The Carrion Crow
Meareign
Fashionable Capitalist
Religious Overview:
• Their religion and culture widely reveres the sun.
• They recognize a sun deity and pay him tribute and worship.
• They have a "fire is sacred" mentality.
• Incendians perform their worship primarily through hosting big festivals with spectacles like fireworks and performances.
• Their religion embraces elaborate festivals, sacrifices, and cultural decadence much more than actual spirituality.
• Their religion has become entwined inseparably with their trade-based culture; celebrations allow Incendians to show off their wealth and encourage tourism.
• The focus of Incendian sacrifice and worship primarily to please and entertain the god(s), rather than to grow spirituality or to gain special favor.
• They believe that successful worship discourages godly wrath. Godly wrath brings about destruction, such as drought or violent volcanic eruption.
Mythology and Native Cult:
• They believe the shadow is a manifestation of the soul.
• Soulless demons appear as beings without shadows.
• Some Fire People also believe in djinn. Djinn are the spirits of the smoke and air, created when a fire has been suddenly extinguished with rain or water. Similarly, when a human is not given a proper funeral, the bodies are possessed by djinn. They're generally devious beings who lure humans away by granting wishes to possess their body. Most djinn can be found in places that are dark and shady, because people wouldn't realize they have no shadow.
• One should confess his sins to the rising sun, and just like the sun, begin his life anew in that moment.
• The moon is said to be a devious enchantress, a lover who stole the sun's warmth and strength away. Before the sun god fell in love, there was no night. Then, a beautiful temptress came into his life, stole awa half of his power, and made it so that the sun could only be up for half of the day.
• Labor unions have laws that prohibit them from working on eclipse. Eclipse are days seen like Samhain and are celebrated on account of trying to trick the Djinn into not stealing your shadow. This is done by lighting a great fire in front of your house, and hanging a wax doll over the flames, such that there is a shadow of the doll, but it slowly disappears due to the melting of the wax.
• Mines are thought to be inherently threatening places, as they are both dark and enclosed, so before each mine can be worked in a priest must "bless" that mine.
• Comets and shooting stars are very good omens, so are sightings of red planets.
• The eagle is said to be a spirit of the sun god.
• Dawn and dusk are the most auspicious times of day, ideal important events, because shadows are longest when the sun is at its deepest angles.
• Conversely, high noon is the most inauspicious hour and most religious Incendians will avoid having celebrations, striking important deals, or doing most anything of significance at that hour. Sometimes celebrations will take rests or breaks for anywhere between 15 minutes to an hour while they wait for the sun to pass overhead.
•
•
Infrastructure/Technology/Economy:
• They're leaders of industry, mining, and technology (the little bit medieval people can achieve).
• They have a lot of trade going.
• Their economy supports a lot of guild-style culture and crafting.
• This might actually make them one of the more diplomatic countries, foreign policy wise.
• The fire kingdom has labor laws and regulations in place.
• They have a history of having to deal with rebellions based on labor laws and unions.
• One of their weakest points, militaristically, is the navy. They have very little interest in seafaring and some don't believe that seas are meant to be crossed.
• While fire manipulation allows some of the Fire People access to lightning, their understanding of electricity is still fairly rudimentary.
• Their treasury is rich and maintains a comparably good military.
• They use lots of tactics and machines at war. For example, balloons and airships would be pretty easy for Magnus Incendia.
• Indendians are pioneers of armor, weapon, and similar blacksmithing technologies. They may even have a monopoly over the weapon industry.
• The Fire Kingdom is a predominantly capitalistic nation.
• There is a unique metal located in a few volcanic mines in Magnus Incendia named "magnium." It has unusual properties, not the least of which are its astoundingly high melting point and its tendency to feel relatively cool to the touch even in sweltering temperatures. Magnium is the primary metal from which Incendians make their armor, especially for military soldiers, since it protects fire-wielders against burns caused by overheated armor on the battlefield.
Political Positions and Agendas:
• Their high volumes of trade mean that Magnus Incendia is fairly lenient when it comes to international commerce.
• Their trade also makes them perhaps one of the more diplomatic countries, foreign policy wise. An "I hate you and am going to attack your soldiers, but we can still trade crackers, and lets leave merchant caravans out it okay?" attitude.
•
Political and Military Structure:
• Magnus Incendia is ruled by an absolute monarchy. Though it may be advised or appealed to, the word of the king or queen is final and the throne is inherited by that king or queen's named heir.
