The Viteshan Domain

The Viteshan Domain,  otherwise referred to simply as Vitesh, is an island-state and Kingdom renowned internationally throughout the Valiant Sphere as a green paradise; once claiming to possess the floral life of every region in the known world within it's borders, as well as having several forms of unique plants never seen outside of its borders which refused to grow outside of it. With innumerable plant species still to be discovered, the Viteshan Domain was a nation considered to be paramount to the fabled Holy Grail for botanists; and it's agricultural sectors and wood workers once were, and for those that managed to survive, still are, some of the greatest in the world; known for producing vessels of incredible durability.

The former home of a grove of unique trees referred to as Treasure Trees by the Viteshan people; as well as the region containing one of the Wonders of the World in the natural megastructure referred to by the Viteshan people as their Sanctuary, unfortunately, the Viteshan Domain was overwhelmed overnight in an incident known as the Rot, leading to the deaths of the majority of the inhabitants of the Domain. The mystery of what exactly occurred that night is known as the Green Conspiracy; with investigators ranging from civilians to Legionnaires to Desperados once hailing from the Viteshan Domain with a place in their hearts for their homeland.

The Verdant
According to the Origin Myth of the Viteshan Domain, the island-state at some point in it's ancient past had been particularly favoured by the goddess of nature itself, an entity referred simply as Mother Nature. As a result, said entity bestowed upon the Domain the honour of having it consider it's national borders her special dwelling place, taking up residence within the Kingdom and creating a vessel through which she could exert direct influence on said Kingdom, known to the world today as the Sanctuary of Vitesh, one of several Wonders of the World. It is said that the shape of the Sanctuary is reflective of the true form possessed by said entity, being molded and crafted lovingly as a gift to the people in her visage so they might know she watches over them.

However, in addition to this, they were also granted a unique boon; referred to by the Viteshan people and the international community as The Verdant; considered to have affected the manifestation of floral life in the Kingdom in profound ways unseen before in other regions of the world. Considering that most of the Viteshan Origin Myth is extremely hard to come by and exceptionally vague; as well as partially carried down from generation to generation by route of oral tradition, the credibility of the Origin Myth to describe The Verdant is heavily debated; and typically dismissed in attempts to describe the phenomenon.

The Verdant encompasses the Domain's possession of the world's largest concentration of floral biodiversity of any particular region; seemingly possessing floral life that should not logically exist within the climates of the Kingdom growing in perfect health. In addition, The Verdant is responsible for the existence of the nation's unique paraflora; possessing unique capabilities and characteristics that appear to be the logical extension of the capabilities of traditional flora, or characteristics that appear entirely unnatural altogether. It is often considered that the Kingdom may very well have every plant species, they may just have not yet been discovered. That being said, that too is debated.

Economic Importance
The Verdant is the unique phenomenon that allowed the Viteshan Domain to rise to such a level of agricultural productivity that they became renowned as one of the premiere bread baskets of the Valiant Sphere; capable of producing in abundance and high-yield vast amounts of a variety of different forms of food crops, and thus capable of then providing for larger and more varied livestock at any one time than most.

The soil of Vitesh was considered to have unique restorative properties on any plant resting on it; seemingly restoring withered flowers back to the peak of health incredibly quickly; and as such a method of utilizing the properties of Viteshan soil to improve food production around the world was and is sought after, though unfortunately these efforts have not proven successful. Interestingly, these properties appear to be carried over outside of the borders of Vitesh if the person putting said plant into soil from the Domain claims the Domain as their birthplace and homeland.

Cultural Integration
The Viteshan people were renowned for blending their unique flora into every part of their daily lives in unique and creative ways, making life easier and seemingly functioning alongside the technology used by the wider world to create unique solutions to problems in every day life one would not have usually encountered. For example in the past before the widespread usage of lanterns, the Viteshan people would keep bioluminescent flowers in pots around their houses that appeared to glow brighter in intensity the darker the surrounding area became.

Since the formation of the country Vitesh has always possessed levels of agricultural wisdom and knowledge of methods of farming and food cultivation that would without the aid of the nation take generations to be developed in other countries. This is due to the Verdant, the wisdom of the first King and the guidance of the ancient Delacroix. The First King was reputed both as a philosopher and military general in his own right, and believed that the ability to have food and have food in abundance is the bedrock upon which civilization is built. In addition to that, he believed that as the nation that has this bedrock perhaps in greatest abundance int he Valiant Sphere it is their duty to share pertinent information, agricultural techniques, crops that would serve well in the climates around the world and be the foremost innovators in this field to do their part in keeping humanity progressing. This policy and particular philosophy is recorded in the Dubois Doctrine, and would go on to be the basis for the nationwide adoption of Do Ut Des as the national motto.

