Enclave of Vir

The Enclave of Vir is a forest nation on the East side of the Free Territories. It is the last of the Primordial Kingdoms and one of the oldest kingdoms on the continent, having existed for several millennia. It's capitol is the Hidden City. The Enclave of Vir was once ruled by two queens, Elbras and Elisar, but the latter was killed by the former during the Cataclysm.

At it's founding in ancient times, Vir was populated entirely by sylvan. Today, members of all species can be found in the Enclave, though sylvan still hold the largest population.

The Shadow Wars
For centuries, the Viran have been in perpetual war with the same enemy; an undead faction now known as the Court of Shadows. Time after time, the sylvan and the Court have come into conflict. In fact, standing vigilant against the Court and rooting them out is one of Elbras' rare decrees. Countless of what the sylvan call "Shadow Wars" have been fought over the course of millennia.

(For a more detailed account of the Shadow Wars, see: Shadow War)

The Cataclysm of 1800
After countless incursions by the Imperium, Queen Elisar too matters into her own hands.

Post-Cataclysm
After the Cataclysm, both Elbras and the Hidden City were severely weakened. In her weakened state, Elbras was no longer able to teleport the Hidden City across the planet and was forced to keep the City within the forest of Vir.

Society and Culture
Virans are a highly communal people and very rarely live alone, preferring to settle and travel in groups. These sylvan communities are intensely social, and their members spend most of their time together. Viran communities have no chain of command or ruling body. Some members are seen as leaders, but have little to no actual authority to wield over others. Collected resources are shared among the community according to need.

Virans believe that life is precious, so they do not employ the death penalty as punishment. Viran who commit serious crimes against their social groups or the Hidden City are punished with exile. Viran who are exiled are not allowed to return to their group, and may find themselves shunned by others. Some exiled Virans have built their own communities that welcome other exiles. However, this has proven somewhat problematic, as some exiled sylvan were banished for quite serious offenses such as murder, and their presence at these exiled communities often result in violence.

Religion
The vast majority of Virans worship the Primordials. Vir is one of the few places on the continent where Primordial worship is not only legal, but protected.

Government and Law
The official ruling body of Vir is the Hidden City, which is ruled by Queen Elbras and her advisers, the Council Remnants. However, the authority of of the Hidden City is largely superficial outside of the City.

Economy
Vir does not have a currency-based or material economy. In Viran communal groups, members are expected to pull fair shares of work in the community. Specialists, such as craftsmen, warriors, and mages will sometimes exchange their services for other services within a community, if the desired service is superficial or luxurious in nature. Otherwise, they will typically provide their services for free, for the good of the community. As far as sheer trading and marketing power is concerned, Vir is remarkably weak within the world economy.

Viran who venture out of their communities quickly attune themselves to the workings of Altean and Dolmachan markets. Because most of these Viran are adventurers and mercenaries, they will do jobs for money, which they then use to upgrade their equipment, hire other mercenaries, or purchase services. Even when traveling in the outside world, most Viran are disconnected from money and find little use for it beyond getting what they need out of others.

Viran weapons, clothing, and building materials are highly sought after by Alteans and Dolmachans, and business-savvy Viran have used this to their advantage. Viran-manufactured weapons, such as the long-rifles favored by Viran Rangers, are favorites among mercenaries and adventurers. Several Altean weapon manufacturers have offered up rewards to anyone who can obtain the means and knowledge to duplicate their designs.

Military
The Viran standing army consists mostly of Sylvan Rangers, powerful and highly skilled warriors. Rangers are trained in most forms of combat, but are especially skilled in long rang combat and sharpshooting. A typical Ranger unit consists of five Rangers for ease of communication and movement, but they are capable of attaching to each other to form larger units should the need arise. The somewhat less numerous Sylvan Magi are powerful mages who provide support for the Rangers in large scale warfare. Otherwise, Magi tend to fill research and development roles in times of peace.

Communities within the Enclave but not in close proximity to the Hidden City sometimes form their own fighting units. These fighters usually just protect the community from outward threats, and do not typically serve in larger Enclave campaigns unless called on. These fighters are still called Rangers, despite not being an official part of the Enclave military.

The Honor Guard are the elite fighting unit of the Enclave, and some of the greatest warriors on Earth. These soldiers serve as Queen Elbras' personal guard, whose throne room is guarded by a dozen Honor Guard at all times. The actual number of Honor Guard is much larger, however, and they are cycled in and out of guard duty. When not guarding Elbras, Honor Guard are sent on important missions by the queen, usually on their own. Others will sometimes lead an army of Rangers and Magi, as a sort of de facto general. While certainly capable of long range combat, Honor Guard prefer using their swords, which they wield with lightning fast reflexes. They are also powerful magic users. It's been speculated that Honor Guard are more than just highly trained warriors, but possibly a kind of sylvan super-soldier, enhanced personally by Elbras herself. Nobody knows for sure except Elbras and the Honor Guards themselves.