Bleingro
The island was mostly highly mountainous, with about 50 km of lowlands bordering the coast on each side. In terms of climate, 95% of it is continental, with the Southern Coast lowlands being of the hot summer variant, and the mountainous inland being mostly of the warm summer variant (Dfa, Dfb). On the mountains, people would grow and harvest the cereal grain Snorg/Nenc (both names are used), which was well suited to being grown in sloped areas. They had special boots which would dig into the mountains to help them navigate them better.
Usually, Grengs (lords) would manage about 20-30 farms and village buildings each. They would allocate land, negotiate with other Grengs and oversee or appoint people to oversee the harvests. Then, Grengs would be overlooked by SwarGrengs, which would clear up conflicts, negotiate with other SwarGrengs and have a variety of other duties. While there was no unitary, king-like authority for the island as a whole, there was a spiritual authority, the Narn. While the Grengs and SwarGrengs didn't have to obey him, they nearly always would in practice, as he was highly respected, seen to be the representative of the Gods on Earth. Today, the Narn is still the chief spiritual advisor (for those who adhere to traditional religions/RS) of the country. The Head of State and government (both) is called the Bleinish President.
It was first settled about 12,000 years ago, by Aleuts, through the Lesser Gackswon Islands, which were a great deal larger then then they are now. It discovered farming in about 1000 BC. Owing to its isolated location, the island managed to mostly evade outside discovery until 1940, when it was discovered by some people in the Japanese navy (it is worth noting in the 1790s the Vancouver Expedition had found a fisher from the island, who convinced Vancouver to navigate around the island and inform no others of its existence.) Soon, a brutal war was fought between the Japanese and Americans about the island. Eventually the Americans won. The war, along with new diseases, caused over a quarter of the population to die-the population went from roughly 10 million to 7 million. The country then became a colony of the US. However, the native people there weren't very happy about that, so, in 1946, after the war ended, they demanded they gain independence. After two years of protest, they succeeded and in 1948 the Narnian Republic of Bleingro became a member of the United Nations. Straight away, it faced many problems-it was a nation which was a mix, in many ways, between Ancient Greece and Feudal Europe, when some parts of the world had television, and, more pressingly, it had been devastated by war. However, the country, led by the great Narn, Gornwing Sworstem (1905-1978), persuaded the US to give the country lots of aid money. This entirely repaired the damages created by the war, but could do more, as well, seeing as the population of the island was so greatly reduced. It had nearly brought the country into the modern world. With Sworstem's excellent governance, the country soon became relatively prosperous and well-off. Sworstem is the national hero of the country. He is venerated almost religiously be some people, as a type of saint. Today, it has a population of 20.2 million.
Religion:
Traditionally, religion was presided over by the Narn, an especially holy-divine- man. He gave people advice on how to "live right" and obey the Gods rules and requests. Generally, there was said to be a pantheon of Gods with a head God presiding over them, detailed in the Risbalt Scripture, a collection of mythology and philosophical/religious writings organized into one book. Some places or regions had additional variations in their religious theology as well, which were not condemned, and there have always been a few localized, folk versions of the RS. A belief in a kind of mysterious, immaterial substance which could be manipulated by magic was found in some areas. Many areas also have their own books of local mythology. The country doesn't collect official religious data, although studies have shown that most people profess to follow the RS (with around 5% considering themselves Christian- 4% Protestant and nearly 1% Orthodox.) Traditional beliefs are also common. The RS is divided into three parts: Before, Present and After. The Before part details the events of a mythological before-time, simply called the Before (or the Tengshaus), when the world had just been formed and people could still talk to Gods. The Present details a number of tales from this Age, and the After is made up of prophecy about events which will happen, after another Great Turning happens and we are in a new Age. Each of these Ages were then further divided into sub-Ages. Through these stories and the experiences of their protagonists, lessons are learnt, and great principles are revealed. Perhaps the central message of the book is that beauty (which takes on a wider definition than it does typically in English, and can be better summed up by the Bleinish word Tarnten), intellect and ritual are the most important aspects of life, and indeed, its purpose. Also, that while life may seem hard, the Gods are not malicious, and all challenges are opportunities for learning and discovery. Some of it is in the form of poetry, some is in a more narrative format, and it is usually heavily illustrated. These and other lessons and reiterated, clearly, at the end or back of the book.
It forms the basis of Bleinish culture.
Traditionally, poetry, music and Bleinish calligraphy have been the most highly valued art forms. Visual art is generally dismissed as an art form except to depict mythological scenes (great care is put into those). Poetry is often combined with calligraphy (as in, the poetry is written calligraphically), and can be used for a range of purposes-narration, or illumination of experiences, beauty or emotions, or expression of philosophical ideas-sometimes in a rather roundabout way. Even today, poets have a very high status and most people read poetry regularly. Music comes in two forms: "high", which is practiced and created by professional musicians, and "low", which comes from the untrained people, and may be likened to folk music. Yodeling was popular in "low" music (more recently, it is being used in music which traditionally be considered "high", as well.) A unique way of singing, which involves the nose and sounds like a trombone, is also found commonly in Bleingro. Bleinish calligraphy consists of writing Bleinish in a pretty and elegant, often detailed, way.
