Nokeo
I'm using this as a filler until I get the rest up. Also, see the Wiki version of this page. World Map | Map of Keo click to enlarge Name : Keo Language : Nãwe Dialect : Anaye (It is considered to be the ancestor of Nãwe, which survives in remotely isolated areas of Keo. It is however, the most widespread minority dialect known.) Capital : Nomea Map color : Dark red Population : ~2 000 000 (up to ~4 500 000 outside map borders) Climate : SouthEastern Lowlands* Biome : Taiga Landscape: The SouthEastern lowlands stretch along the coast of Keo and further inland. This landscape is characterized by vast tidal flats and inland beach ridge complexes that provide highly productive freshwater marshes, sedge meadows and swamps. Bogs and fens are a dominant landscape feature further inland. Further towards the North, a more elevated terrain with warmer and drier temperatures, allow boreal forests to thrive. Threats: Deforestation and flooding. Government : Moderate Neo-Tribalism Leader : The Nowea (He generally plays the role of an ambassador, representing the people, and establishing simple common laws to be followed) Historic : The origins of how Keo became a nation are still unclear. To the people who speak Nãwe, Keo has always been their land, literally meaning “endless” when describing water masses. It is assumed however, that roughly 200 years ago, a common agreement came about to form a single nation, since the uprisings in the North seemed a threat to the stability of their lands and trade. In order to establish claim to the land and unify the people of Keo, or the Ana, a form of government had to be formed. Since the only thing known to them is tribalism, that is, small communities or groups which usually rely on a single leader and their own set of rules, the government would be based on such a system. Thus, moderate neo-tribalism was developed. In essence, the first Nowea (leader) devised a way where people could live separate personal lives back within their own tribes or communal groups, while still attending work and an otherwise partly modernized life, or in times of need, protecting the nation and their leader. The government is generally supported by trade taxes, where a portion of trade revenues are collected from trade villages and transferred to the capital. The overall aspect of a governing system is still unknown or ignored by many of the inhabitants, especially since the formation of the government was followed by a time of peace in the North. Furthermore, internal conflicts are dealt with a trade between the two or more groups involved, and thus a government is often seen as unnecessary. Economy : The people of Keo depend on a lifestyle consisting primarily of trade. There are four main trade villages along the four corners of the land. Main trade : Meats (e.g. Fish), wood, medicine, fruits, fossil fuels Seeking : lightweight metals, bread, other intricacies General information : The land of Keo is situated in the South-East of Savukk, between Camás and Elethke(†). It is one of the world's largest wetland lowlands, while further to the North, elevations create some forested areas. (see landscape). Occasionally, both heavy rainfalls and the tide of the bay, found in the center of Keo, may sometimes engulf surrounding lands causing floods. The lowlands' landscape consists of a complex water system, ranging from ponds, to swamps, to bogs, marshes, rivers, permafrost, muskegs... As for the ground, it consists mainly of peat lands, and nutrient poor soil. During winter, most of the surface area will be covered in ice and snow, while in the summer it will have thawed and melted away. Due to this, heavy equipment and objects are at a disadvantage, which renders light and durable objects more effective. Comparatively, the people of Keo are much less advanced than most civilizations around the globe. They are very ignorant to outsiders, only relying on trade in order to survive. Some may even consider them tribal or primitive, but this is the best way for anyone to survive and adapt in such a harsh environment. However, they not only survive on trade, but they are very skilled in medicine due to the vast amount of types of plants that thrive in the swamps. The kena, a plant whose flower can be seen on the national flag, is one of the most abundantly growing plants around. After they are pollinated, they will start producing palm-sized fruits. The kena's fruit is renowned for its ability to heal various diseases, which are themselves caused by bacteria thriving in the wetlands. Other country names : *Note: Based on the Hudson Bay Lowlands.

