Valth Writeup, v0.8

[NamagomiMk0]

Now, this is a [/i][/u] preliminary writeup of Valth, come about a decent bit from Brian pressuring me. Please do not try to nitpick yet...anyway.

Climate, terrain, flora, and fauna:
Valth itself experiences harsh weather conditions, year after year. Due to weather patterns, the temperature in Valth tends to be quite low in general. Like all other countries in Gaera, the climate is seasonal, though with Valth getting snow no matter what time of year. Many days seen in the country are cloudy, rather than sunny. And if not, then typically snowy rather than sunny. The accumulation tends to vary with the time of year, but it is not argued that it is least during the summer and greatest during the winter. Once in a blue moon is a day seen without snow, much less one that isn't typically cold. As a result, the days are often cold.

Obviously, this condition leads to the problem that is obviously present with land in this form--poor vegetable output. With the exception of a number of pine trees, which are spread out here or there, but never really enough to make any forests, the cold climate makes chances dire for vegetation. As a result, the country looks barren. Even under the snow, little can be found even in the way of grass. Most of the land is typically either flat, or somewhat hilly, but appears utterly barren of anything but snow, rock, and the occasional tree.

Of course, if it more than appeared to be barren, then it wouldn't be able to support people, either. As a result, it does mean there is both plant and animal life. Several small plants, not requiring too much of, well, anything, grow underneath the layers of snow. That note aside,

the Valthi wilderness is home to no small number of creatures and beings adapted to cold climates. Notable are several species of large cat, such as snow leopards and "Zakiurii", a cougar-like feline with the ability to manifest psionic powers. Also worth mentioning are the main Valthi food stock, "okame", a large cowlike creature that feeds on rodents, Wyverns, which typically live in the mountains to the north but travel south at times to hunt, and the occasional Aldrosian Frigid, which tend to stay away from any major city, for obvious reasons.

Government form
Valth runs under a centralized government comprised of a massive series of combination legislative/executive/judicial tiers, the highest of which is the High Council who ultimately decides every major action to take. There are thirteen members to the Council, and each one stays in the central building in Kalmiahtiden. Beneath the council, there is a number of "specialists" of various things, such as economy, safety, etc., giving advice to the High Council when needed and handling lesser issues as long as it does not directly violate a legislation. Effectively, the lower the rank goes, the more limited the authority. This, when executed properly, allows for a structure where the lesser authorities can handle micromanagement, leaving the higher authorities to make wide regional or national decisions where and when they are needed. In a sense, the higher ranks still exert an amount of control over the lower as the one to fill a gap in a position is chosen by, sometimes from an existing rank, the group higher than the original gap being filled. In the case of a death in the High Council, the replacement is chosen by the other council members.

As follows, ranked by number(Names yet to be determined), the ranks are as follows:
1--Authority over specific facets of city sectors.
2--Authority over general city sectors
3--Authority over specific facets of cities
4--Authority over specific cities
5--Authority over specific facets of provinces of Valth
6--Authority over specific provinces of Valth
7--Authority over specific facets of Valth
8--Supreme authority over Valth
In order to keep the people motivated and pacified by a "charismatic leader" figure and keep the higher echelons of the government concealed, any branch from Rank 6 on up has the power to choose a figurehead leader to speak in public. This figurehead effectively says what higher-ranking people want them to say, and though can be let in on military or government secrets and truths, is constantly watched by a member of the VSOC. If the figurehead slips up and lets a secret loose, an assassination is staged, the "leader" killed, the secret covered up, and a new figure chosen.

Additionally, there are courts in operation to deal with criminal cases. These courts are directly controlled by the second government rank for sectorial courts, fourth rank for city courts, and sixth for provincial courts. However, trials in these courts tend not to be too much more fair than the VMP reports, and thus the trials could be said to be a formality of sorts for numerous crimes. Additionally, to keep the top echelons of the government secret, there is no official supreme/national court run by the seventh rank or the High Council. However, for corruption in higher-ranking government ranks, the individuals accused, with valid cause, are tried before the High Council.