When the Valiant Empire came knocking, the Viteshan Domain gave them a warm welcome, the First King aware that it was the best method for the nation to achieve what he had stated to be the nation's policy. As a result, since then, the Domain would send ambassadors to any prospective island capable of large-scale agriculture, helping the various nations develop their own methods tailored to the nature of the land and soil that they may have. The Viteshan Domain took the national motto and applied it to their relations with foreign nations, being one of the primary donors to areas that may have needed a form of emergency relief in the form of food, and supported the war effort (Thorne Insurrection) with agricultural prowess.

Many undercut the importance of an abundance of food to the viability of extended war efforts, but fail to recognize that it tends to be a deciding factor in considering who wins a war. "An army marches on it's stomach", and in the Valiant Empire having the usually neutral Viteshan Domain take a side in a given conflict could often mean a decisive boost to the forces of the side it supports. Having some of the greatest expertise in food production, the logistics required to produce and provide food to soldiers in conflict typically became considerably easier with the backing of the Dubois. Of course, this directly correlated to the ability of Viteshan armed forces to fight extremely lengthy conflicts by any measure, having the food to maintain the strength throughout.

As the bread basket of the Valiant Sphere, the Viteshan Collapse caused an acute food shortage within the realm, causing increased pressures on the seasonal isles that was slowly mitigated over the years.

The Emissaries
""Fidèle et utile dans le monde entier.""

- The creed of the Emissaries, when translated meaning "Faithful and useful around the world."

The Emissaries of the Viteshan Domain, or simply the Emissaries, are a diplomatic and humanitarian organization founded by the First Queen, a member of the Delacroix Family, consort of the First King, and an important figure in the history of the Domain. The purpose of the Emissaries was to primarily serve as beacons of goodwill from the Viteshan Domain into the larger Valiant Sphere, seeking to provide services to those in need around the world ranging from from medical care and agricultural instruction to education and settling diplomatic disputes between smaller territories.

Considered to be one of the most honourable occupations one could possibly hold within the Domain, the Emissaries were treated with great respect. Consisting of individuals from all walks of life, the Emissaries were split into various branches according to the specializations of each individual. Among the Emissaries, the most feared and most rarely deployed are the warriors from ___, a mountainous region deep within the heart of the Domain, who lead monk-like lives, and engage in legendary sparring contests. In the modern day, this branch of the Emissaries are well known to be the individuals the #3 Legionnaire meditated with for a month to gain an exponentially greater handle on her abilities.

However, those high ranking within the organization are aware of the secondary purpose of the Emissaries. Pledging allegiance to the will of the First King above all else, the Emissaries serve the secondary purpose of finding, protecting, guiding and serving the [REDACTED]. Acting as counsel for a [REDACTED], Emissaries often find themselves in advisory positions. However, the Emissaries also serve the role as acting as the [REDACTED]'s personal fighting force in the case that a challenge to a current ruler is considered necessary, serving as both bodyguards and mediators of the combat.

Paraflora
(Detailed Explanation on what Paraflora are soon come, I just wanted to write down some examples cause I thought it was cool)


 * Morpheus: Morpheus, the Flower of Harmony, refers to a sweet-smelling flowering plant native to the Viteshan Domain with special supernatural characteristics allowing it to earn the classification of paraflora. Typically utilized recreationally, the true purpose of Morpheus as intended by the original peoples of the Viteshan Domain was as a diplomatic tool a collective could use in order to achieve a state of melding, a trance like state where one shares memories, thoughts, and feelings. Through skin contact between willing partners, when inhaling the fumes obtained from burning the stems of this plant, electrical impulses are conducted and bounce between partners, creating sympathetic feedbacks between the nervous systems of those using it which slowly draw those partaking into a state of synergy. The First King believed that the use of this this plant could serve as a foundation, or at the very least a unique path for large-scale, longlasting peace in the Valiant Sphere uncovered by the researchers of his Domain.
 * Uses: It was common in the Viteshan Domain for this plant to be used by willing lovers for purposes of intimacy, but it's sheer potential for enabling persons to understand each other was touted by every past King of the domain for it's ability to give those occupied in governance or positions of responsibility an idea of what the people need, and its ability to allow warring factions to come to peaceful resolutions. However, the fact that Morpheus required willing participants stopped it from being completely able to halt wars between spiteful, hateful or vengeful participants. Typically, the Viteshan Domain partook in conflicts that this plant would not be useful for in the international scene (See: Thorne Insurrection).
 * Gilderberries: Gilderberries are a unique berry that could be used for dye and the production of a unique glowing ink that was typically used in official documentation by Viteshan nationals dating back to the foundation of the Domain; adding an additional level of authenticity to a given document. For reasons unknown, any message written in ink stemming from Gilderberries appears to reword itself, rearrange the letters forming the new words, and translate itself into an entirely different language to those that the message was not intended for. Unless specially trained in deciphering inscriptions of this kind or being included in the original intent of the person sending the message, the message is virtually encrypted even should it become intercepted. They are the cousins and look quite similar to another berry, __, whose dyes were typically used instead for paintings and other artistic purposes. The language translated into, while typically Sylvan, in actuality tends to be in a language that the viewer does not know, and will go as far as constructing its own if need be.
 * Spring Buckeyes: Weapons of mass destruction in their own right, Spring Buckeyes served as one form of defense possessed by the Viteshan Domain. Native to Verdant-enriched soils, the Spring Buckeyes are the seeds of a unique angiosperm that when keyed to a specific aura signature and then made to come into contact with it again release a devastatingly powerful blast of energy that isn't quite aura, or any of the known Awakening energies, rippling through and producing absurd amounts of heat accompanied by concussive force in the form of concurrent shockwaves of force. By firing a sufficient number of these pellets, the artillery of the Viteshan Domain was known to have the ability to obliterate fleets of warships and put a severe dent in armadas before they could ever touch the soil, only adding to the impregnability of the defenses of the Domain. Currently, Buckeyes are popular for being used in the Millennium Greenheart's signature Tyrant's Breath, and recently to mimic her own variant of her teacher's infamous VIBREAK. Rarely used on the official scale as a weapon of war in the quantity seen today, Spring Buckeyes in practice served as deterrents, as very few would be wiling to war with a country with that level of artillery.

