Sacred State of Nalastra

Where some religious leaders only get a large institutionalized religious structure, the Sarakan Heirophant gets a prosperous mercantile empire as well. This is the Sacred State of Nalastra, physical embodiment of the Sarakan temple and supreme kingdom of the faithful. The Sacred State guards the holy sites, serves the church, and hosts the vast administrative and commercial bureaucracy of the Sarakan temple.
While the government always has an eye on this religious big picture, local culture and affairs are always at play as well. Nalastra is a prosperous land of miners, sailors, and merchants insulated from the Tolzel Fire Plains by mountains and fortresses. It is a world apart from the rest of Western Garadel, a pillar of stability, wealth, and artistic sophistication. The people here celebrate their faith more in color and boisterousness than in traditional ascetic reverence - being loud is not just considered to be normal, but to be a critical part of community participation. Everyone has a place and a voice as long as they are willing to demand it, that is the Nalastran way. Needless to say, there is a lot of friction between Nalastrans and the rest of Tolzel, which makes for quite the cultural balancing act for the religious elites.
Nalastra has recovered from a brief conquest by horse nomads some fifty-five years ago and is mostly concerned with keeping the current order stable and functional. Some remnants of that nomadic administration remain in place after all that time, but the reigning attitude is to ignore that the conquest ever happened. There is a kind of cultural amnesia and willing blindness going on: don't remember painful pasts, don't point out flaws in Sarakan religious unity, just focus on the Love of the Goddess Tira and the prosperous future that awaits.

Structure

Nalastra is ruled by the Hierophant of the Redeeming Flame, who is also the leader of the Sarakan faith. Each hierophant chooses a Exalted Regent to rule the land whenever they are occupied with religious business. Four Servant Princes selected by the Heirophant from local elites act as the governors of the four provinces:

• Nalastra, the coastal center of the sacred state, center of wealth and trade
• Zmarkoz, the mountainous, prism-filled region famous for its mining and defensiveness
• Igristal, the peninsular grasslands known for their feudal estates and large ranches
• Ekozka, a wealthy and densely populated island with a bold and colorful local culture

What a 'local elite' means varies from province to province. In Nalastra and Zmarkoz, for example, the local leaders are the old ruling clans, who primarily act as warriors and bureaucrats rather than landowners. Noble titles do exist in Igristal and Ekozka, but these feudal estates are kept small and isolated to minimize rebellion. 
The current Heirophant is Heirophant Elkrin I. Their Exalted Regent is Jyeso Hyelik, a Half-Dryad with close ties to the merchant elite.

Culture

Culture of Consensus

Nalastra has a very firmly ingrained culture of informal democracy, which has resisted all attempts to curb it by state institutions. Communities are extremely powerful here and one's ability to join a petition, protest, or mob about one's grievances is considered to be a cultural right. This is somewhat religiously tinted: Nalastran temples often serve as local assembly spaces, where locals gather whenever there is any kind of issue or dispute. And how Nalastrans love their assemblies! Assemblies are the leading form of Nalastran entertainment, a great excuse to get together and connect with the community while asserting your rights. The assemblies are critical for determining community membership - being both loud and in-the-know are signs of passion for community involvement and critical for integrating new members. 
Beyond entertainment and status, Nalastran assemblies are sources of community resource sharing and mutual aid. Those who need food can often find it at their assembly, and if the community lacks the food to feed their spare members it is a great opportunity to begin a riot over taxes, rents, or wages. The boss or the landlord doing something unpopular? Great place to plan a mass walkout or start an angry mob about it. And if the elites try to disband the assembly, then expect those elites to be branded witches and heretics who hate the Sarakan religion and who will be targeted by other assemblies for the rest of their lives. Thanks to this function of the assemblies, common Nalastrans not only have more of a voice in local government, they have better standards of living than most city-goers at this time.
Unfortunately, this can also mean mob violence and vigilante justice for those who don't exist anywhere in the community. If a foreign missionary evangelizes here and isn't stopped by the guards, they will likely be dissapeared by local vigilantes and have their bones found in a mine shaft in ten years. Xenophobic panics are rare but they aren't unheard of, and they can get nasty. 
There are also places in the Sacred State where community assemblies aren't native and haven't been allowed to take root - notably the region of Igristal, which is fragmented into feudal parcels with a lot of top-down control. 