Military
Valth itself also has a military with its own authority over itself. Nonetheless, it still falls under the control of the High Council, whose word reigns supreme in Valth. The military can never override any direct orders from the High Council, and can only override laws or indirect orders from them by appealing to the Council directly. Outside of that, the military and its branches work in tiers as well, though the branching makes it a tad more complicated. Scientific R&D typically is handled by this government branch. Assumed for standard troops:As follows, ranked by number(Names yet to be determined), the ranks are as follows:
1--Standard grunts and officer equivalents. Cannot advise or command.
2--Sargeant equivalents. Cannot advise any higher ranking people, but can directly command anyone of Rank 1.
3--Equal to captain. Can indirectly command Rank 1 or lower, directly command Rank 2 or lower, and advise rank 4 or 5 personnel
4--Equal to colonel. Can indirectly command Rank 2 or lower, directly command Rank 3 or lower, and advise Rank 5 personnel.
5--Equal to low-ranking general. Can advise Rank 6, directly issue commands to any lower-ranking personnel, and indirectly command Rank 3 or lower people.
6--Top of the chain of command. Can directly or indirectly issue commands to ANY ranked military personnel, and only answers to the High Council.

A standard soldier is typically equipped with the following: A standard Valthi combat rifle, standard Valthi military armor, standard combat knife, snow or urban camouflage clothing and helmet with concealing face mask, and typically anywhere from 1-3 explosive grenades. May occasionally have gas grenades. Some melee specialists will instead opt for a sword and pistol in place of a knife and rifle.

In addition to standard units, there is also the VMP, the police unit commonly seen throughout the city, ready to deal with any criminal actions that occur within the cities. Assume that standard VMP personnel equal to Rank 1, 2 for higher-ranking officers. They effectively provide a unique role in that they do not serve a role only in arrest and capture of criminals, but also in that of providing the reports that ultimately lead to the decision of one's sentence in the end. So effectively, the VMP, despite being a branch of the military, acts as a combination of police and jury. VMP troops are armed as per standard soldiers, but with only urban camouflage, and flash or smokebombs in place of explosive grenades. Some VMP members are equipped for riot control, with metal shields, heavier armor, and often more grenades.However, the VMP is only the standard police unit.

To help keep magic under wraps, the VMHC--Valthi Mage Hunter Corps--exists to deal with mages who feel the desire to flaunt their powers within or near the city. Additionally, they specifically are called on to deal with fugitives. These are recognized by the light gray hooded cloaks, black gloves and boots, and concealing blue masks with intricate art on them, often depicting an emotion such as malicious laughter. Though equipped with a pistol and a knife, standardly, VMHC troops are also trained in different types of magic, a bit depending on the individual, but always in illusion and antimagic spells, and also often in telepathy to better coordinate actions. The VMHC tends not to use its magic in front of people. When it is, it is typically explained away by the government as a new form of weapon, other technology, or just freak weather.

Additionally to note, the VMHC and its sister group, the VSOC, are consisted purely of magic-capable Valthi, and are under the guise of gangs. The public only knows of the "gangs'" existence, not informed of the official military groups' existence. Defections have not been known to happen from either. The VMHC enjoys a status not too dissimilar to the NSA.The VSOC, Valthi Special Operations Corps, also exists as a sister group to the VMHC. This is Valth's equivalent to the CIA, in a sense, a group that handles most of Valth's dirty work. They wear clothing typically similar to that of the VMHC, only with purple hooded cloaks, white masks, and a typically wider selection of weaponry. Magical training often includes but is not limited to:Illusion, temporal, mental(Telepathy), and benediction (Namely that to do with barriers; spacial may replace benediction) Induction into the VSOC and VMHC is typically not a voluntary affair; every child is "tested" for a fictional, "uncurable and terminal" disease at a young age, often of 4 to 5. In actuality, this is a cover for a mere aura examination. If the test is positive, then the child has this "disease", according to the cover. This is not common, due to the much lower-than-normal frequency of magic users among Valthi. If positive for an aura, and thus the "disease", the child is taken in, under the cover of researching a cure for the disease. Typically, a few weeks later, a letter of notification of the child's death is sent and a monetary compensation alongside, while the child in question is actually removed from all records possible. The child is then put through a rigorous physical, mental, and magical training regimen. If he or she survives the years of training and abuse, one will find oneself as part of either the VSOC or VMHC. As the child is raised to believe that they exist only to serve their respective group, defections are not common. The groups in question, however, are very small due to the rarity of magic-capable Valthi. Note that though this is typically true for most magic-using Valthi, some escape this abduction if they have a relative with enough internal pull in the military who is willing to step in and intervene. (Kamos' father was a high-ranking officer, thus his existence outside the VMHC/VSOC.)