Some may even consider them tribal or primitive, but this is the best way for anyone to survive and adapt in such a harsh environment. However, they not only survive on trade, but they are very skilled in medicine due to the vast amount of types of plants that thrive in the swamps. This sounds very interesting...will you be giving us a more in depth botanical outline as you describe the culture more? I am also interested in the 'tribal' structure.

Given that I'm officially situated in the Taïga biome, I might reconsider some things, though I'm still leaning towards lowlands & swamps, there'll probably be less of the latter. It won't affect a whole lot, and I also want to see where Etachany and Aleco take their countries/culture/history, so that it (Keo) won't just be entirely an oddball in the game. Tribal structures have always fascinated me, so I want to see how far I can take it, while still being an independant nation, but keeping it as realistic as plausible. In a way, I would say that I'm partly basing my country on the native peoples of the americas, and the Khmer. I'll update my post sometime later on though.

Don't get disheartened about the swamps. The taiga has it own special brands of watery death. Because of the permafrost layer, water drainage is bad, so many of the little dents in the land fill up with water. On this water grows and floats mosses (sphagnum) which can get dense. Dense enough to: walk across, have trees grow in (floating above the water), supports earth layering. As the moss dies, it turns into peat (ever hear of peat bogs?) As the detritus accumulates and decomposes, and and dirt and soil make their way on top, the water pit may actually be buried until several feet of dirt. It becomes a muskeg. These are very dangerous because what looks like solid ground can suddenly give and swallow people, buildings, etc. Research more into the different parts of a taiga and you might be able to come up with something very interesting...

No, I'm not dishearted, my corrections/adjustments are only going to be minor. For example, I had originally written that the flower on the flag beared a citrus fruit, which isn't quite plausible at such a high latitude :) but thanks for the suggestions though

Languages: - Cirűsz 89%; Throughout all of Cirés - Nãwe 8%; South east, along the coast near Nokeo - Yasukir 2%; Around the peninsula of Ambvaiira - Other 1%; Capital and along the border to the north-west History: Except in the main cities, tribal villages are highly regular throughout the whole country. Mostly at the coast to the north because of fishing, but to the south, they live inside the dense forests as well as along the coast. The inland tribes depend on the fur and meat trade with the coast tribes. Salt is obviously the main trade resource for the coast tribes, and is valued high inland. After the meat has come to the southern coast, they only take a very small amount themselves, and once again trades it along with the people of Nokeo, as the vast smampy areas does not contain any edible mammals. In return, special berries and fruits that just grow on certain trees in these swamps are given. These two nations stick together, and many tribal villages in Cirés rely on Nokeo trading to make a living. What do you think of this? There may be some adjustments to the languages as new nations appear north east of me. I was also thinking that there could be something a bit more vauable than just berries and fruits that was special in your lands. Any ideas? And I see you wondered this: Most of my country's population live in small tribal villages. And by that I mean small, simple villages with own tribe leaders. These leaders are not inherited as you would think at that time, but chosen by the people of the village. The leaders does not have any spesific great power, and the punishments for these leaders are high if corruption or any other crime is revealed. If over the half of the village's people agrees to change leader, he will be out off.

It's your country, so I see nothing wrong with the above :P Though I'm still in the process of revising Nokeo's information (with school and all makes it a bit more difficult). I'm still keeping the general mood, but changing a few things to make it more suitable in my climate; as well as providing more detailed aspects on other things (such as environment, housing, history...). As for your question about berries, I originally wrote that the people's main trade was meat (such as fish), wood, medecine, fruits, fossil fuels... So perhaps you could base yourself off of that? What does your country (Cirés) have (to offer/trade)? As for the last one, the tribal villages is what I'm going towards. I realize I haven't detailed that part yet, so it'll come in time :P But it doesn't restrict your country/people from having its/their own way of life, even if we are geographical neighbours.

Meat (fish and other), timber and salt are the main offers ;) But there are more things if you go to the Cirés post, which may not be so frequent, but we do have it. Would fossil fuels be peat and coal? But I guess medecine could be something important to the south of Cirés, as Nokeon cities would be their main trade routs. And in the north they have the capital.

