Kumaur

Kumaur (formerly known as Kumuur) is a city on the largest of the islands located in the strait that separates South-Western Sparwood and Western Cymru. The town was founded on the 12 of February 2021.

It is currently part of the Province of Silvay (though it rarely accepts the oversight or ruling of the Hanzerounen) within the Autokratoria of Sirradra. It is one of two Siradrii towns in Sparwood, the other being Kairos, which falls under the county of Kumuur, and thus also under same jurisdiction. It is the first frontier into the northern continent, and falls along the border of Eisenland, Aezenfjord, and Tortuga.

The city (and surrounding county of Kumuur) is ruled by Llyre es vel Volaerys, the Prime Minister of Sirradra.

Founding and Past
Founded by Breton Aerouant and Deltafox on February 12, 2021, Kumaur was originally settled (unknowingly) on land that belonged to the the VIR successor state of Aezenfjord. After negotiations with SirMisterPanda, the owner of the land, the city was granted independence to become the city state of Kumuur (a bastardisation of the Kemrian "Golden City"). Kumuur rapidly began to expand, attracting members form the wave of fourth generation new players. It proclaimed itself to be a Pirate-Republic turned mercantile city state. It is also during this period that ties with the growing Viodoxa where established and began to deepen. This would be followed by an expantion of the rest of the Crescent Islands. The political structure of the town now also began to solidify, with trusted members and a monarch coming to a decision together. It is this very system that would lead Kummur to make the most crucial choice in its short existence, joining the rising nation of Viodoxa.

This decision however, occurred at a sour time as a prior misunderstanding would lead to Azenfjord seeing the prior statement that the settlement was mistakenly placed on their land as disingenuous and revoking the land claims of Kumuur, threatening them with a mass migration to the northern Falkheim-Concord territory of Cymru. This would see representatives from all three cities, notably Valen McSpeigel, Valerie Hirshy, and SirMrPanda deliberating on the future of Kumuur. The conflict was resolved with the Kumuur Accords, setting an alliance that allowed Kumuur to join Viodoxa and had deeper ramifications in forging an alliance between the VIR successor states of Viodoxa and Aezenfjord.

Kumuur had also been undergoing a boom in population with the both the city's player count and area rapidly increasing. The trade with mainland Viodoxa would lead to the creation of the Viodoxan name, Kamarum, also being adopted as one of the region's many names. This period was also seeing a religious reawakening in the city, with it's citizens coming to the realisation that the island itself was cursed, allowing for several cults to spring up in the growing paranoia surrounding it.

After Viodoxa collapsed in Late October 2021, Silvay was recognised as independant, soon joining the Seratovian State with Kumuur as a county within the region. Many of the records of this time are lost, though it is known that Breton left the town in the hands of Augustine Salvay.

Imperial Archonal Union
By the time of the Second Purple Insurrection (also known as Loic's War, The March of the Exiles, and the Viodoxan War) at the end of 2021/beginning of 2022, Kumaur was still struggling to hang on, with only several dedicated residents as the curse and the ocean slowly consumed the town. While untouched, by the end of the war, the city had more or less died, with many citizens falling victim to the cursed land, killed in the battles, or simply leaving for other areas.

The better part of two decades passed and Augustine, the Count of Kumaur was growing old, and in his will passed the city on to Llyre es vel Volaerys, one of the young ministers of the Union who had taken office under Loic's administration. It is unclear if he made that choice genuinely or due to his mind being addled, but regardless he died shortly afterwards, and his son (and heir) William also died soon therafter. By this time the city was a ghost town and in more or less ruins, but Llyre (and his friend Ryan vom Dirkson) came to the city with the intent to rebuild it. Unfortunately, due to the concurrent events of the Eisenlandian Reunification, Ryan committed suicide on the island and Llyre, unable to cope with the situation, returned to mainland Cymru. It was around this time that a meteor impacted the southeastern end of the island, and it continued to sit untouched throughout the Paradise War and collapse of the IAU.

Autorkratoria of Sirradra
Follwoing the Viesten Coup, Llyre once again returned to Kumaur, stationed along the Eisenlandian and Tortugan borders. While some pirates were permitted to enter the city, Eisenlandian citizens were barred from the island under threat of violence. During this time, Llyre and his newphew Reyan Bakura began renovations of the city, tearing down crumbling houses and rebuilding parts of the canal system in order to at least attempt to restore a sense of safety and life into the ruins.

Several months later, Ravennn von Technostatos, a former Eisenlandian politician, defected from the nation and was allowed to join Kumaur despite tensions in the region. Eisenlandian citizens are still not permitted on the island, nor are Sirradrii citizens without special dispensations from the government, as well as proper protective equiptment. Visitors are frowned upon, though some Tortugan captains still brave the dangerous waters around Kumaur to resupply at their ports. Currently, the city is still undergoing massive renovations and reconstruction.

