Covtle

Covtle

Country of the Wiþi Empire
Local name	Covtle
Capital	Glisng
Largest city	Glisng
Official languages	Adcovtle
Demonym	Adcovtle
Government	Constitutional monarchy
Currency	Zelum

Covtle is a country in eastern Tiðloten that forms part of the Wiþi Empire. The land of Covtle is primarily agricultural, with pockets of forest and city throughout. The population is primarily urban. The capital of Covtle is Glisng, which is also the capital of the Wiþi Empire. The economy of Covtle is based on manufacturing, especially gemstone magic items.

Geography

Physical geography

The land of Covtle is mostly agricultural, with pockets of forest and city throughout. The Cleðretem adawiþ, the largest forest, borders the northerly Wiþi mountains, which form the northern border. The Cleðretem logetavi (English: Dragon forest), located to the southwest, separates Covtle from Grèsent. The Cientla mountains form the southern border, while the coast forms the eastern border.

Human geography

Covtle is part of the Wiþi Empire, which covers a large portion of Tiðloten. The capital, Glisng, is the largest city on Tiðloten and an important administrative and commercial centre. The north of Covtle is known for manufacturing, especially in Magþe, and resource extraction, especially in Wimþac. The south of Covtle is known for its warmer climate and artistic movements, especially in Mangátle. The east of Covtle is known for its shipping industry, especially in Paltlon, and its fishing industry, especially in Ataglin. The west of Covtle is known primarily for its agricultural production.

Climate

Most of Covtle is an oceanic climate (Cfb), with humid continental climate (Dfa) further inland and pockets of cool-summer Mediterranean climate (Csb) along the south end.

History

Note: Names are given in modern Adcovtle, even for historic figures who spoke an earlier version of the language.

Early history

A transition to agriculture occurred between -1000 and 0. The long transition can be attributed to the large differences between the coastal regions, which developed agriculture earlier in the period, while many interior and mountainous regions did not develop agriculture until near the end of this period. During this time period Covtle contained several small kingdoms, which formed alliances with each other.

Baðatrepava and exile

Meanwhile, in the Ancient Land, in the year -27 a new form of magic was discovered by a scholar named Baðatrepava (English: approx. the long-robed one). This form of magic used the manipulation of the magical properties of gemstones to create magical effects. Baðatrepava created a school known as Laceclo ad toraci (English: School of Gems) where he taught his followers this new form of magic.

In the year 0, Baðatrepava was invited to a meeting with the emperor called Caþ lazaðagli (English: The Four Great Minds), along with the heads of three other schools. The others were named Aðmus, Ermus, and Lograðamus. The school of Aðmus focused on the intrinsic powers of humans to alter magical properties slightly. The school of Ermus focused on the collection of magical plants and the brewing of potions. The school of Lograðamus focused on forming bonds with dragons, and using the resulting extremely powerful magic. Lograðamus was also the court wizard at the time.

At the meeting, an argument broke out between the different scholars over what magic system should be taught most widely. (Leafil ad lawizadria (English: The Book of Magic), the foundational text of the modern Covtle nation, religion and magic, blames Aðmus for starting the argument, but modern scholars are somewhat sceptical of this claim.) The result of the argument was an order to have Baðatrepava exiled from the Pìleloget empire.

Baðatrepava gathered his followers (counted at 1211 by Leafil ad lawizadria) and set off across the Wiþi mountains and the Plimotem nata, leaving the Pìleloget empire. Many of them did not reach the end of the journey. (While this has traditionally been attributed to death, modern scholars believe that, in addition to the numerous deaths, there may have been a significant number who abandoned the group along the journey.) They travelled into Grèsent, where they settled in the region where Trèsicha now stands in the year 4. Their number at this point was 612 (according to Leafil ad lawizadria). Their city was named Lajavlugli (English: The Great City). Baðatrepava was crowned King. He began the drafting of what would become Leafil ad lawizadria.

Baðatrepava died in 23. He left a cryptic message for his successors that has been puzzled over ever since. Among other things, it declared that the kingdom was to go to his daughter Oneaþ, followed by the most magically inclined of her children. It did not specify how the magical inclination of the children was to be determined. It also specified that a new ruler, known as Valreon, would be born at an unknown time in the future and would lead the followers to a level of power never seen before.

Lajavlugli and second exile

Oneaþ ordered the raising of a Tower of Knowledge in memory of Baðatrepava. It was built by 37, and made Lajavlugli a centre of knowledge in the area. This attracted newcomers, who were welcomed into the society desperately needing more people. Oneaþ also declared that her firstborn child was the most magically inclined, establishing a pattern that would be continued by her successors for a very long time.