I updated with a more revised version. I didn't change much, just re-organized a lot of it and verified the plausibility of things. And yes, fossil fuels do include peat and coal (though much less peat). ;)

I realize that I haven't posted anything new in quite a while. Time is consuming between school and work, so I'll just be updating periodically (just in case anyone thinks I died out of the project). I don't have much to post, but following some other members (using paint), I'll post a nicer map of Keo: -The main dark red symbol reads "Keo" (the nation) -The smaller dark red one reads "Nomea" (the capital) -The third is the name for Cirés (now Camás), which reads "Telet". I'm still in the process of creating the language, but I'm hoping to get something up soon. The script is not logographic, but an alphabet stacked in blocks. It may however, occur that a symbol is both logographic in design, but can still be read as an alphabet. - I'll also post more about this when I get my language up. In another thread, there were histories, so I thought I'd design my own. Year zero represents the universal year zero, or the current time. The green graph-like line, represents tension, or activity in the region. Since history hasn't been written, the people rely highly on oral traditions and story telling: Roughly 1000 years ago, a widespread famine had occured after a few years of bad weather and deforestation, which killed off crops in droughts, which lead a decrease in animal population. This era would be called the "Warring era", since it sparked 500 years of tribal wars. Between 400 to 300 years ago, the nation of Camás is founded. Camás is situated to the north of Keo, and was involved with a series of ongoing wars with Ambvaiira. Trade would not prosper during this time, which lead a general feeling of worry, since many people live solely off trade. Due to the latter, the nation of Keo would be formed 200 years ago, as an attempt to better protect the people. (see historic, original post) As time passed, tension between the two northern countries would diminish, so the need for an actual nation or government is often ignored.

More notes : All information about the script used, forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=181>Ekteka, can be found in the "Conscripts, Conlangs and Conworlds" subforum. Way of life: The Ana were nomad people whose subsistence consisted mostly of hunting, gathering, and fishing. Their territory consists primarily of the SouthEastern lowlands, but also extends slightly westwards. After the foundation of the nation of Keo, approximately two centuries ago, the pace of life had started to shift, and slowly many tribes (most notably in the South) have begun to settle down into a more sendentary way of life. As mentioned, the rift between this 'new' way of life and the old gained favor in the Southern tribes. By dialect: - Darkest red (South) : main dialect, sedentary - Red (East) : E-dialect, both sedentary and nomad - Redish Pink (North-West) : U-dialect, nomad - Redish Pink (East): I-dialect - Pink (North-East): tonal dialect, nomad and sedentary Housing: The Ana generally live in tipis and wigwams, made from branches, tree bark and animal skins. Clothing: The Ana are known to typically wear two sets of different clothing, depending on the season and weather. In warm weather, both men and women wear a breech cloth along with leggings made from animal hides, due to the skin's flexibility. A breech cloth is a simple piece of cloth roughly 3 meters long, and 50 centimeters wide. It is placed between the legs and held by a belt or rope along the waste, which allows both ends of the cloth to hang overtop the front and the back of the body. An additional sleeveless shirt is optional, but it is usually worn by women rather than men. In colder weather, they both wear long-sleeve hide shirts, a breech cloth, leggings, and moccasins. Additional clothing may involve fur coats, gloves, and hats during winter. (and yes, I've based the clothing and housing off native americans - subject to change in the future)

When I will be making a script, is it OK that it's a ''realtive'' of yours? Like greek or Cyrillic is for Latin? With all credtis to you at all times of course! I made a script like that once, but it ended up too muh Koean :P

Actually, just from the systems and the look, the Nokean script might be a distant relative of Tekann, (IC wise, of course). I wonder, if they are related, where did the proto-script originate and what did it look like. And how interesting it would be to have such a large area with related script. Maybe it moved over the waters during trade, like phoenician.... things to ponder.... :)

"Half way never mind," 'cause I found my notes on a previous script! I'll look at your script, and see ;) I don't know which yet.