Editing Anam:Cultures

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== The Ten Nations ==

The Ten Nations of the Hand are those nations which supported the Creed and the Peace of the Creed seventy years ago. Each has gained therefrom (usually by subsuming some smaller nation that did not support the Creed), though some have lost as well.

'''Acalon'''   Acalon is the largest of the Ten Nations, covering much of the ‘Palm’. Ruled by Queen Jaynis Coray and her Princess Consort Marit Handa. In the wings is the Heir Presumptive, Barabar Coray.

	Acalon City is home of the main guildhouse of the Guild of Carran.

	The Acalani are predominately (roughly 85%) human. Especially within Acalon City, however, the Acalani are very cosmopolitan and welcoming of any who seek to constantly better themselves.

	The Acalani make nearly a worship of ambition – specifically, the idea that one can always get better at what they do. As a consequence, few places are inherited – if a child shows an unacceptable level of ambition, or gods forbid a lack thereof, while the parent may continue to care for them, they’ll not give them a position which should be earned. 
This extends all the way up to the rulers. Barabar is the Heir Presumptive, as Jaynis’ son, but Jaynis can name anyone – from any social class – so long as they have the ability to do the job and the ambition to strive for better.

	Native Acalani humans tend towards wiry builds and more or less average height – not generally less than 5’6” nor often more than 5’8”, both male and female, though heights as low as 5’3” have been seen and some even exceed 6’, such as Queen Jaynis, who stands nearly 6’3”.

	Native Acalani tend to be light of skin, with mostly brown or black hair and brown eyes – these are, again, the average, and colours from all over the Hand are seen.
	The Acalani view any profession as viable so long as it is one which can benefit from a constant striving to be better. Those which depend more upon an innate talent are considered lesser, unless increased by ambition.

'''Trakke'''	Trakke is the Northernmost of the ‘Fingers’ of the Hand. Trakke is a land of fractured and fractious clans. Each Clan generally believes that their way is not only the best way to do things, but the only way. They have a king – Kalik the 23rd – but he has little power outside his palace. The peace of the Creed is kept, more or less, because the Clans don’t go outside the borders of Trakke, and when they do, the rest quickly punish the wrongdoers. 

	All the Trakken are taught from an early age to learn as much as they can of their clan’s ways, so that they can take on any role required of them – and more, rebuild their Clan’s ways if they need to. Self-sufficiency is the primary goal – in the Trakken viewpoint, it’s one thing to ask for help when more than one person is needed, but one should never ask for help if a single person can do what’s needed.

	The Trakken are almost entirely Human (90-95%).  There is one Havlin Clan, and sometimes Halflings are born within a Clan. Most other peoples tend to view the Trakken as folk to stay away from.

	Humans in Trakke are generally slightly above average in height (5’7” to 5’11”) and tend to be bulky – muscular, rather than fat. They tend towards the lightest colouring found on the Hand, pale skin, hair that tends to Blonde and Red and eyes of Blue or Green.

	The Trakke view as best any profession which can handle a lot of functions, and despise those who tend to view that others owe them anything.

'''Caslah'''	Caslah sits upon the Palm, between Acalon and the finger of Sartan. Most of their land is made up of the Halan Range and the Saruren Waste, with little arable land even in the plains that make up the rest of their land. 

	The Caslaht survive – thrive even – on trade. Their position means that most trade going into the Southern Fingers goes through them, for only they know the best routes through the Halan Range and the Waste.

	The Caslaht are mostly Human (75%+). The remainder of their citizens tend to be either Havlin, Yryc, or the High Sinandre.

	Human Caslaht tend towards olive skin and dark hair and eyes. They are usually 5’7” to 5’10” tall, with lean builds.

	For the Caslaht, trade is life. Trade, and the military that keeps their merchants free, and takes a tax of all trade going through Caslah. They are known far and wide for having the most disciplined troops in the Hand.

	Caslah is ruled by a Council of Merchant Princes. Trade in Caslah can be somewhat cutthroat, so that Council’s makeup can change much more rapidly than most would imagine.

'''Delisse'''	The Delisse are waterfolk – mostly fisher folk, along the coasts, but their Finger is filled with small rivers and streams that support fishing and trade. Most Delisse can swim before they can walk.

	The Delisse are almost entirely (98%) Human. Some of the Sinandre (Wood, mostly) find the waters to their taste and join the ships of the Delisse, but few other Peoples care to.

	Human Delisse are on the shorter side (5’3” to 5’5”) and tend towards slender physiques. In colouring they are much akin to Earth’s Polynesian people.

	Delisse is a Confederacy of Principalities in essence. They call them Admiralties, and naval ranks take the place of any ‘Noble’ ranks that other cultures might use. This continues to an extent that most of the other cultures on the Hand consider far too much – an apprentice in any trade, even if it has nothing to do with the ocean or rivers, is called a deckhand, with Masters being called Captain and so on.

	There is little love lost between the Delisse and the Caslah – the Delisse who engage in trade do so via the Ocean and the Rivers, thus avoiding paying Caslah tariffs. The Caslah tend to refer to the Delisse as Pirates and Smugglers, but few are fool enough to take it to the level of Creed arbitration.

'''Sartan'''   Sartan is the third Finger (the middle finger, as it were) of the Hand. The Sartan people claim to be the descendants of those who lived on the Hand before the coming of Carran. Some few now regret that their ancestors ever welcomed Carran’s folk, though most seem content enough.

	The Sartana live in odd settlements, open mostly, but with large walls between the main town and certain districts. Most visitors to Sartan never learn the purpose of those walls.

