Kingdom of Ashakahd (Ah-shaw-kaw-d)

Ashakahd is the black sheep of the Halikvar world. They are the one large state that embraces the Asavari sect, surrounded by religious rivals. They see themselves as an island of truth in an otherwise sinful world, and so arm themselves to the teeth. Their steel is superior, and their cannons famous across the continent. Less than a century ago, they waged a war on the rest of the continent, surviving in a lone battle against the rest of the Halikvar world. And yet, Ashakahd survived. And it now knows peace, which it has slowly embraced. 
Now, Ashakahd is enjoying a renaissance of sorts. It has made great coin on the spice and steel trades. It has opened itself up to exploring broader trade and diplomacy with the world beyond its immediate neighbors. It has rebuilt its cities and canals, and the soil has given in abundance. Many look forward towards a bright and prosperous future, though some others are hoarding in preparation for the next war. Whether Ashakahd is only beginning its era of peace, or whether this is a respite between terrible wars is anyone's guess.

Structure

Ashakahd is a monarchy supported by a large bureaucracy. There are three branches to the bureaucracy here: the Ashakahdan Temple, the army, and the governors. There are thirteen governors, each appointed by the monarch for a term of five years. Each governor has a corresponding 'Archdruids' chosen by the priesthood and a corresponding garrison captain. While there is no technical landed nobility, there are fifteen powerful clans that hold immense land, wealth, and privilege - and they tend to hold many of the top clerical, government, and military positions.

Generally speaking, leading positions in Prisev, Arnimet, Emarna, Kokahl, and Olwa tend to be the most important. The military garrison captain of Gelwa is also a very powerful and prestigious position, as the standing army is headquartered there. The provinces of Kobeer, Lonko, Esimav, Gorobet, and Sisara also come with a unique element of Kima City management; a number of prism communities, ranging from "Kimas in name only" to full traditional Kima Cities operate in these provinces under Ashakahdan rule. The prism communities in Atabar and Edshala are not really under crown control at all; Sisara also has to deal with various prism clan raids. The hills in these regions also allow for various highland tribes to continue living outside of standard government control, making for all sorts of complications.
The religious branch of the government is run by a small Asavari Council of Archdruids.

The Monarchs

While much discretion is given to the governors and military officers, the monarch still holds great power here and has few direct limits on what they can do. The current monarch is King Ambali I Nonawara, an old dryad druid and spouse of the last monarch (Queen Sapatwa II Nonawara). Ambali is best understood as personally humble but royally ambitious; he is deeply devoted to what he imagines Sapatwa would want, even now that he has outlived her by ten years. He emerged from the Asavari priesthood, and he is often characterized by outsiders as a zealot of that sect; he has certainly pushed away from the Dakavari Halikvar more than any other monarch of this dynasty, and has fostered alternative relationships with religious outsiders. He is a great steward and an unmatched spellcaster (if he hadn't married Sapatwa, he would likely be on the council of archdruids).
The crown heir, Princess Heskeba Nonawara, has been a topic of great courtly gossip. She has the most skill as an administrator of any in the crown lineup, making her an ideal next pick; her mother felt very strongly that she was destined to rule. After her mother's death, Heskeba rejected the crown and tried to run away to find a life on her own; a mixture of grief and panic saw her turn from golden child to burnout in mere weeks. Ambali has refused to disobey his late wife's wishes, and has kept the pressure of succession on Heskeba, dragging her back whenever she tries to run. Heskeba dislikes authority, dislikes materialism, and has become increasingly eccentric and anti-social over the last few years. Troublingly, she has a history of refusing to learn the arts of war (and has instead just focused on her own ability with a sword) - an important skill for an Ashakahdan monarch. The fact that Ambali is not her biological father (her own father is Sapatwa's first husband) has provided plenty of grist for the rumor mill: most of the court is waiting with baited breath for Ambali to name his own daughter, Sinoja, as heir to the throne.

Culture

West and East

Ashakahd is not a culturally homogenous kingdom. The Western region of Kokahl and the Eastern region of Inner Ashakahd have major cultural differences; there are also many minority cultures, as Ashakahd took in many refugee communities during the Halikvar wars of religion (that ended in 1945). Generally speaking, the dominant culture should be best understood with a West-East division in mind. 

