Lhivrala

Free Republic of Lhivrala
Flag
Official languages		Lhivralan
Recognised regional languages		Norjihani
Demonym		Lhivralan
Government		Mixed ModelElective Monarchy
-	Grand Prince	Kalio VII Arimani
-	Lord-Councillor	Neku Dodoli
Legislature		Council of 13
-	Upper house	Major Council
-	Lower house	Minor Council
-	Density	30/km2 77.7/sq mi
Calling code		+66
Internet TLD		.lv

Lhivrala (Lhivralan: Lhivrala [IPA]), officially the Free Republic of Lhivrala, is a country located in South Baredina, bordering Norjihan to the west, and Yaina to the south. Due to its proximity to Norjihan, and being, originally, a Xhovian country, Lhivrala sees a lot of cultural mixing between the various Xhovian cultures, and the influence of the Baredan Norjihanis. Across its history, it has been conquered and owned by Istan, Norjihan, and briefly, a puppet regime of Szezkia, further aiding the cultural and ethnic mixing. It is also known for its worryingly corrupt government, with its elective monarchy turn oligarchy having ruled the country since independence.

Demographics

Ethnic groups

Lhivralans are mostly mixed race, Baredo-Xhovians, finding a native Lhivralan who is entirely of one group or the other is pretty rare. This has led to them being somewhat of a neutral party in the Baredan-Xhovian ethnic conflicts.

Religion

Lhivrala's state religion is, nominally, the Tanhunga, however, most followers in Norjihan and Sjuu would debate you on that, given that Lhivralan Tanhunga is a rather different sect, albeit a recognised one. Effectively, Lhivralan Tanhunga experienced a lot of influence from the pre-existing indigenous religion of Lhivrala, before it was converted to Tanhunga. The Tanhungara begrudgingly tolerates them, and offer a curriculum to train Lhivralan clergy, as well as letting them be represented in the Sovereign Order of Hajenired, by a whole 1 member.

There is also a relatively small Xhiuist minority, who, until the reformations of 1875, were outlawed. Now, whilst not outright oppressed by the state, the general populace still regards them with a small amount of disdain and distrust.

Culture

Theatre

Traditional Lhivralan theatre can be broadly split into two forms: indoor, and outdoor theatre. Aside from location, the two differ in style, and in the genres that are classically acceptable. With modernity, Lhivrala has of course taken on the theatrical genres and styles of its neighbours and the wider world, but the traditional styles are still alive and thriving.

Outdoor Theatre is performed in open air theatres, built into hill and mountainsides. Two of the four classical genres are outdoor genres, Comedy, and Adventure. Comedies are based mostly around slapstick, puns (which in many of the older works, have lost all meaning, due to Lhivralan's linguistic development) and misunderstanding. Actors and actresses perform in wooden masks, painted and carved to reflect their character. It is tradition that an actor or actress should carve and paint his or her own mask, but that has of course not been the case universally for quite some time. Adventures, on the other hand, are much grander performances, requiring many more actors. They tend to depict heroic journeys, either from Lhivralan Mythology, or original ones by the playwright. It is considered typical for Adventures to also feature some interaction between the hero and one of the Spirits of Lhivralan Gennism, as well as them to fight either the villain, a monster (performed by multiple actors inside a larger costume, in combination with setpieces, or by more advanced means in modern productions) or both towards the climax of the play.

Indoor Theatre, on the other hand, is, as the name suggests, performed indoors. It is performed either by actors and actresses, or with shadow puppetry. All four genres are acceptable in indoor theatre. So the aforementioned Comedies and Adventures will appear, in addition to Tragedies and Mysteries. Tragedies almost always carry heavy moral messages, showing a character contravene some gennist or general moral rule or law, and then depicting the consequences that befall them. Mysteries also carry messages, but in a different way. The Mystery play is a very specific art. It is always based around two principle characters, a protagonist, usually some everyday figure, a farmer, a hunter, or a craftsman, and one of the Lhivralan Gennist Spirits. The protagonist will go to the Spirit with some problem he or she has in their life, of work or of home. The spirit will then answer, usually in poetic style (the specifics depend upon which spirit), with a story, a fable featuring animals or magical creatures from Lhivralan Mythology, somehow related to the issue they have been posed with. Many productions, both in history and modernity, will have some pretense of a Question and Answer format, hiding the actor playing the protagonist amongst the audience, giving the illusion of audience participation.