Medical Agriculture
TO BE REWRITTEN.

The Second King used his power as a Greenheart to establish La Prosperite; which was meant to be this massive vertically stacked nursery that grew a wide variety of medicinal herbs and such for use in Viteshan healthcare, which would double as the Domain's largest publicly accessible pharmacy, that would then send locally produced medicines to different parts of the island/hospitals that might not be in direct proximity of La Prosperite.

The Greenheart
Read More: Greenheart

Post-Rot
???

Culture
The Viteshan Domain took significant pride in its culture and their national heritage, often uncovering and attempting to redevelop the practice of age-old customs or modify them for the present day. The Viteshan people used the plants in their homeland as building materials, for healing salves and remedies, for sustenance and even in some case to create weaponry on a scale that in some ways rivalled and may have in other ways surpassed the conventional methods used to produce these things outside of the Domain (looks at Future Evie).


 * Viteshan medicine was deeply rooted in their culture, as a variety of unique and easily producible medicines for diseases could be created from the saps of various trees, and the fallen leaves.
 * Viteshan architecture was also culturally distinctive, making use of the remarkably powerful life forces and structural integrity of some plants in order to make huge living structures for homes and schools.
 * Viteshan music was produced from relatively unique instruments (not to say typical instruments were not in use, but as their culture developed they made their own musical instruments from the nature around them. Wind-based instruments were very common.)
 * Viteshan shipwrights were among some of the greatest, having the ability to work with some of the most durable and resilient woods across the Valiant Sphere and Purgatory, constructing mighty vessels. When combined with aquatic Loa, the Viteshan Domain's navy was not one to be underestimated.

National Motto
Do Ut Des, (lit, I give, so that you may give.) is the central philosophy held by the people of the Viteshan Domain towards the plants and forests they lived with; and as a central pillar of their culture served as how the people managed to create and sustain a successful and symbiotic relationship with the ecosystem they themselves were a part of. Through a series of careful replenishment and sustainment programs instituted from the very establishment of a society on the island; the Viteshan people have managed to live off of nature and contribute in turn to nature; placing a high cultural significance on the balance of positive andd negative consequences on the flora of the Kingdom.

For every tree cut, a tree is planted without fail within the lumber regions of the Kingdom and done in a manner that does it's best to not disturb the wildlife of the nation, the soil is fertilized continually and cyclically according to the nutrients it needs without fail despite the remarkable fertility of Viteshan soil, the fruits of one's harvest are used to feed their people, and Viteshan culture highly favours those who give to those who have nothing to give; as the epitome of''' Do Ut Des. '''

It is for this reason that despite the inescapable nature of poverty in any economy, Vitesh was said to be a country where no-one goes hungry; as one of the world's premiere food baskets, it being considered an insult to the honour of a Viteshan to watch another Viteshan go hungry if there was anything they could do themselves about it. After the Rot and the separation of the Viteshan people across the Viteshan Sphere in an attempt to rebuild their livelihoods elsewhere; the meaning of Do Ut Des appears to have become individualized, with different survivors choosing to interpret it differently to adapt to their new environments and in some cases, activities.