Some rumors exist of an elite squad known only as the "66th", containing members each with extremely powerful, unique abilities, and authority rivaling that of top military personnel. There has been no confirmation at all to the existence of any of the such, however. Additionally, there is a newly-created wyvern-riding squad, but due to its small size and currently unreliable method of taming wyverns, it is not too notable as of this moment.


Cities, culture, and accessibility

Valth itself wouldn't be known for what it is if it weren't for its
unusual cities. Typically, they are all the same general layout with five sectors per city, four residential/industrial and one executive/military sector. The residential sectors are each designated or a certain group, referred to for now by letters; Rank D sectors are for unmarked outsiders. Rank C sectors for registered foriegners, in a sense. Rank B are for "Questionables", outsiders whose families have existed in Valth for so long that actual bloodlines are unknown, as well as people with Valthi blood but are not "pureblooded". The Rank A sectors are for pureblooded Valthi, and the central sector for the appropriate personnel. Typically, the Rank D sectors tend to be a bit run down due to neglect in general. So how is identification for each rank obtained? People who become citizens receive rank tattoos to their left arm (If the left arm is missing or unsuitable, the right arm or a leg may be used as a substitute). The tattoo is an indicator of status, and typically is intricate in nature, as well as of a silverish color. Walls and gates separate the cities' sectors from each other, to prevent unauthorized entry of a rank higher than one is; a crime punishable by law.

Typically, life in the lower sectors is generally poor in quality.
Those who typically can't leave for any given reason (Usually the inability to survive in the harsh wilderness or get a train pass) typically live there. Some people resort to hard labor to get money to live, others to thievery, and others yet to other, more unspeakable acts, merely to preserve oneself, or possibly one's family. Typically, the mood is at least a tad unfriendly. Higher-ranking people, especially the purebloods, tend to be somewhat xenophobic, and it isn't unheard of some staying cooped up in their sector for their life. Men and women in Valth have no specific gender roles, "a person is a person, and thus a person can do any work suited for a person" is the policy here, and thus women aren't kept indoors or trained to be submissive.

Education-wise, for at least those above Rank D, Valth is well-off. Having a public school system that is definitely above-par compared to the rest of the Igalan continent will, however, do that. People are taught in sciences, mathematics, Valthi history, and other such things, but however, Common is not (excuse the pun) commonly taught around Valth. An interesting thing, though, within the national curriculum, potentially to encourage further technological developments and advances, is the teaching from early on in life that magic does not exist. As the public is given these lessons from early education, they tend to believe it unless receiving much proof to the contrary. This also allows Valth's military to monopolize its magical potential in the form of the VSOC and VMHC.

Typically, Valth is very protective of its technologies used. As a result, it typically isn't too accessable in terms of that outsiders have a tough time getting in, and a thrice-as-hard time getting out without going through the mountains, which is even less safe. After all, one is only questioned and may have things confiscated from them. Additionally, outsiders have a hard time getting many places within the cities, being limited to D-rank areas unless having become a citizen of Valth. Before entering and leaving the country, one is examined for technology that may be belonging to Valth; if one has stolen tech, typically that tech is confiscated and the person arrested. Generally, all of that, plus a harsh wilderness and the fact that most people do NOT know Common, Valth itself is not that friendly to outsiders.