The East

In the east, in Inner Ashakahd, personal interactions default to a calm, serious demeanor; seriousness and a kind of "buttoned up" stoicism are considered standard adult social behavior. This seriousness is all about being careful and deliberate; statements of extreme emotion or word choice are considered un-social except in extreme circumstances. To get along with mainstream Inner Ashakahdan society, one must avoid hyperbole or charged word choice. Similarly, one should use committed phrases only if one has serious faith that a thing is true; "I have been told", "it is spoken", and other weaker word choices are actually looked upon positively in Inner Ashakahd, as sophisticated and careful ways to communicate something. Drinking alone in this culture is considered antisocial. Smoking is a more acceptable break activity, though it also tends to be more social. Smoking should only be done when not around children, pregnant people, or the elderly; in those circumstances, smoking is firmly off limits. 
Movement is a common trend in Inner Ashakahdan culture. Most people seasonally migrate between the ages of 18 and 60, moving between villages and cities according to seasonal labor demands. This undermines the boundaries between the urban and the rural; rural nature cult plays a large role in cities, while urban ideas and trends work their way out into the countryside. This makes many Ashakahdans religiously flexible, as they move across spaces with different religious rituals and religious laws. In terms of art and culture, the East is fond of romance stories and cliches around underdog characters - many an Ashakahdan joke or story ends with the powerless on top.

The West

The Western regions of Kokahl are the stereotyped as the loud, emotional counterpart to the East's stoicism. Certainly, non-committal statements are not looked upon well in the West, and there is no mandatory sense of calm. Kokahl does appreciate the art of gab; chatting to pass the time is considered an important social trait in adults here. A good sense of storytelling is essential for full acceptance here. That said, it isn't a perfect inverse of the East; many Kokahlans still appreciate calm, and the upper and middle classes certainly have a sense of seriousness. 
Kokahl has a larger class divide than Inner Ashakahd. There is a sense of fatalism here, and a pressure to accept the duties of one's hereditary station. Some have compared it to the prism caste system, given how much Kokahlan society intermingles with their prism communities. Upper and middle classes segregate themselves from each other and the poor. The upper classes in particular are extremely finely divided into hierarchies, with strict moderating rules. Even though there isn't technically feudalism in Kokahl, every village or town has their ruling elite families that are set in stone. Similarly, the divide between rural and urban is stronger in Kokahl; staying in one place all of one's life is considered natural and responsible, and cities are considered very different spaces. Kokahl also has a sense of asceticism. Excessive attachment to material things (other than the strictly necessary) is considered publicly embarassing. 

General Culture

There are some cultural traits that tend to be consistent across Ashakahd. For example, food. Ashakahd has some pretty serious attitudes towards vegetarianism, though the fine details of that vary between religious districts (some ban animal fat in cooking; others allow fish or poultry). Soups of many beans are a common staple of every local cuisine. Lentil cakes, aamli fruit, and pea curry are all common as well. For those who can afford it, masala chai tea is a favorite drink. 
Strong, democratic local government is another common trend here. Village or district-led nature cult plays a major role in local day-to-day life, zoning land and resources for different uses and helping dictate local laws. These groups often involve every socially-accepted adult in some capacity, and people tend to expect a voice. Many villages or city districts unfairly balance these democratic organs towards a handful of people, but commonfolk still have that expectation that their voice matters in some way. This can lead to a sense of entitlement in some situations (and many outsiders see Ashakahdan commoners as very entitled indeed). 
One's Horoscope is taken rather seriously in Ashakahd. Westerners take it deadly seriously, given their fatalistic belief in predestination, but Easterners will still have strong opinions about it. Horoscopes often play a major role in courtship (dating a non-compatible horoscope is seen as a doomed endeavor). Courtship in general is mostly individual-led, but families and communities play a relatively significant role.

History

Early History (-800 to 359)

