Solitas. Solitas is an archipelago continent made up of 21 islands of considerable size, visible on the Valsora map, the main RP map of The East Pacific RMB. Solitas is home to 12 sovereign nations, plus one external autonomous territory, and has been one of the places where roleplaying action has been very accentuated. Solitas is, currently, the only completely filled continent on the map.

Solitas, the turtle-shaped continent that nobody wants, except 12 nations that live there. Solitas has been the main setting of the last few months in the Valsora RP, and we have been nicknamed everything: the powder keg, the Balkans, mixed lore. And the truth is, some of us wonder how Solitas got there. How did that continent come about? Who created it? Why is it in that state?

This article analyzes and explains the history of the emergence of the Solitas continent on the Valsora map, and its evolution in the game since its creation. A research task that has been going on for 5 years.

It all started on May 26, 2019. The cartographer of Valsora, Zukchiva, publishes a new map update. This time, with a change. The continent Solista is created, intended in the words of Zukchiva: “This continent is not open to colonial expansion at all.” It was intended to be for fledgling nations that had Germanic themes, as it was the most popular nation theme. (RMB, p. 29.414)

A solution was sought, primarily, for Araseos, the Germanic-Celtic continent of Valsora, which is practically full. That Solitas was not open to colonial expansion was a strategy to prevent the world powers (Kampf, Shavara, OU, Charity, Nova Columbia or New Therabitia) from taking over the continent. In part, it was good because it allowed the arrival of other fledglings that could develop better.

The name Solista was the original one given by Zukchiva. However, perhaps due to a reading error, Shavara (San Sierra) interpreted it as “Solitas”, commenting that without the s it would be “Solita” (alone, in Spanish). Thus, the current name of Solitas is a corruption of the original name, although the current name is much better, in the opinion of this writer, than the original name. (RMB, p. 29.421)

We can already find criticisms of the new continent, such as Felter’s comment about “Solista as the German brain-shaped continent” (RMB, p. 29.535). When the new continent was created, there was already a nation there: Oskarheim.

Valsora update by Zuk, 26-05-19.

From Oskarheim, originally from the North Pacific, I gather that they were a roleplayer who got excited about Valsora, and celebrated joining the map in the next update (RMB, p. 29,085). Oskarheim was Germanic-themed. However, after the update, they published absolutely nothing, and disappeared. Later, they played on the Strangereal map of their home region.

Later, other newbie nations were added, such as Straussenburg. Apparently, Straussenburg, who I identify as the first person to actually RP Solitas, became a Kampfian colony, and gave access to Solitas’ resources to the Iron Empire. (RMB, p. 32,521). Then there are records of a small nation called The Exteriorem Piracy Movement, which was somewhat active.

Southern Solitas is used as a safe trade route off the open Demetric Sea by various nations (RMB, p. 31.147, p. 37.106). However, amidst a debate about the expansion of nations and the lack of space on the map, Zukchiva commented that the creation of Solitas was an “over-reaction” because it was feared that the map would be flooded with Germanic nations, which did not happen (RMB, p. 32.972).

Solitas would remain empty for much of 2019. Without the powers expanding and colonizing it, and without an influx of newcomers to the new continent, whose culture is unknown to the vast majority, and the fear of being left alone in the RP, Solitas is the most inactive continent in all of Valsora. In fact, it is used as a supply point, and mobilization for wars… in Araseos (RMB, p. 36.769).

The summary for Solitas for this period is made by Lerasi (Aivintis), on August 17, 2019:

Lerasi wrote:

It doesn't say. It is specifically for newcomers, though I don't think there is a theme. It's just the newbie base. For when we are running out of space. (RMB, p. 32.288)

Apparently, in December 2019 Solitas starts to have Greek culture (RMB, p. 37.122). The Communist Commonwealth (CCC) settles in Solitas, and it seems to be very active and well-known in the RP. New Maiya (a landlocked nation from Nonscio) sets up a colony in Solitas. It’s in December that it starts to see more influx: Merlovich (previously in Orientalis), One Green Nation (OGN), Evropa (not active), Onofria (based on making descriptions of their nation, but no one wanted to RP), and Lanorth joined.

In January 2020, the Solitas Alliance, the first regional league of Solitas, is created, with the inclusion of Evrigenis, a Greek-themed nation. However, Solitas remains very empty. The culture of the region remains confusing: part Greek, part American, part Australian, part English, part Caribbean. The Solitas Alliance consisted of OGN, New Maiya, and Evrigenis. (RMB, p. 38.146)

Solitas’ culture is defined as Greek when Shavara begins to compile the culture of the continents and countries of Valsora (RMB, p. 38.327, p. 38.342). Solitas is a fairly inactive continent still, and also Solitas is beginning to be known by another corrupted term, Solistas, which Aivintis particularly uses (RMB, p. 38.462).

Later, the four inhabitants of Solitas (Evrigenis, New Maiya, Merlovich, OGN) were joined by the Colonial Trade Conglomerate, which settled in Solitas, but did not do much RP in Valsora, instead concentrating on an alternate RMB map, Windsor. CTC was eager to do trade RP, which was a rarity to Valsora at the time, but is now the trend on the map. Las Anod also join, and begin to RP with the other protagonists on the world stage.