Food and Styles

Color and flavor are valued here. In a strange reversal of usual dynamics, the elites tend to dress in fine materials with modest fashions while the lower classes have their own waves of style. These aren't expensively-dyed-high-fashion styles, but the ability to dress up is treasured by many Nalastrans as a sign of agency and willpower. The bellowing Nalastran that dresses in ludicrous garb is a stereotype in neighboring countries, to the pride of many Nalastrans. 
As for food, Nalastrans are famous for their charcuteries: slices of toast to be covered with jams or avocado, topped with meats and cheeses, salted, or perhaps dipped in vinegar and olive oil. These are common fares at assemblies and whenever guests are being hosted - it is a sign of good status and sophistication to be able to provide a reasonable selection of toppings.

History

Early History

When the Architects transfigured the grasslands of Tolzel into the Fire Plains that they are today, Nalastra was a safe harbor for many who struggled to adapt to the new status quo. The prisms in the nearby mountains helped the fleeing humans and dryads keep their patch of insulated coastland safe, and all three species worked together in close harmony. Over the centuries, Nalastra traded and feuded with the plains groups many times and a number of foreign warlords conquered and integrated parts of the region. A number of small tribal kingdoms developed to keep the peace and discourage further conquests, but these decentralized "states" were a far cry from the centralized autocratic monarchies we tend to think of. Long-range coastal trade routes developed in the 600s ME, and began to bring in goods, weapons, and technologies from the far East. These new tools and technologies benefited the Prism holds the most: these holds used new mining techniques to discover massive mineral and salt deposits, causing a massive population boom from 600 to 900 ME. The mining towns blossomed into cities, which were supported by the coastal humans and dryads. Humans and dryads built their own trading ports and agricultural kingdoms in the 900s to mirror the new prism cities. Despite these new kingdoms being more unequal than the previous tribal kingdoms, they were still surprisingly democratic.
When the nomadic Mizram Empire pivoted to invade Nalastra in the mid 900s, the tribes had to make a choice: gather together in sedentary kingdoms to defend what they had, flee North, or accept the inevitable conquest of the Mizram. Most chose to rally under the coastal or prismatic cities rather than submit to their traditional nomadic enemies. The Mizram struggled to effectively manuever around the mountains and were unable to conquer Nalastra before they collapsed - making Nalastra an unusual pocket of traditional religion in a sea of syncretic Zihari. This made Nalastra even more of the 'odd man out' of the region, and the kingdoms bunkered down to defend themselves and their religion. Internal competition and external pressure slowly consolidated the petty kingdoms into three great kingdoms: two coastal states and one great Prism state.
In the 1045 ME, the Zihari mystics of Western Garadel gathered together under one organization - The Ember League, a religious trade network based out of the neighboring region of Igristal to the Northwest. For several centuries, Igristal and the Ember League competed with Nalastra for control over the trade route in a bitter rivalry - but slowly, trade succeeded where conquest failed. The Ember League's syncretic Zihari slowly made its way into coastal Nalastra, gradually permeating through the kingdoms. In 1491, the prismatic kingdom of Zmarkoz joined the Ember League, and Zihari's political victory was complete.

