Culture: The Kera-Bijani faith revolves around five gods, they being Wise Fire, Wise Water, Wise Air, Wise Wood, and Wise Metal. Originally, the five kept supreme control over the universe, and the earth was paradise. The gods created a human, who was in all ways virtuous, and they, proud of their work, created a second. The second, however, was envious of the love the first shared with the gods, and sought to disturb their sacred relationship. That second human worked day and night, creating a weapon to destroy the universe, which upon creation he named dishonesty. The moment he spoke the first lie, from his mouth sprang five deities of evil, Corrupt Fire, Corrupt Water, Corrupt Wood, Corrupt Air, and Corrupt Metal.

The good gods found themselves outnumbered. There are five deities protecting nature, but six, five plus the evil human, trying to destroy it. So from their minds came a prophecy, telling of a shah who will one day deify himself by leading a life of maximum purity. When that day comes, each good god will slay his evil counterpart, and take supreme control over the universe again, with a sixth and most supreme member within their ranks.

It is under this faith that the three peoples of Kera-Bijan stand behind, it bringing each other together and unifying them against enemy forces. The lives of every subject, barring the least pious ones, revolve around adhering to the texts written by the gods themselves, the first human, and the many philosopher-shahs from eons past. The texts speak highly of a purity of the self, as well as a harmonious relationship with nature and the five pure forms, and to manipulate nature in any way is considered an affront to the purity of the relevant form. People are encouraged to live simply, to honor others, and to be forever honest.

Magic, too, is considered sacred, and is viewed as the will of the gods upon earth. Temples prominently feature magic crystals in their sacrifice, feeding it to fire, sprinkling it in lakes and on the earth, and scattering its fine powder into the very air. Some consider the use of magic the only pure way to manipulate the environment, while others claim that to use it is sacrilege in itself. The most recent shahs, however, tend to lean towards the former side, and thus the latter side has chosen to be silent as of late.

History: There was once a time when the city people were also many infighting tribes, distrustful of both the mountain people and the steppe people. That was nearly two thousand years ago, and a time no Kera-Bijani looks upon with much respect. From this soup of diffusion and war came a legendary figure, Demes Kehmeyid, who the priests said from birth was destined. He expanded both his dynasty and his land through genius military tactic and even more genius diplomacy. When he conquered the land held by an enemy tribe, he declared its chief his own brother, and forced their family to take on the Kehmeyid name. Through this, he fostered brotherhood within all of the chiefdoms, and declared himself the first shah of the Kera-Bijan desert. He was assassinated but five months into his rule, and replaced with one of the conquered chiefs, but the dynasty survived.

It was the second shah's third son, Vedad Kehmeyid, who expanded his territory to include the steppe and mountain people. In long ages past, during early days before the empire, the steppe and mountain peoples were created by the fallout of magic chiefs wielded against each other. They had ravaged the human settlements, but Vedad dared enter their lands with nobody by his side but priests. It was through his strong faith and charisma that many clans joined his cause, following proselytization and integration of their cultures. Those who didn't join the shahdom were violently subject to genocide, the remaining ones loyal to both faith and shah.

It was following two hundred years of stability that the northern peoples, led by the race-purist separatist Satrap Qaro, defied Shah Bandaves and rebelled. Qaro launched brutal genocides against the steppe and mountain people living in his and his allies' satrapies, claiming to want to restore the pure human race. Those few who survived escaped southwards into Kera-Bijani land, as armies serving under the shah advanced northward to reintegrate the revolting satrapies. He and the next four shahs would die over the course of thirty years in combat against the new realm of Qaroitn.

Eventually, the dust settled, and while skirmishes and raids still exist along the borderlands of the two rival nations, a relative peace has established itself, in no small part due to war exhaustion on both ends. The shahbanu finally completed the task of establishing a land trade route to Surabhumi, and sent them eastward on a voyage of exploration and trading. Twenty long years passed, and within that time the shahbanu that sent the voyage was assassinated and replaced, before the caravans returned. It was laden with goods and stories, nearly all wondrous and in admiration of the subcontinental world. With the exotic trade goods they brought back, the shahdom entered another two centuries of relative peace and isolation.

This ended with the disastrous reign of Shah Nafolosh. Manipulated by his closest satraps, he led himself to believe that he had become the One Who Brings Harmony, savior of all the faith. Armed with his zeal, he declared war upon the entire western continent, nearly destroying the empire in the process. The armies of both the shah and his enemies razed countless hides of land, both within Kera-Bijan and on foreign ground. His brother and heir, Koudad, seeing the imminent doom of their way of life should this hopeless war continue, finally made the choice to have his elder brother assassinated, along with much of the court. In an act still remembered in humiliation, he called off his brother's wars and surrendered.

The current Shah Koudad is at the end of his tether, following sixty long years of stable rule. However, he is dying, and his succession is unclear. It looks as if civil war is inevitable, between his granddaughter, the young Estazar, and her many cousins of the Kehmeyid line.

Land Area: 16 (-2)
Land Fertility: 7 (+4)
Development: 5 (+3)
Land Power: 14 (-3)
Naval Power: 1 (-2)
Economy: 13 (+3)
Magical Reserves: 14 (-3)
Magical Sophistication: 15 (+5)

Traits
Society of Purity: The Kera-Bijani people find that the purity of the body is the highest state of being one may strive to be. They shun intoxicants, such as alcohol and drugs, so as not to corrupt their own bodies and invite evil to fester within. The society strongly looks down upon both excessive gluttony or excessive temperance, and the food is never inflicted with preservatives. Purity of the body is only as strong as purity of the mind, and thus the Kera-Bijani reinforce their purity of mind through good works. They dare not speak dishonesty for fear of weakening the integrity of the universe, and treat their neighbors with respect and good spirit. Most importantly, they keep their environment clean, minimizing waste within the things they use and caring for the living things, for it is they who hold up the five gods.

Might and Magic: Although the technology sector of the Kera-Bijani world flounders, its magical world flourishes. Ley lines stretch across the nation, allowing instant contact between the shah and his satraps as far away as the steppes and as high up as the tallest plateaus. Water, scarce on the surface, is willed up from deep reserves where other peoples would have to drill for it, seeping through the ground upwards to where crops may access it. It is because of this power that the shahdom is still has voice in the world, and its neighbors would do well to listen.

Brotherhood Among Humanity: In many respects, the life of the city people and that of the steppe and mountain peoples are vastly different. The city people are content to build, develop, and trade with foreign species and races. They are proud of their communities, and live social lives. The other two are anything but. The steppe peoples have a long history of conflict with their neighbors, often raiding over the borders with the intent of killing the non-humans. They do not tend to build anything larger than a yurt, and live nomadic clan-oriented lifestyles. The mountain people are even more hostile to outsiders, living either alone or in small family units. They, unlike the herbivorous steppe people, are strictly carnivorous, and raise great herds of mountain goats to eat and trade with the city people. The city people view the mountain people and the steppe people as brothers, and the feeling is mutual, but the mountain people and the steppe people each regard the other as something alien, and thus tend towards animosity regarding one another.

High Mornish: The indigenous peoples of Morn, with white skin, blue-fire eyes, and flaxen hair. Song-writers, forever-youths, dwellers in high places. The Tower-Raisers, the Sea-Founders, the Dawn-Flowers. A race of elves strong in sorcery, peaceful and slow to reproduce or spread. Originally hunter gatherers of the farthest northwestern wastes (Ettomana, the Nameless North), they arrived in ships of enchanted ice upon the shores of Canumbria nearly four thousand years ago. In addition to being long-lived and adept magic-users, Mornish elves are nearly immune to cold and cold-based magic (But they are miserable in the heat, and powerless against flame). The Mornish created elegant towers of silver and white stone, lit from within by eldritch flames. The hollow, lightless shells of these places can be found along Morn's coasts, anywhere north or east of the Harrowmoors, and even outside of Morn proper, including the peaks of Lansigor. Philosophers and poets, artisans and lovers, there are few pure-blooded Morn left these days. They are highly valued house-slaves among the Vaesir. Indeed, their captors collect, trade, and sell them like precious living dolls, among themselves and the rich and powerful of other nations.

Humans: There are few Humans in the Mornlands. They are mostly restricted to the major settlements of mainland Morn, the Kallareen Sway, and isolated holdings of the Harrowmoors, or as slaves in any Vaesir holding. The Kallareen are the only "native" humans to the Mornlands. They are called the Smoke-Kin by the Vaesir, dark of hair and dusky of skin, with brown almond-shaped eyes and short, stocky frames. Many are believed to have Dwarven blood in their veins. Superstitious and reclusive, they are only considered part of the Mornlands because of the crippling tributes they must pay to the Kinlords to avoid being destroyed.

Mornblooded: Also referred to as the Half-Born, the Forlorn, and Lesskin, the Mornblooded are the descendants of High Mornish elves who bred with their Vaesir conquerors...whether willingly or less so. There's is a lonely life, of racial prejudice, genetic mutations, and crippling deformities. Slaves, beggars, and outcasts, many of the Mornblooded become thieves or prostitutes, or attempt to flee to more accommodating nations, generally with depressing results. Mornblooded look like elves, but with patches of mangy fur, over-elongated ears, distended maws with broken lips, jagged teeth, and crooked, asymmetrical legs.

Vaesir: Blood-letters, spear-wielders, ring-givers, victors over all. Tall and leanly muscular, covered in a seasonal coat of dappled fur. They are mostly canine in profile and physiology, but also slightly reptilian. They have long, narrow snouts, and very long pointed ears ending in tufted fur. Their feet are digitigrade and end in splayed toes like a gecko's; made for clinging to slippery ice-sheets and mountain slopes, now adapted for the decks of swaying ships and blood-soaked bogs. The Vaesir are born warriors, incredibly strong, fast, tough, and relentless in battle and the hunt. They can live to about sixty years, but most rarely make it past thirty or forty. Tribal, clannish, and divisive by nature, this is exacerbated by their fast metabolisms (Necessary to fuel their highly active lifestyle) and their fecundity. Conflict over food, resources, territory, and simple stubborn pride defines and characterizes the Vaesir. They are born to suffer, to struggle for dominion.

The Mornlands are ruled over by some two dozen warlords and their underlings; these realms and lords have no centralized government, no king or queen, no unifying religion or creed. Honor and loyalty are owed to your family, clan, and tribe, and to the ring-giver who provides you security and sustenance. The extended family unit is the core of Vaesir life. They dwell in small fortified farms and camps called Steadings, raising crops, herding livestock, hunting and fishing, as their geographical region of the Mornlands dictates. A group of five to fifteen intermarried Vaesir families creates a Clan, creating a network of Steadings around a Broch, a communal stronghold and dwelling place surrounded by stables, forges, and other support outbuildings. A Broch is a circular, squat tower (Usually of only two to five stories) built around a hearth. The hearth's chimney goes through each floor and pierces out the center of the roof (Which is dramatically slanted, to runoff rain and snow). The servants and slaves of the Broch, as well as a few guards, sleep on the first floor, while the Clanlord's household guard sleeps on the second. In smaller Brochs, the Clanlord and their family sleep on this floor as well, but otherwise they will reside on higher floors. There is no guilt, privacy or shame in the Broch. Bathing and mating are done in full view of the rest of the Broch. Cooking, cleaning, crafting, tending the hearth, and caring for the young are tasks shared by everyone, from the lowliest thrall to the Clanlord themself.

Above the Clan and Clanlord is the Tribe, the Family of Families, the Kinhold. Just as each Clan is a collection of interconnected families, a Tribe is a group of three to ten (Or more, in some cases) Clans who are bound by marriage, geographical convenience, and oaths of vengeance and loyalty. Each Clanlord pays tribute (In the form of material wealth, manpower, and fealty) to a Kinlord. The Kinlords are the rulers of Vaesir society, the representatives of Mornish politics and influence in other nations. To the common Vaesir, they are almost gods. Powerful mages, peerless warriors, ruthless in war and the bedchamber. Only the Kinlords are knowledgeable in the ways of crafting, maintaining, and utilizing the Kurathyr, the Living Mantle, "dragon-plate", the arcane armor that makes them almost unstoppable on the battlefield. The Kinhold is name for the stronghold that a Kinlord lives in, and in the realm of Clans that they rule over. The Kinhold proper looks like a group of regular sized Brochs connected to a larger-than-normal Broch (Six to twelve stories tall) by short hallways like overgrown tunnels. Each is self-sufficient in the case of a siege or raid, and boast arrowloops, secret passages and posterns, and numerous traps to confuse and terrorize attackers.