When the earliest Halikvar, the tribes of Lily of Red, first migrated to Eastern Samvara, Ashakahd was one of the first lands they finally settled down in. According to Halikvari religious legend, the warrior-princess Anthuria conquered a great swath of land including Ashakahd and what is now the Kingdom of Kiami and then divided it among her four daughters on her death bed. These four daughters became the legendary Four Queens - and each built one of the Four Sacred Cities to rule their holy kingdoms from. The first and greatest of these was near the sea (in modern Kiama): Avanam. The other three are in what is now Ashakahd. Greatest was Chamandra, capital of the kingdom Arnimet and city of a million flowers. Then there was Tekeli, capital of the kingdom of Prisev and the city that could weave gold. And then there was Chira, capital of the kingdom of Kokahl, which was said to be the isolated sentinel kingdom, shrouded in mists and training for the day when the evil prisms would return to attack the faithful once again. According to Halikvar legend, these kingdoms fell into decay and disrepair one by one, leaving only Avanam still ruled by the direct line of Lily. As each kingdom fell into sin, Lily revoked their blessings (Chamandra lost its eternal springtime, Tekeli lost its golden fleece, and Chira lost their protective mists). These cities do continue to thrive to this day, though, blessings or no.
The historical record certainly indicates that there were major climatic disruptions during the -300s DE, which displaced many people and caused many early states to collapse. Avanam to the East was more insulated from this than Arniment, Prisev, or Kokahl were, and many of the Dawara clan (the direct line of Lily) either fled East to Avanam or intermarried with local warlord dynasties ("sullying" their lines). The new order that emerged in the -100s DE was less population-dense than before, but covered much more ground. Two kingdoms controlled the Kokahl region, while eight kingdoms were spread across Inner Ashakahd. Generally, these can be divided between Kokahlan kingdoms, Prisevi kingdoms, Arnimetan kingdoms, and kingdoms beyond the traditional Halikvari lands known as the Ashakahds (or "New Forests"). The Kokahlan kingdoms were known for their isolation and their veneration of nature spirits. The Prisevi kingdoms were known for their cotton farming and commercial ties. The Arnimetan kingdoms were known for their large populations and numerous scholars. And the twin Ashakahds were known for their ties and worship of the local migrating solars.
These Halikvar kingdoms drifted away from each other more and more over the centuries, but the arrival of the Divine Contact and the beginning of paladins changed everything. Many priests reconnected with Lily of Red and called for a return to religious unity; this became the Pan-Garlandian movement in the 100s ME, which called for all Halikvar kingdoms to become one great empire under Lily's divine lineage. In 120 ME, the first experiment of this movement absorbed the kingdoms in Prisev by diplomacy and force, but this early empire collapsed in 180. The Kingdom of Chamandra, in Arnimet, led their own attempt to make an Empire of all Halikvar in 195 which unified much of modern Ashakahd before collapsing in 230. Finally, in the late 200s and early 300s, an emperor named Sevni Dawara united all of the Halikvar kingdoms under one throne. From 340 to 359, this Dawaran Empire of all Halikvar ruled all and brought all priests and kings under a single legal code.

The Post-Dawaran Period (359 to 612)

In 359 ME, after ten years of weakening rule by Sevni's heirs, the princes of Kokahl grew restless enough to rebel. It began as a disagreement over administrative choices: the governor-general of Kokahl had died and appointed their own heir, but the Dawaran emperor sent in an outsider to rule the country instead of that heir. The local princes and occupying warriors, who had grown accustomed to this ruling family, sided with the general's family; the emperor sent in an army to remove them. The emperor's forces lost repeatedly, and were driven out of Kokahl in disgrace. Rather than risk the stability of the rest of the empire over this poor hilly region, the emperor simply let them secede when peace talks collapsed for the last time in 362. And so, the Dawaran empire began its deterioration.
Not long after Kokahl seceded, a new force arrived from the West: Akadist prisms fleeing from their own religious wars. The new Kingdom of Kokahl was first to encounter this migration, and it took a selective response with these newcomers: groups that were seen as too aggressive were pushed out, while those who either sought isolation or cooperation were actively welcomed. A number of these new prism societies became known as "Hybrid Kima Cities": not quite as self-contained as normal Kima, but still with some of the trappings and ideas. Each of these hybrid Kima were an experiment, and they had extremely variable results. Many also tested the line between underground and surface societies in disruptive ways. In 430 ME, a formal declaration of peace and mutual defense was signed by the Kingdom of Kokahl and the leading Kimas, to both create an era of peace and to draw a clear (artificial) line between the surface and the underground. The Kima further North, by the Dawaran empire, either were pressured into isolation or pushed even further North into the lands near modern Siashi. Some, near Ashakahd's Northwestern border, were actually conquered and dissolved by the neighboring prism clans - the Evima - who became all the more isolationist and militaristic for it.
In the 500s, the Dawaran Empire finally began to crumble from within. In 550, the Kingdom of Kokahl invaded, the riverlands rose in rebellion, and everything fell apart. The Kingdoms of Arnimet and Prisev emerged yet again, especially when Kokahl began to suffer its own series of devastating peasant revolts in the 580s. Kokahl and Arnimet became rival powers, dueling for control of the lakes; after a great war that raged from 595 to 612, Arnimet, East Kokahl, and Prisev all fell to invading tribes from the North. This new kingdom became known as Ashakahd - a name that would stick around for many centuries to come.

