Overview

The nation of Bollen consists of a large forested peninsula to the west of the Dragon's Maw Mountains. Bollen is in many ways a coastal nation, with many of its settlements in prime locations for trade on the Western Ocean. There are two major coastal cities of Bollen, but there are plenty of small fishing villages and boat towns that can be found dotting the coast. Ayyu and Sedora are bustling port cities that are key to nearly all of Bollen's trade, imports, and exports. These cities are partially carved into the rocky cliffs and shoals of the coast, but have great areas of buildings formed from wooden beams supporting a sandy cement-like mixture, frequently intricately decorated with seashells on the walls and the roofs.

The typically warm climate of Bollen is not always the case in the Great Forest, which occupies the majority of the landmass. In random patches of this forest, temperatures and seasons are known to shift and change. While walking through these woods, it is not unheard of for bright springtime foliage to suddenly transform into warm autumn colors, and back again. The Great Forest is dense and difficult to navigate, as well as dangerous. There are no roads through it, only small walking paths for those who would make the trek. It is nearly impossible to maneuver troops or major trade routes through the forest. While the Great Forest can be perilous to navigate, it also provides a great diversity of natural components and raw materials, and has become Bollen's economic lifeline since its emergence.

Within the forest lies Bollen’s capital, and its oldest city. Erynost is a complex series of platforms, wooden rope walks, and treehouses, perched over one hundred feet in the air amongst the greatest trees of the Glen, and it stretches for miles through the forest spanning from tree to tree. Citizens of Erynost navigate the treetop city using a series of wooden rope bridges that connect wooden platforms encircling each tree. The forest city is key to Bollen's natural resource economy. A minute forested valley, named Gaelin's Glen, that has always existed near the center of the peninsula, even through the worst years of the Drought, is located near Erynost. The Glen appears to have special properties in its soil, as it harbors some of the largest trees in Ashriya. These mighty trees are known as Giant Glenwood.

Bollen is governed in part by a council of respected elders gathered from across its townships. This council elects a High Councilor to make the main decisions for the nation, similar to a monarch. The elders are the High Councilor’s advisors in terms of power. However, it is they who decide when it's time to consider a successor. The council bestows the power, and can take it away. The current High Councilor of Bollen, Faelin Vathiel, has maintained his position for the past three lifespans of the council, and is one of very few in Bollen to remember the nation from before the Water Surge. His natural longevity due to being a Vampyre, as well as his success in spurring economic growth and status as a nation since his appointment to High Councilor, both contribute to his extended leadership.

Bollen maintains friendly trade relations with Myra and Caldan, particularly relying on Myra for agricultural imports as the dense forest and rocky coasts leave little room for farming practices. Relations with Corsic on the other hand, have always been tense due to their penchant for piracy of Bollen’s trade ships. Corsic of course denies taking any part in the myriad raids and attacks their tradelines face. Since the founding of Dornadur, they have become very friendly with Daboran as well.

Culture

Bollen lacks a standing army in the conventional sense, prefering to avoid war whenever possible, and instead rely on negotiation, trade deals, or sanctions to influence those who aggress upon them. Despite lacking a true army, Bollen is not completely without military defense. "The Bollevardo" are small groups of highly trained regiments, taught to master combative archery and covert navigation at the intense training grounds of Elynglenn. Much of the Bollevardo maintain quiet patrols along winding routes across the Great Forest, and are often occupied with Skul. Coastal cities also bear their own divisions, trained to use the cover of buildings and vantage of rooftops to outmaneuver their targets.

Erynost has an unusual quietness and peaceful quality to it, for a capital city, without any of the hustle or bustle that would normally be associated with such a location. The air of The Glen is rich with earthy forest smells, and occasional cool breezes shake the leaves in an almost musical fashion. The treehouses of Erynost are very natural in appearance, and seem to mesh with the colors and textures of the great tree canopies they reside in. Great care was taken to ensure that structural features for binding their buildings to the trees did not harm them. Some of its older structures use living branches for major structural beams; the people of Bollen have a cultural architectural art form called Galacanta that involves redirecting branch growth over decades.

