Old Leturian Provinces

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West Leturia

West Leturia is inhabited almost only by the Letur, the "tailed" ones, plural Miletur. (This is also the Leturian name for Leturia). It consists of five provinces: Mazekena, Nainfenti, Lunitedvima, Nyizkeni and Nodekveba; a sixth province, Sardvimi, is officially "shared" with East Leturia. The main arteries of transportation in West Leturia are the River Fercimi and two major highways running from Telmenena southwards towards the coast.

West Leturia is divided into several principalities, each of which is called a dvim.

Nainfenti

In the far west lies Nainfenti, the Western March, a hostile frontier region facing the lands of the nomadic Yosp and Sibdar tribes. The government of West Leturia is structured around the need to patrol this frontier and has generally done a reasonable job of this. The nufent, or "frontier raider" is much esteemed among Leturians; their order, the Munufent, pays no taxes and instead receives subsidies in money and goods from the central authorities to keep watch in its settlements and fortresses along the frontier. The brave nufent is the stuff of legend: mounted upon the back of a horned animal called a rint (rather a homely beast, though a sturdy one, resembling a gaunt ox) the munufent gallop on regular routes about the countryside clad in thick leather and simple armor made of brightly-painted bronze sheets called sekka because they are imported from the mercantile city of Secca on the southern coast (under the jurisdiction of Griffon's Aerie). Their settlements stretch into the oases towards the far west, where the vast desert of Ferluxebi begins, and extend inland to occupy the crossroads in the more fertile lands of central Nainfenti, dotted with small farming villages and several market-towns. This more densely inhabited area, like the rest of West Leturia, is subdivided into townships, each called a mukol, while the frontier proper is divided into much larger military zones, each one referred to as a musut. Each town is governed at the discretion of a mayor or kolesvera, who is chosen each year by the entire male and female population of the community in a remarkably democratic fashion. One town is designated the capital of each township and has the name sverkoli; its mayor, the sverkoliesvera, must be confirmed in office by the provincial governor, appointed by the Numaz. In Nainfenti the governor is called the kaif, which is in fact a military title roughly equivalent to "general." The capital of Nainfenti is the strongly-fortified city of Kaifesuta, which draws most of the trade in this region. To the south of Nainfenti lies the ocean; the sea here is infested with pirates, mostly descended from Yosps, Sibdars and renegade Leturians; the government, having no fleet to speak of, is usually powerless to stop them.

Lunitdvima

Leturia is bounded on the north by a mountain range known as the Lunit, or more properly mu'Lunitu-fornou, the "Piercers of Heaven". These mountains are said to be the place from whence the Leturians themselves originated, and in the foothills of the Lunitu-fornou Mountains is a population which carries on many ancient traditions and much folklore forgotten by the Leturian population at large. This is the heart of the northernmost province of Leturia, called Lunitedvima (Province of the Lunit mountains). In the north of this province the population lives principally from raising sheep and goats, while the south is engaged in subsistence farming. It is among the poorest parts of Leturia and is not really incorporated into the national economy, much less an international one. It is divided into mukols administered as those in Nainfenti. The governor of Lunitedvima is called a snir, the term for a civilian leader; and he is selected by the township leaders, though he must later be confirmed in office by the Numaz. The capital of this province is Marglami, the "white tower."

Mazekena

"The Middle of the Land." This is the center of Leturian agriculture and produces enough grain (usually) to fill domestic needs, to supply the frontier Munufent garrisons of the west, and to earn some revenue on the international market, selling to Griffon's Aerie and, via Secca, lands further afield, such as Arangoth, Tollor, and Rhydin. It is also the seat of the royal court, and the province is governed directly by the Numaz himself, who resides there in the Leturian capital city, Telmenena. (This literally means "the eye of blueness," which is probably in reference to the color blue, associated in Leturia with royalty, although its precise meaning is not clearly understood, lost in the mists of time). The city of Telmenena and its suburb Igmirin are built near the headwaters of the mighty River Fercimi.

Nyizkeni

This "highland" is a broad plateau located to the south of Mazekena through which the principal land-roads (sverlari) run between the southwestern seacoast and both Telmenena and points in Nainfenti. Its principal economic activity is the raising of cattle for export. It consists of scrubby land and is rather sparsely inhabited, even that largely by brigands who prey upon anyone who uses this road. These are the feared Nyizekenie muxirda, renegade Munufent frontiersmen, who are opposed by the royal Leturian garrisons inhabiting numerous road-stations (lareveda) spaced out regularly along the highways. The governor here is a kaif, appointed directly by the Numaz, and he resides at the city of Laresuta.

