The Nation of Zhem

[Nait]

Nation: Zhem
Government: Limited republican meritocracy
Leader: The Council and the Archcouncilor - the Lords and Ladies
Capital: Risselä on the island of Ahma
Religion: The Council holds open channels to all local and known religious affiliations. Churches are weighed based on their relationship with the laws of Zhem, and the past merits and breaches of the laws at the time. Freedom of religion encompasses all law-abiding religions, and citizens are free to worship their gods without fear of retribution from the state.
Entrance: People are allowed entrance under the laws and criterias of Zhem.
Exit: Only those prohibited by the laws may not leave the country.

Adjective: Zhemean
Official language: Classical Finnish (Dead, no native speakers. Descendant languages include Soimmi and Aakale.)
Collective noun: Zhemites or Zhemeans.

Members:
Archcouncilor Risse of the Järventaus Clan- Nait
Näkijä (the Seer) Ai Ermoa of the Wòng clan, of the City of Valkea and of the Cult of Päi - Mo-Nercy
High Sorceress Nirnalie of the Cult of Betremon - Kiuru

Member of:
The Council of Valtameri , together with Fiorenseo.

Diplomatic ties with:
Fiorenseo, through Ambassador Jokinen in Emirano
Aura, through Ambassador Ilmari in Aspersio
Atlantica, through Ambassador Torppainen in Amphoria

Map:



The Council of Zhem

Zhem is ruled by the Council of Zhem, a body comprised of 36 (100₆) merited individuals chosen by a body of voters. Every three years there are held elections, and twelve (20₆) councilors are chosen to replace the twelve most senior members of the council – one from every Branch of the Council. These elections are held down to the village-level, and consist of voters putting vote-tokens which represent different choices into tubes in the order of preference, by the Alisen menetelmä.
The Council is divided into twelve groups of three, each which governs a certain area of the state. The groups are the Judicial, Magical, Religious, Martial, Medical, Diplomatic, Tax, Fiscal, Economical, Educative, Law Enforcement, and the Constructional Branches.
The Council choses from its rank the Archcouncilor of Zhem, a person first amongst equals, who is in charge of the nomination of the Keeper of Seals, Keeper of Annals and the Keeper of Keys, who are in charge of the inner workings, bureaucracy, note-keeping and public records of the state, including the Laws.
New laws are suggested by Councilors. One sponsor for a law is needed when the law is under the jurisdiction of the Branch of the Councilor. If the law falls outside the jurisdiction of a single Councilor, the law can be brought forth by three Councilors, from three different Branches.
If the law is supported by the Branch under which it falls, and the Archcouncilor, the law requires a simple majority to pass. If these criteria are not met, a law needs a majority of two thirds to pass.
In the case of a tie, the Archouncilor's vote decides.
A Councilor can also vote to not support the law, but to demand that the law is taken to the Council to negotiate. If a sixth (1/10₆) of the votes are for the Negotiation in a vote demanding a simple majority, or a fourth in a vote demanding two thirds, the law is taken to the Council, and negotiated over by the three parties of supporters, modifiers and rejecters.

The Keepers of Zhem

The Keepers are the main bureaucrats of Zhem, appointed by the Archcouncilor. Each one surveys a part of the inner workings of the government of Zhem, like a Council Group without the legislative powers.
The Keeper of Keys is the public housing, warehouse, office and fortifications authority. He organises the usage of all official buildings in Zhem, from the Council Hall in Risselä to the warehouses of goods in harbours and villages around Zhem. He is also responsible for public buildings, like libraries, prisons, and, in part, for the numerous state owned commercial facilites in the nation.
The Keeper of Annals is the high authority on the codexes, postal services, bureaucratic paperwork, bookkeeping, of the state and the publishing of public records.
The Keeper of seals is responsible for the currencies, tax tokens, item tokens, vote tokens, voting procedures, executive bureaucracy, seals and heraldry of the land.

