General information (Pre-Great war):
Demonym: Velgaur
Capital: Menapia
Key cities: Eborath, Varenne and Breldor
Official language: Eboric
Total population: 172,627,921
Total land area: 847,346 km² (327 162.12 sq mi)
Currency: Thren
First-level administrative division: Gorad
Government: Pattern Preservation State of the Continuance
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Ontological status (Post-Great war): The territory formerly designated as Velgorth has undergone severe distortion as a result of the Serpent God's influence. Only a handful of small survivor groups have been identified within the affected area. Viable rescue and extraction procedures remain under development, and no large-scale recovery operations have been authorized at this time.
Overview:
Velgorth, officially known as the Officially Uncertain Serpent Brood of Velgorth, is located in the Hoshin region of Eldervale. It shares its southern borders with Montic and Pyrrhassa, its eastern border with Brakenhove, its northwestern border with Haelgrin, its northern border with Grinwetter, and its northeastern border with Nav Kushti Rati.
She is often regarded as eccentric, foolish, and recklessly impulsive. She would rather act swiftly than allow matters to unfold at a measured pace. Sometimes her plans succeed exactly as intended; at other times, they collapse in spectacular fashion. She believes whatever she chooses to believe, even when it appears utterly nonsensical to outsiders. She hears every whispered criticism and every malicious rumor about her, and she knows that many of them are true. Yet she pays them little mind. She continues to act carelessly according to what she believes is necessary in the moment, content to let the future reveal itself in its own time.
About Velgorth:
𓆓 Velgorth is home to over 10,000 known snake species, thriving in its ideal climate. Most are harmless, but the venomous few make even ordinary travel a calculated risk.
𓆓 Snakes have shaped Velgorth's culture for millennia. Their venoms are refined into a prized ceremonial drink called Serpa Medu, using detoxification methods perfected over centuries.
𓆓 Velgorth's climate is famously unpredictable. A single month can experience all five seasonal winds, while the next may cycle through five distinct dry seasons.
𓆓 The Vibero-Arduenna Forest, deep in southern Velgorth, is among the world's deadliest wildernesses. Home to countless highly venomous snakes, it is officially designated a forbidden zone.
𓆓 The Valiser Wall stretches from the far north to the deep south. Built over 2,000 years ago in the shape of a colossal serpent's skeleton, it once guarded the nation from invasion.
𓆓 Sunbathing is a cherished Velgaur tradition. Many locals spend nearly every hour of daylight basking beneath the sun whenever weather permits.
𓆓 Velgorth's roads are notoriously unforgiving. Constant mud, shifting terrain, and wildly unpredictable weather make overland travel a challenge year-round.
𓆓 Legends speak of an ancient race of Snakefolk who once lived in Velgorth. They vanished long ago, leaving behind only ruins, relics, and conflicting myths.
Brief modern history:
I. The Collapse of the Extreme Meritocracy and the December Mutiny (1200–1201)
On 22 November 1200, Velgorth surrendered to Grienwetter and Brakenhove in the Lantern War following the catastrophic failure of the Com-batu Ad-Urbem Campaign. The defeat produced an acute crisis of political legitimacy, widespread social instability, and severe public anger.
On 30 November 1200, Boduocna Catumanda, the head of state at the time, proclaimed martial law. The regime attempted to restore order through exceptional coercive measures; however, the combination of military humiliation and intensified repression instead accelerated revolutionary activity.
In December 1200, nationwide revolt erupted against the Extreme Meritocracy regime. This insurrection became known as the December Mutiny.
Battle of Morinac, 8 February–21 May 1201: Revolutionary forces captured the city and destroyed a substantial government formation. The victory decisively shifted the balance of the conflict in favour of the revolution.
Battle of Avarica, 28 May–10 July 1201: Fought immediately after Morinac, the battle inflicted further losses in personnel and morale upon the government army. Its remaining forces withdrew into the far north, deep within Belloria gorad, where they were rapidly defeated in August.