• The monarch is assisted by a Council of Advisers. The Council is headed by a chairman who may also serve as a steward in the king's absence. Each adviser on the council is also trusted with managing the details of one or more branches of the government - for example, the military, the treasury, foreign affairs, etc.
• The military is headed by a general who may or may not also be the Adviser of Domestic Security.
• Under the general are five commanders, under whom are captains, and so on.
•
•
Culture and Quirks:
• Idealized traits include ferocity, passion, wildness, tenacity, and unconquerable drive. This also translates to revelry and celebration.
• They celebrate aggression, the sort that takes charge and makes things happen, but not unrestrained destruction.
• They like to party, like, a lot.
• There is prejudice against people who do not handle fire with the appropriate reverence and control.
• They have a whole "purge with fire" sort of mentality about everything.
• They also tend to use metaphors and idioms based on fire.
• They're naturally displeased by shadows and stifling, enclosed spaces - which might mean that some would be strongly opposed to going into Sanctimonia. These things bother some much more than others.
• Reds, oranges, yellows, and bright blues are very popular colors among the Fire People.
• The official demonym for the Fire People is Incendian.
• There is a large gap in Incendian social strata; they have very little middle ground. If you aren't a noble, you're a worker or a peasant. The closest people to come to middle class are the successful merchants.
• Farming and agriculture is considered a very respected and valuable trade, since it takes a lot of skill to tame the dry, rocky landscape.
•
•
•
Gender Roles:
• Gender roles in Incendian culture typically see the men handling outside matters, like going to battle and handling outside trade.
• Women, meanwhile, are masters of the household, caring for family and property.
• Typically, the matriarch/mother of a family is also responsible for handling the family's property and finances. The wife is in charge of the money and keeps track of assets, unlike in western culture.
• Because children are considered assets in Incendian culture, virginity (especially female) is also considered an asset. Most are expected to save themselves for their future husbands and wives.
• Both women and men are freely welcome to study and control all aspects of fire magic, if they have it, though they often end up using it for different purposes later in life.
• All able-bodied men of wealth in the Fire Kingdom are expected to complete a knighthood once they come of age; to do so is to be recognized as a man.
•
The Arts:
• Incendians have a history of being great architects and sculptors, creating incredible stone carvings and palaces out of the pliable local granites and sandstones.
• They're also very nice jewelers, since they have so many gemstones and precious metals to practice with, though Incendian jewelry designers have a tendency to be garish or ostentatious.
• Incendians tend to be at the head of the market with ceremonial weaponry crafting, since they are both great blacksmiths and great jewelers.
•
Native Fashion and Ceremonial Clothing:
• Grooms wear ceremonial sun robes. These include an ornamental, belted wrap coat with long, wide sleeves and a coattail that hangs down behind the knees over soft pants (as exemplified in the illustration). Grooms dress in colors of the sun; golds, hot yellows, oranges, and reds. Occasionally they are set against a black base, but they are almost always decorated with rich golden embroidery. The coat is always lined on the inside with red, like the molten heart of Esh-ban.
• Brides and moon priestesses wear the moon goddess's gown. This is typically a long, pale dress that skims the body, is almost floor-length, and exposes the arms, neck, and back. The dress is accented by golden jewelry like the golden rays of sunlight that Esh-ban gave to the moon during their wedding so that she could shed light on his people during her nights. This jewelry always includes armlets and belts, though some brides like to include more. Brides dress often in white, but sometimes pale blues and yellows are also viable.
• Both the bride and groom attend their weddings barefoot, especially the groom who carries his bride over the hot coals. Both also are painted splendidly with red and gold and sometimes white or bright fire-blue henna on their feet, hands, and often neck and face. Grooms wear sun motifs, brides wear moon motifs. The bride also displays an elaborate henna painting down her back.
• A wedding couple almost always wears headpieces. Most often, they wear bindis, but where applicable there are exceptions. Many princes, for example, have chosen to wear their crowns or circlets en lieu of other jewelry, and occasionally brides choose to wear more elaborate jeweled veils instead of bindis.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Local Drugs and Alcohol:
• Domestic alcohol is limited mostly to cider and vodka, though there are a few specialty liquors and beers brewed from things like carrot or radish juices or mixed with cream from Incendian cattle.