Divine Guidance (612 to 930)

The 600s were, broadly speaking, a century of religious unification and expansion. The Goddess Lily brought the Halikvar kingdoms together in peace to conquer and evangelize across Eastern Samvara. In 630 ME, the Kingdom of Ashakahd founded the Grand Academy of the West in the city of Chamandra, which brought together the different religious strains of the Western valleys under one big-tent philosophy. This is generally thought to be the first formalized School of Asavari Halikvar - a sect that now defines Ashakahd in the eyes of many. This school proved itself to its Goddess by carrying the Good Word abroad. Asavari Halikvar proved popular among peripheral tribes that were not fond of Eastern Halikvar - Dakaviri Halikvar - for geopolitical or cultural reasons. It was a smash hit, which greatly strengthened the Kingdom of Ashakahd's divine standing.
But the surface-goers were not the only ones being transformed by the Lunar Gods. The Kima were fighting their own protracted wars while the Halikvar focused on evangelism; traditionalist Akadists, who wanted a firm caste system and self-reliant societies, gathered under Jade the Order-Bringer, while hybrid societies who wanted a looser definition of Akadism gathered under Emesh, God of Change. Hiku the Muse tipped the scales in Jade's favor in the 700s ME by seizing control of the Hybrid Kima from behind the scenes; the two Gods even organized a shadow council which they hoped could exert quiet control over Kokahl and Ashakahd. This quiet manipulation was discovered and became a source of panic across the early 800s; Kokahl in particular was deeply destabilized. Kokahl entered a terrible civil war that also became a war against the prisms in 850 ME; this civil war ultimately brought down both the cult of Jade-Hiku and the Kokahlan monarchy, plunging the region into bitter fighting for fifty years. After this period, hybrid Kimas dominated the scene in Kokahl, and were typically ruled over by Halikvar monarchs - the fear of Jade-Hiku manipulation lasted for a long time.
The chaos in Kokahl spread steadily outward, like a contagion. From 855 to 870, regional revolts and bandit wars flickered across Ashakahd. In 870, an aristocratic rebellion tried to arrest the monarch (who it claimed was a puppet of Hiku in 871, the monarch's death unleashed a succession crisis and those nobles turned on one another. The princes of Prisev, in the Southeast, seceded in 880. Only in 900 ME did Ashakahd stabilize somewhat, but even then the kingdom was prone to coups and rebellions. The crown's authority collapsed, and feudal lords rose in such power that at their height (in 930) they were practically independent kings. This instability also spread further East, enflaming discontent in neighboring Kiami.

The Izekran Turn (930 to 1510)

Kokahl recovered over the course of the 900s, and began to expand into its neighbors. In 942, they even sent an army into Kiami to try and claim leadership of all of Halikvar. While this effort failed, the expanding influences of Kokahl and Severesh brought stability of a sort across the West - there was a pressure to pick a side, and to unify under larger monarchs to avoid being an easy target for expansion. This was a geopolitical struggle, a cultural struggle of East versus West, and a religious struggle. From 980 to 1150, there were periodic wars between an alliance of Kokahl and Ashakahd and the Kiami-Severesh empire. Kokahl and Ashakahd organized a grand alliance of lesser Halikvar powers - not necessarily Asivari ones - such as the fragmented Kingdoms of Siashi. And Kiami-Severesh was slowed in its expansion, though not stopped by any means. Two major wars marked this period, and both almost saw Kiami-Severesh conquer all of Ashakahd: one in 1015 (triggered by a major revolt in Prisev, which was crushed), and one in 1105 (which was tied to an agrarian revolt in Kokahl, which succeeded). Finally the Goddess Lily personally intervened to negotiate peace among the Halikvar in 1150 ME. They had a higher calling now: to invade Izekra and to destroy the savage despotisms of Ishkibal.
From 1150 to 1400, Kokahl and Ashakahd contributed to the war effort and were rewarded with war loot and divine assistance. This generally stabilized these kingdoms, but not entirely. In 1305, the military launched a full coup of Ashakahd's government - empowered by long centuries of military support, and led by a group of Azeran exiles, the military felt that it was being under-supported by the increasingly-isolationist monarchs. A powerful paladin named Sugita Tolaveer, an ex-paladin of Emesh that supposedly still had ties to their cults, took the Ashakahdan throne. This new regime brought many changes: Ashakahd was hyper-militarized, Izekran influences were injected into the elites, and Asavari Halikvar was embraced (and further mixed with peasant traditions) with great enthusiasm. For a century, this regime beat the drums of war in pursuing the Ishkibites; but, in 1395, the miserable failure of the siege of Kenahai broke the spirits of many. Disillusionment in Lily's war pervaded society, and many Asavari scholars began to question Lily's wisdom. The government de-militarized and turned inwards. But its zeal only intensified when, in the mid-1400s, the rival Dakaviri sect began to emphasize their supposed "religious supremacy" over the Asaviri. The divide between the two sects of Halikvar was suddenly growing.