About The Island
[Under Construction]

Overview
While originally a mercantile state, Kumaur's culture has diverged rapidly from the time of the Second Archonate to the modern day Sirradra. Kumaur's people Cultural drift from Eisenland, Tortuga, and Ryoujing (as well as minimal influences from Kartek, where Llyre was originally from) corrupted the original Silvish history of Kumaur, leaving it much more of a melting pot than it was originally.

People
The people of Kumaur (also known as Kumaura) are hardy, to say the least. They continue to survive and scrape by every day despite the extremely high mortality rate (between 20-40% by most estimates, depending on the year) of the region, mostly from accidents related to the dilapidated city, the toxic air, drowning, or by going insane. Despite this, the average resident of Kumaur, is as a general statement, fairly satisfied with their life, and few people who come to the city choose to leave.

It is a common attitude to be extremely grim and fatalistic, and the humour of the people of modern-day Kumaur is most often described as "uncomfortable" and "dry", and mostl;y seems to be gallows humour. Celebration is a rare occurance and usually only reserved for a marriage, victory, or birth or adoption of a healthy child. When celebrations do happen, they are spirited affairs with plenty of alcohol, food, and occasionally, ritualised combat.

In their day to day lives, beyond the relatively gloomy attitudes, the people of Kumaur are extremely hardworking and utilitarian. The city is the heart of the Information Ministry ''s propaganda department, as well as one of the core centers of the Sirradrii military' s equiptment depot and production centers. Almost every resource Kumaur has to offer has been stripped to the bare minimum to survive, with all excess sent to the Autokratoria. While Kumaur provides no combat units (at most providing a single fireteam), it does front a surprisingly large amount of gear and money to the military for its small population.

The family unit is extremely important to Kumauran, from filial piety, sibling bonds, marriage, and parental duty. It is seen as the duty. Most people will only remove their masks and rebreather systems in front of close friends or family.

Clothing
Due to the cold (and often stormy) weather of the island, residents in Kumaur tend to wear heavier clothes, as well as hats, gloves, and boots. Common day to day wear for a Kumauran citizen would include their base layers (often linen or cotton imported from mainland Sirradra or Kairos as well as woolen socks), a second layer (often wool), a heavy woolen sweater, wool or gabardine trousers, a gaberdine or wool overcoat, heavy boots (often accompanied by leg wraps), woolen hat, and gloves. Most clothes are dark in colour, with grey, black, navy, olive, and dark brown as the most common, though occasionally sweaters will be off-white from undyed wool. Occassional detailing will be done with colours, usually green or red.

The most distinctive part of a Kumaura appearance is the rebreather systems almost every citizen wears. Due to the toxic nature of the air in Kumaur, all residents and visitors must wear respiratory protection, most commonly gas masks, rebreathers, or full sealed suits. The only exception to this rule are inorganics such as golems or constructs, or the undead. Despite this, all residents tend to prefer to cover the face regardless.

Language
The daily language of Kumaur is the Kumaura dialect, which is a combination of Silvish and Eisendel, as well as taking loan words from Valroni, Hanzeizh, and the Ryoujing dialect of SIlvish. Most residents of the region are fluent in Traveller's Tongue, Silvish, Eisendel, and Hanzeizh.

Food
Kumaura food is almost alwasy hot, unless travelling. Most dishes are extremely rich, heavy, and (frequently) spicy. Red meat is a luxury, but potatoes are common, as well as seafood (particularly fish and seabirds). Some of the only crops that manage to grow on the island are wheat, potatoes, and sunflowers, and all are prevalent in the foods of the region. Bread is baked in most homes, and is present in most meals, as well as rations provided by the region.

Alcohol is commonly brewed in Kumaura homes as well, most commonly brandy, whiskey, and rum. Lighter alcohols like beer, mead, and ale are often drunk with meals, as it is seen as safer than water in the region.

Architecture
Homes and buildings in Kumaur are built in a similar style to those in Ryoujing, though much less colourful. Homes are primarily constructed from deepslate, blackstone, bone, and spruce wood, though the air can slowly corrode untreated wood. All homes are able to be sealed completely from the outside in order to filter the air, allowing people to remain at home with no rebreather system. These systems are constructed by redstone mechanics and powered by the lightning rods that sit on every home to collect the energy from the frequent storms in the area. Underground construction is fairly common as well, and there are several large windmills under construction on the island in order to harness the high win prevalent in certain regions of the island.