	The Sartana are ruled by a caste of Priests who serve a deity they do not name or describe to outsiders. The Creed acknowledges that worship and does not call their deity Anathema. In what is, perhaps, a concession to the Creed, the Sartana Priests have folded worship of Marra Ros into their beliefs.

	Few Sartana leave Sartan. Very, very few Sartana leave Sartan. Those few who have are close-mouthed about their nation, and generally return sooner or later. Only traders are regularly seen, and that, mostly by the Delisse.

	The only non-humans within the Sartana are Halflings, and they come about only when a Sartana traveler returns with the child in tow. Other Peoples are no less welcome than other Humans, it’s just that no one not of Sartan blood is well-regarded. The Sartana are a very insular people.

	When a Sartana does travel, they’re easy to spot, despite their average (5’6” to 5’9”) height and build, for their skin is a dark golden colour and their eyes are slightly folded on the outside.

'''Kal Tora'''     Kal Tora are occasionally accused of having heard of Sartana isolationism and saying ‘Hold my wine.’ Located on the Palm, just above the Faram Finger, Kal Tora is surrounded on all sides by a thirty foot stone wall, with openings only where rivers flow, or trade roads have been allowed to pass through.

	Those openings are not considered good places for raiders to pass, however, as the Kal Tora military is nearly as disciplined as the Caslaht, and are armed and armoured with Steel to boot.

	Some believe that it is their knowledge of Steel that makes them so standoffish. While those who leave Kal Tora are allowed to carry one weapon of Steel, no Armour is allowed to leave, and no smith who knows of Steel has ever left (none can say if they are forbidden, or simply choose not to leave).

	Human Kal are fairly tall, ranging from 5’9” to 6’2” on average, tending towards stockiness. They tend towards olive colouring with dark blond or black hair, brown and blue eyes.

	The Kal are led by a quintet of Priest Kings whose roles are largely inherited. 

'''Faram'''     Faram is the fourth Finger from the North, second up from the South, and it borders the wall of Kal Tora – more or less.

	Faram is a home of learning. They largely stayed out of the wars, defended by KalTora’s position, so their centers of Academia were mostly untouched. Every village in Faram has a library. The cities of Orgaz and Carna have several, as well as museums, universities and the like. Literacy is universal amongst the Faram, which has impacted the rest of the Hand (where it is not uncommon – nearly all people can at least recognize their own names, and 60% of all on the Hand can read and write fluently).

	It’s generally accepted that if any knowledge is known anywhere on the Hand, the Faram know it as well. This is said to include the secret of Steel, though no one has yet found it amongst the books and scrolls Faram holds. 

	Human Faram are generally on the taller side, ranging from 5’7” to 6’4”. In colouring, they range from a deep oak colour to mahogany to ebony, with dark hair and eyes.

	Any peoples are welcome within Faram, though for outsiders to become citizens is not a simple task – they must achieve an advanced degree of education to be considered, and the Academicians make the final decision. As a result, there are few of any other Peoples who are citizens of Faram. Those born within Faram must simply achieve an advanced degree to become a citizen, so long as they can prove their birthplace.

	The nation is overseen by the Academicians, representatives elected by the various places of learning within Faram.  There are generally as many as 75 Academicians at any given time, though there have been as few as 20 on occasion.

'''Anlat'''   The Plains of An'la take up the bottom 'Finger' of the Hand. The plains are home to the Rikka (large (6') antelope-like ungulates) and to the Anlat, who follow their herds.

The Anlat are nomads at heart - while there are cities, they exist mostly for the traders, merchants and other visitors. The Tribes rotate into and out of the cities on a regular basis, as none of them particularly like spending time there.

Anlat are largely (65%) Human, with a fair sized Sinandre contingent. There are also two Tribes of Yryc, and one of Havlin. No matter the People though, the Anlat tend to be friendly and gregarious. They do not fight each other, save in ritualized contests which rarely end in death.

Human Anlat tend to be on the tall side (6'0" to 6'4" are averages), with coppery skin and black hair and eyes. The Elders of each Tribe meet occasionally to determine anything that needs to be determined.

'''Sindandre'''  The Sinandre are both a Culture and a People, in many ways. Sinandre is what they call their people, whether they are of the Starlight or the Forest. (See Peoples). Those of the Starlight have abandoned their own culture and not join the culture of any Nation that will have them - including that of their cousins of the Forest.

Sinandre culture is that of the Forest Sinandre - the ones who never sought the starlight of the gods. They hunt within a huge forest ceded to them by Carran and held sacrosanct ever since, though not without some cost on occasion. Sinandre arrows are feared throughout the Hand for good reason.

Though some Humans do live among the Sinandre, they are fairly rare, as the Sinandre tend to have very little love for the Human folk. There are more Yryc in Sinandre than Humans. Havlin and Gnomon both enjoy visiting, and are welcome, but none have ever chosen to live with the Sinandre. The Tarat, on the other hand, do have a small enclave and some few have joined the Sinandre in their hunts.

'''Tarat'''  The Tarat live within the Suntoucher Mountains. Their holts are well built and well maintained. Many tend to expect that the Tarat are the nation least likely to have citizens of other Peoples, however that's not actually true.

Granted, there are very few among the Humans, Yryc or Sinandre who can live within Tarat Holts - though some Holts are large enough, the darkness and oppressive weight of stone tends to drive most away. The Havlin and Gnomon, on the other hand, have no problem with the Holts physically, and some few are dour enough that they fit within the culture of the Tarat.

To the world outside their Holts, the Tarat are seen as dour, humourless miners and crafters. And they do take their art seriously. However, those who live among them soon learn that they can and do party, when work is done.

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