Centuries of Steel (1510 to 1720)

While the stage was set for eventual mass religious war, the lines between the two sects weren't quite clearly drawn enough yet. Kokahl certainly embraced Asavari identity and religion at every level of society, but Ashakahd didn't really commit firmly to either sect. This helped fuel a rivalry between Kokahl and Ashakahd in the 1500s, especially after a zealously Dakaviri king took the Ashakahdan throne in 1510. This king, Dovidet I, ruled from 1510 to 1540 and forged an alliance between Ashakahd and Kiami against Kokahl. His heir did not continue his "Dakavirification" project, but did continue the alliance. In 1578, after fifty years of small wars and annexations, Ashakahd finally conquered Kokahl. It only took a decade for Ashakahd and Kiami's alliance to collapse after that; the new monarchs had no intention of bringing to Asaviri to heel as Dovidet had promised, and Kiami responded by trying to quietly coup Ashakahd's government. In 1590, Kiami and Ashakahd went to war. Ashakahd swept the floor with Kiami, and Lily herself had to intercede to prevent them from being annexed in 1595. Ashakahd won Kiami as a client state instead, a safe and manipulatable buffer between itself and the Dakaviri kingdoms.
New metallurgical techniques and changing guild politics led to the emergence of an arms cartel during the war of 1590. This faction, called the Warhawks by many, continued to push for Ashakahd to militarize and skirmish over the 1600s. These Warhawks were able to accumulate great governmental power, and they helped ignite wars all around Ashakahd's borders - with Dakaviri radicals, with autonomous Kima cities, with Severesh. Regular, minor wars became a part of Ashakahdan life. Some began to see Asaviri Halikvar as under siege by the world; all these wars must be the product of a hostile, evil world out to attack this innocent and marginalized kingdom of God! And so, religious identities crystallized even further.
No major conflict broke out during the 1600s, though. Lunar guidance played a major role in keeping this conflict small-scale. Eventually, people turned inwards for their enemies. Religious factionalism and fears of sectarian scheming dominated the political landscape of the late 1600s. And, in 1700, Ashakahd had a contested succession that smashed the country into pieces. For twenty years, Ashakahd was plunged into civil war; nine years in, most of the Halikvar world marched soldiers in to support their favored candidates. Eventually, the dust settled. But now, the words of religious violence had become action: Asavar and Dakavar were now cut apart from each other, and Halikvar were ready to see one another as dangerous heretics.

Wars of Religion (1720 to 1945)

After 1720, Ashakahd's new government framed itself as the champion of Asavari Halikvar. They reached out to other Asavari communities to connect with them and provide political assistance. This was the "Asavari Unity Movement", a nonviolent political and religious movement to organize non-Dakavari Halikvar into a mutually supportive network of communities. This was framed as a way to protect minority groups from persecution, but the Dakaviri saw it as a form of aggression. Across the 1730s Asaviri and Dakaviri groups skirmished across Eastern Samvara. And then, in 1740, war broke out between Ashakahd and Kiami over control of the Eastern riverlands; a war that quickly became a war between the two sects of Halikvar. After that terrible war ended in 1770, it happened again from 1800 to 1840.
These somewhat-local wars escalated even further into pure wars of religious domination and sectarian violence in 1870. This reached a fever pitch in 1899, when a group of radical Asavari group seized the throne of Ashakahd. This group was led by the now-infamous druid Jedeji Etanava, who claimed to be a Susamavala: an ascended being chosen by Halcyon akin to Lily of Red, whose very existence is controversial even among the Asavari. Jedeji demanded the destruction of all Dakaviri communities and the total obedience of all Asaviri priests. Ironically, his vision of Asaviri Halikvar was arguably rather similar Dakaviri, with an emphasis on spiritual lineage of Lily and total central authority; this has been used to frame him as secretly Dakaviri by his modern detractors. Jedeji led Ashakahd into the last Halikvar war of religion in 1905, and was assassinated by his own bodyguards in 1944 - leading to the war's end in 1945.

