Nation's Name: Visaga
Home Species: Nymph
Capital City: Naya
Leader(s): Queen Junna, her mate, Natlie, and the tribal leadership.
Nation's History and Background: Visaga has historically been the fertile, low-lying lands surrounding the rivers and lakes of northern Norstwin. The terrain is generally hilly, rolling, and convoluted, and covered in a mixture of verdant forests and pastures. Agriculture is minimal. The Nymphs have made their homes in the region's valleys for time beyond time, or so they like to say. They have occasionally been engaged in wars, both in Norstwin and overseas, but they are usually the negotiators bringing peace. However, they have had one implacable enemy throughout its history: The Arach to the north, in Arakesh. Visaga's sister nation, Velanna, which occupied the southwestern part of what is now Arakesh, was conquered and enslaved more than seven hundred years before. It has only been returned to Nymphic hands after a slave revolt supported by a Visagan and Hagardian invasion.
The current inherent, Junna, was a simple dancer with one of the caravans travelling the southern lands before she discovered her true magical ability, and was returned to Visaga and hailed as a queen. Her inexperience and naivete was problematic for several years, but a decade into her reign, the nation is stronger and more united than it has ever been.
Additional Information: The country, largely, isn't very urbanized at all, though most regions have a few small trade centres and towns, and there are two large cities. Many Nymphs are nomadic, moving around as fits their fancy in their caravans. They are comfortable enough with the forest to live off of it with ease, leaving most of their time for leisure. Most choose to fill this time with learning, learning about most anything, singing, dancing, speaking, and loving. Most communities are incredibly close-knit as a result of this.
There are seven tribes in Visaga, with each of them electing an official to the Tribal Council, which can veto the queen's power with a unanimous vote. The council is usually squabbling, however, so this only happens when the Inherent turns out to be a nutcase.
In Queen Junna's case, she usually defers to the wisdom of the council. It is comprised of representatives from the Chirka Tribe, from the foothills of the mountains and the Gap, Rishi Tribe, from the region of the Riulu River's fork in the east of the country, Riulu, from region surrounding Lake Riulu in the east, Targa, from it's western counterpart, Lake Targa, the Lonke tribe from the sprawling eastern coastline. The Terrall tribe comes from the great stretch of forest between the North Fork of the Riulu River and Lake Tanga. Finally, Velanna has been inducted into Visaga. It's borders run along the western mountains to the south, the ocean to the west and north, and to the east there is an indefinite line of truce with the Arach along a line of hills in the centre of the country.
Queen Junna herself came from the district of Fork, which is home to one of the few permanent towns in the country, and the home base for the famed Visagan caravans.
The caravans travel massive distances throughout Norstwin on their carriages, selling odds and ends, and performing outlandish displays of acting and dancing and play-fighting and magic. They are sometimes seen as well-meaning travellers bringing wealth and mirth, and sometimes as a band of slutty foreign vagabond thieves. The caravans aren't impeded much by oceans, as, while Visaga has little navy to speak of, it has a huge trading fleet that sends the tiny, swift Visagan sloops sailing to the far corners of the earth, and with their flat drafts, up most of the world's large rivers.
The Visagan army is composed entirely of volunteers, though everyone is theoretically ready to fight in case of an invasion. The military is focussed on sneak attacks and espionage and pre-emptive operations, and on obtaining the best situation to negotiate a treaty from.
A quick list of the most important locales in Visaga.
RISHI is the nation's second largest town, situated at the meeting of Tanga River, North Fork and South Fork. It is a huge sprawl of ancient stone homes older than memory, and one of the biggest centres for outlanders in Visaga.
LONKE is the biggest city, on the coast beside the strait looking across at the islands of the Caslian humans. The town is massive, swollen, and made up of a slim majority of non-Nymphs (though Nymphs are still the largest single ethnicity.)
THE COLLEGE is an ancient place of learning situated on the southern shores of Riulu Lake near the northern border. It is a massive, sprawling castle that acts as the greatest haven of learning in the whole of the world. It is large enough that it can, and does, harbour the vast majority of the country's young adults for a few years of their lives. It also opens it's doors to all species of Astrum.