Oaths of fealty between the commoners, the military, and the nobility, such as they are, work somewhat differently in the Mornlands than in other more "conventional" nations. While the average Vaesir strives every day to join a warband, and they near worship the all-powerful Kinlords, the Lords of the Mornlands are obligated to them as well. The Carls and their masters depend on these people for food; they could theoretically provide for themselves, but this would cut down on time practicing and raiding. Additionally, if they did not protect the common folk, where would new Carls come from when they are cut down in battle? Likewise, Carls swear unswerving oaths of fealty to their Lords, Clan, Tribe, and Hold. It is their duty to protect the land, fight when it is asked of them, and die if need be. In return, their Lord provides them a hall and warm hearth, meat and drink, arms and armor, clothing and seed, salt and silver. It is a near sacred bond between Lord and Carl, a covenant more powerful than family to the Vaesir.

The Vaesir are surprisingly uninterested and nonchalant regarding religion as a whole. Many Vaesir almost worship their Kinlords as gods on Takanis; near indestructible forces on the battlefield, clad in the pieces of great monsters they've killed. Others are obstinately agnostic or even atheists. The Mornlands are a harsh and unforgiving land, where it is difficult to eke a living out of the soil and waves, especially when monsters, enchanted forests, and living lights are constantly trying to kill you. Many Vaesir actively defy the gods. In Canumbria, Krotem, and Skorn, there are some animistic shamans who commune with spirits of the wild and the elements, in particular animals and the ocean.

However, in the southern coasts and islands of the Mornlands, and in its more cosmopolitan ports, many Vaesir follow the Tenfold Truth. This is a philosophical misinterpretation of the Five Wisdoms and Corruptions of Kera-Bijan. In this faith, there are five gods of Aer (Air), Maa (Earth), Tahn (Fire), Miot (Metal), and Dwyr (Water). Each represents the "positive" and "negative" aspects of that element, and all ways that element effects life (And death). For example, the god Tahn represents fire's ability to warm a home, provide light, cook, and create, but also to burn down structures and destroy crops. This faith is relatively casual, however. The faithful keep shrines in their homes, and large Brochs maintain a good-sized shrine or small temple. There are no real priests, but there are shrine tenders and traveling sages who spread the knowledge and wisdom of the faith. It's a religion really about maintaining balance and respecting the natural forces of the world, coexisting with them, and understanding them. There are great temples to the Tenfold Truth in Edenperth, Dunperth, and Raven's Crossing.

Likewise, due to their friendly relations with Sanghara, the faith of Ishareth has spread to the Mornlands. She is called Sharyth in the Vaesir tongue. The Vaesir call her the Bloody Mother, the Steel Sister, and the Decider of Fates. She is a Vaesir goddess of battle, child-birth, consequence, and truth. In holy scripture, she is illustrated as a black-furred Vaesir, wielding a flaming sword in one hand and carrying a white staff in the other; she wears a polished steel mask. Sharyth has many followers in Raegenstrang, Skorn, and Krotem, and her followers clash repeatedly (Often violently) with practitioners of the Tenfold Truth in cosmopolitan Edenperth.

The Mornlands are divided in to numerous distinct regions. Each has different ways of surviving on a day-to-day basis, though life in the Mornlands is largely seasonal. There are no highways in the Mornlands, only hunting trails and the occasional muddy herd-track. The only road and mode of travel that the Vaesir respect is the sea, and even the poorest coastal Steadings have at least one ship for travel and trade.

The island of Canumbria is almost wholly dependent on the hunting of migrating caribou, seal, walrus, and whale, as well as fishing, gathering roots and herbs for medicinal and recreational uses, and raiding their less fortunate neighbors. There are no independent Clan Brochs on Canumbria, and its Kinlords are the poorest in all the Mornlands, their Kinholds looking like the lesser Brochs of the south. Most Canumbrias are nomadic, living in hide tents on the tundra, or in crude sod huts along the southern coast. The "Kinhold" of Ivory Throne isn't even permanently inhabited. Walrus flood the stony shores of this region during the mating season, and Tribes of Canumbria fight for the right to hunt them, or must sneak past the warring tribes to try and bag a few. The greatest hunters of Canumbria brave the storm-tossed northern waves with rare and expensive steel harpoons, seeking leugath, narwhal, orca, and sea serpents. The Kinlords of Canumbria are proud of their narwhal horn spears and their dragon-plate of gleaming green and silver scales.

While Morysland is technically part of greater Canumbria, its inhabitants do not consider themselves Canumbrian, and neither do the "true" Canumbrians. Morysten is one of the few places with a surviving, non-ruined High Mornish tower at the center of the Kinhold. Its Brochs have been incorporated in to the structure, and a bustling (If dreary) port town has grown up around it. Morysland is a rain-slicked mountain thrusting out of the sea, carpeted in ancient pine forests and surrounded by beaches of black and grey pebbles and treacherous shoals of razor sharp rocks. The Kinlords of Morysten have a reputation as the greatest mages in the Mornlands, but also as being incredibly isolated, jealous, and arrogant. They guard their ancient knowledge, Elven relics, and miserable island as if it were great mound of gold. It is a terribly kept secret that the single greatest reserve of Arcanite -- perhaps a third of the entire Mornlands' stock -- is buried in deep and treacherous mines underneath Mount Morys.

Skorn is considered the birthplace of the Vaesir, or at least, their modern way of life. The Kinholds of Skorn are rocky, covered in thorny woods and barren moors, and infested with deodands and leucomorphs. Faceless daemons lurk in the heights of the Chollain Mountains, a terrible wasteland of razor-sharp ridges and icy rivers, populated by half-Morn outcasts and cannibal clans. As a result, the Skornish are among the hardest, cruelest, fiercest fighters and survivors of the Mornlands. When the winter winds blow and the seas become a storm-tossed nightmare, they don seal-skin cloaks and rub whale-fat in their fur, to hunt monsters and outlaws, and to fish the coast and tiny swift-running rivers that empty there. But when the fog clears and the sea calms, the Kinlords of Skorn don their smoke-blackened warhelms, load their longships with nets, spears, and shields, and mount the dragonhead on their prows to go a'reaving. The Skornish are the most notorious slavers and raiders of the Mornlands, earning all of the realms a reputation as pirates and kidnappers. That's not to say that the other Vaesir don't engage in these activities as well, but the Skornish do more than all the rest combined. While the Kinlords of Skorn are as fractious and independent as any other, all of them must pay lip-service to the authority in Jansport, the Kinlord of Skarland. Skarland is the largest and richest of the Skornish Kinholds, and Jansport is the only true settlement on Skorn, as well as one of Morn's only true cities. Originally an outpost for whalers, it has become the largest slave market in the Mornlands, if not the north. Anything, and anyone, can be bought and sold in its reeking docks and stalls. Additionally, Skorn's only real forests are in Skarland, and the Kinlord's retainers patrol them relentlessly, looking for rogue woodcutters and charcoalburners, as well as the bold monsters who would dare dwell there.

Where the Canumbrians are proud hunter-gatherers and the Skornish are ruthless raiders, the Krotemi are relatively peaceful fisherfolk and miners. Copper, silver, and rock salt deposits run through the jagged hills and cliffs of Great Krotem, the shores of which are dotted with little fishing Brochs and crude lighthouses. The three lesser islands of the Krotem are each barely able to support a single Broch, and technically constitute one Kinhold themselves (Though they do not have their own Kinlord, and largely owe fealty to the Kinlord in Krotemar). While the Kinlords of Great Krotem do occasionally hire themselves out as mercenaries to foreign powers, they are more likely to mount merchant expeditions or go prospecting on explored stretches of the northern coast.

While they are inhabited mostly by humans, the Kallareen Sway is considered a realm of the Mornlands. The Kallareen islands are bitter little rocks in the Inner Sea, populated by humans with dwarven blood. The Kallareen were "conquered" by the Vaesir some two centuries ago. Unable to work their terraced farms or send out fishing boats due to Vaesir raiders, the Kallareen agreed to send the majority of their mineral wealth to local Kinlords for protection. However, this bribery doesn't apply to all Kinlords, so this has led to numerous Vaesir realms fighting each other for the right of being the Kallareen's mercenary protectors. Most Kallareen despise and fear the Vaesir, and long for a way to get back at their oppressors. Some are more pragmatic, and can be seen as craftsfolk, bankers, and advisors in Kinlord courts and settlements.

The southern coastal realms of Morn (Most everything below the Harrowmoors) are referred to as the Erean Reach. These also include Sanskar and the Turhyls. Ereans are the most cosmopolitan and internationally-minded Vaesir in the Mornlands. Compared to the rest of the Mornlands, these lands are gentle, with humid summers and rainy winters. The Dunharrow River Valley is the breadbasket of these lands, providing food for every adjacent realm, but no real international exports. The Erean Kinlords consider themselves nobles, with old hereditary bloodlines, beautiful Brochs, and richly decorated Bakanei and Kurathyr. They are the most well-known mercenaries of the Mornlands, traveling Takanis or sending out other members of their families and households to represent them. Edenperth is the largest city in the Mornlands, boasting a "massive" population of nearly twenty thousand souls. It is the closest thing that the Mornlands have to a capital. The Kinlord of Edenperth maintains an embassy, the House of Lords, to host gatherings and diplomatic talks among the Erean Kinlords. Rulers north of the Harrowmoors are invited to these meetings, but most do not deign to join. Edenperth is the only place where it is common to see High Mornish, other elves, and even more exotic races, but in most cases, they are slaves. Surabhi and Sangharan are somewhat common, as craftsfolk, teachers, advisers, and merchants. Dunperth is much smaller, with only some nine thousand permanent residents. It is less of a trade city, and more of an industrial center.

The rough and tumble highland Kinhold of Cenn does NOT consider itself Erean. The Cennish do not even have their own Kinlord; each Clanlord rules their own tiny domain in its own right. They raid and squabble among themselves incessantly, barely even noticing the politics or struggles of the rest of the realm. Passionate and fierce, they consider themselves the protectors of the cities of Edenperth and Dunperth. Both cities send them food and weapons to supply them in the bitter seasons. In return, the Cennish prevent the majority of the terrible monsters of Lansigor from terrorizing the "weak" coastal folk.

To the north of the Harrowmoors is the region called Raegenstrang, though most of this land has been united under the banner of Mundweorth. The lords and retainers of Mund's Brand are known for their fearsome bone and black-iron masks carved in the shape of scowling daemons and beasts, and favor two-handed "headhunter" axes over the spears of most Vaesir warriors. The capital of Mundweorth is Mund's Brand, a massive fortified lighthouse, and one of the last active High Mornish citadels in the Mornlands. The beacon is a huge shard of Arcanite, casting illumination over the treacherous coastal cliffs and shoals. Mund's Brand is also the name of the ancestral weapon of the Mundsblut family, a fiery greatsword. Over the last three generations, the Kinlords of Mundweorth have crushed all rivals north of the Harrowmoors, conquering the large settlements of Raven's Crossing and Graeghaele for slaves and plunder, before securing the other Brochs and Kinholds of the Mern River. The only remaining independent Raegen realm is Polmear. Polmear is largely thick woodland, and everything between the trees is bogland. Additionaly, the Mearan are the most skilled archers in the north, and have threatened to burn down the (highly valuable) trees if Mundweorth should invade in earnest. So they exist in an uneasy truce, while the Kinlord of Mundweorth bides her time, gathers her strength, and prepares to make good her claim as the Highlord of Morn.

Dividing Raegenstrang and the Erean Reach are the Harrowmoors. This area is largely haunted wilderness. A great wasteland of bogs, thorny moors and gulches, mist covered wetlands, and the occasional lonely flint tor. The Vaesir sometimes call this place the Green Desert, the Great Moor, and the Wraithlands. Magical anomalies are common here. Living lights, mournful spirits, shifting landscapes, and rifts in to other worlds contend for space with grinhounds, urgath, fomorians, and the waveborn. People do live here, but they're thin on the ground. Mornblooded outcasts, escaped human slaves, druids and hermits, outlaws and smugglers...the desperate, mad, lonely and forlorn call this place a human, or a prison. No Kinlord has made a determined attempt to colonize the Harrowmoors in hundreds of years. Most blame their current state to a curse or ritual gone wrong cast by the High Mornish sorcerers, one last act of spite to try and slow down their conquerors.

To the west of the Mornlands proper, above the highlands of Cenn, is a dreaded place where most Vaesir do not tread. A wilderness of frostbitten peaks and impossibly high waterfalls, breathtaking vistas of terrible beauty and sweeping valleys carved by eons-old glaciers and tectonic forces. This land is called Lansigor, the Western Heights. No Vaesir live here permanently, and even outcasts from their kind and the other races of the Mornlands do not last long in the Heights. There are a few dwarf fortresses, groups of desperate pioneers and prospectors striking the earth in the hopes of making it rich. Numerous veins of copper, gold, and silver run deep under the heights, as well as nests of various gemstones, including the precious Arcanite. However, Lansigor is also the breeding and nest place of the faceless daemons. Other monsters include living lights, grinhounds, fomorians, and the massive earthshaker.

