The Ivory Jaguar
The Ivory Jaguar is a very large island nation, although it is thus far small in populace. It is remarkable mostly due to the government policy of Talonism or The Long Game. The nation is made up of a number of tribes, although the government and military is currently dominated by a single one of these tribes, the Gotrá.
Ancient History
The island was originally founded as a penal colony by a nation which has long since vanished in the annals of history. The ancestors of the modern Gotrá, and the other two largest tribes, the Hyperio and the Cryto, were thieves, murderers, brigands, highwaymen, rebels, political prisoners, philosophers, and poets, to name a few. When they were first deposited, they faced the challenge of taming a continent.
They also found that the island was not completely uninhabited. A small tribe, called the Gotrá, were already inhabiting the island. The majority of the prisoners scorned the thought of recieving help from these 'primitives' and struck off in two main groups to find a less crowded place to settle. One of these groups was composed primarily of those who had been exiled for political reasons, and would become the Cryto. The other was composed mainly of violent offenders and criminals, and would become the Hyperio.
A third, much smaller group, however, composed of some number of both of the above stayed and were inducted into the Gotrá tribe. Within a few generations, they were completely interbred, and the basis of modern Gotrá culture had been born. Over the course of the years, Gotrá culture has been infused by other immigrants and exiles, while Cryto and Hyperio culture has remained fairly static, except in the view of advancing technology.
Integration
In 1942, it was recognized that the three tribes, as well as by numerous smaller tribes that had developed, that due to increasing technology, they could no longer count on their geography to defend them. As a result, the tribes were loosely integrated into the Nomadic Peoples of Ivory Jaguar. The government consisted of ten delegates from each of the two main tribes, with one from each of the smaller tribes. The Gotrá tribe, despite its age, was not considered one of the main tribes due to the fact that the other two had rapidly outstripped it in size.
Talon and Talonism
Quite probably the largest effect on The Ivory Jaguar since, or even including the Integration was the Talon War. Talon was an adopted member of the Gotrá tribe, being the sole survivor of a shipwreck at the age of thirteen. On his fifteen birthday, he experienced a mental breakdown, and while in a mental hospital developed the theory of The Long Game.
The theory essentially states that it is the eventual intention of all states to become the sole global power. It divides nations first into the current superpowers and the nonpowers. The purpose of the superpowers is to eleminate or subvert all other superpowers, while the purpose of the nonpowers is to become a superpower.
He further divides each of these categories into the Long-Gamers and the Short-Gamers. He explains the Short-Gamers as "Very ambitious, very firey, very impatient. They see an opportunity, bam! They take it without considering the long term effects. Short term, they often have the advantage over Long-Gamers, but in the long run they'll generally fall." Long-gamers on the other hand are "Dedicated to long-term planning. They rarely take any action without considering it's overall effect. Unfortunately, this often comes at the cost of swift and decisive action."
Finally, he explains "Any action taken to increase national power must be considered acceptable. If a nation follows a particular ideology, it is because they believe that ideology best. Any actions possible should be taken to impose a superior ideology over an inferior one."
Upon being released from state custody, he returned to the Gotrá, and began preaching the theory of the Long Game. Within a few years, he had become something of a cult figure. At the age of twenty, he had gathered a military group of devoted followers, the hundred best of whom he formed into his Centuria. He then launched an all out attack on the government, marching his troops into the capital and executing all of the non Gotrá delegates. Civil war was near instantaneous, and lasted for ten years, until Talon's forces crushed the last opposing township.
Talon then explained to his lieutenant Phenex that he was a monster, and that it wasn't his place to guide the nation through the next stage of the game. He then placed Phenex in control of the nation before commiting suicide. A week later, Phenex, bearing new heavy tatoos, announced The Ivory Jaguar's intentions to cease isolation.
Gholgoth
The first major action taken by Phenex was to apply for admission to Gholgoth. Somewhat to his surprise, The Ivory Jaguar was accepted. Thus far, The Ivory Jaguar has not been involved in any Gholgothian actions, but Phenex has pledged his support wherever it may be needed.
Eurada
In the World of Eurada RP The Ivory Jaguar takes place on a peninsula on the southeast of the Psuedo-Eurasian continental mass. It is a tropical area, covered almost in dense rainforest. The only exceptions to this are the Uhkumjii, or Fortress Cities and a few mines, oil fields, etc.
The Uhkumjii are probably the factor that has shaped Jaguarian culture the most. Each is fully self sufficent, usually located a river, spring, or other source of water. Food is provided by vertical farm towers. Each city is surrounded by large walls, hardened to the point that they are capable of resisting all but the most brutal attacks.
The Fortress Cities are connected by large Skyways, highways in which all but the supports are high above the treetops of the jungle. Each Uhkumji functions as a semi-independent city-state, except in the matter of general policy and foreign relations. A representative from each Uhkumji is selected to take part in the Kralh'ot, or High Council, and each city maintains a well trained and equipped military levy.
Due to the massive rainforests, timber and wild animals are almost without limit, although there are limits on the amount that can be harvested. In addition, oil, gemstones, iron ore, manganese, phosphates, gypsum, tin, gold, coal, bauxite, chromate, rubber, tungsten, tantalum and lead are all harvested in appreciable quantities. Major imports are in the textile, luxury goods, and fine arts sectors.
Architecture inside the Uhkumjii tends towards the vertical, due to the limits in horizontal space. Grandiose projects are common, and new, taller towers are constantly being built. Astheitics are also considered important, though generally secondary to function.
Dress is usually light and loose due to the constant high temperatures and usual humidity, with the most common being the keikogi, a loose fitting, generally white outfit that originated as a martial-arts uniform, but was adpoted be the non-martially inclined. Traditional keikogis are white, adding to the common comparisons among foreigners to bathrobes.
The most common religion is that of the People of The Ivory Jaguar, from which the nation takes it's name. Jaguar Worship is heavily totemic, with each dedicant identifying with an animal, though very rarely with the Jaguar itself. In addition, it bears similarities to Wicca and other neopagan religions. The main directives of Jaguar Worship are summed up in the following creed.
An it harm none, do as thou wilt But to protect thy own, do as thou must.
Jaguar Worship only has two divine beings, the God and the Goddes but each of these is seen as having many aspects, some apparentally being conflicting or contradictory. In addition, there are believed to be numerous other spirits, fae, and other natural forces, ranked chief among which, on level with the Lord and Lady themselves, is the Jaguar. Behind Jaguar Worship, atheism is the most common. Between the two, ninety eight percent of the People of the Ivory Jaguar are accounted for.
