The Great Island Nation of the Coquels: Overview

Table of Contents

Originally known as the Quell Islands, the Great Island Nation of the Coquels is home to some of the strongest people — and some of the strongest magics, too — in all of Palia. Each island's people is very different than the other islands', creating an extremely diverse and varied culture that is widely accepting, to a certain degree. Since their inception, the Coquellians have been a vehemently xenophobic people, first due to a natural disinterest in lands that are not their own and then due to The Great War that nearly destroyed their culture.

Geography

Location and Topology

	Area (mi²)	Perimeter	Height	Width
Quell	1824	71	54	345
Quellas	2032	54	64	339
Quelles	1631	51	52	234
Quellis	2113	56	66	363
Quellos	2114	86	53	366
Quellus	2881	149	51	679
Quellys	1423	44	56	224
Coquels	14,017	2,552	201	180

An archipelago in the center of the Coquelai, the Coquels is a nation comprised of seven islands. The total land area is 14,017 square miles. Though the islands' areas are similar, their shapes are not. They are, however, placed relatively close together: the most isolated of the islands, Quellas, is 13.26 miles from Quell, 18.83 miles from Quelles, and 8.31 miles from Quellys.

All of the islands, with the exception of Quellus, have prominent mountain ranges. Quellys is the most mountainous, although Quellis has a higher average altitude than any of the other islands. Three of the islands — Quelles, Quell, and Quellos — host tropical to sub-tropical forests, while a fourth island, Quellas, has extensive temperate forests. Quellus is, for the most part, dry plains, while the elevation of Quellis makes it prime real estate for sub-alpine forests. Quellys, rocked with wind and harsh temperatures, is a twisted mess of montane forest.

Climate

The climates of the islands are extremely varied, considering the islands are relatively close together, geographically-speaking. Though none of the extremes is demonstrated, the climates range from sub-tropical forest to sub-arctic tundra (taiga), passing through temperate forests and savanna. Due to the influence of the quell on the terrain, the climatic variations seldom cause problems for the Coquellians, as they can harness their own quell to make the clime more hospitable; in the savanna lands of Quellus, for instance, eś-practitioners irrigate crops if the natural weather patterns pose a threat.

Demographics

Population

Although no census has ever been carried out in the islands, estimates place the population of the islands at approximately 1,750,000 people. The population density per island differs greatly, as certain locations, like Quellys, are less tempting as homes than other islands, like Quellas or Quelles.

Because of the use of quell, life expectancy for quell-practitioners is much higher than expected, ranging from 125 to 150 years, with an average of 127. Those who have absolutely no attunement to the quell, however, can be expected to live only from 80 to 100 years, with an average at 83. This increased life expectancy explains the higher-than-expected population, considering the decreased birth rate of the Coquellians.

Ethnicities

Because of the Coquellian moratorium on foreign contact, 99.9% of the population is Coquellian. The remaining 0.1% is comprised of two groups: a) those who have managed to sneak into the islands successfully and b) those who have been kidnapped in reconnaissance efforts and their descendants. The latter group is much, much larger than the former. This latter group is comprised mostly of Cyraeans and Spȧlorians, as the Coquellians have an extremely tenuous diplomatic relation between the Calereans.

Although the Coquellian islands are a single nation with one ethnicity, generalized differences do appear between pureblood of each island, and it appears that the differences relate, once again, to the quell that runs within each island. Quellasians, for instance, tend to be shorter and stockier than the other Coquellians, just as Quellisians are often thinner, taller, with longer arms and legs.

Religion

The Coquellians have no real religion. They believe in quell, mainly because it has made itself quite palpable, and the six altars employ priests of whatever quell that altar represents, although there are no ceremonies of worship or any of the trademarks of organized religion. In its history, there have been certain sects that attempt to birth a religion, usually based around the worship of a particular quell, but the sects have never taken root and often die within several months to years.

Despite the lack of religion, Coquellians for the most part have an extremely astute morality, and most of the islanders operate under some sort of unofficial, tacit honor code, guaranteeing that the average Coquellian is truly a good guy (or gal). There are laws, of course, created and executed by the government, but the laws tend to spring organically from the honor code rather than the other way around.

Prejudice

Because of its recent past, Coquellian culture has a bit of inherent racism. Quellians, for instance, are generally bitter towards Quellosians, because of Bellimar's brutal attack on their land several hundred years ago. In the same way, Quellesians are often suspicious of Quellians, since the Quellian Ramis betrayed the Quellesian seyan, Ramidon, during the Great Wars.

As a rule, all Quellosians are hateful towards foreigners. There is an exception, of course, in those people who are descendants of the kidnapped Cyraeans and Spȧlorians. Although they are foreign by descent, they are treated as equals to the Coquellians and, in most cases, treated better than the average Coquellian.

Those who are attuned to quell are often snobbish towards those who are not. Generally, quell is everything in this land, and those who cannot use it often feel inadequate, insufficient, worthless. The physical training program was developed, in part, as an attempt to lessen this feeling of worthlessness, although it has not yet been successful.

Although not prevalent, alternative sexualities are common in Coquellian society, although they are generally shunned. There is no real prejudice against them, although many strictly homosexual people often claim bisexuality as a sort of buffer zone to shield them from the downward glances. (The Coquellian attitude toward homosexuality is similar to the American attitude toward promiscuity, although the Coquellians don't know that, since they don't know about America.)

