Eirsace

'EAR-sass'
/ˈiːɹ.sas/

Though official documentation might state it to be such, Eirsace was not a unified country. Rather, it was a collection of communities spread all over the globe which shared a common culture of individuality and impermanence; it was expected that people “of the Eirs” would move between many different communities during their life, as such settlements were constantly being born and disbanded. The largest, and most permanent, city-like communities tended to be centred around institutions which focused on a specific subject, such as medicine, science or academics. Some emerging trends could be found across Eirsasi communities, and a few generalisations can be made.

Eirsace had no centralised government or bank; a wide variety of governmental structures were used within communities, with meritocracies being incredibly common. Communities with unpopular leadership strategies were frequently disbanded or had a high turnover of occupants.

In contrast, there was an understanding in almost all communities that 'grain'¹⁾ could be used as a base currency due to its importance in the day-to-day functioning of communities and suitability for travellers.

Due to the distributed nature of Eirsace governance, it fared better than most countries in the face of the End, adapting to the new reality of the world. But there is only so far something can bend before snapping. Communication was lost before that point was reached.

Eirsasi children were raised in one community until they were independent enough to leave on their own, unless the community was disbanded before that happened, in which case they would travel with a trusted adult.

Children were typically raised by everyone collectively in the community they grew up in, and as such, education did not generally fall to one individual. Instead, anyone who wanted to teach taught, and so an Eirsasi youth may have learnt about the same topic from a range of sources. The vast majority of people of the Eirs received a suitably baseline education by the time they were old enough to move to a different community. If a person of the Eirs wanted to deepen their understanding of a specific subject, they would proactively seek out the knowledge. This could be through travelling to meet a specialist, their own independent study, or the education system of a different country.

For a more detailed understanding of Eirsasi culture, see the Myths of the Eirs page.

Bausana: 0.53%

The Bulwark of Devotion: 0.05%

Evidentiality: 0.57%

Three Goddesses: 0.47%

Cuan: 0.17%

Dearr: 0.09%

Talamh: 0.21%

The Time Being: 0.21%

Other: 0.17%

No faith declared: 98%

Of which Spoilt Ballots: 96%

– The published results of the first and only attempt of an 'Eirsace Faith Census' (2064)

Technology was a key part of Eirsace's culture. Technological development in Eirsace predominantly focused on ways to create fast, livable infrastructure to prevent shorter-lived communities from being disadvantaged. 'One-person caravans' were also widespread, allowing ease of transport of individuals between settlements²⁾.

Within medicinal centres, treatments were often highly tailored to an individual, with the use of immune system-specific drugs, stem cell treatments, and highly customisable mobility aids - though such treatments were more widely available to communities closer to the large medical centres. The benefits these larger communities brought were disseminated far out, via people who trained at the centres and travelled to the far reaches of the net of Eirsace.

Due to the large mass of land Eirsace occupies, sweeping generalisations about its climate are as useful as trying to get two people to agree on a single interpretation for the many-legged stranger.

– The opening of a speech by 'Aesha' regarding their research into unusual atmospheric processes

Sparse forests only just beat out highlands in terms of abundance in Eirsace. Travelling further north, the meters of snow piled high, to the point where much of Eirsace's northern coast was inhabitable only to the most weather-resistant people of the Eirs. The landscape of Eirsace was generally unremarkable, with a few noticeable, and famous, exceptions, including the 'Great Mulwich'³⁾ cave system' and the 'Mountains of Corim'⁴⁾.

The communities of Eirsace do not share a singular language, although the disparate varieties share certain features. Words are formed of smaller morphemes and words (although differently so, across communities). For example, 'duncleachleighas,' meaning 'doctor' in a town on the northern coast, translates directly to 'human who practices medicine,' while 'thorleighco,' meaning the same thing in a more southernly area, translates as 'giver of health.'

– From 'Languages of the World' by J. Finch

Eirsasi people tended not to have last names due to the lack of importance placed on permanent familial connection. When children of the Eirs were born, they were typically given names which translated to noticeable things about the time at which they arrived, such as 'Morl'⁵⁾, or 'Urich'⁶⁾. It was expected that as a child developed basic language skills, they would choose their own name to replace their given one. If an individual grew to dislike their name, even in adulthood, then choosing a new name was seen as standard⁷⁾. First names varied wildly: some, particularly western, communities preferred names with long vowel sounds and minimal syllables. Others, in an attempt to make their names as unique as possible, would add a new syllable every time they meet someone with an identical name to themself.