On 5 November 1201, more than one hundred members of the former ruling party were executed by snake poisoning. The executions formally ended a regime that had governed Velgorth for more than three decades.
The collapse of the old order nevertheless created a power vacuum and intensified disputes among the revolutionary participants. On 20 November, the principal revolutionary factions agreed to form a provisional government charged with preserving national administration until the election of a legitimate leader three months later.
II. The Cinder Schism (1201–1209)
On 7 December 1201, the Fidara Collegia et Concorda Mercia (FCCM), an organization advocating an extreme form of capitalism, staged a coup out of fear that its political opponents would prevail in the forthcoming settlement. Despite the successful execution of the coup, several revolutionary factions refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the new government. Their refusal culminated in the establishment of competing regimes, marking the beginning of the Cinder Schism.
The FCCM consolidated authority in the southwest; the Ordo Antiqua Nova (OAN) established itself in the north; and the Conventa Maiorum et Futuri (NCMF) controlled the southeast. Both the OAN and the NCMF sought a restoration of an older model of collective government, although they differed substantially in doctrine, institutional design, and method.
Battle of Condor, 11 February–8 April 1202: The engagement was fought across rough, densely vegetated terrain heavily populated by snakes. Numerous soldiers suffered venomous bites, while opposing troops reportedly deployed baskets of snakes as improvised weapons. The battle also marked the OAN's first significant territorial advance after an initially defensive phase.
Battle of Duroc, 2 June–13 November 1202: Situated at the intersection of the three principal fronts and possessing major administrative importance, Duroc became the longest and most destructive battle of the war. Nearly four million personnel were deployed across an operational area of approximately 35,000 square kilometres (13,514 square miles).
The Battle of Duroc became one of the most devastating episodes in Velgorth's history. The average survival time of a soldier at the height of the fighting was reportedly only nine hours. The urban civilian population was almost annihilated, and numerous mass graves appeared throughout the city and its surrounding districts.
All three belligerents were severely weakened by the battle. From late 1202 until 1204, the conflict was therefore characterized primarily by smaller engagements, raids, and localized offensives.
Battle of Menapior, 18 April–24 June 1204: The FCCM captured this strategic position from the OAN, opening a route for further operations into the north.
At approximately the same time, the NCMF initiated the Expeditio Scaldis Campaign against the OAN.
Battle of Sabisona, 9 August–23 November 1204: Attacked simultaneously from two directions and unable to sustain further resistance, the OAN surrendered.
Following the defeat of the OAN, the NCMF immediately prepared the Ambiorigiana Operation, which commenced at the beginning of 1205 against the FCCM.
Battle of Gandavum, 20 November 1205–16 February 1206: This decisive engagement enabled the NCMF to rupture the FCCM's main defensive line, eliminate much of its elite force, and capture the prominent FCCM commander Chlodio Merovech.
During this phase, the NCMF subjected its remaining territories to maximal wartime extraction and mobilization. Public disaffection with these policies culminated on 7 June 1206 in an uprising by a group known as the Catuviri.
Battle of Arduennicastre, 14 October–6 November 1206: The engagement destroyed the FCCM's principal regime and ended its capacity to govern most of its territory. Nevertheless, surviving royalist and FCCM-aligned forces withdrew into the far west and retained control over approximately half of Scaldisterris gorad.
The western confrontation continued for another three years.
Battle of Camorit, 20 January–15 February 1209: The final 70,000 FCCM soldiers fought to near-annihilation. Fewer than one hundred survived and surrendered, bringing the Cinder Schism to an end.
III. Circle Governance, Reconstruction, and the Eburonemet War (1209–1224)
After the Cinder Schism, Velgorth established a system of circle governance. Under this arrangement, society was organized into councils, with different leaders holding responsibility for separate administrative and social domains.
Following several years of restoration, Velgorth declared war on Brakenhove on 2 April 1214 in an effort to recover the Eburonemet region, which had been seized during the civil war.