Nodekveba

This is the seaside province to the south of Nyizkeni and Sardvimi, with numerous fishing harbors; in the west, it blends into the pirate-ridden stretch of the southern Nainfenti. It has long suffered from the results of a treaty signed with Griffon's Aerie and Secca some time before stipulating that all sea trade out of Leturia would go by way of Secca and not by way of the Leturian ports. Although there is some smuggling activity, Seccan patrol ships police the shoreline and have the right to inspect seacraft leaving or docking at Nodekveban ports to make certain they are not in violation of the treaty. The province, which extends along the southern coast for several miles inland only, subsists from its fishing; fish are commonly salted and shipped further inland in return for Mazekenan grain or cash. There is a popular Nodekveban separatist movement which seeks independence in order to abrogate the economically crippling treaty with Secca. The capital of Nodekveba is Rilmeri, at the mouth of the river Fercimi. The seashore is also dotted with small resorts to which Leturians flock in the summertime. The province is governed by a snir, selected locally by the township leaders, and because of a special agreement the Numaz is bound to concur with their choice; in the other provinces, the Numaz can refuse to confirm the local favorite in office.

Sardvimi

This, the "Southern Province," is shared between West and East Leturia, and might be divided into West Sardvimi and East Sardvimi, except that in the East Leturian dialect the name of the province is Sardeumi. An agricultural land somewhat like Mazekena, but not as prosperous, Sardvimi contains the most vital roadway, that connecting the capital (Telmenena) with the quasi-independent city of Secca. The governor is a snir, chosen by the township leaders and confirmed in office by the Numaz. West Sardvimi contains Leturia's principal wine-growing region on the banks of the River Fercimi, which cuts through the province on its way south to the ocean. It has no capital city and in fact no cities of any size, containing mainly small towns and villages.

East Leturia

East Leturia, unlike the West, is inhabited largely by ordinary human beings, the non-tailed Yitur, but these do not possess the rights of citizens and have a status very similar to that of human beings in Griffon's Aerie. The religion of East Leturia is the same as that in the Aerie; that is, Lilism, and East Leturia is distinguished from the west largely by its use of human slaves. Its legal system is therefore rather different from that in West Leturia, which as we have seen is based on the local mukol unit, its leaders democratically elected by the population. East Leturia, on the other hand, is divided into "spheres" or "circles" (the Leturian term is lupur or (East Leturian) lupir). These are in the possession of Leturian families, which reckon descent in the female line, and each family "owns" the non-tailed Yitur population of its lands. East Leturian cities are similarly organized, except that the citizens of a given city are legally deemed a single "family" in collective ownership of the human population. The leadership of the lupir is held by the lupiresvera, a female title passed down in matrilineal fashion.

The East Leturian "central court" is located in Dunbicti (pronounced Dunbishti) and is presided over by the Celsniri (pronounced Shell-sneery), the "Eastern governor," a male office, appointed by the Numaz. The individual provinces,except Sardeumi, are controlled by subsidiary (female) leaders which have the title leur. If a majority of the three leurs (i.e., two of them) demand the recall of the Celsniri, he must be recalled and a new one appointed. The title of leur is rotated annually among the various lupiresveras in each province, of whom a list is kept.

Sardeumi

This is in fact the same province as Sardvimi listed above. In this territory, the two systems of local government overlap, and each community can, in essence, appeal to either central court. The snir of Sardeumi is chosen by both the elected leaders of the local townships or mukols (in the East) and the elders of the various family circles or lupirs (in the West). There is no leur of Sardeumi, though the title has sometimes been claimed by the wife of the snir.

Celdeumi

The "Eastern Province." This province contains the capital city of the East, Dunbicti, in its northwestern corner, and the Griffon's Aerie city of Randegow (the principal entrepot of land-based trade with Leturia) is near its northeastern corner. Its countryside contains low, rolling hills and a number of lakes teeming with freshwater fish. The Sekka River (which enters the ocean at Secca) cuts across the province, passing through Dunbicti, where the Dunbori (Blackwater) River enters the Sekka on its way westwards from Randegow.

Rintenyela

The name of this province means "the heart of the rint," the rint being that unusual animal ridden by the Leturian mounted soldiery in place of horses; this name is derived from an event in Leturian mythology. The Sekka River passes through this province as well, originating just to the north of it in the aforementioned Lunit Mountains. Much of Rintenyela is covered by dense forests and most Leturian timber is taken from this region. However, it also has a great deal of farmland. Its capital has the same name as the province: Rint's Heart City (Rintenyela ge Kola).

Fernesti

The Great Forest, north of Celdeumi and east of Rintenyela. Similar in terrain to Rintenyela, this province is not as well connected to the kingdom's transportation network as that one is, and consequently it exports less timber and is in fact considered the boondocks of East Leturia, its inhabitants very provincial and allegedly inbred. Its capital city, in the far south, is called simply Fernesti City (Fernestiekola). In the far north of the province there are settlements of (non-tailed) human beings who have no tailed Leturian masters and exist as daring outlaws.

To the east of Fernesti lies the land called Keulnesti (West Leturian Kvilnesti or Kvilenesta, whence its Arangothian name, Quilanesti), the Elfin Forest, inhabited by the Mikeul, singular Keul, who are Leturian-speaking elves. They are independent of both Griffon's Aerie and Leturia.