Ebalatan
General Culture
From the shimmering ocean surface to the shadowed depths, Ebalatan is full of singing Shermadi, their roaming schools, settled down villages, and the wreckages of eons gone by. A great deal of 'general' culture is shared between the villages thank to the roaming merchants and visiting families. The rest is filled in by the individual villages and their surrounding ecosystems. As a guideline, those closer to islands, surface shoals, and other life-rich, vibrantly illuminated environments tend to be the largest and most bustling of villages. The darker depths feature fiercer warriors and hunters, who constantly have to contend with roaming predators. The lack of visible light also means fish life is less plentiful, so these villages tend to be few and far to begin with. With the ongoing construction of their new capital city, the many villages hope to finally unify in a central location. Aside from shelter, the capital city is intended to provide equitable farming opportunities (via hydroponic-like facilities), healthcare, centralized trading, and more. A number of dissidents are concerned about its viability, and the completion of the capital city is a hot topic for the Ebalatan's elite.History
Located in the sea northwest of Aerthen, the shermadi village nation of Ebalatan is the dominant civilization of the sea there. Led by a pseudo-republic in a democratic manner, leaders are elected to oversee their various villages, who in turn elect senators to represent them on the Ebalatan Council. This is in fact arranged in a similar manner to the Aerthen Imperial Federation, minus the root-centralizing power of an Imperial State.
The various villages operate semi-independently, and the cultures of each village can vary greatly. As each of them habitate in varying depths and locations, the colorful shoals and the murky depths can thus see two very different people within them. The capital of Ebalatan is a centralized location between these two extremes. In fact, it's a bit of an artificial city–using tools acquired from land-walkers, they're constructing their very first stone-city in the sea.
Ebalatan is by far and large concerned with the acquisition of food, and the safety of its members. Being a large and open sea, with access to deep waters to its north, predators are common, and naval warfare on the water surface is an issue as well. Although officially neutral from wars, Ebalatan villages offer their services to varying degrees. The Council is afraid of restricting this, as many villages make their livelihoods through these arrangements despite the problems it brings to their sea.
Demography and Population
- Shermadi (Majority)
Military
Lacking a unified military force in the traditional sense, most of Ebalatan's armed troops are guards and caravan escorts. They have a distinct specialty subgroup of shermadi who act as marines for land-walkers, giving them a bit more formalized education (as far as surface combat goes). Hunting, as a profession, tends to be the largest source of fighters–both for food, and to take care of dangerous predators.
The growing capital city has a more unique brand of military, operating as a single cohesive school from the various villages. These capital city warriors are also often equipped with magi-tech weapons and armor, making them markedly formidable and a prestigious organization to join.
Religion
Ebalatan practices a monotheistic religion, principally worshiping an ocean deity responsible for the currents and good fortunes.
Agriculture & Industry
Primarily consisting of a food-based economy, trade with sea gems, easy-to-mine ores, and other rudimentary raw goods consist of the bulk of Ebalatan's economic prosperity. There is also a significantly large industry centered around ship salvaging, as a number of land-walker vessels have sunk into the seas of Ebalatan over the years. A decent salvage group can tear down a 200-person ship in under a week, leaving just about the superstructure parts they can't move themselves.
In many ways the salvage acquired comes to represent the highest degree of Ebalatan architecture, weaponry, access to iron/steel, and so on. The shermadi, however, do greatly invest into magi-tech enchantments, as it is the only real investment into heavy industry possible for them. These spears, swords, armors, and buildings tend to be the product of generations of magical refinement, making them highly potent and opulently extravagant.
Education
Art is the primary occupant of Ebalatan's intellectual pursuits. Lacking many alternatives, the shermadi have created a vibrant, dynamic, and fairlry deep culture of songs, stories, plays, and dramas. To facilitate more storeable knowledge, an industry of kelp-paper was created, a recent arrival in the last few decades. Thanks to this, the many intellectuals of Ebalatan have been working feverishly to translate their alphabet from stone tablets, record their stories, and so forth.
It is expected to become a significant boom to the intellectual playing field, and the kelp-paper industry is rapidly growing as a consequence.
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Training Level
Semi-trained
Veterancy Level
Trained
Demonym
Ebalii
Government System
Democracy, Representative
Power Structure
Federation
Economic System
Barter system
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
Comments