This sprawling city has been expanding through the canopies for centuries. It is said that the city was built high off the ground long before the Drought when Kriddick ravaged the land. The people of Erynost have found living off the ground to provide safety from all sorts of monsters that have roamed the forest. Since the arrival of the Glibben, Tormentors called Skul have made the grounds of the forest quite dangerous once again. In the canopy city it is safe, but those who take the ground paths best be cautious and prepared.

Stretching for miles across the forest, certain parts of the city have taken on an identity of their own. The center of the city is the oldest, built into the tallest trees in the Great Forest. The High Councilor lives in the Heart of Erynost, and many of the Councilors live within the old city as well. The northern part of the city is Elynglenn, renowned across Ashriya for their master archers and masterwork quality bows. Elynglenn is also home to the training center for the Bollevardo elites. Practitioners of the bow from across Ashriya travel to Elynglenn to hone their skills here. Viivendasyl stretches towards the south west, and is known more for its attraction to rangers and naturalists. Surrounding this area is a particularly rich area of forest, with dense, grandiose plant life and a great diversity of animals. While prime for gathering natural components, the winding dense forest can be a challenge to navigate or track, and this draws rangers to Viivendasyl to hone their skills.

The city of Sedora, in the southern region of the peninsula, is the most populous and most active trading port of Bollen. Most guilds have local offices or chapters here, finding work through the many traders and merchants. The coastal city of Sedora has a beautiful temple to Avanti, carved from a cliff of white stone and holding aloft the city's lighthouse, a tall spire of carved alabaster with stained glass panels shimmering like facets of a jewel. A modest temple to Meserias lies in the heart of its trade quarter. It is essentially just a finely crafted wooden pavilion, but provides a fine workspace for artists, workshops, and merchants.

Ayyu lies midway down the coast, and is Bollen's key port for travel to other areas of Ashriya by ship. It is easy to find affordable passage to many lands at these docks if one opts to work as a shiphand, or otherwise assist the crew for the journey. The Shipwrights Union controls the production and export of Bollen's revered sailing vessels and parts. The shipwrights of Ayyu are well known for their excellent craftsmanship. Their sturdy, fast, and reliable ships are the envy of the seas, but their larger ships can be quite pricey. Some pirates of the world will target Bollen ships at sea for the sole purpose of harvesting Glenwood lumber; the value of this wood is often far greater than the cargo it carries.

Many in Bollen worship Simone, so it is not uncommon to find shrines or temples to the goddess of Nature. In fact, a large tree near the center of Erynost is home to a grand temple of Simone, grown and managed over many centuries to make a building that is very much alive. Bollen has maintained a unique cultural respect for nature for centuries, and this quality can be observed across its society and traditions, but is perhaps most clearly expressed in the holidays they celebrate.

The Holiday of Eaargwend takes place in the height of summer. This holiday revolves around expressing gratitude to the sea and coasts of Bollen and for all of Simone’s bounties. The citizens will communally work together during this day to maintain their coasts, managing areas of erosion, cleaning beaches, or docks and bays of clogging seaweed and barnacles, as well as releasing young fish and shellfish cultivars raised over the rest of the year. This replenishment of the sea is accompanied by great ceremonies and songs from the people, humbly entreating the waters to continue sustaining life.

