The Tescaries

Groups and Factions

The Tescarana Clans are the basic unit of Tescarana society. Most are comprised of a hundred to a few hundred members, and are typically independent, consisting of a single village. In other cases, clans may unite into confederations and tribes, still retaining their individual chiefs and clan identities but forming larger settlements and cooperating to a greater degree. In recent times, many clans have been displaced by war or have migrated to the growing cities as the influence of the Condominium has centralized trade in the region.

The Condominium is a Runberi trade company and imperial project operating in the Tescaries. A regional hegemon, the Condominium nevertheless controls little territory directly, preferring to leave pliable chieftains in place and make monopolistic trade deals with them instead. The Red Sails are the single most powerful military force on the isles, protecting Runberi shipping, hunting pirates, and occasionally wiping out hostile clans. The Condominium also runs sulfur mines and snail farms directly, sometimes with slave labor.

The Eterti are those clans that have declared total war on the Condominium. In many cases itinerant, these clans act as raiders and pirates against Runberi ships, and sometimes their outposts.

The Duchy of Fahrig is a Kilthian duchy in northern Grand Tescary, established by conquest by the King of Kilth to avoid surrendering the Angrian Strait to the Runberi. Unlike the Runberi, the Kilthians have attempted to install their own social and legal organization on the isles, but have not expanded far beyond their original conquest. In loose alliance with some of the neighboring clans, the Kilthians provide some counterweight to Runberi ambitions in the area.

Religions

The Tescarana traditional religion centers around the three gods named Tinia (the sky and sea god), Cel (the god of the beasts and the earth) and Uni (the goddess of men), as well as their mythical clan ancestors. Deeply superstitious, the Tescarana rely on haruspicy and omens for many important decisions. The Runberi faith in the goddess Nuwa is practiced by the agents of the Condominium, and while the Temple does preach in the isles, they've had little success.

Settlements

The most important settlements in the isles are the Runberi town of A'az, the northern Kilthian fort of Torbastil, and the Tescarana towns of Spur Alfne, Spur Meluta, Ravna, Chevsi, and Trechva. Heras Tut, while having almost no permanent residents is an important meeting place for pirates and Eterti.