South of Lansigor, brooding over the northern border of Feochain and preventing the Kallareen from attempting mainland colonization, is the Starkwald. A great and ancient forest, a thick and primeval growth of gnarled trees. The forest floor is almost devoid of undergrowth, instead harboring a dizzying array of fungus and mold, underneath which is a thick humus. Many of the trees are unnatural, twisted in to impossible geometries and sporting alien colors and scents. More so than anything other region or wild of the Mornlands, the Starkwald harbors an abundance of monstrous denizens. Deodands, leucomorphs, smiling dogs, hairy gids, carrion moths, gloomwidows, and other, more horrifying and less substantial threats haunt this overgrown wild.

The Vaesir calender, officially recorded in the great tower of Morysten, begins about 925 years ago. This is called "Dragon's Reckoning", when Morysten was conquered and High Mornish society officially ended.
The Cradle of the Dawn: Approximately -4000 DR. The High Mornish elves arrive in modern-day Canumbria. They colonize modern day Morysland, the southern coast of Canumbria, the northern mainland peninsula, much of the northern and eastern slopes of Lansigor, southern and western Skarland, and the Krotem Islands over a period of nearly three thousand years.
The First Packs: Approximately -300 DR. Vaesir explorers arrive in Canumbria. Many reluctantly settle the dismal island and almost immediately come in to conflict with the Mornish. Others move on to the island of Skorn.
The Dragon's Claim: Approximately -120 DR. Great fleets of Vaesir warlords come out of the north. Canumbria is conquered, Skorn is completely colonized, and the northern peninsula is invaded.
The Last War: Approximately -30 DR. The Mornish of Lansigor flee in to the western wastes. Every island and mainland stronghold of the Mornish is overrun and conquered or razed. The great sorcerer queen of Morysten reputedly sends a magical attack against the Vaesir, killing thousands and theoretically creating the modern day anomalies of the Harrowmoors. Morysten is besieged. The Vaesir begin to divide the spoils, none-too-peacefully, and even fight over the right of assaulting Morysten.
The Red Dawn: 0 DR. Morysten is conquered. The Black Dragon Banner flies over its burning towers, and the Vaesir's claim of this wretched waste is complete.
The Red Years: 0 DR - 283 DR. There are hundreds of Kinlords and thousands of Clanlords, but none of them have mastered magic yet. Arcanite reserves were rare in their homeland, and they are only now discovering the abundance here. Additionally, more progressive Lords (Especially in Morysten) are delving in to Mornish ruins, recovering relics and archives of magical power and knowledge. Incessant tribal warfare rages between numerous factions vying for power, significantly reducing the Vaesir population. Tribes of Kabal first begin to form petty confederations, in particular around the city-state of Deloq (Edenperth).
First Reformation Wars: 283 DR - 318 DR. The Kinlord of Morysten declares himself Highlord of the Mornlands and begins a war of unification. He conquers southern Canumbria and Graeghaele before a Raegen and Skornish alliance, with Kabal mercenaries, defeat him at Raven's Crossing.
The Push South: 312 DR - 363 DR. Numerous Kinlords begin an expeditionary conquest against the Kabal tribes. Deloq is brutally sacked, its people enslaved or put to the sword. Everything east of the Dunharrow is swept in to the sea or put in to chains. First peaceful contact is made with the Kera-Bijani, and marks the beginning of international mercenary work for the Vaesir.
The Dragon's Ascent: 363 DR - 554 DR. Technological advances (In particular in mining, metallurgy, agriculture, and magic) allow for the growth of Vaesir settlements and Kinholds. A time of relative peace and stability for the Vaesir. Many of the modern Kinholds are founded, and the Turhyls are conquered. Dunperth is founded as a gateway to the south. Towards the end of this period, first contact is made with Sangharan merchant-explorers. Intrigued by the exotic goods and peoples, many Vaesir mercenaries sign on with the Sangharans for the journey back east and south. Other Vaesir Lords and independent pirate captains prey upon the Sangharans, or follow them east to scout out potential new targets.
Second Reformations Wars: 550 DR - 555 DR. The faith of Kera-Bijan comes to the Mornlands. It is corrupted (Through cultural divides and language barriers) in to a form more pleasing to the Vaesir lifestyle. A religious warlord in Edenperth gathers many Clans under his banner and attempts another war of unification. This type, preaching that all Vaesir must follow the worship the Tenfold Truths. He is slain at the Battle of Brightmoor, a devastating conflict that causes the substantial growth of the southern Harrowmoors. Edenperth shrinks, many of its holdings divided between the victors in the alliance who brought it low.
Fall of the Kabal: 556 DR - 630 DR. The Vaesir push west across the Dunharrow and complete their conquest of the Kabal on the northern side of the Inner Sea. The great realm of Feochain grows in power and Sanskar is seized from the Kabal. First acts of piracy against Qaroitn and the Kallareen take place during this time.
The Gates are Opened: 630 DR - 733 DR. The golden century of Vaesir piracy. The Kallareen islands submit to Vaesir authority in return for crippling tributes, and the establishment of Erean and Skornish outposts on their islands. Vaesir pirates spread west, terrorizing the tribes, city-states, and vulnerable coastal nations of the Inner Sea, as well as creating a still modern plague on the shipping routes. Numerous strongholds and outposts are established hundreds of miles away to serve as points from which to strike out against rich targets.
Third Reformation Wars: 730 DR - 734 DR. The second, and short-lived attempt, by the Kinlord of Morysland to proclaim themselves Highlords of the Mornlands. They are repulsed at Mund's Brand, then make some headway in to Canumbria before their armies are shattered by a Canumbrian confederation. Following a three year siege, the Morys surrender, losing much of their material wealth, overseas territory, and navy. They are still recovering (And planning revenge) to this day.
The Sea War: 735 DR - 738 DR. Bold expeditionary Vaesir captains discover Attolia. After a few probing attacks on outlying island settlements, a major raid destroys a small port town. After numerous failed scouting attempts, the Attolians decipher a crude Vaesir chart after a failed raid. The resulting punitive war is devastating. Mostly a naval engagement, the incredibly long line of supply, terrible weather, hostile terrain, deadly magic, and savage inhabitants of the Mornland are matched against the awesome power of the Iron Walls of Attolia, its near-bottomless treasury, and the vast population of its Empire. The war is astronomically costly for the Empire, and a bitter stagnation for the Vaesir, unable to build new ships, explore east, conduct southern trade, or conduct their own internal political struggles. Meanwhile, Vaesir ships still abroad continue their raids against Attolian interests, and other pirates begin to fill the vacuum. Eventually, the House of Lords meet with Attolian generals and diplomats. The Kinlords of the Mornlands near unanimously agree to never again mount a raid on mainland Attolia, attack foreign pirates in Attolian waters, and give the Empire discounts as mercenaries in wars against third parties. While isolated and independent Vaesir raids do take place on Attolian outlying islands and merchant ships, no Vaesir has attempted a raid against the great island itself...for now.
Eyes on the Dusk: 739 DR - 810 DR. The "Great Gates" are mapped out and traversed as the Vaesir experiment with new ways to "interact" with the south. Numerous outposts, hideouts, and strongholds established at the Gates and beyond, for smugglers and slavers mostly.
A Fire in the North: 811 DR to 925 DR (Present). The Kinlord in Mund's Brand begins a war of conquest, similar to Reformation Wars, against the other Kinlords of Raegenstrang. Wielding a terrifying flaming sword of epic proportions on the frontlines, the disciplined Carls of house Mundsblut tread roughshod over the scattered Raegen Lords. Over three generations, Mundweorth conquers every other Raegen Kinhold and subjugated all Clanlords, save for the rugged Kinhold of Polmear. At this time, the southern Kinholds are oblivious to the potential danger, while Polmear tries to gather allies for a Fourth Reformation War.

The majority of the Mornland's economy is based on mercenary work, raiding, and the slave trade. Kinlords of the mainland are more likely to travel to distant countries and hire themselves out as assassins, bodyguards, or mercenary companies to foreign powers. Islander Vaesir are more likely to be raiders, scouring the northern shores for unarmed merchantmen and vulnerable coastal towns to pillage. They even enslave their own, either out of desperation, overpopulation, or sheer pragmatism. These slaves are either put to work in farms or mines, or sold overseas to other less reputable individuals.

Most of the Mornlands are too poor to support much agriculture, and the idea of cash crops is wasteful and obscene to most Mornish. Along the Mern River, which runs through Mundweorth, in the Dunharrow River Valley, along the edges of the Harrowmoor, coastal Great Krotem, and Polmear, the main subsistence crop is dulbri. It somewhat resembles a cross between a cat-tail and a potato. A woody stalk grows out of damp, muddy ground. Little bulbs grow up the length of the top, traveling to the tip and growing in size. Once they get to the top, they are ripe, and fall off when overripe. They rot and mix with the loam, creating a healthy humus to support more dulbri, which can often grow wild and spread to other fields if left unchecked. Dulbri fruit is largely tasteless but nutritious. It is usually sliced, seasoned with herbs and animal fat, then baked in small clay ovens and served with fish, mollusks, or eel. These regions, and much of the Erean Reach, is also known for the vasko, a massive and ornery toad-like creature that is raised for its eggs, then slaughtered for its meat when it grows too large and aggressive. Otherwise, the Vaesir grow barley, cabbage, and potatoes in the north, apples, carrots, and wheat in the south, and most Vaesir raise conventional livestock such as cattle, goat, and sheep. However, all must supplement their diet and livelihood by hunting and fishing.

In rockier regions, the Vaesir (Or more likely slaves) mine copper, granite, iron, marble, silver, and tin. While not skilled at crafting jewelry or other refined goods, they do occasionally export these materials to other nations. Most is kept for making weapons, armor, cutlery, collars, and chains, or for fortifying or decorating Brochs.

The Mornlands do not have anything remotely resembling a united standing army for the defense of the realms. If they were invaded, truly invaded, by a foreign country with intent to conquer, such a force would encounter a somewhat unified Mornland. The Vaesir would never tolerate a foreign army on their soil, and even if they did not create a whole army to counter it, each Kinlord would individually harass, raid, and bushwhack the soldiers and supply lines of the invaders. Furthermore, such invaders would struggle to maintain such a supply line, and foraging off of the harsh landscape of the Mornlands is untenable. Lastly, the monstrous inhabitants of the north are not picky in those they prey upon and terrorize.

Each Clanlord and Kinlord maintains a warband of handpicked soldiers referred to as "Carls." The common folk of the Mornlands strive, dream, and toil to join this hallowed company. When not working the fields, mines, or waves, the Vaesir train night and day, pushing their already near-perfect bodies to greater extremes. The axe, bow, knife, and spear are the weapons of these common folk ("Thralls") and household guards. One of the only common laws in the Mornlands is that the rank and file, the peasantry, are not permitted to arm themselves with "Bakanei", the Dividers, swords. Only a Clanlord, Kinlord, or direct member of their family is allowed to carry or wield one. This is namely because good swords, the high-carbon steel, and knowledge to craft them, are all rare in the Mornlands. Only within the last century or so have any of the realms' rulers considered abstract concepts of the divine right of rule, noblesse oblige, or even really the true concept of "nobility."

Each Clanlord can maintain a retinue of between 10 and 30 Carls, and can call up 50 to 100 Thralls, while the average Kinlord should be able to afford at least 50 Carls, and upwards of 200 for the richer lords, and can call on 500 to 1,000 Thralls (And then of course summon the Clanlords and Carls who serve under them). However, Thralls are rarely used for expeditionary purposes (That is to say, overseas raiding, slaving, and mercenary work). Most Lords only use their Thralls in the defense of their realms, for hunting down brigands, tracking down monsters, and raiding their neighbors.

Vaesir are trained in a variety of fighting styles, though most of their tactics can be broken down in to three broad categories. When boarding ships (A common past time) most of these strategies fall apart. Missile troops provide covering fire while the warriors surge forward in a screaming mass, leaping with their powerful legs across impossible distances. The Kinlords lead the charge, shrugging off deadly blows in their dragonplate and laying about with enchanted sword and axe.