The official and national language of Bleingro is (standard, or capital), Bleinish. There are more than 25 dialects of this language, some of which are barely intelligible to each other. It is written using logograms, which are arranged in circles, often inside larger circles, which each make up a sentence.
A widely revered animal across the country is the deer, which was probably first domesticated in around 800 BC. It is seen as a symbol of wisdom, beauty and strength across the country. Some areas also revere the cat, first domesticated in 800 BC, and it has been in particular a symbol of freedom and liberation.
A very important part of Bleinish culture is reading-or indeed, words in general. On average, Blenish residents read 4.2 books per month, or 50.4 books per year. In 2019, the government decided it would do a national IQ survey, to compare its scores off those in other countries. They tested 95.6% of the population, and found on average, Bleinish people had an IQ 8 points higher than Americans.
The country does not have a coat of arms, but it does have a seal. This consists of a gold circle inside of another gold circle. The two circles are connected by three straight gold connecter pieces spread evenly between the circles. Inside the circle are four characters making the sentence "Dan Samuon bel Kagsen", or "We Follow the Kags", with the Kags being enlightened or holy (relating to wisdom and beauty) religious, mythological or philosophical figures. The circles are surrounded by elaborate gold patterns, said to be beautiful and elegant. There is also a pattern in the circle, around the characters and in the circle.
The Sun-The Sun is the Great Goddess of Serenity, who harbours only good will and happiness in her heart. Once the world was of her, but in our Age she is in the Sun. The Sun is there as a symbol of hope: she will rise again, and we are in this world for a reason. It is a reminder that there is good in the world. She (the sun) is also the source of all good in the world. The sun is therefore a common motif. She does not embody beauty or intellect, although she certainly is not ugly, nor stupid or foolish. Rather, she embodies hope and kindness. As such, while it was seen as the source of warmth, it was not seen as the source of light-rather, invisible spirits called "Totsen" were. Generally, in art, the sun is depicted in multiple shades of orange, yellow and pink.
Bleinish tend to be rather direct in their speech, and could often be described as blunt. They tend to not be concerned about offending others. However, they will also speak in a very elegant and detailed matter at times.
An important aspect of Bleinish culture was (and still is, to a lesser extent) the Winsmore/the Salmen. These were a coming-to-adulthood rituals-the Winsmore was for males, the Salmen for females.
The Winsmore:
This would take place when 211 Pansen had passed since the boys conception. Then, it would end, and he would officially be initiated into adulthood when 212 Pansem had passed since his conception. It would commence with a week of wild hedonism. During this time, the boy was allowed to indulge in whatever pleasures he desired (without harming anyone else without their consent or getting addicted to drugs). This was seen as a way to cleanse the body of impure desires, or dissuade people of wanting to do those hedonistic day they did in that week ever again. The next week would involve one week of pious studying and praying. During this time, it was common for Bleinish to go to a remote forest or a boat on the ocean to think deeply about life and stuff. They would typically swear off the hedonistic activities they had participated in the week previous for either life or (the equivalent of) thirty years. For the next week, they would complete a number of difficult tasks to showcase their strength and quality of character. In the final week, they would study more, in the company of their childhood close friends and companinions. At the end of this, they would be tattooed with a special pattern, which would finally and officially, in a special ceremony, mark their transition to adulthood.
Generally, they would be married one month-one year after this. See "marriage" below for more information.
The Salmen:
This would take place when 180 Pansem had passed since the girls conception. It would end (she would officially become a woman) one Pansem later, when 181 Pansem had passed since the date of her conception. Females were seen as more naturally pure than males, so they didn't have so much of a week of indulgence as males. Instead, they had just four days, where they were, in any case, socially expected to act in a more restrained manner than males. After these came three days where the woman would be isolated in a house with those sisters, friends and or/female cousins of hers who has either gone through the Salmen themselves or were going through it alongside her.
Marriage: Marriage was seen as a primarily practical institution, for the purpose of raising children. Most marriages were arranged, however if a boy or girl had gone out of his or her way and fallen in love with someone, parents would usually take that into consideration-although, divorce was illegal and unheard of, so you'd have better hope that you are genuinely in love with the person (most would wait for about 9 months, getting to know him or her, before marriage.) Polygamy was not illegal if you were a Greng or SwarGreng. However, there was a strong social taboo against some aspects of it. It was illegal for everybody else.
Weddings were large events, one of the most significant in a Blenish person's life.
A Summary of the RS:
1921.
Language: Mag-Mountain
Sounds (standard):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close-mid_front_unrounded_vowel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close-mid_central_unrounded_vowel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close_central_unrounded_vowel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near-open_front_unrounded_vowel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-mid_front_rounded_vowel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close_front_unrounded_vowel -All Plosive and Nasal sounds
Mag-Mountain