Astalva

Astalva
Flag
Capital		Velḓal
Largest		Zavriel
Official languages		Zveahe
Recognised regional languages		Danshali, Zuosa
Demonym		Astalvi
Population
-	2017 estimate	42898000
Currency		Draconic Lotus (DRL)
Time zone		(SCT-4:30)
Drives on the		right
Calling code		+14
Internet TLD		.av

Astalva (IPA: /ʌˈstɑːl.vʌ/, Native language: Astalva, IPA: /ɑˈstʰɑːl.vʌ/), officially the [to be re-determined], is a country located on the northern islands of Nagu. The majority of the population is a race of sapient non-humans, but there are some regions where humans are the majority. Astalva is bordered by Danshapu to the east, with the Dragon Sea to the south.

Etymology

The common name for Astalva is the same as that of its largest island.

History

Astalva was an important link in the path from Miraria to Boroso in prehistoric human migrations. In its early history, Astalva was split amongst several different tribes and generally did not have any semblance of central powers. This began to change as a result of encroachment of foreign powers and interests such as Dhwer in the 8th to 13th centuries. In the [tbd] century, Zavriel began to grow in power, rising to become an important city-state in the region. This growth was bolstered by success as a trade hub and status as a tax haven at the time. By the [tbd] century, all of Astalva was united as a single nation.

Zveah religion holds that the lives of all sapient species are of equal value, and as such that they all should be treated with respect whenever possible. As such, the Zveahs were historically somewhat well prepared to establish international trade on peaceful terms with other nations, helping them get a leg up on other astalvi cultural groups which may have treated unfamiliar humans with suspicion.

Despite this, their religious views also turned out to inadvertently make them quite effective at eliminating human populations throughout Astalva while establishing their own settlements in their place. While consuming members of one's own species is forbidden in Zveah teachings (which applies for all sapients), and murder is forbidden regardless of species, there are no rules specifically forbidding the consumption of other sapient species if they are already dead anyway. As a result, Zveah victories against human tribes often ended with the human casualties being cooked in preparation for a large feast or preserved for future consumption, once the standard Zveah funeral rites had been performed on them. Unfortunately, many human tribes would have seen both of these acts to be horrifically disrespectful, sometimes leading to further conflicts. Still, this practice proved to be quite effective; this was especially true during famines, when the additional source of food allowed them to remain better nourished than their neighbors. While this was not the only factor in their historical expansion throughout Astalva, it is seen as a major contributor to their successful spread.

Geography

Geology

Geologically, Astalva consists of several islands consisting of relatively low-lying terrain. Around half its land area lies less than 500 meters above sea level.

Climate

Astalva has a temperate to subtropical climate, strongly influenced by the ocean surrounding it and the lack of large rain shadows from its mountains. The majority of Astalva receives similar levels of rain in summer as in winter, with an average tendency towards dry summers. A small region in the east, however, observes monsoon seasons with considerably greater rainfall during the summer.

Biodiversity

The range of climates and biomes throughout Astalva, combined with large regions of intact forests, help contribute to quite considerable biodiversity for a non-tropical region. However, this is tempered somewhat however by the indigenous population, and even accounting for pressure from hunting, the high overall diversity is not necessarily reflected in all regions.

Politics

Government

Astalva has a mixed representative demarchy/democracy system of government. There are no official or recognized political parties, although interest groups for various causes and ideologies are commonplace.

Administrative divisions

The government is split into three main divisions: legislative, executive, and judicial. Terms generally last 3 years for legislators, with an option for a double term.

Foreign relations

Astalva's relations with other nations tend to be influenced strongly by racial equality and treatment. Nations where slavery is allowed are often completely embargoed, and those where non-humans have few to no rights tend to be seen in a strongly negative light.

Economy

Transport

Transport between cities is generally by boat, airplane, or train. While many long-distance public highways accessible by motor vehicles (in addition to non-motor vehicles) exist, few are able to support high-speed traffic: many have very rough paving if any. Most rural locales are within a few hours' travel of a train station, and cities often have streetcars, with larger cities sometimes having metro systems as well.

Energy

As of 2017, Astalva still gets a large amount of its energy from burning fuels, whether sourced from petroleum and coal or from biomass. However, wind and solar energy generation have shown increasing uptake since 2008. Solar has already become the main source of electrical power in isolated rural areas, where maintaining coal power plants and bringing power in from distant plants are both impractical.

Demographics

Ethnic groups

Astalva's population consists almost entirely of Astalvis (as in the species), consisting of over 90% of the population, with Humans making up most of the rest. A few Kavs and Dalar minority groups also exist. Of the Astalvi (species) population, a plurality are of Zveah descent (~45%), followed by [tbd] (~25%), [tbd] (~15%), and [tbd] (~10%), with the remaining groups making up the last 5%. Human ethnicities mainly divide into the Danshahi (35%), [tbd] (~25%), and [tbd] (15%), with other groups filling out the rest. Kavs and Dalar both tend to be present in localized groups, with Kavs tending to be more common in the south, and Dalar generally being more abundant around the northern coast, with the greatest number in Zavriel.

Language

Zveahe is the official language of Astalva, and is the most widely spoken language. About 70% of citizens speak Zveahe natively (whether alone or alongside another language), with another 20% speaking it as a second language. Other languages are also found in Astalva, including Danshali, [tbd], and Zuosa.

Religion

The Zveah religion ([zveahe name tbd]) is the most commonly practiced religion, with about 60% of the population practicing it. Following this are [danshapu's main religion] ([% tbd]) and Paeugism (15%).

Culture

Music

Traditional Astalvi music tends to feature vocals, string instruments, flutes, and lamellophones. The most common scales are generally pentatonic, heptatonic, and decatonic.

At the time historical records begin, Astalvi music was based upon two main 7 note scale classes, soft and hard. Soft scales involved predominantly 5-limit intervals, sometimes including intervals featuring the 11th harmonic. These scales featured a mixture of medium and small tones with large semitones. Hard scales involved predominantly 7-limit harmonies which excluded the 5th harmonic. These generally featured medium and large tones with small semitones.

In the modern day the majority of Astalvi music is conceptualized within the framework of 22 equal divisions of the octave (aka 22edo), and most fixed-pitch instruments made within the last X years are tuned to this system. Under this framework, the medium and large tones are now the same size, both equivalent to 4 steps, and all small tones are equated with 3 steps. One step represents the small semitone, and stacking two of them yields the large semitone.

The nature of 22edo leads to the soft and hard scale classes including 'natural' scale forms with special properties. The natural hard scales can be made from a chain of 6 perfect fifths, the maximum possible in a 7-note scale, minimizing the number of diminished chords in the scale. Meanwhile, the natural soft scales can be made from a chain of 6 small tones, also the maximum possible, which causes them to be the most evenly distributed 7 note scales possible. However, as the just 5-limit major and minor scales both have more consonant chords, they tend to be more common than other soft scales.

Cuisine

Astalvi cuisine makes considerable use of eggs, meat, and fruits, along with grains (or plants useful for similar purposes) and insects. Dairy may also be featured in the forms of cheese and yogurt. A sizable portion of the population chooses to not eat eggs or dairy in combination with meat taken from the same species of animal. For example, eating beef with a goat's milk cheese is acceptable, but eating beef with a cow's milk cheese is generally considered to be improper. It is not the act of eating the combination that is considered disrespectful, but the act of combining them to begin with.