NAYA is the holiest place in Visaga, a series of refurbished Old One ruins that now act as the palace, chambers of commerce, the high courts, the royal courts, and the tribal council.
An additional note, the Visagans are usually not very bigoted toward most races, but they have a simmering hatred toward both the Arach and the Casso-Arach. Also, outlander males usually have a harder time getting anything done than females do. Relationships between Nymphs and other species are well tolerated, as long as it is with females. "Heteros" are ridiculed by mainstream Nymph society.
Another additional note, Visagans don't have surnames.
On the Visagan Military:
The Visagan
Militia is comprised of most of the able-bodid women of Visaga, trained with blade and bow periodically in case of invasion. Indeed, invasion is the only time they would be called into service.
The Visagan
Tribal Army is the permanent army of Visaga, responsible for being on the frontline of any war. They are sorely lacking in personnel, but they form together a formidable, cohesive fighting force. The Army is divided into two regiments, each of which consists of three brigades, which is comprised of five companies. The ranks are exceedingly simple. All regular soldiers are Troopers, Companies are headed by Captains (with a Lieutenant-Captain as a second in command), Battalions are headed by Majors (with a Lieutenant-Major as second in command), Regiments by Colonels (with a Lieutenant-Colonel as second in command) and the Army by the General (with a Lieutenant-General as second in command.) The current General is a wiry woman named Smyra, who is a tactical genius, if being at the cost of political and strategic ineptitude.
The Visagan
Navy is made up of small, fast Sloops whose sole role is to protect Visagan trade routes. They don't have the manpower to enforce a blockade, or even win a prolonged battle. However, they excel at hit-and-run attacks.
Sonas is the special military forces of Visaga. It is undoubtably the most feared of the military divisions, and becoming one of the shrouded commandoes, one of the hidden justiciars of safety from those that would harm Visaga, that graces the heroic dreams of the youth of Visaga. They use a mixture of superior skill at arms with guerrilla tactics and a touch of magic in the right place in order to become nigh on invincible, even when operating behind enemy lines. Sonas commandos make the commitment to join the force when they are fifteen, and are crafted into perfect warriors over a space of about five years. As both a sign of their commitment and a practical aid in firing bows, Sonas initiates cut their left breast off on their twentieth birthday.
Mapö is the intelligence branch of the Visagan armed forces. By contrast to the militant Sonas, initiates into the intelligence corps are routinely recruited from the best and brightest of the College. From an unglamorous base in the city of Rishi, they analyze the happenings in the world, formulate strategies, assess threats. The most dangerous aspect of Mapö, though, is what they call 'field work.' They are among the most gifted spies on Astrum, able to penetrate deep into foreign nations and weed out secrets and plant disinformation. Mapö agents are almost universally attractive, using their appearance and the allure of their race to their full advantage without hesitation or conscience. There is also a small group of agents representing all of the races of Astrum that are designated as spies to their own regions, though the nymphic spies are usually the most able, perhaps due to the touch of magic they use expertly to preserve their cover and meet their ends.
The Visagan Flag.
Place on Map: North-Central Norstwin, bordered in red.
Name:Queen Junna
Sex: Female
Age: 29
Species: Nymph
Appearance: Junna is short, but of an average height for a Nymph at around five feet tall. She has an angular face, nut-brown skin, thin, straight, dark-brown hair, and large, mossy green eyes. She is relatively flat-chested, but is quite ethereally beautiful, though the dark circles under her eyes generated by overwork somewhat ruin the impression.
Personality: Junna still has a hint of naiveté left, but she is quickly growing into her role as queen. She is fair, confident, and she tries not to speak more than is necessary, to a degree afraid of making a fool of herself. She isn't honest with anyone but her mate, Natlie. She is extremely intelligent, even for a Nymph.