• Though many drugs traffic through Magnus Incendia, there is one native herbal stimulant that is both very easy to grow locally and very popular nationwide. It's called ephedra, though it also goes colloquially by several nicknames, including sparkbush, jolt, and Mrs. E.
• Ephedra can be consumed in several ways. Some popular methods include drinking ephedra as tea and eating essence of ephedra cooked into honey candies.
•
•
•
Indigenous Traits:
• Most natives have light olive skin that tans well. They do not have as much melanin as people from tropical regions, but nor do they have as little as those from frigid, dim regions.
• The most common hair colors are dark shades of brown. Hair is usually worn short, so that it does not catch alight, but long hair is a symbol of wealth or great command over fire.
• Most eyes are hazel or brown. However, many natives have a pale ring around their irises instead of a dark ring.
• Most Incendian clothing is made from wool or cotton fiber. It's rare for anyone who isn't very skilled with fire magic to wear silks, as that fabric is incredibly flammable.
•
•
•
•
Funerary Traditions and Beliefs:
• Funerary ritual involves big, exciting cremation pyres
• They believe some sort of fire is necessary to purify a body and allow the soul to move on to its next life
• Wakes are lively and jovial; they're celebrations, often with entertainment and good food, rather times of solemnity.
• Funerals are mostly performed at sunset, when the land goes dark and all shadows unite for a time.
• The funeral pyre should not be suddenly extinguished. It should be allowed to die down on its own.
Marital Traditions and Beliefs:
• Incendian wedding ceremonies are often stretched out over several days of celebration. It's a long party filled with contents and performances.
• The groom and his party are often asked to perform feats of strength, courage and skill. These are expressions from the man to prove that he is worthy of his bride.
• The bride, similarly, is often asked to perform a wedding dance for all of the guests and her groom wearing a traditional, ceremonial costume. The fire dance is a cultural ideal of beauty, seduction, and fertility. Often, bridesmaids will join her in dancing after the primary performance has been completed for further entertainment of the guests.
• There is, of course, a great deal of alcohol and feasting.
• Over the course of the wedding's events, a wedding pyre is lit and burns, symbolic of the coming marriage.
• The wedding pyre should not be suddenly extinguished. It should be allowed to die down on their own. In order to annul a wedding arrangement or to show your disapproval to them, you need to pour water on the pyre. This is why wedding pyres are generally put on by the groom's family and guarded by them.
• The moon is considered an auspicious symbol in matters of love or marriage,as she represents an equal relationship. Most women pray to the moon for luck in their love life or marriage.
• When a man and woman enter into a marital engagement, the man presents a beautiful token crafted out of obsidian to his fiancee. Ideally, the item presented will be something that symbolizes safety, respect, and shared responsibility, like a small weapon or tool. In recent eras, decorative obsidian hairpieces have become the most popular token because they allow the bride-to-be to wear her token for all to see and also take advantage of the culture's specific reverences for hair.
• In addition to presenting the bride-to-be with an obsidian token, it is traditional for a man to visit the woman's family for an evening and to play a game of Kojeinic checkers with her father.
• Once a couple is wed (typically during the celebration), the bride's family traditionally presents the newlyweds with a dowry to financially help them begin their lives together.
• The actual marriage ceremony proceeds as follows: the bride and groom, dressed in traditional costume, stand together before a pathway at dusk. One one side of the pathway stands all the witnessing women and on the opposite stand the men. The pathway before the couple is bordered by lit flames and cobbled by hot (but not searing) coals. Barefoot, the man picks up his bride in his arms and carries her over the 6-10 feet of coals. The groom then sits in a chair and, with a cotton cloth and basin of water from a hot spring, the bride briefly cleans the groom's feet. Next, a priest comes before them, he binds their hands together with a mooncloth, the couple says their vows while standing at an angle so that their shadows overlap, and the priest pronounces them wed.
Physical Terrain:
• The kingdom is located in a primarily mountainous region, full of very rocky soil that is often dry and difficult to till.
• They have lots of variety in land elevation and some cities are even carved out of sprawling cliff faces.
• They have several very active volcanoes that have very docile eruptions regularly, much like the Hawaiian volcanic activity.
• Surrounding these docile volcanoes there are many oasises. These have both the most lush, ash-fertilized soil in
the kingdom and also house hot springs with rich minerals and healing properties. They are very high-demand areas
and produce the land's richest and most exotic agriculture.
