Okrit

Okrit, or The United Okriti Republic, is an Island nation in Brchipelago comprised of several smaller islands. Formerly, Okrit remained completely isolated from the rest of the world for many years due to atmospheric phenomena causing thick fog and storms. In 9 PC, these storms had cleared to the point where ships from the east finally made contact with the archipelago.

Capital	Nkrama

History

Prior to 9 PC Okrit had not been a unified state, but a multitude of various different states with extensive historical relations, pertaining most prominently to their respective majority ethnicity. For more information, pertaining to the geographic and cultural areas of Okrit (see the respective article). Historically relevant political entities and figures are the Ukubian Empire & Patyan Toi Serot, the Kingdoms of Okso & Masrit, the city states of Moklo & the Omolai and non-state entities like the Tiger Warriors, the Riders of Inun and the various Highland Tribes.

Okrit first made contact with the outside world when climate conditions caused formerly severe storms to clear in the seas between Okrit and the Attu Archipelago to the east. First contact was made on 4-3 9 PC when fisherman from Niueyjar made landfall near the city of Moklo. From 9 PC to 10 PC relations and formal communications began when sailors of various nations began to arrive in Okrit with intentions to trade. These trading intentions directed them to Nkrama, an economically powerful city state that sat at the apex of the trade flow between the west and east of the Islands. At this time, prominent Oye merchant Aakar Orit held de facto control over the activities of the Nakrama docks, essentially having a monopoly on interaction with the easterners once they had made contact.

By 11 PC, Nkrama began to suffer an outbreak of Purple Fever, having heavy impact on the population and economy. Orit, having access to the more advanced medical technologies of the east, hence gained immense social influence over the Nakrama populace. The social and economic leverage that this gained Orit led to him gaining de facto authority ovr the city and it's surrounding regions, overshadowing the councils which traditionally governed the city. By mid 11 PC outbreaks of Purple Fever had spread along the Omolai and towards adjacent inland regions, giving Orit further opportunity to gain control over areas that were formerly independent.

During this time, Orit had established formal radio contact with the powers of the eastern Attu Archipelago, and had began communications under the premises of being the leader of a unified Okriti nation. Securing trade deals for medicine and arms, Orit coerced and conquered various other Okriti states into submission, controlling the majority of the Okriti lowlands by 13 & 14 PC.

It was at this point that Orit would begin to hire a number of mercenaries and bribe various officials for de facto control over the city and restricting eastern traders to Nkrama, before declaring himself the leader of all Okrit to begin establishing relations with national leaders in the eastern Attu archipelago. Military control solidified with the establishment of formal ties with Akaria and then Living King, Harakar Oken.

In 24PC Orit would claimed to receive visions in his sleep predicting his death. Up until this point, the government consisted of various informal connections and agreements between regional authorities and powerful individuals. Orit's proclaimed visions prompted him to begin creating a formal structure of government, forming the United Okriti Republic. Provincial elections began in 29 PC with a Dakma of 20 out of the 40 seats being formed at the end of the year. Presidential elections began the following year in 30 PC with the eventual election of East Omolai Governor and son of Aakar Orit, Aakar Byenama. Since this time, activity within Okrit has remained unknown as communications with greater archipelago suddenly ceased.

Government

The 40 provinces of Okrit. Provinces in yellow & blue are provinces with guaranteed seats on the advisary council, yellow provinces being those with special governor slection processes. In red is Omolai province, which is currently under direct control of the president

Okrit was not a unified nation prior to the establishment of the Aakar Orit led union government, which persisted through having a monopoly on trade and communication with the east. From 9PC to 23PC Okrit had no official bureaucratic structure and operated entirely as an informal despotic system favouring those with political, financial and military ties to Aakar Orit and his various trade routes to Nkrama.

In 24PC an official announcement was made by Aakar Orit that his administration would officially form a formalised government, claiming he had done so after having seen visions of his death, unofficially admitting to the global community that Okrit's united government was a sham. This new government would be a Democratic Federation of 40 governmental divisions known as provinces, with the Head of State being the President.

Each province would have a respective Provincial Governor elected via public democratic elections, sans the special provinces of Masrit and the Taaqba federation which would continue under the traditional rulership of their respective traditional governances. The governor of the Masrit province will be the current Udumap of Masrit, the Taaqba federation will have three individuals representing the federation under 1 seat. The 40 provincial governor seats would form a parliament known as the Dakma, headed by a chairman whom would be the most senior of the Dakma as chosen by the President. This position is retained throughout that membr's tenure on the Dakma and would only be reassigned should the former chairman lose his provincial seat, resign, or die. The president would be aided by an advisory council of 15 persons, 7 of which are seats guaranteed to members of the Dakma, those being the Chairperson, Udumap of Masrit, the lords of the Taaqba (as 3 individuals), and the current governors of the provinces of Okso and Akoni. The 8 other seats are the heads of the various other sections of the Okriti government, being the Master of Arms and heads of Education, Agriculture, Transport, Communication, Cultural affairs and Trade.

