Ahru (/Ah-roo/)
History and Government
Ahru is a nation in the midst of a cultural golden age. A product of the Kandesh Division, which saw its lands patriated from the rulership that still leads its northern neighbor of Eowyr, Ahru's culture has long been trending away from the roots that its old settlers set down. Its adjacency to the Rainy Country is the primary cause of this; Fey today make up the plurality of Ahru's population. The Kandeshi Pharashes were not fully appreciative of the impact of this influx of Fey. They permitted them to travel with the promise of profits from their trade, but clashes between Fey caravans and Kandeshi Pharo-Guard were common. With the onset of the Northern Wars, Kandeshi resources were stretched thin and the itinerant Fey population were resistant to participation in the war effort. The people of Kandesh themselves were skeptical of the Pharash's drafts and conscriptions, and those in the heavily-Fey region of Ahru became openly defiant. This defiance culminated in the Crimson Day and the Kandeshi Emperor's assassination. The following take-over by Kandeshi generals led Ahru into open revolt, while diplomats loyal to the emperor's successor negotiated a peace that saw the nation split into two - Ahru and Eowyr. The generals did not accept these terms, and an invasion of Ahru followed. Ahrans held their defenses on the Peaks of Ahm and could not be broken by the Kandeshi loyalists. An ensuing counter-coup in northern Eowyr brought the emperor back to power and secured Ahru's independence. Perhaps interestingly, Ahrans did not ever officially develop a new centralized government; instead, the cities and caravans of Ahru became self-governing, and a network of merchant representatives naturally came to convene for national matters. This eventually became the Caraveneer Court, whose membership is decided by a paid lottery. While such a system might seem prone to corruption, the profits of this lottery are dispersed among the local constituencies of Ahru, and the Caraveneer Court has no authority over their handling; the Court itself is merely charged with standardizing the laws, policies, and tariffs of the nation's various republican groups. Ahru has developed a reputation as an outlaw haven in recent years, partly because of its emphasis of freedom and its lack of official citizenship, which permits outsiders to come in and settle without any complaints. Ahru has regularly refused to extradite or punish criminals even for the most heinous of crimes, so long as these criminals do not commit them against Ahrans. There have been of trials for crimes committed outside of Ahru so long as the victim comes to Ahru to plead their case, as this essentially makes them a "citizen" of Ahru for all intents and purposes, and the Ahran justice system aims to resolve crimes even amongst its people when they are abroad.Cities
Kano S'rai
Kano S'rai is the capital of Ahru, denoted so because it is where the Caraveneer Court meets most regularly for discussions. It lies in the valley of the Peaks of Ahm upon the Kesh River. It is sometimes called a "tent city," though this is only applicable in a metaphorical sense. Kano S'rai does have many tents, but it also has many inns and forms of housing - most, however, are shoddily built and intended to be temporary, for few in Ahru live permanently in one place. About a hundred thousand people can be found in Kano S'rai at any time, though it's rarely the same people who are there all parts of the year.Geography
Ahru is a vibrant land, owing to its proximity to the Rainy Country. Its western parts are hilly, and atop its hills lies a verdant rainforest. This forest thins out as one goes eastward in Ahru, though it still remains distinctly tropical and dotted with palm trees. South of the Kesh River, the forest thins out almost completely, and the landscape can be best described as looking like a desert. In reality, this "desert" is actually better characterized as a tenuous beach. The rains of the Rainy Country make the Sea of Blight unpredictable in its reach, and trees have long learned not to grow in the path of its flood. The Peaks of Ahm rise high in central Ahru, and they are some of the tallest mountains in the world. Despite this, they are not particularly dangerous, and the weather and air quality remains (relatively) stable as one climbs higher up them. Villages dot their sides all the way up to the peaks, and the rainforest makes the western side of these mountains teem with life.Resources
Ahru is rich in resources brought from the Rainy Country, and these luxuries are its primary export to the rest of the world. Beyond this, Ahru's western portion has a hefty supply of lumber and the Peaks of Ahm hold vast gem wealth, but current policies prohibit any large-scale exploitation of these goods. On the beaches in Ahru's south, the ground is especially fertile for farmland, but the flooding of the rains makes it impossible to put down permanent roots as an agriculturalist. Nonetheless, there exist caravans who regularly migrate around Ahru's beaches and plant their bounty, before circling back around to harvest it later in the year. Spices are grown more often than subsistence foods, which are Ahru's largest import.Ethnicities
The Kandeshi initially settled Ahru, though Fey, Uzbari, and Vestali refugees became the lifeblood of the region when Kandeshi settlements began to stagnate. For this reason, Kandeshi culture in Ahru has always been far more strongly influenced by other cultures than Kandeshi culture in Eowyr, to the point that they are very distinct. Nonetheless, most in both regions call themselves Kandeshi - except Fey, who typically don't identify as anything aside from Feyfolk. Fey are actually the majority in Ahru, which complicates any discussion of the region's culture as a coherent one.Diplomacy
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"Merchant-Lands of Fey and Freedom"
Adjectives: Ahran
National Animal: Bilby
National Instrument: Tambourine
Ethnicities: Feyfolk, Kandeshi (Ahran)
Languages: Kandeshi, Human Common (Holm Gultic), Sylvan, Vestali
Capital: Kano S'rai
Ruler: The Caravaneer Court
Government: Mercantile Republic
Hallmarks: Mercantilism, democracy, large Fey population, outlaw enclave
Characteristics: Care-free, curious, friendly, libertine
National Animal: Bilby
National Instrument: Tambourine
Ethnicities: Feyfolk, Kandeshi (Ahran)
Languages: Kandeshi, Human Common (Holm Gultic), Sylvan, Vestali
Capital: Kano S'rai
Ruler: The Caravaneer Court
Government: Mercantile Republic
Hallmarks: Mercantilism, democracy, large Fey population, outlaw enclave
Characteristics: Care-free, curious, friendly, libertine
Type
Geopolitical, State