• There is one volcano, the greatest of them all, which lays dormant. Legend says that, when their deity
becomes angered, it creates an angry and destructive eruption with the power to black out the sun and cause
famine and death across Magnus Incendia.
• They do have one small coastal port for trade, but honestly it's nothing to write home about. The most impressive
thing there has nothing to do with the port: it's home to a great sun temple, positioned by the shore because
the sun rises and sets with the sea.
• The majority of the kingdom is located in a warm, equatorial area.
• The kingdom's capital city is called Pyrandon.
• At the base of the great dormant volcano there is an area called "Urobach's Teeth." It's an outcropping of
volcanic rock that forms hundreds of jagged, vicious points that spire up towards the volcano's summit. Legend
says this is where the fire demon Urobach, sent by the Incendian deity in a fit of rage, gnawed at the earth with his
thousand fangs while tearing the skies asunder with the great volcano's fire.
Native Resorces and Crops:
• Lots of mining/mines, raw ore, metal, coal, oil, natural gas, generally things you can dig up from under the
ground. Also a great deal of stone, including local granite, pumice, lava rock, and sandstone.
• Related to mining, Magnus Incendia is rich with jewels of all kinds.
• Their rocky landscape means that they have very little in the way of crop growth. Their agriculture is made up of
hardy plants: potatoes, radishes, apples, beans, carrots, peas, etc. They maybe get some coffee or tea leaves on good years.
• Farmers have more success with livestock. Their diet involves a lot of vegetables, kebabs, spicy sausages, and similar meat dishes.
• They do import a lot of food, though.
• There are lots of sheep and goats grown natively, since they survive well in the mountainous region.
•
•
Losses From the Storm:
• Standing water that Magnus Incendia was not equipped to drain allowed bacteria to flower and allowed sickness to spread, breeding plague.
• Their crops weren't able to take the sudden change in conditions and they lost a lot of their food from the flooding, as well as the from the boiling the Incendians used to dry the land when they could.
• Many mines flooded when their rudimentary dams broke or springs finally overflowed, trapping and killing a huge portion of their workforce, causing a unusual economic struggle.
•
Map:
• Their religion and culture widely reveres the sun.
• They recognize a sun deity and pay him tribute and worship.
• They have a "fire is sacred" mentality.
• Incendians perform their worship primarily through hosting big festivals with spectacles like fireworks and performances.
• Their religion embraces elaborate festivals, sacrifices, and cultural decadence much more than actual spirituality.
• Their religion has become entwined inseparably with their trade-based culture; celebrations allow Incendians to show off their wealth and encourage tourism.
• The focus of Incendian sacrifice and worship primarily to please and entertain the god(s), rather than to grow spirituality or to gain special favor.
• They believe that successful worship discourages godly wrath. Godly wrath brings about destruction, such as drought or violent volcanic eruption.
Mythology and Native Cult:
• They believe the shadow is a manifestation of the soul.
• Soulless demons appear as beings without shadows.
• Some Fire People also believe in djinn. Djinn are the spirits of the smoke and air, created when a fire has been suddenly extinguished with rain or water. Similarly, when a human is not given a proper funeral, the bodies are possessed by djinn. They're generally devious beings who lure humans away by granting wishes to possess their body. Most djinn can be found in places that are dark and shady, because people wouldn't realize they have no shadow.
• One should confess his sins to the rising sun, and just like the sun, begin his life anew in that moment.
• The moon is said to be a devious enchantress, a lover who stole the sun's warmth and strength away. Before the sun god fell in love, there was no night. Then, a beautiful temptress came into his life, stole awa half of his power, and made it so that the sun could only be up for half of the day.
• Labor unions have laws that prohibit them from working on eclipse. Eclipse are days seen like Samhain and are celebrated on account of trying to trick the Djinn into not stealing your shadow. This is done by lighting a great fire in front of your house, and hanging a wax doll over the flames, such that there is a shadow of the doll, but it slowly disappears due to the melting of the wax.
• Mines are thought to be inherently threatening places, as they are both dark and enclosed, so before each mine can be worked in a priest must "bless" that mine.
• Comets and shooting stars are very good omens, so are sightings of red planets.
• The eagle is said to be a spirit of the sun god.
• Dawn and dusk are the most auspicious times of day, ideal important events, because shadows are longest when the sun is at its deepest angles.