Battle of Atuatuca (Eburonemet region), 22 May–14 June 1214: Velgorth captured the strategic position, although both sides suffered heavy casualties.
On 20 June 1214, Velgorth and Brakenhove signed the Ben Aird Treaty in Haelgrin, terminating the campaign.
In 1219, the state undertook a formal reconstruction of the national language, replacing many complex expressions with simpler vocabulary and introducing a substantially simplified grammatical structure.
In 1224, circle governance had collapsed under the combined pressure of corruption, abuse of authority, institutional rivalry, and repeated attempts by council leaders to monopolize power.
By 13 March 1224, the escalating political crisis culminated in a series of assassination attempts among the council leadership, each faction seeking to remove its rivals by force. Consequently, the state's administrative apparatus became severely destabilized, resulting in inconsistent governance and a profound deterioration of public order.
IV. The Rise and Consolidation of Commius Viridomaros (1224–1233)
The collapse of circle governance was rapidly followed by the emergence of a more authoritarian order. Commius Viridomaros, formerly one of the council leaders, secured the position of chairperson and concentrated executive authority around his office.
His ascent generated immediate opposition. Several former members of the governing circles broke away and sought to establish rival political centres. In response, Viridomaros initiated the Segomaroi, a political purge last from March to July 1224. Originally intended to eliminate political opposition among the remaining council leaders, the purge progressively broadened in scope as Viridomaros became increasingly paranoid, extending its reach to senior military commanders and members of his own inner circle. The campaign ultimately reinforced his personal authority by eliminating potential rivals and compelling the loyalty of surviving officials through intimidation.
In February 1225, Viridomaros established the Nertosen. Its mandate included mass-media surveillance, political monitoring, and the arrest of individuals suspected of acting against the state.
In October 1227, the Judicial Commission, Social Welfare Authority, Development Authority, and Department of Culture and Heritage were merged into a single institution known as the Department of National Development. Although the department retained its own chairman, its principal decisions were heavily influenced - and often effectively determined - by Viridomaros.
On 20 January 1230, Viridomaros repealed the Power Rotation Act, thereby eliminating the five-year term limit imposed upon the Chairperson. Proclaiming himself Auron (emperor) and declared his position as the eternal leader of Velgorth.
V. The Moritouda Uprising and the Coriocatu Resistance (1233–1244)
On 3 August 1233, residents of Uxellon town rose against the regime in response to excessive taxation, police brutality, and arbitrary arrest. The revolt inspired similar actions throughout the north and developed into the Moritouda Uprising.
Battle of Ratomagos, 22 December 1233–13 February 1234: Government forces encircled and captured a large concentration of insurgents. Many of the prisoners were subsequently executed, significantly weakening the uprising.
Battle of the Lugoa River, 7 March–19 April 1234: The insurgents made their final organized attempt to defend the river line. Following their defeat, government forces advanced deep into the northern region and systematically hunted the remaining resistance groups.
After suppressing the Moritouda Uprising, the government imposed more restrictive legislation and expanded the system of mass surveillance.
In May 1237, a militia known as the Coriocatu was established under Alona Veridia Eburona, a former police officer. The organization relied primarily upon guerrilla warfare, striking isolated targets and relocating before government forces could encircle or capture it.
Battle of Nertosen, 24 November–8 December 1238: The Coriocatu destroyed the Virdator Palace, a major symbol of the Viridomaros regime. The attack greatly increased the militia's prestige and encouraged additional recruitment.
Battle of Satrun, 4 March–8 June 1239: The Coriocatu occupied the capital for approximately two weeks before withdrawing. Although the militia could not retain the city, the operation substantially expanded its national influence.
The Yellow Noon, 27 January–12 May 1240: Responding to Eburona's call for general resistance, uprisings appeared throughout the country. Weak coordination and fragmented leadership, however, allowed the government to destroy them in succession. The campaign ended disastrously for the Coriocatu.