Throughout the next several centuries, Lajavlugli grew into a sizeable city and a prosperous centre of trade and knowledge. In particular, Lajavlugli became a centre of magic. It is estimated (by Leafil ad lawizadria, among other sources) that almost 5 percent of the city worked in magic of some type.

However, all of this came to an abrupt end in 447, with the invasion of the Empire of Enkan. Emperor Ralré of Enkan, descending from the King of the Ancient Land, declared that the demand of exile once again applied to the followers of Baðatrepava. The followers were exiled from the empire once again.

Settlement in Glisng

The much larger population of the city of Lajavlugli (counted at 14561 by Leafil ad lawizadria) set off to the east. The remains of the city were completely razed by the invaders. The followers continued eastwards, led by their Queen Ceþmi, until they were well past the edge of the Empire of Enkan. After passing several kingdoms that did not accept them, they encountered King Goloisáng of Glisng. King Goloisáng and Queen Ceþmi reportedly fell in love, and they agreed to merge their kingdoms and populations and rule jointly. Modern scholars believe that King Goloisáng may have been more interested in the magic brought by the newcomers than in Ceþmi. They officially began their joint rule in 450.

While the Leafil ad lawizadria says that the populations merged well, some other documents suggest that there was some acrimony towards the newcomers at times. In particular, since the newcomers had more magical knowledge, they often leveraged it to gain more influence. However, overall the merging of the kingdoms was successful, and grew the city to one of the largest cities in Covtle.

In 455 construction began on the new Tower of Knowledge. It was decided by Goloisáng and Ceþmi to build the new tower much larger than the previous one. This resulted in very slow construction, not completing until 501. The final chapter of Leafil ad lawizadria is devoted to the completion of the construction of the new Tower of Knowledge.

Conquest of Covtle

In 653 King Ñalmu led the conquest of the kingdoms of Vlojtum and Þivaris, two allies to the north of Glisng. This formed the Latesblom (English: the Triangle) region. King Ñalmu appointed the first Tetlamo ad Glisng (English: Lords of Glisng) to help manage this territory. Other kingdoms in Covtle responded by increasing their fortifications. However, in 704 Queen Tleað led the conquest of the Kingdom of Mangátle. Following this, in 720 she led another conquest of Þorið. Her successor, King Olvoló, led a conquest of the Kingdom of Voanter in 736. He also attempted to conquer the northernmost region of Covtle, the Kingdom of Norbuj. However, this conquest failed and Olvoló was forced to withdraw from his attempt to conquer Norbuj. Despite this, Olovló officially renamed the Kingdom of Glisng to the Kingdom of Covtle.

In 909 King Þoca successfully led a military campaign to take the Kingdom of Norbuj, followed by a successful 912 campaign to take the island of Ataglin, uniting the present region of Covtle. However, it would take several more centuries until the culture of Glisng and the language now called Adcovtle spread throughout the entirety of Covtle.

Tedadera ad lapegar and the Quərfi wars

Throughout the 900s and 1000s Þoca's descendants built a strong central government to control all of the outlying territories from Glisng. This government was very efficient for the time, prompting much admiration even centuries later. However, modern historians often highlight the brutal suppression of rebellions throughout the period that accompanied this efficient government. At this time, the Lords of Covtle (as they were now called) could be dismissed at any point and replaced (and likely executed for treason), leading to strong support of the central government.

Trade in magic continued to be an important asset for Covtle, and Glisng especially, drawing visitors from all over the world. In the Tedadera ad lapegar (English: Years of Peace), which began with the end of the Alsurea rebellion of 1101, scholarship was particularly prolific. The most iconic invention of this time period was the Staff of Flying, which allowed the user to fly. However, despite some later works describing them as an everyday item in this time period, modern historians believe that they were quite rare and only accessible to the upper classes, especially those in Glisng.

The Tedadera ad lapegar ended with the first Quərfi war in 1274. Continual attacks from the south occurred throughout the 1300s, leading to Quərfi control of Mangátle and other regions at times. However, at the end of the last Quərfi war in 1407, Covtle had regained all of the southern territories.

Overseas exploration and parliament

Following the regaining of the southern territories, the attention of Covtle turned towards the construction of ships. This allowed the expansion of trade, both with Grèsent, but also with further away places. Some ships even sailed as far as the continent of Ñavutlama, or around the southern end of Tiðloten to Atšeri, returning with goods, both from legitimate trade and plunder. Ðenmo, the first sailor to reach Ñavutlama in 1472, reached particular fame, although he reached much greater recognition posthumously.

