the Cyclopedia Ornria; Blue Dundoon.

Dundoon (Dun-duːn), Officially; The Kingdom of the Blue Dundoon.

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION.

The Kingdom of the Blue Dundoon is an archipelago nation located where the Windy Wavewash, Pearlfoam Abyss, and Dampgyre Wastes conflue. It is located about 42 feet East of the Hawgwump Shore of Bertwood,6 feet West of the Queendom of Ilee, and Southwest some 54 feet from the Earldom of Ear.

POPULATION

Dundoon supports a population of 2327 citizens, a dense population, especially considering the large stature of the Dundoon people.,

CAPITAL,

The Capital of Dundoon is currently SKOF, but anciently it was in Furlung.

LARGEST CITIES;

Annie’s Druthers, Furlung, and Catprigg are ,respectively, the three largest cities not counting The Capitol, Skoff.

PORTS

Skoff is the main port facility, but Furlung and Pu both have small facilities and handle fishing traffic and small ships.

General overview of history of habitation and settlement.

Fossils show that in the deep past the islands were inhabited by various large extinct animals, the period of earliest human prehistory is a blank. Dr.s Cavan and Nasgh believe that during the period when the earliest humans were settling other parts of Ornria, Dundoon and the rest of the Glotto Archipelago were under an ice sheet that ran all the across the Burrfries Ice sea to the mountains.

It seems humans made their way to the islands of Dundoon late, but prospered for millenia as coastal gatherers called the Rock Wier Culture. This group of ordinary humans dissappeared right before the age of metals to be replaced archaeologically with the Doun giants, who seem to have come by sea from the Northern Rim. Today the island is considered the Doun homeland.

Dundoon is a founding member of the Northern Trade Association, an effort by Liberals in Dundoon and Guerat to forge an alliance to improve and regulate fishing rights and foster safety for shipping in the Windy Wavewash and Dampgyre Wastes.

Languages

Blue Dunnic is the main and almost exclusive language of Dundoon. A small number of hillfolk speak Black Dunnic,

ETYMOLOGY

In the Hepnigogn Poem the name Blue Dundoon derives from “Bruo Dhunnendaun” or the land of the Brothers of Dhun. This may in fact have some amount of truth in it, but many other scholarly efforts have been made to sus out the origin of the name. The Dhun or Doun is clearly derived from the endonym of the Doonic people; those pale blue-gray skinned folk of giant stature that occupy the islands today.

Octon proposes that Blue is corrupted from Bhlavo, meaning fat or fierce, and suggests a people regarding themselves as prosperous and powerful, while Snarton et al, believe it’s actually Bhlu, meaning Blue, as the obvious skin color descriptor for these people. Gipson suggested “Bwish Tundoon” meaning something like the wet tall Doon-kin, though even he doubts it’s authenticity and sited only one possible, and questionable rendering of an ancient doonish keening. At any rate, whatever the origin Blue Dundoon has been applied to the Northern Island, called Whalepig Island in Mharkomagors famous map, for at least 800 years.

History

Pre-history.

Geologists inform us that the Whalepig and Sealfatland Islands were once attached to the rimlands by a now sunken land under the Burrfries, this was long before the existance on Human beings on the Ornrian disk, and the only fossils of that era are gigantic amphibians and huge insects. Some great volcanic calamity ensued in that vast deep time unremarked by sentient beings, that swamped most of this land under the sea and left the islands rising proud over the waves.

For a great long stretch of time these islands were inhabited by monsters, giant bones are regularly dug up from the Eedian strata like Merfrrisodon and Hofmeyria. The reign of these monsters came to an end in a period of ice, evidence of glaciers and frost deposits leads Dr. Thymdatum to infer at least several millions of years the land of all the northern islands were joined by a deep sheet of permanent ice all the way to the Northern Rim. This ice retreated somewhere between 800 and 80 thousand years ago, possibly moving back and forth, collapsing, retreating and reforming unsteadily for some of that time, but by 80 thousand years ago the land was again ice free, teeming with animals, but bereft of intelligent occupants.

The first Humans seem to have come on the scene late compared to the rest of Ornria. The earliest sites found to date show a people already well used to fine stone work; they build drystone weirs, great stone tombs, erect menhirs and dolmens, and make fabulously crafted stone bowls and artifacts finished with an exquisite degree of delicacy and high polish. The first forays into ceramics are already underway as well, though not for vessels; but figurines, used to outfit the burial cairns of the dead. This people, called the Guiltgoat and Sampants Culture (the GPC or Guilt-Pant Culture in the literature), last several thousand years until the coming of the Doonic Folk, and are probably identical to the Grauzits of Doonic Myth, or at least the models, as can be gathered from their short (to Doonish people) statures, reverence for stone, hatred/fear of metals, and use of magic manikins, even their “powers over the waters” may be no more than a memory of their use of swampy areas for residing with hidden villages, swamp causeways, and crude canoes.