From June to October 1240, the government conducted an intensive suppression campaign against the surviving militia. Alona Veridia Eburona narrowly escaped to Nav Kushti Rati with several other members.
Following the uprising, the regime imposed an even more comprehensive system of coercive rule through expanded security powers, harsher law enforcement, tighter control of civil society, and more extensive political surveillance.
VI. Foreign Invasion, the Fall of Viridomaros, and the Partition of Velgorth (1244–1254)
On 17 April 1244, Velgorth declared war on Grienwetter and Haelgrin after reports alleged that Grienwetter and Haelgrin's personnels had extracted Velgaur snake poison near the border.
Battle of Iscara (Velgorth), 16 June–6 August 1244: The battle enabled Grienwetter and Haelgrin to break through the frontier and penetrate deep into Velgorth's territory. The Velgorthian army emerged from the engagement disorganized and unable to restore a coherent defensive line.
Battle of Eborath (Velgorth), 8 October–5 December 1244: This final major engagement destroyed the remaining military foundation of the Viridomaros regime. Commius Viridomaros was captured alive on 7 December.
After the war, Velgorth was partitioned into Eastern Velgorth, administered by Grienwetter, and Western Velgorth, administered by Haelgrin.
Despite the partition, inhabitants of the two occupied regions continued to communicate frequently. On 20 April 1246, the occupying powers therefore constructed the Menapia Wall. The fortified barrier divided the capital in half, established a heavily secured border between the two regions, and became an enduring symbol of Velgorthian humiliation.
Repeated attempts were made to cross the barrier, but most were intercepted and ended in the deaths of those involved.
In August 1247, dissidents successfully chiselled a small passage through the wall. For three months, the opening served as a clandestine exchange point and centre of covert activity before it was discovered. The wall was subsequently reinforced with a second layer and placed under stricter guard.
In June 1249, Alona Veridia Eburona returned to Western Velgorth with assistance from Nav Kushti Rati. There she operated covertly through her political organization, the Touta Vindoriga Comartos (TVC), and promoted the Primordial Vanguard. Developed during her exile, this ideology advocated the removal of foreign influence, the intensification of nationalism, and national reconstruction through absolute autocracy.
VII. The Red Comatigi and National Reunification (1254–1259)
On 12 August 1254, Eburona and the TVC exploited growing instability within Grienwetter and Haelgrin by calling for a general uprising throughout the western region. The resulting conflict became known as the Red Comatigi.
Battle of Carantor (Velgorth), 6 November–18 December 1254: This was the first major victory achieved by the uprising. Its success inspired resistance across Western Velgorth, after which the TVC proclaimed Operation Belgion Uxella to recover the remainder of the western territories.
Battle of Menapia (Velgorth), 12 March–26 June 1255: Uprising forces destroyed the section of the Menapia Wall that divided the capital and reunited the city. Additional sections of the wall were subsequently demolished along the interregional border, reconnecting the two halves of the country and allowing the revolt to spread eastward.
Battle of Breldor (Velgorth), 21 October 1255–4 January 1256: Grienwetter surrendered its western positions and withdrew. With Western Velgorth liberated, the TVC redirected its principal forces toward the east.
Battle of Rixava (Velgorth), 19 March–4 June 1257. The battle broke a prolonged stalemate and decisively shifted the initiative to the uprising. It also marked the first recorded deployment of the Vindonaga, a massive serpent-shaped engine capable of projecting hundreds of poisonous discharges.
Battle of Noviodun (Velgorth), 6 August–17 October 1257. Haelgrin surrendered, allowing the uprising to liberate Eastern Velgorth and formally conclude the Red Comatigi.
After the war, the TVC became the official ruling party, and Alona Veridia Eburona assumed office as head of state.
The new government immediately initiated cultural restoration and national recovery. In 1259, the TVC began removing institutions, monuments, and other remnants associated with Commius Viridomaros, officially characterizing his rule as an abhorrent period in Velgaur history.
