Testificate

The Testificate Enclave, more commonly referred to as the Villager Enclave, or simply "The Testificate" is a small nation located in the Arsine region of Eldham. It serves as a final holdout and sanctuary of the old village system which had spanned across much of the world before the invasion of what the Testificates refer to as the "Marked Ones" and other humanoid species. The resulting interactions between the Testificates and Marked Ones resulted in a near total wipeout of the Testificate population across the world and total collapse of the village system. The Enclave is a direct democracy lead by a Mayor and other elected magistrates fulfilling specific duties with the Testificate Assembly being compose of all Testificates who vote directly on all legislation or motions being propose

Before the Invasion of the Marked Ones
For untold amounts of time before the period known as the 'Invasion' by the Testificates, was a period of peace and balance throughout the world. Each continent was sparsely populated with small villages which were generally isolated from one another in terms of contact and each different biome was home to different types of Testificate cultures. Periodically these times of peace would be broken by Illager raids with powerful Illager leaders building up their own short lived local warbands. It was during these times that the Iron Gollum's would serve as guardians of each individual village within the system against such raids.

Life for the average Testificate was described as dull - most never traveled far beyond the outskirts of their local villages, few would work as wandering merchants who traveled between villages to trade in which the emerald became the universal standard currency due to its difficulty to obtain. As described by the Testificates, the forests were endless and filled with myths and legends, the seas were clear and bountiful and there was little to no infrastructure.

Discovery of Eldham
Soon after the discovery of Eldham by various Rathniri navigators and cartographers came a massive wave of immigration which quickly swept over the world starting from the area around the Phoros continent any quickly spreading to all corners of the world. Often times upon discovery these humanoids would slaughter or kidnap the entire village and steal anything found within them leading to the quick collapse of the global village system and the near complete eradication of the Testificate population within a matter of weeks. Very few holdouts lasted longer such as in less populated regions of the world such as in Eastern Arsine in which some surviving Testificates fled into the dense jungle. One of the last known Testificate Villages was located in the plains region of former nation of Admero (Now within Montrium) in which it's population lasted significantly longer mostly before also fleeing into the jungle.

Government
The Testificate Enclave is a direct democracy in which the principal arm of governance consists of the Testificate Assembly which is comprised of all Testificates who all have the ability to propose legislation or motions and vote for any other proposed measures by the executive. Many Testificates divide themselves up into various political factions or parties which vote together on issues while others remain independent.

The executive is comprised of the Mayor and various Magistrate positions which have specific areas of the government to oversee ranging from Religious & Cultural affairs to Foreign affairs. Any set agenda created by the Mayor and the Council are then proposed to the Assembly and either passed or rejected by a majority vote.

Testificate Biology
Testificates are phenotypically homogenous meaning every Testificate has the same phenotypes as every other Testificate. It is virtually impossible to tell one apart besides their clothing in which many adopt distinct styles based off anything ranging from their profession to their personality and differences in speech.

Testificates are all 1.95 meters tall. They feature prominent nose and have white sclera with green irises. Their skin is a pinkish beige color. The hair on a Testificate is dark brown and it is important to note that they do not have any hair on their heads besides their eyebrows. Despite their arms being enclosed in their robes Testificate do in fact have two separate arms and hands.

Testificate Culture
Testificates are generally seen as hyper-political in nature and are highly suspicious of most "Marked Ones" or other outsiders that aren't from their species. Testificates are also known to be highly communal with other Testificates and they work to support one another, however with non-Testificates or those outside their community they are known to be hyper-capitalistic often times offering horrible prices, poor working conditions, and low wages to those seeking work in the various factories which dot the Testificate lands.