The Commonwealth of Vohipeno

[Vohipeno]

Basic Information

 

Official Name: The Commonwealth of Vohipeno

Short: Vohipeno

Adjective: Vohipenese

Capital City: Augustgrad

Government type: Military Republic

Legislative Branches: The National Assembly

Federalist or Unitary: Unitarian System

Provinces/Territories: 16

Political Head of State: Supreme Commander

Political Head of Government: Chancellory

Currency: The Solta (?)

Official Language: Vohipenese

Official Religion: No State Religion

Edited December 29, 2015 by orioni (see edit history)

[Vohipeno]

The Old? Sargas Empire

 

Although only fragmented documentation remains, ancient texts speak of an incredibly wealthy, highly advanced civilization that once ruled over the Auriguan Highwaste, now home to the Vohipenese. This enigmatic people, often called the Sargas, or 'the wanderers', was rumored to have been a nomadic people, wandering the endless plains and highlands of Aurigua for thosands of years before divination instructed them to settle in a fertile valley called the Umojan Rift. Historians hold that the Sargas were a peaceful and benevolent people, utterly preoccupied with astrology and divination, believing the heavens held the secrets of life.

 

The new civilization was incredibly adaptable to the harsh natural conditions and climate of the Highwaste. Their strength and fortitude were unparalleled amongst the other tribes in the region. They had even developed a markedly sophisticated tribal society based upon hunter and gatherer rule. However, their most distinct aspect was their complex understanding of the stars and their movements through the night sky. Obsessed with finding the reason for their existence, the Sargas labored to build observatories, temples, universities and libraries filled with their knowledge of the cosmos. Although their protracted studies revealed many intriguing discoveries of heavenly mechanics, they failed to uncover the meaning for their lives.

 

The Sargas spread across the face of the Highwaste within a few hundred years, eventually assimilating the surrounding tribes, settling under a centralized rule. In an attempt to discern the totality of their creation, the Sargas began offering human lives as sacrifices to the gods, hoping for answers in return, and they recieved those answers. Years after the blood-tithes began, prophets began appearing, sharing their knowledge of truth. As more prophets came, so did contradictions. The more successful tribes began to isolate themselves, believing their messiahs had brought them closer to heaven.

 

As the tribes grew further and further apart, the empire began to crumble. The tribes, driven by individualistic pursuits and a sense of religious supremacy rekindled their own ancient principles and rites in order to set themselves even further apart from their bretheren. Where once there was only awe and reverence for the pursuit of knowledge, suspicions began to brew among the tribes reguarding the interests of the other religious factions in the empire.

 

As the years passed, the empire became ever more incapable of containing the internal sectarian friction. This breakdown in their unity and brotherhood did the most to dissolve the Sargas empire. Finally, the last of the Sargas Emperors died in roughly 2700 BCE, triggering a rash, violent attack by the strongest tribes on the capital, hoping to secure power for themselves.

 

The Long Era of Suffering

 

What followed has been recorded as one of the longest and bloodiest civil wars in human history; the Era of Suffering. The raging battles and perpetual regional wars waged during the Suffering were fought by countless generations, all bent on passing the blame for the downfall of their once mighty empire.

 

Although few records survived from this 'lost period', it is clear that the Sargas devolved into frantic legions of merciless killers. Driven by centuries of unthinking hatred towards their former bretheren, entire generations lived and died without even knowing the legacies of their past. Great armies were raised, only to be depleted in the frequent vicious battles, staining the vast plains with the blood of thousands.

 

Scholars debate when the Suffering technically ended, some say the lasting peace of the 1500's marks its end, others claim it continued until the foundation of the Vohipenese Commonwealth in 1878.

Edited November 12, 2009 by Vohipeno (see edit history)