VIII. The Eburona Administration and the First Great War of Eldervale (1259–1274)
Between 1260 and 1265, dozens of border skirmishes occurred between Velgorth, Grienwetter, and Haelgrin. One of the most serious confrontations took place at Atuaca Swamp (Velgorth) and brought the states close to open war. Escalation was prevented only through the neutral mediation of Brakenhove.
In February 1263, the Industry Rationalization and Alignment Act was enacted. It authorized government monopolies in selected strategic sectors, including energy distribution, with the stated objective of preventing sabotage, profiteering, and destructive private competition.
In June 1265, the Transactional Government Funding Act entered into operation. The act replaced mandatory taxation with a standardized system of direct user fees for state utilities and infrastructure.
On 25 November 1270, Alona Veridia Eburona died from a brain injury sustained in a fatal fall while walking. She was subsequently remembered as one of the most consequential figures in Velgorthian history.
As the First Great War of Eldervale escalated, Grienwetter and Haelgrin declared war on Velgorth on 8 December 1271. Sunnental later entered the conflict on the side of Grienwetter.
Battle of Aremorica-Oron (Velgorth), 8 March–20 May 1272: The enemy victory opened a route into northern Velgorth, from which further advances toward the central regions became possible.
The Sheepwash, 2 February–16 April 1273: This designation refers collectively to the battles of Isara-Dun and Catavolcos. Velgorth lost both positions under conditions resembling the earlier Lantern War: prolonged siege, extensive casualties, and strategic encirclement. The failure led the government to abandon its attempt to regain the initiative, and national morale deteriorated sharply.
Battle of Eborath (Velgorth), 5 June–11 August 1273: Velgorth successfully defended the culturally significant city despite severe losses, temporarily halting the enemy advance.
Defense of the Capital (Velgorth), 2 December 1273–8 March 1274: Regular troops and popular militias jointly defended the capital. The battle marked the first national deployment of the Vergifrain, a long, serpent-shaped aerial device designed to release poison from above.
Velgorth refused to surrender and continued the war in the hope of creating another opportunity for recovery.
Battle of Geidumni, 19 June–5 September 1274: After three months of fighting, Velgorth suffered heavy losses without achieving a meaningful strategic objective. During the resulting crisis, Segomar Venator, chairman of one of the government-owned enterprises, staged a violent and successful coup in the capital.
On 10 September 1274, Velgorth signed the Bun fan Blauwe Loft. Under its terms, the state ceded the entire northern region to Grienwetter and half of the eastern region to Haelgrin, accepted a substantial war indemnity, submitted to restrictions on armaments, and assumed formal blame for the conflict.
The defeat plunged Velgorth into a period of political chaos, economic stagnation, institutional paralysis, and widespread demoralization.
IX. The Venator Regime and National Harmonization (1274–1291)
To prevent further state collapse, Segomar Venator enacted the Public Order Act. Its provisions included a nationwide curfew, a prohibition on public gatherings, heavy censorship, the arrest of political dissidents, and restrictions on travel between regions.
In November 1274, the National Restoration Act initiated a coercive reconstruction programme based upon forced-labour battalions, confiscation of property classified as "idle," compulsory population relocation, and criminal penalties for hoarding essential goods.
By the middle of 1276, the country had partially recovered to its pre-war level of administrative and economic activity.
In October 1279, the government proclaimed the National Harmonization Act, which integrated private industries, infrastructure, and natural resources into a unified state-controlled system.
Thereafter, the state became the primary decision-making authority in nearly every sphere of society. Beginning in 1280, advanced diagnostic arrays were gradually integrated into public institutions to identify perceived domestic discord and external threats.
In May 1285, concern over rapid snake overpopulation led the government to begin a nationwide Snake Hunt. Rewards were issued for every snake captured.
