Iane

"We have to keep ourselves, Xor." His daughter looked out at the ocean, her fingers working the net. Spínos kept speaking anyway. "We're sandwiched between two empires. Eksada has us now; in my father's time, we were part of the Sichan Empire. I grew up speaking Hebai to speak to merchants, and Sicha to speak to the soldiers who collected the taxes. Now, you speak Eksada." He let the words sink in, their complicated history that Xor didn't realize was complicated. How many nations, he thought, still kept their tongue, their stories. Did Shiyah still tell the story of the one-hour war with Iane, or had they forgotten? "I won't forget Iani, Ake. I won't forget how to make a net," she held up the net in her hands properly repaired and ready for use, "or the stories. I just--" "You don't want to be a fisher." He completed the sentence for her. "Like me, or your mother, or your aunts and uncles and cousins--" "I want to see beyond Iane, Ake. I want to see the Empire." Spínos choked on laughter. "What does Eskada have to offer you, Xor? You are border-rabble, the forward edge of the Empire-- you are not nothing to them, but you are very close to it." Her fingers curled around the net still in her lap, tightening until they went pale with her grip. It was her turn to choke out words. "I am close to nothing, yes, Ake, but so are many others-- and there are many places that have not forgotten their stories." He looked at her, expression smoother, mind moving. "You-" "I want to write their stories, Ake. The stories of the peoples of the Empire. Araxes loves hearing of our one-hour war with Shiyah; he is not the only one. Thisa enjoys hearing them too." So they are not interested in her, he thought. Or rather, not for permanence. Xor took his silence for interest. "If I go to Eskada, to Bilal'ane, I can learn to read in different languages. I can meet merchants, who can take me around the Empire; I can write down the stories of the Empire, so that no one is forgotten." And us, he thought. Can you forget us? Her fingers had relaxed; his daughter looked to him, eyes bright as they had been the first time he'd taken her fishing. She wanted this. "I must talk with your Ona. She must agree to this." Spínos was not able to complete his sentence before Xor hugged him. His arms went around her in response. How long, he thought, will it be before you forget us? How long will it be before we forget you?

Assets

Iane is a fishing province to the north; to the south, they are better known for their steppes and their herds.

Type

Geopolitical, Province

Demonym

Iani

Government System

Monarchy, Absolute

Power Structure

Dependent territory

Neighboring Nations

• Shiyah