However it was, Into this world of small stone age hunters, the bronze armed, seafaring and mighty thewed Doon came like angry gods. Quickly the stone age villages disappear from archeology. Dr. Qest believes a small site on the Brazenberks may mark what happened to the survivors of the old ways... he feels they fled by sea, possibly ecking a living on the Great Weeping Reef, and may be the ancestors of the ZeeZeel Boatmen that were feared pirates of the Dampgyre for many centuries, before finally settling in Mantissippi and turning to parsnip husbandry. The Doon soon turn to the parsnip themselves, and so they are found planting turnips and parsnips, and raising giant mustoxen for wool and meat when the first literate explorers come upon them almost 2000 years ago.

Historical Antiquity.

Wyamnon, Seaking of Rue, was a client of a Mantissippian city state; some think Smufftrout, others Wigwump, or Lintwich, or perhaps another. Ancient literature has a multiplicity of claims on him. Nonetheless his Gyregossy, an epic poem of naturalist exploration gives us our first view of Dundoon, wild giant blue men, at home in the cold rainy north among their standing stones, clad in woad dyed mustox wool, eating smoked mustoxen, and oat gruel, and delighting in drinking the sour parsnip beer they call “Bhoorzey” .

These early Doons are not at home on the sea, they do not like boats, and fear the water. They do not even bathe according to Wyamnon. They are also terrible; they devour nine of his men before he is able to get back on the sea. We do not know if the cannibalism is real, it may be a mistake, there is no evidence of Doonish cannibalism of other Doon, though stories persist that the Doon once ate “Shmalling” folk as a delicacy, certainly the Lilsmollians of St. Basiland and Ear would have us believe they were once the favorite pie filling of the Doon.

But it was not long before Mantissippi traders were making the long trip to the islands to trade metals for the matchless soft mustoxen wool that defined and powered the Mantissippian Middle Ages economy. A source they kept secret for almost 200 years. For the last decades of that supremacy Oppressorbad (Then the independent kingdoms of Gluepin, Styrofoamybad, Baconwrest, and Moopighaven) the Marquis of Puth, and the King of the Polyestrines, were in a naval race to find this secret source of wool, leading to the great age of the Gyre Pirates whose early Cogs and Hulks evolved into the great sailing ships of the Early Modern period. Of course these sea battles and chases brought all the contestants into the great northern archipelago and a dizzying dance of fort building, factory trading, raiding sea battles, open piracy, for 80 years the only safety a trader had was in his cannons and his well built ship. The Doon and Earish and Ileeans learned fast, founding cannon, building ships, (using wood they pirated from Bentwood), and in no time the Doon themselves were making predatory raids down the Dampgyre, even all the way to Hemmer, founding the trading post of Sumplace there.

The Tenteen Month War, (or Soupspoon War to Ileans) brought the flamboyant age of pirates to an end. In it’s aftermath the Doon were pushed out of the Queendom of Ilee, and the Earldom of Ear established itself as an independent state of Lilsmolians, Ileeish, and Nordoons. Just as Steam and the industrial revolution brought changes in all Doonic society.

Modern History.

Exhausted in the wake of the Tenteen Month War, but free of an expensive fleet and without colonial or foreign entanglements the Kingdom went into the coronation of the young Fralfrit II like a milkmaid into a holiday fair. The first railroad joined Skoff and Furlung, new steam and iron ships for commerce were being riveted in Skoff. And the steam engine added to the new mechanical spinning and weaving mills made the worlds most desirable wool faster than the giant mustoxen could grow it. A whole new industry started to appear; chemicals, as dying and fulling operations wanted paris green and aniline purple to make it’s offerings the greatest in the world. Within two decades Dundoon was a model modern state, literacy, hygene, art, science...all the blessings of fine civilization. So it comes as no surprise that certain rich industrialist barons were unhappy with having to pay taxes.

