Water Tribe

Water Tribe Water Tribe
Flag Coat of Arms
Motto:  "Ordo ab Legibus et Concordiis"
Anthem: "We Stand Together"
Capital and largest city	Polaris
Official languages	English
Ethnic groups	65% Natives 12% Half-Pillager 10% Half-Ettin 7% Other 5% Ettin 1% Pillager
Demonym(s)	Tribeperson
Government	Socialist Chiefdom
• Chieftain	Maruloq
• Prime Sage	Herrik
Legislature	Chieftain's Ministers
Formation
• Founding of Polaris / Arrival of the Ettins	23 December 2020
• Creation of the Water Tribe	6 January 2021
Population
• Estimate	5,000,000
Currency	Water Tribe Tally (WTT)
Driving side	right

The Water Tribe is a country located in the western half of the known world. Its capital is the city of Polaris. It is likely the oldest state in existence, as well as the oldest waterbending state. It is widely considered to be the natural home of icebending.

History

The Water Tribe was founded by Chieftain Svetroid in December 2020. It is one of the oldest states in the world and was the first to define a national boundary, therefore arguably qualifying as the first ever state in the true sense of the word.

The majority of the Water Tribe was not explored in its early days, with only a few settlements receiving any attention. These settlements, including Polaris and Svetingrad, were likely the most developed and had a higher level of civilization compared to the rest of the tribe's largely untamed interior. Today, there are seven NPC (non-player character) villages in the Water Tribe, including Polaris, Svetingrad, Columnstown, Paia's Brook, Lasthold, Urist's Rift, and Agna Qel'a.

Water Tribe presence on the southern sea helped to encourage the spread of other states to the area, such as the Free Territory and Earth Kingdom, with others appearing more as happy accidents, such as Cassland. Due to icebenders being able to freeze ships and the obviously powerful strength of Waterbending in open water, early Water Tribe naval policy was to not compete in the arms race and instead use the resources for additional development. Rather than siding or competing with the Earth Kingdom and Free Territory's naval arms race, the Water Tribe instead sought ties with Cassland as their waterbender allies and construction projects.

The climate has been a major concern since the tribe's inception. Much of the Water Tribe is said to be inhospitable, making it difficult for crops to be grown and for settlements to thrive. This may have been a major factor in Cass' decision to leave the tribe, as they may have struggled to grow crops in the freezing conditions. As a result, the Water Tribe has focused on developing coastal settlements such as Svetingrad and Polaris, which are more hospitable and easier to sustain. The adoption of an NPC village as the capital of the Water Tribe may have been driven by practical necessity, as it would have been easier to establish a thriving economy in a more hospitable location. In order to sustain a thriving economy, the Water Tribe built large-scale docks to facilitate trade and imports and established a large farm with many torches to grow crops and shift the local diet away from berries.

This harsh climate has played a significant role in the development of its socialist model. In societies with more abundant economies, class differences may be permitted in order to facilitate a more organized distribution of resources. However, in a place like the Water Tribe where everyday life can be a struggle to survive, such class differences may be less tolerated. Chieftain Svetroid cemented this idea of resource allocation and social equality through the construction of the Resource Reallocation Social Program (RRSP). The RRSP was a uniquely advanced distribution model that granted the right to request resources to its citizens and allies, then the Earth Kingdom and Cassland. This system was implemented as a way to ensure that the resources of the Water Tribe are distributed fairly and equitably among its people and its allies.

Chieftain Svetroid launched an interior expedition in order to properly define the boundaries of the tribe and establish formal claims to the settlements within it. This expedition proved to be much larger than anticipated, as an additional five villages joined the tribe and the borders were defined as larger than any other state in the world. This process established a clear and formalized understanding of the territory and population of the Water Tribe.

The tribe is has always had a highly communitarian spirit but has also rejected those it perceives as foreign. Non-bender natives in the Water Tribe hold a lower status, as is often the case in other states. The Water Tribe is also has a minority population of earthbenders, represented by Evangelos in the South Earth Protectorate, a devolved region for earthbenders south of Polaris. Chieftain Svetroid took action in order to force closer obedience by earthbenders to waterbending norms, by cooling the magma column in the South Earth Protectorate. This action was met with opposition from Citizen Urist, who planned to launch legal proceedings, hosted by the Fire Nation, to advocate on behalf of non-native elements. However, Svetroid's untimely demise prevented this from occurring. Urist inherited the chiefdom and immediately abolished this practice, potentially indicating a shift in the Water Tribe's policies towards minority groups and non-native elements.

