Octuvel is the rich and grand forested nation blessed by Ara. In her domain all sorts of otherwise normal trees grow fat fruits with strange properties. Some of them never fall from their trees and stay ripe for years after having been picked. An important distinction needs to be made between Octuvel and the Octuvellian Duchies. The former describes only the land actually blessed by Ara, small parts of which are in the hands of other countries ever since stability came after the Octuvellian wars from 400 years ago. The latter is the actual country ruled by a chosen High Duke from one of the duchies. There are in total 4 duchies, each in the hand of one noble family.

 

Octor is in the south east and ruled by the Haator family.

Capital: Hocto - Dreamy city near a waterfall. Home to the philosophers and wineries.

Symbol: An owl flying underneath three stars

Landscape: Forests are mostly coniferous. Less fields for wheat and radishes  in comparison to the other duchies but many vineyards. Elevation is at its highest in Octor with many hills and even some small mountains and cliffs along the rivers.

Artuv is in the north east and ruled by the Furtan family

Capital: Torvat - Respected fortress, military headquarter, home of rangers

Symbol: An arrow on a blue shield.

Landscape: Forests are mixed with a higher number of coniferous trees than deciduous trees. After the relative high elevation from Octor and High Octuvel, Artuv’s landscape slowly becomes the lowest point of the country with the absolute lowest observable point at Lake Vratzi in the Vraternus valley.

 

High Octuvel is in the north west and ruled by the Crozir family

Capital: Zorva - Simple city with but one manor dedicated to the hardworking Crozir family

Symbol: A hammer driving a nail into a plank

Landscape: Forests are deciduous. The elevation is higher than Artuv and low octuvel but not as high as Artuv. Where there are neither forests nor agriculture nor cities are fields of colourful flowers.

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Low Octuvel is in the south west and ruled by the Artuir family

Capital: Vorva - Surrounded by hundreds of square miles of fields and orchards
Symbol: An orchid held by a hand (of a young maiden)

Landscape: Forests are mixed but mostly deciduous. Elevation is about the same as in High Octuvel. The region is more swampy than the others. The Krovat swamp is the most famous one because wisps occasionally appear there and dance into the night.

 

The most common export of the Octuvellian Duchies are the strange fruit, woods for building and rarer woods for magical or artistic purposes, large amounts of copper and slabs of marble mined from the ground and lots of deer and other game that can be hunted in the large, partially still completely untouched forests.

 

In the civilised parts of Octuvel the forests are of course more cleaned up. A forest with lots of young growth rather than thicket is easier to transverse, attracts more hungry game, offers place for cattle to graze and allows for the growth of herbs and the control of how the trees grow. Around the same area are also large fields that were created by means of controlled forest fires. The soil of Octuvel is always fertile because of Ara’s blessing. These factors and a military advantage through century long training on hide and ambush tactics in the forest ensured that the Octuvellian Duchies grew to prominence in the international community.

The High Duke is chosen every 8 years by the noble families. The new High Duke can’t be from the same family as the last but when an old High Duke dies before his eight years are over his firstborn son, when becoming the new duke of his duchy, can also take up the title of High Duke for the remainder of what should have been his father’s term.  The current High Duke is Rovald Furtan who’s been High Duke once before and was welcomed into the position again not just by the noble families but also by the populace who thought his rule to be kind and just. For a 56 year old he still sports a healthy body and a few black hairs.

 

There is one dangerous, extremist group in the Octuvellian Duchies. The Arabellians believe that civilisation must be abolished and that the land must be returned to the state it was in before humans and other races settled down. Former High Duke Tabuläus Crozir, while serving the remainder of his poisoned father’s term, led a long campaign against the Arabellians in the entire country. This lead to a significant but not total decrease in number. Some churches of Ara are suspected to sympathise with the Arabellians even though the new High Duke has not changed the laws that make this horribly illegal. In the least explored forests the Church of the Black Feather is holding its dark mass every new moon. .