--As I said before, this is FAR from complete. And I would've gotten it up last night, but I was utterly exhausted. Anyway, will be updated on a need-to-know basis. <p>ChibiUrusai: *chomps* I am underage. ^-^
Arch mage144: This means nothing to me. =P
T3chn0Namagomi: *motherly voice* Brian! What would Kate think if she heard you say that?!

---Dirtiness in a chat. Blame my mind for being in the gutter.

-Namagomi, who lives up to his name in this case.</p>Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=namagomimk0>NamagomiMk0</A] at: 2/4/05 6:35

[Kai]

Wow. That was thorough. Cool.

I have some questions that outwardly are pretty random. I was curious about many aspects of Valth, and couldn’t help but see if I could get some answers. If you get the time to address these, I’d appreciate it immensely.

1)You answered to a certain extent any pending questions about gender roles however, is Valth totally egalitarian as far as sex is concerned? America is technically pretty good about that, but there are still "traditional" gender roles that tend to be reinforced here. For example, there might be certain jobs that, while open to all, tend to be assigned to particular sexes.

2)What kind of family structure is common in Valth? Are families nuclear or extended? Are Valthi bloodlines patrilineal or matrilineal?

3)The way you described induction into the VSOC and VMHC was intriguing. Are childhood diseases common? It would seem that if children die of various 'incurable' diseases often, it would be less suspicious if a few were actually still around in some capacity.

4)How many children are in a typical Valthi family?

5)Along the same vein of family structure questions, are there any ritualized forms of social organization/interaction (i.e. marriage, funerals, etc.)?

6)Do people generally have pets? If so, what kinds of pets? Many cultures define acceptable animals very differently. For example, Hindu cows. Americans eat them. In some nations, cats and dogs are acceptable fare, whereas in America we tend to see them as too damned cute to eat.

7)What are upper-class Valthi living conditions like? You talked a bit about the conditions surrounding some of the Valthi "undesirables," but I was curious about the quality of life for people in slightly better social standing.

8)How advanced is Valthi medicine? Are there hospital-type facilities that are open to the public, or is medicine reserved for private practice (thus making medicine less available without some wealth/influence)?

9)Is there a high infant mortality rate? This probably highly influenced by whatever answer you're able to give me on the question of medicine, but I thought I'd address it specifically, because it's always an interesting influence on family structure (I ask because infant mortality influences parent-child dynamics for however many children survive.)

Well, that’s all I’ve got for now as far as my amateur anthropological study of Valth. I’ll probably think of more odds and ends later.
<p>-------------------------
Wise man say, "forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza."

"It's like that old Scandinavian saying. You can lead a herring to water, but you have to walk real fast or you'll DIE."
--Rose:The Golden Girls</p>

[Kai]

Arch mage144: *poke*
Arch mage144: I would like to know the following things about Valth before 3 PM tomorrow afternoon, which can be posted either to the appropriate thread or emailed to me at archmage.brian@gmail.com :
Arch mage144: 1. What are the Valthi borders like? Is the whole country surrounded by a wall with occasional breaks for checkpoints that allow entry and exit, or what? Is everyone searched going in and out? How do the Valthi authorities regulate traffic in and out of the country, especially if they're supposedly scanning everyone for potentially stolen technology?
Arch mage144: 2. How do Valthi people identify themselves and each other, aside from the tattoos, which might be covered up by clothing? Or is it illegal to cover your tattoo? Are there other potential forms of ID? Might there be underground organizations that "fence" fake Valthi identifications for the right price?
Arch mage144: 3. Even within class D sectors, what kind of law enforcement exists, and how do they regard the populace? What sort of reactions do the Valthi military or police have to foreign travellers, period? Not just if they're trespassing in high-security zones, but if they're just walking around the slums? Do they speak common, just so they can communicate with foreigners, or is Valth so isolated that they simply shoot you on sight when you cross the border after customs?
Arch mage144: 4. What are the names of the major megacorps, what roles do they play in society, what do they produce, what are their armies like, where do their battles take place, what role does the government have in controlling or regulating their growth and warfare, and how does the general populace regard them? Are they monolithic corporations that no one dares to speak ill of that protect only a select few employees, or are they a bastion of safety and reliability for large numbers of Valthi businessmen and factory laborers seeking a stable environment and protection from the government, military, or general chaos? Why are they fighting, and what are the general characteristics of each company? Who runs the corps, and if the public doesn't know the answer to that question (or knows the wrong answer), what is the truth?
Arch mage144: I will reproduce this in the thread in the event that you lose the window. If you don't answer by the specified time, I'm unfortunately going to have to invent a few answers of my own. ^^;; Thanks!

