Nation of Hakkak
Die with Honor
Hakkak is a nation composed of many clans that have banded together for the sole purpose to beat the elves of Arbane back from their land and free them of their dragonic oppressor. The population is primarily composed of orcs, half-orcs, giants, halflings, and humans. While each clan is different, all believe dying and living for the better of the clan is paramount. Each clan has a representative, often the leader of the clan itself, who meets twice a year at the Brotherhood Tribunal to vote and help determine the policies of Hakkak. Hakkak over through their dragon overload centuries ago when Rhogar the Great killed the dragon Tsadok in single hand combat. Since then, the territory has been ruled by tribes that band together when needed for war or territorial threat. Each tribe sends a member to the tribunal twice a year to debate on policies and fight in hand to hand combat over alliances. There are over 100 tribes in Hakkak, not all of them of Orc making, though most share those roots. Of the 100 tribes and clans, most notable are as followed:Culture
Hakkak is made up of many tribes or clans, each with their own cultural beliefs and customs, though they are share common threads: You live for the tribe. Your strength and contribution, defines your status. A clanless person, has no honor to stand upon.
Most tribes are militaristic, valuing strength and victories on the battlefield more then art and poetry, though it can also be found plentiful in the nation. Tribes generally range from a hundred to five-hundred in size. Vistors in the lands will often not realize that the towns they are passing through are a single tribe and some of the cities are three or more tribes that have found it beneficial to bind close together.
Locals will generally notice who belongs to which tribe based on clothing or tattoos. It is also not uncommon for natives of Hakkak to introduce themselves from their tribe or with their clan slogan. Nor is it uncommon for natives to list their ancestors after their name, along with their deeds and how they died.
Honor and your prowess in battle, whether from metal or magic, is often one of the key values of clans in Hakkak. Young adults will either sign up as sellswords or join the front on the boarder to prove their worth. This rite of passage typically lasts a year or two, and most believe it weeds out the weak from their blood. When folks encounter a tribesmen from Hakkak outside their country, this is normally the reason and it has given the rest of the continent a certain brutish impression of the free nation.
History
Hakkak was once ruled by Tsadok, one of the dragons of the Orboro that established the Seven Silver Circles. Tsadok appreciated the "savageness" of his wards and allowed them to fight among themselves and build great gladiatorial arenas for his entertainment. Tsadok particularly was interested in breeding the small mortals in ways that would provide better combatants and amusement in the "games". Once a year, he would even change shape and fight the champion of these little competitions, eating them when the fight was over. His brutish fascination did not earn him much appreciation among his dragon cousins, but they left him well enough alone since they all had an alliance of peace.
However after centuries, one such champion, Rhogar the Great, managed to finally kill the dragon in single hand combat. Fuelled with this new found freedom, Hakkak banded together and went forth to try and remove all the dragons to free their slaves. They got to Arbane, where they were met by the foolish elves who wished to remain enslaved and held them at bay at a river bank. This war has never truly ended.
Centuries now have passed and the tribes of Hakkak have since learned the rest of the world is not ready for their freedom. Perhaps they need to be strong enough to take it themselves.
3990 Eruption of Dragon's Doom
It is hard to determine whether the nation of Hakkak or The Kingdom of Azure bore the next largest impact, because Azure disappeared by the sixth day of the eruption. The Northern territory of Hakkak bore much of the same destruction as Manadh. Debris rained down from across the Spine and destroyed many villages and wiped out a few smaller clans in the nation. Within the following days of the initial eruption, much of the plains burned in wild fires and several volcanic tears split near the Spine. What didn't burn, became quickly rained upon by volcanic ash.Demography and Population
The population of Hakkak is made up of orcs, humans, giants, and the mix of the three. There is also a large population of centaurs in the plans of Hakkak and its not uncommon to run across a caravan of halflings traveling from tribe to tribe. The frost giants live along the Spine that boarders Hakkak's western wall for the most part and the rest of the population lives in the plains bellow and the coast to the east. The entire southern front is a military zone for the constant war with the elves of Arbane.
Hakkak has a high rate of birth and surprisingly low death rate during cease fires with Arbane. Unlike some of their neighboring countries, there is very little racial tensions as long as you aren't an elf, and often intermixing species with arranged tribal marriages is fairly common and seen as a way to get more strength or cunning into the tribes blood pool. Because of this common practice, orcs in Hakkak tend to have longer lifespans, humans tend to have larger stronger builds, and giants tend to be a foot shorter then their cousins from other nations.
Religion
Hakkak tends to put more emphasis on divine magic over arcane, mostly from its lack of formal educational structure in the territory. While each clan or tribe might prefer one god or goddess over the others, religious tensions between clans are nearly nonexistent. Cayden Cailean and Gorum are the two most commonly found worshiped deities in Hakkak, however it is also usual to find places of worship of Torag, Iomedae, Erastil, and even Lamashtu.
Trade & Transport
Hakkak's biggest trade is with their sellswords and livestock.
Honor and your prowess in battle, whether from metal or magic, is often one of the key values of clans in Hakkak. Young adults will either sign up as sellswords or join the front on the boarder to prove their worth. This rite of passage typically lasts a year or two, and most believe it weeds out the weak from their blood. When folks encounter a tribesmen from Hakkak outside their country, this is normally the reason and it has given the rest of the continent a certain brutish impression of the free nation. Many nations will hire on bands of sellswords, sometimes even from the same tribe, to work as enforcers or mercenaries. After a year or two, the sellswords come back to their tribe with stories and scars of their deeds proving their worth. Sometimes, a sellsword will enjoy the life and might take another few years or not return at all, though this is less common.
It is said that bigger is better and Hakkak definitely took that to heart in its animal breeding. While most foreigners look at the stock animals brought by traveling merchants from Hakkak and think "dire", a native knows that is just how you get the most meat to feed the tribe. Though their herd animals are not particularly strange in nature, many centuries ago a wise shaman from tribe Ausk learned that if you cast Animal Growth every day on an egg or impregnated herd animal until birth, that the offspring would grows to twice its normal size and eight times its normal weight. After a few generations, the spell is no longer needed and that becomes the herds normal size.
"Never introduce yourself to a tribesmen of Hakkak unless you have ten minutes to listen to his whole family tree and how his great uncle died rubbing two sticks together the first time. Honestly, do they think we really care? If they didn't rear such fine pack animals and sellswords, you could write the whole country off." - Dirk Vaxim, Merchant of Rulle
Maps
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Hakkak
The map of the nation of Hakkak
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Demonym
Hakkaki
Judicial Body
Disputes are handled within the tribe or clan, sometimes forcing two clan leaders to get together and decide for the separate parties if necessary. Ultimately, two opposing parties will often solve things in a hand to hand combat, though only to the death if given permission from their clan leader. On very rare occasions, a tribe can bring a matter to the tribunal that happens twice a year with all the tribes, though on record that has only happened once.
Neighboring Nations
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