Yenari Empire
The
Yenari Empire is organized around three main classes. The
Tern people are descended from the
Tern and they are the elite of the society. They are the class of people from which the
Gran Father of the Empire are chosen from. In contrast to the rest of society they are a patriarchal culture, with a traditional tern father being a stern figure. They are seen as closer to the divine and divinely destined to rule. The other privileged class are the priestesses of
Gran Saminism. The priestesses have their own holy hierarchy separate from the rest of the Empire, yet they wield incredible power over the empire. The other main class is all the other
Yenarians. While their is many class distinctions in the yenarians, from merchant families to nobles of small towns and cities, as a whole they are always treated as second to the
Tern and the priestesses. The vast majority of the
Yenarians struggle just to make ends meet. While many of them are deeply religious the faith and the government provides them with little tangible befit. The
Yenarian struggle and second class nature cause a massive wave of settlement into the plains of the strepslim that started about 60 days ago.
Before the wave of emigration started, the
Tern Bas had been part of the empire and their plains around the
Strepslim were considered sacred place where only they could travel. However, as the Gonne and Kannon slowly replaced the military might of the mounted
Tern Bas, they felt less connected to the empire. Eventually, they attempted to united and break free from the
Yenari Empire. Unfortunately, the advanced military tactics and technology caused the
Tern Bas to be brutally massicured and defeated. The priestesses also revoked their sacred claim to the plains and thus triggered the start of a massive wave of
Yenarian emigration.
This emigration has brought to the forefront the class divides in the Empire. Many of the
Yenarian settlers took to the plains to escape the crowed city conditions and over bearing control of the priestesses. So while many of the settlers are still religious, the explosion of settlements has lessened the influence of the church on the plains. Some new settlements are very religious while others took to the plains to avoid the control of the church. Additionally, the tales of freedom and independence on the plains that have traveled back to the lake cities have caused more unrest in the cities as many
Yenarians yearn for better life.
The city of
Delfi is part of the empire that also has deep seated ancient racial tension. Over 170 days ago at the end of the
War of 200 days the
Yenari Empire captured Delfi, the capital city of the
United Delfic States. The Empire did not officially respect the caste system of the
Delfians, instead they placed the
Tern elites to manage the city for the empire. However, the
Delfians still respected the caste system even if they had lost the ability to govern themselves. Now for over 170 days the
Delfians have watched as the
Tern siphoned their wealth away from the city and to the empire, all while having to resist the proselytizing efforts of the priestesses. Delfi is filled with anger, resentment, cultural and religious misunderstandings. It is a place where the tension and anger could boil over very quickly.
The final area of tension in the
Yenari Empire is the southern region of the
Fertile Shar. Initially it was part of the empire, but in 4062 during the
2nd Nil Crusade the
United Delfic States captured the region. The region was not recaptured until the
Delfic League War in 4438. Now the the past 70 days the proud independent people of the shar have been resisting the rule of the
Yenari Empire. This region has had unrest, revolts, freedom fighters. The instability has spark diplomatic incidents as the Empire accuses the
The Delnari Coalition and
Vordenlan of supporting the rebels. The empire has spent an extraordinary amount of money and effort to pacify the people and have proved unsuccessful. Within the past 10
Independent Delfic Cities
Many of the
Independent Delfic Cities share a similar social structure derived from the
United Delfic States. The Delfic cities have a very strict caste system based around the
Delfian Marths. Each Marth is a collection of 50-500 individuals, with most of the women born into the marth and the men marrying in. Each marth is further defined by a specific profession that determined what type of work its members could do. Additionally, the Marths were organized into three tiers. The highest tiers,
Delfian Granic Marths, are composed of of the ruling elites and great merchant families. They are the marths that control the vast majority of the power in the city states. The
Delfian Miv Marth are the tiers of Marths that are composed of skilled artisans and craftswomen. The
Delfian Unt Marths are the lowest marth in charge of the menial jobs and labor. They also serve as a militia in dire circumstances. The
Northern Tresbort Cities people denote ones marth status by a tatoo on ones right inner forearm. The Marths also function as a small social safety net and community, most of ones income is given to the Marth and the Marth then has a responsibility to redistribute the wealth to everyone in the Marth. This meant that one could expect to be taken care of if they fell on hard times, but since the vast majority of ones wealth went to the Marth your identity and class was very closely tied to the success or failure of your Marth. Finally, the
Vrukians are the lowest of society who belong to no marth or have been cast out of a marth as a punishment.
The Marth social order is being severely challenged by the
Nos Delian uprising. The uprising swept through the city of
Delian and executed and banished all the
Granic Marths. They claim that no mater ones Marth rank, one should be able to control ones destiny. They institute a system where their governing council is voted upon by every citizen no mater their rank. Many of the delfic cities are very worried that this uprising will spread to their city. The
Yenari Empire is even worried that the uprising might sweep through the city of
Delfi. Finally, the Vorden nations,
Vordenlan,
Vorshar, and
Voria, are worried that the rebellious sentiment might spread to thier nations. While they don't share the same caste system, their nobility are fabulously wealthy and isolated from the common vordenese.
Delnari Coalition and the Vorden nations
Every since the
The 1st Navel war Delfi has been an important trade city with its own distinctive culture. The
The Delnari Coalition is organized around seven great merchant
mars and numerous lessor
mars owe patronage to one of the major mars. Dating back to the
Old Delarian culture, the individual families in a mar are matriarchal and polyagamous. One family consists of several women living together, often composed of childhood friends or other women from the mar, and the women also live with one or two men from other mars. The men are seen muscular objects of desire and little more. Since most of the families are composed of more women than men. In each mar exists a large underclass of men deemed unattractive and reproductivly unnecessary. This underclass of men exists to serve the needs of the mar yet they have very little power. They take on the manual labor jobs deemed to trivial for the women of the mar. However, in the under class their is a notion termed
comate, the idea that their exists a masculine bond between the lower classmen and that they are stronger because of it. Many of the men in the mar form strong emotional and romantic relationships with each other. However, since the
The Delnari Coalition is large and multicultural, a large part of the population does not belong to a
Delnari Mars. In the coalition they are called
Marsless and have very limited rights and power. Over the days some marsless have been granted the right to form their own Mar.
Currently the
The Delnari Coalition is struggling to maintain its influence in the
Den Mar. The
Mar Alliance is a group of cities in the upper part of the
Den Mar river delta. The cities have recently gain an influx of political refugees from the nation of
Dal-Aria. Additionally, the cities are experiencing a population boom as they have started to build levies and dikes to drain the upper portions of the tidal river delta. This population boom along with what the cities consider unfair treatment from the coalition has caused the cities to unite and demand their independence in 4493. The rebellion is now in its 24th day and shows no sign of slowing down. The
Denites - culture also consider the
Den Mar part of their territory and support the rebels against the coalition.
The Vorden nations
The
Vorden Mountians were mainly settled by the descendants of the
Old Delarian fishing villages, and thus have a similar culture to the
The Delnari Coalition . Specifically, the fantastically wealthy nobles of the Vorden nations use a system similar to the
Delnari Mars. Each noble mar lives in a large villa complex that is supported by the local vorden population. Individual families in the mar are matriarchal and polygamous. The
Vordenese famliy units are composed of all the daughters of a family with a few men married into the family. Each
Mar has a large lower class of men in it. However, these men are still of a vastly higher status then the average
Vordenese. They take often times form the elite guard force of the villas and oversee the day to day operation of the villa. Compared to the nobles most of the average
Vordenese are not part of any Mar and form matriarchal family units as they struggle to get by in the unforgiving mountains.
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