The Holiday of Sinya-yestari is a celebration of "New Emergence" or "New Beginnings", this holiday is akin to a new years celebration for the people of Bollen. The holiday begins the last night of Carris and continues through the first night of Tyir. The first night of Sinya-yestari is more serious and solemn, the people remember and honor loved ones who have passed, and let go of the regrets and losses of the past year to look forward to new life and a fresh year. At midnight across Bollen, candlelight vigils are held. Beautiful hymns are sung, honoring their ancestors and loved ones, and honoring the old trees who begat the forest which Bollen relies on. The following day individuals, families, and larger groups will manage the forest. This includes raking forest ground cover to prevent fires, and encourage seedling growth; clearing of dead or fallen trees; and pruning of excessive canopies to spur new growth below. In the evening, the groups will take the seeds of the old trees and plant them to represent new growth and new beginnings in their own life. Contrasting the evening prior, jovial songs are sometimes sung during planting, and families and friends gather together afterwards for a traditional feast.

History

Sometime in the midst of the Drought the Kingdoms of Bollen became the Nation of Bollen. While their neighbors in Firth turned to fighting for Myra, the people of Bollen focused on taking care of themselves, not getting involved in wars they couldn’t win. As populations dwindled the Kingdoms of Bollen banded together.

When the Drought ended Bollen began to build itself back up utilizing the resources of all three of its old kingdoms for the benefit of the one new nation. Using many of the large old trees that did not survive the years of little rain, Bollen began producing ships. Their small village of Ayyu grew into a small city as demand for trade increased. Gaining recognition for the ships of Ayyu, Bollen started forming trade relations with Myra, Mull, and The Isle of Wonders. Much of their trade with their southern neighbors started passing through Sedora which soon grew into a bustling port itself.

While the first two Surges affected Bollen relatively little, they did gain trading relations with Caldan as they established themselves as an important merchant hub in the northwest. The Water Surge on the other hand had a large impact on all the West. Much of the coast of Bollen changed in the flooding, and the cities of Sedora and Ayyu were completely rebuilt. Survivors from Firth and the Isle of Wonders helped the rebuilding efforts, most coming to stay in Bollen permanently. The increase of fine crafters and artisans helped Bollen expand its merchanting endeavors as the forestation brought on by the Surge brought a wealth of natural resources to support an influx of more goods. While the coast suffered from the water, the previously wooded inland became a dense forest. Erynost suffered some damage from new trees seemingly manifesting among the old, taking out bridges and some buildings, but the city remained largely intact.

Along with the wood came Glibben and Tormentors. Erynost was lucky to be built off the ground as the Tormentors called Skul do not climb. The Skul are well-camouflaged in the forest, appearing to have fur formed from moss and lichen they blend in with their surroundings. Their facial features are not well-known as they wear skulls as masks or helmets, with only glowing red eyes showing through. Many lives were lost by those who walked the forest in the first year after the Surge. The people of Bollen knew the Skul were not the only new inhabitants of the Great Forest, and stories spread among the Bollevardo of feeling watched as they scouted the wood. Some tales went so far as to say those who wandered too far would be swallowed whole by the trees. And everyone had heard the sounds at night, booming footsteps was a common description of it, as if the old trees themselves were taking steps. A general feeling of fear spread among the city, and most people stopped traveling out of the forest.

One fateful year during the morning celebration of Sinya-yestari, the Council of Bollen performed their traditional planting of new seeds at the edge of Gaelin's Glen. After the traditional soothing hymn, they were stunned when what they thought was a small tree in the distance seemed to move. As it approached, it became clear that this being was no tree.

The first of The Court of The Glen to approach the people had been watching for some time, and saw how these outsiders held proper respect for the natural world. He told them they were not deemed a threat at this time, and The Court of The Glen would allow the people of Bollen to live inside the forest without threat. They would not bother them, as long as the outsiders would keep to themselves as well. He also imparted knowledge of how to fight the Skul: an oil created from a lichen that grows along Glenwood trees can be used on arrow tips or blades to bring great harm to the tormentors. That night the forest creaked and shook, and booming steps echoed through the air, but each night after that the wood was quiet, save for the scurrying of rodents and hooting of owls. The feeling of being watched was no longer a complaint; whether or not the Court was still watching is not known, but those who seek to learn more about it often do not return.