• Conversely, high noon is the most inauspicious hour and most religious Incendians will avoid having celebrations, striking important deals, or doing most anything of significance at that hour. Sometimes celebrations will take rests or breaks for anywhere between 15 minutes to an hour while they wait for the sun to pass overhead.
•
•
Infrastructure/Technology/Economy:
• They're leaders of industry, mining, and technology (the little bit medieval people can achieve).
• They have a lot of trade going.
• Their economy supports a lot of guild-style culture and crafting.
• This might actually make them one of the more diplomatic countries, foreign policy wise.
• The fire kingdom has labor laws and regulations in place.
• They have a history of having to deal with rebellions based on labor laws and unions.
• One of their weakest points, militaristically, is the navy. They have very little interest in seafaring and some don't believe that seas are meant to be crossed.
• While fire manipulation allows some of the Fire People access to lightning, their understanding of electricity is still fairly rudimentary.
• Their treasury is rich and maintains a comparably good military.
• They use lots of tactics and machines at war. For example, balloons and airships would be pretty easy for Magnus Incendia.
• Indendians are pioneers of armor, weapon, and similar blacksmithing technologies. They may even have a monopoly over the weapon industry.
• The Fire Kingdom is a predominantly capitalistic nation.
• There is a unique metal located in a few volcanic mines in Magnus Incendia named "magnium." It has unusual properties, not the least of which are its astoundingly high melting point and its tendency to feel relatively cool to the touch even in sweltering temperatures. Magnium is the primary metal from which Incendians make their armor, especially for military soldiers, since it protects fire-wielders against burns caused by overheated armor on the battlefield.
Political Positions and Agendas:
• Their high volumes of trade mean that Magnus Incendia is fairly lenient when it comes to international commerce.
• Their trade also makes them perhaps one of the more diplomatic countries, foreign policy wise. An "I hate you and am going to attack your soldiers, but we can still trade crackers, and lets leave merchant caravans out it okay?" attitude.
•
Political and Military Structure:
• Magnus Incendia is ruled by an absolute monarchy. Though it may be advised or appealed to, the word of the king or queen is final and the throne is inherited by that king or queen's named heir.
• The monarch is assisted by a Council of Advisers. The Council is headed by a chairman who may also serve as a steward in the king's absence. Each adviser on the council is also trusted with managing the details of one or more branches of the government - for example, the military, the treasury, foreign affairs, etc.
• The military is headed by a general who may or may not also be the Adviser of Domestic Security.
• Under the general are five commanders, under whom are captains, and so on.
•
•
Culture and Quirks:
• Idealized traits include ferocity, passion, wildness, tenacity, and unconquerable drive. This also translates to revelry and celebration.
• They celebrate aggression, the sort that takes charge and makes things happen, but not unrestrained destruction.
• They like to party, like, a lot.
• There is prejudice against people who do not handle fire with the appropriate reverence and control.
• They have a whole "purge with fire" sort of mentality about everything.
• They also tend to use metaphors and idioms based on fire.
• They're naturally displeased by shadows and stifling, enclosed spaces - which might mean that some would be strongly opposed to going into Sanctimonia. These things bother some much more than others.
• Reds, oranges, yellows, and bright blues are very popular colors among the Fire People.
• The official demonym for the Fire People is Incendian.
• There is a large gap in Incendian social strata; they have very little middle ground. If you aren't a noble, you're a worker or a peasant. The closest people to come to middle class are the successful merchants.
• Farming and agriculture is considered a very respected and valuable trade, since it takes a lot of skill to tame the dry, rocky landscape.
•
•
•
Gender Roles:
• Gender roles in Incendian culture typically see the men handling outside matters, like going to battle and handling outside trade.
• Women, meanwhile, are masters of the household, caring for family and property.
• Typically, the matriarch/mother of a family is also responsible for handling the family's property and finances. The wife is in charge of the money and keeps track of assets, unlike in western culture.
• Because children are considered assets in Incendian culture, virginity (especially female) is also considered an asset. Most are expected to save themselves for their future husbands and wives.
• Both women and men are freely welcome to study and control all aspects of fire magic, if they have it, though they often end up using it for different purposes later in life.
• All able-bodied men of wealth in the Fire Kingdom are expected to complete a knighthood once they come of age; to do so is to be recognized as a man.
•
The Arts:
• Incendians have a history of being great architects and sculptors, creating incredible stone carvings and palaces out of the pliable local granites and sandstones.