From 1286 to 1290, Velgorth continuously supported insurgent groups within the territories lost in 1274 while simultaneously rebuilding its armed forces for a future revanchist campaign.
X. The Second Great War of Eldervale and the Belgac Uprising (1291–1295)
As the Second Great War of Eldervale escalated and the Commius Uprising spread across the lost territories, Velgorth declared war on Grienwetter and Haelgrin on 20 February 1291.
Battle of Turnacense (Velgorth), 16 August–12 October 1291. With assistance from Nav Kushti Rati, Velgorth liberated the north and subsequently established defensive positions against Grienwetter.
Battle of Atuatucas (Velgorth), 20 March–6 June 1292. Velgorth recovered the eastern region after a prolonged and destructive campaign in which poison rain was employed to force enemy troops from their positions. The operation devastated much of the region it was intended to liberate.
In July 1292, Velgorth initiated Obsidio Bagacii, an offensive designed to penetrate the central territories of its enemies. The operation initially succeeded, and Velgorthian forces advanced more than 160 kilometres (approximately 524,934 feet). After four months, however, reinforced enemy formations halted the offensive.
Battle of the Boarn River (Grienwetter), 16 January–8 April 1293. Velgorthian forces were driven back toward the border. The government consequently adopted a defensive strategy. In May, Velgorth was also pushed back to the frontier on the Haelgrin front.
Battle of Bagas (Velgorth), 6 July–12 August 1293. Velgorth lost the strategic position and withdrew behind the Turnis River.
Battle of Orolas (Velgorth), 8 December 1293–14 February 1294. Velgorth halted the joint Grienwetter–Haelgrin Tsjonger Tsjinstoot Operation, but suffered heavy casualties and a severe food shortage. Soldiers were compelled to eat snakes; several died from poisoning.
At the end of February 1294, an unusual period of mud rain began. The conditions impeded enemy movement but also caused Velgorthian troops and positions to become buried or immobilized in mud.
In April, Velgorth launched the Sabis Operation in another attempt to regain the initiative. The offensive failed and further exhausted the state's remaining military capacity.
The Pax of Seraphic was announced on 29 June 1294, and Velgorth formally acceded to it on 5 July, thereby formally concluding the conflict with Grienwetter and Haelgrin. Heavy losses and continuing ration shortages nevertheless returned the country to a state of internal crisis.
On 9 October 1294, Segomar Venator activated the Second Public Order Act. The measure provoked widespread backlash and a major campaign of civil disobedience led by several figures, including Carantos Senec and Natosia Andessa (both are former government officials).
On 31 October, a security guard killed a civilian during a protest in the capital. The death intensified confrontation between the population and the government and contributed directly to the outbreak of the Belgac Uprising on 10 November in Morcant and Albrin gorads, situated in the west and south of the country.
Battle of Ebur Forest, 18 December 1294–21 January 1295: Government forces were defeated in dense woodland by insurgent guerrilla tactics. The victory encouraged other gorads to join the uprising.
Twenty Days at the Capital, 8–28 January 1295: This brief but intense struggle produced the legendary account of Belovar Camulos, a government soldier who defected, assisted revolutionary forces in entering the capital, and was later captured and executed by the authorities.
Battle of Fengor Swamp, 13 April–9 May 1295: The uprising liberated the remainder of the country, although a small government remnant continued to operate in the south.
Revolutionary forces relentlessly pursued the remaining government troops as they moved across southern Velgorth. This desperate retreat became known as the Marcos Mortigos. Of an original force of approximately 80,000 soldiers, fewer than two hundred reached Bilges and surrendered.
XI. Nantosia Eponvar and the Ouroboric Era (1295–1349)
After the Belgac Uprising, Velgorth experienced repeated leadership changes and another period of political vacuum. During this crisis, the eighteen-year-old Nantosia Eponvar volunteered to assume the office of head of state, becoming the youngest leader in Velgorthian history.