Then, the first milestone in the history of the continent bursts in: Great Yucanoa. Yucanoa enters the map on July 9, 2020, with a clear Hispanic culture, based on Bolivar’s Great Colombia, and working closely with Shavara on its Hispanic past (RMB, p. 42,363).

Then, Fetudersialand (which was reintegrated into Valsora a few years later) and Serkin joined. Serkin’s entry made Solitas more well-known, as with Yucanoa. Serkin quickly became part of the Kampf Empire’s domains. However, Solitas remained an uninhabited continent, along with Merlovich, Evrigenis, and New Maiya.

Apparently, in August 2020, an attempt to reform the map of Valsora arose, as a challenge to the cartographic council of Merlovich and Nova Columbia. In the proposed new map (of which we have no image, only testimony), Solitas ceased to exist and its islands were distributed to various points, which pleased some people like Terreich, who said that Solitas had been made hastily and was “unpleasant to the eye” (RMB, p. 43.505-507). The attempt at reform never came to anything.

In the last months of 2020, Solitas remains a somewhat dormant continent. Yucanoa attempts to reconcile Solitas’ cultural divergence, with Serkin, by making it more Hispanic-American and Caribbean (RMB, p. 46,296).

Last registered map of Valsora, in 2020.

There is a period between the 2020 and 2022 maps, during the cartography leadership in the hands of Merlovich and then Shavara, of which there are no maps showing which nations were there. According to the chronology on the RMB Discord server, the map shows an irruption, where a map from mid-2020 made by Merlovich is shown, and immediately switches to one of Plazland in February 2022. Therefore, we have no record of the movement of the nations through the map, but we do through the RPs registered in the RMB.

The union of Greltec, The New Iwaso and Malpelo is mentioned between December 2020 and March 2021. Malpelo stands out for being an underdeveloped nation that is later invaded by Serkin. Malpelo in turn enters Kampf’s sphere of influence (RMB, p. 50.759, 50.774)

Malpelo was one of the most prominent nations in Solitas due to its strategic position and being the last territorial pearl of Kampf. Other nations joined, but perhaps only New Anrac came to do some RPs. Solitas was recognized in Valsora, around mid-2021, as being Kampf’s backyard, with Yucanoa as a single center free of this influence, along with Evrigenis (RMB, p. 53.137).

In May 2021, Calption and Cafe Hell join. Calption introduces for the first time the presence of Alcatus (a kind of cat-men in Valsora) in Solitas, and Shavara proposes the lore that they arrived from the Unistan continent (RMB, p. 53.989).

Apparently in June 2021, Merlovich left Solitas, possibly because of CTE, and the continent had practically returned to inactivity, being a virtual region in Kampf’s power (RMB, p. 54.967). An idea of ​​a nation between AllEnergy and Estandé, with the aim of creating a Valsoran Brazil, is highlighted in Solitas (RMB, 55.025). The idea came to nothing.

In July 2021, British Valsora (British Calradia) joins the map, and Solitas, on Vuclen’s recommendation (RMB, p. 55.170). Vuclen defines Solitas as a “colonial continent” (RMB, p. 55.848). Also around this time, Juk, an Anglo-French themed monarchy, joins.

In August 2021, Merlovich, as interim cartographer, plans to make a reform to the map, which involves Solitas. Again, comments arise about the shape of Solitas, and how to fix it (RMB, p. 56.169). As of September 2021, there are five nations in Solitas: Evrigenis, Gran Yucanoa, Serkin, Juk, and British Valsora; while the culture is still visibly fragmented and disunited, Hispanicity and Hellenity are recognized as rooted cultures in Solitas, and its mission as a continent for Germanic themes has disappeared (RMB, p. 57.252).

In February 2022, Kampf uses the unpopulated parts of Solitas as a nuclear test site (RMB, p. 60.334). Additionally, Othonia, another Greek-themed nation, joins Solitas; and Shavara explains a detailed climate for the continent for the first time (RMB, p. 60.346). Also around this time, Achaenesia, a Greek nation, which was an alternative account of Kianhua, joins, expanding the Greek presence in Solitas. Plazland takes on the role of a geographer, and we have a map already recorded for this time.

The vision of Solitas as a mix between Greek and Mesoamerican culture prevails (RMB, p. 60.669). For Merlovich, the culture in Solitas always had connotations of northern Australia (RMB, p. 62.086). In April 2022, Corgaigh (Flers-Douai) joins.

On April 14, 2022, the Solitasian Union emerges, the second regional alliance, after 2 years of the previously mentioned Solitas Alliance. This Solitasian Union brought together Corgaigh, Raccoons and Serkin, and the adhesion of Aureateland was expected (the latter joined Solitas because it was a quiet continent). It quickly became inactive and fell into oblivion. In May 2022, it joins Solitas Texaria, who was previously in Unistan. For some time, Hoalepa, a nation that settled on an isolated island north of the mainland, was considered part of Solitas, though Hoalepa was later ruled to belong to a different continent: Aisladda. The mainland fell into inactivity again.