• They're also very nice jewelers, since they have so many gemstones and precious metals to practice with, though Incendian jewelry designers have a tendency to be garish or ostentatious.
• Incendians tend to be at the head of the market with ceremonial weaponry crafting, since they are both great blacksmiths and great jewelers.
•
Native Fashion and Ceremonial Clothing:
• Grooms wear ceremonial sun robes. These include an ornamental, belted wrap coat with long, wide sleeves and a coattail that hangs down behind the knees over soft pants (as exemplified in the illustration). Grooms dress in colors of the sun; golds, hot yellows, oranges, and reds. Occasionally they are set against a black base, but they are almost always decorated with rich golden embroidery. The coat is always lined on the inside with red, like the molten heart of Esh-ban.
• Brides and moon priestesses wear the moon goddess's gown. This is typically a long, pale dress that skims the body, is almost floor-length, and exposes the arms, neck, and back. The dress is accented by golden jewelry like the golden rays of sunlight that Esh-ban gave to the moon during their wedding so that she could shed light on his people during her nights. This jewelry always includes armlets and belts, though some brides like to include more. Brides dress often in white, but sometimes pale blues and yellows are also viable.
• Both the bride and groom attend their weddings barefoot, especially the groom who carries his bride over the hot coals. Both also are painted splendidly with red and gold and sometimes white or bright fire-blue henna on their feet, hands, and often neck and face. Grooms wear sun motifs, brides wear moon motifs. The bride also displays an elaborate henna painting down her back.
• A wedding couple almost always wears headpieces. Most often, they wear bindis, but where applicable there are exceptions. Many princes, for example, have chosen to wear their crowns or circlets en lieu of other jewelry, and occasionally brides choose to wear more elaborate jeweled veils instead of bindis.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Local Drugs and Alcohol:
• Domestic alcohol is limited mostly to cider and vodka, though there are a few specialty liquors and beers brewed from things like carrot or radish juices or mixed with cream from Incendian cattle.
• Though many drugs traffic through Magnus Incendia, there is one native herbal stimulant that is both very easy to grow locally and very popular nationwide. It's called ephedra, though it also goes colloquially by several nicknames, including sparkbush, jolt, and Mrs. E.
• Ephedra can be consumed in several ways. Some popular methods include drinking ephedra as tea and eating essence of ephedra cooked into honey candies.
•
•
•
Indigenous Traits:
• Most natives have light olive skin that tans well. They do not have as much melanin as people from tropical regions, but nor do they have as little as those from frigid, dim regions.
• The most common hair colors are dark shades of brown. Hair is usually worn short, so that it does not catch alight, but long hair is a symbol of wealth or great command over fire.
• Most eyes are hazel or brown. However, many natives have a pale ring around their irises instead of a dark ring.
• Most Incendian clothing is made from wool or cotton fiber. It's rare for anyone who isn't very skilled with fire magic to wear silks, as that fabric is incredibly flammable.
•
•
•
•
Funerary Traditions and Beliefs:
• Funerary ritual involves big, exciting cremation pyres
• They believe some sort of fire is necessary to purify a body and allow the soul to move on to its next life
• Wakes are lively and jovial; they're celebrations, often with entertainment and good food, rather times of solemnity.
• Funerals are mostly performed at sunset, when the land goes dark and all shadows unite for a time.
• The funeral pyre should not be suddenly extinguished. It should be allowed to die down on its own.
Marital Traditions and Beliefs:
• Incendian wedding ceremonies are often stretched out over several days of celebration. It's a long party filled with contents and performances.
• The groom and his party are often asked to perform feats of strength, courage and skill. These are expressions from the man to prove that he is worthy of his bride.
• The bride, similarly, is often asked to perform a wedding dance for all of the guests and her groom wearing a traditional, ceremonial costume. The fire dance is a cultural ideal of beauty, seduction, and fertility. Often, bridesmaids will join her in dancing after the primary performance has been completed for further entertainment of the guests.
• There is, of course, a great deal of alcohol and feasting.
• Over the course of the wedding's events, a wedding pyre is lit and burns, symbolic of the coming marriage.
• The wedding pyre should not be suddenly extinguished. It should be allowed to die down on their own. In order to annul a wedding arrangement or to show your disapproval to them, you need to pour water on the pyre. This is why wedding pyres are generally put on by the groom's family and guarded by them.
• The moon is considered an auspicious symbol in matters of love or marriage,as she represents an equal relationship. Most women pray to the moon for luck in their love life or marriage.