Tonu Vilaat: The Waves of Wrath, the main tactic used with mixed Carls and Thralls. This strategy is generally used when Kinholds go to war, or when the Mornlands are invaded by foreign forces. It is simple; unarmored Thralls with missile weapons gird the flanks. In the center is a mass of infantry, mostly with spears and shields, with oath knives and hatchets for the butchery. The first few ranks and the very last ranks are of the most heavily armored, veteran troops, with the soldiers in the front ranks carrying the shortest weapons and largest shields. Those in the middle carry longer spears and throwing weapons. If the enemy attempts to attack the missile troops at the flank, they simple melt back, and the veteran soldiers in the rear flow forward to reinforce, the skirmishers firing all the while.
Kaarfen Steig: The Dragon's Scales, the main tactic used with elite household Carls in full battle harness with great shield and war spear. A simple but fearsome wall of massive, overlapping shields. The warriors in the front rank use javelins, short spears, cestus, and oath knives, those in back form a bristling array of spears. The flanks and rear are guarded by warriors without shields, wielding two-handed weapons and forming a more staggered, skirmishing formation.
Lawr Jumas: The Spear of the Gods, a popular tactic used by Carls and Thralls against overwhelming numbers of foes, particularly those of inferior training or equipment. It is a wedge formation, with the best troops on the outside of the wedge, and the worst within. At the tip is traditionally the Kinlord, depending on their superior equipment, magical protection, and awesome fighting skill to safeguard them. The wedge thrusts forward in to the center of the enemy, breaking them apart, never stopping, until they can push through to rear and sweep to one side or the other, driving the enemy in to confusion and terror. If need be, the wedge can quickly form a circle, with the vulnerable unarmored or ranged troops in the middle, Lords circling the exterior of the shield, seeking and granting glorious death.

Weapons and Armor of the Mornlands
Bakanei: In High Mornish, bakanei roughly translates to "divider." The Mornish bakanei could be described as a hand-and-a-half sword; while traditionally wielded two-handed, it can also be used in conjunction with a shield, knife, or simply one-handed if the swordsman is injured (Or cocky). The blade is about three feet long, very slightly curved, and single-edged. A variety of crossguards exist, but are usually thin and horizontal, sometimes sweeping upwards symmetrically, or with the front quillion sweeping downwards to protect the fingers. Bakanei in the Mornlands are enchanted, Arcanite infused weapons with a variety of properties. Most are simply protected against wear and tear, and supernaturally sharpened and hardened beyond the durability of normal steel.
Battle Harness: Carls and Lords don this heavy suit of armor when they go a'reaving, or in the defense of their own lands against invasion. The base of the battle harness is a silken undergarment going from the thighs to the upper arms, followed by a linen tunic that goes to the elbows and knees, a thin leather tabard, and heavy bronze cuirass and pauldrons. Head protection varies by realm, generally a lacquered wood or bone mask reinforced with bronze, often with a studded leather nape guard. Rich (Or paranoid) harness wearers supplement the armor with metal scales on the skirt of the tabard and leather plates on the arms and shins.
Fortune Suit: The fortune suit is a simple, even crude suit of armor, favored by independent mercenaries, pirates, and outlaws (From whence the name originally comes). The armor's core is a sleeveless coat of leather or canvas sewn with metal disks or scales (Usually of bronze, copper, or tin). This is all many of the armor's traditional users can afford. Others augment it with a leather or bronze chanfron, studded gauntlets, and leather kilt.
Great Shield: A massive protective augmentation only carried by the strongest of fighters. The great shield is round, made from a base of wooden planks, covered in a thin sheet of beaten bronze and then another layer of treated hide, secured to the wood by leaden pegs. Four feet across and concave, the great shield is immensely heavy and designed to rest on the carrier's shoulder when not in use or when part of a shield wall.
Headhunter: The fearsome axe of Vaesir warriors and hearty woodsmen. It is a two-handed weapon with a thick three to four foot long handle, the grip often wrapped in leather or metal bands. Veteran or superstitious warriors carve protective fetishes or the records of past kills along it. One side of the head is a heavy half-moon wedge, while the other features a four inch long spike. Incredibly effective against most armor (Natural or man-made) and shields, the headhunter is most well known to almost effortlessly cleave through bone and muscle in the hands of a strong, practiced user.
Kurathyr: Dragon-plate, the Living Mantle, the most feared extension of a Kinlord's will and power. Most Kurathyr are not actually made from dragon parts, though some are. Dragon-plate is made from the scavenged parts of any fearsome monster of the Mornlands or lands beyond. The "average" Kurathyr is made from a frame of bone, bound together with soft hides and gut string. A knee-length hauberk of scales or leather is laid over this frame, followed by plates of steel up to an inch thick. Arcanite is embedded throughout the armor, forming a carefully aligned matrix of power. Kurathyr is incredibly heavy; the enchantments placed upon it augment the wearer's strength and endurance, allowing them to bear the armor's weight for hours at a time. Additionally, the Arcanite-alignment redirects the kinetic energy from blows hitting any part of the armor, redistributing any attacks evenly across the entire suit. Each Kurathyr is made for and by its Kinlord, and no two are quite the same. Some are richly decorated pieces of art; others are simple and straight-forward, looking little different from ordinary plate. If a Kinlord is slain in Kurathyr, the crystals expel any of their remaining power, cracking and turning the armor in to a useless heap. However, such is easier said than done. Most attacks feel like gentle rain to a Kurathyr-wearer, and even most magic harmlessly splashes off of it.
Oath Knife: As much a symbol of status as a weapon and a tool, the oath knife is given to most Vaesir upon reaching the cusp of adulthood. The handle is made of bone or copper in poorer households, while wealthier landholders or Carls would use bronze, silver, gold, or petrified wood. This handle is engraved with symbols of the owner's house and family, personal accomplishments, and oaths of vengeance. Single-edged and only slightly curved, an oath knife is almost a short sword, roughly twenty inches in length (Including the six inch handle). It does not posses a hand guard, and most pommels are purely decorative.
Self Bow: Self bows are simple weapons designed for hunting and defense against medium-sized herd animals and lightly armored enemies. Generally crafted from a single piece of wood that has been carved, scraped, and polished in to shape, then covered in protective laminate and tipped in nocks of antler or horn. Some bowyers attach a grip of leather or linen, while the string is gut, flax, or silk.
Target Shield: A small wooden shield, popular amongs outlaws, landholders, and couriers. It is roughly twenty inches across and covered in a thin layer of leather secured in place with bronze studs. The rim is a thin sheeting of bronze, both to further secure everything and to act as an offensive edge. Target shields are ineffective against most missile weapons due to their small size. They are excellent close combat tools, able to knock aside blows, entangle arms and hafts, and act as an additional melee weapon as the situation merits.
War Spear: The traditional weapon of professional Vaesir soldiers and household guards. It possesses a five foot long haft, and ends in a foot long leaf-shaped blade on one side and a small smaller spike on the other. This spike is used to brace the weapon on the ground, finish off downed foemen while the spear is held in a vertical position and the wielder walks past, or as a secondary head if the main head breaks. While most often used for thrusting in conjunction with a shield, the spear can be held in two-hands and make swift cutting attacks. Intended primarily for close-quarters, the war-spear is aerodynamic and can be flung accurately up to almost fifty feet.

The Thralls and outlaws of the Mornlands also use clubs, javelins, and simple knives and hatchets. Likewise, the best armor many of them can afford is a hide shirt. In Canumbria, Carls are known to use cestus made from bone and leather, and both Carls and Thralls of Polmear wield powerful yew longbows. If necessary, the Vaesir's powerful jaws and canine teeth can be brought to bear. The Mornlands do not field anything resembling cavalry.

Much as they do not have a proper standing army, the Vaesir lack a proper navy as well. However, every coastal steading has at least a decent-sized longboat, every Clanlord can float 4 to 6 longships, and every Kinlord can float at least 10 to 15 more. Additionally, the great sorcerers of Morn have numerous ways to threaten the waves. Numerous mind-controlled sea creatures and the slain, hollowed out, and reanimated corpses of other great beasts. The greatest Kinlord sorcerers can exercise limited control over the weather, at least in their own regions, to summon great waves, change the winds, and lower or raise the tides.

Live by the Sword, Die by the Sword: The Vaesir are some of the finest fighters in the world. The average Vaesir is faster, stronger, and tougher than an exceptional human. Their society rewards physical perfection and martial prowess; the only way to rise from drudgery is to be selected for a Lord's retinue. A Carl is then obligated to defend their Lord's lands, join them on raids and mercenary contracts, and continue practicing daily to stay in top physical condition. In addition to constantly struggling against the world and each other, the Vaesir lands are swarming with monstrous abominations and magical anomalies, and the very land and weather works against them. As a result of this, and their incredibly high metabolism, there are not very many Vaesir. The land could theoretically support many more, but most do not live to see old age due to dying in battle, being consumed by monsters, or becoming lost in the wilds or the waves.

Ours to Hate: While they spend as much time fighting each other as they do raiding other peoples, the Vaesir of the Mornlands would unite against a true threat. Every Vaesir man, woman, and child would water every inch of ground with the invaders' blood before giving it up. Likewise, the very landscape and its even more dread inhabitants would cause grief and agony for would-be conquerors. However, the Vaesir will likely never present a true threat to the nations of world beyond raiding and slaving. It would take a truly great warlord to unite the tribes of Vaesir as equals. The Tribes of the Mornlands would fall to squabbling likely before they took their last breath.

Witch-Knights: The Kinlords are some of the greatest warriors in the world, and all of them have at least a working knowledge of magic (In particular "battle magic" and the crafting of magical arms and armor). Several of them are true masters of their craft, sorcerers of immense power and skill. Part of this can be blamed on the High Mornish whom they conquered and enslaved, and the ruins they plundered for relics and knowledge. Great reserves of Crystal (Which the Vaesir call "Arcanite") are very common in the Mornlands, particularly in Morysland, Cenn, and Skorn. Over the centuries, these warrior-mage-lords have challenged, dueled, and slain each other over and over again, slowly whittling down their numbers.

Arcana: Mixed relationship, dependent on the Kinlord. Some mercenaries, some raiders, some traders. Exports ivory, whale oil, silver, and furs. Imports dye, iron, and silk.
Attolia: Stance of non-aggression and mutual isolationism, occasional independent contracts and minor raids
Caelrumoste: Exporting ships, mercenary work, currency. Importing Arcanite. Often hunt pirates and merchants alike in Caelrumoste waters. Overall neutral/professional foreign stance
Kera-Bijan: Exporting mercenary work and oil. Importing iron and Arcanite
Nucaal: Mixed relationship, dependent on the Kinlord. Some mercenaries, some raiders, some traders.
Qaroitn: Raid target, in particular as mercenaries for the Kera-Bijani
Sanghara: Exporting mercenary work, pirate hunting, furs, whale oil, ivory. Importing food, silk, spices. Overall friendly, with sharing of culture and language
Surabhumi: Complicated. Little to raid targets, more likely independent attacks on supply ships, limited trade with enterprising contacts. Likely no official foreign stance
Vaerheim: Mercenary contract ally and trade partner, rare conflicts of interest

Rolls:
Base
Land Area: 10
Land Fertility: 17
Development: 12
Land Power: 10
Naval Power: 20
Economy: 18
Magical Reserves: 11
Magical Sophistication: 1

Final
Land Area: 8
Land Fertility: 8
Development: 5
Land Power: 12
Naval Power: 20
Economy: 18
Magical Reserves: 16
Magical Sophistication: 17

Carrion Moth:
Deodand:
Faceless Daemon:
Earthshaker:
Fomorian:
Gid:
Gloomwidow:
Grinhound:
Leugath:
Living Light:
Leucomorph:
Urgath:
Waveborn:

SPECIES-
The Sanghar are a humanoid, bipedal race of usually red skinned peoples, notable for being one of the three races created by the Ashammai precursors along with the Surabhi and the Tu’mong. They are a tall, lithe, pantherish people who commonly reach six foot in height, with eyes that vary from blue, orange, purple and gold. Their hair is usually white and their heads are crowned with a pair of velveted red horns, which emerge from their foreheads. Asides from this, the Sanghar have two other distinctive features, their commonly aquiline noses which forms something of a common trait, and their prehensile tails which they use to climb and balance themselves, as well as sometimes a pseudo “third arm”. Unlike the Surabhi the Sanghar’s gender balance is roughly equal, and in fact physically the two genders are fairly similar in terms of build and strength, with only marginal differences between them depending on hormonal development during adolescence - There is uncertainty to whether this was in response to, or prior to, the creation of the Surabhi. Indeed, some Sanghar thinkers have hypothesized that the weakness of the Surabhi males may have been deemed “inefficient” by the Ashammai, hence resulting in a change in their experiment.

A sub-group of amphibious Sanghar known as the Sargael are also exist within the empire, being notable for a minor - and since mended - schism that divided them into independent realms across the small islands surrounding Shanrilaath. It is believed by Sanghar thinkers that the Sargael were an attempt to improve on the sea-faring Sanghar by the Ashammai, but their amphibious nature proved more of a hindrance than a help. These Sanghar share many of the same features as the main Sanghar population, albeit with blue skin, milky opalescent eyes, webbed feet and hands, more antler-like horns and a more aquatic ridged and finned tail. Hybrids of the sub-race and the main Sanghar often result in individuals known as “Saltbloods” which share variable features of both ethnic groups - most commonly blue skin and webbing. This is the extent of their interbreeding however, as Sanghar cannot breed successfully with races beyond those created by the Ashammai, having been made genetically incompatible so the precursors could keep a tight leash on their experiment. Some success can be made with ritualised magic to create artificial hybrids, but it has been discovered that the features of one half rapidly diminish with each successive generation. Sanghar hybridisation with the Tu’mong results in Sanghar genetic traits being naturally dominant, and with the Surabhi it is dependent on the mothers race.