Oops, not Kai, AM. Forgot she was logged in on this computer and that I wasn't. ^^;; <p>-------------------------
Wise man say, "forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza."

"It's like that old Scandinavian saying. You can lead a herring to water, but you have to walk real fast or you'll DIE."
--Rose:The Golden Girls</p>Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=kai@rpgww60462>Kai</A] at: 2/10/05 23:03

[NamagomiMk0]

1: Most of Valth is bordered by either mountain or sea. There IS a wall, but it only covers the border between Valth and Riva. The mountains to the north have the issue of being wyvern territory, and the ports are already monitored. Typically, people are stopped individually and examined at the checkpoints in this wall, attempts to bypass examination by climbing the wall will get you rifle-clubbed at best.

2: Typically, tattoos are on the forearm and thus a sleeve could be rolled up in order to show the tattoo. Nonetheless, there are other methods. Main ones are examining hair/eye color, "accenting", where dialect and accent of spoken Valthi is taken into account. Occasionally, the value of personal possessions in general would work as a sign of what general class the person is in.
Though fake ID tattoos could be forged, the forger would be hard to find, and the buyer(s) willing to shell out a tattoo--typically, detail is a VERY important with these tattoos, and the work in general is high-risk

3: Typically, the VMP is still the police force, even in the Rank-D areas. However, they're a decent bit more, shall we say, apathetic? They tend not to care so much of the outsiders, and do NOT know Common, only Valthi, save for the high-ranked soldiers. Typically, unless you start something, don't expect too much from them, either action or conversation.

4: The corporations, Seiram and Karume, are both technological development and enhancement companies, currently with an emphasis on weapons thanks to their war. The government itself is currently allowing the war, partly due to the unspoken reason having to do with motivating the advancement of technology. The war itself, for the count, started as an act of sabotage by Karume on Seiram. Tempers flared, than everything blew up into war.
The corporate armies are nowhere near as good as the central military, but still able to fight. Typically, battles occur somewhere between their home cities.


Sorry if I can't say much more at the moment, but I wrote up the first half which disappeared, and now I have to finish before I conk out with my face on the keyboard.

[Capntastic]

Two questions:

First: Wouldn't at some point the two companies
A: Realize that a civil war is pointless
B: Realize that a civil war is expensive, in materials and manpower, and that there's no way to make money when you're losing it so quickly.

And, secondly: What do they do about pollution? Most metal-work has serious toxic chemicals involved, like mercury. I can see a lot of workers being chronically unhealthy and doomed to an early death.

[NamagomiMk0]

This was only a quick list, and things will be corrected or further explained later. When I have this precious commodity called "time". Thank you. <p>ChibiUrusai: *chomps* I am underage. ^-^
Arch mage144: This means nothing to me. =P
T3chn0Namagomi: *motherly voice* Brian! What would Kate think if she heard you say that?!

---Dirtiness in a chat. Blame my mind for being in the gutter.

-Namagomi, who lives up to his name in this case.</p>

[Zemyla]

Yes, but war is great for stimulating breakthroughs in weapons research. Think of how World War 2 helped our economy. <p>-----
Do not taunt Happy Fun Zemyla.