Language

Since the first groups of people roamed the islands, there has always been a single language: Quellosian. It originated on the island of Quellos, and though its name was under scrutiny once during the Quellosian purge of the Great Cleaving and again during the reunification under the Four Seyan, it has remained with its original nomenclature.

The Coquellians, however, are exceedingly skilled linguists, and most are fluent in at least one other language, often Calerelacian. Both Spȧlorian and Cyraean are known to the Coquellians, too, as well as several of the almost innumerable languages and dialects of the Offlandish. Walking through the larger cities will often lead to the over-hearing of two friends speaking in an obscure Offlandish dialect that they both learned in school or on the side.

Education

Coquellians honor the well-educated above everything else, and so schooling for them is a rather sacred process that begins in early adolescence (5-6) and arguably never ends, although the required regiment ceases at the age of 20.

The required regiment consists of courses in almost every imaginable subject. Coquellian history, the history of the neighboring countries, mathematics, literature, art, science. Towards the end of the fifteen-year program, students are able to specialize in certain areas of knowledge, if they want, which opens up more intensive courses in their area and eliminates some of the more generalized, universal courses. In effect, this choice allows students to decide between becoming a master of a single discipline or a jack-of-all-trades, though a master of none.

At puberty, when the usual testing for quell-attunement begins, the student has three potential tracks. If he attunes to a quell, an extra year or two's worth of courses covering quell-work will be assimilated into his regiment; usually, this means the student will work extra hard for several years so as not to extend his 'official' education, although it is possible for a student to take an extra year or two to finish. If the student does not attune to any quell, he may continue with his education as planned or he may enter the Physical Services, which combines the mental rigor of the required regiment with an intense physical training program. Although not specified as a military training program, this physical training program equips the student with the ability to battle, even without quell. This program often requires an extra year or two of training, due to physical limitations (i.e., the time it takes to sculpt the body into a physical weapon).

Education, of course, continues far past the required regiment. There are, in fact, more colleges and universities dedicated to teaching "for fun" than there are for the required courses, and almost all Quellosians, particularly those adept at quell-work, are occupied with a course or two at least half of the year each year.

Economy

The Coquellian economy is capitalistic and largely based in tasks and services. That is, the economy hinges on the exchange of quell-work and, to a much lesser extent, physical labor. The Coquellians do have currency, although bartering occurs often enough to make currency not entirely necessary.

Some Coquellians make a profit directly from their quell-work; for instance, eś-practitioners that irrigate crops or quellaś-practitioners who excavate construction sites. More conventional ways to make money exist, too; there are farmers who sell food, artists who sell art, writers, etc., and in this case, they often use quell to ease the creation of their product, although not every farmer in the Coquels is a Water-magician, etc. After all, there is a minority who cannot use quell at all, and they need to make a living, too.

Government

Each island has its own governor, known as a seyan. The islands as a whole are ruled by the seyquel, who performs his duties from the Imidaléan Palace on Quell. The seyquel holds his position for life, and upon his death, democratic elections are held in which a single candidate from each island runs. Family members of past seyquels are barred from running. Upon his acecptance of the position, the seyquel immediately loses his island heritage and becomes simply a citizen of the Coquels rather than a citizen of Quell or Quellys or Quellos and he should begin to think of the islands as a single entity, refusing to show bias for any particular island or quell.

Because of its history with tyrannical rule, the modern Coquellian government is rife with checks and balances, and oftentimes they can get in the way of important decisions that need to be made quickly. Any official decree needs unanimous backing by all seven seyan and the seyquel, as well as three-fourths majority vote by the people. The seyquel nominates people to most positions on a national level; his nominations need approval by at least five of the seven seyans. On an island level, the system works the exact same, although the seyan's nominations need ratification by a two-third majority of the citizens of that island.

Beyond their role as assistants to the seyquel, the seven seyan also make up the legislating body. As with seyquel decrees, all laws need unanimous approval from the seven seyan and also a two-thirds majority of the people before they are considered active.

Although it may seem otherwise, governmental rule is relatively laissez-faire, in that not much legislation leaves the seyan committee, just as the seyquel has relatively few truly political obligations and instead acts almost simply as a figurehead, a sort of focus for Coquellian nationalism and pride. His role is often one of public relations, and if there are spats between islands, he arbitrates. He attends major construction works, the opening of important buildings or exhibitions, etc.

The Islands: Overview

Quell

Magical Element: None

Magical Capital: None

Capital: Imidalé

Current Ruler: Seyquel Ysler XVI

Home to Imidalé, the administrative center of the Coquels, the island of Quell has no native magic of its own. Consequently, Quellians have learned to mold their bodies into magic, training their bodies to replace what nature has denied. However, simply because Quell has no native magic does not mean the land is barren! Far from it: Quell has some of the richest forests in the Coquels, including the unique Mauvewood, whose deep purple foliage hosts peculiar flora and fauna famed throughout the islands.

Quellas

Magical Element: Earth-magic

Magical Capital: Altar of Three Mountains

Capital: Coera

Current Ruler: Seyan Salice XIV

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