Beyond the Sanghar and the Sargael populations, The Sangharan Republic is home to almost every race of the known world to some degree. Due to having economic connections across the globe, the merchant quarters of most cities are abuzz with a multi-ethnic admixture of peoples of all walks of life, each bringing their faith, customs and language to Shanrilaath, and officially supported by the Grand Republic’s legal tolerance of such individual freedoms. Humans, Surabhi and Tu’mong however tend to be the most numerous of these groups due to the closer interaction they share with the Sanghar, militarily, culturally and economically. Populations of Sangharized Surabhi and Tu’mong are particularly common, their highly integrated populations clustering together in small - and sometimes large - communities. Often times they can be told apart from mainland Surabhi and Tu’mong via the tattoos they wear - in the Surabhi’s case, three tiger stripes on each cheek - and are commonly involved as much as the Sanghar in trade, diplomacy, warfare and communal life. Tu’mong however are more conservative than the Sangharized Surabhi, much like their mainland cousins, and keep marriages within their enclaves in order not to disappear.

As a result of high living standards and the universalisation of certain branches of magic in everyday life, it is not uncommon for noble Sanghar to reach their nineties or become centenarians if not killed by magi-plagues or war. Some, such as the Dakatha live for even longer, extending their lives through occult means for hundreds of years - although this requires decennial rejuvenations to maintain, and can have an degenerative effect on the mind for those not strong of will. In general, without artificial mental degradation, the Sanghar tend to age quite gracefully, assisted by cultural paradigms that support physical fitness even late in life.

OVERVIEW-
As a nation born from was once part of the largest and most powerful empire on Takanis, the Sanghar naturally have a rich and vibrant culture and society stretching back nearly half a dozen millennia. Across the vast coastline of the smoking volcanic isle of Shanrilaath loom hundreds of ancient cities, opulent and imperial in their splendour, with towers and pyramids of basalt dominating their skylines and mighty walls covered in painted bas-reliefs of Ishareth’s children, enclosing cities who’s roofs gleam in shining brass scales. People of all races and nationalities swarm the ports, bringing goods of ivory, amber, magic crystal and furs from the distant north to exchange for sapphires, tiger and lion skins, or purple dye and spices from the humid coast-land plantations of Shanrilaath, the wild jungles of the interior, or the dark halls of secretive alchemists.

In Sanghara, innumerable festivals light up the night on any part of the island with song and dance, pleasure houses crowd the avenues of trade and see to every need a visitor might indulge in, and swaggering bravos in patterned silk finery challenge each other in public displays of prowess with their kris knives. In the halls of the great temples dedicated to Ishareth - their mother goddess - strange purple fires are piled high with aromatic herbs and sandalwood, overseen by unaging priests in white robes, who call voices out of the flame that throw their congregations into silently mystic ecstasy. From the seas come sleek black prowed vessels, carved in faces of the goddesses kin and served by salt-flecked, hardened mariners, who bring back trade and pillage from distant shores and fatten the coin purses of merchants. Across the craggy coastal cliffs, a network of silent midnight pagodas lie ready to call in great smothering mists to enshroud the isle, a matter that has deferred invasion many a time in the worst ages of the Century Wars.

To visit Shanrilaath is an experience in a nation rich in custom and tradition, smoothed into broad tolerance and acceptance by a millennia of exquisite wealth. One would be a fool however, to say that this decadent display has weakened the Sanghar in any meaningful way, as their nation has outlasted far more austere civilisations, and endured cataclysms that would make the latter crumble into powder. Hard, battleworn faces mix without conflict with those of easy living on their isles, and the spectre of war is never far away with their looming titanic rival to the north. The age of Shanrilaath’s golden years have been long diminished after the collapse of their mainland territories one and a half thousand years ago, but they are not gone. So long as Shanrilaath lives and breathes and trades, the Republic will always find new and innovative ways to restore itself.

Until then it awaits, patiently, for the return of its true and primordial splendour...

GOVERNMENT-
The Grand Republic of Sanghara consists of a hundreds of semi-autonomous city states and provinces, each dominated by ruling families and unified by a bicameral national government called the Dakathan Senate and the Provincial Assembly. Although the heads of these families usually remain in the city to oversee direct administration of family affairs, each major house sends a delegate elected amongst their members to attend to the matters of state in Ivory Palace at Tel-Shanraath - named as such due to the Octagonal palace the senate meets in, which is held up by eight great granite elephants and which holds hundred-and-thirty mahogany and hammered ivory thrones, representing a single delegate of each ruling family. Here the great families of the republic guide the destiny of the Sangharan nation, voting in matters of government, administration, commerce and legislation across the republic and its provinces. Amidst these halls political parties are founded and flourish, old orders grow and decline, and the ruling powers dominate and scheme amongst private cliques of ever-changing alliances. To become a first citizen, and thus gain a vote in the central affairs of the Ivory Palace, one must travel a difficult road filled with pitfalls and traps laid by the Dakatha princes. Although not cut-throat, Sangharan politics is filled with manipulations and scheming on an economic level, and the elites are rarely willing to share in their power with glorified upstarts. For a family to take a seat of its own - of which there are but one hundred and twenty - it must either dethrone an existing dynasty or become a force too powerful to be denied. For most, the former is more common than the latter, and the last time the Senate has grown in number was seventy years ago. The latter also comes with formidable risks, as to threaten the powers-that-be without rebuke, one must be a mastermind in schemes, bribes, extortion and force. Many a upstart lord who imperiously thrust his way to power this way has been dethroned and left dead, bankrupted or broken when they grew too threatening to be tolerated. The only exception to this deadly game of machinations are the tens seats permanently delegated to the Temple, representing the leading High Priests and Priestesses and consorts of the Shanrilaath Orthodoxy. Those that play the game soon learn to avoid raising the ire of either the priests or their perfumed courtesans, as they are well known to be as deadly as they are seductive, and hold a terrifying amount of power amongst their secular contemporaries.

The most common way to enter the running for the senate is to found a powerful merchant family, and dominate trade and industry in a city or region. Commonly these are in regions dealing with specific goods and materials, or tied into the trade networks and posts that develop wherever the Sanghar settle. Colonisation and the construction of new cities can well make a family if one is canny enough to subjugate or bankrupt all opponents, and with colonisation rights naturally comes an increase in squabbles amongst the lower nobility of the Asurbaal over this opportunity. Others create their wealth through the construction of merchant fleets for shipping or warships for battle, and some in forging and leadership of armies on land, or equally in the supplying and equipping such armies. Once their wealth is established in such a manner, the family will have doubtless forged its way far above the provincial gentry of the Asurbaal. Upon achieving this, two powerful symbols are necessary to establish them as a ruling dynasty, education in the mystic arts - which raises them to the status of Dakatha - and the construction of an immense step-pyramid to display the families wealth and power. The resources and wealth necessary to access the black pagodas and obsidian pyramids of the magi, as well as the decade long construction of such a monument to ancestral power, is the final barrier to the rise of interlopers. Many a family has tried to rise to such heights only to bankrupt themselves in the attempt - although new families are quick to utilise the foundations of what they built to attain their own supremacy.

For most part however, the would-be princes of Sanghara content themselves with the more achievable power of the Provincial Assembly, which belongs to the landed gentry of the Asurbaal. Here they oversee regional and provincial legislation, and debate regional laws, tariffs and taxes not important enough to garner the notice of the Dakatha Princes. Although of less sweeping a nature, this lower senate sees over much of the essential administrative, bureaucratic and legislative processes of the republic, and can be a easy avenue to power… if one knows how to play the game of politics. Unlike the upper senate, the seats of the Asurbaal are rarely static or few in number, and thousands of families contest and argue over how their small corner of the republic is governed. Sometimes the Asurbaal have banded together to oppose the Dakatha Senate when the need arose, challenging the very powers that be for governance of the Republic, although usually this is in the face of outrageous ovesteps. More often they bicker and factionalise between themselves, kept to being - and denigrated as - the “lords of small matters” by those above them.

Finally there are the City Forums, assemblies of the most notable citizens of each city or independent town/province that assemble to elect representatives from the powerful families of the region, and examine public and economic matters for their state. The ruling family naturally has a permanent position of power within these proceedings, and thus substantial weight, but the elected officials and representatives of the city can both influence and put pressure them for certain motions or laws to come into effect. The amount of control each family has over the City Forums varies from dynasty to dynasty, with some representing more of a sham government and others being more diverse and vigorously engaged in the cities politics. The City Forum furthermore cannot be easily ignored, as many dynasties have found their downfall by pushing the citizenry too hard and causing riots and insurrection. In general, most families try and stick to a mid-ground, appeasing their citizens somewhat whilst keeping their own financial and political interests well in hand.

The final actor in this stage, and perhaps the most notable is the office of the First Prince. Elected amongst the Dakatha for life, they represent the republic on a national level and are considered the leading voice of the Dakatha Senate. The position however, is of variable authority when it comes to controlling the disparate ambitions of the ruling families. Although given respect, specific privileges and the authority to speak above all others, little actual power is gifted to the First Prince. They only represent the “first among equals” not a president or king who can dictate terms. Many have used such limited power - as well as their immense wealth, influence, subterfuge and charisma - to make them the true voice of the nation, and a powerful force to be reckoned with. Just as many however, have become little more than a rubber-stamp to the authority of factions and cliques, incapable of making the ruling members of the senate bend to their authority. To truly rule from such a position, one requires a masterful touch and the strength and political acumen to enforce it.

CASTES-
Sangharan society is built on a semi-flexible hierarchical structure which allows for some level of social mobility amongst the ruling and governed classes. At the top are the Dakatha, the richest, wealthiest, oldest and most influential families who often trace their bloodline down to the first settlers of Sanghara. There are the main governing citizenry of the empire, consisting of the first among equals in all matters, and it is uncommon that their numbers ever change. To be Dakatha, one must become what might be best described as a polymath, mastering to some degree financial, political and military matters. Most important of all - and what divides them from mere nobility - is the intense training they receive in the sorcerous arts of magic and elder learning. The Dakatha are above all sorcerors first, and politicians second - although many would argue that such a division in itself is unnatural - and imbued with power in both physical and mystical realms. Due to the immense amount of capital - and pre-existing privileges such as literacy and political station offer - only very few enter the black pagodas of the magi to be initiated. The process can take as long as five years to complete, and few but the rich or independent are able to stay away from matters of everyday life long enough to be made a member into that order. The majority of the Dakatha are biomancers, but many also practice other schools of learning, such as weather magic - the summoning of winds, mists etc - or darker, more forbidden arts. All are trained in a unique form of defensive hand to hand combat which allows for the deliverance of killing blows using their sorcery, although it is uncommon for such magic to be used except in the direst of situations. The Dakatha occupy the upper chamber of the bicameral senate, essentially deciding the vast majority of pressing matters in the chamber of the Ivory Palace of Tel-Shaanrath, and serving as the electors and councillors of the First Prince - a figure who is nominally “first among equals” but ultimately represents such an immense array of commercial, political and military interests that he is able to exert vast power over the nation.

Asurbaal follow next as the second major class of Sanghara, consisting of what could be said as being the landed gentry of the nation, and representing its agricultural and military core. As few of them are rich enough to acquire an education in magic, they remain as a secondary power block within the empire, although still accorded much deference as well as political power through the Provincial Assembly. Although denigrated as the “kings of small matters” the Asurbaal oversee much of the minutiae of the administration and governance of the empire which often escapes the notice of higher powers. They also serve as the second deciding vote, if the Dakatha Senate cannot decide on a particularly contentious matter. Asurbaal supply much of the heavy cavalry and elephant riders of the empire, and thus are an elite block to any Sangharan army - especially with their access to prize armour and weaponry as a result of their wealth, freeing them from less high quality munition fair. There is thus sizeable overlap between the Asurbaal class and the Subaal military class, and it is not uncommon for them to utilise their war experience to further long held political ambitions and rise in status amongst their peers - or become Dakatha themselves. Asurbaal also account to a lesser degree maritime and merchant affairs, - although nautical expeditions are invariably lead by the family of the Dakatha due to their frequent mastery of windsinging - and thus there is some overlap with the Ūdarpresh when merchants become rich enough to enter their numbers. Nevertheless it is an expectation - and most often a reality - that the Asurbaal come from agricultural landowning stock.