• When a man and woman enter into a marital engagement, the man presents a beautiful token crafted out of obsidian to his fiancee. Ideally, the item presented will be something that symbolizes safety, respect, and shared responsibility, like a small weapon or tool. In recent eras, decorative obsidian hairpieces have become the most popular token because they allow the bride-to-be to wear her token for all to see and also take advantage of the culture's specific reverences for hair.
• In addition to presenting the bride-to-be with an obsidian token, it is traditional for a man to visit the woman's family for an evening and to play a game of Kojeinic checkers with her father.
• Once a couple is wed (typically during the celebration), the bride's family traditionally presents the newlyweds with a dowry to financially help them begin their lives together.
• The actual marriage ceremony proceeds as follows: the bride and groom, dressed in traditional costume, stand together before a pathway at dusk. One one side of the pathway stands all the witnessing women and on the opposite stand the men. The pathway before the couple is bordered by lit flames and cobbled by hot (but not searing) coals. Barefoot, the man picks up his bride in his arms and carries her over the 6-10 feet of coals. The groom then sits in a chair and, with a cotton cloth and basin of water from a hot spring, the bride briefly cleans the groom's feet. Next, a priest comes before them, he binds their hands together with a mooncloth, the couple says their vows while standing at an angle so that their shadows overlap, and the priest pronounces them wed.
Physical Terrain:• The kingdom is located in a primarily mountainous region, full of very rocky soil that is often dry and difficult to till.
• They have lots of variety in land elevation and some cities are even carved out of sprawling cliff faces.
• They have several very active volcanoes that have very docile eruptions regularly, much like the Hawaiian volcanic activity.
• Surrounding these docile volcanoes there are many oasises. These have both the most lush, ash-fertilized soil in
the kingdom and also house hot springs with rich minerals and healing properties. They are very high-demand areas
and produce the land's richest and most exotic agriculture.
• There is one volcano, the greatest of them all, which lays dormant. Legend says that, when their deity
becomes angered, it creates an angry and destructive eruption with the power to black out the sun and cause
famine and death across Magnus Incendia.
• They do have one small coastal port for trade, but honestly it's nothing to write home about. The most impressive
thing there has nothing to do with the port: it's home to a great sun temple, positioned by the shore because
the sun rises and sets with the sea.
• The majority of the kingdom is located in a warm, equatorial area.
• The kingdom's capital city is called Pyrandon.
• At the base of the great dormant volcano there is an area called "Urobach's Teeth." It's an outcropping of
volcanic rock that forms hundreds of jagged, vicious points that spire up towards the volcano's summit. Legend
says this is where the fire demon Urobach, sent by the Incendian deity in a fit of rage, gnawed at the earth with his
thousand fangs while tearing the skies asunder with the great volcano's fire.
Native Resorces and Crops:
• Lots of mining/mines, raw ore, metal, coal, oil, natural gas, generally things you can dig up from under the
ground. Also a great deal of stone, including local granite, pumice, lava rock, and sandstone.
• Related to mining, Magnus Incendia is rich with jewels of all kinds.
• Their rocky landscape means that they have very little in the way of crop growth. Their agriculture is made up of
hardy plants: potatoes, radishes, apples, beans, carrots, peas, etc. They maybe get some coffee or tea leaves on good years.
• Farmers have more success with livestock. Their diet involves a lot of vegetables, kebabs, spicy sausages, and similar meat dishes.
• They do import a lot of food, though.
• There are lots of sheep and goats grown natively, since they survive well in the mountainous region.
•
•
Losses From the Storm:
• Standing water that Magnus Incendia was not equipped to drain allowed bacteria to flower and allowed sickness to spread, breeding plague.
• Their crops weren't able to take the sudden change in conditions and they lost a lot of their food from the flooding, as well as the from the boiling the Incendians used to dry the land when they could.
• Many mines flooded when their rudimentary dams broke or springs finally overflowed, trapping and killing a huge portion of their workforce, causing a unusual economic struggle.
•
Map:
Meareign
Fashionable Capitalist
Vruez
High-functioning Snowflake
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200
Meareign
Fashionable Capitalist
Vruez
High-functioning Snowflake
10,950 Points
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50
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100
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200
Meareign
Fashionable Capitalist
Vruez
High-functioning Snowflake
10,950 Points
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50
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100
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200
Vruez
High-functioning Snowflake
10,950 Points
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50
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100
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200
Meareign
Fashionable Capitalist
Vruez
Physical terrain :
- Hilly regions with opportunities of mining certain ores. It also has some sheep, and hence, wool.