The first provincial elections began in 29PC, ending in mid 30PC. The eventual Dakma only consisted of 20 of the 40 seats, as the bureaucratic infrastructures in the majority of the Highland provinces had not been fully established.

Geography

The archipelago of Okrit consists of two main islands separated on an East-West axis by a shallow straight. The eastern island of Onomat is the largest island within the archipelago and is home to the majority of the population. The western island of Waaq, whilst less densely inhabited, still maintains substantial influence throughout all the islands through it's mineral resources. The straight that separates the two islands is known as the Omolai, and serves as the epicentre of Okriti politics, the economy and culture, being home to the nation's capital of Nakrama.

A map of the general biomes present on Okrit

Onomat is geographically split into the lowlands and highlands in the west and east respectively. The lowlands cover a mostly flat plain that is at its flattest at the westernmost point, becoming gradually more coarse and hilly heading eastwards. The western lowlands are majority forested, giving way to grasslands and coastal marshes in the rockier eastern terrain. Eventually the hillsides give way to the mountains of the highlands, which while comparatively drier, still hold a large diversity of resources and ecosystems. The Olowai River spans the width of the Onomat lowlands, originating in the foothills of the highlands, draining into the Omolai south of Nakrama. The adjacent areas around the Omolai and Olowai and woodland continues along the river banks towards the Onomati interior, transitioning into savannah for a large portion of eastern Onomat, with forest continuing only along the southern coast towards Moklo. The highlands are a mountainous region dominated primarily by dry scrubland, however wetter areas do lie further within the interior, although deep surveys are yet to be conducted.

The Waaqi side of Omolai is similarly forested and share a large range of flora and fauna, however gives way to much drier terrain inland. Most of the island is dominated by savannah and arid scrubland which sprawls up the horseshoe shaped mountainside, which plateaus in the middle, giving way to harsh desert.

Culture

Map of the traditional ethnic denominations

The various people groups of Okrit maintain a vast array of distinct cultural identities that have been solidified over the course of history on the archipelago. While this does indeed make for a great multitude of differences and subsequent conflicts between the groups, years of mutual influence and shared heritage still shine through. Okriti cultures are mostly divided along ethnic lines, between t lowland groups and the higlanders.

Shared characteristics

Calender

Okrit foremost follows a lunar calendar, modified from the model Ukubian model originating in the highlands. Although other cultures have different set points for when dates are marked from, the overall model is the same, being a cycle of a set period of years based on lunar rotations.

Superstition

In Okriti spirituality, extending one's finger serves to concentrate their spiritual power into the direction the user is pointing, making pointing an extremely contentious action and should be treated with extreme caution and respect. The pointing of one's finger is commonplace in expressing incredibly extreme emotion and i believed to invoke the power of spirits, heavily influencing the subject individual, primarily for the exclaiming contempt of another person or for casting curses. It is common among the Amata and the Affiliated tiger warriors to point one's finger at the target individual when declaring maitoro.

Naming customs

The common custom among the Okriti lowlanders is to have a familial name followed by a personal name, with a title, patronym or nickname sometimes following. Specificities within these naming customs varies between the people groups, such as naming upon marriage, how a name is passed down or the necessity of a third or fourth name.

Traditional ethnic division

The largest cultural divides mostly lie along equally drastic geographical divides, the most prominent of which being the separation of the highlanders from the lowlanders. The lowlander denominations make up the majority of the population of Okrit, and subsequently have the most cultural and political influence in the nation. Traditionally, the lowlanders are split into 5 cultural groups excluding the Peye of the southern islands, those being the Amata, Efiyye, Oye, Ofot & Taaqbal, however regional variation and influences is prevalent throughout all of them.

Languages

As of 24PC the majority of the Okriti government are comprised of ethnic Oye ministers who foremost speak Omolain, making it the de facto official language of Okrit. Various other languages are spoken primarily by other ethnic groups, all languages of the lowlander ethnicities belonging to the same language family, including Masriti, the lingua franca of the kingdom of Masrit.

Economy

Historically Okrit had an economy focused on the trade of minerals from Waaq to the Onomat lowlands in exchange for food. The highlands bare a large variety of resources mineral, dietary and luxury, making it of very high value. The Onomati lowlanders have historically attempted to conquer the highlands countless times, however this has been hindered by the rough terrain and hostility of the highlanders alongside political plays of the Waaqi who rely primarily on Onomati for food supply.