Tekiton Empire: Empire of Wanderers
This is an empire built on secrets and solitude. To live here is to know paradise but to visit is to answer to the trial, a tradition passed on from the founder -Eban Rav- a man with no face by which to remember him. Not much was known of the founder except that he lived by an old parable that survived and became the law of the land: “Always give the face that people are expecting while planning on how to survive to the next sunrise. Let those who walk over us know the green’s embrace.” A land of trial and tribulation, it took years for the people who bore the title "Eban Rav" to bring the nomads, the vagabonds, and the forgotten together, giving them a home. The current "Eban Rav" is Council of Nine member Sanya. It’s well known that those who have nothing are welcome to try the trial and with its acceptance, they may join the blessed lands. For those outside of its borders, Tekiton is known as the land of bandits and miscreants. Nicknamed the Empire of the Damned, only those who are unwilling to live elsewhere will be thrust upon the Empire Prisoners, criminals on the run, bounty hunters, mercenaries, and even adventurers arrive in large numbers when the time of the choosing is upon the land. That is when the ‘easier’ test is open for those willing at the Dragonspire Fortress. A cold, bone chilling wind escapes the halls when the doors are open to deter those of weak heart as the land will not be merciful to any who enter its shade. The land will teach you how to grow. Nothing comes easy, at least not at first. The rules of the Empire are as simple as the parable: “Be strong to earn what you want, for strength will never lead you astray.”
Capital City
Alona, for those who live there, is beautiful and majestic. Sweeping arches and domes pierce the sky, constructed wholly of sandstone, ceramic and even metal. The local business offers a variety of goods sourced from harvesting the endless monsters that roam the wastes. For those born of the land or proven by trial, all needs are met and the Elder Council is always seeking to further improve and expand the Empire. They frequently hold open court for the people to express their grievances at the Elder's Tower proper or at Cat's Corner. The City Guard is there when needed at a mere moment's notice. The streets are clean, a clear sign of the citizen's pride and care in maintaining their home. Indeed, though Tekiton's reputation as a dangerous, desolate waste indeed reigns true for those outside and traveling in, those looking outward from Alona find the land to be more than gracious in its bounty.Culture & Values
Survival: Tekiton holds the largest collective society in Ashirma who's entire livelihood revolves around living directly off of the land. However, to say the conditions of the land are harsh would be an understatement. Any traveler will state that wisdom, skill, and familiarity with the unfamiliar are base requirements to survive outside of the walls-and even then, that may not guarantee all limbs remain intact. To the general populace outside of Tekiton, it is vaguely apparent that there is some sort of unnatural curse or blight that affects non-natives, making their capacity to survive outside of a settlement quite limited. The truth of the matter, as any Tekitonian will say, is that "This is a hard land, for hardy people. You'll learn to make do." Strength:To ensure not just your own survival, but the survival of those around you, is a feat for those precious few destined to become leaders within their settlements. In this, strength is the way forward. Whether it be wrestling a gargantuan scorpion down for meat, or carrying a lost refugee family to the nearest Statue of the Mage, only the most able-bodied and strong-willed can even consider thinking outside of themselves to help Tekiton thrive. The embodiment of strength is what allowed those original Tekitonians to grow a nation, and it is what will continue to do so. Sustainability: Even within the seeming utopias of Tekiton's various cities and towns, moderation is required to prevent resources from being strained. The population of Tekiton is majorly made up of natives, but a surprising number of desperate migrants, exiles, curious travelers, and ambitious merchants brave the trial to try and reach the safety of the cities. The majority of them fail and would die if not for the regular sweeps ordained by the Eben Rav to try and rescue them. However, this does incur an immediate cost that must be made up by the leaders of these settlements. The majority of Tekiton's commodities come about from either natural resources or harvesting monsters, both of which require dangerous excursions outside of settlements to farm, hunt, and mine. While the governmental structures try their best to maintain balance, the people regularly practice this as well, for how can one maintain strength necessary to survive when the storehouse runs dry?Geography, Flora, & Fauna
