Virtia

Figure

It is difficult to imagine such a dense clutch of mighty rulers hidden away in their brochs, terrified of their neighbors.

Aubergine Cow

Founded in 810P when a party of merchant adventurers settled upslope of the main road through the Graben, Virtia is a large northern swath of Great Graben, south of Witsend. It is a more densely populated and more fiercely contested than the more southern ranges of the Graben.

This area is home to the many xenophobic and monotheistic cults of the Virtuous Church who use force to prevent others from encroaching. Magic not from the approved god of any given subregion is typically outlawed and punishable by death without trial.

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They tell their neighbors that if they are to share their food, their neighbors must become just as ashamed as they are. Aubergine Cow

The religious orders are known to employ a form of indentureship which they claim is legally distinct from slavery.

While a few have plenty, most survive on what they can scavenge and beer.

The redwood forests of this part of the graben provide a persistent fog. Many religious orders wear white uniforms to move unseen.

Most of Infero's cultures have thoughts on the raising of children. Most of those cultures are able to have those thoughts without starting wars. Virtia is an exception.

Population

Virtia is home to an average of roughly 16 people per square mile.

Member States

Justicia

Milltown

Milltown is located where the Graben River passes through Justicia.

The castle relies on Milltown for a supply of sticks and fish as well as trade.

Justicia Castle

Justicia Castle, the capitol of Justicia, is approximately one hourswalk upgraben from the river.

Temple of the Herald of Justice

The Temple of the Herald of Justice is a substantial broch within Justicia Castle. The bottom floor is open to adherents while the upper floors are reserved for clergy.

Concordia

Concordia Fort

Concordia Fort is accessible only by ferry.

Prudencia

Temperancia

For them, delayed gratification is the only gratification and the delay is til death. By how the Virtues use the word, "martyr" may as well mean "overzealous masochist with a death wish." Why not just, you know, not die? They can't imagine solutions.

Aubergine Cow

The soil in Temperancia is such that vegetation and fauna remain scarce year-round.

Greed is rewarded with death.

Temperancian Proverb

Patiencia

Patiencia City

Patiencia City exists within a single pre-Dragonlaw mansion.

Virtuous Church

Their temples resemble their songs and prayers – generic, insincere, out of place.

Aubergine Cow

While the Virtuous Church attracts many with their dedication to intellectual rigor and scientific pursuit, they also gain even more adherents by assuring them that the gods have a plan for them.

The Wastage

The congregations of the deities of the Church are united by a shared origin myth wherein the old world was destroyed and a new, more perfect world, put in its place.

Virtues

Virtue	Sin	Symbols
Justice	Avarice	Circle or stone, arguably representing either the throne of rule or the table of mediation
Concord	Discord	Two overlapping circles, representing joining
Prudence	Lust	Eye, representing observation, or doorway, representing opportunity
Temperance	Gluttony	Water, representing mutability
Patience	Wrath	Stacked stones, representing stability

Justice

Concord

Prudence

Temperance

Patience

Acolytes

Adherents of the Virtuous Church are most often indoctrinated beginning in infancy – the mastery of the magic of the Virtian gods typically requires a lifetime of study, sacrifice, and precision.

Heralds

The religions of Virtia center around the worship of particular ideals. Each religious body champions a herald who they believe best embodies their chosen ideal.

While the recognized church of any given state only acknowledges one herald at a time, splinter groups occasionally gain momentum around alternative heralds.

Magic

Many outside Virtia have argued that much of what Virtians treat as magic is perhaps more aptly described as advanced technology. However, there are many historic examples of magic within Virtia that far exceed contemporary scientific understanding.

Art

Virtia is resplendent with artwork.

Pennants made from the customary fabric patterns of the virtues are traded as souvenirs alongside idols and shrines of each nation's deity.

Murals and mosaic floors decorate most high-status buildings.

Hierarchies

Houselords have swornmen.

Architecture

Wheelhouses

The wheelhouses of the northern graben are often connected to their neighbors.

Brochs

Virtia features many three to four story brochs surrounded with boltholes.

Walls

Fences may be up to five feet tall, but no stone walls are permitted for private property.

Diet

The diet of Virtia consists of beer from barley, sheep and goats, hard cheeses, and fish from trips down the mountain to the river.

Tea

Though the tea grown in the mountains of the Graben is primarily reserved for export, the lowest quality is often held back for laborers and a small amount of the highest quality tea is retained by the houses of the plantations and given as gifts to other elevated personage.

Passwords

Adherents speak passwords such as “woe” and “nigh” when passing on the road as a signal of membership.