Politics of Zhem

The grounding principles of the politics of Zhem are the Scarlet Diaries. The Scarlet Diaries are a renown book of essays written by the first Archcouncillor of Zhem, the Lady Armas. It sets the rules for the pragmatic taxation of all citizens of Zhem, regardless of wealth or poverty, introducing the Concept of Worth which dominates the taxing policies of Zhem even today. The book also tells of the Law of Appeasement, which has been on the reading-list of all political leaders through the history of Zhem.
The Concept of Worth tells us how to divide the burden of taxes between those who produce, those who refine, and those who deliver, and between the rich and the poor. The Concept includes the Taxes of Production, Income and Productive Property and the Rules of Equivalent Trade.
The Law of Appeasement is the manifesto of the Policy of Prevention. It tells us that it is folly to ignore the down-trodden and weak, because the twists of fate can make a general tomorrow of the man you whipped today, or a mage today of the peasant whose family you starved to death last month. The Law of Appeasement set forth the claim of adequacy, made by those not favored by luck, in the words of those in power speaking in empathy – and dread for the power even the lowest can wield.

Academy of Zhem

The Academy of Zhem is the highest court of study found in the Nation of Zhem. It was set up by Council decree on the 12th of Heinäkuu in 253 AR (20₆th of Heinäkuu in 1101₆)as a centralized body for scholars and students to gather to.

The Academy first included the School of Magic, the School of Religion and the School of Medicine. Later, in 312 (1240₆), the School of Law was added, and in 342 (1330₆), the School of Economy.

These Schools were divided into Houses of learning.

School of Magic included the House of Astrology, House of Numerology, House of Elements, House of Spells and House of Spirits.

Many of these houses were divided in later years. The House of Astrology became the House of Astronomy, the House of Psychology and the House of Fate. The House of Numerology later merged with the House of Fate, to become the House of Mathematics. The House of Elements was divided into the House of Small Worlds, and the House of Large worlds. The House of Large Worlds was Divided into the House of Alchemy and the House of Mechanics, while the House of Small Worlds thrives to this day.
The House of Spells and the House of Spirits are the only House of the School of Magic to pursue pure magical studies.

The Academy still stands, and is the largest complex of learning in Kotosaaret. The closest anyone has come to challenge the hegemony of the Academy is the Academy of Fiorenseo, on Ciel Isle, north of Valtameri.

Zhemean society

Zhemites are a quiet, introvertive sort. Private time is appreciated, even though quarrels and debates can devolve into screaming. In Zhem it is custom to not speak on each other, but to wait until the other has stopped speaking. It is also uncomfortable for many to speak on matters they deem private, their own, like religiosity or sexuality, and only those interested in debate over these matters speak of it in quantity. Strangely, though, all of Zhem is extremely political. Children are taught to be independent and make their own mind about policies and politics, which they do, resulting in a multitude of opinions, movements, parties and political figures on the isle of Ahma.
The two dominant races in Zhem are humen and dwarves, followed by elves and a few sand-dwellers. Through most of the history of Zhem, these races have engaged in an uneasy ceasefire, but since the Convention of Armala in 243 (1043₆) AR, the relationships between the races have been more relaxed, and even friendly, whilst the pent-up xenophobia of the people has beens spent on the people of an island made up by a poet.

Zhem is a sober society, not because alcohol is banned, but because Zhemites do not have any head for it. Instead of sterilizing their drinking water with booze, Zhemites use boiled water, flavored with a myriad of teas and other brews, famous amongst these arta, a sweet tasting, milky orange-colored tea for the children, and the purple-colored and rather strongly aromatic urma, brewed from ground urma-beans.
Even though drinking alcohol is not an everyday matter, it happens, and alcohol is served at funerals. Drinking is not tolerated in public, and most drinkers put themselves in non-public places, often in their homes, behind locked doors, or far out in the wilderness, where their depravity is not to be seen by the eyes of the living.