<span style="font-size:xx-small;">I think boobs are the lesser of two evils. - Inverse (Pervy)
Dammit, Dan, I'm not dating a damn NPC! - OOC Will (Will Baseton)
Of course! Anything worth doing is worth doing completely wrong! - Travis English
Ultimately, wizards and clerics don't say, "Gee, I want to become a lich because weapons hurt less and I don't have to worry about being backstabbed; that whole 'eternal life' thing is just a fringe benefit."-Darklion
But this one time I killed a walrus with my bare hands, and I suddenly understood spherical coordinates. - KnightsofSquare</span>

Brotherhood of Elitist Bastards</p>

[Uncle Pervy]

World War II wasn't fought on our soil, save for the battle of Pearl Harbor. The thing about civil war is that no matter what is happening, the nation as a whole isn't going to be doing well. It makes me wonder why the government allows it to rage on if their forces are suppositely superior. Either that or they simply cannot stop it due to not having enough control. <p>---------------------------

Your are not supposed to be reading this!</p>

[Archmage144]

The American Civil War, just as a note, was a period of major advances in medicine. It was also one of the first wars fought by America in which soldiers were equipped with weapons that could fire more than one shot before reloading--which changed the face of warfare dramatically.

Even civil war prompts advances in technology, though I'm curious what kind of collateral damage the Valthi corporate war causes... <p>

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[PriamNevhausten]

The advances, it is noteworthy, came from regions where there were no fighting. And overall, the nation suffered a huge loss of GNP, as well as. Production of everything else suffered heavily as well. A lot of the nation, by the third year, was quite ready to let the South have its way.

This is aside from depopulation of the working class cutting into overall production heavily. Simply put, no half-functioning leader would allow a civil war unless they are trying to suppress a rebellion against he government itself, and only then because the leader has no choice. <p><span style="font-size:xx-small;">"It's in the air, in the headlines in the newspapers, in the blurry images on television. It is a secret you have yet to grasp, although the first syllable has been spoken in a dream you cannot quite recall." --Unknown Armies</span></p>Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=priamnevhausten>PriamNevhausten</A]&nbsp; at: 2/12/05 4:48

[Archmage144]

An interesting bit of information!

The thing that I'm most curious about, then, is where the Valthi corps do their fighting. In the streets of Valth? In the surrounding countryside? Or is it all covert ops infiltration stuff?

[Idran1701]

I don't know that much about Valth, so the answer to this might be obvious, but could it even be a civil cold war (cold civil war?), maybe?

<p>

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"Never let your morals get in the way of doing what is right" - Salvor Hardin
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[The Great Nevareh]

I'd think that the central government, being as large and totalitarian as it is, as well as how paranoid it is, wouldn't let the corporations have their own soldiers (or even their own weapons) even if vastly inferior to the central government's own military. Too much chance for property damage, too many citizens wasted on an effort that doesn't improve Valth, and too many resources spent in ways that could be spent more efficiently. Governments as businesslike and organized as Valth wouldn't like the competition. And how about the fact that the corporations command loyalty from their own soldiers that supersedes loyalty to Valth, as they're willing to die for their company but not for their country?

One thing bugs me: Why would an outsider want to come to Valth if they were eternally doomed to be locked out of the better neighborhoods? You don't give any indication that someone can become a higher-level citizen than how they're born, no matter what they do, how rich they are, or what kind of influence they wield. A similar question has to do with trade: If only people of the right social class are allowed into certain parts of the city, how do merchants do business? Are they limited to a clientele of their own class? Or is it possible for people to get visas granted to them by higher authorities that allow them at least somewhat more free travel within the cities? It would severely limit a company's ability to produce if they could only hire people from one out of four possible parts of a city to work in a factory because that factory is in one part of the city.

Does Valth care what other countries think about it? If that's the case, then the buildings that outsiders are allowed to see would be kept in fairly good condition.

Do Rank D civilians have tattoos?

[Archmage144]

These are good questions. o.o I'd like to see them answered! <p>

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[GC130A]

I've always envisioned Valth as having an arseload of natural resources which allowed it quicker technological advancement, the ability to survive despite the smaller amount of arable land and the ability to maintain its level of production.

If so, where and what are they?