

The piedmont north of the capital is the Glavi region, a country lush with forests, lakes and waterfalls. There one of the Wonders of Arbrea is found: the Glavi Rocks, a series of gigantic rocks and mountain slopes crafted by an unknown culture and sentient species in the form of colossal slabs and cubic forms. The former use of the site is unknown, if it had any, but it has been always considered a sacred land. Of a similar style is Cinnamon Castle (Arràs Ardaginz), also in the Glavi region, north of Ruvai Barnusa, but that one was built in the golden days of the Old Empire.

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A view of the Glavi Rocks.