Alvada Province

Alvada, officially the Alvada Province (Fornoisan: Provens de Fornois), is one of the 9 provinces of the Aurlûnor Velande. It is located north of the Imperial Province in the Aurlûnor Velande.

The province is a successor to the County of Fornois, an independent state that was handed over to the growing Velande during its period of expansion. The region would be integrated, and became known as the Territory of Fornois, with direct rule from the Velande. For a while, Twodor III would rule the new province, and was allowed to keep his titles and such, as long as he converted. He would die from mysterious circumstances, and the territory would fall under rulership of the Velereth, Sareariel Lelya-Earcala and would become her own personal domain, which had no jurisdiction by the government. The territory would be reformed after The Dandelion War into two new provinces, the Alvada Province and the Vedassa Province. Many cities were renamed, including its capital city of Montbégny, which was renamed to Valdamar.

Twodor's son, Julian I, was made Governor when he came of age, and reigned as the first governor of the province. He converted to the Twin Dragon faith, and was confirmed Governor in late May of the year 931. He moved the capital from Valdamar to Boroligny on May 24, until it was moved back to Valdamar following the merge of Vedessa Province with Alvada Provicne on October 5th

Geography
The core of the province is the valley of Fornois, surrounded by the Northern Mountains (Monts del Nors), Morning Mountains (Monts del Mornan) and Mount Drelgaon (Mont Drelgaon). The valley is fertile, temperate, and still relatively wild. In the center of the valley flows the Soiran river. The province is also bordered by the Vesteflot river in the south-west, and the Ostron river in the east.

Although Alvada is sparsely populated, there are a few notable settlements :

- Valdamar (Fornoisan : Montbégny), the capital of the county of Fornois. A stone castle built on the ruins of a Melwende sanctuary, it was the first Fornoisan settlement in the region. Originally the de facto capital of Alvada, Montbégny was briefly neglected following the death of Yeetus Christ III, during which it came to be occupied by Solxos under the name of Fort Momonga.

- Boroligny, the current capital of the province. The largest town in the county, it is also probably the oldest that is still inhabited, since records show it existed within the kingdom of Almador over 2000 years ago. It became the capital after Governor Yeetus Christ IV relocated the seat of power of the province away from Montbégny, as it fell out of the governor's demesne.

- Drakon Moindre, a fortress in the south of the province.

- Arfiel, an abandoned hamlet near Drakon Moindre, ruins of a failed attempt to build a castle and a settlement by one of Yeetus Christ III's vassals, who swiftly betrayed the count, abandoned the colony, and laid claim to the then-empty city of Areska.

- Drakovien, a large town north of Montbégny, founded by Vexan Austris.

History
The territory of the current province of Alvada has been inhabited for thousands of years, however, next to nothing is known about the first inhabitants. It later came to be inhabited by sedentary farmers living on pigs and millet, probably related to the Norfst and the now extinct Belkans. These lands, part of which belonged to the kingdom of Dawou, were then conquered by the growing kingdom of Almador.

During the Warring Period of the Almadorians, the Sevans, the ancestors of the people that would become the Fornoisans, were brought to Syltör as slaves from Alteniquia by the warring states bordering the Phagosian Sea. When Sareariel Lelya-Earcala brought on the destruction of Melwende, in which there was a large slave population of Sevans, the northern warring states were thrown in a state of chaos, instability and collapse. The Sevans rebelled during this time and gathered at the Lac des Trals (Lake of the Slaves in Fornoisan). Splitting into two groups, the western Sevan tribes migrated to the area of the failed Melwende state, thus becoming the Fornoisans. The eastern tribes settled on the gulf's coast and became the inhabitants of Bisezonne. In Melwende, the Fornoisans were split between a number of tribes that shared the land alongside the native Norfst and a significant pre-Aurlûnor Celestial Elf population. Although the Fornoisans were a large majority, the Celestial Elves still held a lot of the power, especially in terms of religious authority.

During the first six centuries following the Fornoisan takeover, known as the Tribal Era, there existed a clear split between the rural population, mostly composed of Fornoisans, relying on agriculture and ruled by chiefs, and more cosmopolitan towns and cities, where an Elven elite stemming from the Melwende ruling class governed Celestial Elves and Fornoisans. The many chiefs would often wage war against each other, calling on the comparatively wealthy Elves for financing, who in return would request protection from raids when the tall walls of their towns weren't enough to prevent them. The power was balanced between the warring chiefs and the Elf lords. Occasionally, a town was looted and destroyed by an enemy chief, like what happened in 258 ACA to the former capital of Melwende, Turònshan.

In 635 ACA, following tensions between the two groups, a young Fornoisan chief called Brégo united all the Fornoisan tribes and extended his authority over the entire valley, conquering all the remaining Elven towns. The Elves, who by then were greatly outnumbered by the Fornoisans, were forcefully ejected and their wealth taken from them. The most important religious site in Melwende, a temple on top of a volcanic hill in the middle of the valley, was razed. On top of this hill, known as Montbégny (sacred hill) to the Fornoisans, a wooden castle was built. The County of Fornois was established, and chief Brégo became known as Brégo I the Brave.

Fornoisan culture peaked during the rule of the house of Fornois. Literature and architecture flourished, a notable example being the reconstruction of Montbégny into a stone castle. Fornoisan culture extended its influence over the nearby Bisezonnians, with many migrants bringing in Fornoisan techniques and art. However, although culture flourished, the county still stayed severely poor and underdeveloped, more so than most of its neighbours.

People and culture
Most inhabitants of the Alvada province belong to the Fornoisan people, although there is a small Celestial Elf minority and an even smaller Norfst community.

Officially, most of the province's citizens are Twin Dragon practitioners. After the loss of the county's independence, the population was converted en masse and all other religions were banned. However, although most Fornoisans worship the Twin Dragons, these beliefs are often mixed with old Fornoisan gnostic beliefs, philosophy and traditions, especially in the lower strata of the population. Some houses have shrines dedicated to local deities, and secret or semi-official ceremonies are often celebrated in remote areas of the province. This religious cohabitation is stable, peaceful and widely tolerated in Fornoisan society; however, it is frowned upon by the elite and recent Celestial Elf migrants, and there have been efforts by the ruling class, notably by governor Yeetus Christ IV, a devout Twin Dragon follower, to enforce a more orthodox manner of worship.

The most commonly spoken language in the Alvada province is Fornoisan, which originates from Sevan, a language originally spoken in southern Alteniquia. It is related to the languages of Bisezonne and, more distantly, Reyllea. Aurlûnoren is also widely spoken as the official language. However, de facto, Fornoisan is the most used language in the administration, as the provincial ruling class of Alvada is almost exclusively composed of the remains of the feudal nobility of Fornois. In the past, Fornoisan was considered a sophisticated language of the arts and literature, but recently, it is gradually being replaced by Aurlûnoren as the lingua franca of the upper class.

Fornoisan weddings are most often celebrated in forests. The area of the wedding is surrounded with plants and flowers, and there are four wooden poles at each corner. This is meant to represent the First Forest, where, according to Fornoisan tradition, the first humans were created by the gods and the first wedding was officiated between four great trees. Nowadays, Twin Dragon beliefs have added themselves on top of these traditions, for example, the fact that the officiator of the ceremony is no longer a Fornoisan druid, but a Twin Dragon priest, and that the newlyweds bow to statues of gods.