The richest 5 formed a Cabal; the Odnot Society, advocating eugenics to control the population, and a platform of industrial slavery, taxation on the poor, and a parliament of wealth to control the country and overthrow the monarch. The began by funding anarchists to strike against infrastructure, and secretly hired a mercenary force they called Ralzon Detective Agency and used it against loyalist labor forces... thus began the Social War, a chaotic 20 years of murder, anarchy, sabotage, and fratricides, protests, strikes, strike breaking, and dissolution, that tore the civilized social order into ribbons. The royalist labor army would eventually come out on top, executing the Odnot leaders, and establishing a true Constitutional Monarchy on liberal lines. But even now, ten years on, rebuilding has far to go.

Present day.

Today Blue Dundoon is a society being reborn. It’s economy is in reconstruction, but that process is succeeding, new factories are going up daily, the state bank is solvent, the Treasury is not lavish, but it is stable. The King, now Hulbforth III, serves his ceremonial function well, occasionally presiding over contentious issues in the Convomootum of the People, and having a tie breaking vote and limited veto. His private life seems quiet, his relations with wife and family are amiable and pleasant, and he’s quite a popular fellow in his homeland.

He cannot be credited with too much intellect, but he’s well aware of it, and relies on his councilors to be the brains of the nation. He seems to be quite a good judge of character, and quite aware of the foibles of his ministers and able to use their talents without being bogged down with their defects, a rather regal trait. He relies heavily upon his cousin the Archduke Alloy-Wishes II, and the nation seems secure for it.

Geography

Dundoon is formed of two major islands; Seafatland in the east, and Whalepig Island to the West seperated by the Viscypee Cut, a seaway some 5 Ornrian feet wide bordered by high cliffs. Off the south coast are several small islets; Howlhoof Rock, Ridgewater Wrack, Herring Fursey, and to the north the larger Firstymannic Crick. Dundoon also claims the Salpwumpy Rocks in the Shipwrakins sea (the great confluence of the Southern Burrfries and Pearlfoam Abyss) a claim argued by the Earldom of Ear. And they have a weather station, a mustoxen station, and light on the Brazenberks, a rocky prominence in the Dampgyre Wastes. The majority of it’s people live on the two main islands, which are varied in geography.

Whalepig Island is about 1200 Ornrian feet squared in area. A rim of highlands circles three sides of the land; the Eed of Uum is a series of small round hills and rocks heavily vegetated and it’s rills and valleys house many small animals; foxes, hares, badgers, and so on. The Eastern reaches of the Island are dominated by the mountain called Hog Hill, it’s a wide but fairly low dome, more grassy than the Eed, and many herds of Mustox are grazed upon it. The Southern border of the island is formed of the Whalepig Ridge, a lumpy grassy region of rilly hills broken by rocky outcrops. The grassy areas tend to be grazed, while the rills are rough and more common homes of small wild animals such as elusive stoats, and small wild hogs. The Center of the Island is a long dried ancient lake bed, and it’s stand-out feature is the ancient oak and lime wood called Wolfowl, named for it’s famous resident the Wolfowl, (Wol-Fowl) it’s marvelous plumage once a common sight, but pretty rare these days. The Easternmost reach of the island is medowlands called Foileen Duny, rich with dairies, that slopes down to the sandy grassy dunes of the Whalewazzery Wet seashore. Greenspleen Finger is the Westermost point of land, once a copse of enormous Shorecoast Horsechestnut trees stretched over the shore here, made famous by an ancient song. but the last orignal tree died in the middle of the last century and besides a plaque and a few newly planted ordinary horsechesstnuts only the Greenspleen lighthouse and the Greenspleen Copse Inn remembers the location.

Seafatland is the smaller Eastern Island. It’s size is roughly 896 square Ornrian Feet, roughly in a rectangle oriented NW to SE. The Southeast of the island is the great Dun Diddit Highlands, Heather topped rills and low rocky mountains swept by rain and wind, the natural haunt of the Giant Mustox. These high rocky lonely hills have their feet in the Drowndfello Gap, overlooking Derrydown in the Queendom of Ilee over that narrow 8 foot strait.

The Dun Diddit brushes the northern shore and it’s extension into the Shipwrakins Sea forms a hilly island called Firstymannic Crick, a stretch of land with some of the most dense archaeology in the Northern Archipelago. This shelters a perfect port for the city of Furlung where the new Heltric Submarine Fabricators docks are located.

Nestled in the Northwest of the island among the northernmost reach of the Hagglac Hills is the ancient city of Skof with it’s picturesque medieval castles and even a few drystone buildings thought to date from the age of metals. It’s port is the chief entrrepot for traders and the city is quite the most cosmopolitan in the Dundoonic Islands. This is certainly helped by the Skoff Scholars Cathologe, the cluster of old world class Universites that put Dundoon on the Ornrian educational map. The Kowlitdalleum housed in an ancient fortification, has become one of the greatest museums on Ornria, and well worth a trip to see it.