Sexuality in Zhem is a matter of preference, rather than norm. The dwarves brought their warrior-society with them, and from there it spread throughout all of Zhem. Teenagers do not feel threatened to acknowledge their sexuality. From the darker ages of Zhemean history there are still left bastions of the defense of nonstandard sexuality, like the homosexual warrior-cult of Tarmo, where the strongest and most bloodthirsty warriors gathered to fight for their right to (consensually) bugger whomever they wanted.
Most of Zhem has adapted to this formerly dwarven custom, and even heterosexual people sometimes take a bite of the apple, when, for example, they are spurned by a lover or are fevered with an undying cynicism against the opposite sex.
Paedophilic sex is not accepted, and its practitioners are persecuted ruthlessly. Necrophilia, bestiality and sex with vegetables are finable offenses under the law, and also usually include prosecution for disrespect for the dead, cruelty to animals and spoiling perfectly good food.

The currencies of Zhem

The state of currencies in Zhem is complicated. There are tokens for taxes, called tax coins, verolantti, that can be traded so that one does not need to pay taxes for a certain amount. These tokens were created because of the difficulties food producers and other producers had when trying to pay their taxes on a set date. The farmer or carpenter would rather pay a bit at a time, and would, for example, transport food or furniture to local tax-houses, where they would receive tokens – large copper coins – to later reimburse when paying their taxes on tax-day.
The second currency is more traditional – silver coins, hopealantti. The coins, stamped by the Council's orders to prove their value, is used as a general currency amongst the people, and was not completely dependent on the backing of the state. The worth of the silver fluctuates when more silver is introduced in the archipelago, but has been rather steady for two hundred years. The Council has a stockpile of silver hidden on the island. Gold is not used as a currency.
In addition to silver coins and tax coins there is the state-backed commodity token, item coin, tavararaha. These large copper coins are stamped with an agreement from the state to reimburse the said coin against a certain amount of goods. State-kept warehouses used for trade around the country will trade these coins for raw-materials like iron, other metals, wood, and fine stone, food like wheat, flour or livestock, craft-work, like roof-tiles or nails. Each coin is stamped with certain items, and the state keeps a constant stock of these, as much of a certain coin is in circulation. Coins include One Sack of Flour and One Healthy Cow – a coin of average worth and one of the most valuable coins.

Counterfeiting tax-coins or commodity coins is a criminal offense, and punishable by heavy fines, confiscation of tools and even banishment.

Religions of Zhem

Sinihengellisyys, the religion of Ahma

Born out of all the amalgamations of different beliefs after the rift, the Blue Breath Temple is one of the most popular, non-discriminatory religion in the Far East of Eizon. It has been embraced by all races, and people of all walks of life, who have abandoned their religions – Christianity and Islam, Illuvatary and Sauronism, Kudzhuzmengilism and Embarchodanism, Ksiemarianism and Oism – for a religion, which shows us how, rather than telling people to hang their heads in shame, raise their eyes in anger and swing their fists in zeal, to try to better ourselves while enjoying it, and the company of each other.

Gods

The Blue Breath Temple has a pantheon of gods, representing the powers of nature, the powers of society and the powers of fate, chance and chaos. Equal amongst themselves, the most known are the gods who people feel touch ordinary lives most. Some of these are Sae, the Goddess of Rain, Päi, the Goddess of the Sun, Yö, the Goddess of Night, Väinä, the God of the Seas, Mielikki, the Goddess of the Forest, and Lumi, the Goddesss of Snow.
Unlike in other religions, these forces are never sacrificed to. The Blue Breath Templars believe that it is useless to try to goad such awesome entities as there are in nature by mere pyres and ritual meals. Rather than try to force the gods to their will, believers will seek to circumvent that will in other ways. Everything else is just silliness from those who hold images of the gods as easily appeasable entities, to be swayed with a nice roasted lamb or a gorgeous flower arrangement.
The Blue Breath Templars are also students of the gods. In order to circumvent their power and anger, believers seek knowledge about the forces and the gods before them. This had led to a rich religious tradition of observation, and to writings such as Kivisilta's famous dissertation, The Relationships of Väinä, Päi, Yö, and Pilvi with Tuuli, about the life of Wind between the forces of the Sea, Day, Night and Cloud. The books is full of information on how to see the Wind as a part of the great Drama of the Gods, and how to take advantage of it.

