Bwolotil

The Bwolotil (BW: /ˈbʷolotyl/ WIS: baulatil [bɑːl̻ət̻il̻]) are a conservative and quiet group of people that primarily inhabit the southwestern part of the Wistanian island.

Most of the two million Bwolotil people live in the two capital cities Vwina and Aug, however several small tribes of herders live elsewhere in the peninsula. Many of them are hunters, tailors, and guards. Of all the people groups, the Bwolotil are the most detached, many of them rarely traveling outside their hometown, and several groups still speaking the Bwolotil language rather than Wistanian. Nearly all Bwolotil, except those trained to be messengers and Powers, speak Wistanian with a heavy Western Dialect.

History
The Bwolotil people originated from the late Diwa empire from followers of a young ruler named Wist, who desired to secretly destroy the Diwa empire after witnessing its many horrors. They took on the title of "Bwolotil", which means "Stone Thieves", as they would steal the ajmastones that the Diwa would use against the rest of the world. Once they had collected enough, they finally took down the empire and hid on Wistania with their massive collection.

However, they later discovered the Taliv were also living nearby in the mountains, and they possessed another ajmastone called the Sun Stone. Furious, Wist and his followers raided their capital, Nira, in search of the stone, but it was refused to them, thus sparking The Wistanian War. Wist, living to be an impressive 307 years of age, finally died and the new leadership surrendered to the Taliv and Nati, drafting the Peace Treaty which allowed Taliv to keep the Sun Stone.

Culture
The Bwolotil are tall, dark, and have very strict expectations for their citizens. Bwolotil children are raised in intentionally rough situations, being schooled through full-time apprenticeships and leaving the home of their parents around the age of twelve years old. Before then, they should learn how to defend themselves, grow a farm, and speak the Bwolotil language - regardless of whether such skills are applicable to their aspirations or not. Children also undergo the ruwiba which is a time of testing a child's skills before they are allowed to be independent. It is considered very immoral for an individual to live without their parents, be in a romantic or sexual relationship, or be in a position of leadership unless they have passed their ruwiba, which is traditionally only offered twice. The ruwiba must be unexpected, unsupervised, and unrecognized.

Bwolotil are generally apathetic toward visitors - not necessarily nice and not necessarily rude. They treat their families with high levels of protection, and young men and women are typically given very high standards. Despite being one of the more strict and smaller people groups of Wistania, they are also one of the most productive and indispensable people groups.

They live in very small brick houses, usually far apart from any neighbors. Their families are typically small with a husband, wife, and one or two children (many men will choose to be castrated after their second child). Intermarriage and homosexuality are strictly forbidden, but both men and women can be fairly employed anywhere. Bwolotil has its own military, separate from the Wistanian military (which hardly exists). Many young Bwolotil children aspire to join the military and become a guard, which is on average a ten-year process after their ruwiba, and very selective. Interestingly, the military does not have any rank, but rather groups everyone together under a single director. Guards wear large black robes that cover their entire body, face masks that conceal their faces, and wield a sword staff and shield. They play the roles of protectors and law enforcers within the population.

When breaking a law, the punishment will vary by the intensity of the crime. For example, petty theft and trespassing will be punished by servitude to the party said crime was committed against. More culturally relevant crimes such as intermarriage and leadership without having passed your ruwiba is punishable by banishment. More violent crimes such as murder and rape will be punished by private execution.

The Bwolotil do not have any harsh resentment toward the other people groups of Wistania, but prefer to have a distant relationship with them instead. When other people groups began small guard programs of their own, the Bwolotil were largely apathetic and only gave recommendations when asked. In the early years of the unified government, Bwolotil leaders were infamous for voting “neutral” to almost every proposition until the system was changed to force each member to vote either “yes” or “no.” This change came through a congressional vote that, of course, Bwolotil leaders voted neutral on.

Language
Not much is known about the Bwolotil language except that it has roundedness vowel harmony and is probably agglutinative.