The Islands center is a depression called the Butterpan Flat. This lowland is a beautiful grassy medowland marked by occasional outcrops of stone and divided by ancient drystone walls into pastures for the ever present Dundoon Mustoxen. it’s a lovely land, with vistas of mountains and wildflowers and hedges full of birds and hedgehogs, butterflies, and other small delights of nature. This brings us to the Southern Coast, where the Butterpan Flat comes up against the turbulent Drowndead Deeps. This deceptively lovely beach shelves down into a wild sea unsafe for small boats or indeed, even ships. Great waves are common, and only a fool would dare swim these bitter cold waters against current and undertow, from shore, at low tide, one easily spots the skeletons of dead ships jutting rib and strake out of their sandy deathbed. The wind that howls past Bloody Glumspot island seems to keen the song of the drowned to the lonely visitor of these strands.

Climate.

The general climate is classified as Oceanic Northern Temperate. It’s highly variable, and one can often experience rain, cold, wind, fog, snow, hot stillness, and sunshiney warmth all in the same day. Sleet is common in winter, as is snow, though rarely do they linger more than a few days. These conditions are the result of the great elemental clash of the Burrfries ice sea, with it’s deep cold, upwelling against the land and the Pearlfoam Abyss’ warm waters bringing energy from the hot wet regions of Foo-Ee and Agog, while the Dampgyre’s cold stream moves North across the southern shores of the land, and the Windy Wavewash’s comparatively warmer flow moves East, making for easy great circle sailing from and to Mantissippi, and a natural drift into Poseidon’s Benth.

Fauna

Possibly the most unique animal in Blue Dundoon is the Giant Blue Mustox. This bovine creature appears to the be the result of a union of goats and yaks. It’s heavy stocky body some two Ornrian inches tall is armored from the winds and wet of the changeable weather with the worlds softest and finest wool. Although it’s horns and skull are used for inter-specific mating battles by males in spring, they are in general rather docile and pleasant animals, if one disregards the unique pungent smell likened to mug-wart and garlic, and certainly eye-watering to those not used to it. There are many domesticated breeds in Dundoon, The Great Blue being most common, so named from it’s bluish gray coat... the Foku Red, and Bloonish Turtle are also popular for their easy care and gentle demeanors. The Hairhag Milker is often seen, it’s coat not so fine as others, but it’s an ideal dairy animal with large production of the most mild (almost drinkable) of all Mustoxen milks. And two miniature/small breeds exist as well, The Crick Pinty is a half sized animal with an extra luxurious coat, though it only thrives and produces good wool in the especially rough conditions of Firstymannic Crick. The Howlhoof Halfpint is even smaller, it’s wool isn’t so fine, but it is a useful and sturdy creature well suited to it’s island pasturage, and even noted to be a very good swimmer well liked by seamen, by whom it was probably bred.

In addition there are many wild species to be found in Dundoon; Martin, Mink, Whocat, seals, whales, occasionally walrus, many sorts of voles, hedgehogs, foxes, sika deer, pipstrelles, boars, Dunnic Gray Bears, Freislannic Smol Beavers, Gannets, Petrals, fulmars, shearwaters, wrens, sparrows, terns, owls and ospreys round out the islands menagerie.

Government and politics

FORM OF GOVERNMENT. LEADERS. FACTIONS.

Blue Dundoon is a Constitutional Monarchy, the King presides over a legislative body called the Convomootum, comprised of heriditary nobility, elected officials, and “knights of the realm” common people recognized for excellence and service, such as educators, scientists, writers, industrialists, chosen by the King, but ratified by the Convomootum. In addition a third branch of government is the Royal Court whose members are selected from a list compiled by the Convomootum, subject to veto by the King, and requiring a public referendum to take seat. The two main factions in Dundoonic politics are the Royal Labor party, a popular party on the liberal side of the spectrum, backing human rights, education, healthcare, and other socially positive initiatives. This party holds most government positions, and is headed by the Archduke Alloy-Wishes III. It is opposed by the Spatite Socialites, a party mostly of very wealthy industrialists who oppose regulations, social welfare, military spending, taxation, and have a rather Luddite view of technical progress. They are chiefly represented by Nognutter Peegrapb, a famously inept fool with an enormous bank account. A third faction exists, though small in numbers, the Communite Theocrites; an alliance of anti monarchicial religious extremists who want to make a religious utopia based on a frightening extreme and violent interpretation of the Gospel of Gravel, the most extreme of them favor a return to non Dunnic cannibalism. Priestarchon Blghuddon Slopper is the most notable headliner of this bunch. His antics are mostly regarded by ordinary Dundoonish folk as risible incompetence, like the time he lept off the roof of a 5 story building having convinced his followers that angels would catch him. 9 months later and he was still in a cast... somehow convincing his constituents that it was angels that saved him after all.