Modern History

From 1945 to 1970, Ashakahd has gone from a country facing declining population and ruined infrastructure back to a prosperous kingdom. The population has boomed, the cities have been rebuilt, and the economy is thriving. This process was a slow and halting one, which has reached different parts of the kingdom more or less effectively. Much of this recovery has depended on the ruling monarchs, their policies, and their administrative choices. All three recent monarchs have been of the Nonawara family - a cadet branch of the dynasty that took control in 1770 that intermarried with the Dawara Clan of Kiami and Severesh. The Nonawara are seen as lesser Dawaras by some; others consider them a proud Kokhalan military family. The first Nonawaran monarch, Tikarja Nonawara (ruled 1945 - 1970) was easily the most controversial. Tikarja was raised a zealous follower and paladin of Lily of Red, a man who sympathized with (perhaps even envied) the Dakaviri elites. He was a skilled warrior and officer with a talent for intrigue, but he struggled with the actual administrative elements of post-war recovery. Many parts of Ashakahd remained unsupported by his government, and corruption ran rampant. Nonetheless, he kept the governors loyal, the country stable, and rebels suppressed. 
Tikarja's daughter, Sapatwa Nonawara, was everything her father wasn't. She was a skilled administrator who involved herself personally in the recovery effort from a young age. She rebuilt much of the country, purged corrupt officials, and created a sense of peacetime progress that made many Ashakahdans quite patriotic. Asavari scholarship blossomed under her reign, as she was more ideologically permissive than her father, less strictly devoted to Lily, and more fiercely independent from Dakaviri elites. 
In 2010, Sapatwa passed from old age. Her second and favored husband, Ambali Nonawara, now holds the throne while her daughter is readied for the throne. Ambali is a suitable choice; while not of the dynasty by birth, he is deeply loyal to Sapatwa's memory and has much of her administrative skill. For the last decade, he has proven to be a fine monarch - even as the crown heir, Heskeba Nonawara, has procrastinated taking the throne.

Demography and Population

Around 30 million people live in Ashakahd. They are 50% Dryad, 35% Human, 10% Prism, and about 5% are Hybrids. 
Ashakahd's capital and administrative center, Mikaval, has only very recently become the largest city in Ashakahd. Much of the rest of the urban population orbits the traditional big cities of Ashakahd: Chamandra (in the province of Olwa), Tekeli (in the province of Prisev), and Chira (in the province of Emarna).

Territories

Ashakahd is roughly 700 by 661 miles across. Generally speaking, the country is divided into two parts: the Southwestern portion, Kokahl, and the Northeastern portion, Inner Ashakahd. Inner Ashakahd is mostly verdant flatland, especially around its central lakes. The Northern lakelands are known as Arnimet; the Southern are known as Prisev. These regions are intensely arable, full of lush forests, and generally perfect for dryad and human life (if a bit swampy at parts). Moving North and East of these heartlands, the land slowly becomes hillier and hillier. The east quickly rises into the Rejvala mountains - contested ground known for their radical Kima Cities and independent warbands. On the other side of these mountain kingdoms is the Kingdom of Siashi. 
The North, however, opens up into fertile river valleys. These valleys are abundant lands, not fully part of the heartlands but not entirely isolated either. Eventually, the lands become drier, the hills turn into great mountains, and the meaningful control of the kingdom stops - these are the Voshkivar mountains, the wall that divides Ashakahd from the Empire of Shenerem. These mountains are difficult enough to navigate that few merchants cross here - and it is said that the prism clans here are highly isolationist and violent towards outsiders. Both Shenerem and Ashakahd are happy to have a wall between them, anyways. 
Kokahl, meanwhile, is a bit more rugged than Ashakahd; the mountains don't mark the edges of region, but wind their way throughout. The river is easy to navigate and keeps the land united, but abundant flatlands are much more of a limited resource in Kokahl. The Southern part of Kokahl, moving away from the river, is a jumble of mountain valleys that can be difficult to move through during the rainy season (thanks to mudslides). These eventually become the unclaimed Gekrev mountains. 
To the East of both regions are the Southern Rejvalas - smaller continuations of the Northern mountains that theoretically mark the "original" border of Ashakahd and the Kingdom of Kiami. This is not actually a very clear border, though - these hills can be basically nonexistent at parts. Politically, the official border is Angita river.

