Mifora
| Government |
|---|
| Republic |
| Capital |
| The Grand Imperial City of Mifora |
| Cities |
| Dunum, Silia, Tetia |
| Major Worship |
| Beory, Boccob, Heironeous, Istus, Lirr, Pholtus |
| Climate |
|---|
| Temperate |
| Exports |
| Artwork, cheese, fruits, grain, knowledge, leather, wine. |
| Imports |
| Coffee, cotton, rice, salt, silk, spices, sugar. |
Confusingly Mifora refers to both a country and a city. Attempts have been made to rename the country to Sunita, but without success. And to muddy things even more; Mifora is where the original Miforan Empire got its start.
It is unique in the world for the fact that the many small agricultural communities in this nation, together hold more power than the metropolis of Mifora, its capital.
The country is more technologically advanced than most other nations. Though this is not necessarily true for the countryside, the capital and the other large cities contains many academies, colleges and other centers of learning.
Geography
The northern border is formed by the Sarodin Sea. Here one finds mostly sandy beaches but there are also some areas of coastal cliffs. Large estuaries have formed where the Garanus, Liga, and Vius rivers empty into the sea.
Going south the terrain is mostly flat plains and gently rolling hills. The plains are used extensively for agriculture; cereals, grapes, and oilseeds are the most grown, using about half of the farmland. The other half is mostly used to graze the famous Miforan cows.
In the center of the country rises the Bulette's Back a large stony plateau the Vius river flows around to the south and west.
In the past there were many large forests but so much of them has been cut down that now some forest have gained a protective status for fear of running out of timber in the future and some wood is even being imported from Sormark.
To the south the Giant's Crown Mountains border the country keeping much of the rain clouds in which are responsible for the fertile fields. The eastern border is formed by the Endless Mire. This swamp has resisted all attempts over the centuries to drain it or otherwise curtail it.
Ecology
Hares and rabbit are ever present, the same can be said for voles, dormice, mice, mole-rats, squirrels and chipmunks. Moles and porcupine are quite common as well, just like badgers and polecats.
Elk and deer are less common as the hunting of them is quite popular. Boar do a little better and some bison can still be found but domesticated cows vastly outnumber them now. Foxes, wildcats and wolves are the main predators. Black bears are rare, brown bears are only seen near the mountains.
Grouse and pheasant are also quite popular to the hunt so their numbers have dwindled quite a bit. Swans and herons are the most common large birds found inland. The cedar waxwing is one of the few species that is almost exclusively found only in Mifora. Woodpeckers are common, as are oystercatcher and woodcocks. Wagtails, orioles, crows, and warblers are the most seen songbirds.
Along the coast many seals and seabirds are found. And off the coast there are many sharks, dolphins and porpoises. Large whales are hunted, though on a small scale, the one exception is the narwhal; its horn is so valuable that many ships hunt them exlusively.
Monsters
While in many ways a very bucolic country, there are still quite some monsters around. Village are normally safe from their predations as most quickly learn to avoid hails of arrows. The Restless (undead) are less common here as old superstitions have purged most.
Carrion crawlers are surprisingly common and no one is quite sure where they come from. Displacer beasts have been seen deep inside two forests but fortunately don't seem to wander out from there. The Egnolobe Forest is well known for the clan of girallon that live there and is thus off-limits for anyone else. The leucrotta is likely the most dangerous of the common monsters, roaming around the edges of civilization.
The dangerous yuan-ti are present near the Endless Mire where they have been fought frequently in the past. This seems to have had the desired effect as they are now seen less often. Ogres, ettins and other giants can be found at the foot and lower elevations of the mountains, occasionally a band of them will come into the interior.
Stories tell of a morkoth of enormous proportions living in a cave off the coast of GICOM. The tale claims that it was summoned by empress Lytia and served her as an advisor and the guardian of many of her treasures. When she died her son found he did not have any control over it and it kept all the riches it was given to protect.
History
When the children of Empress Ateia split up the Miforan Empire, most of what is now Mifora went to her son Inicus. A traditionalist, he was the most resistant of the siblings to the new ideas and he firmly intended to continue on as the new emperor of a (much) smaller Miforan Empire. His daughter, however, had other ideas.
Laelia Sevso was an idealist. She cared deeply about the common people and their plight. After many years of reading books and talks with her tutors she came to the conclusion that things needed to change for the betterment of the populace. But she also knew her father would never allow it.
The upheaval as the empire split was the moment to enact any kind of change, this was clear for anyone to see. And she was convinced that it was possible to have a bloodless coup that would allow her father to live out his years in the royal castle. Ah, the optimism of youth.
It turns out that she, and, to be fair, everyone else, had underestimated how different city-dwellers had become from those of the countryside. Even though students loved to discuss revolution, they, and everyone else in the large cities, did, when it actually came to it, not really enjoy a prospect where their opportunities would diminish for the betterment of the 'country bumpkins'.
Said peasants, however, were quite enthusiastic about a change of government once the call went out. Inicus had been slain the first night of the revolt but now the city-folk were dragging their feet when it came to enacting real change. It didn't take long at all before 'a host of hayseeds' arrived at the gates of the Grand Imperial City of Mifora.
The armies were unable to chose a side in this conflict as they were far away (and, in some cases, otherwise occupied). And so marched the 'yokels' into the city and took possession of Mulsa Palace. Representatives of all of society met here and a new system of government was forged. The county was divided into shires and each of these elected an envoy who got a seat in the State Convocation which was to rule the country. As all the large cities were each just a single shire they lost most of their power but soon started to claw back influence.
Those on the eastern border of Dolac, when seeing what had happened in their neighboring country, petitioned to join. This was immediately granted and the country grew to its current size.