While the Water Tribe has primarily been a Southern Sea state since its inception, it always held a Western Sea coastline. At first, this was mostly neglected due to the lack of known resources on the Western Sea and no other trading partners being available. With the founding of the AAPC and the Opening of the Western Canal, this changed. While Svetroid ordered the founding of what is now Borealis, Chieftain Urist has been the one to see this effort realised. She also saw to the construction of the new armed ship, Tui's Revenge, to safeguard the new port.

The Water Tribe has been primarily a Southern Sea state since its inception, but it also holds a Western Sea coastline. Initially, this coastline was neglected due to a lack of known resources and no other trading partners being available. However, the founding of the AAPC and the Opening of the Western Canal changed this, providing new opportunities for trade and commerce in the Western Sea. Chieftain Svetroid is ordered the founding of Borealis, which is now a port city on the Western Sea coast of the Water Tribe. Chieftain Urist later oversaw the realization of this effort and oversaw the construction of the new armed ship, Tui's Revenge, to safeguard the new port. The development of the Western Sea coastline and the establishment of a port city and naval defense expanded the scope of the Water Tribe's trade and commerce and protected its interests in the Western Sea region.

Geography

The Water Tribe is one of the largest states in the world and probably the largest contiguous landmass under one banner. Its terrain is entirely frozen over, and consists of frozen rivers, tundra, forests, and mountains. The capital of Polaris is notably temperate due to its land reclamation projects near the coast, which has allowed it to build docks that do not freeze over. Most of the land is entirely empty, but the sheer size of the country means that it has more NPC villages than any other state. These settlements do not see many visitors and are generally sleepy villages with highly local identities.

The coastline of the state is of high concern, as there is only one state with a direct overland border to the Water Tribe, which is Fryslân. Accordingly, the Water Tribe has arranged many negotiations for pacifying the islands near its coastline. The Peace Islands are one such example. These are two islands that lie between the Water Tribe and Cassland which could be easily used to blockade the straits east of the nation in wartime, in particular the northern island. These are jointly administered by the two states and demilitarised. Another example of this island policy can be seen to the north of the nation where the Amity Islands have been agreed to be totally unoccupied and demilitarised by the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe who are co-sovereign. A request was made during the Frisian Civil War for a temporary port to be erected on East Amity which was to be used by the Earth Navy, but this request was not granted.

The Water Tribe's coastline is primarily divided into four areas: the northern coast (facing the Earth Kingdom and Khanate), the west coast (facing the AAPC and Ratzores), the north-east coast (hosting Polaris and facing the Free Territory and Port Cass) and the south-east coast (facing Willowham and Atlas). The east coast can be treated as two effectively separate entities, due to the strait at North Peace. Due to the high reliance upon the coastline, few roads exist leading to the Water Tribe, which has several effects.

• The internal road network is rather lacking. A road from Svetingrad to Polaris exists, and a road from Borealis to Columnstown also exists. These roads do not connect to each other, and all other villages in the nation have no road networks beyond local grids.

• The importance of shipping to establish foreign connections is paramount, due to this lack of roads. This elevates the status of Borealis and in particular Polaris, as the two main coastal settlements. Polaris in particular has very large docks, which it has been able to use to negotiate a high degree of local autonomy from the wider tribe.

• Isolationism. The Water Tribe is a very old state but has only recently began to enter formal alliances, and has spent much of its history playing a passive role in foreign affairs. The natural protection offered to a state of icebenders where they are surrounded by ocean and most of the land is snow is obvious, which has led to a very small Water Tribe fleet and a non-existent airforce.

Government and politics

The Water Tribe is a constitutional socialist autocracy led by the Chieftain. The current Chieftain is Urist, who succeeded Svetroid after he left the state for an extended period. The Water Tribe is in confederation with Polaris despite this city also acting as the capital. In exchange for local autonomy, Polaris cedes the majority of its foreign policy to the tribe. Svetroid serves as the Jarl of Polaris, a local leader who acts in conjunction with the wider public, the judiciary branch, and the legislative branch.

Water Tribe governance is highly influenced by the Leader/Sage paradigm of The Ordering. In this religion, the Leader acts as a sort of temporal authority who is obliged to protect the community and ensure no-one is left behind, whereas the Sage acts as an internal force to rally the community to a common cause and prevent schism or fractures. This model may have proven necessary in the highly agrarian society, and especially in the incredibly hostile climate faced by many communities. While a common culture and religion did exist among the NPC villages for centuries prior to the Tribe's inception, the waterbending state has largely incorporated these values in order to appease their subjects.

