Sarthia
The Sarthian Federation is made up of a conglomeration of Domains scattered throughout the great Sarthian River Basin. These rivers cut through dense jungles that cover most of Sarthia, though these transition to grassy hills towards the south. Trade is facilitated by boats using the rivers as highways, and this has made Sarthia one of Terran's economic powerhouses. Though the Domains cooperate to a great extent, they remain fiercely independent.
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Politics
Though the individual Domains of Sarthia remain independent, they all follow the codex known as the Bond of Nature. Law enforcement across all of Sarthia is regulated by Hanor and its ruling party, but regional laws are taken into account and guards have to go through tedious, lengthy training to familiarise themselves with the local legislature before being allowed to work outside of their home Domain.
Sarthia is a federation consisting of four Domains: the Greenwake Domain encompassing Tano, Bathys, and Eschene, the Amber Domain containing Zenes and Courvil, the Nighthelm Domain surrounding Augenne, and finally the Hanor Domain around the capital. The domains are mostly independent, though they all follow a codex known as the Bond of Nature, which forms the foundation of Sarthian law. Anything not stated in the Bond is up to the Domains to decide.
The politics of Sarthia are fairly complicated. Each Domain has one Duke, whose family has historically ruled over the region. The only exception to this is the ruler of the Hanor Domain, who is referred to as 'Archduke' due to the Domain's superior political status.
However, it is not only the Duke that represents the Domain in question - each Domain's citizens get to elect eleven other Niravar or people to represent their interests in the Sarthian Senate. The Senate, therefore, consists of 44 representatives, three Dukes and one Archduke. Any new laws that are to be added to the Bond of Nature are voted on by the Senate, as is any other business concerning the entirety of Sarthia. The Archduke lacks the right to vote, but can veto any proposal once and thus force the Senate to alter its wording.
- Garden of the Moon Thread – Sarthia's views on necromancy are inherently linked to the Garden and, as such, it is highly illegal to perform magic of that kind. It is not a safe place for necromancers to be.
- Cerulean Concord – Sarthia's wealthy and technologically developed status makes it the perfect location for the Concord's headquarters.
Economy
In spite of this, Sarthia values its natural resources more than anything and works hard to preserve as much of the rainforest as possible. Sarthia's primary exports include what is commonly referred to as 'arcane materials' - rare ingredients, plants, ores, or minerals required to strengthen and stabilize magic rituals and spells.
- Teachers and lecturers familiar with not just magic, but also fields such as biology, mathematics, or philosophy are needed across Sarthia.
- The Cerulean Concord often sends its agents on somewhat dangerous missions into the jungle to retrieve potent materials and supplies.
- The Army of Sarthia is always seeking new recruits willing to defend the country and its allies from any and all threats.
Other common occupations include:
- Trade
- Fine arts
- Entertainment
Culture
The study of magic is a widespread practice in Sarthia, and citizens are encouraged to expand their knowledge of the arcane arts regardless of their own ability to cast spells. There are two main schools of thought surrounding magic in Sarthia: the Standards of Brimstone and the Aharten. They differ in their approach to practicing magic:
- Standards of Brimstone scholars (commonly referred to as just "Brimstone Scholars") teach mages to focus their attention and intent through a system of glyphs and sigils associated with materials and actions (e.g. FLIGHT or FLAME). These sigils are then either directly inscribed on whatever the Niravar is attempting to cast the spell on, or on a scroll that is placed over the object in question. The sigils themselves have no effect of their own and only help the mage focus. For more powerful and complicated spells, special inks might be used to help keep the mage's attention.
- The Aharten scholars focus all their teachings on the concepts of dark and light. They teach mages to visualise everything in the world as having a certain brightness to it, and ask them to imagine reducing or increasing this brightness to manipulate the thing in question. This school of magic is very popular among Energy mages, but it is not exclusive to them.
Sarthians value animals and nature dearly, and will go to great lengths to protect them. Due to this, constructing just about anything in the region is a rigorous and lengthy process, as government officials first need to make sure the building will not severely damage a large part of the jungle or its ecosystem.