Military

Blue Dundoon has a rather small army for it’s population, preferring to put its resources into it’s modern navy. In particular recently a great initiative and investment in it’s sea going submarine fleet., it’s 5 battalion army is backed up by 300 reservists. it’s three fleet navy is certainly a force to reckon with, built around three large battleships, an experimental carrier, an air fleet, and three submarine squadrons, The thriving economy has ensured that Dundoon has the best equipment, with good trucks and a whole Mobile Mechanized Brigade of tanks and supporting vehicles of modern type. It seems Dundoon is well prepared to protect it’s interests, luckily those interests seem to be peaceful free trade with Guerat, the Second Polyester Freestate, and the Hemmer Confederation, and the light sportsman like rivalry with Ilee and Ear, over the Great Weeping Reef and the Salwumpy Rocks. So long as it’s Gyre fishing fleet is left alone, and no one sets foot uninvited onto the home islands, no trouble is to be expected from Dundoon.

Administrative Divisions

Blue Dundoon is divided into Prisincs these are mainly voting and taxation divisions with a little local government function provided by a Prisinc Board made of the local Librarian, Constable, Firechief, Educators, and any civilian citizens who care to attend, presided over by the Convomootum member of the Prisinc.

Economics

The currency of Blue Dundoon is the Seadollar, a lovely sea green glass coin worth 1.2 Zlotys. The nation has a GDP of 44896 Sea Dollars monthly. Much of this is plowed into the social network, but a large 7 thousand Seadollars is invested into the military every month.

Agriculture

The Islands feeds itself pretty well, not only is there plenty of protein for the population; fish and meat being plentiful, Oats, parsnip, cabbage, turnip, cucumber, and other cool weather vegetables are quite commonly grown in both domestic gardens and small farms.

Industry and manufacturing

Dundoon is a world leader in modern industry, it’s new factories are models of the Assembly Line system, machine tools are built in Furlung and Skoff, and every sort of heavy industry can be found in Annie’s Druthers.

Infrastructure and Transportation

Modern rail serves the country well, and the Viscypee Steel Suspension Bridge is a world wonder. The hinterland is easy of reach with taxi’s going nearly everywhere for reasonable prices. The more economical might travel by autobus, and several commercial lines supply this need cheaply and cleanly. Hocfetter Auto and the Fatseal Line are two famous bus services, with convenient lines reaching all the villages of the land, their distinctive double decked buses are a common almost iconic sight.

Energy

Dundoon has a modern power infrastructure, the steam power plants of Hairhag, Pu, Skoff, and Furlung are linked and managed by the semi governmental Blue Dundoon Electrical Concern. The BDEC operates mostly wax fired plants, with a new experimental sand driven one in Pu, and a wave turbine Hairhag. Most villages have some power, though the countryside still has plenty of small homes that are off grid.

Demographics

Population

There are some 2337 citizens of Dundoon. Nearly 95%l of which are of the Dundoon Giant race. In the cities one might encounter nearly someone from nearly anywhere on Ornria, but interracial marriage is frowned upon and marriage licenses are hard to obtain for non Dundoonish Folk. It has happened however, though usually to ensure a child is not born out of wedlock.

Dundoonish people are not overtly racist, but they are intensely parochial, and severely uncomfortable with “foreigners” and “foreign ways”. And it’s rare to find one attracted to a non Dundoonish spouse. The majority of interracial marriages occur in the academic field, and more than 70 percent of them are Dundoonish Women marrying non Dun men, no one knows why.

Religion

The main faith of Dundoon is called Angellic Dunnican, It’s the official and Royal Sponsored faith. Aside from the attending the weekly mass with songs and prayers it is an undemanding faith, and seems to be less a matter of faith than of tradition for most. Communite Theocrites have been slowly growing in recent decades, and though most recoil in horror from these radicals, it must be acknowledged they do exist, most strongly in the Eed of Uum and have been engaging in sabotaging the grid, burning books and other antisocial behaviors, but pushback from average Dundoonians has been severe. it’s possible this may become a future brushfire, but for now the anarchist extremists are well controlled and surveiled by the Police.