Tiarovich

The Tiarovich are a unique people. Cold and harsh on the outside, to the point of quite literally masking their faces in public. Should you earn their trust and get them to remove their mask, however....and you will have a friend for life.

-Atezka Tlalli, "Powers of the World Stage"

Structure

At the top of everything in Tiarovich sits the Tzar, who rules with absolute authority. The royal family carries the same power, making them all powerful in their own right. The lords and ladies underneath them are powerful in their won right, but are still beholden to laws and regulations like everyone else.

Culture

The most prominent cultural point of Tiarovich is their highly decorated full faced masks that they wear at all times. Some people have erroneously drawn parallels between the Corlén tradition of wearing domino masks while conducting business and the masks of the Triarovi. This is simply not the case, as the Tiarovi wear their own masks, not for business, but for personal interaction.
Born from practicality, the masks of the Tiarovi were originally created with the intent to protect the facial features of the wearer from the biting cold of their homeland. Wanting to avoid frostbite, it is simply safer to keep the mask on at all times, but as such became quite difficult to distinguish individuals amongst the sea of masks. To remedy this, individuals started to have their masks painted in ways that reflected their individuality. Even going so far as to enchant masks to automatically paint themselves, giving birth to a whole art form centered around the artistry and interpretation of these masks and their markings. It has become common to make the masks into keys and a form of identification, totally forgoing most paperwork in favor for the masks. As such, it is incredibly difficult to imitate and or counterfeit a Tiarovi mask. The magic's within them to detailed and nuanced for most arcanists to truly copy in every detail.
From the moment a Tiarovi child receives their mask, which is blank, when they come of age. It will fill itself with colors and images that are pulled straight out of the wearers life. By the time they are in their twenties most, if not all, of the pale bone-like color of the blank mask will be overtaken by base color(s). From there, images and engravings will start to appear, further personalizing the mask and making it all the more emblematic of the wearer.  
Another side effect of the pervasiveness of the masks, is the idea of 'unmasking' in front of a trusted individual, such as a close friend, a lover, or family. Most people who know a Tiarovi will only ever see the mask. A lucky few, however, will be there to see the person underneath. To unmask in front of someone is a sign of supreme trust, that should never be broken. For if it does, that state of vulnerability can have lasting damage on the individual.

Assets

• Lucalt deposits deep in the northern ice sheets.
• Brumel Wolf and Grizzly pelts and claws.
• Gold and Silver deposits have been discovered farther into the wastes in recent years. Almost inaccessible until the railway is extended all the way out there.
• 365,000 Strahzoy
• 10,000 Ved'ma

Type

Geopolitical, Country

Demonym

Tiarovi