The Circle

Of life and death, the Blue Breath Temple holds a view that is not particularly unique. When a person dies, she travels to the afterlife, to which God she has served, or to the God that demands her. After a time, she will be freed from the divine, and travel to Eizon once more, to begin a new life, and to die yet again.
The Templars hold that the Rift was an anomaly of the Circle. There was a mistake, and all those recently dead from the Five Worlds were dumped into an empty world, so that none would be destroyed in whatever was causing turmoil. There are other worlds like Eizon out there – formerly empty worlds, now inhabited by the residents of other planes, and they might, or might not, be unified with the other Worlds, though most believe that this will not happen.
The Temple teaches that there are at least two non corporeal parts in a person. The first is the henki, the breath of life all living things possess, and the second one is the sielu, the immortal soul which travels from life to life.
When a person dies, she loses her breath – her henki – which may stay upon earth as an image of the deceased, though not truly a "person" if it goes without the sielu. The henki is a mortal thing, and will break down into parts, like the body, to be thread into other spirits, like the body turns into the soil to feed the earth. The sielu is, in contrast, immortal and indestructible, though not unchangeable, which travels through lives in order to collect to itself all the feelings that can be felt, and all the experiences that can be held. The sielu holds within itself each and every one of its incarnations, and gathers more for it to become perfect – after which is travels no more, but lives in the ether, immovable and content until the advent of new life begins, and the time of olds souls begin.

The Economy of Zhem

Zhem is renowned for the quality of the products produced on Ahma. The most famous, and widely circulated, of these are the red porcelain called ramassi, the beautiful glass products and raw materials, including volcanic sand, windows and instruments, and the strong denim-fabric, varmi. Zhem also exports paper, ships, tar, copper, iron, silk, hemp, tea, magical implements, ships, jewelry and literature.

Many of the provinces have their own spheres of economic influence:

Province of Risselä is the main trading-port of Zhem, and also holds the largest presses and publishing houses. Tea and silk are grown in the countryside outside the capital. Risselä is the greatest producer of jewelry in all of Dominia.
Untala is the boat-building base of Zhem. The forests provide tar and wood materials for ships, and most go to the making of ships. Varmi is also produced in Untala.
Kertola, known for it's silk-worms, produces silk for both home and abroad.
Province of Valkea has large centers of porcelain production, and the city of Valkea is well-known from its numerous potters. The second-largest city in Zhem, Valkea also houses paper makers and book-makers. Ink and dyes are also produced.
Sisälä is known for its forests, and its tar. Copper is also mined in the hillside, and hemp is grown.
Itälä, on the eastern coast, does not experience as much trading as the other peripheral provinces, but produces, regardless, fine ships, silk and tea.
Vuorela is the most mineral rich province of Zhem, lying between the mountains north and forests to the east. Iron, copper, gold, silver and stone is mined and quarried for, and huge amounts of glass is made, most of it high quality.
Kasila, Saarela and Läntelä produce more or less the same products – mainly copper, ships, silk, hemp, denim, tea and porcelain.

All provinces have large markets of farming products, like food and livestock, and the norsu are captured young and trained for different tasks, like work or even war. The haukkanen brown falcon gryphons have been somewhat domesticated, and form, alongside cats and dogs, a continuum from gigantic guarding animals to rat-catchers.

[Nait]

Private income and production tax laws
These laws are under the jurisdiction of the Tax Branch.

Section 1

1. Each citizen of Zhem over the age of independence and capable shall pay an amount of the income she has gathered and / or the goods she has produced yearly.
2. This amount shall never amount to deprive the obligated of her survival, or the survival of the family of the obligated.
3. This amount shall never amount to less than a sixth of what is left of the obligated's income and / or produce after accounting for survival - the wealth which is used for frivolous or commercial actions, and not immediate survival.