Background: Junna was born into a caravaneer family in a small town of the outskirts of Fork, named Gyra. Her parents raised her there, until she reached the age of fifteen, when she joined a caravan on her own, exploring the reaches of Norstwin, buying and selling everything imaginable, acting, dancing,
living. She grew close to a fellow Nymph in the caravan, a tinker-fixer a year older than her named Natlie, and they were mated before the Old Ones six months after Junna's seventeenth birthday. Months later, in the arid wastelands on the fringes of the southern desert, the caravan was attacked by bandits. On the brink of destruction, Junna's rage and fear exploded into a firestorm of magic that destroyed every last one of the bandits. In awe, her fellow caravanners brought her to the Capital, which had been without an inherent for nearly twenty years. On her eighteenth birthday, Junna was declared the stunned Queen of Visaga.
Name:Consort Natlie
Sex: Female
Age: 30
Species: Nymph
Appearance: Natlie is just over five feet tall, standing just a smidge taller than her mate. She has short, unruly blonde hair and large, playful light brown eyes. Her skin, like Junna's, is a dark nut-brown.
Personality: Natlie never had much use for politics, and she doesn't mince her words. She is straightforward and honest, with a wry sense of humour.
Background: Natlie was born in a poorer part of the Visagan city of Narrows, the daughter of a watchmaker. She had a love of fixing things, tinkering with gadgets, since she was a child, and she jumped a passing caravan to do what she loved when she was thirteen. She has explored every corner of Norstwin, and she fell in love with the dancer, Junna, when she was eighteen. Not long after, her life was derailed by the abrupt discovery that Junna was in fact Inherent, and the rightful Queen of Visaga.
Name: Pyrra, Chief of Chirka
Sex: Female
Age: 47
Species: Nymph
Appearance: Pyrra is tall, wiry and straight backed, and rather ugly. She has greying hair hair perpetually in a bun, expressionless, plain brown eyes, small for a Nymph, and uncharacteristically pale skin.
Personality: The leader of the conservative Chirka clan, and veteran of war with the Arachs. One of the more racist and socially conservative leaders. Not very well liked outside of her own holding. Cold, disdainful and cruel.
Background: From one of the parallel, narrow valleys that carve through Northern Visaga in the western mountains, Pyrra was rarely exposed to anything beyond traditional life until he Arach war, which tore a hole in her that can never be repaired. it is always her tribe that has taken the brunt of Arach attacks, and she is seen as something of a warmonger within the council. She is mated to a woman somewhere in her own holding, and rarely discusses her or visits her.
Name: Arna, Chief of Rishi
Sex: Female
Age: 92
Species: Nymph
Appearance: An unbent, proud woman, still quite spry. She has short, well-kempt hair, and clear blue eyes.
Personality: Quick, smart, tolerant, and one of the best traders in recent memory She funds almost a dozen of Visaga's caravan ventures, and is well-liked for her uncanny ability to bring coin into public works. It was under her than Fork transformed from a dirty trade outpost into a city worth being proud of. The chief most trusted by the young queen.
Background: Born and raised in the central city of Fork, and a trader since she was fifteen. Her mate died when she was in her forties, and she never bonded again.
Name: Minerva, Chief of Riulu
Sex: Female
Age: 55
Species: Nymph
Appearance: Tall, dark and bird-like.
Personality: The most intelligent of the Councillors, analytic and quick.
Background: Headmistress of the College as well as representative of the Riulu tribe.
Name: Khanna, Chief of Targa
Sex: Female
Age: 30
Species: Nymph
Appearance: Tall and beautiful, with olive skin, shimmering black hair, and a shapely figure. She is missing her left breast, and heterochomatic eyes, with one amber and one green, which lends her an extremely asymmetrical appearance.
Personality: Along with Pyrra, one of the Warmongerers. Intelligent, and much more progressive than Pyrra as far as social issues go.
Background: An experienced warrior, and the leader of the elite troops of the nation, the Sonas. As is tradition among the members of the group, she cut her breast off as both an induction ritual and to serve the practical purpose of making it easier to use a bow.