Ūdarpresh, the merchants and traders, and Hazarpresh, rural farmers, labourers, artisans and craftsmen naturally represent the common man or woman in Sangharan society, consisting of the vast stock of the population of the Republic. They are not truly enfranchised on a national level, instead making their demands known locally through elections and pressure in the Dakatha dominated Public Forum, and have a lesser legal position under law and justice. Nevertheless as a result of the states immense riches, their lives are far from “nasty, brutal or short” and they mostly live in relative comfort - especially the rich merchant Ūdarpresh caste who’s money is often made from their spice and silk plantations and trade ships. Both furthermore consist of the majority of the Subaal military class - as well as in the case of the Hazarpresh, raw labour for the corvee system - being essential to the growth and survival of the empire. Like all other classes, both use military recruitment as a chance for social advancement and are eager to acquire enough riches and land from their service to be raised to Asurbaal status. Some of them even do, although it is uncommon, but even a moderately successful campaign can make a rich city magistrate of a subsistence farmer - if he doesn’t die first. Ūdarpresh are the natural commercial lifeblood of the empire, ensuring the traffic of goods in and out of the empire in their sleek, well built and handsome boats. Ūdarpresh also have some greater level of soft power in the Public Forums, being able to pressure for changes as part of guild blocs and frequently being sought after for commercial support for ambitious Dakatha - with trade concessions invariably following. Of all the classes likely to consistently rise in station, the Ūdarpresh stand the best chance of achieving that goal - assuming they can outlast their competitors of course - although the Hazarpresh often rise to become local Asurbaal, filtering their money into land purchases and founding massive and prosperous estates.

The final class is the Yuzhat, the slaves of the empire. As the Sangharan’s are mostly supported in their construction requirements by a vast supply of cheap labour from free men and women, slavery is mostly reserved for domestic or specialist service. Slaves are taken through two means, the first by “honest combat” where a defeated opponent who has taken up arms against a Sanghar is made captive in battle. The second is through purchase via intermediaries, with the presumption that the first matter has been attended to. Although the Sanghar raid, they do not enslave or kidnap civilians indiscriminately as it is seen as unvirtuous to brutalise an unarmed opponent who offers no resistance. Only those who fight - and who are captured in doing so - can be legitimately taken as Yuzhat. Yuzhat status is not necessarily seen as a permanent thing in Sanghar society, instead being considered as a debt of payment for harm caused to the Sangharan Empire, or blood labour. The standard number of years of service is considered to be five, with those with notable records for brutality or fierceness towards the Sanghara having their terms extended proportionate to the damage they cause. Many legal protections exist to ensure that unnecessary cruelty is not observed by the masters of the Yuzhat, and it is not unknown of for a Yuzhat to bring a master to court for their callousness - if still uncommon due to societal norms. Although subservient in position, being Yuzhat can also offer a great deal of opportunities due to their direct connection with the households of the affluent. Although often domestic or pleasure slaves, it is expected that a master give patronage in return for service through providing education in literacy, scholastic or physical pursuits as to best utilise the skills of their servants.

Thus service can as often be voluntary as much as it is a result of captivity, allowing peoples of lesser rank to rise in stature and access pathways of advancement through educational provisions. Yuzhat who bear children in their service will not have their status effect their newborns, who are in turn considered born free and of their fathers/mothers household. Such children are not seen as a matter of disgrace, and are raised of almost equal status with their trueborn Asurbaal or Dakatha kindred in all things but succession, which follows a line of tanistry - the first wives children will inherit in preference over others. Still it is natural that they receive all the support, love and education necessary to have a long and promising life. After their years of service are completed, the Yuzhat are given their freedom and two options to choose from; to stay in Shanrilaath, being provided lands and money suitable to ensure a life of comfort, or to take a ship to the mainland and return home across the sea. Although it is not uncommon for the latter to occur, it is surprisingly frequent that the former is chosen, as conditions, life and opportunities are often better in Shanrilaath than they are on the frequently war-torn mainland. Some even remain as paramours or as High Yuzhat wives/husbands of their former masters, and as such the Sangharan Republic has a surprising amount of ethnic diversity amongst its citizenry in the cities, as well as - to a lesser degree - the rural areas of the island.

RELIGION-
Much like the Surabhi and the Tu’mong the Sanghar follow a branch of the Isharethi religion, although divided from the latter too in terms of doctrinal interpretation of Ishareth’s scriptures. Historically the Sanghar formed the most notable early cults of monolatric worship of the goddess, but historical fragmentation makes the exact nature of the Ishaethi peoples religious redirection ambiguous. The worship of Ishareth as a goddess - as well as her divine counterparts - can however be said to pre-date her current congregation extensively, extending back to the Ashammai creators over six thousand years ago, and perhaps even further to a possibly neolithic origin amongst Pre-Ashammai peoples that inhabited what was to become Tsang-Mah, Ditadisha and Odhisa.

The Sanghar, like the Surabhi and Tu’mong continued to worship their adopted and loosely knit Ashammai religious pantheon long after the Ashammai’s fall. They knew no other gods, and so it endured unspoiled and unhindered across the post cataclysmic period. The doctrinal challenges have only come relatively more recently, beginning five hundred years after the foundation of the Old Empire, which saw a obscure period of religious change known as the Zakurad Reformation, followed by the victory of Isharethi monolatrism among the Sanghar and Surabhi. The Tu’mong however did not experience this reformation, and instead continued the pre-existent religious practices with their own smaller alterations, although their religious heartlands diminished to Nam Leng as the Old Empire grew more powerful. Eventually as thousands of years passed, the two religious communities that occupied much of the Old Empire’s population slowly began to diverge in their interpretation of the holy scriptures, ritual language, rites and Vedas of their faith, which saw slow but increasing ethnic tensions as the Old Empire began to disintegrate. With the destruction of the seat of the Old Empire’s core, the simmering religious dispute came to a head in the fractured and leaderless provinces of the empire. The two religious factions broke into discord with one another over their long-standing doctrinal disputes, which invariably lead to the emergence of Sanghar and Surabhi orthodoxies who no longer accepted the wholesale validity of each others scriptural interpretations. Further divisions would divide the faith in later centuries, with the Tsathic Heresy in Tsang-Mah, the rise of the Gorgothic Law and the Lengi Restoration in Nam Leng and elsewhere.

Shanrilaath Orthodoxy which is predominant in the Sangharan Republic is usually regarded as the oldest and most sensual and extravagant main branches of the faith, and is thus the object of many fantastical rumours in the wider world. Whilst nowhere near the scale of decadence rumoured, Shanrilaath Orthodoxy is a highly permissive religion when it comes to amorous relations, and celebrates its festivals in a highly elaborate and luxuriantly public manner. To the Sangharans, Ishareth is the goddess of growth and renewal, conflict and knowledge, and her bounty must be publicly celebrated to show their appreciation of their goddess. Festivals are thus organised at the beginning and end of each year to celebrate Ishareth’s gift of life to Takanis and the favour she bestowed upon the Republic upon its colonisation of Shanrilaath. Although all sects of the Isharethi faith acknowledge the existence of other gods, most agree that as the mother of all things, Ishareth is the goddess most interested in earthly matters - and in the Sangharans case, believed to be the one most likely to intercede in those affairs. Sangharans thus pray to Ishareth at her temples for success in their endeavours of commerce, diplomacy and travel, offering tribute in return for her blessing for their expedition. Far more rarely, the Sanghar call upon Ishareth in times of war to turn the tide against their enemies, but this is seen as a desperate and most dire act, as causing the deaths of her children is considered an anathema for the goddess.

Tribute is traditionally given to temples and shrines to the goddess, and if a family becomes rich and powerful enough, they may erect statues and monuments to exult her glory and display their dedication to her tenets. These offerings are frequently laid out before towering semi-humanoid statues of Ishareth in the temple nave, or cast into the pyre of eternal purple flames positioned at the feet of the goddesses statue. The construction of a temple ziggurats is considered a particularly worth opportunity to gain her favour, and thus many dynasties eagerly scramble to fund these elaborate religious projects. The process of creation and artistry in general is also seen as a virtue, as it is interpreted as mirroring the creative nature of the goddess as she populates of the world with life. Ishareth amongst craftsmen is thus also seen as a goddess of inspiration and their muse, and often these groups establish their own private shrines to her for each guild of artisans, as well as the source of the Sangharan’s highly decorative artwork.

Education is also regarded as an important religious matter, as it is through the understanding of the Vedas that Ishareth’s will may be manifested and a virtuous life followed. Although the priestesses are naturally regarded in experts in this field due to their lives of scholastic study, it is expected that each child should at least understand and be able to read the basic scriptures of virtue written on the pillars of the Sanghar temples. Temple Schools are thus distributed evenly across the rural and urban areas of Shanrilaath to provide education to the masses, although quality varies depending on the wealth of each episcopal see and its interest in funding its sub-temples. At least a third of Sangharans are fully literate, with another twenty percent displaying at least partial literacy, proving the success of their efforts in such matters.

Magic, much like amongst the ruling class, is deeply entwined into Sanghar religious beliefs and customs. All forms of magic practised by the Sanghar naturally find their origins amidst the Isharethi Ritual Vedas, which provide guidance on its use and function in manners pleasing to the goddess, and education purposes that permeate even in the secular environments of the black pagodas of the Dakatha. Although far less cautious than their Surabhumi counterparts, Sangharans generally prefer to follow proven techniques rather than unguided experiments, and thus excessive and incautious magical rituals are deeply frowned upon as unpious and unwise. The Temple also provides one of the few ways to gain an education in magic for Sanghar of poorer backgrounds - although a far more conservative one than through secular education - and has been known to jump=start Dakatha temple dynasties amongst cunning individuals, passing over the necessity for immense wealth usually integral to access to higher learning. Thus it is that much like the Surabhi’s martially inclined clergy, the Sangharan priests are often highly well trained and versed figures in ritual magic, contributing to the defensive bulwark of Shanrilaath and a levy to call upon in an hour of need. Rare has it been that ever this has been necessary, but it has occurred, the devastation wrought by the rituals of the priesthood has often been catastrophic.

Lovemaking and pleasure are far more integral part of Shanrilaathi Orthodoxy than other branches of the faith, as Ishareth is seen as a passionate and creative mother goddess to her children. Procreation and sexual intercourse - heterosexual, bisexual and homosexual included - are thus seen as healthy and welcome parts of everyday worship, and prostitution is regarded as a respectable and holy profession. Indeed, the Temple across the centuries has managed to monopolize the business of prostitution in each city of Shanrilaath, putting the profession under the regulated administration of the faith, and which provides a substantive part of temple income for upkeep and construction works. Most temples however, maintain a substantial part of their infrastructure towards more contemplative and meditative means of worship, and such shrines to pleasure usually have their own temples interlinked with the rest of the religious estate. Temple prostitution is considered exceedingly banal to most Sanghar, and it is with some bafflement that they view the shock and horror of more puritanical peoples on Takanis, as they have little understanding of the purpose of such reinforced celibacy. The prostitutes of the temples come from a variety of backgrounds, the majority of which consists of captured Yazhat (50%), but a not insubstantial minority consists of freeborn Sangharans (45%) and foreign naturalised citizens (5%). Duties can differ extensively, from those who serve in the pleasure houses with their bodies and advertise the temple, to those that provide entertainment and cerebral discussion in dance, song, poetry and legend, to consorts who serve a select few clients and function as much as advisers and scholars as they do lovers and partners. Indeed, the consorts much like the high priests and priestesses of Ishareth have access to the magical arts and their study, and form a powerful bloc in internal struggles of the temple hierarchy. Lovemaking as finds expression in religious and secular art, being the frequent topic of sculpture, bas-relief work and murals, although usually in the context of their surroundings rather than randomly scattered across the cities.

Temple hierarchy is divided on Shanrilaath between a Pentarchy of High Priests and Priestesses, which form a council to decide theological matters relating to the Shanrilaathi Orthodoxy. Nominally these Priests and Priestesses are of equal position, but the reality is that the Pentarch of Tel-Shanraath holds predominance as first among equals in religious affairs, a situation which emerged primarily from the diminishing of Sanghara’s continental empire and the disappearance of all but two of the republics mainland Sees in Kushaninka and Tsang-Mah - and the complete obsolescence of another three from the original “Thetarchy”. Now an uneasy balance exists between The Pentarch of Tel-Shanraath and the smaller surviving Pentarchies of Tel-Belit and Tel-Zulbazzar, who struggle to remain independent of it. The Order of Consorts, although only in the last several hundred years, has also managed to acquire a seat in the Pentarchal council, and so unofficially their number could be said to be six rather than five. Below that, temple hierarchy is more horizontal in nature with priests and priestesses roughly sharing equal status, although the prosperity of their religious demesne can play a lot into creating artificial notions of “greater” and “lesser” priests. This has resulted in the emergence of Metropolitan priests and priestesses of the cities of Sanghara, which oversee the wealthiest and most extensive religious sites of the republic and have considerable sway over their surrounding rural clergy. A good number of rural temples however are wealthy enough to challenge this predominance, and it looks to be assured that a new order of powerful priests below the rank of high priest will eventually emerge.

