Clovian history

Created Thursday 12 March 2026

Pre-human contact (Before ~150 B.C.E.)

Comparable to New Zealand or Madagascar, but with some even stranger evolutionary divergences and paths. Living dwarf dinosaurs, chocobos, terror birds, big scarily smart crocs, strange primate families, humanoid cousins that are yeti like, and other cryptid bait little oddities and references. Flora is closest to NZ + not-quite-as-ridiculous cali redwoods in vibe.

Initial human settlements (~150 B.C.E. - 330 C.E.)

"Settled" in pockets and spurts by shipwrecked or lost sailors from many different countries. Clovus is along what will become fairly important sea lanes once advanced sailing and navigation methods become commonplace. However, in this corner of the world at this time, few are capable of navigating clovus's energetic, misty, and stormy waters without disaster. The sailors lost here are forced to work together by the climate and mutual struggle. It was colder then so the climate was quite harsh even if storms and floods were less common. Early cultural developments around working with nature rather than attempting to dominate it form... by necessity... Native habitats are minimally wrecked compared to other places because introduction of new species is slow.

Classical era (~330 C.E. - 1000 C.E.)

Low population to begin with. Steady growth over this period. No large states to speak of. It's kind of like Ireland in that writing--or at least non-fragmentary writing--was not present on Clovus until ~950 C.E. Largely organized by small kingdoms, clans, or small village confederations.

Medieval era (~1000 C.E. - 1500 C.E.)

First era where the island is fully settled.

Clovus is largely in a warring states-esque period. It's not the most intense court politics or wars on the planet during this time, but internal and external conflict is very real and often very protracted. Petty fiefdoms, irregular naval conflicts, bloody clan/village rivalries, piracy havens, you name it. So much drama.

Towards the end of this period, several groups start working together in what could be considered the first prototype of Clovus as we know it. Sick of the drama, and wanting some peace/stability, maybe 15% of the island inhabitants start working together proactively and transgressing the usual formal boundaries of gender, class, state, race, clan, village, etc. That proportion grows and declines in ways that are impossible to track, but it becomes an explicitly documented factor of Clovian life from then on. Disparate actors can coordinate on issues around the island.

One of the most famous historical clovian documents from this era is a scroll that a few minor revisions of were preserved to this day. It's contents are essentially a loosely annotated collection of essays, interviews, and recorded TedTalk equivalents from two dozen people that were involved in the first (documented) large scale mutual aid and direct action efforts. It is no coincidence that these efforts are roughly contemporary with repelling the first serious and multigenerational attempt by <long_defunct_empire> to expand on their footholds and conquer the island proper. Some charlatans tout the document as a grand ninja scroll... and kinda but also not really. It's much closer to a collection of activist essays than a grand strategy thesis or coherent ninja training doctrine.

Some famous figures that showed up in the scroll include:

A legendary naval figure who--depending on the source--was either a foreign naval captain turned clovian smuggler, or a foreign born pirate that turned into a clovian naval captain. She talked a lot about what makes a good frontline officer (first documented use of the word frontline in that sense), shockingly frank talk about morality and the use of force continuum, redemption, asymmetric naval tactics, and a very opinionated pov on quick and dirty combatives. She sparks debates to this day.
A mysterious monk and scholar that was really good at putting multiple information sources together and writing intelligence briefs. He wrote the most voluminous essays, and it's plausible this scroll was originally one of his personal notebooks. His writings were varied and prolific. However, common themes were: learning to see things as they are not how you initally perceive them, not believing rumors without evidence, and the ethics of secretive work counterbalanced against service to the people/public, and the nature of knowledge and the mind.
A seemingly random nomadic woman known as "Goat Mom" who built smuggling/trade (depending on the version) and information networks. It seems that the clovian words for smuggling and trade were not exactly distinct at the time... She talks candidly about drugs, mutual respect, honesty, herding goats, why goats are better than humans, and when and when not to diy, steal, or barter.
A disgruntled court administrator for one of the bigger kingdoms during this period who quit his job and went on the organize "gift logistics" that seriously kept people alive during sieges, disasters, and occupations. They had a lot to say about organization, rationing, planning, and not lying about your numbers to further some grifting or asskissing scheme.
A sex worker with a knack for infiltrating hostile organizations and getting people to talk about things they shouldn't. He(?) was illiterate--apparently--but had a lot to say on several "arts". The art of acting now. The art of sucking cock (yes this is a full chapter). The art of navigating fluidity in gender, roles, rules, and morality. The art of listening. The art of speaking "with tongue AND body". The art of fighting a long war when you've vowed never to kill again.
A wealthy couple that ran a large inn/tavern and used it as a staging ground for numerous important efforts. They talked about refugee encampments, flooding and storm response, rebuilding efforts after an earthquake, and why serving good apple cider is important diplomatically.
A traumatized unamed rural guerrilla from deep in the mountains. His story was harsh and bitter. He was abused and bullied severely as a kid and ran away vowing to become powerful. He became the youngest "Master of the Thousand Techniques" at a warrior-monk temple somewhat comparable to the Shaolin Temple. He--considering himself a badass--picked many fights and was eventually kicked out of the temple. Lost and lonely, he wandered around the mountainous interior of Clovus and eventually met a girl. They settled down, built a charming homestead, had kids, and got invaded on what quickly became one of the harshest fronts of the long war to repel early colonizers. He reluctantly joined a guerilla warband after they caught him secretly training one night. The fighting took many of his comrades and family, but diesease and malnutrition took more. He enjoyed the fighting and killing at first, but it broke him over time. The revenge felt empty after so many senseless deaths. He urged young men to not itch for the path of war, but if they must fight... do not let it consume your entire life. Give it everything for some time and then never pick up a weapon again. If it must be for a long time, then find ways to live that will make you strong, and train seriously, but never allow it to come home with you. Also giant technique lists are dumb... he was very explicit about that.
A foreign doctor/witch who taught medicine and sanitary practices, co-establishing the first medical school on the island. She is revered for helping reverse a time of malnourishment and disease. Half of her medical knowledge is considerd medieval quackery now, but the other half mostly holds up even now. Conspiracy theorists and quacks make up shit citing her to this day, which is awkward because she is legitimately very influential in the development of early Clovian health programs. Most actual medical staff consider her right in vibes, not hard medical science. This legacy is also influential in the development of the Clovian aid programs later on. The history of how much of an impact foriegn aid can have has been passed along.

This document would eventually become the philosophical backbone of anti-colonial resistance hundreds of years later, which in turn laid the groundwork for the solarpunk revolution.

Colonial & early industrial (~1500 - 1900)

Colonized or semi-colonized by multiple states and torn apart. Nowhere near Congo or Aztec levels, but it's real. More exploitation than genocide. Notably terrible conditions in coal mines which would be bled dry over the next few centuries.

Industrial (~1900 - 2050)

Nominally independent a la Algeria or Indonesia by 1955. It's predictably a hot mess at first. Clovian mutual aid and resistance culture meeting global capitalism forces an uneasy standoff between proto-solarpunk movements, varyingly corrupt bueracrats/demogogues (paternal mixed economy and social democratic parties are the most common rhetoric, but corruption is easier than proper admin), and narrow but entrenched natural resource extraction corporations (wood, fishing, coal). Generally considered a rural and technologically backwards land until much later. Some still see it that way, despite it being one of the most consistently functional industrial systems in the world in the from the 2080s onward.

Despite the hopes and dreams of independence, Clovus becomes an unimportant comprador capitalist state kept economically afloat by coal mines, clearcutting forests, shipping, and tourism. The military and intelligence branches are consistently underfunded in favor of the police and mercenaries to protect ruling class interests.

For those not in prison, plantations, or coal mines, there are still many upsides to live on clovus. Things don't get truly desperate until we approach the 2040s and climate change, economic depressions, resource shocks, and wars/unrest spread throughout the globe.

This is where the Clovians pay a terrible price to become the Solarpunk Island we know and love. See: Solarpunk Dawn

Post-industrial or solarpunk dawn (2050+)

Slowly builds into what we see in the story I'm building. Frequent smaller wars and conflicts dot the early years up to the 2080s. This "valley of death" period was doosy. It takes those 30 years to get enough systems and healing done that it feels like a real turn around.

Then we get one long cold war-esque standoff from maybe 2100-2150 dominates national priorities until things simmer down internationally. Thus the ~50 year lull by the time we pick up around ~2200. A lot has been done in that time to improve Clovus and life on it. Ecological remediation, full employment, world leading low-energy tech, universal healthcare, an award winning educational system, and the founding of an international aid corps.

...Which is why the Services get pretty lax by 2200. They get shocked by a multiple different violent problems in this time of localized peace. They end up being warnings of greater strife coming and are forced to participate in wider conflict.

They seed revolutions elsewhere, are wrecked for it, but then their new comrades come to help. This all happens from 2200 to 2250.