Section 2

1. If the obligated is not able to pay any taxes, or give away any produce, through mistake, acts of nature, or lack of foresight, the state shall seek compensation in other ways, as seen fit, through labor, services, property or other means, to be collected immediately or on a later date.
2. If the obligated dies without paying any taxes, the state shall seek compensation from the keeper of the obligated's will or heir.
3. If the obligated has paid too much tax, she shall be repaid in a manner seen fit.
   1. If the state has left-over or unused produce, to be sold or frivolously consumed, she may have compensation from these.
   2. If the obligated requests, she may receive tokens to prove she has paid her taxes, which can be used in the future instead of paying by income or produce. The Council shall control these tokens by the Tax Coin Law.
   3. If the state has surplus by income, the obligated may have compensation by income.

Section 3

1. The burden of taxes shall be divided by the advantage of the laws and services provided by the Laws.
2. The Council shall decide, upon legislating a law, who may profit or who has an advantage because of said law.
   1. If there is no consensus, the Council shall carry out an investigation into who is advantaged.
   2. The Council may decide to postpone the execution of the tax-shift.
      1. There shall be an investigation for one year after the legislation.
      2. If there is no consensus after one year of investigation, the Archcouncilor shall chose between the Suggestions laid out by the Council.
         1. These Suggestions shall be made by Councilors.
         2. Each Suggestion shall be taken before the Council, where a simple majority vote is required to remove the Suggestion from the table, or, in the case of a Branchal Majority, only a one third minority.
3. When consensus is declared, the burden of tax is shifted on the parties that are advantaged of the new law, by the Council's creation of a new tax code which may or may not replace some other item of the tax code.
4. The tax code shall be reviewed every nine years. The Council shall make adjustments as it sees fit.

Land tax laws of Zhem
These laws fall under the jurisdiction of the Tax Branch.

Section 1

1. All land owned by private parties shall be taxed by their productivity.
2. The amount of taxation shall never amount to jeopardize the whole future profit from the land.
3. The amount of taxation shall not be less than one sixth of the profits of a single year.
   1. If the land does not yield profit for years, and brings profit only once in a time longer than a year, that land is exempt of taxes until the year it provides a profit.
4. The Council shall make laws to divide the type of land and their taxes.
5. Private homes and houses are exempt of land taxes.
   1. If a person makes profit within her home or private house more than one-fifth of her annual income or production, or an amount six times higher than the predicted base of Worth of Survival, the land and the property shall be subjected to the land-tax appropriate for the situation.
6. Private land which does not produce profit is exempt from tax-laws.
   1. If an owner has a monopoly of unused land within an area declared by the Council, that land shall be subjected to land tax.
   2. If an owner owns an amount of unused land, declared by the Council, that land shall be subjected to land tax.

[Nait]

Reserving post for information on the cities Risselä and Valkea.

[Nait]

The Manifesto of the Council of Valtameri

1. We, the signed, hereby declare that there shall be a Council of Valtameri, the Ocean which divides Dominia and Verdanttia.
2.This Council shall be formed by those chosen by their respective parties. It shall be divided by the amount of parties, and shared accordingly.
3.This Council shall be made to promote and create ways to defy the Ocean. It shall make travel over the waters possible, and it shall make it safe.
4.The Council shall put to research sea-going vessels, to create the best of ships.
5.The Council shall put to research the arts of navigation, so none are lost.
6.The Council shall put to research the arts of cartography, to create maps and utensils for the voyages.
7.The profits that shall be reaped by this Council for its work shall be divided among the Council and among the parties, by proportion to their investments.

Signed the 12th of Lehtikuu, the 236 day after the Winter Solstice of the year 540.