Organisationally, beyond the immensely ornate Temple-Palaces of the Pentarchs and the Great Temples of the Sangharan cities, the faith is distributed by a number of pseudo-monastic schools scattered across the countryside, providing amenities for the rural population of Sanghara. Although priestesses and priests do not have the same polymathic nature as their Surabhi contemporaries, the foundation of these communities by the priests, their companions and acolytes ensures an even and standardised distribution of religious and secular skills across a region, and a focal point for communal life. In turn for a tithe of produce or services to maintain the monasteries upkeep, they provide for the medical, religious, magical and educational needs of their surrounding villages and document romantic joinings - the Sanghar have little understanding of marriage in the human conception - and births for government census. the monasteries are thus more often or not, small evenly distributed communities of healers, priests, educators, scholars, craftsmen and printers to provide all manners of expertise necessary for country life.

The monasteries also are an ample source of literature thanks to the spread of woodblock printing through the Sangharan empire since its inception, providing a valuable source of local archives and information for research and educational purposes. These books are stored in specially built shrines designed through magical and architectural means to maintain stable low humidity and temperature in order to protect them from rot and damage, with special adjoined reading rooms for older texts, for it is not uncommon to encounter books that are centuries old in storage. Bi-centennial reprintings in the Grand Libraries of The Pentarchy ensure that the redistribution of knowledge remains universal, inhibiting - but not completely removing - the possibility of information loss. Outside of serving their local communities, the monasteries use a network of paths and riverways to communicate with one another through scholastic discussion, ensuring that new ideas and concepts do not remain regional in nature for long, and making sure innovations spread across Shanrilaath. Although the majority of these monasteries are small in nature and fairly rustic in amenities and dependent on the Pentarch’s interest in funding them, some have grown to enormous stature and wealth, and thus attracted large communities of scholars to their halls. A good number of these challenge the Black Pyramids of the Dakathan scholars, and there is some inter-service rivalry between the two groups, with both parties developing factional philosophies and outlooks on science, scripture and magic.

Sculptural depictions of Ishareth often show her in two forms, an amorous flying entity, consisting of pale wings surrounded by fire and with burning eyes across her form, and a more humanoid form consisting of a statue in the proportions of a Sanghar, with nude body with birds feet, covered by a flowing robe, and her eyes and upper head hidden by six wings. Depending on the purpose of the shrine the symbols in her hands may vary, but she is always either enthroned or in a standing position.

ARCHITECTURE-
Sangharan architecture consists of three general stylistic groupings; firstly the vernacular styles developed during the first colonisation of Shanrilaath, secondly the temple architecture created with the emergence of Shanrilaathi Orthodoxy, with the final style consisting of Republican Monolithic that emerged just prior to the first Century War. All architectural styles tend to utilise local Shanrilaathi resources, consisting of punice, basalt, palm frond thatch, hardwoods, bamboo and volcanic concrete. Most rural houses are built in the vernacular style, structures perched on stilt like legs with overlapping thatched roofs that shoot into the air like the prows of ships or the horns of cattle, creating high roofs and halls in which the inhabitants dwell, and which protects them from poisonous snakes and flooding. The more grand and elegant of these are built from teak and ebony, and carved in elaborate patterns, bas-reliefs and bright paints, inlaid with mother-of-pearl and glass, and with multiple overlapping prowed roofs. Others take the form of palm thatched beehive huts, commonly seen in clusters along the Sangharan coastline as fishermen paddle out in small boats to take advantage of the rich source of fish found off the coast of Shanrilaath in the Ebon Sea. Still others consist of stout grounded houses with towering roofs and small, thick stone or wooden legs, often used in areas of high earthquake activity.

In the cities of Sanghara things take a different approach, although often using the same principles with high roofs and elaborate designs. Built from heavy polished basalt, most houses in the cities are highly ornate and interconnected with city services, having access to piped water and joined with the cities sewer systems. In contrast to many other cities, Sangharan cities tend to be relatively clean as waste which cannot be disposed of directly is collected and delivered by carts to dumping grounds outside the confines of each city, traveling along paved paths of granite. Richer and more prosperous neighbours will also feature private baths fed by networks of aqueducts, and have roofs of beaten copper, polished an gilded wood and orange lacquered scales. Gardens and parks - ostensibly built to “clear foul vapours” - separate districts and create a decentralised plan to most cities, although quite pleasant living conditions as well as meeting places for public forums and trade. The use of volcanic concrete and basalt is a very common building material, providing good security from the occasional earthquakes that result from Shanrilaath’s volcanic activity, and who’s non-pitting surface provide easy to clean for garbage collectors and mages of the guilds of city hygiene.

The central feature of all Sanghar cities however is the Great Pyramid and the sub-pyramids that dominate their skylines, the symbol of the Dakatha dynasties power and influence. In this the Sanghar nobility are split into the schools; the wide base school - in which the pyramid is not a towering monolith of the skyline but instead spread a massive palace complex lengthwise - and the narrow base school - in which the pyramidal palace cleaves the skyline like a mountain. The former provides greater space for ease and leisure, but is neither as visible nor as dominant a symbol, and the latter is forced to give up its wide gardens and many luxuries for a more compact and tower-based level structure. Although these styles may be based on philosophy and temperament, they more often correlate to sheer necessity and available space within the city in which to build them. The largest of these pyramids is found in Tel-Shanraath, which is formed on a combination of both styles and which towers one thousand feet into the air to be shrouded by wispy morning mists, its bands of orange and purple split by larger bands of pale-white lime plaster. Most cities also are surrounded by three walls, a holy number associated with the three races of Ishareth’s blood, and consist of massive ornate affairs designed both to hold out invaders and impress those that walk under them with their immensity and strength. Designed to withstand brutal siege from land or sea, the walls are built of granite, concrete, basalt and rammed earth and fitted with giant bas relief’s of “The Great Children” of Ishareth which void boiling tar on the besiegers. Intermittently, the walls are lined with immense Elephant Gates - named after their main statuesque feature - which are so broad that if needed, they could march armies in rows eighty men long through their looming brass clad gateways. Much like with the pyramids, the largest and most numerous of these city walls is in Tel-Shanraath, which has nine walls that encompass a population of one million and two hundred thousand inhabitants.

TERRITORIAL CLAIMS-
The Sangharan’s control several continental enclaves on the mainland, as well as the massive volcanic island of Shanrilaath as their current territorial extent. Beyond this, the Sangharan’s claim much of the mainland including Tsang-Mah, Muhtava, Kushaninka, parts of Ditadisha, Odhisa, and Jatapu as their rightful and sovereign territory - it having consisted of the Sangharan state’s core provinces prior to the first Century War - and thus the territorial boundaries of “Greater Sanghara”. Sanghara also makes claim over much of the Eastern Ishkadian Sea and its scattered islands as the extent of their sovereign naval domain, although this has neither been colonised nor even completely explored by the Republic.

Link To Sanghara and Link to Greater Sanghara

ECONOMY-
The Sangharans are renowned across much of the known world for their skill and expertise in matters of trade and economics, having long made themselves totally unexpendable in trade of spices (cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and black pepper) animal products (tiger and lion skins, crocodile and hippo leather, elephant hide and ivory and exotic birds) silver mining (with subsidiary markets in gold mining) Precious stones (most notably sapphires, but also other precious jewels) slaves (an import market, with expensive and stringent exports) and silks and dyes (particularly a unique and secret trade in a dye of unfading purple). The Sangharans only have a monopoly on a few of these exports - most notably the spice and dye trade - but generally have strong influence in the other markets due to close management of their resources and the sheer quality of their workmanship.

The Sangharans maintain this dominance of the market though a variety of factors, namely though a mixture of exclusive distribution of the products if they have a monopoly, providing the highest quality variants of said good, or by undercutting other sources in price an distribution. Being a naval society with extensive links to the sea and oceanic traffic, they are able to spread their economic weight across much of the known world and ensure that they, and not others, remain the most viable exporters of their goods and services. This has also extended into protracted economic warfare with several nations, such as the Surabhumi and to a lesser degree, the Dragon Empire of Nam Leng, when others have attempted to challenge Sangharan sea power. So far the Sangharans have maintained their influence over merchant traffic across the seas of the world, but the potential for new contenders is always on the horizon, leaving those wise enough to see it to wonder how long the Sangharan trade empire will last.

The Sanghar of Shanrilaath also commonly engage in proto-banking, providing loans and financial support for many noble families, monarchical dynasties and republican leaders both home and abroad. The most powerful of these is the Bank of Tel Taramat, although not as financially influential as the Marble Bank of Arcana, it nonetheless is dominated by the Nachamenzzar banker dynasty, who use their own private navy to enforce the repayment of their loans, with the threat of assassination, covert funding, pillage and war being the due of any who default. This in turn ensures favourable trade conditions for the navy, with the supported dynasties naturally giving favourable trade terms in return for Sangharan financial support.

Another aspect of Sangharan trade is in the secret development and spread of Sangharan Purple, an unfading and magically sourced type of dye which has given colour to the ruling dynasties clothes, pyramids and even sometimes their ships. This form of purple is formed out of a mixture of chemical changes with magical input, and thus requires a steady flow of crystal to keep production at maximum, necessitating trade with crystal rich nations such as Caelrumoste to ensure stable exports. The technique for creating such a dye is a deep secret held only by a handful of highly secretive sorcerer-alchemist dynasties, and which can only be taught by one of their number - the secret being passed unwritten from master to student. More than one would-be thief has attempted to con the masters out of their secrets, but so far none has been successful, and those thieves lie now with throats slit unmarked graves, or torn apart by demons of the upper air for their own grave errors.

The wild resources of Sanghara are also meticulously managed to ensure continuous distribution. Teak and other boat woods that are cut are replaced, the skins of animals collected are kept within a certain level to ensure a stable population is maintained, harvesting oyster beds, coral reefs and fish migrations are kept to within acceptable limitations through national legislature and village tradition. This economic balance is designed to ensure not necessary to maintain maximum profits, but to ensure that Sanghara never lacks for resources. Disruption to this balance in the past have resulted in economic downturn and reduced the diversity in local profits, creating decades of political chaos. Thus Sanghara is vigorously and legalistically managed along this system, which has naturally evolved over the course of centuries to its current form. What domestication and Sanghar management can be achieved has also been attempted, ensuring further preservation of pre-existing ecological environments.

For all that, the primary source of Sangharan wealth and prosperity is primarily spice trade. The spices rule social life in Shanrilaath being involved in all aspects of trade, farming and industry, and access to the commodities of coffee, mahogany, maize and peppers on the mainland is hotly contested between the three main Isharethi races. Vast spice plantations, fuelled by the fertile volcanic earth of the island and watered by immense aqueducts and ancient planned systems of irrigation, provide for the massive export economy, the fields tended by Yazhat and Hazarpresh alike and sent across the world from coastal metropolises by swift teak and red sailed ships. This has resulted in two necessities, the first being that Sanghara controls the seas to properly monopolise on their direct trade, and the second being a tight and brutal grip on spice plants. Many in the past have tried to steal the source of Sanghara’s power and success, much like the secret and exorbitant trade in Sangharan Purple, but only bleached skulls raised on bamboo pikes speak of their unremembered stories. If the control of either the sea or access to the spice plants failed, the core of Sanghara’s economic security would be shaken to its foundations, and lead to a general decline of their own power.

ARMY-
Although the Sangharan military is not a disrespected order of profession for Sanghar of all castes, it has never been the Republics strongest suit, and has lagged behind the immense naval capacities of the nation. Nevertheless over centuries of war and combat with the Surabhi it has honed its craft to a fine point, and now presents a formidable - if definitely not indefatigable - opponent on the continental mainland. Funded by the state coffers, the Republic’s military is by all measures a standing army, consisting of one hundred and seventy thousand soldiers, of which forty thousand are cavalry and charioteers and ten thousand are elephant riders. This force is further augmented by a stream of mercenaries brought in by Sangharan coin to fight on continent, drawn as far and as wide as The snow-covered Mornlands half a world away to earn wealth and glory in the continuous wars of the Sanghar and Surabhi.

However, despite supposedly representing the nation as its own standing army, the Sangharan military is primarily controlled and lead by its most direct funders - the Dakatha dynastic families. As such, the nobility is generally the preferred leadership of most military forces rather than the supposed semi-meritocratic principles laid out in its founding, the result being that personal ambitions naturally influence the direction and conquest of new territory. The twin headed serpent banner of the Republic might fly highest of the flags overhead, but the sub-banners of dynastic houses give a clearer indicator of the true power behind any of the Sangharan army. The national needs in times of war are thus invariably tinged with the scheming of those who wish to create dynasty, riches, fiefdom and glory for themselves.