- Not too much fertile land for agriculture. Because of this, Magnus Incendium needs to import food. This makes farming as an occupation very highly sought-after and also requires high skill to tame the rough lands.
- Maybe a dormant volcano? Stories of how the last civilization on these lands were purged by the Gods' fire when they became too decadent.
- A small shore for a port, for trade. The shore might also have the temple of the Sun God - as the sun rises and sets into the sea.
- Hilly regions with opportunities of mining certain ores. It also has some sheep, and hence, wool.
- Not too much fertile land for agriculture. Because of this, Magnus Incendium needs to import food. This makes farming as an occupation very highly sought-after and also requires high skill to tame the rough lands.
- Maybe a dormant volcano? Stories of how the last civilization on these lands were purged by the Gods' fire when they became too decadent.
- A small shore for a port, for trade. The shore might also have the temple of the Sun God - as the sun rises and sets into the sea.
So, I was browsing google images for some terrain inspiration and came across something that spoke to me. Fortunately, it goes along very well with what you were already saying.> Primarily a mountainous region, very rocky and often difficult to till
> Lots of elevation, possibly even cities carves out of the sides of rocky cliffs
> At least one volcanic area, but possibly even a Hawaii-esque area with several very active volcanoes that erupt regularly, but with fairly docile behavior.
> On top of those, there can still be one great dormant volcano that, when it does erupt, does so violently and angrily
> Around the "soft" volcanoes there might be lots of oasises, the sort with healing hot springs and very lush soil from all the volcanic ash making the land there rich
> These oasises would be very high-demand areas where the areas best domestic agriculture comes from
> The rest of the kingdom has to stick to producing more hardy crops, like potatoes, radishes, carrots, beans, etc. If they want anything more exciting, they have to import it.
Vruez
High-functioning Snowflake
10,950 Points
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50
-
100
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200
Meareign
Vruez
Physical terrain :
- Hilly regions with opportunities of mining certain ores. It also has some sheep, and hence, wool.
- Not too much fertile land for agriculture. Because of this, Magnus Incendium needs to import food. This makes farming as an occupation very highly sought-after and also requires high skill to tame the rough lands.
- Maybe a dormant volcano? Stories of how the last civilization on these lands were purged by the Gods' fire when they became too decadent.
- A small shore for a port, for trade. The shore might also have the temple of the Sun God - as the sun rises and sets into the sea.
- Hilly regions with opportunities of mining certain ores. It also has some sheep, and hence, wool.
- Not too much fertile land for agriculture. Because of this, Magnus Incendium needs to import food. This makes farming as an occupation very highly sought-after and also requires high skill to tame the rough lands.
- Maybe a dormant volcano? Stories of how the last civilization on these lands were purged by the Gods' fire when they became too decadent.
- A small shore for a port, for trade. The shore might also have the temple of the Sun God - as the sun rises and sets into the sea.
So, I was browsing google images for some terrain inspiration and came across something that spoke to me. Fortunately, it goes along very well with what you were already saying.> Primarily a mountainous region, very rocky and often difficult to till
> Lots of elevation, possibly even cities carves out of the sides of rocky cliffs
> At least one volcanic area, but possibly even a Hawaii-esque area with several very active volcanoes that erupt regularly, but with fairly docile behavior.
> On top of those, there can still be one great dormant volcano that, when it does erupt, does so violently and angrily
> Around the "soft" volcanoes there might be lots of oasises, the sort with healing hot springs and very lush soil from all the volcanic ash making the land there rich
> These oasises would be very high-demand areas where the areas best domestic agriculture comes from
> The rest of the kingdom has to stick to producing more hardy crops, like potatoes, radishes, carrots, beans, etc. If they want anything more exciting, they have to import it.
Whoa! That looks ******** fantastic! ;o Hot-springs, yep! Makes perfect sense. Totally forgot about those. The volcanic ash also goes on to make the ores. And the place could have a good amount of granite and sandstone, so I believe that all the big temples and castles would be made out of granite sculpting.
Vruez
High-functioning Snowflake
10,950 Points
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50
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100
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200
Meareign
Fashionable Capitalist
Meareign
Fashionable Capitalist