Military

The military of Ashakahd is known for its flexibility and heavy armor. The guiding philosophy of Ashakahd is that an army must be prepared for any threat, and that all regiments must be valued if they fulfill their niche - infantry can hold great honor as well as cavalry. Ashakahd also a fine assortment of archers, druids, spearmen, heavily armored swordsmen, artillery, and even handgunners (though these basic firearms are hardly what you'd see in the Suneka ). A handful of war elephants support the cavalry, which all tends to be heavy cavalry - warhorses are expensive enough to be worth armoring. Many cavalry warriors tend to be paladins, which are trained in special academies. If Ashakahd were to have a "specialty", it would probably be artillery; the engineers here are known for their extremely high-quality (if excessively large and heavy) cannons. 
The military is a standing army managed by the military bureaucracy of the imperial court and augmented with mercenaries. The Great houses also train their spare children and the children of their client families to fight as professional elite warriors.

Religion

Ashakahd is the Asavari Halikvar kingdom - that religious sect defines the kingdom in the eyes of many. For several centuries, Asavar was the law of the land; to hold land or operate in society, one had to be of the Asavari sect, and that sect ruled the courts and defined the laws. That changed in the late 1940s and 1950s, as the kingdom opened to the other Halikvar sect (Dakavar). For a time, the two were equally privileged by the law, but that changed again in the 1980s. Now, Asavari Halikvar is on the rise again as the unambiguous ruling religion. Being Dakavar doesn't disqualify you from owning land or even holding lesser titles, but the court has become hostile to them holding upper administrative titles openly and as of 2008 only the Asavari temples and priestly schools received government funding. Asavari interpretations of the kifa, or religious law/custom, have been privleged over Dakaviri ones again.
Non-Halikvar people can visit here but are not welcome as long-term residents; heathen evangelism and "cultism" are both illegal, and some interpretations of these laws can be used by local priests to ban any kind of foreign religion. This doesn't mean that the country is totally religiously homogenous; some Aretans live here in small numbers, driven into Ashakahd along with the Asavari refugees of the Kingdom of Siashi in the 1700s. These communities even won formal legal protection in the late 1950s, but some question whether renewed legal efforts would still turn out in their favor today. As these Aretan communities do not evangelize, there is little public fear around them. Ashakahd's lack of sea ports or significant access to non-Halikvar countries has not exposed the land to many evangelizing missions. The largest religious minority, the Akadists of the underground, are safely underground and largely autonomous. Now that there is a trade route to the Kingdom of Ashavat, though, some have started to grow anxious about the possibility of increased religious "contamination" - only time will tell whether this will make the country more pluralistic, or more religiously xenophobic. 

Asavari Halikvar

Asavari Halikvar is a decentralized sect of Halikvar that rejects a monolithic interpretation of the kifa and embraces local traditions. There is an obsession with place in Asavari; delineated space is a major part of navigating the world in Eastern Samvaran cultures, and Asavari takes that to its theological extreme. Essentially, different interpretations of the Kifa are all true in different places. A town that traditionally sees blood law, or horoscopes, or customs about animal fat in certain ways has a right to continue that interpretation as long as it is not a specifically corrupt tradition - as long as a place seeks unity with the broader community of Lily and is not excommunicated, its customs are valid even if they contradict with another dominant custom. The regional divisions are sacralized, and boundaries between places become sites where reality itself transforms. Rather than being flexible, bureaucratic constructs (such as in Dakavar), divisions between districts are sacred lands that tend to be centered around specific holy sites (like a sacred spring, grove, shrine, or mountain). These holy sites are regarded as the source of power of the local Su-Alkoa (or regional chief druid Su-Alkoas must seek forgiveness from Halcyon if they leave their site for more than one year, unless it is for a God-given quest of immense importance (like a holy war). 
The Su-Alkoa, or Elder Druids, hold most of the power in Asavari Halikvar. There are also Archdruids, a recent construct, but these are just those Su-Alkoa who are put in charge of leading the others by the crown - it is more of a government position than a religious one in the eyes of the people and clergy. The government is a holy thing in Asavar, but there is a divide between secular and religious power. 
Another religious quirk of Ashakahd is the role of village government and nature cult. Village councils have their own special power and role in religion apart from druids. According to Ashakahdan tradition, villages decide what resources are acceptable to exploit and which are not by consensus; to participate in that consensus, one must play an active role in the annual cycles of nature cult. A local druid or Su-Alkoa can intervene if a village makes a radical choice that breaks with tradition, but all power is not in the hands of the druidic elite; for a druid to lock down or open up a resource (say, a forest for lumbering), they must court the community or risk a minor revolt. This tradition is seen as a virtuous way to share druidism with the broader populace, involving them in a relationship with nature and inviting them to help navigate that relationship together. In practice, this has had mixed (but not necessarily net negative) results; some villages have been hijacked by over-ambitious minds or commercial con-artists into losing their community pasturelands or common-woods. Others have used this tradition as a way to resist short-sighted military officers. Some communities have embraced a democratic goal of equity, others have centered power into the hands of a few landowners. Either way, this village nature cult is a unique institution of Ashakahd that holds center-stage in religious and national (more accurately proto-national) identity.