Thouxaqhosh, colloquially known as the Sorrowing Priest, is a spirit of the dawn that can be seen in Hanor. It has made a habit of sitting motionless on either the interior or exterior of the city hall and observing the day-to-day lives of the locals.
Its most notable feature, however, and also the source of its monicker, is its tendency to emit a strange sound vaguely resembling crying at seemingly random intervals. Over time, the residents of Hanor have noticed that the instances of Thouxaqhosh's weeping tend to precede disasters striking in the region with eerie precision. This has since become common knowledge in Sarthia, and has given the spirit a rather menacing reputation. In spite of this, however, the Priest is beyond peaceful, and local children and cubs can sometimes be seen feeding it various fruits.
International Relations
Notable Characters
PeosithPeosith hates routine and strives to make every day special. This can lead to some choices that others may criticize as "impulsive," but he doesn't see it that way. He works in the great city of Hanor as a freelance odd-job specialist (his own words) and though it never brings many Drops, Peosith treats every job like a new adventure. His dream is to save up enough to travel and live in other places; he has plans to try living in Grandiaga soon! |
Void Reaper Presence
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Geography & ArchitectureSarthia is evenly covered by a dense jungle which conceals most of its topography. Under the trees, the nation's territory is criss-crossed by streams, rivers, and rivulets, and the forest floor is uneven and broken up by cliffs, ledges, valleys, and hills. Most of the transport in Sarthia is done via the region's river system, but a handful of paths leading across the nation are steadily maintained to allow Niravar and humans to traverse the area on foot. Occasionally, one may stumble upon a Warden outpost or camping ground in the wilderness, guarding a nearby Aether Pool.
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AugenneA moderately sized city nestled within the Nighthelm Domain. Augenne is the center of medical research in Terran and is home to a large hospital-cum-research institution. The hospital buildings surround a sizable Aether Pool so that its healing energy is easily accessible to all those who need it. Though it is rare for a Niravar to fall ill, this is where they go when they require complex healing. Though not a large city, Augenne's leaders are still respected for their contributions to medicine. |
ZenesThe only city in Sarthia that has an active mining operation. They provide the rest of Sarthia with both raw metals, forged weapons, and armor. Though their metal is not of the same quality as that from Urus, Zenes gets plenty of business anyway as it is the only place on Sarthia with reliable access to metal. |
EscheneA sizable town located towards the south where the jungle gives way to rolling, grassy hills. Eschene sustains itself through animal husbandry and its vast pastures are home to many livestock. Eschene is on good terms with Inor and regularly trades with them. |
HanorLocated at the mouth of the delta, Hanor is the gateway not only to the Sarthian Federation, but to much of the Sarthian continent. As such, the docks are always full of ships coming and leaving with merchants, immigrants, and tourists. The sheer number of people travelling through Hanor makes it difficult to maintain a crime-free city and so thieves, black market traders, and other nefarious folks have found refuge in Hanor. Consequently, there is a large Warden presence in Hanor that works closely with the local law enforcement. In the city center, a large Aether Pool is carefully guarded by The Wardens. Hanor is the largest and most powerful Domain within the Federation. |
TanoA small, sparsely populated town. The townsfolk do a small bit of trading for goods they cannot make themselves in exchange for fresh produce and woven materials. Known for their avocados. |
Blood Crystal CavernsThis cave system was discovered by the human Nametba while she was out seeking strange crystals to use in her projects. While she ended up trapped, many Niravar came to her rescue and she was returned home safely. The crystals native to the caves became known as 'Gembound Crystals' due to their unique ability to cause crystal structures to grow on a Niravar's body. |
CourvilA small town with its own moderately sized Aether Pool. Courvil resides in the low mountains of western Sarthia where they grow and harvest different trees for their wood. This wood is then shipped eastwards to Hanor where they trade for various goods. |
BathysA small coastal fishing village to the south. They're mostly self sufficient and keep to themselves; however it is well-known across Terran that the largest and brightest pearls come from Bathys. |