Ginen
Ginen refers to the ancient form of supernatural power developed by the people of the Viteshan Domain in the ancient histories of it's past, having been popularly practiced in the days before the emergence of the First King and during it's rule, but having slowly faded into obscurity to the general populace as society progressed and advanced. Typically referred to by outsiders as the misnomers Vodun, or Voodoo, Ginen is an artform and a language capable of being utilized by an Awakened individual of any particular type contrary to popular belief. However, as the most prominent practitioners of the art today in the Delacroix are mostly composed of magical and Shamanic awakenings, the ability to perform Ginen is most extensively studied for these particular use cases.

Ginen was first developed as a means to commune with what were referred to the Spirits of Nature by the proto-Viteshan people, typically referred to today as Court Fey (as opposed to the considerably more accessible wyldfae) in an attempt to guide them and protect them against the harsh conditions of the country prior to the rise of the Dubois name. It is also rumoured that the First King himself was a practitioner of Ginen to an exceptional degree, though records of this are lost to history. Of the individuals to practice it however, the group of people not yet a clan in the traditional sense that would come to be known as the Delacroix were the first, and were seen as seers and shamans.

Those who utilize Ginen in the way it is known today must undergo a ritual where they go face to face with death by ingesting the ground up powder produced from the Devil's Powdercap and are brought back out of it by denying the reality of their own death with assistance from healing on the outside. If in the face of their own demise an individual has sufficient strength of character and self-assurance that one would face down what is almost the end of them, upon awakening, they find themselves intrinsically linked and greeted to a blackened fey-like existence referred to as a "Loa", or Iwa.

These entities along with the actual Fey are responsible for a variety of the apparent supernatural phenomenon that was associated with the Domain. For example, Iwa that persist in the world beyond their contracted individual are responsible for the Domain's reputation for immensely potent curses that destabilize the ranks of their enemies, opting to protect the homeland of their contractor. Indeed, those with the intent to exploit the Domain at times would find themselves the victims of an inexplicable string of bad luck that only grows progressively worse, depending on the whims of the Iwa. Ranging from being stranded at sea as the sails spontaneously ignite to a sudden outbreak within incoming armadas, the Viteshan Domain at war has developed a terrifying reputation.

Since the formation of the Legion, practitioners of Ginen have found themselves around the world, some employed as Legionnaires, such as Monique Delacroix of Nosferatu and Lucille Delacroix of Aegis.

Oral Tradition
The Sylvan language is deeply embedded in Viteshan culture, and as such folklore, art, ideas, and other cultural material are preserved through proverbs, poetry, and ballads spoken in the Sylvan tongue. Ancient burial rites passed down from generations are also spoken in Sylvan, and while the majority of the population knew a few words in the tongue as a result of their origin and culture, scholars of anthropology at the National College of the Domain were well-versed and actively translated this material for use by the general populace.

Kindling of Tinder
The Kindling of Tinder, is a locally well-known courting ritual, with practice of the ritual being traced to before the foundations of the Valiant Empire, while the Domain was still one with the Irilline. On a deeper level, it is a symbolic gesture representing the forging of a potential new path from the bark of a tree that lead to the founding of the nation; and applying that concept to a potential relationship or encounter with a given person. While previously extensively practiced, cultural homogenity has lead to the ritual being less commonly practiced in modern times.

By carving a right facing arrow on a tree near the residence of a given person, or in the case one does not know where said person lives, near an area one believes the individual frequents and leaving a note describing themselves and desire to meet, one then waits for the recipient to read it. If appreciated, the recipient will carve another right facing arrow adjacent to yours from the tree. Each participant takes the bark used to carve the arrow from the tree and keeps it, and if both approve, a time and place for their meeting is also stated on said tree. The bark obtained from the tree's engravings are then used to build a campfire for their first meeting traditionally. Traditionally, instead of notes, runes in Sylvan inscription were left on the tree so that only the person you intended to address could read it.

The National College
As a nation which prides itself on it's knowledge, the Viteshan Domain was known for it's educational system, having within it's borders a university in it's own right of international acclaim. The National College of the Domain attracted scholars from all over the world with a vested interest in the ability to learn, and at times would collaborate with the researchers of the Continental Academy to uncover secrets of the world around them. While most of the publications of the National College fell under history, archaeology, alchemy and botany; the National College was renowned for producing politicians, great artists that contributed to the Domain's National Library, engineers and architects given the unique perspectives of Viteshan architecture, doctors skilled in and researching the herbal medicines found so prevalently in the Domain.

Notable Individuals

 * Royal Family
 * Theodore Dubois:
 * Christophe Dubois:
 * Louis Dubois:
 * The Jouveres
 * Evelyn Jouvere
 * The Delacroix
 * Monique Delacroix
 * Lucille Delacroix

Trivia

 * Do Ut Des, is the proper phrase that represents the typical intended meaning behind Quid pro Quo as used in English; and is used instead of Quid pro quo in French.