As with any standing army, the Sanghar support it with extensive proto-industrial factories and national run monopolies designed to keep it equipped and fighting ready. This can be as complex as creating steel scale and plate to armour elephants, siege engines to topple cities, and powerful magical artefacts, to as simple as the forging of spearheads, leather bags and nails for the common footsoldier of the empire. Other industries focus on the training of warhorses, elephants and in some cases, war lions and tigers, which are telepathically bound to lesser mages in order to wreak havoc amongst enemy lines. Rations are provided by a network of dynastic farmlands chosen via an intensely scrutinized state lottery to provide a steady stream of dry provisions for their soldiers - a monopoly that can make or break a dynasty - and the transported via carts built by cartwright guilds across uneasy terrain of much of southern Vendhayatha.

Organisationally the magocratic institutions of the Republic transition across to their military ranks. Dakatha and their sorcerous kin thus occupy the highest authority, forming the generals and division commanders of the armies of the Republic. This is followed by the mages of the main army who provide magical support and communication during the march through enemy territory and during the battle itself, and then the Asurbaal who consist of the cavalry, elephant riders, charioteers and many of the commanders of segments the main army. The artillery, heavy and light infantry and light cavalry form their own cores underneath this sprawling network, lead ostensibly by Asurbaal and Dakathan leaders. Auxiliaries and Mercenaries exist outside this military strata, and are instead lead by their own chosen commands, so long as they’re able to follow the commands of the Sangharan generals.

Armour consists primarily of scale, chain and leather forged on mass to provide for the soldiery, and crafted individually for the noble and mage classes. With the light infantry of the Sangharans the most common armour is a type of light lamellar of lacquered leather reinforced in core areas with iron platelets, laced together through cord to create a semi-flexible wrap around their body. Greaves and braces follow the same pattern with iron banding hidden underneath iron plate, and a helmet follows an sculptural snarling lion or tiger design, with a veil of iron scales and with a plume of colourful feathers at the top, their colour denoting rank. An undercovering of sometimes silk, but more often less expensive fabrics are worn underneath to dull blunt damage, with wide flaring trousers tied up with ankle bindings being common, the former often in bright and colourful patterns. The usual arms for the soldiery are a large diamond shaped and embossed shield, hardened by bands of metal, and which provides adequate cover from which to thrust out with a sturdy flame-bladed tombak or lunge and hack from with a golok. In general, the armour is considerably lighter than their continental Surabhi counterparts, as it has been designed to be utilised onboard ships as well as land, requiring increased mobility as a result.

Heavy infantry and cavalrymen tend to wear more elaborate versions of this standard equipment, with gilded helms and armour and usually featuring faceguards crafted in semi-realistic depictions of Sangharan features, or mirroring an aspect of Ishareth’s Great Children. An undercoat and lacing of padded silk is also very common, allowing for increased mobility as well as blunt trauma and arrow protection. Brightly painted and gilded armours, along with metal and feather quills or plumes are used frequently to mark out commanders, and the scales of their lamellar are of higher quality - being produced out of steel rather than iron like the common footsoldiers. Cavalry also have marked differences from the heavy infantry in this regard, their armour being refitted to suit mounted warfare and thus being more cumbersome on foot, although enabling - depending on squadron - increased defence in charge or mobility whilst firing bows. The use of Tiger and Lion skins is also common as a final headpiece, particularly among the Lion Guard which utilise it as a badge of office to their elite station. In terms of equipment the heavy infantry heavier and longer goloks for close combat with broad rectangular shields, marching in close formation to brace against Surabhi charges. If they are disarmed, they will draw upon their kris knife as a secondary weapon, which can give vicious and fatal gouging stabs with it’s flame-bladed edge. The cavalry in turn use tridents and lances to break their enemies formation, and the horse archers and foot bowmen utilise a primitive type of compound bow to fire further and more powerfully at their opponents.

NAVY-
The navy is the pride of the Republic and the very embodiment of its thalassocratic power in the Old World. The Sanghar have sailing and ship-building in their blood, - quite literally in fact - as a result of being designed that way by the Ashammai precursors to serve that function as a racial caste, with trade, sailing and wanderlust hardcoded into them. As a result, their skill at shipcraft is matched only by the rare few, and often never to the same level of versatility the shipyards of Shanrilaath are able to engage in. Sanghara’s navy consists of three thousand warships of three main types, the first being the sleek and brass-scaled two decked Dragonships which flit across the waves like birds on the wing, with fluttering red sails that bring a crimson dawn to their opponents. This is followed by the midrange three decked Black Nagas who’s thick teak beams and reinforced prows crush boats and launch scorpion bolts and Sanghar fire from their decks, and the giant five decked Djong Fireships, covered in glimmering plating and giving broadsides of Sanghar fire that can immolate entire ships in one salvo. Crewed by dozens or hundreds of Sanghar, this swift fleet dominates much of the coasts of Vendhayatha and the Ebon Sea and furthermore protects commercial shipping flowing east and west, north and south, from pirates and other such dangers. The largest of the Sanghar ships used for both war and commerce are the vast partially aeolipile-powered black Treasure Djongs, project both Sanghara’s financial and military might abroad, and indulge somewhat liberally in gun-boat diplomacy with any who would dare challenge them, providing the flagship for any martial or trade fleet of substantial size.

Any Sanghar who manages to claim a captaincy of even a single vessel in the Sangharan fleet naturally enjoys great privilege in society, and is made for life, so long as they do not squander the opportunity. The Republic - always eager to maintain the loyalty and security of their essential trade lanes - lavishes high pay on their mariners, with substantial rewards and acclaim always pouring from their hands and lips to the navy. The Admirals of any fleet are so well paid that they would be self-made Dakatha if they did not already primarily come from established bloodlines, risen partially through the ranks by family influence - although not without sufficient experience in command being proven prior to doing so - and interlinked with the vast commercial network the Sangharan’s oversee.

Besides the quality of their boat building - primarily made out of teak and hammered wooden dowels in most cases - which allows for sleek and hardy craft to brave the waters of the world, the key to Sanghara’s supremacy on the waves is their use of Sangharan Fire. Sangharan Fire is a type of pyrotechnic fuel launched via siphons from the decks of their ships to engulf the enemy in unquenchable, furious flames. The creation of the product is a secret only the guilds of alchemists know for sure, but is known to be a partially magical based substance which much like Sanghar Purple requires a constant inflow of magical resources to produce. Rumours of blood sorcery and dark otherworldly communications are said to occur in the dark vaults of the alchemists, creating through malefic occultism a weapon that explodes on contact and melts flesh and stone like tallow. Due to it’s volatility the substance is kept deep in the hulls of the ship in immense hardened copper vats, only opened to acquire further ammunition for the Sanghar’s decks of semi-mobile fire siphons, trickled into brittle clay pots prior to battle and thrown upon the enemy, or attacked to scorpion bolts to explode on impact. Due to the dangers of the material the decks of the Sanghar vessels dealing with it are often covered in sand and brass plating to ensure that they too do not go up on flames from it use, and complex countermeasures of cooling frost wards are sometimes used to control the blaze for a time.

The mariners of the Sanghar tend to move about their ships mostly unarmoured and bare chested, and armed only with kris blades or other short weapons tucked into a voluminous sash of coloured silk. However when in battle munition and personally forged armour is garbed to ensure further protection during battle. This type of armour bears many resemblances to the armours of Sangharan footsoldiers, although is ostensibly designed to be lighter and even more mobile than even that, focusing more on leather than iron plating and ensuring the wearer can navigate tight spaces - and if called upon, swim - with little issues in mobility. Goloks and light crossbows are also common fare along with the kris knives, providing a withering barrage of slashing, piercing and impaling weapons to keep the enemy at arms length. To counter the Surabhi attempts of bridged boarding parties, the Sanghar have taken up the use of Bolas and net-launchers to entangle the heavily armoured Surabhi and allow them more easily to be dispatched. Portable fire siphons - which are a mainstay of land warfare - may also be used rarely, although usually this is a tool of last resort, the risks of disastrous backfiring being too costly for most Sanghar captains to risk.

Another factor two in Sanghara’s naval dominance emerge in the Sargael, a sub-population of semi-aquatic Sanghar who seem to have been an experiment of some sort by the ancient Ashammai to improve upon their prior design. Being amphibious and with a keen understanding of the waters, Sargael are often involved in the establishment of canal cities, pearl and coral diving, spear-fishing and wreck recovery, along with other aspects of Sanghar life. In naval terms however, the Sargael, with their keen locational senses are able to act as advanced scouts for their fleet, or saboteurs of enemy ships, drilling through the bottom of their hulls to flounder them. Carrying obsidian bladed tombak, they are particularly dangerous in the water. A Primitive coast-guard has also evolved amongst Sargael of Shanrilaath, and they are often essential in recovering goods and survivors of sinking ships, and protecting against commercial loss - although even they cannot go into the true bottom of the airless Ebon Sea.

Beyond the military capabilities of the Sangharan navy, the vast majority of their ships are designed for trade and goods transportation, outnumbering the standing fleet by thirty times their number. This vast merchant navy provides a vital reserve to the Sangharan’s navy, to be called upon and conscripted in hours of need - although this has happened perhaps less than six times in the Republic’s history. Although bulky and cumbersome, the ships of the merchant fleet provide a stolid defensive bulwark against many attackers, although have proven to be better used in mass due to mainly being designed for pirate attacks. Nevertheless, their broad decks can host a veritable legion of archers to beset the enemy with barbed and flaming arrows, and jury rigged scorpions have proven to be just as effective on their steady ship-bows. Regardless, these ships are rarely called to action as mentioned before, and are more commonly escorted by private or national warships if in sufficient convoys and on lengthy enough journeys, where the dangers of unpatrolled waters give rise to the sapient floatsam of the world.

Piracy, ever the trade and the bane of the Sangharan is an ever-present threat to the peacefulness and placidity of their waters, and when not warring with the Surabhi, the main focus on the navy is in culling its worst excesses. Nevertheless, Sanghar pirates have many of the same talents - if not the same funding - as their national counterparts, and have proven an ever-present thorn in the side of all Vendhayathan nations and beyond. Occasionally Sanghara has expanded their territorial reach to occupy pirate havens such as Tel-Gorgossos and Tel-Vaddanai, but the control they exert has rarely lasted long - in part due to the endemic warfare on the continental mainland which consumes time and resources of both nations. Regardless, in between the Century Wars and the bitter tit-for-tat raiding on the continental mainland by seasoned privateers and corsairs in the nations employ, the primary great wars on the sea are the Pirate Wars, fought unceasingly and with just as little sign of ending as the nation conflicts.

FOREIGN RELATIONS-
The Sangharan Republic's relations with other nations vary from place to place, but primarily consist of at least an amicable trade relationship with other states, which Sanghara has no interest in disrupting. Generally the relationship with the Vendhayathan nations is more adversarial due to competing interests between Sanghara and Surabhumi, with relations with the Dragon Empire of Nam Leng is tense and unfriendly, and Jatapu and Odhisa are wary.

Surabhumi: Regarded As Sanghara’s archenemy, and main competitor in the control of the Vendhayathan subcontinent. Current foreign relations have just exited a long period of intermittent raiding and low level warfare and are now cool as both nations begin to regain control of their lost territories.

Arcana: regarded as a fair weather friend and not greatly relied on, Arcana does however have a sizeable pro-Sangharan faction in its court politics and receives substantial funding and commercial traffic from Sanghara - primarily in the interest of keeping Arcana neutral in Sanghara’s affairs.

Mournlands: A distant but friendly trading partner with the Sangharans, exchanging northern treasure for southern luxuries, and a source of a great many mercenaries for its armies. Unusual in adopting to some degree Isharethi customs and religious faith.

The Dragon Empire of Nam Leng: Nam Leng has a hostile relationship with both Surabhumi and Sanghara as a result of the pressure it feels as a mid state between two great powers. It tries to balance its diplomacy in order to maintain its independence, to varying degrees of success. The main point of contention - as Sanghara has not attempted an annexation of Nam Leng in well over half a millennia - is the near constant pressure the state feels as a result of Sangharan piracy - a matter the Republic uses as a bargaining chip for good behaviour.

Caelrumoste: Caelrumoste is treated as an important trading partner, its current mass exports in magical crystal proving highly useful in Sangharan rearming and the creation of magic related trade goods.

Quavaraz: No settled diplomatic position.

Neferher Dynasty: No settled diplomatic position, possible trade links.

Kera-Bijan: No settled diplomatic position, mostly beyond Sanghara’s communication except through intermediaries such as the Neferher Dynasty due to being landlocked.

Land Area: 7
Land Fertility: 10 (-3)
Development: 20 (+6)
Land Power: 12 (-4)
Naval Power: 20 (+1)
Economy: 19 (+1)
Magical Reserves: 10 (+7)
Magical Sophistication: 15(-3)
Population (Determined by other rolls): 30,000,000