Also throughout the 1400s the first limits on the power of the monarch began to emerge. In 1431, King Jalmu demanded that well-known personality Lady Atleva be executed for the treason of financing trade with Dokagrolis. At the time, trade with Dokagrolis was widespread, and most of the nobility had related investments. Fearing they could be next, almost the entire nobility threatened rebellion if King Jalmu did not back down. King Jalmu did back down, but the nobility were not satisfied. They demanded that to avoid a similar situation happening again, that a council be formed to represent their interests. As a result, Lapazadapalavi (English: Parliament) was formed. In its initial arrangement, it simply consisted of all of the Lords and had few powers, only allowing the Lords to have a vote on any decree that affected them. The immediate effect of this was to end the monarch's ability to dismiss the Lords, but few other changes followed at first.

In 1528 Queen Ðavle died an unexpected death in a sailing accident without leaving clear direction as to which of her eight children were the most magically inclined. The matter was complicated further by the fact that her first birth was to triplets. A feud broke out between her children, which escalated when the palace mysteriously burned down. After this a meeting of Lapazadapalavi was called, in which the Lords offered a recommendation that Juletla should be made the King. All of the siblings except for Ivlo agreed to this recommendation at Juletla was crowned. Ivlo later mysteriously disappeared.

Ice dragon winds and lañome do

In 1615 Covtle experienced the first of the Ice Dragon Winds, an easterly air pattern with causes unknown to this day that resulted in a bitterly cold winter, killing crops and cutting off trade. This repeated again in 1623, in 1644, and in 1668, causing severe disruption to trade and hardship for the population. Under these conditions, in 1669 a group of merchants and wizards offered a magical large-scale warming device to Queen Ðutli and the nobility, on the condition that they gained inclusion in Lapazadapalavi. Queen Ðutli convened what was known as Lañome on (English: The First Group), including merchants, wizards, and nobles, to discuss the new format of Lapazadapalavi. (Some historians have speculated that perhaps Ðutli's goal was to weaken Lapazadapalavi, but this is highly contested.) The month-long sessions were extremely contentious, and several fights broke out over how representation was to be divided. Eventually, at the end of the sessions an agreement was reached that there would be two Lañome ad Lapazadapalavi (English: Houses of Parliament): one consisting of the nobility, as had existed before, and the other consisting of elected representatives of the merchants and appointed representatives of the wizards. The magical warming device later turned out to be a fraud, but the merchants and wizards now in Lapazadapalavi refused to give up their newfound power.

In 1731, Covtle launched an attack on the neighbouring Ongrèsent aimed at taking the port city of Agrasichas, rationalised as a necessity to expand trade. In a rapid victory widely attributed to their superior military strategy, they managed to take and hold the city within the year. King Cavle of Covtle signed the first Treaty of Dokagrolis with Ongrèsent, where Ongrèsent forwent all rights to Agrasichas. Covtle organised their territory of Agrasichas as their first Plimotem teñe (English: External territory) with an appointed Tiþenat (English: Governor-general).

King Emtlanðo and elvledadá

King Cavle was succeeded by King Emtlanðo, a figure who is widely regarded as one of the worst kings of Covtle. Upon taking the throne, he dismissed Teþatla, the Tlamoini on (English: Prime Minister), under a royal power that had not been exercised since 1578, and replaced him with Geremu, a loyalist to himself. He then proceeded to issue a number of controversial decrees, some that resulted in personal benefits, and others which had bizarre effects. However, in 1760 he enacted the most controversial decree, a decree that eliminated the day elvleda (English: approx. "Wednesday") from the calendar. The exact reasoning behind this is unclear, with theories ranging from attempts to gain more frequent tax collection days to a desire to cause chaos that would allow the monarchy to gain more power. In any case, a massive protest broke out against the changes. This protest is notable as the first time a nonviolent campaign directly advocated for disobedience against the monarchy.

King Emtlanðo stated that he would not change course. However, when Geremu himself turned on King Emtlanðo, he decided that his options were up and abdicated the throne in favour of his younger brother, Þalmo. He then fled for Grèsent, where he lived the rest of his life in the court of Sudasichas. Þalmo restored elvleda to the calendar, and the convention was established that the monarch would not dismiss the Tlamoini on.

Increasing conquest

In 1772 Covtle launched another attack on Ongrèsent, once again described as a necessity to expand trade, this time aimed at taking the other port city of Trèsicha. This attack was once again successful, resulting in the second Treaty of Dokagrolis, where Ongrèsent forwent all rights to Trèsicha. Covtle added Trèsicha to the Plimotem teñe.

In 1814 Covtle attacked for a third time, hoping to form a trade corridor with Lèrtsbon, this time aiming for the city of Lèrtsfort. Once again they took control of it, and all of the territory east of the Agra river, in under a year. The third Treaty of Dokagrolis was signed, giving the entirety of the Duchy of Suda to Covtle. Covtle added the Duchy of Suda to the Plimotem teñe.