Name: Yia, Chief of Lonke
Sex: Female
Age: 28
Species: Nymph
Appearance: Short and prettyin an unassuming manner, with medium brown hair and matching eyes.
Personality: The most outspoken of the anti-war councillors, and the most progressive. While she is armed with ingenuity and intelligence, she has a bit of a thin skin and can be easily damaged by insults.
Background: Brought up in the diverse city of Narrows, Yia was constantly exposed to influences from all corners of the world as she grew up. She became the harbourmaster at age 21, and 'married' (such an odd ritual, she thought secretly) an outlander, a human male from across the channel. She is constantly abused and ridiculed as being a so-called 'hetero.' Nevertheless, she was elected to be the Chief of the Lonke coastal region by her peers.
Name: Merinkie, Chief of Terrall
Sex: Female
Age: 22
Species: Nymph
Appearance: Pretty, in a strange sort of way. Her brown hair is usually messy, and her bright blue eyes are wild and flashing.
Personality: The oddest of the councillors, hailing from the backwater and remote central forests of Terrall. The least urbanized of the tribes, the Terrall are the most in tune with magic of the tribes, and have the oddest customs.
Background: ???
Name: Ziia, Chief of Velanna
Sex: Female
Age: 22
Species: Nymph
Appearance: Ziia is of a medium height, and is rather skinny, likely due to her long years of servitude to the Arach. She speaks with a strangely inflected accent born of the long servitude of the Velannans. She has thin, light brown hair, the lighter skin characteristic of the Vellanans. She has bright blue eyes. Easily the most striking of her features, though, is the tattoo on her face. The name of her owner and his address, as well as her name, were stamped onto her left cheek, while on her right cheek two parallel rows of four black dots that marked her a slave.
Personality: Outspoken and brash in her love for her people and her hate for the Arach, she is also a tad naive and ignorant of the world outside of Arakesh. She spends much of her time acclimating to Visagan culture, so much better than what she had experienced for much of her life, and yet so different from what she imagined.
Background: Ziia was a household slave of an Arach noble named Lord Irkan from the moment of her birth, and she lived an absolutely horrible life. When her mother was too old to work, she saw her eaten by the spiders. She grew up to constant sexual abuse by the Casilian members of the household, guards, visitors... The list went on and on. When she was twenty-one, she was given the task of household courier, doing errands around the city for her Lord. It was in this way that she and a handful of other couriers were able to fleetingly organize, first only in passing, before she began to receive aid from Mapo agents. Eventually, they were able to bring about the massive and rapid revolt that saw thousands of Nymphs, channelling their rage into pure magic, overthrowing and slaughtering their overlords. She led the revolt in the capital city of Arakesh, and led a bloody pogrom that saw thousands upon thousands of Arach slaughtered and hung from their buildings.
Name: Orna, Diplomat to Tarmargar
Sex: Female
Age: 21
Species: Nymph
Appearance: She is a small, slight girl, with long, straight brown hair, large brown eyes, swarthy brown skin, and large, round glasses that magnify her eyes slightly, making her look perpetually surprised.
Personality: Very polite and tactful, and eternally curious. While she is a bit shy, her love for adventure is evidenced by her acceptance of a diplomatic mission to Tarmargar and her... Er... Union with To'Takka.
Background: Orna grew up in Visaga, a quiet existence. She was extremely interested by the other cultures of Astrum, but she didn't feel life as a caravaneer was for her. She went to the College for two years, and finished at the top of her class in cultural studies, contemporary diplomacy, and world history. She accepted the mantle of Visaga's ambassador to Tarmargar when she was twenty, and when she arrived, she found it to be very different, much more savage than she had anticipated. She got to know the leader of Tarmargar, and, after he saved her life from the traitorous Bru'unerian ambassadors, she inadvertently fell in love with him. After a rather awkward and painful night together, the magical Nymphic process of conception planted a child in her. She is now six months pregnant, and living with To'Takka.
But, I can live without being involved in Astrum, just be mindful of how you phrase things, particularly as a Mod. Have fun regardless guys 