Foreign Relations

Ashakahd is a kingdom at a crossroads. One the one hand, it could choose to further develop its relationships with its fellow Halikvar countries; the Grand Kingdom of Severesh has put effort into building relations, after all. This would bring the two sects of Halikvar together again, to face the outside world as they once did. 
On the other hand, Ashakahd could move away from their co-religionists and towards closer relations with the Empire of Shenerem and other outside powers. This would make distance between the two sects of Halikvar, and put Ashakahd at odds with all of their neighbors. 
Ashakahd currently holds a policy of quietly doing both at once; better to be friendly when possible than provoke conflict before they are ready. There have been some trade disputes with the Kingdom of Kiami, but these haven't escalated to a point where it has impacted other relationships. That said, it seems inevitable that some day soon Ashakahd will have to pick a side.

Agriculture & Industry

Ashakahd is a country used to self-reliant production; it has great manufacturing abilities as well as agricultural abundance. The Eastern half grows large amounts of maize, cotton, flax, and rice; the West primarily grows potatoes, squash, and rice. Large mining operations dot the Western regions, while the East harvests lumber. In the East, people seasonally move between the countryside and the manufacturing centers, creating a mixture of rural and urban. In the West, cities are smaller and more clearly separated from rural life, with a more firmly distinct specialist classes.
The land of Ashakahd is most famous for its smiths and furnaces. Many use incredibly hot coal-burning furnaces that combine the best of the surface and underground world's technologies, and there is a large amount of iron and coal in the Western mountains to create quite a lot of steel. To process all this, many towns and cities have robust smithing guilds (even schools!) that have great influence and are unusually large. Ashakahdan steel has a reputation for reliable quality, and steel manufacturing has skyrocketed as global markets have become more accessible. While Ashakahdan steel is unlikely to play a substantial role in something like a duel (unless it is worked by a master smith), it makes a great difference on an army-wide or society-wide scale; Ashakahdan armor can deflect most bullets, is surprisingly affordable within the country, and has helped turn many a battle. Ashakahdan steel has also helped increase agricultural and manufacturing yields - easy access to fine tools will do that. 
Since the end of the Halikvar wars of religion, Ashakahd has become more and more commercial - selling steel abroad and growing cash crops. These crops are Suntail Grass, black pepper, cardamom, tobacco, and even some Flowyrms. Black pepper in particular has become a favorite for village councils, who now grow massive amounts for the global spice trade - ground pepper on a meal is practically an upper-lower class symbol of pride now.

Trade & Transport

Much trade tends to be government led and tied up in military contracts, though petty merchants do operate in their own guilds as well. Petty merchants often have to seek protection from military-led merchants, as the trade caravans must travel through the Kingdom of Kiami to reach the sea; and Kiami is fond of taxing or confiscating trade goods that they would rather sell. This process has been steadily centralizing trade around a handful of military officers, who are slowly becoming merchant princes of sorts. 
An alternative trade route is emerging in the Northwest, as the Kima City of Parokma has recently helped build a path through the mountains to the Kingdom of Ashavat. Petty merchants have flooded through, though the greater kingdom doesn't quite seem to know what to do about this. 
Artisan production is largely led by guilds. Banking has increasingly spread as a service that some Kima cities specialize in.

By Lily and the Land

Founding Date

1945 ME

Type

Geopolitical, Country

Alternative Names

Ashakaad, Kokal

Demonym

Ashakadan

Government System

Monarchy, Theocratic

Power Structure

Feudal state

Currency

Ekedian Gold Suns, Silver Moons, and Copper Bats

Major Exports

Steel, Suntail Grass extract, tobacco, spices, lumber

Major Imports

Precious metals, textiles, horses

Official State Religion

Halikvar

Location

Samvara

Neighboring Nations

• Empire of Shenerem
• Kingdom of Ashavat
• Kingdom of Kiami
• Kingdom of Siashi

Broad regions of Ashakahd

In-depth regions of Ashakahd