Colonisation of Laplimotem poltno Wiþi (English: Land Beyond the Wiþi) began in 1862, with a Lañome Wiþi (English: Wiþi group) formed and given a charter to colonise the land. Expansion occurred slowly at first, due to the bitter cold temperatures.

In 1814 Covtle signed a treaty with Lèrtsbon declaring it a protectorate. Similar treaties were signed with Sudasichas in 1843 and Dokagrolis in 1854. Throughout this time, relations between Ongrèsent and Covtle became increasingly tense, with both accusing the other side of provocation several times. Several border skirmishes occurred, all ending in stalemates.

Conquest of Ongrèsent and aftermath

Finally, in 1867, King Želhus of Ongrèsent ordered the armies of Ongrèsent to invade Lèrtsbon. Queen Eðamu of Covtle, after consulting with lapazadapalavi, declared war on Ongrèsent.

The resulting 9-year war was extremely costly for Covtle, but was devastating to Ongrèsent. Despite holding Covtle off for a significant period of time with the Pabaxeranxe, Covtle ultimately took control of the entirety of Ongrèsent. The entire territory was added to the Plimotem teñe.

The new Tiþenat appointed to the Plimotem teñe ad Grèsent in 1876, Naþad, was widely condemned for her management style, including by some in Covtle. She launched a programme called Grèsent Ini, which was ostensibly about modernising but instead was used to hunt down political enemies. Despite this, Naþad was not replaced until 1908.

Modernisation and industrialisation

In 1917 a council on modernising called Lañome ad lini was created. Its goal was to reform the systems of measurement, the calendar, the clock, and the spelling system. Lañome ad lini created a draft simplification by 1930, but has continued its work to this day. In 1952 Covtle was renamed the Wiþi empire, with Covtle as the region not governed as a Plimotem teñe.

The early 1900s also saw the rise of Covtle as an industrial player. In 1939, the first steam engine was invented. Small-scale magic followed in 1953. A number of other inventions drove the development of Covtle and the Wiþi empire to an even greater technological level of power.

In 1967, the secret plant behind the Wàmèrìzé spice was for the first time snuck out of Wàmèrà by Çùɲûnù, and planted in the Mangátle region of Covtle. The Wiþi empire quickly took advantage of this to pressure Wàmèrà into concessions.

In 1984, the Wiþi empire reorganised their Plimotem teñe, allowing for slightly more self-rule. They dissolved the client states of Sudasichas, Dokagrolis and Lèrtsbon, placing Sudasichas and Dokagrolis in Laplimotem teñe ad Grèsent igvli and Lèrtsbon joining Laplimotem teñe ad Grèsent agvla. They also dissolved Lañome ad laplimotem poltno Wiþi, replacing it with Laplimotem teñe ad Wiþi poltno. Finally, they gave each Laplimotem teñe an elected council, and a very small number of seats in Lapazadapalavi. However, the decisions of the council still required approval by the Tiþenat.

Meanwhile, a revolution in Fole Enkan, establishing the Fole Enkan Republic, resulted in a serious deterioration in relations. The city and watchpost of Onþod was established in 1999, across the river from Dyaša. Several skirmishes occurred, but no war has broken out yet.

Wàmèrì war

The Wiþi Empire launched a full invasion of Wàmèrà in 2019. The invasion marked a turning point in the history of Wàmèrà and the Wiþi Empire. Wàmèrà did not fall easily as the Wiþi Empire hoped. The war was wildly unpopular, especially in the student city of Mangátle, where massive protests were held against the war. This resulted in several controversial arrests. However, a change in government occurred that was more favourable to the anti-war faction and in 2022 the Wiþi empire signed a peace treaty forgoing all rights to the territory.

Tlifa Advlor

In 2025 a woman named Tlifa Advlor was born in the city of Þoriv. She demonstrated immense magical skill, even as a child. At the age of 12 she declared herself to be Valreon, the heir to Baðatrepava. Tlifa Advlor gathered a large number of followers and became a force in politics. However, Queen Avnaho insists that she was not Baðatrepava's heir. Her followers, however, continue to consider her the legitimate Queen, resulting in a number of tense stand-offs between them.

Currently Covtle is considered to be the most prosperous and industrialised region of Tiðloten. The Wiþi empire is still controlled by Covtle, despite various rebellions in Grèsent and Wiþi poltno. Covtle is a centre for magic and magical learning. Covtle is a leading destination for immigration from around the world, especially from other Wiþi empire territories. However, tensions with the Fole Enkan Republic continue to raise the spectre of a devastating war between the two powers.

The current year is 2047.

Languages

Adcovtle is the official language of Covtle, and is widely spoken throughout. While there is dialectical variation, especially north-south, the most common other languages are immigrant languages, such as Senta Grèstilsa.