The Rise of Saraka (1450 to 1692 ME)

Zihari's late and gradual entrance to the region made for a very unusual process - every region had its own version of Ember League Zihari, and many of these mutated in their own directions. The wildly variant religions struggled to find a status quo between them as kingdoms and social groups clashed. The two major coastal kingdoms fought for dominance, and in 1510 were brought together under one united crown of Nalastra. Novwena, a charismatic priestess from an old family of priest-aristocrats, used this upheaval to enact her own variety of social change: in the years following the unification, she campaigned on a "traditional revival" of community democracy and spirituality. Novwena's reforms forged a new, religiously-tinted pan-Nalastran identity, just as they strengthened the community bonds and democratic structures of Nalastra's commonfolk.
In the 1590s ME, a trade boom in Western Garadel brought a wave of money, luxury goods, and new ideas to Nalastra. Not long after, the Ember League began to suffer from instability: it bickered constantly with the Eastern Zihari Holy League for control, and struggled to unify the many variants of Zihari that had developed across the West. Nalastra, ever the rival of Igristal, began to see an opportunity to seize the Ember League's commercial control for itself. And, in 1649, a prism mystic by the name of Oriska the Redeemer emerged with a plan to capitalize on that opportunity. She preached that the Ember League was corrupt and inept, and that the Holy League was foreign and despicable; the only path forward to stability, prosperity, and peace was for Nalastra to rise up and take the role of spiritual and commercial leader for itself. Oriska's charisma and ambition attracted many merchants and priests from Nalastra to her banner, and her family pedigree attracted many prisms to her faction in Zmarkoz. In 1655, she politicked her way into becoming the heir of Zmarkoz - and in 1659, her cultists and followers rushed through the streets of Nalastra's cities to install her as head priestess of Nalastra as well. After years of political maneuvering, Oriska was finally able to become the dual-priest of Zmarkoz and Nalastra. She used this platform to preach a doctrine of her own, a blend of Nalastran traditions and new innovations from around Tolzel.
From 1682 to 1684, new-born Saraka spread like wildfire, hijacking Ember League Zihari temples and orders across Western Garadel. In 1685, the weak and struggling Ember League finally started mustering troops from across Garadel to crush this upstart cult. Nalastra set out North to capture the Ember Heirophant before they had a chance to pull together this grand army, and the two clashed from 1685 to 1687. In the fall of 1687, Oriska and her forces finally captured the sacred island of Ekozka, capital of the Ember League and seat of the Heirophant's power. In the spring of 1688, the Heirophant themselves were captured fleeing Southeast. It took two more years to bully the remaining fragments of the Ember League into following Nalastran authority, but in 1690 Oriska's vision was finally realized. In 1692, Oriska's Lieutenant, Ujrik the Reborn, led a coup of the Nalastran government in Oriska's name. Zmarkoz and Nalastra officially were joined into a single state, a grand theocracy that was to lead the Sarakan religion into a new age of prosperity.

Sacred Nalastra (1692 to 1957)

Nalastra held onto Ekozka, but struggled to hold onto the actual peninsula of Igristal. The local lords were released as independent rulers, and Nalastra pivoted to focus on itself. The faith had its fair share of disputes to solve and challenges to overcome: there were lots of internal wars within Sarakan territory and mystery cults to integrate into the temple. For a century, Nalastra sat relatively still and prospered while it became synonymous with Sarakan religious leadership. The 1800s saw Nalastra throw its weight around a little as a state - the Sarakan temple was brought to bear to bring the kingdoms of Zoseto into Nalastra's economic and political sphere or influence, for example - but for the most part, it was still a time of peace and stability.

The discovery of a massive cache of Starmetal - much of it from one meteor, but with bits of other meteors from the deep sea placed around it - in a cavern on the coast of Igristal in 1939 changed everything. The Sarakan temple moved quickly to try and secure the Starmetal for the Heirophant, but the local kingdoms were moving just as fast. This much starmetal this close to the Dragon Forges was worth an emperor's fortune and could be transformed into truly magnificent magical artifacts. When the Heirophant heard that the local kingdoms were using bribery and soldiers to steal the Temple's "rightful" gift from the Gods, Nalastra sent an invading force in to secure the cache. From 1939 to 1945, Nalastra fought its way across Igristal. The starmetal secured, the new Heirophant set to overhauling the military; clearly, the lesser states of the continent no longer respected the power of the Sacred State, and were in need of some 'shows of strength'. Nalastra set to conquering lesser states, fighting off nomads, and otherwise flexing wherever possible.