Archcouncillor Risse Järventaus

[Nait]

The Social Make-up of Zhem

Zhem is a nation dominated by the presence of the inhiminen and maahinen, earthlings and dwarves. The third largest ethnic entity is the mehtänen, elves, followed by the santanen, sand-people.
Through inter-breeding, though the population has grown, the strength of the two less numerous races has been diminished, while at the same time culturally their bases are on par with other cultural entities. The average person on Zhem has blood from all four races, and shares with her kin on Ahma a surreal pool of hereditary traits fighting each other for supremacy, and the even more surreal fact that no trait seems to be winning – minority traits continuously nibble on the supremacy of the majority traits. Over the years this has meant that the general landscape of the people of Zhem has been mottled with blue skin and hair colors from the dwarves and the separation of these colors from the elves, so that the colors and amounts do not die, but survive and are found in the lineage, leading to such an possibility where parents of dark or blue skin can have children with yellow or a lighter shaded skin, or vice versa. The sand people have left their mark as a set of prominent canines, their peculiar, almost cat-like, eyes, and toughness, while from the humans come green eyes, freckles and the ability to roll their tongue.

Since the Rift, Ahma also has been a battle-ground of cultures. Over the years, languages and customs collided and conquered, and were defeated by other cultures, giving birth to the collection of ways of living in Zhem. In the end, a few cultures rose as dominant, lead, peculiarly, by the small and neutral Semmilä culture from Earth. Following Semmilä came the numerous Nihonko culture, who spoke Nihonko, and the dwarven Khazaad, Emialin and Zhambaresh cultures, all speaking between them two families of languages and twelve mutually incomprehensible languages, the Wò culture, with its numerous languages, the Eldari, Ilkori and Therendi cultures of the elves and the splintered Arraba culture. From these cultures, tradition and custom were rooted and planted, leading to the amalgamation culture which is the public way of life in Zhem.

After the Rift, the cultures rallied around Clans of different power. Though after hundreds of years the clans have lost much of their power, they still serve as the extended family, suku of most Zhemeans. Today's clans have surprisingly little in common with their predecessors, mixing within them a myriad of races and languages.

List of all the major clans of Zhem

Rissi
Aava
Wòng
Sigintaraag
Kheledbaraak
Jakokawa
Mirime
Hinotejama
Polde
Gabilbaraak
Alwalid
Armas
Zigiltaraag
Targuun

[Mo-Nercy]

Name:
Ai Ermoa.

Title:
Näkijä (Seer)

Place of Birth:
Southern fishing district of Valkea

History:
Ai Ermoa was the son of a blind fisherman. He worked day and night to provide for himself and his loving father. Often finding himself with nothing to do, he usually did the fishing for his neighbours and helped them out with other menial tasks. Thus the story of Ai Ermoa ascending to ultimate religious power is a great one.

His neighbours and friends, in return for his deeds gave him money. Though his father was constantly starving and both had to live off measly rations for many years, Ai Ermoa was still encourage by his pop to use the money to buy books and texts to quench his thirst for knowledge.

Over the years, Ai Ermoa became very booksmart and his interest in politics grew. Still working tirelessly on the fishing boats, he wrote several influential letters to Järventaus. Ai Ermoa hadn't expected for Archcouncilor Järventaus to read the letters from a young man making a living off the seas, so you could imagine his surprise when he got called to Risselä for a brief stint as Keeper of the Keys.

Ai Ermoa led a happy life living in Risselä, however, he received news one day of his father's death. Requesting temporary leave, he departed for his hometown in Valkea where he took part in the ritual rites of his father. Ai Ermoa's position had allowed his father to be buried in a most memorable fashion. The Memorial service was held within the walls of the Temple Valokoto. It was during the memorial that Ai Ermoa first heard that illusive voice in his head. He knew it was Päi. From that day, many visions came to him. Usually they took the form of Päi leading Ai Ermoa by the hand into the huge double doors of Temple Valokoto.

Ai Ermoa resigned from the position Keeper of the Keys and Archcouncilor Järventaus arranged for him to be Näkijä of the Valokoto Cult. From that day, Ai Ermoa felt as if his heart had become unburdened.

Role of Näkijä:
Näkijä Ai Ermoa plays much more than a figurative role in the running of Zhem. The very guidelines and rules that dictate the way the people of Zhem, particularly the Valkean Päi worshippers, are in his control. Although there are those who choose not to believe ("God bless those Pagans"), many are avid attenders of The Blue Breath Temple. The state of the temple is the deciding factor between the egalitarian society that Zhem is famed for and total anarchy.