Economy

The Water Tribe is a socialist autocracy with highly devolved distribution powers.The Water Tribe's devolved distribution powers are partly a necessity due to the poor state of the tribe's infrastructure, which makes it difficult for the central government to collect and accumulate resources for later redistribution. Additionally, the villages within the Water Tribe produce few resources beyond their basic self-sufficiency that can be collected in the first place, due to the lack of natural resources and inhospitable environment

Polaris is a major city with a high population concentrated in a relatively temperate climate, an exception to the rule of the tribe's socialist economic structure. To address this, the Water Tribe has implemented the Resource Reallocation Social Program (RRSP), which was located in a large marble building near the docks in Polaris. The RRSP was a means of ensuring that citizens of Polaris have access to the resources they need to live and thrive, despite the city's unique economic circumstances. Polaris has sometimes used access to the RRSP as part of diplomatic negotiations, granting access to the program to foreign nationals in exchange for concessions.

Borealis is the second largest city. It hosts the Administrative Building, which serves as a hub for international cooperation and diplomacy within the Water Tribe, as it hosts organizations that work on a global scale to address issues such as humanitarian crises and conflict resolution, such as the Order of the Red Flower. It is also home to a Temple of the Ordering dedicated to the gods Odin, Freya. The city is one of many centers of religion and spiritual practice within the tribe, and the temple serves as a place of worship and devotion for the tribe's citizens. In addition to the Administrative Building and the Temple, Borealis also hosts the Chieftain's official residence, a sign of the city's political and economic significance within the tribe.

Demographics

The Water Tribe features a relatively high degree of diversity between its many groups. This is forged by its many groups, as detailed in Traditions of the Ordering, and its complex history.

The NPCs are probably the first group to have arrived in the Water Tribe. Their faith has consisted of a dualism that still largely survives in The Ordering today, and their lifestyle has been generally pacifistic, conservative, and agrarian. They constitute the majority of all citizens of the Water Tribe.

The pillagers are now a very small minority on the verge of extinction, but their cultural impact has been enormous. The pillagers controlled almost the entire territory of the Water Tribe at one point before the NPCs were successfully able to push them back to their current holdings on the south-east coast. While the pillagers only constitute a majority around their fortifications in the south-east, there are many half-pillagers and pillager-descended groups around the country, especially in Lasthold.

The waterbenders are the most recent group to arrive in the Water Tribe. They constitute a small minority yet dominate governance, with Polaris being their stronghold. Some settlements have taken place elsewhere to consolidate their hold, such as Borealis.

The Water Tribe is a diverse society with a complex history that has shaped the various ethnic and cultural groups that make up its population. This is forged by its many groups, as detailed in Traditions of the Ordering, and its complex history.

The natives are the first group to have arrived in the Water Tribe and constitute the majority of its citizens. They follow a dualistic faith and have a generally pacifistic, conservative, and agrarian lifestyle.

The pillagers are a small minority group that has had a significant cultural impact on the Water Tribe, despite being on the verge of extinction. They once controlled a large portion of the Water Tribe's territory, but were pushed back to their current holdings on the south-east coast. There are many half-pillagers and pillager-descended groups scattered throughout the Water Tribe, particularly in the village of Lasthold.

The waterbenders are the most recent group to arrive in the Water Tribe and constitute a small minority. Despite their small numbers, the waterbenders dominate governance in the Water Tribe, with the city of Polaris being their stronghold. Some waterbender settlements have been established in other parts of the Water Tribe, such as Borealis, to consolidate their hold on the nation.

Culture

Water Tribe culture is highly influenced by faith, which is in turn influenced by its cultural inputs. The impact of such a harsh climate can also not be understated. NPC culture, as exemplified in the Ordering, is highly communal and prioritises the furthered existence and leadership of the community in an environment that tends towards social entropy. At the same time, the legacy of the highly militarised pillager occupation has lasted - they are not passive.

With the arrival of waterbenders and the explosive growth of the city of Polaris, urbanism and centralisation have been introduced to Water Tribe culture. For now, the advice of the Ordering has been one of compliance, due to the belief that waterbenders (and the zombies that accompany them) are demigods to whom resistance is futile. It remains to be seen how these new innovations will shape the Tribe in the future.

The culture of the Water Tribe is shaped by many factors, including faith, cultural inputs, and the harsh climate of the region. The Ordering, which is a central aspect of native culture, reflects the communal and highly communal nature of Water Tribe society. Native culture places a strong emphasis on the maintenance of community and leadership in a challenging and often hostile environment.

At the same time, the legacy of the pillagers, who once occupied and controlled much of the Water Tribe, has had a lasting impact on the culture of the nation. Despite their small numbers and current status as a minority group, the pillagers are known for their militaristic and aggressive nature, which influenced the Water Tribe's culture in a number of ways, including its willingness to defend itself and its community against external threats.

See also

• Polaris
• List of states
• Waterbending