Modern History

Unfortunately for this new militaristic Nalastra, a great army was soon on its way to smash into its blossoming empire like a freight train: The Army of the Sacred Flame, a massive horde of nomadic zealots furious with the Temple's encroachments into the fire plains. This army hit Nalastra in 1957 and was able to capture the Heirophant in 1960, absorbing Nalastra into their "Empire of the Sacred Flame". The leader of this semi-nomadic Empire, Tezeka, placed her own Heirophant in charge and began restructuring Nalastra when she was assassinated in 1963. Tezeka's empire crumbled, and Nalastra emerged stripped of its conquests - reduced to just its core territory and Igristal.
In 1965, an elder statesman and descendant of Oriska's lieutenant by the name of Elkrin Ujralik was named Heirophant as a compromise candidate between the nomad-installed Sarakan priests and the remnants of the old regime. Elkrin has done his best to avoid picking fights with the nomads or the old guard, but has instead focused restoring the legitimacy of Nalastra's religious rule. This has meant a massive military buildup aimed at potential rogue states such as Anashtra, a soft influence campaign in potential competitors such as Linorn, Ezekos, and Senelon, and rallying the faith against external enemies such as the Zihari Holy League. Nalastra has done well in restoring itself to the holy pinnnacle, but many wonder if this hasn't come at the cost of covering up deeper and more dangerous issues at home.

Demography and Population

5,100,000 humanoids live in Nalastra. They are 30% are Human, 25% Dryads, 30% Prisms, and 15% other.

Territories

Nalastra is composed of several regions: True Nalastra, along the Southeastern coast, the penninsula of Igristal, the mountainous interior region of Zmarkoz, and the Northern isle of Ekozka. A large number of islands sit off the coast. 
True Nalastra is 385 miles long and extends 70 miles inland. It has a semi-arid climate, with golden hills and redwood forests. It is well insulated from both the Tolzel Fire Plains and the cold Western winds. The capital city of Zohalia is located here. 
Zmarkoz is 300 miles long and 40 miles across. It is essentially a mountain range that has become populated enough with Prisms to be its own province. The Southern side is scorched by wildfires, and the North is the same highly habitable climate as True Nalastra.
Igristal is an occupied region 180 by 150 miles across. It becomes more mountainous the further North one goes, and the Northern peninsula filled with inlets, caves, islands, and turbulent lochs. 
Ekozka is a lush island 8 miles North of Igristal. It is 45 miles long and 22 miles across. Ekozka is 12 miles South of the large island of Utozka, and sits right in the middle of Cape Hart - the straight that all ships traveling around Garadel must pass through.

Military

The pride of Nalastra is their navy. The current Heirophant has overhauled shipbuilding with foreign sailing technologies and weaponry, while keeping elements of traditional Nalastan naval warfare. A classic example of a traditional Nalastran naval weapon is the Firemine, a small balloon-like device filled with Fire Termite oil, primed to violently splatter ignited oil if the balloon is disturbed or popped. Dozens to hundreds of these tiny incendiary explosives can be deployed during a naval battle to destroy enemy vessels foolish enough to get close. In the strong currents and narrow straights of Igristal, mines can be lethal even for experienced selkie sailors, if they are unfamiliar with the area. As for Nalastra's actual ships, they prefer large numbers of fast, maneuverable, well-armed medium-to-small ships for their navy.
As for the land military, each province provides its own specialty: Nalastra proper provides archers, Zmarkoz provides spear-warriors and hammerers, and Igristal provides cavalry. Nalastra's armies seem to prefer defensive tactics and technologies - a staunch line of spears or halberds paired with expert archers and maybe some artillery and spellcasting is seen as the pinnacle of "smart" warfare. Dragon sorcerers are the main pillar of magical support here, though a number of Emesh paladins also serve the Heirophant. An elite guard group known as the Reborn Souls, who are believed to be reincarnated eternally in service of Tira, also serves as the Heirophants personal guards and halberdiers.

