Westmark

Mothar is a State in the Volksrepublik Dorvik.

Geography


Mothar is an island in the north of Dorvik. Due to its location at the crossroads of both cold currents from the north and warm currents from the direction of Dorvan, it tends to be very foggy. These currents also create huge banks of fish like tuna and trout. The centre is very rugged, with many peat bogs.

There is one major city in Mothar, Dargun, located on the southern coast. There are several towns and villages along the coasts, like Kananuvu, Lissenfield, Ost and Copper.

The interior is nearly uninhabited, except for a few tiny villages like Loddon (whose name means "Muddy Stream"). Most of the interior is covered by the Broad Park, the largest park in Dorvik.

History
Mothar was first settled in the early 200s by the seafaring Mothin people.

They first came into conflict with other peoples in 767 when they sent 20 ships containing 3,000 men to invade Dorvan. The invasion attempt was not successful, however, becuase The Lorman High Commander Svenson The Great had ordered troops in Vinisk harbour to use shields to direct sunlight against the Mothin ships, burning their wooden frame and drowning the troops.

This incident sparked the 300 years war between the Mothin and Lorman; this however was little more than a few skirmishes and a political war. In 932 the Lorman High Commander, Gronad the Bear was poisoned by his wife, Annabelle of Vinisk. It turned out that Annabelle of Vinisk was actually Annabelle of Mothar, a spy sent to kill the Lorman leader. She was subsequently beheaded. Annabelle is now referred to in Dorvan as Annabelle the Betrayer, but she is seen as a hero by many in Mothar.

The 300 years war ended in 1063, when Lorman High Commander Edwin the Brave met with Mothin Grand Emperor Rankin VI on a boat in the Neptune Straits. They signed the Neptune accord, which suspended hostilities between the two tribes. However, when Grand Emporer Rankin VI offered Lorman High Commander Edwin the Brave his daughter Annabelle II's hand in marriage, he was promptly met with a swift blow to the head which knocked him over board killing him. Edwin was then slain by Duke Trilby of North Mothar and so began the War of Revenge, as it is known in Mothar. This war ended in 1389 with the Dorvan High Commander Selkath the Unifier marrying Grand Princess Lydia of Mothar.

Although Mothar was not infected by the 2360-61 Bird Flu outbreak, three people died and seven were injured in a skirmish with the military over supplies.

Demographics
The origins of the Mothin people is the source of much controversy. They may have come from the area of Largonia, an idea used by Lord Alexander Piso for his "Nation of Dorvik" ideas. However, the people of Mothar may not be descended from a Largonian ancestor, and may instead have come to their homeland across the sea, either from Dovani or Davostan.

The Mothin originally spoke their own language, related to Atrian but with many loanwords from another language, possibly Welsh from Dovani. It was never written and died out soon after the import of Lormann. The youth in Mothar now speak Lormish, a mixture of Lormann and English.

Culture


Folk art is by far the most common form of visual art in Mothar. Small carved creatures made of wood were originally worn as Druid amulets, but are now used for aesthetic purposes. Many artists create small objects as a side-job or hobby, and may sell these in street markets in Dargun from whence they are exported.

Spoken war and love poetry were a common form of art in Mothar, but was lost with the vanishing of their language. Although not a major source of music or song, Mothar is the home to KEV, Dorvik's most popular DJ. Kananuvu is home to the Kirim sisters: Joan is a famous Lormann-language actress known for popularizing TV Soap Operas in Lormann, and Makira is an important academic who has written several books of political theory, including Cruelty and Silence, a famous critique of the Dorvish left.

Cuisine normally consists of fish with a carbohydrate and a vegetable. Apple cider is a common beverage.

Economy


Mothar provides Dorvik (and, to some extent, Kirlawa) with its fish, and much of the economy is based on fishing.

There is an international airport in Dargun, which is the primary link between Dorvik and the nations of Dovani; another important Dovani link is the Volekiv Heliport outside Kananuvu. Kananuvu is also home to the Kananuvu Bridge, the longest bridge in Dorvik when it was built (it has since been surpassed by the Kordusia Bay Bridge), and to the Minamikai mall, the longest strip mall in Dorvik. Ost is a major base for Dorvik's Science sector, led by Humphry Curtz, who discovered the Curtz Hydrogen Series, a system of infraspectrophotoradiometry. Ost College named its Curtz School of Science after him.