Yucanoa is the first to name an island in Solitas: Velenda (RMB, p. 65.147). Also, in June 2022, Solitas’ first identity crisis occurs. Solitas, the disunited continent with no attempts at a single culture or regionalism, is suddenly immersed in it. It all happened when Flers tried to revive the Solitasian Union, after the return of Yucanoa (who had made CTE). However, Yucanoa quickly protested the presence in the Union of a Germanic observer member (Greater Rostoria), not Solitasian. This is the first time a “fight against imperialism” is mentioned in Solitas (RMB, p. 65.189-191).

Greater Rostoria does not leave the Solitasian Union, so Yucanoa focuses on destroying that alliance and forming the new Solitasian Economic Pact (RMB, p. 65.209). Yucanoa and British Valsora begin to make overtures, which they call “an increase in democracy” in Solitas.

On July 13, 2022, Atrocha joins Solitas. On July 14, the Marlands Missile Crisis occurs, the first international crisis, years after Serkin, involving Solitas countries (History of The Marlands Missile Crisis, dispatch, August 2022).

Atrocha, a Hispanic-themed country, begins to be a very active country in Solitas, and its international agreements on diplomatic matters quickly revive interest in the continent. Atrocha and Yucanoa begin, both IC and OOC, a plan to make Solitas tradition more Hispanic. In August 2022, Krozland, a nation of Araseans, moves to Solitas. By then, Krozland was left as the only Greek nation, along with Gaia, as the first Greek nation (Evrigenis) had long since left the map.

Atrocha becomes known for its diplomatic treaties and involvement in geopolitics and trade; Krozland gets involved with Rostoria (which was never Solitasian) in a militaristic-interventionist pact; Yucanoa tries to expand the Hispanic legacy; while the other nations do a bit of RP, and then leave. Solitas slowly becomes more active.

Although Yucanoa leaves the map in August 2022, Arvorenia (a Brazilian-themed nation, the Brazil of Valsora), and Lower Serri Vikonna, abbreviated as LSV (which would become famous later in 2023) are later integrated into the continent. Aversaria Aautokrata and Nova Avalona also joined in 2023, and together with Texaria formed the SDTO (the South Demetric Treaty Organization). Ci Arovannea, a nation with a lore quite different from the usual Greek-Spanish American theme, joins that same year.

Solitas quickly goes from being an inactive continent to a fairly active one, which begins to have the interest of several nations on the map (mainly, those that arrived after June 2022). Floridian Australia (Floraussia) arrives in 2023, and the Southern Solitas War, fought in May of that same year, begins to change the political landscape of the continent, thanks to the Treaty of Caló negotiated by Atrocha. Wars begin to emerge, treaties and alliances come and go, and Solitasian regionalism is reflected in the doctrines of Arovannea and Arvorenia, and then in Yucanoa, which briefly returned.

It is in 2023, and more so in 2024, that for the first time, having so many mixed and unrelated cultures, that an initiative arises on the part of Atrocha, Yucanoa and Arovannea, to put order in the cultural definition of Solitas, which concludes that the region of Monach has Greek influence, and the region of Meridia/Ekylos has Hispanic-American influence, and the Arovans who become a people of Polynesian origin, intermediate between both civilizations. Entire stories and lores of colonialism, prehistory and modern history were created, making the lore of Solitas one of the most interconnected in Valsora.

After several attempts to unite Solitas (the Solitas Union, proposed by LSV, only had 2 members and collapsed after the intervention of the Consortium in LSV), Arovannea manages to create SUTO as a political-military organization that integrates all the Solitasian countries, except Atrocha, which was inactive when SUTO emerged. However, following the withdrawal of Arvorenia and the consequences of the Sarkosan-Arovian war, SUTO collapsed, and in its place, the Solitas Commercial Association, proposed by Atrocha, with economic and not military purposes, emerged, along with the regional peace enshrined in the Treaty of Prata, another treaty negotiated by Atrocha.

Valsora map, 02-Nov.-2024

We can say that, from its inception until 2022, Solitas was not a large continent, but rather a springboard for newcomers, a wasteland used to move cargo and test weapons. However, little by little, Solitas’ activity skyrocketed with new members, resulting in a more united continent, with its own identity and with unique conditions and history, which have put it in the spotlight of Valsora’s RP activity, something that could not be imagined 3 or 5 years ago.

Although Solitas was created in a hurry, the hasty result gave rise to a diverse continent, which has been important for the development of several countries on other continents, and whose results could only be seen years later. It is worth noting that the beginning of activity in Solitas coincided at the same time as the withdrawal of the great powers from the map (Plazland, Shavara and Sicilianzo), so it is a factor to be taken into account.

Today, Solitas is a full continent, with a rich amount of history, of which each of us who are there are proud to belong.

References

The sources used can be found in the East Pacific RMB. Sources are categorized as p. (page) and 00.001 (page number).