Under Eponvar, the state was restored and stabilized. In 1300, after social order had been substantially re-established, she formally instituted Ouroboricism, an ideology combine with the cultural religion, Natricrism, after developed over many years. It centred upon the worship of Nadris, a serpent regarded as the embodiment of infinite consumption and infinite regeneration.
In 1301, Eponvar proclaimed the Great Quest: a national search for the remains of Nadris. The serpent was believed to have died approximately one million years earlier and to have been the progenitor of the distant ancestors of the Velgaur. The regime claimed that recovering Nadris would grant divine power to the state and restore the honour lost during the humiliations of the twelfth century. The search caused numerous deaths, and the government required one human sacrifice each day to satisfy the deity.
On 17 March 1304, search parties discovered the first identified bone of Nadris - a vertebra - in southern Velgorth. Eponvar responded by ordering that the search be accelerated.
On 25 July 1307, a rain of snakes was reported across Western Velgorth. Contemporary estimates claimed that more than one million snakes fell during the event.
On 1 May 1310, the motion picture Every Step Home, which centered on a child's emotional journey to reunite with their family, was released. The film enjoyed unprecedented commercial and critical success, gaining international popularity and marking a major milestone in the evolution of Velgaur cinema after many decades of stagnation.
In March 1311, construction of the Ophid'Arka Shrine was completed at Breldor in preparation for the anticipated awakening of Nadris.
On 27 July 1316, search parties recovered approximately half of the serpent's trunk. Eponvar then increased the required number of daily sacrifices from one to two.
In 1319, the government declared that the population was to bathe in snake poison and consume two snakes each day in order to "become one" with Nadris.
In November 1322, several towers of liquid poison reportedly rose from the ground and extended into the sky across central Velgorth. Eponvar proclaimed the phenomenon a sign that the serpent had begun to return.
In August 1326, the Drucor Natra was established as the principal institutional intermediary between the Velgorthian state and Nadris. The organization assumed responsibility for directing the search for the serpent's remaining bones, supervising excavation expeditions, and maintaining the rituals intended to summon and communicate with Nadris.
By 1329, most of the serpent's remains had reportedly been recovered. Eponvar ordered an intensified search for the missing head and jawbones. Contemporary descriptions indicate that, by this stage, she displayed increasing anxiety and an extreme obsession with completing the reconstruction.
In July 1332, archaeological investigations recovered much of Velgorth's history from the period between the 700s and 800s, an era commonly known as the Lost Century. Written records from this period had largely disappeared following the apparent decline or abandonment of writing. The archaeological breakthrough restored a previously missing chapter of Velgorthian history and allowed scholars to construct a substantially more complete account of the nation's historical development.
After six additional years without success, the regime concluded that Nadris was testing the nation and proclaimed the Natis Mara in 1335. Under this coercive programme, mothers and other persons selected for reproduction were confined in subterranean, dirt-floored chambers maintained at sweltering and humid temperatures. Women were bound at the wrists, forced to lie on their stomachs, and compelled to imitate serpentine movement during childbirth. Selected men were likewise forced to participate in ritualized reproductive practices intended to imitate snakes. These procedures were repeated across successive reproductive cycles.
After another five years without results, Eponvar increased the daily sacrifice requirement first to three, then four, and ultimately five victims. She also declared that the entire nation would participate in the search for the missing head. Extensive excavations were carried out across numerous areas, including inhabited residential districts.
On 8 April 1343, Nantosia Eponvar died following a stroke. The search for the remaining parts of Nadris nevertheless continued after her death.
On 21 June 1349, the snake population again rose to an officially alarming level, prompting the government to begin a second nationwide Snake Hunt.
XII. THE COMPLETION OF NADRIS AND THE BEGINNING OF THE DIVINE ERA, 1350s–1370s
Throughout the 1350s, numerous abnormal meteorological phenomena were recorded across Velgorth. The government interpreted these disturbances as sacred omens from Nadris and used them to intensify the nationwide search for the serpent's missing head.