Ai Ermoa is considered to be the best Näkijä since Valkea's founding. Thanks to his efforts, Valkea's influence has been spread, as has the influence of the Sun Goddess, Päi. The city is illuminated in torchlight, providing a dim red glow. The Hymn of Päi can be heard throughout the city, regardless of whether you are standing in the middle of the Temple Valokoto or the fishing village outskirts.

---

Without a doubt the adventurers are not exaggerating when they make reference to the old saying of Valkea...

"Päi > pie"

And that's saying a lot
---

---

[Nait]

*Mo moves into the Nation of Zhem with his family and possessions with great expectations but is instantly subject to tax eight times.*

Of course you won't starve because it's, y'know, in the law. §1.2 of the Tax Law.

[-N-]

*Mo moves into the Nation of Zhem with his family and possessions with great expectations but is instantly subject to tax eight times.*

You're supposed to be in [strike]Jebusia[/strike] Fiorenso, Mo.

[Mo-Nercy]

You're supposed to be in [strike]Jebusia[/strike] Fiorenso, Mo.

That's what I told Nait but his arguments were very persuasive.

[Nait]

That's what I told Nait but his arguments were very persuasive.

Yeah, for one, Neel always spells it Fiorenso when it's Fiorenseo.

[-N-]

Yeah, for one, N always spells it Fiorenso when it's Fiorenseo.

OH sarsaparilla. *changes all the diplomacy letter crap*
I blame it on Jebus. >:O

edit: Anyways, in a delayed response to your diplomatic overture
(resulting in me being promoted to Minister of Foreign Affairs):

Greetings Archcouncilor Jarvaentus,

I come from the city of Emirano in the land of Fiorenseo, a progressive country in the north-eastern continent of Verdantia; home to the world-renowned Metareason Academy and the historic landmarks Vedriet Peak and Sacersanct Peak. I hope this letter finds you and your citizens in good physical and social health.

I write to you today in response to your letter of correspondence. We share your hope of starting a golden era of international relations between Fiorenseo and Zhem. Prime Minister Yebus t'Emirano and myself agree wholeheartedly on opening and maintaining diplomatic relationships with all the peoples and countries of Eizon. We are glad you feel as we do and reach out to us as we reach out to you.

There will be many practical aspects to maintaining good diplomatic relations with Fiorenseo. Aside from being able to conduct international trade with reduced tariffs, citizens from your country will face easier laws concerning immigration and emigration from our lands. In addition, we invite your people to come study at our renowned Metareason Academy, led by our Minister of Knowledge N, home to some of the brightest minds young and old in Eizon.

We look forward to being your friends.

Sincerely,
Teh Neel
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Emirano, Fiorenseo

I dunno about all the beggars in Eleannore, but, erm, yeah.

And we don't use accent marks in our local dialect. That's why they're missing.

[Nait]

I dunno about all the beggars in Eleannore, but, erm, yeah.

And we don't use accent marks in our local dialect. That's why they're missing.

They're not accent marks, they're dots. In Finnish, they show that a vowel is a FRONT-vowel - the ä in cat, and ö in girl, versus the a in but, and o bore. Also, y and u, but here the ¨ aren't used. Though they're used in Estonian, for the same reason.

[-N-]

So those dots aren't considered accent marks? Only things such as é and à?

[Nait]

So those dots aren't considered accent marks? Only things such as é and à?

Finnish uses only the special mark ä and ö. Sometimes an s with an inverted ^ on it, but that's just for the "sh" sound which is not native, and for which we write either "sakki" or "shakki".

Accent marks can be important in other languages, and in TONE-languages they're vital - if accent-marks are used.

[Nait]

Updated stuff! Notice how the first post in this thread has tripled or even quadrupled in length, with new stuff, like Religion, Economy and Society! Also!

I've added base six numbers in parentheses after base ten numbers!

I've added Zhem writing after Finnish words in the first part of the post!

Furthermore, no one likes me anymore!