Religion

Nalastra is the Sarakan Temple. The legal and justice systems of Nalastra are run by the Temple, and advancement in the state bureaucracy often involved some participation in Sarakan religious events and communities. Sarakism is not mandatory, though - merchants are welcome to hold their own beliefs as long as they do not evangelize. Foreigners do have some religious protection in the form of the Rite of Understanding: the ability to invoke one's external religious rules as a reason for one's breaking of a law or taboo. If that law or taboo is non-violent and non-destructive, the charge is likely to be dropped, and if not it will have a greatly reduced sentence. 
When it comes to mystery cults, virtually all of the big regional ones have some kind of presence here: the Cults of Holy Geometry (monastic mathematicians, artists, and archivists), Emeno the Laughing Sun (expert archers, sorcerers, and masters of Comedy Magic ), Nitren the Season Turner (scarified monks skilled with the Way of the Open Palm), Senikirol the Eternal King (monks who study stealth, precise movement, and swordplay), and The Circle of Wildfire (druid mystics). These are all in fairly small numbers, primarily linked to the ports, but their performances and spiritual power and widely respected. Nalastra has its own mystery cult: The Cult of Godrinar, the God of Justice, Preservation, and Protection in traditional Nalastran religion. Cultists of Godrinar cut themselves off from all worldly attachments and desires to become perfectly impartial, and act as judges, investigators, and lawyers. 
Pilgrims flock from across Western Garadel to visit Nalastra's holy sites. The greatest of these are the capitol, the Holy City of Zohalia, and the Ember Cathedral of Ekozka (former headquarters of the Ember League repurposed as a grand temple to Tira).

Foreign Relations

Nalastra's foreign policy is deeply colored by religion, as it is closely bound to the leadership of the Temple of Saraka. It considers the Kingdom of Linorn an ally, and is on tentatively positive terms with the Riders of the Free Flame. The many kingdoms of Zoseto are economic and political thralls of Nalastra, and supply much-needed food, lumber, and textiles for the Nalastran economy. 
Nalastra's relationship with the Kingdom of Anashtra is rather turbulent. Anashtra is a militaristic power that often ignores the commandments of the Heirophant, and the two states have clashed over control of Zoseto in the past. That said, the two have managed a working relationship when it comes to fighting Zihari states in the Southeast. 
Nalastra has other working-but-contentious relationships with the Kingdom of Ezekos and the Kingdom of Senelon - two Sarakan regional powers that often see themselves as the masters of the faith.

Agriculture & Industry

Like most countries, Nalastra is majority agricultural. Wheat is the staple crop here for dryads and humans. Figs, almonds, apricots, olives, kiwis, walnuts, and avocados are also grown aplenty. Potatoes are common in the mountains. Olive oil, wine, and dairy products are significant industries here as well. 
Nalastra is a center of industry, with robust guilds and trading ports; Zmarkoz is a major center for metal, salt, and mineral mining; Igristal is a mixture of ranching, Fire Termite and Dragomander farming; and Ekozka is a hub of trading and manufacturing.

Trade & Transport

Trade is managed by the Sarakan Temple; the guild of merchants is a sacred institution, and Sarakan faith is required for any who hope to avoid tariffs. Artisan guilds have church ties but are less directly religiously controlled.

Education

Most education in Saraka is managed by temple schools. Advanced education is handled by hyper-specialized academies run by the state. Rather than having educators of all disciplines gathered in general universities, Nalastra's academies expect elite academics to cycle through multiple academies according to their needs and expected role.

In Service of Tira

Founding Date

1963

Type

Geopolitical, Theocracy

Demonym

Nalastran

Leader

Hierophant Elkrin I

Government System

Theocracy

Power Structure

Feudal state

Currency

Garadek Gold Moons, Silver Suns, Copper Stars

Major Exports

Stone, salt, Prism-food, metals, Fire Termite oil, olive oil, wine

Major Imports

Silk, lumber, textiles

Judicial Body

The Scouring Court

Official State Religion

Saraka

Location

Garadel

Neighboring Nations

• Riders of the Free Flame

Related Plots

• Waters Foul