Partly within a desert and partly within a forest, the borders of Tekiton formally encapsulate the Cobalt Labrynth whilst shirking No Man's Land and the Dragon's Wrath Wasteland, as nothing may survive long there. There are few cities within the Empire, who's main protection lies in perhaps the strangest magical phenomena aside from the Great Death. The land itselt is cursed, or blighted, perhaps. Non-natives to Tekiton find themselves inevitably lost, constantly attacked, struggling to find resources, and struggling to simply survive while traveling through Tekiton. Sandstorms sweep through the region constantly, separating caravans and parties and preventing any notion of flight. Even teleportation goes awry, with those who haven't lived in a Tekitonian city recently incapable of accurately securing their location. The truth of this phenomena is a secret known only to the Eban Rav, who works constantly to secure new locations among the blighted land to build cities and ward them against the phenomena. Natives to Tekiton don't experience the same immense difficulties in attempting to live off of the land, finding it rather easy to navigate between cities and finding resources to fuel them. Yet, if they would leave the Empire for any length of time, they experience the same hardship to live. Growing lost, finding hallucinations among the sandy dunes, the worst of monstrosities honing in like bees to honey. It is not uncommon to find a traveler driven mad by their experience in traveling Tekiton, seeing nothing but food and terrible apparitions that cause them to behave like a monster themselves. Why invade such a region when your army armies be torn to shreds by the land alone? Such that the geography of Tekiton has led to it becoming the most well-protected Nation in Ashirma, but also the most brutal to survive, if one dares.Flora: Hardy plants, including cactus, elm, pine, palm, shrubs, flowers.
Fauna: Enhanced monstrosities, including scorpions, wolves, deer, panthers, elephants.
Political Structure & Economics
Political:The country values collaboration and cooperation over competition and conflict. This is reflected in its political structure, where elected officials and community leaders work together to address issues and make decisions that benefit the Nation as a whole. There are few enough cities to worry about, and few enough citizens such that finding new resources to draw from and build new ones is an immense priority. However, Tekiton is an Empire, and the Eban Rav remains the highest voice in the land, even over the Elder Tower. To become the Eban Rav, one must become a native to Tekiton and have demonstrated effective capacity for leadership as well as the ability to safeguard Tekiton's cities, its people, and the land itself over decades of service. This is the necessary foundation, one that requires Tekitonian citizens who can vouch for a potential Eban Rav's effacacy. Then, strength must be proven. In regular contests, the Eban Rav is challenged for their position in head-on duels, feats of power, and more to allow the strongest to rise above the rest. After approval from the Elder Tower, an Eban Rav may rule for a lifetime, should their strength last. Tekiton holds proper juridisction over the Cobalt Labrynth, and unofficially over the Dragon's Wrath Wasteland and No Man's Land. The benefit, alongside the resources, is the wealth of powerful artifacts and past works that can be found while searching through these regions. Though the Eban Rav has historically been close-mouthed and even militant about where and who ought to hold onto these items-Tekiton, purely-the current Eban Rav is more open with other Nations in sharing the knowledge and history provided by the past works. Whether this works to the Nation detriment or favor is yet to be seen, as Tekiton's geography prevents frequent migration and limits the growth of its cities, regardless of how open it becomes amongst the Pillar Nations. Economics: Tekiton is almost purely a provider of goods, particularly the fruit of its hardy flora and exotic goods from the monsters that stalk the lands. Few merchants from outside of the Nation are willing to brave the routes that Tekitonian merchants due to barter and trade, so most can only take what they are offered. Still their wares are high sought after for being to difficult and dangerous to acquire. Other factions have a vested interest in acquiring as much knowledge from Tekiton as possible, so their merchants generate plenty of traffic when they're seen outside of the Nation. Locally, Tekitonians are highly self-sufficient and foster frequent trade between the Cities.
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