In 1354, the government proclaimed the Path to the Divine, a compulsory national expedition intended to locate and excavate the skull of Nadris. Large numbers of citizens were forcibly conscripted into excavation parties. Many participants died as a result of exhausting journeys, inadequate provisions, dangerous working conditions, and severe administrative mismanagement.
Beginning in the 1360s, the regime introduced a monthly ritual of serpentine imitation. At the beginning of every month, citizens were required to crawl and behave like snakes while observing a complete period of fasting.
In August 1364, an excavation expedition accidentally uncovered Corodun, a long-lost subterranean city of ancient Velgorth. Records discovered within the ruins reportedly identified the precise location of Nadris's head, which was believed to lie deep beneath the capital of Velgorth.
From May to June 1367, relations between Velgorth and Grienwetter deteriorated to their most hostile level since the Pax of Seraphic. Grienwetter reported that several of its citizens had been attacked near the border, although Velgorth denied any responsibility. Similar incidents were subsequently reported by Haelgrin, but the Velgorthian government again rejected all accusations of involvement.
In November 1369, the skull of Nadris was finally discovered beneath the capital, completing the reconstructed skeleton of the ancient serpent. The government presented the discovery as the fulfilment of the Great Quest and definitive proof of Nadris's approaching return.
In 1370, Velgorth abolished its existing calendar and reset the national chronology to Year 0, symbolically marking the arrival of Nadris. During the middle of the same year, the government introduced a new official language known as Erobic. The language combined the existing structure of Moriskan with vocal patterns intended to imitate the hissing and rhythmic sounds associated with serpents.
In 1372, the Velgorthian government formally declared that the nation had achieved the Pangaea-Flourish State, a condition in which every major sphere of national development was considered fully realized. However, the declaration proved controversial, as critics questioned whether the nation's actual conditions justified such an absolute assessment.
Throughout the 1370s, the state initiated the next stage of the summoning process. Numerous additional rituals were imposed upon the population in preparation for the complete manifestation of Nadris, whom the regime claimed would personally assume divine leadership over Velgorth. Among the most infamous practices was the compulsory consumption of two small cups of potentially fatal snake poison each day.
On 25 June 1374, Velra Van Nulla became the new head of state. She continued the religious policies of her predecessors and maintained the national programme intended to awaken and summon Nadris.
At the end of 1379, an unidentified formation resembling a vast serpent was reportedly observed in the skies above Velgorth. Contemporary records provided no definitive explanation for the phenomenon, and its nature remained uncertain.
Under Van Nulla's administration, Velgorth continued to develop its institutions, religious infrastructure, and military capabilities. This period of expansion continued until the outbreak of the Third Great War of Eldervale.
Ideology: Ouroboricism
Ouroboricism is a political ideology that frames existence not as a linear creation with beginning and end, but as an eternal, self-devouring loop - to exist is to be simultaneously consumer and consumed. Identity is not a fixed soul but a temporary skin; growth requires the violent abandonment of each previous version of oneself. Truth is inherently hostile to comfort. Wisdom cannot be passively received - it must be ingested like venom, burning and forcing transformation. The highest will is coiled tension: absolute alertness paired with absolute stillness, striking only when outcome is certain. Pleasure is distraction; pain is merely data. Eating, sleeping, and sensation are purely metabolic functions to sustain the observing mind. Craving is a mammalian weakness - one consumes for fuel, not desire. Death is the ultimate consumption - the shedding of material skin, digested back into the cosmic serpent to be reformed. The self holds no ultimate value. Concepts like good, evil, pity, and charity are pack-animal illusions creating attachment. The only true ethic is alignment with the cycle: acting with precision, patience, and honesty to one's own cold nature. The serpent coils alone. It forms no packs or flocks. Consciousness is inherently solitary - no two beings can truly share perception or thought. Connection is a mammalian illusion, a temporary brushing of scales in the dark, nothing more.